VN Ren'Py Friends in Need [Ch. 9 v0.60c] [NeonGhosts]

[brianzzz]

Walkthrough mod?

 

[hash19]

Can't access the violent path. Not that I really want it, but I wonder why it isn't there when advertised?

Look at OP:

 

[CrazyRabbit]

Nicki is growing on me and i'll probably do her route after my main girls but she's no victim.

The game does it's best to paint that picture but even as a woman I can't let her pass the buck on this one.

Every problem she has, she brought on herself. She made one bad decision after another and stayed wityh a guy she knew was bad for her.

She had options, she picked the wrong ones. It's easy enough to say they took advantage of her and they did to a certain degree. Problem is they only took advantage because she put herself in the position to be taken advantage of.

She could have left dickhead on the first day she came to the MC for money. She could have gone to the MC when dickhead spent everything they had. She could have gone to the MC when she got back from dickhead 2's.

She made a string of bad deicisions but make them she did.

I go hard on Nicki for the same reason I go hard on "modern women". Neither of them take responsibility for their own shit and own up to their mistakes.

Nicki fucked up, repeatedly. She's suffering and i'm more than happy to help her out but she's suffering through choices she made.

I know and I agree with you ; I just feel like the very last thing (the loan shark prepared to rape her with his friends) she's a victim in this.
It would be easy to say "meh she should have seen it coming" ; nope. It was a porn shoot, complete with guys ; she couldn't guess. It's easy for us ; we're not in a state of panic nor without any money and we actually make sound decisions (most of the time....*cough*)
It was the same setup than Vaughn, plus she got used to those shoots and the guy is mostly legal. But getting assaulted and almost raped ; that's not on her.

Iirc, she actually decided to break up with Brent after the night with MC, especially if MC is good guy towards her. She just had made joint account earlier during the relationship with Brent, while Brent was basically manipulative and abusive arsehole during their relationship. It allowed Brent to use the money MC deposited on Nicki's account and if you also remember the loanshark wasn't really that bothered that Brent used Nicki's signature for the loans. Also if you consider the emotional abuse Brent had made Nicki go through, her actions are somewhat understandable. Basically Brent had eroded her confidence and self-image during their relationship, so Nicki had serious fears of what might happen with MC after that night. She wasn't basically thinking straight during the time she was away from MC.

You're right she wasn't thinking straight. But Brent is a POS and even if he had some influence on her, she was still capable of making her own decisions, she wasn't completely submissive to him. She was just upholding this idea of "the relationship" no matter what ; "he's my boyfriend so I have to be faithful, etc"
Even though he does nothing for her and only brings her trouble. He fucked her good when she left him but the signs of his douchebaggery where clear as fuck and for a long time. She has no excuse for this, to me at least.

 

[HentaiKami]

You're right she wasn't thinking straight. But Brent is a POS and even if he had some influence on her, she was still capable of making her own decisions, she wasn't completely submissive to him. She was just upholding this idea of "the relationship" no matter what ; "he's my boyfriend so I have to be faithful, etc"
Even though he does nothing for her and only brings her trouble. He fucked her good when she left him but the signs of his douchebaggery where clear as fuck and for a long time. She has no excuse for this, to me at least.

That's the thing, it's easy to criticise someone for not doing the smart things from outside, not seeing what's going inside their minds, not completely understanding their experiences and mentality. You'd do well to read about bit on how abusive relationships work and how it affects the victim in those relationships. It really fucks up with their mind, eroding their self worth, trust in their own judgement, and even make them blame themselves for the actions of abuser. "It wasn't their fault that they got angry at me, i was stupid and made a mistake" kind of bullshit thinking, that once the victim assumes is really hard to break out of. It's one of the reasons why victims of abuse will protect the abuser and return to them even after having been able to escape once or twice to safety. Some of them falsely thinking that the abuser will change for good. Thankfully in Nicki's case, she was finally able to leave Brent thanks to the influence of MC, but she would still be fucked up for a while, until she dealt with the mental trauma. Tbh, if i was MC on the good guy path, i would try and suggest to Nicki that she saw a professional therapist about all the shit she's been through.

Now i'm not saying Nicki is 100% innocent of the decisions she made, but she definitely isn't in fully guilty either.

 

[CrazyRabbit]

That's the thing, it's easy to criticise someone for not doing the smart things from outside, not seeing what's going inside their minds, not completely understanding their experiences and mentality. You'd do well to read about bit on how abusive relationships work and how it affects the victim in those relationships. It really fucks up with their mind, eroding their self worth, trust in their own judgement, and even make them blame themselves for the actions of abuser. "It wasn't their fault that they got angry at me, i was stupid and made a mistake" kind of bullshit thinking, that once the victim assumes is really hard to break out of. It's one of the reasons why victims of abuse will protect the abuser and return to them even after having been able to escape once or twice to safety. Some of them falsely thinking that the abuser will change for good. Thankfully in Nicki's case, she was finally able to leave Brent thanks to the influence of MC, but she would still be fucked up for a while, until she dealt with the mental trauma. Tbh, if i was MC on the good guy path, i would try and suggest to Nicki that she saw a professional therapist about all the shit she's been through.

Now i'm not saying Nicki is 100% innocent of the decisions she made, but she definitely isn't in fully guilty either.

Yeah I thought you were talking about an abusive relationship ; and it was for sure. But not to that extend.
I dunno how to say it.... she wasn't under his thumb, he was an asshole and bullied her emotionnaly but she was not in a state to be that obedient nor dependant.
Becaus if she was, she could never broke up with him the way she did without professional help and a very long therapy. Here, she just decided it was enough and broke up.

So I agree with you, it was an abusive relationship and Nicki suffered from it but I didn't feel it was to the point where she was Brent's toy. Everything he did to screw her over when they broke up, he did behind her back, he didn't force her into it. She just was misguided, gullible and with a stupid reasoning about him being "the boyfriend so I have to"
At least that's how I feel it ; I understand if you don't.

And to finish, I agree she's neither fully innocent nor guilty but her fucked up decisions just make her a no-no to me for now. She'll need a redemption arc badly.

 

[atrebor68]

Two words about this game. I love the character of Nicki, she's flawed, pretty but not super cool, short, not too smart, maybe a little bit slutty too. But she is a perfectly written character. She's a normal girl, a bit unlucky, she tries to make ends meet.
She needs help and protection and, maybe, love.

 

[Meridian]

Damn, the length some western people go to remove agency from women just to free said women from responsibility when they make mistakes. Brent is a pathetic shitlord with no power or leverage to do anything. The only objectively real bad thing he did to her was forge her signature on loan papers and even this he did behind her back because he wouldnt be able to make her do it. Yet for some people he is an adept of abusive psychological warfare who turned poor Nicki into subservient battered wife.

 

[NewTricks]

Damn, the length some western people go to remove agency from women just to free said women from responsibility when they make mistakes. Brent is a pathetic shitlord with no power or leverage to do anything. The only objectively real bad thing he did to her was forge her signature on loan papers and even this he did behind her back because he wouldnt be able to make her do it. Yet for some people he is an adept of abusive psychological warfare who turned poor Nicki into subservient battered wife.

I am not one of them. I don't dislike Nikki as a character but I don't really trust her version of events either. Just because MC is inclined to dislike Brent we kind of overlook the fact that his impressions of him are colored by jealousy and resentment and we don't really know that much about him other than what Nikki is telling us. MC accepts most of her stories at face value without much in the way of collaboration and no proof. Maybe I've just had too many bad girlfriends and seen this particular movie too many times. The

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. One thing that we do know about Nikki for sure is that whether MC coddles her or abuses her she is good to roll with him. So she has plans for him that she is willing to see through no matter how he treats her. I think that Nikki is a little more shrewd than we give her credit for and most of her sob story belongs in the Baron Munchausen Museum of Total Bullshit.

 

[Ragnar]

If you play Nicki's dom-sub route past events make more sense. Some people are prone to be abused and predators know how to spot them. I think it has something to do with being abused as a child. That's why you see things like UK's arab pedo rings irl. Most girls being abused were in foster care.

 

[HentaiKami]

Damn, the length some western people go to remove agency from women just to free said women from responsibility when they make mistakes. Brent is a pathetic shitlord with no power or leverage to do anything. The only objectively real bad thing he did to her was forge her signature on loan papers and even this he did behind her back because he wouldnt be able to make her do it. Yet for some people he is an adept of abusive psychological warfare who turned poor Nicki into subservient battered wife.

Nah, you don't have to be adept of abusive psychological warfare, most abusers aren't really, most of them just happen to be with people that are naturally more submissive/have weaker confidence, or have the need of pleasing people around them. In this case it was that Brent was piece of shit that constantly put Nicki down and she stayed with him way too long, so it started to erode her already weak confidence in herself. Also even with the clear trauma she suffered from the relationship, she is still mostly responsible for her actions. These things aren't so black and white that she is either not responsible or responsible for her actions. Even majority of legal systems would recognise that and judge the victims of spousal abuse based on that, when they finally snap and kill the abuser.

 

[Meridian]

Even majority of legal systems would recognise that and judge the victims of spousal abuse based on that, when they finally snap and kill the abuser.

Any legal system that would decide that Brents behaviour prior to forging of loan documents was a mitigating factor for Nicki in his hypothetical murder by her hands is a fucking joke.

 

[SultrySidewinder]

I get where you're coming from, but can you see how even this one small change makes Brittani's event hinge on Gabby, in a way my version doesn't? So, what if a player isn't pursuing Gabby romantically, and they're just friends? What if he's on a negative path with her? How do I get from A --> B for a player that wants to romance Brittani and not Gabby, in a way that doesn't involve me writing/coding/rendering a whole new scene branch, just to arrive at the same place?

I appreciate the feedback. But, this is the same criticism I tend to get every so often, which is basically, "Well, why can't MC do what I would've done?" And the short answer is, "Because I'm not in your head." The longer answer is, "I'm one guy and can't provide infinite options."

I'm telling a story, and in that story, sometimes characters will make certain choices, because it's good for drama. I'm writing characters, not ciphers.

I for one really liked how Brittani's path has developed so far (for good guy MC, at least). She's my fav character that I'm hoping MC gets to pursue in a good guy way.

 

[PHIL101-YYouPPHard]

Damn, the length some western people go to remove agency from women just to free said women from responsibility when they make mistakes. Brent is a pathetic shitlord with no power or leverage to do anything. The only objectively real bad thing he did to her was forge her signature on loan papers and even this he did behind her back because he wouldnt be able to make her do it. Yet for some people he is an adept of abusive psychological warfare who turned poor Nicki into subservient battered wife.

I think your bar for abuse is a little too low tbh, it doesn't have to be one big single thing or multiple big single things, it can be a history of small forms of emotional abuse that all add up. Like, I wouldn't describe my father as an abusive person on the whole or anything, but there were absolutely some FUCKED up emotional shit he did to her when I was growing up, very narcissistic things and my mother is a VERY submissive, sheltered housewife kind of lady that doesn't stick up for herself. It's one of those things where sometimes when you tell someone what happened, they're thinking "....ok, so leave him, then? I don't see the big deal?" or "oh, please, it's not that big of a deal, you're just being sensitive" but it's more complicated than that sometimes; this stuff can be very subtle, especially to an outside party, I think you'd have to experience it yourself or watch someone go through it to truly get it.

And again, I don't want to exaggerate how my father treated her or anything, he wasn't anything remotely approaching a monster or something (I honestly believe he had some form of narcissistic personality, though), I loved him so much, but imagine someone even a little worse, or a lot worse, or as worse as you can get sans physical or sexual abuse, and the same type of personality as my mom, and you for sure have a fucked up situation that's complicated because you have nothing to point at as 'obvious' abuse, like beatings, or rape, etc. Emotional abuse is the most 'under the radar' one.

EDIT: I guess I made it about me, haha, but just to bring it back to the game, I would imagine a large part of the abuse remains unspoken and background, whether because the author hasn't thought of specifics to put on paper yet and just has a general idea of it, or perhaps Nicki just hasn't spoken about it yet. Not trying to speak for the author and his character, it's just something that was personally assumed in my head when I was playing.

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

Everytime i see, again, this discussion with the same type of comments downplaying the abuse Nikki suffered i can only think those people are either very naive and living sheltered lives or are way too young to understand abuse is more than just being beaten on a daily basis.

 

[JoeAngel]

I loved it and it's Nice Idea you can Always Call her A Taxi Or Simple Take onther shots But Part of Me Want to see nikky more like she Get's more Jealouse her Calling the mc who Fight The Idea so hard and Give You the Pick to do So keep up the Good Work
I played The good Guy so far I mean Brittny Sad Case so why Would we Feed the Plants Dirty water if we Can Get a Clean one

 

[Meridian]

Everytime i see, again, this discussion with the same type of comments downplaying the abuse Nikki suffered i can only think those people are either very naive and living sheltered lives or are way too young to understand abuse is more than just being beaten on a daily basis.

Amusingly, I also think similarly. Those who exaggerate "abuse" Nicki suffered at hands of Brent apart from loan papers fraud ofc are probably living sheltered lives and never been hurt for real. Funny how that works huh.

I think your bar for abuse is a little too low tbh

Well and I think yours is too high. Fetishization of victimhood in cultures that are dominant in english speaking internet created effect that makes some people too eager to put other people and/or themselfs into victim category. By silly definition of abuse of some people in this thread every single relationship longer than a few months is abusive.

But oh well, cultural differences are too great here so I am not gonna argue any further on this topic.

At least this discussion resurrected my disdain for Nicki. Never a partner material that one, an unreliable friend or a pet at best.

 

[PHIL101-YYouPPHard]

Amusingly, I also think similarly. Those who exaggerate "abuse" Nicki suffered at hands of Brent apart from loan papers fraud ofc are probably living sheltered lives and never been hurt for real. Funny how that works huh.

Well and I think yours is too high. Fetishization of victimhood in cultures that are dominant in english speaking internet created effect that makes some people too eager to put other people and/or themselfs into victim category. By silly definition of abuse of some people in this thread every single relationship longer than a few months is abusive.

But oh well, cultural differences are too great here so I am not gonna argue any further on this topic.

At least this discussion resurrected my disdain for Nicki. Never a partner material that one, an unreliable friend or a pet at best.

Hey, I know there's a culture of victimhood developing in the west (and beyond? not sure if this is global phenomenon), and that's its own discussion, but this is not that. Emotional abuse is an actual thing; this is not something that some sensitive hippies made up or something. If you use or manipulate someone for the sole purpose of serving yourself and without any consideration for them, you are abusing them. It's not complicated. It just so happens this is exactly what Brent does and has done to Nikki.

Again, as others have said, it seems some people understand the word abuse only applying to things that are so obvious like physically striking someone, sexually assaulting them, etc., and while those are obviously much more brutal and serious than emotional abuse (or at the very least, their damage floors and ceilings are much higher than emotional abuse, if that makes sense), they are under the overall umbrella of abuse, which includes emotional abuse.

And yes, I agree that people are responsible for their own actions, but there's a reason that millions of people, both women and men, around the world get therapy exactly for getting out of and avoiding these kinds of relationships; this is an entire scientific and medical field after all my friend. You do not choose your personality or psychology, and many people do not naturally possess the toolbox you and I have to keep ourselves secure from those types. Hell, even when you do, sometimes these abusive kinds of people can sneak up on you; some of them are very crafty apex predators.

One last example to punch in the point; pyramid schemes are considered a form of marketing and investment fraud. Now, for some people, mainly the people who start these businesses, it's very easy to just dismiss their victims and say, at best, that their "business models" aren't, in fact, a kind of abuse, as the people who pay them are doing it of their own volition, after all, and some of them (read: almost none) make good money from it. At worst, they show their true colors and say that they're just suckers and should be more intelligent, it's their fault after all that they let smarter people take their own money. Do you see the parallels? From the outside, it might just look like a bunch of morons not using their brain and you might think "well, they're responsible for their own actions, and therefore they are not victims", but from the inside, it is so very obvious that it's not that simple and that they are, in fact, victims. And thank goodness the majority of countries have come to the wisdom that we shouldn't let vulnerable people be manipulated like this.

And lastly, ok, I just wanna apologize if my tone is coming off as rude or something or if I'm pressing my point way too hard. I obviously feel strongly about this opinion, so I hope you don't take it personally I'll leave you alone now, sorry

 

[PeepPeepPoopPoop]

God damn it. I'm just trying to rape some bitches in this game but when I play the good path, the dev does a really good job to make me feel for the girls and empathize with them. Smh

Anyways, it's a fantastic game. One of my favorites right now. Hopefully it doesn't get struck with the abandonment curse

 

[Crazed roadrunner]

Ok, at first I wasn't convinced on the plot. If I remember correctly, the total amount was around 39 million? That is a life changing amount, if you don't start acting like Bruce Wayne and throw everything to charities. Luckily that was answered later when he revealed there are a lot of investments that will ensure he does not sink like the Titanic.

Of the girls I think my least favorite so far is the best friend, yes, she has been abused slowly by her boyfriend, and like a frog she did not even notice until it was too late. Still, she made a stupid decision after another like a champion; is a wonder how she did not end up giving head for a cheap buck at a motel (as far as she has revealed). Speaking of the boyfriend, that must be the world's most passive and trusting loanshark ever, he gives 20k and 4 days later they show with 20k and he decides they can afford to pay back 100? The guy is taking 0% interests anyways. Then the chick disappeared and apparently the boyfriend that forged her signature walked Scott free again; I was expecting him to be swimming with the fishes, or at the very least being forced to work as a drug dealer or something like that, (wouldn't be surprised is it really was her the one that signed up and did not let him know).

I think emotional abuse is worse than physical, because as I said earlier, it shapes the abuser and abused slowly, to the point they don't even notice it. Small control displays, showing you know better, minimizing and insults; all of that zaps confidence out of the abused, and gives it to the abuser, to the point the victim cannot imagine a life without their "loved one". That's the reason why so many of them decide to stay.

That said, I think MC is being manipulated by the best friend. In a more subtle way she is getting what she wants from him, opening her legs is just one way of control. Informing she is not interested romantically just to show she is jealous 5 minutes later when another woman so much as look in his direction? Looking discreetly to whatever comes his way because she wants to "make sure"?
Yeah, MC must be a much better person than me, I would have closed that door when she first mentioned the 20k. Sadly the only options were either rape her or pay premium money to tap that.

The rest of the girls are just ok, nevermind that I'm sure he would have never been so lucky if he did not have that money, so far all his most intimate moments have a price tag attached and that is not something I'm completely comfortable with, (even Gabby and Brittani, the ones I clearly made 18 when given the option of choosing their age).
Maybe in the future he will interact positively with a woman that does not know he has the bucks until much later, then I would gladly accept that idea.

So far I like the idea of helping the poor kid that is only 23 living in the streets, but the way he is helping is amounting to nothing at this point. Just give him a pair of glasses, a job at one of your business or non profit and cheap rent if you don't want to watch him on the streets again. Later the guy can be developed and have a more important role like a reliable ally, wanting some guidance, options to study, heck, he can become his little anal slut as MC is so fond of.

 

[Avaron1974]

So far I like the idea of helping the poor kid that is only 23 living in the streets, but the way he is helping is amounting to nothing at this point. Just give him a pair of glasses, a job at one of your business or non profit and cheap rent if you don't want to watch him on the streets again. Later the guy can be developed and have a more important role like a reliable ally, wanting some guidance, options to study, heck, he can become his little anal slut as MC is so fond of.

The homeless person is female.