I mean, she was bullied because of her genitalia by Hethia and idk who else and Alissa tried to make her into her personal breeder. I can see why she would've entertained the thought of being born a woman in body as well as in mind.
But weren't it for those factors, she'd be perfectly fine with having a penis and identifying as a woman. And with her becoming regent these factors are out of the way. So she can finally be herself.
That's how I see it at least. shrug
Right, but her being bullied by Hethia was more because Hethia knew it would get to her (by referring to her in a derogatory manner), not because of her genitalia. As seen by Ryn's Maternal Grandmother Synneva showcases, "half-sexed" can seemingly be referred to by the pronouns they wish.
As for Alissa, sure if one refers to the screenshot Ryn does address that, she says that possibly if she'd been a male her sister wouldn't have tormented her as she did, and Alissa (according to Ryn) certainly wouldn't have caged Ryn if she were a male.
That seems independent to Ryn's last statement however, as the previous line (referring to her being a male instead) hints at what she'd think if she was still thinking about how to avoid Alissa's cruelty, whereas the latter line seems to indicate her true feelings, as it's a difference in tone, and seemingly answering the PCs question in earnest.
That's my interpretation of it at the very least.
At some point, it would be nice if people accepted that when Ryn and her creator both say that she doesn't want a vagina, that's really the end of the matter.
Umm, okay?
I don't understand why there seems to always be such a negative reaction when discussing such topics, almost as though people are not allowed to bring things up that they have a different interpretation of.
Oh, and before you say it, just because creators / members of the dev team say something definitively, doesn't mean that one always has to be in agreement with them. I'm not here to say that they're wrong either, just to showcase that there can be alternate ways of interpreting things, but alas, it appears that that is an issue.
As Bast notes (and Alypia said
here) Ryn is perfectly fine with her body the way it is. The whole 'If I had a choice I'd be a woman' thing is because that way she wouldn't have had to endure a cage or Alissa's bullying and, as a bonus, would have been physically bigger and probably better-equipped to punch Alissa in the face if she'd tried bullying her.
Please refer to my above point in reply to Bast.
The above may be somewhat negated, due to the supposed negative reaction Ryn has if the PC suggests getting rid of her penis (don't have a screenshot on hand for that scene in particular, I'm uncertain of whether it's a DK PC exclusive scene).
She'll react that way regardless of the Champ's personality. Here's the bit you're looking for:
Etheryn squirms uncomfortably at the direction the conversation is taking. "I, um, okay..."
"So I had an idea of how to get your cage off. What if we used a little alchemy to-"
Ryn gasps, blinking at you like you're some kind of Wraith. "T-to make my dick shrink even more?"
And this is the conversation that really sells her stance on the matter, it's unlocked post-WC if you've already done the above conversation and talked to Evergreen about the cage:
All she can manage for an answer is a helpless shrug. "Not like I have much choice in the matter. Evergreen said alchemy and magic won't help. I can't unlock it, I can't get rid of my dick even if I wanted to. Can't grow a vagina, even if I wanted to
Note the way she phrases this, she's dismissing both options not only because they won't work but because she
doesn't want to do either of those things.
Ah right, the Alchemy scene. Woops. I didn't realize that was the scene being referred to, as it's a once off scene that I usually skip over. Interestingly enough though, the Alchemy scene doesn't change, whether Ryn is high confidence or low confidence it still has the same stammering.
As for the post-WC scene in question, I don't usually see it, as I don't typically care much for taking Ryn to Evergreen. Although, I will admit that that does definitely swing the ambiguity to be more in line with her not wanting a vagina. Maybe there should be some more clarity given to players though, as I feel that there seemingly can be some ambiguity about the situation (as the post-WC scene can easily be missed due to its optional means as to which to gain access to it in the first place).
In the quoted scene, the Champ presents Ryn with a binary question that excludes the answer that she wants to give (feminine half-sex, no cage, no vag). Between those two options, fully male or fully female, she'd rather have been a woman. This does not contradict Ryn's revulsion at the thought of losing her penis or gaining a vagina, which comes from the conversation about alchemy. It certainly does not indicate dissatisfaction at having a penis and no vagina.
A lot of people who want to give Ryn a pussy bring this scene up, but I feel that a close reading doesn't support it at all.
I concede that Ryn wouldn't want to lose her penis, as I just replayed the Alchemy scene and read it through for once instead of skipping over it, however I never really implied that she wouldn't be repulsed by having it removed either. Moreso along the lines of Ryn also possibly being open to the possibility of having a vagina in addition to her penis (which I since conceded, since I don't often see the post-WC Evergreen Ryn scene).
I would think though, that if Ryn wanted to express her opinion of not wanting to change at all, and fully reflect that lack of dissatisfaction, she would just opt to not answer the question in that way. Something along the lines of "Why change? Why not stay the same." I'll admit that yes, in the scene itself she's answering from binary options presented, but if she was truly going to get the point across that she didn't want to change, answering it in that manner is where the ambiguity seemingly comes from.
Not only that, but it seems like there's this "meta" understanding of what she wants, and what the writer wants, which is fine, but that premise then assumes that one has seen every specific scene in place (and actually read a lot of the prose that can be present) - which honestly is not often that one does (or at least myself, personally - when I'm running through on new characters).
I guess that is where I would see it differently. But as I said, with all the information presented within this thread now, I can understand the other viewpoint more clearly.
The conversation takes place in the context of a discussion singling out the boreal elves' third sex. Ryn expresses no dissatisfaction with being half-sexed, but does point out that it's an unusual situation compared to other races ("most races have men and women, right?"). Champ then asks about what she'd have liked if she could only choose between male or female (like most other races). Ryn responds by saying that, given a choice between being fully male and fully female, she'd rather have been a woman.
The corollary, apparent from that preceding context, is that given a choice between being fully male, fully female, and half-sexed like she is right now, she'd rather be like she is right now - except not with a cage.
True, she doesn't express any dissatisfaction with being "half-sexed". As with my explanation above, now with the context given from the post-WC Evergreen scene, does change the narrative a bit - which I concede.
However, also in reference to my above point, one would think that Ryn would rather say that she just wants to stay the way she is. Not entirely sure why she would answer in binary terms of things, considering everything she has been through with regards to her gender identity in the first place.
And for the last point, I would hope that she would explicitly state that in-game, for future reference. No "drips and drabs" of scenes that can be easy to miss (once off Alchemy scene, easily missed post-WC Evergreen scene).
That way it may aid to clear up some confusion with regard to the seeming ambiguity surrounding the whole situation (if such scenes were missed prior).
It do be like that sometimes.
Right well, I'm hoping there is at least some variety for how things pan out, as if it's a very linear sequence, I think that some might take issue with that.