>>45958899I fantasized about being Cynthia as a child. She seems to have it all. Elegance, intelligence, notoriety and raw power.
As I've grown older, I've learned that people who lust for power tend to do so because they seek to abuse it. You are unlikely to want to be in a position of power so very badly in the first place unless your goal was to misuse it for your own benefit. I am nowadays skeptical of all those who have, or badly want to have power over others, as Cynthia undeniably does.
Of course, none of this matters if it transpires that the person in question is genuinely a good person who will not abuse power. This in the games appears to be exactly what Cynthia is—intimidating and not someone you'd ever want to mess with, but also very kind and thoughtful most of the time. It is my personal view that people with a cool demeanor are unworthy of being called cool unless they are also kind.
Still, the fandom too often does not portray her this way. They usually show her lording over others, adored with a facial expression expecting to be worshiped, admired and submitted to. The fans tend to display her as someone who got her power via unsavory means, or someone willing to abuse power. This is enough for me to have stopped fantasizing about being Cynthia, or from wanting to be her. My view of her character has degraded over time.
I used to think badass outlaws who did whatever they wanted were cool, strong and worthy of emulation. They're none of that. I understand now it is a commonly held delusion that cold-blooded, self-serving folk who are unafraid of doing wrong and are willing to do harm to others to get what they want are strong—they are weak. Narcissism, power lust and an inability to be humble or selfless are not appealing to me.
I don't really like Cynthia anymore. She's kind of a power-hungry asshole.
