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

[SearingFive]

Cherry will probably be back in ep 15 after spending time with her family.

 

[Blurpee69]

Cherry will probably be back in ep 15 after spending time with her family.

Yeah, next Ian chapter should have Cherry in it as these few days at Billy's are the last days of Cherry's vacation to her home country. She leaves the same week as the beach trip, one of the reasons she can't go to the beach house, which is August, Week 1. Although I'm not sure if she leaves on that same Saturday as Ian. Then Lena's adventure with Billy begins Wednesday August, week 3 and lasts through the weekend. Most chapters cover about a 2 week stretch so pretty much no matter how EK counts the three weeks of Cherry's absence Cherry should be back in Baluart.

 

[Ray_D]

Cherry will probably be back in ep 15 after spending time with her family.

I hope so, I need to see Cherry again for my dose of brown sugar..

 

[ffive]

So I've replayed all of the Cherry route and I, at no point, saw anything regarding Cherry pretending or acting to be Lena's friend.

I think the most detailed description is what Ian can get from Lena the first time this surfaces"

            l "Cherry was another model Axel used to work with. I had met her a few times."
            l "And when he asked me to have a threesome with her... Well, I accepted."
            i "Oh."
            l "And then I learned he had been sleeping with her prior to that. While he was dating me."
            l "Those times I had gone out for drinks with them... They were already fucking behind my back."
            l "The times we shared a bed together... The only one that wasn't in the know was me."
            l "The only one left out was me."
            "Lena's voice broke and two shiny tears rolled down her cheeks."
            i "That's... heavy. I had no idea."
            "Lena dried her tears and recomposed herself."
            l "So... That's the story."
            l "I'll spare you the bullshit excuses Axel gave me when I found out about this. And Cherry..."
            l "Well, she was a liar and a coward, and stabbed me in the back. I guess you understand why I don't want to be around her."
            i "Yeah... I wouldn't be able to forgive her, either."
            i "To think she did something like that..."
            l "She tricked me too with her nice attitude. Well, it's fake."

They are not exactly "friends friends" from the sound of it. More like acquaintances where Cherry acted nice towards Lena as the three of them went out, while fucking Axel behind her back the entire time. Although Lena does use f word in another branch of that convo:

            l "I guess it's not something she goes around talking to people about, huh?"
            l "\"I kept my mouth shut while fucking the boyfriend of a girl I was friends with until I got found out\"."

When Ian talks with Cherry about it, the subject of "friendship" is never brought up explicitly but at no point Cherry denies that she was fucking Axel without telling Lena about it. She's been deceiving Lena about the nature of her relationship with Axel (and Lena) rather than be upfront how much of a piece of shit Lena's "boyfriend" was, and she did maintain that ruse all way to getting into a threesome with Lena. And then who knows for how long afterwards, seemingly quite happy to keep lying until they got caught.

So, yeah. Expecting Lena to want to make up with this sort of a snake? Because of... what exactly, to be friends with her as if the world isn't full of other people who can be Lena's friends and who didn't stab Lena in the back in this manner? That's imo just dick-thinking, through and through. Or coming from a rather selfish point of "I wish they made up because i want to hang out with both and it's awkward and inconveniences me that Lena hates Cherry's guts" which is basically how Ian puts it when that subject comes up in his talk with Emma. Which, ugh. You suck, Ian.

Cherry also seems, at times, to be ready to make a statement contrary to what Lena's claims are, but then stops herself.

Hmm, i didn't get such impression at any point. Can you give me some example of where you think that happens...?

Lena says that Cherry was her friend, during a conversation between herself, Holly, and Ivy while at the mall, at which point Ivy immediately jumps in and starts insulting Cherry. And when Holly makes mention of trying to reconcile with Cherry, Ivy once again immediately inserts herself to insult Cherry again while also claiming that Lena doesn't need to talk to Cherry to turn that page of her life.

According to Lena, Ivy is the only person who knows in full detail what has happened with Lena/Axel/Cherry. And i'm actually with Ivy on that one -- Lena does not need to talk with Cherry about it, especially when she clearly doesn't want to (she has internal monologue at some point where she wishes she just never heard of Cherry ever again) Holly is spouting nice platitudes from position of ignorance about the situation, but as the players we know there isn't anything Lena can find out from Cherry that would change the situation in any way. Cherry herself told Ian that she knew exactly what she was doing and she did it regardless "because i was in love i guess". The love which, i may add, appears to just dissolve shortly after she gets to jump on the dick of another boyfriend of Lena.

Anyway back on topic. Both Ian and Holly seem to reason out that Axel is the bad guy and Ian outright claims it at several points during conversations with Cherry. At no point does he absolve Cherry of her part in it, but says "He (Axel) is the main culprit in all of this..."

The branch where Ian makes such claims about the situation? This is what EK has to say about it:

            $ v9_cherrytalk = "naive"

There's no "main culprit" in scenario where two people voluntarily fuck behind the third's back. Lena doesn't have to limit herself to hating only one person in such pairing and give the other a pass.

Let's turn this situation on its head for a moment -- what the reconciliation folks are arguing is effectively that, in scenario where Lena and Jeremy fucked behind Ian's back, Ian should only be hating on Lena, but totally be willing to hear out and reconcile with Jeremy. Or that Wade should be only hating on "main culprit" Cindy but be open to talk and being friends with Ian who has fucked his girlfriend, while acting like Wade's friend.

There is also a flag that gets set "v12_cherry_lena = True" if Ian continues to push for Cherry and Lena to reconcile in chapter 12. Cherry has been gone for the last several chapters so nothing has come from this flag yet. Now I'm pretty smooth brain, but there are only two reasons for this flag that I can reason out. Either to lay the foundations to make amends or if Ian pushes again in the future to make an appropriate relationship hit. Personally, this seems really similar to setting boundaries with Cindy where in the moment it doesn't seem like the best choice, but it ultimately turns out that way.

I mean, it's ultimately a porn game so expecting a pairing of two hot girls so the player can get their Ian's rocks off is certainly within reason, logic and character motivations be damned. But that said, the game only describes this flag as

default v12_cherry_lena = False           # Ian tries to convince Cherry to make amends with Lena

I wouldn't really take it as any sort of sure sign that these two will actually reconcile. Anyone who thinks so should recall wade_cindy and how people were similarly convinced that the variable wouldn't be there if that relationship was doomed to fall apart no matter what you did. At the simplest level, the flag can be there to mark the fact that Ian made such effort, and it might be referenced in a text variant somewhere. Or maybe it'll cause Lena to hate slightly less Ian who has dumped her to be with Cherry, because in such scenario she's got all the reasons to feel very cold towards him.

 

[MilesEdgeworth]

how many people are playing the steal your friends girl path? Not only cindy but also his roommate's crush?

 

[varpep]

Cherry finally getting some love in the thread. In other news, when is Eva gonna give my Lena a shot with belly boy? Even Stan got to hit and some old random geezer she met at a mansion too . I can't wait for my Lena to go crazy over Wade's BWC!

 

[MilesEdgeworth]

Even Stan got to hit.

Stan is the only thing worse than getting cracked by robert

 

[jollyjoker27]

That route where she can´t get over Axel, lets herself get manhandled at every turn....
to then proceed to just casually give Stan a lovey dovey ride out of (almost) nowhere.

 

[SearingFive]

If we were good to Stan as a roommate without the love angle. Dude really starts his redemption arc. He might get his dream physique later, as the game progresses, it's that incel mentality he needs to get rid of and not turn into a gymcel too, where all he talks about macros and meal timings. He really has a steep hill to climb.

 

[WhiteSwan1916]

I think the most detailed description is what Ian can get from Lena the first time this surfaces"

            l "Cherry was another model Axel used to work with. I had met her a few times."
            l "And when he asked me to have a threesome with her... Well, I accepted."
            i "Oh."
            l "And then I learned he had been sleeping with her prior to that. While he was dating me."
            l "Those times I had gone out for drinks with them... They were already fucking behind my back."
            l "The times we shared a bed together... The only one that wasn't in the know was me."
            l "The only one left out was me."
            "Lena's voice broke and two shiny tears rolled down her cheeks."
            i "That's... heavy. I had no idea."
            "Lena dried her tears and recomposed herself."
            l "So... That's the story."
            l "I'll spare you the bullshit excuses Axel gave me when I found out about this. And Cherry..."
            l "Well, she was a liar and a coward, and stabbed me in the back. I guess you understand why I don't want to be around her."
            i "Yeah... I wouldn't be able to forgive her, either."
            i "To think she did something like that..."
            l "She tricked me too with her nice attitude. Well, it's fake."

They are not exactly "friends friends" from the sound of it. More like acquaintances where Cherry acted nice towards Lena as the three of them went out, while fucking Axel behind her back the entire time. Although Lena does use f word in another branch of that convo:

            l "I guess it's not something she goes around talking to people about, huh?"
            l "\"I kept my mouth shut while fucking the boyfriend of a girl I was friends with until I got found out\"."

When Ian talks with Cherry about it, the subject of "friendship" is never brought up explicitly but at no point Cherry denies that she was fucking Axel without telling Lena about it. She's been deceiving Lena about the nature of her relationship with Axel (and Lena) rather than be upfront how much of a piece of shit Lena's "boyfriend" was, and she did maintain that ruse all way to getting into a threesome with Lena. And then who knows for how long afterwards, seemingly quite happy to keep lying until they got caught.

So, yeah. Expecting Lena to want to make up with this sort of a snake? Because of... what exactly, to be friends with her as if the world isn't full of other people who can be Lena's friends and who didn't stab Lena in the back in this manner? That's imo just dick-thinking, through and through. Or coming from a rather selfish point of "I wish they made up because i want to hang out with both and it's awkward and inconveniences me that Lena hates Cherry's guts" which is basically how Ian puts it when that subject comes up in his talk with Emma. Which, ugh. You suck, Ian.


Hmm, i didn't get such impression at any point. Can you give me some example of where you think that happens...?


According to Lena, Ivy is the only person who knows in full detail what has happened with Lena/Axel/Cherry. And i'm actually with Ivy on that one -- Lena does not need to talk with Cherry about it, especially when she clearly doesn't want to (she has internal monologue at some point where she wishes she just never heard of Cherry ever again) Holly is spouting nice platitudes from position of ignorance about the situation, but as the players we know there isn't anything Lena can find out from Cherry that would change the situation in any way. Cherry herself told Ian that she knew exactly what she was doing and she did it regardless "because i was in love i guess". The love which, i may add, appears to just dissolve shortly after she gets to jump on the dick of another boyfriend of Lena.


The branch where Ian makes such claims about the situation? This is what EK has to say about it:

            $ v9_cherrytalk = "naive"

There's no "main culprit" in scenario where two people voluntarily fuck behind the third's back. Lena doesn't have to limit herself to hating only one person in such pairing and give the other a pass.

Let's turn this situation on its head for a moment -- what the reconciliation folks are arguing is effectively that, in scenario where Lena and Jeremy fucked behind Ian's back, Ian should only be hating on Lena, but totally be willing to hear out and reconcile with Jeremy. Or that Wade should be only hating on "main culprit" Cindy but be open to talk and being friends with Ian who has fucked his girlfriend, while acting like Wade's friend.


I mean, it's ultimately a porn game so expecting a pairing of two hot girls so the player can get their Ian's rocks off is certainly within reason, logic and character motivations be damned. But that said, the game only describes this flag as

default v12_cherry_lena = False           # Ian tries to convince Cherry to make amends with Lena

I wouldn't really take it as any sort of sure sign that these two will actually reconcile. Anyone who thinks so should recall wade_cindy and how people were similarly convinced that the variable wouldn't be there if that relationship was doomed to fall apart no matter what you did. At the simplest level, the flag can be there to mark the fact that Ian made such effort, and it might be referenced in a text variant somewhere. Or maybe it'll cause Lena to hate slightly less Ian who has dumped her to be with Cherry, because in such scenario she's got all the reasons to feel very cold towards him.

I also think it is unlikely that Lena and Cherry will ever reconcile. There is too much bad blood on Lena’s side, and Cherry is not interested in trying. Ian even takes a penalty if he keeps bringing it up.

I don’t however think that Cherry is a ‘snake’, at least not anymore than Lena. Lena and Cherry were two beautiful women competing, each looking out for their own interests and modeling opportunities. It is common in such circumstances for female rivals to be friendly to each other on the surface while taking no prisoners when fighting each other through indirect aggression, gossip, social exclusion, sabotage, and undermining reputation. That is just par for the course in female conflicts, very different from the male side where even Ian and Axel have some accord and sense of honor when fighting each other. I love how Eva Kiss portrays the differences between male and female rivalries which makes this AVN feel so authentic in some regards.

Unlike Lena, Cherry seems to be completely over Axel and at this point just wants to move on, ideally without any more drama.

I find it remarkable how strongly Lena reacts when finding out about Cherry and Ian. She has this Fuck, not this again! energy the first time when she technically has no definitive claim over Ian yet. Later, when Ian tells her he wants to date Cherry she goes ballistic, pretty much ending her friendship with Ian on the spot. Cherry in contrast seems more relaxed about it, even understanding to some extent, but she has no desire in being continuously exposed to Lena’s ongoing grudge and hostility.

 

[SearingFive]

Lena was already with Axel though, she was in a living relationship with him. I'd say the snake was Cherry in this scenario. Lena getting over Axel or not is purely player based decision. I'd say Cherry was behaving exactly like Lena does on Mike's path.

 

[Blurpee69]

I think the most detailed description is what Ian can get from Lena the first time this surfaces"

I agree, that is probably the most detailed version of what happened that we as players, have been given.

They are not exactly "friends friends" from the sound of it. More like acquaintances where Cherry acted nice towards Lena as the three of them went out, while fucking Axel behind her back the entire time. Although Lena does use f word in another branch of that convo:

I'm pretty sure that's how I framed it in my original argument? I never claimed that they were "friendly friends" just that they knew each other, were on friendly terms (not the same as friends), and that Cherry never said she was pretending to be Lena's friend.

When Ian talks with Cherry about it, the subject of "friendship" is never brought up explicitly but at no point Cherry denies that she was fucking Axel without telling Lena about it. She's been deceiving Lena about the nature of her relationship with Axel (and Lena) rather than be upfront how much of a piece of shit Lena's "boyfriend" was, and she did maintain that ruse all way to getting into a threesome with Lena. And then who knows for how long afterwards, seemingly quite happy to keep lying until they got caught.

Yes, Cherry has been really open about her culpability in the whole mess. And one of the reasons I'd like to see Lena and Cherry actually talk, without Ivy or Axel, is so that we as players can get a better picture of exactly how long this was going on and just how much Cherry and Lena were aware of what the other knew. For example: Did Axel originally lie to Cherry about his and Lena's relationship and by the time Cherry learned the truth she figured it was too late? There is just more context that can come to light.

Hmm, i didn't get such impression at any point. Can you give me some example of where you think that happens...?

I included a bunch of screenshots, any of them with the "hesitation" key word are moments that I felt COULD indicate a moment either Lena or Cherry were about to say something else. That's just based on the conversation as a whole and Lena or Cherry's facial expression at the moment they said that line. Now, I'm also willing to admit that the reaction and line could just as easily be "Why are we going through this again?" Since we're reading dialogue and looking at static images it's hard to pick up things like tone and body language.

According to Lena, Ivy is the only person who knows in full detail what has happened with Lena/Axel/Cherry. And i'm actually with Ivy on that one -- Lena does not need to talk with Cherry about it, especially when she clearly doesn't want to (she has internal monologue at some point where she wishes she just never heard of Cherry ever again) Holly is spouting nice platitudes from position of ignorance about the situation, but as the players we know there isn't anything Lena can find out from Cherry that would change the situation in any way. Cherry herself told Ian that she knew exactly what she was doing and she did it regardless "because i was in love i guess". The love which, i may add, appears to just dissolve shortly after she gets to jump on the dick of another boyfriend of Lena.

Again, not saying that Ivy is wrong, just that with how manipulative Ivy has proven to be in more recent chapters, since that conversation, I think what Ivy is saying needs to be put under more scrutiny. Also, Ivy being the only person who knows, in full detail, the situation isn't exactly a positive, regardless of if Ivy is right. While it may hurt Lena to talk about, letting others know helps to ease her burden and garners her additional perspectives and insights. Either into her own emotions and feelings or having other outside opinions of the situation.

And I'm going to continue to hammer this particular nail with regards to Ivy. She has clearly maintained a friendly relationship with Axel this entire time. She is friendly with him at Shine when Ian happens to meet up with her and Jess. They have some sort of deal worked out with regards to Lena posing for Axel again. She never blames him, and actively seems to change the subject when Holly questions his involvement; while being very quick to bash Cherry and get the conversation back onto her. Honestly, Ivy's maintained friendship with Axel is probably the biggest indicator to me that there is more to this story than has been revealed to us. Because if Ivy truly was Lena's best friend, as she claims, Ivy should be pretty equally as upset with Axel as she is with Cherry. And I don't think that should be hand waived away with "Well Ivy doesn't think much on relationships"

The branch where Ian makes such claims about the situation? This is what EK has to say about it:

I know about the naive tag that can get applied. I specifically chose the neutral option there and not the naive option. So I'm not sure the "naive" tag means too much when a similar conversation is playing out across all three choices and applied tags.

There's no "main culprit" in scenario where two people voluntarily fuck behind the third's back. Lena doesn't have to limit herself to hating only one person in such pairing and give the other a pass.

Ian and Cherry both agree that she is at fault. And at no point have I ever argued that Cherry does not deserve to be blamed, that she doesn't deserve Lena's hate, and that she should be completely absolved of her sins. In the context of this conversation Ian, and I agree with him, suspects that Axel has manipulated the situation more than either Cherry or Lena are aware.

He watched it happen in real time with Cindy, at her photoshoot, how easily Axel was able to wrap Cindy around his finger under the guise of "professionalism." Even with all the warnings Ian, Wade, and Lena give and with Cindy claiming to be a big girl that can handle herself; she still can succumb to Axel if Ian isn't there to call him out on the touching. Not that it means much, but even Perry and Emma are taken in by Axel when they look up his Peoplegram even after immediately learning about his history with Lena and Cherry. This is all to say that Axel has a natural charisma that people seem to cling to despite several red flags.

I mean, it's ultimately a porn game so expecting a pairing of two hot girls so the player can get their Ian's rocks off is certainly within reason, logic and character motivations be damned.

Well duh. Why do you think I want Lena and Cherry to reconcile in the first place?

 

[BlandChili]

Well duh. Why do you think I want Lena and Cherry to reconcile in the first place?

Because you want them all to get together for weekly bingo night...?

 

[Blurpee69]

Because you want them all to get together for weekly bingo night...?

What?! No! I was thinking dominos.

 

[LoneWolf999]

How does she manage to have sex minerva? I've done it with all of them, but nothing happened with her.

If you are still looking for this route, you need to swap books to review with holly when the option comes up, iirc it should be the 2nd book review that minerva gives out.

 

[ffive]

Yes, Cherry has been really open about her culpability in the whole mess. And one of the reasons I'd like to see Lena and Cherry actually talk, without Ivy or Axel, is so that we as players can get a better picture of exactly how long this was going on and just how much Cherry and Lena were aware of what the other knew. For example: Did Axel originally lie to Cherry about his and Lena's relationship and by the time Cherry learned the truth she figured it was too late? There is just more context that can come to light.

Hmm, i see... but i feel this is sort of backwards, in the sense that Lena and Cherry have no need to talk about this, because they both already know those things. So that would be making them do something that doesn't make sense just so the player gets the backstory... and i think there should be a more sensible way to supply that. Cherry also explicitly states that she knew from the start that Axel and Lena were together, there's no mystery nor any extra context that'd come to light. She makes it clear on the "naive Ian" path:

        "I'm sure you didn't do it on purpose":
            i "I'm sure you didn't do it on purpose. Axel probably kept that he was dating Lena from you, or..."
            ch "No. I knew they were together from the beginning."
            ch "I knew what I was doing... And did it anyway."

I included a bunch of screenshots, any of them with the "hesitation" key word are moments that I felt COULD indicate a moment either Lena or Cherry were about to say something else.

The only screenshots marked "hesitation" on Cherry's part are where she is initially hesitant to admit that she was the girl Axel was cheating on Lena with:

    ch "I guess she told you about our history, right?"
    i "I know a bit... She learned Axel was cheating on her, and the girl he was sleeping with was you."
    "Cherry took a deep breath before answering."
    ch "Yeah. That's right."
    ch "I'm not proud of what I did. Not at all. Lena has every right to hate me."

I.e. there's nothing here in such brief recap that Cherry could possibly want to contradict. or any actual room for contradiction. Her other hesitant moment is her simply, and rightly, doubting that Lena would even want to speak with her about this and her her apologies. Again, nothing that would suggest there's anything in what Lena told Ian, and what Cherry herself confirmed, that'd warrant any objections or contradictions, or imply that what we got somehow wasn't what had happened between those two.

As for Lena, she does not hesitate to think to herself that she would love the most to just never hear about Cherry again. Between that and her potential thoughts how humiliating it is that she got dumped by Ian for Cherry of all people, and the lack of any desire to interact with Cherry, i don't see any reason to doubt her dislike and wanting nothing to do with the girl are genuine. Maybe what she's hesitant about in those screenshots is simply telling her two friends to shut the fuck up and stop harping about it.

And I'm going to continue to hammer this particular nail with regards to Ivy. She has clearly maintained a friendly relationship with Axel this entire time.

I think Ivy keeps relationship with Axel for the same reason Lena allows him in her life again -- because he's quite literally "the hand that feeds" so you don't really want to bite it. Axel is the bridge between them and high paying jobs from top level agencies, one they can't really afford to burn. They may be upset, but at the end of the day they do have bills to pay and careers they want to take off rather than destroy by spurning people who might make it a reality.

Note how Ivy cools on Axel considerably after he gives the job he promised them to Cindy. She has no longer problem with casting a shade on him and his motives, when talking about him with Lena.

In the context of this conversation Ian, and I agree with him, suspects that Axel has manipulated the situation more than either Cherry or Lena are aware.

Ian is clearly biased here, wanting the girl he's got feelings for to be relatively innocent maiden led astray but a big bad manipulative chad. So i wouldn't take his guesses and hopes as any sort of reflection of reality. Because in reality, we don't know how much of this was Cherry making moves on the guy she was in lust/love with. Nor we even get option to question her about it. If anything, i feel like it's a bit insulting towards Cherry to just presume she couldn't possibly have any real agency in orchestrating the situation, and was only ever a hapless victim of dude's manipulation.

 

[Turret]

My Tribute to Holly Trinity...
View attachment 5534475
































SearingFive made this Original meme , and I must say, it's hilarious. Only True Pairing that Matters...













View attachment 5534478

Nicely done! But you could have let run the song longer. It is one of Howard Carpendale´s best.

 

[Lord Bradley]

I'm having serious Emma drought, love that slut! Just when Eva introduces her wardrobe slutification we go on long dragged out multiple update Lena drama

 

[BlandChili]

Emma's been absolutely drenched in content the past two chapters, she was overdue a timeout on the bench.

 

[Blurpee69]

Hmm, i see... but i feel this is sort of backwards, in the sense that Lena and Cherry have no need to talk about this, because they both already know those things. So that would be making them do something that doesn't make sense just so the player gets the backstory... and i think there should be a more sensible way to supply that. Cherry also explicitly states that she knew from the start that Axel and Lena were together, there's no mystery nor any extra context that'd come to light. She makes it clear on the "naive Ian" path:

"I'm sure you didn't do it on purpose":
i "I'm sure you didn't do it on purpose. Axel probably kept that he was dating Lena from you, or..."
ch "No. I knew they were together from the beginning."
ch "I knew what I was doing... And did it anyway."

Sure there can be a more sensible way of writing it, other than the two girls sitting down and repeating everything they've already said. EK is a better writer than that, and I think most of us would expect more out of EK than that should this hypothetical scene happen. The specific question I used was quickly and poorly thought out, but I think the vibe of what I was trying to get at remains. That perhaps Lena and Cherry do not have the full picture from the other person's perspective.

The only screenshots marked "hesitation" on Cherry's part are where she is initially hesitant to admit that she was the girl Axel was cheating on Lena with:

I would argue that taking a deep breath can be a moment of hesitation, but it could just as easily be many things. The fact that you also described it as she was hesitant to admit she was the girl Axel was cheating on Lena with kind of proves my point. There is some room for interpretation within that deep breath Cherry takes.

I think Ivy keeps relationship with Axel for the same reason Lena allows him in her life again -- because he's quite literally "the hand that feeds" so you don't really want to bite it. Axel is the bridge between them and high paying jobs from top level agencies, one they can't really afford to burn. They may be upset, but at the end of the day they do have bills to pay and careers they want to take off rather than destroy by spurning people who might make it a reality.

Note how Ivy cools on Axel considerably after he gives the job he promised them to Cindy. She has no longer problem with casting a shade on him and his motives, when talking about him with Lena.

Again, I think you've proven my point here. I was going to type this up in the original post, but I felt it was too off topic from Cherry and Lena, but since your brought it up. Ivy is staying "friends" with Axel because she is using him to advance her own career / prestige / influence. So doing stuff to keep Axel happy i.e. laying into Cherry and downplaying Axel's involvement benefits her. Very classic quid pro quo. As you said, she also cools on Axel, only when he proves that he cannot be as beneficial to her career as she originally thought. Which, to me, further proves that she is trying to deflect blame whenever the history of Cherry and Lena is brought up.

Besides, Lena has managed just fine without Axel, until he weasels his way back into her life through her mom and the photographs he just happened to "forget". So I don't think the argument of Lena going back to Axel for more premier jobs is that strong. Keep in mind, Lena does get a point of Wit if she refuses to meet with him, she knows she is being manipulated here. It really isn't until Seymour gets involved that Lena is in dire straights for income, which is completely independent of Axel's influence.

Additionally, Ivy is using several other means to increase her income, canonically, that Lena can decide on. Stalkfap, Billy, dancer / dance instructor, metaphorically hoeing herself to get free stuff, probably literally hoeing herself to get more money. She arguably needs Axel even less for income than Lena does. So not "biting the hand that feeds" feels like a pretty weak argument.

Because in reality, we don't know how much of this was Cherry making moves on the guy she was in lust/love with. Nor we even get option to question her about it.

Again, this is why I would love for them to have a sit down. Look, I'm not saying that Cherry and Lena need to become best friends or anything. And even if it might disappoint BlandChili, they certainly don't need to fuck. But there is potential here for more drama and character building and I would hate for EK to leave that potential on the cutting room floor. It would finally FINALLY give one character from Lena's past some degree of character growth and change.

Robert has maintained his status as a breathing barely functioning dildo the entire game. Axel is still a manipulative bastard, even if Lena falls for him again. Mike now always has an issue cheating (Very cool, thanks Ivy) Ivy cannot appreciate others unless they're like her or fit her definitions of who a person should be. Louise is always whiny and in need of validation. It seems most people agree that Seymour took a step backwards (I tentatively agree, but await further development) When Stan is the only person that has shown any degree of change, even if it's for all the wrong reasons, that's unfortunate. Especially in comparison to Ian's friends and their histories.

Emma's been absolutely drenched in content the past two chapters, she was overdue a timeout on the bench.

Emma the last two chapters was Cindy from chapters 10-12.