VN Ren'Py STWA: Unbroken [Book 1 Steam] [STWAdev]

[Maccabbee]

Unfortunately, I think this ship has sailed. The game looks like it's halfway through and she's the only one who doesn't have any relationship points.


I don't know why the developer decided to leave Serena out as LI. She is very involved in the story and is a fun, popular and lovable character who has been around since the beginning of AVN. Oh well, this is the story Dev wants to tell us and we're just here for the ride. Let's see what the man will cook for us

I think it's because, even as Serena says, she's not out for anything romantic, just fun, and if she were to be caught in a relationship with a client she could lose her license.

 

[maroek]

The dialogue where she's surprised you've slept with no one after the holiday gives me the tiniest slither of hope

Regarding Els, I had a thought earlier, I presume its a common interpretation but I just picked up on it now. She says she's a pacifist and doesn't watch Valentine's fights and so on, but served in the army and loved the fight on the beach.

Is the "pacifism" a front for her actually enjoying warfare? But then we get the "i shouldn't have watched that" after the first fight, she's happy to corner the 2nd fight and that same night she gets into a fight of her own. Maybe the pacfism was a self-imposed restriction from violence because she enjoys it. Obviously she has trauma, as we see a few times with blood on her face, but I feel like she actually enjoys combat and watching Valentine's first fight is what sets her off again

I think Els' pacifism is based not just on her being an erudite scholar, and also about her trauma during her service. She is complicated, to say the least, and her being a genius some inconsistencies, like enjoying violence while it's happening but feeling guilt or shame after it, is fully understandable.

 

[maroek]

I think it's because, even as Serena says, she's not out for anything romantic, just fun, and if she were to be caught in a relationship with a client she could lose her license.

I agree with Serena being alienated is kinda unjust, but any narrator has the right to be preferential. Her being the only steady blonde, yet there are multiple redheads, dark skins, brunettes as LI... Plus, she has a great body.

 

[Maccabbee]

I think Els' pacifism is based not just on her being an erudite scholar, and also about her trauma during her service. She is complicated, to say the least, and her being a genius some inconsistencies, like enjoying violence while it's happening but feeling guilt or shame after it, is fully understandable.

If you go back and replay, I don't believe that Els ever once states that she's a pacifist, and in fact reacts strangely when it's mentioned. I think that assumption is based on several things: the fact that she has never explained her actual role in the military (they all think it's non-combatant, and it's probably classified so she can't discuss it much), and Alistair or Serena making an offhand comment. The fight with the two idiots clearly shows Els is not a pacifist. She is a tactical and brutal combatant when she feels it appropriate. She never once experienced shame, guilt, or regret about that fight.

The shame, guilt, etc. relates more to what happened in the military, which is a lot more complicated, and until we know the specifics, have no way of judging. She killed people and she lost people, that's clear.

 

[maroek]

If you go back and replay, I don't believe that Els ever once states that she's a pacifist, and in fact reacts strangely when it's mentioned. I think that assumption is based on several things: the fact that she has never explained her actual role in the military (they all think it's non-combatant, and it's probably classified so she can't discuss it much), and Alistair or Serena making an offhand comment. The fight with the two idiots clearly shows Els is not a pacifist. She is a tactical and brutal combatant when she feels it appropriate. She never once experienced shame, guilt, or regret about that fight.

The shame, guilt, etc. relates more to what happened in the military, which is a lot more complicated, and until we know the specifics, have no way of judging. She killed people and she lost people, that's clear.

I think why Els not feeling ashamed of the fight on the beach is the fact that it ended greatly. They thaught those idiots a lesson while it not getting out of hand. Valentine knows very well, and even states that, people can die on a street fight. That's why he never threw a punch there. Though I'm not sure how Els would carry herself if that liver punch didn't land and the guy actually put up a fight. I can see Els turning into a blood thirsty berserker, and keep punching the guy until his head is a mere pudding. Then feeling sorrow and shame once she comes to her senses. Though, Valentine would've definitely stoped her if need had arisen.

 

[Maccabbee]

I think why Els not feeling ashamed of the fight on the beach is the fact that it ended greatly. They thaught those idiots a lesson while it not getting out of hand. Valentine knows very well, and even states that, people can die on a street fight. That's why he never threw a punch there. Though I'm not sure how Els would carry herself if that liver punch didn't land and the guy actually put up a fight. I can see Els turning into a blood thirsty berserker, and keep punching the guy until his head is a mere pudding. Then feeling sorrow and shame once she comes to her senses. Though, Valentine would've definitely stoped her if need had arisen.

You're misunderstanding the source of her shame and guilt. It's not the violence itself, or the violence that she does. It's that the violence doesn't bother her, and in fact, she enjoys it. That's why she feels like she's a monster, because that is society's judgement of violent people, that they should feel bad for it. This completely parallels Valentine's feelings, which is why she feels like he's her best partner, and the only one that would truly understand her. They are both monsters. Els is a bit more perceptive than Valentine, though.

 

[ImSenjou]

Based on my personal experience, I think Elspeth's "pacifism" is just her controlling herself.

When I was younger I liked to fight, but that ended when I hurt my brother to the point that he had to be hospitalized, since then I've been holding back.

I consider myself someone with anger issues because I hold back so much, I've always suffered from it, but now I've finally been convinced to accept psychological help, and part of that was because of what I saw in this game, I'll have my first session in a few days. o/

 

[maroek]

You're misunderstanding the source of her shame and guilt. It's not the violence itself, or the violence that she does. It's that the violence doesn't bother her, and in fact, she enjoys it. That's why she feels like she's a monster, because that is society's judgement of violent people, that they should feel bad for it. This completely parallels Valentine's feelings, which is why she feels like he's her best partner, and the only one that would truly understand her. They are both monsters. Els is a bit more perceptive than Valentine, though.

I have to disagree with you on most of that one. First of all, "they judge themselves in the eye of the public" doesn't hold any water. Els doesn't tolerate people she doesn't like. And she definitely doesn't let anyone to effect her actions. Valentine is "the sweetest" who plays a heel persona. They don't really give a rat's ass about what people who they don't know or care feel about them. Els solves that problem with the "show them what they expect" attitude, while Valentine solve it by doubling down on the heel image.

Els may be more perceptive, but Valentine has much higher self control.

Based on my personal experience, I think Elspeth's "pacifism" is just her controlling herself.

When I was younger I liked to fight, but that ended when I hurt my brother to the point that he had to be hospitalized, since then I've been holding back.

I consider myself someone with anger issues because I hold back so much, I've always suffered from it, but now I've finally been convinced to accept psychological help, and part of that was because of what I saw in this game, I'll have my first session in a few days. o/

That's much more likely to be truth. I think she loses herself in the fight, doing irrevocable things, then she feels immense guilt once she is back to her senses. That doesn't mean she enjoys what she does during a hard fight, but on the contrary, she feels like a monster because of that.

I'm telling this once again, Els is a genius erudite. She wants to learn and tell, and make the world a better place. Yet, she did things in the past, which made her feel like a monster.

The fight on the beach was under control through and through. Which is the reason why we didn't see her in a frenzy. She instigated / couldn't defuse the fight with intimidation, because she was pent up, and because Valentine was there. I really think she wouldn't get into that fight if Valentine weren't there, not out of fear for her own safety, let alone the girls' safety, but for the safety of those two idiots. That fight is the indicator of how much Els trusts Valentine, not hold his own, but to hold her back if she went berserk. It was a safe opportunity for her to blow off some steam, thanks to Valentine. Because unlike Els, Valentine is a professional up fucker, who is always in control, during any fight. He don't even get nervous or excited in his fights, he just keeps talking "like it's a sunday dinner".

I really believe they are perfect for eachother.

 

[Maccabbee]

I have to disagree with you on most of that one. First of all, "they judge themselves in the eye of the public" doesn't hold any water. Els doesn't tolerate people she doesn't like. And she definitely doesn't let anyone to effect her actions. Valentine is "the sweetest" who plays a heel persona. They don't really give a rat's ass about what people who they don't know or care feel about them. Els solves that problem with the "show them what they expect" attitude, while Valentine solve it by doubling down on the heel image.

Els may be more perceptive, but Valentine has much higher self control.

Again, I agree in part, but not in depth with your assessment. Els is a noblewoman who is heir to her family's roles, and takes that seriously. She very much does judge herself from that perspective. Did you forget that?

As far as Val goes, that "playing the heel" with women is a reaction to the public perceptions caused by his bitch ex-gf painting him that way in the public media. He seems to have been very hurt by that, and acting this way (seeing as we both believe that it's not his nature), is purely defense mechanism to keep potential LIs from getting too close. Again, this is a different aspect of his behavior being affected by public perceptions.

In my game, I chose the hero route in the ring, not the heel route, mostly because I liked how those choices impacted Kana's and Alistair's relationships. I didn't think that promoting the rivalry between Val and Alistair made sense in the context of their wartime relationship. I also really liked Kana's perspective as someone who was at the top of her sport.

That's much more likely to be truth. I think she loses herself in the fight, doing irrevocable things, then she feels immense guilt once she is back to her senses. That doesn't mean she enjoys what she does during a hard fight, but on the contrary, she feels like a monster because of that.

I'm telling this once again, Els is a genius erudite. She wants to learn and tell, and make the world a better place. Yet, she did things in the past, which made her feel like a monster.

The fight on the beach was under control through and through. Which is the reason why we didn't see her in a frenzy. She instigated / couldn't defuse the fight with intimidation, because she was pent up, and because Valentine was there. I really think she wouldn't get into that fight if Valentine weren't there, not out of fear for her own safety, let alone the girls' safety, but for the safety of those two idiots. That fight is the indicator of how much Els trusts Valentine, not hold his own, but to hold her back if she went berserk. It was a safe opportunity for her to blow off some steam, thanks to Valentine. Because unlike Els, Valentine is a professional up fucker, who is always in control, during any fight. He don't even get nervous or excited in his fights, he just keeps talking "like it's a sunday dinner".

I really believe they are perfect for eachother.

I agree that they're perfect for each other. I am most fond of Els and Kana as LIs in this game. I don't see where you get anything about Frenzy in Els persona or background. I don't think that's even been hinted at. It's quite possible, as those who hold control the tightest often do so because of what they believe can be released without it. If you've ever been in a real fight, there's no such thing as total control of a situation. There's always unexpected variables that can happen (though this is less likely in a VN, unless the writer wants that to happen). You never know if the little punk you're facing off against isn't a master martial artist, or has a well concealed weapon, of if they have friends watching from out of sight, or are kids of the local policeman. Els had done a tactical analysis, and definitely was fighting from that space. In a fight, everyone is trying to win.

 

[VicValenn]

I think it's because, even as Serena says, she's not out for anything romantic, just fun, and if she were to be caught in a relationship with a client she could lose her license.

Serena is constantly pursuing and throwing herself at the MC at almost every screentime she gets. This isn't the behavior of someone trying to not lose her license. Early on in AVN everyone jokes that Serena is “upset” with MC because he isn’t making any advances towards her and has chosen to make their relationship purely platonic and professional.


And for someone who shouldn't be romantically interested in the MC she shows a lot of affection for him, watches his fights worrying about him and cares deeply for him when he shows any apparent sign of emotional distress.
It goes far beyond casual sex. This shows that she's only a sidechick (FWB) because that's what the dev wanted. Again, nothing wrong with that. It's just a shame for us Reenie enjoyers.

 

[Krytax123]

replaying the avn atm to set up saves with the new version and while Els will always be my #1 in this avn

im gonna be sad if there really is no possibility for a serena path, shes so awesome!

 

[yossa999]

So I still didn't figure it out, does the manwhore path lead to a harem, a threesome, or complete failure?

 

[HornyyPussy]

So I still didn't figure it out, does the manwhore path lead to a harem, a threesome, or complete failure?

Yes

 

[yossa999]

Yes

I hate you!
But really, I did a total manwhore playthrough, and it seems the girls just didn't care, even though they knew who of them the MC was fucking.

 

[Krytax123]

So I still didn't figure it out, does the manwhore path lead to a harem, a threesome, or complete failure?

It feels like it will be like in the devs first game and the manwhore path will lead to you getting the choice at some point (for a single LI and one or multiple variations of throuples but no harem) and all girls will be fine with it and get over it and everything will be good.

I dont reaaaallly like this approach but im pretty sure it will be like that again.

 

[yossa999]

It feels like it will be like in the devs first game and the manwhore path will lead to you getting the choice at some point (for a single LI and one or multiple variations of throuples but no harem) and all girls will be fine with it and get over it and everything will be good.

I dont reaaaallly like this approach but im pretty sure it will be like that again.

Oh yeah, I see, The Author... Played it a hundred years ago. Makes sense.

 

[Rehwyn]

So I still didn't figure it out, does the manwhore path lead to a harem, a threesome, or complete failure?

It feels like it will be like in the devs first game and the manwhore path will lead to you getting the choice at some point (for a single LI and one or multiple variations of throuples but no harem) and all girls will be fine with it and get over it and everything will be good.

I dont reaaaallly like this approach but im pretty sure it will be like that again.

Comment from Stew regarding this in Discord:

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

So as long as you haven't committed to anyone and are only having sex with women that generally get along, should be fine until you eventually need to pick a solo or throuple (of which the dev has said there will be two).

 

[Krytax123]

Comment from Stew regarding this in Discord:

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

So as long as you haven't committed to anyone and are only having sex with women that generally get along, should be fine until you eventually need to pick a solo or throuple (of which the dev has said there will be two).

Thats what i "feared"

But well, its the only "not so great" thing about this avn so whatever

 

[maroek]

Again, I agree in part, but not in depth with your assessment. Els is a noblewoman who is heir to her family's roles, and takes that seriously. She very much does judge herself from that perspective. Did you forget that?

As far as Val goes, that "playing the heel" with women is a reaction to the public perceptions caused by his bitch ex-gf painting him that way in the public media. He seems to have been very hurt by that, and acting this way (seeing as we both believe that it's not his nature), is purely defense mechanism to keep potential LIs from getting too close. Again, this is a different aspect of his behavior being affected by public perceptions.

In my game, I chose the hero route in the ring, not the heel route, mostly because I liked how those choices impacted Kana's and Alistair's relationships. I didn't think that promoting the rivalry between Val and Alistair made sense in the context of their wartime relationship. I also really liked Kana's perspective as someone who was at the top of her sport.



I agree that they're perfect for each other. I am most fond of Els and Kana as LIs in this game. I don't see where you get anything about Frenzy in Els persona or background. I don't think that's even been hinted at. It's quite possible, as those who hold control the tightest often do so because of what they believe can be released without it. If you've ever been in a real fight, there's no such thing as total control of a situation. There's always unexpected variables that can happen (though this is less likely in a VN, unless the writer wants that to happen). You never know if the little punk you're facing off against isn't a master martial artist, or has a well concealed weapon, of if they have friends watching from out of sight, or are kids of the local policeman. Els had done a tactical analysis, and definitely was fighting from that space. In a fight, everyone is trying to win.

Yes, she takes her role as a noble and heir apparent seriously, however she's not happy with it. Everything she has, except the military service record, comes with an asterisk. They are all somehow tied with her being noble or wealthy. She's not happy about her family sponsoring the vet centre. She doesn't defy it, because it's the right thing to do, but she definitely doesn't like it. And I doubt it very much that she was talking about the nobilty or heirdom when she said "legacy" to Valentine's question about what she wants.

Valentine was a heel long before meeting Verity screwed him over. It started in highschool and he perfected it somewhere between Zaina and MMA. Probably because of Zaina's death, he was a fish in the barrel while in Southeast Asia. And he was always popular with girls, even in highschool. He's handsome, he's literally 2 metres tall. He's certainly strong and dangerous. What choice did Asian women have, other than becoming his chew toy? Being seen as this puts his mind at ease. Verity's lies was just a convinience for Valentine on that front. Sure, he didn't like it while it was happening, but he's certainly cool with the result. It drives certain kind of women to his bed after all. And those who are closest to him know that front. Els complain about "the wall" while in the pool. Viridiana told something like "he was always the sweetest but good at hiding himself" on multple occasions. Even Kana realised that Verity screwed him. So that heel image goes way deeper than you think.

I play with walkthrough mode. I agree with you that antagonising Alistair wouldn't sit right with Valentine, after all they've been through. I go after Kana only in my harem game, which isn't my main, Els is. But I go infamy as much as possible, without ruining the critical stats of close ones. Alistair, friendship/rivalry. Els trust/secrecy. Viridiana acceptance/grief. Amrit confidence. Ines desire to protect. Kana injury. Now these are the real stats for each LI. And even though these go hand in hand with love most of the time, I try to lower the love stats of LI's I'm not interested while keeping critical stats as high as possible.

I am very fond of Els, because I like her to myself, not Valentine, but real me. I've been through with those issues. I also don't fight anymore because of the dangers of street fights, though certainly not as well as Valentine. Els is very controlled and calculating, in a not so bad way, that makes her pent up frequently, like you put it "those who hold control the tightest..." However, I didn't mean controlling the situation but one's own actions. Els try to control her own actions, but certainly not the situation so it may get out of hand easily. Val on the other hand can control that situation quite well, even in the ring, so he excelled on control front. Els watching him in the octagon, seeing with her own eyes that he is super chill and in total control, also helped her keeping calm in the beach fight. I believe she trusts him more than she trusts herself in a fight. She knew Val had her back through and through. She was confident that she could beat that punk, for sure. But she also had Valentine to lean on if things got out of hand. While Valentine was as cool and collected as he was walking in a park.

 

[mike12013]

Els will always be my #1 in this avn

#1 in this VN, and she might be in my top 5 in any VN, but I've never actually sat down to think about it