VN Ren'Py Abandoned Bitch Squad [v0.4.7] [IcarusLabs]

[Dazzier31]

It's interesting, having just played the game from start to the end of 0.2.5, how you can already see the seeds of what everyone else confirmed for me here: Ashley will be on Kate's side.

You can see it from the moment the Kappa Kai speech happens and she starts clapping, that moment is the one that told me that she was not gonna be a viable option anymore, shame too because I remember fondly her cascade of escalating "No!" when MC tells her what they did.

I am pretty fine with going cold turkey on the traitor. (Also possible interesting bit of foreshadowing that may not be intentional: right after the leaked photos switch and MC is discussing with Tommy and Amber, the moment Tommy mentions that someone had to have warned them, Ashley enters the room. I am not saying she gave them the warning, she didn't know, but I am saying that that was some good foreshadowing that if someone was gonna be a traitor, it was gonna be her.)

Something that could be done to convince MC to stop being so passive, at least towards people who aren't in the B5, is to have a talk with his dad. Dad opening the son's eyes to how the situation is really looking from an outside perspective would be nice ("Son, you are telling me that your girlfriend is being chummy with the girl that ruined your life for the last year and wants you to play nice with her? You know what must be done.")... and yes, this is just an excuse because I am actually kind of interested in how the dad, who is also rich and can be helpful in getting MC involved in the B5 circles to understand their plans better, can join the story.

 

[robrize2169]

i agree on the take on Ashley..if the MC breaks up with her. i hope that a different path will open if she remains your gf. something along the lines of..now i can see if bf is being paranoid or he is really right about Kate trying to manipulate her. if she sees that she is being manipulated then she would be a good ally for mc. however, if MC breaks up with her, then she has no reason to be loyal to him. but she may still find out he was not wrong after all..so many possiblities. can't wait for the next chapter.

 

[drifter139]

It's interesting, having just played the game from start to the end of 0.2.5, how you can already see the seeds of what everyone else confirmed for me here: Ashley will be on Kate's side.

You can see it from the moment the Kappa Kai speech happens and she starts clapping, that moment is the one that told me that she was not gonna be a viable option anymore, shame too because I remember fondly her cascade of escalating "No!" when MC tells her what they did.

I am pretty fine with going cold turkey on the traitor. (Also possible interesting bit of foreshadowing that may not be intentional: right after the leaked photos switch and MC is discussing with Tommy and Amber, the moment Tommy mentions that someone had to have warned them, Ashley enters the room. I am not saying she gave them the warning, she didn't know, but I am saying that that was some good foreshadowing that if someone was gonna be a traitor, it was gonna be her.)

Something that could be done to convince MC to stop being so passive, at least towards people who aren't in the B5, is to have a talk with his dad. Dad opening the son's eyes to how the situation is really looking from an outside perspective would be nice ("Son, you are telling me that your girlfriend is being chummy with the girl that ruined your life for the last year and wants you to play nice with her? You know what must be done.")... and yes, this is just an excuse because I am actually kind of interested in how the dad, who is also rich and can be helpful in getting MC involved in the B5 circles to understand their plans better, can join the story.

if you go back and look at what MC says, his dad's business didn't really take off till MC was in high school. we can also assume that Ashley is easily manipulated and will likely turn against MC for what the B5 tell her going as far as to say that MC was the bully and they were innocent victims until they decided to stop him in high school. bullies like them have a gift for turning others against their victims and painting the narrative of "they aren't as nice as the pretend to be". but only dev knows how this all will turn out so we have to be patient in waiting for the end

 

[bob69696]

if you go back and look at what MC says, his dad's business didn't really take off till MC was in high school. we can also assume that Ashley is easily manipulated and will likely turn against MC for what the B5 tell her going as far as to say that MC was the bully and they were innocent victims until they decided to stop him in high school. bullies like them have a gift for turning others against their victims and painting the narrative of "they aren't as nice as the pretend to be". but only dev knows how this all will turn out so we have to be patient in waiting for the end

I wouldn't worry too much about a turn face. it'd go against the point of the game and cause huge backlash if she turned on you unavoidably.
the game pushes you towards her and then rips her away like that? it'd just make people play through the game full revenge and forget her entirely.

 

[TejGetLix]

I am going to be clear here. No filter, but no intention to hurt or offend.

The problem I am having with this game, as I have explained, maybe in too much detail, is that the MC that you make us drive around is impossible to stand.

Why am I talking so much about this? Because you made a lovely game, a great story, an interesting set of characters, and then...... this MC. He's insufferable. People have been telling me that he's just a kid, etc. That isn't the problem, I don't want him to be a super hero, a super spy, a super macho, I only want him to be human. He isn't.

As it is now, this MC that we are stuck with, either doesn't react or reacts in the worst possible way. He gets angry when he shouldn't, and doesn't even get bothered when he should be angry. It's like you designed all the characters in the game to be awesome, and they are, all of them, and then made a specific effort to NOT make him interesting or even acceptable. He's amorphous, pusillanimous, cowardly, a serial cheater (denotes lack of self awareness), no confidence, distrustful and above all, stupid as a truck of bricks. He's absolutely unlikable.

It wouldn't be so bad if he was a secondary character like Tommy. But, no, you make us BE him. You make us be this unpleasant person.

Some have pointed out that this is his Zero stage, and he will grow... At this point, sorry, but I don't want to have anything to do with him. I love everything about your game, except this rather important detail, the MC is unplayable.

Each and every of his interactions are handled wrong. Yeah, you are giving us some lewd content that he somehow manages to get, without any effort, it's a porn game, so... but, in regards to the story? He's completely wrong every time. He keeps secrets from his girlfriend that could make a difference in how she reacts and acts towards the Bitches, and now she betrays him and we can't even drop her, it is his mistake (yours) but at least show some backbone. Annie, causes and accepts his humiliation in his house, and for a full year she chooses his bullies over him, yet, she doesn't regret it, she doesn't show any remorse, she doesn't even apologize, and we have to forgive her. Why? Why would we even exchange words or have ANY interest in her as a person? She's the worst offender. Yet, we go and allow her to trample over us, again and again. At this point she's worst than Kate. Kate at least was playing with a toy, she couldn't care less who you were. Annie, not only knew you, lived with you, called you family.

You, as the Dev make us walk around on this character that is as remote from a human as a shoe box. His internal monologue is ...... annoying is the minimum I could call it. He ALWAYS gets things wrong. He gets mad at what is meaningless, and goes along with what should make him scream. He doesn't ask the question he should, and asks all the questions he shouldn't. Like with Kate's father... he puts on a charade that he has buried the hatchet with Kate and when he talks with her father he acts like a peacock pretending he's tough with someone that can order him dead with impunity, I wish he did by the way. He's insolent, brash and disrespectful, it doesn't matter who he is, he's talking with him for the 1st time. Again, very, very, very stupid.

I don't know what you can do about this. I really don't see a way out with this MC you created. He's killing this lovely game, this cool story by being impossible to like.

I would very much like to know if you plan on going on with this MC as he is, or if you have any plan to have him dropped from a tall building, get into a 6 month coma, wake up and be what he never was, a human. I ask you to please understand that I don't hate the game, I hate, completely, this MC.

Please do something to make this lovely game enjoyable. Thanks.

Peace

I agree with everything here, I've been playing this since day 1 and my only major gripe is exactly this.

To many inconsistent reactions from MC in most scenarios.

 

[FatGiant]

I wouldn't worry too much about a turn face. it'd go against the point of the game and cause huge backlash if she turned on you unavoidably.
the game pushes you towards her and then rips her away like that? it'd just make people play through the game full revenge and forget her entirely.

NGL, that's exactly what I feel like doing right now.

I am fighting an impulse to go into the game, delete all my Mr.Nice Guy saves and go full ham on all of them. Ashley? Who? Annie? Who? Hi Linda, are you free?

The Dev is playing us. He brings Ashley in, to amp our rage against the B5 when she turns on you and joins them.

Remember, this is a game where we are the "played" not the "players", our "choices" are cosmetic only, the real story happens as the Dev wants regardless what choices you make. The "choices" are only there to let you feel some sort of control over some scenes. None of them so far change the story. Instead of having sex with A, you get B or C or whatever. Nothing of real substance.

When it matters, like when knowing that Ashley betrays you, you aren't given a choice, you HAVE to keep being her boyfriend and being betrayed. When Annie treats you like you're the one at fault for being mad about being bullied by her friends, you can't tell her to never speak to you again and to go fuck herself, no, you have to keep pinning for her, loving her, being used by her.

At all majorly deciding moments of this story, control is yanked from us. We are led into all the bad decisions the MC makes, not US, the Dev.

Did we choose to rape Emma? No. Did we choose to argue with Ashley? No. Did we choose to have sex with Annie? No. We can choose to tell Annie we love her, only to be fucked with a "I know" as a reply.

We are being led by the dick into a story that we don't control, that we don't decide, that we have no choice over. It could very well be a Kinetic Novel, it would make little difference. At least as it is so far.

The Dev promised some branching in the near future and some consequences to our choices, unlike as it has been so far. I am skeptic but will wait to see.

Maybe it is this way because we would probably succumb to the rage induced by the B5 actions and the story would end in the first chapter. So, the Dev has us steaming in the rage, making us go from humiliation to offense to abuse, to have a chance to tell his story.

I plan on making a run where I distance myself from all of them as much as I can. They are all BAD, all of them. Hehehehehe.

One thing we have to say, the Dev creates really good BAD characters.

Peace

 

[truten]

Nice job, one of the projects, which I really liked

 

[hysepReC]

our "choices" are cosmetic only, the real story happens as the Dev wants regardless what choices you make. The "choices" are only there to let you feel some sort of control over some scenes. None of them so far change the story. Instead of having sex with A, you get B or C or whatever. Nothing of real substance.

That is the case with many AVNs, including the ones in your signature. Just because there are certain events that happen no matter what, that doesn't mean your choices don't matter. There are already 3 fairly significant branches in the story that determines who you go to the cabin with. You can avoid the sex scene with Annie even if you go to the cabin with her by refusing to put your arm around her. My hope is that this serves as the breaking point in the MC's relationship with Annie and interactions will be much less friendly going forward. I'm in the camp of not forgiving any of the girls, including Annie and Sarah (and probably Ashley too if she doesn't do the right thing soon).

 

[FatGiant]

That is the case with many AVNs, including the ones in your signature. Just because there are certain events that happen no matter what, that doesn't mean your choices don't matter. There are already 3 fairly significant branches in the story that determines who you go to the cabin with. You can avoid the sex scene with Annie even if you go to the cabin with her by refusing to put your arm around her. My hope is that this serves as the breaking point in the MC's relationship with Annie and interactions will be much less friendly going forward. I'm in the camp of not forgiving any of the girls, including Annie and Sarah (and probably Ashley too if she doesn't do the right thing soon).

I never said it was a bad thing. It is what it is. But, thanks for making me remember that "choice" with Annie. Since I'll burn all bridges with Ashley and Emma, it's nice to know that I can burn them with Annie too.

None of that means much in terms of story anyway, only what lewd scenes you see. We will still be raped by the B5 (or is it B6 now?) as much as they want. We will not even be able to complain about it.

All I know is that this isn't a story where we choose the end, only who will maybe be there with us. From the choices available, better be alone. For a while it looked like we could trust Ashley, better said, we were made to believe that we could trust Ashley. But, as we now know, it was just another rape.

Right now, I can totally trust this Dev to fuck us. How much? TBD. Next disappointment is probably Linda, it's the only one left.

Would anyone be surprised of something even worse coming soon? I would be very surprised if it won't be the case. Just in case I better get rid of any romantic involvement or even any romantic interest. Make it impossible to be cucked, because that's coming.

Peace

 

[ar1122]

is there a patch?

 

[hysepReC]

I never said it was a bad thing. It is what it is. But, thanks for making me remember that "choice" with Annie. Since I'll burn all bridges with Ashley and Emma, it's nice to know that I can burn them with Annie too.

None of that means much in terms of story anyway, only what lewd scenes you see. We will still be raped by the B5 (or is it B6 now?) as much as they want. We will not even be able to complain about it.

All I know is that this isn't a story where we choose the end, only who will maybe be there with us. From the choices available, better be alone. For a while it looked like we could trust Ashley, better said, we were made to believe that we could trust Ashley. But, as we now know, it was just another rape.

Right now, I can totally trust this Dev to fuck us. How much? TBD. Next disappointment is probably Linda, it's the only one left.

Would anyone be surprised of something even worse coming soon? I would be very surprised if it won't be the case. Just in case I better get rid of any romantic involvement or even any romantic interest. Make it impossible to be cucked, because that's coming.

Peace

MC can't get cucked if he doesn't have a girlfriend.

I agree that none of the girls here seem to be worth romancing (maybe Linda? I didn't play her route), that's why i'm playing the MC as vengeful and unforgiving as possible.

 

[TejGetLix]

MC can't get cucked if he doesn't have a girlfriend.

I agree that none of the girls here seem to be worth romancing (maybe Linda? I didn't play her route), that's why i'm playing the MC as vengeful and unforgiving as possible.

Linda's cool, I'm going for Rachel route if there's gonna be one, feels like safest bet, she got screwed by Kate so she certainly won't be swayed by her. She's even rooting for MC to get his revenge.

 

[eddienova]

NGL, that's exactly what I feel like doing right now.

I am fighting an impulse to go into the game, delete all my Mr.Nice Guy saves and go full ham on all of them. Ashley? Who? Annie? Who? Hi Linda, are you free?

The Dev is playing us. He brings Ashley in, to amp our rage against the B5 when she turns on you and joins them.

Remember, this is a game where we are the "played" not the "players", our "choices" are cosmetic only, the real story happens as the Dev wants regardless what choices you make. The "choices" are only there to let you feel some sort of control over some scenes. None of them so far change the story. Instead of having sex with A, you get B or C or whatever. Nothing of real substance.

When it matters, like when knowing that Ashley betrays you, you aren't given a choice, you HAVE to keep being her boyfriend and being betrayed. When Annie treats you like you're the one at fault for being mad about being bullied by her friends, you can't tell her to never speak to you again and to go fuck herself, no, you have to keep pinning for her, loving her, being used by her.

At all majorly deciding moments of this story, control is yanked from us. We are led into all the bad decisions the MC makes, not US, the Dev.

Did we choose to rape Emma? No. Did we choose to argue with Ashley? No. Did we choose to have sex with Annie? No. We can choose to tell Annie we love her, only to be fucked with a "I know" as a reply.

We are being led by the dick into a story that we don't control, that we don't decide, that we have no choice over. It could very well be a Kinetic Novel, it would make little difference. At least as it is so far.

The Dev promised some branching in the near future and some consequences to our choices, unlike as it has been so far. I am skeptic but will wait to see.

Maybe it is this way because we would probably succumb to the rage induced by the B5 actions and the story would end in the first chapter. So, the Dev has us steaming in the rage, making us go from humiliation to offense to abuse, to have a chance to tell his story.

I plan on making a run where I distance myself from all of them as much as I can. They are all BAD, all of them. Hehehehehe.

One thing we have to say, the Dev creates really good BAD characters.

Peace

"I Love You, I know" is a HUGE Easter Egg from a Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far Far Away

 

[FatGiant]

"I Love You, I know" is a HUGE Easter Egg from a Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far Far Away

I. Don't. Care.

If I get that response, she's GONE. In Annie case is even worse. Gone.

What that is is a HUGE "fuck you".

Peace

 

[Bestinian]

So again this episode is a mixed bag. Some of the scenes are hot, the renders are pretty good, and the idea the game is going for isn't a bad one. So good stuff in many regards.

I think it is pretty clear now that the game is going down the route of the Bitch Squad are just misunderstood, and the MC is in the wrong for exacting revenge. Look at who the game has us sympathising with, the BS characters, every time, with the POSSIBLE exception of Kate. Problem is it doesn't quite nail it.

Annie's backstory doesn't make much sense, she says she met Kate AFTER the separation of the parents, but the intro doesn't mention this, so it feels like a retcon. She still doesn't mention leaving the MC high and dry for a full year where his life turned into hell, and it comes off as contradictory too. Why was she living at the house after the separation?

MC essentially rapes Emma in a possible route, and she doesn't not do the standard porn suddenly liking being submissive thing that could have turned that bit around. Charlotte breaks down in tears over her treatment, and it isn't framed as a getting well-deserved retribution moment, but more a broken girl clinging onto a dead parent moment.

And it makes the MC come off as rather psychotic, caring one moment, hating the girls the next, he seems to jump from one extreme to the next constantly, and he doesn't make a lot of sense.

And then we have Kate, who every update comes off more and more like a well meaning but absolutely insane cult leader. And currently the writing can't quite pull off her charisma without making every OTHER character seem like absolute morons for following her. She speaks in nothing but platitudes, and we are meant to think she cares, but her actions don't show that at all. And I find it hard to believe that Kate is willing to apparently try and win over anyone and everyone to her cause, but not even give a peep of what her goals are to the MC, or win over actual enemies. It feels like the player and the MC are missing information to draw out the mystery, but how that information is missing doesn't quite make sense.

And the devs seem to have zero idea what to do with Sarah at all. She still remains the girl on the outside, as the innocent face of the squad.

And Ashley is becoming rather pointless the more the game goes on. There is nice, and there is stupid, and she steps back and forth across that line very often. Her cabin scene was pointless, and her other scenes weren't much better.

So now we are down to two options, either Miranda is the big bad who we are working for this whole time or Galen is. There could be an option that they are both horrible people working against each other as well. But unless I am severely wrong, it seems like the high school bullies were all set on anyone who wasn't in the right family who got close to Kate and her friends, or went against them. It has holes in it if that is the case, such as why bother making the MCs life a living hell in High School when he posed zero threat, and why have him under surveillance at all?

The base characters are all good, as far as things go, and the overall set up of the game is good as well. But I think the issues t he game has end in its execution. Also the different routes are EXTREMELY important to understanding the game overall, and since you can only be on one of these routes without modding, most players won't see bits of the story that are needed to understand what is happening. Very important events in this update are mutually exclusive, Annie's talk with the MC being the primary of these as well as Charlotte's scene as well (I THINK that can be missed)

It's the reason that you have some posters here thinking the MC is a total wuss, and others not understanding how they could think that. Having choices is good, but the game might be better served in smaller choices that help define the MC and his reactions to the events in the game, and find a way to make his actions and internal thoughts consistent, as I said right now he comes off as a madman.

So can this be fixed? Maybe. First off, the introduction needs to be expanded. It just does. The information we get there is contradictory, and there is still not enough there to believe the relationship between the MC and Annie, or enough to go on for how the Bitch Squad worked in the school itself. Perhaps have Annie mention staying in the house because she got in a fight with her mom, (thus bringing in the separation), how she has her friends because of a bad breakup (mentioning her abusive BF without the MC knowing about the dude hitting her), bring up the friendship and sibling angle more, and how they have been cool with the BF/GF thing, add some sexual tension they don't want to discuss, etc. The events of the night aren't the issue, but the events before it, and after it ARE important.

And we need answers to questions, something I mentioned before. We got really nothing this episode in regards to that, and anything we DID get was missable (Annie in particular), we got clues... but those are just more questions without answering anything else. The game is already having problems juggling its mystery and keeping motivations and events in line, it doesn't need to answer everything, it shouldn't but we need one or two of the current threads answered so one can spin out into other questions. Right now that just is not happening.

And the multiple routes need to be consolidated at least somewhat. MC can have VASTLY different knowledge of events, relationships with characters, and the like, and it is going to be extremely difficult to have these events mean anything down the line as the butterfly effect takes hold. The fact that the game makes the MOST sense while modded is a problem. Character motivations and basic information should not be missable. Sex scenes and relationships can be optional, but it is a fine line to walk, and the game as it stands is walking that line like someone with a .2 blood alcohol level.

Edit: Sarcasm makes this a bit nastier when rereading than it sounded in my head. Intent was to be humourous, not attacking.

 

[DIRTY FILTHY Animal]

This game is good but man it’s frustrating, everytime you think the mc gets a win or is making progress, the bitch squad empire is just playing you like a fiddle, don’t really see anyway he can win, they are too protected with Kate’s dad and his illegal empire, every episode just makes him weaker, won’t be long till they make him wear a chindo like this

 

[drifter139]

So again this episode is a mixed bag. Some of the scenes are hot, the renders are pretty good, and the idea the game is going for isn't a bad one. So good stuff in many regards.

I think it is pretty clear now that the game is going down the route of the Bitch Squad are just misunderstood, and the MC is in the wrong for exacting revenge. Look at who the game has us sympathising with, the BS characters, every time, with the POSSIBLE exception of Kate. Problem is it doesn't quite nail it.

Annie's backstory doesn't make much sense, she says she met Kate AFTER the separation of the parents, but the intro doesn't mention this, so it feels like a retcon. She still doesn't mention leaving the MC high and dry for a full year where his life turned into hell, and it comes off as contradictory too. Why was she living at the house after the separation?

MC essentially rapes Emma in a possible route, and she doesn't not do the standard porn suddenly liking being submissive thing that could have turned that bit around. Charlotte breaks down in tears over her treatment, and it isn't framed as a getting well-deserved retribution moment, but more a broken girl clinging onto a dead parent moment.

And it makes the MC come off as rather psychotic, caring one moment, hating the girls the next, he seems to jump from one extreme to the next constantly, and he doesn't make a lot of sense.

And then we have Kate, who every update comes off more and more like a well meaning but absolutely insane cult leader. And currently the writing can't quite pull off her charisma without making every OTHER character seem like absolute morons for following her. She speaks in nothing but platitudes, and we are meant to think she cares, but her actions don't show that at all. And I find it hard to believe that Kate is willing to apparently try and win over anyone and everyone to her cause, but not even give a peep of what her goals are to the MC, or win over actual enemies. It feels like the player and the MC are missing information to draw out the mystery, but how that information is missing doesn't quite make sense.

And the devs seem to have zero idea what to do with Sarah at all. She still remains the girl on the outside, as the innocent face of the squad.

And Ashley is becoming rather pointless the more the game goes on. There is nice, and there is stupid, and she steps back and forth across that line very often. Her cabin scene was pointless, and her other scenes weren't much better.

So now we are down to two options, either Miranda is the big bad who we are working for this whole time or Galen is. There could be an option that they are both horrible people working against each other as well. But unless I am severely wrong, it seems like the high school bullies were all set on anyone who wasn't in the right family who got close to Kate and her friends, or went against them. It has holes in it if that is the case, such as why bother making the MCs life a living hell in High School when he posed zero threat, and why have him under surveillance at all?

The base characters are all good, as far as things go, and the overall set up of the game is good as well. But I think the issues t he game has end in its execution. Also the different routes are EXTREMELY important to understanding the game overall, and since you can only be on one of these routes without modding, most players won't see bits of the story that are needed to understand what is happening. Very important events in this update are mutually exclusive, Annie's talk with the MC being the primary of these as well as Charlotte's scene as well (I THINK that can be missed)

It's the reason that you have some posters here thinking the MC is a total wuss, and others not understanding how they could think that. Having choices is good, but the game might be better served in smaller choices that help define the MC and his reactions to the events in the game, and find a way to make his actions and internal thoughts consistent, as I said right now he comes off as a madman.

So can this be fixed? Maybe. First off, the introduction needs to be expanded. It just does. The information we get there is contradictory, and there is still not enough there to believe the relationship between the MC and Annie, or enough to go on for how the Bitch Squad worked in the school itself. Perhaps have Annie mention staying in the house because she got in a fight with her mom, (thus bringing in the separation), how she has her friends because of a bad breakup (mentioning her abusive BF without the MC knowing about the dude hitting her), bring up the friendship and sibling angle more, and how they have been cool with the BF/GF thing, add some sexual tension they don't want to discuss, etc. The events of the night aren't the issue, but the events before it, and after it ARE important.

And we need answers to questions, something I mentioned before. We got really nothing this episode in regards to that, and anything we DID get was missable (Annie in particular), we got clues... but those are just more questions without answering anything else. The game is already having problems juggling its mystery and keeping motivations and events in line, it doesn't need to answer everything, it shouldn't but we need one or two of the current threads answered so one can spin out into other questions. Right now that just is not happening.

And the multiple routes need to be consolidated at least somewhat. MC can have VASTLY different knowledge of events, relationships with characters, and the like, and it is going to be extremely difficult to have these events mean anything down the line as the butterfly effect takes hold. The fact that the game makes the MOST sense while modded is a problem. Character motivations and basic information should not be missable. Sex scenes and relationships can be optional, but it is a fine line to walk, and the game as it stands is walking that line like someone with a .2 blood alcohol level.

I just wanna address your problems with Annie. Annie and MC were step-siblings as Annie's mom married MC dad. they are not blood related at all. as for leaving MC high and dry in high school, it was during senior year so it's not like it was a long time from middle to end of high school. also we can see that Kate has a way of manipulating people with words as seen when Ashley basically takes to what she says. narcissists have a way of convincing people that they aren't bad or wrong for the things they've done and it's likely how she gained control so easily in high school albeit on a smaller level. she also seems to have gained control over some of the board in college considering she denounced Kappa Kai and then proposed a new sorority to take its place in the same breath. the problem with that though is she would be in charge of the new sorority which would give her more power which leads to more problems. I would say the only girl in that group that isn't beyond redemption is Sarah but only if she grows a spine and starts standing up to the others. then again, it's possible she herself was a victim of bullying at some point and decided it's better to be the bully than it is to be the victim

 

[Bestinian]

I just wanna address your problems with Annie. Annie and MC were step-siblings as Annie's mom married MC dad. they are not blood related at all. as for leaving MC high and dry in high school, it was during senior year so it's not like it was a long time from middle to end of high school.

MC mentions that his last year was hell, so it appears to be the bulk, at the very least, of his senior year. And none of what you said really changes my critique of Annie's story. The game says several times that she and he were as close as actual siblings until the inciting incident with Kate and the photos. But we are currently just told this over and over again, we never really see it, the closest being the time at the lodge in this episode. Which is missable, that information is extremely important, and a large number of players will never see it. Either way, she says that she became friends with Kate after the separation of their parents. That just does not make sense, as she was living in the house at that time. She dumps a lot of information that could have been seeded much better in the intro, but without it, it falls flat.

also we can see that Kate has a way of manipulating people with words as seen when Ashley basically takes to what she says. narcissists have a way of convincing people that they aren't bad or wrong for the things they've done and it's likely how she gained control so easily in high school albeit on a smaller level. she also seems to have gained control over some of the board in college considering she denounced Kappa Kai and then proposed a new sorority to take its place in the same breath.

Yes. That doesn't change anything, or go against my points at all. My issue isn't with the plot point of Kate convincing people, it's that listening to her speeches, I do not buy it. Even spouting platitudes, they aren't convincing in a way a politician can be, she constantly talks about saving the world somehow, but not in an interesting or even erudite way. As a result she comes off as a chariacature of a cult leader at best, and the more she talks, the more it makes everyone around her seem like idiots. We are being told that these speeches and her charisma are amazing, but I don't feel it. Ever.

Seriousuly, what would any sane person do if some person came up to them and started constantly spouting nonsense about saving the world in a nonspecific way.

the problem with that though is she would be in charge of the new sorority which would give her more power which leads to more problems. I would say the only girl in that group that isn't beyond redemption is Sarah but only if she grows a spine and starts standing up to the others. then again, it's possible she herself was a victim of bullying at some point and decided it's better to be the bully than it is to be the victim

I always find comments like this interesting because the game goes out of its way to paint the BS as the most sympathetic characters in the game, they persevere together, have more loyalty than the MC and his crew, and anyone else around, even Emma and Charlotte, the worst actors in the group by far are built up as misunderstood. I could be wrong, but I am certain the game will give you chances to get revenge only to regret them later, as what happened to Sarah. We never once actually see them in the act of screwing someone over, or revelling in that fact, which the MC's gang does, often. They don't try to force sexual acts on people or rape them, which the MC and his allies have done in certain routes, we don't even see them strike a potential enemy first out of convenience.

Outside of the intro, everything attributed to them since arriving at college has been retaliatory. We are TOLD they are horrible people, but all the worst stuff was in the past, we see none of it in the present, while the MC is acting in the present.

 

[m4pII]

Somehow quickly Ashley moved into the camp of the enemy
It was the shortest committed relationship I've ever seen.

 

[FatGiant]

MC mentions that his last year was hell, so it appears to be the bulk, at the very least, of his senior year. And none of what you said really changes my critique of Annie's story. The game says several times that she and he were as close as actual siblings until the inciting incident with Kate and the photos. But we are currently just told this over and over again, we never really see it, the closest being the time at the lodge in this episode. Which is missable, that information is extremely important, and a large number of players will never see it. Either way, she says that she became friends with Kate after the separation of their parents. That just does not make sense, as she was living in the house at that time. She dumps a lot of information that could have been seeded much better in the intro, but without it, it falls flat.





Yes. That doesn't change anything, or go against my points at all. My issue isn't with the plot point of Kate convincing people, it's that listening to her speeches, I do not buy it. Even spouting platitudes, they aren't convincing in a way a politician can be, she constantly talks about saving the world somehow, but not in an interesting or even erudite way. As a result she comes off as a chariacature of a cult leader at best, and the more she talks, the more it makes everyone around her seem like idiots. We are being told that these speeches and her charisma are amazing, but I don't feel it. Ever.

Seriousuly, what would any sane person do if some person came up to them and started constantly spouting nonsense about saving the world in a nonspecific way.



I always find comments like this interesting because the game goes out of its way to paint the BS as the most sympathetic characters in the game, they persevere together, have more loyalty than the MC and his crew, and anyone else around, even Emma and Charlotte, the worst actors in the group by far are built up as misunderstood. I could be wrong, but I am certain the game will give you chances to get revenge only to regret them later, as what happened to Sarah. We never once actually see them in the act of screwing someone over, or revelling in that fact, which the MC's gang does, often. They don't try to force sexual acts on people or rape them, which the MC and his allies have done in certain routes, we don't even see them strike a potential enemy first out of convenience.

Outside of the intro, everything attributed to them since arriving at college has been retaliatory. We are TOLD they are horrible people, but all the worst stuff was in the past, we see none of it in the present, while the MC is acting in the present.

I agree. There's a clear intention to whitewashing the BS, or at least make that a possibility. Gaslighting is a rather effective tactic and is the one being used here.

The Plan. The master plan the B5 spent a whole summer working on. We don't know what it is, but the Sorority was one of the steps, when they couldn't all get in, the option was to destroy the Kappa whatever and then make a new one. We clearly see Kate taking in her hands the destruction of Rachel, but not how. We later find out that the duo of bruisers the cult used in High School are in play again with the MC making the leap to consider them to be the attackers on Samantha. They clearly don't work for Kate but for her father. So, Kate calls daddy to help her get the Plan back on track.

Why does Kate need Ashley? She doesn't. She wants to hurt the MC, how best than driving a wrench in his relationships? Also asking daddy to scare him off. From this I infer that the Plan is about her father political aspirations and to position her and her cult as a grassroots movement to support him. Her public speaking moments are made of platitudes and empty political nonsense. The type of discourse to grab numpties like Ashley.

Sarah seems innocent so far. She stays removed (apparently), but she is still very much part of the cult and quite probably is now tasked to maybe replace Ashley after Kate gets to separate her from the MC. It may also be a way to get a spy in. Kate has figured out that the MC and friends are on a war path and infiltration is better than open conflict. Her father attempt to create a rift with Miranda also points to the same tactics.

Charlotte is a wildcard so far, is she really accepting the blackmail? Amber bought the act completely, which for someone as focused on revenge on a single target is completely expected. Her long time fascination and attraction to Charlotte is finally being consummated, she's now neutralized. I don't buy the act, the whole cheating scene that Amber so conveniently records, was probably staged after the robbery of the necklace didn't produce the expected overreaction from the MC. I think that both things are a honeypot. Both worked perfectly. The MC "decides" to don't interrogate Miranda about the necklace after Charlotte's revelations, that clearly points to another manipulation by the Dev. We have more info that we don't act upon, instead focusing on the attempt at intimidation and rift by Kate's father. Clear sign that it's a Red Herring.

Emma the eternal vice-president. Annie the MC's version of Charlotte. What's their point or function in the cult? We don't know yet, maybe the organizers. They are great to trap the MC in obsessive reactions to distract him from the Plan. Annie clearly doesn't care for the MC's feelings for her, but she'll do her part in trapping him, she'll explore his weakness for her, for his delusion of "family" that she renounced to as soon as she found her place in the cult. Emma on the other hand is working on corrupting him, maybe even recorded the rape as a form of neutralization. Maybe. What is certain is that that rape will come back to bite the MC, he'll pay for it (which I find quite well deserved) or maybe it was another manipulation by the Dev as a form of fan service. I dunno. Both options feel possible.

The more I think about this, the more I feel "played". The obfuscation of information is deliberate. The shelving of gathered info is deliberate. All the acts by the MC are purely cosmetic, we aren't the MC. The Dev is.

We mostly choose who we fuck. That's it. Who we talk to, how we talk, what we talk about, is all out of our control. It's ok. It is a Dev telling us a story where we choose who we want to be fucked by, because, have no illusions, the B5 will win in the end, even if the MC manages to draw blood once or twice. From the extreme manipulation that the Dev does, it will end the way he wants, not how we want. Unless he chooses to allow us to control the end, at this point I don't think he will.

(It is probably more satisfying to write this long ass posts and think about this than it is to play the game, I am seriously fucked, am I not?) LOL

Peace