#She lives in most endings and is thus absent a big reason her archetype usually exists!

[beevean]

Beautiful addition! I can imagine Lydie learning how to ride a horse. She'd probably do it in the "ladylike" way (sitting with both her legs on the side of the horse, rather than straddling it like Maria in SoTN), but I can see her having her own special horse and going on rides with her besties :) (I don't know about Maxim, but Juste would 100% have his own horse too.)

The fact that she doesn't have her own friendship bracelet is sad. She might feel a bit out of place due to her being a girl, or not a fighter. She might even feel like a third wheel, at times. And this might push her to be even more active, even more involved, because she doesn't want to be left behind. But the other two love her as she is :) her theme is called Beloved One for a reason. As for Lydie being the one keeping peace, Juste saying "you heard the lady" tells us everything we need to know lmao

(it makes you wonder how Juste and Lydie's relationship would evolve or break down, in the normal ending where only Maxim dies... Especially since Juste, judging by the best ending, has the tendency to hide the truth.)

#Lydie is uniquely lacking in characterization not just bc HoD isn't interested in her as a love interest #but bc it's also not that interested in her as a *sacrifice*. Hence her not being martyred like most characters in her archetype #She lives in most endings and is thus absent a big reason her archetype usually exists! #Which frees her from this narrative overall! But also still leaves her kinda flat and lacking in plot agency anyways #Imo the worst thing the game does is inexplicably reward Juste with her affection for completing the interior decorating sidequest #I feel like using her as arm candy for the player in particular was much more sexist than her just being out of focus

Yeah. Lydie is by far the flattest of the girls in CV, which is a shame. She doesn't even have the pathos coming from her being dead. She's there as a reason for Juste and Maxim to go into the castle, and her actual dialogue is not particularly interesting. Probably the line that could be broken down the most is "Blaming yourself is the same as blaming him", if the two survive Maxim. She doesn't even know the circumstances of her kidnapping, let alone of Maxim's death, but she knows how deeply Juste cares for him and how close they are.

also yeah I feel that Lydie swooning for Juste if he completes his interior decor quest, while hilarious, is a bit forced just to pretend to give the player a reward - which, guess what, falls flat because of Lydie's own lack of screentime, so why should they care that Juste got the girl lmao. Then again, I do feel the same for Maria inexplicably deciding to "ease Alucard's torment" if he 196%s the maps, even worse in that case because, while at least Maria had a bigger presence in the plot, Alucard showed no romantic interest in her at all. Oh well.

An idea that won't leave my head is that Lydie is an excitable tomboy.

Think about it. Lydie, who in appearance is a frilly delicate girl, has two boys as her best friends. Two rough warrior boys, at that. How did she become part of the group? Surely she does more than just sitting demurely as they spar?

I like to think that Lydie is actually kind of reckless and likes to play danerous games. She's the kind of girl that would ruin her skirt climbing up trees or jumping on stones to cross a river. She causes a lot of headaches for her family, who want her to act proper, and this may be why she loves to spend time with her friends, who don't care if she is improper because they just like her as she is. I don't think she is that big of a rebel, because she still looks like someone who takes care of her appearance (the hair alone requires careful styling), so she might play coy with her family and be on her best behavior... until tempted by her besties.

Generally speaking, if I were to write Lydie, I think I'd move away from the "gentle" archetype and make her a ball of energy lol. The kind of person who is constantly fidgeting, bouncing on her feet and clapping her hands because she just can't wait to spend more time with her favorite people in the world!

I could also take this artwork as proof that she likes nature and animals. She doesn't have the innate talents of a witch or a Devil Forgemaster, sadly lol. She just tries her best even if she gets her fingers picked at or bitten.

Also, we know that after Simon's victory, the Belmonts became heroes of the land, and a whole village was built around them. Juste, most likely, didn't grow up shunned for his bloodline. But! He was still born different. Frail, pale, and with strange magic potential. While discrimination due to magic is not as intense at this point in time as it was in centuries past, it's possible Juste was surrounded by rumors, perhaps even doubted as a worthy successor of his grandfather. You know, for that nice family legacy stuff :)

The point is, I think Lydie never cared. Along with Maxim, who gets to experience for himself how strong and driven Juste is, Lydie might have been the first person to not treat Juste like the latest Belmont with all that comes with it, but as a boy worth of befriending. Lydie got to know Juste's various quirks, like his stubborness, or his fastidiousness when it comes to fashion and decor (I bet they joked that she could learn from him lol), and decided he was funny and that's how a friendship started.

Oh, and the wiki suggests that her surname hints at her ethnicity being Transylvanian Saxon or Banat Swabian. I think it's pretty cool and it could influence her in some way.

I need to think of more quirks to give to her. But I really would like to flesh her out a bit because she has potential to be interesting :>