Ethan and becket are both forced but at least with Ethan there’s a reason he appears so much. He’s her amazing mentor in my play or shitty boss in your play. But Becky literally hates the pen pals and it doesn’t make sense to appear if you’re not romancing him.
As someone who has also played TE (albeit with shortened versions because let’s face it, I’m Beckett trash and I can’t go two seconds without missing him) with a third MC who thinks Beckett is a fucking asshole dick, my first reaction was “why the fuck is Beckett hanging around so much if I’m picking every nasty option and want to kick his ass into Sunday?” With that mindframe, the only conclusion I could make was that Beckett was a total loner and loser, so yes it makes absolutely no sense that he’s around ever.
… except that the plot does need him because he was the dumbass who opened the wards in Book 1 and was the only one who could rescue MC in Book 2 through teleportation.
He is still one of the few LIs you can be totally nasty with and I know from firsthand experience and from others that the interaction with Beckett varies greatly on the dialogue you choose. If you’re antagonistic the whole time, well, of course you’re always going to get the worst response from him.
That being said, I still don’t know why he would be hanging around in the first place and I’ve voiced these opinions to friends through other chat apps. Again, the only conclusion I have in this type of playthrough is that he’s a total loner and loser.
(Sidenote - My second MC [some of you may remember plain Jane] was fine and picked all neutral options fwiw. It was like “oh cool, friend who happens to be a dude.”)
I think what troubles me with Ethan is that they’ve taken the forced LI to another level. In my playthrough, he isn’t a shitty boss at all and I’ve set him up as a mentor. I know a lot of people who aren’t romancing Ethan and between the scenes in Miami and the “have sex only” option from Book 1, plus the “longing gazes” in Book 2, these actions have made them uncomfortable and hence why I said what I did.
I also think what makes OH2 feel worse is that they’ve seemingly taken Rafael off the table as an LI and Aurora looks to be just a roommate all the while giving Ethan a potential of … four different looks (glasses and beard combos) and diamond scenes in every chapter, if not multiple ones.
I’ve headcanoned that Dr. Feelgood manipulates Ethan’s feelings because he can since he’s a straight, chaotic bastard, but the 30 diamond sex scene from book one? I wouldn’t have minded having the option to get drunk and hang out without the sex being the only thing.
I know people won’t hear me out on this, whether it’s from me being known as LiKe tHe UlTiMaTe BeCkEtT StAn EVARRR or from being protective of Ethan, but I don’t mind Ethan as a character at all. Feelgood would just appreciate it if he stepped off just a tad bit because he doesn’t feel him like that and he just wants to hang out with his other friends.
