VN Ren'Py Love & Jealousy [Act 3] [Professor Amethyst Games]

[monkeyqueen]

I do agree that he views what Lacey did as something that needs to be punished - this is born out by the fact he's always so quick to forgive everyone else - almost to the point I'm slapping my face begging for him to get angry, to say "That's not okay". Act 3 - the way Abbey treated the girls (and more so Lacey who already has a drug dependency) and the MC is just "nah, we're cool - I guess we can fuck later or something"

No. We're not cool. Abbey is NOT a healthy influence - but the MC forgives and forgets far too easily - but when Lacey needs it, MC just cannot bring himself to do it.

That is until the video of Lacey and Jeanette in the BDSM - The MC shows growth for once (Finally!) and just deletes the video! I was so happy at this - and then we just cannot catch a break...

I think that's right. The MC moves from physical aggression to verbal aggression to passive aggression (during Anna recording discussion) to trying to deal with passive aggression. So he is indeed trying to get better. But, again, doesn't have anyone who will slap him in the face and say "dude, either stop calling your wife a slut or just admit that's your kink"

AND that is the reason the monster takes over in the final act. The monster is happy with the status quo - subby wife, dominant husband - but if the two of them get healthy? That's death for the monster.

I'm not sure I agree that the MC is wanting to replace her abusers

Obviously I think he does - replay some of the Lacy crying / Gristle ranting scenes and ask yourself "is this verbal abuse"?

I really am rootin' for Lacey and the MC though. Even though they both are broken (I mean, they all are in various ways) I believe in the romanticism of their story, I want them to succeed. - I guess I'm just an old romantic after all

Here's my guess for routes -

1. MC realizes he is the monster, gets it together, learns to be decent dom and they have a twisted D/s relationship
2. MC denies he is monster, goes deep into a dissociative fugue get another family only to have Lacey show up - ends on clifhanger
3. MC and Lacey complete therapy integrate the monster / black swan parts of themselves into a coherent whole and agree to have an open relationship based on honesty
4. MC dives deep into the abuse, Lacey gets healthy, leaves him and then MC goes on to abuse Kelly

 

[AL.d]

Yeah, I wasn't a 100% sure to die on that hill because I couldn't remember exactly, but I remember you all talking about that in the past. That pretty much kills the whole excuse on "unreliable narrator" as the acts go on and it becomes more and more of "forcing" the story into ones individual perspective.

Coffee shop convo, three girls in act one. Bird's eye/omniscient PoV, pure dialogue scene. And it's just one of many off the top of my head.

 

[monkeyqueen]

Coffee shop convo, three girls in act one. Bird's eye/omniscient PoV, pure dialogue scene. And it's just one of many off the top of my head.

You are confusing POV switching with omniscient. There is never a 3rd person POV moment in the game. If it were omniscient we would have access to the thoughts and feelings of multiple people at the same time, we would have certain knowledge about the motivations.

The mystery of the game would go away. The idea that there was switch in narrator POV is headcannon for people who want to deny this is an unreliable narrator story despite the piles of evidence that say otherwise

Edit: And I just replayed that scene. It moves from Lacey POV to Mia POV once Lacey leaves. When the scene returns to the kitchen the author tells us that this is not omniscient when Gristle says "I knew where Lacey had been, because Anna had texted me". Omniscient / God's eye narrators do not to say such things. The dev is reminding us that Gristle is the narrator even if the POV switches

 

[AL.d]

You are confusing POV switching with omniscient. There is never a 3rd person POV moment in the game. If it were omniscient we would have access to the thoughts and feelings of multiple people at the same time, we would have certain knowledge about the motivations.

The mystery of the game would go away. The idea that there was switch in narrator POV is headcannon for people who want to deny this is an unreliable narrator story despite the piles of evidence that say otherwise

Who's the deluded character whose PoV we are seeing in that scene? And please provide proof it's their PoV.

 

[monkeyqueen]

Who's the deluded character whose PoV we are seeing in that scene? And please provide proof it's their PoV.

I just replayed that scene. It moves from Lacey POV to Mia POV once Lacey leaves. When the scene returns to the kitchen the author tells us that this is not omniscient when Gristle says "I knew where Lacey had been, because Anna had texted me". Omniscient / God's eye narrators do not to say such things. The dev is reminding us that Gristle is the narrator even if the POV switches

 

[daimadochi]

If you look at the sun and you see , well , the sun , and someone comes and tells you showing you the sun "hey , look ! it's a chocolate cake !" what do you do ?
Do you argue with him or do you ignore him ?
just food for thoughts .

 

[monkeyqueen]

If you look at the sun and you see , well , the sun , and someone comes and tells you showing you the sun "hey , look ! it's a chocolate cake !"

You mean like the people who read the text at the start of the game saying "the MC is an unreliable narrator and what he says isn't necessarily true" and conclude "the MC is right about everything ... mmm love this chocolate cake . . . wait, what are these spots . . . oh my god I'm blind"!

 

[AL.d]

I just replayed that scene. It moves from Lacey POV to Mia POV once Lacey leaves. When the scene returns to the kitchen the author tells us that this is not omniscient when Gristle says "I knew where Lacey had been, because Anna had texted me". Omniscient / God's eye narrators do not to say such things. The dev is reminding us that Gristle is the narrator even if the POV switches

I don't think we even mean the same because there is no kitchen, it follows one with Brad and the redhead. And it's pure dialogue. No PoV switches.

It becomes pointless but I'm wondering would you accept it from the dev himself? Or would you still insist you are right and the world is wrong?

 

[was435]

HOLY FUCK..........

This is one of the best written psychological mindfuck that I have EVER read. The art is whatever, but the sheer depth of the writing of these characters and their interactions is unparalleled. The level of writing is so beyond anything I've ever read before, it became a novel that I just couldn't put down.

My favorite character of this whole play is Lacey. She is so complex and her arc is tragic and so so so so so dark, but also beautiful and romantic and full of stumbles along the way. I love how intense she can be, like really fucking intense. I was not prepared for that ending.

The only thing I want to know now is does this author have any books that they sell because this writing is prenominal and the twists that you think are choreographed and obvious turn out to more often than not never that. And the gravity of these two damaged star crossed lovers so entwined with each other's existence bring out in every one else is fascinating, at first it just seems like the flawed protagonist is the pull of everyone, but he is not because really they both are. Their mere existence causes shockwaves of whatever wherever they go, for good and bad. And aside from what I am sure many will think Lacey is not the villain and the story that she tells him about the Whale Shark is one of the most romantic things that I have ever read.

I whole heartedly applaud you Professor Amethyst, this journey has been an intense one.

 

[monkeyqueen]

I don't think we even mean the same because there is no kitchen, it follows one with Brad and the redhead. And it's pure dialogue. No PoV switches.

It becomes pointless but I'm wondering would you accept it from the dev himself? Or would you still insist you are right and the world is wrong?

If the dev tells me he abandoned the 1st person in favor of 3rd I would believe him, yes. Would you do the same if he told you this is an unreliable narrator game? PLEASE ask him that question.

There are other things he might say that I would argue with him about but not that.

 

[WannabeShady90]

The most obvious is "family scapegoat" imo but you are right that the MC is also a narcissist. You cooould argue that Lacey is also one because there is a something very narcissistic about always accepting the blame but

Accoutability really is the cryptonite for women.

 

[monkeyqueen]

Who's the deluded character whose PoV we are seeing in that scene? And please provide proof it's their PoV.

Just found it. The one where Kelly's name comes up for the first time. It's Lacey's POV. But we don't switch from 1st to omniscient.

Why?

Because that's creative writing 101 - don't change narration style in the middle of a book. Even POV switching in a first person POV is discouraged because unless you are a talented writer readers get confused. But this author is good enough to manage POV switching

Granted there are some similarities between POV switching and omniscient but an omniscient narrator would tell us about the thoughts of the three women - the fact that it was a pure dialogue scene should have given you a sense that this was still a 1st person POV story.

 

[WannabeShady90]

Good point. That might be Gristle's story. I mean the dev tells us he has PTSD. From what? What caused him to become the worthless shit that he is?

Gotta love me some men hating liberal feminist cuckery. Besides that, he's literally the most successful person in this story aside from maybe the QB. But I guess this game attracts lots of lefties for a reason...all the virtue signals are present in the game...I wonder if it's a coincidence that it is a NTR game.

 

[daimadochi]

Don't fall for it WannabeShady90 !
Run you fool !
And don't ever turn around !

 

[monkeyqueen]

Gotta love me some men hating liberal feminist cuckery. Besides that, he's literally the most successful person in this story aside from maybe the QB. But I guess this game attracts lots of lefties for a reason...all the virtue signals are present in the game...I wonder if it's a coincidence that it is a NTR game.

Man that is some weak ass troll sauce

I never said he wasn't successful - lots of misogynists are. Face it, you fail at trolling, either git gud or get a new hobby.

 

[WannabeShady90]

I never said he wasn't successful - lots of misogynists. Face you fail at trolling, either git gud or get a new hobby.

Leftists trigger words do nothing to me. In fact, I actually feel a little bit offended, because people like you water words like "misogyny" down so much that normies think people who use basic logic and facts are the same as real misogynists like me. You wouldn't be able to handle real misogyny, because you can hardly handle reality.

 

[monkeyqueen]

Okay, that made me laugh out loud, well done - even if the last part of your final sentence was so generic it could have been written by AI. And thanks for making my point for me I guess?

random user: no the MC isn't a misogynist, the wife is just evil witch

WannabeShady: Um, I'm a misogynist and I like this game (not because I'm a cuck - you didn't notice that did you)

 

[DeviantFun]

I think some people here missed the plot completely.

Painting what Lacey was doing as being "promiscuous" as she was a girl that had a couple of hookups here and there is really an unhinged take.

She was in a self hate and self destructive loop that is clearly psychopathlogical.

And she did know that she was destroying any sort of chances to ger back with MC (read end of phase 3) and she did know she was hurting MC, because they were supposed to be together etc (in act1 it is actually kind of hinted that they were a kind of couple).

Now, how can someone read MC as misoginistic in one of the most womancentric novel that was ever written is beyond any sort of rational thinking.

Mc is shown as caring, hurt, kind and very emotional, and not once offers judgement over people sex lives if they do not infronge on his feelings (Lacey) or his morals about maeriages (act 3).

Not only that he literally forgives anyone that slights him and literally provides no consequences to any woman, no matter the level of betrayal he is subjected to (Mia, Anna, Veronica , Christine ,Abby , Jeanette, Kelly).

In fact, this is so underlined, that it seems that MC is the only character that has no right to his feelings.
Even Isaac does ffs.

Now that we cleared some air, there are a few actually interesting points about the game.

Lacey and the other side:

In the "tennis morning" Lacey acts very cruelly with MC, which is then explained with her taking K, at that time, I just thought it was another magical drug moment, but it could also be Lacey lying to MC (about the drug effect) and the other side showing.
In act 2 it is clear Lacey still wants to keep that hidden.

Same thing with Bastion, Lacey is obviously very in control and acts very cruelly again.
She says that the k did not disassociate her because "MC made sex pleasurable" which, sorry, but it is obviously bs.
It coukd have been the other side influence again.

I am not a great fan of the mpd or did angle, but it definitely can give us several explanation to some things that were, at first glance, forced drama.

What gives me the creeps is the dialogue in the anniversary dinner.
She states that she had to reinvent herself and went with being a good person because that was what MC wamted.

I am a bit confused by that, and it strips Lacey a bit (even in other games she is described as a good egg).
I mean she was able to become a "sister" to Anna in one year of keeping in touch, care about Mia a great deal (substitute MC?).
She clearly feels bad for Isaac and I think Lorenzo.
And she is also pretty naive with Jared (unless you go with the full "she knew what she was doing" angle).
She is very weak to complimemts (this is not a good trait per se) and is actualky gentle in her flirting up until act 3.

So, was it all a ploy? I definitely do not think so, but I have a hard time reconciling her words there with act 1 and act 2 if that is not the case.
Unless, again, all the bad stuff she did was her outting down the mask.

Was Lacey never sweet or caring?

I do not mind the angle of "I will be shatever you want me to be" but the imolied deception towards MC definitely does.

Maybe we can chalk up all the horrible vegas arc to the other side too that came out with the loss of inhibitions (I mean she gets a crush on a guy in act 1 because he looks like MC and then goes full on trailer trash with Emilio), but I don't see it honestky.

So any opinions on these topics aside from "rewrite Vegas"?

Edit: we can chalk up the smiling pictures to OS as well? K was not involved, so maybe the smiles are meant for something else?

Can we also chalk the last hurrah as such, I think it fits perfectly, the OS is very degrading towards her and "likes" K and her self hate....this one makes a lot of sense to me.

What about Isaac last fuck after the call? I can see her spiral and despair with a huge flare up of the OS.

What I cannot reconcile again is the "I am doing it for him" stuff that she says whike crying listening to the happy bday song, but there is, if prof wants, definitely an explanation. (Which could also depend on which phase we are looking at)

 

[WannabeShady90]

Okay, that made me laugh out loud, well done - even if the last part of your final sentence was so generic it could have been written by AI. And thanks for making my point for me I guess?

random user: no the MC isn't a misogynist, the wife is just evil witch

WannabeShady: Um, I'm a misogynist and I like this game (not because I'm a cuck - you didn't notice that did you)

I wouldn't say I like this game, but it surely sent me on a trip down memory lane (as I've previously explained). I'm generally interested in personal relationship dynamics and I think the author actually has talent eventhough he (?) is politcally misguided.
The game lacks player agency because the author wants to get his point across. He suffers from the effects of a blue pilled society, but thinks he's morally superiour to people who actually want to fix society. I initially wasn't aware the game includes NTR (which I hate), because I only read story summaries not game tags and the initial premise of overcoming trauma sounded promising. I actually fast forward certain scenes. As for evil witches, I think we should re-introduce burning witches into society again. Why do I play these kind of games? Because I don't want to give support to porn actresses or OF "models". I'd rather support a man, even if he is politcally misguided. As for the quality of games handling personal trauma, I think Leap of Faith for example did a way better job without cheap story- telling shortcuts.

 

[monkeyqueen]

I think some people here missed the plot completely.

Painting what Lacey was doing as being "promiscuous" as she was a girl that had a couple of hookups here and there is really an unhinged take.

She was in a self hate and self destructive loop that is clearly phycopathlogical.

Yes. But it actually worked out for her. What she needed to was to be able to gain the capacity to have sex without thinking of her father raping her. And she did that. She became hate sink, a toy for men who objectify women and Isaac was special because he was so large that even normal sex with him hurt - that's what Isaac did. In the blinding pain she finally freed herself of her past.

Please read my review - I said as much there.

However twisted, her therapy worked. Indeed her fatal flaw is assuming that the medicine that worked for her - a masochist - would work for her sadist of a husband.

This is the keystone to her personality - she thinks pain heals. And the tragedy of it all is that doesn't do that for Gristle.

And she did know that she was destroying any sort of chances to ger back with MC (read end of phase 3) and she did know she was hurting MC, because they were supposed to be together etc (in act1 it is actually kind of hinted that they were a kind of couple).

That's bullshit take both of the have. It's fucking stupid. You are not with someone when you aren't with them - that's unhinged co dependent thinking.

Now, how can someone read MC as misoginistic in one of the most womancentric novel that was ever written is beyond any sort of rational thinking.

Look, I know making this point on a gooning site it difficult. In fact I probably chose the worst possible place to make the point. But angry rants about women being whores, sluts, cum buckets etc IS NOT NORMAL. Normal people don't do this - it's a kink and it's a kink based in sexism.

If you enjoy calling women those names you probably share thing in common with the MC - a failure to see blatant sexism as sexism.

Mc is shown as caring, hurt, kind and very emotional,

Until the hulk gets angry. And he is always looking for an opportunity to get angry.

and not once offers judgement over people sex lives if they do not infronge on his feelings (Lacey) or his morals about maeriages (act 3).

I mean that is one hell of defense because the only time has a chance to pass judgement on someone's marriage jumps at the opportunity when he shames the sex worker in Las Vegas. If he takes every chance the game has given him that a 1 out 1 record.

Not only that he literally forgives anyone that slights him and literally provides no consequences to any woman, no matter the level of betrayal he is subjected to (Mia, Anna, Veronica , Christine ,Abby , Jeanette, Kelly).

They aren't the scapegoat - Lacey gets all the abuse.

Now that we cleared some air,

The air is not clear. You are mistaken. You are ignoring the MC's sexist statements or explaining them away in some way. The air is very dirty right now.

Was Lacey never sweet or caring?

She has always been sweet and caring. She sometimes provokes the MC to get him to abuse her but she does that she believes it would help the MC.