I do need to add that, altough it does happen sometimes naturally, a lot if times it was kinda self inflicted because of the previous experiences i had. i went jnto relationships with this sort of mindset and behaved like i wasnt on the same level as my friend and as such they would behave accordingly.
When i realised some of it was due to my subservient behaviour i stopped feeling so apologetic all the time and some of the relationships went back to being healthy. Some others didnt because they actually want to use you and when you stop saying yes all the time the friendship breaks.
The protagonist also realises that it's due to his shortcomings that he always ends up in this sort of dynamic, the school he's in worsens the situation but he's responsible for setting this righthandman/sidekick persona on himself
But without external help to break this bad behaviour it's hard, having been there i find the protagonist pretty relatable
I hope that whoever is in a similar situation where they feel pushed around by friends can next time think of themself as on their same level and not a sidekick
You are equals, even if they are better then you in some aspects that doesnt make you any less a friend
Dont act as if you are expendible, if they treat you wrong its not that they can replace you YOU CAN REPLACE THEM AS WELL
<3
The story doesn't feel nonsensical to me.
When i was in middle school and uni the power balance and relationships in class werent that far off from this (minus the phisical violence)( both had rich classmates in the mix)
Even tho highschool was nicer (i moved) the fact that sometimes you have friends or crushes in your friend circle that sort of use you just a bit or force your hand in this power struggle has always been a issue for me. Heck even in uni.
Tho i do have friends groups outside of school, i find this sort of stuff happens often in school environments
this to me is an exaggerated version of realistic stuff.
I had really similar experiences with both crushes and friends where just sometimes they would behave mean with someone around them.
I feel like they get a bit high on the power from the social dynamic and then sometimes test out what they can get away with. It took me some time to stop having a crush or distancing myself fron said friends and chapter 57 felt especially relatable in how you both like and dont like their company and cant actually get a clean cut front hem unless you transfer and you start to get resentful and kinda hope they get exposed but at the same time it never happens because they were fun and nice to begin with so when in a sport they just revert back to being more normal and less pushy.