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

[Zedire]

Ok, I agree a complete redesign of Stan would explain his missing card, too.
But why? Yes, changing his appearance is still easy, besides the sprites Stan is only in 2 pictures. Rewriting his character on the other hand would be a lot more work. It would be much easier (and more interesting) to let Stan develop into a new person. And Stan is fine right now. In the poll for favorite male NPC on patreon he scored third (of 8). We have lots of good looking guys, lots of assholes but only one 'relatable nerd outcast that a lot of us can easily identify with' (as EvaKiss put it).
The graphical redesigns until now were miniscule. Alison is barely noticeable, Wade got a bit more pouchy, but his original sprite wasn't changed and is in fact used on his card.
Also we have to consider the timeline. Stan's card already exists, it is #14 of 25. So when EvaKiss made the cards, she was still fine with Stan. She posted the first cards on Aug 19 so the cards were likely done shortly before. Stan's card should have been posted at Aug 31, after Ivy (#13) and before Axel (#15). Till then EvaKiss had posted the cards in order. So something changed in this maybe 2 weeks.
She already is way over time (she is still at best halfway done with the writing), why would she choose to redo him for this update?

Well, perhaps it's a simple as a redesign of Stan being what Eva wants? It doesn't have to make sense to us, or be the sensible thing to do if the game is behind schedule, or even be what Eva's audience wants - I myself didn't see anything wrong with Stan and was thinking it would be cool for him to have an optional transformation in game so he could be more then some voyeuristic loser. Everyone could love Stan, but it wouldn't matter at all if Eva suddenly decided she didn't like him, or some aspect of him, and felt there needed to be a change.

And those sorts of revelations can come really suddenly. Eva has probably planned most of the story and routes beforehand (because it would be crazy not to), but sometimes (actually, often) during the writing process the plan can change as you come upon new ideas, inspiration, or realize problems with the original plan, or aspects of it. Sometimes you find a character doesn't work as well as you wanted them to, or they begin to feel out of place as your plans adapt, or sometimes a character you considered unimportant suddenly finds an importance you never considered for them originally. Any one of those reasons could trigger a makeover of the character, or re-write of the character and events around them. Perhaps something like that is the case with Stan?

Books, games, etc generally go through several story drafts with extensive revision including scrapping and rewriting characters, scenes and whole story arcs before they get to the polished end product. That same process of revision would be a lot harder if you're releasing a game chapter by chapter, where revision is a luxury most can't afford (due to the save problem, having to play again from the start,etc), but what do you do if you find a problem that needs fixing because it clashes with the rest of your work - are you gonna ignore it because it would be inconvenient to fix it or make people upset, or would you fix it so that you as it's creator can feel satisfied with your work?

I mean, I could be way off, but these changes do happen a lot in writing, so maybe it is something along those lines.

 

[thedude]

Lena is kinda like Ashley. Eva wrote her with a clear corruption path in mind. Based on player's reactions she added Dave as a boyfriend option, a completely different Eric and the redemption of Jack, giving nice wholesome options for Ash after a bunch of dirty routes included from the beggining. I feel the same may happen to Lena.

Currently, I'm only invested on Ian and I don't really care about what's happening with Lena because of how she is written.

I'll admit I'm curious about Axel. It may be tiring if he ends up being a Jack 2.0, but I believe he'll also have a redemption path, not just a "turn Lena into his sex slave" path. He is being used by Seymour for whatever the latter has planned for Lena. Axel doesn't seem to be the kind of guy that would share her, so, at the end, he may not be happy with it. Although not completely honest, I really believe he was partially being sincere when apologizing to her. He needs someone, besides Lena, to say to his face that the shit he did with her and Cherry was not okay - Ivy won't do it, because she needs to stay on his good graces to get into Wildcats; maybe Ian will play this role if they really become friends down the road.

 

[dogedoge]

Sure and it could be. But that is speculation upon speculation at this point. There have been zero hints or foreshadowing in the game so far that would lead anyone to that conclusion and most good writers would leave at least a puzzle-piece hint to prepare us mentally for what's coming as that piece clicks into place. It's not nearly as out-there as the great spaghetti monster in the sky that created the universe, but it is random at this point based on what we know so far.

It hasn't been hinted at, but it's a perfectly plausible scenario.
In my opinion, it would be interesting if Seymour's actions were motivated by personal revenge. I'm tired of seeing the same generic tropes over and over again. I would be rather disappointed if Seymour turned out to be the typical sleazy, rich old man who corrupts Lena, to the point where she becomes a brainless cumdump, just because she's a strong, smart and beautiful young woman.

 

[dundun]

Well, perhaps it's a simple as a redesign of Stan being what Eva wants?

Then why not tell us? A redesign, or even a rewrite, is not a spoiler. She has already shown us the changes for Alison, and also Wade's new look back then when he grew a belly. Not to mention the whole weeks long 'Ian's new wardrobe' drama. So why not Stan? At least my theory accounts for that.
But I guess, it is futile to try to make sense of the universe. In a month or so we'll find out

 

[godoff95]

Maybe he'll go from Nerd Stan to Chad Stan.

 

[Varrilete]

played again the game, cuz i allways play alpha versions. And i wanted to see whats new. I saw the Axel Ian going to the bar like friends, and talking about girls.. i like that friendship (and fits the way Ian is in my game, a future MMA champion that hits first and ask questions later.)
I have a question too, idk if i did something wrong. but i cant get the minerva fucking scene... i choose to give the old man the book.

 

[TamaMountain]

I have a question too, idk if i did something wrong. but i cant get the minerva fucking scene... i choose to give the old man the book.

It's been a while but I think you need to do the book switcheroo with Holly to be able to fk Minerva. I believe that makes Minerva fire Ian and when she does that you get the chance to turn the tables on her.

I might be wrong though. It's good that you're asking this since I have forgotten myself .

 

[lipe2410]

played again the game, cuz i allways play alpha versions. And i wanted to see whats new. I saw the Axel Ian going to the bar like friends, and talking about girls.. i like that friendship (and fits the way Ian is in my game, a future MMA champion that hits first and ask questions later.)
I have a question too, idk if i did something wrong. but i cant get the minerva fucking scene... i choose to give the old man the book.

If i remember, for Minerva you have low your points with her to trigger the scene. You can do that choosing switching review with Holly or making a honest review when Minerva gives you another shit book to review. This plus showed up when Seymour is

 

[Zedire]

Then why not tell us? A redesign, or even a rewrite, is not a spoiler. She has already shown us the changes for Alison, and also Wade's new look back then when he grew a belly. Not to mention the whole weeks long 'Ian's new wardrobe' drama. So why not Stan? At least my theory accounts for that.
But I guess, it is futile to try to make sense of the universe. In a month or so we'll find out

Well if it was a redesign or rewrite of Stan, including his existing content that would require us to start the game over cos current saves won't work anymore, maybe she's not saying anything now because it's easier to say it when she has something to show versus when we're waiting, which would be an extra burden on top? It's easier to tell people they'll have to start again if they have the promise of lots of sexy new scenes (from the new chapter) at the same time.
But yeah, I'll shut up about that for now - I'm probably way off as it is! But damn if it's not hard to speculate with every teensy bit of new info we're fed. For me, anyway.

 

[John Doe Jr.]

Imo, an entire redesign would be wholly unneccessary and I'm not entirely convinced that's what Eva is doing. My simple reason for this is that if you wanted Stan to go in a different direction then it would be better and less time consuming to implement the player decisions in this chapter to move Stan in that new direction.

 

[dontcarewhateverno]

It hasn't been hinted at, but it's a perfectly plausible scenario.
In my opinion, it would be interesting if Seymour's actions were motivated by personal revenge. I'm tired of seeing the same generic tropes over and over again. I would be rather disappointed if Seymour turned out to be the typical sleazy, rich old man who corrupts Lena, to the point where she becomes a brainless cumdump, just because she's a strong, smart and beautiful young woman.

Not saying it couldn't work or that it doesn't fit perfectly. Just saying it's a wild guess with no hints at this point. Though revenge doesn't always need to be targeted so close to the offender. People, especially the most twisted ones, misplace vengeance/spite/bitterness all the time. A deep-seeded need for some sort of vengeance or point to prove was reflected in my original post as well. I just don't think it needs to be quite as direct as to be pointed at the family of the offender, but of a certain type. I'd be perfectly fine with it if Lena's mom happened to be the origin of his spite and need for dominance over her though.

 

[dontcarewhateverno]

Sorry for asking but what is femdom?

It's what you ask for in your personal ads and bar pick-ups when you're looking for a sweet, passive girl that reflects all things feminine. Those frilly girly-girls who follow everything in "the dominion of femininity", if you will. They usually like the masculine Adonis type, so ask her if she's pegged you as that. Or just ask her to "peg" you. If she's the kind of girl you're looking for, she'll know what you mean.

 

[GrigoriRasputin]

The conclusion I immediately came to, when Stan's card was omitted, is that there is going to be some type of plot twist or character development in this coming chapter involving him. The card hasn't been released because the stats won't make sense without the added context of this future event.

Just a guess, but I feel confident about it. So I'll be looking to see if anything interesting happens with Stan's storyline once the next version drops.

 

[dontcarewhateverno]

I'll admit I'm curious about Axel. It may be tiring if he ends up being a Jack 2.0, but I believe he'll also have a redemption path, not just a "turn Lena into his sex slave" path. He is being used by Seymour for whatever the latter has planned for Lena. Axel doesn't seem to be the kind of guy that would share her, so, at the end, he may not be happy with it. Although not completely honest, I really believe he was partially being sincere when apologizing to her. He needs someone, besides Lena, to say to his face that the shit he did with her and Cherry was not okay - Ivy won't do it, because she needs to stay on his good graces to get into Wildcats; maybe Ian will play this role if they really become friends down the road.

Other than being a frat/club-bro douche fuckboy, Jack seemed to have a lot more heart than Axel does, even from the beginning. In a lot of ways they're very different characters, where Axel seems to have this humorless, elitist vibe that Jack never really showed.

 

[John Doe Jr.]

Other than being a frat/club-bro douche fuckboy, Jack seemed to have a lot more heart than Axel does, even from the beginning. In a lot of ways they're very different characters, where Axel seems to have this humorless, elitist vibe that Jack never really showed.

I see where you're coming from, but when he meets with Ian (someone an elitist would probably see as a peasant) he was very friendly with him and then during the photoshoots with Cindy he was cordial with Ian. Idk, I wouldn't think a pure elitist would do that with someone in a lower social class.

 

[KillerKlown]

since Lena has homosexual paths and Ian doesn't, there is less writing space for her male partners. I think I agree with Blandchill that the problem with Stan as he is now is that he is just a run of the mill creep: it would've been nice if instead of developing his relationship with Lena in a purely masturbatory way, he instead opened up to her and then Lena could help him become more confident and better himself.

Or give Stan the biggest cock and make him a richer than Simon, secretly. Than he goes further than Jeremy, from BBC to 'this is a gross/pathetic person, but I get the best possible sex and what I want out of life'

 

[KillerKlown]

I do also want to note Ian has that problem to a lesser extent: Cherry and Emma (I think, the one with the fat ass) offer nothing story wise to him.

Holly is the pure, submissive co-worker he can romance or seduce. Allison is the former flame who is secretly obsessed/deeply in love with him. One is his best friend's girl. Minerva is his boss and (should) offer what Simon does for Lena, and currently is becoming his sex toy...(maybe a Mommy Dommy in the future possibly).

 

[mannice431]

Allison is the former flame who is secretly obsessed/deeply in love with him. One is his best friend's girl. Minerva is his boss and (should) offer what Simon does for Lena, and currently is becoming his sex toy...(maybe a Mommy Dommy in the future possibly).

Is it ever implied that Alison is in love with Ian? (I haven't really replayed the previous chapters yet so i'm a bit iffy on that)

 

[LazyName]

I wouldnt be surprised if Allison has a true love route. In my opinion Alison sees Ian as the stable safe guy she always could see herself with and now that shes in a rough patch in her life she actively seeks out Ian for that sense of security. Its pretty heavily implied that between Ian and Jeremy Alisson sees Ian as the more long term and serious option but whether or not that means shes in love or otherwise isnt really explored yet.

 

[astalabistababa]

Guys, when's the next update scheduled for?