Hi Zack!! Merry Christmas to you too! Thank you for Kelka, Jen already sent it to me a little while ago, but now everyone gets to see how pretty you made Kel! I just love that cute little blush you've given them and I giggled when I saw it even went to their ears~ Thank you~!! Also, I didn't mean to Vaine so hard to draw! I actually have difficulty with him sometimes as well, so I needed to adjust him a little. I'll update his art on the game page after the next update, but I'll post his body art (new normal clothes) below for now.
Feel free to open a new thread and ask any and all questions! I am happy to answer although I may not answer if I think it will spoil a plot point. Excuse the upcoming block of text. AHEM-!
I do plan on making a social media account for the game at some point, but I'm trying to decide between tumblr or Bluesky. I'm too lazy to look after both 😅 I'm leaning towards Bluesky because I don't know anyone on Tumblr, but I'm putting more thought into it.
I will risk some small spoilers to answer your other questions and observations: Thurin never had a family until Tananthia bought him from a slaver and freed him (don't think she was being nice, she always has a reason). Thurin, being a svartal, would never be claimed by his family so he stuck with Tanan because he had nothing and no one else. Racism towards the svartal kind is very severe, especially from other alfar. When Thurin was assigned a Stem, Sharla was only the second person who saw him as a person, so he learned the the Stem could be his family and he was happy for a long time. Because of his injuries and his first Stem being destroyed, Thurin was moved back to work with Tananthia but became depressed because he couldn't do the work he enjoyed most. When he was at his worst, he met the MC and saw them as a curiosity, and later came to platonically love from afar. I put a small part of this in the "Thurin sees the protagonist living their life after turning down his work offer." mini story included in the game, unlocked after finishing the prologue! 😊
Now Vaine and Frodi are a bit more complicated which you will learn in time if you pursue their routes. There isn't one reason, but lots all added together, some are plot reasons which I won't share, but I can tell you the other ones! In it's simplest form, they're jealous of each other mostly.
Vaine was raised in a witch cult that worshipped Esca, he ran away because he wanted to be a normal/average person. He failed. Badly. Yet he was able to survive with the help of his cousin Marrow (a side character to come), until recruitment. He wants to be a "people person" but doesn't know how because he was raised with spirits, mostly the barghests, who he befriended by making deals with them and also *spoiler*
Frodi was raised in a way that Vaine would consider to be "average", as Frodi wasn't raised to make living sacrifices to a death god, was able to grow up and make friends, go out and find a safe, boring job, and has a family that loves him. That Frodi has this or had these opportunities but didn't take advantage fills Vaine with resentment. Oh and it irritates Vaine that people would assume he would be "evil" but not necessarily Frodi on first sight, when Frodi is actually Evil with a capital E and doesn't really hide it.
He and Frodi were the first Thorns in this Stem and Vaine wanted to make friends, and they were. But Frodi has a nasty habit of screwing people over (not a spoiler as you'll see a very evil side to Frodi in one bad end in the next update if your affection and lust are high enough - Frodi hurts those he likes the most 😉). This hurt Vaine a lot as Frodi was his first and only living friend who wasn't Marrow. How Frodi screwed Vaine over is a secret for now. But Vaine now doesn't trust people, when he once wanted to try and he blames Frodi for it.
On Frodi's part, well, it's both just as complicated and less. The less part is that Frodi is a sadist in every sense of the word. Unlike everyone else in the Stem who has trauma (yes, even the Captain is the way she is because of it - can see in the short stories), Frodi has none. Zilch. Nada. He is just a pure sadistic narcissist who wants to hurt others or be the target of their adoration or obsession. Both feed his fragile ego.
The just as complicated part is that Frodi is jealous of Vaine's capability as a witch. Frodi is also a witch, but was not raised in a coven as Vaine was. He never learned how to interact with spirits in a way that wouldn't be dangerous to him. Frodi is very scared of the spirits and magic in general, although he'll try to hide it. That Vaine isn't scared is very humiliating to Frodi. That anyone could do or be something better than Frodi, even if it isn't something he wants to be good in, will infuriate Frodi to no end.
Frodi still actually likes Vaine a little (as I said, he enjoys hurting those he likes the most) and is just teasing Vaine to twist in the knife for his own enjoyment, knowing it reminds Vaine of when they were friends. While they aren't friends anymore, Frodi still sees Vaine as a toy.
Another thing that irks Frodi is how Vaine is very close with his cousin Marrow, yet Frodi, for all the love his mothers and brother give him, doesn't really feel much fondness for his own family. They're more an annoyance to him, an obligation who he can't seem to get rid of. He's jealous that Vaine has someone who will always back him up, but Frodi refuses to see that his own family would help him if he needed it. Another point for the family is that while Vaine sees Marrows strengths, he is not threatened by it and is reassured that together they can do anything. Whereas Frodi sees his elder brother as a threat, that Feane could be better looking, more well liked, stronger, faster, more successful in general. It gnaws at him everyday.
Everything else beyond that is a spoiler, but I hope it helps you understand them more!
You will see side character Feane (below) at some point near the end of chapter 1. Look forward to it, as Feane is like an upgraded and NICE Frodi *swoon*
(Don't ever say that to Frodi, btw, as he will be furious and react badly and you will get a bad end. Or Feane might...)
(psst-! Feane is a possible LI, I'm still figuring out how to make it work with a side character, but look at him-! Can't leave that man untouched! And he'll be the only non-yandere LI if I can figure this out!)
Phew, that was a lot! I hope it was interesting for you!
edit 1: corrected spelling
edit 2: fixed my incorrect "corrections" -_-''
edit 3: god bloody damn it, how do I screw up my own primary language so badly??? corrected typos