jesus christ its not that deep fam chill
you sound like some angsty 15 year old whose life revolves solely around bad memes and suicide jokes, i hope you find happiness soon
Sorry gotta agree with anon, you went from 0-100 real quick. Also, Touma has had friends before, platonic ones. He can clearly differentiate the two. And I don't think the toxcity would be a problem since Ayumu thought Touma was at least attractive since the beginning.
you're completely entitled to your opinion, but i feel like you gravely misunderstood mine. my biggest issue with touma was summarized in the very last sentence of my post: "i'm glad that touma redeemed himself near the end, but i wish he'd stop likening "friendship" to something that's just supposed to be used as a stepping stone until it can be replaced with something "better" like a relationship." i don't doubt that touma's able to differentiate the two. if anything, i'm fully aware that he acknowledges that there's a difference since he prioritizes a romantic/sexual relationship with ayumu rather than a platonic one. i also want to redirect you back to my very first sentence, which is "i like this so far, but if ayumu really didn't have any interest in touma, i feel like this could've turned unhealthy extremely quickly." my whole post was based on the fictional basis that ayumu had zero interest in touma, but even if we were to consider in this already fake scenario that ayumu was at least physically attracted to touma's appearance, it doesn't negate the possibility that ayumu could be unintentionally guilt-tripped into a relationship. i also want to explicitly state that finding someone attractive in no way automatically ensures that a person would be willing to date said attractive person, and that "being attractive" in and of itself doesn't clear "toxcity," as you've put it. i do appreciate your input, however; feel free to reply if you have any more comprehensive comments.
I feel like many assumptions were made based on my statements but I didn't mean anything more or less than what I said. The reason why I mentioned Ayumu's attraction to Touma is because I thought it was obvious and clear from the beginning that their relationship was going to head in a romantic direction. I also think that Touma wanting to be friends with Ayumu before becoming lovers is reasonable. Because I don't think he saw it as just a stepping stone. He said he wanted to get to know him better. And he obviously wanted to spend time with him. He obviously doesn't see friendship as just a stepping stone towards romantic relationships. I just don't see Ayumu being in a relationship out of guilt in any scenario tbh.
you're taking my post out of the context that it was specifically designed for. i understand that their relationship in this series is supposed to be a romantic/sexual one; it's labeled as yaoi, after all. besides that, just to make sure we're on the same page, let me paste google's definition of stepping stone for you. "an undertaking or event that helps one to make progress toward a specified goal." touma's goal was to eventually date ayumu. touma wanted to start off by being friends with ayumu in order to date him. his friendship with ayumu is the 'undertaking or event' that helps him make progress towards his goal, which is dating ayumu. he's using friendship as a stepping stone to date ayumu, whether he's aware of it or not. i also don't think there's anything wrong with being friends and trying to get to know each other before dating, but again, my issue is that he only wants to befriend ayumu as a way of getting to know him (and conversely, letting ayumu get to know him) in order for ayumu to date him. he expresses disinterest in just being friends, which can put pressure on ayumu. "if ayumu only wanted to remain friends with touma, would touma be okay with that? or would he distance himself because he only wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with him?" is also another way of summarizing my post. in that scenario, assuming that ayumu would be afraid of touma leaving him, i could see him trying to force himself into a relationship with touma. i'll explain the scene a bit so you could understand my take on this better: touma is ayumu's very first friend. assuming that he is attached to touma, the idea that touma could completely cut contact with him and leave him is a terrifying thought. knowing that touma is interested in pursuing a relationship with him, i think a natural last attempt at trying to date him in order to keep touma around seems plausible.
i think that's about it for my explanation? if there's anything you still want me to clarify on, do ask, but i feel that my initial post was pretty sufficient in the first place. otherwise, if you're still unable to see it from my perspective, i think it's best to just agree to disagree. sorry for the long post.
i like this so far, but if ayumu really didn't have any interest in touma, i feel like this could've turned unhealthy extremely quickly. touma basically only befriended ayumu because he wanted ayumu to reciprocate his feelings. taking ayumu's personality into consideration, i definitely think that touma could have unintentionally caused ayumu to feel guilty and responsible if he were unable to fall for him, so much so that ayumu could have forced himself to date touma. not out of pity, but out of obligation. ayumu already thinks very lowly of himself and is prone to blaming himself for everything. touma even told him that he specifically "doesn't want to be only friends," implying that just being friends would dissatisfy him, leaving ayumu as the sole culprit for his unhappiness. if ayumu grew very attached to touma, to the point where touma's happiness rivaled his own, i believe that ayumu could have tried going out with touma in order to satisfy him, which is harmful for both of them. i'm glad that touma redeemed himself near the end, but i wish he'd stop likening "friendship" to something that's just supposed to be used as a stepping stone until it can be replaced with something "better" like a relationship.