oh gosh thank you so much for the glowing review!! i totally get the "tending-towards-negative" feelings towards soulmates. it can feel very hit or miss depending on how it's done (which could probably be said about most tropes anyways LOL). i'm so glad you liked our take on it though. ironically enough, the third life (aka rejection life) was placed there so you could feel like you could choose to not be with van (and still live a fulfilling life) should you desire! many players have said rejecting him made them sad though LOL
happy to hear about the gender neutral aspect as well! i try to put in a good amount of effort to make sure it comes off that way, and i'm happy that piece was appreciated ^^ hope your replay was still filled with lots of love, and thank you so much for the support both on intertwine and future games! <33333