VN Ren'Py Eruption Imminent [v0.5.1] [MorriganRae]

[Ciaran8023]

I honestly don't really have any character that I see as a good LI for Ashe.
The closest would be Fiona, but she's relegated to the friendzone since Ashe deserves to have atleast one ride-or-die friend to back her up with all the other shit she's having to deal with.

 

[sbarabaus]

obviously the game needs more Cleo and Moira (Fiona luckily is more than well represented)

 

[hsaIV]

How imminent is the eruption? Because it seems like it's been a while.

 

[Ciaran8023]

How imminent is the eruption? Because it seems like it's been a while.

Well she already had an eruption towards Bella the Bitch, so she's blown off some steam early on. Though given the amount of stress she's going through right now, I'm guessing that we're getting an eruption at the upcoming party update, or soon thereafter.

 

[Stan5851]

I honestly don't really have any character that I see as a good LI for Ashe.
The closest would be Fiona, but she's relegated to the friendzone since Ashe deserves to have atleast one ride-or-die friend to back her up with all the other shit she's having to deal with.

I agree about Fiona, you are right, their friendship with Ashe is too valuable...Yes, and the others are not suitable for the good LI role, however there is one great candidate and she is closer than she seems. I'm talking about lovely Rachel, who deeply understands Ashe, loves her endlessly and supports her. And if the dev allows that to happen, I have no doubt they would make a great couple. (imo)

 

[Ciaran8023]

I agree about Fiona, you are right, their friendship with Ashe is too valuable...Yes, and the others are not suitable for the good LI role, however there is one great candidate and she is closer than she seems. I'm talking about lovely Rachel, who deeply understands Ashe, loves her endlessly and supports her. And if the dev allows that to happen, I have no doubt they would make a great couple. (imo)

Eh, I have a good couple of posts as to why Rachel is arguably one of the worst people around Ashe. I'll do a brief summary of why I believe she isn't someone who Ashe should be around.

It's established that Rachel was basically Ashe's emotional rock when growing up, and did what she could to support Ashe since she knew Ashe was a neurotic bundle of anxiety.
Cue "the incident" when Rachel misunderstood what had happened between them and, in complete contrast to what she had done her entire life previously, she blew up on Ashe entirely. She knew what Ashe was like, she knew what to do and what not to do with Ashe and she decided to do the absolute worst thing to someone struggling with self-image and anxiety, while being one of her only two friends and sources of support (given that Ashe is unlikely to talk to her mom in the same way she talked to Rachel, given that her and Rachel seemed to be much closer, and the other being Fiona but unsure of the timeline of when Fiona came into the pic).
Rachel comes back, Ashe wants to talk to her. Rachel outright ignores her and acts like nothing is wrong to the point of Ashe blowing up entirely, which is again something that is the complete opposite of what one should do towards someone with anxiety issues, and especially family.

There are a few more smaller details that paints her in an even worse light, like the fact that Ashe and Bella constantly having beef when they were young but Rachel apparently never stepping in to resolve it, aswell as hints that Rachel seemingly only got together with Fiona because Ashe was there as a sort of awkward third wheel, but I digress.

It's stuff that will likely be overlooked by a lot of people if they haven't dealt with individuals who have self-image issues and anxiety issues, but it's something I personally can't reconcile with and I dislike how "handwaved" the conversation between them was as it felt more like Rachel only apologized because Ashe blew up and she knew she couldn't get away with ignoring it anymore, not because she actually wanted to apologize.

 

[Buletti]

it felt more like Rachel only apologized because Ashe blew up and she knew she couldn't get away with ignoring it anymore, not because she actually wanted to apologize.

Hmm, it is already quite some time ago, but for me this felt genuine iirc. But I am also a simpleton, who usually goes with the obvious solution of things. I guess I have to go back and check when I fixed my computer.

Cheers!

 

[Dessolos]

Hmm, it is already quite some time ago, but for me this felt genuine iirc. But I am also a simpleton, who usually goes with the obvious solution of things. I guess I have to go back and check when I fixed my computer.

Cheers!

Yeah it felt genuine to me as well. I Always felt she wanted to apologize since she came back but was too ashamed and scared to do so right away.

 

[Alley_Cat]

Rachel may have her own problems with anxiety, hence not doing things we might expect of her. She's not the MC, after all, so we don't know what's going through her head most of the time

 

[Lynava]

Vanessa looks like an interesting LI to me
Beneath the hard shell is a soft maiden.

 

[Ciaran8023]

Rachel may have her own problems with anxiety, hence not doing things we might expect of her. She's not the MC, after all, so we don't know what's going through her head most of the time

While it's true that we don't know, she still knows better than to do what she did, and she consciously made the decision to ignore her sister with mental health issues for over a year, aswell as to her face.
There just isn't much of a way to excuse that. Hell, Ashe which to all evidence provided seem to have quite severe anxiety and self-image issues still took the courage to confront her sister, so there's even less of an excuse on Rachel's part.

 

[prpa]

Rachel may have her own problems with anxiety, hence not doing things we might expect of her. She's not the MC, after all, so we don't know what's going through her head most of the time

Agree. Also I think Rachel felt the same as Ashe (morning after she says they are both broken), but she was more afraid and reluctant to show it. With alcohol in play, her inhibitions and fears were lowered, so she just went with it. But the next day, after she sobered up, she was afraid that if the relationship continued, she would ruin both their lives, that’s why she ran away.

 

[Ciaran8023]

Agree. Also I think Rachel felt the same as Ashe (morning after she says they are both broken), but she was more afraid and reluctant to show it. With alcohol in play, her inhibitions and fears were lowered, so she just went with it. But the next day, after she sobered up, she was afraid that if the relationship continued, she would ruin both their lives, that’s why she ran away.

This was one of the arguments I replied to back in the day when discussing Rachel and there's something people seem to miss; her running away from Ashe while having been her confidant, emotional support and close friend is FAR worse for someone with severe anxiety issues than just drawing a hard line. She would know this given that she's played that role for Ashe for most of her life.
Which, again, just makes Rachel seem worse in how she decided to handle things.

 

[prpa]

This was one of the arguments I replied to back in the day when discussing Rachel and there's something people seem to miss; her running away from Ashe while having been her confidant, emotional support and close friend is FAR worse for someone with severe anxiety issues than just drawing a hard line. She would know this given that she's played that role for Ashe for most of her life.
Which, again, just makes Rachel seem worse in how she decided to handle things.

From our perspective (and Ashe's), it was a bad way to handle things, I agree with that. But like Alley_Cat said, we don’t know what was going through Rachel’s head. Maybe she genuinely thought she was doing what was best. I remember her telling Ashe that she shuts herself off from everyone, so maybe, by leaving, she believed Ashe would be forced to open up to other people and eventually get better.

 

[pitao]

This was one of the arguments I replied to back in the day when discussing Rachel and there's something people seem to miss; her running away from Ashe while having been her confidant, emotional support and close friend is FAR worse for someone with severe anxiety issues than just drawing a hard line. She would know this given that she's played that role for Ashe for most of her life.
Which, again, just makes Rachel seem worse in how she decided to handle things.

Oh being a human, what a hard thing to be in difficult situations like those, specially at such a young age when emotions speak louder than reason. I guess she knew this but she decided on the easy way out (Rachel) and I understand her, being far from the issue was just a normal reaction of protect herself, to take time to think and reflect about it without constantly being in the middle of it.

I'm not excusing Rachel, I just think most people with her personality that was mentioned before in this discussion and her lack of life experience to deal with a situation like that, would run away also, in the end self preserving will kick in. I probably would act similarly when I had her age, now for sure would face the problem with more confidence.

 

[Ciaran8023]

From our perspective (and Ashe's), it was a bad way to handle things, I agree with that. But like Alley_Cat said, we don’t know what was going through Rachel’s head. Maybe she genuinely thought she was doing what was best. I remember her telling Ashe that she shuts herself off from everyone, so maybe, by leaving, she believed Ashe would be forced to open up and eventually get better.

I mean you realize how this doesn't make Rachel seem like a better person, right?
If that was her thought, then she somehow has forgotten her entire upbringing and interactions with Ashe up until that point, because as I noted, it is the opposite of what one should do with someone that has anxiety and self-image issues.

If Ashe hadn't been opening up to people beforehand, somehow believing that she would open up after suffering humiliation and emotional distress would require a masters degree in mental gymnastics, and again makes Rachel seem like an asshole.

Oh being a human, what a hard thing to be in difficult situations like those, specially in at a young age when emotions speak louder than reason. I guess she knew this but she decided on the easy way out (Rachel) and I understand her, being far from the issue was just a normal reaction of protect herself, to take time to think and reflect about it without constantly being in the middle of it.

I'm not excusing Rachel, I just think most people with her personality that was mentioned before in this discussion and her lack of life experience to deal with a situation like that, would run away also, in the end self preserving will kick in. I probably would act similarly when I had her age, now for sure would face the problem it with more confidence.

I understand the dynamics of losing ones shit entirely, but her decision to stonewall Ashe for over a year and literally to her face is what makes me lean more towards "you're a cunt" territory. It's one thing to make a mistake, but to ignore it and not even try to make amends? That's not what a good person would do.

As you said, I don't think there's any way to excuse Rachel, and that's kind of the point I am trying to make in that she's likely the last person that should be involved with Ashe after what she did.
We don't have any guarantee that she won't do the same down the line, and we even have evidence to her not maturing after her mistake by the way she chose to ignore Ashe when Ashe tried to confront her over what happened. It's just all around continuously shitty decisions that makes me feel that she's a shitty person, not just the incident itself.

 

[memeLordo]

While it's true that we don't know, she still knows better than to do what she did, and she consciously made the decision to ignore her sister with mental health issues for over a year, aswell as to her face.
There just isn't much of a way to excuse that. Hell, Ashe which to all evidence provided seem to have quite severe anxiety and self-image issues still took the courage to confront her sister, so there's even less of an excuse on Rachel's part.

Sometimes it happens not out of resilience, but the necessity to teach the perpetrator a lesson in your eyes. When you experience a strong emotional reaction you can't simply comprehend, on a subconscious level it easier shut-in and make sure that you won't experience it ever again. Thus, ignorance comes to play. And I think Rachel while being on a trip definitely knew she hurt Ashe, but decided to not notice it, even if the situation is left unanswered. That's why even after Rachel returned home, she still didn't want to address the issue.

 

[memeLordo]

Sometimes it happens not out of resilience, but the necessity to teach the perpetrator in your eyes. When you experience a strong emotional reaction you can't simply comprehend, on a subconscious level it easier shut-in and make sure that you won't experience it ever again. Thus, ignorance comes to play. And I think Rachel while being on a trip definitely knew she hurt Ashe, but decided to not notice it, even if the situation is left unanswered. That's why even after Rachel returned home, she still didn't want to address the issue.

That's only my interpretation, because I find this similar to my experience: I too acted this way when my ego got hurt in a confrontation by the person I really love. And I thought to not to speak with them anymore (it lasted over a month), despite this behavior drove this person insane and made hurt them even more. Only later on I realized the way I handled the situation definitely was wrong and very childish of me.

 

[Ciaran8023]

Sometimes it happens not out of resilience, but the necessity to teach the perpetrator in your eyes. When you experience a strong emotional reaction you can't simply comprehend, on a subconscious level it easier shut-in and make sure that you won't experience it ever again. Thus, ignorance comes to play. And I think Rachel while being on a trip definitely knew she hurt Ashe, but decided to not notice it, even if the situation is left unanswered. That's why even after Rachel returned home, she still didn't want to address the issue.

That's only my interpretation, because I find this similar to my experience: I too acted this way when my ego got hurt in a confrontation by the person I really love. And I thought to not to speak with them anymore (it lasted over a month), despite this behavior drove this person insane and made hurt them even more. Only later on I realized the way I handled the situation definitely was wrong and very childish of me.

That's definitely a possibility and I have done something similar when I was young (as in 15-ish years old) and very dumb, though that was only to an acquaintance and not a family member, but again it just points out my point perfectly as to why Ashe shouldn't be involved with Rachel, and why Rachel is a pretty shitty person.
She has a LOT of growing up to do and I don't think the game is long enough for her character development to catch up to a point where I'd say "yeah, they could be together" whether in a familial sense or romantic.

 

[pitao]

We don't have any guarantee that she won't do the same down the line, and we even have evidence to her not maturing after her mistake by the way she chose to ignore Ashe when Ashe tried to confront her over what happened. It's just all around continuously shitty decisions that makes me feel that she's a shitty person, not just the incident itself.

We will see in how it goes from now, I'm not one to keep grudges (guess Ashe isn't also) or constantly point fingers and usually like to give second chances unless is just something absolutely terrible, what isn't the case. This is just "life happening" and not always dealing with it in the best manner.

That's only my interpretation, because I find this similar to my experience: I too acted this way when my ego got hurt in a confrontation by the person I really love. And I thought to not to speak with them anymore (it lasted over a month), despite this behavior drove this person insane and made hurt them even more. Only later on I realized the way I handled the situation definitely was wrong and very childish of me.

Exactly the same, I easily can get in Rachel shoes. Different situations but badly dealt by my part, I don't regret it since was nothing that terrible that I couldn't try to fix it with time and in the end that self reflect journey made me grow as a person. Hoping it will be the same for Rachel, it is in MorriganRae hands hahaha.

Edit: Had to edit this and add my other post since I was double posting and I really dislike doing that hehe.