Actually my first reaction when I read the words “New Zealander accent” was and I quote myself “Oh fuck a Kiwi”, honestly playing an F route all the way through to get a save for Book 3 was the most enjoyable thing, really made me appreciate F as a romantic partner, I think I legit like fell for them in real life lol.
I just find any scene with F to be a lot of fun, like I imagine anything happening, looking at each other and trying so hard not to laugh out loud, but seeing the other trying not to just making it more difficult to not laugh.
Overall I find myself smiling more often than not when going through the F route in all the books, honestly it all just feels like memories you’d talk about fondly about a partner, everything from their jokes, their goofiness, the failed massage they tried to give you, and well teaching them to build paper planes was really cute in its own way.
I feel like where N is going is to show their flaws they don’t like to show, they always have a fairly prim and proper image, but there is without a doubt things they’d rather leave buried in their past I assume mainly around the event which turned them and the aftermath of it.
When can we get our RGB eyes? lol
The idea is so funny.
Quite straight up the same N is just the best friend you could ask for, in all the other routes in my opinion.
And then he goes and fucks it up. I think Z might want to do something horrible to Verda and Tina now, though. Of course, it’s Z, so about the worst she’d do is frown at them.
Felix, on the other hand, she just might slug at some point if he keeps doing this…
I think it’s the aucpretense variable rather than a skill check. The longer you keep the ruse going that the MC wants to join the auctioneer, the better.
Basically, just play along with the ruse. You can up the pretense pretty quickly by striding inside boldly, flirting with the auctioneer, etc. Don’t lose your temper, don’t snark, and don’t look disturbed.
Also, don’t lose it when you see Vieno/Tapeesa. Use the “put on a mask” choice, and you get another rescuesuccess point. I’ll see if I can find anything else.
Okay, after you see whomever is kidnapped, there’s another choice. If you went research and know about the soul bond, you can promise to help him break it and get him as an ally and “convince” him. If you didn’t go with research, then try to convince him to join you (which will work if you have 3 or more points with him).
And, for the distraction…
Knocking over the glasses: works if combat >= 70
Asking for more information works if deduction >= 70
A has some great moments in each book…but his frustrating moments unfortunately outnumber the good ones by a LOT. I “bold flirt” everyone in WHC because I self insert and that’s how I roll irl. A is kind of hilarious w a bold MC. There is always at least 1 instance in each book where he either laughs and lets his guard down for a moment, or bold flirts right back and when you hit those moments, it’s really charming and a real treat <3 unfortunately he immediately goes back to his “J/k I CANT LIKE YOU…BYEEEEE” right away after.
To be fair, slow burn usually means end of book 1 or 2, not end of book 6…but this is why A isn’t my cannon…I’ve got no patience for that shite. It’s fine w me if others are all over rejection and whatnot. Not trying to yuck anyones yum. <3
At least I don’t see it like that lol I love the hunt more than the catch I guess?
In real life I wouldn’t have the patience either, but its a game and I got nothing better to do than watch Ava run away. Where is mah Lasso! Heey Yaaaaaaaaah! Cow Girl!
By the time the series ends, we will all be much older. I just hope A Stans are as satisfied with 1 book of actual romance while others got like 5…does that make sense? I don’t mean for it to sound harsh…it’s late and I’ve had wine so I can’t tell…
I’m with E_Redmark for this one. It’s not rejection. They did admit that they have feelings but they don’t want to enter into a relationship. I know some viewed it as rejection but personally, I viewed it as someone who’s not ready to enter one because of their past issue. I found it sad and at the same time understandable. and I don’t want A to feel forced to be in a relationship if they’re not ready. I know it’s slow burn and not all will like slowness of the progression the reason why there’s other routes for those who prefer an RO who is more committed into a relationship or willing to enter into one.
If all ROs get into a relationship by Book 2 or Book 3, it just makes them all the same and not in-character with the RO involved. But perhaps that’s just me.
I get it…i totally respect your point of view. Just because i find it frustrating and annoying, doesnt mean everyone does. I’m glad the ro’s are so different that different personalities and preferences have an option. I enjoy A’s character, i just don’t care for his romance…but I get that there are folks that do.
I understand it gets frustrating though. Personally, I’m an optimist and hoping mid Book 4 that A-mancers could be in a relationship with the Detective. Perhaps too over optimistic? hahaha
It certainly comes off as rejection. Or, at the very least, it comes off as A saying, “You aren’t worth it” which is just as bad. If it were just a not wanting to rush things, and take time to figure things out–because they’ve been hurt so badly before and aren’t sure they can take it again–that’s one thing.
But A doesn’t ask for time. A just says it’s not going to happen. Period. Because they don’t want to be hurt. That’s rejection.
As for slow burn…
I don’t have a problem with realistic progression that fits the character, but there has to be some noticeable progression, not just the same tired shit over and over again. A’s “progression” is non-existent. You can hold hands with them at the end of b2, if you initiate it, and it’s all but forgotten in b3. At the end of b3, they want a kiss, with the agreement that it will be the end of things for good.
As readers, we know that won’t be the case. What about the MC? How do you work with someone you’re in love with who just kissed you or tried to kiss you and intends to treat you like a stranger? Someone that has repeatedly reached for you only to push you away. Yes, there are very sweet moments with A, but they’re just moments and don’t mean anything in the long run because they don’t help move things forward. It’s just rinse and repeat. Only difference between b3 and b2 is that A admitted the reason they don’t want the MC is because they don’t want to hurt again. Oh yeah, and a kiss, if you’re good with A running away and shutting you out when it’s over.
And there’s my real problem with A’s “path”–and M’s, to be honest, if we’re going back to stupid moron M. It’s not that it’s slow, it’s that any progress is immediately retconned. Even worse, the MC has zero effect on the progression of the romance and cannot help things move quicker. They can’t do anything to help A get past their fears and help M understand that they’re in love. There’s no sense of “I want to be with you but don’t know how” from them (and it really sums them both up), where they and the MC can work through it together until the LI can handle it.
Nope, that isn’t happening. Instead, the MC is flat out powerless and along for the ride, forced to accept whatever happens without a real chance to help or to even step away and get some distance until the LI figures their own shit out.
In F and N’s romances, the MC isn’t a hapless victim of those romances. They choose whether to participate fully or to hold back by refusing a relationship with them.
Anyway… I get why people love A as a character. I do, too, and the moments that we get in their path (this is not a romance yet to me, no matter how much it is sold as such) aren’t enough to balance the fact that the MC is powerless in it.
I don’t want them all to be the same. It makes sense that they would be different, as are their personalities. But what I would like is for the MC to feel like something other than a passenger–in some cases, an unwilling one–on the journey to the two slow burns getting their shit together. I honestly don’t see how there can ever be a relationship when they are both so unaffected by the MC and their feelings.
That’s pretty damned optimistic. But maybe it’ll happen. I’m still of a mind that A-mancers will get a relationship before M-mancers do. I’m not even certain we’ll get one at all with M, it’ll just be assumed the MC and M are in one.
A is my favourite and I always do that route first, doesn’t stop me from getting annoyed at how they make us and themselves run in a circle so much it’s pretty much an ouroboros by now.
Or did you miss ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I’m weak’…
Hello?
That’s not rejection.
God…
That’s withdrawal…rejecting someone is kinda like when you ask M to go to dinner and say 'Nope. Not going to happen. But if M said ‘Sorry, but I don’t do crowds, I’m an agoraphobe’ that’s not rejection saying 'I wish I could…but I can’t.
I don’t know…they keep me laughing long at night.
Sure we can. Bold MC totally gonna crank up the Flirt and make Ava combust on the spot!
Choose! pain of the heart or pain in your pants!
I suggest throwing something heavy like an Anvil at them that has ‘I LOVE YOU BAKKA’ at them?
Judging from welcoming home party, it doesn’t seem to be talking to a stranger atmosphere to me. If A wants to be stranger, they should have ignore you and don’t interact with you at all like they did when you first met them.
It’s hard to create an opinion because we don’t know how Miskha will handle this. But I do agree retconning will be very frustrating. I just hope that the Detective will be proactive without like it seems that the Detective pushing A to be in a relationship.
I believe that it’s frustrating because in real life, we are waiting for each book for two or three years in between books. For us, it’s a long wait while in the Book, they only met for 6 months or so. For someone like A who has a past issue, you can’t cure such issue in such a short time imo.
Quite disappointed with this book tbh I had high hopes for this one, and the demo was gripping. Bought it on the day it released and the playthrough experience has been kind of… meh
The plot didn’t make much sense, the villain was so bland and the hot-and-cold behaviour from A is just. Getting old. Beyond old.
I know it’s not REALLY a “detective” story as much as it’s supposed to be a romance, but honestly, it’s not delivering on either fronts at this point.
The writing itself also seems to be a lot more purple prosy and not as crisp as in the first two books
And I’m really disliking how much the book tries to guilt us for not having a good relationship with Rebecca, while at the same time revealing information that makes her character and choices even less forgivable. Time and again she chooses to abandon the MC, and would this relationship even have rekindled without supernatural interference in the first place? Doubtful.
I sound like a terrible hater, but I really did enjoy books one and two, and like I said, the demo for this one set the stage for something much more compelling than the final product
Fair, though tbh if this was real life, after getting told that there will be nothing between us the first 2 or 3 times I would actively try to snuff out any feeling for them(soul bond or not), since I can’t read minds and I would put more weight on words over subtle actions, no matter how long I’ve known someone for.
On A having issues, they had them for over 900 years, even if it was a deep ptsd worthy trauma, they had 9 lifetimes more than usual to seek help and work it out somehow other than burying it and all their other feelings along with it deeper than a balrog, I personally wouldn’t have any hope of helping them on that even if I had a degree specialized in such matters.
Just in case to clarify, I’m not saying that they should have gotten over it by now or that it would’ve been an easy thing, but that I could not possibly hope to think I could help them with that if they didn’t found how to themselves by then.
yeeeeeeehaw!!
Personally, I’m an optimist and hoping mid Book 4 that A-mancers could be in a relationship with the Detective. Perhaps too over optimistic? hahaha
I had high hopes for this one, and the demo was gripping. Bought it on the day it released and the playthrough experience has been kind of… meh