#valelardi blanc

[lloydfrontera]

another thing i can't forgive the webcomic on downplaying or outright skipping in order to make room for comedy is the commentary on classism and how absolutely terrible life can be when you're poor. i'm not saying they don't talk at all about it, they do! they have done some scenes that i really, really like so we know they're perfectly capable of it! so that makes it all the more noticeable when they,,, don't.

like i've already talked about how they massively changed the scene with sir blanc, where instead of lloyd showing him just how draining and tiring and hard it actually it is to work in construction and how much respect those workers deserve rather than how sir blanc had been looking down on them, they made it into a "if you flinch you lose" sort of deal

i liked that scene! it's quiet and calm and it gives us insight into how lloyd sees the world and why he acts the way he does to his workers. there's even a bit where lloyd offers him five times the salary of his civil engineers and sir blanc tells him it's not about the money, subtly implying it's insulting on lloyd's part to think he cared about money when his pride is on the line. and then lloyd completely shuts him down by telling him that of course money is important, people break their backs every day to get enough money to support themselves and their families, why wouldn't it be important?

for many people shoveling is the only way they can sustain themselves, it is their last lifeline and hope, the very job sir blanc was making fun of is what kept a house over their head and food on their table. and it's only after lloyd explains all of that to him that he also shows off his mana blast. he doesn't need to order sir blanc to do anything because, well, why would he? he made his point perfectly clear.

it's such a poignant scene!!! and in the webnovel we get,, well,, this:

it's kind of amazing how they,,, apparently missed the point of the scene?? like yeah sir blanc learns to respect lloyd and the construction work they do, but not because he thinks every job is inherently worthy of respect and there's not such thing as unskilled labor but because,,, lloyd is good at fighting monsters and saving people with unconventional methods. that's kind of it.

idk it feels like such a shame we lost that bit of character understanding and development even if we did get an absolutely hysterical scene out of it.

then there's also this scene a little bit after lloyd gets ggoming where he reflects how important reputation is and how much the money you have affects that. he was a poor guy, no house, no family, living in a cramped goshiwon, barely any clothes, with two or three faded sweatshirts for the entire year and a cheap haircut every three or four months.

he didn't have the money to worry about his appearance and it showed, which also affected his self-esteem and the way he carried himself, with hunched shoulders to occupy as small space as possible. and because of that the way people treated him was terrible, looking down on him with disdain and suspicion, constantly watching him any time he went to buy something because they thought he was looking to steal something. even outright accusing him of it.

it's horrible and harsh and a reality for many people and part of the reason he's so worried about building up a good reputation. he knows how terrible life can get when you don't have one and can't afford to get it.

and in the webcomic we get:

i swear i'm not trying to be mean nor overly critical. i promise i do love this webcomic, it makes me laugh so much and i wait every new chapter shaking and screaming. but c'mooonnnn

tged is about a modern day civil engineer raising absolute chaos in a fantasy setting with a giant hamster and his put upon knight following him everywhere he goes. but it also does have important themes weaved into the narrative that you can't just skip over without losing part of what makes it so good!

i'm begging here, just give us an earnest scene every once in a while, there's no need to make a joke at every turn, we're big boys (gn), we can handle a serious scene every couple chapters! we used to have those! chapter 5 had a great scene about suho's struggles in his previous life! chapter 26 was also amazing! it had its funny moments but it allowed itself to have a calm, quiet, sad moment that gave way to an earnest moment with lloyd and the summons! it's clear they can do it, they've done it before!

i just,,, i think there's so much to explore in the webnovel, that isn't being fully used in the webcomic and it's just such a shame :( so if you can i really encourage you to read the novel, it fleshes out and endears you to the characters so much more, i really do recommend it!

[lloydfrontera]

also also also they skipped the death of the six white lancers in the canyon which means we didn't get to see lloyd taking upon himself to make sure their remains were carefully and respectfully delivered to the capital escorted by 30 white lancers whom he gave special leave. nor did we get to see him personally write consolation letters to their families to let them know how brave and noble and honorable their father/husband/son had been along with a large amount of compensation money. or how he also sent alicia a letter in which he explained in the best way he possibly could how they had sacrificed themselves so the royal family would take care of their families. nor the memorial stone he commissioned with their names.

simply because he believe they deserved that treatment. because they had been willing to sacrifice themselves to protect the people of his territory. he thought it was only natural of him to do that.

and he's then surprised when sir blanc thanks him because no one had ever bothered to do that for them before. their deaths had been so normalized even they had started to become desensitized to it. but lloyd made sure that the six white lancers' deaths wouldn't be taken for granted. that they wouldn't be seen as expendable.

and he's so impressed by it, that he's willing to follow lloyd whole heartedly despite being a knight of the royal family

but they skipped all of that so who cares right its not like it's a key moment to understand lloyd as a character and an important shift of loyalties that subtly lets us know the ripples and changes lloyd is making with his presence or anything like that don't be silly

[lloydfrontera]

it is a little dissapointing how lloyd's first meeting with sir blanc and their bet was reduced to a "if you flinch you lose" sort of thing when originally it was about lloyd showing sir blanc there was nothing shameful about dedicating oneself to shoveling and construction, that many people depended on that sort of job to take care of themselves and their families, that it had its own set of difficulties that had to be overcome every single day and that to think it was demeaning or humilliating to use a shovel was not only insulting but also foolish. but maybe that's just me idk