Anyone else feel uncomfortable by how traditional/sexist the COD universe feels? It's a big part of why I dropped the game.
Like, it's bad enough that the MC isn't even US (it's canon she has black eyes and ruins the entire plot if not, so anyone without black eyes automatically isn't even MC).
But just the way she's portrayed and women in general always made me feel a bit odd about it. Like, ONLY men can be real heirs. Plenty of older sisters, but only the boys will be chosen. Boys inherit the magic of kings, seemingly not girls. Despite our character having it (including back in the past). Feels very Victorian era.
Not to mention how so many places seem VERY traditional. Avari is the main LI and yet his nation is literally the manifestation of some sort of hyper right wing MAGA prison?? All the women are married off by their families (I get it's kinda a universal thing in this verse and the past too) and are all feminine women in dresses who sit around drinking tea and doing toxic female things like poisoning other girls, and are almost ALWAYS the enemies. Not just here, women are almost ALWAYS the stereotypical high school bullies.
Heck Guy's dad literally CANONICALLY tried to poison her to death in one event, and his brother looked down on her for being a maid and is a classic ladies man who sleeps around with everyone and sees girls by their chests, and BOTH of them are shown as LIs in spin off stuff when they're the most disgusting men. His brother is shown as nicer later on, but it's a long past event where he was actually pretty gross and I can't let that go.
Jasper literally drugs and sexually assaults us TWICE and is a bystander to guy being gross to us. In some events guy literally uses magic to immobilise us and try to force us to marry and kiss him. Most try to force kisses actually.
The MC is rarely EVER shown as doing anything 'masculine' and most of the time embodies a ditzy woman with very traditional values. Even when she DOES step out - like the medical event with Toa - they almost always love to twist events into how we're good with kids. Speaking of which, ALL the princes will need heirs and most are implied to want kids. So good luck if you're like me and don't want or can have kids.
I don't mind LIs being shown as good with kids - it's a good trait - but it's VERY clearly implied that we don't really have a choice here. I don't think the princes are interested in adopting a commoner to inherit the throne.
Roy's entire outlook is that love in couples is shown by having lots of kids, and even thinks two kids isn't a lot. Rio is literally the biggest himbo dad. Lance loves kids. Grayson wants kids. Etc...
MC also pretty much always wears girly dresses. Look, I don't mind pretty dresses, but the MC is pretty much at this point her own person, not a Y/N. Has canon eye colour, traditional, ditzy, clearly wants kids, only wears dresses... In no way can I relate. She needs more choices from US. More variety for people into other things.
Fenn and his dad use women and in different events Fenn literally sleeps with us and sees other women, leading the women to cry once they realise he only wanted sex, and us to feel used. His dad outright wanted him to marry multiple women and have us as a side piece, which we ONLY ever see with the women, never the other way around, and in one event is cruel to us based on stereotyping us due to where we come from, and forces us into stuff we don't want - yet again portrayed as able to woo.
Toa's older sisters are discarded from the throne for being women and are the classic toxic women figures who pick on people like teenage bullies.
Luxure is a cesspit of women being side pieces and breeding tools.
I don't feel like I'd EVER be happy in this world. Where characters literally SA us and we forgive and date them, where multiple men are shown as players who trick and sleep with women, where at one point we're literally trafficked, where women are worth less to the throne and don't inherit it, where they're sold off, where they're expected to dress prettily and sip tea, where youd be expected to bear endless kids and only your son would be useful, where it's normal and encouraged for your partner to sleep with and marry other women.
I know COD has SOME good bits - mandatory sword training, women have jobs, MC OCCASIONALLY being blunt rather than ditzy and in some cases just plain disgusting in her actions - but this universe feels VERY 'gender roles and women 200 years ago but if everyone had magic' core. There aren't really any badass women, and 99% of the time it's just us being picked on by women and saved by the men over and over. We get cool badass guys, but all the good women are soft and sweet and motherly/sisterly and cute. Most the princes have shit dads but gush about their sweet, lovely mothers. I believe Dia is an exception? But I'd love more soft fathers and mothers who work hard or don't fit that traditional role. Violet is sexy, but... Well, harsh is the full extent. Wears a sexy dress and can be assertive, but that's as far as we get.
Why aren't there sword instructors in pants? A queen who bears most of the weight of the crown and commands the front lines? Female knights? 99% of the girls in COD fit it either maternal and feminine or bratty highschool bullies. To the point where the second is repeated in nearly every event, and people are getting bored of it.
Realistically if I went to that world with blue eyes, suit and trousers, interest in fighting, and don't like kids, what would happen? Well the plot wouldn't happen, I wouldn't fit into the hyper feminine expectations of nobles and royals in most nations, and I'd never be considered. Because even if you DID marry one of them, you'd be stuck in a world where you do NOTHING but drink tea and gossip, wear dresses, go shopping, talk about men, and eat sweets. Which, yes, is about 90% of what we do with other women in COD. Please go sword sparring with Violet. Or give options for more diverse hobbies so it's not the same thing over and over.
Idk, I think games like LADS and obey me just do it so much better. We can be ANYONE. Obey me gives us options, we can be girly or tough, motherly or bratty, whatever we want and it wouldn't really change anything. We ACTUALLY get to woo a woman, which pleases my bi heart - AND she's a badass whilst also being hot and not a toxic Karen trying to steal the men and bully us. She's a good person with a backbone, better writing than most of the women in COD.
LADS has a lot of badass women and a cool MC whilst also giving us feminine moments, paths, and alternative outfits. There are subtle scenes with everyone being nice to kids, but it's not shoved down your throat, and I don't think they'd give a crap if you said no to that - and they CERTAINLY wouldn't SA us or shove SA in events that we get saved FROM, because our MC is both able to save herself AND accept help.
