I feel like why people's reaction towards Lydia are so torn comes down to honestly how the story is written. I don't like how a lot of people come in with guns blazing and accuses ppl that doesn't like Lydia as just being misogynistic, like that's not it. I think a big part of why ppl's feeling towards her are so strong is bcuz in stories similar to this, where the FATHER is the one being neglectful and abusive and the MC is reincarnated or something and tries to "earn" his love or simply just living her life and suddenly he loves her now, those types of story still paint the father as terrible, tho not overt, the story still makes us dislike the father in the beginning, the relationship between father and daughter is still strained and has to be built up slowly (mind you this kind of plot has been done with Mothers too tho not as much as fathers since it's a popular trope, so it's NOT misogyny), our feelings towards these Father's/Parents are usually earned slowly, we don't like them from the get go, the same goes for the MC, they usually are distrustful and at least resentful of the Parent, therefore the parent actually has to deal with consequences. Whereas here, MC is an absolute saint (literally she's one) and doesn't hold her mom to any accountability, nor does anyone else hold her to any accountability, she herself does yes, but anyone else kinds of glorifies her as this absolutely gorgeous and amazing woman. NOW, don't get me wrong, we love attractive characters, BUT I have notice time and time again that this story uses Lydia's beauty as some sort of shield and tries to paint her as this cool fem-fatale WHICH mind you kind of defeats the whole point about her past, the fact that she was used, abused and that her worth was her beauty. Lydia's beauty could've been a part of her that helps deepens her character, it could've been about how much she struggle with prejudices, jealous ppl AND what she can get away with simply bcuz of how she looks (it's only explored in her past and never brought up again which drives me insane), instead now the only time her beauty is mentioned is always to further glorify her and it's very indicative of pretty privilege, it's similar to how ppl treat celebrities, how a lot of fans will defend their faves behavior simply bcuz of how gorgeous and or handsome they are (ESPECIALLY male actors). Yes she is now known for her intelligence and capabilities yet the story still use her beauty as some sort of crutch, I actually didn't notice it in the beginning when it wasn't so prevalent, but I have noticed a pattern that everytime she shows up, it's always about her beauty (almost like they're trying to use her beauty to distract us from her flaws). The thing is, the story as far as I can tell doesn't really paint Lydia as a mother trying to redeem herself (at time it does and those moments are usually my favorites, like the time Lydia had to stop herself from being controlling towards Lyrica), it feels more like a Heroin love story, nobody holds her accountable and the story itself doesn't really show any strong reaction towards what happened to Lyrica, even Lyrica herself doesn't reacte much, everything just feels like it's being pushed under a rug. This point is why alot of readers are so mad or uncomfortable, bcuz it doesn't feel earned, she's essentially living the heroin live while being a "villain" herself before, now don't start on her backstory, I myself almost fell into the trap of not holding her accountable simply bcuz her backstory was so terrible, BUT it doesn't, it explains her actions and let us understand and empathize with her but DOESN'T excuse her behavior. Just like today's chapter, when somebody points out HER abuse, suddenly they're the villain. It feels like the author of story itself doesn't really understand the gravity of her actions and tries to make everything sunshine and rainbows ( I understand it's bcuz everything is from Lyrica's perspective but the lack of reaction from other characters are quite jarring too). It really seems like the story is trying to paint Lydia as this super cool female lead, while it works in stories that are not ABOUT abuse and redemption, it doesn't work here, It feels quite cheap and sometimes immature and cringy. Bcuz we HAVE seen sides of her that are downright atrocious, we already have a subconscious negative opinion and feelings about her, it is further amplified when so far she has not face any consequences and instead praised and worship, nobody calls her out for it, nothing happens to her, she's painted like this perfect person (by other characters) AND the fact that her and the emporer keeps this "talk bad about her and I kill you" kind of act ( i seriously DO NOT like the emporer, he makes me cringe), that conveniently literally FORBIDS any accountability on her part. They have this very y/n and CEO dynamic that just doesn't work here bcuz it directly clashes with her abusive past and her relationship with Lyrica, it's odd to see a character that we know as flawed painted in such a weird light, it comes out as somewhat childish, like TELL ME WHY the emporer and Lydia has MORE screentime than Lydia and her own DAUGHTER. The story doesnt do a good job on the redemption part of the story, it just feels so un-serious. I actually loved how Lydia was written in the beginning and the glorification of her was in part funny and why I enjoyed it. But I would've thought that as the story progresses we would explore more of her human side, and we might see Lyrica humanize her more and stop glorifying her so much, I thought we would be able to see the mother and daughter bond grow but no, the story stays the same, the feeling overall is very un-serious and nothing changes, and as time passes its just really uncomfortable to read, like the story itself doesn't understand the seriousness of it all. Like she literally called her ABUSE a "secret past", like are you kidding me. It doesn't help that her romance with the emporer, dare I say it, kind of hinders her growth, he kind of like a shield to everything. Overall it feels unjustified. LONG STORY SHORT ppl are uncomfortable bcuz they're seeing an ABUSER painted in a positive light. Abusers should not be painted as such, we can empathize and understand how they came to be AND cheer them on their road to healing and redemption but definitely NOT glorifying them. I actually love Lydia and nuanced and complex her character is, I thought that she brings forth such conflicting feelings between so many readers is why she is complex, BUT the story fell flat on how they handled her character, it was not executed with the gravity that it should have had and instead everything is quite sunshine and rainbows and lacks the seriousness that alot of readers crave. Therefore failing to make the readers connect more to Lydia unfortunately. Thats my take ╮(￣▽￣)╭
And for the ppl that always scream misogyny, dare I say this might be sexism, bcuz ppl tend to defend women's abusivre behavior more than men. If we condemn one we have to condemn the other too, hold both accountable. And YES I will strongly say that what Lydia did was abuse, not only abuse but she sold her daughter too, then proceeded to be glad when her daughter didn't sell her out when she was literally DYING. THAT'S why ppl reacte so strongly to her, NOT misogyny. Liking a complex character doesn't mean you have to defend their behavior or be okay with it, that's the point of a complex character. I'm just genuinely sick of people either screaming misogyny, saying people don't understand and can't handle complex characters when people point out their dislike of her or just straight up defending her actions.
Nah it's fine dude, that's a whole essay, I don't expect everyone to read it since I was just yappin my ass off Lizz
I honestly loved reading it. You put my thoughts into words on why I was so uncomfortable to continue reading this. It really does not feel like there’s any growth or consequences with Lydia. I can kind of understand why lyrica glorifies her and continues to. I have a cousin who’s not had the greatest parent, but they will defend them for anything because they love being with them for some reason.
da put all of my thoughts into words I was literally gonna make a comment mentioning this but you beat me to the pinch I can’t get past another chapter bc as much as I think lydia is a complex character and all that I feel no satisfaction reading while knowing that the mc suffered so much as a child as a result of her mother and so far she basically faces NO actual consequences for it like ik the mc doesn’t fully trust her and that’s the so called consequence and ik she’s a child so her love for her mother outweighs the suffering she went through but it’s so painful to read when u know lydia still receives all the love and affection despite knowing how awful of a parent she was. I can’t imagine how hard being a single mother was but regardless of whether it was a father or mother who treated a child this way it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I think readers are so much more forgiving to shitty fathers than mothers which pmo sooo much n I tried to read this again bc I wanted to give the mom a chance bc I felt like I was too critical of her compared to other parents but i remembered why I couldn’t continue reading this without getting angry and it’s bc of all that u said
like she’s def better than some other manhwa parents (Claude is the go to) but I couldn’t stand him either (I’m p sure I dropped that manhwa once it’s seemed he was absolved of any guilt by the mc) idk I’m on ch 47 so maybe there’s a ch or arc where someone (wish it was the mc but ik that won’t happen) that puts her past in perspective I HOPE that she’d then get forgiven n all that bc she obviously has changed but for now i find it weird to suspend disbelief that all the people around her who may know how their past relationship was isn’t more wary of lydia or idk more upset for the mc
"Whereas here, MC is an absolute saint (literally she's one) and doesn't hold her mom to any accountability, nor does anyone else hold her to any accountability, she herself does yes, but anyone else kinds of glorifies her as this absolutely gorgeous and amazing woman."
It's not that she's a saint, it's that she's a child. She explains her thought process at the start. She thinks her father is at fault for her mother's behavior (and she's right) and she's waiting for him to come back so that everything will return to normal.
"But I would've thought that as the story progresses we would explore more of her human side, and we might see Lyrica humanize her more and stop glorifying her so much, I thought we would be able to see the mother and daughter bond grow but no, the story stays the same"
Having just read the entire thing (112) and just come here to this comments section with the entire story pretty fresh in my mind: This does happen. We're starting to see more of her human side in her interactions with the emperor. We see Lyrica humanize her more multiple times as they have cute mother/daughter moments where Ludia realizes she's doing something wrong and stops herself and talks with Lyrica. Ludia is constantly fighting with herself to treat Lyrica right.
"Like she literally called her ABUSE a "secret past", like are you kidding me. It doesn't help that her romance with the emporer, dare I say it, kind of hinders her growth, he kind of like a shield to everything."
The emperor is healing her... She's only opening up now, she was completely traumatized and in her shell because of her ex husband. She was only going to use the emperor to save herself and Lyrica, but they fell in love and now she's (very slowly, because she's so on guard) opening up to him.
I don't think she meant "secret past" like "uwu, oopsie poopsie", I think she just meant it normally. The story is very clear she understands the gravity of what she did.
"LONG STORY SHORT ppl are uncomfortable bcuz they're seeing an ABUSER painted in a positive light."
Sorry, but reading comprehension issue. No, she's not being painted in a positive light. What they're seeing is a child who loves her mother... She loved her father too. Ludia's beauty is just a major influencing power.
"Whereas here, MC is an absolute saint (literally she's one) and doesn't hold her mom to any accountability, nor does anyone else hold her to any accountability, she herself does yes, but anyone else kinds of g... youraedthiswrogn
Thanks alot for ur reply, I genuinely appreciate ur input and perspective, i would like to preface that my post was about the manhwa's execution more than on Lydia herself since I fully understand her character arc but felt like the manhwa's execution of her character lacking. About her beauty thing, it's bcuz the manhwas keeps rubbing it in our face about her beauty all the time so it gets really repetitive. "The emperor is healing her... She's only opening up now, she was completely traumatized and in her shell because of her ex husband. She was only going to use the emperor to save herself and Lyrica, but they fell in love and now she's (very slowly, because she's so on guard) opening up to him." On what I said about the emporer shielding her, it's not about him healing her, bcuz I totally understand and agree about that point, it's about how he shields her from other people's rightful judgement/criticism (I get being protective but sometimes it's just overly done). "It's not that she's a saint, it's that she's a child. She explains her thought process at the start. She thinks her father is at fault for her mother's behavior (and she's right) and she's waiting for him to come back so that everything will return to normal." If I remember correctly she was said to be a saint/mage, I rmb it was said somewhere that her kindness was part of her being the saint/mage, tho I do understand a lot of people are like lyrica irl, its quite tragic and sad to see that, so a lot of people feels that it's kind of unfair how she so easily forgives Lydia and we see how little Lydia interacts with her, I think it's partially bcuz how much she has done is quite not "enough" since her abuse towards Lyrica was so violent and really horibble, especially selling her to the old man, it's really hard to stomache (I will admit tho that it's probably also bcuz the chapters are so far apart so it feels quite little, I'll admit that fault is on my part). Also it is her dad's fault her mom is like that + how she grew up, but we can't really say she's not at fault either, how she coped and chose to abuse her daughter is still on her. "Having just read the entire thing (112) and just come here to this comments section with the entire story pretty fresh in my mind: This does happen. We're starting to see more of her human side in her interactions with the emperor. We see Lyrica humanize her more multiple times as they have cute mother/daughter moments where Ludia realizes she's doing something wrong and stops herself and talks with Lyrica. Ludia is constantly fighting with herself to treat Lyrica right." I do understand what the story is trying achieve, I do understand what you have pointed out, it's just since the writing at times is quite weak and rushed at times, therefore again making it hard to connect to her. Like at some parts about Lyrica's trauma, it doesn't feel fleshed out, especially her abandonment issues, I felt like it was more her and her brother sorting that out then her and her mom. We never really got a serious heart to heart. Also we do see her flaws and humanize her more, however Lyrica herself doesn't really do that, yes they talk it out but she still very much so have this my mom is perfect my mom didn't do anything wrong mindset, when I said Lyrica should stop glorifying her so much I meant her actually starting to realize Lydia past abuse and at least point that out to Lydia. They haven't even really work through the trauma toghether, Lyrica still has a lot of trauma but they're simply buried and Lydia has not try to communicate about any of it and help Lyrica with her mental health. "Sorry, but reading comprehension issue. No, she's not being painted in a positive light. What they're seeing is a child who loves her mother... She loved her father too. Ludia's beauty is just a major influencing power." What I mean is the readers are uncomfortable seeing an abuser (Lydia) painted in a positive light by their victim (Lyrica) (not the author, we can see her holding herself accountable and the reason why people are so put off by her is bcuz she's not painted in a positive light). It feels unfair/un-earned, I'm pretty sure a lot of the readers understand the story very well, it's just they can't feel good about Lydia or forgive her, that's why my explanation is more on why people don't like her and not trying to say we should hate her, I understand the people that love her AND the people that dislike her, I'm trying to point out on how and why people might dislike her. I will admit that maybe the story telling style here isn't to my taste. Again what I mean is people are uncomfortable with seeing an abuser painted in a positive light by those around them and the victim too, I'm pretty sure people understand that we see her positively bcuz its through Lyrica's eyes and her love for her mother and not the story painting her positively, doesn't make it any less uncomfortable to see. That's why I feel like it would've worked better if we were to see the positive version through Lyrica's narration but outside of that we get glimpses of a more serious atmosphere and some repercussion, she's still quite glorified by other ppl and not just Lyrica, I get it's bcuz no one knows about her abuse, but there's no repercussions like gossips about her past or even negative reaction from people who knew her. And when it does like the shoeshiner the other characters paint him like he's the wrong one here. I think the story has a great premise and a wonderful plot line, but I feel like its trying to achieve too much at once so a lot of the times it doesn't feel fleshed out and or rushed, we don't really get to sit with any changes or feel any redemption. Like for example The king and queen's romance plot line + redemption arc is such a weird mix, we haven't really gotten deeper in terms of any understanding trauma between mother and daughter but the romance between the king and queen is alr budding, it feels like Lyrica is more of an after thought, like ik it's not supposed to be like that but how it's paced is really jarring. It doesn't help that the relationship between Lydia and the king feels more developed and real compared to her relationship with Lyrica as of now. Another big factor is that she practically got a brand new slate, no repercussion, no accountability by those around her, just brand new, while Lyrica still went through the abuse. And we don't see anyone pointing that out, she doesn't even face any criticism except from the shoeshiner now (and that's only now after 100+ chapters). She has done a lot of work on herself and still actively trying but then on the outside she receives no repercussion, she's still able to live her live free of any admissions of guilt to anyone else (aside from herself), she doesn't really have to face any difficulties that were caused by her actions. Like other parent manhwas, there are still characters that dislike the parent and other repercussion that are directly caused by their abuse like people hating them or people standing against them, here there's none except for one dude after 100+ chapters. That's why a lot of the times readers feel that it's unfair. Like what I said in my previous comment, its not that this story is bad or Lydia is bad (like common we have the horrible duchess in here), it's just that how this story is written/executed leaves a lot to be desired, it feels quite empty and shallow at times, like we don't get enough bond and everything is quite surface level. That's why it's hard to connect to Lydia. I feel like had the execution been better people would loved her more, yes there would still be divided opinions but still less than now. Tho I do know a large part of why it feels rushed or little development is bcuz the art is INCREDIBLE so the amount of effort put into each panel is mind boggling, therefore making it harder to make chapters longer and can't convey as much as needed. That's why I understand even if the readers comprehend the message and Lydia's character arc, it might still be hard to connect or are left feeling unsatisfied, again trying to achieve too much at the same time -> sloppy execution. (Not the art tho, the art EATS). All in all Lydia is not perfect, shes incredibly human, flawed and she's complex therefore it's understandable that people love her or might not like her, it doesn't help that the manhwa also is paced weirdly and doesn't really dig deep enough into any topic that it's trying to explore and we're alr 100+ chapters in, everything still has loose ends that feels very unsatisfying.
Thanks alot for ur reply, I genuinely appreciate ur input and perspective, i would like to preface that my post was about the manhwa's execution more than on Lydia herself since I fully understand her character... Lizz
I really think you and everyone else who shares this opinion need to read the whole thing all the way through again, that's all I'll say.
This reads to me like you just don't remember the story.
I really think you and everyone else who shares this opinion need to read the whole thing all the way through again, that's all I'll say. This reads to me like you just don't remember the story. youraedthiswrogn
I'll try re reading it, maybe it's cuz the updates are so far apart, if I still feel the same then all I could say is the story telling style is not my taste then.
I'll try re reading it, maybe it's cuz the updates are so far apart, if I still feel the same then all I could say is the story telling style is not my taste then. Lizz
I feel like why people's reaction towards Lydia are so torn comes down to honestly how the story is written. I don't like how a lot of people come in with guns blazing and accuses ppl that doesn't like Lydia as just being misogynistic, like that's not it. I think a big part of why ppl's feeling towards her are so strong is bcuz in stories similar to this, where the FATHER is the one being neglectful and abusive and the MC is reincarnated or something and tries to "earn" his love or simply just living her life and suddenly he loves her now, those types of story still paint the father as terrible, tho not overt, the story still makes us dislike the father in the beginning, the relationship between father and daughter is still strained and has to be built up slowly (mind you this kind of plot has been done with Mothers too tho not as much as fathers since it's a popular trope, so it's NOT misogyny), our feelings towards these Father's/Parents are usually earned slowly, we don't like them from the get go, the same goes for the MC, they usually are distrustful and at least resentful of the Parent, therefore the parent actually has to deal with consequences.
Whereas here, MC is an absolute saint (literally she's one) and doesn't hold her mom to any accountability, nor does anyone else hold her to any accountability, she herself does yes, but anyone else kinds of glorifies her as this absolutely gorgeous and amazing woman. NOW, don't get me wrong, we love attractive characters, BUT I have notice time and time again that this story uses Lydia's beauty as some sort of shield and tries to paint her as this cool fem-fatale WHICH mind you kind of defeats the whole point about her past, the fact that she was used, abused and that her worth was her beauty. Lydia's beauty could've been a part of her that helps deepens her character, it could've been about how much she struggle with prejudices, jealous ppl AND what she can get away with simply bcuz of how she looks (it's only explored in her past and never brought up again which drives me insane), instead now the only time her beauty is mentioned is always to further glorify her and it's very indicative of pretty privilege, it's similar to how ppl treat celebrities, how a lot of fans will defend their faves behavior simply bcuz of how gorgeous and or handsome they are (ESPECIALLY male actors). Yes she is now known for her intelligence and capabilities yet the story still use her beauty as some sort of crutch, I actually didn't notice it in the beginning when it wasn't so prevalent, but I have noticed a pattern that everytime she shows up, it's always about her beauty (almost like they're trying to use her beauty to distract us from her flaws). The thing is, the story as far as I can tell doesn't really paint Lydia as a mother trying to redeem herself (at time it does and those moments are usually my favorites, like the time Lydia had to stop herself from being controlling towards Lyrica), it feels more like a Heroin love story, nobody holds her accountable and the story itself doesn't really show any strong reaction towards what happened to Lyrica, even Lyrica herself doesn't reacte much, everything just feels like it's being pushed under a rug. This point is why alot of readers are so mad or uncomfortable, bcuz it doesn't feel earned, she's essentially living the heroin live while being a "villain" herself before, now don't start on her backstory, I myself almost fell into the trap of not holding her accountable simply bcuz her backstory was so terrible, BUT it doesn't, it explains her actions and let us understand and empathize with her but DOESN'T excuse her behavior.
Just like today's chapter, when somebody points out HER abuse, suddenly they're the villain. It feels like the author of story itself doesn't really understand the gravity of her actions and tries to make everything sunshine and rainbows ( I understand it's bcuz everything is from Lyrica's perspective but the lack of reaction from other characters are quite jarring too).
It really seems like the story is trying to paint Lydia as this super cool female lead, while it works in stories that are not ABOUT abuse and redemption, it doesn't work here, It feels quite cheap and sometimes immature and cringy. Bcuz we HAVE seen sides of her that are downright atrocious, we already have a subconscious negative opinion and feelings about her, it is further amplified when so far she has not face any consequences and instead praised and worship, nobody calls her out for it, nothing happens to her, she's painted like this perfect person (by other characters) AND the fact that her and the emporer keeps this "talk bad about her and I kill you" kind of act ( i seriously DO NOT like the emporer, he makes me cringe), that conveniently literally FORBIDS any accountability on her part. They have this very y/n and CEO dynamic that just doesn't work here bcuz it directly clashes with her abusive past and her relationship with Lyrica, it's odd to see a character that we know as flawed painted in such a weird light, it comes out as somewhat childish, like TELL ME WHY the emporer and Lydia has MORE screentime than Lydia and her own DAUGHTER. The story doesnt do a good job on the redemption part of the story, it just feels so un-serious.
I actually loved how Lydia was written in the beginning and the glorification of her was in part funny and why I enjoyed it. But I would've thought that as the story progresses we would explore more of her human side, and we might see Lyrica humanize her more and stop glorifying her so much, I thought we would be able to see the mother and daughter bond grow but no, the story stays the same, the feeling overall is very un-serious and nothing changes, and as time passes its just really uncomfortable to read, like the story itself doesn't understand the seriousness of it all. Like she literally called her ABUSE a "secret past", like are you kidding me. It doesn't help that her romance with the emporer, dare I say it, kind of hinders her growth, he kind of like a shield to everything. Overall it feels unjustified.
LONG STORY SHORT ppl are uncomfortable bcuz they're seeing an ABUSER painted in a positive light. Abusers should not be painted as such, we can empathize and understand how they came to be AND cheer them on their road to healing and redemption but definitely NOT glorifying them.
I actually love Lydia and nuanced and complex her character is, I thought that she brings forth such conflicting feelings between so many readers is why she is complex, BUT the story fell flat on how they handled her character, it was not executed with the gravity that it should have had and instead everything is quite sunshine and rainbows and lacks the seriousness that alot of readers crave. Therefore failing to make the readers connect more to Lydia unfortunately.
Thats my take ╮(￣▽￣)╭
And for the ppl that always scream misogyny, dare I say this might be sexism, bcuz ppl tend to defend women's abusivre behavior more than men. If we condemn one we have to condemn the other too, hold both accountable. And YES I will strongly say that what Lydia did was abuse, not only abuse but she sold her daughter too, then proceeded to be glad when her daughter didn't sell her out when she was literally DYING. THAT'S why ppl reacte so strongly to her, NOT misogyny.
Liking a complex character doesn't mean you have to defend their behavior or be okay with it, that's the point of a complex character. I'm just genuinely sick of people either screaming misogyny, saying people don't understand and can't handle complex characters when people point out their dislike of her or just straight up defending her actions.
Yk, i really tried my best to read all ofbur comment but my insta reel ass attention span kicked in and i couldn’t no more. Mb dude
Nah it's fine dude, that's a whole essay, I don't expect everyone to read it since I was just yappin my ass off
I honestly loved reading it. You put my thoughts into words on why I was so uncomfortable to continue reading this. It really does not feel like there’s any growth or consequences with Lydia. I can kind of understand why lyrica glorifies her and continues to. I have a cousin who’s not had the greatest parent, but they will defend them for anything because they love being with them for some reason.
da put all of my thoughts into words I was literally gonna make a comment mentioning this but you beat me to the pinch I can’t get past another chapter bc as much as I think lydia is a complex character and all that I feel no satisfaction reading while knowing that the mc suffered so much as a child as a result of her mother and so far she basically faces NO actual consequences for it like ik the mc doesn’t fully trust her and that’s the so called consequence and ik she’s a child so her love for her mother outweighs the suffering she went through but it’s so painful to read when u know lydia still receives all the love and affection despite knowing how awful of a parent she was. I can’t imagine how hard being a single mother was but regardless of whether it was a father or mother who treated a child this way it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I think readers are so much more forgiving to shitty fathers than mothers which pmo sooo much n I tried to read this again bc I wanted to give the mom a chance bc I felt like I was too critical of her compared to other parents but i remembered why I couldn’t continue reading this without getting angry and it’s bc of all that u said
like she’s def better than some other manhwa parents (Claude is the go to) but I couldn’t stand him either (I’m p sure I dropped that manhwa once it’s seemed he was absolved of any guilt by the mc) idk I’m on ch 47 so maybe there’s a ch or arc where someone (wish it was the mc but ik that won’t happen) that puts her past in perspective I HOPE that she’d then get forgiven n all that bc she obviously has changed but for now i find it weird to suspend disbelief that all the people around her who may know how their past relationship was isn’t more wary of lydia or idk more upset for the mc
Same
This needs to be pinned.
"Whereas here, MC is an absolute saint (literally she's one) and doesn't hold her mom to any accountability, nor does anyone else hold her to any accountability, she herself does yes, but anyone else kinds of glorifies her as this absolutely gorgeous and amazing woman."
It's not that she's a saint, it's that she's a child. She explains her thought process at the start. She thinks her father is at fault for her mother's behavior (and she's right) and she's waiting for him to come back so that everything will return to normal.
"But I would've thought that as the story progresses we would explore more of her human side, and we might see Lyrica humanize her more and stop glorifying her so much, I thought we would be able to see the mother and daughter bond grow but no, the story stays the same"
Having just read the entire thing (112) and just come here to this comments section with the entire story pretty fresh in my mind: This does happen. We're starting to see more of her human side in her interactions with the emperor. We see Lyrica humanize her more multiple times as they have cute mother/daughter moments where Ludia realizes she's doing something wrong and stops herself and talks with Lyrica. Ludia is constantly fighting with herself to treat Lyrica right.
"Like she literally called her ABUSE a "secret past", like are you kidding me. It doesn't help that her romance with the emporer, dare I say it, kind of hinders her growth, he kind of like a shield to everything."
The emperor is healing her... She's only opening up now, she was completely traumatized and in her shell because of her ex husband. She was only going to use the emperor to save herself and Lyrica, but they fell in love and now she's (very slowly, because she's so on guard) opening up to him.
I don't think she meant "secret past" like "uwu, oopsie poopsie", I think she just meant it normally. The story is very clear she understands the gravity of what she did.
"LONG STORY SHORT ppl are uncomfortable bcuz they're seeing an ABUSER painted in a positive light."
Sorry, but reading comprehension issue. No, she's not being painted in a positive light. What they're seeing is a child who loves her mother... She loved her father too. Ludia's beauty is just a major influencing power.
Thanks alot for ur reply, I genuinely appreciate ur input and perspective, i would like to preface that my post was about the manhwa's execution more than on Lydia herself since I fully understand her character arc but felt like the manhwa's execution of her character lacking.
About her beauty thing, it's bcuz the manhwas keeps rubbing it in our face about her beauty all the time so it gets really repetitive.
"The emperor is healing her... She's only opening up now, she was completely traumatized and in her shell because of her ex husband. She was only going to use the emperor to save herself and Lyrica, but they fell in love and now she's (very slowly, because she's so on guard) opening up to him."
On what I said about the emporer shielding her, it's not about him healing her, bcuz I totally understand and agree about that point, it's about how he shields her from other people's rightful judgement/criticism (I get being protective but sometimes it's just overly done).
"It's not that she's a saint, it's that she's a child. She explains her thought process at the start. She thinks her father is at fault for her mother's behavior (and she's right) and she's waiting for him to come back so that everything will return to normal."
If I remember correctly she was said to be a saint/mage, I rmb it was said somewhere that her kindness was part of her being the saint/mage, tho I do understand a lot of people are like lyrica irl, its quite tragic and sad to see that, so a lot of people feels that it's kind of unfair how she so easily forgives Lydia and we see how little Lydia interacts with her, I think it's partially bcuz how much she has done is quite not "enough" since her abuse towards Lyrica was so violent and really horibble, especially selling her to the old man, it's really hard to stomache (I will admit tho that it's probably also bcuz the chapters are so far apart so it feels quite little, I'll admit that fault is on my part). Also it is her dad's fault her mom is like that + how she grew up, but we can't really say she's not at fault either, how she coped and chose to abuse her daughter is still on her.
"Having just read the entire thing (112) and just come here to this comments section with the entire story pretty fresh in my mind: This does happen. We're starting to see more of her human side in her interactions with the emperor. We see Lyrica humanize her more multiple times as they have cute mother/daughter moments where Ludia realizes she's doing something wrong and stops herself and talks with Lyrica. Ludia is constantly fighting with herself to treat Lyrica right."
I do understand what the story is trying achieve, I do understand what you have pointed out, it's just since the writing at times is quite weak and rushed at times, therefore again making it hard to connect to her. Like at some parts about Lyrica's trauma, it doesn't feel fleshed out, especially her abandonment issues, I felt like it was more her and her brother sorting that out then her and her mom. We never really got a serious heart to heart. Also we do see her flaws and humanize her more, however Lyrica herself doesn't really do that, yes they talk it out but she still very much so have this my mom is perfect my mom didn't do anything wrong mindset, when I said Lyrica should stop glorifying her so much I meant her actually starting to realize Lydia past abuse and at least point that out to Lydia. They haven't even really work through the trauma toghether, Lyrica still has a lot of trauma but they're simply buried and Lydia has not try to communicate about any of it and help Lyrica with her mental health.
"Sorry, but reading comprehension issue. No, she's not being painted in a positive light. What they're seeing is a child who loves her mother... She loved her father too. Ludia's beauty is just a major influencing power."
What I mean is the readers are uncomfortable seeing an abuser (Lydia) painted in a positive light by their victim (Lyrica) (not the author, we can see her holding herself accountable and the reason why people are so put off by her is bcuz she's not painted in a positive light). It feels unfair/un-earned, I'm pretty sure a lot of the readers understand the story very well, it's just they can't feel good about Lydia or forgive her, that's why my explanation is more on why people don't like her and not trying to say we should hate her, I understand the people that love her AND the people that dislike her, I'm trying to point out on how and why people might dislike her. I will admit that maybe the story telling style here isn't to my taste.
Again what I mean is people are uncomfortable with seeing an abuser painted in a positive light by those around them and the victim too, I'm pretty sure people understand that we see her positively bcuz its through Lyrica's eyes and her love for her mother and not the story painting her positively, doesn't make it any less uncomfortable to see. That's why I feel like it would've worked better if we were to see the positive version through Lyrica's narration but outside of that we get glimpses of a more serious atmosphere and some repercussion, she's still quite glorified by other ppl and not just Lyrica, I get it's bcuz no one knows about her abuse, but there's no repercussions like gossips about her past or even negative reaction from people who knew her. And when it does like the shoeshiner the other characters paint him like he's the wrong one here.
I think the story has a great premise and a wonderful plot line, but I feel like its trying to achieve too much at once so a lot of the times it doesn't feel fleshed out and or rushed, we don't really get to sit with any changes or feel any redemption. Like for example The king and queen's romance plot line + redemption arc is such a weird mix, we haven't really gotten deeper in terms of any understanding trauma between mother and daughter but the romance between the king and queen is alr budding, it feels like Lyrica is more of an after thought, like ik it's not supposed to be like that but how it's paced is really jarring. It doesn't help that the relationship between Lydia and the king feels more developed and real compared to her relationship with Lyrica as of now.
Another big factor is that she practically got a brand new slate, no repercussion, no accountability by those around her, just brand new, while Lyrica still went through the abuse. And we don't see anyone pointing that out, she doesn't even face any criticism except from the shoeshiner now (and that's only now after 100+ chapters). She has done a lot of work on herself and still actively trying but then on the outside she receives no repercussion, she's still able to live her live free of any admissions of guilt to anyone else (aside from herself), she doesn't really have to face any difficulties that were caused by her actions. Like other parent manhwas, there are still characters that dislike the parent and other repercussion that are directly caused by their abuse like people hating them or people standing against them, here there's none except for one dude after 100+ chapters. That's why a lot of the times readers feel that it's unfair.
Like what I said in my previous comment, its not that this story is bad or Lydia is bad (like common we have the horrible duchess in here), it's just that how this story is written/executed leaves a lot to be desired, it feels quite empty and shallow at times, like we don't get enough bond and everything is quite surface level. That's why it's hard to connect to Lydia. I feel like had the execution been better people would loved her more, yes there would still be divided opinions but still less than now.
Tho I do know a large part of why it feels rushed or little development is bcuz the art is INCREDIBLE so the amount of effort put into each panel is mind boggling, therefore making it harder to make chapters longer and can't convey as much as needed. That's why I understand even if the readers comprehend the message and Lydia's character arc, it might still be hard to connect or are left feeling unsatisfied, again trying to achieve too much at the same time -> sloppy execution. (Not the art tho, the art EATS).
All in all Lydia is not perfect, shes incredibly human, flawed and she's complex therefore it's understandable that people love her or might not like her, it doesn't help that the manhwa also is paced weirdly and doesn't really dig deep enough into any topic that it's trying to explore and we're alr 100+ chapters in, everything still has loose ends that feels very unsatisfying.
I really think you and everyone else who shares this opinion need to read the whole thing all the way through again, that's all I'll say.
This reads to me like you just don't remember the story.
I'll try re reading it, maybe it's cuz the updates are so far apart, if I still feel the same then all I could say is the story telling style is not my taste then.
Thank you