User blog:General Khor/Let's talk about: Favourite Love Interests part 2

Hello and welcome to another discussion blog by General Khor, and today, I'll be announcing the results for the latest round of my LI polls. If you haven't checked out my previous LI poll results, it's all here.

2 months ago, I started another round of LI polls, and I intended to have those polls run for a month, but early last month, when I wanted to close the polls and release this blog, my computer happened to break down, so the polls remained open. Yesterday, I finally got a new computer, but because it came at night, I decided to post this blog today, but as of midnight, the polls are officially closed.

Before I announce the results, I would like to share with you some of my findings about some LIs and players' LI choice. It turns out most players choose LIs based on personality, as is the case of Jake (ES), Michael (HSS) and Sol (AtV), while for some other LIs, it's simply because they're hot, such as Slater (AME) and Fabien (TH:M). Imo, I think Slater's kind of overrated, because he only appeared from Book 2 onwards, and he's a cheater. I mean, I do take looks into consideration, but personality is more important for me, which is why I chose Jen for AME, Quinn for ES and Tillie for TH:M. Now, without further ado, let's get into it.

Poll Results
Again, votes to be single are omitted, as not all series provide this option.

LI choice for A Courtesan of Rome (193 votes)

 * Cassius: 85 votes (44%)
 * Marc Antony: 34 votes (18%)
 * Syphax: 23 votes (12%)
 * Sabina: 51 votes (26%)

I don't think I should be surprised that Cassius won, since he's the leader of the assassins. Besides, he's also the first Li we meet. But then again, in a recent poll I did on him, most responders chose him for his personality. The runner-up is Sabina, probably because players sympathise with her for being our captor's wife, no less (which is exactly why I chose her). Meanwhile, Syphax, the LI on the cover, ended up dead last, probably because his name isn't as well-known as Cassius or Antony.

LI choice for Bachelorette Party (136 votes)

 * Ash: 59 votes (43%)
 * Reed: 36 votes (26%)
 * Aisha: 41 votes (30%)

And the winner is... Ash. Wonder why Reed isn't as popular though. As for Aisha, while she's one of the main gang members, she ended up in second place.

LI choice for Ride or Die (188 votes)

 * Logan: 82 votes (44%)
 * Mona: 46 votes (24%)
 * Colt: 60 votes (32%)

Unsurprisingly, the winner is Logan, the Bad Boy. After all, he isn't just on the cover and the first LI we meet, he was the one who drags us into the criminal underworld. Besides, the story constantly tries to push us towards him. I mean, are we meant to be a criminal? Which is one of the reasons for the backlash for this series that led the book to become a standalone. Colt came in a close second, and poor Mona ended up in last place.

LI choice for Wishful Thinking (179 votes)

 * Aubrey: 64 votes (36%)
 * Anna: 61 votes (34%)
 * Jaime: 54 votes (30%)

It was a close race, but Aubrey pulled just slightly ahead and came out on top, with just 3 votes ahead of Anna. I guess the main reason is that he's the "default" LI, being our colleague and all. As for Anna, I guess everyone loves a rebel (which is exactly why I chose her). Jaime meanwhile is not far behind, with just 10 votes behind Aubrey.

LI choice for Passport to Romance (174 votes)

 * Elliot: 30 votes (17%)
 * Ahmed: 80 votes (46%)
 * Marisa: 27 votes (16%)
 * Sumire: 37 votes (21%)

I expected Elliot to win this poll, since he's on the cover and the first LI we meet, but surprise surprise, Ahmed the footballer left the other LIs in the dust. Sumire the artist also has a good umber of fans, while the cover LIs ended up in the bottom two, and Marisa finished dead last with jut 3 votes behind Elliot.

LI choice for Open Heart (218 votes)

 * Ethan: 55 votes (25%)
 * Bryce: 90 votes (41%)
 * Rafael: 12 votes (6%)
 * Jackie: 61 votes (30%)

Needless to say, I expected Ethan to win, given how forced he is, but surprise surprise, it's Bryce who wins this poll, while Ethan ended up in 3rd place. This goes to show that the more you try to force others to do things your way, the more likely they will defy you. Jackie also has a fair share of fans, and I guess not many players like Rafael because of his recklessness. Still, I bet PB is so going to be disappointed once they see this result. This will send a good message to them: that they've gone too far when they forced Ethan on us throughout the entire series.

LI choice for LoveHacks (162 votes)

 * Mark: 85 votes (52%)
 * Leah: 27 votes (17%)
 * Ben: 50 votes (31%)

Another unsurprising result, after all Mark is one of the main characters (not to mention a playable one) while the other two only joined the gang in the last third of Book 1. Besides, not only is Mark the first LI we meet, he is also the only one to be shown on both book covers, while the other two only appear on the Book 2 cover.

LI choice for Home for the Holidays (138 votes)

 * Nick: 67 votes (49%)
 * Holly: 32 votes (23%)
 * Wyatt: 39 votes (28%)

This result also shouldn't be surprising. After all, Nick the Grinch is our boss, and we spend the most time with him, not to mention the cold hearted guy fulfills both criteria to be the most popular LI.

LI choice for Sunkissed (150 votes)

 * Nate: 83 votes (55%)
 * Samson: 12 votes (8%)
 * Eliana: 55 votes (37%)

Again, it's no surprise who will win this poll. Featured on the cover? Check. First LI we meet? Check. Not to mention we spend the most time with him. This is, to be honest, the forced LI effect at work. What I don't like about him is that he keeps calling us by our last name. I mean, does he not know our first name? Because of this, I chose Samson instead. Meanwhile, Eliana also has a fair share of fans, most likely because she's an environmentalist.

LI choice for Platinum (183 votes)

 * Avery: 95 votes (52%)
 * Raleigh: 75 votes (41%)
 * Shane: 13 votes (7%)

Unsurprisingly, the winner is... our mentor, Avery! This race was mostly between the first LI we meet and the LI shown on the cover, and previous polls were mostly, if not all, won by Raleigh, and I guess fans are drawn to him/her by his/her personality. As for now, I guess people are starting to appreciate our mentor for his/her role. It's no surprise that Shane ended up in last place, since there are fewer opportunities to earn fans in his route.

LI choice for Save the Date (189 votes)

 * Justin: 62 votes (33%)
 * Simon: 66 votes (35%)
 * Lindsay: 61 votes (32%)

Yet another close race where all the LIs have roughly equal numbers of fans. I guess the reason Simon won is that some players were turned off by Justin's judgmental attitude. But then again, once he learned about our troubles, he came to care deeply for us, which is exactly why I chose him. Besides, I expected Justin to win for reasons previously mentioned.

LI choice for Hot Couture (184 votes)

 * Marco: 103 votes (56%)
 * Luz: 51 votes (28%)
 * Travis: 30 votes (16%)

He may not be shown on the cover, nor is he the first LI we meet, but Marco definitely left the other LIs in the dust. I guess everyone loves a hot Italian. Wonder why not many people are attracted to a fireman turned model though.

LI choice for Foreign Affairs (223 votes)

 * Blaine: 122 votes (55%)
 * Ayna: 26 votes (12%)
 * Tatum: 75 votes (34%)

This result also shouldn't be surprising, after all, we're meant to be with Blaine, right? Blaine Montague, that is. I mean, many players have stated that the story is written for Blaine Montague and Kennedy Capulet (for those who don't know, those are Romeo and Juliet's surnames respectively). Not to mention s/he fulfills those two criteria, and we spend the most time with him/her. Besides, having him/her as our LI is the only way to get the best ending. So yeah, the forced LI effect strikes again. As for Ayna... well, PB obviously wants us to hate the female LI, so they had her betray us, and now they've done it. Are you happy now, PB? As I mentioned in my FA review blog, the way the writers treated the LIs is one of the main reasons for the series' cancellation. I say the series got the Woody's Roundup treatment because they clearly wanted to serialise FA, you can check out the review blog to know why. Besides, when they announced a political story, we expected one about running for office, not a political Romeo and Juliet story.

Conclusion
Before I end this blog, I'd like to share with you how I choose my LIs. Of course, personality comes first, looks come second. As someone from the group that is the polar opposite of PB's target demographic, I tend to end up romancing underrated LIs, as I despise forced LIs a lot. You may have noticed that I chose the female LIs in some genderlocked stories, that's because there aren't any male LIs I like in those stories, otherwise I always play as a straight person. Even though I usually play as a guy in gender of choice stories, I sometimes play as a girl as well, if there are any male LIs I like in those stories.

So who is your LI in these series? What influences your choice of LIs? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to check out my next discussion blog next week. That's all for today, until then, this is General Khor. The end, and thank you for reading.