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Twister212
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WARNING THE INSANE RAMBLINGS OF A LUNATIC
-Spoilers for OIHS and FBMA Below-
I'm going to talk about thoughts and theory's of both games in no particular order, probably one more than the other, cause if I don't get this out there I'll go crazier.
Lets start with a quote from Lancaster from the OIHS Mage guild. "Funds? You need unspeakable talent and not a small amount of luck to be spirited away to Xyerlinn for free. I imagine the next supreme mage will enjoy such a treatment." Foreshadowing? Duh dun duuuh.
Thus our second outworlder from Earth appears. Is whisked away to Xyerlinn for free by the Epistem Zino himself, who once again saves the day. I love the immediate contrast between the main characters of OIHS Phil, and FBMA Sam.
Phil is a pessimist and self degrading, he's constantly feeling sorry for himself, makes excuses for his failures as not his fault or forced upon him. He makes it abundantly clear that he has no talent and without skills he wouldn't be anything. He struggles with his existence, is beaten down, SA'd (although he enjoys it), and is under constant threat of various degrees. He tries his best to make it through each day but he doesn't really have hope for tomorrow. He has no goals except his own survival. He relies a ton on Sepheni and Arwen, he often states that they'll get him anything he needs as if he were some kind of sugar baby. He wants for nothing... except magic. He covets magic like no other, and at times it seems he is willing to do anything to obtain it. He thinks he is a passive, a coward, and weak; yet is willing to use his skills to dominate others, including the innocent. He also calls himself a decidedly good person often, as if he's trying to convince himself. Phil is only good to his friends and postures a lot with doing the right thing. This can be seen directly with Sepheni, where he always supports her in a hypocritical way. That time when she helped that thief child, Phil questions her then relents. Sepheni truly opens him up to kindness not the other way around.
Sam on the other hand (as of right now) is kind, sweet, has a lot of humor, sassy, confident, and is quick witted. He gives major nerdy himbo vibes to me, kinda like a Superman. Despite not having Core Skill: Charisma he blows Phil out of the water in terms of communicative skills. Phil has no friends or family, a total loser in his own words. Phil is not entirely at fault because the System prevents himself from revealing his past life, however Phil cannot hold a conversation, most of them go to and I quote "A comfortable silence". What about Sam? We have no idea what kind of social life he could've had on Earth. He is free to talk about it but he hasn't yet. It is a bit mysterious. He also never explains to anyone (except Zino) that he is an outworlder and most people seem to ignore his references. During the very beginning of FBMA we learn Sam has every magic affinity (It is unknown if he has the supreme or taboo magics, I would assume not.) When I learned this I could feel Phil burning with raging envy in Hell. Not only that he is immensely talented, learning spells quickly; I do enjoy that he uses Earth science to amplify his magical ability. Every character Sam dates is interesting, sweet and cute; although the chemistry is high I don't feel as though there is much substance yet. Xyerlinn the academy itself feel alive and brimming with magic, the more I read about it the more I want of it.
I think Sam could end up becoming Phil's greatest enemy. Phil is fated to become a Tyrant of domination. Kidnapped by Drux'galoth who is trying to take over the world. I think multiple things could possibly happen. When they are teleported back to... who knows where. Drux's castle, his lair, a dungeon, a cabin in the woods, Hell? He is obviously going to be pissed off. Maybe he will threaten Phil, or try to kill him resulting in a chase where hes cornered and needs to use his Skill, or maybe he just laughs at being foiled once again and takes an interest in Phil. Somehow Phil's skills will be revealed to Drux and this will fascinate him. He will want to weaponize Phil. Many things could occur, being a powerful mage he could get the truth out of Phil easily, forcing him to speak on his Skills. Revealing that he gets more powerful skills from sex. This leading him to having Phil gangbanged by demons for months on end becoming a more and more powerful tool for him to use. Not only is Phil a hostage/bait, if he can control Phil he could probably win Sepheni to his side, or have him simply control her. He could bribe you with the Loom and that side quest with Lagos and Olaf could become relevant with you obtaining a Sirens Charm magic. With magic, no longer rejected by the world, maybe. Unless it rejects outworlders in general and not just Phil for being magicless. Perhaps Drux gives you free roam of his base? You are escorted around? Perhaps a demonic love interest? So far we only have Lagos and Olaf thruple, Alexi, and Zad but not really... Raul?.. no. All we know is whatever Drux does with Phil it will turn him down the path of a Tyrant. Perhaps while exploring Phil must make decisions to have sex or not to have sex. Skills were becoming more of an enabler of his bad behavior and the player may have to make a decision on whether he will go down the path of good or evil in the second saga of this adventure. Will he pursue love or power? Sex for love and friendship is a good thing, Sex for skills and power is bad? How crazy would it be if you developed skills that negated magic making it so Phil couldn't even interact with magic, his greed pushing him further from magic. It's starting to feel like a berserk moment where they bust in and see Griffith completely destroyed and he just makes the deal to kill everyone with the crimson Beherit. Except it will be Sepheni and Zad bursting in and Phil will be clad in armor (cause no magic pours) sitting upon a throne of dominated souls. Phil might even end up dominating Drux'galoth. If Core Skill: Seduce Redirection will evolve once again and become an even more powerful charm skill, such as Core Skill: Mind Control. Lets be honest Charm Magic is mind control, it is used in a mostly sexual context but it's obvious why it's taboo. Just remember the Siren when she nearly killed Lagos by making him feel as though he needed to save her. Thats charm, to make one feel what they shouldn't, to think without thought, to move without will, even nature it's self charmed by whims. Since Zad is speculatively likely to be the Canon route for Sam, this will eventually lead to Sam being in OIHS with Zad as they attempts to save Phil together. Meeting at Phils moment of triumph or Phils deepest despair. The fact they are both from Earth doesn't feel like a coincidence. Almost like System/Fate was attempting to abduct Sam but Phil was taken by mistake. Aka the Systems luck based interference killing and reincarnating Phil. Phil could easily blame Sam for such a thing. The System feels mindless but also as if it has an agenda. Perhaps it only moves instinctually or mayhaps it needs an Avatar to intact its will. With the BAD END's it feels as though the System wants you to go somewhere or do something, don't think about home or earth or I'll stop time and fix everyone's memories. I'm surprised Phil isn't running around like Natsuki Subaru going "I can return by death!" and have time freeze to his advantage. It feels as though the System is trying to forcefully integrate into Magnolia, but the "Gods" or "Fates"? Just are not allowing this... thing... to enter their world. The Gods were mentioned a few times as the supposed granters of Supreme magics. Those favored by gods gain incredible abilities. Well I was thinking that every person in Magnoila with Supreme magic might actually be an outworlder, that Taboo Magic is natural to Magnoila and Supreme magic is actually pulled in by the gods. The Epistem Zino got a fated reading as well. He could just be special or he could be an outworlder from a different world than Earth, that is why he was able to figure Sam's origin so easily, yet remarkably surprised nonetheless. The System seemingly doesn't come to Magnalia often, its the stuff of near forgotten tales, so perhaps something occurred in the world that required Phil specifically? Perhaps the gods noticed Drax'Galoth could use a lover and asked the System to match make for him pulling in Tyrant Phil; meanwhile Drax who tries to pursue Sepheni is being cucked by Arwen. Enemies to lovers? Or enemies and lovers? Rawr! :o It is also possible that the System is like the Fates, it doesn't understand mortality, it's not with thought, merely action. It could also be psychological, the system acts in severe reverence to it's user, when Phil decided to tell Arwen about Earth it was his subconscious fear that activated the system and prevented that information from being leaked. Phil getting in his own way, once again. The System does seem to have conditions to developing skills, we know its done by sex, but the specifics of obtaining a skill is always interesting. 1. A Skill developed because of your actions before sex. Such as Artifact Intuition or Lesser Combat Intuition. 2. A Skill for your actions during Sex, Pleasing touch or Lesser Sex intuition. 3. A skill developing based on your actions after sex, debatably Gag Reflex control, Sin: Sense Guilt. 4. Skill developing because you sex'd with a specific monster or capable being, Affinity: Goblin, Cat-Like Reflexes, Sense Aura. 5. To obtain a skill Phil must reach an orgasm. If the target reaches orgasm and Phil does not, he won't obtain a skill. 6. Skills level up, combine and evolve when specific conditions are met. 7? Potential rule: Sex that doesn't grant skills accumulates experience the System holds on to. 8? Phil's eagerness to obtain a skill plays a part in acquiring skills, the accumulated EXP is brought to the surface in times of desperation and great want. 9? The more skilled Phil is without his skills, the faster he develops skills. Understanding these rules allows Phil to abuse the System to develop the skills he will need to survive. Need a fighting skill? Fight and then have sex. Need a cooking skill? Cook while having sex. I think the reason Skills became rare was because orange-kun was getting tired of keeping track of them all. But any decision an author makes can be retconned. Are skills becoming rarer? Or is the system purposely withholding skills from you to evolve. Perhaps the system needs the magic of Magnolia to evolve and you are just reaping the carrot on a string the System provides? Your Core Skill: Seduce also seems to activate a lot unintentionally, perhaps this is the System activating it for you unknowingly. Charm is control, to bend even nature to your whims, thoughts and feelings given to the mindless nature around you. It is said that Adam was eventually able to get back home, back to supposedly Earth, but I have a feeling he means the past or the future and not dimensional hopping. That Adam may actually be Phil sent back to the past with time magic, and "going back" may actually mean to the future back to his friends Sepheni, Arwen, Zad, etc. There was only one user of Skills ever, and that was Phil. That is why the Old Seer in the fates room said "And of everyone, I had hoped to meet you most." Maybe an Amnesia story. Perhaps Phil of the future made the rules of the system for Phil of the past. Or multiverse Theory kinda like Future Trunks from DBZ and two Phil's will exist at the same time. Future Phil being the Tyrant. Did Future Phil kill Past Phil to reincarnate him? When the system asks if you want power, intelligence, wealth, or just to live again I wonder if that is you testing yourself. Time-ception. I got this theory when I heard the last Espitem was a Space Mage and how the main character immediately mentions the space time continuum, how they vanished and Zino took over as Epistem. Seems a little too convenient. SORRY this is all over the place but I tried my best.
Time for my list of questions that do not need to be answered but occasionally pondered? Does Seduce work on plants and insects? Charisma probably does attract bugs I'd assume. Why did that slime steal your semen? Was it just something slimes do, or perhaps this very first encounter is something far more nefarious. Clones with skills? A familiar? Does simply having skills make you more healthy in this world? Phil has mentioned feeling healthier and getting better rest, more alive. The game itself ponders whether it was system making you inherently stronger. Are the Japanese Talismans we see from the merchant actually foreshadowing for FBMA since it has a magical origin? I'm guessing Sargon or maybe Rowan. Is Makon and Sepheni getting art updates actually affecting the world. Are they not changing and it's just a gag, or are they changing because the world is manufactured by the system? Is Phil actually dead? That is why he doesn't have magic, he is closer to an undead, he was dying in the necromantic realm not just because he was there but because he is supposed be dead? "Isn't the Isekai protagonist supposed to be overpowered?" -Phil. Was the thunderstorm that knocked us into the dungeon actually natural, the world trying to kill us, a god, or a mage targeting Phil? The Dungeon asks you not to come back, but eventually we must either in OIHS or FBMA as there is a deeper part of the dungeon to explore. It is said that Orsu takes 2 bronze rankers under their wing to train into silver adventures, did Olaf and Lagos fail the Xyerlinns task and was recruited by Orsu? Feels awfully convenient they mentioned two specifically and I haven't seen them in Xyrelinn in FBMA. What was the purpose of Mikhail the black ram baker? Was it just to show the disparity between beastkin and humans? Or was it to once again to prove that your skills aren't all powerful for the 6th time? What happened to that sailor we told to go for it on the docks? How in the world do we not have Affinity: Human? I know OIHS isn't fully polished and there are many WIP still in the game such as in the Inn, the revamping only went to chapter 2 or 3 if I am remembering right. Do you plan on editing the first act before focusing on the second? Did anyone happen to pick up the Two enchanted rings you left at the mages guild? Or are they still there lost and forgotten? Will we get to see more of the unstructured magic that Lucian and Candace talk about, in FBMA? Will we learn about the Vampires monster hunters? What is with all the Bears? Regular bears according to Zad, Fire Bears mentioned in the Adventurers guild, Polar bear people Phil to Alexi, Fury bear beginning of FBMA, Bearkin cause of one of the Academy professors? If I had to guess your favorite animal I bet I could, especially after playing The Silvercrest Pilgrimage. How long has Phil been in the world? Paying attention to the number of mornings and days for each quests Phil has spent a minimum of 26 days and a maximum of 44.
Thank you for listening to my insane ramblings.
Theory Time: (Spoilers Below)
Today I want to talk about the Main Character and how strange their entire existence is. For example, where did they come from? We don't know. We don't know anything about ourselves as a character. I know the character is just a stand in for us the players and likely shouldn't get a backstory but when you think of it from a characters perspective it seems odd. Just look at Gunnar questioning exactly that. "A Herbalist popping in out of nowhere." Which is true. At the start of the game we had apparently been apprenticing under a pretty renowned herbalist but barely know how to make a potion without his notes. SO how long had we truly been there? I would imagine not long at all if we had never visited Bareshade or known about Caleb and the Werewolves in the nearby woods. Based on character interactions we can rule out that our MC came from any settlement nearby. The only thing I can imagine happening is that the MC washed up on the beach from a faraway land and was picked up by our Master Herbalist by chance. Perhaps with Amnesia. The real question is why? What happened to our MC to get them to where they are now? Why is Gunnar the only one to question MC's origin? And why does the MC not answer or give evasive answers? It feels intentional.
I would also like to point out how exceptional our MC is. I know we have our Masters Notes but we learn alchemy so easily, being able to preform it in all sorts of places despite Ruben talking about how complex the process is. Yet we have seemed to have simplified it down to cooking in a pot somehow, even though we only learned it at the start of our adventure. Next is our fighting ability, being able to overcome and defeat enemies an ordinary person has no right defeating, such as Tank and Scar one after the other. Both trained in combat for years longer than the MC (for all we know), Scar even questions how he could've lost to you. Yet you defeat not only them but Northcrests defenders, Orcs, Werewolves, Swamp Monsters, Lizards, and more, in one on one combat. Sometimes even three on one combat. It is mentioned that these enemies ARE stronger than MC despite being able to defeat them. You could amount this to the MC's strength not being his main attributer to winning fights but it seems unlikely. From what is mentioned within the text is seems as though the MC isn't exactly the largest of people compared to others. An athletes body and not a bodybuilders bara body like nearly everyone else. You can assume this with how often the MC is lifted with ease and mentions how muscular/large another character is. Even so the MC is still out preforming those hulking giants. Beating them in arm wrestling, wrestling, sparring, combat, racing (being able to catch Caleb a werewolf running at full speed.), and endurance. In simplest terms our MC is super human... if they are even human at all.
I do not think our MC is human, or at least not fully human. Sure we have seen the MC lose, specifically the 0 sanity Game Over scenes, but overall a lot of strange things occur to the MC. For example Spectral Fever, Bernard gets it and passes out, we get it and it is barely a debuff. I'm surprised we aren't spreading it around like an STD and infecting every creature we meet. Perhaps that is merely a gameplay mechanic but a timer for a death game over would amplify how severe SF actually is. For now it is equivalent to the sniffles to the MC who can literally ignore it, just like the rats who carry it unaffected. Next is Lycanthrope, the MC is in constant proximity to the Alpha werewolf, despite being attacked or fucked, the MC is still not a werewolf (not that it can't happen given the 0 sanity werewolf ending but I don't think it states that you become a werewolf just the packs omega breeding bitch, which I guess is implied.) Next is Cthulhu himself (Nameless), despite being able to mind control Korg he chooses not to mind control the MC. He says that he just wants MC to willingly serve him, but if MC turns him down he just continues to threaten and stalk us. Even if we go to the witch for protection he doesn't stop us. It almost seems as though his mental magic isn't as effective against the MC as it would be anyone else. Finally the Lake of Lust which again is the creation of the Nameless, despite the Lizards falling under its spell and losing their minds, we drink and drink the water and just get a corrupted debuff. It seems like one gulp should cause us to lose our sanity but here we are being fucked in the lake being forced to swallow the water and we walk out practically unscathed where as other characters would've been fully corrupted. IT is likely that we are not affected as much due to being the Main Character (Plot Armor), but in all honesty it seems likely that our MC is odd themselves. Whether they have magic or are some sort of half breed. Our MC is resistant to diseases, curses and magic, but not immune. Does Victoria not try to use her seduction on you like she claims? Or did she try and it for some reason didn't work? Only when you were at your weakest when you confront her with Arion does she try again and nearly succeed. Can Nameless really control you like he claims? OR does he need you to submit to control you? It would explain why he attacks your friends instead of you directly.
I know it sounds like a stretch. I just enjoy the game and like thinking about the possibilities. Especially with the last update feeling more story driven then anything. I'd like more of that TBH. More of the MC too, he doesn't need to be an exact proxy for the player, he already isn't. Anyway stay tuned for my next theory or rather rant lol.
Public 0.9 / Patreon 0.10 - Available Now! comments · Replied to Janno in Public 0.9 / Patreon 0.10 - Available Now! comments
0.2.8 is the version I played. So I'm gonna talk about it honestly. The art and animations are impressive. The combat for the most part feels well done. I enjoy the moon jump. The Pet slime is my favorite, I named him Porbo, he is pink and I put a cherry on his head. I think that's it for positives at the moment. I had a few complaints. One being how slow the game feels. The animations feel slow and the characters text is slow; I can not mash through some of the text but other times I can. A fast forward function (not a skip) would be most appreciated. Buying from the shop and feeding your pet must be done one by one. Buying in bulk is important. Next is item descriptions, they are necessary and should always be available, for the quick menu and especially within shops, enough said. I would also like to see buffs and debuffs characters have when I hover my mouse over them. Enemy health would be nice to see; it could be something that only becomes available after you've defeated like 5 of the same enemy. Being able to load the game or go to the main menu from within the game, the only way I could do this was by closing and opening the game again. Objectives should be known to the player in some way, an in game note pad that tells to player to "go here" so that they do not get lost on their objective. A level up sneak peek, essentially a thing that says, your next ability will come at level 8 then again at level 10. Not saying what it is but gives you an objective when leveling up, especially for your transformative abilities. Being able to first strike your enemy, being able to hit them with my sword before the battle and then immediately start the battle with me thwacking them on the head dealing some damage. The list of Keyboard and Mouse controls should be listed within the game so the player knows, you could put it in the options menu off to the side or a short tutorial in the beginning. Honestly my list of complaints were twice as long until I saw the Keyboard and Mouse controls a moment ago while writing this, I did not know I could dash or skip scenes. Although that is partly my fault for not reading and just downloading, the pretty pictures distracted me; I just assumed controls would be in the game.
I̵̱̩͔͈̲̮̮̮̤̳̖̥̥͊́̋̈́͆̌̀͆̀̍̆͆́̈́̇ͅ ̸̩̰̜̓́̅͊̂̔̋̽́̀́̆̕̚͝ļ̵̝̙̘̩̜̜͓̎̓̈́͜o̸͚̮̙̮̫͆̀͑͑͛̿̔̇̆́̾v̶̡̦̮̦̲̬̝̻̤̩͎̎͋͂͋̿͂̇͊͌͘͝͠͠e̴̛̖͕͇͒̀̏̅͆̇͑̎̌͊͌̈͛͜ḏ̸̬̙̙͍̗̀͒͆͛̍̏͌́̉͠͝ ̶̢̲̭̬̟̱̈́̒̄̌͋̅̄é̸̛̼̳̺̰͙͓̦͍͎̮͍̭̖̱̬̀̀͐̇̎͐̀͛̈́͝͠v̸̢̬̜̈́͂̑͘e̴̢̧̥̗̝͔̮̠̫̩͔̠̤͔̔͌͂̆͊̈́̄ͅr̴̡̡̧̜͈̞͉̗̯̜̥̜̞̳̞̉̅́̂̔͑͌̍́̓̈́̚y̸̱̱̺̲̝̋͛̌͊͛̄́̽̔̈́̕ ̴̧̜͍͈͓̠͉̬̖̰͔͋͂͆̎͆ͅs̴̞͈̽̓̐̚ę̸̧͙̩͎̗̜͔̗͙͔͒͐̈́̔̉̂̏̂͜͝͝͝͝c̶̨̨̛̯̖̲͍͙̫̪̩͐͊͑̇̓ơ̶̟̯͎̝̖̖̠̒̀̈͋͒̿̆̇͑͛̆ņ̸̣̞̩̰̪̭̲̩̹͓̠̘̱̈̌̀̅̐̅̌̾̋̂̎̓̕͠͝ḑ̸͔͖̙͚̝̠̏̏̌͌̕ ̵̲͈̞͔̳͍̤̯̔̈́̏̀̉̌̓̕ơ̴̫͖͎̪̝̲̤̹͎̲͓̗̤̟̂͆̕f̵̢̛̠͓̰̯̯̼̭̲͕̥̥͔͂̍̍̉̒͑͝ ̶̢̢͈̟̥͖̯̦̥̼̪͚̎̚ͅi̷̞̹̹͙̭̮͆̿̓̌̎̓̆̑͊̀͗̚ṭ̷̛͊̐̇͛̓̇̐̓͠.̶̨͖͈͍̟̤̤͙͎͙̰̮͊̽
Update 2 out on Patreon, out for the public in a few weeks! comments · Posted in Update 2 out on Patreon, out for the public in a few weeks! comments
Tales of Lorithel: Bonds of Royalty comments · Replied to WolfBite Interactive LLC in Tales of Lorithel: Bonds of Royalty comments
I can not help but laugh my ass off when Pierre did the main characters hair. Tell me you wanna fuck my dad without telling me you want to fuck my dad. Dude is literally giving the main character the same hair style as his dad. Next thing you know when they get clothes he's gonna dress him up in the same clothes as the father.
I'm kidding, well mostly. Dude gives me majorly weird vibes when he talks about my dad then looks at me and flirts. If you couldn't tell he's my favorite.
Something I find slightly confusing is when you do Lancaster's seduction testing at the Mage's Guild. If you Seduce the Crocodillian and back out of the circle, when you visit him a second time, it reads as if you have wronged Lancaster when it was he who told you to step out of the circle. I think that should not be the case, correct?
> Unlikable characters and flawed ones are different in a way where the actual narrative is recognizing their flaws or not. The screenshot above suggest Ranok to be in the right despite behaving like a complete motherfucker. <
No it doesn't. It's literally just saying its a decision Ranok's made about Caelan, prioritizing Caelan's physical safety over his emotions, and that Ranok has solid reasoning. Ranok's flaws are made very apparent and mostly addressed, he just literally says he can't change his mind as he believes it would get Caelan killed. He does not want that.
> that doesn't completely negates his positives qualities <
> No it does. <
This just makes it seem like you never liked Ranok to begin with and have only been using him for your own selfish gain. Its fucked.
> Ranok isn’t a stupid teenager. He is a grown ass man. <
Ranok just became "of age" the day he met Caelan. Whether that means 16, 18, or 21, we literally don't know. For all we know "of age" is 12 in wolven world. We know he is a teenager, Caelan even referred to Ranok as a teenager once in an earlier chapter. Caelan also referred to himself as "of age" so we don't know how old he is either, but judging from his dream sequence he is around the age one would be in high school or college.
> I’m yet to hear a convincing argument how making person behave like asshole all of sudden by getting all defensive, playing a victim card and blaming protagonist for everything bad is a good character writing. <
This is honestly a bad take. Making a decision you know is bad because you have to, trying to shield your friend from the pain of that decision, realizing you've made a mistake about telling them earlier, is not an asshole move its a mistake. He would've been an asshole if he ditched Caelan for no reason whatsoever, but he is doing it cause he has a 100 problems to deal with at once and not a lot of time. He just came back from battle and watched some people die, you think he's going to risk getting his lover killed in some political wolven war he shouldn't have any part in to begin with? Its not a victim card because he isn't exaggerating the problems he has to deal with in an attempt to justify his own actions. It is quite matter a fact, and if anything your downplaying Ranok's mental state and responsibility and it sounds like you would probably rather him indulge Caelan in every selfish request he's made. It's okay to be hurt by Ranok's actions to this point but it's not fair to say he did it for no reason or just to be an asshole. He didn't really blame Caelan for anything either, he stated upfront his own feelings and opinions on things and said that no matter how much he wants to he cannot risk bringing Caelan back to the forest. Caelan's insistent pushing of his wants and Ranok trying to tell Caelan he can't, even when he gets upset and yells about it is not blaming him for everything bad. If anything Ranok says that Caelan is responsible for a lot of good in his life, I can't even remember a line of him blaming Caelan for "everything bad" at any point, if you have some quotes of this blaming I'd like to see it. The best I could think of was him telling Caelan that since he's arrived he opened his eyes to issues/problems he couldn't see before, which is hardly a bad thing to be told.
If that's what you think then you are deep into Caelan's perspective and the writer has you exactly where they want you. I don't see it as a betrayal, Ranok does not have that intention. He did lie instead of having the grown up conversation with Caelan about him being left in that town; but I honestly feel that even if he did, people would still consider this a betrayal. If Ranok does NOTHING about Caelan's living situation in the the next chapter (if Caelan even stays) then I will in fact, respectfully fuck off.
I agree, Ranok should've had the grown up talk. But as was said during the conversation with Tiger whore, neither one is ready for a relationship. Also I think it's unfair to only talk about Caelan's mental state when from what I've observed Ranok has some majorly stressful issues going on, I can't fault a person who has just come of age 16,18, 21 whatever it is its kind of unclear what "of age'" meant, to make relationship mistakes when the only other relationship they've had was manipulative, especially while being in a life or death situation where if they make a mistake someone dies. Not saying it's okay, he could've made better decisions, people are justified in their feelings but not always in their actions and words that follow. I just don't like that people are bad mouthing Ranok as if he wants to do this and that he's just being a asshole for no reason.
The Tiger Whore could've worded her sentences more clearly and with more tact, but she's literally just some random who met another random person, Caelan got away with "A bit bratty, but that can be forgiven with all you've gone through." When I know I myself if giving him advice on his situation wouldn't have been so kind. I'm glad you messaged me though I might've been a bit harder on Caelan that I initially considered so this was a good discussion.
I can agree with most of what you said here. Except Ranok doesn't feel as though he has a choice, you are ignoring what Ranok has said up to this point. His father and his advisor issued the order to leave Caelan, a war is coming up, he will not abandon his tribe, and that Caelan popped the metaphorical bubble of his world view and expanded his line of thinking to the point he's obviously anxious and scared for the future. He doesn't think he can protect Caelan and as of now if he were put in a situation where if it is either Caelan or the tribe he would choose the tribe. He doesn't want to have to make that decision, but it's life or death, so he decided to protect Caelan this way, as it is (from his perspective) the best and only choice to get every outcome he desires, lest he not die in combat. Essentially Caelan's reaction is him lashing out in anger which is understandable. Ranok's choice to lie wasn't one done easily and is more out of desperation. It was not a lie done with the intention of disrespect but as a means to protect Caelan, but even Ranok knew that it was going to fall apart at some point. Ranok even pretends to be an asshole just to get Caelan to hate him to make their parting easier but Caelan see's right through it and shuts it down pretty quickly. Ranok does not want Caelan to suffer, but he doesn't know about Caelan's issues to that extent, we as the player know but remember as of recently Caelan had practically no mental breakdowns to Ranok's knowledge. He knows about Caelan's mental state but not entirely how bad it is because Caelan keeps hiding and lying about it. Ranok know the parting will hurt them both, he constantly says he wants to take Caelan with him and that Caelan makes things he knows is ridiculously dangerous reasonable, but that he cannot risk it. I agree there is a lack of communication but there are reasons on Ranok's part that I can understand, but as for Caelan he has no reason whatsoever to keep the secrets he hides. It's not about respect that Ranok didn't tell Caelan about them leaving, it's because if he told Caelan, he knew he'd actively fight against the idea of leaving him, panic, get angry, and Ranok didn't want that to happen during their last few days together, in that sense Ranok was trying to be kind but also actively being selfish. Ranok and Caelan both do mental gymnastics to lie to each other and justify it to themselves as being kind to the other, when in fact the secrets they both keep do and will affect them both immensely. It just seems strange that Caelan can't understand that until he talks to the Tiger whore despite having done the same thing himself. They're both hypocrites and that dynamic was developed pretty early on. Their lack of communication was very apparent when Howl saw Caelan and it took him so long to tell Ranok, that by the time Ranok knew Caelan was being choked to death. They may not seem like big secrets but I guarantee they will snowball, Anyway all I'm saying is Ranok is not being malicious, he's acting out of a misguided kindness and desperation; also that almost everything the Tiger whore said was accurate.
The words in this image and your comment have no correlation. In the previous statements Caelan asks why Ranok doesn't treat him like an equal, but as a child. Tiger whore asks what Caelan has done up until this point that would make Ranok treat him like a child? And I'll tell you Caelan had done PLENTY to be treated as a frail child in need of protection, especially from Ranok's perspective; almost every time he came home Caelan was hysterically emotional or injured. Wolves are constantly watching him, Ranok is painfully aware of this fact, and at any moment he could be killed, which is why he leaves Caelan with Vulgor. He's been babying Caelan since the very beginning I don't know why people think his opinion would change just because he's grown a great deal attached to him. If anything that would make him want to protect Caelan even more, which is exactly what's happening in the plot. Then right here in this image, and as well in other dialogue she speaks makes it very clear that Ranok is not doing this to treat Caelan like shit. Ranok views Caelan as someone who needs to be protected, he believes with certainty that if he brings Caelan back to the woods, that he will be killed, or they could both be killed. Ranok has loyalty towards his people he has made it clear and this is his way of protecting Caelan while also readying himself for his own responsibilities. Caelan has shown great ability in kindness and Ranok obviously respects that aspect of him but when it comes to responsibility? Ranok has no reason to trust him, to the point I agree with Caelan about being left alone in this town, the day Ranok leaves Caelan is going to get abducted, beaten and mugged, SA'd or spiral out of control mentally. It's not a good idea. Anyway I don't know how after reading the next two lines of dialogue (knowing everything that has happened plot wise to that point) that you came to that conclusion.
That isn't the reason she called him entitled and selfish. She's referring to Caelan's need for things to go his way while simultaneously ignoring or undermining Ranok's feelings, and the things Ranok believes is important. I believe the Tiger whore called it exactly right when she basically called out Caelan for having main character syndrome. Also Caelan lies fairly often (especially to Ranok) and if I'm remembering correctly for a very similar reason as Ranok is now at one point, to spare Ranok from worrying, getting hurt, or starting conflict. It's called a parallel and it was written well. Caelan is just learning he's being hypocritical and unreasonable. The Tiger whore literally said telling the honest truth to those you know can't bear it will only hurt them, which is why omission of truth is a kindness, even if misguided. That telling the brutal truth is to bring someone down rather than build them up, which is in fact a brutal truth. How people change themselves after the truth, even if positive, does not contradict that statement. So no contradiction when Ranok returns either. If you ask me Caelan did deserve to be treated like a child, it's not entirely his fault cause he has some demon in his head and his circumstances up till now have not been great, but I'd be lying to him too, he extremely unstable and delicate when it comes to the truth as shown in earlier builds. Also Caelan is very much domineering, just look up the definition, it fits him to a tee, especially in the context of the dialogue the Tiger whore is responding to.
I personally liked the direction of this build more than the last, Caelan and his personality have been on my bad side for awhile now (especially after the previous build) and him getting insight on how awful his behavior and mindset is is such a wonderful development. Ranoks faults have been apparent for awhile and I'm not sure why you think the writing is attempting to keep him in a positive light, I'd say the exact opposite after this build and the last. After all he did acknowledge his faults, he spoke about them upfront but said he wasn't going to change his mind, no matter how much he wanted to. I really like this build a lot and hope it doesn't get removed because this dangerous rhetoric you think is there seems to come from your own perspective to which I honestly cannot comprehend well, while reading your paragraph I was wondering if we had even played the same chapter. Anyway I'm enjoying the plot and hope the writer keeps up the great work.