VN Ren'Py Being a DIK [v0.10.1] [DrPinkCake]

[Warscared]

Do you want the MC to put together a coaching team?

dude the MC sets a female baskteball team and all the girls end up pregnant in the next 11 months... my manwhore MC is a total perv imagine him having institucional power as a coach over the girls getting to pick who plays and who does not play? who joins and who does not join the team? ffs those locker rooms better never see a purple light or people might just go blind...

Sometimes the solution can be easier than one could imagine

Buker could pay part of her tuition with a scholarship and he would offer Maya a job at the university and she pays the rest.

after scolding her for being dumb and not understanding contract laws? seems legit, as a cold war beteween Stephen and jade for sage´s affection opens up!

Sage words that her father breaks down when debating feelings still lingers in the back of my mind on what it might mean in regards to Stephen Burke!

perhaps she went to him and was like "daddy, daddy i am no longer a virgin, i went to the hood and fucked 15 black dudes!" i believe that would be enough to make any Wasp dude burn his ears off... please do pay attention 1 african gentleman its no biggie the girl needs to experience life but an entire group on her 1st time? ffs!

and yes i am exagerating and yes i am stereotyping but considering a few of the videos of urban youths in gas stations harassing women ... ffs wtf is that!

She will speak to all the girls about the word of the Lord

View attachment 1610398

I did this as fast as I could so don't expect anything perfect

herm... wich one is Iscariotes?

Why Judas is Quinn? Pretty sure it's Lily, she's too sus.

technically Judas was a pretty comon name since it was the name of an entire kingdom and stuff... 3 of the apostles 1st name was actually Judas also... thus the question is iscariotes as in his family name!

 

[dalli_x]

So far the whole sell your body for a scholarship theme has been running from pretty much the start untill the end of season 2. It would be a total anti-climax if Burke would start playing nice and giving her the scholarship for just making Sage happy.
Ofcourse he's not gonna play fair, he will just say he will look into it and handle the more risky parts away from any observers.
Quinn still isn't friends with Maya, that alone is reason enough besides her involvement with Burke's scheme....
You're talking about risk but the only girl that didn't agree (Mona) has not been seen or heared from since she left...
There's no proof anywhere... The whole situation with Maya serves just that purpose.... eventually you will bring him down...
The other girls just will not talk... ever...

You are presenting this as a fact that the scholarships are only for sex. What if there are also other scholarship possibilities? Besides, there is a difference whether it is a scholarship or a tuition.

Tuition=sex with the financier
Scholarship=College achievement

Mona wanted the tuition. Quinn tested Mona through the restaurant and then Mona failed Burke's test. Maya did not even pass the Quinn test. Stephen Burke is not going to offer Maya a Tuition.

Guess how Chad got his scholarship (not Tuition)? Sage asked Papa Burke. But Chad is incompetent as president and team captain. He has only brought out 3-4 capable basketball players. B&R should have a team. Chad couldn't get it done. That's why Sage doesn't like to ask her parents for help. She stood up for Chad once and was let down by him several times.

Let's take a look at Maya. She graduated her high school magna cume laude. She is athletic, not aggressive. The MC is competitive when playing water ball in EP8. Maybe Maya is a good basketball player. I think to myself that Maya could get a scholarship (not tuition).

 

[ename144]

Yes, I've always assumed that interpretation is canon. It was pretty obvious that Bella was talking to thin air and the boss thinks that she has an employee who is slipping into madness. The boss doesn't actually see James during the confrontation and the man sitting outside the library looks on in a confused manner because he can see that Bella is talking to herself. All of that also coincides with future MC's internal monologue about Bella crying in the library.

I can't agree. James was onscreen with the boss for about 30 seconds. The fact that the boss didn't acknowledge him could just as easily be an indication that she's a grumpy, unpleasant person who doesn't like Bella... which is exactly what her 'Holier-Than-Thou-Hilda' nickname suggests! Likewise the man sitting outside the library looks at them because they're having a loud argument right next to him. This isn't inexplicable behavior, it's normal behavior you're reading too much into.

In the end, there's no actual evidence James was a delusion; it's just a guess that can't be disproven at the moment. If Bella had exhibited any signs of that sort of madness in the present day, I'd be more willing to entertain it. But we've seen a lot of contemporary Bella, and she's always been lucid and sane (if obviously troubled). So unless we assume her mental problems were successfully treated between the flashback and the start of the game, there's no reason to doubt James was real in the flashback.

I'd be surprised if Burke actually tried to coerce Maya into some sort of sexual reciprocation for help with her tuition, particularly based on the kind of girl she is, and considering Sage is aware that he is helping her, and if Jade is involved in the meeting.

Obviously he's not going to propose anything slimy in the meeting, that's not what I'm talking about, but the fact that so many people will be involved in knowing Maya's predicament, trying to coerce anything from her (at a later time) once he has found out how desperate she is would be very dangerous for him.

Would Maya confide in anyone (particularly the mc or Sage) if Burke crossed the line? If she did, Burke would be toast.

Also, it's one thing for Jade to know he's unfaithful to her, but to find out he's coerced a girl into sexual favours as repayment for some assistance, I think Jade would cut his balls off.

It's possible Burke could say things to keep Maya silent, but it's just too much of a risk.

I don't think Maya and the prospect of proposing prostitution is likely.

I think there will be a number of factors that play into the scene with the Burkes and Maya, and they will be things like:

• Does the mc still have a relationship with Jade
• Did the mc just recently end the relationship with Jade
• Did Burke see the video footage of the mc and Jade (not sure if the footage he saw actually identified the mc, in the scene where Burke is watching it, we didn't actually see the mc's face)
• Is the mc in a relationship with Sage
• Is the mc in a relationship with Maya
• Did the mc recently end his relationship with Sage

Now all of the above could be relevant, but it's also quite possible the Burkes/Maya solution could be a simple linear plot component that is not influenced by the past at all, but imagine if the mc's past actions actually had any bearing on whether they helped Maya or not. That would be interesting.

I agree Burke would be foolish to try pressuring Maya, but there's reason to believe Burke isn't all that bright. I think mindern has the right overall idea, it's just a question of how best to position the players so the plot will progress on schedule. As I see it, this is going to be a long arc. Season 3 will be about building up tension while Season 4 will be about actually addressing the fundamental problems once and for all.

Given that, it seems like the simplest option will be for Burke to offer to help Maya but say it will take time to set up. This will lead to Maya working as an intern in some companies friendly with Burke (or possibly for Burke directly). That will eventually lead to Burke being in a position to pressure Maya subtly, then more overtly. It will eventually lead to some sort of crisis, which will then be dealt with in Season 4. That's when I expect our heroes will finally put all the pieces together, realize the full scope of Burke's operation, and decide how to deal with it.

In the meantime, we'll get different short-term sequences depending on our choices. If we fooled around with Jade then broke up, we'll get lots of glares and snippy dialog with her. If Stephen has the video of the MC with Jade, he'll be bolder and make lots of veiled references to it. If we bullied Tybalt, we'll get some accusatory dialog from his parents, and probably some scenes with Tybalt as well. If we're on the throuple branch, we'll get to put in a good word for Maya, and maybe have some interaction with Josy on the side. That sort of thing.

In all cases, we'll have plenty of time for Maya to worry about the threat, then worry about being able to be a good intern, then worry about her father finding out too soon, then worry about whatever Burke winds up doing. We'll get the full dose if we're on Maya's path, but I suspect we'll get the highlights no matter what.

 

[dalli_x]

I can't agree. James was onscreen with the boss for about 30 seconds. The fact that the boss didn't acknowledge him could just as easily be an indication that she's a grumpy, unpleasant person who doesn't like Bella... which is exactly what her 'Holier-Than-Thou-Hilda' nickname suggests! Likewise the man sitting outside the library looks at them because they're having a loud argument right next to him. This isn't inexplicable behavior, it's normal behavior you're reading too much into.

In the end, there's no actual evidence James was a delusion; it's just a guess that can't be disproven at the moment. If Bella had exhibited any signs of that sort of madness in the present day, I'd be more willing to entertain it. But we've seen a lot of contemporary Bella, and she's always been lucid and sane (if obviously troubled). So unless we assume her mental problems were successfully treated between the flashback and the start of the game, there's no reason to doubt James was real in the flashback.



I agree Burke would be foolish to try pressuring Maya, but there's reason to believe Burke isn't all that bright. I think mindern has the right overall idea, it's just a question of how best to position the players so the plot will progress on schedule. As I see it, this is going to be a long arc. Season 3 will be about building up tension while Season 4 will be about actually addressing the fundamental problems once and for all.

Given that, it seems like the simplest option will be for Burke to offer to help Maya but say it will take time to set up. This will lead to Maya working as an intern in some companies friendly with Burke (or possibly for Burke directly). That will eventually lead to Burke being in a position to pressure Maya subtly, then more overtly. It will eventually lead to some sort of crisis, which will then be dealt with in Season 4. That's when I expect our heroes will finally put all the pieces together, realize the full scope of Burke's operation, and decide how to deal with it.

In the meantime, we'll get different short-term sequences depending on our choices. If we fooled around with Jade then broke up, we'll get lots of glares and snippy dialog with her. If Stephen has the video of the MC with Jade, he'll be bolder and make lots of veiled references to it. If we bullied Tybalt, we'll get some accusatory dialog from his parents, and probably some scenes with Tybalt as well. If we're on the throuple branch, we'll get to put in a good word for Maya, and maybe have some interaction with Josy on the side. That sort of thing.

In all cases, we'll have plenty of time for Maya to worry about the threat, then worry about being able to be a good intern, then worry about her father finding out too soon, then worry about whatever Burke winds up doing. We'll get the full dose if we're on Maya's path, but I suspect we'll get the highlights no matter what.

I would like to give you something to think about. I wonder how many years and pounds are in between?

Spoiler: Look

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You don't get it, do you? Stephen Burke can't pressure Maya without risking discovery. The relationships Maya has already formed are too dangerous for Stephen.

Your theory could only be true if the Jade/MC video existed, Sage, Jill, Bella, and Josy were involved in the whole Burke operation, and Derek didn't care about Maya at all.

Stephen Burke is no fool. After all, he runs a college, even if his professorial title is an honorary one. But he can't get his way with his wife, Jade, when they're alone.

 

[vogelbeest]

What if there are also other scholarship possibilities?

Yeah, there are several solutions to Maya's quest for free tuition, Josy breaking up also ends the need for that...
What doesn't change is the fact Burke's scholarships still have Quinn, Camilla, Riona and that other girl victomised...
Burke can just keep running his schemes.... but to what point? it would be useless in the story....
Why would DPC bring only a partly solution to a theme that's been running for 8 episodes?
That's like bringing in legalising cannabis in the state B&R is in and opening a shop next to the college grounds as solution for the Quinn/Tommy/Vinny/Lily storylines...

 

[dalli_x]

Yeah, there are several solutions to Maya's quest for free tuition, Josy breaking up also ends the need for that...
What doesn't change is the fact Burke's scholarships still have Quinn, Camilla, Riona and that other girl victomised...
Burke can just keep running his schemes.... but to what point? it would be useless in the story....
Why would DPC bring only a partly solution to a theme that's been running for 8 episodes?
That's like bringing in legalising cannabis in the state B&R is in and opening a shop next to the college grounds as solution for the Quinn/Tommy/Vinny/Lily storylines...

Quinn, Camilla and Riona have tuition. (These are not scholarships)
Tuition=Sex with Burke

Maya has no tuition and won't get any because Burke can't offer it to her without being discovered.

Maya does, however, bring her accomplishments to college. She graduated magna cume laude from high school. She studies and plays sports. A good student through and through. Therefore, the likelihood of Maya receiving a scholarship is very high.

Scholarship=college performance (studying, sports, etc.).

DIK
CHICK

 

[mindern]

Quinn, Camilla and Riona have tuition. (These are not scholarships)
Tuition=Sex with Burke

Maya has no tuition and won't get any because Burke can't offer it to her without being discovered.

Maya does, however, bring her accomplishments to college. She graduated magna cume laude from high school. She studies and plays sports. A good student through and through. Therefore, the likelihood of Maya receiving a scholarship is very high.

Scholarship=college performance (studying, sports, etc.).

DIK
CHICK

This is murky and largely semantics. The newspaper article indicates Burke is giving girls scholarships in exchange for sexual favours. It can be debated whether a scholarship stops being a scholarship if there is quid pro quo involved but the situation outlined in the newspaper article is local businesses are explicitly setting up scholarships but there are rumours they're getting something in return after the recipients "meet with" the donors. On paper what the girls get is a scholarship... in practice we could argue it isn't a true scholarship since there is quid pro quo involved.

 

[vogelbeest]

Quinn, Camilla and Riona have tuition. (These are not scholarships)

Tuition is what you need to pay to attend college.
Scholarship is a third party paying your tuition...

The girls have a scholarship paid by some Wallace firm, atleast Mona did when we saw Burke deleting her files.
Calling it "free tuition" doesn't change the situation...

 

[DavDR]

Given that the mc doesn't even look to be going into the meeting, he may end up being completely unimportant to the deal, but if he goes into the meeting at some point, his relationship with Jade (and Burke's potential knowledge of it) could potentially hijack the meetings.

Fuck, that looks too hard to rate all the scenes! I don't even know my favourite one!

Actually I'm not real clear on what DPC intends to do with the meeting, or the whole student loan storyline. What's the point of it to the story? It would have to be either the end of the whole debacle with the Burke's acting as deus ex machina that solve's Maya's problem or it would have to be Stephen trying to exploit Maya. Anything else and I just don't see where he's going with it.

 

[vogelbeest]

Is that perhaps why Stephen Burke made a generous donation to the college to rebalance the account?

Stephen Burke is making donations for status, however seeing his shady behavior i would not be surprised if the money donated in his name isn't coming from him.... His bookkeeping may be very creative.

 

[dalli_x]

Stephen Burke is making donations for status, however seeing his shady behavior i would not be surprised if the money donated in his name isn't coming from him.... His bookkeeping may be very creative.

The money comes from Stephen Burke. If you need, should or want to pay back stolen money, hide it as a donation. This is tax deductible and as a bonus you get the status of a benefactor.

Actually clever.

 

[Kellermann]

I can't agree. James was onscreen with the boss for about 30 seconds. The fact that the boss didn't acknowledge him could just as easily be an indication that she's a grumpy, unpleasant person who doesn't like Bella... which is exactly what her 'Holier-Than-Thou-Hilda' nickname suggests! Likewise the man sitting outside the library looks at them because they're having a loud argument right next to him. This isn't inexplicable behavior, it's normal behavior you're reading too much into.

In the end, there's no actual evidence James was a delusion; it's just a guess that can't be disproven at the moment. If Bella had exhibited any signs of that sort of madness in the present day, I'd be more willing to entertain it. But we've seen a lot of contemporary Bella, and she's always been lucid and sane (if obviously troubled). So unless we assume her mental problems were successfully treated between the flashback and the start of the game, there's no reason to doubt James was real in the flashback.

None of these things mentioned refute the James hallucination theory. You're just saying...well this other scenario could happen. No argument there, but the mere existence of one theory doesn't negate another.

James was on screen for the exact amount of time Bella was during the flashback library sequence so that has no bearing on whether or not he was real. The key point is that Bella is the only one to verbally address James. Hilda takes no notice of him.

We are not told exactly why Hilda is displeased. She just appears suddenly, watches Bella talk, and then dismisses her from work. No explanation whatsoever about why this drastic action is required for simply having a conversation with a spouse. Even if Hilda doesn't like Bella, sending her home with no reason and no acknowledgment of James is odd. I say it is because Bella has been exhibiting signs of mental illness at work. That would be a proper reason to send someone home - When a person is sick, not when they are naughty or improperly using copy machine. Also notice that Hilda doesn't seem particularly angry. You might even say she is more concerned and frustrated than anything. She just says Isabella I think you should go home now. Again something people say at work when you appear unwell. Bella wasn't even disciplined, but just sent home.

If I were sitting outside library in the man's place, I would look up whether or not it was a "loud argument" or a mad woman ranting to herself. The man's look doesn't prove or disprove either one. The fact that he is the central focus of the render does draw my curiosity, however. This is a DPC habit.

DPC hasn't given us enough time alone with Bella to see if she has exhibited this sort of madness recently, but he does announce her troubled mind in neon lights during the crying library scene. And I don't think Bella's mental problems were ever successfully treated. It's clear that throughout the time we have known her, there has been something wrong. I'll bet even Jill doesn't know the true extent of Bella's mental state. My best idea is that during ep. 8 flashback, we were viewing Bella not long after the traumatic incident with James and his departure. Whether it was infidelity, getting sleep humped by Jill, loss of a child...a murder, Bella hasn't been able to properly process what happened. Essentially, a psychotic break has occurred in her mind due to trauma. I think the arrival of MC has pushed some of that to background but all it will take is one good DPC drama and Bella's psychosis will return in full. I hope he doesn't do that though...another Leah would be such a drag.

 

[uristmcderp]

Jesus this game is in a different league compared to the Ren'Py VNs I've read so far. The renders, the writing, the mini-games, the polish... Is Dr Pinkcake doing the work of a dozen professional developers or what? Are there other Godly creators of VNs I've been missing out on?

 

[shazba]

None of these things mentioned refute the James hallucination theory. You're just saying...well this other scenario could happen. No argument there, but the mere existence of one theory doesn't negate another.

James was on screen for the exact amount of time Bella was during the flashback library sequence so that has no bearing on whether or not he was real. The key point is that Bella is the only one to verbally address James. Hilda takes no notice of him.

We are not told exactly why Hilda is displeased. She just appears suddenly, watches Bella talk, and then dismisses her from work. No explanation whatsoever about why this drastic action is required for simply having a conversation with a spouse. Even if Hilda doesn't like Bella, sending her home with no reason and no acknowledgment of James is odd. I say it is because Bella has been exhibiting signs of mental illness at work. That would be a proper reason to send someone home - When a person is sick, not when they are naughty or improperly using copy machine. Also notice that Hilda doesn't seem particularly angry. You might even say she is more concerned and frustrated than anything. She just says Isabella I think you should go home now. Again something people say at work when you appear unwell. Bella wasn't even disciplined, but just sent home.

If I were sitting outside library in the man's place, I would look up whether or not it was a "loud argument" or a mad woman ranting to herself. The man's look doesn't prove or disprove either one. The fact that he is the central focus of the render does draw my curiosity, however. This is a DPC habit.

DPC hasn't given us enough time alone with Bella to see if she has exhibited this sort of madness recently, but he does announce her troubled mind in neon lights during the crying library scene. And I don't think Bella's mental problems were ever successfully treated. It's clear that throughout the time we have known her, there has been something wrong. I'll bet even Jill doesn't know the true extent of Bella's mental state. My best idea is that during ep. 8 flashback, we were viewing Bella not long after the traumatic incident with James and his departure. Whether it was infidelity, getting sleep humped by Jill, loss of a child...a murder, Bella hasn't been able to properly process what happened. Essentially, a psychotic break has occurred in her mind due to trauma. I think the arrival of MC has pushed some of that to background but all it will take is one good DPC drama and Bella's psychosis will return in full. I hope he doesn't do that though...another Leah would be such a drag.

At first I wasn't even remotely on board with this theory, but now I think it would work well to tie in with the fact that Bella really does need help (as per the monologue in episode 3).

I can't help but keep that monologue in mind:

mc: "At the time I couldn't understand Bella."​

mc: "The attraction was there, but for her it felt so wrong."​

mc: "I remember feeling bad about kissing a married woman."​

mc: "I figured she felt the same since she was being unfaithful to her husband..."​

mc: "...which, of course, is a very big deal."​

mc: "But if I had known the real reasons to her tears..."​

mc: "...and to her persona..."​

mc: "I wouldn't have kissed her that night."​

mc: "I would have called out for help."​

To me, that was one of the most poignant scenes in the game so far.

This is future mc talking to us, saying he wouldn't have kissed her if he knew what was going on.

He says at the time he figured it was just out of feeling unfaithful that she was upset, "but if I knew the real reasons...", that "real reasons" comment means eventually he found out being unfaithful wasn't really what it was all about. There's something deeper and more fucked up going on.

Maybe Jill doesn't even know the full extent of all this shit. It's Bella who is protective of Jill, but if Jill knew that there was some shit that was deeply troubling Bella, she might not be so quick to lean on her for help all the time and would be more inclined to help Bella.

Obviously we know James existed, we've seen Bella's wedding photo. It sounds like Bella hasn't been with James for about 3 years (based on Bella's comments when she was turned on by the mc the first time she stays the night), and it's hard to gauge how old she was in the ep8 epilogue, it could have been 10 years earlier, or 2 years.

The big problem with Bella is, if she's fucked up, she's no longer reliable, so we can't simply just accept everything she says and anything we see from her perspective.

It's definitely intriguing, and I hope the payoff is decent.

 

[ename144]

None of these things mentioned refute the James hallucination theory. You're just saying...well this other scenario could happen. No argument there, but the mere existence of one theory doesn't negate another.

James was on screen for the exact amount of time Bella was during the flashback library sequence so that has no bearing on whether or not he was real. The key point is that Bella is the only one to verbally address James. Hilda takes no notice of him.

But Hilda may also have no interest in him. The fact that she doesn't speak to him tells us nothing about why she isn't talking to him. That's my point. You can't use it as proof Bella is imagining James because the scene would play out the exact same way if James was there and Hilda was just giving him the cold shoulder for behaving like an ass in her library.

We are not told exactly why Hilda is displeased. She just appears suddenly, watches Bella talk, and then dismisses her from work. No explanation whatsoever about why this drastic action is required for simply having a conversation with a spouse. Even if Hilda doesn't like Bella, sending her home with no reason and no acknowledgment of James is odd. I say it is because Bella has been exhibiting signs of mental illness at work. That would be a proper reason to send someone home - When a person is sick, not when they are naughty or improperly using copy machine. Also notice that Hilda doesn't seem particularly angry. You might even say she is more concerned and frustrated than anything. She just says Isabella I think you should go home now. Again something people say at work when you appear unwell. Bella wasn't even disciplined, but just sent home.

By that logic, shouldn't Hilda tell Bella to get help or something if she's worried Bella is going crazy? Or at least allude to previous suggestions Bella get help? Sending her home without explanation seems a lot more in keeping with a show of disapproval than it is with a concern over Bella's health.

In fact, if I wanted to spin wild conspiracy theories, I'd say this is more indicative of a twist that Bella didn't actually work at the library and had been lying to James about her job. If Bella was just an overenthusiastic girl who came by the library often and organized the books on her own, Hilda's polite dismissal would make sense even if James were really there. If Bella is a genuine employee talking to an imaginary person, Hilda's lack of concern over some pretty blatant problems is still hard to explain.

DPC hasn't given us enough time alone with Bella to see if she has exhibited this sort of madness recently, but he does announce her troubled mind in neon lights during the crying library scene. And I don't think Bella's mental problems were ever successfully treated. It's clear that throughout the time we have known her, there has been something wrong. I'll bet even Jill doesn't know the true extent of Bella's mental state. My best idea is that during ep. 8 flashback, we were viewing Bella not long after the traumatic incident with James and his departure. Whether it was infidelity, getting sleep humped by Jill, loss of a child...a murder, Bella hasn't been able to properly process what happened. Essentially, a psychotic break has occurred in her mind due to trauma. I think the arrival of MC has pushed some of that to background but all it will take is one good DPC drama and Bella's psychosis will return in full. I hope he doesn't do that though...another Leah would be such a drag.

I strongly disagree; we've seen Bella for more than enough time to notice if she had conversations with imaginary people as you suggest. She hasn't. Moreover, we've ALSO seen some of her own thoughts, and none of them are addressed to another person. Even the infamous library scene involves Bella interacting very lucidly with the real MC in the real world, worried about his real actions.

You can say Bella used to be delusional but now she's not, but that would require her to have undergone some extremely successful therapy in the intervening years. And there's no indication of that, either.

I need to see a situation on screen that can be best explained by Bella being delusional before I'll buy in to that concept. Thus far, at most we've seen situations that are debatably well explained that way. You're looking for any twist that can fit into what we've seen, not looking for signs that there IS a twist in the first place.

 

[Meushi]

Because obviously the internal thoughts of a woman suffering from mental illness can certainly be taken as gospel truth. /s ...

Traumatised <> hallucinations. There's evidence in game of the former, there's none of the latter. This is a baseless assumption.

I don't see much cause to send an employee home for the great offense of having her husband visit in public library. ... Sending an employee home for the day is what you do when they are sick. In this case, mentally.

don't you find it strange how everyone ignores James? ... Bella's boss doesn't even greet him, warn him for his inproper behavior or straight out tell him to leave, if he really was there she could've told Bella to take her break or something instead of sending her home.

Yes it would be weird to send Bella home just for talking to her husband, but that's not what happened. Their chat opens with James suggesting they bang there, talking about previous public sex, Bella's fantasies of having sex at work & closes with James suggesting a makeout session at work. So no, I didn't think it was odd that Hilda told Bella to leave.

I didn't think it was strange Hilda didn't acknowledge James in their brief on screen interaction either. Bella is her employee, not James. She's being disciplined for inappropriate behaviour at work.

The background guy is a nice detail. DPC is using a technique similar to the Deep Focus, where something in the background is sharply in focus. And knowing he's crazy about small details, I don't think he just placed him there for no reason.

I'm sure background guy was there for a reason, but I'd say the reason was to emphasize that Bella & James were making enough of a racket to attract attention. Nothing in the scene says crazy lady talking to herself to me.

None of these things mentioned refute the James hallucination theory. You're just saying...well this other scenario could happen. No argument there, but the mere existence of one theory doesn't negate another.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Your theory hinges on Bella having hallucinations, there's no evidence for that. The other theory doesn't make any extraordinary claims, it's straight up what happened on screen.

 

[Casiope]

Jesus this game is in a different league compared to the Ren'Py VNs I've read so far. The renders, the writing, the mini-games, the polish... Is Dr Pinkcake doing the work of a dozen professional developers or what? Are there other Godly creators of VNs I've been missing out on?

It's not so much that Dr PinkCake does the work of a dozen professional developers, but that most visual novel creators on Patreon do the twelfth of the work of professional developer.
Also he's dedicated full time and doesn't count his hours on the project. He benefits from a certain experience since Being a DIK is not his first game on Ren'Py. I think he found the most efficient way to work between writing, rendering and coding so as not to lose time between each step; he himself explained that he does several tasks at once.
These efforts would be nothing without a certain idea of the quality. I do have some criticism about the writing, but all in all, I have to admit that Dr PinkCake outperforms the competitors.

 

[Lightaces]

The whole game is too much, but here are my tier list of episode 8 scenes:

View attachment 1610526

Spoiler: Not that much.

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[Heycock]

Spoiler: Not that much.

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Some good taste. some bad taste... but why did you put Bella episode 7 into E category?.

 

[felicemastronzo]

DPC hasn't given us enough time alone with Bella to see if she has exhibited this sort of madness recently, but he does announce her troubled mind in neon lights during the crying library scene. And I don't think Bella's mental problems were ever successfully treated. It's clear that throughout the time we have known her, there has been something wrong. I'll bet even Jill doesn't know the true extent of Bella's mental state. My best idea is that during ep. 8 flashback, we were viewing Bella not long after the traumatic incident with James and his departure. Whether it was infidelity, getting sleep humped by Jill, loss of a child...a murder, Bella hasn't been able to properly process what happened. Essentially, a psychotic break has occurred in her mind due to trauma. I think the arrival of MC has pushed some of that to background but all it will take is one good DPC drama and Bella's psychosis will return in full. I hope he doesn't do that though...another Leah would be such a drag.

but wouldn't it be an extreme and imaginative addition completely unnecessary? the relationship with Bella already without any addition is the most complicated and least likely, is there really a need to add a pinch of the "sixth sense" to his narrative?

it would really seem to me a useless surprise

True, and yet during their date she also says that the B&R rule book matters, I wonder how DPC's going to proceed with this plotline, the easiest way is to just make it possible for students to date teachers as long as they aren't in the same class, but if he chooses for it to be forbidden then I'm definitely curious and a little bit afraid of what might happen.

That dialogue is a really poorly written moment, one of the worst written in the game.

there are two people who are making clear the obstacles to their relationship, they compeltely forget the main one (the fact that Bella is married), and the other one they are considering they know where to look to see if it's actually a problem or not but they haven't looked at it yet, they will in the future, maybe but without hurry

Bella asked Mc to end her relationship with Jill without knowing if their relationship could ever have a future, she will check that out later....