I don't usually comment on fandom drama but holy hell the shit going on in TFC fandom is ridiculous.
Like... are people aware that polyamorous relationships doesn't always mean that all people involved are romantic with each other? Sometimes, it's two people being in love with the same person and that person accepting both of their feelings.
THAT MEANS THAT THOSE TWO PEOPLE ONLY HAVE THE ROMANTIC CONNECTION WITH THAT ONE PERSON AND ONLY THAT ONE PERSON.
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT, THAT ONE PERSON HAS ROMANTIC CONNECTIONS WITH EACH OF THOSE TWO PEOPLE.
IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT ALL THREE PARTIES INVOLVED HAVE TO BE ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED WITH ONE ANOTHER.
Polyamory comes in many different forms. So long as there's open communication between any and all parties involved and everyone's understanding and okay with the arrangements, there's no issue.
And on top of that, is shipping rivals together really that foreign of a concept? What about Red and Blue from the classic Pokémon games? Have people really become such puritans that the "Enemies to Lovers" trope has been forgotten? Or even the "Enemies as Lovers" trope? C'mon, older fandoms like HOMESTUCK already covered things like this.
And I don't even wanna get started on the whole "if they see each other as family, shipping them together is/is like inc//st" argument. If that were the case, then Pierrot and Harlequin being romantically and/or sexually interested in Columbina would be the same thing since they were already living together as a group before The Incident™️. And yet I don't see as many people making a fuss about that. The problem with this point is no matter how anyone words their argument, people are going to find ways to twist it out of context and make you sound like the bad guy.
At the end of the day, TFC is Neko's creation. It is his world, it is his story, and if he can find a way to give certain characters the endings that he not only wants for them but also endings that he deems fitting in terms of the story. We as the audience have no say in how he wants to write his story; we can offer feedback, yes, but he has no obligation to add or remove anything if he feels that he doesn't need to.
I beg of people who interact with this game to understand that while you may not like something in a piece of media, it is both on how the creator handles the topic and how you interact with the media that determines your enjoyment of it. If a game that explores dark topics makes you uncomfortable, chances are that it was made to be that way.
On top of all of the above, the game is not finished. To attack/unfairly criticize someone over something that isn't even complete yet comes off as childish at best and entitled at the worst. Speaking as someone in my 30s, I'm personally exhausted by the constantly policing of issues that are non-issues.
Be upset about topics that are actually handled poorly and don't receive any respect from the author/creator. A polyamorous route in an incomplete visual novel is such a non-issue that I'm tired of the constant bickering over it.
Tl;dr: Polyamory comes in many different formats and so long as everyone involved is communicating and happy with the arrangement, there's no trouble or problem. Neko has no obligation to change his story just because some people don't like it. He's been handling the topics he's covered fairly well (considering that the VN is meant to be dark fiction), and he's literally only one person working on a large majority of the project. The potential polyamorous route has been addressed since the game's first release; this should not be this much of a fucking shock to anyone.
If he does end up removing the possible polyamorous route, I will be severely disappointed -- not by him, but by the people who have essentially talked down to him and wore him down into doing so. This whole thing has been blown so out of proportion that I wouldn't be surprised if he flat out cancels the game. Is that what you all want? For no one to get any more updates or content about them?
If not, grow up and stop behaving like you're entitled to his work.
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