Hi! Thanks for the detailed feedback and for playing our game!
So, "bad news" first: in terms of renaming John or Sarah, that's not currently in our plans, sorry. While self-insert characters are the norm in most VNs, we deliberately chose to have both our protagonists be more defined characters with their own names, histories and personalities that you can as the player guide to lean in different directions instead of playing as yourself. If you've played RPGs, think Geralt of Rivia from Witcher or Henry from Kingdom Come as compared to more blank-slate player inserts like the MC in Baldur's Gate 3 or any Bethesda game.
Also, the long hair is most likely staying both because it's historically fitting for the time period and we the devs just like it. (It's also to slightly differentiate John from most other AVN MMCs that are almost all white guys with short brunette hair, so while he is both white and brunette, at least he has long hair!) So while I'm not entirely ruling out the possibility for shorter hair version somewhere down the line either as an option or to signify character development, it's not currently planned.
But time for the good news: Yes, John and the rest of the crew are reuniting again very soon, don't worry! (You aren't the first to comment on this.) Separating John and Sarah was just meant for Chapter 3, not for the long term.
In terms of romance paths, more femdom is coming in the pipeline with certain characters and there are polyamory and threesomes planned but a bit later down the line.
I also noticed your comment on our Patreon and decided to respond to it here. Short version is that yes, development is still ongoing, so no need to worry! We've kept posting updates on our Discord but I've failed to keep the public informed and I'm now planning on writing the long answer today or tomorrow!
My time to apologize for the long message! Anyway, have a good one!
- Ink from the WMC