Oh, did I sound very hung up? Sorry, I didnât mean for it to come through like that - I can be a bit dramatic and exaggerate for comedic effect. It was just a funny detail I like to keep in mind.
Another funny detail is the fact Chris tried to stab the first plant monster he came across to death. He didnât succeed, but he tried his best.
I made a Cruel MC so I could have an MC thatâs the opposite of my Lambkin R + W-mancer Dawn (+ other things like wanting an MC who would be more snarky/antagonistic towards the W, and a playthrough with James and Ruby instead of Jane and Reese). My Cruel MC is: Aloof, Pessimistic (these two stats being the highest with Cruel coming in 3rd), Snarky (only mildly), Head over Heart, Independent, Skeptic, Resistant and⌠a shy flirt. With B, at least. Reckless/Cautious is undecided. Leaning Reckless, but maybe not.
She doesnât have a decided name yet. She is a Becca-mancer, with a past crush on Ruby. Her emotion in the house fire nightmare was sadness (poor little meow meow), her flower was striped carnations, and she felt abandoned by Grandpa. I chose the flirtatious option when W offered her the drink, which did feel fitting for Cruel MC imo with the âThis can be payback for them startling you earlier.â line. I donât choose all Cruel options. Ex. I (mostly?) donât choose Cruel options related to animals given Bâs love for them, and I preferred for my MC to commiserate with J over a dislike of crowds rather than choosing the cruel option at that moment.
For her first interaction with Ruby, I chose the option of noticing her hotness but trying to deny it/play it cool, declined the ride, and declined wanting to see each other later. My reasoning for it was that, for one thing, this MC hates Fernweh, doesnât want to be back in town, and wants to just get it all over with. Then with Ruby in particular, thereâs also a desire to distance from her because of her past crush. Not to mention B, the RO, being present right there so this cold behavior might be out of respect for her. Despite all this, I did plan on having Ruby be her closest friendship in the end.
A couple other moments I enjoyed with this MC:
TLDR; I made a Cruel-Aloof MC that romances Becca. I headcanon that her grumpy distant behavior is from her crippling abandonment issues as a way to reject people before they reject her. The only person she allows herself to be close to in the beginning is Becca, who she would gladly burn down the town for.
I see people discussing cruel MCs, Iâll add my two cents about my cruel MC Amari.
He isnât petty and he doesnât have abandonment issues, heâs just insensitive and doesnât have a filter. I headcanon that Beckett sometimes tries to point out that Amari is being rude, to which Amari answers with âshould I lie to their face instead of saying what I really think just because they got upset?â In Amariâs understanding heâs just being brutally honest, and being honest is a good thing, right?
A perfect example of that in the game is during the memorium, then MC helps S with the candles. The cruel option is: Mock his reason. âYouâre whining about being a volunteer?â
âŚyou walk right past him, heading to a pickup truck full of small, wooden crates because it seems that restocking candles is what Mrs. Dorran needs help with.
âIf you took some initiative with helping, then that would be one less thing your mom has to deal with.â
âI donât know why I bothered talking to you, I donât care what you think, but donât mention this to her, okay?â
âI wonât because I donât want to be the one adding more to her plate,â you snidely reply, unfazed by the hard look he gives you for making the verbal dig.
The sensible thing would be to support Silas because heâs worried for his mother. But Amari thinks heâs just pointlessly whining instead of actually helping his mother through action. He doesnât understand that Silas is being vulnerable and sharing his concerns with Amari, instead he finds it all a waste of time.
Heâs always been like this, thatâs the way his brain works, heâs just not a very sensitive person, but the tragic death of his parents, being abandoned by his grandfather, and the loss of his friends due to being forced out of town, definitely made him more cynical and therefore more cruel.
With Amari I generally try not to be rude to ROs, instead preferring snarky responses, because it wouldnât make sense for them to stay by his side otherwise. But other characters arenât safe from Amariâs cruelty 
I love how different our cruel MCs are, it shows how good TFS is with individualization of the MC, like even if we make characters with the same trait, we can still interpret it differently and all interpretations will work.
Edit:
I wanted to reply to that, but forgot earlier.
The most merciful is B. I think itâs obvious, theyâre so incredibly sweet! 
Itâs hard to imagine B doing something cruel. The most cruel is probably R. As discussed here earlier, R is willing to threaten someone to protect the MC, they werenât horrified by the cruel kill, they donât like it when the MC is merciful toward the tree monster, etc. That leaves S and J in between.
S seem logical and efficient, which is why I think they wonât be cruel, because it seems counterproductive in most cases. But theyâre also not too merciful, they donât hesitate to strictly confront someone if they disagree with them. Although Iâm willing to believe that they may have a dark side, judging by how they seem to be quite jealous, so maybe if someone is messing with their loved ones, they may show their claws.
J tend to be calm and collected even in stressful situations because theyâre dutiful and lawful, so I think they will try to judge the situation objectively and be unbiased, thus not too merciful or too cruel. BUT, I noticed something interesting during my poly playthrough. If the MC asks J to kill the tree monster, on other routes they will perform a careful but quick kill. On the JR route, J is more cruel, and S even says the exact same thing they said to the cruel MC: ââŚIts chest cavity is weaker,â S reminds them, detecting the purposefulness to Jâs actions. That demonstrates that J can be cruel to someone who hurt their loved ones.
Merciful to cruel spectrum, imho: B>S>J>R. Not sure about S, but unlike J, they havenât shown their cruel side yet, so Iâm putting them below J for now.
@Nemureru_Mori I think that I have a similar merciful to cruel spectrum for the LIs. I agree with J and R at the cruel end of the spectrum. Even how R goes to attack the Tree Creature is mentioned as being cruel because he intentionally aims for its knee, which is something that always stood out for me, unless he was just channeling a lumberjack. I am not sure about Bee and S. I know Bee is my Sweet Bee; however, there were a few scenes that made me wonder about him at timesâonly a little.
I wanted to bring up this too from @h_neptune, because I do think Bee may have a similar mindset just not quite as drastic?
The reason why is a scene with the doctor who performed the autopsy on the grandfather. On a replay, I had Daisy not want any part of hearing/dealing with the situation since she was too affected; this forced B to take over, and I feel that he showcased some hardness (?) that may only come out for the MC. A line said:
You didnât expect Beckett to shift from cordial to serious in a matter of seconds.
The underlying resolve to his tone seems out of place from what you know of him; itâs too hard and almost harsh, but it motivates Dr. Brentwood to look back at you and retract his fingers from the mousepad.
It is subtle, but I do think it could be important. Not to mention how Bee is ready to report the doctor. He can also express the most reservation about going into the woods after Milton, which could just be because he is cautious. He ultimately does go for the MC,unlike S who wants to go to help the teenager immediately. Bee is still sweetâI suppose that this sweetness is for the MC as friends or possibly something more. To me, S seems more generally empathetic that may be more merciful where Beeâs loyalties and feelings come into play.
This is such an interesting twist for J on that route. It says so much about what he is willing to do for those he loves to kill the Tree Creature drastically differently after it wounds R. I bet this will come up again, or at least that R approved of the kill.
Now, I wonder where W falls on that merciful to cruel spectrum? I feel like we are supposed to put him above R in the ranking; he hasnât really been that mean/callous to my MCs with how I play though.
Thatâs an interesting question. I think itâs Cruel and according to some of the things the author said âbut with exceptionsâ.
At the same time W approaches Frosty and Killer much more carefully than other personality types - not giving nicknames right away and generally being a little more careful with familiarity.
But they seem to relate to the Killer a little bit.
Just for fun here are the responses for contrast:
*if (merciful <= 42)
âHey there, Killer.âA familiar, pleasing voice comes from the dilapidated wall of your home. "This is good practice for you," the ${waiter} continues speaking as ${w_she} draws closer, crunching some of the glass that litters the charred yard beneath ${w_his} leather boots. "Being alone is how it tends to end up with your kind of mindsetââŹÂŚ Our kind of mindset." *goto waiter_achievement_check_2
*elseif (merciful >= 60)
âHey there, Lambkin.â
A familiar, pleasing voice comes from the dilapidated wall of your home.
"Sorry about your house," the ${waiter} continues speaking as ${w_she} draws closer, crunching some of the glass that litters the charred yard beneath ${w_his} leather boots. "It's not a home anymore. Seeing it like this must be hard on someone as gentle as youââŹÂŚ"
*goto waiter_achievement_check_2
*elseif (sincerity >= 66)
"Hey yourself, Sweetheart." The ${waiter} breezily replies to you, moving to undo the straps on the insulated bags so ${w_she} can carry them. "As much as I want to continue this with you, Kyle"ââŹâ${w_she} tips ${w_his} head towards the dry cleanersââŹâ"can be a problematic customer. He gets whinier than usual, if his grilled cheese isn't perfectly melty." $!{w_she} quickly rolls ${w_his} eyes in annoyance, recalling the last fit about congealed cheese that ended with it stuck on ${w_his} bike. "I know you would be sweet about the situation, maybe even kind, but I'm not really that typeââŹÂŚ" *page_break *goto waiter_achievement_check_3
W doesnât think of themselves as a gentle, nice person at the very least.
Yeah, I remembered another one: when we first met Marjorie, B avoided her as a âhighly radioactive roadblockâ, while the merciful MC was much more kind and considerate towards her.
Itâs true that there are few moments to question Bâs mercifulness, but I canât recall much about S that could show their cruelty or mercifulness, could they be more merciful than B? Speaking about Marjorie again, S wanted to stop the car and hear her out, so they do show care towards other people, unless they did that not from the goodness of their heart, but because she could give clues to the mysteries of the town, in which S is most interested of all ROs.
I agree with you and @jay-walker that W is cruel, and would be the most cruel of all ROs. Even if theyâre not evil, Iâm sure theyâre definitely far from an innocent angel.
I donât see R as being cruel, but rather as someone who understands what it takes to win and protect the ones you care for. He gets that life isnât all sunshine and rainbows, and that if youâre fighting for your life, you either fight or you lose. And possibly die. Iâd much rather have someone like that by my side when shit turns sideways than someone who will whine about me doing what must be done to protect myself (or run and hide, leaving me to fend for myself, not that any of them would do that!).
Oh wait⌠B shows an edge???
I think it shows more that J can be as affected by emotions as anyone else, rather than he has a cruel streak. When people we love are in danger, or we feel they are being threatened, itâs quite human to operate on emotion and instinct, rather than on logic or trying to be nice. That doesnât make people cruel, in my opinion. Or even show that they can be cruel.
W seems to be a smartass, but I havenât seen any cruelty from him yet. But we havenât seen much from him yet. Curious to see where things are going with him.
But I would! Grab Chani skirt Not too fast! Iâm wearing Tall heels! Squeeze Chani arm Donât leave me behind, slower! Slower! Just in case something jump at usâŚlike spiderâŚpebblesâŚyou know?
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRR Monster show up
Take her! take her! She is taller than mehhhhhhh!
Run like the dickens 
B seems motivated by self-preservation (and preservation of MC, for the most part. Look at their reaction when MC picks the merciful response to Mrs. Dorranâs help request re: Missing Milton, and MCâs reaction to their reaction). While they ultimately do whatâs kind rather than whatâs safe, they definitely are much more cautious and thoughtful about that decision than a Merciful MC. This is not a knock on Bâthey are still my best RO in FSâbut an observation.
and they are from the city lol city folk syndrome maybe? 
They can even admit they worry about Merciful MC around the end 
Only Iâm probably not taller than you!
Even so, Iâd roll my eyes and âdeal with shitâ 
alone while you go hide. As long as it wasnât like, a roach or bee or something. Then, Iâd trample over you to get away and youâd be on your own!
I wouldnât call it an edge, but B does sometimes come off as⌠I dunno how put it⌠sort of NIMBY, maybe? Like, when you first meet Marjorie, B probably thinks someone should help the crazy old lady, itâs that the people doing that shouldnât be you and them. They think the missing kid should be found, itâs just that they think neither of you should be involved in doing any actual, yâknow, looking.
Progress Update: February 24 2023 (A little later than I intended! >.<)
Please be sure to check out the links/gentle reminders in the first post, including one to the
TFS Patreon
Hello Returning Visitors!
Hopefully, youâre doing well and arenât lost in the woods somewhereâŚ
We celebrated our first Valentineâs Day 
together since the release of TFS: Book One. In case you missed it, go to post #784 on this thread to find Râs Valentineâs extra writing, which is available to the public. Patrons receive six themed writings (one for each romance route) during holidays/seasons; Râs official writing will drop in March.
You can check out the #public tag to discover more TFS goodies on Patreon.
We should get into how Book Two is going! (Iâm going to use a summary dropdown to save space!)
My intention is to have the same (unlucky number 13) amount of chapters. 
Iâm noticing that the chapters are tending to be longer as I move forward, partially due to the scope of the plot points, but also because of the level of variation that Iâm adding by calling on variables. (Book Twoâs Introduction is about 3 times longer than Book Oneâs.) This is primarily due to scenes that trigger based on your MCâs current choices along with past choices/stats.
Something Iâve been having fun with in this book is the ability to make nods to past RO moments you may have experienced while giving options for you to explore those tentative feelings/bonds. I couldnât do this too early in Book One, since you were still meeting and learning about the characters; now, I can! 
Or at least, I can give you the opportunity to be flirty with J as soon as they call you on the walkie talkie in Chapter 1. Having that past history thanks to Book One is something Iâm sincerely enjoying incorporating into Book Twoâit creates links between your two playthroughs that will hopefully make everything feel more real.
I know Iâm supposed to be a little vague about things in these updates; itâs hard when I tend to ramble. XD The scene I recently wrapped up involved the MCâs W-given nickname coming into play and tailoring how they interact with you in the Fernweh Diner. It will be interesting for replays.
Thank you for your support and best wishes! 
@Kanaya Hi! Thank you so much for your kind words and for experiencing TFS. Iâm going to check out that piece of media (?) you mentioned since Iâm not familiar with it; Iâm curious now. 
I hope you continue to enjoy your travels in Fernweh. <3
Your guess about R being salty if this^ dynamic unfolds is spot on.
Your MC would be cuddling (or just chilling) with the cat, but hear a mumbled traitor off to the side before R shuffles further to twist the blanket away. I could see them playing this up to get attention as well. XD (They would also find it cute that the two of you get along so well despite their occasional antics or dramatic sigh.) We will have to see if this trope can coalesce within Fernweh; itâs safe to say I have many thoughts on it, though it will depend on your choices. 
I really do hope to see this scenario. My MC really loves cats and Râs reaction is really adorable! 
Hmm, it might be hard to say, for sure. One other thing I noticed with S is that on Beeâs romance route, S can give them a candle during that scene where the townspeople do not include them. I thought that was very touching as someone who has a soft spot for Beeâit also shows that they (along with Mrs. Dorran?) could be willing to act differently than the other people in the small town. Perhaps they are more considerate. The other point in the favor of S being either merciful or considerate is how he acts about the reveal of Râs fatherâs death; trying to explain it to the MC while also protecting R from it.
That is why I think S might be a little more merciful than B. We do not see them holding back or maybe trying to avoid getting involved. However, as @Snowflower said, B is more cautious, if not more concerned about his and the MCâs well-being, so there is no right/wrong with this. It adds a realness to them, in my opinion.
I like that Beeâs loyalty is centered on the MC.
I think that fits R very well. I do feel that he is willing to cross more lines or go to greater lengths than the other LIs, which I personally find very interesting. Itâs as you say the he would rather fight to protect.
This reminds me of something in chap 10; I will type it up, but it fits with what you said, @EvilChani :
âWe need clues, a suspect, a motive, actual evidenceââ
âI would only need a name if someone killed a member of my family,â Reese boredly cuts off Jamesâs Law Enforcement 101 rant about detective work, flashing a grin to soften the truth to his statement. âI respect that you care about the process. I just fail to see the resultsâŚâ
How J kills the Tree Creature on the poly route was definitely motivated by emotion as you said.
I agree that it does not show he has some sort of latent cruel streak; however, I do think it shows the intensity of the situation drove him to act a certain way. For instance, I do not believe the same could be said for S given how I read his character. He would kill it as well, but not slowly burn its palms with a steely look in his eyes. (Okay, I donât entirely remember that part.) I do know that he stepped on its wrist unlike in the other version, and I think he couldnât bring himself to look at R. Someone may have the screenshotâthat is the gist of what I remember when going back for it. . I find this variation with J interesting.
I agree! Staying in the cat room makes this even more perfect.
Who could it possibly be!? 
As a note, when we talk about cruelty/mercifulness, we (at least I) donât say that J or R are cruel. Itâs a spectrum, weâre just discussing who has shown any signs that could alter their position on this spectrum to one side or the other.
Now to another topic: has anyone else noticed that J has rather low self-esteem and they often underestimate themselves? Here are some examples of this: they winced after suggesting the name Goldie, thinking it isnât a good name; forget-me-nots are described as too simple and that the MC deserves better (plus carnations outshining them in the poly version); they think their singing isnât good enough to be accompanied by the piano (from this ask); theyâre often surprised when the MC chooses them, like for a candle-lighting ceremony or to go into the woods.
My main point is actually about their name. If I read them correctly, Jâs name seems to fit with how they see themselves. First, Jane: thereâs an idiom âplain Janeâ meaning a woman of average or unremarkable appearance. As for the name James, itâs the most popular male name in US for people born between 1922 and 2021, which also plays into the idea of how âaverageâ J is. I hope that in the future we will have the opportunity to show J how amazing and special they are!
I think the actual meanings of Jâs names arenât that interesting, unless thatâs the point, theyâre sort of classic names:
Jane - God is gracious
James - supplanter
Whether the connotations of Jâs name are accidental or intended by @lacunafiction, other charactersâ names also seem fitting to them. Check out the meanings of their names:
Reese - ardent or fiery (fits their temperament)
Ruby - red (fits cause Angelique, duh 
)
Beckett - beehive, little brook or bee cottage (it couldnât be more perfect, so cute! 
)
Becca - to tie, to bind (could be interpreted as theyâre tied to Fernweh through MC, or B is what ties MC to the world outside of Fernweh, or theyâre tied to MC as their bff)
Silas - of the forest (surprisingly fitting too, Fernweh is very foresty)
Sofia - wisdom (perfect, I believe S is wise)
So how much did you SniffleâŚsniffle? Lol
Name meaning huh? Interesting.
Jane = Jane and Tarzan! Iâll be Tarzan obviously, but with boobies!
Ruby= Cause she like Fancy, something tell me my mc better get a 2nd job!
Becca= Scatterbrain
Sofia = Wikipedia!
Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that from chapter 10! Itâs so fitting of R, and just makes me love him all the more. Now if I can just get my MC to be patientâŚ
I hadnât noticed the difference in Jâs route, from when itâs the poly versus the solo route. Holy crap, J can get protective and forget about all else, too!
I need to go back and finish his route with Reina. And replay Reese and the poly⌠and B, I think. I want to check out that one and see if I need to make another MC or not.
Popping in to share my Patreon Content Schedule for March that is color-coded and includes some public content drops sprinkled throughout the month. Aâs birthday is coming up! 
Iâll put it below a summary drop down to save space. Hopefully, you can click to make it bigger, if not go: here, to see it along with typed dates.
Iâm glad you found it adorable, haha. 
I do think the trope @Cat-Toes mentioned would be really cute; it would add some levity while within the palatial halls of the Verner mansion too. (Râs cat and the MC can tag-team to annoy Ms. Verner.)
It also sets a variable that will come up again in Book Two and have some slight consequences for J. Not necessarily in a bad way, but the narrative will be different depending on how J acted during this moment.
Oh, I love all the research and insight you shed light on, @Nemureru_Mori; I was very much like: 
when I saw the @ mention before continuing to read the links you found between the names and the charactersâ personalities/backstories. One thing in particular I wanted to touch on while Iâve got some time is:
This is extremely well spotted! 
While itâs true that Jâs name variants can be called âclassicâ, they are also meant to reflect how J can view themself as âaverageâ or ârun of the millâ, not necessarily exceptional or someone who should stand out. This can also link to the references we get about how the MC âtook a chance on Jâ as a child (this is from the grandfatherâs journal) and how J tended to be quiet/avoid attention. There are mentions of this hinted at throughout Book One to tie into what youâll learn about their past.
Technically, in Book Two you will uncover more context about the Corvins that will make the name meanings of James and Jane come into better focus. Itâs interesting because I selected them with two different perspectives in mind; Jamesâs is more negative than Janeâs, and yet, they both fit what shaped J.
Your MC would probably be pampered by R; they do like to give gifts to show their affection. 
On the other hand, R would actually melt over you spending time with them or making something homemade, which may be a surprise. While they are used to ritzy goods or higher end brands, they value the personal touch more.
I hope youâre all having a lovely start to your week! 
