There have been asks about it on tumblr, as far as I’ve seen, she has said there can be many types of soulmates and not just with one person, there can be romantic soulmates, platonic soulmates with friends, family, etc. The only thing I’m unclear is if there is supposed to be a magical connection or not… it’s different from the soul bonds between supernaturals which do have a magical component.
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Too lengthy...
Yeah, that’s one of those things I hope never comes up in the game. Although, Dezh wouldn’t really be surprised.
Well, they need to shut up. I don’t want her breaking the M route. 
This is why they invented instacart, takeout, and trash service, isn’t it? We don’t have to talk to any of them! 
See, I love the soulmate trope when it’s done right. But I agree that it shouldn’t completely upend the character. From the beginning with M, I’ve taken issue with that relationship somehow working with MCs who are completely touch averse–that is M’s main love language, supposedly, and to deny them that is forcing a change upon them that wouldn’t work.
Another thing about M is that I think the love at first sight trope would’ve worked better for them than for A. Given M’s proclivities, it makes no sense for M to give MCs the time of day once they said no to sex unless it was love at first sight.
That connection that is just now forming between the MC and M is great, but without that connection, why would M even be there with the MC at this point if they hadn’t been having sex? M doesn’t seem the type to keep trying once their target gives a definite ‘no’, since they can get it anywhere, anytime they want. If the love at first sight thing was there, and M just didn’t realize it, then it all clicks into place. If not love at first sight, then some sort of instinctive–maybe even primal–connection. That little ‘click’ that is there that M didn’t notice (and the MC may have noticed then or not) that kept them constantly coming back to the MC, even when the MC was putting stop signs up all over the place.
Here’s what she said and it’s basically a whole bag of air… it’s magical. That’s about all we know.
This is how I see it, too. Other relationships may work, and can be great. I think that’s the one thing I liked about what she said–that there are all kinds of different soulmates, with platonic, familial, romantic, etc.
There is a magical component. The link above is the most recent one where she actually tried to explain it, and she seems to be leaving it vague because she doesn’t know if she’s doing something with it yet or not. Here is where she clarifies that what’s between the MC and LI isn’t a soul bond like is done in Echo.
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So, Sera hasn’t completely decided how they work and what they are certain how it is, it won’t be told to us because of spoilers for… future games not books? We will know for sure in the next kalpa at this point lmao.
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Considering she won’t even give character names because she considers those spoilers, it’s not surprising she won’t tell us a damned thing. Her attitude about “spoilers” is ridiculous to me.
Another one about soulmates that just… says it all…
An interesting one about N and F, and how you will probably be able to choose not to be an “official” relationship with them right up until the end, but will be a couple, nonetheless.
I think that’s what M-mancers are going to get, considering she keeps saying there’s no official start to anything with them and the MC–we’ll get no official relationship, just an assumed one. Which… kind of sucks ass, actually.
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I can believe that M would not care about soul-anything as long as it is a other people have them, but seeing how their character acts I find it hard to believe that they would not care about having one themselves, I’m totally expecting them to freak out when it comes out.
About relationships… it does suck, a lot, specially because if we would like to have one and acknowledge it there would be no point to deny it in the end game.
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If it comes out, I can see that, too. I also have a feeling that, if the MC tells M they love them before M figures it out (since they’ll be stupid for another full book or more), M will freak out about that, too, and avoid the MC for a few days. It could be a very cool way to get M to realize their own feelings, but that won’t happen. Instead, it’ll just be M coming back and pretending it never happened and the MC moping, crying, or pining.
Yeah. I think M will also be the only one to never mention the MC becoming a vampire since Sera says they don’t care or notice much. So M wouldn’t think about the fact that the MC is, you know, mortal, until the MC is either dead or on their deathbed and it’s too late.
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That’s okay for me, the first chance I get to bring it up I will, tbh I would’ve asked how one becomes a vampire or other kinds of supernatural in book 1 if we were allowed to.
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I also found this.
I guess Soulmate = meant to be/destiny. But, ‘destiny’ already has its own definition.
If something is meant to be, then I guess it doesn’t matter how the two treat each other, 'cuz they’re just going to get together anyway. We’re already seeing the miscommunication romance trope with M and A. This will be amplified by any time jumps that have the MC and the LI apart for an extended amount of time. We’re about to see the power dynamic romance trope depending on how things play out with the MC as a full agent. I was just reading an article about these tropes:
However, and this is a big however, nothing is more frustrating than a poorly chosen romance trope ruining an almost perfect romance.
Granted, there is no such thing as the “perfect romance.” And this doesn’t negate the fact that I like my fictional love stories having a happily ever after.
I would just prefer that the main character does not accept or tolerate toxic behaviors in their partners.
However, it is essential to be armed mentally and emotionally before reading these types of books. Knowing the problematic nature of these romance tropes and understanding the importance of healthy communication, boundaries, and signs of manipulation will allow you to avoid the toxic pitfalls that are romanticized within the pages.
Poor communication/miscommunication and certain power dynamic imbalances can harm your mental and emotional well-being. Romance novels will continue to let us vicariously live out our rom-com dreams. However, we’ll leave the acceptance of toxic behaviors in our partners at the literary doorstep.
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Funny thing is, normally I gobble up toxic romances like a piranha with bulimia, but in Wayhaven I experience more and more of cognitive dissonance, especially with N. We’re getting told he’s a perfect partner, but he starts reading as a creep and generally comes off as incredibly pushy, we’re getting told A is just misunderstood, but it doesn’t stop him from being an absolute ass to us and expect us to tolerate it, M thinks one thing and does another - in general things don’t correlate with the way they were described.
Maybe that’s why my inner piranha is a picky eater with this one. It feels like narrative and actions of characters are constantly fighting with each other.
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There has got to be an image of exactly this on the internet somewhere. I wish my PC was working or I’d make it myself. 
Here, have one that’s drooling:
This is probably a good way to describe it. I know I’m both compelled and repelled right now—oh, great, like magnets. See? Mishka is a genius. I think the story potential is bursting and I hope that it ends up feeling satisfying.
The characters do feel like they are taking a different turn from where they seemed to be coming from in the first two books. Or, did we as the audience misunderstand from the get-go? Were they not really as fleshed out as they were made to seem? Pun intended, I think.
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I genuinely believe this is the case. I think that the long waits between releases along with the culture of establishing headcanons about protagonists and these big discussions about favorite ROs along with authors giving out lore tidbits and answering all kinds of questions about their characters (typically all things done to try and tide folks over during those long waits, I get it) really leads to people overhyping these things in their minds and imagining things that aren’t there.
I’m not typically a fan of stories like this so maybe I have the benefit of distance but I genuinely don’t think there has been anything wildly out of place plot-or-character-wise over the course of these books. That’s not a comment on the quality of the writing/storytelling one way or another, just an observation of the characterization and style at play here. This has always been a cheesy romance story, the premise has always been pretty silly, and the ROs have always been tropey. Whether someone enjoys these things or not is down to personal taste - for me it’s part of the charm, but I’ve never been super emotionally invested in this series. I just enjoy the cute character moments (For context, I only play F and M romances, and when not romancing one they’re the BFF) and goof my way through the overarching plot.
Bear in mind that it’s been five years since the first book came out and taste can absolutely have changed (especially if someone is pretty young) in that time, assuming someone has been following this stuff for a while. If people really feel like something is different with these stories, maybe they’re the ones who changed and not the books? Just an idea.
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I don’t know, I recently re-read the whole series and didn’t notice that much difference with the RO’s. But I feel like either the MC has changed…or maybe I changed and the MC wasn’t working for me anymore, so I had to rework mine. I know this kind of thing has happened to me before, when a series takes years to release. Sometimes I can’t relate to the character I’m playing anymore. Maybe it’s just that some of the tropes I used to enjoy in fiction are things I’ve moved on from, or don’t relate to so much anymore.
With Wayhaven in particular, though, as with a lot of other series, I do feel like there is a disconnect often between social media and the game. Nowadays lots of the story telling happens outside the main game/project, and if you miss out, you can lose a lot of context about characters, etc.
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To me, the characters feel exactly the same as they did in B1, with the exception of M if you’re on their route. A is still an antagonistic asshole, F is still a chaos whirlwind in it for the lulz, and N is still going around trying (and mostly failing) to mum everybody into being prim and proper, which is exactly who they were in B1.
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Nah, I am pretty new to this whole thing, it wasn’t a year for me between books 2 and 3. It’s just that the first two managed to be funny and cute (the scene where A lifts the whole fucking tree and waits for the praise like a puppy just lives in my head rent free), and this one just flopped for reasons that were named many tumes here before.
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I was a teen when i first read the books and now I re-read them as an adult, and yet… I still felt some shred of hope when I read Book 1 and 2. It felt like we were getting somewhere, like there was progress and some genuinely sweet moments. Something like that I can remember in Book 3 is far and in between: Tina’s dinner scene with Adam where she expresses concern for my detective, Douglas’s capture by trappers.
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This was something I thought about last night, previously I was a lot more lenient with Wayhaven. The story just started and I had a lot of hope it could get better. Book 2 left a very good impression on me when I finished it, so I wasn’t worried about Book 3. The three year gap in between, I would definitely say my taste has changed.
I crave more mature romances and strong character progression now, I’ve basically shed any and all YA romances behind me. Though I still do love me a messy and toxic relationship here and there( as long as it’s actually entertaining).
So when I started book 3, I was expecting something more. A big part of me blames myself, as sera has said this is a romance series, first and foremost. I don’t like critiquing romance books because it’s usually the author fantasy but with how book 3 ended up. I can’t ignore it anymore.
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The MC hasn’t changed, it’s just becoming more and more obvious that the stats with which we build our MCs are completely ignored in the romance. Considering this is a romance game, the personalities should really be considered in the interactions with the LIs. They aren’t, though–the MC is forced into being a blushy anime character, no matter their actual stats, forced into feelings they may or may not be experiencing yet, and–worse–it’s completely one-sided and the LIs aren’t shown to have the same over-the-top reactions to the MC.
And that’s the problem with A’s route. There’s no growth and any progress is immediately reset. The character itself isn’t the problem, it’s the fact that the build-up to A and the MC getting together feels forced and stunted because Sera decided to drag it out for six books before allowing them to be together.
I’ve said it before, and the fact remains, that A’s route should have an earlier exit ramp that can be triggered by the MC’s words or actions. As it stands, the entire “romance” is dependent upon A deciding, so the MC is basically a non-entity in it. There should be ways to speed it up, things that would trigger A into ending this seemingly never-ending cycle of push/pull with the MC as a doll that has no actual agency.
Yeah, F is F. I don’t think anything will ever change with them and they won’t “grow” as a person. And it will always be fun and non-angsty (except for their mom).
Well, in b3, N’s prim and proper went out the window. N is a horndog, really. It just didn’t come out until they were in a relationship and sure of the MC’s feelings. With N, there is somewhat of a disconnect in their behavior in b3, IMO. But I think that is Sera’s way of showing that N is better than M in every way, including sex.
Like you said, M is the exception. It may be because Sera was forced to explore M past the crabby exterior and sex-driven attitude. M’s one-note, cartoonish build from b1 just wouldn’t work if it was going to be a romance, so she had to figure out who the hell M is. With the other three, she sees their one-note, cartoonish build as acceptable–F is the bff snarker who is almost always happy and fun, A is the tortured slow-burn (asshole), and N is the soft, sweet, caring one with something dark in their past. So that’s what you get.
These are symptoms of plot bloat and forcing the progress to a snail’s pace in order to fill seven games. She could very easily let the romances progress at a more natural, quicker pace and focus on external forces for the source of drama and tension, but she wants to drag them out as long as possible. And the problems with doing that are getting more blatant with A, N, and F’s routes.
M’s route got obvious progress because we’re beginning to see beneath the surface of M (and that progress will apparently be negated in b4 so it can be dragged out longer). With A, N, and F, what you see is what you get–there’s nothing deeper below the surface, apparently, except for whatever happened in their past.
Wayhaven would’ve benefited from being a five-game series instead of a seven-game series.
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Well, I know I haven’t been with this series for its entire runtime of 5 years or so. It’s only been, I want to say around 2-3 years. Having a toddler distorts time as it is, add a pandemic on top of that and I just remember jumping in sometime around Book 2 coming out. I don’t feel like I’ve changed much (in fact, I feel like I’m stuck in time) but I suppose no one ever feels like they are the ones changing.
It just feels like the experience I was getting from the first two books wasn’t the same for this one. It’s like it started out grittier then kept using a file to smooth things out while ignoring all the shavings it left behind. The romances haven’t been able to keep me from noticing the shavings.
So, we’ve got a wait. Any IF recommendations? I like everything: from scifi to fantasy, romance or none, lighthearted to grimdark, silly to serious. They don’t necessarily have to be CoG/HG recommendations. I’ve currently got Tally Ho and its sequel queued up and will probably grab the Relics series so I can read the 3rd one from that author’s Tumblr. Any other good/fun ones I should check out (or is this not an appropriate place to ask such a question)?
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I recommend Sordwin, great trilogy and also Breach Archangel. @EvilChani has a great list herself
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I can always recommend Mecha Ace. Short, sweet, engaging. Like an ice cream cone. Slammed! is longer and branchier and happens to be a great standalone book too.
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