I fight dirty, so I’d probably get the shit kicked out of me by Blake and G (both of whom seem like they’d also fight dirty,) but would likely be able to at least handle everyone else.
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This was a good opportunity for me to articulate why I don’t personally really enjoy where that route is headed, considering that these shorts are tiny ‘hints’ at the future.
I can only speak for myself on this one, and keep in mind that I am not really a Sevenmancer or a fan of their character in general, but I am, however, interested in Seven’s past romantic relationship with the Infamous MC. It’s a shame we don’t get to see more of that because two co-singers in love is so unique and fun. I love clingy and obsessive ROs when they are done well (Ortega from Fallen Hero and Fitzie from Jolly Good are two of my favorite ROs and IF characters in general of all time), and considering Seven’s emotional volatility and obsession over the MC, it seemed like it would all lead up to some passionate emotionally cathartic reunion and equally intense romance path.
So… to read the short and see Seven… sleeping… and them and the mc extremely cautious and uncertain but relatively calm and non-obsessive is the opposite of the expectation I had from their character and lore that’s built up over time. And I’m sure their relationship will develop from there, and it won’t always be so guarded and cooled down - but it’s anticlimactic to me, to say the least. Truly nothing wrong with it and I get that the goal is for Seven to change and be ‘healthier’ but considering any emotional weight in their route has been built up through snippets from an intense past and present, it makes sense that a ‘healthy’, non-clingy and non-obsessive future could feel like an unsatisfying end.
It’s a subjective thing and depends entirely on what you wanted or were looking forward to with Seven’s route. Just one of those things where reader desires may not have matched what the author envisioned, so we swallow the disappointment and simply move on. I would absolutely hate to see any vitriol or anger towards Amy around it.
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Just to clarify, Seven is my main RO, I love drama and angst, and my MC is a hot charismatic dude with great (debatable) jokes and is 10000% a better performer than Seven will ever be. Yeah, I don’t agree with all this talk about Seven being a special snowflake and narrative darling. The MC will suffer a lot but 100% will gain a lot too.
I also realize that this is only a snippet of the route and probably 1/3 or the middle of the story, so the actual route may be much more enjoyable.
I, for one, didn’t like Seven being too guarded and intentionally distancing themselves (well, “”““pacing””“”") to the point of making the MC (or reader, in my case) feel insecure. You’d think Seven would finally consider the MC’s feelings. Instead, they hurt the MC because they are afraid they (Seven) will be hurt again.
And frankly, I don’t see Seven being that much “consumed” by their love for the MC as they claim, because they always only think about themselves and their own feelings. The Big Fight happened? Yes, it’s all the MC’s fault, they hurt me, what a villain! What, the MC could be hurting too? Nonsense! I’ll just keep lashing out and digging into their insecurities (I’m fine with that btw, just hope Sev realizes it). Oh, we’re in a relationship now and I might be distancing too much? No, the MC might hurt me again, so I’ll just keep doing it and not explain my reasons to them until they press me about it.
Seven’s distancing, secrets from friends and the last sentences about "“family” and “finding a room in Seven’s life” threw me off a bit. I’m all for Seven finding close friends and family. I just don’t like the wording. It feels like the MC has to fight to get their place back. I mean, like someone said 200+ posts above, I want the whole house, thank you very much, and your new “family” (Idk, they’ve known each other for less than 3 years, but okay) can have a corner in our guest room.
I also consider Avina, Kieran, and Pope to be bad friends and enablers. Avina doesn’t seem to know Seven at all (that’s Seven’s fault), but somehow they’ve been feeding their hatred for the MC since day one, when the two of them weren’t even friends yet. Wdym that the MC didn’t love Seven, but controlled them, and that the MC is bad for them? Didn’t you manipulate Seven into trying it with your band by saying they should do it out of spite? And aren’t you the one who doesn’t let Seven and MC talk? Always pulling them by the hand, whispering in their ear and all that. Idk if that “not love but control” thing says more about Avina than it does about the MC.
Pope and Kieran are a couple of idiots and seem to babying Seven a bit too much.
What a great family!
But, well, at least they won’t try to make Seven a backup vocalist
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The readers were just concerned about where things were headed with the seven route due to the valentines special having been labelled as a glimpse into what relationships with the ros will look like. Seven voluntarily pushing away the mc so that they dont get hurt while disregarding mc’s feelings on the matter discouraged a lot of people. I don’t think the entirety of their route will be like this though, since they did communicate about their feelings in the short. Baby steps but i hope we will get there. Rome wasnt built in a day. No one was trying to hate— just speculating on what could happen based on what they were fed. None of us would be here if we didnt like amy’s writing haha. So, yeah.
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I thought that it opening with Seven sleeping was kind of sweet. A big point of contention about Seven’s route has been their relationship with Avina, specifically them sleeping together because Seven can’t sleep alone. So to see them choosing to sleep alone, in the middle of the day, to distract themselves from their want to be with the MC, instead of just pouring into their other co-dependent relationship, I thought was pretty indicative of where Seven stands. It’s actually why I was so taken aback when it first dropped and some people thought it still showed that Seven was going to be more interested in Avina/SV lol
I do get why it might feel anti-climactic though. I think what doesn’t help is that we’re told more than shown that they were so in love/intense/obsessed/whatever. It’s something that’s very hyped up (in-game but more so on Tumblr) but we never actually get to see it played out, even the Patreon flashbacks just feel like regular besties to me lol. This short actually got me fully on board with their route, but I think having the first post-reconciliation interaction with the notoriously intense character be so mellow was always going to throw some people off
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Haha, I agree with this. Seven’s route has been so hyped up by the fandom that it has set some high expectations for some people which could contribute towards their disappointment. As for people still being bothered by the Savina fiasco, I guess it is because of the way the valentine’s special ended. Mc having to make room for themselves in seven’s life despite being their partner leaves bad taste in your mouth.
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Hyped up is a great way to put it. I think we all just wanted and expected different things so I wasn’t surprised that Seven’s short was the most polarizing considering their route is polarizing in general. I had a lot of fun with the other shorts though 
especially Blake and Orion’s.
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Thanks for sharing what bothered you about the snippet. I get that, especially as a Sevenmancer, it could be disappointing but as I see it, it all comes down to communication. Seven set some boundaries that the MC didn’t agree with from the beginning and should have said something when Seven suggested them.
I don’t mind Seven being a bit selfish in this situation because it’s clear that they don’t know how to navigate this new relationship. They gave too much before and now are afraid. I’m ok with that, I don’t mind them not being all over the MC just yet. Is this a healthy dynamic? No, but Seven is making an effort. As soon as the MC brought up not spending Valentine’s day together, Seven came up with something. They spend 7 hours talking to you on that rooftop, opening up and explaining why they did what they did. Were they fair to the MC and their feelings? Probably not but I can’t hold it against them. It felt real, raw, a little uncomfortable even, but Seven does care, at least as I see it.
As for the family talk and the MC having to ‘make room to fit’ in Seven’s life, that’s MC’s inner-monologue based on their insecurities, it’s not something Seven tells you. The MC in that snippet is a mess, for obvious reasons, but it doesn’t mean that’s how the relationship is going to be.
I agree that SV are enablers but Seven is also their own person, at the end of the day they make their own decisions. Keeping the relationship secret, for now, is one of them, not something I necessarily agree with but I understand the reasoning behind it.
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Not read Valentine’s specials to know how Avina treats Seven vs. MC stuff.
I chose Seven first time cause of history.
Im demi, I am forced to ignore time and build ups a lot. (Guess this is why endear series more.)
Saw a video of top romanced in games. Most are from being companions sooner scenarios or because they bisexual. Liara is bi, if Tali was continued as bi, would of beat Liara, their romance numbers were very close. Garrus if continued bi might been second instead.
Anyway, Seven is built with a past in place. Which I believe is where some discource source lies at.
Those with longer times together tends to be favored overall by majority of people so far.
Those who are tied to main quests in other game formats win out, too.
That’s my thinking of Seven and the discourse anyway. The reason is that Seven is a hotter topic.
Side note: The game numbers of those in that list are Steam, Company, and Xbox players scoring specific romance achievements. Reasons The two, Shadowheart and Laezel lead, they start, hard to miss right at start.
That’s just the nature of adult relationships, though, no? Ideally we’d all be living our fullest lives and finding (or making) room for the people we love to be a part of that, just because we love them and want them in our lives. I don’t think it’s inherently a bad thing, it’d depend on how Seven continues to deal with it
I actually think that “I love you so much that I’m going to make a conscious effort to make sure that I have space for you in my life,” is much more romantic than “We’re going to be together forever because every aspect of our lives align and make it easy for us to fit together,” but I know everyone approaches that differently
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Truthfully, to me that came across as if the mc is invading. In relationships, you just happen to have space for people you hold dear you don’t have to actively make room for them. It just happens subconsciously.
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I’m in the same boat as you here. I fight dirty, but so would G and Blake… Blake is big enough and strong enough to hand me my ass on a platter (I find that hot, lol) and G… I think it might be close with G. He’s wiry and a scrapper, but I’m short and I’d go for his junk before he realized what was happening. Blake would finish me before I managed to do a damned thing.
The rest of them? I’d leave them in a pile on the floor before they knew what hit them.
On Seven's VD special...
Stuff like Seven’s special is precisely why my bff from college and I nicknamed “Valentine’s Day” VD-day… beause we found it as appealing as a case of VD…
Seriously, I found the entire thing soulless and cold. Seven is too distant and it left me with the feeling that I was right about where Sev’s “romance” is going: with the whole “healthy” thing equating to Seven being distant and cold and rarely spending time with the MC because Sev is closer to Avina and SV than they ever will be to the MC again.
The ending really left a bad taste in my mouth, with the MC having to force their way into Sev’s life to find a place because there is clearly no room for the MC right now. Not to mention the beginning, with MC having to go beg Seven for some time–whereas Seven would rather sleep than be with the MC. Plus, the MC is forced to disrespect Seven’s boundaries again by forcing the issue of being with them, when MC should’ve just left Seven alone and gone to do something else, considering Seven made it abundantly clear that they did NOT want to be with the MC on VD day.
Yeah. There’s no passion. We were told Seven is oh-so-passionate, but they’re a cold fish in this “romantic” scene, where it was representative of what we can expect in Seven’s romance.
Like I said, “healthy” is apparently going to be Seven living their life, keeping the MC out of it, and being around them now and then. In reality, it would fizzle out and they’d go their separate ways. In fiction, apparently, that’s the way romance should be?
Same. But saying you don’t like it and that you find it soulless and disappointing is not vitriol or anger. It’s a statement on how you see it. I think Amy realizes that. Now, if people are being nasty to her, that’s a different story and it should stop.
Agreed. And it’s the same in the VD story–Seven doesn’t give a shit about how the MC feels about them being shut out of Sev’s life. They only care about themselves and the fact that they need to keep a lot of distance so as to not become attached again. They’re literally doing everything they can to sabotage the relationship right out of the gate.
Though, I don’t think we’re supposed to see it that way. I think we’re supposed to agree with Seven and think that a “healthy” relationship means living completely separate lives, not spending much time together, and sparing a few minutes here or there for the one you “love”. And maybe that’s fine for some people, but in my book, that’s not a relationship. It’s two acquaintances who fuck now and then (whenever the one of the pair who has all othe control can fit it into their schedule). And that is another thing that irks me about it, that Seven has all the control in the relationship and the MC has to accept begging for scraps.
Because they do.
Avina’s the perfect friend, dontcha know? I’m telling you, I"m 100% certain the MC will be painted to be such a fucking asshole in the flashbacks that there’s no way Seven can be “wrong” for cutting the MC out of their lives and Avina wanting to crucify them if that’s what it takes to keep them away from Seven.
Precisely. This is what we can expect from the Seven romance–no emotion, no passion, and begging for scraps while Seven has his “family” of SV and, especially, Avina.
Avina is still more important to Seven than the MC. SV is more important.
Bottom line is that the VD special paints it like this: Avina and SV have a huge place in Seven’s life, so much of a place that there’s no room for the MC unless the MC fights for a tiny little spot in the back where Seven may bother with them every now and then instead of just keeping them cut out completely.
I think that is objectively not true. The MC may be a good performer (or not, depending on whether you play the MC as liking the stage), but Seven is objectively shown as being incredible on stage.
I’ll stop believing Seven is a special snowflake and the narrative’s darling when I see Seven get their teeth kicked in the way the MC has done to them. And when everyone stops kissing their ass.
That is precisely how it came across to me as well. MC is an outsider, looking in. Seven isn’t willing to make a space for them, or at least not a decent space, so the MC is forced to try to fight and beg their way into Seven’s life. And, even then, Seven will be distant and cold. There’s no emotion, no passion, and no real desire shown from Seven to be with the MC. It’s more like a case where someone keeps telling a friend “oh yeah! we should get together!” then never calls or makes an effort to see them and, when said friend goes to see them, they’re like, “Oh…ugh… what are you doing here??”.
Enough about the shitshow of Seven…
I freaking loved Blake’s and Dakota’s. Those two felt like actual romance paths where they want to be with the MC and make an effort to make them a part of their lives. Both felt passionate and caring. It really made me love Blake, in particular. I just wish there were good ends with them.
Out of the main ROs, I loved G’s. It was sweet, if somewhat nervous, and the moments of “angst” made sense, considering G is married. I’m half looking forward to that path and half dreading it, because I think it will be horribly miserable.
O’s wasn’t too bad, really. Didn’t hate it, at least. O is distant in a way, but part of it is O’s personality. O isn’t a “shove you against the wall and make out” kinda person, so the weird behavior in the elevator made sense.
I didn’t play any of the others, except E, who… really isn’t my cup of tea.
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? I don’t think the endings for sub ro’s were ever stated to be ‘bad’. Their stories are just a lot less fleshed out and less branchy from what amy has said.
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Their ends are already decided, from what I’ve seen on tumblr. I take that to mean that we have no effect on them whatsoever. And I can’t see a “good” ending being planned with Blake, who is your sworn enemy. With Dakota… I think they may have too much power in the entertainment industry to be bothered with you for long (plus, they are notoriously not monogamous).
At the very least, what little we see of them during the game might be fun, but I suspect they will both have miserable endings, probably a good sayonara at the end. I mean, even in the special, Blake was pointing out that they had to keep hiding them being together for the show (though I will say, I’d love to see the MC and Blake join up as a duo, with the MC writing the songs so they don’t suck ass, lol, but I don’t see it happening or being a choice).
Funny, though. I thought it was really cool that Dakota made time for the MC, even on a holiday they don’t like. It was a huge contrast to Seven avoiding the MC and being so distant. Dakota was pretty awesome.
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Dakota’s special was what i had expected from seven, haha. The mc is still insecure in dakota’s special but it still came across as Dakota actually, sincerely wanting the mc. You know less about Dakota than you do about seven yet they booked a flight to meet the mc. I just dislike playing as an mc where we have to actively disrespect seven’s boundaries. I am not bummed over the valentines short but rather at the fact this was a preview and mc might have to do something similar in the demo during the beginning of their relationship. If that happens, then i hope the insecurity and everything would be a choice rather than something being forced upon the mc. I am kind of sick of actively having to invade seven’s space when they clearly need time processing a lot of things.
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I don’t know. it would be romantic if it was about anyone other than Seven ( G or Blake, for example).
I don’t find it romantic or even normal for Seven. Seven’s life is no different from MCs: they have the same interests and jobs, they have the same past and the same worries. They might even have the same friends (I think the SV and the MCs band might become friends. Pope and Kieran are a lot like Rowan). So what “room” needs to be made??
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Exactly. It was very sweet. And I like how Dakota behaves… they crack me up. He was so irritable about it, saying to expect more flights like that. On Patreon, I told Amy that that is how fuckbuddy to love is done–she has it nailed.
I do, too. I also dislike being forced to play a MC with zero self-respect, which is precisely what it came off as with the MC demanding attention and being so pathetic. If Seven wants distance, I want the MC to be able to treat them the same way right back. Maybe it’d snap them out of it, maybe not. But if shit is going to fizzle out, I’d rather be able to play an active participant in it, instead of getting shit on and having to beg for crumbs while Seven has all the power.
Same. Seven needs to make some effort to get things going. Right now, all the effort is from the MC, with Seven slapping them down. In the special, all the effort was from the MC again, with Seven accepting their presence but not really feeling like they were “there”. It’s so one-sided, both in feelings and in actions, and one-sided relationships don’t last and, in reality, aren’t relationships at all.
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I would love Dakota’s more is they didn’t repeat every other sentence how much money they have, I find that obnoxious and ended up not enjoy their snippet as much (I rolled my eyes too many times to fully get into it). Blake was so good and so sweet, like who are they even?!
G’s was bittersweet in a way that made me love them even more. The way they casually confess their feelings, how much they care, how special the MC is to them. I can’t wait for more.
I found O’s snippet to lack chemistry and it felt a bit soulless. Like it went from 0 to an almost kiss in a couple of sentences and idk, maybe my expectations were too high, maybe the MC in that special was too much of a ‘clown’, for lack of better words, compare to how I play it but I wasn’t particularly invested in the whole scenario.
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have more hope!!!
I think there’s a good chance that they will have good endings. Also I know you read that dakota special, they seemed to be leaning very much towards an MC only romantic life and that was just the early stages of ‘dating’ 
. If mf SEVEN can get a happy ending…there’s honestly no doubt in my mind that the sub routes can as well lol.
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I want to ask what happened to the link? It does not seem to work