Of course - I get that. I'm not after it for a dating sim. And I get that Nami has skeletons in her closet too. I don't get why it's controversial to dislike Bella when someone else dislikes Mila, or call Bella a criminal, when she clearly is. These statements are anti-dating sim and about the story. Did Bella do criminal things, repeatedly? Yes or no? Calling a spade a spade isn't dislike of the role the character plays in the story.
Ocean says it's not a dating sim, then acts like a pimp on discord saying how much he loves character X because they're his current fav (probably because he's rendering a scene they're in). I mean, damn, I want to know Marla's story as well, even if she's only moderatly more attractive than Jeff or Dwight, or Siegbert. She's there for a reason, not just because Ocean wants young and old content. I'm more interested what the story holds than I'm interested in the LI branching. But the branching is there and part of the game, so by nature it's both canon story and LI paths.
THe forced interactions with Bella I can deal with, because that's the story. It doesn't change who she is or sanctify her actions. Currently I see her and NIka as Mickey and Mallery. Waiting for Ceril to imprison them so Nika can shave his anime hair, and then they can go roadtripping to the cabin in a weird timewarp, with Bella the new Summer. Actually, that'd be a hell of a way to ressurect the dark path