So, something that has still been kind of bothering me is everything about what happened with RayanāsĀ āarcā (I put it in quotations because I think theĀ āgrowthā he gets is questionable and subjective, or non-existent depending on how you feel about it)ā¦ Like it just doesnāt work for so many reasons and the few ways it maybe could have worked were essentially just brushed over? But now that itās essentially been finished, I just wanted to try and get those thoughts out of my head essentially.Ā
Iām not sure if this was always the plan to go with Rayanās route or if it happened due to the amount of people who found the dialogue uncomfortable in UL, but if it is the latter, it does an even worse job.Ā
Iāve mentioned before that I kind of excuse the problematic part of Rayanās behavior in UL because itās overly forced due to the writing due to them making everyone in love with Candy immediately even if it makes no sense due to wanting to rush the romance side of the plot. I still feel this way. I still think from most of what we see from Rayan, itās not how he wouldāve acted otherwise, and the fact that he can drop it immediately as soon as you say you want things to be Professional until you graduate says enough (though, itās probably one choice I kind of regret as I wouldāve liked to be his friend if that narrative wasnāt constantly being pushed, but itās not like it matters since youāve clearly been friends for a while when LL rolls around regardless of what you pick here!).Ā
But for the most part, he just treats his students more as peers/equals to help keep discussion more fluid/casualā¦ That isnāt necessarily a bad thing. Iāve had lunch with teachers before. Iāve had a teacherās instant messenger incase of having any questions after. Teachers have different teaching styles.Ā
Literally the only thing he did wrong was how he acted with Candy where she couldāve been just as guilty as acting with him. Iām not going to go into the logistics of how Rayan being the teacher shouldāve acted among other things because thatās really a whole other situation and despite Beemoov touting it whenever they randomly feel like it matters, itās not a realistic game for one and it geared to focusing on romance so thatās just not a topic for this post.Ā
So, ignoring the issues of the forced romance plot until they literally gave you an option to opt out by essentially ejecting Rayan from a good portion of the story rather than just making his dialogue friendly to begin with and only romantic at higher LoM, this wouldāve been the closest to an actual sexual harassment plot.Ā
Either way, itās pretty much just shoved under the rug until Love Life hits and Candy can actually debate on her relationship (whether friendly or more) with Rayan and how things may have feltā¦ Despite them having been friends for essentially 3-4 years now and if not on his route, completely platonically, and on his route, clearly in love with him. The thing is, this could have a lot more precedence when dating him and evaluating how you got together (Was it right to have started this relationship? Was it right for him to reciprocate? Should this really have happened? Was any of this appropriate? Do I feel for him or did I enjoy the risk more? etc. etc. etc.) while if you havenāt, itās just kind ofā¦ pointless. At this point, itās been years and Rayan didnāt even actually do anything. The moment Candy says she didnāt reciprocate, itās dropped entirely.Ā
And then, even if Candy comes to this conclusions and agrees to testify, it doesnāt really matter because as we know, Marinaās testimony was fake. Candy doesnāt really have this big inner turmoil (Partially due to the fact that we control her and sheās already in a relationship) and where they really couldāve considered those options, they went for a plotĀ
Marina is also highlighted as the Victim through so many characters and while I feel bad for her (She didnāt even really start the rumor herselfā she just stayed vague/shrugged it of because sayingĀ āNothing is happeningā would make her look bad at worst or like she was lying anyway due to the subject and she couldnāt say yes for those same reasonsā if her friends were asking and thought they saw something, they pretty much made their minds up just like Miss Paltry did based off those same rumors), I think saying Rayan isnāt a Victim as well is stupid. He lost one proposed job and even though the case was dropped, there will always be rumors and that could further complicate any future engagements he may have.Ā
With Marina, thereās obviously issues there due to her being younger (But still likeā¦ early 20s most likely) and how this could affect her classes or other experiences (Or in the worst case scenario, look like the girl who cried wolf if such a thing ever actually happened to her), but everything about her scenario wasnāt needed. Even just the general discussion coming up if everything with Marina didnāt go as far as it did (Like it just going to Candy noticing the crush and worrying if Rayan could reciprocate in the sense of what happened with her in UL and everything in that direction) couldāve done more than enough without causing Marina to be in a pretty awful place too.Ā
And likeā¦ it all just went nowhere regardless. It put them all in sad places, Candyās own realizations are pointless, and it was just really weird. And like, obviously part of why they couldnāt even do something where Candy maybe considers things are not okay or is still hurt and just suppressed it due to friendship is because even while they add variations, itās just removal or additions of certain dialogueā itās not a huge story overhaul so with Rayan being possible for Candy to date and stay with, it wouldāve likely been too much work (and honestly, too serious of a subject and way too many ways to take it and the fandom is divided enough).Ā
Also Miss Paltry coming to this conclusion here, but nothing in regards to when Candy got bullied about assumptions or was even harassed just by people assuming she could be flirting/dating with Rayan??Ā
Regardless, the whole thing still makes me feel bad not just for the characters involved, but also it felt a bit dismissive due people who were in those circumstances and part of why they were so bothered with how Rayan was written in UL.Ā
Anyway, Iām just glad the plot is over and just hope they may eventually get to a point where we just pretend it didnāt happen.
blakekathryn
romaincrisis
pixelskylines
amandla
