Responses
Hey! I don't want to refute you, just want to give my point of view. I think no matter what, Soleite is still a dragon inside, his way of thinking may be very different from humans in general. Maybe Soleite truly loves Ian and Brian equally? It's just that Soleite is still used to the relationship/chemistry between him and Brian in the past, so he treats Ian the same way he treated Brian, and searching for "brian" in Ian. Without knowing that it was a mistake. Maybe Soleite don't fully understand the concept of reincarnation? But I do agree. Soleite is still in the wrong here.
In my opinion, the more I read the flashback, the more I feel like this is like a substitute relationship trope. I get that having a soul reincarnated and your lover loving you no matter what, but this honestly feels like ML is just treating MC well just because he envisions Ian as Brian. The problem is that they couldn't be more different.
Nature and nurture plays a big role in forming personality traits. Although some might argue they are the same soul, they merely share some same characteristics and core personality traits, yet they can't be more different from each other. Evidently, we learnt that Brian is a free and brave spirit that is willing to do what's right at his own expense. Ian was oppressed?ostracized? when he was young due to his powers and basically brainwashed into believing he was a monster for having powers, have a different worldview. They definitely would not share the same personality unless the universe suddenly decides Brian's nature is too hard to quell, and Ian ends up exactly like Brian, never changing much form his original self.
Does ML love Ian for his personality or for his resemblance to his past lover? If it's his personality ,then that's basically loving a different person and the reincarnation trope would be irrelevant. When we say we live a person, it would be a combination of looks and personality, but if a persons personality suddenly does a 180, would you still continue to love that person? On the other hand, if ML loves Ian due to resemblance, then it's basically a substitute relationship.
Also if someone wants to refute my opinion, feel free to do it, just give me the facts because I really want to love Brian and the ML but with the way the author presents it, he seems just like a jerk.