Pretty cool. I enjoyed everything about it. Well, maybe not the long drawn out parts where they explain hacking or teach history. But I guess that's really for comedic effect more than anything. I was hooked from start to finish. I even finished it in one sitting lol.
- Thread starter Caribdis
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- May 21, 2017
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Was it ever mentioned if she can use her hacking skills while being INSIDE Eternum? Because that could partly explain her fixation for Dione. Sure, outside Eternum she basically gloats that she's one of the best hackers ever. But if she can't access the system inside the game and do her thing, then there's some validity in her statement that she's "worthless" without the gun.
- Dec 1, 2021
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It's actually fairly consistent with what we have seen up to that point. From early on the MC notes that she seeks praise. She comments on how even though she has an eye patch and looks like a walking Cheeto she is overlooked constantly. And she is a hacker, which is another area in which anonymity is key. She finds one of the weapons of atlas and is known by a fake name, because she thinks it sounds better than her real name. Nova is a character that is deeply self-conscious and deals with feelings of inadequacy. People don't see Nova, they see the nameless hacker, or the wielder of a weapon of atlas. Even the fact that she never misses a shot, people say it is the weapon that does that, not her. When the MC first comes to see her, she thinks he is there from Ulysses because no one comes to see her. Despite her accomplishments people don't see Nova. Even Penny calls her the "supportive younger sister she never had," but Nova is older than her. It's not uncommon for accomplished people to feel inadequate, especially if the realm of their accomplishments is small or hidden, and they have delt with a lifetime of being overlooked.
Other than the MC, and maybe Luna, Nova has only meet Penny and Alex once and she hasn't met any of the others at all. Penny, remember, is one of the people that has been overlooking her. Calling the other character's her friends is a bit of a stretch. Even Luna is just someone who works at the cafe Nova goes to from time to time. Now, Luna, being a person often overlooked as well, is one of the few people that does seem to notice Nova. Nova has three things in her life at the point of the scene with Maat. Her growing affection and relationship with the MC (probably the first person to ever really notice her and who came to rescue her, and she thinks is about to be killed), her hacking ability (which she just two scenes before swore to not do anymore without the MC's approval), and her Weapon of Atlas (Which is on the verge of being stolen). So, yes, she is seeing everything around her falling apart all of the sudden and is in panic mode.
I know some people don't like the scene with Maat, and that's fair, I guess. However, I think it is unfair to call it rape-ish. It ignores the context given in the scene. Maat herself says she doesn't usually do all that. She says she normally just embarrasses people and then kills and loots them. And it seems that most people stumble on her little trap because of clues she's left about the promise of lewd acts and treasure. From her point of view the MC and Nova are there because they followed her clues into her trap and are getting what they deserve. And she kept pushing only as long as they were going along with it and, again, from her perspective they didn't stumble into her trap because of a teleportation accident. They came to her trap willingly, knowing the risks. Depending on the clues that set people on the path to her trap it's possible that Nova is one of the first women to end up there, but I may be reading too much into it.
It's also important to note Nova's words and body language too. She was into it, she kept going, and while she says it's for the weapon that isn't entirely accurate. It was also because she wanted to. The MC tried to set a plan in motion to turn the tables on Maat, Nova doesn't go along. They have a chance to leave, and the MC promises to come back and help her get the gun, which wouldn't be too hard with the team they have and since they know where Maat is, but Nova doesn't want to. Think of this, the MC and Calypso teleported to that world where, if they had been stuck there longer, the MC could have had sex with those two fox girls. Those girls offered the MC their services because they didn't know he wasn't the person they were waiting for. They didn't know he had teleported there by accident. Depending on the way the serve that Maat was in works what happened could have been a normal part of the action in that server.
Or consider the Pixar serve that Nova and Alex were in for example. We don't know the normal type of person that goes there or what the expected rules are. Some people on this forum called foul because the bear and the princess wanted Alex and Nova imprisoned and "raped" but if that is a known aspect of that server, that rape-play and BDSM is normal then what we see as a terrible threat is just par for the course there. Hell, there might even be a safe word everyone is told when they log into that serve that Alex and Nova didn't get because they didn't log into it normally. It could be that everyone else in that server knows that if you cross the princess you end up in her sex dungeon and they are all on board for it. Nova and Alex ended up in that server where, perhaps, they didn't know the rules and expectation, but no one in the server knows that. In Eternum you don't end up in a server by accident... at least normally. The same thing could be true in Maat's server, you don't end up in her trap by accident. People seem to get caught by her following her clues to treasure and sexy times and then she ambushes and loots them.
We see this in the Roman server too, the MC is "forced" to fight, possible to the "death," in the arena. It's an agreed upon rule in that server. One that Dalia probably ought to have shared with the MC and Nancy, but she didn't because she thought her allies ruled the city they were going to. She never guessed that they would get caught up in that kind of situation.
Basically, all that to say this, I think it is a bit unfair to cut Nova off for one scene that is easily explained, and I think you are misinterpreting the events of. And even more so to definitively state that no matter what you will not be willing to go along with her story line moving forward. But you're free to do so, I just hope you will consider my points and rethink your stance. Have a great night... or day, depending on your time zone.
I hope you've enjoyed another JoeTheMC essay...
- Dec 1, 2021
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You seem to have ignored most of my points. I know I wrote a lot so it wouldn't surprise me if you didn't even read it, but I'll chose to believe you did and just ignored them because you wanted to. Of course, then you missed the whole context of the one point you did address; Maat thinks they are there willingly.
Maat was playing the game she always does, with people she assumed knew what they were in for when they got there to some extent. Maat normally would have killed them long before that point, because that is what she normally does. She even says that normally it is her, Maat, that strips and messes with the guys, which leads me to believe that usually women don't fall into her trap. Probably because whatever clues normally lead people to her entice men and not women. Maat is playing a game; one she thinks the MC and Nova are on board for and because they both keep going along, she assumes they are. It isn't rape if you agreed to it before hand, hence why safe words are so important. Being forced to strip is sexual harassment at worst, it isn't rape. And being shot in Eternum isn't like being shot in real life, there is no real threat to Nova if she is shot and "killed" her level just resets, which sucks but is not a real threat to her.
If Calypso had been there, it is highly likely that the trap wouldn't work on her and she would have just taken Nova to the exit portal.
Just because you can't see any other avenue for Nova's story to go, you are going to ignore the whole thing from the outset? Not even because of what happened, but just because you are unable to fathom an outcome beyond the one you think it will be. I can't see why you would be so unwilling to give it a chance. There are several ways her story can go beyond what you have proposed, not least of the facts that your issue is dealing with only one aspect of her entire character and she is more than just that one part of her... if that is even where it goes at all.
Not to mention that your criticism fundamentally ignored my whole point, it is actually very normal for a person with accomplishments to feel inadequate when they are overlooked their whole life despite them.
Still, I suppose you have made up your mind, which I have learned the hard way is the end of things more often than not on the internet, this site as much as anywhere. Most people don't care about seeing things from a wider point of view or reconsidering. They dig in their heels and see anyone even attempting to show or explain another point of view as an enemy that must be defeated. It's too bad that you are casting aside a portion of the game and story before it has even had a chance to form and develop just because you are unable to see an outcome other than the one you assume will be.
I wish you well. As I said, have a lovely night or day. Both in fact.
- May 21, 2017
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Outside, sure. I asked if she could within the game though.
Because again, her hacking skills mean jack shit if she can't do that inside the game. And, outside of that and her marksmanship skill (which is useless if you don't have a high-grade weapon like Dione to go along with it, especially in an environment where certain items give players hyper-armor or insane regen or quick healing whenever they get hit), she pretty much has nothing else going for her, which is probably why she's very protective/possessive of the one thing that she thinks gives her some measure of worth within the game.
Even though I did not enjoy this scene too much (still love Nova though), you do bring up good points on why Maat does it. It would make sense that there is some sort of agreement/acknowledgment on this server when joining about this, but the Nova and the MC bypass this and do not know any of the rules. Never thought about it till you brough it up.
- Dec 1, 2021
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It didn't occur to me at the time either. The thought first came to my mind when I was thinking about the idea of the Roman server and it having a prison and a fight to the death. It is such a heavy role play server that I thought about how there would need to be understood, if not explicitly written out, rules for some servers. Especially servers that someone would normally need an invitation to go to.
I even had a though of, what if Maat's server is *actually* her server. The same way that Dalia has a server that is hers and you need access to it from her. It would mean that the only way to even access Maat's server might be using her clues that help you find her code or something. It changed the whole way I thought about that scene and the Pixar one. The idea of accidentally getting into a server you don't know the rules for is kind of terrifying in a lot of ways.
- Dec 1, 2021
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Yes, you did misinterpret me, I'm sorry it came across that way. It happens a lot with me. I'm an autistic, socially awkward, blowhard who often uses more words than are needed. I also tend to address a point, and then move to new topics, build new points, not directed at anyone specifically but more an idea or concept that came up in the discussion. Just voicing my continuing thoughts as they flow out, hence why I often end my posts with calling them essays. If you felt insulted that was not my intent.
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- May 21, 2017
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If by this you mean that she can break into a server that supposedly exists outside the known databases but also leaves a window where other people could come in, then yeah sure.
But I don't seem to recall her being able to change values of anything other than that. Otherwise she could've loaded them into the server with a bunch of stuff that would make their lives easier (like, say, some sort of transportation) while they journey through Ogygia in search of Calypso. But she didn't, which seems to imply that her hacking skills could only take her so far.
(And it would also imply some other stuff but I don't want this to go into another theorycrafting session again so I'll just refrain for now)
And if that's the only extent of her hacking abilities...then what use is she once she's inside the game?
- May 26, 2020
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I don't really know about the law, but if someone join a server that is know for the fact that it's a rape play server, the rapist wouldn't be in the wrong since they can assume it was a roleplay the person raped did. The thing we don't know is if it's obligatory to tell the person that you are giving access to the server, what type of server it is, or if you won the access because of an event, does an NPC tell you what type of server it is ( Indriel do give you an hint).
The raped person could only make a complain if they didn't know what type of server it is where it would be the person that made them join the server that would be punished, at least if they join officially. In the situation that we have seen, the ones that should be in the wrong are Alex/Nova and Nova/MC because they have nothing thry could use to make a legitimate complain.
Actually Simpgor has written: "If someone is teleported/hacked/somehow brought…", not: "If someone joins…"
I suppose the hacker is the one who should be excommunicated, because the rapist may not be in the position to understand if her/his victim is playing role of the victim or not. Of course if the server is illegal and all the victims are "kidnapped" to be raped, then it is highly probable that the server would be shut down and all its players would be excommunicated.
I suppose the hacker is the one who should be excommunicated, because the rapist may not be in the position to understand if her/his victim is playing role of the victim or not. Of course if the server is illegal and all the victims are "kidnapped" to be raped, then it is highly probable that the server would be shut down and all its players would be excommunicated.
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- May 26, 2020
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We already know what happen if someone rape (or just attend to rape) in a place that shouldn't allow that with Benjamin on the first server that the MC join.
I did say before that if the person that invited you to join the server didn't tell you what type of server it is, it's the one who invite you that is in the wrong and will be punished . It's not this situation for MC&co.
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Please add the punctuation to your comment, because it is really difficult follow what you are trying to say.
- May 26, 2020
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No the game/Indriel know if you go to a server via legitimate means, when you go to the server where Calypso is, the MC join a public server so Nova can hack him into it but Indriel ask him if he want to go on the 3 others server (or join a public one) that he did go on before.
Since the MC didn't go to the Main Nexus since then for what we know, we don't know if Indriel also know or don't know about the fact that the MC was on another server via non-legitimate means.
- May 21, 2017
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Then all the more reason for her to learn a skill or rely on a weapon like Dione which could help her out if hacking out of dire situations is out of the question.
I guess my stance on the matter is that I don't judge her for doing what she did just to get Dione back. You might call it trying to hold onto a crutch, but if it has been a constant companion of hers before Orion (MC) and the others came along in her life, then there's some sentimental value there regardless if she got it by chance or not. You can't just ask a person to part with something that has likely gotten them out of a bind more times than they could count. Unless it's going to lead them to a path of ruin and self-destruction (see: Bilbo's Ring in LOTR), in the end leaving that item behind is something that they have to decide for themselves.
- Jun 26, 2017
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All this talk about morals and characterization... I just thought it felt like a cop-out. A way to brute force the relationship forward without natural relationship growth or character development. It was certainly rape-y but at it's core, it's not much different than when other games have brought in a slutty relative or ex-girlfriend or something who forces a budding relationship with a far more shy/reserved character. Many games have done this, there's little more to it than that.
I really didn't like this scene, nor do I like any piece of media which attempts to use this lame writing tool. I've always felt as if it was just a way to unnaturally increase the pace of the story, oftentimes to the detriment of one or more characters. It always removes me from the fantasy, and lowers my opinion of the characters involved. Not to mention that these scenes are oftentimes irreverent and inconsequential in the long run and offers nothing to the overall story aside from the increase in pacing or forcing a certain agenda.
Luckily, this scene has not completely ruined Nova's character for me like some other games have done. Hell, some games were so bad at it that it ruined the entire game for me. However, I would say that if I were to rank the LIs from my perspective, Nova was somewhere in the middle, but now she may be on the bottom of the list.
Honestly, I don't hate rape content. But I didn't like this scene simply due to the consequences of the relationship with Nova. If the dev wanted to add another sex scene, I wouldn't have been against the dev forcing the protagonist to fuck Maat in front of Nova, but what I was against was Nova also being forced. At least in that case, the relationship can still develop and speed things up. However, instead the relationship has been forced.
While it may sound like the same thing, it's not. With Nova being involved in the sex acts, it forces her to accept them as they are without much room for development. But, if the protagonist only fucked Maat while Nova was forced to watch, this could have sparked curiosity from Nova, allowing for more development.
I really didn't like this scene, nor do I like any piece of media which attempts to use this lame writing tool. I've always felt as if it was just a way to unnaturally increase the pace of the story, oftentimes to the detriment of one or more characters. It always removes me from the fantasy, and lowers my opinion of the characters involved. Not to mention that these scenes are oftentimes irreverent and inconsequential in the long run and offers nothing to the overall story aside from the increase in pacing or forcing a certain agenda.
Luckily, this scene has not completely ruined Nova's character for me like some other games have done. Hell, some games were so bad at it that it ruined the entire game for me. However, I would say that if I were to rank the LIs from my perspective, Nova was somewhere in the middle, but now she may be on the bottom of the list.
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Honestly, I don't hate rape content. But I didn't like this scene simply due to the consequences of the relationship with Nova. If the dev wanted to add another sex scene, I wouldn't have been against the dev forcing the protagonist to fuck Maat in front of Nova, but what I was against was Nova also being forced. At least in that case, the relationship can still develop and speed things up. However, instead the relationship has been forced.
While it may sound like the same thing, it's not. With Nova being involved in the sex acts, it forces her to accept them as they are without much room for development. But, if the protagonist only fucked Maat while Nova was forced to watch, this could have sparked curiosity from Nova, allowing for more development.
- Jun 26, 2017
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- Luna
- Annie
- Alex
- Dalia
- Penelope
- Nancy
- Nova
- Mar 19, 2020
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You people complain a lot about that scene and i just don't see anything wrong with it. Nova is cute and give the mc a blowjob (it is "forced" but come on she likes the MC and we all know she was going to sooner or later), you teach Maat her place and discover that Nova doesn't mind the MC fucking other girls. Now people seem to hate Nove for no reason, I imagine all of you saying "Oh Nova is my most hated girls because she give MC a blowjob and is ok with a MC getting a Harem SHE IS THE WORST!!!" like seriously?
I think the Maat scene was hot as hell. Sure, if it happened in real life it would've been fucked up, but given that it was inside a game with nothing real at stake it's more grey (dark grey perhaps). If it's still too much for you that's fine, but it seems to me that Caribdis games often toys with non-consent (Penny's photoshoot, Annie first meeting Axel) and I love it. Also it is mentioned when the realm of Eternum is first introduced that rape happens on its servers, so I don't think anyone should be surprised with content in this direction.