imo Zack isn't really obtuse. If he was obtuse, he wouldn't be struggling in his monologues and explaining a lot of his apprehensions. There's a lot of anxiety there. a lot of mixed signals and a lot of self-hatred that can blind you. His unwillingness to move forward is much more complex than him just being a clueless character. He's purposely that way. He also struggles with a crippling fear of rejection because one false move here that doesn't go well could cost his friendship. I know some people can be frustrated by Zack's slowness to move and that's honestly a huge part of this story because it's something a lot of us do. But we also can't always relate to the anxiety of others because it's there's. people may be slow to act in areas that we, ourselves, may be more comfortable in. I've described this game as an "anxiety simulator" before and i still think it holds true to one perspective on how anxiety can manifest and what it's consequences can be
I get it. Maybe it was hard for me to relate much at first because it's been so long since I had to come out to myself or anyone else. But I can, like most, still know what the fear of rejection is like and getting further into the story I can see their perspectives much more clearly as they confessed their true feelings with one another, and I can see now why Zack would be so confused by all the mixed signals from Braden and I feel most of us gay men can empathize with that and what it's like to be confused with the intentions of a guy we're crushing on but is supposed to be straight or their sexuality is ambiguous. Even if it's just a passing wonder if the dude is flirting or just friendly. I'm definitely captured into the story of these guys and I'm liking seeing new characters being introduced and starting to have more of a role in the plot, beyond just Zack and Bradon. The story does sort of start off slow but it's great to see new backgrounds, visual elements, and characters as you advance your skill with the story application. I would like to maybe see a revamp someday of the first 3 or 4 chapters with these new elements, new visuals and choices to make as well.
There is one quick scene that stands out to me that I would love to have seen more of a deeper emotion happen with the characters, and it was sort of quickly dismissed and viewed as a joke, but I think in real life, would have caused a more serious response. In the car, on the way to the beach, Zack mentions his deceased brother and how he still keeps his old MP3 player because it has his old music on there and Bradon and Mikhail sort of laugh about his silly music tastes, when in reality, I feel like there maybe would be a much deeper reasoning behind Zack's desire to hold on to this part of his brother who he lost and it is like a piece of him. Music is very personal and hearing it can be like a moment captured in time, deeper than a mere memory, but much like a photograph would be. I would have liked to see maybe a flashback of Zack and his brother, or even Bradon just remembering what Zack told him about losing his brother and that would have shut him up really quick, resulting in an explanation to Mikhail and why Zack still holds onto this part of his youth and maybe his fondness for 00's music. I, as someone who would probably be about his brother's age now, and I have younger siblings, I can sympathize with that. Anyways, it's just a thought from some old dude, still stuck on the music of his teen's lol