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Uhhh rather than saying instead of using one over the other....they’re not really interchangeable, like “suki” is used in pretty much all situations because it’s...like a catch-all? type of phrase, though depending on the context it generally is pretty laden with romantic connotations
But using “ai,” /especially/ when when the context is romantic. Shit, that’s /loaded/ with meaning. It’s not just “oh yeah, I like you too,” or even “I love you
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Shit uh that posted too early ANYWAYS
-I love you!!!!!” Using “ai” w/n a romantic context is basically like “you’re the only one for me, you’re the love of my life, my soulmate, my one greatest love...” etc. it’s hella serious!!!!!!!! so like. What Kazushi is saying by going with 「愛してるよ」is a LOT. And the “yo” at the end of that is also pretty important! Using “yo” at the end of a sentence adds nuance, implying that whatever the sentence is about is new information for whomever it’s intended! That’s not always the case, since it’s often used just to add emphasis, but I think chapter 3 already made it abundantly clear how Kazushi feels about Tatsumi, even if Tatsumi himself is fucking clueless. In this case, I’d say the “yo” is both for emphasis and as a “-you know,” kind of thing.
when tatsumi said “fall in love with me” (「俺のことを好きになってほしい」) and kazushi replies with “I love you” I was expecting it to be 「好きです」
BUT NO. THIS MAN SAID 「愛してるよ」HE REALLY FUCKING USED “AI”