itch.io

Try using p7zip as your zip manager. its free and ad free as well. Sounds like either your decompression tool is eliminating duplicate file names or possibly a virus/malware scanner is interfering. That file is the same name as the one in the vn folder but they are not the same file size. I'm only guessing here. Without actually watching the decompression operation, there isn't a way to verify this.

You've done a great job with this so far! John and the MC relationship moving a bit faster just fits John's character. Mike's route goes slower and it fits Mike's character. You've made it so those who like fast or slow can enjoy the story. I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll do with Charles.

Tried out the VN and loved it! Looking forward to seeing this back in development and when that happens I will definitely become a Patreon.

You should add the Linux icon next to the windows icon for the PC version, and include Linux as a supported OS. Renpy already generated the .sh file which is for Linux. Otherwise Linux users might not consider checking out your VN thinking it wasn't supported. You might also need to update your manifest file for the itch.io page so the itchio app will recognize the linux file. I can assure you, the VN runs fine in Linux since that's my OS of choice.