#i would love it if other games didn't lock 10-heart scenes behind romance 😭

[docmerlin]

the more i think about it, the more "i was a teenage exocolonist" is The relationship game for me. like it's so aro, ace, relationship anarchy friendly it's unbelievable.

romance and sex are there but there's no big advantage to pursuing them in the game, except some extra little scenes for dates & maybe a different blurb for your partner(s) of choice at the end. you get the same relationship progression with everyone no matter what. characters you build relationships with treat you the same whether you're dating or friends or fuck buddies or some fourth thing. the scene where you have a sleepover and cuddle and talk about how important you are to each other isn't locked off just because you're not dating. you can say no to sexual situations with someone you are dating and it doesn't negatively affect anything. romance, dating, and sex don't affect the overall plot at all, they're just there as a little extra thing. relationships don't exist on an escalator from strangers > friends > romance, it's just like 1-10 of how close you are, and for me that's just 😘👌

i think a lot of this is a product of the game being so complex & the creators not being able to account for EVERY variable in a playthrough so they made things more vague, but to me it's a feature, and one of my favorites at that. i love that my partners of choice don't prioritize me over their existing relationships. i love that i can see 4 different 10-heart scenes in a single run and give all 4 characters a happy ending while not having dated anyone (though i may have had sex with a couple of them, for funsies). you can play it however you want, interpret the scenes and relationships however you want, and that's so ideal for me & my experience. i just love this game and its relationship mechanics so so much