#like I don't think I can have Tossdir do these quests canonically. at least not this part

[a-lonely-dunedain]

day 204 of hating the Staghorns so much it defies description:

[warning unhinged petty rant under the cut]

THEY THREW AWAY RAVAEDRON'S GIFT BECAUSE THEY WERE SO FUCKING PETTY WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK like "ohhhh noo our friend is worried about our safety because we're living alone in the middle of nowhere while there's creatures of unimaginable evil about. what a TERRIBLE friend!!! we're going to hate him forever now!!!!!!" I HATE THE STAGHORNS SO MUCH THEY'RE SO ARROGANT AND PETTY AND TEMPERAMENTAL RAVAEDRON SHOULD HAVE BETTER FRIENDS. like I Get It, they don't understand the amount of danger they're in because they've been so well protected from it by the rangers, but they're SO unaware that it come across as straight up stupidity. like they're letting their literal child go out "wraith hunting" like that's a totally sane and ok thing to let your kid do. even if they don't fully understand what a wraith is, even the most basic sanitized description of it Should have made them think twice about just how equipped they are to handle themselves in the face of this danger, but noooooooo how DARE Ravaedron take even the most basic precautions in making the task of defending themselves easier, clearly he's in the wrong here! like I cannot stress this enough, there are just two adults and a literal child in that household, they can't do shit to defend themselves from a Nazgul, yet Somehow Ravaedron being worried about them makes him the "racist elf" stereotype in their minds??????? they were just looking for a reason to hate him I bet.

Maddoc Staghorn hears that Ravaedron wanted to help out before he left and then immediately says "did he befriend us... out of pity?" this man REEKS of insecurity and it's going to get both him and his family killed.

and then, and THEN they have the gal, the audacity, to pull this "ohhh noo we just reacted like that because we were soooo sad that you were leaving :(((((((((((" act at the end of the questline. like we're just going to ignore the Staghorn's casual racism then? just going to pretend this was just an "oopsie! silly misunderstanding!" and that the Staghorns are not clearly in the wrong here??? we're just gonna act like they're not terrible people? ok. what a delusional and unhinged way to react. like, right, sure, someone I (allegedly) care about is leaving for personal reasons and gives me a parting gift, and what do I do? just throw it away I guess because it didn't have the Correct Symbolic Meaning™ behind it! "We did not want paintings, or gifts!" "It is YOU that we will miss, Ravaedron." liars. you reacted to him informing you that he's leaving by yelling at him and telling him he was no longer welcome in your house. for all you knew that was going to be the last time you ever saw him and you happily tried to burn that bridge without hesitation.

They never apologized for this and I think that's the part that really gets me. like I know people react to loss in weird and nonsensical ways sometimes, so maybe I could look past it if they admitted "yeah we really messed up there, you leaving just got to us and we didn't handle it well" but NOPE! not so much as a "sorry" for their cruel words, or for throwing away the painting he worked so hard on. Ravaedron ends up needing to apologize to them for *checks notes* trying to help defend their house and painting them a beautiful landscape. right. ok.

look look, I don't mean to rag on this questline, MOST of it was great! we got some really good moments in there with the rangers! I just. that first instance with the Staghorns always leaves Such a bad taste in my mouth it's really hard to continue the quests after that point. I just need to get this rant out of my system so hopefully I'll have an easier time with the rest of it. the worst part really is just that beginning bit so now that I've finally gotten that over with it'll be easier