Indeed I missed that flow, my mistake, you are correct.
No worries, in many routes some of these middle states are hard to spot, both when playing and when checking the code. But knowing EK style for years I tend to think she introduces them for something (other times is just sloppy coding that must be fixed later or loose threads that are left hanging forever, lol), if not it would be easier to keep the variable boolean and be done with it. More on that later.
This part is not true. For all practical purposes, after the v11feetcuck fork, ian_cuck = 2 IS the "Cuck path", and ian_cuck = 1 is basically nothing; it only has some inconsequential dialogue alternatives which could easily be mistaken for being on the normal path.
Well, certainly the “full cuck” (ian_cuck = 2) route has been more developed as of now, no disagreement there (btw, when I said “not exactly” I meant it, I don’t think things are
exactly as you’re painting them, but that doesn’t mean I think you’re completely wrong about your concerns, they look more than legit to me); but I wouldn’t go as far as saying “ian_cuck = 1” route is basically nothing.
First of all I think it’s too soon to tell, routes just got separated in the middle of last chapter; but nonetheless there are some differences between them already that doesn’t feel inconsequential to me:
First one in that same footjob scene when “full cuck” Ian doesn’t get to fuck Lena but “ian_cuck 1” Ian does. Before that, if ian_cuck 2 is triggered earlier, after the riding face scene ian_cuck 1 can still be proposed the threesome while ian_cuck 2 can’t (line 3465 of 11 prologue). Then in the epilogue where “full cuck” Ian is automatically locked out of full sex after Lena comes back from the club (and if teased with a handjob ian_cuck will reach 3) while ian_cuck 1 even if teased can overcome it and gets to fuck her. And lately in this prologue during Jeremy’s dialogue, where whiny cuck Ian disappears (line 6432) and his reaction will depend on having told Lena about Gillian’s nightmare or opened up to her.
Nothing stops Lena from cheating in the "ian_cuck= 1" path (or ANY ian-lena relationship path for that matter).
Nothing in the code, right, but obviously the player's choices can, and this could be important because…
At the end of the day, the choices are 1) Have Ian be aware of Lena's indiscretions, while Ian acts like a sexless doormat, 2) Have Ian be unaware, and he acts normal.
That summary of the available choices seems a bit fixated on a Lena that’s already cheating on Ian, but I have to reiterate that this is not a precondition of the route, Lena can be not cheating at all.
So, humor me for a moment and consider this scenario: Lena isn’t cheating at all, Ian is still getting a lot of great sex from her but remembering his experience with Gillian is a little shaken and has began to have some “disturbing” thoughts he has shared with Lena, which in turn enjoys teasing him now and then without a special cruelty or hidden agenda to cover her (in this route) non-existing escapades…
Well, that path is completely doable in the ian_cuck 1 route and one could almost say it looks like a promising starting point for some of the possibilities you mentioned before: the “happy cuck” who enjoys Lena telling him about past or hypothetically future deeds, or even a sharing route (remember the threesome is still on the table) with Ian’s consent.
Will this be developed that way? Who the fuck knows, lol. But I for one am happy with the possibility still being there, because I also think it will be a pity all the route defaults to (only) another Sad Humiliated Eric like in GGGB. We’ll see.
