Etheryn being a companion after Winter City doesn't sit well with me. Her kingdom is in shambles what with Elthara being the only noble left and the royal coffers being dried out. Etheryn shouldn't be chilling at a bar and going on beat'n'fuck adventures with us where she could potentially be enslaved or killed, she should be devoting all her time with Elthara trying to fix her kingdom and learning how to be a queen. I can't help but see anything less as irresponsible and selfish. The only legit reason she has to continue being in our party is getting Alissa's soul stone to unlock her cage but that's a quest thats better left to the PC as her champion to handle.
This is an understandable thing to come to mind in our modern era of ceremonial heads of state and command by telephone, radio, and Zoom call, but I think that Ryn's behavior is a) perfectly normal and appropriate for a ruler in her position and b) perfectly normal and appropriate for her character.
Unless you never let Etheryn out of your party - and hell's bells, even
I don't have Ryn in my party full time - she
is in the Winter City doing just those things. In fact, with Hethia's (re)introduction, the Festivus Ball, the Wayfort investiture, and Elyon's Wyld Hunt, she's shown getting quite involved in city affairs. And there may be more such events planned; this is, after all, an unfinished game.
Furthermore, like Wolfram says, Ryn just had to free the city from a demon invasion, and the demons are still out there beyond the walls. There is also the succession crisis constituted by Alissa, which you mention. And this is the Bronze Age, an era in which monarchs were warriors-leaders first and managers second (if ever); it's entirely appropriate for someone like Elthara and her budding palace bureaucracy to ensure the smooth conduct of affairs while the queen/princess regent goes off to win a civil war and prevent the apocalypse. Sure, Ryn
could theoretically just wave her hand and say "bring me my crown, Champion". Or she could buttress her legitimacy as a new ruler and take it herself - giving herself the, mmm,
means to secure the elven succession in the process. Which of those things is Etheryn var Ridell, escape artist and battle princess, more likely to want to do?
Finally, remember: this game canonically takes place over a couple of months, no matter what the day counter looks like. (Spending centuries to have tens of thousands of kits with Kiyoko is something that you
can do, because we want people to be able to enjoy their pregnancy fetish content if they so choose, but it is not something that the game will ever acknowledge as happening beyond each individual kit's birth scene.) Etheryn riding off to save the world for several weeks is...actually pretty normal for a monarch on military campaign. It's just happily convenient that her [etheryn.fucked|dearest love|closest friend] is there with her.
And all this is for high-Confidence Ryn, who both knows the right decision to take and possesses the agency to take it. Low-Confidence Ryn will gallivant all over the place as the Champion's personal [pc.hasRealCock|cocksleeve|tongue-slut] whether it's a good idea or not.
Tying her confidence score with being in a relationship also feels poorly thought out. Personally, I want to see her strong enough to move past the abuse she's suffered but having to be her SO to do so is not something that I want to do. Because of that I'm stuck with sad Ryn and well that sucks. Could've locked her romance behind a etheryn.inRelationship flag or something so we could be nice to her while staying friends.
You don't have to fuck her. Give her hugs, support her in conversations, and buy her a dildo/tell her to get it on with Cait and Arona to alleviate her blue balls. She'll still care for you deeply - even love you - but as a friend.
I think that the only content for high-Con Ryn that assumes you're emotionally involved without having fucked is Will's surprise hug scene, and that might end up getting gated by sex at some point.
