Exactly what happened with RitsuMafu from Ritsuka's side and how Akihiko helped.

~a thread~

First of all Uenoyama Ritsuka does NOT have a guilty complex. Where did that idea even come from I'll never know.
If anything, he has a savior complex and is a perfectionist.

A guilty complex is when someone is under constant fear of doing something wrong, of displeasing people. Does our precious king, who lectures his senpais, yells at his bandmates, orders around his boyfriend, fights with his school friends/classmates look like a people pleaser to

+you? A guilt ridden person?
Looks like he walks on eggshells always? Where does these weird nonsensical fandom takes even come from?
Uenoyama Ritsuka doesn't give a fuck about offending others and rightfully so. He doesn't feel guilt over just anything.
But yes, he does feel +

+responsible for his bf, as he should. And he knows and recognizes when he might have done something excessive, or might have neglected Mafuyu a bit. That feeling of guilt doesn't come from guilty complex. That comes from basic understanding and human decency ffs. +

+Do I think he had been a bad boyfriend? I'd actually mute or block anyone who'd even suggest such a thing. But do I think he has this disposition of getting very focused on one thing and neglecting other things in his life, and he should try to address that habit of his a bit? +

+Yes I absolutely do.

Having stated that, however, the current crisis that RitsuMafu are facing, if you really want to understand how Ritsuka can be helped with it, you'll have to understand what the roots of this problem is first.
And the root of his problem right now? It's +

+Hiiragi.

The 'talk' with Ugetsu had made Mafuyu absolutely terrified of doing anything wrong in his relationship with Ritsuka, and he closed himself off after that, and Hiiragi constantly reminding Ritsuka that he doesn't know Mafuyu long enough to understand him, and +

+silently(or verbally) comparing him with Yuki constantly made Ritsuka feel inferior and pressured in regards of his relationship with Mafuyu.
And these two are directly responsible for ritsumafu crisis right now.

So these feel like very light hearted banter between friends +

+right? Wrong!
It's light hearted bickering on surface. But you can't take anything on surface value with Kizu, just like how in real life, every teasing, every joke has some truth in it, and it affects people, in given too, Hiiragi constantly reminding Ritsuka that he doesn't +

+know Mafuyu that well reflects his real feeling about how he doesn't like Mafuyu getting into a new relationship with Ritsuka and how he couldn't really like Ritsuka for taking Yuki's 'place' in Mafuyu's life and heart.
And Ritsuka, by this constant reminder that there had been+

+someone very special in Mafuyu's life before he came into the picture understandably got affected.

Besides, Ritsuka thinks of Hiiragi as a rare talent, he was impressed by his music, and Hiiragi by turn was enamored by Yuki's music. We never see him praising anyone, nor Shizu,

+neither Ritsuka, or Mafuyu, but he thinks of Yuki as perfect. I am sure we'll see the coming chapters just how extraordinary Yuki really was but listening to Hiiragi go on about Yuki's brilliance and then being challenged to finish his song obviously put a lot of pressure on+

+Ritsuka. The worst part of this is that this had always been Hiiragi's plan. For whatever twisted reason, pitting Ritsuka against Yuki seemed like a good idea in his head. And he justified it by pretending that it's for Mafuyu's sake, when in reality it's the farthest from what+

+Mafuyu really needed.
Well that's just Mafuyu's luck. Everyone uses him as an excuse to fulfill their selfish agendas and the baby gets to bear the burden. Everyone except AkiHaru and Ritsuka that is.

Anyway, Shizusumi even called out Hiiragi on this. And Hiiragi had since+

+realized his selfishness.
But, the damage he had done is done.
1) Ritsuka has grown an inferiority complex regarding Yuki. His invisible rival, who is dead so there's really no way for him to really prove his worth against him. It's a competition with a ghost.

2) His self doubt as to how much he knows Mafuyu or understands him. And how much he means to or ever will mean to Mafuyu.
--
Akihiko and Haruki, after they got together, didn't pay much attention to the kids. It's true. Akihiko has no idea exactly what is going on between them+

+atm. Yayoi knows way more, and as an adult and as Ritsuka's sister she should have helped him more.

But really even knowing more, she and Ritsuka are different people and she couldn't understand his issue. Which, even not knowing the full truth Akihiko could+

+ simply because, when it comes to relationships, Ritsuka is similar to Akihiko.
They both do their best but they sometimes take things for granted, gets too focused on one thing and neglect other things.
And this is why, Akihiko's advice, and his words no matter how much it+

+seemed like it's flippant, actually is exactly what Ritsuka needs at this moment.

1) The reassurance that Ritsuka is, in fact the coolest. Which, AkiHaru never really let him forget. They truly believe that their kid is the coolest. And no matter what a kid like Hiiragi thinks+

+Akihiko's reassurance will definitely give Ritsuka some confidence back. He already knows how good he is. And he admires Aki. Aki is a music major and a genius himself. No matter how cool Yuki might have been, if Aki says that Ritsuka is the coolest, that means something +

+more to Ritsuka.

2) Regarding Mafuyu, it's important for Ritsuka to remember he is the one who always touched Mafuyu's heart the most. No matter how close friends Hiiragi had been to him, or no matter how much Yuki once might have meant to him, Ritsuka is the one who has been+

+the one to help Mafuyu when he was at his lowest point. Ritsuka's words, his gestures touch Mafuyu more than anyone else's. And he doesn't need to feel he is lacking when it comes to Mafuyu because he simply is not. Mafuyu loves and adores him and he can touch Mafuyu and get+

+him to open up to him without any help from others.
And that's exactly what Aki told him.

And that's why the next panel we got our Ue Sama back who compares Mafuyu to an alien, and boasts that he'll pummel Aki with his music.

AkiHaru laughing? Yes that's because their cocky+

+boy is back.

Now, do I think everything got solved just like that?
NO! Obviously not.
But Ritsuka, contrary to popular belief(weirdly) doesn't need mollycoddling as much as he needs to be reminded his own brilliance time to time. He is a teen after all and he forgets+

+sometimes. So that's what AkiHaru did.
If they get to know what task Ritsuka has taken upon himself, I am sure they'd have responded a little differently. And that might have helped Ritsuka more.
But there's no denying that he took it upon himself after all is said and done, +

+and will have to fulfil his commitment. And I don’t know about y'all but I absolutely do believe that Ritsuka is the most brilliant of them all and he'll prove that to anyone ever doubting him. The mental uplifting that he needed for that? He had gotten that from AkiHaru +

+whether you like it or not.

-END-