I feel like one thing that helps make more sense of Reo's overattachment for Nagi (and his subsequent devastation at the thought of having lost him as well) is that Nagi isn't simply Reo's best friend, but up until their separation in the 3v3, Nagi was also Reo's only friend. No, no, hear me out, I'm serious.
Chigiri and Kunigami? They only get friendly with him after Nagi leaves. His weird dynamic with Shidou happens later down the line, and his reevaluation of Isagi is only during the third selection. But if we're talking strictly about second selection!Reo, then he doesn't have any other friends. Not yet.
If you're thinking of Zantetsu, then let me remind you that Reo never stops being condescending and rude to him, despite how the latter repeatedly makes his discomfort at the way Reo addresses him known. That lack of respect isn't friendship. At most, Zantetsu tolerates his attitude, but only begins cooperating with him because he's friends with Nagi, not Reo himself. Even after they reach an agreement of sorts, Zantetsu tells Reo to his face that he still doesn't like him.
Then there's the rest of team V, which Reo had under his thumb, but wasn't particularly friendly to. Unless you count manipulating people into not being jealous of you as friendly behavior. His Hakuho soccer team? Same thing. He made himself likeable enough for them to accept him and get him what he wanted, but he has no relationship with them outside of that. Nagi's the only player Reo consistently did extra practice with. Reo even implies he considers the other teammates as deadweight while his and Nagi's combo carries the club on their shoulders.
What about his fangirls, then? Reo is undoubtedly popular. Definitely admired. But none of his fangirls understands or even cares about his passion for soccer, giving me the feeling that Reo didn't know these girls too well, either. His popularity seems more based on his looks & money than anything about Reo himself.
All in all, Reo strikes me as the kind of person who doesn't have enemies cause he's good at tailoring himself into whatever public face he needs to wear to be liked, but also as the kind of person who doesn't have many real bonds because of it, only shallow, business-like ones.
High school me wasn't popular at all, but even I had a best friend I hung out with during breaks, and took the bus home with. Reo goes to school either by limo or with his bike, and Nagi is the only other passenger that we see. Despite his huge popularity and friendly attitude, he's shown to be wandering the school alone when he first bumps into Nagi, and again being alone when he follows Nagi around to learn more about him. We know that he tried other sport clubs before soccer so he must have made acquaintances, but it would seem that none of them stuck. None of them spends time with him in between classes.
Adding to this, Reo used money to create a soccer club at Hakuho, instead of going the more normal route of simply asking his friends/acquaintances. So conclusion: I don't think he had any. It must not be easy, when your father's wealth is the first thing everyone sees upon meeting you.
I think Nagi was the first person who grabbed Reo's attention so thoroughly, Reo wanted to cultivate his bond with him past the usual shallow relationships he seems to entertain with most of his peers. But if he only had admirers but not friends, that means Reo doesn't have much experience with... Being vulnerable around people, you know? If Reo was always the most talented, the most resourceful one around, it makes sense that he'd only learn to show his successful persona to others. I think second selection!Reo shows this well. He holds back from telling Nagi how he really feels and puts on a mask of nonchalance. He only cries after Nagi has left, so that he won't see how affected Reo truly is. He pretends to be fine when Kunigami checks on him, then tells kunigiri to go to the showers without him, so he can be vulnerable and "pathetic" alone, without witnesses.
Then again, that might just be his pride speaking. But there's also his skewed perspective on Nagi's feelings that adds to this, imho. If we go with the assumption that all his previous bonds were shallow, based on mutual gain (think of the "win-win" deal he offers to Zantetsu), then it also makes sense of why he assumes Nagi doesn't want to have anything to do with him anymore once he leaves with Isagi.
If Reo's relationships never went any deeper than tutoring partners or temporary teammates he grew bored of quickly, then Reo also doesn't have much of a frame of reference for people hanging out with him for him. Because they like him as a person, and not just because they are doing something together.
Because of this, I think, he sees his role in Nagi's life as something inherently replaceable, and assumes Nagi will grow bored with him in pretty much the same way Reo got bored with everything he mastered too easily.
He thinks "forgetting" about your best friend is as easy as simply meeting someone new. As if Reo is nothing but a temporary cure for Nagi's boredom. Cause after all, until he discovered soccer and then Nagi, Reo's interest in anything only lasted as long as his talent caught up with the challenge and made the thing easy for him. Given how he's always been acutely aware of the gap between himself and Nagi's talent, it would make sense if Reo rationalized Nagi leaving as Nagi's genius finally catching up with Reo's hard work, surpassing him in skills, and thus growing bored of him and seeking new challenges in other people.
It's not that he sees friendship as transactional, per se, because his actions around Nagi prove he values him as a person more than as a genius. But between that perceived inferiority and the fact Reo doesn't have much of a frame of reference for healthy friendships, I think that a lot of his communication issues with Nagi are due to the fact that Nagi's just. His first real friend. And Reo is still learning how to be around him. A feat that would be hard on its own, but which Nagi then complicates by adding his own lack of people skills and "how to person" to the mix.
In conclusion: I think it's good that they had time apart, and that during that time they expanded their world past each other. Making friends with other people definitely helped; for one, that distance alone is enough to make Reo understand he forced his dream on Nagi instead of sharing it with him the way he thought he had
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“Love means being unafraid to not be your best at all times.”
Trying my hand at some more domestic scenes cuz I want to and to show the level of comfort the group has. A trope I’ve grown tired of is ‘perfect inhuman thing doesn’t mind gross human body quirks’ because it just makes me more aware of how organic bodies just are. They may be different from squishy flesh creatures, but even the incredible artistry of synthetics have their own version of quirks and issues not dissimilar to human ones. (Thematically there’s reason for this, ahah.) Everyone being comfortable enough to drop any pretense of perfection and flawlessness feels nice.
Especially when you know about their personal backgrounds.
Oh, and no, that long sink isn’t Jenn’s. The Guild supplies long and short stay accommodations for their members who are on long jobs, or as special member rates essentially, and some have the means to host large groups. Big long sink is one of those means.
Also I’m annoyed the pr0n bot got me so if you want to see the EchoxJenn pic you gotta go to my DeviantArt.
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