homework main character

What are the main characters in The Homework Machine?

Think about what an antagonist is...the villain right?

In the 3 little pigs the wolf, the evil villain, is the antagonist.

So think: What is the thing that is keeping the protagonist (the main character) from getting what he/she/it wants?

Remember an antagonist can be the environment, society, an evil robot, or even the protagonist themselves.

I hope this helped you figure out the answer for yourself. :)

Sam Dawkins Brenton dal macho Kelsey donnel Judy

Sarine Tonikian ∙

Sam Dawkins, Judy Douglas, Brenton Damagatchi, Kelsey Donnelly

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THE HOMEWORK MACHINE

by Dan Gutman ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006

When fifth-graders Judy, Sam and Kelsey discover their classmate Brenton Damagatchi’s homework machine, they think they are on to a good thing and begin to visit him regularly after school. Alphabetically seated at the same table, the brilliant Asian-American computer geek, hardworking, high-achieving African-American girl, troubled army brat and ditzy girl with pink hair would seem to have nothing in common. (They would also seem to be stereotypes, but young readers won’t mind.) But they share an aversion to the time-consuming grind of after-school work. Their use of the machine doesn’t lead to learning—as a surprise spring quiz demonstrates—but it does lead to new friendships and new interests. The events of their year are told chronologically in individual depositions to the police. In spite of the numerous voices, the story is easy to follow, and the change in Sam, especially, is clear, as he discovers talents beyond coolness thanks to a new interest in chess. Middle-grade readers may find one part of this story upsettingly realistic and the clearly stated moral not what they had hoped to hear, but the generally humorous approach will make the lesson go down easily. (Fiction. 8-11)

Pub Date: March 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-689-87678-5

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2006

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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More by Dan Gutman

THE (MOSTLY) TRUE STORY OF CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE

BOOK REVIEW

by Dan Gutman ; illustrated by Kelley McMorris

by Dan Gutman ; illustrated by Allison Steinfeld

TUCK EVERLASTING

by Natalie Babbitt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1975

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...

At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.

Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975

ISBN: 0312369816

Page Count: 164

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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by Natalie Babbitt

by Valerie Worth & illustrated by Natalie Babbitt

RETURN TO SENDER

by Julia Alvarez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 13, 2009

Though it lacks nuance, still a must-read.

Tyler is the son of generations of Vermont dairy farmers.

Mari is the Mexican-born daughter of undocumented migrant laborers whose mother has vanished in a perilous border crossing. When Tyler’s father is disabled in an accident, the only way the family can afford to keep the farm is by hiring Mari’s family. As Tyler and Mari’s friendship grows, the normal tensions of middle-school boy-girl friendships are complicated by philosophical and political truths. Tyler wonders how he can be a patriot while his family breaks the law. Mari worries about her vanished mother and lives in fear that she will be separated from her American-born sisters if la migra comes. Unashamedly didactic, Alvarez’s novel effectively complicates simple equivalencies between what’s illegal and what’s wrong. Mari’s experience is harrowing, with implied atrocities and immigration raids, but equally full of good people doing the best they can. The two children find hope despite the unhappily realistic conclusions to their troubles, in a story which sees the best in humanity alongside grim realities.

Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-375-85838-3

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2008

More by Julia Alvarez

by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Raúl Colón

by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Sabra Field

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The Homework Machine

Starting with a stern statement from the Grand Canyon, Arizona Police Chief Rebecca Fish, meet four fifth graders in big trouble. There's long-haired, rebellious, cool guy Sam Dawkins; fun-loving, unacademic, pink-haired Kelsey Donnelly, African American grind Judy Douglas, and friendless genius Brenton Damagatchi. The whole thing starts because Sam is anti-homework, especially the daily fill in-the-blank worksheets his first-year teacher Miss Rasmussen hands out. Sam is skeptical when Brenton claims he has programmed his computer to search the web and do all his homework each day, but it’s true. Soon the four seatmates are spending every afternoon in Brenton’s bedroom, printing out their daily assignments on the computer they nickname Belch. It can’t do any harm, right? The chronology and confession of their ill-fated escapade is related entirely through a series of transcripts, narrated by the four contrite kids, their parents, classmates, and Miss Rasmussen.

There are many interesting threads explored in this nimble story: keeping secrets, making friends, being popular, the morality of taking the easy way out, first crushes, the meaning of war, and even the loss of a parent. The setting of the Grand Canyon and sub-themes about playing chess, starting fads, and using a catapult will get kids looking up supporting information in books and on the Internet. Questions readers can think about as they read include: Which of the four main characters is most like or unlike you and why? Which one would or would not be your friend and why?

Reviewed by : JF.

Themes : DEATH. FRIENDSHIP. GRIEF. HUMOR.

Also available from:

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Books-A-Million

CRITICS HAVE SAID

“A dramatic and thought-provoking story with a strong message about honesty and friendship.” – Elaine E. Knight, School Library Journal
“Booktalkers will find this a natural, particularly for those hard-to-tempt readers whose preferred method of computer disposal involves a catapult and the Grand Canyon.” – Carolyn Phelan, Booklist
“Tucked in between the laughs are excellent messages about tolerance, honesty, and the importance of what the students’ teacher calls the “homework machine [that] already exists. It’s called your brain.” – Child Magazine
“Short chapters of alternating voices tell the story, which is funny in some places, but is not without intense and sometimes sad moments.” – Susie Wilde, Children

IF YOU LOVE THIS BOOK, THEN TRY:

Amato, Mary. The Word Eater. Holiday House, 2000. ISBN-13: 9780823419401
Clements, Andrew. Frindle. Simon & Schuster, 1996. ISBN-13: 9780689818769
Clements, Andrew. Lunch Money. Simon & Schuster, 2005. ISBN-13: 9780689866852
Clements, Andrew. No Talking. Simon & Schuster, 2007. ISBN-13: 9781416909835
Codell, Esm Raji. Sahara Special. Hyperion, 2003. ISBN-13: 9780786816118
Fletcher, Ralph. Flying Solo. Clarion, 1998. ISBN-13: 9780395873236
Gutman, Dan. The Get Rich Quick Club. HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN-13: 9780060534424
Gutman, Dan. The Kid Who Ran for President. Scholastic, 1996. ISBN-13: 9780590939881
Gutman, Dan. Qwerty Stevens Back in Time: The Edison Mystery. Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN-13: 9780590939881
Park, Barbara. Maxie, Rosie, and Earl—Partners in Grime. Knopf, 1990. ISBN-13: 9780679806431
Pearsall, Shelley. All of the Above. Little, Brown, 2006. ISBN-13: 9780316115261
Rocklin, Joanne. For Your Eyes Only! Scholastic, 1997. ISBN-13: 9780142003220
Sachar, Louis. Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Morrow, 1978. ISBN-13: 9780380698714

Reading Comprehension Worksheets
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Characterization Worksheets

Well-developed characters are like people: they have traits, opinions, and motivations. Characterizations are the methods by which story tellers reveal the traits of characters. There are two types of characterizations: direct and indirect. Direct characterization is when a narrator or character describes another character directly. Indirect characterization is when character traits are revealed through a character's behavior.

Most of my characterization worksheets deal with indirect or implicit characterizations. Recognizing these characterizations is a higher order thinking skill, whereby the student must make an inference based on textual details. These free characterization worksheets will help students better understand characterizations and ultimately become better readers.

This is a preview image of Characterization Lesson 1. Click on it to enlarge it or view the source file.

Characterization Common Core State Standards

55 comments.

The work sheets are really helpful! Thank you.

Grateful English teacher from Germany

Thank you so much for sharing your material! It helps me a lot with my English students. It’s greatly appreciated!

Leigh Cheri

On behalf of the countless teachers I know use these resources as staple pieces in their lessons each year, thank you for your generosity, support and time. We appreciate that these are not only skill-focused, engaging and editable but that they are rigorous among today’s state standards as well. Thank you.

Thanks so much for doing all of these. I love that they are rigorous. I use your stuff all the time. I really love the ppts too. Thanks again for providing resources. Our school doesn’t want us using the reading curriculum, so this has helped a lot!

Lisa Brainard

I love the online option as we get ready to go virtual. However, I am unable to figure out where to see their completed work. Could you please assist me?

Thanks so much!

Sure, thing.

At the end of each quiz, students have the option to “Print, Save, or Email” their results. They could even post their scores to Facebook. I don’t think many people do that though.

What I would do, if I were you, is require each student to SAVE A COPY OF THEIR RESPONSES AND SCORES to their machine or file system. Then, I would have them email the results to your email address.

The reason why I would require them to save their scores is that sometimes there are delivery issues. Students enter the wrong address, firewalls stop the emails, etc. This is a tough situation for both teacher and student. The answer is to require students to maintain records of their work. Then, if there is a delivery issue, they just need to send the results again.

I hope that helps.

Rathnathilaka

It is great.You are a real teacher for teachers world wide.Thank you very much.

Peter the Great.

Thank you very much for your time and effort in doing these works. They are great to make students produce the language. Sometimes I have run out of ideas on how to persuade my students but with this exercises I can push them again. God bless you.

I’m so happy to hear it. Thank you for taking the time to comment!

This is a fabulous and very useful resource! Thank you!

A wonderful resource – perfect for honing English skills.

Many thanks !

What a wonderful site with numerous resources!

Mary Klinger

Thank you. The short vignettes are just what I needed for character studies.

I love your work! Thank you for sharing. I have a question on characterization. Other sites I look at describe how indirect characterization can come from what effect the character has on others, what the character thinks, what the character says, and what the character looks like. Why do you only concentrate on how the character acts?

I think that my students need more help with this skill, which requires one to make inferences.

I love this website. Thanks for all the great material; this stuff is perfect for all the extra practice parents ask for before a test.

Is there anywhere I can donate?

No donations necessary. The advertisements pay for the content. Best wishes!

Hi Mr Morton, I’ld like to thank you for sharing your wonderful resources.

Your Resources are invaluable and incomparable to what is available at retail stores, everything has been planned for explicit teaching of the much needed skills and strategies for reading effectively.

Please send details on where to make donations.

Thank you once again,

Kind Regards

That’s really nice of you to say. The site is supported by advertising. The company, Ereading Worksheets Inc., is a for profit entity. Any donations are not tax refundable, but if you really want to buy me a cup of coffee or something (beer), you can PayPal me at [email protected]

Best wishes, and thanks again for using the site.

I was so lucky to come across this. You saved me the time energy of coming up with something myself, and it wouldn’t have been as good. THANKS!

Your worksheets are really great help for moms.

Thank you very much for sharing and your effort, Mr. Morton. 🙂

You are most welcome. Thank you for visiting.

A big thank you for all your reading worksheets. They are a great resource!

Love this. Thanks

cierrascott

helped with a lot of work thanks

This will help me a lot

Thank you! I have found some very helpful activities and worksheets to teach a variety of topics when it comes to reading. I really appreciate you sharing these documents!

You are most welcome.

Thank you SO much for these. I have been using them in my beginning 7/8 grade Theatre class. Trying to develop deep thoughts and ideas about characterization has not only helped them in their acting and understanding of what it takes to become a ‘role,’ but these worksheets have also helped them in their other classes with writing, creativity, and imagination. Thanks again!

You are so welcome. Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment.

These pages are fantastic; they are well written, modern, and the questions are thorough. I also appreciate the different grade levels you cover. Thank you so much!

You are most welcome. Thank you for taking the time to comment.

can I became the answers?

Hmm… I’m not sure if that’s possible.

dodo daffodils

Really i appreciate your effort.There are so many brilliant exercises that help me as a teacher and very effective with the students.Thanks a million

Thank you for this wonderful website. It is very helpful. My 6th grade ESL students from Puerto Rico like to do the worksheets.

I’m so happy to hear it.

marilyn carter

This is just an excellent resource!!! I am a private tutor and this is very helpful! Thank you.

this was very helpful in my class as we were going over elements of a story

Greetings from Singapore! This series of worksheets is so helpful! Thank you!

Gwenna Neal

Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!! What a great support for CC characterization!! You ROCK, Mr. Morton!

This is the best resource out there for language arts teachers! I love love LOVE that you give us multiple level worksheets to help differentiate. Additionally, love that there are keys so we don’t have to ‘do’ every worksheet ourselves to make a key. You have given me back tons of time in my life and for that, I am eternally grateful!

Jeanette Alfred

These worksheets are beyond awesome! Even my students like doing them. I have shared them with other English teachers at our school and they love them as well. I keep coming back to them to help my students understand concepts we are covering in class. I even find them helpful to review things I haven’t taught in a while. And to top it off, they are free! Thank you for your hard work!!!

Thank you for the kind words. I am dedicated to improving this website.

This is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for! it’s amazing! thanks:)

I have been looking for a website like this for our son for a very long time.Thank you,your excellent

This site is phenomenal. I teach 6th grade and it gives a variety of activities, worksheets, powerpoints, pre and post assessments for differentiation in my room. I love it!!

Thank you so much for saying so.

A great site that I use for my middle school LAL students.

Excellent site!!

Very helpful. Thanks!

WOW! I can’t thank you enough!! These are GREAT!

A conversation with a Wheelock researcher, a BU student, and a fourth-grade teacher

“Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives,” says Wheelock’s Janine Bempechat. “It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.” Photo by iStock/Glenn Cook Photography

Do your homework.

If only it were that simple.

Educators have debated the merits of homework since the late 19th century. In recent years, amid concerns of some parents and teachers that children are being stressed out by too much homework, things have only gotten more fraught.

“Homework is complicated,” says developmental psychologist Janine Bempechat, a Wheelock College of Education & Human Development clinical professor. The author of the essay “ The Case for (Quality) Homework—Why It Improves Learning and How Parents Can Help ” in the winter 2019 issue of Education Next , Bempechat has studied how the debate about homework is influencing teacher preparation, parent and student beliefs about learning, and school policies.

She worries especially about socioeconomically disadvantaged students from low-performing schools who, according to research by Bempechat and others, get little or no homework.

BU Today sat down with Bempechat and Erin Bruce (Wheelock’17,’18), a new fourth-grade teacher at a suburban Boston school, and future teacher freshman Emma Ardizzone (Wheelock) to talk about what quality homework looks like, how it can help children learn, and how schools can equip teachers to design it, evaluate it, and facilitate parents’ role in it.

BU Today: Parents and educators who are against homework in elementary school say there is no research definitively linking it to academic performance for kids in the early grades. You’ve said that they’re missing the point.

Bempechat : I think teachers assign homework in elementary school as a way to help kids develop skills they’ll need when they’re older—to begin to instill a sense of responsibility and to learn planning and organizational skills. That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success. If we greatly reduce or eliminate homework in elementary school, we deprive kids and parents of opportunities to instill these important learning habits and skills.

We do know that beginning in late middle school, and continuing through high school, there is a strong and positive correlation between homework completion and academic success.

That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success.

You talk about the importance of quality homework. What is that?

Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives. It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.

What are your concerns about homework and low-income children?

The argument that some people make—that homework “punishes the poor” because lower-income parents may not be as well-equipped as affluent parents to help their children with homework—is very troubling to me. There are no parents who don’t care about their children’s learning. Parents don’t actually have to help with homework completion in order for kids to do well. They can help in other ways—by helping children organize a study space, providing snacks, being there as a support, helping children work in groups with siblings or friends.

Isn’t the discussion about getting rid of homework happening mostly in affluent communities?

Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That’s problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being. But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

Teachers may not have as high expectations for lower-income children. Schools should bear responsibility for providing supports for kids to be able to get their homework done—after-school clubs, community support, peer group support. It does kids a disservice when our expectations are lower for them.

The conversation around homework is to some extent a social class and social justice issue. If we eliminate homework for all children because affluent children have too much, we’re really doing a disservice to low-income children. They need the challenge, and every student can rise to the challenge with enough supports in place.

What did you learn by studying how education schools are preparing future teachers to handle homework?

My colleague, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, at the University of California, Davis, School of Education, and I interviewed faculty members at education schools, as well as supervising teachers, to find out how students are being prepared. And it seemed that they weren’t. There didn’t seem to be any readings on the research, or conversations on what high-quality homework is and how to design it.

Erin, what kind of training did you get in handling homework?

Bruce : I had phenomenal professors at Wheelock, but homework just didn’t come up. I did lots of student teaching. I’ve been in classrooms where the teachers didn’t assign any homework, and I’ve been in rooms where they assigned hours of homework a night. But I never even considered homework as something that was my decision. I just thought it was something I’d pull out of a book and it’d be done.

I started giving homework on the first night of school this year. My first assignment was to go home and draw a picture of the room where you do your homework. I want to know if it’s at a table and if there are chairs around it and if mom’s cooking dinner while you’re doing homework.

The second night I asked them to talk to a grown-up about how are you going to be able to get your homework done during the week. The kids really enjoyed it. There’s a running joke that I’m teaching life skills.

Friday nights, I read all my kids’ responses to me on their homework from the week and it’s wonderful. They pour their hearts out. It’s like we’re having a conversation on my couch Friday night.

It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Bempechat : I can’t imagine that most new teachers would have the intuition Erin had in designing homework the way she did.

Ardizzone : Conversations with kids about homework, feeling you’re being listened to—that’s such a big part of wanting to do homework….I grew up in Westchester County. It was a pretty demanding school district. My junior year English teacher—I loved her—she would give us feedback, have meetings with all of us. She’d say, “If you have any questions, if you have anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me, here are my office hours.” It felt like she actually cared.

Bempechat : It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Ardizzone : But can’t it lead to parents being overbearing and too involved in their children’s lives as students?

Bempechat : There’s good help and there’s bad help. The bad help is what you’re describing—when parents hover inappropriately, when they micromanage, when they see their children confused and struggling and tell them what to do.

Good help is when parents recognize there’s a struggle going on and instead ask informative questions: “Where do you think you went wrong?” They give hints, or pointers, rather than saying, “You missed this,” or “You didn’t read that.”

Bruce : I hope something comes of this. I hope BU or Wheelock can think of some way to make this a more pressing issue. As a first-year teacher, it was not something I even thought about on the first day of school—until a kid raised his hand and said, “Do we have homework?” It would have been wonderful if I’d had a plan from day one.

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Senior Contributing Editor

Sara Rimer A journalist for more than three decades, Sara Rimer worked at the Miami Herald , Washington Post and, for 26 years, the New York Times , where she was the New England bureau chief, and a national reporter covering education, aging, immigration, and other social justice issues. Her stories on the death penalty’s inequities were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and cited in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision outlawing the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. Her journalism honors include Columbia University’s Meyer Berger award for in-depth human interest reporting. She holds a BA degree in American Studies from the University of Michigan. Profile

She can be reached at [email protected] .

Comments & Discussion

Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.

There are 81 comments on Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

Insightful! The values about homework in elementary schools are well aligned with my intuition as a parent.

when i finish my work i do my homework and i sometimes forget what to do because i did not get enough sleep

same omg it does not help me it is stressful and if I have it in more than one class I hate it.

Same I think my parent wants to help me but, she doesn’t care if I get bad grades so I just try my best and my grades are great.

I think that last question about Good help from parents is not know to all parents, we do as our parents did or how we best think it can be done, so maybe coaching parents or giving them resources on how to help with homework would be very beneficial for the parent on how to help and for the teacher to have consistency and improve homework results, and of course for the child. I do see how homework helps reaffirm the knowledge obtained in the classroom, I also have the ability to see progress and it is a time I share with my kids

The answer to the headline question is a no-brainer – a more pressing problem is why there is a difference in how students from different cultures succeed. Perfect example is the student population at BU – why is there a majority population of Asian students and only about 3% black students at BU? In fact at some universities there are law suits by Asians to stop discrimination and quotas against admitting Asian students because the real truth is that as a group they are demonstrating better qualifications for admittance, while at the same time there are quotas and reduced requirements for black students to boost their portion of the student population because as a group they do more poorly in meeting admissions standards – and it is not about the Benjamins. The real problem is that in our PC society no one has the gazuntas to explore this issue as it may reveal that all people are not created equal after all. Or is it just environmental cultural differences??????

I get you have a concern about the issue but that is not even what the point of this article is about. If you have an issue please take this to the site we have and only post your opinion about the actual topic

This is not at all what the article is talking about.

This literally has nothing to do with the article brought up. You should really take your opinions somewhere else before you speak about something that doesn’t make sense.

we have the same name

so they have the same name what of it?

lol you tell her

totally agree

What does that have to do with homework, that is not what the article talks about AT ALL.

Yes, I think homework plays an important role in the development of student life. Through homework, students have to face challenges on a daily basis and they try to solve them quickly.I am an intense online tutor at 24x7homeworkhelp and I give homework to my students at that level in which they handle it easily.

More than two-thirds of students said they used alcohol and drugs, primarily marijuana, to cope with stress.

You know what’s funny? I got this assignment to write an argument for homework about homework and this article was really helpful and understandable, and I also agree with this article’s point of view.

I also got the same task as you! I was looking for some good resources and I found this! I really found this article useful and easy to understand, just like you! ^^

i think that homework is the best thing that a child can have on the school because it help them with their thinking and memory.

I am a child myself and i think homework is a terrific pass time because i can’t play video games during the week. It also helps me set goals.

Homework is not harmful ,but it will if there is too much

I feel like, from a minors point of view that we shouldn’t get homework. Not only is the homework stressful, but it takes us away from relaxing and being social. For example, me and my friends was supposed to hang at the mall last week but we had to postpone it since we all had some sort of work to do. Our minds shouldn’t be focused on finishing an assignment that in realty, doesn’t matter. I completely understand that we should have homework. I have to write a paper on the unimportance of homework so thanks.

homework isn’t that bad

Are you a student? if not then i don’t really think you know how much and how severe todays homework really is

i am a student and i do not enjoy homework because i practice my sport 4 out of the five days we have school for 4 hours and that’s not even counting the commute time or the fact i still have to shower and eat dinner when i get home. its draining!

i totally agree with you. these people are such boomers

why just why

they do make a really good point, i think that there should be a limit though. hours and hours of homework can be really stressful, and the extra work isn’t making a difference to our learning, but i do believe homework should be optional and extra credit. that would make it for students to not have the leaning stress of a assignment and if you have a low grade you you can catch up.

Studies show that homework improves student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicates that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” On both standardized tests and grades, students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school.

So how are your measuring student achievement? That’s the real question. The argument that doing homework is simply a tool for teaching responsibility isn’t enough for me. We can teach responsibility in a number of ways. Also the poor argument that parents don’t need to help with homework, and that students can do it on their own, is wishful thinking at best. It completely ignores neurodiverse students. Students in poverty aren’t magically going to find a space to do homework, a friend’s or siblings to help them do it, and snacks to eat. I feel like the author of this piece has never set foot in a classroom of students.

THIS. This article is pathetic coming from a university. So intellectually dishonest, refusing to address the havoc of capitalism and poverty plays on academic success in life. How can they in one sentence use poor kids in an argument and never once address that poor children have access to damn near 0 of the resources affluent kids have? Draw me a picture and let’s talk about feelings lmao what a joke is that gonna put food in their belly so they can have the calories to burn in order to use their brain to study? What about quiet their 7 other siblings that they share a single bedroom with for hours? Is it gonna force the single mom to magically be at home and at work at the same time to cook food while you study and be there to throw an encouraging word?

Also the “parents don’t need to be a parent and be able to guide their kid at all academically they just need to exist in the next room” is wild. Its one thing if a parent straight up is not equipped but to say kids can just figured it out is…. wow coming from an educator What’s next the teacher doesn’t need to teach cause the kid can just follow the packet and figure it out?

Well then get a tutor right? Oh wait you are poor only affluent kids can afford a tutor for their hours of homework a day were they on average have none of the worries a poor child does. Does this address that poor children are more likely to also suffer abuse and mental illness? Like mentioned what about kids that can’t learn or comprehend the forced standardized way? Just let em fail? These children regularly are not in “special education”(some of those are a joke in their own and full of neglect and abuse) programs cause most aren’t even acknowledged as having disabilities or disorders.

But yes all and all those pesky poor kids just aren’t being worked hard enough lol pretty sure poor children’s existence just in childhood is more work, stress, and responsibility alone than an affluent child’s entire life cycle. Love they never once talked about the quality of education in the classroom being so bad between the poor and affluent it can qualify as segregation, just basically blamed poor people for being lazy, good job capitalism for failing us once again!

why the hell?

you should feel bad for saying this, this article can be helpful for people who has to write a essay about it

This is more of a political rant than it is about homework

I know a teacher who has told his students their homework is to find something they are interested in, pursue it and then come share what they learn. The student responses are quite compelling. One girl taught herself German so she could talk to her grandfather. One boy did a research project on Nelson Mandela because the teacher had mentioned him in class. Another boy, a both on the autism spectrum, fixed his family’s computer. The list goes on. This is fourth grade. I think students are highly motivated to learn, when we step aside and encourage them.

The whole point of homework is to give the students a chance to use the material that they have been presented with in class. If they never have the opportunity to use that information, and discover that it is actually useful, it will be in one ear and out the other. As a science teacher, it is critical that the students are challenged to use the material they have been presented with, which gives them the opportunity to actually think about it rather than regurgitate “facts”. Well designed homework forces the student to think conceptually, as opposed to regurgitation, which is never a pretty sight

Wonderful discussion. and yes, homework helps in learning and building skills in students.

not true it just causes kids to stress

Homework can be both beneficial and unuseful, if you will. There are students who are gifted in all subjects in school and ones with disabilities. Why should the students who are gifted get the lucky break, whereas the people who have disabilities suffer? The people who were born with this “gift” go through school with ease whereas people with disabilities struggle with the work given to them. I speak from experience because I am one of those students: the ones with disabilities. Homework doesn’t benefit “us”, it only tears us down and put us in an abyss of confusion and stress and hopelessness because we can’t learn as fast as others. Or we can’t handle the amount of work given whereas the gifted students go through it with ease. It just brings us down and makes us feel lost; because no mater what, it feels like we are destined to fail. It feels like we weren’t “cut out” for success.

homework does help

here is the thing though, if a child is shoved in the face with a whole ton of homework that isn’t really even considered homework it is assignments, it’s not helpful. the teacher should make homework more of a fun learning experience rather than something that is dreaded

This article was wonderful, I am going to ask my teachers about extra, or at all giving homework.

I agree. Especially when you have homework before an exam. Which is distasteful as you’ll need that time to study. It doesn’t make any sense, nor does us doing homework really matters as It’s just facts thrown at us.

Homework is too severe and is just too much for students, schools need to decrease the amount of homework. When teachers assign homework they forget that the students have other classes that give them the same amount of homework each day. Students need to work on social skills and life skills.

I disagree.

Beyond achievement, proponents of homework argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits so they are ready to grow as their cognitive capacities mature. It can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework can foster independent learning and responsible character traits. And it can give parents an opportunity to see what’s going on at school and let them express positive attitudes toward achievement.

Homework is helpful because homework helps us by teaching us how to learn a specific topic.

As a student myself, I can say that I have almost never gotten the full 9 hours of recommended sleep time, because of homework. (Now I’m writing an essay on it in the middle of the night D=)

I am a 10 year old kid doing a report about “Is homework good or bad” for homework before i was going to do homework is bad but the sources from this site changed my mind!

Homeowkr is god for stusenrs

I agree with hunter because homework can be so stressful especially with this whole covid thing no one has time for homework and every one just wants to get back to there normal lives it is especially stressful when you go on a 2 week vaca 3 weeks into the new school year and and then less then a week after you come back from the vaca you are out for over a month because of covid and you have no way to get the assignment done and turned in

As great as homework is said to be in the is article, I feel like the viewpoint of the students was left out. Every where I go on the internet researching about this topic it almost always has interviews from teachers, professors, and the like. However isn’t that a little biased? Of course teachers are going to be for homework, they’re not the ones that have to stay up past midnight completing the homework from not just one class, but all of them. I just feel like this site is one-sided and you should include what the students of today think of spending four hours every night completing 6-8 classes worth of work.

Are we talking about homework or practice? Those are two very different things and can result in different outcomes.

Homework is a graded assignment. I do not know of research showing the benefits of graded assignments going home.

Practice; however, can be extremely beneficial, especially if there is some sort of feedback (not a grade but feedback). That feedback can come from the teacher, another student or even an automated grading program.

As a former band director, I assigned daily practice. I never once thought it would be appropriate for me to require the students to turn in a recording of their practice for me to grade. Instead, I had in-class assignments/assessments that were graded and directly related to the practice assigned.

I would really like to read articles on “homework” that truly distinguish between the two.

oof i feel bad good luck!

thank you guys for the artical because I have to finish an assingment. yes i did cite it but just thanks

thx for the article guys.

Homework is good

I think homework is helpful AND harmful. Sometimes u can’t get sleep bc of homework but it helps u practice for school too so idk.

I agree with this Article. And does anyone know when this was published. I would like to know.

It was published FEb 19, 2019.

Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college.

i think homework can help kids but at the same time not help kids

This article is so out of touch with majority of homes it would be laughable if it wasn’t so incredibly sad.

There is no value to homework all it does is add stress to already stressed homes. Parents or adults magically having the time or energy to shepherd kids through homework is dome sort of 1950’s fantasy.

What lala land do these teachers live in?

Homework gives noting to the kid

Homework is Bad

homework is bad.

why do kids even have homework?

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Double Homework

Double Homework is an episodic adult visual novel developed by the Love Joint studio. The game spans 19 episodes, with the first episode having been released in June 2019 and the final episode in 2021. The game serves as a Stealth Sequel to their prior game Daughter for Dessert , and in 2021 received its own Stealth Sequel called Shale Hill Secrets .

The main character (MC for short), a world-class skier making a bid for the Olympics, undergoes a traumatic event while training. Depressed by what happened, he becomes a recluse for three months. Missing so much school forces MC to enroll in summer school to catch up, where he is joined by his two sisters, a group of attractive girls, and another boy who threatens to blackmail MC if he doesn't help him get girls.

This game provides examples of:

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Abandon Ship : Morgan as the yacht comes back to port, so she won't get caught with the jet ski she stole.
MC and Tamara both seem to have shades of this. They do well in school and are good at skiing.
Invoked by Rachel when she mentions that the Olympic Committee doesn't like students who slack off.
Accidental Misnaming : A running gag, once MC enrolls in the regular summer school program, is that he can never remember Marco’s name.
MC also walks into the wrong locker room by mistake, hoping to get some training in. Just his luck, Rachel walks in and gets undressed before realizing that he’s there.
Accidental Pornomancer : All the girls in MC's summer school class throw themselves at him, practically offering him sex. Nor does an official relationship stop them - MC can still have sex with all his classmates even if he chooses to be in a “committed” relationship with Lauren. This is somewhat justified, though, as the entire classroom situation is set up so that MC will be in a prime position to sleep with with all the girls in his class.
Another character with the same sentiment appears after MC enrolls in the regular summer school program.
Achievement Mockery : A meta example. When Dr. Mosely visits MC, who has done nothing for months except play video games at home, she flat-out says that nothing in a video game is really an achievement.
A Degree in Useless : Ms. Walsh’s “extensive training” that she mentions in order to qualify to teach “intellectually disabled” children certainly seems like this. Of course, Ms. Walsh’s own incompetence doesn’t help.
A Family Affair : A version of this. Tamara is fully aware that Johanna is attracted to MC, and she actively undermines MC’s relationship with Johanna to get what she wants.
A Friend in Need : MC has the option to speak up in Ms. Walsh’s defense when the other students verbally attack her over their disappointment in her classes.
After-Action Patch-Up : Morgan is injured in the escape from Barbarossa . On her romantic path, MC is with her while she recovers.
Alas, Poor Villain : Dennis is a douchebag, but he does get some sympathy after his death, especially after MC meets his father, and realizes how he had been brought up.
Alcohol Hic : Ms. Walsh, when MC finds her drunk at school.
All Women Are Lustful : Played with. The condition of the grant for Dr. Mosely/Zeta is for MC to bed every girl in his class (minus Johanna). However, the two women conducting the experiment don’t really show sex drives. And the reason for the experiment is that young people aren’t having enough sex.
Almighty Mom : Rachel’s mom. MC really doesn’t want to be on her bad side.
Almost Holding Hands : Can happen several times if MC chickens out of taking a girl’s hand. Each time, it gives him an excellent chance of getting friendzoned.
Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate : Downplayed with Dr. Mosley/Zeta and Daniela. While Daniela definitely tries harder to win MC’s approval, Mosely isn’t above telling jokes, or admitting that she makes some decisions at least partially based on emotions.
Always a Bigger Fish : Dennis is smart enough to manipulate a blackmail just about everyone to get what he wants, but he bites off more than he can chew by tangling with Dr. Mosely/Zeta .
Ambiguously Bi : Amy expresses curiosity about lesbian sex, though she is never seen acting on this particular curiosity. Lauren and MC may or may not have had a threesome with an unnamed woman after he was kicked out of the program, making her Ambiguously Ambiguously Bi.
Also Henry. We don’t know anything about his racial or ethnic background.
Marco has a Spanish name, but looks Indian.
Averted with Rachel. She has - and keeps - the same Olympic ambition as MC, but she doesn’t lose her moral compass for it.
Played straight with Dennis. A social outcast who wants to become an alpha male, he uses all manner of immoral and illegal means to achieve his aim.
Ambulance Cut : After the mishap caused by MC and Tamara. It appears several times in flashbacks.
Amicable Exes : Deconstructed with MC and Rachel. When the story begins, Rachel is still in the phase when she hates MC, but she warms up to him again when it’s clear that he’s changed for the better. The two of them can even get back together.
A Million Is a Statistic : We are supposed to feel more sorry for MC, who has crippling depression after accidentally killing 12 people, than for the 12 people who lost their lives. Downplayed in that two of those 12 people were MC’s parents. Zigzagged in that neither MC nor his sisters really seem especially broken up about their apparent loss ...
And Your Reward Is Parenthood : The best ending with Johanna and Tamara involves both of them getting pregnant.
Angrish : When Dennis attacks MC for his video game addiction and the girls in his class defend him, the player has a choice that gets this response out of Dennis.
Anxiety Dreams : When he’s hiding out at the ski lodge in Barbarossa, MC dreams about a scenario in which all the girls worship Dennis as a sort of sex god. Dr. Mosely/ Zeta is shown as an executioner. Later, after she realizes how much MC has found out, she tries to kill MC, his sisters, and his friends at the lodge.
Apologizes a Lot : Johanna.
MC also physically threatens Dennis to chase him away from Tamara.
Armor-Piercing Question : Dr. Mosely (when MC says summer school is for losers): And what do you consider yourself?
Artistic License – Sports : MC and Rachel are competing for a spot in the Olympic Games. In real life, men and women in the Olympics compete in different divisions, so the two of them would not be vying for the same spot.
Artistic License – University Admissions : In Amy's epilogue, MC and Amy wait until after graduation to decide which colleges to apply to. In real life, admissions decisions have long been made by this time.
Asians Love Tea : Lampshaded by the British-Japanese Morgan when she mentions that she drinks tea because she comes from "two tea-drinking cultures".
Asshole Victim : Dennis, after Dr. Mosely/Zeta shoots him.
This becomes a subversion if MC chooses Rachel over the other girls in his class. A skier herself, Rachel realizes that an avalanche could have taken place anyway, and that in that situation, MC and Tamara would’ve likely died as well .
Attempted Rape : Subverted near the end of the story. Dennis appears like he’s about to force himself on Johanna, and MC throws out of a window. However, when MC questions her, it turns out that Dennis blackmailed Johanna into helping him prank MC.
Attention Whore : Lauren. Morgan suspects this of her, and Lauren herself admits this on her romantic path: she started dating MC for the recognition of dating of celebrity, and invited Daniela to the club to take a picture of them on their first date.
And later, the two of them can have sex on top of a motorcycle.
Avenging the Villain : Dennis’s father vows to avenge his son’s death at the hands of Dr. Mosely/Zeta.
A Way Out of a Cave-In : MC and Tamara forcing their way out of a crashed cable car. In a horrible twist, it started an avalanche that kills their parents and 10 other people.
When Dennis finds out MC’s and Tamara’s big secret, MC doesn’t immediately tell Tamara, hoping to protect her as well.
"Awkward Silence" Entrance : MC’s entrance into class one Monday morning after MC snatches Tamara away from Dennis. Unbeknownst to him, Dennis revealed MC’s video game addiction to the world via the internet.
Baby Name Trend Starter : In-universe. Since Amy is actually a princess, many girls from her country who share her birth date are named after her (including Morgan, whose real name is Amy).
Badass Biker : Subverted with Morgan. On the one hand, she used to lead a gang, and she scares Dennis enough that he takes pains not to have her around when he’s harassing the other girls. On the other, her one foray into the crime world (to prove that her gang was for “real”) was a botched armed robbery that led to her gang breaking up and Morgan herself going to prison for a year.
Bad Bedroom, Bad Life : MC after the incident at Barbarossa. He really lets the clothes and dirty dishes get out of hand. And after he leaves his room for the first time in months, Johanna helps him clean up.
Bad Boss : Dennis, possibly. The “sea captain” employed by Dennis to keep MC and the girls away from land surrenders and tells all when MC and Morgan threaten him physically, saying he’s not being payed enough for combat.
Bad Date : When MC follows Tamara on her date with Dennis, it’s clear that she’s having one of these.
Baddie Flattery : Both in public and in private, Dennis refers to MC as “buddy ol’ pal.” It fools no one.
Johanna also has one of these moments whenever she tries to pretend she’s not upset.
Morgan says she has two things in common with Amy. After she mentions her birthday, she stops herself, and says that they’re also both girls.
Bad Mood Retreat : Johanna goes to the roof of her apartment building when she’s upset.
Bad Samaritan : Discussed with Dennis. He previous fixed computers for his classmates for no apparent gain on his own part. However, given his pastime of collecting nudes (and creating fake ones) of his schoolmates, MC suspects what he was doing when he had access to his schoolmates’ private computers.
Bad Vibrations : The harbinger of the avalanche meant to kill MC and his friends.
Battle of Wits : Dennis vs. Dr. Mosely/ Zeta .
Be All My Sins Remembered : MC, when finally admitting to his chosen girl from his summer class that he and Tamara caused the avalanche .
Be a Whore to Get Your Man : The normally shy Johanna becomes more sexually aggressive to endear herself to MC.
"Begone" Bribe : On the field trip to Barbarossa, Dennis offers Morgan money to leave the lodge. She refuses.
Benevolent Conspiracy : Daniela presents herself and Dr. Mosely/Zeta as this to MC. In a recording of her first conversation with Daniela, Mosely herself does say that doing their work requires a conscience, and that they are working to solve a problem that could have unfortunate consequences if left unchecked. However, since Mosely tries to kill MC and his friends when they become “liabilities,” and behaves much like her own definition of someone without a conscience, it is possible that she was only telling Daniela what she wanted the latter to believe.
Berserk Button : For Rachel, running into MC (her ex) when she’s doing her exercise routine.
Best Her to Bed Her : Possibly what happened to cause MC and Rachel to date (the first time). Both are avid skiers, and MC inspired Rachel’s Olympic ambitions.
Betrayal by Offspring : Invoked. When his father takes away his yacht privileges, Dennis states his intention to sabotage the rigged online casino that he helped create.
Big Brother Instinct : MC toward Johanna and Tamara.
Big First Choice : Subverted. MC seemingly has the choice to either go to summer school or go on disability payments when Dr. Mosely visits him at home, but he decides not to apply for the payments anyway if the player chooses this option.
Big Friendly Dog : Morgan’s dog, Barghest.
Bilingual Dialogue : At his first real appearance, Mr. Adler greets MC with “Guten Abend” (“good evening” in German).
MC and Rachel are arguably even more this trope, as they don’t do too much shit-talking, but they’re also skiing rivals for the Olympic Games.
Birthday Buddies : Morgan and Amy. They also share a first name (Morgan’s real name is Amy).
Black and Nerdy : Daniela can qualify.
Black Bra and Panties : The standard underwear combo for Johanna and Tamara.
Black Comedy : Dennis on one occasion when MC calls him for information.
Black Eyes of Evil : Dennis’s dad.
Blackmail Backfire : Dennis tries to manipulate MC and Dr. Mosely to get what he wants. Instead, he ends up dead, his belongings destroyed, and his digital accounts wiped clean.
Black Sheep : Johanna is the complete opposite of MC and Tamara: she’s not as smart as they are, she’s not a good skier, and she’s overly nice while the other two engage in ball-busting and tough love.
Bland-Name Product : MC’s main video game console is a Game Station .
Blue-and-Orange Morality : Dr. Mosely/Zeta does her best to protect her test subjects whenever possible, and believes in the underlying morality of what she does. However, she runs illegal experiments that mainstream science considers unethical, and she has no problem killing anyone who becomes a “liability” to her - sometimes with pleasure.
Blunt "Yes" : MC can give one to Tamara when she suspects him of kissing Morgan and questions him about it.
B-Movie : In-universe. MC can go on a date with Amy to see a horror movie.
Boarding Party : An unorthodox example. MC and Morgan, who missed the launch for MC’s party on a yacht, steal a jet ski and catch up with the boat.
Boom, Headshot! : Dr. Mosely/Zeta killing Dennis.
Boyish Short Hair : Morgan is former gang leader who isn’t shy about fighting, verbally or physically.
Brains Evil, Brawn Good : Downplayed. While MC isn’t stupid, he’s still a jock, while Dennis is still a nerd. And MC doesn’t understand why Dennis calls him “Esau” (a biblical reference) until Tamara explains it to him.
Break the Badass : The guilt MC feels over causing the avalanche on Barbarossa . He’s so upset that he stays in his room for months playing video games.
Break the Haughty : After Dennis learns that Dr. Mosely/Zeta has tricked him. He loses everything he has, and in a move that even she admits is unnecessary, Zeta shoots him.
Brief Accent Imitation : Lauren, when chided by the organizers of an Asian food festival, puts on a fake Asian accent for it one sentence. It almost gets her banned.
British Rockstar : Morgan’s uncle, Tommy. He used to be in a band, and he likes reminding everyone of that.
Brits Love Tea : To say that Morgan's British uncle, Tommy, loves tea is an understatement. To him, it's very Serious Business .
Broken Ace : MC after the incident.
Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl : MC and Johanna.
Brother–Sister Incest : The MC with Johanna and Tamara, although to get around Patreon's rules — which forbid incest — the game calls them "roommates". The player doesn’t even have to choose between the two of them.
Brutal Honesty : MC has a couple of opportunities for this. Tamara and Morgan appreciate it, but Johanna, not so much.
Bullying a Dragon : Dennis blackmailing Dr. Mosely/ Zeta .
Butlerspace : Averted at the palace where Amy lives . The first things MC sees when coming down to the Great Hall are servants bustling around. Also, on Amy’s romantic path, MC visits her when she’s sick in bed, and the queen answers the door personally.
But Not Too Foreign : Morgan. She has just a little Japanese ancestry. And her way of honoring this part of her heritage? Drinking tea and sake.
Later played straight with Dennis’s dad. After questioning MC for details on Dennis’s death, he promises not to contact him again out of respect for MC’s supposed friendship with Dennis.
MC, when he lies to Dr. Mosely/Zeta that he doesn’t know anything special about her experiment. She doesn’t buy it, and she decides that he is a liability that she’ll need to deal with accordingly.
Butt-Monkey : His schemes notwithstanding, Dennis never gets anywhere with the ladies, and he gets humiliated whenever he tries. When he’s in a room with Johanna in his underwear, MC throws him out the window into the snow. When he gets up and starts running, MC follows him and beats him up. Then, after insulting him, Dr. Mosely/Zeta kills him in cold blood.
Calling Your Orgasms : Used several times. Also implied several more times, as MC is given options on where to ejaculate.
Camera Sniper : Implied with Daniela. It turns out that she’s supposed to be recording his sexual experiences with his female classmates.
Cannot Convey Sarcasm : Morgan’s Uncle, Tommy. Being a scary-looking, middle-aged ex-rocker, MC is nonplussed when Uncle Tommy asks him what his intentions are with Morgan. He then clarifies that he was just kidding.
Cannot Keep a Secret : Henry blows the cover of everyone planning an “appreciation party” for MC.
Canon Foreigner : Moe Mortelli from Daughter for Dessert is mentioned (as “a fat guy on a trench coat”). He gives Johanna a toaster. Wonder where he got it?
Can't Catch Up : Tends to happen whenever MC doesn’t get sexual with one of the girls as early as he can. He won’t be able to meet the relationship point threshold required for the next sexual act in most cases. This can easily lead to getting permanently locked out of a relationship with one or more of the girls.
Caper Rationalization : MC, Henry, Tamara, and the girls in the summer school class break into Dennis’s apartment , looking for a storage device of some kind that has the information they’re looking for.
Captain Oblivious : Defied with Amy. Although she grew up socially isolated as a princess , she has a pretty good idea of how everyday people have it in the world, and she made it clear to her parents that she wants to be treated as normally as possible.
Card-Carrying Jerkass : Dennis. He doesn’t care if gets called a pervert, or an asshole, or a psychopath. He knows what he wants, and if that makes him anything bad, so be it.
Career-Ending Injury : Averted with MC. Someone playing for the first time might initially conclude that this is what happened to MC after the incident on Barbarossa. Instead, 12 other people died.
Casanova Wannabe : Dennis, full stop.
Cell Phones Are Useless : In the avalanche started by MC and Tamara, They couldn’t use their phones to call for help because a solar flare was interfering with the reception.
Challenge Gamer : Amy. She’ll play any video game over and over again in order to beat her high scores.

Character Narrator : MC.
Cheat Code : Sort of. The developers created a variable editor to go with the game, in case a player wanted to change their decisions... or just lost their save file.
Checkpoint : The game is divided into 19 chapters, each one being dependent on the choices of all previous ones. Chapters can be replayed if a player wants to make different choices.
Cheer Up Episode : The yacht party for MC. He appreciates the gesture, but Dennis’s participation creates headaches.
Chekhov's Gun : The report on Dr. Mosley’s desk titled, “Trusted Alpha: Rival Threat.” As it turns out, this outlines the protocol of the sex experiment that uses MC and his classmates as guinea pigs .
Chekhov's Gunman : Daniela first appears as a photographer who MC assumes, with reason, works for the press. In reality, she’s helping Dr. Mosely/Zeta to run her sex experiment.
Chekhov's Hobby : Morgan’s secret love of fantasy novels, TV shows, and movies. On her romantic path, MC discovers one of her fantasy steampunk stories on her computer. He posts it on a writing site, and it gets good reviews.
Dennis uses extreme manipulation tactics to get naked pictures of his schoolmates, and to force a reluctant MC to do his bidding. Then he goes up against Dr. Mosely/Zeta, in whom he finally meets his match.
Implied with Dennis’s dad. MC figures that Dennis was just trying to emulate his father upon meeting the man.
Tamara is a subversion. She says that all of her shit-talking and manipulation was to make MC a better person, but admits that Johanna, with her emotional support and sentimentality, was the one who really helped MC to better himself.
Child of Forbidden Love : MC can impregnate both Johanna and Tamara in the epilogue.
Choice-and-Consequence System : Determines which romantic partners MC will have, and which he will end up with.
Chopper on Standby : Dr. Mosely/ Zeta at Barbarossa. Justified, as travel by land to Barbarossa could be dangerous, and Zeta would have to disappear quickly, as her experiment is almost over at that point .
Classified Information : Everything about Dr. Mosely/Zeta and her experiment.
Also discussed early on, if MC suggests a change of scenery to Ms. Walsh when she laments that no one likes her classes.
Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends : Subverted. In the penultimate chapter, the player will need to choose which of MC’s classmates (Lauren, Morgan, Amy, or Rachel) is the most “trustworthy” - a proxy for choosing this girl over the others. In the final chapter, the player needs to make another choice: this girl, or Johanna and Tamara. However, any epilogue with any of the girls can be chosen regardless of these choices.
Cleanup Crew : Dr. Mosely/Zeta has one who helps her disappear without a trace and take care of any “liabilities” at the end of each of her experiments. They destroy all of Dennis’s possessions, wipe his online accounts clean, and start an avalanche with the intention of killing MC and the rest of the students on the class field trip.
Clear My Name : Subverted. MC and Tamara know full well that the avalanche that killed 12 people on Barbarossa was caused by them, and furthermore, another passenger in the cable car warned them about what would happen . Double subverted on the Rachel path, as Rachel points out that the avalanche might well have happened anyway .
Cliffhanger : Frequently happens with chapter endings.
Clingy Jealous Girl : Johanna and Tamara both have shades of this. Due to their personality differences, it shows up in different ways, with Johanna retreating for a long period of time, and then unconvincingly saying that she’s not upset, whenever MC shows interest in someone else, and Tamara actively sabotaging MC’s relationships with other girls, and dating Dennis just to get back at MC. They eventually put aside their differences and decide to share MC among themselves.
Closed Circle : On the field trip to Barbarossa, the class ends up at a ski lodge with no way out and no way to call for help, with Dennis harassing all of them, and Dr. Mosely/Zeta seemingly in his pocket .
Closest Thing We Got : Subverted with Ms. Walsh. She is given the responsibility of teaching MC’s summer school class, even though her background is in special education. However, it turns out that she was hired for her incompetence due to the requirements of the experiment being performed on the class .
Closet Geek : Who knew that Morgan, the former gang leader who spent a year in jail, was into fantasy and writes steampunk stories for fun?
Tamara likes black clothing, in large part reflecting her outlook on the world.
Invoked with Lauren. She dresses just like a posh girl, but she actually comes from a poor family. She’s just trying to have the girls whom she emulates accept her.
Also invoked with Amy. Her hoodie is an attempt to both hide her identity as a princess and establish her identity as an individual.
Dennis wears fairly nice clothes in a way that (he thinks) a ladies man would wear them. He’s someone who tries hard at getting girls, but never actually does.
Clueless Mystery : It never seems like the player is meant to guess much about the secret sex experiment run by Dr. Mosely/Zeta .
Cluster F-Bomb : When MC realizes that his plan with Dr. Mosely to counter Dennis’s blackmail is going up in smoke, the next few slides show several backgrounds, each with the same one-word caption: “Fuck.”
Cold Snap : The field trip to Barbarossa. What makes it all the more jarring is that it takes place in the summer.
Color-Coded for Your Convenience : The name bar for each character has a different color.
Commonality Connection : Morgan and Amy share exactly two things, according to Morgan: a birthday, and a real name (Morgan’s real name is Amy) .
Discussed with Morgan, who prefers blunt criticism to sugarcoating.
Dr. Mosely presents herself as this kind of school counselor.
Computer Virus : Dennis writes a spyware program to collect the information on Dr. Mosely’s computer, and then blackmails MC into uploading it. Justified, as Dennis has previously written software for his father’s online casino.
Confound Them with Kindness : MC has this choice after Dennis berates the class for not pouncing on MC’s newly revealed video game addiction. MC gives an admission of wrongdoing and a statement of what he has learned, and then he can choose to finish his monologue with “Dennis is right.” It infuriates Dennis into screaming and bolting from the classroom.
Con Man : Dennis’s dad is mentioned to have an online casino. Helped by his son, he rigged the games against the players.
Connected All Along : Lauren and Morgan spend lots of screen time arguing and generally putting each other down. As it turns out, Lauren used to be part of the gang led by Morgan .
Invoked by Rachel near the end of the game if the player chooses her romantic path. When MC confesses his (and Tamara’s) role in the avalanche to her, she says that it could’ve happened regardless, but that he should continue to keep it quiet, as the Olympic Committee would bow to public pressure and bar him from any Olympic events if the truth were to get out.
Cool Boat : Dennis’s yacht, where he hosts a party that is ostensibly for MC.
Cool Code of Source : Averted in the scene where MC hacks Dr. Mosely’s computer as per Dennis’s instructions. The process looks more cartoonish than anything else.
Cool Crown : The circlet worn by Amy’s mom .
Cool Kid-and-Loser Friendship : Besides frequently calling MC “buddy-ol-pal,” Dennis seems to have told his dad that MC was a close friend of his.
Cool Uncle : Subverted with Morgan’s uncle, Tommy. Although he’s a former rock star with lots of tattoos, he wasn’t very keen on raising a child, and he does his best to direct Morgan in a fairly traditional way to the straight and narrow. The exceptions, meanwhile, are his frequent cursing and his lame, inappropriate jokes regarding the name of his old band (“The Tits”).
Cope by Pretending : Lampshaded by MC, who says that one should always be the most concerned about Johanna when she acts the most cheerful, because she has trouble confronting people about things she doesn’t like.
Corrupt Corporate Executive : Dennis’s dad can qualify. He’s running a scam online casino, and Dennis states that he sometimes order drugs for “corporate functions.”
Country Music : Used to signify enthusiasm in a dissonant situation.
Courtly Love : Defied by Amy in an unusual way. She shows up in her summer school class as a Twitch streamer in a hoodie, not a princess, and she openly hits on MC, hoping to get seduced. On her romantic path, MC even tells her to “slow down” because she’s so eager for anal sex.
Covert Group : The group behind the Zeta program.
Crappy Carnival : Subverted. Johanna takes MC to a carnival MC’s first night out after the incident, and MC fully expects to have a terrible time. However, he has fun playing a rigged game, and wins a prize, which he gives to Johanna.
Double subverted with the break-in of Dennis’s apartment to find his storage device. MC, Henry, and all the girls masterfully plan the caper, only to find no sign of said device. Then, Dennis suddenly comes home in a huff, carelessly throwing aside a portable hard drive. MC, realIzing that this must be the device they were looking for, takes it before they all sneak out.
Crazy Jealous Guy : Exaggerated with Dennis. In his book, any woman who prefers another guy to him is a “stupid fucking bitch.”
Crazy-Prepared : Dr. Mosely/Zeta. According to her, Dennis is the first ever subject of one of her experiments to make said experiment fail.
Creator's Culture Carryover : The developers are American, and it shows. The story takes place in a small European country which is definitely not English-speaking, and yet, not only do the characters speak English and even use English figures of speech, but they all have typical names for an English-speaking country that would either be nonexistent or in different forms in other languages.

Creepy Jazz Music : Played once when it is revealed that Dr. Mosely is spying on MC and his classmates.
Creepy Long Fingers : Dennis. Need I say more?
Cringe Comedy : MC finding Henry working enthusiastically with Dennis to create a site where MC and Henry will do “boy-boy stuff.” To make matters worse, Amy and Ms. Walsh both buy memberships.
Crouch and Prone : MC, Henry, and the girls hiding in Dennis’s apartment when Dennis comes home unexpectedly.
Cruel to Be Kind : Tamara’s attempts to make MC a better person. By her own eventual admission, it doesn’t work very well.
Curb-Stomp Battle : MC’s “fight” with Dennis in the final chapter. MC starts by throwing Dennis out of a second-floor window. Then, after he miraculously lands softly and starts running away, he chases Dennis down and beats him up. All the while, Dennis is out in the snow in his underwear.
Curiosity Is a Crapshoot : Looking into the weirdness of Dr. Mosely’s summer school program could give someone all of the answers they are looking for. It could also be a death sentence.
Curiosity Killed the Cast : Zigzagged. Dr. Mosely/Zeta first implies that terrible things will happen to anyone to anyone who have discovered too much about her experimentation program. Then, she personally kills Dennis, who has found out too much. Then, she arranges an avalanche to kill all of the other students on Barbarossa, but when they all escape on skis, she asks questions to judge how likely they would be to spill the beans on her, and then just leaves.
Curly Hair Is Ugly : Averted with Daniela. She is one of two female characters with whom MC can never have any sexual interaction during the game, but she is presented as a fairly attractive woman, and MC considers her as such.
Cut and Paste Environments : Only three backgrounds are used for all scenes that are set on city streets.
Cute Indignant Girl Stance : Occasionally employed by Tamara when she’s at her most frustrated. If she’s merely annoyed, she uses a folded arms pose instead.
In Amy’s epilogue, Amy’s mom tells MC that if Amy doesn’t come back from college in one piece, she’ll break him into the same number of pieces she’s in. Subverted in that MC is pretty intimidated anyway; being threatened by a monarch is never anything to sneeze at, after all.
Cut Phone Lines : A modern example. While MC and the girls are stuck in the ski lodge with snow coming down, Dr. Mosely/ Zeta and Dennis have disappeared, and the group discovers that the phone lines and fiber optic cables have been mysteriously cut.
Cynic–Idealist Duo : Tamara likes “to watch the world burn” and make people suffer if she thinks they’re beneath her, and Johanna likes to improve herself and support others in doing the same.
Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster! : Deconstructed with both Morgan and Lauren . The two used to be in a gang together, but their first real criminal act, an armed robbery, went horribly wrong. Morgan went to prison for a year, Lauren tried to act classier after her escape , and the rest of the gang went their separate ways. Notably, Lauren and Morgan would never get along after the robbery .
Damsel in Distress : Johanna at the end of the story. Even though Dennis wasn’t really about to sexually assault her, he was blackmailing her.
Dandere : Amy. She’s a quiet and reserved girl who at one point mainly talks to advertise her Twitch channel, only really opening up to MC and Morgan on a more personal level.
Danger Deadpan : The fake bus driver (formerly the fake sea captain) when the bus to Barbarossa runs into some snow.
Downplayed with Morgan, who used to be a gang leader and spent a year behind bars. She seems to have just philosophically accepted the fact that things are different since she got locked up.
Implied with Dennis. His father seems like the tough love type who always demanded that his son be the best. However, Dennis was always the socially inept type who always tended to get bullied.
Dr. Mosely’s failed attempt to counter-blackmail Dennis also has this feeling. Dr. Mosely knew (or suspected) Dennis’s blackmail, and offered to help MC get out of his predicament, but Dennis reveals that he has enough dirt on Mosely to blackmail her as well. It gets so bad that MC decides to have sex with either Johanna or Tamara right then, because he may not get another chance.
Also Dr. Mosely’s secret identity as Zeta .
Deadpan Snarker : Tamara.
Death Course : MC and the girls making their escape from the avalanche on skis.
Death from Above : The avalanche on Barbarossa - twice .
Death Glare : Tamara gives one to anyone who pisses her off.
Death Mountain : Barbarossa has two avalanches over the course of the story, the first of which kills 12 people.
Deceased Parents Are the Best : MC’s parents, who died in the Barbarossa incident, were extremely supportive of his skiing career.
Declaration of Personal Independence : Subverted with Amy. She told her mother that she doesn’t want to do "princess stuff” anymore, and she starts a video game channel...which she streams from a studio that her parents pay for. Double subverted in her epilogue, when she resolves to put her way through college using only the money she makes from her streaming.
Decoy Damsel : Played with. When Tamara sees MC and Johanna fooling around, Tamara starts going out with Dennis in revenge. MC, realizing that Tamara wants him to come after her, goes to the club where the two are having their date and chasing Dennis away. Tamara then reveals that she’s attracted to MC.
Defrosting Ice Queen : Exploited by Tamara. She is intentionally rude to any boy who shows an interest in her, but goes out of her way to seduce MC, whom she describes as “the only one I could ever imagine being with.”
Dehumanizing Insult : Dennis calling MC a “tool” that he plans to use against Dr. Mosely.
Delicious Distraction : Invoked by MC. At one point, he has an option to distract Henry from embarrassing them both by telling him about an unopened bag of Cheetos. It doesn’t work.
Delinquent Hair : The punk guy at the real summer school.
Den of Iniquity : Downplayed with Dennis’s apartment. He uses it, among other things, to trick other guys into doing voice acting work for him that he uses to catfish women and girls online.
Despite the Plan : Subverted. Though MC and the girls plan meticulously to break into Dennis’s apartment, Dennis is carrying the storage device they were looking for in his pocket the whole time. However, as MC points out, they probably couldn’t have actually taken it from him anywhere else.
Destination Defenestration : MC throws Dennis out of a second-floor window when he sees Dennis in Johanna’s bed undressed.
Devil in Plain Sight : MC is the only one who notices on the first day of summer school that Dennis is more sinister than your average nerd.
Diabolical Mastermind : Dennis’s dad. Dennis tried to copy him, possibly to finally win his father’s approval.
Also, Ms. Walsh when she realizes that she wasn’t chatting with a Brazilian actor who wanted a date with her after all.
Most horrifying with Dr. Mosely/ Zeta . In addition to lots of other information, Dennis uncovers a bunch of her previous aliases .
Did You Actually Believe...? : A non-villainous example. To stall for time after Dennis goes through her files, Dr. Mosely/ Zeta tells Dennis that she has a “tool” that would make any woman/girl hot for him . She does indeed give him a package on the class trip to Barbarossa, but it contains only a sex toy .
Disappeared Dad : Amy’s father doesn’t appear; only her mother does. However, this may just be due to the limited time that her home life is shown (Amy’s mom isn’t even revealed until the final episode).
Disappearing Bullets : Dennis’s execution by Dr. Mosely/Zeta is shown complete with an exit hole, but the exiting bullet is not shown.
Disposing of a Body : An unorthodox example. Dennis is still officially unaccounted for after the second avalanche on Barbarossa.
Disproportionate Celebration : Discussed. Johanna expresses pride in MC for leaving his room after months inside, but MC himself notes that other people leave their rooms all the time.
Disproportionate Retribution : Dennis leaks major information on MC because MC interfered with his date with Tamara.
Distant Prologue : Sort of distant, anyway. The prologue takes place at the end of winter or beginning of spring, while the story proper starts at the beginning of the vacation period for that summer.
Distinction Without a Difference : Ms. Walsh has trained to teach children who are “intellectually disabled,” not “retarded.” Justified in that school systems are more politically correct than most other environments, and in that schools do not want to discourage the parents of children who need special education from eschewing it due to social stigma.
Subverted with Tamara. She does go on a few dates with Dennis, but she’s just trying to make MC jealous.
Discussed with Lauren in her epilogue. MC wants to propose to her , but obsesses about which ring to buy . He’s afraid that it won’t be nice enough, but Tamara tells him that because he’s the one giving it to her, it won’t matter if he proposes with an onion ring .
Does Not Know How to Say "Thanks" : MC to Johanna, who spent months bringing him food, as well as being close to his only human contact, for the months that he was cooped up in his room. For a while, he is just as likely to lash out at her as to show any form of appreciation.
Domino Revelation : MC getting put in a different summer school program, which seems more real than his original one but of which MC himself was unaware, leads to the realization that his original program is part of a sex experiment, and the school counselor is the scientist running the experiment .
Do Not Call Me "Paul" : Averted with Morgan. Her real name is Amy , but she doesn’t have any particular dislike toward that name; she just goes by Morgan.
Don't Call Me "Sir" : Amy’s mother, despite being a queen , tells MC that it’s alright if he doesn’t address her as “Your Majesty.”
Don't You Dare Pity Me! : During the summer, MC tries to hide what he’s actually been doing while he’s been out of school. Johanna helped by feeding all his friends a story that he was training somewhere. However, Dennis figures out the truth, and ends up leaking it over the internet.
Downer Beginning : At the beginning of the story, MC causes an incident that kills 12 people. It is later revealed to be an avalanche.
Down to the Last Play : MC loses the Olympic qualifier to Rachel by a split second.
Morgan suggests that she and MC get straight to the point when the sexual mood hits them, because they both have a relatively high level of experience in this department.
Invoked by Tamara. After coming on to MC once, she tells MC that the two of them and Johanna are all freaks, but that doing anything sexual with Johanna means dealing with her subsequent guilt and shame. With her, however, MC can get guilt-free pleasure whenever he wants just by asking. And to drive the point home, she takes her tits out right in the club where they are at the time. And when Morgan catches her pleasuring MC, she says that she might as well finish, because Morgan has seen everything anyway.
Drama Bomb : After MC has his summer school class firmly on his side, even with his video game addiction released publicly, it looks like Dennis has no more leverage on MC. Then, Dennis reveals that he has proof that MC and Tamara caused the deadly avalanche on Barbarossa .
Drama-Preserving Handicap : Lampshaded by MC. Dennis, with his computer ability, can do a lot of damage by manipulating the availability of information, even though he has very little in the way of physical strength or social standing. MC, meanwhile, has damaging information that can ruin him if it leaks out.
Dramatic Dislocation : MC finds Rachel in the locker room with a hurt ankle. He examines her, and finds that the bones aren’t broken, just dislocated. While massaging her ankle, there’s an option to lick Rachel out, unlocking sexual relations between the two of them.
Dramatic Stutter : Dennis, when MC appears on the yacht after he himself insisted that MC has been in his room playing video games the whole time.
Dreadful Musician : Morgan is learning how to play guitar, and she is awful.
Dress Code : Subverted. The summer school class wears school uniforms, but Amy is given special permission to wear a hoodie for “personal branding” reasons.
Lampshaded by Morgan about her tea-drinking reflecting her English and Japanese heritage, as well as her sake underscoring the Japanese part.
Drinking on Duty : When MC returns to school after the yacht party, he finds Ms. Walsh drunk.
Driven by Envy : A large part of Dennis’s motivation is jealousy of boys who are good with girls.
Dumb, but Diligent : Downplayed with Johanna. She isn’t stupid by a long shot, but unlike Tamara, she has to put in effort to succeed. She is a hard worker, and the only reason she needs summer school is because she stretched herself too thin by being MC’s primary caretaker while he shut himself away.
Dumb Jock : Averted with MC. He was a good student before the Barbarossa incident.
Dysfunction Junction : Lampshaded with the summer school class. Dr. Mosely: There is only one well-adjusted individual in the class, and even this person’s circumstances are highly unusual.
Easter Egg : The diner’s toaster from Daughter for Dessert appears in Dr. Mosely’s office when she is plotting with MC to get damaging information about Dennis on recording. However, this begs the question: since Mortelli gave it to Johanna before, how did Dr. Mosely get it?
Eating Solves Everything : Invoked by Johanna as her go-to way to make someone feel better.
Elder Employee : Mr. Adler. He is about to semi-retire when his “successor” disappears .
Elephant in the Living Room : The awkward situation arranged by Tamara. Tamara asks Johanna to come to her room to help her with something, and she asks MC to come in a few minutes before that, telling him that she wants to go all the way. It has the desired effect of having Johanna see them about to have sex, but things become so awkward between the three of them that none of them brings it up for a while.
Elite Agents Above the Law : Dr. Mosely/Zeta conducts illegal experiments at the behests of governments around the world.
Also, Morgan’s love of fantasy books, movies, and TV shows.
Embarrassing Pyjamas : Parodied. Henry wears his school uniform as pajamas.
Enraged by Idiocy : Tamara. Pretty much whenever Henry walks into the room and says anything, she gets pissed off.
Also true with Tamara for much of the story. She thinks that she’s entitled to MC because the two of them share a secret to what really happened on Barbarossa.
Epic Fail : Almost everything Henry says and does. He thinks the “Ivy League” is a gardening competition, “boy-boy stuff” is stuff that guys like to do, and “cirrhosis of the liver” will turn his liver into a cloud. Because of this, the fact that he's the first person to reveal that the "summer school" the MC attends is different from the normal summer school that other students are attending is dismissed as a typical misunderstanding until much later.
Episode Discussion Scene : The intros at the start of each chapter beginning with the second. Usually, Johanna and Tamara summarize the events of the previous episode according to the choices made by the player. On one occasion, Dr. Mosely fills in for Johanna, and Henry takes over for both sisters on another.
Episodic Game : The game consists of 19 episodes, with choices from the previous episodes automatically applied to each subsequent episode. Plus, there are two epilogue chapters.
Escapism : MC playing video games for months.
The encounter with Henry at the carnival. Henry is friendly and nonthreatening, but also clueless with gaps in his knowledge, and some of the things he does know are wrong.
The hallway scene where Dennis approaches MC. It pegs Dennis as slimy, sneaky, perverted, and more confident than he should be.
The scene where MC runs into Amy. She values both her streaming channel and her personal liberty, but nervous about face-to-face interactions.
Even Evil Can Be Loved : Dennis’s dad didn’t hate him; he just wanted to raise his son in is image of what a man should be. He vows to avenge Dennis, and honors MC’s request not to contact him or his friends ever again because of MC’s (supposed) friendship with Dennis.
Everybody Has Lots of Sex : Played with. MC can sleep with all the important girls in his life, and even Henry can probably get around. However, the whole summer school class is put together out of a concern that young people aren’t having enough sex.
Everybody Is Single : Nobody studying or working at the summer school class is in a relationship. Justified for pretty much all the characters: Johanna and Tamara are attracted to their brother, MC has spent the last few months shut away in his room, Dennis is a stereotypical nerd, Lauren, Morgan, Amy, and Rachel are all socially isolated, Ms. Walsh is new to the country, and Dr. Mosely is a scientist who covertly travels the world to perform experiments .
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" : Parodied with Marco. Whenever he speaks, his name is just shown as “Nerd.” MC can’t ever remember his name, despite the fact that Marco is the only one who is nice to him when he switches summer school classes.
Everything but the Girl : Dennis has a version of this. He’s highly unsuccessful in the dating game, but he’s intelligent and wealthy.
Everything Is Online : Invoked after MC discovers the hidden cameras on the yacht. Even after he throws the server that (he thinks) contains all compromising pictures overboard, he discourages the girls from confronting or antagonizing Dennis too much, because he suspects that Dennis already has the pictures stored on one of his devices at home.
Evidence Dungeon : Played with. Dennis’s apartment naturally has a lot of computer equipment. However, the most valuable storage device is not stored there; he carries it with him. And when the cleanup crew gets there, they don’t seize the evidence and charge him with a crime; they just burn it down with everything in it.
Evil Nerd : Dennis yet again.
Evil Pays Better : Dennis offers MC a voice acting gig. He intends to use the audio clips to catfish women.
Evil Plan : Dennis’s scheme to sleep with all the girls in his class.
Evil Redhead : Dennis yet again.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin : Tamara’s clothing store that she opens after graduation: “Nothing But Black.”
Exploring the Evil Lair : The search through Dennis’s apartment for his storage device.
Extreme Doormat : Johanna.
Face–Heel Turn : Discussed. According to Marco, this is what happened to Dennis after he’d been fixing his classmates’ computers for no apparent reward.
Face of a Thug : Uncle Tommy.
Facepalm : Morgan’s reaction at some of Amy’s attempts to “mug” people in the school hallways.
Fair-Weather Friend : Or fair weather boyfriend, as it were. MC was this to Rachel, bonding her her over their shared love of skiing, but breaking up with her when she was upset about her family troubles. Somewhat deconstructed, with MC exploring the reasons for his behavior and working to be a better person. And Rachel notices.
Fake First Kiss : MC can have these with both Morgan and Amy. Can also be averted depending on player choice.
Possibly Lauren’s wedding planning business in her epilogue. MC, who proposes to Lauren after the wedding, assists her with the heavy lifting.
The Tits in the final concert in Morgan’s epilogue. Uncle Tommy chooses his niece and her boyfriend to play with him in the concert.
Fan Art : Some fans have submitted renders of the girls, and the Love Joint team featured one such render of Amy on their website.
Fan Boy : In-universe, Dennis becomes this to Amy when he finds out that she has her own Twitch channel on which she streams herself playing video games. Amy doesn’t appreciate it.
Fangirl : In-universe, Lauren starts out as one of these for MC. As time goes on, she starts to like him more for him than for his fame.
Fat Idiot : Averted with Marco. He is overweight and in summer school, but he’s there because he spent too little time studying, not because he’s stupid.
Faux Affably Evil : Dennis is falsely polite to MC, both in public and in private, but it’s clear that he’s just yanking MC’s chain by feigning politeness.
Featureless Protagonist : MC’s face is never shown, not even in the class picture, when it is obscured by the hat of one of his classmates.
Feminine Women Can Cook : Lauren. She can learn to cook just about anything, sometimes with a minimum of “suitable” ingredients.
Festival Episode : A rare non-Japanese example. MC and Henry go to comicon together, and they find Lauren working there, complete with a kimono. They have a private party together afterward... and MC starts to realize something weird about Lauren.
Fictional Counterpart : "Gather: The Magicking" to "Magic: The Gathering."
Fiction Business Savvy : In the epilogue, Tamara opens a boutique where all the clothes are black. It stopped being acceptable with cars a long time ago, let alone with clothes.
Figure It Out Yourself : When Daniela insists that she and her mysterious employer are on MC’s side, MC asks for more information. However, when MC presses her for details, Daniela doesn’t give him any, saying that they’d “fail” if they told him.
Finger-Tenting : Dennis, After MC humiliates him in front of the class, but he continues on with his “plan.”
Fire of Comfort : MC when he is approaching Barbarossa. He is on foot in the snow, and he has been walking for hours, but he is warm and cozy by the fire with a selected female companion. If he chooses Lauren or Amy to join him, they will even be keen for some sexy time outside by the fire.
Fireworks of Love : After MC and Johanna go to a carnival and a bar together, they go to the waterfront, and they watch a fireworks show as MC unconsciously holds Johanna's hand.
First Day from Hell : An example with school instead of work. The summer school class finds that Ms. Walsh, who teaches special ed, expects them all to study by themselves instead of teaching them. Johanna finally takes pity on her, and writes a lesson plan for her to use.
First Day of School Episode : Chapter 2 is about the beginning of the the summer school class. MC and Johanna reunite with Rachel and meet Lauren, Morgan, Amy, and Dennis, and find that their teacher, Ms. Walsh, is reluctant to teach them anything. Lauren asks MC out, Morgan warns him against accepting, and Dennis has a downright creepy deal he offers MC. Oh yeah, and Tamara is working in the registrar’s office.
First Girl Wins : In the Lauren epilogue. Lauren is the first girl that MC dates in the story.
First Love : MC and Rachel are arguably this for each other. They are definitely attached to each other, and they haven’t fully gotten over their breakup by the start of summer school.
First-Person Perspective : MC tells the story.
Also, MC can’t help being a little bit jealous that Rachel is competing rather than himself .
Fish out of Water : Reconstructed in Morgan’s epilogue. Uncle Tommy recruits MC and Morgan to play in his band despite the fact that neither one has any musical ability. Just before the concert, he reveals that he chose them because they can’t play to replicate the amateurish sound of the band. And Uncle Tommy himself is a horrible singer.
Fixing the Game : Dennis helped his dad by building and coding an online casino. As it is eventually revealed, the games were rigged.
Flashback : MC’s breakup with Rachel is shown with one of these. In the same flashback, MC realizes exactly how he first met Dennis.
Flaw Exploitation : After he is expelled, MC returns to his school to visit his old summer class. Dennis catches him, and is about to tell everyone about his role in the Barbarossa incident when MC starts showering him with praise. Dennis relents, and accepts the gesture.
Flawless Token : Daniela, the only black character, is very bright with a strong work ethic and moral compass.
Florence Nightingale Effect : MC finds Rachel in the locker room with a twisted ankle. He gives her a massage, and also has the option of going down on her, rekindling their romance.
Follow the Plotted Line : MC ends up at least friendly with all the girls regardless of his decisions.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling : Zigzagged with MC, Johanna, and Tamara. Before the story, Tamara was the responsible one while MC and Johanna were less so; by the beginning of the story proper, Johanna is responsible while Tamara has lost her sense of responsibility and MC is completely reactive; Tamara regains some responsibility when she gets a job, but still acts immature; MC develops his sense of responsibility throughout the story; and Tamara starts a business (one of the ultimate forms of responsibility) while Johanna is still responsible, and MC would drift were it not for the people in his life.
Footsie Under the Table : On Rachel’s romantic path, there is a scene where Rachel invites MC to dinner with her and her mom. MC does this to make Rachel feel better after her mom’s embarrassing comments about the two of them.
Forbidden Fruit : Invoked by Amy. A large part of her willingness to have sex and experiment sexually is due to the fact that her parents frown upon premarital sex.
Forced into Their Sunday Best : Amy, although a princess , hates dressing in royal gowns . When MC first sees her in one, she tells him that the gown and the tiara are basically her uniform, and not reflective of who she is.
Foregone Victory : MC will end up with a girl (or two) in his life: no ifs, ands, or buts.
Foreign Fanservice : Invoked by Dennis, who characterizes Rachel as “the ethnic girl.”
For Inconvenience, Press "1" : Parodied by Dennis at one point if MC calls him hoping to gain information. He answers the phone pretending to be an automated system for a support hotline to assist with exactly the kind of problems MC is experiencing at the time, including the ones caused by Dennis himself.
Former Friends Photo : Lauren and Morgan are introduced as bitter rivals, but hints are dropped at a couple of points that they weren’t always that way. Finally, if MC confronts Lauren about it at a critical juncture, she shows him a picture of the two of them, and admits that she used to be in Morgan’s gang .
Formerly Friendly Family : Exploited by Tamara. She and MC used to be the best of friends before the avalanche, but she goes through a period of not talking to him, even after he starts to leave his room again. As it turns out, she’s trying to manipulate him into sex.
For Science! : The Zeta experiments. They are all unethical and illegal, and none of the test subjects are willing. Plus, these subjects stand to be assassinated if they learn too much about the program and/or experiment, and therefore become liabilities.
Four-Girl Ensemble : The four girls who were chosen as MC’s sexual partners: Amy is the sweet girl, Morgan is the snarky girl, Lauren is the sexy girl, and Rachel is the mature girl.

Freudian Excuse : MC, in the final chapter, comes to think that Dennis became the way he was in order to imitate his father.
Freudian Trio : MC and his sisters. Tamara is the Id, MC is the Ego, and Johanna is the Superego.
MC and Rachel had a similar dynamic while they were dating (in fact, MC recommended that Rachel try for the Olympics), and they do again after the air clears from their breakup.
Friendship as Courtship : Zigzagged. MC and Rachel dated before, and along with Morgan and Amy, she can end up in a zone somewhere between friendship and dating. Lauren averts this trope by asking MC out right away, and then by putting the question to him early about whether or not they are dating.
Friendship Favoritism : MC needs to make a choice when he arrives at the ski lodge. Out of Lauren, Morgan, Amy, and Rachel, whom does he trust the most?
Friendship-Straining Competition : Averted. Although MC and Rachel are competing for the same spot in the Olympics, they remain on strictly good terms (except after their breakup, for unrelated reasons). In Rachel’s epilogue, MC even coaches Rachel in preparation for the big competition .
From Nobody to Nightmare : Discussed with Dennis. According to Marco, Dennis used to be a quiet kid who fixed everyone’s computers for free. However, this might be a subversion considering some of his hobbies....
Funetik Aksent : The German Mr. Adler has his w’s written as v’s and his th’s written as z’s.
Future Loser : Eventually defied by MC, who either starts a business, gets a decent job, or goes to college . This depends on the epilogue (he even gets engaged if he chooses Lauren ).
Gamer Chick : Deconstructed with Amy. Amy prefers video games over books and movies because they are interactive, and therefore messier, giving the player the kind of agency that readers and watchers can never get.
Garage Band : Invoked in Morgan’s epilogue with Uncle Tommy’s band, The Tits. Uncle Tommy, having to put on a concert as the last surviving band member, enlists Morgan and MC to play with him, even though MC has no musical background and Morgan’s playing is horrible . After several practices in the garage, they don’t seem to be getting any better, but Uncle Tommy eventually tells them that he was looking for a more amateur sound. And the concert delivers just that.
Gasp! : The player can get this reaction from Johanna and Tamara by answering Johanna’s question about what he did with Tamara the previous night: MC: We made out in one of the booths.
Marco is way overweight with a homely face.
Geeky Turn-On : The reason why Amy is Dennis’s favorite classmate: Dennis: She is a Twitch babe !
Generic Name : The first name of Zeta’s alias, Dr. Mosely, is revealed in the final chapter: Jane.
Genius Ditz : Henry is unbelievably stupid, but he is very good at playing Gather: The Magicking.
Genre Shift : The story starts off as a high school drama, and ends in a conspiracy-oriented mystery.
Gentleman Snarker : Amy’s mom, the queen, has been shown to have a witty and pointed sense of humor.
Gentle Touch vs. Firm Hand : Discussed in the different ways Mr. Adler and Dr. Mosely speak to MC about the avalanche. Dr. Mosely gets straight to the point, while MC notes that Mr. Adler never really mentioned it directly. Justified in that Mr. Adler is a real school counselor, while Dr. Mosely is a government scientist who needs MC to do certain things for one of her experiments.
Germanic Depressives : Mr. Adler, though gentle, isn’t really shown to have a sense of humor.
Germanic Efficiency : Discussed when Mr. Adler resumes his former job as school counselor. When MC attributes his old-age employment to German work ethic, Mr. Adler replies that the only work ethic he has is his own.
Get Out! : MC and Rachel agree to use the school gym for their workouts on different days so they won’t run into each other. MC accidentally walks in once on Rachel’s day, and, well....
Giftedly Bad : Inverted with Uncle Tommy. He knows that he sucks, and to him, that’s part of the sound. And the crowds... they don’t care.
Girl Next Door : Johanna comes across as this.
Girls Love Stuffed Animals : Johanna wants to play a carnival game with a teddy bear as a prize. MC can win points with her early on by playing the game and winning the prize for her.
Girl Watching : A version (and subversion) of this. Dennis shows MC nudes of their classmates... and even one of Ms. Walsh. MC can tell that some of them are fake. Also, MC talks to Dennis to find out if he has any pictures of Johanna and Tamara, not to discuss girls with Dennis.
Deconstructed with Lauren. She likes dressing up, interior decorating, cooking, and cleaning. However, her girliness is a flight from a previous phase of her life, when she was in a gang . Her feminine skills were also honed during a life in poverty, partly out of a desire to have her family “treated like human beings.”
Given Name Reveal : If MC decides that he trusts Morgan most of all, she tells him her real name: Amy. It’s one of two things she has in common with Amy, the other being a birthday. This turns out to be important, as Amy was a princess, and many girls with the same date of birth as Amy were named after her (Morgan being one of them).
Giver of Lame Names : Uncle Tommy and his band mates called their band The Tits. Apart from being a lame name in itself, it lends itself to some lame puns. Morgan: Just tell him you’re a big Tits fan. Wow, now I know why they chose that name.
Goal in Life : MC and Rachel have the same one: to win an Olympic gold medal. Neither of them gets it, but Rachel gets farther than MC, qualifying and winning bronze.
God Save Us from the Queen! : Averted with Amy’s mom. Even though Amy takes out her dislike of being royal on her mom, and MC finds her intimidating, the queen is an accommodating, understanding woman who is not without a sense of humor.
Good Is Not Soft : MC will fight, both verbally and physically, for the people he cares about.
Goth : Morgan has the appearance and demeanor of one of these. However, she’s missing some of the more subtle attributes.
Gotta Pass the Class : Subverted. The whole summer school class thinks they have to pass in order to avoid repeating a grade. When Ms. Walsh doesn’t teach them, Johanna even goes so far as to draw up a lesson plan for her to use - and it actually is a good one. However, since the whole class is part of a secret experiment, it is implied that they would have gotten credit just for showing up.
Graduation for Everyone : Spectacularly subverted. Everyone in the summer school class (minus Amy, who has her own school system) graduates on time, but Henry has to stay back a year, because he mistook his report card for a musical piece with an unusual number of “F’s.”
Grand Staircase Entrance : After MC wakes up, having been spirited off Barbarossa, and realizes that he is in the palace, he sees Amy coming down a staircase in a royal gown and a tiara .
Gratuitous Princess : Amy. She is a shy girl in a hoodie... who is later revealed to be a princess.
The theory on which Dr. Mosely’s experiment rests is called “Trusted Alpha/Rival Threat.” Dennis says that it should really be called “Trusted Alpha/Beta Threat.” And Dr. Mosely/Zeta even uses Dennis’s wording at a later point.
Group Picture Ending : Not to the story, but to the summer in-universe. The summer school class, Tamara, Henry, and Ms. Walsh all take a group photo to remember each other by.
Invoked by Henry when he realizes that he’ll be held back a year. He’s pretty happy to postpone real life by another year.
Guest Host : For the recap at the beginning of one chapter, Henry does the recap because Johanna and Tamara are “unavailable.”
Hacker Cave : Dennis has one of these in his apartment, naturally.
Hair-Trigger Avalanche : The first avalanche on Barbarossa was caused by MC and Tamara opening the door of a cable car that had just happened to fall in the snow.
Half-Hearted Henchman : The fake sea captain, who spent the voyage so far making false appeals to “International Sea Law” to justify not returning to port for supplies, surrenders immediately when MC and Morgan physically threaten him. Captain: I don’t get paid enough for physical violence.
Hand-or-Object Underwear : Rachel, after she finds that MC is (accidentally) in the locker room with her, covers her breasts with her hand.
Hands Play In Theater : If MC hoes to see a horror movie with Amy, he has the option of putting his hand on her thigh. If he does, he ends up making out with her.
Happier Home Movie : Sort of. MC watches a video of himself skiing that his parents recorded when he first emerges from his room after the Barbarossa avalanche.
At the beginning of the summer, Dennis offers MC a deal that each of them will choose two girls in their class to date. However, even if MC accepts, Dennis soon shows that he has no intention of holding up his side of the bargain.
However, this is averted when Dennis gives MC instructions on how to sleep with Ms. Walsh. If MC takes Dennis’s advice/deal here, it actually works.
Hard-Drinking Party Girl : Lauren. She likes to party, either with alcohol or with harder drugs.
Harem Genre : All the girls that MC can have sex with are either his classmates, his sisters, or his teacher.
Dr. Mosely/Zeta tries to exploit this trope. As per Dennis’s explanation, she only gets her grant money if MC sleeps with Lauren, Morgan, Amy, and Rachel.
Harmful to Minors : Invoked by Rachel’s mom when she realizes that MC and Rachel were having sex in her house. It’s not that she’s necessarily against them having sex, but she tells them sternly not to let Rachel’s preteen brother see what they’re doing, or find any “evidence.”
Hate Sink : Dennis, full stop.
Hates Wearing Dresses : Deconstructed with Amy. Amy would rather wear a hoodie than a dress, as she doesn’t want to do any "princess stuff.”
Haughty "Hmph" : Tamara, whenever MC says something she disapproves of.
Averted with MC and Dennis. MC initially has no recollection of Dennis at all, and Dennis knows exactly where he met MC. Eventually, MC realizes that they met briefly after his breakup with Rachel.
Hawaiian-Shirted Tourist : When he lands on the yacht in his helicopter, Dennis is wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
Heal It with Booze : Inverted on the yacht. One of the things MC sees when Rachel shows him all the drugs and alcohol on board is a container of pure ethanol, which he notes is for dressing wounds rather than consumption.
He Knows Too Much : Dennis pries too far into Dr. Mosely’s professional life. Dr. Mosely/ Zeta : He has has dipped his toe into a deeper pool than he can imagine. He will drown.
Held Back in School : Henry, after he failed a bunch of classes but mistook his report card for a guitar score. He thus skipped out on summer school by accident.
Herd-Hitting Attack : Dr. Mosely/Zeta causing an avalanche to kill MC and the girls.
Heroic BSoD : After the Barbarossa incident, MC stays in his room for about three months playing video games.
Heroism Won't Pay the Bills : After saving his classmates from an avalanche, MC still has to think about his future, either by getting a job or by going to college.
Hero with Bad Publicity : Zigzagged with MC. He caused an avalanche that took twelve lives, and got savaged for it in the press, but it may have happened anyway. However, after he saves six people from a second one, the negative publicity still doesn’t completely go away, to say nothing of the allegations on conspiracy websites.
Also, Morgan, the hard-edged former gang leader who has a soft spot for fantasy, is actually a decent writer .
Higher Education Is for Women : The two characters who will definitely go to college are Johanna and Amy. Rachel is likely college-bound. Of the surviving male cast, Henry will likely not go (ever), while MC only enrolls in college in Amy’s epilogue.
High-School Sweethearts : Since MC and Lauren get engaged in her epilogue, they are implied to become this in the future.
Hikikomori : MC spends months alone in his room playing video games following the Barbarossa incident. Johanna cooks and cleans for him during that time.
Dennis does this to MC, in a non-romantic example. After the yacht trip, Dennis starts making not-so-veiled references to MC’s role in the Barbarossa incident before playing a recording of his “therapeutic” conversation with Tamara about the incident. Subverted, as MC actually wonders if Dennis could actually know about the conversation and/or what the two of them did.
Hollywood Economics : In Johanna’s and Tamara’s epilogue, the boutique that Tamara opens makes enough money for them to buy a house (not a big one, but good-sized). A few months of sales from a small, new retail outlet is not nearly enough for a down payment on a house, especially with a startup loan to pay back - to say nothing about the credit score required for a home loan, which three teenagers probably wouldn’t have.
Hollywood Hacking : Dennis blackmails MC into hacking into Dr. Mosely’s computer for him, using nothing but spyware on a thumb drive. Dennis includes detailed instructions for every step needed to complete the job in his program, but without knowing the model and operating system used on the computer, this would be impossible.
Home-Early Surprise : Rachel’s mom catches MC and Rachel in the act one time, and from then on, she supervises their get-togethers much more closely.
Homeschooled Kids : The main reason that Amy goes to summer school is that she doesn’t know what school is like for most kids, and she wants to be more “normal.”
Hope Mongering : Discussed on the food run when the yacht stops on the island if MC chooses Rachel to accompany him. Rachel suggests getting energy bars as part of their “meal,” but MC points out that, as Rachel doubtlessly knows, these bars don’t really provide energy besides the stored energy of fat and sugar.
Hope Spot : When Dennis starts blackmailing MC over his role in the Barbarossa incident, Dr. Mosely quickly figures out what’s going on and offers MC a way out: the two of them will work together to make a recording of Dennis saying something self-incriminating. However, when they are making the recording, Dennis reveals that he already has enough information on Dr. Mosely to blackmail her as well.
Hormone-Addled Teenager : Interestingly inverted. The whole point of the sex experiment in which a bunch of socially isolated but attractive teens (and one unattractive one) were lumped into a separate summer school class together was that young people across the world were less sexually active than those governments thought was healthy.
Downplayed with Daniela, who teaches at the real summer school in addition to assisting Dr. Mosely/Zeta . Although she is attractive, her students generally refer to her as “cool” rather than “hot.”
House Squatting : Subverted after the summer school class escapes an avalanche. They all take refuge in an unoccupied house, prepared to stay the night, and then hopefully leave the next day. However, Amy calls her mother , who sends helicopters to spirit everyone back to the royal palace .
How the Mighty Have Fallen : Pre-incident, MC is (arguably) the best skier in the world, with a clear shot at an Olympic gold medal. Post-incident, he spends months shut away in his room, and even when he comes out, he’s not nearly as serious about training as he was before. At the end of the main story, he loses his Olympic spot to Rachel, who has less natural ability but more discipline .
As lampshaded by her whole class, Ms. Walsh is one of these as well. She expects the whole class to work silently, but she herself won’t do the job she’s being paid to do.
Morgan calls Lauren a “fucking fake bitch” on the first day of summer school, but she admits later that she’s also a fake. While she crafted a hard-edged image, she is a fantasy nerd beneath it all. Amazingly, Lauren even lampshades this right after Morgan calls her “fake,” saying that Morgan is the fake one, but not elaborating.
Hypocritical Humor : When MC asks how Lauren found actual food hidden behind large quantities of cocaine, Lauren replies, “Morgan used her nose.” However, Lauren had a deal with Henry that he would deal her some drugs for the yacht party. In fact, she uses more illegal drugs than any other character in the story.
I Don't Like the Sound of That Place : Barbarossa means “red beard” in Italian, and is also a reference to the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.
I Don't Pay You to Think : Double subverted with Ms. Walsh. The teacher of the summer school class wants to teach special ed classes instead, and keeps badgering Dr. Mosely and petitioning the school board in order to make this happen. And each time, Dr. Mosely insists that Ms. Walsh use the skills she has in order to actually teach the class she’s been assigned. However, it turns out that Ms. Walsh was hired to teach this class precisely for her incompetence, because a credible adult authority figure would derail the experiment on the class .
If I Can Only Move : A psychological example. The first step MC needs to take out of his crippling depression is to leave his bedroom.
Ignored Confession : If MC makes contact with Lauren first at the ski lodge, when he confesses his role in the Barbarossa incident to her, she responds that he didn’t, in fact, cause it, and doesn’t give any reason.
I Have Many Names : "Dr. Mosely” is just one of many names used by the rogue scientist running the Zeta program. Dennis managed to find a bunch of them, but one was conspicuously absent: Dennis: They’re all there, except the one you were born with. Even I couldn’t find that one.
I Have My Ways : Dr. Mosely claims to be “kind of an expert” in surveillance, but declines to elaborate.
When the class escapes from Barbarossa, Lauren, Morgan, and Amy haven’t ever been on skis before. This is most pronounced with Morgan, who is the odd one out when the weak skiers pair up with stronger ones (MC helps Johanna, Tamara helps Lauren, and Rachel helps Amy). MC takes note of her bad posture, and privately thinks that she’ll be lucky to escape in one piece. Sure enough, she gets a number of injuries, including a broken ankle and a broken rib, on the way down.
Turns out to be exploited by Uncle Tommy in Morgan’s epilogue when he tells MC to play drums in his last hurrah concert. That MC has never played drums (or anything else, for that matter) doesn’t faze him; in fact, Uncle Tommy is trying to recreate the amateurish sound that always characterized his band.
I Have You Now, My Pretty : Subverted when MC finds Dennis in Johanna’s room, with both of them in their underwear. As it turns out, Dennis wasn’t actually molesting Johanna; it was all part of a prank that Dennis was playing on MC (Johanna participated because she was being blackmailed).
I Just Want to Be Badass : Dennis, through his manipulations, wants to be good with girls, something that he is decidedly not.
I Just Want to Be Normal : Amy doesn’t want to be a princess , and she goes to summer school in order to be like everyone else her age. Even her Twitch channel is an effort to make money on her own efforts rather than getting it from her family.
I Know Mortal Kombat : MC knows how to shoot a gun at a carnival game such that he wins a prize. He got this skill from player first-person shooter games.
I Know You're Watching Me : Dennis knows that Dr. Mosely/ Zeta is setting him up. He displays his knowledge of her past , and then tells her to cut the recording.
Immigrant Parents : Morgan’s parents are mentioned (and Uncle Tommy is shown) to be from England.
Immoral Journalist : None are mentioned by name, but the press in general give MC a lot of grief about his role in the Barbarossa incident, usually calling him a “mass murderer.” Downplayed, as MC and Tamara, as it is revealed, got a warning about what would happen if they were to open the door of the cable car .
Impending Doom P.O.V. : MC when he sees the avalanche from outside the ski lodge.
Improbable Food Budget : Lauren averts this trope interestingly. She can cook absolutely delicious food from random ingredients and/or scraps. If MC takes her on a food run during the yacht trip, she admits that she learned these impressive skills because she had to. Her upbringing in a poor family and her desire to have herself and her family treated with dignity have made it mandatory for Lauren to work with whatever she has, and to do without whatever she doesn’t have.
Improbable Sports Skills : Played with. MC is portrayed as an unusually good skier, but it’s unclear if it crosses into this territory.
Improbably Female Cast : MC and Dennis are in a summer school class with five attractive girls: Johanna, Lauren, Morgan, Amy, and Rachel. In actuality, more boys than girls take summer classes due to poor grades. Justified, as the class is designed for the purpose of an experiment about young people having sex, with an alpha male student as the rallying point for his female classmates.
Inappropriate Role Model : Dennis tries to model his behavior on that of his father, a manipulative, abusive man who conducts some business fraudulently and commissions “drug banquets” for his corporate functions.
In-Character Commentaries : Johanna and Tamara summarize the events of the previous episode (according to the options chosen) to the players the beginning of each new one.
Incidental Villain : Dr. Mosely/ Zeta . She does try to help the subjects of her experiments whenever possible, but also isn’t above murder, either to keep her secrets or to sate her anger at someone who crossed her. Dr. Mosely/ Zeta : You are all liabilities.
Inciting Incident : Dr. Mosely giving MC a choice between summer school and a life supported by disability insurance.
Inconsistent Coloring : Lauren’s hair darkens as the story moves on.
Incredibly Obvious Bug : MC manages to find and destroy all of the hidden cameras on Dennis’s yacht. However, while searching, and in full knowledge that Dennis was spying on them in this way, he never thinks to check for hidden microphones as well. He pays dearly for his mistake when Dennis plays a recording of a damning conversation between MC and Tamara talking about their role in the avalanche that spring.
Indifferent Beauty : Tamara.
Individualism vs. Collectivism : MC has strong connections to his sisters and classmates, while Dennis has no strong connections to anyone.
Inept Aptitude Test : Dr. Mosely gives one to MC. It contains some bizarre questions, including his favorite sexual act. Justified by the experiment on MC and his class.
Inexplicably Awesome : Dr. Mosely/ Zeta . Not even Dennis can find her birth name, and she can disappear from the setting of any of her experiments, leaving only rumors of what she did behind.
Infectious Enthusiasm : Averted when MC and Johanna go to summer school together. MC is less enthusiastic than his sister is, and the most he can do is fake it.
Henry having Ivy League schools' interest despite his obvious stupidity. Actually, he was having Dennis do a lot of his homework for him.
Initially, Dr. Mosely explains that Ms. Walsh can’t teach the special ed class she wants because of “budget cuts.” In fact, she was installed in an experimental class as an incompetent authority figure to help encourage the girls to get closer to MC .
Inherently Attractive Profession : Not quite a profession, but MC’s skiing career has played a big part in his success with the ladies.
Injured Limb Episode : Averted. Morgan hurts her leg while escaping from the avalanche, but her hurt leg isn’t mentioned again.
Inn Security : The stay at the ski lodge on Barbarossa. It’s clear that Dennis has some kind of sinister plan for the girls there, but things take a turn for the worse when the fiber optic cable gets cut, severing communication with the outside world.
Insane Troll Logic : Pretty much every point Henry tries to make.
Tamara averts this, however. She knows exactly what she wants, and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.
Insecure Protagonist, Arrogant Antagonist : While not true for certain specific situations, Dennis is consistently more sure of himself than MC is.
Instantly Proven Wrong : Dennis lands on the yacht for the party, and insists that MC couldn’t make it because he’d rather play video games in his room. Then, MC shows himself. Dennis still tries to keep up the charade.
Instant Seduction : On the first day of summer school, Lauren asks MC out to a club, and gives him a handjob in the bathroom on that date.
Instant Web Hit : As soon as Dennis releases new footage of the Barbarossa incident, the press is all over it. Justified, as the incident was previously a big news item.
Insult Backfire : Dennis telling MC that he can date one of his (nonexistent) sisters. MC isn’t at all affected.
Tamara qualifies as well. She does well in school without having to work particularly hard, but she’s also standoffish towards almost anyone else.
Dr. Mosley is shrouded in mystery. She also flubs all her jokes about pop culture.
Intentional Heartbreaker : Tamara acts this way toward Dennis. She dates him mainly out of revenge on MC, knowing full well that she wouldn’t even try to make it work.
Also used at the Asian festival where Lauren gets a job. She wears a kimono (a Japanese robe), and learns to cook, among other things, bibimbap (a Korean dish).
Interclass Friendship : Really, the whole summer school class minus Dennis. MC, Johanna, and Rachel all have middle class backgrounds, Lauren and Morgan come from poor families, and Amy is a literal princess . However, it is most evident between Morgan and Amy, who bond over mutual respect despite vastly different world views, struggles, and circumstances.
Interface Screw : In the first half or so, MC will be presented with choices, but then the options will scatter as Dennis interjects with his own ideas. They aren't a speed challenge either, to make a choice before Dennis interjects. It's a storytelling gimmick to demonstrate Dennis' character and intentions.
Internal Retcon : After surviving an avalanche, the whole summer school class lies about the circumstances of the avalanche out of fear that they’ll be killed ... after all, it already happened to Dennis . Interestingly, the returning school counselor, Mr. Adler, knows that they're lying... but doesn’t want to know what really happened.
Internet Counterattack : Invoked by Dennis as a way of blackmailing MC, Dr. Mosely/ Zeta , and eventually Johanna. And Dennis does fire a warning shot one time when MC doesn’t do what he’s told.
In the Hood : Amy wears a hoodie both in public and on her Twitch streams to avoid being identified as Princess Amelia . She even gets special permission to wear it to summer school, even though it violates the school dress code.
Intimate Healing : Played with. Finding Rachel in the locker room with a hurt ankle, MC can end up giving her oral sex as well as a massage.
Intimate Psychotherapy : Exaggerated by the “experimental” therapy that Dr. Mosely offers MC. She stimulates MC’s penis in a couple of ways, and tells him that no matter what, he mustn’t cum. In this respect, it fails.
Intimate Telecommunications : Exploited by Dennis, who uses voice recordings of MC and Henry to get nudes from Lauren and Rachel... and even Ms. Walsh.
Intrepid Reporter : Averted. The reporters mentioned in the story usually keep themselves to whichever tidbits about MC and/or the Barbarossa incident leak out online.
In-Universe Factoid Failure : Henry’s nickname of “Cloud Liver” for cirrhosis of the liver comes from his misconception that his liver will turn into a cloud if he keeps drinking.
Invisible Parents : Out of MC’s and Johanna’s classmates, none of their parents appear in person until late in the story. This is justified with Amy, who takes pains to keep her family situation secret from her classmates, and with Dennis, whose wealthy father pays for an apartment for his son to live in alone. Through everything, only these two are seen talking to their respective parents in the main part of the story, while Lauren’s mother almost catches her daughter having sex with MC. Ironically, though, Lauren ends up as the one for whom this trope is ultimately played the straightest: Amy’s and Rachel’s moms, Morgan’s uncle, and even Dennis’s dad all appear in person late in the story, while neither of Lauren’s parents ever appears properly; nor are they ever heard again after they nearly catch their daughter in the act.
Involuntary Group Split : After the class escapes from an avalanche, they all end up in slightly different locations, and they have to find each other. Nor are they without casualties: MC goes to find Morgan, and discovers her with a sprained ankle.
Amy’s mom knows her way around power and authority as the queen .
Defied with Ms. Walsh. Dr. Mosely specifically put an incompetent teacher in charge of the summer school class so the girls would seek out MC as their leader instead .
Deconstructed with Morgan. As part of her backstory, Morgan narrates that she attempted a convenience store robbery to prove that she was running a “real” gang. Instead, she got arrested and spent a year behind bars.
Irrational Hatred : Zigzagged with how the press (and some of his schoolmates) treat MC following the Barbarossa incident. On the one hand, MC had been warned about what might happen, but on the other, the avalanche could have happened regardless of what he did, and anyway, none of them is aware of all the details of what happened that day.
I Shall Taunt You : Dennis tries to make MC lose face by taunting him in the hopes that he’ll do or say something he regrets.
It Doesn't Mean Anything : If MC and Rachel start having sex again, Rachel asks if it means they’re dating again. MC replies that it doesn’t have to mean anything.
It's All My Fault : MC blames himself for the incident that killed 12 people. The media all seem to agree, while his friends, who don’t have all the facts, tell him that it’s all fine, even when he confesses his role in it to one of them. Both Tamara and Dennis (when he finds out) attempt to manipulate his guilt for their own purposes.
It's a Long Story : MC insists that there’s a reason why Henry’s as dumb as he is. He just doesn’t tell it.
Ivy League for Everyone : Parodied. With Dennis’s help, Henry, by far the stupidest character in the story, prepares for the Ivy League... which he thinks is a gardening competition.
I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure : Dennis eventually tells Johanna about MC’s and Tamara’s roles in the Barbarossa incident in order to blackmail her into doing his bidding.
Jerkass Realization : When MC is trying to convince Johanna that she’s the only functional one of her siblings, they discuss how Tamara is dysfunctional, lashing out at and manipulating others because she can’t process her own feelings in a healthy way. Tamara, who was listening to their whole conversation, then reveals herself... and agrees with everything they just said about her.
Jerk Jock : Deconstructed with MC over the whole story. Before the Barbarossa incident, he was hated as much as admired by his peers, and he did some significant things to earn that hatred.
Jigsaw Puzzle Plot : Especially toward the middle of the story, there are lots of hints as to what’s really going on with the summer school class.
Just Eat Gilligan : When MC’s friends were planning the yacht party, some of them wanted to exclude Henry from the plans because they were afraid that he couldn’t keep it a secret for MC. They were right.
Just One Extra Ticket : Averted in Rachel’s ending. When Rachel gets to take two guests to the Olympics with her and chooses her mom and MC, her boyfriend asks her why she’s not bringing her dad instead of him. Rachel replies that it was an easy choice, since her dad never really supported her Olympic aspirations .
Karma Houdini Warranty : Dennis’s blackmail threats over MC are finally neutralized in the final chapter. Dr. Mosely/ Zeta : MC is clean as a whistle.
Karmic Death : Because he digs too deep into the inner workings of Dr. Mosely’s experiment, Dennis, who has manipulated everyone up to this point, gets shot after begging for his life, standing, bloodstained, in the snow, only clad in underwear. Dennis: You don’t have to do this! Dr. Mosely/Zeta: No, I don’t have to do this. This is for my own satisfaction.
Keeping Secrets Sucks : It weighs heavily on the whole class that none of them can dare tell the truth about the avalanche.
Kent Brockman News : A news story about the class's escape from the avalanche signifies how the news media are changing their tune with regards to MC: they mention the lives he saved, whereas they blamed him for 12 deaths after the incident from before.
Kick the Dog : While blackmailing MC, Dennis tries to convince the whole class that MC and Henry are starting a gay porn streaming site in which they will personally perform together. He only does it because he likes picking on MC.
Exaggerated: Tamara’s caustic behavior that is, in many cases, calculated to do the most possible harm just because. She isn’t even popular.
Downplayed: MC’s dismissive attitude toward his classmates and crass behavior toward Rachel before the Barbarossa incident. He wasn’t trying to be mean; he just had his abilities and successes go to his head.
Justified: Some of MC’s new classmates picking on him once he switches summer programs, now that their places on the social ladder are switched.
Subverted: Morgan, who has done hard time, doesn’t really go out of her way to antagonize anyone who isn’t Lauren, and is one of the least judgmental characters in the story.
Double Subverted: Lauren is caustic towards Morgan, but she’s desperate to be accepted by people, especially MC. She’s so desperate for attention, in fact, that she tips off reporters about her first date with MC , hoping to glom onto his fame. Plus, she used to be a member of Morgan’s gang .
Averted: Johanna, Henry, and Amy are all very nice people.
Deconstructed: Rachel, knowing what MC is going through, doesn’t hesitate to kick him while he’s down when they start summer school together owing to how he treated her before. MC manages to change her mind about him by showing her how he has learned and grown from his failures.
Invoked: Drives a good part of MC’s actions (and lack thereof) after the Barbarossa incident. He doesn’t want to lose face in front of his classmates by admitting his weaknesses and failings, and he wants to protect Johanna and Tamara from Dennis’s machinations.
Defied: Marco goes out of his way to defend MC from bullies, saying that even jocks shouldn’t have to endure bullying.
Logical Extreme: Dennis is a sadistic, narcissistic pervert who isn’t above illegal spying, frame-ups, blackmail, stealing government secrets , or all-out rape to get what he wants.
Kill It with Ice : The attempt to kill MC and his friends with an artificially caused avalanche.
Kindhearted Simpleton : Henry is this to a “t.” He doesn’t know his head from his ass, but his heart is in the right place.
Kindness Button : MC eventually finds out how to prevent Dennis from spilling the beans on him in a pinch: by showering him with gratuitous praise, causing Dennis to stop and thank him for the recognition. Justified by Dennis’s narcissism.
King of Games : MC starts achieving platinum stars (meaning that he’s the first player ever to get a specific achievement) after his video game addiction sets in. Indeed, he’s good enough to beat Amy, who plays video games for work.
Kinky Spanking : Lauren enjoys it when MC spanks her during sex.
Kneel Before Zod : Among other things, Dennis forcing MC to say that he’s Dennis’s bitch while blackmailing him.
Lady in a Power Suit : Dr. Mosely/ Zeta . She is not in a traditionally portrayed role, but she is indeed very powerful, and she will not hesitate to exercise her power .
Lady in Red : Tamara has shades of this.
Ladykiller in Love : If the player makes at least reasonable decisions, MC becomes this by the end of the story.
Lap Pillow : Tamara falls asleep while watching TV with MC, and her head falls into his lap.
Last Episode, New Character : Dennis’s dad and Amy’s mom both debut in the final episode.
Last Episode Theme Reprise : During the graduation finale, the theme song plays.
Lazy Bum : Henry. He’s excited about the website Dennis is setting up for MC and him... unless MC tells him that making it succeed requires hard work. He also is happy about postponing his graduation by accident, because it will delay his entry into the working world for another year.
Dennis gets a louder, more aggressive one as his stereotypical nerd exterior gives way to an angry, perverted narcissism.
As MC gets to know Morgan and gets past her rough exterior, her theme tune changes in the opposite direction.
Implied when Dennis would previously fix computers for no apparent benefit. MC suspects that it was all a front to get compromising pictures from his classmates.
Lesser of Two Evils : Faced with the prospect of either going to summer school or spending the rest of his life on disability insurance, MC grits his teeth and chooses summer school.
Let's Get Out of Here : Even before the avalanche, MC wants to find his classmates and evacuate them, because Dr. Mosely/Zeta has all but said that she intends to kill them .
Defied by Amy. Amy is disillusioned about a lot of things, romance being one of them. Therefore, she lets MC go all the way with her at the first chance he gets, and initiates trying a lot of things that she’s heard about.
Discussed between MC and Rachel. According to MC, the fact that they’ve already gone through all this is the reason why it’s so easy to have sex with an ex.
Let Us Never Speak of This Again : MC and his classmates after escaping from the avalanche. Since they all know that the avalanche itself was an attempt to kill all of them, they all know what can happen if they talk about it in the future.
Liar Revealed : Downplayed with MC when Dennis reveals his video game addiction to the world. It doesn’t have the effect that Dennis hopes for, and the summer school class is firmly on MC’s side.
Light Feminine Dark Feminine : Johanna (light feminine) and Tamara (dark feminine).
Like Father, Unlike Son : Somewhat downplayed with Amy. She doesn’t like being a princess and wants to be treated as “normally” as possible. However, she is aware that she is still representing her country whether she likes it or not, so there are some things (like being part of a harem relationship) that are a bridge too far for her.
Limited Social Circle : MC, Johanna, Lauren, Amy, Morgan, and Rachel tend to hang out only with each other, sometimes with Tamara, Henry, and/or (in the beginning) Dennis included. Justified, as the students in the summer school class were chosen in part for their social isolation, and they naturally gravitate toward each other to live fuller lives.
Tamara also lampshades it with the boutique she opens after she graduates. The name? “Nothing But Black.”
MC also lampshades this for the fake sea captain when he reappears as a bus driver, noting that the guy didn’t even change his uniform.
Lingerie Scene : The first time MC sees Tamara after the Barbarossa incident, she is in her underwear.
Little Black Dress : Ms. Walsh wears one of these to go clubbing.
Little Known Facts : Played for laughs. Johanna attempts to use these in one of the summary narrations in an attempt to inject some educational content into the story.
Surprisingly, Tamara also becomes this in the end, which is brought glaringly to light if MC decides to break off his relationship. She takes the breakup badly, snapping that her whole summer was a waste.
Loading Screen : A simple one for scene changes.
Amy turns out to be this as well. She is extremely isolated due to her royal upbringing, and she goes to summer school in order to learn how normal high school kids learn and live.
Lonely Together : The whole summer school class, minus Johanna and Dennis, but especially Morgan and Amy. Despite having “exactly two things in common,” as Morgan says, and many differences, the two of them quickly become close friends.
Defied with Lauren. She makes every effort to be conventional, and to appear high-class, even though she’s not accepted by the very people she tries to emulate.
Morgan is an inversion of sorts. Her eccentricities lead to her being a loner more than the other way around.
Downplayed with Amy. While she has some unusual attitudes toward life, she’s not overly bizarre from having grown up isolated.
Averted with Rachel. She has highly conventional and respectable goals, and her isolation is the natural result of being driven toward those goals.
Exaggerated with Dennis. He’s a Nerd who is a very threatening kind of freak.
Loose Lips : Henry lets MC’s surprise party slip to him while everybody’s still planning it.
Loser Protagonist : MC is an athlete suffering from PTSD who has developed a video game addiction.
Lovable Jock : With everything he goes through, MC eventually becomes this.
Love Ruins the Realm : Averted with Amy. Although she is a princess, Amy’s birth order means that she can date whomever she likes without any political consequences.
Love Theme : A slow trumpet tune plays over scenes of romantic and/or sexual bonding.
Made Out to Be a Jerkass : Downplayed. When Dennis has revealed MC’s video game addiction to the class, MC can choose to defend himself. In this case, Dennis apologizes, making himself look good, while MC looks like the jerk.
The Main Characters Do Everything : MC is the one who both retrieves Dennis’s portable hard drive, and finds an unencrypted video which reveals part of the truth about his former summer school class.
Later, Morgan (if she’s still a romantic option) takes MC to a lakeside area on a motorcycle. She wants to have sex right there, and says that nobody would care, because everyone else there is doing the same thing.
Making Room for Baby : Inverted in the epilogue with Tamara and Johanna. MC and his sisters get a larger house before they ever decide to try for babies.
Malicious Slander : Invoked by Dennis’s dad. He threatens to plant evidence to make it look like MC caused the second avalanche if he doesn’t tell him what really happened to Dennis.
Masochist's Meal : MC doesn’t eat for enjoyment; he eats to win skiing competitions, and that means a lot of unappetizing health foods.
Matron Chaperone : When Rachel’s mom finds out that she’s dating (and sleeping with) MC again, she insists on supervising their joint training sessions afterwards, at least for a time.
Maybe Ever After : In the ending with Johanna and Tamara, MC vows to keep up his relationship with the two of them for “as long as I can.” He clearly loves them, but is also unsure if he will always be up to the challenge of keeping both of them satisfied.
Media Scrum : After Dennis leaks new footage of the Barbarossa incident, reporters descend upon the school to ask questions of MC (and presumably Tamara as well).
Medium Two-Shot : Used most times when MC is either talking to two people at once (especially while standing up) or witnessing a conversation between two people.
Melodrama : In the scene in which MC and Johanna finally have an honest conversation about their relationships with each other and Tamara, Johanna, when she isn’t smacking MC, is construing just about everything MC says as a reason why she’s not good enough.
Menace Decay : Inverted with Dennis. He progresses from a nerd who tries to get girls with crude pickup artistry to a blackmailing, criminal pervert.
Men Can't Keep House : Subverted with MC. It’s true that he has an extremely messy, dirty room at the beginning of the story, and that Johanna has to clean it up for him when he finally decides to face the world again. However, he is suffering from PTSD at the time. In Lauren’s epilogue, MC does keep his room clean and neat, but it takes him a good deal of effort.
Mental Health Recovery Arc : One of the main story points is MC learning to cope with the PTSD from the avalanche.
Mind-Control Device : Invoked by Dennis. He insists that Dr. Mosely/Zeta, with the resources of the government behind her, has a “tool” that will make any woman horny for him.
Minor Major Character : The fake sea captain.
Miracle Rally : Averted with the Olympic qualifier after MC falls way behind in his training. He still performs well by anyone else’s standards, but Rachel edges him out.
Misdirected Outburst : Sort of. MC, who is by this time used to Dennis popping up out of nowhere, snaps at Lauren once when she surprises him.
Misery Trigger : Johanna, who is very upbeat for the entire story thus far, becomes downright miserable when she walks in on MC and Tamara when they’re about to have sex.
Misfit Mobilization Moment : When the class starts planning to break into Dennis’s apartment.
Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher : Played with. Ms. Walsh talks down to all her students, and utterly fails to teach without Johanna’s intervention, but she specializes in teaching special ed, not kindergarten.
Missing Mom : Dennis’s mom isn’t mentioned, and only his dad figures prominently in his life and mindset.
Missing Your Own Party : Defied by MC (with Morgan’s help). Dennis provides his father’s yacht to use for MC’s “appreciation party,” and then tries to arrange for MC the boat to go out to sea without MC. However, Morgan, whom Dennis also tried to exclude from the party, arrives at the pier at the same time, and they both ride out to the yacht on a stolen jet ski.
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal : Downplayed with the fake sea captain. Faced with the threat of physical violence from MC and Morgan, he surrenders the ship, tells everybody who his employer is, and gives away the location of the server that supposedly contains everyone’s compromising photos. His reason? He isn’t being paid well enough.
Money Is Not Power : Coming from a wealthy (or even royal) background is not enough to keep Amy and Dennis from being subjects of Dr. Mosely’s experiment, or from having them killed for knowing too much .
Mood Motif : Used for most situations in which the focus isn’t on a particular character (and in some when it is).
More Friends, More Benefits : Sort of. Dr. Mosely/Zeta, in her experiment, wants to guide MC into bedding Lauren, Morgan, Amy, and Rachel, because only then will she get the grant money that she seeks. That said, she gives her assent toward MC getting down with Ms. Walsh, and even conducts her own x-rated “experimental therapy,” in order to further MC’s sex odyssey.
Most Gamers Are Male : Invoked in-universe by Amy when talking about her Twitch channel. Indeed, she is the only female gamer in the story, while there are three male gamers (MC, Dennis, and Marco).
In Lauren’s epilogue, the emotionally immature Tamara has an insight that encourages MC to propose to his girlfriend.
Motherhood Is Superior : Rachel’s mother is a little overbearing, but she does always look out for her daughter’s interests. Conversely, in his only mention, Rachel’s father is said to be unsupportive of her Olympic ambitions.
Motherly Scientist : Zigzagged. Dr. Mosely does offer emotional support at times, especially to MC, but there is never any denying her bluntness, and eventually, the class discovers her bizarre ulterior motive .
Motive Rant : Dennis has a couple where he airs his grievances about girls and the guys they normally go for.
Movie-Theater Episode : MC and Amy go on a date to a horror movie. This is the first chance to fool around with Amy. Amy: Bloodhaus! MC: Bloodhaus!
Moving the Goalposts : In their first conversation, Dennis offers MC a deal that each shall pursue only two girls in their class (Johanna being off-limits). However, as time goes on, Dennis keeps adding new conditions to the deal, and when MC pushes back, Dennis calls off the deal entirely, and tries to bed all five girls in the class, plus Tamara.
Mr. Vice Guy : MC is a very proud character, in part due to his decent shot at qualifying for - and winning - the Olympic skiing competition. This leads him to possibly kill twelve people by causing an avalanche while trying to be a hero and lie about his whereabouts to all his friends (and to have Johanna lie for him) when he’s in his room playing video games for three months (he gets caught). Nevertheless, MC’s classmates are always sympathetic to him.
Ms. Red Ink : Subverted with Lauren. She is introduced as a girl who dresses in a posh way and spends a fortune on gourmet food, but it’s all a front. She actually makes do on a tight budget for pretty much everything she buys, and sometimes spruces up her clothes herself. If MC takes her on a food run when the class stops on an island for provisions, she explains her motivation for this: she wants her poor family to be treated with more dignity .
Multiple Endings : There is an epilogue with Johanna and Tamara, as well as one each for Lauren, Morgan, Amy, and Rachel.
Mum Looks Like a Sister : Rachel’s mom, who is at least in her forties, doesn’t look more than seven years older than her teenage daughter.
Amy also loses her virginity to MC (if the player makes the right choices).
MC is afraid that Rachel has been with lots of guys since he broke up with her, but she actually hasn’t been with anyone since MC.
MC again, after realizing that he and Tamara gave up their big secret to Dennis.
My Greatest Failure : MC causing the avalanche . The weight from his blunder consistently causes MC to act more maturely than he did before.
Later exploited by Tamara when she starts dating Dennis to get back at MC. MC scares Dennis away from her... just like she hoped he would.
Mysterious Backer : Dr. Mosely to MC. She seems helpful and sympathetic to MC at times, but it’s always clear that she has a hidden agenda. As it turns out, she wants MC to sleep with all of the girls in his summer school class (minus Johanna), because they would receive a grant if that happened.
Mysterious Informant : Inverted with Daniela. She gathers a lot more information about MC than she gives to him, and she only gives him a few tidbits to nudge him in the direction that her employer wants him to go.
Mysterious Teacher's Lounge : Averted. Not only does MC go inside the faculty room, he can have sex with Ms. Walsh there. And Dr. Mosely catches him if he does.
Mysterious Watcher : Daniela is this before being formally introduced. She is constantly taking pictures of MC. He thinks she is working for the press, but the truth is much stranger.
Nailed to the Wagon : Henry declines any alcohol for the first half of the story, as his doctor told him to avoid it from then on to avoid getting cirrhosis of the liver.
Named After Somebody Famous : Morgan’s real name is Amy. Since she has the same date of birth as Princess Amelia (Amy), she was named after her, just like many other girls who were born on the same day.
Narcissist : Dennis does everything for approval and admiration. Lampshaded in this exchange: MC: He’s a psychopath. Dr. Mosely: No, he’s a narcissist. Clinically, they’re quite different.
Nature Abhors a Virgin : Amy’s virginity is a mark of her sheltered upbringing, and she loses it at just about the first chance she gets.
Nature Is Not Nice : Invoked by MC when he’s left alone in the woods after a night of hard partying with Henry and Lauren. Lucky for him that he can reach Johanna and Tamara, and that they can pick him up in the middle of nowhere.
Lampshaded regarding Johanna and Tamara by Tamara herself: Tamara : You’re a freak. I’m a freak. Johanna’s a freak.
NEET : Defied with MC. Even in his depressed, traumatized state, summer school is a more palatable option than a lifetime on disability insurance.
Nephewism : Morgan lives with her uncle. Her father is confirmed to be dead, and her mother can be presumed dead as well.
Probably subverted with Marco. At the end of the story, he is shown in a relationship.
Averted with Marco, who is in summer school because he neglected his schoolwork to play video games.
Nerdy Bully : Dennis yet again.
Nerves of Steel : MC, when he and his classmates are caught in the path of an avalanche, comes up with an escape plan that saves all of their lives.
Neverending Terror : After the second avalanche, the entire class has the threat of revenge from Dr. Mosely/Zeta hanging over their heads, which won’t go away soon.
Never Found the Body : After the second avalanche, both Dennis and Dr. Mosely are presumed dead by the authorities, but their bodies are never found.
Never Speak Ill of the Dead : MC starts to feel some sympathy for Dennis after his death, partly because of the cold-blooded way that he was killed.
News Travels Fast : Whenever some new detail about MC and the Barbarossa incident comes up or a new tidbit about MC’s life is leaked, news stories about whatever it is appear within hours. Justified, as MC was a minor celebrity before the incident, and the incident itself was widely covered for both MC’s involvement and the loss of life therein.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero : MC and Tamara managed to force the door of the cable car open and get to safety that way. However, they started an avalanche that killed a dozen people, including their parents .
Nice Mean And In Between : MC, Johanna, and Tamara. Tamara is blunt and sarcastic, Johanna is nice to a fault, and MC can go either way depending on several factors.
Nightmare Sequence : MC’s dream while sleeping in the sauna of the ski lodge. MC gets an unwanted food order via “Avalanche Delivery Service,” Dennis is an unnaturally tall sex god just referred to as “master” by all the girls, and Dr. Mosely is his executioner.
No Control Group : The sex experiment performed by Dr. Mosely/Zeta has no mention of a control group of girls who ''aren’t’’ in a classroom with a popular alpha male classmate, an angry beta male classmate, and a grossly incompetent teacher.
Nocturnal Crime : Averted. Daytimes and nighttimes each contain their fair share of crime.
No Delays for the Wicked : Dennis can smuggle drugs onto a giant yacht, tip off the cops to these drugs without arousing suspicion, buy the rights to random film clips with only the merest suspicion that they might be useful later, rig microphones onto his yacht that can’t be seen even when MC is on the lookout for hidden cameras, and create a program that can hack into one of the most secure computers in world without so much as seeing the computer in question .
No Going Steady : Subverted if the player wants a relationship with Lauren. Lauren will only go all the way if MC will agree to publicly declaring Lauren and himself as a couple. However, it won’t preclude MC from bedding anyone else.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown : After itching to give Dennis one of these since Dennis started blackmailing him, MC finally indulges himself after he catches Dennis in Johanna’s bed, seemingly about to rape her.
No Listening Skills : Comedically exaggerated with Henry, who always seems to get the wrong meaning of what people try to tell him, even when the correct meaning is obvious. MC: Tell me everything. Henry: It all started on the day I was born. MC: No, tell me everything about the email . Henry: It all started when I got my first email account.
Non-Action Big Bad : Nerd that he is, Dennis is inept at fighting.
Apparently, Henry wasn’t always as stupid as he is now. MC insists that there’s a story behind it, but never tells it.
An even bigger one in the backstory: Who the heck was that guy who told MC and Tamara that opening the cable car door could cause an avalanche and what happened to him?
And then there’s Dennis. To him, all the girls who reject him are “fucking... bitches.”
Nothing Is the Same Anymore : After MC is expelled from Dr. Mosely’s summer school program, the focus starts to shift to the weirdness in that program, and Dr. Mosely herself starts to seem more dangerous.
Not My Driver : When MC gets on the bus to Barbarossa, he’s sure he recognizes the driver. He finally places him as the fake sea captain from the yacht party. Amazingly, even his uniform is the same.
Not That Kind of Doctor : Zigzagged. Dr. Mosely, the school psychologist, turns out to be a scientist who travels the world performing illegal experiments. Although, since the name “Dr. Mosely” itself is an alias, there’s at least some possibility (however slight) that she’s not any kind of doctor.
Not Under the Parents' Roof : Rachel’s mom becomes so irate at finding her daughter in bed with MC that she supervises her daughter’s get-togethers with MC. This is subverted as the story goes on, as Rachel’s mom seems to accept that it’s natural for teens to have sex; she just asks that they not let Rachel’s little brother catch them in the act or find any “evidence.” And in the bonus material, she joins in the fun.
Not What I Signed on For : The fake sea captain is okay with keeping the ship out of port, citing a bogus “international sea law,” but threatening him physically is enough to get him to surrender immediately, since he doesn’t think he’s being paid enough to fight back.
Not with Them for the Money : MC in the Amy ending, when he’s fully aware of her status.
Now or Never Kiss : Subverted... and more like now or never sex. After Dennis starts blackmailing Dr. Mosely/ Zeta , it seems like his downfall is imminent, and he wants to consummate his relationship with either Johanna or Tamara (player’s choice) before Dennis destroys him. Dennis, however, doesn’t intend to release the damning information about MC right away; he’d rather use MC for his own purposes.
Obsessed Are the Listmakers : Johanna seems to be a downplayed example. She actually schedules times to play with herself, and MC can come to realize that she’s watching his old skiing videos when she does this. What does this mean? You do the math. However, this obsession doesn’t extend to other areas of her life.
Obstacle Ski Course : The escape from the avalanche seemingly brings MC and his classmates through a wooded area. Considering this, it’s a miracle that they all make it through alive.
Obvious Object Could Be Anything : An unusual example with Henry. He wears his school uniform as pajamas . And when MC points out that he is, in fact, wearing his school uniform, Henry explains why it makes sense to him to wear his school uniform as pajamas. Nobody else buys it.
Morgan and Amy. Amy lampshades this, saying that Morgan likes books and movies, where the good guys usually win, while Amy herself prefers video games, where the outcome is unclear and based on the skill and choices of the player(s).
Off the Wagon : Once Henry becomes aware that his cirrhosis of the liver isn’t as imminent as he was previously told, he goes back to his hard-drinking ways.
Also, Dennis, when he realizes that the clean-up crew wiped his storage devices, nixed all of his online accounts, and destroyed all his possessions .
Oktoberfest : Discussed. MC and Henry snuck in at one point.
Ominous Multiple Screens : Downplayed, if not subverted, when MC and his classmates are searching through Dennis’s apartment.
Omnidisciplinary Scientist : Averted with Dr. Mosely/Zeta. Her one and only focus is on psychology.
One Last Field Trip : The summer school class goes on a field trip for the end of the summer. It’s really an excuse for Dr. Mosely/Zeta to fulfill the conditions of her grant .
One of the Kids : Ironically, Ms. Walsh eventually becomes this after several weeks teaching the summer school class. She cries harder than anyone after MC is expelled, (which impairs her teaching ability again), and agrees to be part of the class student photo. Of course, if MC chooses to sleep with her, that presumably wouldn’t help matters.
One-Steve Limit : Subverted. Morgan reveals in the penultimate chapter that her real name is... Amy. Not only that, she’s named after Amy (an incognito princess), as the two girls were born on the same day.
Only One Female Mold : Largely averted, especially with side characters factored in (Daniela’s body type is significantly different from that of any other character).
On the Next : Each episode ends with a preview montage for the next one (or next couple).
Operation: Jealousy : When Tamara catches MC and Johanna fooling around, she dates Dennis to make MC jealous. It works.
Optional Sexual Encounter : Actually, the only sexual encounter that’s mandatory is the threesome between MC, Johanna, and Tamara in the penultimate chapter. The rest can be avoided (though the other MC/Johanna and MC/Tamara ones are either/or).
Our Lawyers Advised This Trope : The story contains a disclaimer in every chapter that basically states that the story doesn’t violate any laws or Patreon guidelines.
Out-Gambitted : Dennis, by Dr. Mosely/ Zeta .
Outside-Context Problem : This becomes evident once MC finds out that he and his former classmates have been used in one of the Zeta experiments .
Double subverted with Rachel. MC saw her talent while the two were dating before, and suggested that she try for the Olympics like he was doing. MC was initially better, but after the first avalanche, MC falls off the wagon with his training while Rachel sticks to her regimen, and she edges him out at the Olympic qualifier by a split second. In Rachel’s epilogue, however, Rachel wins the bronze medal, not gold. Not only that, MC notes that if he were in the same competition in tip-top shape, he would have won gold in all likelihood.
Pac Man Fever : Averted. The video games that MC plays, the sounds that represent them, and the descriptions of what’s going on in them point to video games from the 2010s.
Paid Harem : Averted with Dennis. Not even his family money can get him any success with girls.
Pain Mistaken for Sex : Inverted in one scene with Johanna. MC is passing by Johanna’s room when he notices crying sounds coming from her room. She’s actually moaning while pleasuring herself... while watching a clip of MC skiing.
Paparazzi : Subverted with Daniela. While she is taking pictures of MC wherever he goes, she isn’t from the press. Her pictures are for a scientific experiment instead.
Papa Wolf : Dennis’s dad becomes this after his son’s death .
Parental Obliviousness : Lauren’s mom comes home early when MC and Lauren are busy in the bedroom. Lauren’s mom has a whole conversation with her daughter without suspecting a thing.
Parental Substitute : In her own way, Johanna is this for MC after the deaths of their parents. She cooks for him and pushes him to succeed. And according to Tamara, Johanna’s influence does more to make him into a better person than her own does.
Parlor Games : While waiting for Dennis and/or Dr. Mosely/ Zeta to return to the ski lodge, MC and the girls pass the time by playing board games.
Passing Notes in Class : Lauren gives MC a note saying that she’s about to ask to use the bathroom, and he should ask the same thing a few minutes afterward. If he does what Lauren asks, and then commits to a relationship with her, MC gets to have sex with Lauren in an empty classroom.
Passionate Sports Girl : Rachel. She is such a good skier that MC suggested that she make a bid for the Olympics. She eventually does, edging MC out in the qualifier and going on to win a bronze medal.
Passive-Aggressive Kombat : MC and Tamara communicate in large part by shit-talking each other. It’s slightly deconstructed in the end, with Tamara admitting that she acts like a bitch sometimes because she often can’t find healthy ways to express her feelings.
Past Experience Nightmare : MC has these about the Barbarossa incident for a while.
Lauren likes fashion and going to nightclubs, and this is used to highlight her superficial mindset and thirst for attention.
Morgan’s love of fantasy novels and movies are a sign that she’s more of a softie than she pretends to be. (Morgan herself lampshades this.) Also, according to Amy, the movies mean that she needs some assurance that the good guys can save the day.
Henry’s partying, drinking, and drug use underscore a damaged mind and a tendency to run away from responsibilities and hard work.
Rachel’s lack of pastimes indicates a drive to achieve her goals, and to achieve them the honest way.
Deconstructed with Amy. She plays video games to escape to a world in which choices matter less than whims or luck.
Patrick Stewart Speech : MC gives one in his own defense when Dennis tries to humiliate him in front of the summer school class for his video game addiction.
Perfection Is Addictive : After failing to train adequately for the Olympic qualifier, MC wants to sit it out to avoid humiliating himself. His coach eventually calls to tell him that sitting it out would be the thing to be most ashamed of.
Persecution Flip : When he goes to summer school (the real one), MC, the famous jock, needs someone to rescue him from bullies. Lampshaded in the conversation that MC has afterwards with his rescuer, Marco.
Photo Op with the Dog : Dennis makes a huge show of calling MC his “buddy ol’ pal.”
Picnic Episode : Johanna takes MC to a picnic at one point to take his mind off things.
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Plot Armor : During the escape from the avalanche, none of the girls dies or is permanently injured despite three of them never having been on skis before, one of them never having had much skill with skiing, and the fact that "only the strongest skiers” (MC and Tamara) survived the first avalanche at the same place .
Also, Dr. Mosely’s identity as the enigmatic scientist Zeta, and by extension, the sex experiment on MC’s summer school class. Partly lampshaded by the stipulation that MC not know that he is meant to sleep with all the girls in his class save Johanna.
Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure : Averted. MC is convinced that Johanna and Tamara can never get along again after competing for him. However, they decide to share him, not having a better way to resolve the situation.
Plot Technology : Subverted. When Dennis starts blackmailing Dr. Mosely/ Zeta, she tells him that she has a government-developed “tool” that will allow him to have sex with anyone he desires. But when she eventually gives him this “tool...” Dennis: [unwraps package] This is a fleshlight. Dr. Mosely/Zeta: Yes. It allows you to fuck any girl you want in your imagination . Dennis: .... Dr. Mosely/Zeta: There is no tool that allows you to have sex with anyone you want.
Plot-Triggering Death : A dozen of them all at once. The high death toll in the Barbarossa incident cause MC’s PTSD and his fall from grace in the media.
Plucky Comic Relief : Henry can always be counted on to get a laugh out of the player due to his surreal stupidity and complete cluelessness.
Also, Morgan gets off scot-free after stealing a jet ski just by laying low for a while, even though there’s still supposedly a warrant out for her arrest.
Politically-Active Princess : Defied with Amy. She doesn’t want anything to do with being a princess.
Politically Incorrect Villain : Dennis, the epitome of misogyny.
Pool Scene : The scene with MC and all the girls on the main deck of the yacht has this feel. The presence of a jacuzzi makes it complete.
Porn with Plot : And a very engaging one at that.
Positive Friend Influence : Johanna is this for MC and Tamara. And in fact, it’s lampshaded by both MC (who says Johanna is the only functional one of the three) and Tamara (who says that Johanna’s influence makes MC a better person).
Posthumous Collaboration : After Palmer’s death, the rest of the developers completed the story. They were determined to create an ending that Palmer would be proud of.
P.O.V. Boy, Poster Girl : Or poster girls , as it were. Johanna and Tamara are the main faces of the story.
Power is Sexy : Invoked by Dr. Mosely/Zeta as the reason for picking Ms. Walsh to teach her summer school class. The idea is that the incompetent Ms. Walsh would leave a leadership vacuum which MC would fill, thus making the girls more likely to sleep with him.
Precision F-Strike : Johanna gives one that makes MC feel more alive than he has in months: Johanna: You can be such an asshole. I just want you to know that.
Pre-Climax Climax : In a threesome , no less. In anticipation of the final confrontation with Dennis and Dr. Mosely/ Zeta , MC, Johanna, and Tamara all have fun together.
Pre-Insanity Reveal : According to MC, there’s a story about why Henry is so stupid. However, he never tells it.
Previously on… : Each episode after the first begins with Johanna and Tamara (or occasionally another character, or just one of the pair) narrating a summary of the previous episode’s events. It reflects the choices made by the player.
Pride Before a Fall : MC was immensely proud of his skiing abilities, and they went to his head. Then came the Barbarossa incident....
Primal Scene : Discussed. Rachel’s mom warns her daughter and MC never to let this happen with her young son.
Princesses Prefer Pink : Amy’s room contains a lot of pink.
Professionals Do It on Desks : Ms. Walsh goes out for a date, expecting to meet a Brazilian actor, and finds MC instead. Since she’s so horny, she suggests that the two of them go somewhere private to have sex. Her idea? The classroom. Over the teacher’s desk.
Promotion to Parent : Downplayed with Rachel. Although Rachel and her younger brother live with their mother after their parents’ divorce, Rachel is taking on a greater share of responsibility in taking care of her brother.
Properly Paranoid : Dennis is the first character to get the idea that something’s fishy about the summer school class. He thinks something bigger is at play, and he goes a step further: the object of whoever is behind the class is aiming to humiliate him. He’s not completely wrong on either count: Dr. Mosely, who runs the program, is actually a scientist conducting an experiment on the class, and Dennis’s role in the experiment is to creep out all the girls in the class so they’ll fall into MC’s arms.
Pun-Based Title : Hard to see, but it’s there. The point is that MC has to do “double duty” with his sisters at home... while he’s also in school.
Punk Rock : Uncle Tommy and his band epitomize the original punk aesthetic.
Puppy-Dog Eyes : Johanna seems to do this whenever she’s visibly sad.
Quest for Sex : A villainous example with Dennis, who will do anything if he thinks it’ll help him get some.
Quit Your Whining : The essence of what Dr. Mosely tells MC when she visits him at home. Basically, if he wants his life to change, he has to choose to make the change happen.
Rage Breaking Point : MC finding Johanna at her favorite rooftop refuge pushes her over the edge. She starts screaming at and hitting MC.
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits : The girls, Henry, and MC break into Dennis’s apartment, steal his hard drive, and sneak out without him or the building security being any the wiser.
Raven Hair, Ivory Skin : Morgan.
Raw Eggs Make You Stronger : When MC describes his eating habits, he mentions a raw egg as an ingredient in his smoothies.
Invoked and exploited by Tamara. Trying to discourage Johanna from having any kind of sexual relationship with MC, she arranges for Johanna to see MC and herself when they are apparently about to have sex. It almost ends up tearing the three siblings apart.
Real Award, Fictional Character : In Rachel’s epilogue, Rachel wins an Olympic bronze medal.
Real Men Cook : MC can make a pancake breakfast at one point for Johanna, Tamara, and himself.
Real Men Eat Meat : Averted with MC. Although he is not a vegetarian, MC’s athlete’s diet is conspicuously low on animal protein, which is mostly represented by eggs.
Real Soon Now : Occasionally, the developers haven’t been able to release updates on time. After Palmer’s death, the rest of the team released the final chapter as soon as they could, but without making any time commitments.
Subverted with Dr. Mosely/Zeta. Although she ostensibly has the best interests of the students at heart, she’s actually using them for her own purposes, and doesn’t hesitate to arrange for their deaths once they become “liabilities.”
Rebellious Princess : Amy, of course. The strained relationship between Amy and her mother becomes especially clear in her epilogue, when they disagree about the prospect of a college education. Even in Morgan’s epilogue, Amy attends a concert in defiance of my mother’s wishes.
Recurring Extra : Henry doesn’t have much effect on the plot, and it’s unclear why he hangs around the school so much, seeing as he supposedly doesn’t need summer school.
Interestingly, Tamara embraces this trope. She has no desire to be “cool” or popular. Even her clothing style is meant to be subversive more than trendy.
Rejection Affection : Exaggerated with Dennis. Not only does he not take a hint that none of the girls in the summer school class are interested in him, but he comes up with a video game-style points and multiple endings system to guide his actions. And of course he makes it look like he’s doing better than he actually is.
A subverted example can appear much earlier. Lauren will only go all the way with MC if he will agree to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but that doesn’t preclude MC from dating other girls.
Relationship Values : One each for Lauren, Morgan, Amy, and Rachel. Certain sex scenes can be unlocked with enough points.
Dennis offers his yacht for MC’s “appreciation party,” and then arranges for MC to miss the boat launch so Dennis could be alone with five pretty girls.
Dennis’s idea to try to bed all the girls is to blackmail Dr. Mosely/ Zeta into planning a class trip to Barbarossa, a place associated with great trauma for MC, so MC won’t be able to follow them there.
Requisite Royal Regalia : The dress and tiara clue in the class that Amy is a princess (except Morgan, who already knows).
Reverse Arm-Fold : In her final scene before her departure, Dr. Mosely/Zeta strikes this pose while questioning MC, determining whether to execute him and his classmates or to let him go . After a little thought, she chooses the latter.
Rivalry as Courtship : Inverted with MC and Rachel. The two of them started dating before MC identified her topflight skiing skills, and recommended that she try for the Olympics. That was the birth of their rivalry throughout the story.
Roaring Rampage of Rescue : When MC finds Dennis in Johanna’s bed with both of them in their underwear, it doesn’t matter what damning information Dennis has on him: he grabs Dennis and throws him out the window. And when he realizes that Dennis made a soft landing and is running away, he gives chase and beats the crap out of him.
Rock Trio : Uncle Tommy, MC, and Morgan for the last hurrah concert for Uncle Tommy’s band (in Morgan’s epilogue). The original band, though, had four members.
Can be the case (or subverted if the player doesn’t choose to go anywhere with her) with MC and Rachel. Since they both have to train for the Olympics, they both need to use the gym, but Rachel initially doesn’t want to share it with MC. Their first solution is to use the gym on different days, but when Rachel wants MC to avoid her jogging routes around town too, MC refuses.
Romantic False Lead : Exploited by Tamara when she briefly dates Dennis. No matter how much she insists otherwise, MC comes to realize that Tamara is only dating Dennis to make him jealous. And once he does, he crashes their date, claiming Tamara for himself.
Royal Brat : Zigzagged with Amy in her epilogue. As much as she likes to establish herself as someone who defines herself by qualities other than her royal status, MC notes that she sometimes acts like a snotty princess when she doesn’t want to do something that her mom is telling her.
Royals Who Actually Do Something : Deconstructed with Amy. Not wanting to merely ride on her privilege and accomplish something on her own merit instead, Amy started her own Twitch channel... and built a considerable following.
Rule of Two : Played with. When Dennis starts blackmailing Dr. Mosely/ Zeta , she helps him by expelling MC from summer school, arranging a class trip in which he can sleep with all the girls (he thinks), and tells Tamara that she has to come along so he can have his way with her too. However, Dr. Mosely/Zeta is just biding her time until her cleanup crew can neutralize Dennis’s threats to her secrecy.
Rules of Orphan Economics : After the deaths of their parents, MC, Johanna, and Tamara get some money from the state, but Tamara has to get a job during the summer (since both her siblings are in summer school), because the stipend doesn’t cover all their living expenses. Afterwards, it’s mentioned that the three of them split the bills, but it’s a mystery how, since none of them is mentioned to have a job.
Running Away to Cry : Exaggerated with Johanna, who does this for a whole day (apparently) after photos of MC at a nightclub with Lauren surface online.
MC can never remember Marco’s name. Even his name in the text is “Nerd.”
Sadistic Choice : MC must either assist Dennis in his schemes to bed all the girls (including MC’s own sisters) or have damning information about his and Tamara’s role in the Barbarossa incident come out to the public.
Sadly Mythtaken : Downplayed. Dennis calls MC “Esau” as a reference to the biblical hunter who sold his birthright for a bowl of stew, proving himself more brawny than brainy. Parts of his personality are portrayed correctly, but sleeping with girls wasn’t the scenario the author had in mind when he wrote down that story.
Sassy Black Woman : Averted with Daniela, a black woman without even a modicum of sass.
Satanic Archetype : Dennis. At first, he offers MC deals and free information that will supposedly help the two of them get “tons of sex,” but he reneges on his promises, and eventually gets what he wants out of MC using trickery, manipulation, and blackmail.
Sauna of Death : Downplayed. If MC chooses to make contact with Rachel when he comes to the ski lodge, she tells a story of how Dennis talked to her while she was walking into the sauna, trying to get in her pants, and hinting not-so-subtly that he’s willing to sexually assault her.
Save Our Students : Zigzagged. At the start of the story, the summer school class is stuck with a teacher, Ms. Walsh, who refuses to teach them, insisting that her teaching assignment is due to an administrative error. Johanna salvages the class by writing a lesson plan for Ms. Walsh to use (after it’s clear that the so-called error wouldn’t be “corrected”), and later on, it is revealed that Ms. Walsh was selected for her incompetence, and the kids in the class would get credit for the class no matter the outcome .
Scarpia Ultimatum : Subverted. Dennis doesn’t blackmail Johanna into having sex him, but into making it appear that she did (or is about to).
For their science lesson, everyone in the class has to find botanical specimens outside. MC and Lauren decide to team up in order to save time.
Scene Cover : The title screen shows Johanna and Tamara in a pose that they eventually strike when they’re announcing their decision to MC that they’re going to share him.
School Bullying Is Harmless : Averted. MC was a relatively mild case of a bully prior to the avalanche, but his targets are greatly affected. And then there’s Dennis, who's a souped-up bully.
School Forced Us Together : Summer school, that is. How could a traumatized world-class athlete, his Extreme Doormat sister, his rightfully resentful ex-girlfriend, a convicted juvenile delinquent and closet fantasy nerd, a wannabe popular girl who used to be a member of the convict’s gang , and an incognito princess with a love of gaming all become close friends? Put them in a weird summer school class together as part of a sex experiment .
School for Scheming : Dr. Mosely/Zeta is using the class as subjects in her sex experiment: Lauren, Morgan, Amy, and Rachel are four very different socially isolated girls, MC is the alpha male who’s supposed to have sex with all of them, Dennis is the threatening beta male who’s supposed to drive all the girls into MC’s arms, Johanna is there so the other girls will trust MC more, and Ms. Walsh is the ineffectual authority figure who allows MC to take a leadership role instead. Dennis derails the experiment with his prying, but Dr. Mosely/Zeta vows to run the experiment again somewhere else.
School Idol : MC was this before the Barbarossa incident. He never realizes how many eyes in his school are on him until he attends the regular summer school class and interacts with some of them.
According to MC, summer school is for losers, since students in summer school are too stupid, lazy, or both to get good grades during the regular school sessions.
Henry is happy to be held back a year, because graduating school is for losers, apparently. Henry wants to delay the responsibilities of living in the real world.
School is Murder : Dr. Mosely/Zeta shoots Dennis in the head, and tries to kill off the rest of her summer school class with an avalanche caused by explosives. Since they know too much, they are all “liabilities.”
School Newspaper News Hound : Marco does picture editing for the school newspaper. Lampshaded, as Marco knows that virtually nobody actually reads the school newspaper, despite its almost professional production quality.
School of No Studying : A deconstruction of sorts. It’s unclear whether MC’s original summer school class gives out homework at all, nor are exams mentioned. But with the real summer school class, MC explicitly does need to study for an end-of-term exam once he enrolls in this program.
School Stories : Ahem , summer school stories.
School Uniforms are the New Black : Parodied with Henry, who actually thinks it makes sense to wear his school uniform as pajamas .
Screen Shake : The screen shakes to show realization, or occasionally surprise.
Discussed in Amy’s epilogue. When Amy’s mom says that she’s proud of Amy for graduating high school, Amy brushes it off, saying that her mom would have just bribed the school officials if it was necessary for her to graduate. Astoundingly, Amy’s mom doesn’t deny it; she only says that a bribe wasn’t necessary, because Amy graduated on her own merit.
Second Episode Introduction : The second episode introduces us to Lauren, Morgan, Amy, Rachel, Dennis, and Ms. Walsh.
Second Love : Since Rachel is MC’s first love, choosing anyone else would make her his second.
Second Place Is for Losers : In her epilogue, Rachel wins the bronze medal in the Olympics. She’s down in the dumps, mainly because nobody will ever remember her for it, but MC told her that the silver medalist probably feels worse, since they were only one place away from the top spot.
Secret Identity : Very secret, in fact. The name “Dr. Mosely” is an alias, and her real name is a mystery. She is mainly known by the moniker “Zeta.”
MC keeps Morgan’s secret about her love of fantasy books and movies.
Mr. Adler figures out the true nature of MC’s relationship with Johanna and Tamara, but vows not to tell anyone.
Daniela knows Dr. Mosely’s secret identity as Zeta, the rogue scientist. Justified by their professional relationship.
Dennis’s dad promises not to tell anyone about the conversation in which MC spills the beans to him about Dr. Mosely/Zeta .
Averted with Lauren if MC pursues a relationship with her. Lauren will only sleep with MC if he will publicly acknowledge the relationship.
However, this trope is implied if MC also decides to pursue Morgan, Amy, and/or Rachel while dating Lauren, since Lauren would most likely blow her top if she got wind of it.
Seinfeldian Conversation : Exaggerated when Johanna is helping Henry with his schoolwork. Not even Henry himself has the thread of the conversation, and Johanna seems aware of its rambling nature.
Selective Obliviousness : Dennis, who is so good at manipulating people, can’t seem to tell when a girl is so repulsed by him that she wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole.
Dennis thinking out loud about his dating strategy when he arrives on the yacht: Dennis: So who to start with, hmm? Let’s review my current options. Hmm... I’ve got enough relationship points with Amy. Think I’ve got her on lock down with my maxed out intelligence. If I get points with Johanna, I might get something out of it. I think my Charm stat’s high enough. Tamara is out of the picture for now, not until I improve my Strength score. Fuck it. I’ll go for the harem end. So, get points up with Lauren and Rachel, concentrate on leveling up Strength and Charm until I’m ready for Tamara and Johanna. Perfect.
Amy, when asked her opinion of visual novels: Amy: Aren’t they basically porn?
Senior Year Struggles : Naturally downplayed, as they take place after the story’s climax. MC and Tamara especially are torn about what to do after they graduate.
Sensei-chan : Ms. Walsh is young, not a very good teacher, and according to Dr. Mosely, she’s not well-adjusted. She gets into an insult contest with Lauren upon running into her at a nightclub, and she opens up occasionally to MC about her struggles, asking him for suggestions about how to improve things with her class. She becomes more of a friend than a teacher to the students as the year goes on.
Sensei for Scoundrels : At one point, Morgan gives Amy lessons on how to mug people. After some laughable failures, Amy successfully scares Dennis into running away.
Sentimental Drunk : Ms. Walsh becomes more open about her failures and appreciative of him for tolerating them when MC walks in on her drunk in the faculty room. She even offers him sex.
Severely Specialized Store : The boutique that Tamara opens after she graduates sells only black clothes. Lampshaded in its name: “Nothing But Black.”
Sex as Rite-of-Passage : Implied with Amy, who is both very eager and very inexperienced. If MC makes contact with her at the ski lodge, MC actually tells her to slow down and enjoy what she’s doing rather than just doing it for its own sake.
All of MC’s sexual encounters with Ms. Walsh take place on school property, and most during school hours.
Early in the story, Tamara, who is working in the registrar’s office at the time, invites MC to her office to “entertain” her. When Dr. Mosely comes into the office, MC licks Tamara out under the desk.
When MC meets Lauren at a festival where she is working, the two of them have sex in a stairwell at the hotel hosting the event - and nearly get caught.
In Lauren’s epilogue, MC proposes to Lauren after the two of them successfully planned Lauren’s sister’s wedding, and they have sex right at the venue after she accepts .
MC can have sex multiple times with Amy in the studio from which she streams her video games.
Zigzagged with Tamara. She initially offers MC guilt-free sexual gratification, and then moves to accepting a three-way relationship with MC and Johanna. If MC ends things with her and Johanna, however, Tamara throws a fit, and gives him the silent treatment until she can’t go any longer without a conversation that she enjoys . Still, even though she supports MC’s new relationship, she’s not overjoyed about it either.
Sex for Services : The motivation behind Lauren’s sexual openness with MC. She will go all the way with him in return for the social currency of having a famous boyfriend.
In MC’s and Tamara’s relationship, the Barbarossa incident is hinted at (and sometimes more than that) in binding the two of them together.
With MC and Rachel, the familiarity of it is something that MC can bring over from his former life before the avalanche.
Ms. Walsh seeks out sex, first with “Jailson Mendes,” whom she meets online and then openly with MC, to deal with her dissatisfaction with her job.
MC seems to leave all his partners satisfied.
Also implied and played for horror in MC's dream when he's sleeping in the ski lodge sauna. In his nightmare, Dennis is the sex god, and all the girls call him "Master."
Sexier Alter Ego : Dennis is much taller in MC’s nightmare than in real life, not to mention more commanding.
Sex in a Shared Room : Happens a lot with MC, Tamara, and Johanna. The reason is unusual; sometimes, two of them will play while the third one takes a much-needed break.
Downplayed with Dennis’s blackmail of Johanna. He doesn’t make her do anything; he just makes her help him look like he has.
Sex with the Ex : A clear possibility, since Rachel is MC's ex-girlfriend. And even better, they might even get back together.
Sexy Mentor : MC and Rachel go back and forth with this trope regarding each other, since they coach each other in preparation for the Olympic qualifier. In Rachel’s epilogue, MC is Rachel’s coach for the Olympics .
Sexy Surfacing Shot : In one scene, MC decides to go swimming, and finds that Rachel had the same idea. The steamy scene that ensues features a sensual view of Rachel climbing out of the pool.
"Shaggy Frog" Story : Henry’s attempts to recount what he was told about planning MC’s “appreciation party.” He tries to start from his birth date... and then, from when he got his first email account. MC defies this, however, and gets the real and relevant story out of his friend.
Shaking the Rump : When MC and Lauren run into Ms. Walsh at the nightclub, their teacher is doing a booty-shaking dance.
Shareware : The format of the story, thanks to its online platform.
Sheep in Sheep's Clothing : Even though Lauren is shallow, and as Morgan correctly says, she’d do almost anything for attention, at her core, she just wants mutual love and respect from someone.
Sherlock Scan : Dennis can tell that the story that Johanna’s been telling everyone about MC’s whereabouts is a lie. He knows what MC has really been doing during the spring, because he has access to MC’s weekly gaming hours.
Shoo Out the Clowns : Henry doesn’t take part in either the final confrontation with Dennis or the escape from the second avalanche.
By MC in the registrar's office, talking to Tamara: MC: Are you not entertained?!
Often subverted by Dr. Mosely, who regularly tries to reference popular culture, but gets the references wrong.
Shower Scene : MC sees Johanna in the shower, and she gives him a not-so-subtle hint that she wants him to come in.
Shown Their Work : Man-made avalanches do happen. Not only that, the avalanche that sent MC and Tamara into PTSD could have been caused in the way it was described. Furthermore, Rachel’s comment about how the avalanche could have happened anyway had MC and Tamara not forced the cable car door open also rings true.
Sibling Rivalry : Johanna and Tamara compete throughout much of the story for MC’s affections. When they finally talk over the resolution, the only solution they can find is to share him.
Sibling Triangle : MC, Johanna, and Tamara. An unusual example, as all three participants in the triangle are siblings.
MC will also get this reaction if he asks Lauren, Morgan, Amy, or Rachel to share him with Johanna and Tamara. The chosen girl will end things with him, leaving him to his sisters.
When Morgan catches Tamara jerking MC off, she calls it “messed up” even after she touches his thigh while she watches. She is weirded out, but also turned on.
Sick Episode : Happens with Amy just before the end of the story if MC chooses her over every other girl. Having had trouble reaching her by phone, MC visits Amy at home and finds her sick in bed. Notwithstanding, they still manage to have some sexy fun.
Significant Name Overlap : Morgan’s real name is Amy, after Princess Amelia, who is incognito in the summer school class . What inspired this? The two girls were born on the same day.
If MC ultimately breaks off his relationship with Johanna and Tamara, Tamara will give him the silent treatment again, this time in anger over wasting her whole summer with their relationship. She backpedals after a couple of weeks over her inability to enjoy a conversation with anyone but MC .
Simple Score of Sadness : The sad song from Daughter for Dessert is carried over for one scene to convey the hopelessness that MC is feeling after Dennis starts blackmailing Dr. Mosely.
Deconstructed with Lauren. A big reason that Lauren goes to the lengths she does to date MC is because he’s so popular - and she wants the respect that comes with popularity.
Subverted with Morgan. She affectionately calls him “Goldenboy,” but she doesn’t care at all about his popularity - only his humanity.
Double subverted with Amy. She doesn’t really care about his skiing ability, but once he starts getting dating success, Amy starts to see him as a way to explore her own sexuality. Amy: I wouldn’t be a gamer if I minded a player.
Zigzagged with Rachel. She doesn’t care about his skiing fame, but sees MC as familiar, and finds his changes in outlook since the avalanche as refreshing. However, she’s concerned for a time that he might have had a more active sex life than she has since their breakup.
Johanna’s people pleasing tendencies are linked to her not always fitting in with MC and Tamara, not being as intelligent or as athletic as either of them.
MC comes to suspect that Dennis’s behavior is all because of daddy issues.
Single Serving Friend : In one the bonus scenes, Lauren invites one of her friends to have some fun with MC and herself. This friend is never seen again afterwards.
Single-Target Sexuality : Tamara can never see herself involved romantically or sexually with anyone but MC.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man : Invoked by Rachel. His newfound introspection and willingness to return certain sexual favors (i.e. giving oral sex) mean that he is worthy of another chance in her book. She doesn’t see him as the same guy who callously broke up with her months before.
Double subverted with the photos Daniela takes of MC. MC realizes over the course of several weeks that Daniela has been stalking him, taking his picture at every opportunity. MC thinks she’s from the press , but when he actually talks to her, he finds out that she isn’t, and furthermore, Daniela claims to be helping MC (though she declines to say how). However, he discovers later that Daniela has been commissioned for the downright creepy task of photographing all his sexual experiences over the summer .
Sink or Swim Mentor : A distinct possibility with how Dennis’s dad “taught” him how to be a man. One wonders how Dennis turns out as such an awkward nerd if his dad actually taught him how to anything concrete.
Tamara also takes up this mantle, especially when she’s upset about something.
Although compared to her Uncle Tommy, her speech is prim and proper.
Morgan also does this at school when she wants some alone time.
Sketchy Successor : Dr. Mosely, the new school psychologist, succeeded the retiring Mr. Adler. She is incredibly blunt and manipulative for someone in her profession, she puts weird questions about sex to her students, and performs inappropriate “experimental therapies” on them, while she doesn’t bat an eye upon catching teachers having sex with students at school. Justified by her real purpose at the school: she is a rogue scientist in the employ of the government, who is conducting a sex experiment on the students.
Skinny Dipping : Averted in the pool scene between MC and Rachel. The two of them have a swimming race and even make love, but they don’t swim naked together.
Johanna after the story of MC and Lauren in the nightclub surfaces. Ms. Walsh feels sorry for her, and gives her an excused absence.
Defied: Unaware that Johanna has prepared a lesson plan, the other students in the summer school class (except for MC) don’t come in. However, to avoid having Johanna’s hard work go to waste, MC rounds up the rest of the class.
The yacht party goes on for a day longer than expected, meaning that the entire class misses school on a Monday. While it is unintentional for the rest of the class, Dennis, who is home by that time, doesn’t go to school either.
Soon after he starts going to the real summer school, MC gets a visit from Morgan and Amy around lunchtime. They both skipped out of school, and they ask MC if he wants to cut his afternoon classes to hang out with them. If he does, he gets a chance to sleep with both of them (separately).
Ski-Resort Episode : An unorthodox one. Dennis, blackmailing Dr. Mosely/ Zeta , arranges for an end-of-summer class trip to Barbarossa. Dr. Mosely/ Zeta also arranges for MC to receive bus tickets to Barbarossa, and he uses them. After the final confrontation with Dennis, Dr. Mosely/Zeta tries to kill the whole class with an avalanche to keep the details of her work secret. MC then successfully evacuates everyone on skis.
Slimeball : Dennis. Even when he’s trying to be friendly, he comes off creepy, especially when he’s talking to a girl. Johanna: I watch pimple popping videos, but Dennis is a pimple.
Slumming It : In Amy’s epilogue, Amy eventually decides that when she goes to college, she wants to pay her room and board using only the money earned through her Twitch channel, not her family’s wealth.
Smart People Wear Glasses : Dennis, Dr. Mosely, and Daniela, probably the three most intelligent characters in the game, all wear glasses.
Smug Snake : Dennis thinks he’s superior to everyone, and it shows in his voice. He has supreme confidence in his ability to manipulate others. However, he ultimately loses his battle of wits with Dr. Mosely/ Zeta, and she has him taken away for execution .
Snark-to-Snark Combat : When MC and Lauren run into Ms. Walsh in the nightclub, Lauren and Ms. Walsh engage in this. MC is impressed with both of them.
Snarky Villain, Earnest Hero : MC largely shed his snarky attitude following the Barbarossa incident. By contrast, Dennis gets more snarky as the story progresses.
Sneaking Snacks : Averted by MC as a mark of how much he cares about his Olympic ambitions. Even after his training regimen falls by the wayside, he keeps his dietary habits.
Sneaky Departure : Morgan has to leave the yacht before it pulls back into port so she won’t get arrested for stealing the jet ski.
Snow Means Cold : Even in summer, the ski resort of Barbarossa is covered in snow.
Snow Means Love : An unorthodox example. It’s in the snow at Barbarossa that MC chooses which one of his classmates (Lauren, Morgan, Amy, or Rachel) with whom to continue a relationship.
Social Climber : Deconstructed with Lauren, who acts and dresses like an upper class, popular girl in order to win dignity and respect for herself and her family. But no matter how much she acts the part, it hasn’t translated into real results.
So Crazy, It Must Be True : Dennis’s dad doesn’t expect MC to give the explanation he gives for his son’s death . Who knew that his school counselor, who is really a rogue scientist in the employ of the government, is the culprit ? However, he accepts it without question.
Solar Flare Disaster : When MC and Tamara are trapped in a fallen cable car on a mountainside, a solar flare is disrupting cell service, depriving them of their ability to call for help. Instead, they force the door open, triggering a deadly avalanche .
Sole Survivor : Both MC and Tamara, since they were the only survivors of the avalanche they started . Tamara: Only the strongest skiers survived Barbarossa that day. MC: Only us.
So What Do We Do Now? : With the crazy summer and the avalanche behind them, most of the former summer school class turn their attention to the more mundane concerns of post-graduation plans.
Speaking Like Totally Teen : Averted. Totally radical slang is completely absent from the dialogue.
Dennis does the exact same thing with MC in his flashback about breaking up with Rachel. MC didn’t remember him after the two had previously been lab partners, and a distracted MC told Dennis to just add him as a friend on his Game Station account.
Spiky Hair : In the few instances when it’s shown, it seems like MC has this.
Spirited Competitor : MC and Rachel are this for each other in their rivalry for an Olympic spot. MC isn’t even upset when Rachel edges him out.
Spy Cam : MC discovers these all over the yacht when he shows up for his party, but not before they collect compromising images of every girl on the boat.
Stalker Shot : In a scene where MC and Johanna fool around on the yacht, Tamara is shown peeking through the door. She’s kind of pissed, but she’s shown touching herself all the same.
Starving Artist : Resoundingly averted with Amy. She’s a royal brat who doesn’t need the money from her Twitch channel, but she makes enough from the channel so that she can help pay for inexpensive student housing with her Twitch earnings.
Stat Grinding : Discussed in Dennis’s creepy monologue in which he talks about how (he thinks) he’s doing with each of the girls.
Stay on the Path : Parodied by the fake bus driver (formerly a fake sea captain) who’s driving to Barbarossa. He gives a spiel about how it’s “literally illegal” to move, but MC, who’s a man on a mission, insists on cutting across country. The “driver” only halfheartedly tries to stop him.
STD Immunity : Everyone except Dennis has sex, and a couple of characters are pretty experienced, but STDs are nonexistent among these characters.
Steampunk : In-universe, Morgan has been secretly writing these stories. If MC chooses Morgan at the end of the story, he posts one of them online without her knowledge or consent, and they end up getting decent reviews.
Steamrolled Smart Guy : Johanna often becomes this whenever MC’s and/or Tamara’s way of doing things clashed with her own.
Steel Ear Drums : Neither MC nor Dr. Mosely/Zeta gets any hearing loss after Dr. Mosely/Zeta shoots Dennis .
Stepford Smiler : Johanna goes into this mode whenever she’s upset about something.
Stock Foreign Name : “Tommy” is a stereotypical British name. Downplayed, as pretty much all the character names save one are Anglo-Saxon.
Stood Up : If MC takes Dennis up on his offer to help him seduce Ms. Walsh, MC has the option of leaving before his teacher shows up to the date.
Straw Loser : At first glance, Dennis is just a stereotypical nerd. Under the surface, he's a misogynist who creates fake nudes of the girls around him, catfishes his classmates and teachers into giving him real ones, and plans to blackmail or manipulate his classmates into sleeping with him.
Stroke the Beard : Commonly done by a thinking character, most notably Dennis.
Struggling Single Mother : More like struggling single uncle. Uncle Tommy, judging from his digs, has trouble making ends meet.
Suckiness Is Painful : Inverted in Morgan’s epilogue when Uncle Tommy, Morgan, and MC play in a punk rock concert together . As MC notes, nobody cares how bad they are; in fact, they all seem to enjoy it.
Summer School Sucks : Zigzagged. MC invokes this trope early on, saying that it's for losers, and some of the early classes piss everyone off, but only because the teacher refuses to actually teach them. However, the whole class (minus Dennis) eventually become Fire-Forged Friends .
Supermodel Strut : Although this is hard to portray outright, Lauren is mentioned to shake her hips as she leads MC to the nightclub bathroom for a much-needed handjob.
Surprise Party : The summer school class throws an “appreciation party” for MC after the word of his video game addiction reaches the press. However, not only does Henry ruin the surprise, but Dennis uses the party for his own nefarious purposes (and tries to keep MC and Morgan away from the party entirely).
If he chooses Amy over the other girls, MC can stroll up to the royal palace and knock on the door when he wants to visit without being accosted by security. Possibly justified by his relationship with Amy; after all, Amy’s mom knows who he is when they first come face-to-face.
Sympathy for the Devil : After meeting Dennis’s father, MC starts to feel pity for Dennis himself. He surmises that Dennis’s most egregious behaviors seemed to be modeled on his father’s, and that Dennis’s father considered his son weak and disappointing.
Tabloid Melodrama : Several tabloid stories come out over the course of the summer, all calling MC the “Barbarossa mass murderer” on account of his role in the incident there. Exploited at times by Dennis to blackmail MC after he finds out the ultimate secret regarding MC and the tragedy.
Take a Third Option : Subverted when MC has to make a final decision on whether to choose Johanna and Tamara, or another girl in his former summer school class. He can ask the other girl to share him with Johanna and Tamara, but she ends up getting grossed out and breaking up with him instead, leaving him in his sisters’ arms.
Talented, but Trained : MC has a great talent for skiing, but the importance of a training regimen is underscored continually. MC’s lackadaisical training during the summer means that he fails to qualify for the Olympics.
Talk to the Fist : When MC thinks Dennis is about to rape Johanna, he grabs Dennis around the neck, not listening to his frenzied explanations and warnings. He then throws Dennis out the window.
Tall Poppy Syndrome : Dennis tries to beat MC at the dating game not by improving his own sex appeal, but by undercutting MC’s.
Tank-Top Tomboy : A black tank top is part of Morgan’s standard outfit.
Teachers Out of School : While out on their first date, MC and Lauren run into Ms. Walsh at a nightclub. They are shocked, especially since Ms. Walsh told them earlier that day that she was going to a school board meeting to try to get reassigned to another class.
Teacher/Student Romance : MC has the option of having sex multiple times with Ms. Walsh. Downplayed, as it doesn’t go anywhere much outside sex, and MC cannot ultimately have a relationship with Ms. Walsh .
After Johanna and Tamara bury the hatchet and agree to share MC, the three of them take turns doing this to each other.
Teen Genius : Dennis is the villainous version, using his smarts to write fraudulent programs for his father’s online casino, tricking girls into sending nudes to him, faking said nudes, and hacking into computers to blackmail government-employed scientists .
Teen Pregnancy : Probably the case in Johanna’s and Tamara’s epilogue, in which they both get pregnant. Downplayed, as by this time, the three of them own a boutique that made them enough money to buy a house.
Teens Are Monsters : Notwithstanding the other teenage characters, Dennis fits the bill. He’s motivated by sex and misogyny (they are closely intertwined with him), his interactions with his peers go beyond bullying or creepy to outright criminal, and he wrecks an experiment that was designed precisely to help teens get more sex. Dr. Mosely/Zeta lampshades this last part; Dennis is the first person ever to derail one of the Zeta experiments.
Even though Lauren is poor , she likes to shop. She has an eye for bargains, as well as clothes she can modify to be more stylish.
Textile Work Is Feminine : Lauren is good at anything related to clothes, including mending and modifying.
That's What She Said : A gem from Morgan’s epilogue, after MC, Morgan, and Uncle Tommy put on a (bad) concert : MC: It feels good to suck. Morgan: That’s what she said.
That Wasn't a Request : After the yacht party, Dennis tells (he doesn’t ask) MC to do certain tasks for him that will further his goals. MC naturally tells him no until Dennis reveals exactly what he knows, and what he’ll do if MC doesn’t comply.
The Ace : MC and Tamara have both been seen as this, both by each other and by everyone else. Because of this, they formed a special bond, and would constantly and simultaneously push and compete with each other.
The Alcoholic : Although he’s still in high school, Henry has consumed so much alcohol that his doctors have warned him to stop lest he gets cirrhosis of the liver. And as soon as the doctors revise their diagnosis so that the danger of cirrhosis isn’t so immediate, he starts drinking heavily again. In one memorable get-together with MC and Lauren, Henry passes out from his drinking, allowing the other two to fool around (if they’re an “official” couple).
The Atoner : Downplayed with MC. He killed 12 people by starting an avalanche, but that was an accident. And he made enemies of many jealous classmates, but not because he intended to be mean. And he has plenty of opportunities for self-gratification during his atonement.
The Bait : Played with. The break-in of Dennis’s apartment requires that everyone knows when he’ll be out. The group enlists Amy, Dennis’s favorite girl in the summer school class, to talk to him and find out when he won’t be home.
Dennis’s dad owns a mansion, travels in yachts, limos, helicopters, and private jets, and isn’t bad-looking for a middle-aged man. Too bad his looks didn’t rub off on his son.
The Cake Is a Lie : Averted. Dennis says he’ll enable MC to sleep with Ms. Walsh, and he does just that.
Morgan also confides her own biggest secret to MC.
MC chooses his own confidant when he’s trying to get into the ski lodge and needs someone on the inside (Lauren, Morgan, Amy, or Rachel). He tells this girl the whole truth about his and Tamara’s roles in the Barbarossa incident.
The Couch : The living room couch in front of the TV is the hub of all happenings in MC’s apartment.
The Cracker : Dennis.
The Cuckoolander Was Right : Henry says at one point that he was looking for MC all over “summer school,” which according to him is separate from the regular school building. He described a place where all the other kids in summer school are studying. MC dismisses him at the time, but when he gets expelled from his summer school class, he starts to attend the same summer school that Henry described.
The Ditz : Henry. He makes every other ditz seem like Einstein.
The Don : Dennis’s dad has this air about him (wealthy career criminal, family man with a somewhat incomprehensible code of honor).
The Easy Way or the Hard Way : When Dennis tells MC to do things for him (and answers his dismissals with lines like “Tools don’t talk back”), Dennis moves on to say that he can make MC does what he wants. He warns MC not to make him prove it, but MC still refuses to do what Dennis wants. Then, Dennis reveals that he knows the extent of MC’s and Tamara’s culpability in the Barbarossa incident.
The Executioner : How MC imagines Dr. Mosely/ Zeta in a nightmare.
The Fashionista : An unusual example in Lauren. While she is poor, she can also modify her clothes to make them more stylish.
The Fellowship Has Ended : With summer school done, the avalanche over, and Dennis and Dr. Mosely/Zeta gone, everybody the class as a whole drifts apart.
The First Cut Is the Deepest : Averted with MC. While his bond with Rachel is still special, and seeing her is painful at the beginning of the story, the two of them don’t have to resolve anything for MC to date and form meaningful relationships with other girls.
The Gloves Come Off : When MC catches Dennis in Johanna’s room, he doesn’t care anymore that Dennis is blackmailing him, or that doing him too much harm can put incriminating information about Tamara and himself on the internet. All that matters is stopping what, to all appearances, is about to happen.
The Greatest Story Never Told : Zigzagged with the escape from the avalanche. While the news media report that MC saved six people from the avalanche, a number of people are inclined to believe that he caused it, just like the first one . And it was indeed a man-made event .
The Heart : Johanna for MC and Tamara.
The Hedonist : Henry yet again.
One of the rules of MC’s, Johanna’s, and Tamara’s ménage et trois is that when two of them do anything sexual together, they need to tell the third person. The two girls also let MC choose which one he wants to bed first. MC chooses one of the two after Dennis starts blackmailing Dr. Mosely, fearing that he may not get another chance. He does, and sleeps with the other one soon afterward.
Lauren passes MC a note in class telling him a plan to get out of class, and then asks him if he would consider them to be “dating.” She seduces him if he says he does.
When the moment hits between MC and Morgan, Morgan says that they should get straight to the point, since “we’re both fairly experienced.”
Amy seeks out sex with MC on the yacht, and allows MC to do whatever he wants when he finds her in the hot tub.
Averted with MC and Rachel, since they already had sex before.
The Mutiny : Sort of. The group calls their takeover of the yacht a “mutiny,” but they’re actually more akin to hostages - they are kept at sea against their will and prevented from getting provisions in the name of a bogus “international sea law.”
The Obstructive Love Interest : Ms. Walsh. She doesn’t get an ending, and she can draw MC away from a sexy time with Lauren.
The Only One I Trust : When he gets to the ski lodge, MC makes contact with Lauren, Morgan, Amy, or Rachel - leading up to his choice by saying that he needs to be sure he can trust this girl. Ultimately, he has to choose to end the story either with this girl, or Johanna and Tamara.
The Peeping Tom : Dennis rigs his yacht with hidden cameras in preparation for the “appreciation party” for MC. They are positioned to collect compromising photos of all the girls, and MC suspects that Dennis got them all before he manages to find and remove them all.
The Plan : Dennis frequently refers to having a plan, but he only has a known plan after the yacht party, from which he gleans some dirt on MC.
The Power of Family : MC, Johanna, and Tamara all make up and come up with a mutually beneficial and pleasurable solution after Johanna and Tamara compete bitterly for MC’s affections.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech : If MC chooses Lauren at the ski lodge and then asks her to share him with Tamara and Johanna, she gives him one of these before dumping him.
The Resenter : Dennis clearly has significant envy for the popularity and charisma of the “Esau” MC.
The Reveal : Dr. Mosely is actually Zeta, rogue scientist who performs illegal and unethical experiments.
The Scrounger : Behind all the drugs on the yacht, Lauren finds some odds and ends of food for everyone, and manages to cook a delicious chili out of it.
The Shadow Knows : Dr. Mosely is a self-proclaimed “expert” in surveillance techniques and equipment, which is... kind of unusual for a psychologist, to say the least.
Subverted with Dr. Mosely. While she succeeds where Mr. Adler failed, and conducts counseling sessions with the student in her summer school program, she isn’t really a school counselor. She has an entirely different agenda....
The Slacker : Henry. He hates hard work, and he’s happy to be graduating late, as it means another year away from the real world.
The Stateless : A strong possibility with Dr. Mosely/Zeta .
They Died Because of You : Zigzagged with MC... with a line that he himself gives. He says that he killed twelve people by starting the avalanche , and it’s first hinted at and later confirmed that two of those twelve were his parents. And true press reinforces this by calling him a mass murderer. No wonder he’s so depressed at the beginning of the story.
They Just Dont Get It : Henry is prone to this. MC is used to just giving up and feeding Henry a bullshit explanation that he understands rather than trying to hammer in a real one that he doesn’t.
Thinking Out Loud : Dennis does this in a creepy display when he arrives on the yacht. He’s going over where he thinks he stands with each of the girls, and what he plans to do going forward. And he’s actually thinking about it like a typical Dating Sim.
Think Unsexy Thoughts : MC’s imagination starts to run wild when he first meets the attractive Dr. Mosely. He comes up with a rather squicky image to keep his hormones in check: MC: [thinking] Ice showers with Harvey Weinstein, ice showers with Harvey Weinstein, ice showers with Harvey Weinstein....
Lauren makes her home-cooked meals a staple of her relationship with MC.
Token Rich Student : Double subverted with Dennis. Although Amy turns out to be a princess, she’s also not technically a student at the school.
Tomboy with a Girly Streak : Morgan, who is tough and mechanically inclined, also has a soft side.
Took a Level in Jerkass : Although Tamara is never a nice person per se, she gets a whole lot nastier after the Barbarossa incident.
To Win Without Fighting : When MC, Morgan, and Rachel go to the bridge to forcibly remove the “captain,” he surrenders without a fight. “Captain”: I’m not being paid enough for physical violence.
Trademark Favorite Food : Johanna loves pancakes: making them, and getting them made for her.
Tranquil Fury : MC has this while throwing Dennis out the window and finally beating him up. MC: I... don’t... care.
Troubled Backstory Flashback : MC and Tamara recalling how the avalanche started .
MC has major PTSD, and spent several months in his room playing video games, while also being a dick to the people who were trying to help him.
Lauren used to be in Morgan’s gang , and she’s known to use illegal drugs.
Morgan used to lead a gang, and spent a year in jail after a failed armed robbery. Even after all this, she commits a crime here and there (like stealing a jet ski).
Dennis is a misogynist and a narcissist who commits various crimes: unlawful surveillance, hacking, and blackmail have all been confirmed, with stalking and sexual assault clear possibilities as well.
Tsundere : Tamara is “the real ice queen” who antagonizes people just because, but she wants more than anything to have a romantic relationship with MC, and she will go to great lengths to get one. Lampshaded by Dennis, who uses this exact term to describe Tamara.
On the yacht, MC finds Amy in the jacuzzi at night. She invites him to hang out with her, and if the player has made the right decisions up to that point, they can hit a home run.
The real summer school program is also like this. Mr. Adler and Daniela are the only staff members mentioned.
Ultimate Job Security : Justified with Ms. Walsh. She was put in her position because of her incompetence, not in spite of it, because in the experiment conducted on the class, an incompetent teacher would allow the girls to look to the class alpha male (MC) for leadership instead. Plus, Dr. Mosely/Zeta likely views it as an added bonus rather than a liability if she sleeps with MC on school property.
Uncertain Doom : Invoked by MC when Mr. Adler questions him about what happened to Dr. Mosely/Zeta . However, Mr. Adler isn’t buying it.
Unconventional Smoothie : Discussed. MC mentions that he drinks smoothies with vegetables and raw eggs as part of his dieting regimen.
Undisclosed Funds : House prices and apartment rents are never specified.
Dennis’s dad isn’t known as anything else; we do, however, have a surname for him (Bletcher).
Amy’s mom is just known as "the Queen.”
Unrequited Love Lasts Forever : Implied with Tamara of MC decides not to continue his relationship with her and Johanna. She will ultimately accept whomever MC chooses instead, even if she’s not happy about it.
Unwitting Pawn : Unlike MC, whom Dennis enlists for the same purpose, Henry is completely unaware that Dennis is using his voice recordings in order to catfish unsuspecting girls and women over the internet.
Unwitting Test Subject : All of the students, plus Ms. Walsh, are unaware that they are all being used as part of a sex experiment conducted by Dr. Mosely. Dennis, suspecting something weird, manages to sniff out the truth, and MC manages to glean some information from him. He doesn’t tell that many other people, but enough information leaks out for Dr. Mosely to brand them all “liabilities.”
Used to Be a Sweet Kid : According to Marco, Dennis used to be a quiet, unassuming kid who was nice enough to fix his classmates’ computers whenever they asked and without asking for anything in return. Dennis’s dad describes his son as weak and “sentimental,” which he probably uses to describe anyone (especially a male) with a kind heart. Possibly a subversion, however, as MC suspects that Dennis was fixing his classmates’ computers to find and keep nudes of the girls.
Vague Age : All the kids in MC’s grade have to be 18 (the minimum age for sexual consent and portrayal), but they also have a year left in high school (which would put them between 17 and 18 in most countries).
Vehicular Kidnapping : Subverted. MC thinks he might be seeing Amy getting kidnapped when she sees a couple of men picking her up and putting her in a van. He even calls the cops just in case, but without much to go on, they can’t really investigate it. However, when MC goes to Amy’s studio later just to check up on her, he finds her there. It’s only later that the real purpose of the men putting Amy into the van can be inferred: they’re Amy’s royal bodyguards .
V-Formation Team Shot : Inverted in the final encounter with Dr. Mosely/Zeta . All six girls are in a v-shaped formation with MC at the bottom and facing Dr. Mosely/Zeta , but the bottom of the v-shape is facing away from her.
Video Game Caring Potential : All of the girls are written so that the player cares about them.
Video Game Perversity Potential : The player can choose MC’s name, change Johanna’s and Tamara’s names, and set the relationships of Johanna and Tamara to MC. This can make for some disturbing entries and combinations if a player is so inclined.
Villainous Crush : Dennis for all the girls, Ms. Walsh, and Dr. Mosely/ Zeta , but above all for Amy.
Villainous Underdog : Dennis starts off as a nerd with next to nothing against MC. In fact, MC finds Dennis’s initial offers to collaborate on getting girls extremely presumptuous.
Villainous Vow : This one from Dennis: Dennis: Soon, all the girls in the class, and Tamara too, will be filled with my seed.
Invoked a second time when Dennis blackmails Dr. Mosely. She has to use her authority and the government’s resources[[spoiler: to help him do what he wants , or Dennis will expose her program to the world .
Then, he invokes it yet again , threatening to expose the secret to everyone unless Johanna cooperates with him.
Villains Want Mercy : Exaggerated. Dennis begs, not only for his life, but to be the alpha male in a rerun of the experiment . Dr. Mosely/Zeta isn’t moved.
Visible Silence : Used frequently when a character is lost for words, or declines to speak for whatever reason.
Vitriolic Best Buds : MC and Tamara would constantly shit-talk each other, especially before telling each other something serious.
Walk into Mordor : Not an evil land, but MC has to walk across country through thick snow and mostly undisturbed forest. And once he gets to the ski lodge, he has to sneak in.
Wealthy Yacht Owner : Dennis and his dad.
Wham Episode : The scene when Dennis blackmails MC.
What Did I Do Last Night? : Although he knows that he was partying with Lauren and Henry, MC doesn’t know how he came to wake up in the woods the next morning.
Where the Hell Is Springfield? : So in what country exactly does the story take place? From the architecture, it is somewhere in Western Europe. It is ruled by a king/queen in a constitutional monarchy. It is a small country that gets little media attention. It either contains mountainous terrain, or has an easy travel deal with at least one other country that does. Unfortunately, that leaves no possible real countries. In addition, the location of the much-hyped Winter Olympics throws another wrench into the equation. In Rachel’s epilogue, Rachel, her mother, and MC travel to the host city by bus, so the games must be held somewhere in Europe as well. This leaves two possibilities for the host city: Sochi, Russia (site of the 2014 Winter Olympics) is the most likely, but it’s more practical to travel there by plane from anywhere in Western Europe. The lesser possibility is that the story takes place all the way back in 2006, and the Winter Olympics in question were the ones in Turin. Alternatively, though, the game could be set in the near future instead (the 2026 Winter Olympics are set to be held in Milan).
When Johanna and Tamara pick MC up from the middle of nowhere, they ask where he was the previous night, and how he got to the middle of the woods. MC can tell them either a half-truth or an outright lie.
"Which Restroom?" Dilemma : MC walks into the wrong changing room by mistake, hoping for a workout at the gym. After noting how it looks different from how he remembers it, MC sees Rachel walk in and start undressing. Only then does he realize his mistake.
White-Collar Crime : Discussed. Dennis is in summer school because he spent much of the regular school year writing code for his father’s online casino. It’s eventually revealed that, at his father’s direction, Dennis wrote the code so that the casino would be a scam.
Who Needs Enemies? : Henry is very excited about doing online videos with MC doing “boy-boy stuff” - because he’s thinking of guy stuff. When he tells everyone, Dennis offers to set him and MC up with a website, and advertises it to the girls. Both Amy and Ms. Walsh buy memberships.
Wide-Eyed Idealist : Discussed. Amy says that Morgan, despite her tough and cynical exterior, is this at heart.
Win Her a Prize : MC can do this for Johanna when she takes him to a carnival to ease him back into social situations. By thinking about the carnival game like one of his video games, MC manages to win it, getting a big teddy bear for Johanna.
Wrench Wench : Morgan is mechanically inclined enough to make repairs on a motorcycle.
Wrong Assumption : After MC sees Tamara for the first time since retreating to his room after the avalanche, the awkward nature of the encounter makes him think Tamara hates him.
You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good! : An unusual example. Dennis, standing nearly naked in the snow, tells MC that they could have cooperated for a mutually beneficial outcome, instead of getting them both on the kill list of Dr. Mosely/Zeta .
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Al Capone Does My Homework

53 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-7

Chapters 8-14

Chapters 15-21

Chapters 22-29

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Summary and Study Guide

Al Capone Does My Homework , Gennifer Choldenko’s 2013 novel about a boy living on Alcatraz Island with his family, is the third book in Choldenko’s young adult series, Tales from Alcatraz , which follows the adventures of Moose Murphy and his teenage sister, Natalie. The series combines 1930s history with elements of humor, mystery, and suspense while exploring issues of morality, sociology, and developmental health. Natalie, for instance, has a developmental disability, which complicates the family’s daily life and livelihood in a time and place where her condition is widely misunderstood. Moose, the books’ narrator and protagonist , who turns 13 during the series, cares for his older sister while grappling with the many pressures, dangers, and temptations of being part of the civilian population of Alcatraz, America’s “roughest prison.”

The first book in the series, Al Capone Does My Shirts , was shortlisted for the Newbery Medal and won a Newbery Honor as well as 20 other awards. As of 2024, the four novels of Choldenko’s Tales from Alcatraz series have sold over two and a half million copies. Each is a stand-alone narrative that does not require familiarity with its predecessors.

This guide refers to the 2013 Puffin Books paperback edition of Al Capone Does My Homework .

Plot Summary

Thirteen-year-old Moose Flanagan , whose father has just been promoted from electrician to associate warden of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, struggles with the many pressures of living on the notorious prison island. His father, Cam, who Moose believes is “too nice” to be a warden, has inadvertently made an enemy of the guard Darby Trixle , who wanted his promotion. Adding to his stress, Moose discovers that the convicts have put a price on the heads of guards and wardens in the form of a “points game.” Killing a warden, he learns, is worth 5,000 prestige points. Donny Caconi , a friendly adult who regularly visits the island, tells Moose that his father is in a “tight spot,” caught between Darby on one side and the cons on the other.

In addition to worrying about his father, Moose must help look after his 16-year-old sister, Natalie, who has a developmental disability and has difficulty with communication and social interactions. Natalie refuses to make eye contact with others, shows repetitive behavior, and communicates mostly by repeating others’ words. However, she loves numbers and counting and can solve complex multiplication problems with barely a glance.

The very night of Cam’s first day as associate warden, the Flanagans’ apartment catches fire, and Moose and Natalie narrowly escape by breaking a window. Darby Trixle and his wife, Bea, who live in the same apartment building, accuse Natalie of starting the fire, referring derogatorily to her developmental disability and arguing that she poses a danger to the other residents of Alcatraz. Moose defends her but cannot be sure of her innocence since he accidentally fell asleep while watching her.

Moose and his friend Piper, the warden’s daughter, suspect that the fire has some connection with his father’s promotion. Together with Moose’s friends Annie, Jimmy, and Theresa, they form a “team” to investigate the fire. While searching for clues, they stumble upon some mysteries: Moose finds $40 hidden in the Caconis’ laundry bag; a butcher knife disappears from the cellblock kitchen; $50 goes missing from the Trixles’ grocery; and a convict named Count Lustig is seen hiding a scrap of paper marked with strange numbers in a waterspout, presumably for an accomplice to find. Another convict, the mobster Al Capone, leaves a cryptic message (“State problem”) on Moose’s school essay on polio and Franklin D. Roosevelt, which briefly disappeared during the fire. Meanwhile, Piper, who has been showing off money and gifts she has been given, supposedly by a “secret admirer,” seems increasingly agitated but won’t say why.

At a poker party hosted by Moose’s father, Natalie uses her prodigal counting abilities to spot a card cheat, who turns out to be Donny Caconi. The next day, Moose, Piper, and Annie eavesdrop on Mr. Flanagan’s interrogation of Al Capone, but the mobster claims to know nothing about the fire or the missing knife. However, Cam’s mention of money and gifts “floating around,” combined with recent news reports about counterfeit money flowing into San Francisco, brings Piper close to panic. Finally, she confesses to Moose, and then to her father (the warden), that she has been enriching herself by leaving money in her dirty laundry, which comes back doubled each time. The laundry cons, she now realizes, have been using her to circulate counterfeit bills. A week later, the task force investigating the fire in the Flanagans’ apartment concludes that Donny is guilty of the arson; Moose and his friends also suspect Donny of smuggling the counterfeit money into Alcatraz in his laundry bag, at the behest of Count Lustig.

Moose finally deciphers Al Capone’s message about a “State problem” just in time to save his father’s life when a convict named Indiana attacks him with the stolen knife. However, his father is critically injured and must be taken to a hospital in the city. A few days later, Moose coaches Natalie, who wants to visit their father, on how to pass as “normal” to get past the reception desk; in doing this, he goes against the wishes of his mother, who wants to keep Natalie out of the public eye because of widespread misapprehensions about developmental disabilities. However, Natalie, under Moose’s guidance, successfully hides her condition from the receptionist and is allowed into the building, forcing her mother to recognize her budding independence.

Eleven days later, Cam returns home, a bit shaky on his feet but determined to continue his service as Alcatraz’s associate warden. He commends Moose on all he has done for the family, including helping Natalie become more independent. Meanwhile, Darby Trixle’s seven-year-old daughter, Janet, tells Moose that her imaginary “pixie” friends know something about the fire. Her father, she hints, paid Sonny Caconi to burn down the Flanagans’ apartment, presumably to drive them from the island so Darby could have Cam’s job. Moose tells his father, who seems skeptical but says he will notify the warden. Soon afterward, Moose and Natalie run into Donny Caconi, who is out on bail for arson. Donny, intrigued by Natalie’s card-counting abilities, tries to tempt her into running a scam with him. However, she looks him straight in the eye and says, “Alcatraz three hundred and seventeen”: the number of Alcatraz’s next prisoner, presumably himself (204). Moose observes that when it comes to numbers, Natalie never errs.

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Al Capone Does My Homework Summary & Study Guide

Al Capone Does My Homework by Gennifer Choldenko

(approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page)

Al Capone Does My Homework Summary & Study Guide Description

The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Homework. Puffin Books, August 20, 2013.

Life is tough for thirteen-year-old Moose Flanagan, the narrator of the novel Al Capone Does My Homework by Gennifer Choldenko. He has to watch out for his older sister Natalie, make sure his father does not get hurt at his prison job, and try to keep his friends out of trouble. It is only after he feels he has allowed his world to spin totally out of control that he begins to learn that he is not expected to be responsible for everything that happens.

On his father’s first day as associate warden at Alcatraz prison, Moose sees one of the inmates spit on him. He learns from Piper, the warden’s daughter, that the inmates have a game where they get points for doing things like spitting on a warden. The inmate with the most points gets bragging rights. Moose fears for his father’s safety and believes he is responsible for keeping him from getting hurt. Moose’s responsibilities do not end with his father. He also feels that it is his responsibility to keep his sister Nat, who is a bit unusual, out of trouble.

That night, when his parents are out celebrating the new job, Moose wakes to discover his apartment is on fire. He and his sister are able to get out safely, but Moose blames himself for the near tragedy because he went to sleep while he was supposed to be babysitting. To make matters worse, neighbors in the apartment building openly blame Nat for setting the fire.

In order to ease his own sense of guilt and prove Nat was not responsible, Moose and his group of friends begin investigating the fire. They do not prove who set the fire, but they do notice several other strange occurrences around the island that houses the prison. One man cheats at a friendly poker game. The children have heard he owes money to loan sharks. They see an inmate place a note for someone on the outside but are not able to understand the meaning of that note. Piper, one of the girls in their group, suddenly has money she uses to buy gifts and pay others to do errands for her.

After eavesdropping as the associate warden and guards interview prisoner Al Capone about the fire in Moose’s apartment, Piper tells Moose and friend Annie where she has been getting her money. She had read in a newspaper that stores in San Francisco reported having items bought with counterfeit cash. Piper had shopped in all of those stores with money that she had found in her clothes after they came back from the prison laundry. She claimed not to think anything strange about what was happening, but Moose told her she had to tell her father what she had been doing. The information led the warden to discover inmates were getting counterfeit money from someone on the outside and funneling it through Piper.

Meanwhile, Moose’s father is seriously injured when an inmate steals a butcher knife from the kitchen and stabs him. Moose is overcome with guilt because he saw what was about to happen but was so frightened he was unable to scream and warn his father. He did throw a baseball that hit the inmate and, perhaps, kept his father from getting killed. Moose's friends help him to understand that he did the best he could to look out after his father, but that he was not able to control the actions of the inmates.

Afraid for her father, Nat wants to go to the hospital. Since the fire in the apartment, Moose’s mother had wanted to keep Nat’s strange behavior out of the spotlight as much as possible. Because Moose is not old enough, he cannot go into the hospital with Nat. She must go inside alone and ask the desk nurse for their father’s room number. Moose tells Nat that she will have to make eye contact with the nurse while she talks to her. At this point in Nat's life, all attempts to help her make eye contact have ended in frustration and failure. Moose is afraid his sister will not be able to hold herself together to talk to the nurse, but she does. Moose, as well as his mother and father, are impressed with what Nat achieved when given the task.

The investigation into the fire uncovers that the apartment caught fire because Donny, a man who lived nearby, set fire to it. Nat had nothing to do with it. When Moose tells his father he feels bad because he went to sleep the night of the fire, his father says that they never expected him to sit up all night with Nat. He adds that Moose should not feel responsible for everything that happens around him, especially the behavior of other people.

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Double Homework

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Double Homework

Daughter for Dessert

Shale Hill Secrets

Description

A story about a guy undergoing a very tough time in his life, due to an incident that literally changed him forever. Fortunately, he lives together with two girls, and he focuses on trying to break the bad cycle he has fallen into. [From official blog ]

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Protagonist


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is his niece.

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PDF The Homework Machine
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"The Homework Machine " Character Analysis
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What is another term for the main character in a story?
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The Homework Machine (Literature)
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Al Capone Does My Homework Summary
Al Capone Does My Homework, Gennifer Choldenko's 2013 novel about a boy living on Alcatraz Island with his family, is the third book in Choldenko's young adult series, Tales from Alcatraz, which follows the adventures of Moose Murphy and his teenage sister, Natalie.The series combines 1930s history with elements of humor, mystery, and suspense while exploring issues of morality, sociology ...
Al Capone Does My Homework Summary & Study Guide
Life is tough for thirteen-year-old Moose Flanagan, the narrator of the novel Al Capone Does My Homework by Gennifer Choldenko. He has to watch out for his older sister Natalie, make sure his father does not get hurt at his prison job, and try to keep his friends out of trouble. It is only after he feels he has allowed his world to spin totally ...
Double Homework
Characters 137495 > Traits 3246. Report an issue on this page. Double Homework. ... Violence: Tame Show me anyway. x Suggestive / Tame (15) Title: Double Homework: Play time: Medium (16h 30m from 1 votes) Developer: Love-Joint: Publishers: Love-Joint: Relations: Same series. Daughter for Dessert. Shale Hill Secrets ... Main characters. Safe ...
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Al Capone Does My Homework Summary & Study Guide

Al Capone Does My Homework Summary & Study Guide Description

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