Stories that left you disappointed for a reason

[yourstalkeroutside]

but tbh from what I remember, the MC is kinda dumb in general, in every route I played

TBH the smart thing to do when discovering a serial killer server is to call the police. It's the reason why the best endings are called 'bad' endings. MC being dumb is actually intentional, bonus points for making them a journalist. Doing anything for a story? Classic journalist mindset.

I am just continually baffled as to how he is the most popular RO by a very wide margin bc like I know that people love toxic ROs, but he's not even that well written.

I keep seeing people say that the Ronin route and romance is supposed to be a toxic "we can make each other worse" relationship but I just do not see it at all.

Angel and V's (arguably Misaki as well but more on the co dependence part) routes do 'we can make each other worse' and 'toxic co dependence' better than Ronin imo. V's route actively ends with you becoming a serial killer as well and joining him on his kills (he actively encourages it, and you don't encourage him to stop rather you enable him). Angel's ending is You clean her up after she kills her manager with a point-blank shotgun before falling asleep in her bed together, and it's heavily implied that you're her emotional crutch . Misaki is a mention on the co dependence part because her whole route surrounds you being an emotional crutch but the ending points more towards 'you can fix them' and isn't as toxic as the rest.

Ronin is just your standard ******* BF who isn't actually into you but likes your attention. Which is the more boring option, which is always the most popular option because it's easier to head canon him doing differently. Combine with being an edge lord, and he's the perfect option for those who say they like toxic but can't handle anything worse than being ignored.

 

[viha06]

I feel like I need to defend my man Chase here
He's just a fascinating character and I do understand how people might get sick of him but even if you don't romance him, he's a great friend nonetheless and always at your side. And if you're romancing any other RO he even teases you and pushes you in their direction.

And yes completely agree that the male ROs in shoh have a greater preference than the female ROs. It seems very obvious when you play and compare the routes.

I think the worst is poor Sherry and Riel have so few romantic scenes with MC until the latter half of your journey that I feel is just unfair...

As a Chase lover, I also love and adore Trouble and Red routes. I'm always confused which route to take because they're both so fun when you romance them, they seem to be a bit matured and lighter than the Blade and Chase routes when comparing their stories. ( Not that much of a fan of Blade, fed up of the closed off character have to say but I can see the appeal)
True enough if you go through the author's Tumblr, it's very clear that Blade is her fav RO.

Man I just love Chase though, I think it's the flirty characters that do it for me.