#im also forcing myself to not over analyze every little detail and just enjoy the process

[piknim]

Good art day bad hand day

[mimi-cee-hq]

Notice me, Y/n-senpai - Yamaguchi x Reader

So this is the first time I’ve done a match-up. I offered to do one because I thought it’d be fun. I don’t know how I thought of this so quickly though. I guess when inspiration comes… I have a bit of a writer’s block with Accidental Confession at the moment. I hope you like how I characterized an anime version of you in my style of writing. I went a bit more with your empathy trait and exaggerated some other things too.

Request from @haikoo​:

well physically i would say im tall (5'9) and im just the average body. my hair is blonde and i have light brown eyes also i wear glasses bc im literally blind. i’m usually very rational and logical, and im very observant which makes me look very serious and maybe even rude bc of my facial expressions but im actually very energetic, nice and easy to talk to. im always making people laugh despite all my sarcasm and humor and i enjoy making new friends. i used to play volleyball (where i put my observation skills to use) but i dont anymore bc of an injury. i love being organized even tho sometimes i don’t follow my own rules, and im definitely a perfectionist which makes me usually overwork myself. lastly, im very enpathetic.

Summary:

Y/n helps a certain player get more noticed by his coach, not knowing how embarrassed she’ll be when he uses her tactic back at her. A funny and cute “notice me, senpai” match up one-shot where y/n is the senpai.

Preview:

“It’s fine,” Y/n said with a laugh, “You don’t have to do it. I mean, I think it would be hilarious, but if it makes you uncomfortable-”

“I’ll do it,” he replied.

“What?” Y/n said. It caught her off-guard since she was not expecting that.

“I’ll do it,” he said again, with the same determined face that she had noticed during his matches. “I’ve always admired people with the confidence to do something like that, so I’ll force myself to do it.”

Notice me, Y/n-senpai! - Yamaguchi x Reader

AO3 link if you want to read there instead

Words: 3,004

Tanaka and Nishinoya were energetically chatting in their classroom - things like Kiyoko-senpai as well as their volleyball team. Y/n wasn’t surprised that school work wasn’t one of those topics though.

“I don’t know how your team will cope now,” Y/n commented to the two of them. “Two of your best receivers graduated.” Y/n had known about their team because she was at the game against Shiratorizawa, cheering in the stands. Her friend had suggested to her that she should go. She had thought Y/n’s energetic personality would be perfect for the job. Y/n definitely went, especially since she loved volleyball.

“Wait a moment,” said Tanaka with a glint in his eye. “Do you know what’s the difference between a serve receive and a dig?”

“Of course,” Y/n answered. “You have to bump the ball for both, but one is from a serve and the other is from a spike.”

Nishinoya’s eyes lit up, as if catching onto why Tanaka was asking. “Do you know what a free or chance ball is?”

“Yeah,” Y/n said like it was obvious. “It’s when the opponents aren’t able to attack so they just lob the ball back over the net.” The two gave each other a look while Y/n was just confused. “I don’t get it. You two already know that I-”

Tanaka and Nishinoya suddenly picked up Y/n, all 5’ 9" of her, and carried her to a second year class. “What are you doing?!” she yelled out at them. She couldn’t believe that the 5’ 3" short libero was one of the guys carrying her.

Y/n suddenly found herself in front of Yachi. She stared at her for a moment, noting that she was really short. She looked at her more closely and figured that she was almost a foot taller than her. She wondered if she had always had a kouhai this cute in her school.

“S-sorry!” apologized Yachi to her. “I- I’m really bad at being a manager.”

Y/n got confused as to why she would apologize to her for something like that. Apparently, Y/n missed Tanaka’s explanation on how Yachi needed help with recording statistics for the team.

“Could you stop making that face?” asked Tsukishima. “You’re scaring Yachi.”

When Y/n realized that she was staring at Yachi a little too intently, she said, “Oh sorry!” She started to say, “I’m actually really friendly! I just-.” She stopped, initially wanting to explain that she only looked rude or scary when she was thinking about something, but she wished that she didn’t have to explain it every time. “Never mind.”

Later, Tanaka and Nishinoya introduced Y/n to the team as they waited for their opponents to arrive for a practice match.

“Is she Tsukishima’s sister?” asked Hinata.

“Yes,” Tsukishima sarcastically replied. “All girls with blond hair, brown eyes and glasses are my sisters.”

“Really?” said Hinata with sparkles in his eyes as he looked at Y/n.

“No,” Tsukishima answered as Yamaguchi snickered at him.

As the teams warmed up before the game, Y/n sat at the bench beside Yachi. She analyzed the players’ different forms and strengths as they practised their serves.

“What’s with her face?” Kageyama commented.

“She looks like she’s planning a murder,” added Tsukishima.

“Maybe because I am,” Y/n said sarcastically.

Tanaka stepped in to defend her and said, “You shouldn’t be talking about a girl’s face like that!” Tsukishima commented that Tanaka probably got offended because he looked like that pretty often. But then he looked away when Tanaka glared at him as if he was going to kill him. Y/n laughed at how Tanaka looked and decided that she didn’t have a favourable impression of either Tsukishima or Kageyama.

When the game started, Y/n took a glance at the players on the sidelines, cheering for their team. She recognized a few of them, especially their pinch server. She remembered when she was on the sidelines too and sympathized with them.

“Yachi,” Y/n asked, “do you have footage of your other matches?” Yachi later gave them to her, not realizing what Y/n was about to get into.

Y/n decided to binge watch all of their matches that night and as a result, she was sleepy the next day. It wasn’t like she hadn’t watched some of their matches before. She had made sure to watch their tournament games whenever they were on TV. She just wanted to get a second look of their games with the ability to pause in between plays. Y/n started by recording the stats for each game by counting every spike, block and dig per person, but it was too much work and it felt useless, so she just started to write her own notes based on her observations. So at their practice, a sleepy Y/n told each player on the team what they could improve on.

“How did you analyze so much?” Tanaka and Nishinoya asked with their jaws dropped.

“Oh, I actually have more,” Y/n grinned as she showed the rest of her notes. Inside an organized notebook, she had a page worth of content for each player. She had written their name, profile, strengths and weaknesses, and even detailed steps on things they could do to improve.

Tsukishima looked at her like he wanted to say a sarcastic comment, but he couldn’t because her notes were too accurate.

“I think you just don’t like that she pointed out your weaknesses,” Yamaguchi laughed at him. He looked at Y/n with a smile. “I’m surprised I’m in there too, especially since I’m not a starting player.”

“Of course I didn’t overlook you!” she said. “You’re the ones who want to improve the most!”

She could see that Yamaguchi really appreciated it. She had also written down their goals that she had gotten from Yachi, so she knew that Yamaguchi wanted to be a starting player and to have a bigger presence on the court.

“By the way, you look really tired,” noted Yamaguchi. As if he noticed something about her, he asked, “When did you start making these notes?”

“Last night.”

“What?!” he freaked out at the fact that she stayed up late just to help their team.

“Oh, this kind of happens often because I’m kind of a perfectionist and I can get carried away with things,” she told him. “But don’t worry! I’m used to this!”

Yamaguchi just sweatdropped at her, “Of course you’ll make people worried about you. You’re making me worried right now.”

Over the next month or two, Y/n continued to watch some of their practices and assisted Yachi and the coach whenever she could. So when they didn’t make it to the nationals the next time around, it pained her to see them lose their game, knowing how hard they had worked. She noticed that Yamaguchi was also trying to figure out a way for them to get over their loss and to encourage them to keep trying harder. Y/n wanted to help as well, but instead, she thought of a silly idea, which may or may not help.

She approached Yamaguchi one day, telling him that she had an idea that would cheer up the team and would also get him noticed by the coach. If he did it, you could say that he’d have a bigger presence on the court without even trying. So when she told him her idea, he freaked out, which she expected.

“It’s fine,” Y/n said with a laugh, “You don’t have to do it. I mean, I think it would be hilarious, but if it makes you uncomfortable-”

“I’ll do it,” he replied.

“What?” Y/n said. It caught her off-guard since she was not expecting that.

“I’ll do it,” he said again, with the same determined face that she had noticed during his matches. “I’ve always admired people with the confidence to do something like that, so I’ll force myself to do it.”

For some reason, his determination had caught her eye again. But the next day, you could say that Yamaguchi started to chicken out.

“Where did all that determination from yesterday go?!” asked Y/n as she tugged on Yamaguchi’s arm to pull him into the second gymnasium. “Do you know what I had to do to get this costume for you? I have to do my brother’s chores for a week now!”

“I didn’t think I’d look like this!” Yamaguchi yelled back.

They both froze when they saw Tsukishima walking along the path between the school and the gym. He also froze when he saw Yamaguchi. Y/n could see the drops of sweat on Tsukishima’s head forming. He then proceeded to the gym as if he didn’t see anything.

“Tsukkiii! Help me!” cried out Yamaguchi.

“What kind of guy ditches his best friend like that?!” Y/n yelled after him.

But of course he would be embarrassed by Yamaguchi at that moment. He was wearing a chicken costume. But that wasn’t all. He wore a t-shirt over it that said, “I’m going to be a starting player. So if you become a chicken, I’ll take your position!”

“BAHAHAHAHA!” Tanaka and Nishinoya both laughed at him after Y/n finally got him inside. Yamaguchi placed a hand on the wall, forgetting why he did this in the first place.

“Well, this would definitely get me noticed,” said Yamaguchi. “But this won’t improve my skills.”

“You should do both,” Y/n grinned at him. “Get the coach’s attention while you improve on your skills.”

“I guess we can’t let ourselves get too discouraged about the preliminaries now when we have to worry about Yamaguchi taking our position from us,” said Tanaka with a grin.

“Well, he could take a middle blocker or a wing spiker position,” said Kageyama. “But it’s not like he could be a setter.”

“Who knows,” said Y/n. “With how hard he works, it’s not impossible.” Yamaguchi gave her a look as if she were crazy.

Yamaguchi sighed, “I still can’t believe I wore this.”

Y/n just smirked at him. “You know, I thought it was actually really cool that you were determined to do this in the first place.” Yamaguchi blushed at her comment. “But it seems like you have a daily limit of confidence,” she laughed.

*****

Yamaguchi got to know Y/n better over the months at school and practice. Since she liked making new friends, she somehow kept pulling him into her antics. She told him that she was surprised that he could keep up with her energetic personality. He figured that someone had to take care of her.

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask,” said Yamaguchi. “Do you have any suggestions on how I can spike harder?”

Y/n went on to explain things like proper spiking form and that he would need to twist his whole body to get strength from all of his muscles. “I’d show you, but I injured my shoulder.”

“What?!” exclaimed Yamaguchi as he panicked. He felt so bad that he didn’t even notice it these past few months. “Ugh… I feel like a horrible friend.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like I brought it up before,” said Y/n. She continued to explain that she kept practising her spiking swing at home, which overworked the tendons in her shoulder. So during an actual game, she had spiked the ball and then she had felt a sharp pain, which ran from her shoulder and down her back. But since they had been so close to winning, she had pushed through the pain.

After learning this, Yamaguchi did some research on muscle pain. He bought all of these medical supplies for Y/n. But then later, Y/n told him that he didn’t need to because she was already working with a physiotherapist. Yamaguchi couldn’t believe that he did all that research for nothing, but she still appreciated the effort.

One day, Yamaguchi walked down the school hallway with Tsukishima. When he peaked into Y/n’s classroom, he noticed that Y/n was chatting with Tanaka and Nishinoya. He sighed, commenting that he wished he was a year older. “She’s only a year older,” replied Tsukishima. “I don’t get why the whole senpai/ kouhai thing matters so much to people.”

Yamaguchi flinched in shock that Tsukishima knew that he was talking about. But then again, he knew that Tsukishima was pretty perceptive, so he shouldn’t have been surprised. “I just don’t know how I can get her to notice me.”

“What do you mean?” snickered Tsukishima. “She introduced a perfect method to you.”

*****

Y/n walked into the gym, expecting a regular practice, but when she saw Yamaguchi, her whole face turned red and she yelled out, “What the heck is that?!” He was wearing a custom-made t-shirt with Y/n’s face on it, saying, “Y/n-senpai is really cool!” Yamaguchi struggled to give an answer right there, especially with his teammates laughing their butts off. So Y/n dragged him out of the gym and asked him what was going on.

“I- I just wanted you to notice me, Y/n-senpai,” said Yamaguchi timidly.

“What do you mean? You’re my friend!” she replied.

“I mean as a potential boyfriend. B- But I don’t expect you to like me back right now,” he said as he started to get flustered. “I figured that I’d get you to notice me while I worked on getting you to like me.”

Y/n blushed at his direct confession. She thought it sounded familiar, but then she realized that was the same advice she had given him to get the coach’s attention. She giggled at Yamaguchi for using her tactic, but she was suddenly conscious of how close his face was to hers. He was only about a couple of inches taller than her so she got a good view of his freckles.

“Y- You don’t have to do use that t-shirt to get my attention!” Y/n told him. “Do you think I’m blind or something?” When he didn’t answer right away, she added, “Okay, I’m basically blind without my glasses, but you don’t have to wear a t-shirt with my face on it.” She then turned her head away from him and muttered, “Besides, I had already noticed you.”

When Y/n had been in the stands at the Shiratorizawa game, she had noticed Yamaguchi freaking out before their big match. They had needed to win three matches against the powerhouse school. She had known that they still had a chance since they did somehow make it to the finals.

She had been surprised when Yamaguchi was subbed in. When she had realized that he had been there as a pinch server, she had found it interesting because she had never had a pinch server on her team before. When he had been subbed back out, she had thought it must have sucked to only be able to play for one rotation per set. He must have wanted to be able to play even longer.

Y/n had thought it was really cool anyway because she saw he was still a very valuable player as a pinch server. He had to ability to turn the game around with how good his serves were. She had later wondered what happened to the nervous boy she saw earlier. During his serve, he had looked a lot cooler and more confident.

When she had found out that she could have an opportunity to actually help the team, of course she had gotten too carried away. She had wondered why she was working so hard, but had just brushed it off, thinking that it was her perfectionist side coming out again. When she had seen how much Yamaguchi appreciated her work, she had wanted to help him even more. She didn’t know when her empathy turned into actually having a crush on him.

“I like you too,” she said with a blush.

“What? Really?” Yamaguchi was shocked.

“Why do you think I worked so hard on analyzing the team’s matches? I was especially attentive when I was writing stuff for you.” Y/n said with a blush. “I even did my brother’s chores for a week for you to get that chicken costume.” Yamaguchi chuckled at that memory with her. “So you don’t have to wear that embarrassing t-shirt anymore,” she added.

“Oh, okay,” he replied with a smile.

When he suddenly started to take off his shirt, Y/n panicked and said, “I didn’t mean that you should take it off now, you idiot!” Y/n smacked the back of Yamaguchi’s head. “Do you think you’re Tanaka or something?”

At the next tournament, Yamaguchi stood on the court, shaking like a leaf as he and the rest of the starting players showed their jersey numbers to the referee. From the second floor, Y/n noticed how nervous he was and energetically called out to him. “Yamaguchi!” When he looked up, she placed the tips of her hands on her head to form a large heart. Yamaguchi chuckled at her as she continued to hold the heart above her head and added a silly dance. Tsukishima still thought she was annoying while Hinata told him that he should be happy that Y/n helped Yamaguchi relax.

Bonus - (because of the liars headcanons I read)

“So… if you want to be my boyfriend, Tsukishima can’t be your best friend anymore,” said Y/n. When it looked like Yamaguchi was actually considering it, she cut off his train of thought. “Wait! I was just joking!”

Yamaguchi said, “I know and just wanted to scare you.”

“Where did you learn to fake like that,” she said as she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Our other setter taught me,” he said as he grinned. “He graduated in March.”

“I guess he must be like Tsukishima then because I thought Tsukishima taught you,” she said. Yamaguchi just laughed at how wrong she was.

Author’s Notes

I hope you liked it. I can’t seem to get away from my headcanons from Accidental Confession. lol. Y/n is kind of similar to my side character OC, but not at the same time.

Masterlist

[comicteaparty]

October 11th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on October 11th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Four Corners by Boniae.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Four Corners by Boniae~! (http://fourcorners.smackjeeves.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

RebelVampire

one of my favorite scenes is actually when hideki and kazuhiro have their little confessions. i really loved the silence, pacing, and paneling in that moment. the time it took to depict it and the fact that the images were allowed to speak for themselves made it a really great moment with fantastic atmosphere.

another scene that i quite enjoyed was when we first see ranmaru. i felt like itd been quite a while since there was a good fight, so it was good to see. but i also like the story effects the scene had. since this was really the moment hideki stopped toeing the line and was ready to admit he was in it for something more. and i think this sort of fighting parallel worked well with having such a pivotal character development

less of a scene, but in general i liked that whole chapter where hideki and kazuhiro spend time together. it was nice to see them bond over not work and learn a ton more about hideki. i think as a whole it was a needed chapter because it helped bring the characters closer together to create a stronger dynamic for what i imagine will be many troubles ahead

mathtans

I made it! ^.^ I only got partly into Chapter 5, busy week... for everyone, apparently.

I'm guessing the bonding was mostly in Chapter 5, that seemed to be where it was heading.

Superjustinbros

Hello!

RebelVampire

yes it was chapter 5

cause i had to look just now XD

mathtans

Was Ranmaru the guy who drugged people?

(I'm bad with names, for the record. Every week.)

Superjustinbros

Can I just say that I'm in love with the art style?

mathtans

I liked seeing how the art evolved over time myself.

Superjustinbros

It's very manga-like and I like how the faces don't go overblown with details

RebelVampire

yes ranmaru was the guy who drugged me.

yeah i also like the art style in regards to the setting. its got a kind of older manga nostalgia feel to it

but the art evolution is also fun. i forgot how diff that first chapter was (cause this is my 2nd time reading the entire comic for the record)

mathtans

Okay, then yeah, I also liked the scene with Ranmaru and the two of them fighting (I'm assuming you meant that, since I think the first time we see Ranmaru he's with the fortune teller).... though part of the reason I liked it was because the guy had call waiting for another fight or something.

Superjustinbros

I actually never thought that it looks like the "vintage manga" style until you mentioned it

mathtans

I noticed a mention that the comic had been reviewed in StArt Faire.

Superjustinbros

That's cool

mathtans

Yeah, and it went from shading to colour - I think the artist said it was to deal better with shading? I might be misremembering. Interesting.

RebelVampire

yeah i meant the fighting scene. sorry. im like on 3 hours of sleep atm and havent quite woken up to full function yet.

but yeah i liked how the fight was ultimately ended by a phone call

like that takes a lot of gall, but i like how it shows off ranmaru's character of not really giving a damn about their little fight that much

mathtans

Not a problem, I understood, and the wee one kept me up last night here too.

Yeah, that's true, it went to characterization.

Then there was the little bonus comic (non-canon) where he was called away to talk about types of shirts. I gravitate towards the humourous bits.

Superjustinbros

That sounds cute, lol

mathtans

It's cool that in a comic like this which has fighting and relationship issues, that there's still fun to be had.

Superjustinbros

Indeed

I mean if it was nothing but those two it'd get boring/repetitive.

mathtans

I dunno, they have pretty good chemistry. But yeah, not totally feasible for world building.

I want to see Hideki at an all you can eat buffet.

RebelVampire

yeah. i really like that the gang focused on also is a gang who is just going around protecting ppl and stuff. i think that gives them a needed high ground for what the comic is doing.

hideki at an all you can eat buffet sounds spooky XD

Superjustinbros

Well it's almost Halloween so X3

mathtans

Yeah, that was an interesting take on gangs! Doesn't seem to net them any additional popularity in the school though (or with the ladies).

I wonder if "four corners" is from, like, if you're doing evil anywhere in the four corners of the room we'll spot you.

Superjustinbros

Well it's always good to see characters doing things outside what the audience expects them to always do

Helps flesh 'em out, if you know what I'm saying

RebelVampire

ya know ive never actually thought about what the name might stand for and now im curious

mathtans

Indeed.

Their founder really liked squares?

RebelVampire

i was just gonna make a square joke XD

Superjustinbros

Quick, what's the square root of 24

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. Though some things have been revealed over the course of the comic, Hideki still remains quite the mystery. In what way do you think Hideki was involved with Four Corners in the past? Was he some sort of consultant, a member by association, or something else? Do you think Hideki really left gang life just to avoid violence, or do you think there is something more to it? What do you think he did that gave birth to the dark rumors surrounding him? Further, what is Hideki’s relationship with the man he keeps hallucinating on seeing? What exactly happened that seemed to cause Hideki such worry and trauma? Does it have something to do with why Hideki is so knowledgeable about gang activity? Lastly, do you think his current involvement will have negative consequences for his future, especially in regards to taking over for his father?

mathtans

A bit under 5, SJ.

Superjustinbros

Nice

mathtans

Well, Hideki's family is into big business and all, maybe he was just looking for something to analyze in that sense, like as you say a consultant or something... makes sense that he would attempt the same thing later with ... ... damn it, I forget name of protagonist. x.x

RebelVampire

kazuhiro

mathtans

Starts with Y.

Superjustinbros

Thanks Rebel

mathtans

Oh, right.

That's not even a Y. (Is there a character page? I always need one to keep everybody straight, it's the visuals I remember more than the names.)

RebelVampire

http://fourcorners.smackjeeves.com/characters/

mathtans

Sweeeeeet. I didn't remember seeing a link.

Superjustinbros

Nice hairstyles on these characters

mathtans

Anyway, back to what I was saying, maybe Hideki was just looking to apply his skills, and was turned off by the violence; maybe I just don't look that deep.

Superjustinbros

Keiichi especially

But I digress(edited)

RebelVampire

maybe although idk. itd be weird if hideki was involved cause of the business. but then again maybe his father has secret gang connections we dont know about? tbh tho i think he was just assumed to be part of the gang cause he followed keiichi around. that and was into his own sort of trouble.

keiichi does have great hair

Superjustinbros

http://i.imgur.com/qvXivUg.png Dare I say he looks like a total daddy

RebelVampire

so i assume the man hideki was seeing is arakawa (fortune teller guy), though i didnt want to be presumptious in the question. so im wondering how the heck do they know each other. cause im worried hideki tried to join the yakuza or something but then chickened out. and thus sought refuge with the four corners when the yakuza were mad

mathtans

Oh, that'd be interesting, Dad with secret connections. Or maybe the mastermind behind everything is a half brother Hideki doesn't know about. And he keeps getting pulled in by those forces.

Arakawa is half brother. Calling it now.

Superjustinbros

That would be an interestign twist

RebelVampire

i did consider that. or if the mystery man and arakawa are two diff ppl, the mystery man is hideki's secret brother.

mathtans

Hideki maybe got in over his head and figured he might need the gang, perhaps? But then realized he could just run away and that worked better, so gave it up.

I'm impressed, I just came up with random crazy plot off the top of my head.

RebelVampire

that could be maybe. although idk where hideki's quitting resides with keiichi's death

mathtans

Or maybe part of Hideki was thinking he was gay, and gangs are largely guys, and so he figured he'd try it out as a way to meet more guys, but then was turned off by the actual fighting and stuff. Because he hadn't met best fighter Kazuhiro yet.

RebelVampire

it could be keiichi died before hideki quit

and hideki was like peace out

mathtans

Hmm. Maybe but I didn't get the vibe from the timelines.

RebelVampire

i didnt get it either but hard to say for sure.

i do think hideki had a run in with the yakuza in some way. cause itd make sense then why hed know how to watch gangs or something. and itd explain why hideki's cousin was super extra worried at the path hideki was starting down again

or maybe...keiichi was the one in the yakuza all along O_O and hideki found out and was like "how dare"

mathtans

Oooh, there's a twist.

Superjustinbros

That'd be... kinda scary

mathtans

I've been continuing my reading in the background and just got to this page: http://fourcorners.smackjeeves.com/comics/2456598/ch5p18/. Maybe Hideki is rebelling a bit about the fact that his future is laid out for him? Could explain some of the worry about him, as well as his investigative skills.

"I don't want to be a businessman. I want to be a private detective."

RebelVampire

yeah on a more mundane but equally believable level, it couldve just been youthful rebellion. albeit id more believe that keiichi helped hideki with some bullies or something and hideki was like "wow if i learn to fight i can control more own life." and he just happened to be super good at it

i wonder if well get to see hideki's dad ever cause that could be an illuminating conversation

Superjustinbros

I wonder which of those two occupations would be more troublesome to work in

RebelVampire

which two occupations?

mathtans

Could be. (I think we saw his dad in a flashback panel or something, but he doesn't seem to be around. Maybe Hideki was also hoping to get Dad's attention?)

Superjustinbros

The ones Match mentioned

mathtans

Businessman or private detective, I wager.

Hideki just needs to make friends with a gourmet chef. Oh wait, he has Kazuhiro there.

RebelVampire

i dont think hideki's relationship with his dad is bad. but maybe his dad has all the answers. is like "hideki i know you miss your secret brother"

and businessman is probably harder

given the setting

mathtans

Oh whoa, comic has multiple languages. (I guess when we see English they're actually speaking Japanese, and so this is... chinese?)

Yeah, his family relations don't seem bad, just distant.

Superjustinbros

I heard Japanese

mathtans

I'm still reading Chapter 5, they just met Hideki's cousin.

Oh, Taiwanese. Helps to keep reading.

RebelVampire

yeah youre gonna see some info about hideki there

which shows his dad is actually not that bad a dude just busy and socially awkward

mathtans

Maybe Hideki's mixed heritage is also how he ended up so aloof.

Superjustinbros

Perhaps

RebelVampire

yeah. hideki has a lot of demons there i think. or had cause i feel he seems probably more adjusted than he used to be? not that hes fully healed but he seems less troubled than in that one flashback

mathtans

Seeing the banter reminds me of another scene I liked, after Hideki had turned down the girl or whatever, and Kazuhiro is hiding and then he goes... wait, why am I hiding?

RebelVampire

yes i enjoyed that moment too. especially cause i was already laughing wondering why he was hiding.

in terms of comedy i like hideki with his "friends"

and his magical excuses to leave

QUESTION 3. Besides Hideki and Kazuhiro, we also see several scenes with the villainous Arakawa who seems to be immensely involved with what’s happening to the gangs. What do you think Arakawa’s aim is? Is it a solo goal, or does it have something to do with the yakuza? For what reason do you think Arakawa hides under an assumed identity? Is it related to his goals, or is there a different reason for it? Do you think Arakawa is still even part of the yakuza in full? For what reason do you think Arakawa tolerates Ranmaru, and how might Arakawa’s plans change to deal with him? Finally, Arakawa mentions fortune-telling and how knowing what’s going to happen beforehand is a viable strategy. What do you think this might mean for what’s going on in the story, and do you think Hideki and Kazuhiro will be able to handle it?

Superjustinbros

Money, dear boy

RebelVampire

i mean its possible. although if arakawa wanted money i dont think hed be worked a service industry manager cover story.

mathtans

Right. Also interesting how at the festival when he left his friends and encountered Kazuhiro that he played it off as the guy's just another friend from a year down.

The Arakawa fortune telling thing is an interesting angle. I wonder if he can do readings on people without their knowledge. I also wonder if he just tries to make things come true that he sees, like a self-fulfiling prophecy.

Superjustinbros

That would be interesting

mathtans

As far as tolerating Ranmaru goes, sometimes it's fun to have someone around to tease? ^.^

Superjustinbros

yus

RebelVampire

oh thats a good line of thought. id never consider that arakawa meant he didnt actually tell the future. he meant that he just makes the future happen to suit his vision

maybe hideki was arakawa's apprentice and arakawa was trying to teach hideki all about fortune reading but hideki was like "fortune telling isnt profitable" and bailed

im gonna go the simple route with theories and say arakawa's goal is simply to eliminate competition. cause he wants to push the drugs but cant do so easily when gangs are around protecting territories. so hes just making it easy for himself

mathtans

Hideki preferred using a crystal ball, but only amateurs use crystal balls, so they had a falling out.

That makes some sense, except why knock the gangs out rather than simply cutting a deal with them or something?

Pride? Desire for a monopoly?

RebelVampire

desire for a monopoly. and like really why cut them in if theyre so simple to move out of the way. arakawa seems very much a play the long con game sort of guy. so if he has to put more in the overhead to get tons more profit later, hed probably do it

mathtans

(Oh, hey, a trans character, that's neat.)

I suppose, just seems like that would call more attention to you, putting down all the gangs, which is something Arakawa wants to avoid. Maybe that's also why he has Ranmaru, to act as a lightning rod?

Superjustinbros

(Good to have them trans characters, always)

mathtans

(Wow, Hideki's pretty sharp, picking up on things.)

Superjustinbros

So sharp he can easily pierce through steel

RebelVampire

but is anyone gonna care about gangs besides gangs? cause nobody of the general public seems irritated that the gangs are being taken out XD

but yeah i do think this is why ranmaru is around

Superjustinbros

XD

RebelVampire

he can deal with the gangs and is crazy enough to follow arakawa

mathtans

I suppose there's that. I wonder why the Four Corners is being targeted now? Is it just they were next in the region, or if there's some method behind it? Like, maybe Arakawa's behind Keiichi too.

RebelVampire

are they being specific target tho? cause i took the 'they're next' thing as more metaphorical. in the sense that theyre on the chopping block in general and could be next or they could be taken out at any time

mathtans

Not sure, just wondering if there's more to it somehow.

RebelVampire

there could be

QUESTION 4. Compared to the present, Kazuhiro’s time before the Four Corners seems drastically different. Do you think their walk-out father is the only reason Kazuhiro and Keiichi had a strained relationship? Or was there something else going on between them? Why do you think Keiichi started the Four Corners, and why do you think Keiichi kept up with it in the face of his family’s disapproval? Why do you think Kazuhiro was so compelled to take over the Four Corners, especially considering the drastic change in personality and style he underwent? Do you think Kazuhiro will be able to uphold Keiichi’s ideals and save the Four Corners at the end of the day? Also, do you think he’ll repair some of his relationship with his sisters, or will his pursuits continue to cause a rift? Lastly, do you think Keiichi died of natural causes, or was his death caused by sinister means?

RebelVampire

the keiichi segue

mathtans

Well played.

RebelVampire

i dont think keiichi died of natural causes. if nothing more than the fact that nobody has yet said how he died in the comic and that is hella suspicious

Superjustinbros

yes

mathtans

Interesting point about Kazuhiro taking over Four Corners, given how they didn't get along too well, that didn't even fully register with me. Maybe he realized his brother had been trying to do good? Maybe he was even a member before Keiichi passed away? (I mean, you don't get promoted from outside, do you?)

Keiichi, suspiciously walked in front of a bus.

RebelVampire

idk id believe he got promoted from outside. if only because none of the other members ive seen strike me as leader types.

mathtans

There is that. He knows the gang members pretty well though.

RebelVampire

i do think theres some message of respect hidden behind why he took over. and he just didnt realize how much he respected his bro till it was too late

mathtans

Yeah, I can see that. Nice thought there.

(Made it through Chapter 5, OMG, the anniversary/april video at the end... that's amazing. And Arakawa has a magic 8 ball, hilarious!)

Superjustinbros

lol

I used to love those

mathtans

As to why Keiichi started it up, maybe a bunch of them wanted to clean up the four corners of the neighbourhood, and decided a gang would be the best way.

RebelVampire

maybe keiichi just thought if he tidied the neighborhood their dad would come home

although maybe keiichi felt he didnt belong to his own family. so he started the four corners to create that sense of family and fill the gap

mathtans

The sister relationship angle is also interesting, I liked that it was brought up back in chapter 2, to help put the family in perspective. Might be interesting if that one unapproving sister met Lei... um, the cousin character, not on the character page... they have some things in common.

Maybe. Lots of Dad issues on the part of both main characters, for different reasons.

boniae

(whispers) HI everyone!! btw im here just listening into the conversation and screaming on the inside dont mind me

Superjustinbros

Hello!!

I see you're the maker of this lovely little comic~

mathtans

Oh, hi creator! Hope you're screaming for good reasons.

boniae

Hi everyone!!! HAHA yes for good reasons!! Im so blown away by this conversation and just thank you all for reading it this week!!! ahhhh

mathtans

So yeah, as to whether Kazuhiro will save the Four Corners, I think obviously he'll die a tragic death saving Hideki, who goes off to become a monk. It paves the way for the sequel involving sister Kiyomi taking over the Four Corners next.

Superjustinbros

Heehee, glad you're enjoying the show.

RebelVampire

glad you could make it, @boniae ~!

Superjustinbros

Well there's only about 15 minutes left so...

I'm sure you got my comments on the art style when I popped in earlier

also lol Math

RebelVampire

haha i did kind of route for kiyomi taking over. just an endless cycle of respect, the four corners will never die. its why the mom had kids.

Superjustinbros

oh yes

mathtans

Actually, Mom had four kids... and they're the four corners gang... coincidence?

It was the Boxing club in the video parody.

boniae

@Superjustinbros YES AH thank you im so glad you like my art?! @RebelVampire LMFAOO

Superjustinbros

Aay, you're welcome! It some really good art you got going on~

boniae

@mathtans somebody's onto me...... you know too much....

Superjustinbros

lol, that's math for ya

mathtans

Or possibly too little. But maybe Keiichi had wanted a boxing club and was rejected and figured, I'll start a gang instead then.

Then someone dropped a piano on him. Tragic.

Superjustinbros

Math running a gang

I can sense all the incoming math puns

RebelVampire

couldnt get enough members to make a boxing club, but everyone was totally up for a gang

Superjustinbros

and characters with outrageous hair

mathtans

Oh, speaking of gang members, just wanted to add that Azumi's an interesting member. Not just for the female perspective, but how she seemed to know how to push Hideki's buttons.

RebelVampire

yeah i also liked that azumi had been around when keiichi was. cause i think that adds an interesting dimension to the whole kazuhiro takes over thing. since he really did kind of overtake more likely ppl to take over

mathtans

Yes, that too. You can see how the continuity goes through the two leaders, and there's still respect there.

Superjustinbros

Yuh

RebelVampire

i wanna see more of the gang in general tho. especially makoto since hes supposedly a great but unreliable fighter

Superjustinbros

^

mathtans

Started a bit into Chapter 6. Interesting fleshing out of the 'villain' characters. There's a lot of interesting characters overall.

Superjustinbros

I second Rebel's comment

mathtans

Could work as a flashback. "Remember the time Makoto slept in for the big fight?"

Actually, some of the flashback stuff has been interesting in it's own right. And I felt like it was well placed. Like, relevant.

RebelVampire

since makoto liked manga apparently, i hope the context of them seeing him fight was that someone told him his waifu was trash

yeah i really loved getting to actually see past hideki in the house and kazuhiro being grump master of glares

mathtans

Heh. Gotta pick your battles.

Superjustinbros

And pick them well

mathtans

Ranmaru prefers to just let things happen. He's gonna annoy the wrong person the wrong way some time... needs to adopt Hideki's "run away" strategy more often.

RebelVampire

are there any final comments anyone wants to share?

mathtans

One last thought, I wonder if the setting of 1995 is relevant? Or is that just to avoid cell phones?

Superjustinbros

Nothing much, other than that I'd like to quickly wish Boniae success on the comic, it's coming along great so far and I'm sure it'll grow to be even bigger!

mathtans

(My history is pretty bad.)

Or maybe it's to have Makoto be a fan of the anime back then.

boniae

Aww thank you so much!!! I appreciate this so much you guys!!! and LMFAO i legit dont even remember why I picked 1995, I think it was on a whim and then realized i had/have to do so much research to see if things existed and what was happening in 1995

mathtans

I guess we'll see then! Thanks!

Superjustinbros

You're welcome, @boniae!

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Boniae, as well, for making Four Corners. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Boniae’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://fourcorners.smackjeeves.com/

Boniae’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boniae

Boniae’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/cooljalebis

Comic Tea Party- Thursday Book Club

Next week’s Thursday Book Club will be about The Origin Story by Carolin Reich. For participants, you have the next week to read as much of the comic as you would like~! We hope to see you on Thursday, October 18th, from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat in #thursday_bookclub!

Comic’s Main Site: https://tapas.io/series/The-Origin-Story