I'm fine with the toxic trio. After all, prey attract predators. And it's pretty clear all three of them are selfishly using him in some way.
My issue with the game is refusing to acknowledge it. Which shows the dev refuses to acknowledge it. Which is worrying because if the writer doesn't see those characters as toxic, the way almost every player does, then the story is fucked.
Lacey who is intentionally written as toxic, gets away with it all the time. The other two aren't even considered as such, MC never blames them for anything. Especially Anna. I'm not sure if the writer even realizes what he has done with her so far. She is very often shown to be a condescending bitch, whose only role is to make sure MC remains this obedient chained puppy.
I have a sneaking suspicion that dev thinks as long as everything works out in favor of MC getting a lot of pussy, any behavior is justified. It's fine if they control and manipulate him, they are making a harem for him, he should be grateful. Which would be fine for a mindless harem game, but not this one.
You see, I don't mind a bit of catfighting.
But it is never treated so such.
Let's look at Anna, she often makes derogatory remarks towards MC, whether the author sees them as such is in doubt.
I can't understand her in many occasions, she pounces like a tiger at the Lorenzo event, but then cries and runs back into the pimp's arms after the lessons, considering not talking to her one of yhe meaniest things she ever done....really?
Where is this protective Anna that we keep on hearing about? She should have blown the pimp out of the water after something so evil was done to MC (yes the lessons are pure evil in intent and execution, no matter how anyone tried to paint it).
The Isaac event where she deletes the recording is also very dubious, why is she protecting Lacey over MC, and how can she care more about Lacey than MC after all we seen? (Saying she is like a sister? After three know each other for 1 year? What is this, kindergarden?)
I have a lot to say about the failed character, because if something is ruining the story, it is the treatment of Mia for her behaviour.
She was perfectly content with giving MC a handjob, yet no one confronts her on not going through the same "treatment" as she convinced Lacey to do.
Ahh but wait, the pimp oure form is not being a public toilet that had emotional and mental damages, that was Lacey pure form!
She refers to Lacey college time as glorious, while recognizing that she ruined her life and she was being treated like shit... but, wait, the pimp didn't make a mistake, that was previous Lacey pure form, not the current one, right?
So why is she so hellbent in showing her previous form to MC?
First to break them up because she wanted Lacey for herself, only her knew the "real" Lacey (spoiler, she doesn't), the second time is to steal MC, and everyone is fine with it.
And then she has the gall to say she did this for MC, that is cool, since every time she does something MC comes out battered and bruised.
The fact that the author wrote this without having no one reacting to her actions, or even Lacey contradicting her more than once is baffling.
Like are we really supposed to see something good in this character? Where? How?
No one confronts her about anything, we read that she "punishes herself", like how? By being a bitch to MC at every chance? By trying to ruin your best friend marriage twice?
MC sometimes mentiones that he should be angry at her and that is it, even Christine that hated her a few lines of dialogues ago now is "not enthus" about her past but she think she is cool.
Don't get me started on the "graveyard humor" she is shown to have with Lacey, which is absolutely disgusting, since Pimp was never in any sort of pain or danger, she was the one pushing.
"Hey Lacey, do you remember when I almost pushed you to kill yourself by overdosing? That was so crazy! Haha".
"Hey Lacey do you remember when I pushed you to be mistreated by several men so I could get over my fear of penises? Hahahah".
"Hey Lacey do you remember when you were weak and drugged up and I pushed you to ruin your future? Bwahahaha".
Add to this that she is never, literally never, funny, she hasn't a single line that is funny, she only comes as abrasive and obnoxious.
But the author has shown to be able to throw good zingers here and there, the daiquiri lines from MC (the first ones, then it becomes repetitive) made me chuckle.
She causes MC to have a ptsd episode and then hides behind having her filters lowered because she is comfortable, and this is wrote like an ok thing.
It is disgusting, it is the equivalent to hang out with a friend that lost his father recently and is grieving, just to make jokes about being fatherless.
She still gets invited to the king weekend for some reason and proceeds to do the same for the whole two days.
Speaking of the kind weekend, this should be MC big moment right?
As soon as he gets in Lacey makes him uncomfortable with the intimacy question.
Then we get this meet and greet where most of the girls trauma dump on him.
Then we get the first game, where the girls, that witnessed him having a mental breakdown just a few days before, push him and prod him to make dangerous questions, AND THEN GET SURPRISED WHEN TGE QUESTION COMES.
The worse there is the pimp, not happy with all the damages she has done, keeps pestering Lacey for honesty.
Second day is not much better, Veronica hammers MC twice, the pimp does worse and tries to add unrequested details. (We also see how much of a bad person she was even in the past).
So this king weekend ends up with zero MC requests (witness as usual) and him having to navigate a minefield as usual.
Anyway I had to write this in like 5 rounds, so it might be jumbled, but I hope you get what I mean.
