VN Ren'Py Our Red String [Ch. 12 Full] [Eva Kiss]

[RaucousRanger]

Love this game.

I'm juggling a lot of runs right now based on what pairs and characters I'm interested in and agonizing over what save files to make and meanwhile making multiple copies! (btw while typing this post i just noticed the alpha new update. good timing.)

Ian/Lena/Holly:
my OTP. I get dopamine hits from seeing the three of them in the cafe. but to actually get this scenario... Does Ian need to be merely 'dating' Lena, or madly in love with her? What choices involving Holly opening up in various ways affect this? Do Ian and Lena need to be bigdick successful artists? Is poly even an end-game option??? It seems like it would be, as Holly is the character both Ian and Lena are interested in, like a knot tying the red string... but you never know...

Ian/Holly, Lena/Holly:
also good. sweeter than i ever thought i'd find from a game I downloaded for porn. Think I prefer Ian/Holly more because Lena/Holly give 'gal pal' vibes sometimes but at the same time I liked a lot of their scenes in a romantic light too. I'm currently remaking a file with no Ian/Lena so I can do a guilt-free Ian/Holly and copy that for a guilt-free Lena/Holly.

Ian/Lena:
Eh.... probably like them as friends more. So far they're both sweet and mostly reasonable adults to each other and can easily be romantic with each other with the only complication being my chaotic hand of god forcing them away from each other by making them horny. No really, once these two went on a date early in my games, i just can't break them up lol. I put off sex repeatedly but then they did it automatically. I can only go far back and make Ian not ask her out to the music store.

Lena/Axel+Seymour:
Obviously very suspicious, but their scenes are surprisingly sexy despite them being a capitalist and a manipulative psycho-chad, but there's a slowly growing taboo being broken that will lead to good drama. Also it'll make me able to have runs where Lena makes money without StalkFap (literally called 'Stalk'fap there's no way I'm touching that on my first runs,) or god forbid, the restaurant with Robert. How this would effect my OTP remains to be seen. My hope is like, a path to go back to a normal life and a path to being a model-sugarbaby-submissive.

Ian/Cindy:
Alluring. If Lena and Seymour is my ideal 'corruptive' path for her, than Ian and Cindy is my ideal 'corruptive' path for him. Cindy just has that 'spark' that makes scenes between them very appealing like playing pool or seeing her photoshoot. Her being high-maintenance doesn't really annoy me. For the most part she just doesn't want to be stuck in a rut with her friends that are really Wade's friends. Heh, playing the bad guy is oddly funny whilst my Ian is a sensitive art man.

Ian/Allison:
Yeah... I played the game my blind at first having Ian pick up chicks and then I couldn't shake off Allison. She slowly became one of my least favorite characters in the game. Despite her 'thing' as an uptight office lady looking to go wild I just find her so.... boring. Much more than Ian/Lena. The true dangers of casual sex.

Ian/Minerva:
it's so wack and I can't look away

Lena/Louise:
I WOULD bc I genuinely like Louise more than some other players. she reminds me of someone with borderline personality disorder... but it just seemed too awkward and sudden after the Jeremy situation. And I learned when my main characters have sex with their friend you're not gonna shake them off for a while. I'll at least see what her scenes are like.

Sadly a lot of Lena ""love"" interests I'm not into and would never pick. No married baker man, no Stan, no casual Ivy hookup, no white bread Robert, no goddamn Jeremy(kinda uncomfortable with the bbc trope. I can't hate him for being a cheater while my characters are doing cheating paths lol.) Nor would I ever go for Emma as Ian. I want Perry to get his shot and grow up a little.

Guess my runs will be at minimum:
Attempted Ian/Lena/Holly
Attempted Ian/Lena/Holly + Lena w/ Team Seymour (this also happens to be my blind playthrough)
Ian/Cindy and Lena/Holly
Ian/Cindy and Lena/Seymour
Ian/Holly and Lena/Louise

sorry for the wall of text lol

 

["CJ"]

Our Red String [v0.8 Beta] [EvaKiss] crunched

Original / Compressed Size PC: 1,35 GB / 179 MB - OurRedString-v0.8BETA-pc-crunched.zip
Original / Compressed Size Mac: 1,32 GB / 146 MB - OurRedString-v0.8BETA-mac-crunched.zip

Download (PC/Mac):

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[Tarmogo]

And again -- if this IS what's actually going on -- that's kind of ridiculous given that it's not stopping any number of potential slutty shenanigans with Mike/Robert/Jeremy/etc. Which is good and exactly how it should be, imo. It just seems weird and inconsistent that it's prohibitive here. And i definitely hope it's not a sign of things to come.

I completely agree that it seems restrictive given the opportunity for Lena to be with anyone else regardless of the ian_lena_dating variable. Currently it just locks out interaction with Holly. This really sucks for people who are playing for the IanxLenaxHolly throuple route (which I'm one of).

This was almost certainly done as a response to the discourse surrounding the café scene with Lena and Ian where she confronts him about Holly. I believe Eva's intentions with blocking the LenaxHolly scenes was so that the player couldn't scold Ian, then immediately turn around and sleep with Holly as Lena. Makes perfect sense if IanxHolly did happen and the café scene occurs. However, it does feel restrictive if IanxLena have been faithful up till this point but now the player wants to be able to have LenaxHolly happen. Especially feels off if the player has Lena flirt with Holly and choose to think about her while masturbating, but now can't engage with her when given the chance due to the ian_lena_dating variable being 'true'.

 

[BlandChili]

What a dedicated post.

Ian/Lena/Holly:
my OTP. I get dopamine hits from seeing the three of them in the cafe. but to actually get this scenario... Does Ian need to be merely 'dating' Lena, or madly in love with her? What choices involving Holly opening up in various ways affect this? Do Ian and Lena need to be bigdick successful artists? Is poly even an end-game option??? It seems like it would be, as Holly is the character both Ian and Lena are interested in, like a knot tying the red string... but you never know...

Hard to tell at this point. Eva has made comments previously that hint towards the trio outcome very possibly being an option but she also added that it would take specific choices. Before the beta change my assumption was that "kiss Holly / No Ian sex" was the way to go for that outcome, now I am not so sure.

Ian/Holly, Lena/Holly:
also good. sweeter than i ever thought i'd find from a game I downloaded for porn. Think I prefer Ian/Holly more because Lena/Holly give 'gal pal' vibes sometimes but at the same time I liked a lot of their scenes in a romantic light too. I'm currently remaking a file with no Ian/Lena so I can do a guilt-free Ian/Holly and copy that for a guilt-free Lena/Holly.

Not to diss you or anything, but be careful about your wording. "Gal pals" are a bit of a meme in the wlw community about people, who aren't women who're attracted to women, dismissing obvious romance between those that are.

Funnily, my initial otp's (going from the character roster, before getting to know the characters and story) was actually Ian/Holly and Lena/Cindy. Lena/Cindy seems far from possible at this point but Holly having a cute lil' crush on Ian from the start really destroyed my interest in their pairing.

When Holly and Lena started having scenes together my romantic senses started to tingle right away and Lena has very consistently been able to desire Holly at least.

Ian/Lena:
Eh.... probably like them as friends more. So far they're both sweet and mostly reasonable adults to each other and can easily be romantic with each other with the only complication being my chaotic hand of god forcing them away from each other by making them horny. No really, once these two went on a date early in my games, i just can't break them up lol. I put off sex repeatedly but then they did it automatically. I can only go far back and make Ian not ask her out to the music store.

I actually do like them as a couple, I just dislike the dual-protag setup alongside the red-string-concept. I think I'd have enjoyed their pairing more if I were only playing from one of their perspectives, but they also have by far the most content together.

Lena/Axel+Seymour:
Obviously very suspicious, but their scenes are surprisingly sexy despite them being a capitalist and a manipulative psycho-chad, but there's a slowly growing taboo being broken that will lead to good drama. Also it'll make me able to have runs where Lena makes money without StalkFap (literally called 'Stalk'fap there's no way I'm touching that on my first runs,) or god forbid, the restaurant with Robert. How this would effect my OTP remains to be seen. My hope is like, a path to go back to a normal life and a path to being a model-sugarbaby-submissive.

I'm actually hoping that some kind of middle-of-the-road options will be available in regards to Seymour, that it doesn't necessarily have to be about agreeing or opposing everything about him.

Ian/Cindy:
Alluring. If Lena and Seymour is my ideal 'corruptive' path for her, than Ian and Cindy is my ideal 'corruptive' path for him. Cindy just has that 'spark' that makes scenes between them very appealing like playing pool or seeing her photoshoot. Her being high-maintenance doesn't really annoy me. For the most part she just doesn't want to be stuck in a rut with her friends that are really Wade's friends. Heh, playing the bad guy is oddly funny whilst my Ian is a sensitive art man.

I think Cindy is the character that Ian has the most chemistry with actually. If there were a path where you could navigate her break-up with Wade and then go for her, they might have been my otp. I'm still curious as to where her story will lead and am still hopeful she will encounter Lena again and be swept off her feet.

Ian/Allison:
Yeah... I played the game my blind at first having Ian pick up chicks and then I couldn't shake off Allison. She slowly became one of my least favorite characters in the game. Despite her 'thing' as an uptight office lady looking to go wild I just find her so.... boring. Much more than Ian/Lena. The true dangers of casual sex.

I actually find aspects of her interesting, I actually like the raw sexual nature of how her and Ian's relationship comes across. I wouldn't mind some sexual options though, so far Alison really does seem like, and I hate having to say this, a bitch in heat. She is a tall busty goddess, I'd have loved for her to take more of a dominant role to Ian.

Lena/Louise:
I WOULD bc I genuinely like Louise more than some other players. she reminds me of someone with borderline personality disorder... but it just seemed too awkward and sudden after the Jeremy situation. And I learned when my main characters have sex with their friend you're not gonna shake them off for a while. I'll at least see what her scenes are like.

Agreed, the main thing that actually keeps me from Louise is that I feel like Lena is exploiting her. I do hope their pairing will have a more romantic option too, even though I actually love dom/sub themes.

sorry for the wall of text lol

No worries! Walls of text usually contain very little formatting, your comment was displayed well.

 

[Tarmogo]

Ian/Lena/Holly:
my OTP. I get dopamine hits from seeing the three of them in the cafe. but to actually get this scenario... Does Ian need to be merely 'dating' Lena, or madly in love with her? What choices involving Holly opening up in various ways affect this? Do Ian and Lena need to be bigdick successful artists? Is poly even an end-game option??? It seems like it would be, as Holly is the character both Ian and Lena are interested in, like a knot tying the red string... but you never know...

This is the route I'm most invested in as well, but currently the game doesn't fully support it. I'm sure it will be fleshed out in future updates since it seems to be a popular path among fans.

 

[Reasoon]

Ian/Allison:
Yeah... I played the game my blind at first having Ian pick up chicks and then I couldn't shake off Allison. She slowly became one of my least favorite characters in the game. Despite her 'thing' as an uptight office lady looking to go wild I just find her so.... boring. Much more than Ian/Lena. The true dangers of casual sex.

That's interesting because I'm kind of the opposite. After playing a Full Alison Playthrough I actually like her the most with Ian (right now) and I think she is a very good written character with flaws and depth which will hopefully be more fleshed out in future Updates.
At first I also didn't like her espescially how bitchy she behaved with all the other friends and the whole Jeremy Thing was and is still really annoying but yeah after going full IanxAlison this changed and I also think part of her "boring" Character is that you clearly can see through the Game that she is very likely in Love with Ian and I'm interested how this will play out later when Things could get more dramatic espescially when she faces Lena.

But I totally understand your Point just had to say a few words as a rare Alison Fan!

 

[ekroniuk]

My problem with Allison is that she is so desperate for Ian's attention that she's ready to do almost anything, it's almost an obsession. And continuing to having sex with her while not committing to anything (while she obviously wants a commitment from Ian) is a little exploitative and I try to avoid doing things like that in my plathrough

 

[17demon]

Who else has a mistake after Ian smokes at Perry's?

 

[ixiomatic]

Maybe Jeremy is actually average as a sexual partner? I wouldn't put past his mindset to act like he is a "god" in bed in front of his friends when he is actually nowhere near it.

Ignoring Alison's feelings for Ian, her not hooking up with Jeremy any further if Ian starts sleeping with her does make one suspect that he's the hidden "god" of the group (along with her comment about what she learnt from her conversations with Gillian), whereas Jeremy might really just be average in comparison lol.

 

[Tarmogo]

Who else has a mistake after Ian smokes at Perry's?

If you're referring to the error screen, that is an intentional part of the game. Keep choosing options and you will eventually get through it.

 

[MyUserName1234]

Ignoring Alison's feelings for Ian, her not hooking up with Jeremy any further if Ian starts sleeping with her does make one suspect that he's the hidden "god" of the group (along with her comment about what she learnt from her conversations with Gillian), whereas Jeremy might really just be average in comparison lol.

Then why did Gillian cheat on Ian?

 

[BlandChili]

Then why did Gillian cheat on Ian?

If it's because Jeremy banged her I revolt

 

[MyUserName1234]

If it's because Jeremy banged her I revolt

Damn that would be so wrong, yet… so right (with the correct choices).

 

[Tarmogo]

If it's because Jeremy banged her I revolt

That definitely would make things interesting lol.
Given how connected things have been so far, I wouldn't be surprised if whatever Seymour/Axel have going was involved in some way.

 

[Reasoon]

My problem with Allison is that she is so desperate for Ian's attention that she's ready to do almost anything, it's almost an obsession. And continuing to having sex with her while not committing to anything (while she obviously wants a commitment from Ian) is a little exploitative and I try to avoid doing things like that in my plathrough

Yeah that's definitely true and I think her Obsession with Ian is also kind of a way of covering her true Feelings for him but still be as close to him as possible at least that's what I think. But of course if you don't play full Alison in your Playthrough it really get's annoying and that's why I understand that many who play the game don't like her at all.

As I said before for me she is just a very realistic Character with flaws and hidden Feelings for Ian which she certainly can't express right now and that explains more why she is acting like this in the Game until now. For me it's very exciting to see how this goes on and I can't wait for the Moment when her Mask breaks and she HAS to act on her Feelings. That's why I like IanxAlison so much.

Ignoring Alison's feelings for Ian, her not hooking up with Jeremy any further if Ian starts sleeping with her does make one suspect that he's the hidden "god" of the group (along with her comment about what she learnt from her conversations with Gillian), whereas Jeremy might really just be average in comparison lol.

I think you are really exposing the truth of Jeremy right now! But for Alison I also think she stopped their thing because she got Ian in this scenario and this is what she was after from the beginning so she doesn't need Jeremy anymore (that's at least how I see it)

 

[Reasoon]

If it's because Jeremy banged her I revolt

Imagine if this really happened. This would only be acceptable if there will be an Option to beat the shit out of Jeremy with Ian later in the Story because this is something I wanna do already because of the Alison Story

 

[BlandChili]

Imagine if this really happened. This would only be acceptable if there will be an Option to beat the shit out of Jeremy with Ian later in the Story because this is something I wanna do already because of the Alison Story

It would also make Jeremy more of an obvious hypocrite, given his supposed bro-code while still submitting to Lena if she insists.

I think the idea behind Jeremy's character is that he's trying to be a playa while he doesn't really have the composure to be a very impressive individual.

• His hookup with Alison happens only if Ian shows no interest.
• Ivy doesn't seem that impressed by him either, I get the sense from her that it's more of a game to her. Whatever happens between him and Ivy also only happens because of Ivy's initiative.
• Even his material with Emma in ch. 8 is prompted by Ian.
• Louise, the insecure submissive goth girl, is his only claim to alpha prowess, a person that quite literally throws herself at Lena when the thing between them breaks apart.

He doesn't really have the claim to have game that he tries to project.

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

Ignoring Alison's feelings for Ian, her not hooking up with Jeremy any further if Ian starts sleeping with her does make one suspect that he's the hidden "god" of the group (along with her comment about what she learnt from her conversations with Gillian), whereas Jeremy might really just be average in comparison lol.

That would also explain how he only gets clingy Louise all over him. Ivy is the one who plays him around until she notice he is a cheater.

I think you are really exposing the truth of Jeremy right now! But for Alison I also think she stopped their thing because she got Ian in this scenario and this is what she was after from the beginning so she doesn't need Jeremy anymore (that's at least how I see it)

Jeremy is a consolation prize for Allison. As soon as Ian shows he is available she goes straight for him.

 

[ixiomatic]

Nice post (with a lot of replies so I'll cherry pick a few things)

Ian/Lena/Holly:
my OTP. I get dopamine hits from seeing the three of them in the cafe. but to actually get this scenario... Does Ian need to be merely 'dating' Lena, or madly in love with her? What choices involving Holly opening up in various ways affect this? Do Ian and Lena need to be bigdick successful artists? Is poly even an end-game option??? It seems like it would be, as Holly is the character both Ian and Lena are interested in, like a knot tying the red string... but you never know...

This does seem to be one of the most popular pairings (or groupings) based on what I am reading. Given that it's been mentioned that there are going to be 20+ chapters and we're still in the early stages, one possible entry-point might be similar to Lena x Axel x Cherry in Lena's past? Maybe Ian x Lena have to be fully committed and fully trust each other, yet want to spice things up. On the other hand, Holly has to be "changed" enough to accept being brought into a threesome.

Ian/Lena:
Eh.... probably like them as friends more. So far they're both sweet and mostly reasonable adults to each other and can easily be romantic with each other with the only complication being my chaotic hand of god forcing them away from each other by making them horny. No really, once these two went on a date early in my games, i just can't break them up lol. I put off sex repeatedly but then they did it automatically. I can only go far back and make Ian not ask her out to the music store.

Lol honestly reading the posts on this forum make me feel like the rare exception who has a strong preference for this pairing. ORS is one of the few games where my preferred route is full commitment instead of playing the field. I find their chemistry electrifying and explains their induced attraction to each other (please pardon this awful dad joke ). I do find the dual protagonist thing being the main driver for this, which helps explain their points of view on each other, especially when you focus on wits. At the same time I can understand because you control both, it can seem like... "onani-ecchi". But hey, I'm a sucker for dual protagonists with an intertwining plotline.

Picking the committed route however, the narrative in my mind comes across more as two people trying to stay true to themselves while struggling against temptation (Ian) or constant attention and attempted manipulation (Lena).

Ian/Cindy:
Alluring. If Lena and Seymour is my ideal 'corruptive' path for her, than Ian and Cindy is my ideal 'corruptive' path for him. Cindy just has that 'spark' that makes scenes between them very appealing like playing pool or seeing her photoshoot. Her being high-maintenance doesn't really annoy me. For the most part she just doesn't want to be stuck in a rut with her friends that are really Wade's friends. Heh, playing the bad guy is oddly funny whilst my Ian is a sensitive art man.

I kind of agree with BlandChili's view that there's a strong chemistry between the two, though I consider it the second strongest as Cindy comes across to me as being attracted to Ian because of his continued passion for life whereas she's someone who's trying to find that passion (and Wade is someone who has lost his, or never had it). That said, I don't really view it as the "corruptive" path, and I have my suspicions about the path.

After the birthday disaster, it does take a willpoint to stop yourself from doing anything to her, and based on the aftermath in chapter 8, you have definitely doomed their relationship by stopping yourself. This might culiminate in their break-up allowing Ian to enter? It almost seems like if you did kiss or sleep with her, all the tension has been "relieved" and now Wade and Cindy repair their relationship out of her guilt of what happened.

Ian/Allison:
Yeah... I played the game my blind at first having Ian pick up chicks and then I couldn't shake off Allison. She slowly became one of my least favorite characters in the game. Despite her 'thing' as an uptight office lady looking to go wild I just find her so.... boring. Much more than Ian/Lena. The true dangers of casual sex.

I do like Alison as a character, since her 'thing' to me is more someone who has had a thing for Ian for the longest time but does not know how to express it to him. Her relationship with Milo starts after Ian is already in a committed relationship with Gillian, and she dumps her boyfriend after Ian is no longer in a relationship. Though there's actually a continuity problem since an earlier chapter says her boyfriend breaks up with her and a later one states that she dumps him. However, if you do pursue her path, it almost seems like she's self-sabotaging by constantly emphasising that she's not looking for anything long term.

sorry for the wall of text lol

It was actually a pretty enjoyable read! It also unfortunately resulted in a wall of text reply from me so my apologies as well.

 

[MyUserName1234]

Nice post (with a lot of replies so I'll cherry pick a few things)



This does seem to be one of the most popular pairings (or groupings) based on what I am reading. Given that it's been mentioned that there are going to be 20+ chapters and we're still in the early stages, one possible entry-point might be similar to Lena x Axel x Cherry in Lena's past? Maybe Ian x Lena have to be fully committed and fully trust each other, yet want to spice things up. On the other hand, Holly has to be "changed" enough to accept being brought into a threesome.




Lol honestly reading the posts on this forum make me feel like the rare exception who has a strong preference for this pairing. ORS is one of the few games where my preferred route is full commitment instead of playing the field. I find their chemistry electrifying and explains their induced attraction to each other (please pardon this awful dad joke ). I do find the dual protagonist thing being the main driver for this, which helps explain their points of view on each other, especially when you focus on wits. At the same time I can understand because you control both, it can seem like... "onani-ecchi". But hey, I'm a sucker for dual protagonists with an intertwining plotline.

Picking the committed route however, the narrative in my mind comes across more as two people trying to stay true to themselves while struggling against temptation (Ian) or constant attention and attempted manipulation (Lena).




I kind of agree with BlandChili's view that there's a strong chemistry between the two, though I consider it the second strongest as Cindy comes across to me as being attracted to Ian because of his continued passion for life whereas she's someone who's trying to find that passion (and Wade is someone who has lost his, or never had it). That said, I don't really view it as the "corruptive" path, and I have my suspicions about the path.

After the birthday disaster, it does take a willpoint to stop yourself from doing anything to her, and based on the aftermath in chapter 8, you have definitely doomed their relationship by stopping yourself. This might culiminate in their break-up allowing Ian to enter? It almost seems like if you did kiss or sleep with her, all the tension has been "relieved" and now Wade and Cindy repair their relationship out of her guilt of what happened.




I do like Alison as a character, since her 'thing' to me is more someone who has had a thing for Ian for the longest time but does not know how to express it to him. Her relationship with Milo starts after Ian is already in a committed relationship with Gillian, and she dumps her boyfriend after Ian is no longer in a relationship. Though there's actually a continuity problem since an earlier chapter says her boyfriend breaks up with her and a later one states that she dumps him. However, if you do pursue her path, it almost seems like she's self-sabotaging by constantly emphasising that she's not looking for anything long term.



It was actually a pretty enjoyable read! It also unfortunately resulted in a wall of text reply from me so my apologies as well.

You certainly aren’t the only Ian/Lena advocate here, trust me.