this is the first time i've been unhappy that a story got a happy ending. brett really did...

so the point is, i got a green-flag ML, but the MC is such a fucking red flag that it really pissed me off.

THANK YOU THE ONLY SANE PERSON HERE, BRETT IS SO EMOTIONALLY IMMATURE WHICH WOULD BE FORGIVABLE IF HE WASNT ALSO COMPLETELY UNWILLING TO CHANGE AND THE MOST HE’LL GIVE IS TELLING HAYDEN TO ‘TEACH HIM ABOUT ROMANCE’ LIKE BITCH WHY DOES HE HAVE TO PUT IN ALL THE EFFORT??? I FEEL SO SORRY FOR HAYDEN NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO HURT THAT MUCH AND NOT EVEN RECEIVE A PROPER APOLOGY AFTER ALL OF IT

I don’t feel like you read it properly if your end take is that Brett didn’t change. Or perhaps, and I really don’t mean this as a dig I swear, but maybe it’s too cerebral for you.

At the very least, the whole “Scott nearly got assassinated” interim story was plant d to evidence that Brett *had* changed, that he had understood his mistakes (because of his father intervening in the court battle) and changed the way he handled things (making Scott informed and teaching him how to handle his issue, rather than quietly resolving it behind his back).

He also became a lot more open about his desires/intentions/emotions. Seasons 1 and 2 Brett never would’ve told Hayden he was scared.

On the apology- One: there’s technically not really anything Brett needed to apologise for, that was their arrangement, he ended it as per how they’d previously agreed.

Two: Brett’s chasing arc in season 3 is his “grovelling.” We don’t really get Brett’s pov much throughout, but Hayden’s words and actions do hurt him back. It’s subtle, but you can see it, like when Hayden made the condom/sleeping around comment.

And three: If you were really expecting a grovelling apology, then you’ve grossly misunderstood the characters’ personalities and their relationship. They, in large part, solve a lot of their tension through sex- Brett’s rut sex was basically his come-uppance/apology. It’s why he doesn’t use the safe word to stop Hayden, and we just see his pheromones expressing his feelings instead.

Also, idk why you’d say Brett doesn’t deserve Hayden. Brett is calculating, sure, but he’s never malicious towards Hayden- and that’s an important distinction to keep in mind if you’re going to label him a red flag. In a world of BL leads who purposefully isolate, entrap, confine, debt trap, beat, psychologically tame their MCs etc, Brett struggling to understand emotions and seeing relationships as transactional because that’s how he was brought up really doesn’t make him a bad person undeserving of love.

A red flag is a red flag. Your ‘that’s how he was brought up’ doesn’t change his flag to a green one. All of what you’ve said to justify his actions are what you felt right. Defending a character this extent sounds very personal like you are rather trying to defend yourself. Anyway people do have different opinions, of you judge from a third person’s perspective you’ve gotta empathize with both of their characters not just Brett. So yeah he did not deserve Hayden or at least did not love him as much as Hayden did. A chasing arc would have made the story better

Did you just not read what I wrote lmao

Wild take to say I’m defending myself but go off

Nothing you’ve said here counters any of the points I’ve made- your entire counter argument is just “that’s your opinion.” Which, by the way, is not a counter argument lmao

Did you not learn PEEL in school? Point, evidence, explanation, and link (optional) please, sis

Nah I’ve definitely read all your points. Im just too lazy to waste so much time on refuting each of em. You did really well. You could win any argument with your tactics. If you are not in law school then you should consider getting into one.
At that time I just finished reading the comic, you could say my opinion is not from rational rather emotional perspective and again Brett did not deserve him. You tried to understand the depth of a character while I had to watch their actions and judge by putting myself in both of their roles.

Also, the way you strongly defended the character it definitely felt like you are arguing to prove yourself instead. I mean who tries to find reason and calculate a character’s every move unless they themselves can relate to a character. Ofc I might be wrong but that’s just how it felt like to me.

How does it sound like I’m arguing to prove myself exactly? Lay it out in a demonstrable way. Maybe if my arguments lacked substance, like yours? If I defended Brett, just because? But all I’ve done is laid down the story’s own facts, I’ve not made any generalising statements based on sophistry like a certain someone. I.e. most people who enjoy a work will analyse the characters they like- and characters that depart from cliches- which Brett does as a bottom- are especially popular.

Like, you really out here reading shi without a single thought or moment of consideration about what the story’s trying to portray? Surface level media consumption like scrolling reels, with the same amount of literacy it seems

Also y’all acting like Hayden’s perfect without analysing him at all. The whole point of Season 1 was to show that Hayden had a darker/more violent side that he should embrace. Even though it was a set-up, this story opens with Hayden intentionally raping Brett- in that moment, Hayden, in all his ignorance, was *deliberately* violent.

Then season 2 was about exploring Brett’s hidden softer part, literally what the author said in the notes.

If you missed all that, idk, sounds like you skimmed through this

girl this is exactly how i feel lol too lazy to argue over fictional characters and then the shade of this person saying “maybe it’s too cerebral for you”…i’ve literally won prizes for critical essays and poems i’ve written but apparently i lack reading comprehension and the ability to grasp nuance based off a goofy comment i made on a gay manga website just bc brett is complicated or his dad poisoned him with callousness/seeing vulnerability as a weakness or ‘he shows affection in his own twisted way, through enacting revenge” doesn’t change the fact that he’s a mean and selfish person…it’s not nice to constantly have to beg and plead with someone you love to understand you on a basic human level, to explain your feelings to them as sincerely as you can and still be met with a brick wall…he hurt hayden over and over and then to just pretend like the conflict wasn’t a big deal and act like hayden is dragging it out or holding a unnecessary grudge over it after not seeing each other for years is crazy…but i guess hayden kept gagging for more and trying to fix him so it’s his fault too, i could fucking neverrrr

i'm with you, girl. i don't really know how to explain my POV, so i didn't argue about it. and thanks for speaking up. i just feel like brett needs to suffer more.

“Ermm actually ive won prizes

nah worm lemme back you up here

is it not hypocritical to criticize worm for suggesting the work may be “too cerebral for you” (though said without malicious intent—fine, I agree it comes off as pretentious) and then turn around and repeatedly make ad hominem claims about worm projecting/trying to defend themselves (?? not once, but twice!)

second logical fallacy (since you’ve won writing prizes and understand rhetorical principles) is that you draw a false equivalency between brett being “emotionally immature” (and thus supposedly unwilling—or unable—to change) and him experiencing empathy differently. i’m not going to armchair-psychologist you, but take a quick look at the DSM-5 criteria for ASPD (or “psychopathy”) and come back here

him being selfish may be a character flaw, but “incapable of understanding another on a basic level” is clearly misguided. worm’s already laid out evidence as to how he’s changed, and even if brett lacks any discernible emotional empathy (which I would argue against), he’s still capable of cognitive and compassionate empathy (and demonstrates as such, apart from what his father has ingrained in him)

like, on what basis are you asserting that he didn’t love hayden as much… we literally see him begging bro to teach him how to love in a way that makes hayden feel emotionally reciprocated and appreciated to the best of his ability… (aka “his” way, the “normal” way) also he literally says he can’t get over him? like brett might not display affection or desire in the way you think he should (since you’re putting yourself in hayden’s shoes or wtvr), but that doesn’t negate the fact that he does

btw claiming “[you] could never ” doesn’t reflect worm’s personal stance on the matter, nor your supposed emotional maturity, but only comes across as sanctimony… shii at one point I wish brett would have “suffered” a bit more for hayden’s sake too, but obv the author was trying to wrap up the story quickly and most casual readers would be pleased with a happier ending… so…

and b4 one of you come at me for actually typing this out on a gay manhwa website… is it a crime to critically engage with media we enjoy (esp a story like this, which aside from smut actually has very decent character development for the genre)?

all this to say, worm, just know I’m with you lol

Thank youuuuu, i appreciate it and you said things much more eloquently than me! My previous comment actually glitched and only sent the first line but then I decided it was probably a sign to touch some grass since I was getting a bit frustrated haha

LOL I should prob go touch grass too instead of arguing on mggo but it’s too funny not to