Infamous if (band wip) chap 3 (457k wrds) released (9/08/2024)

Mc will be the one who likely gets to shoulder all the blame in the media for being a homewrecker and breaking up the perfect “ValenReign” dream showbiz couple, which if you’re romancing G will also confirm 100% to the world you cheated Blake and his band to get into BOTB and mc will likely also get 100% of the blame for that in the media because everybody will believe you used your sexual relationship with G to get them to pull some strings on your behalf behind the scenes, when in reality the mc has nothing to do with that. Looks like career suicide for the mc from where I’m standing and an asshole who does clearly not respect you as a person like G is not worth that.

And that is if G will even divorce V and not just keep the mc as lover on the side in a perpetual limbo.

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This makes me see Seven just a tiny bit less of an asshole but still an asshole. They know how that game works since they went down the dark path even though they still have your mc initials shows they still care but pushing away because they got baggage and don’t want more and even more reason to see that mc would be roped in which Blake is poking at right now, so mc would be guilty by association for so call making Seven leave the band when they left on their own, main reason why seven’s band hate us and we are seen as the villain yet they know nothing but what is spoon fed to them by media.

So yeah the same would happen with G but on a bigger scale like you said…but G wouldn’t have a scratch and would let you burn since he is an asshole and people still love him, so yeah suicide would be a heavy thing because of not only being besmirched for infidelity fake news but another mark on the band cheating and more flame for Blake to use and depending on Seven they may rope in too given they can come to your defense to help with the chaos control only to line pieces together into making it even more as a reason for rigged votes…basically Seven is a villain but more like angst of pushing you away for less problems and not give more problems but G is outright the final boss if he is the linchpin in what’s going on and he seems like the sleazeball to stir the pot, that “Poor me, I don’t have time for myself” sound like a ploy of “You got to much time on your hands and want something fun to do”.

Feels like G would be that type to haze upcoming stars…mc might be that interest since they are one of the more invisible ones aside from the connection with Seven…might be another reason why they keep beating a dead horse with bringing it up(the media is what I mean). :face_exhaling:

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I feel a major point thats been missed in all of this talk is that you are the primary perspective in all of this. You’re a talented singer and songwriter in a talented band that till now hadn’t made in big in terms of exposure. Unless you’re SEVERLY self obsessed you’re not going to be going into fine detail about how attractive you are and how much sex appeal to the table.

You’re a small band, if you’re confident and feel like you’re not being noticed enough, that’s because you aren’t. There’s bigger names to be fawned over in the public eye. You’re NOT the center of attention, and youre more likely going to be thinking of your bandmates sex appeal than your own. You tend to see more of others than of yourself, thats just how eyes work. And the whole “fish out of water” thing still applies. You may be confident, may even be cocky, but that still doesn’t change that you’re out of your environment. You’re on a bigger stage, and recorded/televised a large amount of the time. You’re not going to know what you’re doing a solid 90% of the time, and for people that are confident and put together (or want to be seen as that anyways) that is going to make you extremely uncomfortable

And if youre mousy, it gives you the feeling that it’s all too much. That there are TOO MANY eyes on you. You’re perfectly fine with not being the center of attention.

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Yet the mc doesn’t even warrant the minor comments from side characters people like Orion and Rowan do get and they’re not any more famous in the media than the mc, unlike Seven, G and Blake.
Also the tumblr quite clearly says the mc is not allowed to be on the same level appearance wise as Rowan, Seven, Blake and Orion apparently the author considers it too big an advantage to the mc, I think the mc could desperately use the leg up when most of the main competition, Seven, Blake, do have that very same advantage, but that is just my take.
Unless it gets added (back)in depending on the results of some Patreon poll. That is all I can really make of it.

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I followed the link, and it literally said nothing like that. The creator said that the attractiveness of the MC is the player’s choice, and that they may implement a system that will adjust reactions to you if you choose to be. You’ve been blowing this way out of proportion, especially for a WIP that isn’t even 2 full chapters in.

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Literally nowhere in that post does it at all say anything about the MCs attractiveness in comparison to any other character. Like, at all, in the slightest.

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That is the very admission that it is not currently possible for the mc to be at that level except via headcanon and that nobody in-game or in the game universe will ever acknowledge it at present. Pretty weird for a reality show about showbiz where things like that count potentially a great deal.

It says that the game will not currently acknowledge anything about the mc’s looks/attractiveness, which is pretty weird for reality tv and showbiz both, fields where looks count for a great deal.

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No, it’s saying you don’t have to be. The game is t going to force you to be drop-dead gorgeous, and it’s not going to force you to be ugly either. If you want to consider yourself a walking wet dream reincarnation of Aphrodite, go ahead, there’s nothing to stop you. Im sorry you’re not getting the explicit validation that you’re pretty, but again, not even the full 2nd chapter is out.

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I thought it was pretty heavily implied that MC is attractive in-universe, or at least charismatic enough that a lack of conventional attractiveness isn’t a problem. It’s completely up to headcanon because their looks re: attractiveness are rarely mentioned and the few times that they are, MC is hinted at being a certified hottie. Unless it has significant impact on the story, I’m not quite sure what making attractiveness an explicit choice would add.

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If you don’t mind me directly quoting the whole answer for more clarity:

Author answers:
I still want to do that! But tbh I can’t seem to find a place to put it + can’t really think of where it would really help beyond a few instances and for very specific attributes. And I can’t really think of many attributes that are sort of equal in terms of how much they benefit in the story, if you get what I mean?

It’s one of those things that I have to look at my outline and see if it works. I don’t want it to be an empty choice haha which is why I haven’t implemented it yet! Probably won’t, if I can’t think of it </3

but!! I could probably add it as a flavor text thing. So, yeah if you choose to be especially attractive it will actually be acknowledged. If people like that??? I might make it a poll on patreon and see!

What I understand from all this is that the author basically want to make it a meaningful choice if they add it? Or as an alternative it could be mentioned if this certain choice is made (especially attractive or something)?

Isn’t this “mechanism”/choice what would directly spell it out for the reader if MC is attractive or not if added? In the absence of this mechanism we are all free to headcanon our OC either as least/average/most attractive right? And why would the band or a stranger in the street need to acknowledge, basically spell it out to MC that they are attractive?

MC is being judged mostly for their talent at singing (it’s a bonus if they are highly charismatic too in my opinion) right?

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This game has very much not been shy about identifying its hotties and calling them out in-universe…multiple times for some, the mc cannot currently be acknowledged as one of them which means the simplest explanation is they are in fact not one of them.
Hidden hottie is one of those things that only works for a painfully shy, mousy mc, otherwise mc and those around them would have realized it by now.

Realistically that would also be acknowledged on reality tv and in the showbiz world. By not choosing anything plain becomes the automatic default.

That is never hinted at, G’s “chosen one” is just creepy but it says more about G than it does about mc frankly.

The possibility for the mc to get some of the same treatment Blake, Seven, Orion and Rowan get. The ability for mc to be the centerfold in future photoshoots and get some better, more sexy outfits, like the stuff Rowan and Blake get. This is showbiz, not data entry or software coding, it is not exactly an industry that is appearance agnostic that goes doubly for scripted reality television. And indeed the game does not attempt to treat it as such as we can witness with multiple npc’s, the mc is the exception here.

The game very readily recognizes Rowan and Orion as hot at the photoshoot but nothing for the mc and that is the one place where you’d really expect it.

Even more of a problem the mc doesn’t exactly come across as charismatic right now ever, a lot of the outgoing options just come across as shy mc attempting to fake it and never really quite succeeding. The closest they come to smooth and charismatic is one scene with an unnamed bartender on M&S route near the beginning.

On reality TV? Oh, come on let’s be real. On reality TV the mc will first and foremost be judged by their ability to generate interesting to watch dramatic conflicts and carry storylines and products the producers want promoted, given the tensions between them and two other top bands expect the mc and their band to get far based on that alone beyond that singing will at best have an equal weight with appearance, charisma, “stage presence”, fashion choice and a billion other things, and that is assuming a fairly unbiased jury by reality tv standards. If a popular vote makes up a significant amount of the points awarded however looks and pre-existing name recognition will definitely have an outsize influence.

And of course the mc is in an extra precarious position with the cheating allegations hanging over their head like a sword of Damocles, which essentially means they will, in practice, compete or be eliminated solely at the leisure of the executives and G as in the mc case they can always announce they have found additional evidence that requires their immediate removal possibly pending investigation.

Their actual singing is probably one of the factors near the bottom of what they will be judged on in practice during the competition. :unamused:

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The only instance I can think of that overtly talks about the MC’s attractiveness/presence is in Blake’s POV on Patreon where they say “Attractive, yes, but unassuming, in a way. They always have an air of aimlesslness. As if they truly don’t know half of what’s happening around them and to them.” So, like, it’s not as if the MC is butt ugly, but the latter parts of that aren’t really traits that you would want the frontman of a band on a reality TV show to have. So I’d assume that the MC is only pushed into that position because the have a built-in storyline with Seven (and now UW) and it’s kind of typical that the vocal lead takes on that role (as the interviewer who asks the MC to sit in the middle over Devyn suggests), not because they have any attributes that make them especially fit for that job, especially over the rest of the band. But that’s just how I see it atm

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Alright, I’ve done a quick replay of the opening, and both the bartender and Sebastian will unsubtly check your character out or say you look like someone who would have all eyes on them, respectively. Not to mention the concert goers who you run into in the bathroom say you are genuinely talented and a real good singer, and while G does have some ulterior motives, they do say that you have an incredible voice. There’s no real reason to believe that’s a lie, because you literally perform right after they say that and rock the audience. And later, you find out your bandmates vote for you over Seven in who they want on lead vocals.

Like, that’s all there, in the text, pretty explicitly stated. And within the first like ten minutes of reading. I get missing some implications or subtext here or there, it happens, but this is almost completely ignoring the text in substitute for your own assumptions and reality.

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Which many of us cannot see. But thank you for quoting this as this does seem to hint about the deeper problems of/with the mc and why even choosing the outgoing options so often feel like that is just the shy mc attempting to fake something.

Certainly true from what I think we can see in this game and likely why choosing outgoing only has the very limited impact it has. It almost seems like mc is completely oblivious to their image and the optics of their actions, which is very bad in modern day show-business.

In combination with the above likely where the doormat like qualities of the mc stem from, I wanted to yell you know, does the mc not realize how bad the optics of just escorting Maya and her dad to their hotel look? Or even worse how bad the optics of inserting themselves in the super fucked up ValenReign marriage is gonna look on them and impact their career?

You can say that again, but they’re also not something you can change in 10 weeks of reality TV, if anything they’re liable to get worse. :worried:
Which likely means we can never really ever make the mc into the kind of sexy bad-boy lead singers men like Blake, Seven and G are, which is rather disappointing.

The inability of the mc to manage their own image is particularly crippling for a showbiz career in the age of social media.

And you conveniently pick the one scene where I said outgoing mc is kinda believable and seems relatively smooth and actually aware of what is happening to and around them, unfortunately it is all downhill from there, as Blake’s observations in the hidden Patreon bit point out. That scene is also the only one to hint at above average mc appearance and by Sebastion alone, the bartender could just be angling for a bigger tip, on the outgoing path. The other few compliments and endorsements the mc gets are all about voice or singing where Seven and Blake get both.

That first scene with Sebastian and Maya however is the exception, by the time the mc just walks them to their hotel they seem far more the oblivious type Blake makes them out to be who is unaware of their own image, how certain actions of theirs can or will be perceived and is aimless instead of assertive.

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Yes, they are. If you flirt with the bar tender, they flirt back. You can hook up with someone literally in the first chapter. That wouldn’t happen if the MC was a hideous beast or even plain. The story doesn’t straight up say, “this person is hot!” but common sense dictates that MC is at least not hideous, and attractive enough in some way, shape, or form that someone wants sexual contact.

See, this is where there’s a disconnect – Rowan doesn’t get any special treatment compared to MC. They aren’t acknowledged as especially attractive or outgoing compared to MC. One (1) stylist saying he has beautiful bone structure isn’t indirectly saying that MC is not equally or more good-looking. There is literally a choice in that section of the story that has MC be particularly photogenic/good at posing. The character doesn’t stand there like an awkward blob unless you’re choosing to make them awkward and/or uncomfortable with the photoshoot or being on camera.

I just… don’t see that at all. Outgoing!MC is fairly different from shy!MC. They’re not any less charismatic than Rowan, who you seem to have singled out as a much better band leader/performer than MC for some reason. If the MC sees squeamish and uncomfortable, it’s because we’re seeing a first-hand perspective of them being thrown into a brand new, high stress and high stakes environment. Even the most confident MCs would be a little rattled over everything that’s happening – that doesn’t mean that internal turmoil is visible to everyone else, but all stories need at least a little internal conflict. Without it, this would just be a power fantasy. It’s cool if you want that, but this clearly isn’t that story.

With all due respect, you’re adding context that isn’t present in the narrative and getting upset at the conclusions you’ve drawn from it. Few other people are coming to these same conclusions. The author has clarified this very point multiple times, but you’re either ignoring them or deliberately misinterpreting their words. I don’t know that adding a choice to make your MC the hottest person in the world is going to fix the problems you have with the story. Maybe it’s just not the story for you?

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I’m not disagreeing with the MC being attractive, but I do definitely disagree with your reasoning here. Someone in the service industry flirting with you doesn’t mean you’re attractive, it means they work for tips, and a random hookup in a bar/party doesn’t preclude you from being plain or unattractive, it just means some people are easy.

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Yeah, didn’t explain myself so well! It’s obviously not necessarily true in real life, but it’s a pretty hard narrative telegraph that MC is someone with some level of presence/charisma or attractiveness (and also informs us that they enjoy one-night stands and flirting) – especially when Sebastian, the most normie of the ROs, was having a difficult time getting the bar tender’s attention. That’s all I was getting at.

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Blake also, explicitly, doesn’t like you or your band, which kind of means he isn’t some impartial arbiter when it comes to anything about the MC. He’s gonna be biased.

And I’ve been doing this run about as confident and cocksure as I can, it doesn’t feel remotely like they’re secretly actually shy and putting on a front. They feel cocky and self-assured, surprise surprise.

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Anybody else come here for casual and FUN convo about topics, theories, scenes and RO routes but; instead is instantly bombarded with a not just a few minutes or hours- yet 2 DAYS worth of debate about MCs attractiveness levels and behavior??


This Much Jibber Jabber on MC being a Cutie Patootie or not, is astronomically insane :joy:


@agraysparrow Also, Right. My MC acts exactly like that. Cocky and Self Assured. Which, If I remember correctly, some of the characters even acknowledge. If they do act a little out of character, I think it’s only in the moments that pertain to Seven.

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Dude I feel you I’m just having fun and then there’s this random argument about the MC’s hotness?

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