VN Ren'Py Our Red String [Ch.13.2 Full] [Eva Kiss]

[dundun]

The painting looks closest to Alison or Minerva, but far from close enough to be certain about it, so it might as well be a young Molly—or someone completely random.

Yes, when the game consists of images itself it's easy to overlook that a picture within the game is different from its normal images. It can be decades old so people can look very different. All we can see is a woman with long brownish hair. Yes, Alison looks closest to that now, but in the past? So it can be literally anyone. Hell, it could be Ivy or does anyone think that is her natural haircolor?

But I think Cindy and Wade had a picture of them on the nightstand, so it seems more likely that Eva would place a picture of one of the characters there than just a random portrait.

Yes, a photograph of both of them together. Very normal. But who has a painting themself or their children on the wall?

Eva said earlier that she considered dropping the path with Lena and Ed, and instead add it after the game was completed. Considering that’s several chapters ago, I assume she went for that plan—at least at some point. But it also seems like she stopped stressing that much about getting updates out at a certain interval, and instead take the time necessary. With that change it also makes more sense to pick up Ed’s path, I guess.

Also it would be a good point to pick it up with the restrictions Seymour’s placed on her modelling career, even though posing for Ed obviously isn’t gonna make her rich. A sex scene between the two seems very premature—but a innocent nude drawing session … that still ends up adding some weird sexual tension between them: more plausible.

She said it was on backburner for now but not yet decided. And that was not chapters ago, it was last year after chapter 9. It just seems that long
And yes, the problems she is having make it more likely that he'll get canned. That's actually the strongest argument against this being Ed's livingroom. On the other hand his scenes should be very linear to write as there are no interferences with other paths. So maybe she is going for an easy win.

As for sex, I doubt that is still in the picture. In the early chapters she could use her body to get some hours off and he would then walk into her changing clothes and posting on her peoplegram. That has been completely gone from the game. The storyline has only continued once, him drawing when she was posing in the cafe but that has been completey asexual. But I guess I have whined enough about that already

 

[dontcarewhateverno]

Seems like a psychiatrist office. Ian's Dad, Dr Jordan Peterson. I don't see any reason to show Ian's parents' home though, or a psychiatrist's office out of the blue. Seems too clinical and not lived-in enough for Ed/Molly. My guess is Holly's parents home. I don't see Holly, even in the more corrupted path so far, inviting anyone over to bang in her room at her parents' house (though she might be convinced once MC is there), so the living room would make more sense. The pen, quill and candle painting has a potential religious feel to it too. Though the art-deco poop painting contradicts it and is something I wouldn't expect from her parents, so who knows? Contenders imo are her parent's house, Minerva's, or Allison's parents. I don't see much reason to visit Minerva though & assume Allison would spend way more time in the bedroom with her feet in the air.

 

[Doppelgang]

She said it was on backburner for now but not yet decided. And that was not chapters ago, it was last year after chapter 9. It just seems that long

Ah, you’re right. The remake was also a missed opportunity to add some content with him, I think that’s why I imagined it was longer ago. And why I’d concluded that she’d decided to skip it for now.

And yes, the problems she is having make it more likely that he'll get canned. That's actually the strongest argument against this being Ed's livingroom.

I actually meant the other way around. That Eva seems to stress slightly less about the release schedule, as an argument that she might add Ed content. I think it was chapter 8 she seemed a bit dissatisfied with, and I got the impression she had compromised too much on the quality to get it out within the usual schedule.

She’s still stressing to get updates finished, but it seems to me she’s accepted that it takes the time it takes, which in turn removes some of the motive to save time by skipping Ed’s content.

But you’re right that the complexity issues could also be an argument for the opposite.

As for sex, I doubt that is still in the picture. In the early chapters she could use her body to get some hours off and he would then walk into her changing clothes and posting on her peoplegram. That has been completely gone from the game.

But wasn’t it just the Peoplegram detail that was removed? Ed can still walk in when she’s changing, I think?

I can’t really see how Eva would prioritise Ed’s living room as a background if it didn’t eventually involve some lewd stuff. From the top of my head Stan’s room is the only background I can think of without any sexual content, excluding public places. And even he has had his dick out with Lena’s nudes all over his gaming setup.

 

[dundun]

She’s still stressing to get updates finished, but it seems to me she’s accepted that it takes the time it takes, which in turn removes some of the motive to save time by skipping Ed’s content.

I don't think she 'accepted that it takes the time it takes', she seems to feel guilty about taking so long. She wanted to pause her Patreon from February onward and she wanted to release Ian's part early. Just read her post from Jan 29. Unfortunately it only has gotten worse.

But wasn’t it just the Peoplegram detail that was removed? Ed can still walk in when she’s changing, I think?

Nothing was removed. But after the first 2 chapters nothing happens any more. He walked in on her once, posted on her peoplegram once and then was a perfectly boring gentleman for the last 2 months!

I can’t really see how Eva would prioritise Ed’s living room as a background if it didn’t eventually involve some lewd stuff. From the top of my head Stan’s room is the only background I can think of without any sexual content, excluding public places. And even he has had his dick out with Lena’s nudes all over his gaming setup.

Well, yes. Maybe she had planned for a real path and had the background lying around for 2 years and now decided to finally use it?
I mean what could actually happen? He telling her for the umpteenth time how beautiful she is and then? All I can think of is Lena getting aroused by his admiration. Which is already Stan's path.
So I fear it will be a nonsexual path about an artist regaining her passion for her art. I meant his! His, of course!

 

[Mark17]

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This week I've been making progress in the writing department while working on the art simultaneously. All the major illustrations are already drawn (I'll probably add a few extra ones at the end) and I'm painting over all the colored illustrations to get them fully ready. In this chapter I've wanted to give you quite a lot of control about outfit selection, and that means that some individual illustrations have up to 11 variations, plus layered tattoos and piercings. That makes working on those images pretty cumbersome, but hopefully the result will be worth it.
I've also added 4 new music tracks to the game, and two new backgrounds for this chapter. Here's one:

I will keep focusing on finishing Lena's scenes (3 major lewd scenes remain to be done, plus the surrounding interactions). I want to finish writing the chapter as quickly as possible but I also want to include as much content as I can, giving almost every character a spot to advance the plot.
I'm going for the final push, so hopefully I can start wrapping things up soon. Again, thanks for your patience and support!

Definitely Minerva room!
Only her have ego big enough to put a young photo of herself in the wall

 

[BloodyMares]

But who has a painting themself or their children on the wall?

Maybe the parents who are very proud of their child? Especially if they have high expectations ("Look at them, they're so special!"). For some reason I think if Ian was the son his parents were proud of, they might have his picture or even painting hanging on the wall, much to his discomfort and embarrassment. From what we know, Ian has upper-middle class parents, Perry's father is a mayor, Jeremy's parents probably are not doing bad either if his best childhood friend is a kid of someone very rich. Cindy has a daddy who is probably a CEO of a firm (she works in his company). Only the status of Emma and Alison's parents is a mystery, but by real life logic I imagine it was an expensive school they all had to attend (people who are financially successful tend to take their kids' education very seriously and probably wouldn't pick a public highschool). So I imagine anyone of Ian's friends could have vain parents.

 

[Doppelgang]

I don't think she 'accepted that it takes the time it takes', she seems to feel guilty about taking so long. She wanted to pause her Patreon from February onward and she wanted to release Ian's part early. Just read her post from Jan 29. Unfortunately it only has gotten worse.

Ok, "accepted" is too strong a word. But she did take the time to do the rework, including fixing much more than she had originally planned. And from the sound of it she's also taken the time to add a lot of smaller outfit and art customizations in chapter 10, giving even more layers to every scene, adding several new characters—and stressed slightly less about the long development times in the weekly updates, even though she suggested releasing Ian's part early. So if not "accepted", then at least "reluctantly admitted that it takes longer time than hoped", and in the extension of that—and this is the speculation part— decided that she might as well add Ed's part now instead of later.

Nothing was removed. But after the first 2 chapters nothing happens any more. He walked in on her once, posted on her peoplegram once and then was a perfectly boring gentleman for the last 2 months!

Ooops, my bad. I thought the Peoplegram detail was removed in the remake, so I took your "completely gone from the game" as "removed in the remake".

Well, yes. Maybe she had planned for a real path and had the background lying around for 2 years and now decided to finally use it?

It could be. That was the case with the Axel and Seymour backgrounds, but they were also posted a long ago by the studio that made them. My impression is that the rest of the backgrounds from the later chapters were made before the episode they were added to. So while we don't know, I think it's more likely that it was made for this chapter.

I mean what could actually happen? He telling her for the umpteenth time how beautiful she is and then? All I can think of is Lena getting aroused by his admiration. Which is already Stan's path.

Yeah, I agree on this, it would be similar to Stan's part. And if she ended up posing for him to draw her in private as well, and it's how she's being desired or admired that acts as the key to kickstart the path, it would not only be similar to Stan's path, but several others.

Also I'm struggling to see Molly's part in all of this. Ed's someone Lena isn't expected to be attracted to, and someone she shouldn't let watch her undress or somehow get further involved with. So if Molly for some reason would support it, I think it takes away some of the tension. But with how sweet Molly is and how gentleman-like Ed is most of the time, I can't really see Lena and Ed starting something behind Molly's back either. Though Eva must have had some idea of how to do it from the beginning. It would've been easier if Ed was slightly more like GGGB Arthur, and that might also have been the original plan.

Maybe the parents who are very proud of their child? Especially if they have high expectations ("Look at them, they're so special!"). For some reason I think if Ian was the son his parents were proud of, they might have his picture or even painting hanging on the wall, much to his discomfort and embarrassment.

Yeah, I don't think it's weird to have a painting or a drawing of a loved one in ones living room. Though the one instance I can think of where there's an extra motivation for having a painting/drawing instead of a photo, would be Ed and Molly. I went back and checked it, and before and after the life drawing event both Ed and Molly talk about how he used to draw (as you probably also remember). Molly even says that his artistic side was one of the things that made her fall in love with him, and: "I remember when I was the girl you used to draw". So: An old drawing Ed made of Molly when they were young and had just gotten together, and which means a lot to them and therefore still hangs on their wall? It's guesswork, but I think it makes sense.

 

[ArcherHades46]

Gentlemen, are there any saves? Not preserved, interrupted the computer.

 

[dundun]

Maybe the parents who are very proud of their child? Especially if they have high expectations ("Look at them, they're so special!").

And why would these parents paint their child in a sleeveless dress? With her chin propped up? Sorry, to me it looks more like how an artist would paint his girlfriend/wife.

Ok, "accepted" is too strong a word. But she did take the time to do the rework, including fixing much more than she had originally planned.

But she didn't plan to. She wrote 'should not take much longer (it's already taken too long)'. The rewrite came out 2.5 months later.

And from the sound of it she's also taken the time to add a lot of smaller outfit and art customizations in chapter 10

She did the same thing when chapter 9 went into overtime so this might just be something easy to do while being stuck at writing.
My point is I can't accept this as normal. We are now looking at 9 months for chapter 10. And I think EvaKiss agreed, hence her writing 'I want to get back in that loop, I want to feel at ease to keep working on this big project'. If she has to continually force herself to labor through the writing this project is doomed.
It is good news that lately she has become more active again, her 'Weekly Status Reports' are (nearly) weekly again and apparently Lena's part is 2/3 done.

But with how sweet Molly is and how gentleman-like Ed is most of the time, I can't really see Lena and Ed starting something behind Molly's back either. Though Eva must have had some idea of how to do it from the beginning. It would've been easier if Ed was slightly more like GGGB Arthur, and that might also have been the original plan.

You mean like Lena also would never steal money behind her back
I think EvaKiss didn't have a comprehensive path for characters like Ed, Wade or Stan. Wade got changed from successfull to loser early on, Stan got the rewrite and Ed just lost all his interest in Lena after chapter 2.

 

[BloodyMares]

And why would these parents paint their child in a sleeveless dress? With her chin propped up? Sorry, to me it looks more like how an artist would paint his girlfriend/wife.

Why not? In the time of renaissance the noblemen used to hire painters to draw their loved ones or even relatives in various ways, even sensual. It's not like the dress is too open or the pose overly suggestive. Just gives an impression of a confident and classy lady. To me the image looks aristocratic, nothing more. It makes sense that it could be a young Molly in the picture, I just can't imagine the purpose for Lena's visit there if Ed's content is not to be included in the base version of the game. The background art is there to be reused multiple times after all.

 

[dundun]

Why not? In the time of renaissance the noblemen used to hire painters to draw their loved ones or even relatives in various ways, even sensual. It's not like the dress is too open or the pose overly suggestive. Just gives an impression of a confident and classy lady. To me the image looks aristocratic, nothing more. It makes sense that it could be a young Molly in the picture, I just can't imagine the purpose for Lena's visit there if Ed's content is not to be included in the base version of the game. The background art is there to be reused multiple times after all.

The renaissance was quite some time ago though
Exactly, like a lady not a child.
And that argument cuts both ways, how would Alison's (or Holly's) parents' livingroom be reused?

 

[monk_56]

ORS fans are so desperate for a scrap of content they speculate for pages over some room.

 

[damocles15]

awesome game you got here. tnx.

 

[MisterABC]

I'm just over here with a hope that we will finally see Ed content

 

[Rickster82]

Guys wanna place a bet what happens next on Eva Kiss' Patreon page? Maybe a status report?

 

[Doppelgang]

You mean like Lena also would never steal money behind her back
I think EvaKiss didn't have a comprehensive path for characters like Ed, Wade or Stan. Wade got changed from successfull to loser early on, Stan got the rewrite and Ed just lost all his interest in Lena after chapter 2.

Yes, I think Ed is one of the characters where Eva had a more vague and general idea of who he was supposed to be and how he could be used in the story.

But I also think those two other examples illustrate how most of the narrative framework was kept even with their changes. With Wade you still have to choose between being loyal to him or going behind his back with Cindy. The changes seemed to be made to make him fit his role better, similarly to Robert’s changes.

With Stan the changes were instead necessary to even get the path going, but he’s still in several ways similar as before, and like in Wade’s case there’s a third person who’s important for the dynamics between the characters: Louise. Here too you have to choose whose side to take, like before the rewrite.

In Ed’s case it’s harder to see what his role is, but I assume Eva had some general sense of the direction it was supposed to take. And also how Molly, similarly to Wade and Louise, would add some kind of conflict or moral dilemma to it. I always thought the stealing was a bit odd, but I’m guessing that was an attempt to create some friction in the relationship between the three of them. And then Eva didn't have a clear plan for the next step.

If this really is Ed and Molly's living room, I assume Eva had a breakthrough on that front. Either by coming up with an idea on how to push forward with that vague original plan—or by redefining the path by dropping the sex and finding another way to use Ed and Molly. But if she actually made a background for their living room, my money's on the former.

 

[JohnnyKiss]

ORS fans are so desperate for a scrap of content they speculate for pages over some room.

It's what happens when your game has been dead for over a year.

 

[BloodyMares]

And that argument cuts both ways, how would Alison's (or Holly's) parents' livingroom be reused?

Either of them can become Ian's proper girlfriend. Naturally, he might start visiting them. I doubt their relationship will be so sex-focused that they skip their living room every time and pretend like their parents don't exist. Eventually Ian would have to get to know them and get in contact with them frequently unless he rents his own place and Holly / Alison move with him straight away. An alternative is to always come up with an excuse for their absence.

 

[dundun]

I always thought the stealing was a bit odd, but I’m guessing that was an attempt to create some friction in the relationship between the three of them. And then Eva didn't have a clear plan for the next step.

If this really is Ed and Molly's living room, I assume Eva had a breakthrough on that front. Either by coming up with an idea on how to push forward with that vague original plan—or by redefining the path by dropping the sex and finding another way to use Ed and Molly. But if she actually made a background for their living room, my money's on the former.

It's not odd, Lena needs money especially if she loses both her jobs. It is a decision who Lena will become. It also locks Lena out from helping the cafe.
I thiink Ed/Molly and Seymour are somewhat antipodes in Lena's story. She either helps them to keep their cafe or she becomes Seymour's creature. For now she can do both but at some point she will have to choose.

Well, I'm not putting money on any of this. It could be literally anything. Maybe it's a new Robert scene (there must always be a Robert scene) and Lena finds out he is sleeping on his grandma's couch.

Either of them can become Ian's proper girlfriend. Naturally, he might start visiting them. I doubt their relationship will be so sex-focused that they skip their living room every time and pretend like their parents don't exist. Eventually Ian would have to get to know them and get in contact with them frequently unless he rents his own place and Holly / Alison move with him straight away. An alternative is to always come up with an excuse for their absence.

Okay. Let's think this through. Ian can be with Alison, Holly, Lena and Cindy. There is no reason why he would skip their living room with any of them. Therefore we will meet 4 different sets of parents in 4 different living rooms having 4 different awkward conversations? Clearly you can see the folly in that.
Meeting the parents adds nothing to the game. This is not a life sim, it is an erotic novel (and a very raunchy one ) The only reason wasting assets on them would be if they are somehow involved in the story. Which is possible, of course. We are supposed to meet several new characters after all. But then we have to ask ourselves how they are involved.

Like what if it turns out that Alison's mom is actually super hot and Ian totally falls for her and they eff like rabbits in that rocking chair Hey, maybe she is actually mystery girl that was teased twice. But we are supposed to know her
OMG! It's Jolene! Oh well, one can dream ...

 

[Samuel Hidayat]

Okay. Let's think this through. Ian can be with Alison, Holly, Lena and Cindy. There is no reason why he would skip their living room with any of them. Therefore we will meet 4 different sets of parents in 4 different living rooms having 4 different awkward conversations? Clearly you can see the folly in that.
Meeting the parents adds nothing to the game. This is not a life sim, it is an erotic novel (and a very raunchy one ) The only reason wasting assets on them would be if they are somehow involved in the story. Which is possible, of course. We are supposed to meet several new characters after all. But then we have to ask ourselves how they are involved.

Like what if it turns out that Alison's mom is actually super hot and Ian totally falls for her and they eff like rabbits in that rocking chair Hey, maybe she is actually mystery girl that was teased twice. But we are supposed to know her
OMG! It's Jolene! Oh well, one can dream ...

I can see Holly's parents getting involved considering she has beef with them, and they can be another trigger to develop Holly's character. Lena meeting Ian's parents is possible too if she's dating him.