That quote from Maya in the early event someone posted earlier is really bothering me.
To me, you are nothing more than a worm. But to Ami and Ayane, you're the same man they've known since childhood. So it's no wonder they're as... forward about their feelings as they are. The rest are sue to follow suit. It's simply the way things work here.
I've read these early Maya scenes around 5 to 6 times. That's not to brag; it's just kind of happened, and if anything it points to the fallibility of my memory that their contents remain only loosely in my mind at any given moment. This also includes reading the initial versions pre-rework (they totally suck BTW, good job improving your writing Selebus, almost nobody but me seems to acknowledge this so I'll take the time to emphasize the staggering difference in writing quality between the original version and the rework - might be worth writing a post dedicated to this later). Regardless, it is only now that I connect this line to the events of the most recent update.
'It is simply the way things work around here"... it's simply the way things work that all the girls end up lustful and aggressively pursuing Sensei? That REALLY sounds like a porn game, doesn't it? I admit, it makes me feel a bit foolish in retrospect to have described how difficult it was to be engaged with 0.46's developments, because I can easily imagine a Selebus figure going 'haha, it's only NOW you question the agency of the heroines and whether they are being unnaturally compelled to lust for Sensei?" or what have you. I mean, at various points I was aware of this line, and at various points I have identified seemingly unnatural behavior (indeed, even considering LiL's shockingly slow pacing, Chapter 1 has blisteringly fast developments with various heroines like Chika), so it's not like 0.46 was the first time I ever questioned it, but it did feel to cross a line. Maybe it didn't, though. Perhaps it was foolish to ever assume a time with unchallenged agency for every heroine.
I'm not necessarily going anywhere with this. The line is just bothering me. I feel a very strong sensation of being played for a fool, yet that surely is not the case. Like, I can't imagine Selebus would dedicate 4 years and counting to depicting stories of characters acting unnaturally in ways we should persistently question or disbelieve. I mean, it would be a very epic twist 3 years down the line, and people who have followed the story for 1 to 7 years would surely have their minds fucking blown if the dark route completely challenges their conception of the heroines and romances they have religiously followed up to that point, but it would feel totally staggering to do that I think. Like to commit so fucking hard for the bit. DDLC was fucking six hours long. Totono was like fucking 15. Nobody has committed 200-300 hours to this fucking bit. No way.
I wonder if Maya is from a different game.