Mai's Topics (37)

(Spoiler lite) Michele actually does ask and he's not cool with it. I think Chu and Chada are following their own thematic or structural adaptation of the novel.

Okay, thank god. The reason why it seems like he's cool with it is because in chapter 32, Ain asks him "Are you upset because you think I lied to you?" and Michelle says "I don't think I was deceived" and that "I don't think everything that happened at the mansion was a lie" while still clearly being uncomfortable with Ain's deception, so it's just kinda frustrating how easily he seems to go along with Ain's manipulation afterwards when literally every manipulative question could be answered with "I'm hesitant because you lied to me."

bc is a manhwa and everything needs to be dramatic?

I think he means he wasn't deceived because he believes the feelings they shared in the mansion were real, he doesn't want to put them into question even tho Ian lied to him because he truly felt love and felt like he was loved by Ain. Michele is very much hesitant even in this chapter and it took Ian basically terrorizing him to make him reconsider the sleeping together thing, but he isn't that easily swayed, he's pretty stubborn in wanting to know the truth from Ian.

I get that that's what he means when he says not "everything" in the mansion was a lie, but even in this latest chapter, Ain/Ian is once again trying to manipulate him by bringing up how "well if you consider me and the servant to be such different people, you might as well just marry my sister, right, because you can't trust me anymore, right," and Michele still can't say "yeah, actually, I can't trust you, and that's your fault because you did lie to me."

I understand there's a psychological scare tactic going on and Michele is currently afraid of what Ain might do to him (which is its own level of messed up), but this is the third or fourth conversation of the exact same nature they've had, and it gets to a point, you know? It's starting to get frustrating that Michele falls for it again and again, hence why I expressed my frustration that he still hasn't managed to even say "hey, it's kinda messed up that you lied," but instead got a nice handjob out of it instead. It feels like we'll be here for another 20 chapters before he musters the courage to speak out.

Yeah, I actually get what you mean. Michele was pretty verbal about this from the moment they entered the castle. He's clearly bothered by the deception even though he doesn't believe everything that happened between them at the mansion was a lie. I think the problem is that Michele and Ian are almost talking past each other. Michele's hesitation is basically, “You deceived me, so of course I'm confused and unsure right now,” while Ian, because he still doesn't trust Michele's sincerity, interprets that hesitation as further evidence that he needs to keep testing him (￣∇￣"). Btw, Michele isn't actually as much of a pushover as he might seem right now.

I absolutely see your frustration , and honestly, I think part of it may just be the narrative flow the creators have chosen for the adaptation because Michele doesn't remain this passive. If I remember the novel correctly, the events around this part actually play out a bit differently (I don't even think there was a handj** ), so I think the manhwa may be rearranging/altering some things. (Oh, and Ian does seem to realize that physical intimacy is one of Michele's major weaknesses and sometimes uses it as a way of placating or disarming him (￣∇￣").

And you're right that Michele has every reason to be hesitant after realizing Ian deceived him. But don't worry, Michele isn't actually the pushover these chapters might make him seem like. For example, when Ian suggests that Michele might as well marry Katya, Michele is genuinely hurt by it and does call him out. There are also points where he gets angry with Ian and refuses to simply let his behaviour slide. He loves Ian deeply, but that doesn't mean he endlessly tolerates everything Ian does.

Oh man, that sounds like a lot more interesting character dynamic ;__; I'd love to see him finally stand up for himself more and call Ian out, rather than go in circles as they're doing right now... I really hope it's not gonna take long in the webtoon to get to that point. As it is right now, it's definitely making Michele seem really passive. And as a result, Ian also comes across as way more evil, since Michele looks genuinely afraid when he starts raging about "why don't you trust me??" while thinking internally about how he doesn't actually care about whether Michele stays confined to the bedroom for the rest of his life or not. If Michele actually responded with some agency in this scene (as he apparently does in the source material), it wouldn't make Ian seem so overwhelmingly in control of their power dynamic.

All in all, I hope Michele gets the chance to clap back soon :/ it's not really fun to read the same conversation of "i guess you don't love and trust me after all" and "no i do, i'm sorry!" for the umpteenth time.

I think part of the problem is that the manhwa's current narrative flow makes the power imbalance between them feel much stronger. Ian is controlling and manipulative, so without clear pushback from Michele, Ian naturally comes across much harsher while Michele seems overly passive. But I promise Michele doesn't permanently remain stuck in this loop .

I really recommend reading the novel though! Aside from getting the fuller story, it's honestly such a beautiful read (it made me cry like a baby ). Woosoo is genuinely gifted. Unfortunately, I don't think their issues will be resolved anytime soon . Ian is a complex character that requires a lot too reach out to him. When Ian feels insecure about Michele, he tends to fall back on manipulation and “testing” him rather than just communicating like a normal person (￣∇￣"). And I can't stress this enough: I understand Ian's actions towards Michele, but I don't agree with them. The novel just does a beautiful job of showing you how deeply broken Ian is and where that behaviour comes from. Without spoiling too much, even after a mutual confession, Ian still struggles to believe Michele truly loves him and at one point essentially thinks he's too “dirty” for Michele . But OMgoshness, Michele really is Ian's saviour . His words, actions and acceptance of Ain/Ian is so beautiful, so please stick with it

P.S there was one chapter I think described them perfectly (the beast tamed by its bride)

This is the problem with some BL authors... it's annoying when they try to make something seem like a good story with actual meaning behind it, but it always turns out to be porn. There's a good way to write a story while implementing sex scenes into the mix without straying away from the story, and there are many examples. Take maybe Dreaming Of The Dokkaebi or Max Mojave's Case. Both are good stories, and in my opinion, good sex scenes. (You should check them out).

Author's should just stop being afraid at admitting that they want to just write porn. It's fine, no one's going to flay you.

I read through the story again and could find no mention of Shuga being a freshman (19); as far as I could see, it's only said that he's a university student. He could just as well be a sophomore at 20 years old, considering Akane's birth during the time they were apart. Now, I could've missed the mention of Shuga's grade, and if so, I'm in the wrong, but if his age/grade is indeed left ambiguous, I think it's a bit weird that some people are so insistent on not only making him barely legal, but in doing so also insist that Oto was knowingly dating a minor in the past (because Shuga would've had to have been a minor (16-17 at most) in the past if he was 18 now). Yes, Oto acknowledges that he dated a high schooler, but he never once acknowledges to having dated a minor.

Is that so? I really prefer A-seong over Seong ha... A-seong have a nice ring to it

i guess it's because a lot of cultures in the west say puppies smell like corn chips but i cackled at that part, thanks for the more accurate translation

ohhhh okay, I've never heard that myself, I've always heard more sweet descriptors (honey, sweet milk, etc.) or the bath scent, but I guess the corn chip makes a bit more sense in that case :'D

I have puppies and they indeed smell like corn chips or better yet crumbs in bag chips

that’s better than corn chips

but that's it, the two of them don't really communicate and are always kinda dogging each other's questions/comments
it's frustrating watching them living their relationship in their own heads only

Yeah, the reason why I specifically commented on Suou's attitude is because most of his thoughts are about Sei's behavior, not his own. While Sei, after realizing the depth of their issues, starts thinking "What can I do to improve our situation? How can I be more honest with Suou?" and asking for advice, Suou's thoughts throughout are all "I can't stand this part about Sei; I wish Sei would stop doing X and Y; does Sei even care about me like I care about him?" There's very little introspection on Suou's behalf about what he himself could do to fix the problems they're having.

Obviously they both need to actually talk instead of pulling the "Nothing" card in literally every conversation, but yeah, considering that we see Suou having a lot more internal complaints, his silence stood out to me a lot more than Sei's.

But Sei says all of that and ends up doing nothing at all. All the great gestures and the risks were taken by Suou in this relationship at the end of the day, and that's the exactly reason why he feels like his love isn't being corresponded on the same level.
And that's why I said before that their relationship is only happening in their heads: Sei with all his thinking and doing nothing, and Suou with all his feeling and saying nothing #－.－)

Sei ends up doing nothing at all? What's the first thing he does in ch.6 after realizing that Suou is upset about how he spoke to those two women during their date? He asks for advice from Hishimoto about how to better communicate with his partner. Now, this conversation happens at the end of the latest chapter, so it's not like we've really had any opportunity to see whether or not it actually works out, but still, Sei does indeed do something immediately when Suou expresses his discontent out loud for the first time.

Also not sure what gestures and risks you're talking about. They've only entered into an official relationship at the end of ch.5. If you mean before that, Sei was the one to invite Suou out for drinks after they first met; Sei initiated their first time sleeping together; Sei gave Suou his bracelet and named the color after him, and invited him to stay over repeatedly. If you're talking after the initiation of their official relationship, there haven't really been any grand gestures. We've seen a few seasons pass, and throughout it all, Suou has directed all his complaints against Sei (non-verbally, of course).

The thing is, we've been primarily inside Suou's head for this story, so we can see what he thinks much more frequently, which is why his silence stands out so much more. I have no idea if Sei has been dissatisfied with Suou; I have no idea if Sei has been insecure about their relationship. What I do know is that Suou feels that way, which, again, is why I'm specifically talking about Suou and his lack of communication here. He's the one whose uncertainties have been made abundantly clear (to us and only us), which is why I said that I understand him while also placing no blame on Sei for having no idea how to respond.

yes i agree! i think their relationship needs urgent communication but they both suck at it. Sei is way too cautious and does not help by saying nothing, even if he's doing the work on his side, but Suou's way of saying half of what he means before being like ''no it's nothing, forget it'' does more harm than good. also it's not like he clearly says what's bothering him, rather he phrases it as a critique of Sei's personality like ''you're pretty touchy-touchy-freely; this guy has a boyfriend''.. it's kinda sarcastic and really does not help. it just implies that Sei might seduce a taken men in a way that is kinda mean? what is Sei supposed to reply to that. if he just said ''it bothers me how close you were'' it could have been a real conversation.

so yeah i think they both suck at this and at least Suou's trying to say somethig but it's really not the right way... i also think he got this image of Sei in his head, of like an aloof playboy, that he needs to deconstruct cause its clearly influencing how he's interpreting everything Sei does. out of the two, Suou is doing more harm to the relationship..

totally agree with you! And like I said, it feels like they're on a relationship with these versions they have of each other in their own heads instead of the real ones ╥﹏╥