The Wayhaven Chronicles: Book Three (WIP -FINAL DEMO)

[Inccendia]

I’ve been reading through this thread recently, and I saw a lot of people theorizing that Verda or Tina will get kidnapped in order to bait the MC and draw them to the trappers. That would be a pretty good angsty scenario, but imo it’s not going to be either of them.

If you decide not to tell either of them about the supernatural, then it wouldn’t make much sense for them to get kidnapped due to the way the way the branching seems to work and affect the plot, and also because of some things Sera has said. I’m too lazy to go dig around her asks to find the exact one I’m thinking of atm, but I’m almost 100% certain that some time ago someone had asked her if the MC will ever get the opportunity again to tell Tina/Verda about the supernatural in later books if they didn’t in Book Two and iirc Sera said that nope, the choice in Book Two locks you permanently into one of the three branches (Tina Knows/Verda Knows/No One Knows) until the end of the series.

Granted, of course she can always change her mind, we’re still on Book Three, and plot plans can always evolve from what a writer has originally planned, especially for such a long series. But from what I’ve seen of Sera in my two years of being in the TWC fandom, she has always seemed really adamant on respecting and acknowledging player choices in the context of the story. I feel like she wouldn’t force players that decided not to tell either Tina/Verda about the supernatural into a branch that would basically negate that choice and make them know about it anyway, even if the detective actively chooses to hide it from them in Book Two. I think Sera wouldn’t have given us the choice not to tell either of them in the first place only to nullify it in the very next book and railroad players into having Tina/Verda know about it anyway, you know?

Though I suppose the possibility of one of them getting kidnapped even if you’re not on their branches is still viable, since they could always get mind wiped by The Agency after they get saved and the detective continues on hiding the truth from them, as if they never knew anything. But how would it be decided who gets kidnapped in that case? There’s no relationship tracker for either Tina or Verda (there is one for Verda in Book One, technically, but it’s unused in Book Two & Book Three and some time ago Sera said that she decided against using the relationship tracker for Verda, so that stat is basically obsolete), so it’s not like the game can decide based on which one of them the MC has a higher relationship with. Maybe by randomizing it?

But I personally think the choice of not having either of them know will carry over for the rest of the series, or the majority of it at least, and seems like it will be its own branch focused on the difficulties of keeping those kinds of huge secrets from people close to you, the problems that arise from that and the toll it takes on the MC. Which is also why I think that if it’s going to be a non-agency person that gets kidnapped to bait the MC, it’s more likely that it’s going to be either Bobby or Douglas, depending on which branch your MC took obviously. It could also make for a pretty interesting situation, considering the various different dynamics/kinds of relationship the MC can have with Bobby/Douglas. And if it’s not Bobby or Douglas that gets nabbed, imo at that point it would be pretty obvious that it’s definitely gonna be Rebecca or the MC’s LI… Not entirely sure how the trappers would be able to kidnap any of UB, considering they’re all very high tier vampires, or Rebecca, since she basically seems to be at the facility all the time (including living there), but on the other hand technically none of them can defend themselves against Sin due to his barrier, so if the trappers send him, I guess our LI getting nabbed is very much a possibility?

But idk, I may be spewing complete nonsense lol. Do you guys think there’s any credibility to this theory and my reasoning for it at all? TWC has been on my mind a lot lately since the latest demo released, so I thought I’d share some of my many thoughts lol. I’m leaving it at that for now since I don’t want to spam the thread with my numerous theories lmao. This has been pretty much me ever since the demo dropped.

[marimerspace]

That’s… actually a really smart way of looking at it. I think a lot of people’s expectations have been subverted, since we all expected the MC to be kidnapped by Sin. But based on the end of the demo it seems that Sera won’t be going that route, which I like because it keeps thing from feeling too samey to book one. We’re only three books in, now definitely is not the time to be reusing plot devices. Personally, I think the LI being kidnapped is something possibly being saved for book 5. However I definitely could see it happening to say, Rebecca. We also have to remember that SOMETHING is coming up in Douglas’ route, which makes me wonder… what’s gonna happen to him? Will either Bobby or Douglas be kidnapped by Sin, leading to some strange supernatural effects for either of them? The possibilities are endless!

[margifish]

lol oh believe me, if were up to me my detective would be a very close, very happy family with her, Adam, Nate and Mason (Felix is and will forever be the little brother she always wanted but never got, and if anyone hurts his precious self she will end them XD ). Failing that like other people I’d have loved a conclusion where Adam and Nate realized and accepted that they both love the MC and the MC loves them and share I think one of my favorite indie game developer’s Lunaris has just spoiled me when it comes to actually having poly routes (though the poly routes always make sense and fit characters who go for that). I respect Mishka for sticking to her guns and saying no poly since it obviously doesn’t suit her characters and she knows them best ;…;

Yeah, in every RPG/visual novel I play I have a ‘canon’ route…the version I consider to be the ‘real’ one that happened. Usually it’s the first one I play for rpgs like Dragon Age but for otome games/visual novels it’s usually the route with my favorite LI or sometimes the one I did first… Unfortunately my first route in Wayhaven was the LT because I couldn’t decide in book 1 between Adam or Nate lol

I’m impressed people in here actually make different detectives for each route. My detective is always the same character- the only things that vary is how she decorates her apartment, what skill set she’s strongest in (though it’s usually deduction/investigation or people/psychology), and how sarcastic she is XD I view each route with her with the other love interests as AU, ‘what would’ve happened if she’d fallen for him instead?’ scenarios.

[EvilChani]

@Inccendia I agree with you, actually. And I’d prefer if it was not one of them (Verda or Tina) who gets kidnapped. And the ask you’re talking about is here:

Seraphinite Games

It seems like it would go against the choice of telling them or not to have them be kidnapped. And, if you didn’t tell them, it appears that the ‘dinner’ will be a night out with both of them, so I suppose it would have to be a dice roll to decide who gets kidnapped?

Then the other one would have to have their mind wiped before rescuing the one that got taken. And the one taken would have to have their mind wiped. That’s a whole lot of variables for not a lot of payoff.

@Inccendia

And if it’s not Bobby or Douglas that gets nabbed, imo at that point it would be pretty obvious that it’s definitely gonna be Rebecca or the MC’s LI… Not entirely sure how the trappers would be able to kidnap any of UB, considering they’re all very high tier vampires, or Rebecca, since she basically seems to be at the facility all the time (including living there), but on the other hand technically none of them can defend themselves against Sin due to his barrier, so if the trappers send him, I guess our LI getting nabbed is very much a possibility?

Yeah, that was my feeling about the LI being taken, which would be my preferred way of things going down. So much drama, the MC possibly handing themselves over to protect their LI, or maybe both being kept and having to break out together. So many possibilities that would help the MC and LI get closer to each other.

Of course, it would be interesting if it were Rebecca, Bobby, or Douglas who got nabbed. Might be interesting to see the detective have to hand themselves over to the Trappers to save Bobby of all people (I don’t think one of my detectives would do it, though she would go in and try to save him after blurting out, “Good, keep the asshole!”). And I’m not even sure two of mine would do that for Rebecca unless they saw UB being all mopey about it and felt guilty.

I’m still hoping it’s the LI that gets kidnapped. Or almost kidnapped, only to have the MC able to offer themselves instead (can you imagine A, N, and F’s reactions? And even M’s would be interesting to see, especially after how they reacted in book 1 if the MC offered to go with Murphy if he promised to leave UB alone–I like the idea of getting to see if there’s any difference in how the LI would respond to that).

[SnowPhoniex]

Same I only have one detective and that’s it. Some folks have like twenty!!!

[Servant_of_choices]

I feel attacked.

[EvilChani]

I have four–one for each LI (though for N and A, it took me several tries to invent a character that worked with them!). I used to have five, but I gave up on the LT.

Edited to add: I let the four characters play around and do whatever they want before my “final” saved run, but there are plenty of scenes I never get to see because they won’t do some things… ever. So I read the code.

Honestly, after reading the code for the Douglas route, I really wish my M-mancer had gone that route instead. The scenes after the Douglas thing with M are so freaking sweet!

[margifish]

Well to me it makes sense to make multiple characters in a game like say (yes I have an obsession) Dragon Age Origins where although you play the same character when it comes to main story and role (the Warden), his/her origin when it comes to beginning/race/etc is completely different and the different possible wardens ARE actually different people. The Detective is the Detective…same mother, same job, same mutation, same ‘bad luck’ to end up knowing about the supernatural and ending up with as the normie in a team of hot vampires XD The main difference is gender/romantic preference/personality/quirks/skills, in that vein (pun intended) it’s more akin to dragon age two or mass effect where your MC is the same person (Hawke or Shepard) with appearance/skills/ a few background choices that can be different for flavor.

Still…more power to the people going all out to create separate detectives. I’m just too attached to mine to make someone knew…UB are her team darn it. XD I usually play her as ‘the heart’ of the team (kind, selfless etc), but I love snarky dialogue options, and sometimes in the mason route I go for super sarcastic despite her kindness because being able to tell Mason to ‘bite me’ is just worth it XD

[Servant_of_choices]

Completely understandable , i am glad you are enjoying the game in a way you like , i can also understand being too attached to one of your creations so much you dont want to make another( just feels wrong) , i had these feelings in the novels i used to write , i made sequels not different books because i became too attached to the mc i made.

[margifish]

Oddly enough in the series I’m currently writing each of the three main books has their own protagonist (each book being a stand alone story with previous events or characters getting a passing mention). The fourth book (and the end of the main series) will have the same protag as the third, but that’s because she’s my favorite of my characters in the setting and the other two protags will probably make direct appearances even though I haven’t worked out to what degree each will feature.

My other main series (of which I’ve horribly neglected and only written the first book and a few chapters of the second) is traditional sequel that continues the story of the original cast XD

I guess interactive novels/otome games are just more wish fulfillment for me/fun escapism unlike my actual writing where my characters are different people and have their own stories to unfold

Wayhaven has actually tempted me to make my own IN or VN (depending on whether I could get art/music) in my own book setting. I’d never tried an interactive novel before Wayhaven other than the vampire the masquerade one Night Road, but I’m glad I did.

[SnowPhoniex]

Meh, you’ll be fine homie, you’re a LT player after all

[Dahariel]

Okay, am I the only one who thinks F is in tons of emotional pain? My reasoning behind this is the info discovered in their file if you choose to look it up, that coupled with their shudder in book one at the word demon and the images shown of their past in book two. All of that coupled with their reaction to M’s question( If you’re romancing M when F brings up you dad they will ask F “What if I were to ask about your mother?”) leads me to believe that they’re suffering internally with whatever happened and they use flirtation and humor to cover it up. This is also backed up by the fact that they are insecure about the MC about staying with them ( the way they continuously thank us for sticking around and what not this is shown mostly in book one and abit in book two as well I think). Of course I could be miles off the mark here but…yh idk how to end this, so am I the only one who thinks they’re in some form of pain or suffering from some type of fear(other than the MC leaving them behind of course)?

[SnowPhoniex]

Gah nope, been knew my man was in emotional turmoil as soon as that scene in book 2 where you find him staring intensely at the fire place. Personally to me it was a haunting and sad scene.

[EvilChani]

@margifish

I guess interactive novels/otome games are just more wish fulfillment for me/fun escapism unlike my actual writing where my characters are different people and have their own stories to unfold

I get that. I’m just one of those people who invents characters for every game that interests me, then for every LI that I find intriguing. Which means I end up with a bazillion characters rambling around in my head and they have their own stories, too. Then I end up dragging them into my and my buddy’s original “universe” and they take on lives of their own over there, too. Basically, I have a lot of characters…

I do have one character I use for initial playthroughs of everything… she’s an OC, but I use her because she’s so damned easy to get along with and fits pretty much anywhere.

[marimerspace]

You’re definitely not the only one. F is one of those characters who kind of get passed off as as a little brother/sister and on the outside always seem ready to handle all the mental stress from their friends. Always there in your corner ready to help you deal with stuff. But when we get in their romance/BF route, it allows us to see that no, F isn’t always ok, and now we can help them in the same way that they’ve helped us. Learning more about F’s backstory and helping them with that trauma is a big reason why they’re a solid second in my overall route ranking.

[Inccendia]

@EvilChani Thanks for linking the ask! I was planning on making an attempt to find it later and post it here so people can read it themselves, but I was having trouble trying to muster up the motivation to dig through Sera’s thousands upon thousands of asks and to battle with Tumblr’s terrible search engine. You saved me the effort thankfully!

@EvilChani

It seems like it would go against the choice of telling them or not to have them be kidnapped. And, if you didn’t tell them, it appears that the ‘dinner’ will be a night out with both of them, so I suppose it would have to be a dice roll to decide who gets kidnapped?

Then the other one would have to have their mind wiped before rescuing the one that got taken. And the one taken would have to have their mind wiped. That’s a whole lot of variables for not a lot of payoff.

Completely agree with your entire point here. I also didn’t even think about the fact that both of them would have to get their minds wiped if one of them does get kidnapped, since as you said it would most likely happen during the night out with them and they would both see stuff they shouldn’t have. I know Sera loves her variables, but I highly doubt even she would subject herself to such a convoluted situation lol. Overall, for now I pretty firmly believe that it won’t be Tina/Verda.

@EvilChani

So much drama, the MC possibly handing themselves over to protect their LI, or maybe both being kept and having to break out together. So many possibilities that would help the MC and LI get closer to each other.

Omg, I know, right? I’m a sucker for angst and the possibilities for it here are endless. I would absolutely love it if the MC and their LI have to break out together and get to be badasses together. But I also love the idea of our LI getting kidnapped, because it would be a really nice parallel with the MC’s kidnapping in Book One, except with the roles reversed this time. Could be a very interesting parallel to explore.

@EvilChani

Of course, it would be interesting if it were Rebecca, Bobby, or Douglas who got nabbed. Might be interesting to see the detective have to hand themselves over to the Trappers to save Bobby of all people

Yes, I personally think it would make for a really interesting situation if one of those three is the one that gets kidnapped. There’s just so many different, complicated dynamics the detective can have with all of those people, but especially so with Rebecca and ex!Bobby. There’s potentially a lot of complex emotions and feelings that can be explored there, imo.

@EvilChani

I’m still hoping it’s the LI that gets kidnapped. Or almost kidnapped, only to have the MC able to offer themselves instead (can you imagine A, N, and F’s reactions? And even M’s would be interesting to see, especially after how they reacted in book 1 if the MC offered to go with Murphy if he promised to leave UB alone–I like the idea of getting to see if there’s any difference in how the LI would respond to that).

Wow, I had actually completely forgotten that that was a dialogue option back in Book One. Been a while since I replayed it. You’re right, it would be very interesting to see how differently the LIs would react to the MC offering themselves like that compared to Book One. I’m definitely hoping the MC will be able to give themselves up to The Trappers regardless of who gets nabbed, though. Give me that sweet, sweet angst. I love it when my MCs are in danger lol.

@marimerspace

@marimerspace

That’s… actually a really smart way of looking at it.

Thank you, I’m glad you think so!

@marimerspace

I think a lot of people’s expectations have been subverted, since we all expected the MC to be kidnapped by Sin. But based on the end of the demo it seems that Sera won’t be going that route, which I like because it keeps thing from feeling too samey to book one. We’re only three books in, now definitely is not the time to be reusing plot devices.

Yeah, you’re definitely right about that. Honestly, the rational part of my brain is in complete agreement, because the MC can only get kidnapped so many times in the span of only three books and because, yes, it would get repetitive, while the cheesy part of me is like “Yes, Sin, please kidnap the detective, I want my MC to be in danger and to have her LI freak out and worry over her”.

@marimerspace

Personally, I think the LI being kidnapped is something possibly being saved for book 5.

At this point I think it’s a given that our LI will get kidnapped at some point during the series. The question is simply in which book will that happen, this one, the infamous fifth book of angst, or one of the other ones lol.

@marimerspace

We also have to remember that SOMETHING is coming up in Douglas’ route, which makes me wonder… what’s gonna happen to him?

Yes, this is one of the main reasons I think that Bobby/Douglas will be the ones getting nabbed! It would make sense, especially considering that we already know that some seriously interesting stuff is about to go down in Douglas’ branch, according to Sera…

[margifish]

Which will make my detective blind with self-righteous anger if they nab Douglas, she sort of brushes over his crush as ‘eh he’s just young, it’ll go away in time’ because she just sees him as another surrogate little brother (like Felix in most routes). I can’t stand Bobby so I’ve never gone with the Bobby as ex option, just ex friend, so my detective would be like 'eh…you can keep him" if they tried kidnapping him.

[marimerspace]

@Inccendia

Honestly, the rational part of my brain is in complete agreement, because the MC can only get kidnapped so many times in the span of only three books and because, yes, it would get repetitive, while the cheesy part of me is like “Yes, Sin, please kidnap the detective, I want my MC to be in danger and to have her LI freak out and worry over her”.

As a Main M-mancer, I would love to see book 3 M’s reaction to the MC getting kidnapped. DANG IT, now I want the MC to get kidnapped again!

[EvilChani]

@Inccendia

There’s just so many different, complicated dynamics the detective can have with all of those people, but especially so with Rebecca and ex!Bobby. There’s potentially a lot of complex emotions and feelings that can be explored there, imo.

The only thing that makes me kind of meh about this possibility is that, for detectives that hate Bobby because he’s their ex or don’t get along with Rebecca and don’t really want to be bothered with her at all (and even with Douglas, for those detectives who are really uncomfortable with his hero worship), there isn’t really any emotional oomph for this situation. From one perspective it makes sense for it to be Bobby or Douglas or Rebecca, but only for MCs who don’t have contentious relationships with them.

For the MCs that get along with the pair they have the most interactions with (Rebecca/Douglas or Rebecca/Bobby), this could be extremely emotional. For the rest? I guess it’d kinda be like the thing with Bobby in b2–it’d be kind of flat with a bit of forced emotion from the MC (the scene with Ellidor/Tapeesa/the other guy whose name I can’t remember, where they offer to watch over Bobby). Honestly, for me, the only real emotional thing to come out of Bobby being “sick” in b2 was M, A, and N finding out that Bobby was the MC’s ex. Otherwise, my detectives weren’t really feeling anything over except annoyance that someone came into their home and injured the guest they were trying to boot out on his ass.

@Inccendia

I love it when my MCs are in danger lol.

I do, too. Or when they get injured. In the A and M paths, I really want to see the MC in more danger, get hurt more, etc. Which is amusing because my M-mancer is really high combat, so up to this point, except for the forced capture by Murphy, she hasn’t failed–well, except for the Sanja thing, since she let Sanja die to save M, and there wasn’t really anything with emotional impact for M/MC to come from that (unlike if the MC let M get hurt and they got the ‘no one ever kissed me like that’ thing). So yeah, I want to see more danger for the MC, and more of M and A being protective (even when my M-mancer would swear she doesn’t need protection). With F and N, I don’t care so much because they make damn sure the MC knows how much they care.

@Inccendia

Yeah, you’re definitely right about that. Honestly, the rational part of my brain is in complete agreement, because the MC can only get kidnapped so many times in the span of only three books and because, yes, it would get repetitive, while the cheesy part of me is like “Yes, Sin, please kidnap the detective, I want my MC to be in danger and to have her LI freak out and worry over her”.

Agree completely with the last bit. That’s what I live for right now in this series.

But for the MC being kidnapped, I mean, logically, it makes sense that they’d be kidnapped more than once. Or, at the very least, have repeated attempts of it. The more people, both supernatural and human, who learn the MC’s identity, the more people would be after them. That special blood is something that is worth a lot.

@Inccendia

The question is simply in which book will that happen, this one, the infamous fifth book of angst, or one of the other ones lol.

I think the book of angst won’t be kidnapping. I suspect (and this is pure conjecture on my part) that the MC will be cut out of the team for their own safety. Or UB will go off the deep end or something. I remember some ask where Sera said that, in book 5, the MC would have a lot more interactions with Verda or Tina, which made me think that UB might not be in the picture much for part of the book, at least.

The other thought I had about book 5 was that I could also see the LI (or maybe the whole team) ending up in one of those torture boxes for a time. Which would blow, because I kinda want my MC to go through that and have to be rescued and taken care of afterward by the LI.

@marimerspace

As a Main M-mancer, I would love to see book 3 M’s reaction to the MC getting kidnapped. DANG IT, now I want the MC to get kidnapped again!

Ditto. My favorite path is M’s, and I want to see M’s reaction to the MC getting kidnapped at this point. I’m thinking it will take something horrible to make M realize they’re actually in love with the MC–and I’m not sure kidnapping is horrible enough (it might take an almost death, or the MC flat lining for a minute), but here’s hoping it would be.

[marimerspace]

@EvilChani

I’m thinking it will take something horrible to make M realize they’re actually in love with the MC–and I’m not sure kidnapping is horrible enough (it might take an almost death, or the MC flat lining for a minute), but here’s hoping it would be.

My question isn’t really if this will happen, it’s when. Will Sera use the whole “MC almost dies” plot hook to convince M that they want to take their relationship to the the next level. Or, even better, it could cut through those years it usually takes for M to realize they love the MC, since Sera said that’s how long it would take in the QnA.