I really do not know how I feel about this turn of events. It has always been my belief that a VN should be the result of the writers expressions and not the cries of the fans. I wonder if the majority of the people complaining about the MC are not yet parents themselves and lack an idea of what a loving parental figure would do in a situation like that.
My biggest fear now is that all of the "balancing" you are doing will create a muddy situation where it feels like the story will just drag on without either person really doing anything. More than that though, I really get vested in the stories I like and this is one I have truly enjoyed. Now I have to go back and try in some way to put my feelings aside and try to forget basically everything that has happened and try to reinvest myself in the new narrative.
You stand a 50/50 chance of alienating the majority of your readers just to please the minority. The worst part is if you do not get this rewrite "Right", it will destroy much of your credibility as a writer and turn away the fan base you have now.
As with anything, this is my opinion only.
The MC was well within what a parental figure would be reacting to. If anything, there wasn't enough "emotional tension" created between the MC and Petal. A parental figure, especially a man would/should be reacting to things more aggressively. We men don't see sex and love the way women do so we would be more rational about what is happening. (As was the MC) Petal on the other hand is acting off of pure emotion and now that steps have been taken towards a serious physical relationship, her emotions will be tied to her physical feelings as well.
So now you are trying to go back and make your MC less cautionary which they would never be and make Petal less aggressive which she is actually more likely not to be. Once a woman puts all of her emotions into a relationship and expresses those feelings physically, there is no toning her down!! You seek to strike more of a "balance" when there is never balance with love, emotions and physical feelings. Balance is subjective. What is right for one is not for another.
Understanding emotions an physical feelings and how they work together is hard for writers to get right. The best thing you could have done was stay true to the story you envisioned and let the critics be critics. Its not like there aren't a thousand other VN's out there with similar subject matter.
I think you are a fantastic writer. Keep up the great and do not let critics change your vision of the story you are trying to tell.
Viewing post in A Petal Among Thorns - Chapter 2 goes Free-To-Play comments
All of what you said here was mostly my reaction to the complaints too. Trust me, I was extremely upset by them and I thought they were outrageous. I went back through the script and saw that the MC was resisting more adamantly than I'd intended. The changes aren't dramatic but they're enough to make it seem like Petal and the MC are going into the next day deciding the next step of their sexual endeavor together instead of him being firm with the rules. Mostly what I changed is in Chapter 3 because I already had several scenes already written.
If you play it and strongly dislike the change, please let me know. But I'm confident it's a positive alteration. I believe you'll think so too when I release it. :-)
So far I have enjoyed all of your stories. I do not see that changing. What I do NOT want to see changing is you! Critics are critics and you cant please everyone. Close your eyes, take a step back and remember why you "truly" do this. Never do this to please me or us! Do it for your love of the story and stick to it.
I have faith in you and see great things for you.