This is a great thing about the game. The characters have great characterization. The story takes time to show the thoughts and feeling of the characters. You end up emotionally connect to the characters. Even if the story makes Kirito and Asuna relationship break and Inoda win in a artifical and contrived way, when the relationship between Kirito and Asuna is breaking and Inoda winning you also feel sad at the relationship ending and angry at Inoda winning because you are emotionally connected to the characters.i want to say something. it's been bugging me for a very long time. i like sao so when i found this game, i got curious and checked it out. at first, it was just curiosity. just something to see. but then i kept coming back. every update. every month. i don’t even know why.... i don’t self insert or anything, but for some reason, seeing asuna like that, seeing kirito losing everything, it just breaks my heart. even though it’s just a parody, even though it’s not real, it still gets to me. i like kirisuna. seeing them like that, losing the one person who’s been with him through everything, it hurts for some reason. and seeing asuna slowly change, seeing her mind break, it makes my chest feel heavy. it makes me feel sad for kirito....
and yet, i still crave it. i still get turned on. i don’t even understand myself anymore. but then, the moment it’s over, everything flips. post nut clarity hits so hard, and i just sit there. feeling empty. feeling like i did something wrong. i ask myself why i even like this. why i keep doing this to myself. why, if it hurts this much, do i keep coming back. i tell myself every time, this is the last time. i’ll stop. i won’t look at it again. i won’t think about it. but then the next update drops, and i’m right back here, trapped in the same cycle. and ik i’m not the only one.... ik other people feel this too. the regret. the weird mix of arousal and sadness that doesn’t make any sense
Others fanfics forget to show the thoughts and desires of the characters and instead rely on you already caring about the characters that you already know the original source. The characters need to show their personalities for you to care about the them.