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

[WannabeShady90]

I haven't. Where could I find it?



I honestly don't remember the MC cheating on Lacey in my runthrough. Was this choice-dependent?

As the player I refused every offer from every woman when the dev allowed me; I even opt out of sexting when the dev finally allows it. When I'm allowed to choose what the MC says, I choose the option that is most harmful to any relationship with that female NPC--I am avoiding allowing the MC to do anything (even flirting) with NPCs.

It annoyed me, frankly, that I was not allowed to have MC refuse Anna because I think anything Lacey suggests is "good" for the MC really isn't (note: I openly admit my blindspot when it comes to Lacey so there's no need to shame me over it). And, as I recall, Lacey directed the whole MC-Anna event so I don't consider that cheating. I freely admit I do not like it but that was more like sharing than cheating, if only IMO. Not only was it insensitive to the MC (playing on his feelings for Anna) but it was pretty harmful to Anna, too, because I don't think she saw that event as shallow meaningless sex.



I doubt it. I ask the same questions about the MC and I don't expect things to improve for him, either. This story has me conditioned to hate it when good apparently happy/positive things happen because I expect it's only the set-up for the MC (and the reader) to have our hopes dashed yet again when the inevitable bad thing happens. Often, but not always, orchestrated by Lacey.



Every time I read where someone says Lacey has grown... this is what I keep coming back to. It also reinforces why I believe the MC needs to leave all these people behind (note: not the way we ended Act 3, BTW) and go somewhere out of their reach/contact to seek some serious therapy and healing; perhaps in-patient for a bit? Yes, I know he is codependent but I don't see how the MC ever will benefit (really) from therapy when he returns to his loony-bin of a life after each session where the NPCs break him again by their attempts to "help" him. And I recognize the dev never will write his story that way so...



I took it that she wanted for the MC to sleep around to desensitize him to her sleeping around ("see, it doesn't hurt anything" or "since you can do it I can do it, too") but again I have to recognize that I'm hard-coded by the dev to seek and expect the worst from Lacey, Mia, and most of the NPCs. If you feel Lacey has a guilty conscience then that suggests to me that she recognizes that what she did was cheating so it's not just the reader's bias... but when someone tells us to do something (not shouted in rage) then we have to accept they meant that, don't we? Otherwise I'm back to not being able to accept or believe anything I read in the story.



And this, more than anything, is why I have the MC refuse every woman in the game. I think it also explains why Lacey seems more jealous when a woman she does not control is hitting on the MC vs. the NPCs she can direct. It's why I resist the harem option under the "no fun" route; it's not because of the MC's undying devotion to his wife, it's because I don't want to see him further manipulated by her and the NPCs.



I wouldn't say Lacey granted it as much as Lacey ordered it.



Did these happen on all routes? I don't remember them (not saying they didn't happen; I just don't remember). To be fair, I refused everything with Bethany (no TV date, nothing) and I did skip/FF through much of the story on my first playthrough due to my frustration so I could have missed some forced events.



That could be the title of the next Act.

Why are you so devoted to Lacey though? Literally any relationship with any girl (or even that boy) maybe aside from Mia would result in a healthier relationship. I openly admitted that I'm on #ShipAnna but I would be okey with almost any other girl as well. As for the cheating part:
01.) I didn't choose to be with Lacey. It was forced upon me. If I could break up, that's the first thing I would do. Is it cheating if I am literally forced into a relationship I do not want to have?
02.) Lacey cheated first.

What actually bothers me is that Captain SaveAHoe only interacts with Anna on a sexual level because Lacey makes him do it. In that regard, I see some progress in the writing though, because during the Birthday scene you can actually decide how far you want to go (needless to say I went as far as I could go) and Captain SaveAHoe says more openly that he loves Anna, eventhough he still hides behind the "Friendship" mask. That's just bad writing though. Who would give passionate kisses to his "best friend" and let her suck your dick while being in a committed relationship. I'm pretty sure Lacey said Anna could kiss him, not suck his dick.

 

[Yabba]

I am sorry for you having suffered so, I never have suffered such a situation, however I am pretty sure unless the Prof finally cut down on the drama next Act I might actually develop PTSD from this game, or something... their is a good reason I am saying most people arguing here are probably suffering from something akin to Stockholm Syndrome, and that wasn't really a joke, so I am not sure this might be the healthiest game or place to try to figure it out.

As for why your ex cheated on you, it could be sadism, it could be she felt something was missing in your relationship, it could be she had some kink that drove her cheating, maybe she had some emotional background with said person, like Lacey maybe she liked the notion of making you jealous, or she might just like the notion of cheating.

Obviously its hard to say without knowing her, but their are all sorts of potential reasoning or emotions that could have played into it, frankly I'll doubt you'll ever figure it out without ever reaching out to her and trying to talk it out, but then again she might lie to deflect the blame, so that is by no mean an absolute solution, if you can't fathom talking to her and if you know someone that could act as an intermediary to talk to her in your stead, you could ask them, maybe even a third party looking into it could bring some external insight.

Thanks for the reponse - in all truth this was 40 years ago so she may not even be alive , never had contact from the day i left to this day- one or two people have met her in the past and they told me she did feel remorse for the way it ended, but ill never know for sure. Just hoping ill get some closure as i work through my end of it . Ive spent today going through act 1 and looking at every line and making notes on what it makes me feel and what i think the characters are feeling so thats been cathartic and helped me not feel like shit when Lacey has her away night - ive come to understand she wants the MC not to feel the way he does -she just cant compute that this is a terrible idea.

 

[monkeyqueen]

ive come to understand she wants the MC not to feel the way he does -she just cant compute that this is a terrible idea.

Or rather she can't understand that her solution is a shitty one. The goal isn't bad - the plans are bad The therapist gets it: Dude needs to realize that HE fucked up when the kept the torch burning while she was in college. (and he does in the shark - remora discussion)

If he could just say "you had hundreds of men but you chose me" all the drama and trauma ends. But because he can't she keeps coming up with plans that do more and more damage. And then he turns to people - like Abby and Mia - that he shouldn't trust for help and they do more and more damage.

 

[WannabeShady90]

I am sorry for you having suffered so, I never have suffered such a situation, however I am pretty sure unless the Prof finally cut down on the drama next Act I might actually develop PTSD from this game, or something... their is a good reason I am saying most people arguing here are probably suffering from something akin to Stockholm Syndrome, and that wasn't really a joke, so I am not sure this might be the healthiest game or place to try to figure it out.

As for why your ex cheated on you, it could be sadism, it could be she felt something was missing in your relationship, it could be she had some kink that drove her cheating, maybe she had some emotional background with said person, like Lacey maybe she liked the notion of making you jealous, or she might just like the notion of cheating.

Obviously its hard to say without knowing her, but their are all sorts of potential reasoning or emotions that could have played into it, frankly I'll doubt you'll ever figure it out without ever reaching out to her and trying to talk it out, but then again she might lie to deflect the blame, so that is by no mean an absolute solution, if you can't fathom talking to her and if you know someone that could act as an intermediary to talk to her in your stead, you could ask them, maybe even a third party looking into it could bring some external insight.

A girl once close to me stole from me because she thought I deserved it for whatever reason. Her whole family is...well...fucked up...like really fucked up. She dead-ass told me that to my face after I've confronted her. Former blue pilled Captain SaveAHoe (me) thought I could "fix her". I've spent a few months bullying her until she was ready to commit suicide. I never harmed her physically, but I sure as hell hit her where it hurts. I think she's a drug addict now. Last time I saw her she had a couple of pounds of weed with her, but that was 10 years ago.

Another girl snitched on me after she left me. Couldn't handle that I was with a bounce back. She literally sent the SEK (German SWAT) to my house, looking for drugs, guns and so on. She also tried to make my mother lose her license as a psychiatrist by making up stories. I was away at that time, but my parents were present. I confronted her about it, which got me 4 months behind bars. Oh boy, did I have fun with that one...she seems to have found 19 bullets in her car on her 19th birthday while I was behind bars. Police was really confused how they got there...came to me asking about it. That one got a little paranoid after that...I think she went a little bit off the deep end...

...that should give you some idea how I respond to disrespect and how far I'm willing to go to scold people for it.

 

[Lady Lydia]

Thanks for the reponse - in all truth this was 40 years ago so she may not even be alive , never had contact from the day i left to this day- one or two people have met her in the past and they told me she did feel remorse for the way it ended, but ill never know for sure. Just hoping ill get some closure as i work through my end of it . Ive spent today going through act 1 and looking at every line and making notes on what it makes me feel and what i think the characters are feeling so thats been cathartic and helped me not feel like shit when Lacey has her away night - ive come to understand she wants the MC not to feel the way he does -she just cant compute that this is a terrible idea.

Ouch when you were explaining yourself originally I thought it was a somewhat fresh wound... bloody Hell its a wound about as old as I am... yea that is clearly passed the point what I said was a viable mean to get closure.

As for this game, well one point I'd add is that trying to get anything resembling proper understanding from it would be... problematic, I doubt most of us had extremely painful backgrounds to the degree the MC & Lacey had, so we fundamentally can't comprehend their reasoning because we aren't mentally broken to the point they are.

In simple term Lacey is a broken soul with an horrifying childhood and teenage life, that abandoned her platonic life partner to go alone to College, tried to fix herself, broke herself even harder in the process, was reunited with her platonic life partner, fell in love with him, lied to him about the extent of how fucked up her College years were, her best friend reveal it because she was likely jealous of the MC taking Lacey away from her, lied to her husband about the extent of what happened in College again, still had to contend with the fact her husband was very unhappy about the lies, try to fix him, fuck him up badly in the process, at a time somewhere in there tried to better their life but fucked it up again, pissed her husband off again, and more or less keep this pattern rolling from Act 1 to Act 3. Lacey's approach to problem solving could be nicknamed 'The Road to Hell', built upon good intentions but very much keep causing Hell to happen.

I argue some of her intent is likely to change the way her husband see things to make him more... compatible with how she thinks and willing to accept abnormal patterns of thinking & behaving as acceptable for her benefit, and his to some degree, she can't undo what she did to she tries to change him so he'll consider what she did acceptable, possibly to some degree also so she can keep doing things like it for her benefit.

 

[NewGuy2022]

Why are you so devoted to Lacey though? Literally any relationship with any girl (or even that boy) maybe aside from Mia would result in a healthier relationship. I openly admitted that I'm on #ShipAnna but I would be okey with almost any other girl as well. As for the cheating part:
01.) I didn't choose to be with Lacey. It was forced upon me. If I could break up, that's the first thing I would do. Is it cheating if I am literally forced into a relationship I do not want to have?
02.) Lacey cheated first.

What actually bothers me is that Captain SaveAHoe only interacts with Anna on a sexual level because Lacey makes him do it. In that regard, I see some progress in the writing though, because during the Birthday scene you can actually decide how far you want to go (needless to say I went as far as I could go) and Captain SaveAHoe says more openly that he loves Anna, eventhough he still hides behind the "Friendship" mask. That's just bad writing though. Who would give passionate kisses to his "best friend" and let her suck your dick while being in a committed relationship. I'm pretty sure Lacey said Anna could kiss him, not suck his dick.

If I am anything, it is decidedly NOT devoted to Lacey. Not even on a bad day. I agree that nearly anyone else (although with this story, who knows how characters will behave in Act 4) would be better than Lacey.

My refusal of every act with every NPC is because Lacey is directing their efforts. By refusing them the MC is refusing Lacey because Lacey is trying to pull the NPC's strings. It's not clear to me why she wants the MC to have sex with other girls but I am certain it is not for the reason she said. Her pattern of dishonesty with the MC means I don't believe a word from her unless I've seen some way to corroborate it. Lacey manipulates the MC far too much as it is; I do not want to giver her even more control over him.

I would prefer a break-up, too, but since the dev clearly is more enamored with Lacey than with the MC and Lacey wants to keep the MC then... ...the MC is trapped even though remaining with her is toxic for him. The only way I can resist in this story is to say "no" to everything Lacey or her pawns offer. So that's exactly what I do.

 

[monkeyqueen]

In simple term Lacey is a broken soul with an horrifying childhood and teenage life, that abandoned her platonic life partner to go alone to College, tried to fix herself, broke herself even harder in the process,

She didn't break herself harder in the process - she (partially) healed herself. She finally got the image of her rapist father out her mind. Before then she couldn't even touch another man.

If the MC wasn't an idiot and an incel he would realize she did him a favor.

Once of the reasons the plans keep failing is she wants to prescribe the same medicine to Gristle but in this case what's good for the goose is not good for the gander

 

[DeviantFun]

She didn't break herself harder in the process - she (partially) healed herself. She finally got the image of her rapist father out her mind. Before then she couldn't even touch another man.

If the MC wasn't an idiot he would realize she did him a favor.

Once of the reasons the plans keep failing is she wants to prescribe the same medicine to Gristle but in this case what's good for the goose is not good for the gander

L "It didn't work."
L "Leaving you was pain."
L "And instead of becoming a girl who could love you."
L "I became... this."
L "I can't fix this one."
L "All I can do is say I'm so sorry."
L "I was wrong. Painfully wrong."
L "Leaving you was my demise."
L "I tried to kill myself so many times."
-------
L "When I abandoned him to go to school, to try and stand on my own,"
L "all that pain just became a constant battle to try and keep at bay."
L "It was awful at first."
L "And it just got worse and worse."
L "Until I could barely stand to be in my own skin."
L "I began to find ways to deal with that."
L "Sometimes it was listening to a recording of my future husband singing happy birthday to me."
L "I'd throw myself into my schoolwork."
L "Then I started drinking at night to help me sleep better."
L "Then I started drinking in the morning to help me get through my day."
L "And then I discovered ketamine."
L "The wonder drug."
L "And my personal hell on earth."
-------
MC "Knowing who we are, do you think it would have taken that long for us to figure out that painful sex resets your brain?"
L "No. We probably would have figured it out in a few weeks."

------
L "Everything I did was wrong."
------
L "Because living for four years without you was... the worst thing that's ever happened to me."
MC "Well, besides the abuse of course."
L "That isn't what I said."
L "I said, it was the worst thing that has ever happened to me."

 

[WannabeShady90]

If I am anything, it is decidedly NOT devoted to Lacey. Not even on a bad day. I agree that nearly anyone else (although with this story, who knows how characters will behave in Act 4) would be better than Lacey.

My refusal of every act with every NPC is because Lacey is directing their efforts. By refusing them the MC is refusing Lacey because Lacey is trying to pull the NPC's strings. It's not clear to me why she wants the MC to have sex with other girls but I am certain it is not for the reason she said. Her pattern of dishonesty with the MC means I don't believe a word from her unless I've seen some way to corroborate it. Lacey manipulates the MC far too much as it is; I do not want to giver her even more control over him.

I would prefer a break-up, too, but since the dev clearly is more enamored with Lacey than with the MC and Lacey wants to keep the MC then... ...the MC is trapped even though remaining with her is toxic for him. The only way I can resist in this story is to say "no" to everything Lacey or her pawns offer. So that's exactly what I do.

Okey, now I understand your reasoning. I think there are a few little flaws though. Anna loved Captain SaveAHoe even before she met Lacey. Anna's love is not dependent on Lacey. I will admit that Anna probably plays by Lacey's rules just because there is no other way for her to be with him. But - and that is big but - I'm almost certain that Anna would go against Lacey if the player asked her to. She has confronted Lacey on her own a couple of times already. There is also (at least) one person outside of Lacey's control who's even antagonistic towards Lacey and that is Kelly. I think it's no coincidence that Captain SaveAHoe always ends up at her place whenever Lacey fucks up again. I actually think Kelly would be a decent choice as well. She's morally aligned with him and they share at least a similar background. He also seems comfortable sharing his feelings with her. She's also hot, but that's a given in this kind of game. There's also Bethany, who probably hasn't even really appeared on Lacey's radar yet. So I think there are a few decent choices left uncorrucpted.

 

[monkeyqueen]

L "It didn't work."
. . .

Until it did:

L "I did all those things, because I just didn't care enough to stop."
L "Not because it felt good or because I was enjoying any of it."
L "The only tiny glimmer of goodness that came out of it was in the final picture."
L "Those weren't tears of a disassociated whore."
L "They were very real."
L "First off that jerk was way too big for me."
L "it wasn't fun, it wasn't mind blowing, it just fucking hurt."
L "So I was in pain."
L "The second reason for tears was because I had achieved what I thought was impossible."
L "I had disassociated intimacy from my abuse."
L "I could be intimate and not think of my father."
L "All I could think of in that last picture was I could finally come home to you.

 

[DeviantFun]

Until it did:

L "I did all those things, because I just didn't care enough to stop."
L "Not because it felt good or because I was enjoying any of it."
L "The only tiny glimmer of goodness that came out of it was in the final picture."
L "Those weren't tears of a disassociated whore."
L "They were very real."
L "First off that jerk was way too big for me."
L "it wasn't fun, it wasn't mind blowing, it just fucking hurt."
L "So I was in pain."
L "The second reason for tears was because I had achieved what I thought was impossible."
L "I had disassociated intimacy from my abuse."
L "I could be intimate and not think of my father."
L "All I could think of in that last picture was I could finally come home to you.

MC "Knowing who we are, do you think it would have taken that long for us to figure out that painful sex resets your brain?"
L "No. We probably would have figured it out in a few weeks."

L "When I went to college I became addicted to ketamine and had a serious drinking problem."
L "I became an awful person who did awful things."
L "I took so much that it caused some brain damage."
L "That resulted in me nearly destroying my marriage."

 

[WannabeShady90]

If the MC wasn't an idiot he would realize she did him a favor.

Thinking that seeing your wife as a sperm bank is doing him a favor is some next level copium. Might be weapon grade copium at this point. I mean if you have Jesus like forgiving abilities, maybe...setting aside the huge psychological damage that it takes to actually go through with this, they weren't in a relationship back then, but cheating on him in front of a camera breaking every single fucking rule...that's some next level disrespect. But let's face it, they've probably had the best sex after the club experiance, in which (if you let her) she had sex with yet another man that is not him. So she obviously still gets off by fucking around. As I've mentioned a couple of times - she is broken. She will never be fixed. There is no fixing people like her. So why even try?

"If you stare into the abyss the abyss stares back at you" - Friedrich Nietzsche

I've asked Gemini what it thinks the quote means:

• It's a warning about obsession: The quote cautions that prolonged engagement with negativity or that which you oppose can lead to becoming like it.
• It's about internal change: The "abyss" is often seen as a mirror to our own inner selves, reflecting our avoided fears, impulses, and flaws.
• It's a warning against nihilism: For Nietzsche, the abyss could represent the meaninglessness of a world without God, and staring into it too long could lead to despair or nihilism.

 

[WannabeShady90]

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

 

[WannabeShady90]

It's a warning about obsession: Lacey literally tries to break him to become like her. Same as Abby and Mia btw.
It's about internal change: Lacey literally IS the fear impersonated.

 

[DeviantFun]

It's a warning about obsession: Lacey literally tries to break him to become like her.
It's about internal change: Lacey literally IS the fear impersonated.

L "I've told you I don't want you to be like me."
L "I... (sigh)"
L "...happen to like that you're intensely jealous."

 

[monkeyqueen]

MC "Knowing who we are, do you think it would have taken that long for us to figure out that painful sex resets your brain?"
L "No. We probably would have figured it out in a few weeks."

L "When I went to college I became addicted to ketamine and had a serious drinking problem."
L "I became an awful person who did awful things."
L "I took so much that it caused some brain damage."
L "That resulted in me nearly destroying my marriage."

I think they are lying to themselves. The man who stole her pencils from her would not have shoved his forearm up her anus.

Obviously the Ketamine, the brain damage was a bad decision. But the masochism was not, But high school Lacey and Gristle never had a chance because he would kept to the rules - only touch her head. She needed someone who cared nothing for her to bring her the pain she needed.

Edit for DeviantFun

L "So my key coping mechanism was denial."
L "I wasn't lying to you, I was lying to myself."

and one of the most important lines in the entire AVN

L "I am also afraid of conflict and my brain will believe whatever it needs to, to avoid it."
L "This makes me an easy target for being manipulated."

Always, always, always Lacey will deal with an angry Gristle by agreeing with him.

Yes, we could have figured it out.
Yes you are right.
Yes you are right.
Yes you are right.

 

[WannabeShady90]

L "I've told you I don't want you to be like me."
L "I... (sigh)"
L "...happen to like that you're intensely jealous."

Yeah, she's damaged. Yeah, she's toxic. Yeah, she's broken. Nobody denies that. Why the fuck would I be willing to engage with that though?

 

[NewGuy2022]

Okey, now I understand your reasoning. I think there are a few little flaws though. Anna loved Captain SaveAHoe even before she met Lacey. Anna's love is not dependent on Lacey. I will admit that Anna probably plays by Lacey's rules just because there is no other way for her to be with him. But - and that is big but - I'm almost certrain that Anna would go against Lacey if the player asked her to. She has confronted Lacey on her own a couple of times already. There is also (at least) one person outside of Lacey's control who's even antagonistic towards Lacey and that is Kelly. I think it's no coincidence that Captain SaveAHoe always ends up at her place whenever Lacey fucks up again. I actually think Kelly would be a decent choice as well. She's morally aligned with him and they share at least a similar background. He also seems comfortable sharing his feelings with her. She's also hot, but that's a given in this kind of game. There's also Bethany, who probably hasn't even really appeared on Lacey's radar yet. So I think there are a few decent choices left uncorrucpted.

I agree that Anna loved the MC before she knew about Lacey. But now she's one of Lacey's "escorts" that Lacey throws at MC when she wants to corrupt him. Anna is just another of Lacey's tools now and, for that reason, I choose for the MC to reject her when I'm allowed to choose. I did not like the forced sex scene with her; I would've preferred player choice there.

I like Kelly from the early game but I don't trust her scheming now. And I rejected Bethany just because everyone in this story is bad for the MC so she must be, too; the author just hasn't shown us why yet (yes, I realize that's an irrational belief for me to have). Plus, once Lacey learns about Beth, she'll become yet another tool in Lacey's toolbox because (porn logic.)

Finally, the last reason I won't choose for the MC to cheat on Lacey is because I detest cheating and cheaters. Get a divorce first and then you can shag a whole city block but not while you're married. I recognize that belief puts me at odds with many if not most posters here and I'm just fine with that. It's just me.

The MC is better off alone even though his codependency would cause him to suffer badly for the withdrawal; I just feel his suffering at the hands of the NPCs is worse. He needs to escape from them and then immerse himself in professional counseling.

 

[WannabeShady90]

L "I've told you I don't want you to be like me."
L "I... (sigh)"
L "...happen to like that you're intensely jealous."

Also let's not forget that she changed her reasoning. First she told us she's doing it to show how little it means to her. (Enough to constantly bring it up though despite seemingly being so happy with only us and force us into it despite knowing how uncomfortable we feel with it). Lacey flip flops so often that I basically don't believe anything she says anymore...oh yeah...first thing she brings up after leaving the library room is a 3some. lol

 

[DeviantFun]

Also let's not forget that she changed her reasoning. First she told us she's doing it to show how little it means to her. (Enough to constantly bring it up though despite seemingly being so happy with only us and force us into it despite knowing how uncomfortable we feel with it). Lacey flip flops so often that I basically don't believe anything she says anymore...oh yeah...first thing she brings up after leaving the library room is a 3some. lol

This is incorrect there was always a double angle:

L "Go explore the world without me."
L "Embrace whatever it has to offer you."
L "Break a few hearts."
L "All I ask is that you'll still be mine when it's all over."
L "Promise me."
-----
L "I am not trying to turn you into me."
L "I want you to date other women, so you can feel more confident."
L "So, you can experience the things you missed out on."
L "And so you can hurt me."
L "So you can make me feel jealous."
L "Because I think you need that."
L "I think you need to put me in my place so that you can work through all this."
L "It's not going to be fun for me." <- not a masochist btw
L "I am extremely jealous of you and the women around you."
L "I've made that abundantly clear."
L "But I love you enough that I want you to have this."
-----
A "You said you wanted him to experience beautiful new things."
A "You said... he would be able to... love me."

This is all from act 1 AND act 2.

I cannot say anything about the 3p in act 3, as I also found it...well...the nicest thing I have got to say would be "peculiar behaviour".
My gut feeling is that the author wanted a 3p, did not have time to develop a mini storyline for it and just chucked it in.

But if we go by the material I have no way to justify that or reconcile it to the rest of the dialogues up until that point, UNLESS we could say that Lacey was very tired to hear Lorenzo rant and didn't think MC would mind since it was heavy RP in his favour, too bad MC did not know this at all because Lacey did not explain anything....she is shown to be tired so maybe she forgot?

I think they are lying to themselves. The man who stole her pencils from her would not have shoved his forearm up her anus.

Obviously the Ketamine, the brain damage was a bad decision. But the masochism was not, But high school Lacey and Gristle never had a chance because he would kept to the rules - only touch her head. She needed someone who cared nothing for her to bring her the pain she needed.

Edit for DeviantFun

L "So my key coping mechanism was denial."
L "I wasn't lying to you, I was lying to myself."

and one of the most important lines in the entire AVN

L "I am also afraid of conflict and my brain will believe whatever it needs to, to avoid it."
L "This makes me an easy target for being manipulated."

Always, always, always Lacey will deal with an angry Gristle by agreeing with him.

Yes, we could have figured it out.
Yes you are right.
Yes you are right.
Yes you are right.

Wrong, you have the script on hand, go and check the context of the line you posted and say it is the "most important", I don't even have to look it up to know that the next lines explain her decision making abilities and she is not referring to MC at all.

In fact, one of the biggest contradictions about Lacey is that she is non confrontational with everyone (in act 1 mostly), but always tries to stir up stuff with MC.

If she is non confrontational with MC, how come she fights with him on the phone and then lies to him about Will to make him jealous which will obviously lead to a confrontation? (act 1, Brimley party, Lacey sends the messages to Mia instead of MC).

If she is non confrontational with your interpretation, why would she push him and try to pick a fight when MC just wants to drop the discussion? (Isaac aftermath).

If she is non confrontational why does she want to include a huge argument at the end of JD? (I would suggest looking for the phrase "emotional vampire" in the script, it will explain the situation better).

Or how can you explain these?

L "I have an idea."
MC "What's that?"
L "How about you get off my case about it?"
L "Does that work for you?"

MC "I know the creative process can be draining, but it seems like the work is overwhelming."
L "Well, you can't help okay."
L "There's nothing you can do, except let me get through this."
MC "Sure. Of course."
MC "How about a backrub?"
L "How about you just leave me alone?"
MC "I... I can do that."

Last post about this topic on my side, she does not agree with MC to avoid a confrontation but because she thinks he is right, and when she doesn't she gives her version and her excuses.