Hmmm

oh shit that was good

I- just- ...wow

Toujou has set off so many flags for MC already yet since he’s been coupled up with ayato, they haven’t exploded in mc’s face yet since he’s safe (for now)!! It’s interesting to see how in the live action mc gets romanced with Kikuchi who happened to take him home whilst he was drunk yet in the manga it was toujou that took him home, I’m hoping this is foreshadowing on the author’s part that there’s *something* that’s gonna happen between toujou and mc ╥﹏╥

Lol. Yes. Toujou set off so many flags, I’m starting to doubt that it’s a mere coincidence by the author. Especially with it being canon that Toujou is interested in MC. And it’s brought up so casually in that little panel, disconnected from the story, that I think it’s supposed to be some sort of a breadcrumb for the readers. But also not too obvious. Toujou being interested in MC while “actively” being in his own trope shouldn’t happen in this world which works with “bl logic”. Unless it’s because Toujou is not locked in to his trope because Ayato can’t make up his mind. And that’s why I personally think that all those flags must have triggered something in Toujou, something he’s not aware of because he’s in love with Ayato. But I have to say, that Toujou seems rather relaxed with Ayato. He didn’t even pounce when Ayato more or less confessed to him in that one chapter about him taking responsibility. He remains rather casual. Honestly I think that is because of MC. If Ayato accepted the confession immediately, Toujou probably would have never have gotten interested in MC. So when Ayato accepts it, it’s too late for the trope to lock Toujou fully in. And I think it’s hilarious that Ayato reminisces about how only he is privileged to see certain expressions on Toujou’s face, just for MC to tell Ayato in the same chapter, how thrilled Toujou was about the paw print and mosquito bite on MC’s face. Seems like a hint.
I’ve never watched the live action but from spoilers I’ve also heard that the MC ends up with Kikuchi. The generic puppy dog dude, who was never seen again after chapter 19. I wonder if the director chose this guy because we never see him getting into a relationship with the other guy the MC redirected him towards.I think you are onto something about the author foreshadowing something. Kikuchi takes a drunk MC home in the live action, and in the manga it’s actually Toujou. But I also wonder how much input the author had over the live action? I can imagine they at least asked her if it’s Ok to let MC have a boyfriend. I don’t see it happening at all MC ending up with the generic trope dudes like Kikichu or Hanato in the manga. Seems boring and would miss the point. The point should be, MC being so obsessed with side stepping tropes, that he accidentally raises and locks in an un-tropey flag with the guy he thought was save. I just hope in the manga we get Toujou. He seems like a guy who can actually keep up with the MC. Would be hilarious to see a Toujou pursuing MC, who can’t redirect those attentions.

Ahh I’m so excited to have someone to talk about all this with!! You’re definitely right about toujou being more aware with things to do with MC - he was the only one aware of hatano’s crush on MC despite yanagi and ayato being present as well, surely they would’ve caught on as well since they’re certified ‘protagonists’ in this bl world…? I partly think all the time ayato has complained about MC to toujou has affected toujou’s perceptions of him as well. Ayato’s stories could have brought attention to so many little things about MC’s personality to toujou so that his presence is starting to have a lot more significance than a simple mob character..
I agree with you on toujou seeming a bit too relaxed with ayato, his character card described him as waiting for the ‘perfect time for strike’ which we haven’t seen much of yet, and it’s totally a blow in the face for ayato for MC to just turn around and tell him something about toujou that he himself has yet to experience haha
I’ll feel a bit sad for ayato if they do break up however, I wonder if there’s a trope that it will come under if it does ever happen.. ‘pure high school romance’ perhaps? I can definitely see hatano being very persistent in pursuing MC in the next 3 years, the guy did remember what happened all those 8 years ago after all ╮(￣▽￣)╭
I think MC will have a lot of trouble shaking him off; I’m definitely invested in seeing how that plays out!
Kikuchi was quite a dull choice for the live action to go for, the ship is cute but I personally don’t get the chemistry between the two of them and I was surprised that it took quicker than expected for the MC to fall for a flag :/ The author has been promoting the show on their twitter account but I haven’t seen any of their personal thoughts for it, I’ll have to keep an eye out (⊙…⊙ )
MC and toujou are both very composed people scheming under the surface, I hope we get another chapter with them interacting again soon :D I wonder what kind of circumstance it would take for it to be made explicitly clear whether toujou is actively pursuing the MC?!

Lol. Me too. I will be honest, as soon as Toujou popped first up I had this feeling like he’s not just a generic bl trope seme meant for Ayato. Didn’t really think much about it though until we got the scene of Toujou having this trope moment with MC in regards to the park bench. I got exited, and that’s why I think I began to look for scenes between those two. I know many readers love Ayato/Toujou but personally I don’t feel it. Seems like a very generic trope story for those two, who are main characters. So one would expect more depth from their relationship. And yes. I also get “pure Highschool love” vibes from them.. Toujou doesn’t burn with visceral passion for Ayato, and that makes him a little different from all the other Guys who pursue their targets. He’s relaxed as hell. Ayato is getting more anxious and that is actually a very common trope among bl. What’s different is Toujou’s reaction to Ayato’s confession. It’s pure “shonen ai” in a world that is Yaoi.
Omg. I’ve just made a comment on archiveforum about how Toujou is the only one knowing that Hanato is into the Mc. And that seems to suggest that Toujou is aware of MC’s charms. A supposed mob character. Why would Toujou, who is in his own love trope, be aware of a mob character’s allure to other people? Suspicious and exciting! What I also found suspicious is that we never see Toujou’s reaction to seeing MC in that picture, yet we see him react in every other chapter to MC being in a funny outfit etc. first hand. Except for this, and we are also not witness to the “thrilled” scene. Or his reaction during the park bench scene. So all those scenes which would make people pay more attention to the Toujou/MC situation if they were more detailed, are short, only told to us in conversation or have Toujou’s facial reaction during probable bl flag scenes with MC be obscured/passed over in favor of the next scene. Like the author knows, but doesn’t want to play her hand too soon. So we get those breadcrumbs thrown at us.
Yes!! Ayato telling Toujou about MC’s peculiar and funny behavior is one of the reasons he stopped seeing him as a generic big brother mob character. And in a way it’s almost a trope in itself. The “complaining about brother to my friend, thus friend becomes intrigued with this person” trope. So this is yet another flag that the MC is raising by proxy. And that is beside all the other flags that are popping up between Toujou and MC. But because there are so many tropes, with one of the guys loving someone else, and the other guy trying to avoid falling into the bl pit, it becomes untropey and fresh. And that’s the reason this makes the most sense to me.
I also see Hatano staying persistent but MC never let his guard down with him because his first expression of Hatano puts him on guard and Hatano is pushed into the “must avoid bl trope guy at all costs” box. I don’t see him having a chance. And it would be disappointing for the love interest to be such a generic and shallow trope. And I always thought that the “I fell for you when we were kids and I’m still in love with you” trope especially annoying and cliché. I think it’s actually one of the most commonly used tropes at that.
It’s weird that they would choose Kikichu as the love interest with MC in the live action at all. MC was completely unaffected, where as with Hatano MC was at least flustered. So honestly this makes it even more obvious that Kikichu was a random choice, not one the author would seriously consider.
I think we probably will never hear the authors honest thoughts about the live action in regards to Kikichu. She would be shooting herself in her foot if she started to criticize the live action. I think it actually serves her just well to keep the lid on tight about her real plans. And I hope we will get a resolution. I hope it won’t end up like many other comical mangas. 300 chapters of more the same and no real development. I heard the author made a poll about if she should give Mc a love interest. Was that just a rumor or did this really happen? And if so, what were the results? Did you see some raws? I heard that we will soon meet Toujou’s sister. And that makes me think of the early chapter where MC was thinking about a “sexy older sister” trope. Would actually be hilarious if he and Toujou’s sister became close, thus making Toujou uncomfortable (jealous). And this might actually be a possible beginning of Toujou deepening his interest in MC. I would live for the drama. But I also have to remember that this is more of a funny story, so shouldn’t keep my hopes up for it turning into a drama. Damn, I need this to happen!!

Lol. Me too. I will be honest, as soon as Toujou popped first up I had this feeling like he’s not just a generic bl trope seme meant for Ayato. Didn’t really think much about it though until we got the scene of Toujou having this trope moment with MC in regards to the park bench. I got exited, and that’s why I think I began to look for scenes between those two. I know many readers love Ayato/Toujou but personally I don’t feel it. Seems like a very generic trope story for those two, who are main characters. So one would expect more depth from their relationship. And yes. I also get “pure Highschool love” vibes from them.. Toujou doesn’t burn with visceral passion for Ayato, and that makes him a little different from all the other Guys who pursue their targets. He’s relaxed as hell. Ayato is getting more anxious and that is actually a very common trope among bl. What’s different is Toujou’s reaction to Ayato’s confession. It’s pure “shonen ai” in a world that is Yaoi.
Omg. I’ve just made a comment on archiveforum about how Toujou is the only one knowing that Hanato is into the Mc. And that seems to suggest that Toujou is aware of MC’s charms. A supposed mob character. Why would Toujou, who is in his own love trope, be aware of a mob character’s allure to other people? Suspicious and exciting! What I also found suspicious is that we never see Toujou’s reaction to seeing MC in that picture, yet we see him react in every other chapter to MC being in a funny outfit etc. first hand. Except for this, and we are also not witness to the “thrilled” scene. Or his reaction during the park bench scene. So all those scenes which would make people pay more attention to the Toujou/MC situation if they were more detailed, are short, only told to us in conversation or have Toujou’s facial reaction during probable bl flag scenes with MC be obscured/passed over in favor of the next scene. Like the author knows, but doesn’t want to play her hand too soon. So we get those breadcrumbs thrown at us.
Yes!! Ayato telling Toujou about MC’s peculiar and funny behavior is one of the reasons he stopped seeing him as a generic big brother mob character. And in a way it’s almost a trope in itself. The “complaining about brother to my friend, thus friend becomes intrigued with this person” trope. So this is yet another flag that the MC is raising by proxy. And that is beside all the other flags that are popping up between Toujou and MC. But because there are so many tropes, with one of the guys loving someone else, and the other guy trying to avoid falling into the bl pit, it becomes untropey and fresh. And that’s the reason this makes the most sense to me.
I also see Hatano staying persistent but MC never let his guard down with him because his first expression of Hatano puts him on guard and Hatano is pushed into the “must avoid bl trope guy at all costs” box. I don’t see him having a chance. And it would be disappointing for the love interest to be such a generic and shallow trope. And I always thought that the “I fell for you when we were kids and I’m still in love with you” trope especially annoying and cliché. I think it’s actually one of the most commonly used tropes at that.
It’s weird that they would choose Kikichu as the love interest with MC in the live action at all. MC was completely unaffected, where as with Hatano MC was at least flustered. So honestly this makes it even more obvious that Kikichu was a random choice, not one the author would seriously consider.
I think we probably will never hear the authors honest thoughts about the live action in regards to Kikichu. She would be shooting herself in her foot if she started to criticize the live action. I think it actually serves her just well to keep the lid on tight about her real plans. And I hope we will get a resolution. I hope it won’t end up like many other comical mangas. 300 chapters of more the same and no real development.

Lol. Sorry. Accidentally double posted because I thought my first one didn’t get through. Ignore the second message. It’s just a shortened version. I thought it didn’t get through because it was too long. ╮(￣▽￣)╭

Oh my god! I was thinking something similar when Toujou took the MC home because not that long ago the MC had said something along the lines of how drunk ppl out on the street being taken home leads to some romance and then BANG! Toujou takes the drunk MC home. But then nothing happened so I was like . . . okay I guess it's because Toujou is technically with the brother so the MC doesn't interest him. It had seemed kind of weird that some random guy wasn't used but I brushed it off. Then when Toujou was keen on going with him shopping it seemed odd, like why wouldn't he want to see Ayato first rather than going shopping with the brother? This couple (Ayato & Toujou) wasn't even on bad terms in that scene until after Ayato found out Toujou was going shopping with his brother.

Some I totally support you hypothesis.

I’m literally dying to know Toujou’s reaction to that photo directly and all their off-screen trips to do the shopping!!
Same, from what we’ve seen from hatano so far, he seems to be checking out all the common bl tropes such as liking MC since childhood, being immensely popular with the girls yet showing no interest in them etc and being described in a very mob-like manner, which would make it very underwhelming to couple him up with MC; like what would be the point of MC’s journey thus far if a generic dude (so far) like hatano just came and swept him off his feet?! If the author does bring him back in 3 years, I can easily see hatano falling into another trope with MC such as ‘I like you cos you’re avoiding me’ or ‘I’ll make you fall in love with me in X months’ - in either case, not unique and just very persistent, and probably a flag that MC can just redirect towards some other direction or suppress yet again.
MC’s reflection upon hatano’s confession and proceeding to ask his brother about him is quite telling of how dodging flags so often has reduced his perception of others around him as to simply characters that are there to fill out a trope position. He’s perplexed and quite flustered when he’s been affected directly for the first time and it was probably a very blunt reminder to him that these people are real people too and not as predictable as he might’ve thought. With this in mind, he doesn’t think about the possibility of toujou not being locked into his trope fully.
Yes, I’ve noticed that too - the storytelling around MC and toujou has been made quite obscure in situations in which ayato isn’t present, and I can only think of chapter 35 as one where a one-on-one interaction of their’s has been shown; I had an inkling that toujou was beginning to get suspicious of MC’s predictions in that chapter and then boom we get the character chart at the end updating toujou finding MC ‘interesting’ - It might be possible for toujou to eventually pick up on MC’s method of re-directing flags now that he has gained an awareness and an interest in him!
Yh there actually was a poll on twitter!! The winner was ‘a flag raised for MC’ - not necessarily an endgame couple ╥﹏╥ The author generally uploads chapters onto her pixiv account and some onto her twitter: https://comic.pixiv.net/works/5255
I’ve seen on her twitter (not sure if it’s been uploaded on pixiv yet) of hatano asking toujou something about MC and it ends with hatano exclaiming ‘a sadist!?’, I have noooo idea what the context behind it was but I can’t wait to find out!! : https://twitter.com/kn_sousaku/status/1343147629878726656
Now that you mention it, I would totally love for that to happen! It would be so fun to see toujou feel so tense about MC and his sister yet not understand why, and it would give Konkichi an opportunity to explore a unique pairing, free of tropes.

Lol. Me too!! The first time Toujou popped up he seemed more important than all the other bl trope guys already. And yes, I was getting all riled up when we got to the chapter where Toujou is picking up MC from the park bench. But at the same time I also thought it was supposed to be a joke that it was the “save” guy who found MC. But that soon changed after seeing their other interactions. I thought, why are they always interacting? Why do they always stumble over each other? Why does MC make it a point to think about how save Toujou is? Toujou is actually the one guy MC relaxes with because he’s under the assumption that Toujou is Ayato’s boyfriend, but we as the reader know that Toujou is actually not. Why have this misunderstanding continue in this comical way if it won’t lead to something later on? Why not have Toujou be Ayato’s boyfriend already and be done with it? Why leave this ambiguous and subtle Avenue open? Personally I think it’s on purpose. I think the author is setting up an untropey flag for MC with Toujou.
I thought back to the park bench chapter. Why would a Highschooler be out and about in the middle of the night? What compelled him to? I wonder if it was some bl trope force that subconsciously compelled him to find the MC. The thing is, this shouldn’t have happened at all. So I’m starting to think it’s not just some joke scene but some universal force this world works with that made it happen. And it seems like this force just wants them to stumble over each other over and over. Lol
I agree, they could have used any random guy for this scene because MC raised some flags with other guys before and was able to redirect their attentions in a comical fashion. He could have done the same with any random dude who brought MC home with him. It would have been funny. But no, Toujou was the one.
Yes, Toujou offering to help MC go shopping and carry his items seems a little extra on his part. One could argue that he wants to ingratiate himself to Ayato’s family, but wouldn’t it have been more logical to ask if Ayato was home alone so he could actually spend time with him behind closed doors? He just let that opportunity pass him by. One could also think he wants to make Ayato jealous because he did so in one of the latest chapters. But Ayato wasn’t even around when Toujou offered to go shopping with MC. Toujou didn’t even ask about him. He only popped up “coincidentally”. I put this in hyphen because I think Ayato’s bl trope senses danger about Toujou’s attention wandering towards MC? So yet another flag was averted, the “helping you shop leads to us bonding” trope.

I’m burning with curiosity as well. Why not show us his real-time reaction to MC? Not just during the Hatano picture incident but also during the park bench incident. We only see him as a looming shadow standing over MC. And then he is at Ayato’s front door with MC slung over his shoulder, making small talk. Huh? Why have those scenes with Toujou at all in the first place if he is unavailable? And why is always one detail missing completely? Toujou’s first hand reaction to MC being cute or vulnerable. I’m seriously starting to doubt it’s accidental.
I would be extremely disappointed if MC ends up with anyone getting interested in him because of a generic bl trope. What would be the point? Hatano is one of the most generic bl trope guys there is. Also, why is he in love? He met MC when they were kids, (something MC doesn’t even recall) then recognized him all grown up in a picture and what? Poof, I love you? He doesn’t even know MC’s personality, so how can he claim to love him? His trope is the most hilariously simple one. It doesn’t seem genuine. It looks more like the “bl universe” is trying to fuck with the MC. Also, if Hatano is so in love, why would he agree to not come and meet him for 3 years? Gave up super easily, didn’t he?
I actually reread the Kikichu chapter and realized that he never ends up with the guy MC redirected him towards because he already had a guy. So that might be why he was chosen out of all the guys that were interested in the MC. But still, this guy never pops up again. So if he was all that into MC, he would have been more persistent. And I’m also not fond of the puppy dog seme. Too childish and naïve. Ugh.
I agree. The MC Sees them more as trope characters, not real people. And that’s what’s going to bite him in the butt in regards to Toujou. He thinks Toujou is locked into his trope for the rest of his life or something. But Mc doesn’t seem to realize that feelings can change.
And that actually makes me think of those little character charts. They are surrounded by a dotted line, which implies possible change of relationships.
I was actually laughing when MC told Toujou about the Vice President confessing to him, something that turns out to be true. Toujou was flustered for the first time. Normally he’s all on top, always suave and calculating. Even with Ayato. But that caught him so off guard, I think it contributed to Toujou’s building interest. I was actually surprised that MC was talking to Toujou about how people probably confess to him all the time. Romance and sex is something MC always tries to avoid in conversation. But he brings such a slippery slope comment up to Toujou. It’s a little weird. Maybe deep down MC feels something as well? Or he’s so comfortable with Toujou because he feels safe. It’s a little sad to think that Mc doesn’t have friends he can fully relax with. He seems mostly annoyed by their secret bl relationships. So again sees them as tropes. So his relationship with Toujou should be the same. A little distant and annoyed. But the closest person, the one he’s most open with is Toujou.
Lol. I’ve been checking out that Twitter link and translated some comments and everybody seems to burn for Hatano for some reason. I don’t understand it. He also seems to be creeping up more and more in the future? I have a bad feeling about this. The author doesn’t comment on it, but I think we might get disappointed in the future. I wonder what Toujou was talking about in that panel. Was he saying the MC is a sadist or that he needs a sadist? The latter seems more fitting because MC is just reserved and flighty. Hmm. And why would Toujou think who would fit the MC? Isn’t he himself somewhat sadistic? Lol.
I’ve also checked out that pixiv link and noticed that chapter 32 on there has not been translated yet. And it’s a chapter with Toujou, MC and Ayato. I really want to know what’s happening in there. Seems like Mc is whispering something to Toujou and Ayato is flustered? Toujou doesn’t seem to want to tell him what Mc told him (probably some secret about Ayato?) he seems smug. Next scene he looks tired and unhappy for no reason I could think of. And then he just shows Ayato his smiling mask. I don’t know but this relationship seems dysfunctional. Not that other pairings don’t seem to have their problems here and there but Toujou actually seems to emotionally distance himself from Ayato, like he keeps some barrier up. Every other couple is all over each other even if one is playfully reluctant. I will keep my hope up. I just worry that the author will be swayed by all the Hatano supporters, or her agent.
And I know it’s a little hypocritical to say because Hatano and Toujou are the same age but Hatano seems like a 14 year old, and that just doesn’t mesh with college aged chill MC.