You okay, Patrick?

When that scenario is not being done on purpose it reeks of shallow writing, it's the same logic used when one love interest in a love triangle is suddenly antagonized or why every woman who isn't kissing the mc's ass is made into a villain. The writer doesn't know how to permanently shut out the other participants so they make them horrible people.

It's not even the trashy writing that bothers me but that warping the environment to give the FL her man is somehow seen as romantic? Or to be more frank, being stuck in a situation where there's only one person who I can rely on for all my needs is codependency, which is something I like to read, but it's rarely called as what it is.

And then it just rushes through everything, like the author got burnt out half way and decided that it wasn't worth it anymore. Admittedly, I did have context of what the manhwa was supposed to entail since I received spoilers from the novel readers but I still didn't expect it to be wrapped up so quickly. The final battle happens not too long after "Yvonne" makes her return, I figured there'd be more in between.

That's not even mentioning Eckles' ending. I held out more hope for VADTD compared to other manhwas that participate in the slavery trope because unlike those manhwa, VADTD didn't constantly cover the panels of the FL buying a slave with pretty flowers and bright overlays, whenever Penelope and Eckles were in the room together, the vibes always felt uncomfortable and there was a significant lack of sparkles compared to manhwas such as Divorcing my tyrant husband or Villainesses have more fun. There were so many seemingly obvious signals in the art that told me that Penelope was an abuser to Eckles that I figured that it was simply the fans who didn't understand that Eckles' later behavior was a result of being groomed by this noble lady.

Only for the author to basically back out last minute. Eckles as a character suffers from the same problem that Rashta did, the author wanted to try to make them look complex by utilizing a literal human rights violation to explain their behavior, but they were so wrapped up in the romance of the two main leads that they forgot to actually CARE about those other characters and their suffering, with said suffering basically just becoming a stepping stone for the plot itself. I figured that at some point, the narrative would prove the commenters wrong and now I feel quite foolish for ever thinking that slavery would ever matter in the long run just because the art itself seemed to imply that the aspect of slavery wasn't going to end up the same way it always ends up in other manhwas, it's like the author WANTED to go somewhere with this, but they were too scared of deviating from the romance that drew everybody in so they shoved Eckles to the side in order to appease the masses.

I tried my best to not be so negative for once because I want to actually enjoy reading something for once instead of looking for reasons to complain, every time, I thought that maybe the author was just trying to be subtle when they really just didn't know what they were doing, even when I was noticing some flaws, I didn't make a big deal out of it because every story out there is bound to have flaws, but how can I NOT complain when the fatal flaws are staring at me in the face? I just can't ignore how much that was originally presented to us was pushed to the side so Penelope could defeat the bad guy and marry her tyrannical prince.

Because yes, VADTD is genuinely one of the better ones. It actually engages with the reality of slavery and gives us a morally gray FL instead of just slapping another cardboard-cutout villainess or pure heroine, onto the narrative and calling it a day. But at the same time, it still ultimately falls back into the status quo, so it’s absolutely fair game to criticize it for that too.

I use to play multiple, I could remember who I was romancing in what game, and where I was in the story, and could remember what things I had to do in which game.

Now....I can't do more than the barest of minimum in the few games I'm too attached to to get rid of (and even a few of those, I don't open at all)

I miss the joy I got from playing. Miss getting invested in the story, to the point it'd affect my mood in real life or I'd lose sleep cause I wouldn't be able to go to bed after a cliffhanger or until one of the characters I cherish was out of danger.

But now....I just can't get myself to pay attention very long or remember much of anything anymore.

I use to thrive on the love and joy I felt, now.....I just feel....hollow? Empty? Just sad or depressed? Grief?

Whatever it is....I might as well be dead....