@Yoshiko09
@yli
@christina7tio
@Penge
ok anyone who calls Asswun critics "misjudgers" is misjudging the bigger picture themselves.
Imma say it again for those in the back
SERVING. AS. AN. ACCOMPLICE. IS. NOT. REPARATIONS. FOR. ABUSE.
I don't give a rat's ass if he helped her how to read or write. That wasn't charity; it clearly was in his best interest to help her for his own self-elevation. In other words, he wasn't doing it for her - teaching her was always about him, about reshaping her and stripping away her personality to become a person mirroring him.
Very Pygmalion - look that shit up. So let's not mistake that solipsism as a laudable act of Asswun's generosity/goodness. It was always about power, in this case, over a woman's self-agency and her potential to satisfy a man's ambitions. He didn't make any of this transparent to her when they first became conspirators, and
even if he did, telling someone in advance you're going to sculpt them into someone that chiefly serves their interests does absolutely nothing to excuse that kind of behavior anyway.
Asswun is the quintessence of male fragility. No, he's not fair for keeping his "part of the deal" because that deal wasn't a fair one in the first place. Like I said, a crucial part of training her was
molding her in the way he saw fit; it was something he came up with for his self-gain and continues to privilege his sociopathic beliefs and his alone. What, "u get to be empress, in exchange for I get to be the puppeteer consort making the decisions for u behind the scenes, urs truly, an obsessively gaslighting, proprietorial freakshow?" He legit wants Lyon to serve as a figurehead executing his desires, his decisions. That's
the definition of a toxic relationship. Fuck that shit.
More importantly, just because Lyon became empress according to his plans doesn't erase or remotely serve as equal recompense for the years of emotional toil that Reject Jpop Bangs saddled her with. Asswun has had her struggling with literal self-doubt from an entire childhood of repressing her true self - a self he continues to despise
because it is exactly what he tried to "reform" her away from. Any retainment of her empathetic, less stoic self is proof of how she has resisted his influence over her, and in Pygmalion-like fashion, he hates any indication of her independence from him.
Honest to god, how does that come even close to a mutual partnership, much less a fair deal?
There's a fine difference between making a deal / serving as an accomplice for reciprocal benefit VERSUS spending years belittling his partner's opinion / making decisions in her stead on account of his own uptight ego. Critics of Asswun aren't misinterpreting him; we're elucidating the reality that he's entitled as fuck and continues to believe he's superior to Lyon. Did the time skip show any signs of maturation or empathy on his part? God no! Asswun just grew in possessiveness over Lyon's time and feelings and now goes out of his way to sabotage her relationships with other people. If he didn't want affection, why is he falling over backwards to obstruct Lyon's relationship with her trusted bodyguard - to the point of endangering Baekhan's life?
Let's not pity emotionally abusive characters. Let's not pity those who neglect a woman's opinion and mental well being. Let's not blame their position in their family for their destructive behavior (and I say this as the eldest in a tough family myself, lmao what an insanely flawed argument to make). Let's not reply to criticisms of Asswun by crediting him for Lyon's rise of power, because one, he's her abuser and two, it sidesteps her own role and labor in her politicking. She put in that work, and if it weren't for her, Asswun would be irrelevant. Any white knighting for Asswun gives undeserved credit to a pure chauvinist who doesn't give an ounce of consideration for what a literal empress thinks. Just look at this chapter!
64 episodes in, he still doesn't care for Lyon's opinion; he simply doesn't think her genuine interests are worth the consideration over his jealous insecurities. In fact, the very reason he hates Baekhan is that the guard threatens his hold over Lyon. A relationship with Baekhan doesn't jeopardize her power - it only endangers Asswun's position at court because it renders him extraneous - as he should be.
If anything, his waiting in the rain served little more than a PR stunt for members of the court, a thinly disguised overcompensation of his own insecurities. It's been perfectly clear from the start that everything Asswun does is self-serving, aimed to bolster his own image, his own reputation.
Yall need to stop drinking the warm ass Koolaid that Asswun's a complex character. Unfortunately for you, he is not. There is no subtext or special nuances to his abusiveness. Men can be horrible without explanation, and that's okay.
Your comments in defense of his "layeredness" or "aid" in Lyon's rise to power ultimately mystify or draw attention away from his history of exploitative conduct.
Obviously, think how ever way you want. People are entitled to their problematic opinions. Mine's that Reject JPop Sensation needs to get his tongue snipped and melted down to oil up the pan grilling his severed dick.