Been away a while (RL issues) so haven't been playing/reading most of the VNs I follow. That said i have a few reactions to the update and the various comments about it.
1: DB - man if you need a break for God's sake take it! I love this story and want you to take as much time as you need to finish it as you choose. Thank you for sharing your creativity with all of us.
2: Charlotte is not a child. She is not naive about her industry or the evil criminal environment that is Hillside. She's experienced it first hand, been assaulted, and lost at least one friend to its corrupt practices. So no matter how upset/traumatized she is from watching the MC protect her daughter and the fall out, there is simply no way it makes ANY sense for her to wonder if she can trust him and tell him to stay away. 100% beyond the suspension of disbelief. Not to mention that the only person who actually knows that the MC decided to kill Carter is the MC. In that hand to hand combat it was over in less than a minute at most 90 seconds. Bare handed against a knife? Shit happens very very quickly. She didn't see him intentionally kill Carter, she saw him fighting for his life, her life, and her daughter's life and Carter lost. A choke hold that in the moment was "a little to strong".
Now that said one of the interesting themes is that DESPITE this notion that she fears the MC, thinks she can't trust him, thinks he shouldn't be around her or her daughter, she absolutely brings the BIGGEST POSSIBLE HAMMER to defend him from the police. She refuses to let them "move" him. She tells them that she can flood them with press on a moments notice and that they will not move him unless SHE KNOWS exactly where and when he'll be moved. All the while having an internal debate as to why she's doing this. Asking herself why is she risking so much to protect him.
There is of course only one answer, that despite the false internal monolog that we have to suffer through, she actually knows that the MC put his life on the line to protect her and her daughter, and is grateful, and has a strong attraction and feelings for the MC. After all she protects him EXACTLY as if he was a beloved member of her family.
At the end of the previous update I made the bet that Charlotte wouldn't abandon the man who saved her and Emily. I didn't expect to much emotion angst, but in the end she came through.
3: Zak being dead by the same knife that Carter used to attack Emily and the MC and finding David(?) in the trunk of Carter's vehicle means that NONE absolutely NONE of the improper conduct at the police station would have occurred. No cop is going to grab a lawyer by the throat in front of multiple witnesses. Period. Because they won't be a cop 60 seconds later. Corrupt or not they're not going to defend another cop who is at a minimum a kidnapper and murderer, before his encounter with Emily. For which any good prosecutor could add another kidnapping charge along with two of attempted murder and various assault charges. The arrival of the lawyer would be enough to shut all that down, even without knowing that the FBI had been on the scene and was en route. The combination of Charlotte, her lawyer, and the knowledge that the FBI was coming to take over would have shut all that BS down. Regardless of Harry's influence.
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All of this is why the "flow" bothers so many of us. But I offer the following observation. The ultimate outcome of all of this, with one exception, is exactly what most of us expected. The MC is in the clear. He won't face murder charges. Carter's killing will be ruled self defense and the police will attempt to deflect as much of Carter's conduct as possible.
The exception is that we spent an entire update watching Charlotte completely toss away all the trust, admiration, and attachment to the MC (at least in her "rational' mind) until the very end where she finally decides that Carter dying is a far better alternative to her, Emily, and the MC's death. (Shocking I know) and then maybe moving the tiniest bit beyond where she was in her feelings for the MC before the "event". Very frustrating for those of us not on the Lucy path.
Okay then. So be it. This update advanced the Lucy path. Other paths will likely move forward. Certainly the MC becoming Charlotte's bodyguard is potentially a big change. We'll just have to wait to see.
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Maybe the last two updates were a bit heavy handed, but DB got us to a new place, and moved at least two existing plot lines forward (probably 3 considering Emily, and maybe even 4 if big sis wakes up), and maybe added another with the addition of our sexy FBI agent.
Writing and balancing competing plot lines is damn difficult. So - thank you DB. Regardless of any commentary above, I truly love your story and deeply and fully respect your work ethic, talent, and dedication to bring this story to us. It is my sincerest hope that once you "recharge" you'll finish this VN that I have come to love so very much.
This game will most likely have 3 endings (maybe more?) one for each love interest. Depending on how the Dev wants to do it, anyways.
