⟡𓈒࿔

[delayed post] the narrative going around that “mc is forced to obey valko” is showing a lack of literacy and purposeful obtuseness. before i rip into yall, i’m not even going to entertain the people claiming that a game that has, time and time again, made it a point to show that the woman is always the one the men submit to in the relationship, would change that dynamic for a new love interest. it’s a nonsensical idea to try to spin. with that out of the way! the werewolf trope in modern literature and fanfiction (which i also heavily count as literature) includes dynamics such as “alpha,” “beta” and “omega”, which is a designation set to each person as a way to establish a social hierarchy. typically, the alpha is the leader of a “pack,” or group of werewolves. these tropes almost always have the idea that werewolves will mate for life, typically an “alpha” with an “omega,” or in some cases, a human. this puts the alpha in a vulnerable position, because now they have an attachment beyond their control. it’s sort of their own, personal kryptonite—their biology will make them want to put the mate first. this means that the alpha wolf, despite popular belief, usually takes on a protector, and overall more submissive role towards their mate, and will typically do anything they ask or need of the alpha. also important to note, in almost any werewolf trope, the werewolf quickly becomes very attached to their mate’s scent, and that’s usually how they even figure out who their mate is. i believe in werewolf-mate lore, this is typically known as “scent sympathy.” per google, it’s often an involuntary emotional and physical reaction towards the mate’s scent. with all this said, let’s look at parts of valko’s pvs; the only true (and unfortunately limited) sources of information we have about him. valko, very clearly in clip 1, catches a whiff of mc’s scent and for lack of better word, locks in. his biology recognizes her scent as his mate before he does. in clip 2, you can see he immediately changes course, and all of the fight goes out of him. he is more focused on confirming the information his biology caught before he did. mc, oblivious to this, tries to continue to kick his ass. it is clear that his biology overrides his rational mind, and he can only submit to her scent, or in other words, is “forced to obey.” for supporting evidence that this adorable, tall, burly alpha werewolf has found his mate and cares only about bending to her will, in clip 3, you can see mc is trying to take care of his wounds (she is opening a first-aid kit), but he is wrapped around her finger and her scent alone is comforting to him. he has clearly made his scent match and has fully succumbed to the connection by now. this is obviously an established, if not still relatively new, relationship. mind you, i’m not a genius. i’m just someone that reads and pays attention to the information being spelled out. if you didn’t arrive to these same conclusions, you really should have never be commenting on the situation, or even playing a story-heavy game to begin with 🤷🏻‍♀️