I don't think you understood the beginning. The main character in Lyre is NOT a "generic white boy," I'm guessing you've not been in the sphere of where these VNs came from. The first big one, Mornatsu, was just that. You played as a generic light-skinned protag who served as a blank-slate surrogate with a pre-existing relationship with most of the cast. Probably until Echo Project came out, most Visual Novels were that. Sure, there are a lot of furry protags now, but that isn't where it began, and there were certainly more times when you were a human thrown into a furry world. It's not new or fresh. It's going back to the roots.
It seems there is also some issue with understanding here, too. I have no issue with things not being fully explained; the game actually always explains things. Mainly through the main character's own words. Again, who knows many things we do not know and pulls them out as trump cards that surprise us as much as the people they are conversing with within the scene.
I want to think that, but the way things are framed, I can't personally put myself in the shoes of such a perfect and competent character, and I'm certain it may feel like somewhat of a power fantasy for some. Still, nothing in the synopsis gives me the impression that is to be the case. Aside from maybe two moments in the game, they fully control every conversation they partake in. That isn't a quality a good surrogate has.
I never said it wasn't neat. I have problems with how it's advertised. It isn't displayed as it is delivered. It never calls itself a linear story in a visual novel format. It doesn't sell itself as a captivating romance about a competent human dignitary in a foreign kingdom who is thrown into an inescapable situation and discovers unlikely allies around every corner who are all seemingly powerless to help them in their plight. It tells me that "I" am a human ambassador surrounded by diverse characters whose motives are left in the dark as they lead me through a political climate they know more about than myself. If you've read the story, that isn't the case. The people who don't outright swear they believe you are seemingly on your side and never once try to deceive you. Even the character who outright hates you flat out tells the protag their intentions, and the reader gets to look into their perspective for a brief bit. The one "deceptive" character isn't even that. They are also very forward and seemingly don't give you the entire story cause they likely can't. There are multiple characters the protag has to put their trust in, and does aside from one thing that doesn't make much sense at the moment.
Spoilers here, but if basically everyone has abandoned a specific religion. Even a member of the kings' court, doctor or not, can't convince people that religion and its gods are real. Especially with how esoteric it was and how difficult an ability like that would be to prove. Looking into past events as a power isn't very easy to make believable in a world where magic isn't widely accepted, especially when the person with the ability comes from a background where they are well-read, and they need to prove it to other well-read people. You better believe that an assassination of a ruler is well-documented. Especially when the king is an eye-witness. Even if people don't commonly know all the details, they are documented in that castle somewhere. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary for an ambassador who works for the crown to be privy to that information. If they could look into the past and find an item that someone has hidden that they have no way of knowing about, that would be a way to prove it, but who'd give a felon that time of day? The doctor and the guard captain might, but even if they know and believe, they'd be seen as crazy or enamored. Might even get them locked up too, and labeled as accomplices.
I'm saying that there is no reason the protag wouldn't tell characters of their scrying ability unless it was someone they knew who would assume they are crazy. Not like there is a stipulation where you lose your power when someone figures out you have it. With how intelligent the protag is presented to be, I could see a good excuse being that they are protecting their own allies cause they know telling them about the power might get them locked up alongside them, but that's never stated or implied to be the reason.
I, again, think there is an issue with how the story is presented versus how it is. Updating the description/synopsis would fix that and lead to it not misleading people any further. It's as simple as that. No story can be perfect, and this one does a dang good job of what it does. I simply wish it wasn't selling me on something it isn't.
The main character is not presented as perfect. There are many things they have been shown to not know. Not only that, but they have several flaws if you look closely and pay attention. Having been a part of this world for a long time, it would make sense for them to have knowledge on some things that the reader doesnt.
I really do tire of this one-sided conversation. You made a valid point with the synopsis of the game being a bit misleading. That's completely my fault and it was entirely by mistake. It will be fixed in the future and you have nothing to worry about in that regard.
However, your review and analysis of the story and it's characters is interesting, yet inaccurate in some areas. This isn't your fault because the story isn't finished entirely. We're not even close to the end of it.
Nobody wants to see someone come in here and say a story is "Just Adastra, but (insert slight difference here)". Only I can confirm this right now, but I can assure you this story will be nothing like Adastra by the time it is finished. My inspiration comes from classic medieval fantasy stories and several historic events.
I'm sorry there's no routes. I'm sorry there's not any other romance options. I'm sorry you were mislead going into this, but some of the stuff you assumed wasn't even hinted at in the description. "It would have been cool if this..." or "It would have been cool if that...". Yes, I'm sure it would be very neat, but whether it happens or not is up to me. I write this story for myself, not just to appease people online.
I really do tire of this debate. I won't be responding to further messages. Plans to change the description of the novel were already being put in place. In conclusion, your problem will be solved. Thank you for your input.
I never meant they were flawless when saying "perfect". I was implying how they were knowledgeable, competent in their field, and usually had control of any conversation they were a part of. Not to mention being considered very handsome. They have very few flaws, I understand they aren't unflawed completely, but they are pretty darn close. There are often some biases people have as writers that they don’t realize in their work.
I apologize the conversation is tiresome for you; If I didn't care about the success of your work, I wouldn't be passionate enough to write so much. We are harder on the things we care about the most and strive to see them grow and become something better. Not every fan can be a “yes-man.”
You can’t blame me for my Adastra comparison. You are a human in a foreign land (check) who quickly falls into a one-route romance with a himbo wolfman (check), have a connection to the creator god of your respective world (check), find yourself at the opposite end of a rude princes ire (check), and an outwardly kind foreign dignitary feline who is rather deceitful and clearly has their own hidden agenda (check). I’m sorry you don’t like it, but the signs are all there.
I’m fine if there aren’t any routes, if it’s meant to be a simple non-branching narrative that’s what it’s meant to be. But, based off past comments, with how it was advertised, I’m not the only person who assumed there would be other routes. I thank you for confirming that things will be corrected, and I look forward to seeing how the story evolves as I certainly am more enamored with your world over that of other visual novels. I greatly appreciate well-done worldbuilding. You do a rather good job at driving my curiosity to see how your vision ends, especially since endings is what a lot of VNs tend to fall short at.