VN Ren'Py Our Red String [Ch.14.1.4 Beta] [Eva Kiss]

[Reaurt]

I read various theories here, for example that after Jeremy, Lena confirms the path of corruption and she is not interested in relationships.

Out of curiosity, I took a look at Lena's internal monologue when she turns Ian down. She says to herself:

Spoiler

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Putting aside the out-of-game explanation of Eva not wanting to make things even more complicated, from an in-game perspective, that internal monologue doesn't 100% fit my speculation about Lena not wanting to hurt Ian. Bringing Louise into it tells me that Lena's more worried about the consequences to herself, although I'm sure Ian's feelings play a role.

I also don't think her thoughts easily fit the corruption angle and not being interested in relationships, as this reaction indicates interest mixed with the fear of being caught and its consequences, instead of disinterest. I could see why people would believe this indicates a corruption path though. If there is such a path, I'd think it'd start with hooking up with Mike.

 

[Geralt From Rivia]

Out of curiosity, I took a look at Lena's internal monologue when she turns Ian down. She says to herself:

Spoiler

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Putting aside the out-of-game explanation of Eva not wanting to make things even more complicated, from an in-game perspective, that internal monologue doesn't 100% fit my speculation about Lena not wanting to hurt Ian. Bringing Louise into it tells me that Lena's more worried about the consequences to herself, although I'm sure Ian's feelings play a role.

I also don't think her thoughts easily fit the corruption angle and not being interested in relationships, as this reaction indicates interest mixed with the fear of being caught and its consequences, instead of disinterest. I could see why people would believe this indicates a corruption path though. If there is such a path, I'd think it'd start with hooking up with Mike.

From a moral point of view, such writing makes Lena very hypocritical, because she fucks with her friend's boyfriend, but at the same time she worries about her relationship with Ian. You're right, it's also selfish, she's thinking to herself.
The game could use another morality system, something like Paragon-Renegade, to show the personal qualities of the character, those indicators that we have are not enough. Or a system that would indicate the current psychological profile of the player. Now we are guessing the behavior of our MCs by internal dialogues, but this opens up scope for discussions.

 

[StultusAnglicus]

The game could use another morality system, something like Paragon-Renegade, to show the personal qualities of the character

So long as content doesnt start getting gated, forcing you to go all Paragon/Chick/Lightside or all Renegade/Dik/Darkside.

 

[Blurpee69]

So long as content doesnt start getting gated, forcing you to go all Paragon/Chick/Lightside or all Renegade/Dik/Darkside.

 

[Reaurt]

This is the only negative in this game for me. Lena's other options are absolutely terrible. I particularly loathe Robert. I absolutely hate it that he is the only one who gets decent vaginal creampie scenes too.

I'm going to say something that might be looked down on here, compared to other discussion forums, but I do think Eva Kiss really wants you to only enjoy Lena x Ian. Lena as a polyamourous slut is great for fap, but in terms of the story, it is really unfulfilling. There are so many bad consequences to Lena engaging with other men, and the mechanic with Lola's affection really makes it obvious.

I am not criticising that, I just wish that she'd maybe separated from GGGB a little bit more by having a little less branching and going all in on the romance of two broken hearts coming together. Especially so when Lena's choices are being a cheating whore (despite her own heartbreak) with Mike, a creep (Robert, not Stan), getting back with a manipulative psychopath, or a weird hat tip "milady" motherfucker.

Ian has Holly and Cherry - and despite the fact that I don't like them, Alison and Cindy's relationships with Ian are really nice and develop in a way that is really fulfilling. Lena has none of that possibility.

I dunno, I might be talking shit, I just feel like the developer wants to focus on the romance aspect (and I agree with that stance, I think ORS would be even better if it had some focus here) but feels she has to cater to a certain level of polyamourous perversity because of expectations coming from the audience because of her previous work.

Maybe I am just hung up because a "good" Lena is such a compelling and beautiful character, and unlike Ian, who is still likeable when fucking around, Lena kind of has to lose all respect for herself to do the same, and becomes a character I neither like or respect in turn.

I do like "good" Lena, she's pretty cool. The only path(s) I've played around with that sorta work for an ethical slut route from my perspective (besides the lesbian options) are:

Spoiler

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Not a lot of options! And even those are in a moral grey area. I'd hope maybe there will be some options later with an open relationship with Ian, but an open relationship requires at least hooking up with Robert or Mike, I think. Alternatively, Ian might fuck up with his cheating (if you're playing him that way), and free Lena up to have fun in later chapters.

 

[BloodyMares]

Thanks for the explanation, unfortunately I don't have time now to read the whole thread.
Btw, I have a question. How does Eva explain that Lena is refusing a serious relationship with Ian if she fully scored with Jeremy?

While I don't know if Eva gave an official answer (Q&A) and I didn't personally ask but my interpretation is Lena by sleeping with him gets sort of addicted and doesn't want to commit knowing that she will be cheating on Ian with his close friend. Sleeping with Jeremy does the same thing to Ian and Jeremy's friendship that Ian did to Lena if he got kissed by Holly. Neither Ian nor Lena enter the relationship with the intention to keep fucking around or cheat on each other (Cindy and Axel kinda happened after the fact) so they're not that morally corrupt. Whenever Lena does something contradicting her morality (cheating bad), she does that in the heat of the moment, spontaneously. So when she decides to have the talk with Ian, she's making the right decision to avoid drama and keep things casual. Otherwise she'd have to end it with Jeremy but apparently she just can't bring herself to do it.

Or, if we imagine ORS having Good and Bad points, Lena wouldn't have enough Good points to commit to Ian.

 

[ffive]

I'm going to say something that might be looked down on here, compared to other discussion forums, but I do think Eva Kiss really wants you to only enjoy Lena x Ian.

I think at the very least Eva might also intend for Lena/Mike to be "enjoyable" given how it can develop in what appears to be a full relationship with feels and everything, rather than simple hookup with cheating thrill. If nothing else, it seems rather obvious Eva has a soft spot for Mike as character.

 

[Geralt From Rivia]

So long as content doesnt start getting gated, forcing you to go all Paragon/Chick/Lightside or all Renegade/Dik/Darkside.

Even now, the game has blocked content if one of perks is missing, as well as mutually exclusive brunches. It's okay, adds replay value.

While I don't know if Eva gave an official answer (Q&A) and I didn't personally ask but my interpretation is Lena by sleeping with him gets sort of addicted and doesn't want to commit knowing that she will be cheating on Ian with his close friend. Sleeping with Jeremy does the same thing to Ian and Jeremy's friendship that Ian did to Lena if he got kissed by Holly. Neither Ian nor Lena enter the relationship with the intention to keep fucking around or cheat on each other (Cindy and Axel kinda happened after the fact) so they're not that morally corrupt. Whenever Lena does something contradicting her morality (cheating bad), she does that in the heat of the moment, spontaneously. So when she decides to have the talk with Ian, she's making the right decision to avoid drama and keep things casual. Otherwise she'd have to end it with Jeremy but apparently she just can't bring herself to do it.

Or, if we imagine ORS having Good and Bad points, Lena wouldn't have enough Good points to commit to Ian.

Good interpretation. By the way, I noticed that Lena is by nature an impulsive person and can act on emotions, unlike the more calm basic Ian.

 

[dontcarewhateverno]

Out of curiosity, I took a look at Lena's internal monologue when she turns Ian down. She says to herself:

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

Putting aside the out-of-game explanation of Eva not wanting to make things even more complicated, from an in-game perspective, that internal monologue doesn't 100% fit my speculation about Lena not wanting to hurt Ian. Bringing Louise into it tells me that Lena's more worried about the consequences to herself, although I'm sure Ian's feelings play a role.

I also don't think her thoughts easily fit the corruption angle and not being interested in relationships, as this reaction indicates interest mixed with the fear of being caught and its consequences, instead of disinterest. I could see why people would believe this indicates a corruption path though. If there is such a path, I'd think it'd start with hooking up with Mike.

Lena's internal monologue there also reads to me as a convenient but implausible/awkward cop-out to avoid those out-of-game writing and design complications of a Lena/Jeremy cheating path. I find it hard to separate the two and in a perfect world with better development re$ource$, planning or writing skill, I don't think we'd see that monologue or path lock-out happen in such a way. In reality this is still a low-budget indie porn-game, albeit a very good one considering the competition. There are just too many moving parts for it to be perfect. I'm not expecting many clever masterstrokes in Eva's writing for these awkward situations where quality faces off against development realities. I'd be content with a few more "master strokes" which the game's provided pretty well so far.

 

[SerHawkes]

Personally I feel like Lena is the most hypocritical in terms of her writing and how she is. I mean the fact that Eva has he cop out excuses to justify her actions or choices, not to mention the whole Ian-Holly debacle, where Ian does get kissed by Holly, she's livid and holds it against Ian for some time... BUT it's totally okay for her to make kissy faces with Louise and Ivy and whoever else that she might be seeing potentially.

Like I've said before, and I will say it again: There is alot of inconsistency when it comes to theses characters that needs to be handled and mended sooner rather than later.

 

[mommysboiii]

Like I've said before, and I will say it again: There is alot of inconsistency when it comes to theses characters that needs to be handled and mended sooner rather than later.

BREAKING NEWS

“After SerHawkes request I delete every male cheracter out of the game, make Ians dick 2 times the seiz, every women likes to share Ian, and Ivy will be a virgin again that magicly playes twister on Ians dick ” by evakiss

 

[ffive]

not to mention the whole Ian-Holly debacle, where Ian does get kissed by Holly, she's livid and holds it against Ian for some time... BUT it's totally okay for her to make kissy faces with Louise and Ivy and whoever else that she might be seeing potentially.

I don't think Lena is being inconsistent -- her whole reluctance with Holly comes simply from her knowing that Holly has feelings for Ian, so she wants Ian either to commit to Holly or refrain from leading her on, in order not to hurt her. Lena making out with Louise or Ivy isn't going to bother Holly who doesn't have any known feelings for either of these two.

 

[Defenestrator.for.traitor]

BREAKING NEWS

“After SerHawkes request I delete every male cheracter out of the game, make Ians dick 2 times the seiz, every women likes to share Ian, and Ivy will be a virgin again that magicly playes twister on Ians dick ” by evakiss

 

[SerHawkes]

I don't think Lena is being inconsistent -- her whole reluctance with Holly comes simply from her knowing that Holly has feelings for Ian, so she wants Ian either to commit to Holly or refrain from leading her on, in order not to hurt her. Lena making out with Louise or Ivy isn't going to bother Holly who doesn't have any known feelings for either of these two.

Yet at the same time, she can be also pursuing Holly as well. Let alone both Ian and Lena can be interested in Holly at the same time. Your not wrong in saying what you said. Yet to me, it adds more unneeded drama and complex things when it doesn't need to be fucking rocket science.

I made the suggestion ages ago, dismissed naturally by Maresy and others, that the whole Ian-Holly-Lena thing should be handled differently. Like for Ian, if he is into both of them, yet hasn't slept with Lena at the time (A hard choice I know), for him to admit his feelings to Holly yet mention he is interested in Lena as well, and of course Lena confess to Holly after the trip, that she is into Holly and Ian as well.

How is what I suggested entirely unphathomable? Just get their feelings out in the open and go from there. There isn't need for this pussyfooting around with maybes and longing for each other. Every thing can get sorted out once all the feeling are laid bare. But instead, we have Lena, if she is with Ian, still have the option to show interest in Holly and go about this 'Oh what would Ian say... I have feelings for Holly but I can't act on them...' For fuck sake... Just talk to Ian, tell him about them, then talk to Holly and go from there.

 

[ffive]

Yet at the same time, she can be also pursuing Holly as well.

Well, i'd say it is more along the lines she's being attracted to Holly, but she keeps reminding herself Holly likes Ian and so she keeps holding back -- like ending the photo-session early while she's willing to go all way with Holly if Ian isn't in the picture.

If you feel that the whole Lena getting oh so cautious about Holly feelings is frustrating then i'll quite agree, it definitely can be. On the other hand, it makes for one of these slow burn things so... ehh, i guess there'd be both fans and people who'd rather have things work different no matter which approach Eva went for.

(talking things out would definitely help to resolve matters, but then soap operas are absolutely allergic to any sort of clear communication, so this is sadly by the book)

 

[SerHawkes]

...one of these slow burn things so...

No kidding. Ivy is one of those. More so than Ian-Holly-Lena.

But I digress. Agree with the lack of communication, as we also see with Louise and Jeremy, not to mention Wade and Cinders... If for drama purposes, eh... it 'works' but I'd give it a 5/10 for effort. Some drama is fine and all but do we need it with every character or possible relationship? No not really. It just saturates with possible pointless drama that don't add to the story other than for a placeholder for drama.

 

[IkarusWestwood]

When I looked at this image I remembered the shit Lena has to read on her Stalkfap so I had to do this haha

 

[SerHawkes]

View attachment 2691132

When I looked at this image I remembered the shit Lena has to read on her Stalkfap so I had to do this haha

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Gonna wager that was Stan's comment. Jokes on him, he's getting cucked already.

 

[pavlogrk]

has anyone tried to ruin ivy's and lena's friendship?

 

[JoeSte91]

View attachment 2691132

When I looked at this image I remembered the shit Lena has to read on her Stalkfap so I had to do this haha

View attachment 2691138

This should be a mod hahaha