lol I realized my wording of “ can’t seperate Albert & Arden even in the end.” & “ acknowledges his existence as a seperate person from Arden” sounds contradicting so mb but js to clarify what I mean: he (Asha) can seperate the PHYSICAL existence of Albert & Arden as 2 different people but he can’t rlly seperate the PSYCHOLOGICAL existence of them as 2 different people
Very well said. I also think this and why I didn’t continue this story. I can’t help but feel like Asha isn’t fully able to separate Arden from Albert, where he sees them both as two different people—and I kind of think that’s the point of this story. There is a reason he fell in love with Albert, and that’s because he’s quite literally a reflection of Arden and to a point his “reincarnation” even though it isn’t literal. To simplify it, it just feels to me like Albert is a replacement for Arden, and Asha is comfortable with that because Albert is Arden to an extent. However, I think it’s a good story and the way it “contradicts” itself is kind of rigorous and has a bit of complexity—because maybe the whole point IS to show that Asha is seeing Arden in Albert and loving him again? Not for me, but a good story. You said it very well.
Idk… I’m having mixed feelings about this story. Maybe my understanding or interpretations might be wrong so feel free to correct me or anything.
SPOILERS!!!
I know that in the end, he (Asha) realizes how much he loves Albert but in a way, for me atleast, it feels like he’s still stuck in his past with Arden. He mentally tells himself “is it ok for me to love another person” to which “Arden” replies with “ofcourse. Because he’s just like me. that’s why you love him” and in a way, it’s contradicting. This interior monologue implies that Asha still can’t seperate Albert & Arden even in the end.
I know Albert’s a reincarnation of Arden, but that still doesn’t make him Arden and the story puts emphasis on that. Asha knows who Albert is and acknowledges his existence as a seperate person from Arden, yet he projects the idea/ghost of Arden onto Albert even until the very end.