VN Ren'Py Friends in Need [Ch. 8 v0.57b SE] [NeonGhosts]

[Defenestrator.for.traitor]

Good enough for you Def ?

Can argue about one or two but for the Nicki's placement, yeah good enough.

 

[Joshy92]

I know in real life I wouldn't have a chance with Mason but darn it this is a game so I'll romance him as much as possible.

Step 1 - Courting.
Step 2 - Make love.
Step 3 - Profit.

 

[Dessolos]

You're putting a middle-aged woman.....runing a failing business who amrried a drug running donkey moron with a child...

Over Ashe...with actual educational qualifications in a specialised field career?

Really???

If if we did not go with educational intelligence (which for the record, I never do as a good education, does not neither make you smart or intelligent), Ashe still wins over her...by a country mile and a half. Nicki, given her age, is less intelligent than all the 'kids' in the story given her history...not really sure how that can even be argued...she doesn't even have the education to try and fall back on.

Caroline...clear winner yeah...followed by Ashe, followed by Viola for me. The only wildcard for me is the hottub installer as (last I played) we don't really know all that much about her. Virtually all the rest are just train wrecks that have or are waiting to happen (which is also be design as it allows us to either help or completely destroy them).

It's fine if you don't agree with me it's just how I personally see them but here some of my thoughts.

I doubted putting her above Ashe tbh I only did because I know Ashe is smart because of her career but im not sure to what degree. So i debated between tied with Ashe or above I decided to go with above just barley because she still ran a business even if it failed and that counts for something to me. I don't really think running a failed business is a negative unless it's ran into the ground within the first year or so I never got that impression from her. I don't count her husband or child against her either.

As far as Nicki goes I see her as smart and not smart at the same time. As she seems to be dumb when it comes to her personal life but when it comes to helping Guy's charity she feels average and yet to make a bad mistake.

 

[HiP1]

I'll be honest I don't pay much attention to Ashe. She kind of annoys me.

you should try to embrace her route. you might change your mind completely

she is definitely smart. but very naive. her short model career and the accident were wake up calls, but they were not enough.
MC's dark path, or the pragmatic route are much more impactful to waking her up

She was more comfortable with a Guy that didn't do anything sexual because her BF didn't discover them and call her a slut I think that's about what Neon said.

Also, there might be more to it that we'll discover as the game continues. Depending on Brit's past with guys, maybe she appreciates the ones that consider her feelings & the situation before jumping in? Maybe she woke up the next morning and realized that whole affair would've been a mistake, and appreciated it. Or maybe friend/romance Guy is a challenge for her, a young "perfect 10" that's used to men folding first chance? It's interesting to think about for sure! And like others have said here, it's cool how your perspective of the LIs can change depending on the route you're on with them!

yeah I see the points. and she was already in skimpy outfit during the shoot, even topless, whatever the route.
but with our current elements, i just feel like she would feel more comfortable with it because there would be less sexual tension after they had their little session. she flashed him with confidence, though it could be because she is a good actress. that's why I see it more as a fan service for the "good" guys.
but her doing it to flirt with MC, because she became interested in him after he treated her well and she is not used to that, is also a good explanation.

But we don't know her current relationship status on each route.
she says it's over after Jamie throws the camera and punched MC. but when she gets caught, it doesn't seem to be over.

 

[Joshy92]

you should try to embrace her route. you might change your mind completely



yeah I see the points. and she was already in skimpy outfit during the shoot, even topless, whatever the route.
but with our current elements, i just feel like she would feel more comfortable with it because there would be less sexual tension after they had their little session. she flashed him with confidence, though it could be because she is a good actress. that's why I see it more as a fan service for the "good" guys.
but her doing it to flirt with MC, because she became interested in him after he treated her well and she is not used to that, is also a good explanation.

But we don't know her current relationship status on each route.
she says it's over after Jamie throws the camera and punched MC. but when she gets caught, it doesn't seem to be over.

I just don't really find Ashe attractive tbh. If this was real life I would rather pursue someone else.

 

[soprano31]

I just don't really find Ashe attractive

How can you not love this,Joshy ?
Just look at how she asks for the juiciest,smoothest cummy kisses and to be licked all over,
Don't leave such a gorgeous work of art waiting,and lick her,kiss her whole body,
until she trembles with passion.

 

[Maviarab]

How can you not love this,Joshy ?
Just look at how she asks for the juiciest,smoothest cummy kisses and to be licked all over,
Don't leave such a gorgeous work of art waiting,and lick her,kiss her whole body,
until she trembles with passion.
View attachment 3622592

 

[Master of Puppets]

she says it's over after Jamie throws the camera and punched MC. but when she gets caught, it doesn't seem to be over.

Well she hasn't told him that it's over yet, has she? Think he gets the message when he catches her in bed with our guy though.

 

[PHIL101-YYouPPHard]

you should try to embrace her route. you might change your mind completely

she is definitely smart. but very naive. her short model career and the accident were wake up calls, but they were not enough.
MC's dark path, or the pragmatic route are much more impactful to waking her up



yeah I see the points. and she was already in skimpy outfit during the shoot, even topless, whatever the route.
but with our current elements, i just feel like she would feel more comfortable with it because there would be less sexual tension after they had their little session. she flashed him with confidence, though it could be because she is a good actress. that's why I see it more as a fan service for the "good" guys.
but her doing it to flirt with MC, because she became interested in him after he treated her well and she is not used to that, is also a good explanation.

But we don't know her current relationship status on each route.
she says it's over after Jamie throws the camera and punched MC. but when she gets caught, it doesn't seem to be over.

Yeah. You're right, she's pretty loose with her body. She seems like a huge tease to me, either naively, or intentionally. And your own thoughts ofc make sense. I would expect tit flash if I already fucked her. If I refused, I would expect more shyness. So, assumptions are the opposite of what we got.

It's even funnier honestly to think that we're just making post-hoc rationalizations. I mean, Neon did kinda say as much when he admitted he put the tits in as a bonus to romancers/friend-pathers Maybe he considered the why of it after-the-fact, I'm not sure.

But still, analyzing characters is always fun, even if we're kinda making it up as we go. I can't even imagine what we'll analyze about Cassie lmfao. If she has a consensual romance route, which I assume she will because all of the LIs do, I'm gonna have a field day wondering wtf is going through her head to fall in love with her own brother. Poor MC only does what we tell him, what's Cassie's excuse?

 

[HiP1]

Well she hasn't told him that it's over yet, has she? Think he gets the message when he catches her in bed with our guy though.

funny part is he cheated on Gabby but can't handle being cheated on himself.
he could forgive her and continue the relationship, honestly. he seems to be the simp in the comments, so he dated up, clearly. or he might try to go back to Gabby, but it would be a huge gamble. can't handle being single...

 

[Dessolos]

But still, analyzing characters is always fun, even if we're kinda making it up as we go. I can't even imagine what we'll analyze about Cassie lmfao. If she has a consensual romance route, which I assume she will because all of the LIs do, I'm gonna have a field day wondering wtf is going through her head to fall in love with her own brother. Poor MC only does what we tell him, what's Cassie's excuse?

I'm not really into the incest thing all that often depends on the character for me. But after seeing how much I enjoyed the Ashe roleplay I kind of would like to see a threesome with Ashe and Cassie. Tho probably be to weird and never will happen but I can hope and fantasize about it lol.

 

[Maviarab]

I'm not really into the incest thing all that often depends on the character for me. But after seeing how much I enjoyed the Ashe roleplay I kind of would like to see a threesome with Ashe and Cassie. Tho probably be to weird and never will happen but I can hope and fantasize about it lol.

I'll make it happen...I have Neon's nudes.

 

[HiP1]

Yeah. You're right, she's pretty loose with her body. She seems like a huge tease to me, either naively, or intentionally. And your own thoughts ofc make sense. I would expect tit flash if I already fucked her. If I refused, I would expect more shyness. So, assumptions are the opposite of what we got.

It's even funnier honestly to think that we're just making post-hoc rationalizations. I mean, Neon did kinda say as much when he admitted he put the tits in as a bonus to romancers/friend-pathers Maybe he considered the why of it after-the-fact, I'm not sure.

But still, analyzing characters is always fun, even if we're kinda making it up as we go. I can't even imagine what we'll analyze about Cassie lmfao. If she has a consensual romance route, which I assume she will because all of the LIs do, I'm gonna have a field day wondering wtf is going through her head to fall in love with her own brother. Poor MC only does what we tell him, what's Cassie's excuse?

Cassie is very blonde, and MC has black hair. chance of one of them being adopted ? many years difference, and many years apart making them pretty much strangers. rationalizing it will be, indeed, a razor thin line to walk to make it believable. she used to love her brother a lot, if we believe MC's stories about her, but he left when she was still very young. would probably begin with lust as it's the easiest path.
She could still be demoted from the main LI list too.

I'm not really into the incest thing all that often depends on the character for me. But after seeing how much I enjoyed the Ashe roleplay I kind of would like to see a threesome with Ashe and Cassie. Tho probably be to weird and never will happen but I can hope and fantasize about it lol.

interesting idea, but there is more chance of a threesome with Peyton than Ashe for now.

 

[Dessolos]

interesting idea, but there is more chance of a threesome with Peyton than Ashe for now.

Yeah I doubt it will ever happen tbh but it be hot if it did and it's something I hope to see even if it's very unlikely.

 

[ename144]

i think a smoother way to push MC into that situation in the drug den for people that are not on Risa's path could be to actually drive her back home for real, but because MC and her took too much time choosing his outfit, they end up being very late, and Lucien had to send a guy to fetch Risa. MC being there, he gets taken too, by force to pay her debt. or something like that.

That would have been better in the short term, since it explains clearly why the MC decides to get involved. But it would probably be even worse in the long term since the logical response at that point would be to go to the police; it may not solve the entire Lucien problem, but it would at least stop it from personally threatening the MC. The problem is that might easily get Risa arrested, which is something a fan of hers would desperately want to avoid whereas her detractors would see it as a nice bonus.

IMHO that's too large a branch to paper over this early in the game. We need to keep Risa in the MC's life, which means she can't be literally getting him kidnapped just by being near her.

at least, it means that the characters are well written enough that they provoked that level of reaction, whether it be good or bad.

I can't agree - at least not for Risa; Brittani is absolutely a credit to Neon's writing. But for Risa I'm not angry because her character rubs me the wrong way, I'm angry because Neon forced her into the plot in ways that absolutely do not fit the characters involved. That's the opposite of good writing.


Oh, and while I'm here I might as well take a stab at an updated tier list. This is a hard game to rate since my feelings for the characters vary considerably depending on whether I view them as a potential romance option or just as a friend/surrogate daughter. Still, here's my best attempt:

Spoiler: Overly Loquacious Tier List

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[Joshy92]

How can you not love this,Joshy ?
Just look at how she asks for the juiciest,smoothest cummy kisses and to be licked all over,
Don't leave such a gorgeous work of art waiting,and lick her,kiss her whole body,
until she trembles with passion.
View attachment 3622592

I admit I would totally give her a sloppy French kiss at this exact moment.

 

[Dessolos]

I admit I would totally give her a sloppy French kiss at this exact moment.

Joshy what are doing to me I think you might be corrupting me. I'm not into cummy kisses other than for seeing content or joking purposes. Yet I I might be convinced to try it one time in this render, as she looks kind of hot with a big load on her face and I do have a thing for facials especially messy ones like this.

 

[abgazil]

I am pretty sure people DO do that when reading a Storm of Sword, yes.

But please ignore the haters and keep up the great work NeonGhosts, game's amazing.

In Chapter 8, if you turned down Brittani in the loft, and were nice during the photo shoot, she's happier to see you, less nervous, etc. and she flirts a bit by showing off her work uniform.

Spoiler

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Is it a lot? No. But, it's appreciably different than if you were more aggressive with her, and it hints that she'll be warmer to you. You know, like you may want in a romantic relationship. But, she's also not super cold to you if you did take her up on her offer. She just clearly feels a bit awkward about it.

I'm just going to skip over complaints about certain girls getting an outsized amount of time, because here's some other characters that have gotten the same complaint: Nicki, Ashe, Gabby, Viola, Pepper, Risa, Carolina, Madison, and actually literally every character in the game.

As for lol at the shop content, that was a late, unplanned addition in order to give Brittani fans a little content, since we hadn't seen her in a little while, and I figured I could tee up her next appearance. It's not uncommon for me to be working through an update only to realize, "Hey, this character would fit in really well, here.." and then I end up writing and rendering an extra scene. It happened in Chapter 6 with Mason, Chapter 7 with Risa, Chapter 8 with Brittani, and Chapter 9 with Pepper. Then, the schedule slips. But, I don't add these scenes, without thinking they'll benefit the story as a whole.

And it seems like that 'story as a whole' idea is something people keep having trouble with. Things happen in the story.. Because the story needs those things to happen. Risa was, initially, just planned as a foil to Carolina. Fun and free-spirited, to Carolina's uptight and rigid. Then, I realized she could work as a viewpoint character into some of the shady things MC keeps brushing up against. So, she took on some more screentime, to move the plot forward in a more interesting way.

Other characters who were never planned for, but wound up being pretty important: Ashe, Carolina, Brittani, Pepper, Viola, Wren..

I mean, I'm not really sure what to say here. It's a story. Characters show up when they have something to do, and they're not around when they don't. When they don't have interesting things to do, someone else gets center stage for a bit. I just don't get it, honestly. Do people get mad when they're reading A Storm of Swords and they get to a character POV they dislike?

"UGH, FUCK! Fucking Tarly. I'll just skip this one and go to the next Tyrion chapter -- such bullshit!"

I mean, do you want to go check in with Gabby? Okay.

• mc"Hey Gabby, how are you?"
• gb"Still mad at you. I'm waiting for a major plot development to occur, which will allow me to forgive you."
• mc"Oh, cool. I bet we'll do that when I see you in Chapter 10."
• gb"Bet."

Oh, here's Brittani.

• mc"Brittani, what's up?"
• bri"Uh, I just saw you today. I'm currently at work. I assume I'll see you tomorrow, or the next day? To audition for the part? But, it'd be helpful if you knew anyone with a Slavic accent to help me with the role."
• mc"Wow! Shockingly, I do! I'll just need to see her in Chapter 10, to tee that up."
• bri"Great, see you after that."

Now, for people who want to complain about the schedule, et al. -- go look at the date this thread launched. March 30th, a bit over two years ago.

Since then I've done: 8,687 images, eight full chapters, a Halloween update, and an April Fool's update. Oh, and I did The Student Loan during that time, which had another 189 images. All of which needed to be written, coded, and playtested, by someone who didn't know how to code or use Daz, before starting this. Add to that juggling my community, trying to navigate through the changing whims of payment processors, having a life, and working my real job, and I think I'm doing okay.

I'm not going to sit here and defend my work ethic, because quite frankly it speaks for itself. I don't like to compare myself to other devs, but there are teams of two or three devs, people who do this for an actual living, who don't put out as much work as I do by myself.

And despite this, I get to deal with people telling me, literally since Chapter One, that the plot branches have clearly spun out of control, and I'll never be able to manage it. Yet somehow I'm still here, putting out releases every four months, and moving the story forward. Two years in! There are TV shows that run for five, six, seven years or more. Fuck, Spider-Man's been published since the 60s.

It's serial storytelling. It takes time.

If you feel you can do better, I make all the Daz files for my characters available in the fanart thread. Have at it! I look forward to playing your much better game.

 

[soldano]

I am not judging but really, Carolina did not make the list?

He looks like he's into blondes.

 

[SlapE]

I'll be honest I don't pay much attention to Ashe. She kind of annoys me.

I just don't really find Ashe attractive tbh. If this was real life I would rather pursue someone else.

Joshy... you're playing with fire talking like this. You're lucky that your two favorite characters are also two of my favorites. Although Risa is fair game, so if you keep talking wild like this I might have to go on an entire Risa rant, and break down all the reasons she is the worst love interest in the game.

I've got my eye on you Joshy...






P.S. Nicki, Ashe, Mason, Brittani, Viola, and Carolina are the only love interests that truly matter, if your favorite wasn't mentioned then that's because they mid.

Jeez it's only a joke, drop the pitchforks!