VN Ren'Py Friends in Need [Mini-Sode: Blue Valentine] [NeonGhosts]

[MilesEdgeworth]

But that's what she did. She visited him, they spend a while together and she has asked. Was she seriously supposed to do it right from the door, without bothering to spend any time before to catch up and trying to have fun, and that would somehow make you think less that she was seeing Guy as just a tool to address her problem?


That was Brent's idea. I think it's perfectly fine to get pissed off at him for trying to get money using his girlfriend's ass, but you're effectively leaving out his role in this, and focusing all anger on Nicki who, as we know from the story, simply isn't very capable of telling her shit boyfriends "no".

Hey, how's it going? This is Nikki from the store I've fallen on some hard times, can you loan me some money? Alot better than dressing up sexy, going on a date with him and then asking. As for why people arent mad at brent, we are, she just got the brunt of Guy's anger because she executed the plan and was the only one there

 

[Retrofyyy]

I enjoyed this game a lot more then I thought I would. Its worth the time and effort if your slightly interested by the screenshots or tags. I think its in my top 10 games I've played. Can not wait to see what else the dev adds and expands upon and wish you the best of luck doing so.

 

[Dessolos]

They didn't talk since Guy quit the store and while Guy is mostly responsible for that, communication goes both ways.

Yeah but you missed my point , my point was wasn't that long without communication for either of them ( the first time) , besides she was the one that did reach out and made the effort while Guy didn't even if it was for money.

 

[ffive]

Hey, how's it going? This is Nikki from the store I've fallen on some hard times, can you loan me some money? Alot better than dressing up sexy, going on a date with him and then asking.

I'm sorry, but this is really nonsensical. In your example your friend is literally just calling you because they need money and for nothing else. They don't even do you the basic courtesy of meeting you face to face. But you get upset that if they want to also hang out with you, then they're supposedly treating you more like a tool?

Is this how you ask your friends for favors? Zero interest about them or their doing, just straight to the only point that matters to you? And you think that's supposed to make them feel better about your requests?

I mean, if that's how you feel then fine. We'll just have to agree to disagree, on the grounds of having completely different understanding of human interactions.

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

Hey, how's it going? This is Nikki from the store I've fallen on some hard times, can you loan me some money? Alot better than dressing up sexy, going on a date with him and then asking. As for why people arent mad at brent, we are, she just got the brunt of Guy's anger because she executed the plan and was the only one there

That is not how people on friendly terms who were seeing each other up until a few weeks ago do around to ask a favor. Your example looks so impersonal, it is more like someone going to a bank to ask for a loan.

Seems like you just want outrage for outrage sakes. Which is starting to remind me of all those people who came here to hate on Nicki something ago.

 

[MilesEdgeworth]

I'm sorry, but this is really nonsensical. In your example your friend is literally just calling you because they need money and for nothing else. They don't even do you the basic courtesy of meeting you face to face. But you get upset that if they want to also hang out with you, then they're supposedly treating you more like a tool?

Is this how you ask your friends for favors? Zero interest about them or their doing, just straight to the only point that matters to you? And you think that's supposed to make them feel better about your requests?

I mean, if that's how you feel then fine. We'll just have to agree to disagree, on the grounds of having completely different understanding of human interactions.

What was she calling him for then? She sure as hell didn't want to hang out since she legit was fine going three weeks without talking to him. Like I said before, Nikki wouldn't have been there trying to "rekindle" their friendship if he had no money and he quit the store.

Yeah but you missed my point , my point was wasn't that long without communication for either of them ( the first time) , besides she was the one that did reach out and made the effort while Guy didn't even if it was for money.

Three weeks isn't long if you have long-distance relatives or acquaintances. It's pretty long for somebody who was a friend you talk to every day.

That is not how people on friendly terms who were seeing each other up until a few weeks ago do around to ask a favor. Your example looks so impersonal, it is more like someone going to a bank to ask for a loan.

Seems like you just want outrage for outrage sakes. Which is starting to remind me of all those people who came here to hate on Nicki something ago.

What the hell do you think Nikki was doing? She was asking for a loan from somebody she wasn't on the best terms with. Hell she even dressed the part. I get that y'all want to defend Nikki, but cmon!

 

[Dessolos]

Three weeks isn't long if you have long-distance relatives or acquaintances. It's pretty long for somebody who was a friend you talk to every day.

Yeah gonna have to agree to disagree about that I had friends I never saw in school but only in my neighborhood it was common to go 2 - 3 weeks without spending time with each other. ( I blame video games)

Like I said before, Nikki wouldn't have been there trying to "rekindle" their friendship if he had no money and he quit the store.

Also disagree about this Nicki didn't care if he had money or not only Brent did. She was a friend first asking for money last she 100% would of wanted to spend time with him even if she wasn't there to ask for money. Hell she even asked for way less than Brent wanted her too , so she clearly didn't care about the money otherwise she would of tried to get as much as she could.

 

[LWtbo]

I love this about what Nikki should of done and because she didn't she's an Implied manipulative gold digger.
She believed she was in love with brent and he used that fact against her.
It was his Idea how she dressed His Idea what she must do to make sure she got the money.
His Idea how much she should of asked for.
He was emotionally abusive he used her believing she was in love with himself angainst her.
Women in that type of relationship will do anything the boyfriend wants even if its not what she wants.
And thats a known fact... btw what Date they sat watching Cartoons in my game?.
plus I don't remember any mention of them not being on good terms Brent and MC yes.
Nikki and MC no they were still friends you don't sit through a cartoon series with someone your not on good terms with.
But since when has logic ever stopped someone that wants to think badly of someone else even if she's fictional.

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

What the hell do you think Nikki was doing? She was asking for a loan from somebody she wasn't on the best terms with. Hell she even dressed the part. I get that y'all want to defend Nikki, but cmon!

Guy and Nicki weren't on the best of terms?
As I thought, you are clearly here just to make nonsense hate on Nicki. In this case go on and download the Nicki removal patch, it was made specially for people like you.

 

[ffive]

What was she calling him for then? She sure as hell didn't want to hang out since she legit was fine going three weeks without talking to him.

Again, this makes very little sense. If you spend couple weeks away from a close friend this hardly means that you're fine without talking to them, or that you aren't interested in spending time together. Friends who don't spend some time together tend to miss each other, and the time spent apart actually makes it more plausible that someone would want to meet up with their friend and catch up, after a while.

So, how exactly do you conclude that Nicki was fine without seeing Guy and spending some time with him? That she didn't miss him, and didn't want to hang out? Before you start talking that she didn't bother to reach out, well, there's this small matter of having one's hands full with a bunch of loan sharks on her ass, trying to get her in a porn shooting business and harassing her at night amongst other things. Unlike Guy, i may add, who didn't have any such development in his life but didn't really reach out to his only friend, either.

 

[Pixillin']

Guy and Nicki weren't on the best of terms?
As I thought, you are clearly here just to make nonsense hate on Nicki. In this case go on and download the Nicki removal patch, it was made specially for people like you.

Yeah, Guy and Nicki were friends for years and remember that during those three weeks, Guy has been re-arranging his whole life. He had to cash out his investment, hopefully get some financial advice, and do something with the money (I doubt he just stuck 28 million in his chequing account), moved and furnished his new apartment … and I’m sure other stuff. It’s not like he’s just been sitting around pining for Nicky. The only way you can see it this way is if you deciding not to like Nicky from the start, and refused to think about the situation from her perspective or Guy’s perspective.

 

[MilesEdgeworth]

Guy and Nicki weren't on the best of terms?
As I thought, you are clearly here just to make nonsense hate on Nicki. In this case go on and download the Nicki removal patch, it was made specially for people like you.

They hadn't talked or seen each other since he quit the store. In what world is that best of terms? The only person here making shit up is you.

Again, this makes very little sense. If you spend couple weeks away from a close friend this hardly means that you're fine without talking to them, or that you aren't interested in spending time together. Friends who don't spend some time together tend to miss each other, and the time spent apart actually makes it more plausible that someone would want to meet up with their friend and catch up, after a while.

So, how exactly do you conclude that Nicki was fine without seeing Guy and spending some time with him? That she didn't miss him, and didn't want to hang out? Before you start talking that she didn't bother to reach out, well, there's this small matter of having one's hands full with a bunch of loan sharks on her ass, trying to get her in a porn shooting business and harassing her at night amongst other things. Unlike Guy, i may add, who didn't have any such development in his life but didn't really reach out to his only friend, either.

So, according to you, she was busy with the issues mentioned above but had time to see him as soon as she needed money? So it was just a coincidence that the time she needed money was the only time she was available to hang out with Guy?

Also disagree about this Nicki didn't care if he had money or not only Brent did. She was a friend first asking for money last she 100% would of wanted to spend time with him even if she wasn't there to ask for money. Hell she even asked for way less than Brent wanted her too , so she clearly didn't care about the money otherwise she would of tried to get as much as she could.

Her actions say otherwise. Hanging out with someone as soon as you need something from them doesn't show that you want to hang out with a friend.

For those who keep bringing up Brent, yes he's an asshole. You want to say he's a bigger asshole than Nikki, sure I agree with that. But that changes nothing.

 

[Pixillin']

I’m glad that I had prior experience with having friends before I tried FiN.

 

[ffive]

So, according to you, she was busy with the issues mentioned above but had time to see him as soon as she needed money? So it was just a coincidence that the time she needed money was the only time she was available to hang out with Guy?

She needed money for the most of those couple of weeks. All those mentioned issues were because she didn't have the money. But she only asked Guy for money after Brent figured out that Guy is now rich, saw Guy like Nicki's photo and then told his girlfriend to dress up and go see if she could get Guy to give them money that Brent was convinced Guy "owed them".

This is not coincidence. This is Brent pushing Nicki to do a thing that she was far too busy until then to do on her own -- that is, to go and see Guy. (and --Brent's own addition-- while at it, ask him about the money) It doesn't mean Nicki didn't want to see Guy before, or that she was "fine" with not seeing him.

 

[torkenstiem]

Her actions say otherwise. Hanging out with someone as soon as you need something from them doesn't show that you want to hang out with a friend.

Yes and no...but sometimes, it's the only hope you have left.

 

[ffive]

Like, srsly, people getting all upset how "Nicki only came to seduce Guy for money". If Nicki was actually that devious, she'd have come to Guy with a story that she broke up with Brent. Then she'd seduce him "because he's the only one who gets her" and talked him into a relationship. And then maybe mentioned off-hand she needed some money because of her ex-boyfriend's mess a few days later.

That's how you do actual gold digging. None of this amateur hour deal upfront shit.

 

[Dessolos]

Her actions say otherwise. Hanging out with someone as soon as you need something from them doesn't show that you want to hang out with a friend.

For those who keep bringing up Brent, yes he's an asshole. You want to say he's a bigger asshole than Nikki, sure I agree with that. But that changes nothing.

I doubt that was the only time they were hanging out together just the only time shown. As from what we have seen it feels normal for them to watch anime and play video games together.

So I don't see her doing that for money personally as to me if she was actually in it for the money she would of tried for the full amount Brent asked for and now downplay and get just enough to cover her debts caused by Brent and her bad decisions. Hell if I recall correctly he seemed like she hesitated to even ask not to mention her guilt after. Someone that was really in it for the money wouldn't feel guilty.

But you are correctly she did want some money as she needed help so she figured her friend might help her after Brent pushed her to do it. I would say she wasn't in it for the money in a gold digging or taking advantage kind of way , just enough to survive and get free of her debts.

 

[MilesEdgeworth]

Her making Guy a sandwich regardless of how he treats her is the first friends thing shown about our dear Nikki that wasn't in exposition

 

[yossa999]

whatever the case , we enjoyed nikkis visit and it was all thanks to brent

Spoiler

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What I like most about this game is that the player has real choices.

Almost every "corruption" or "dark" game, even if it gives you a choice, that choice usually means "Watch the kinky or abusive scene or skip it."

But this game is different and the outcome depends on the player's choce. So if the MC did to her what is in your screenshot, then it is entirely on the player, not on the MC, Brent, the game or the developer. The MC could have made sweet love to her, could have made their sex more lewd, but still both would have had a good time, could have been her real friend and not taken advantage of her situation.

But if the MC decided to humiliate and degrade her, I wonder whose decision it was?

 

[PHIL101-YYouPPHard]

Damn, this thread has been on fire lately and it's getting spicyyyy

The way I see Nicki, and the other LIs, is that you should look at them as complex characters with lives and experiences outside of the MC. This is how most written works should be, but unfortunately, this is pretty unusual for a VN because most VNs, the characters are written face-value, i.e. what you see is what you get (some VNs do try to have complex characters, but they fumble it imo). So, when you interact with a LI, what you're getting from them in that moment might not fully represent them, i.e. Gabby's attitude in the shop, Gabby's impression of Brit, Ashe's first impressions, and so on.

As the author of a VN writing the whole gamut of reactions, from romance to dark, Neon has an incentive to poke at you the player a little with every character to actually rouse a response, or else no one would care either way, right? Straightforward VNs don't have to do this because they aren't giving you a range of moral decisions to decide on, so they have a bigger incentive to write one-note totally likeable characters. So, in FiN, you're going to have a LI be annoying or stupid about x, but pleasant and enduring about y. As the MC, you get to jump to conclusions and judge/punish them wholly for their flaws, or you can choose to see them as a complicated person that deserves a chance. That's what's so fun about playing it!

Also, you can notice that sometimes the 'poke' from the author isn't how the character behaves, but strictly their identity which.. let's say are sour topics in politics today. There's at least 2 LIs in that category for sure. I won't go further into detail here because I don't want to start a dumb political argument, it's just something that I think is interesting.

Anyways, obviously chp 1's execution can be improved and the author agrees, but Nicki's situation being not quite straightforward is kind of the point and that's what makes the initial decisions so defining for the MC going forward. I don't think the chp 1 remake is going to change this, it's just going to reinforce the friendship aspect so Nicki won't just feel like some random bitch that you work with.

The canon, though, as I see it, is basically that it's a misunderstanding that the MC, especially the corrupt/dark MC, can discover going forward. You realize things about Nicki's personality, or about her thinking, or what her motivations and intentions were at the time, and so on. Same for all the other LIs to different degrees. The MC can dismiss them and continue to justify his actions, but that of course says more about the MC than any of the LIs.