This game starts with a very relatable action scene -
MC is implicated in a fist fight and ends up stabbed in the ribs for his trouble.
The first question anyone would think of is - would a stab between the ribs not be a major wake up call to anyone, especially a prosecutor who is supposed to prosecute such behavior and ensure it does not repeat in the same area or anywhere within their area of interest?
Some gamers around here see it as nothing new or major in the life of our protagonist.
Fact of the matter is, the action scene is smack in the very beginning of this game, in the life of a, seemingly, washed up and down on his luck assistant D.A., who is shown to be uneasy and distraught about his disseration, even after pulling all nighters to finnish and polish it - yet we see him totally submissive to downright disheartened at the blossoming magnifficence of his childhood friend, who is a totally beter and more eloquent and a more knowledgeable collegue, who is even above him in rank at the offices he works at.
To add insult to injury, the game skips time and lapses in narrative to give us the impression that MC really refused to press charges, never filed a complaint or even went to the hospital - to which the dev simply filled in the gaps in this very forum, but not in the game itself.
All of these are total blanks in the game plot and narrative and are certainly disconcerting at the time when we might put our minds into trying to piece together all the clues and make our own assumptions and ideas about who MC is and what he does in his regular life, both professionally and intimately.
Another matter of contention is the biggest problem with the gym girl: a married woman, while finnishing her workout and having a chat with MC, she invites MC out for a drink to which MC replies by blowing her off, because she is married.
At that time, we only have the affirmations of MC about her, we have no other clue as to her actual intentions, her life or her situation, just the outright antisocial accusation of MC to her about her being married - which seems totally bonkers - do married women not have the right to have male friends? Do public servants like public attorneys refuse to interview or talk to married women because they have a husband?
The fact of the matter is, MC refuses her totally - which means not even going to the food truck outside to share a hot dog (Thank you Frozen Past for the hot dog stand LI that is the absolute bombshell relationship romantic fabulous girl) or just meeting at the coffee shop some other day, possibly before their workout, to ensure nothing comes of it outside of them both going to the gym afterwards - which are hella wrong.
For MC to be this deffensive and socially dismissive, it would mean that, in his mind, he thinks that sex is the immediate follow up to him meeting any or all women who are married - totally demented assumption on his part - or him deluding himself that any or all interactions with married women would result him into sexual favors or interactions with women who are otherwise married and off the market - which makes him a sociopath in the ilk of so many deluded cult leaders who would trick women using a lover boy technique and then become absolute slave drivers for these women. How could even the mildest to smallest interactions be considerred assured sexual by MC - a public servant - who is supposed to hear out the girls and the boys of his constituancy regardless of marital status.
In real life, guys tend to be forgotten into the friendzone and denied the smallest humaine affectionate interaction for the rest of their lives by girls who would totally gloss over them like Jamie does to MC and MC does to Jamie in the first two episodes where they simply interact like little kids who have to share the same lesson at school and then split to totally different lives for eachother. For the painstaking two first episodes, MC is thinking that every girl interaction is assures sex for him, so he refuses some of them outright, which is bonkers.
Why does MC keep his head in the gutter?
yea, but this mc is completely anti-romantic type, yea we know it's his personality for now, but we are halfway and it's high time to wake up and be more romantic with girls, even some simple first time kiss scene, anything
The only downside to story focus games can take a bit but I like slow burns so I don't mind since lewds matter verry little to me. Tho I feel a kiss or something would be nice for Emmeline. Jamie not so sure unless she is the one to engage it. This MC kind of feels like a Witcher at times when it comes to any romance with Jamie but seems a bit more open towards others unless I just misremember. Tho I don't really think anymore than a kiss cause could feel a bit rushed I think. However that depends on how the scene plays out but in my head it feels like it be rushed, but hey I trust this dev. So if he thinks it would work and make sense I think it will.
And why MC would suddenly wake up, because of what? He lives/lived his routine life, yes he started investigation with his EX, is it enough for him to start changing all of a sudden? - Nope. He is who he is, he admits it himself.
all of these happened at the end of 3rd chapter.
I don't see any factors that could make him change.
MC has known Jamie for a lifetime - even shares the office with her at work.
Their special bond of affection expanded into their professional life together.
In the real world, such family friends turn into life partners with kids in a heartbeat.
Out there, though, people are not thinking of themselves as totally ”God*s gift to women” and do not assume every interaction with a girl, especially a married girl, will undoubtedly bring them sex.
In this game, MC is paranoid to the point that MC acts disturbingly antisocial in order to keep his celibacy in the beginning of the game.
When we think about who Jamie is, what archetype of girl she represents and the place she holds in the game, she is old money.
Old money girls who are this grounded, kind and affectionate like Jamime, also self conscious, confident and successful - she would eat MC up like the oldest daughter of the Meet Jack Black financial mogul character - she sees the guy she wants and she takes him - because she has utmost trust in him to never be able to hurt her, never be able to even question her, never be a contender who would ever compete against her:
- MC is admittedly pussy whipped and absolutely worshipping Jamie in the office and in their personal life.
After such a reception that Jamie gets from MC all throughout the first half of this game,
- the sudden outbursts from chapter three, where MC essentially blows Jamie and her brother off at the movies, being absent and still thinking about some investigation that he keeps twisting and twirling in his mind about, where he insists to be going down the rabbies hole totally,
that is one mighty complete 180 turn of events that we see in MC.
Those changes in MC are destructive, because we were supposed to build our relationships up by the third episode, yet MC totally resets his longest relationships down to sub zero cold daft ignorance with both Jamie and her brother - who are essentially his family right now.
All of it gets done by MC while struggling in his demented fall from professional grace and deep dive into social infamy.
These are not the good plot twists, neither those who would demonstrate the MC would be growing as a character in the next chapters.
if he doesn't start changing, we will see first kiss scene in last chapter, remember
MC has been blowing his girlfriends off for the longest of times - Aghavny being the latest victim - she is the total babe who extends the olive branch to MC and, at long last, gets to at least teach him some sexual womanly love and affection to this obnoxious MC. The court clerk is the other flip of the coin - she exposes the fearful, lack of backbone MC who abbandons women at their lowest while blamig them for their losses:
Karma brings MC to total dementia in this last chapter with his destruction of his longest friendships with Jamie and her brother - his efffective family as of now.
The murder and the heartache is what MC investigates every day . Not so cold and cocky now, that MC has his life struck by murder and heartache for a loved one, eh, MC ???
Note: This post has been redacted by popular demand, in order to cut out all the caps - which were signaling the points of interest that were inserted into the messages contained within. It has since turned into some essay about the many ups and downs we can watch as they unfold in the life of the protagonist.
jesus less caps next time makes it hard and annoying to read...
sorry man, but it's kinda hard to read your posts