So I understand where you're coming from with it being a waste of time, specifically for avn's. However about ten years ago my brother who was big into literature and story crafting told me something that causes me to think there's more to that line. He specifically told me that if you don't see a character die on screen he/she isn't dead. He said I should never ignore things that seem out of place in a story even the smallest bit of dialogue can have huge impact on what's to come in the future of a story, even if it initially seems like a throwaway line. I've applied his statements to a lot of media over the years, and for the most part(A writer who's aware of that concept can use it to fuck with eagle eyed viewers). My brother is the reason I have a hard time() enjoying stories or movies, because I can't help but picking up on things way before they take place. He's been right a lot about off screen deaths, and lines that seem like they don't mean anything end up leading to a storyline down the road.
One of the reasons I started reading this style of story was because they're much harder to predict since I had no experience with the genre before a year ago. A Happy Marriage(2021) and Babysitter(2021) opened me up to these style of stories, and while many of these stories seem boil down to "she's cheating on me, now I'm uncontrollably horny seeing this and I no longer understand the concept of self-respect"(I will delete the story immediately).
This story fascinates me since we don't know anything about the characters before hand. There's no background story, no extended family, no real reason to suspect anything would go wrong, until it's just thrown at you, and again the facial expressions stand out in this story. However the reason this one sticks out the most to me is because the husband isn't into this situation at all, and doesn't want any other relationship with anyone else at the moment. Overall I've said it before I think this might be the laziest genre to exploit for cash next to harem's,(nothing can be exploited like having your own harem) but I think the best stories are in the NTR genre when someone actually has a story they want to tell(and hopefully isn't dissuaded or burnt out), because the main characters can and will lose their relationships and loved ones I love suspense in general. The craziest part about this to me is the creator didn't even setup a way to pay him for his outstanding work, because story wise I don't think anything currently in development comes close to this as a story (except for maybe The Missing Part) of course I've not tried everything but what I have tried doesn't compete with chapter 1 and the first half of chapter 2 in this story.
I'm just throwing stuff out there today because this is one of the rare days that I don't have anything else to do, and nobody else will be home for a few more hours.
The deaths thing is like a form of Chekhov's gun, but I think it gets taken to extremes. Yes, you (and your brother) are correct in the principle of it, but it won't always be the case. Here, I think
Lagunavii said it well:
sometimes the curtain is just red... because that's the writer's favourite colour, not because it represents a character's rage like your English teacher would have you believe
For the sake of comparison, I'll keep the idea of the gun: If you see a gun on the wall in the first chapter, the principle of Checkhov's gun tells us that it will be fired at some point. However, sometimes a gun on the wall is just decoration/a reminder of the past, and it will never be touched. Sometimes, an author might deliberately place a gun on the wall just to keep people thinking "when will it be used", even if s/he knows it never will be. In these games, maybe the gun is on the wall just because it's a Daz asset, etc., and the dev hasn't made any conscious choice to include it.
In terms of writing, it's the same thing. Sometimes these little nuances mean something, sometimes they don't. Maybe it's an error by the author, maybe it sounds right where the author lives but sounds wrong to others where they live. Ultimately, I think it's one of those things that we shouldn't read too much into, because we're here to enjoy the game, not to dissect it for an English Literature thesis. And no disrespect to this or any other dev, but we're not dealing with prize-winning authors here. Some devs can write a hell of a story (I do include
SC Stories in this category), but I don't think we should expect them to be weaving complicated tales that would make Agatha Christie jealous!
Do you know of any VNs where someone is killed or commits suicide? I've only seen that once before. I can't remember exactly which VN it was, but in any case, the mother killed her son with a kitchen knife.
How did you interpret the statement made by the young philosophy student? Was she talking about herself? Or about someone she was with at the time? I understood that she was talking about someone else. I think there is room for interpretation here, but perhaps not.
The implementation, conversation was incredibly well written and exciting. The tension was so intense that even the table started to shake.
SCS has a feeling for small certain scenes, moments.
One more thing in this section. The choice of nicknames/codenames. These also fit the story and the characters: Sunshine (positive, happiness, warmth, optimism), Rain (cleansing, renewal, growth, fertility), Orchid (love, beauty, grace). The choice can't be a coincidence. SCS has elements of a philosopher.
I've played a couple of games where someone is killed, but I can't recall one with suicide (only attempted suicide).
The philosophy major is something I read exactly as is. Vivian was the philosophy major (this goes back to an earlier question on what she studied, where I forgot that this line gives us the answer!) and getting the tattoo is the mistake. She said that she regrets her "tramp stamp" tattoo, but saying the person who got the neck tattoo was a "young philosophy major who made a mistake" suggests she regrets the Poe quote tattoo as well.
Do you mean Sunshine using a strap-on? I get that some people see it differently if it's with another woman, but ultimately, it's still cheating. I do wonder if the nicknames used were specifically chosen to give us Sunshine's final pick-up line in the bar...
Code:
Rain: “You named her Orchid?"
Sunshine: “Yes... it fits her. And I am Sunshine."
Rain: “Haha... okay... then who am I?"
Sunshine: “Tonight... you are... Rain."
Rain: “Rain, huh? Why Rain?"
Sunshine: “Because Sunshine alone is not enough to make an Orchid open its petals."
Vivian: “Are you still trying to pick me up?"
Sunshine: “Yes, I am..."
One thing about the Sunshine and Rain episode that hasn't really been mentioned, is that it does open up a potential new path for Vivian - having some more lesbian experiences. Personally, I can't see this being a path that we'll see much, if any, action on, but she did seem to like her time with Sunshine, in particular the kisses. Maybe that does open up the possibility of the (presumably) Addison kiss being a render from the game though...
