Well, that’s more a matter of the MC not having the finances at this very moment. You’ll have the option in several points in the game to improve different aspects of the MC’s life and equipment. Each of which with their own benefits. (Better housing, clothes, and cars can help with reputation, better cameras, recorders, etc. can help with the quality of the articles that the MC produces, better self-defense items can help with the MCs… interactions with some of their more powerful interviewees, etc.)
Essentially the player starts at a point in the MCs life where they’ve worked enough to get all of these at the very basic level, and now that they’ve gotten each the player can choose which to improve by expending their money as time goes on.
So, really, the MC has been improving their life, just slowly because The Rust doesn’t really pay much and you’ll have to pick and choose what’s most important as you go on.
This isn’t really clear in what’s up right now, so it probably does seem like the MC is just kind of okay with their situation- but that definitely doesn’t have to be the case. And won’t be, as you’ll have the chance to improve the MC’s lifestyle as time goes on.
Well, that depends on the MC you play. If you play an MC who isn’t very ambitious then… well, yes, I’d agree it’d be hard to romance someone like Lucy who does have a lot of ambition and plans for the future and doesn’t really mesh well with a more ambivalent personality.
But the MC can be fairly ambitious in the game, and aim to utilize even their current situation to make some pretty major changes. (From imposing new rules and regulations on the hero and villain communities, to swaying public opinion, to even just furthering their own standing in society, to maybe even aiding or taking down a certain hero or villain. Keep in mind that media is a pretty powerful tool.)
So you can just write articles for the sake of writing articles, do it because it’s a job and that’s all the MC cares about, but there will be options to go after a larger goal. There already kind of is a larger mystery that the MC has to solve that’s propelled even the most apathetic MCs into working for The Rust, it just hasn’t really been revealed yet because… well, the game is still in its earliest stages.
But, yeah, I hope that assuages some of your worries. The MC definitely doesn’t have to be ok with their situation! And will have options to both have different ambitions and work towards a better living situation in the future!
Huh, really? Yeah, looks like it! Never knew. (Learn something new everyday, I guess!)
Beautiful.
Would… would the second not be cannibalism?
Well, I guess it depends on what dead thing your eating.
Technically the second could just be eating a club sandwich at 3 AM in an old cafe that you pulled over to on the highway because you’ve been driving for 12 hours since the GPS took you into some backwoods town with a bunch of ducks trapped behind a fence squawking angrily at you through the window while you have no idea where you are or why you’re there.
Pure. Chaos.
You can never have enough weird alternate realities.
[spoiler]I mean, even if you did, nobody could ever meet up to Phil’s standards of living.
Well, it wasn’t out of jealousy. There’s a reason but it involves some heavy spoilers for the plot of the last book… which means it involves some heavy spoilers for this book too, I guess, since it’s technically part of what leads up to… everything. 
I mean, Female Likewise would still probably blackmail Ricky if she could… any Likewise would. Any Likewise would blackmail anybody if they could. Blackmail is wholesome fun for the whole family.
Sadly there won’t be any Informant in the next update. The next one is the second (and last) half of the Chat Blanc party. So the unveiling of the statue, the interview with Yolanda/Q&A/chat with a little somebody (depending on how you got into party), and all that jazz. The Informant will probably show up either in the update after that or the one after that one- I know when he shows up but I seem to have a tendency to make certain scenes longer than anticipated. Which means it might be a bit longer before he pops his head back into the plot.
For some reason my brain twisted up the order of your words and I just read “I’d kill Ricky”. Which, I mean, okay, got some chaotic MCs out there I see…
Anyway… Ha! I can see that being something the MC would ask if they romanced Ricky. Oh, geez, that’d be something very funny. (Especially if he was just bs-ing the MC to see what their reaction would be by saying ‘yes’.)
Lucy would team up with the MC to put Likewise in jail as the psychotic cereal killer they are. Raf would wonder what the hell is going on.
Sure, because the MC could probably lie and say it’s all on purpose.
Well, they could all go on a vacation to Tahiti, then the problem is solved.[/spoiler]
But what could ever be as exciting as the deadliest game of Hide and Seek?
Hmm, that might work. Especially considering the second case is going to be the Oppenheimer case. (Just makes most sense, considering that’s the one the MC was working on before they got the Red Light call).
Could have a good defusing the bomb scene. Have the MC choose whether or not they want to try to save everyone by getting rid of the bomb or save everyone by getting them all out of the building before it goes off. Either way could lead to some tension and a time-based puzzle-type section. And if the MC fails then it could lead to…
Alright… I have a couple of ideas now. 
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Had a lot of fun coloring Yolanda (told myself I’d go easy on the highlighting/contouring but that didn’t happen… Just like when I say I would on my own face irl… But hey, you can never have too much glitter, right?)
