Quote Originally Posted by Douglas View Post
Assuming both that everything is as it seems and that Ardon knew all along, the far more pertinent thing Ardon did is this:

He intentionally actively prevented a competitor for a woman's attention from making his interest known, thus denying her highly relevant information in order to manipulate her into sleeping with him instead of the competitor.

If Odi had successfully expressed his feelings, as he attempted to do several times but was stopped by Ardon each time, and Ell chose in spite of that knowledge to ignore him and sleep with Ardon, then Odi would unambiguously be in the wrong here and Ardon in the right. If Odi had voluntarily kept his feelings hidden, this would also be true. Either way he'd still be pissed off, but I would side definitively with Ardon.

The fact that Odi was shut out by a deliberate information concealment campaign is what makes this morally ambiguous.
I fail to see how that is really relevant. I don't think Ell has been manipulated into anything. I don't think she'd have slept with Odie in this situation. I don't even believe Ardon sees her as a romantic interest. Was Ardon a douchebag for stopping Odie? Yes. Is that in any way even remotely deserving of a beating? No. Is sleeping with Ell deserving of a beating? No. Is anything involving Odi's and Ardon's relations with Ell deserving of a beating? No.

Assuming Ardon actually is interested in Ell (which I don't buy), and that his interference was voluntary (which I don't buy; or rather, my headcanon is that Ardon doesn't want Odi and Ell to get together because it would distract them from their work as adventurers - in his case it's different because he doesn't really care, and Ell doesn't care either). That still doesn't justify Odi. He is trying very hard to injure and seriously hurt Ardon for a totally wrong reason. And he's getting his ass handed to himself, because he's Odi and as usual he doesn't know which end of his spear to use if Ardon doesn't spell it out for him.

Prediction on how this is going to end: Ell is going to beat them both, then explain to Odi that casual sex is none of his business, and that if he had a shot before now she's pissed off at his overreaction and disappointed. And when Ardon tries to be a smartass she's going to shut him down too.