Ashe roleplaying as "Guppie" is seriously one of the hottest things ever. Sometimes you get numb to incest taboo because a game will make it too normal I guess? but having Ashe roleplay as her really makes you stop and think "wow this is simultaneously incredibly fucked up and incredibly hot".
While Nikki is still one of my favorite characters and "friends to lovers" is probably my favorite trope the longer the game goes on the more I feel like Nikki isn't right for the MC. He's already recognized that being her friend isn't the torment it used to be and while they do seem to really love each other like Nikki says it's not clear if its as friends or lovers and their chemistry seems more like two deeply lonely people holding onto each other. I think once they both kind of heal each other they'll move back to just friends (at least in my playthrough assuming thats an option in the future!)
Ashe might be my new favorite. Smart, sexy, brings a certain levity to MC's life, has the best chemistry, and most importantly he isn't her savior (at least not directly). Sure she is grateful to him but he didn't pull her out of a dark pit and is the only source of comfort in her life the way he is to Gabby/Nikki/and soon to be Pepper/Viola so the love she has for him feels more honest where as the rest might be confused with gratitutde.
TLDR: another amazeballs updates can't wait for more.