VN Ren'Py New Year's Day(e) [Ch. 5 v0.5.0] [Jonesy]

[Xythurr]

You're right, she would've been 23-24 when getting pregnant with Daye, depending on where her birthday falls.


I considered this as well. Children don't usually do this unless they learned it somewhere. That said, I ignored it because a pivot to child abuse felt too strange for this story. But...


... this.
You're right... It reeks of premeditation and grooming on the parents' side.

Which leads us to:

And I can't fault this logic. If we're left to our own interpretation of events, then this story got dark very quickly. I am aware that I have to stay mindful of the general tone and themes of this game, to try to look for the least offensive explanation. And I think Jonesy could make this easier by providing more background information. I think you're right about that.


Again, I think you're right here. Just like a book's cover shouldn't contain information that isn't conveyed in the story itself, but is required to understand what's going on. I think a story should in-universe convey all the necessary information to its readers.


My original question/train of thought was this:

The only explanation I could come up with at that point, was that all the experiences with Mommy were repressed, which could only mean they were traumatic on some level.
That he did know about Molly/Heather came out of left field. My first impression was that this was new information to him, but then it wouldn't make sense that Becky told him "Margaret", and Randall had a dream about marrying Heather Margaret Parker.
If Jonesy had somehow conveyed that Randall was using his mother's maiden name, and his father's name was Parker, all of the pieces would've fit. I assume this was only kept a secret to make the mystery and twist work.


My biggest worry is that all of this will be covered by the mantle of love, and readers won't find out exactly what happened. The amount of exposition Jonesy would need to do would be staggering if he wants all players to understand Randall's entire story. At a certain point, Randall's motivations and inner demons need to be laid bare to make him understandable and relatable.


Until the previous update, my answer would've been "because Patreon"... Now I'm not so sure anymore.

I think we're on the same page bud. People probably think we're being too harsh or critical but I would stress to anyone reading our exchanges that it born out of love for the world and characters Jonesy has crafted.

If he wanted people talking about it well mission accomplished!

One final note Quetzzz the MC does mention that he took his mother's maiden name. It's not as illuminating as we would've hoped.

 

[Quetzzz]

-----8<----- that it born out of love for the world and characters Jonesy has crafted.

Absolutely! No ill-intent here.
Give me the Mona Lisa and I'll nitpick the shit out of it... Doesn't mean it's any less a work of art.

One final note Quetzzz the MC does mention that he took his mother's maiden name. It's not as illuminating as we would've hoped.

Right, but without knowing his father's last name, we didn't get that piece of the puzzle... That's what I meant.
If we had known that his father was a Parker, then we could've put things together much earlier. We'd know more than the MC did, and would be looking for confirmation and hints in Randall's words and behavior.
Just following the story and ignoring any extra information, then for all we know, Heather changed her last name before she met Randall again. Knowing her last name provided no information because there wasn't anything to link it to. Randall repressing the knowledge that they're the same person is so strange, that it's not the understanding we'd intuitively come to when we're looking for an explanation.

 

[Deleted member 7180813]

WOW!!!
So much to unpack here! Great stuff guys! Hahaha

Where to even begin? I guess by clearing up some of the more important things.

Quetzzz gets to go first haha

I was 6 years old the first time I "Adult kissed" a boy. My best friend at the time. We both were the same age.
It happens. And I liked it so much we snuck away to repeat that experience a lot. I was probably 10 the first time
my friends and I played Spin the Bottle. Sexual awakening happens different for everyone. And I have some friends
that are legit angry at how old I was when I lost my V Card. I'm not, but hey. I can see how it might upset some people.
And I tell tell you straight up, my parents had zero to do with it. At that point they weren't super neglectful or anything.
My Dad was amazing. My mom not so much but that's a different thing all together and off topic.

So to say "Children don't usually do this unless they learned it somewhere", totes untrue. Sorry, not meaning to like
seem like I'm blasting away, I'm not. For certain points of view it's easy to think this way. It's just not reality.
Me kissing my BFF was fun and games and child's play til the connection was made. And after that "fun and games"
became realization, intimate and obsessive. And in no way was the same as kissing my Dad haha

Like in Jonesy's story, my brother and I were split the same way when my parents separated. It happens.
What ever reason the courts have is between the parties, guardians, etc. The system is a mess if you ask me.
I'm a Daddy's girl and got stuck with my mom. Who was obsessed with my brother and still is. Not sexually,
parentally. She wanted him not me. My Dad wanted me and my brother but got my brother. Why the court
chose this, I have no idea. I just got stuck between two parents warring over custody of my brother.

The point is none of this has to do with the deep connection between Randall and Molly. That happened on it's
own. They weren't groomed. Not that I'm aware of any way. This is one of those little ironies.
I don't like the word "grooming" but I do use it. And Jonesy doesn't really like it when I say Heather groomed
Randall in to accepting her plans regarding Eve. I know, it's silly, but it is what it is.
Besides, it wouldn't be an epic love story if that love wasn't natural but coached by deviant parents haha... wait...

Changing the subject...

 

[Deleted member 7180813]

Xythurr's turn!

No one thinks you're being harsh or critical. You feel how you feel about the stories you like.
And I'm sure about the stories you don't like. I'm not gonna judge you. Any of you. I'm just
here so everyone can have an honest and open discourse about the Jonesyverse. Maybe shed
some light on what I can. And, of course, make Jonesy's life a wee bit happier

Ooooo... Randall's father's name... to get to that knowledge one must unlock the secrets of the Dark Tower.
(someone's getting a little extra Daddy attention after that one hihihihi >.>)

I dunno. I think you guys would have figured it all out eventually. Or waited until the next chapters for
more clarity. I mean there's still way more to come. Not just with NYD(e) but other stories in the Jonesyverse.
Unlike other cinematic universes this one is more likely than not to remain consistent

As for the rest, if you're on Jonesy's Discord he does have a plethora of information on his characters........
Please don't @ me with that one.. I know... I know...

"How about this question? The MC and Heather were both clearly fertile and deeply in love. Why didn't they have
any children together? I'm old enough to know that couples that are so deeply in love and young almost always have
a kid or two if they can so why didn't they?

Details like this bug me."

Hmmm... I suppose this is a good question.

I'm gonna take some liberties with this one. Cos there is NO way Jonesy is likely to ever address this.
Although he might. He might also agree with everything I'm about to say. I'll know soon enough and I
won't be sharing that spanking with you haha

But having one kid takes a toll, let alone two. And Heather's health was eventually shown to be not so good.
I mean... health became an issue. Don't read in to that. It's just a fact of how things turned out.

Many of us opt to have our tubes tied, some don't. It could be that after two kids Heather couldn't. Health and all.
Still don't go reading in to it. Having two healthy babies is NOT an indicator if fertility. We have no idea what went
down at her OB/GYN. We have no idea if she had complications or not. And there's literally no point in that ever
being discussed.

We know they had an active and healthy sex life but not how frequent in the 10 plus years together.
We know what Randall did for a living so can kinda get a real world idea of his hours and work habits, presumably.
I'm not gonna do that math but you can if you like. My point being there are many factors as to why they didn't
have more kids. The key factor is... that's how Jonesy wanted it.
Godz know the man isn't opposed to generating babies....

 

[Xythurr]

Xythurr's turn!

No one thinks you're being harsh or critical. You feel how you feel about the stories you like.
And I'm sure about the stories you don't like. I'm not gonna judge you. Any of you. I'm just
here so everyone can have an honest and open discourse about the Jonesyverse. Maybe shed
some light on what I can. And, of course, make Jonesy's life a wee bit happier

Ooooo... Randall's father's name... to get to that knowledge one must unlock the secrets of the Dark Tower.
(someone's getting a little extra Daddy attention after that one hihihihi >.>)

I dunno. I think you guys would have figured it all out eventually. Or waited until the next chapters for
more clarity. I mean there's still way more to come. Not just with NYD(e) but other stories in the Jonesyverse.
Unlike other cinematic universes this one is more likely than not to remain consistent

As for the rest, if you're on Jonesy's Discord he does have a plethora of information on his characters........
Please don't @ me with that one.. I know... I know...

"How about this question? The MC and Heather were both clearly fertile and deeply in love. Why didn't they have
any children together? I'm old enough to know that couples that are so deeply in love and young almost always have
a kid or two if they can so why didn't they?

Details like this bug me."

Hmmm... I suppose this is a good question.

I'm gonna take some liberties with this one. Cos there is NO way Jonesy is likely to ever address this.
Although he might. He might also agree with everything I'm about to say. I'll know soon enough and I
won't be sharing that spanking with you haha

But having one kid takes a toll, let alone two. And Heather's health was eventually shown to be not so good.
I mean... health became an issue. Don't read in to that. It's just a fact of how things turned out.

Many of us opt to have our tubes tied, some don't. It could be that after two kids Heather couldn't. Health and all.
Still don't go reading in to it. Having two healthy babies is NOT an indicator if fertility. We have no idea what went
down at her OB/GYN. We have no idea if she had complications or not. And there's literally no point in that ever
being discussed.

We know they had an active and healthy sex life but not how frequent in the 10 plus years together.
We know what Randall did for a living so can kinda get a real world idea of his hours and work habits, presumably.
I'm not gonna do that math but you can if you like. My point being there are many factors as to why they didn't
have more kids. The key factor is... that's how Jonesy wanted it.
Godz know the man isn't opposed to generating babies....

I appreciate the response but I can't help but notice how you dodged the whole how did heather already know about MC's "relationship" with mom when they last saw each other as kids...
Oh well I look forward to finding out.

About the kids thing sure I guess it could be health or whatever but I'll tell you having kids isn't the toll a lot of younger women make it out to be nowadays if you're of average health according to a lot of people I know.
This is coming from women I know so please don't get mad at me!
Not trying to argue but it's different for everybody but my family here in the U.S. averages three to four kids.

TBH I was already wondering if she was sick for a long time and just kept it on the down low. It would need some explanation on why she hid it though because that would really suck.

 

[Quetzzz]

I was 6 years old the first time I "Adult kissed" a boy. My best friend at the time. We both were the same age.
It happens. And I liked it so much we snuck away to repeat that experience a lot. I was probably 10 the first time
my friends and I played Spin the Bottle. Sexual awakening happens different for everyone.

Yeah, that's entirely fair. It's one of the reasons why I remind myself to interpret things in the best light possible.
That said, if you told a teacher today about this at 6y/o, they would be (rightfully) alarmed and would want to make sure you're safe.

Like in Jonesy's story, my brother and I were split the same way when my parents separated.

Damn, that sucks. I'm not trying to dig into your past, but I assume there was a reason for this? For instance, one parent moving away?
Still, splitting up a family like this is horrible.

nd Jonesy doesn't really like it when I say Heather groomed
Randall in to accepting her plans regarding Eve

If the shoe fits... Of course, in today's political climate "grooming" has a certain association that might not fit Randall's situation... But the videos Heather made could be seen as grooming. They paint a picture of a mother who taught her daughters that it's natural, maybe even expected, for them to take her place, and (not a quote) love Daddy the same way she did (which with the current update also takes on a bit of a double meaning.)

 

[Quetzzz]

TBH I was already wondering if she was sick for a long time and just kept it on the down low. It would need some explanation on why she hid it though because that would really suck.

I assumed her health was on the decline for at least a few years, which allowed her to prepare the girls to take her place.
At least, this doesn't seem like something she'd think of, plan, and execute in only the span of a few weeks or months.

 

[Xythurr]

I assumed her health was on the decline for at least a few years, which allowed her to prepare the girls to take her place.
At least, this doesn't seem like something she'd think of, plan, and execute in only the span of a few weeks or months.

Well you're right we knew she knew she was sick and started making plans/videos for the girls. What I meant was maybe she had an illness that she knew about for years before it became life threatening.
Like a slow wasting disease.

 

[Quetzzz]

Well you're right we knew she knew she was sick and started making plans/videos for the girls. What I meant was maybe she had an illness that she knew about for years before it became life threatening.
Like a slow wasting disease.

Ah, gotcha. This would be interesting to know, since it would inform her entire outlook on life.

 

[Deleted member 7180813]

I'm sorry Xythurr, I didn't mean to look like I was avoiding anything haha
There was just so much to cover I likely just forgot. Aldo, just real quick cos it can be
hard to ell sometimes, but Jonesy and I are both in America so... any bad English from me
is likely because I'm southern hahaha

Where was I? Oh yeah... I get easily distracted haha

Even fighting parents talk. probably more than non fighting parents.
And some parents vent to their kids which isn't good or fair. When I said I was caught between
my warring parents I was serious. Only my Dad kept it to himself and my mom didn't.
So I never actually heard a bad word from him about anything. His time with me was his time.
And he didn't let anything interfere with that. My point being, we don't know the dynamics of that
relationship or what the split happened. We do know their father's demeanor during that time, at
least toward the kids. Though he does seem a bit cold toward Randall, I don't think it was deliberate
or even real. Remember, these are dreams. From Randall's point of view and at that time he was
completely focused on Molly. So his Dad taking her away... was probably expected. His Dad had
probably already had the talk with him. Probably laid the ground work for being the "man of the house".
And the playground was Randall's refuge from that situation. And his last moments with Molly.
In reality losing his son might have been hard for the father too. At least in the dream he seems
like a kind man. And affectionate to his kids. At least to Molly, and I would rather not infer anything more
than a good father/child relationship. What happens later happens later. At that moment it's a Randall/Molly
thing. No one else.

So how would Heather know... probably from intimate conversations with her father regarding Randall and
her mom. Heather never stopped looking for him. Probably better said, never stopped keeping an eye on him.

The second thing I remember not answering was the Randall/Mom thing. Kids grow up, move out, go to
college and realize maybe certain things weren't good. And choose to deny they ever happened to have a
"normal" life. A life not discovered by other people. Unless 3 teenage girls, Randall likely didn't want to go
around talking about sex with his mom. Or sharing her with pals. The only person that would know is Becky.
And she's not telling anyone either. Becky likes to avoid situations when she can.

Quetzzz don't worry, I'm an open book. You can ask me anything. If it's too personal I'll just say so haha
I have no idea why, I wasn't involved and never got any straight answers and likely never will. Unlike Randall's
father moving away, mine didn't. He was always close. I feel it was mutual. He didn't want to be far from
me, or that is what I would like to think, and my mom refused to be out of arms reach of my brother hahaha

That's what makes Jonesy so great. He tells excellent slice of life stories with flawed people. People you can
actually relate to, to some degree, and aren't just silly tropes and absurd cartoon characters. I think that's
why some people lose their shit. They are so used to cartoon Dads out to fuck everything like a pre pube
adolescent that got in to his father's Extenze and ate the whole bottle. You can only put up with that for
so long. And too may writers milk it for years. If Jonesy was that kind of writer we'd be 3 years in and
Randall would still be fucking everyone BUT Eve hahaha. And Kaylee would just be the token Asian flower
Patreon voted to derail everything.

 

[Xythurr]

I'm sorry Xythurr, I didn't mean to look like I was avoiding anything haha
There was just so much to cover I likely just forgot. Aldo, just real quick cos it can be
hard to ell sometimes, but Jonesy and I are both in America so... any bad English from me
is likely because I'm southern hahaha

Where was I? Oh yeah... I get easily distracted haha

Even fighting parents talk. probably more than non fighting parents.
And some parents vent to their kids which isn't good or fair. When I said I was caught between
my warring parents I was serious. Only my Dad kept it to himself and my mom didn't.
So I never actually heard a bad word from him about anything. His time with me was his time.
And he didn't let anything interfere with that. My point being, we don't know the dynamics of that
relationship or what the split happened. We do know their father's demeanor during that time, at
least toward the kids. Though he does seem a bit cold toward Randall, I don't think it was deliberate
or even real. Remember, these are dreams. From Randall's point of view and at that time he was
completely focused on Molly. So his Dad taking her away... was probably expected. His Dad had
probably already had the talk with him. Probably laid the ground work for being the "man of the house".
And the playground was Randall's refuge from that situation. And his last moments with Molly.
In reality losing his son might have been hard for the father too. At least in the dream he seems
like a kind man. And affectionate to his kids. At least to Molly, and I would rather not infer anything more
than a good father/child relationship. What happens later happens later. At that moment it's a Randall/Molly
thing. No one else.

So how would Heather know... probably from intimate conversations with her father regarding Randall and
her mom. Heather never stopped looking for him. Probably better said, never stopped keeping an eye on him.

The second thing I remember not answering was the Randall/Mom thing. Kids grow up, move out, go to
college and realize maybe certain things weren't good. And choose to deny they ever happened to have a
"normal" life. A life not discovered by other people. Unless 3 teenage girls, Randall likely didn't want to go
around talking about sex with his mom. Or sharing her with pals. The only person that would know is Becky.
And she's not telling anyone either. Becky likes to avoid situations when she can.

Quetzzz don't worry, I'm an open book. You can ask me anything. If it's too personal I'll just say so haha
I have no idea why, I wasn't involved and never got any straight answers and likely never will. Unlike Randall's
father moving away, mine didn't. He was always close. I feel it was mutual. He didn't want to be far from
me, or that is what I would like to think, and my mom refused to be out of arms reach of my brother hahaha

That's what makes Jonesy so great. He tells excellent slice of life stories with flawed people. People you can
actually relate to, to some degree, and aren't just silly tropes and absurd cartoon characters. I think that's
why some people lose their shit. They are so used to cartoon Dads out to fuck everything like a pre pube
adolescent that got in to his father's Extenze and ate the whole bottle. You can only put up with that for
so long. And too may writers milk it for years. If Jonesy was that kind of writer we'd be 3 years in and
Randall would still be fucking everyone BUT Eve hahaha. And Kaylee would just be the token Asian flower
Patreon voted to derail everything.

You've been very kind thanks for discussing this with us! I look forward to finding out for myself all the lil details.
I just need to take a step back and realize I often go to the darkest place by default and that's absolutely a "me" issue.

Jonesy has given me no reason not to assume the story and people's motives are wholesome. Well as wholesome as a story about a bunch of horny incestuous perverts can be anyways lol!

 

[Deleted member 6873541]

I really want to trample your meadow. But I will ask one question. Does Jonesy have a daughter in real life? And what does the word FATHER mean to you in your countries.

 

[Quetzzz]

That's what makes Jonesy so great. He tells excellent slice of life stories with flawed people. People you can
actually relate to, to some degree, and aren't just silly tropes and absurd cartoon characters.

Yeah, that's certainly one of the aspects I appreciate in his writing.
The other side of that coin, is that by circumventing or even subverting tropes, it makes it more difficult for the audience to understand what's going on. Tropes can be very useful in writing because they serve as a shortcut. It might seem lazy to use them, but the alternative is that the writer has to put in much more exposition or explanation to make sure the audience is following the story and prepared for what's to come.

 

[Deleted member 7180813]

"I really want to trample your meadow. But I will ask one question. Does Jonesy have a daughter in real life? And what does the word FATHER mean to you in your countries. "

Well, the answer to your question is no he doesn't. And it doesn't matter. Unless you're asking me
to marry him and provide one or several daughters for him. It is in my DNA to provide daughters.
And Godz know I do have my addictions regarding the copious amounts required haha.
But then in that case, that's between me and him and completely irrelevant to the topics here.
So if you're intent is in any way hostile here, I would suggest, with all love, against it.

 

[Deleted member 7180813]

Yeah, that's certainly one of the aspects I appreciate in his writing.
The other side of that coin, is that by circumventing or even subverting tropes, it makes it more difficult for the audience to understand what's going on. Tropes can be very useful in writing because they serve as a shortcut. It might seem lazy to use them, but the alternative is that the writer has to put in much more exposition or explanation to make sure the audience is following the story and prepared for what's to come.

That's true to some degree. But then that's why we have forums like this to discuss and clarify.
Some are better than others about that, and for the most part it can be difficult for a creator to be in
two or more places at once answering the same things over and over. It's a lot of pressure.
People on Patreon demand full attention, people on various other forums have questions, comments
and concerns. And gripes of course. Most have a Discord they are regularly on. So sorting things
out is usually no so difficult with time and patience.

The issue with tropes is they get overused, and misused which makes them both necessary and a curse.
And they can really bog down creativity. But hey can also be a road sign at a crossroad. Do you do what's
expected of a trope and just give in to it, or do you forge a different path. It's not the dread word "subversion",
it's looking for ways to pioneer new ideas and storytelling. Some readers might want Randall to have every girl
in the story... oh well. That's not the point of it. Some might have a favorite they want more attention given
to. Not the point of the story. And Jonesy really doesn't want to do a choice story. Sure there are some clever
little ones here and there but he has no desire to go full out on it and create multiple paths.

Not yet any way *laughs mischievously*...

I mean we talk about tags all the time. What things make sense and what things don't.
Where exactly the story fits here and there. And then some one comes along to complain that his story
is too much like another story. Which causes it's own course evaluation. Every writer goes through this.
And I'm completely off the rails with some of the stuff I come up with hahaha I hate tropes haha.

We're all are lucky though. You have me here to discuss this stuff with and let him focus on writing
If you are on his Discord, feel free to say here there too In general chat haha

 

[Quetzzz]

and for the most part it can be difficult for a creator to be in
two or more places at once answering the same things over and over.

I'm fairly rigid in my opinion about that... The only place where the creator should have to answer questions, is in the story they're writing.
Though, this is a bit premature because the story is still ongoing. As it isn't completed yet, there are still opportunities to make sure readers understand everything by the time the story is over. Now that the twist happened, it's the ideal time to put the pieces of the puzzle in place, so everyone gets on the same page.
Alternatively, adding background information as side content that gets unlocked at certain stages could be a good compromise as well.

A new menu item called "Randall's Memories" could lead to a gallery-like page with locked memories. As events (and dreams) unfold, more memories could get unlocked, with an in-game notification alerting players. Those who're interested in learning more could go view these memories so they know what Randall knows.
The memories themselves could be mostly text, maybe with a few thematic renders as background. These memories could also ask rhetorical questions to give some clues to what Randall is struggling with, and make readers wonder about the answer. For instance, something like: "I dreamt about marrying Heather... It was such a happy day for all of us. Why didn't I remember this?"

And then some one comes along to complain that his story is too much like another story.

Meh... The ode to APAT was/is very clear, and fully acknowledged. I did think there a few similar themes (besides the whole incest thing), but I didn't mind at all. With NYD(e) I think it's clear that Jonesy is creating his own path. Sure, the whole "influence from the grave" has been done before, though I can't be bothered to look who was first... It doesn't matter anyway.

You have me here to discuss this stuff with and let him focus on writing

*pats head*

If you are on his Discord, feel free to say here there too

I'm not, I'm already on too many discords as is. I'll usually join one to give feedback or share a document with corrections, then mute it because there's too much to keep up with. It's pretty draining for me to get used to every discord's subculture.

 

[Deleted member 6873541]

"I really want to trample your meadow. But I will ask one question. Does Jonesy have a daughter in real life? And what does the word FATHER mean to you in your countries. "

Well, the answer to your question is no he doesn't. And it doesn't matter. Unless you're asking me
to marry him and provide one or several daughters for him. It is in my DNA to provide daughters.
And Godz know I do have my addictions regarding the copious amounts required haha.
But then in that case, that's between me and him and completely irrelevant to the topics here.
So if you're intent is in any way hostile here, I would suggest, with all love, against it.

Thank you. Then he has talent. And talent is like an orgasm: hard to hide, even harder to simulate.

 

[Deleted member 7180813]

"Thank you. Then he has talent. And talent is like an orgasm: hard to hide, even harder to simulate."

Yes. He most definitely has a lot of talent hahaha

I've been helping him sort out a Gallery. He had intended on it being a part of Chapt 5, I think.
This was a while ago when Chap 4 was still being written. Maybe sooner. I don't remember.
I gave him the code to do it. Then we both kind of forgot, I guess. I know he has special plans for his.
But that's as far as I can say about it. He might be planning something like that. I know Siren Song
would benefit from a format like that. Whether or not both stories would have the same form of Gallery
is a good question. Guess at some point we will discuss it. Right now that's not the full focus.
Writing Siren Song isn't just writing a story, he's also making original music for it as well.
Everyone has their own style and personality and quirks, musically. It's a lot of work and a whole lot
of fun

On that musical note, I think the first part of Siren Song is getting some upgrades as well musically.
I suppose I need to mosey over to that forum and see if it needs some cleaning up or not haha

I know what you mean by Discord. I forget what some of the groups are that I'm involved with.
I'm still in groups for game betas that are long over. I should probably do some cleaning of my lists as well haha

 

[Deleted member 7180813]

I thought it would be fun to share my new signature hahaha







yes that says "Jonesy's Girl" hahaha Made by: Jonesy hahaha

 

[Jay995]

Is there an APK with latest patch added?