aryastark's Topics (150)

Ikriekrkeike

He’s sooooooo hot I’m just melting when I see him, he’s one of my favorite type of yaoi’s character (≧∀≦)

I wonder who is gonna be his BITCHლ(´ڡ`ლ)

Me tooooo! Can’t wait to seeeeee more of him!!! (づ￣ ³￣)づ

For me 100% true facts ╮(￣▽￣)╭

I think so too （￣へ￣）its very unhealthy with Sam, just by the way he was portraid, with Seth it was way more reasonable like how normal ppl act when they are into someone, its a shame really... I respect the author but not the ending

How do you define "healthy" relationship then?
The relationship portrayed here does not meet the definition of a co-dependent relationship at all. "A codependent relationship is an extreme form of a relationship when one partner needs the other partner, who in turn, needs to be needed."
That's not what their relationship is at all.

Sam needs Henry or is otherwise a mess no life of his own, completely obsessed with Henry. That makes him codependent, not in a codependent relationship. I see it as unhealthy because Sam is obsessed, posessive and i it isnt love on his side its just need. He didnt do anything to suggest he is in love with Henry until Henry got a potential lover. After that his sole purpose was to get with Henry, play it as '' he didnt understand his feelings until then'' but thats his problem. Sam was married before and Henry deserved a chance to explore love with other people too, in peace!, but didnt get to because Sam suddenly starts pouting, drinking and being a mess and their friends meddling in to try to bring them together. Its a messed up way to end up in a relationship and only works because Henry gave in to old love as well.

Aren't you trying to add things that don't even exist in the story simply because you wanted it to end a specific way and it didn't?
The person who created the character, a.k.a., the mangaka has clearly said that Sam always loved Henry but wasn't smart enough to differentiate friendship and love. He wanted to always be with Henry but didn't recognize that that's love. Henry loved Sam, knew that he loved Sam, knew that Sam loved him too, but couldn't trust in Sam's love because Sam doesn't persist with anything and gives everything up very easily. So, Henry decided he wouldn't get together with Sam coz if they were to date and then break up, he will lose not only Sam but also Sam's family who are more like a family to him. All of this is clearly explained.
Why are you writing you own story just to make Sam the villain?

The way the story was set up and written, if you look at the very first chapter, sets up the reader's expectation that this is a story that will show the main character moving on from his so-called "first love". We're presented with Seth, who is portrayed as a foil to Sam in many ways (in terms of personality and in how he interact with Henry). At some point in the story, Henry seems to realize that starting a relationship Seth could help him grow as a perseon and break the old unhealthy patterns he's established in his relationship with Sam. I am not saying that Sam is a villain. I'm just saying that he's not the right person for Henry at the end. Seth could allow Henry to grow as a independent, healthy and mature human being. Whereas Sam keeps Henry stuck in the same mindset they both had during high school where they stay together because they need and are dependent on each other too much.

I'm not adding stuff to the story Sam does have issues (even as u pointed out Henry knew Sam loved him all along but did not pursue a relationship because he feared it would be like everything else Sam drops and gives up on, that says a lot), the author can do what they want with their characters, I'm explaining why it is not to my liking. You are free to like it but to me Sam x Henry is not a good relationship. Also as aryastark said the story did certainly set expectations about the MC moving on, so having him show progress and then reverting back to the first love was weird.

The expectation setting that you mentioned is something authors of all genres struggle with because once readers view a character or a relationship in a bad light, it's that much harder to pull it back into a positive light.
Having said that, I don't think the author intended to make Seth seem like "the one". For one, it is clearly mentioned that Henry has been in many relationships before. So it is not like Seth is the first time he was trying to have a relationship. So, it is another new relationship, like so many before them, the only difference being Seth reminds him of Sam in the beginning.
Two reasons why I didn't think this was a straightforward moving on story. One, Henry is not at all flustered when he is with Seth. Most of the time, he is having fun watching Seth's reactions. It's more like he is curious to see where this goes instead of being invested in the relationship himself. It felt too unequal to me. Second, throughout the story, it is shown that Henry pushes Sam away when he tries to get close (right from their childhood) but then sits around waiting for him. He never takes the first step to call Sam, but he's always waiting for Sam's call. Not very healthy behavior, but that's not a relationship thing. That's Henry's character. He's insecure about giving too much of himself and investing in a relationship because he is scared that the other person will leave like his mom did. So, if he never takes the first step and lets the other person chase him all the time, he can avoid feeling anxious or fear rejection.
So, in summary, I saw the story as "how will Henry get over his relationship anxiety?" It could have been with Seth if his reactions to Seth were more like reactions to someone he is attracted to rather than with a younger person he finds cute and enjoys teasing. Considering the way this one went, I don't think it'd have been possible to pull off a Seth X Henry ending without forcing it.

Oh, by the way, I went and re-read chapter 1 coz of what you said. I guess you thought it is a story about moving on coz Henry says stuff like "I looked at the top of his head and I didn't feel anything" and "I must have moved on" and so on. I understand where you are coming from but there's a contradiction right there in that chapter. He still dreams about Sam and talks about him lovingly like "I'm glad I can be with him even if we are not together because my life would be empty without him". So it's more of Henry being an unreliable narrator who lies to himself hoping that if he repeats it enough, it'll come true.

I can see your point '' Henry getting over his relationship anxiety" does fit the plot and there is no way to know what an ending with Seth wouldve looked like. And to clarify my problem with the story is not that Henry didnt end up with Seth (although admittedly I did prefer him) - my main point is that a relationship like that with Sam would be harmful to set as an example, and knowing how many people read these and set expectations for ther own real life relationships I just cant help but state what I see as unhealthy in the hopes that people will at least give it a thought and realize it only works well in fiction. In the end i only dislike Sams character. Obsession and unhealthy fixation is not cute (Sam has little if any care for other friends from school, even his family seems to know he is only focused on Henry his whole life im no therapist but that isnt normal), its creepy be it your best friend or a stalker.
That said I am happy that u enjoyed the story, I really gave it a chance too but it didnt resonate with me. I hope you at least see where I am coming from with my critique and I think it is perfectly fine that we disagree since in the end it boils down to personal preferences for stories and characters . Lets enjoy our next reads too c:

Completely agree - personal preferences have a huge role to play in the characters we prefer. I too have noticed that I find it hard to read stories where the main characters have characteristics that I don't like in people in real life. Most of the time though, I try to understand what the writer was trying to convey through the story and characters.
But yeah, to each their own. It was nice talking to you and hope you enjoy your next reads. :)

I'm pretty sure a few yaoi actually have that kind of scene. All at love hotels though ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~

May be so. Tho usually if it's a tragedy they need to point it out, but here it just says that it's yaoi and webtoon