One of my theory was that the MC is a Nephilim, a half angel, and Lacey is a Cambion, a half demon, both got some supernatural attractiveness, however the MC's version is more about making everyone attracted to guys fall in love over him and Lacey's version is more about making everyone attracted to girls fall in lust over her. The opposite force would also mean they are mutually immune to each other's powers, it would also explain why they have difficulties opposite force causing them to instinctively have some issues with one another.
The fact it seem everyone around the MC that is stated to be attracted to guys end up being charmed up by him including Isaac, someone that at first was antagonistic and suddenly was revealed to be bi but also turned supportive of the MC, or that Mia someone what was raped and dislike men magically fell in love with him. As for Lacey look she isn't a 10, she is cute but I'd say she is surpassed by Veronica, Kelly, Dianne, for sure, so why are everyone attracted to women seem to go batshit crazy over her? Why make vast complex plot to turn Lacey into a porn star? Sure she might have experience but she wouldn't be worth that insane amount of efforts unless she is affecting people attracted to her in a supernatural way to make her the focus of their attention. It would also explain the notion that she was incapable of love originally, in Augusta Yara say her kind 'cannot love' so its possible during her College days she was able to figure how to love if albeit in somewhat a twisted way.
I really love the fact that the proffesor is linking both this and Augusta Girls so that we can speculate on more supernatural ways that LJ is being affected . I would love it if the MC was like a "super" in some way.
Thank you for your input , Perhaps i was wrong to lable Lacey with that medical term for her condition- there maybe are many things wrong with her not just one - you have the need for Jealousy addiction and i agree thats a big part of the dynamic between the two when they are alone. But i strongly think she did have sex with all of the guys i mention for whatever reason ,not because she is bad but because she is still in college mode .
I think if she did anything it would have been limited to handjobs & blowjobs since she does have an oral fixation, but else I don't think she'd have went all the way, as I said its clear she isn't addicted to sex as you think because during Act 3 when she does her whole painting therapy she is able to skip having sex for days while in seclusion, so if she isn't addicted to sex per say I expect anything she'd to be in service to her kinks, and what we know is she has an oral & jealousy kink, so having oral sex with other men would be in service of that, but jealousy require her husband knowing which was clearly not the case, and keeping it secret for a while and having all of it revealed at once would be counter productive, because it add betrayal to the mix, and if she want jealousy so her husband can 'reclaim' her, one massive bout of jealousy leading to be reclaimed once VS dozens of smaller bouts of jealousy leading to dozens of reclaiming would be far more satisfying for her kink.
I really love the fact that the proffesor is linking both this and Augusta Girls so that we can speculate on more supernatural ways that LJ is being affected . I would love it if the MC was like a "super" in some way.
While its cliche for MC of a harem game to have an ease at getting girls, the MC here is beyond that, he literally causing addiction withdrawal effects on Yue, in addition their is 'The Voice' in Augusta the MC learn how to wield a power that allow him to mind control girls, the MC in this game does something similar, when he talk to Bella he get serious and literally get her to do all he want her to do, during the dinner date with Yue the same thing happen, she has chosen him she is willing to commit, but he get serious and tell her to date Bradley, and she barely question it.
I mean it could be the Prof pushing the harem hero trope further than normal... but when you know the supernatural exist and someone in the other game use a power that is similar in nature... well its easy to make the assumption their is some supernatural forces that affect things in this game. I know some of the people here hate that notion, some say since we haven't seen an hint of it yet it can't exist, but when you consider that this Dev first game was revealed to be scifi in nature at its literal end, well it wouldn't be the first time this Dev pull a twist like that late into the game.
I think if she did anything it would have been limited to handjobs & blowjobs since she does have an oral fixation, but else I don't think she'd have went all the way, as I said its clear she isn't addicted to sex as you think because during Act 3 when she does her whole painting therapy she is able to skip having sex for days while in seclusion, so if she isn't addicted to sex per say I expect anything she'd to be in service to her kinks, and what we know is she has an oral & jealousy kink, so having oral sex with other men would be in service of that, but jealousy require her husband knowing which was clearly not the case, and keeping it secret for a while and having all of it revealed at once would be counter productive, because it add betrayal to the mix, and if she want jealousy so her husband can 'reclaim' her, one massive bout of jealousy leading to be reclaimed once VS dozens of smaller bouts of jealousy leading to dozens of reclaiming would be far more satisfying for her kink.
While its cliche for MC of a harem game to have an ease at getting girls, the MC here is beyond that, he literally causing addiction withdrawal effects on Yue, in addition their is 'The Voice' in Augusta the MC learn how to wield a power that allow him to mind control girls, the MC in this game does something similar, when he talk to Bella he get serious and literally get her to do all he want her to do, during the dinner date with Yue the same thing happen, she has chosen him she is willing to commit, but he get serious and tell her to date Bradley, and she barely question it.
I mean it could be the Prof pushing the harem hero trope further than normal... but when you know the supernatural exist and someone in the other game use a power that is similar in nature... well its easy to make the assumption their is some supernatural forces that affect things in this game. I know some of the people here hate that notion, some say since we haven't seen an hint of it yet it can't exist, but when you consider that this Dev first game was revealed to be scifi in nature at its literal end, well it wouldn't be the first time this Dev pull a twist like that late into the game.
I beg to differ on the part where you and others say there is no hint of the super natural - Lacey does tell the MC many times that his interaction with her when she was young was "magical" like how could he know to make the rules ,to treat he just so when to anyone else she just seemed normal. Also Lacey tells the MC that his interactions with Mia and Anna are magical too ,so maybe they have no clue in this universe that its happening to them but id like to think its very true,
Also that three day recluse by Lacey ,she was not alone - she had the three bad boys with her - the dialogue is vague but im sure she calls each one to stand in front of her like naughty boys and its intimated by silence that she blows each one to then tell them to sit down and shut up.
I had a theory some time ago (which I don't think is true anymore, but I still think about it sometime) that MC is actually alone and Lacey is an "imaginary friend" of him. Either she died long ago during their childhood or may be she never existed.
MC is obviously mentally unhealthy. So everything what is going on in his life regarding Lacey happens in his imagination. He has friends, which supports his tales about Lacey and try to calm him down when it gets worse because they don't want him to completely break. With every chapter we read MC starts to understand better and better that what he thinks is not a reality (may be even start to remember what happend with Lacey in reality) and this makes him more and more unstable. This also explains Laceys behavior - her sudden changes in behavior is not because she has different personalities, but because this is what MC imagining at this point - its his shifts of mood or something like that.
I had a theory some time ago (which I don't think is true anymore, but I still think about it sometime) that MC is actually alone and Lacey is an "imaginary friend" of him. Either she died long ago during their childhood or may be she never existed.
MC is obviously mentally unhealthy. So everything what is going on in his life regarding Lacey happens in his imagination. He has friends, which supports his tales about Lacey and try to calm him down when it gets worse because they don't want him to completely break. With every chapter we read MC starts to understand better and better that what he thinks is not a reality (may be even start to remember what happend with Lacey in reality) and this makes him more and more unstable. This also explains Laceys behavior - her sudden changes in behavior is not because she has different personalities, but because this is what MC imagining at this point - its his shifts of mood or something like that.
First thing, that would have completely made this game a non-thing and I doubt even the Prof would have went along with something that literally would have made the themes of this game fundamentally invalid. Second, since Act 1 you had characters that had direct interactions with Lacey's how the Hell do you even justify that? I mean look their was that movie with George Clooney where he imagined a little girl with him while being stuck as the only human left on Earth and that was the twist, the problem here is that work for someone alone, but someone with regular interactions with other people that all confirm the existence of the imaginary character wouldn't make sense. A human that would suffer from the insane level of hallucinations required to make this happen wouldn't be functional, he'd be locked in a mental institute, and frankly that sort of story has already been done more than enough, so I doubt it will be a desirable narrative to bother with for the Prof.
First thing, that would have completely made this game a non-thing and I doubt even the Prof would have went along with something that literally would have made the themes of this game fundamentally invalid. Second, since Act 1 you had characters that had direct interactions with Lacey's how the Hell do you even justify that? I mean look their was that movie with George Clooney where he imagined a little girl with him while being stuck as the only human left on Earth and that was the twist, the problem here is that work for someone alone, but someone with regular interactions with other people that all confirm the existence of the imaginary character wouldn't make sense. A human that would suffer from the insane level of hallucinations required to make this happen wouldn't be functional, he'd be locked in a mental institute, and frankly that sort of story has already been done more than enough, so I doubt it will be a desirable narrative to bother with for the Prof.
Yeah, I totally agree. The theory can be stretched to explain most of the story so far. But it would not have any sense I guess. That's why I don't believe in it myself. But it was entertaining to think about it as a possible plot. I just remembered about it when I read a reminder (for the 100th time i guess) in a post above that the story is being told from the MC's perspective and he is not a trustworthy teller.
Alright I'mma throw down some thoughts about Act 1, because it's quite long and I might forget stuff later, that and screens/notes I've taken would be lost if the browser dies.
This was great. I love fucked up, it's the only way this stuff can make me feel any way about any thing, and this sure was that.
There's a lot of content here, or at least story to read through. I'm a fairly fast reader normally I think, and this mighta been like 6 hours of reading just for Act 1. I feel like some games mighta stopped at the point after Mia's last lesson and it all implodes with just like a couple ending choices... but that's basically just the start of the game. I wished I could have her on both the punish and slut paths, like I want her to be a maximum whore but also want to slap her around a bit, but at the point I'm at I don't think they actually had much of an effect.
Some of their faces look weirdly young, like the dude's boss. Or later on, the jock's mother - has gray hair but the face of a teen.
I know it's before the choices really start but I thought it was a shame the MC just defaults to saying no to having Anna spying for him, I thought that'd be an interesting angle to pair with Mia's "lessons".
Maybe let people put custom titles you know for the Sir/Master/etc. stuff. Daddy for example was missing (and nicely fucked up considering her backstory).
I like Veronica, big tits aside, so kinda a shame she's off on the trip with Lacey so not freepass accessible and we'll have to get to her later. I kinda thought when they were talking about sharing a room it mighta been possible to push Lacey into some sorta lesdom thing instead for her plan. Dunno why, it'd not really have made sense, wishful thinking I guess.
Is Jamie a femboy? There's no trap/trans/gay tag but I got a sissy vibe from the outset, and (s)he was wearing a bikini later on. A guy embarrassed by their body would wear swim trunks and a T, not something that showed cleft. I guess seeing as they said they're bi maybe twink might be a better term (and they used that one later on I think), but again, bikini. Shame for the freepass to end without smashing that bussy.
I think the 2 scenes I'd like to see the most at this point are Veronica heavily lesdomming the fmc, I get that I think she wants a guy to come in and take control, but her in business mode, really winding up the fmc saying she'll steal the mmc from her unless she does what she wants and then fucking her with like a horse strapon or something. I get the likelihood of this exact scenario happening is low. The other is the mmc with Jamie, ideally after(s)he has put on some makeup and maybe a wig to fem up more, I guess later on involving the fmc but not sure how... I kinda like the idea of them both dicking her (even if poor Jamie seems super subby, maybe they can be a switch).
Bradley's hair always looks wrong. Like dyed red rather than a natural redhead, dunno what kinda prompt alterations might help though.
Jared was a little hammy. Like a bit of an over the top villain. I'm sure there are people like that but it was a little immersion breaking. I'll forgive it as the rest is well written.
Bella was nice, but not quite rich girl enough, I have a real soft spot from them spoiled socialites but she wasn't able to capture that vibe at all. Also not sure why everything (one rushed scene with Anna aside) is always about BJs though, I was hoping he'd fuck her, maybe kinda romantically. I guess in general I'd have liked more choices in the game about stuff, that's probably it's one weakness. The opening speech with her about being friends was a little weird and hallmarky, but I couldn't think of anything better, that kinda pivotal stuff is so hard, so it gets a pass.
Normally I say replay galleries are a must. But the sex scenes are real short and it's more of a story game, so one of the few that can get away without one I guess, still something to consider.
I feel like at some point they just can't started repeating themselves. Not that there was any dialogue copy pasted... but like it was just the same conversation had like 5 times. Maybe that's the point, make us the reader as sick of the same ol' same ol' as the MC is going through but yeah.
Real curious what this involves:
sounds kinda fucked up and hot... but it might not mean it like that. I may regret choosing it.
One thing is I'd like the hotbar buttons games normally have back. You know the quicksave and whatnot near the dialogue box. That one will come in handy later when there's more choices, but I especially want the skip one. This game is loooong, going back through to see what effect different choices have is gonna be a pain, it'd be much better to just be able to click on that and wait for it to stop at a piece of unread text than have to sit there holding the button down for 20 mins.
I've mentioned the lack of choices above somewhere, and I know there was a warning at the start that Act 1 wouldn't have many... but then thing is I thought we were out of Adt 1 ages ago. Maybe Act 1 was Mia's lessons, Act 2 was dealing with the jealousy, Act 3 the freepass, Act 4 would be the fallout after she's back from the trip. I didn't realise we'd not hit Act 2 until that title card (I don't think there was one for Act 1?).
flipped
museum
While her total inability to make normal decisions in infuriating, I really vibe Lacey. It's probably mainly the whole dependant thing and that she keeps saying she'd do anything he asks (thought hen he annoying doesn't ask for all the things I would, haha). But I dig just how manipulative and things she is.
So yeah great job, will rush to play the rest, I already kinda neglected some stuff yesterday to keep playing way more than I should. I hope you see it through.
But since this game is really about Lacey, "good" will be with respect to her viewpoint. MC's view will be irrelevant unless it supports what Lacey wants. I'm fully prepared to be sickened by what are termed "good" endings.
I've softened my view on revenge; at this point I'd be thrilled with mere escape for the MC
I hope I have to report that I'm wrong when this is over; I just don't see that happening with this author's work so far.
I'm surprised the dev considered this story to be about NTR because the real major character (Lacey) hasn't been cheated on or lost her LI; on my playthroughs only 2 girls have even seen Gristle's penis, much less touched it, and those two were Lacey and once by Anna (on Lacey's orders). On those rare occasions the player was allowed to choose, I chose "no." Always.
It bothers me that the MC will be forced into sex with yet another LI in Act 4. I'm trying to distance Gristle from those NPCs, not tie him closer. I want to see Gristle heal...
Yeah, other than some massive "break" where the MC loses it, I don't see a MC maliciously focused "revenge" ending working very well.
I think the professors series of songs is a good indicator as to how he sees someone who abuses themselves in this lifestyle. While I don't see the characters in that musical being any direct relation to L&J, I do think it gives some insight a bit on how the professor sees such behavior. This is also evident in how Lacey speaks of her past actions as well. She doesn't view her kinks as someone who is fond of them, rather as an addict sees them as something that has to be attended to. She even speaks like this when outlining the various ones prior to the JD, which ones she can live without and which ones she can't.
She phrases this in terms of compatibility in a relationship, but when you look at her actual discussion concerning the various issues related to to them over the course of the acts, she doesn't see them as positive or some "fulfilling" thing, rather just the opposite. The college days, the way men see her due to them, the strife she goes through as a result of them, etc...
So I think a good "revenge" ending would be, as you say, the MC detaching and letting her succumb to it, a realization she is doomed to her own devices, and him continuing to stay is simply enabling her to the misconception that she can live that lifestyle under the security he would provide her and that is exactly what him being in the picture does.
This also falls inline with the dialogue as well... her story about the remora and the whale. She phrases it in a way that makes it sound romantic, but the reality is more of that of a parasite that feeds, causes sickness, and eventual demise of its host. She needs him to provide that stability and safety net for her own destructive behavior because she knows he is the only one who will tolerate it in a way that won't cast her away indiscriminately, or push her into a further spiral of self destruction for his own selfish purpose.
She knows her lifestyle isn't healthy (it is quite evident if you look to numerous dialogues and interactions she has concerning the people of her past and the actions she comments on). He is her only hope. To live a lifestyle with people who would truly accept her behavior is akin to an addict seeking other addicts to find normalcy in the approval, but in reality they are seeking that comfort through a lie of mutually approved destruction masked as normalcy.
The problem is that she has refused to confront her own behaviors directly and truly seek redemption for her behavior (she pays lip service, but not actual effort to disconnect from them), and this isn't about the MC directly, it is about her behavior as it concerns her own self. She does not seek to heal herself (various forms of denial), only to continue to tend to the MCs wounds in a way that will keep him providing that safety for her to survive.
Where this can lead is that the MC accepts her, becomes like her, but this is as I said, seeking approval of her issues (addicts coming together), not resolution to them and so this behavior would consume them both eventually in various ways.
It can also lead to the MC breaking, never accepting it and her behavior eventually kills off the host so to speak where Lacey then spirals into her previous lifestyle to her own eventual demise.
So the "revenge" ending is more as you say, one where the MC takes agency, realizes Lacey is destroying him and chooses to cut her loose. To make it more of a "revenge", it would be one where the MC disconnects his mental attachments to her which may bring about some realization that he "also" never loved her (using Lacey's logic in her youth), rather he was simply confusing love with a compassion to keep her from harm. Combine this with a catalyst of Lacey doing something that sets this off, he washes his hands without care and walks away without guilt or shame, leaving her to her own self destruction.
It could be a harsh progression of him realizing this and also in how he ends with her through the dialogue where she is left completely devastated by him coming to that reality. She loses her control, she loses her safety net, she loses her savior, but she gets the cold hard reality of, he no longer loves her (maybe even claiming he never did) to which she is left a hollow shell that is a slave to her own behavior.
This could also be reflected by the other girls coming to understand the MC in this and also agreeing with him, seeing that not only should he walk away, but so should everyone else... and Lacey is left to her own devices, ultimately leading to a life of that self destruction and eventual demise.
The thing is, I don't think the professor would write such an ending based on how he seems to absolve Lacey of many things and push the blame on the MC. I think if there is something akin to this ending, it will be explained in a way where it again... is the MC not able to come to terms due to a break (putting that on him), and Lacey if it is a demoralized ending will be one of heart break at him being lost, not because of any true realization of her part in that.
So when I think of "revenge" ending, that is the best I can think of with the way Lacey is (currently). That might change if Lacey's motives are found to be... devious of intent, then... break out the wood chipper.
Yeah, I totally agree. The theory can be stretched to explain most of the story so far. But it would not have any sense I guess. That's why I don't believe in it myself. But it was entertaining to think about it as a possible plot. I just remembered about it when I read a reminder (for the 100th time i guess) in a post above that the story is being told from the MC's perspective and he is not a trustworthy teller.
Sure. But I suspect that the other reason that memory came back to you is that there is a very good chance the MC is hallucinating right now. There is almost no chance that Lacey actually gave the "you are a pathetic cuck" speech to the MC in the bar and Gristle just imagined it. Did black bra Lacey give the "I'm going to divorce you" speech to the MC or did he hallucinate it?
My guess is that the next bit drama on the horizon will focus on this - the MC will come to accept that he is just imagining his wife saying things. Then Kelly will admit that she was fucking with him and he was never having auditory hallucinations in the office. Then the MC will accuse Lacey of doing the same - saying terrible things and gaslighting him to into believing that he is hallucinating.
. . . . . .
Bit of a tangent but I think it's important that to understand that the MC is not the only narrator. This is a subset of a subset of a subset of first person narration. First person, unreliable narrator with POV switching Or Game of Thrones style where one chapter is titled "Jamie" one chapter is titled "Tyrion" Notice that in every scene only one character gets to have thoughts and secondary characters only have thoughts when the main narrator leaves. We have more than one distorted viewpoint.
In creative writing classes you are discouraged to use this technique because readers often get confused - sometimes the only way to identify the narrator is wait for the narrator to think or feel something.
Writing down guesses about The Monster as I go, I hope this won't be really hammy like with Jared, it'll also be pretty terrible if it turns out it's him. Could be the chunky red head lady who called the fmc a narcissist. Though I'm also thinking maybe Kelly, she'd be techy enough to do some phone shenanigans? Oh there's a dude so neither of them. Though wait the dude that's an antagonist isn't the same as The Monster that's actually helpful. Huh, Veronica comes into this all somehow, I did think it was weird when they said it was a team keeping the mmc on track. I'm starting to suspect this is gonna be very hard to all come together in a way that feels natural.
Alright Erica I think instantly jumped to one of the hottest girls in the game. I thought it would be funny if Will gets cucked like Jared did, though I guess a little repetitive, so maybe if Lacey fucked her revenge style this time (not that that'd make any sense). But seems he's fine with her being a pornstar/whore anyhoo, so ehh.
I dunno what I think about it being a gameover is arsehole points hit 0. The wife said she'd do whatever he wanted a bit of kinky roleplay shouldn't be something she gets so weird about. It could change the nature of their interaction over time, but just straight game over feels poor. Does make more sense with the secret BJ from Anna, though that only sets you back half the amount.
For a second there I thought Lacey was even more messed up than previously indicated, and what a good manipulative girl that'd make her. Turns out it was just a deepfake.
I get his wife died but Barty suddenly going evil genius just doesn't really work for me, especially as he'd have had to made those recordings of the wife way earlier on. I could maybe buy him as a complete idiot pawn like Will, and I know he's not the top of the chain but he seems to be doing too much of the driving to me. Also Cal is a bit too much of an incel stereotype with the Asian stuff, kinda hammy.
I didn't like Abby from the get go, I haven't forgotten her drug debts to Jared were why he got a mole (even if it turned out to be Christine) in the company. The whole it's in the mmc's best interests and it'll all be for some end goal was just her feeding her own ego. There's no reasonable way for her to know how things would go down with these people she'd just met, and it was so irresponsible to fuck with other people's lives like that. At least there was a reason Lacey was being such a docile pawn, as otherwise I'd be a bit disappointed in her.
The BDSM club was weirdly tame, but I guess that's how they'd have to be to be a functioning business. Blonde stripper kinda reminded me of Veronica if she was more dolled up, which then made me realise while they've worn different clothes we've never really seen them have different looks, like Lacey all gothed up in black lipstick or anything. Well I guess a lil' at the end there all in his head.
As they've got a massive house now the first thought I had was I kinda hope all the other crew move in. Maybe Vanessa is too successful to do it as she can deffo afford her own place, but Mia et al would probably do well to save on rent. Then Lacey, lord bless her, was basically angling for the same thing. I think Vanessa's loneliness / joint motherhood angle could get her in. So her and Jamie are still my top 2 picks. Very weird a house that size didn't have more guest rooms, but I'm sure some of the others could be repurposed as them.
I still wanna see Vanessa go all lezdom on Lacey. Tell her she's gotta please her or she'll steal away the mmc. Then it end with making Lacey watch the mmc and Vanessa fuck all romantic like, while Vanessa talks about how she wants to be his new wife... and then at the end give Lacey a chance to eat the creampie out of her to lower the chance of pregnancy. I have 0 idea why that series of event would happen, but it just kept popping in my head.
The mmc is sorta becoming more of a bitch for no reason. When Stephen joined the company it's not a big deal, the wife did everything perfectly, which is crazy because she normally does everything terribly, and managed to do so even though Mia was telling her the wrong thing. I kinda feel like at this point it's not a thing to get stressed about and I wish he'd just be easier on her. Though Steveo was a dick later on, and after running his mouth to Will deserves a bit of an arse kicking.
I like Rhea and Nadine, I hope they show back up again, I'm glad they didn't get their feelings hurt when the, again bitch, mmc was a bit antagonist calling them out thinking they were doing corporate espionage. I sent the other one off with the Jock, but don't hold it against her. But there's so many characters now then even if they're some of the more nicely generated ones I can get not letting this could-be-harem getting outta whack.
I obviously thought Kelly was fucking with him initially with the slips of the tongue, but then when he got a bit crazier I gave her the benefit of the doubt as he was imagining stuff. Then especially when the boss was next to her I thought, ohh it is in his head then. Absolutely nuts she's trying to mindfuck a guy who's on the precipice of getting put into a sanitorium. She might be the most fucked up of them all, I really hope signing all that stuff over doesn't go south, she's kind of a new addition I don't get why he trusts her so much.
I still feel there's no enough choice going on. I'm still engaged, normally I wouldn't be with this low level of choice/branching, as it's well written but I kinda need to feel like I'm playing god and ruining lives. I know they're doing a fine job of that themselves and there'll be some degree of a railroaded story to tell, but I need some say over events, far more than we've been getting.
Hasn't Lacey said she was gonna throw out that bikini like 3 times now, it's getting weird.
This was rough
, because I want her to be happy but waaay prefer small tits. I'd pay for Jamie's to fem her up some more but Yue's is going the wrong way, if anything I want to give Veronica a reduction. I was real happy when Jamie started growing out his hair and got on HRT.
Is that what it's called? Isn't it something more like escrow.
remember
aggressive
yourself
Writing down guesses about The Monster as I go, I hope this won't be really hammy like with Jared, it'll also be pretty terrible if it turns out it's him. Could be the chunky red head lady who called the fmc a narcissist. Though I'm also thinking maybe Kelly, she'd be techy enough to do some phone shenanigans? Oh there's a dude so neither of them. Though wait the dude that's an antagonist isn't the same as The Monster that's actually helpful. Huh, Veronica comes into this all somehow, I did think it was weird when they said it was a team keeping the mmc on track. I'm starting to suspect this is gonna be very hard to all come together in a way that feels natural.
Alright Erica I think instantly jumped to one of the hottest girls in the game. I thought it would be funny if Will gets cucked like Jared did, though I guess a little repetitive, so maybe if Lacey fucked her revenge style this time (not that that'd make any sense). But seems he's fine with her being a pornstar/whore anyhoo, so ehh.
I dunno what I think about it being a gameover is arsehole points hit 0. The wife said she'd do whatever he wanted a bit of kinky roleplay shouldn't be something she gets so weird about. It could change the nature of their interaction over time, but just straight game over feels poor. Does make more sense with the secret BJ from Anna, though that only sets you back half the amount.
The GG points in general have shifted in purpose, if before they were designed to underline "bad" decisions that were directly hurting Lacey, now they are put there to punish any sort of action that MC does with other women, even when sanctioned by Lacey.
Considering the creative definition of cheating set in place in act 3, which goes against everything shown in act 1 and 2, nothing that MC could be considered cheating if you think about it.
For a second there I thought Lacey was even more messed up than previously indicated, and what a good manipulative girl that'd make her. Turns out it was just a deepfake.
I get his wife died but Barty suddenly going evil genius just doesn't really work for me, especially as he'd have had to made those recordings of the wife way earlier on. I could maybe buy him as a complete idiot pawn like Will, and I know he's not the top of the chain but he seems to be doing too much of the driving to me. Also Cal is a bit too much of an incel stereotype with the Asian stuff, kinda hammy.
I didn't like Abby from the get go, I haven't forgotten her drug debts to Jared were why he got a mole (even if it turned out to be Christine) in the company. The whole it's in the mmc's best interests and it'll all be for some end goal was just her feeding her own ego. There's no reasonable way for her to know how things would go down with these people she'd just met, and it was so irresponsible to fuck with other people's lives like that. At least there was a reason Lacey was being such a docile pawn, as otherwise I'd be a bit disappointed in her.
Still very disappointed in the writing of Lacey, if you think about it, nothing that happens that day makes sense.
It was forced drama covered by a weak crutch (drugs).
The next day makes it even worse.
The girls are aware of everything that happens, Lacey as a drug addict is aware that she is being spiked and is completely fine with it (she was also an alcoholic in college, weird that she can also handle alcohol easily).
Additionally, all three girls are attracted to MC, yet with this magic drug, they ignore him completely but are very attentive and reactive with everyone and everything else.
Did you notice that Lacey doesn't care about MC as soon as they get on the plane? (first flight for her, first trip together, anniversary....from what I have read until now about her, I would have imagined her insisting to be close to MC and give him attention, the author could have still have the drama with Abby and Mia chatting next to them).
Not a single kiss at the concert?
Drops a few expositions in front of a stranger that MC was not privy to? (Lacey is BIG on "explaining" things to MC so he can understand her)
Forces MC to recite the rules in front of others? (Mc is reluctant to tell them even in front of her while they are alone)
Worst writing we have seen from the professor by far.
Vagas could have been amazing with happiness and "genuine" drama instead we got unrealistic and incoherent stuff.
The author has shown that they can do so much better than this.
Abby is a monstruous character that has to be Mia2.0 since now Mia needed a small redemption after being a failed character for 2 acts, in the end, as usual there are no consequences for ruining the anniversary and roofing strangers (just a bit of fun, right?) , to add insult to injury MC apologizes to HER.
She acts like an ass and no one calls her out, sober or not, just to be able to fit in some forced drama, resulting in her being a very unlikeable character for anyone with more than 2 working brain cells.
Oh and cherry on top? Jeanette now wants to be friends with Lacey, after bonding with her over humiliating MC, because, and I quote: "It was so much fun".
I guess that a day of fun can erase all the stuff from act 1.
Character assassination 101.
At least people can now see that Mia did what she did for her own benefit and abused Lacey's trust and damaged state.
It was only hinted in act 2, adding her motivations, confirmed in act 3, and how can that be accepted by MC (Lacey is weird) is a mystery that will follow us forever.
The BDSM club was weirdly tame, but I guess that's how they'd have to be to be a functioning business. Blonde stripper kinda reminded me of Veronica if she was more dolled up, which then made me realise while they've worn different clothes we've never really seen them have different looks, like Lacey all gothed up in black lipstick or anything. Well I guess a lil' at the end there all in his head.
BDSM club was the worst part because then the writing tries to gaslight the reader to cover up the "no forced NTR" rule the author made.
BDSM clubs can be WAY "worse" than that irl, but I am not american so maybe it is just over here.
The mmc is sorta becoming more of a bitch for no reason. When Stephen joined the company it's not a big deal, the wife did everything perfectly, which is crazy because she normally does everything terribly, and managed to do so even though Mia was telling her the wrong thing. I kinda feel like at this point it's not a thing to get stressed about and I wish he'd just be easier on her. Though Steveo was a dick later on, and after running his mouth to Will deserves a bit of an arse kicking.
You miss the point of the existence of Stephen in their lives and what it means for MC.
I hope you remember who Stephen is from act 1, I hope you remember what Lacey says and I hope you remember the "nothing is special" act 1 dialogue then picked up in act 3.
Stephen being around IS a big deal, especially in their situation and with MC issues.
The issue with Mc is that he is written like a witness with no agency, or as I'd like to call him now, a dashcam as he can only see the crashes without being able to do anything about them (we could talk about his weakness to Lacey making sense, but with all the other characters?).
I like Rhea and Nadine, I hope they show back up again, I'm glad they didn't get their feelings hurt when the, again bitch, mmc was a bit antagonist calling them out thinking they were doing corporate espionage. I sent the other one off with the Jock, but don't hold it against her. But there's so many characters now then even if they're some of the more nicely generated ones I can get not letting this could-be-harem getting outta whack.
They are invited to the pool party and have their own folder.
They will be back.
You missed the message of the scene and what does it mean for MC or better, why he acts that way.
I obviously thought Kelly was fucking with him initially with the slips of the tongue, but then when he got a bit crazier I gave her the benefit of the doubt as he was imagining stuff. Then especially when the boss was next to her I thought, ohh it is in his head then. Absolutely nuts she's trying to mindfuck a guy who's on the precipice of getting put into a sanitorium. She might be the most fucked up of them all, I really hope signing all that stuff over doesn't go south, she's kind of a new addition I don't get why he trusts her so much.
I still feel there's no enough choice going on. I'm still engaged, normally I wouldn't be with this low level of choice/branching, as it's well written but I kinda need to feel like I'm playing god and ruining lives. I know they're doing a fine job of that themselves and there'll be some degree of a railroaded story to tell, but I need some say over events, far more than we've been getting.
Definitely the lack of choices hurts the story a bit, especially since we were told that choices would be getting more meaningful from act 2 onwards.
You have still forced LIs, even some you might not want and are forced down your throat.
Overall one of the issues seems to be that the prof forgot about the paths, as they get less meaningful in act 2 and completely disappear in act 3 (wasted potential in Vegas for example) and he doesn't give space to the relationship building aspect.
For example:
MC loves Mia, Mia loves MC...how did it happen? when did it happen? They literally talk about Lacey and various issues for the whole game, she tries to drug her just a few weeks before going to Vegas, MC says that their relationship has grown colder...but he is fully ready to accept the "proposal".
Hasn't Lacey said she was gonna throw out that bikini like 3 times now, it's getting weird.
This was rough
View attachment 5531857
, because I want her to be happy but waaay prefer small tits. I'd pay for Jamie's to fem her up some more but Yue's is going the wrong way, if anything I want to give Veronica a reduction. I was real happy when Jamie started growing out his hair and got on HRT.
Yeah the resurrection of the black dress and gold bikini, especially the latter in the KW really does not fit, as we had the same dialogue 3 times now.
Yue needs G cups, and don't you dare touch Veronica .
What doesn't fit well with Yue and such, is that Bradley is involved, even if it is Yue's business if she wants an enhancement or not, how would you take a friend that pays for your gf implants?
Weird that it is not even taken into consideration by someone like MC.
Okay, sorry for being a bit late responding. My job had me traveling for a couple days.
So, it's time to get back to work. The poll was overwhelmingly in favor of moving on to Act 4. I always feel bad after doing a poll, because I know some of you feel like your preferences aren't being respected. It's definitely a tyranny of the majority scenario. I wish there was a way I could work harder/faster and was the kind of creator who could work two projects simultaneously. I'm not that gifted unfortunately.
I am putting out an Act 3a release here fairly soon. Don't bother with downloading it unless you're replaying Act 3 for some reason. It is just spelling errors and minor script fixes. Nothing that has an effect on the game play.
This actually works pretty well for me as I have the Act 4 story running through my head and all of the L&J characters on the brain. So, it will be easy to push that story along. With the understanding that after Act 4, I'll be immediately picking up on AHFWG Part 2. I'll do my best not to make you wait too long.
I'll start work on L&J tonight and will keep you updated as that comes together. I'll give you some hints on what's to come. One, of course the MC has a story arc of being separated from all the people he loves and cares for, while struggling with a mental breakdown. It's... going to be rough for him. And of course the wolves are at the door. It's time to learn what's going on with the external threat that's about to hit Lacey and the crew. It might already be obvious, but Barty and company are only a symptom of a much larger problem. Also, a quick mention for folks who might be confused about Abby. She is not a love interest in this story. There's a reason I didn't bother making her sweet and easy to get along with. Let's be honest. The MC needs some abrasive people in his life that aren't trying to jump in bed with him. I wanted her to be an interesting character, but she was never meant to be seen as a 'lovable' person. There will be more characters like that coming out of the woodwork. Don't assume every hot girl that I throw in, is going to be a lover. I just like having non LIs inside the story and it's just more fun to look at pretty girls, than... not pretty girls.
Also, some info on the Good_Guy stat, since some of you have asked. You won't be able to get your score down to zero by just fooling around. There will be some very obvious choices in future acts that will dramatically lower that stat. So, if you do mess around every chance you get AND you make the big asshole choices, then you can and will lock yourself out of the two good endings. If that's your goal, then by all means, shoot for the neutral or bad endings. I will not pull punches with the non-good endings. All of them have some downsides. The bad endings are rough, but are the only way to have a non Lacey ending. The horrific ending? Is exactly how it's described.
Expect replies on DMs tonight and tomorrow. Once I start getting serious with Act 4, my attention to interaction will drop off. It's very distracting to try to overcome my social anxiety while working every spare hour I have on game creation. Please don't take that personally. I will be joining the discord channel setup by Crysus over the holiday break and give folks a chance to ask some questions if you're interested. More info on that to follow.
Be safe and make sure you're taking care of your mental health.
The thing is, I don't think the professor would write such an ending based on how he seems to absolve Lacey of many things and push the blame on the MC.
Definitely the lack of choices hurts the story a bit, especially since we were told that choices would be getting more meaningful from act 2 onwards.
You have still forced LIs, even some you might not want and are forced down your throat.
Because if the author actually offered us choices, few, if any, of us I think would select the path we all appear to be on in Act 3 since it flies in the face of Acts 1 and 2; the only way the dev can get us to reach "his" ending is to force our path since I don't think any of us would've chosen what he wants.
From the dev's update, I hope he doesn't start introducing polls to influence the story going forward. When I've seen other devs do this, fans of a particular genre tend to overwhelm the voting and take the story in one predictable direction. I've seen good games driven into the ground by that course change.
One thing I do find interesting about his update is his discussion about the GG points and the endings. Since he said the "bad" endings are a way to break free from Lacey I might be looking forward to some of those. If I can avoid punching my monitor while reading his story on my way to get to the end.
I don't think the Dev quite appreciate that the average player mental health as tanked due to this game, it is by no mean a narrative that generate positive mental vibes, the fact that its a unrelenting dramafest and we haven't gotten any time within the story to recover from our trauma really didn't do any of us any favor. Hopefully Act 4 being made close to Act 3 will mean Act 4 won't suffer from the massive dissonance as happened between Act 2 & 3. At this point I can't wait for the next Act, but at the same time I'll say I can't wait for this game to be done so I can move on.
Does he seriously think readers want the MC to fuck every female character in this NV?
All this harem pornography...
And all this despite the fact that it's a fckin drama with a potentially horrific ending, despite the fact that the MC has absolutely no interest in such bullshit.
Not to mention that such relationships are extremely unrealistic.
Does he seriously think readers want the MC to fuck every female character in this NV?
All this harem pornography...
And all this despite the fact that it's a fckin drama with a potentially horrific ending, despite the fact that the MC has absolutely no interest in such bullshit.
Not to mention that such relationships are extremely unrealistic.
...and a bit unhealthy, too. On my route, the MC only has forced sex that the dev requires. I would have him ignore Lacey, if I could. Of course, more toxic characters is just what the MC needs so...
sounds kinda fucked up and hot... but it might not mean it like that. I may regret choosing it.
flipped
museum
, because I want her to be happy but waaay prefer small tits. I'd pay for Jamie's to fem her up some more but Yue's is going the wrong way, if anything I want to give Veronica a reduction. I was real happy when Jamie started growing out his hair and got on HRT.
Is that what it's called? Isn't it something more like escrow.
remember
aggressive
yourself
.
