
spoilers: btw imma yap about jerome bc i think he is very well written for a black flag.
first off, they do end up together. but iirc, mc cut his horse's head and put it in his dorm whilst he was sleeping and set his dorm on fire (legit the most cathartic revenge in the story tbh).
- not much in the next arc, but jerome was the only one who didnt touch him sexually, and actually helped him.
- in the next arc, he kills jerome's nanny, who was the only one who cared about him, by shooting her in front of jerome.
- both of them infiltrated an event to rescue another victim, but jerome lets himself get caught in order to help mc and victim escape basically and is drugged with an aphrodisiac; mc, who is also caught, still hates him atp and humialtes him by jerking him off in front of spectators (which is what jerome went thru when he was younger).
- mc and him get into a scuffle and mc successfully chokes him to death, but immediately revives him.
- i think there was other stuff, not necessarily mc's revenge on jerome, but jerome's "karma" for falling for mc. there was a event that really solidified how much he loved mc, despite trying so hard to pretend he didnt: basically a victim committed suicide by blowing himself and his abuser up in a helicopter, and jerome and mc were close nearby; without a word, jerome pulls mc underneath his body, blocking the explosion from mc, and covers his ears, leaving his own body and ears unprotected, and just stares at mc until it is over. after that, he just stands up without so much of an acknowledgment to mc and walks away seemingly indifferent, but his back is bleeding profusely, embedded with shards of debris. it was really interesting bc right before that, mc came to rescue (or kill) him from said abuser, and when they met again at said abuser's house, jerome punched him hard to try to incapacitate him and is cold to him, while seemingly friendly with said abuser. i was annoyed, but after this event, i realized jerome was trying to prevent mc from getting involved and wanted to leave him behind (bc he knew the victim would blow himself up) to keep him safe, but he is too prideful to ever admit it. bc admitting that would mean he cared about him, which could leave him vulnerable to mc's hatred, and since he is a coward who doesn't believe mc could ever love him and feels heavy guilt towards him, he prob never planned to admit that he loves him (until mc basically forced him to verbalize it, which happened at the end).
their relationship isnt romanticized imo, the rape 100% is not. they cant live without each other, but it's more like a trauma bond instead of love. it's really interesting that for mc, it was either love him (and the other dude) and not go crazy, or death. at the end, after 15+ years of hatred, mc eventually comes to actually love him, and their relationship is more peaceful. i didnt read all the side stories, so im not 100% certain of the exact status of the relationship at the very end, but this is essentially it.
Someone please give me a link so i could see him get his revenge