You just voiced my thoughts exactly. Even after they've gotten over their big misunderstanding, there's this mysterious air about Ash that I couldn't pinpoint. He's so pretty and sweet too but I just couldn't shake it off. Although Ash was definitely more touchy and comes strongly, I definitely felt that Karlyle loves him more than Ash loves him.
i agree 100%. ash is very affectionate, which i loved to read about, but the physical nature of HIS TREATMENT towards karlyle in the bedroom is highly uncomfortable. karlyle is so emotionally invested that ash knows he can do whatever and get away with it, which is ridiculous but those side stories lowkey confirm it to me…
just finished this and i give it 4 stars, mainly for the breathtaking artstyle. i also teared up a couple times throughout the story, especially from ash’s gentle actions and their dialogue. but honestly, the “chasing” was nonexistent—they spent a month apart, which is A LOT for what they were both apparently feeling, but during that month, it felt like nothing really happened on ash’s end. i could feel karlyle’s hurt and sympathized with him deeply but ash got like…. 5 sentences of inner monologue max and the author wanted to make him seem like an equal yearned to karlyle also, the side stories really threw me off. why is ash being so weird and the consent is dubious asfk. yes, their “safe word” in one of the chapters is “honey” but this dude KNOWS karlyle is uncomfortable with voicing pet names and making him confess his PLANS TO PROPOSE TO YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU KNOW HIM SOOOOOO DEEPLY through dubious play is so ridiculous and disgusting. it was uncomfortable to read and ash was literally not like that in the main story, except during his rut towards the end, which was also not that enjoyable to read but the knotting made me tear up. overall, a really good plot, infuriating at times, karlyle is a beautiful character inside and out, and i understand the hype now. just too many other odd instances for me for it to be a perfect story.
p.s. ash has the prettiest character design ever, like wow