#//i would LOVE to talk about mimis perspective of this but im sure i'd triple the word count already khfaksdh it's 2.3k girl HELP

[m0e-ru]

please by all means make a post about adachi and the gsa i would literally die of happiness ( but no pressure i love ur tag essays )

honestly u asking me this already makes ME happy fjdnddjwhcuwhdns mwa

I was honestly wondering where the heck I’d even begin since I don’t know how to condense all this information in one go but I’ve decided to ��🥁🥁 overanalyze chair car adventure from scratch AHDNEHCHAJSNWJD (I can’t find any of my previous essays so let’s !!!! do it all over again!!!!!!! /starts running into oncoming traffic/)

Adachi, as I personally perceive, looks like a very unmotivated person. Enticed by cheap things and looking for the easy way out, whether it’s efficient or not. He has no personal belongings he holds sentimental value in as seen in his plain and barren apartment, and the objects he couldn't even recall having when presented to him when his home was searched.

Despite being incredibly lazy in most aspects, he certainly is bored. Which leads him to start shit even if it’d make things inconvenient for him. Whether it’d be killing people to start a case for his own entertainment, or seeing how much he can poke Dojima until he gets b-grade sushi for dinner—or his own ass whooped.

He’s a clever and smart guy, but more often than not, he can look…genuinely stupid despite his clear intentions.

The attendant acts very similarly to Adachi’s own facade. But in the context we’re meant to believe, the attendant is their own person; a more genuine "fool" to Adachi’s "jester." If Adachi’s putting on an act to get by, then the attendant is, simply, being themself.

What’s peculiar is that Adachi never bothered to put up his own facade in front of the attendant. One dent in his car and he decided he wouldn’t give the effort. And as he expected, everything would go downhill from there.

And why would he? He wouldn’t even come back here. His car was already breaking down, and he’s experienced firsthand that it’s hard to get around the winding and narrow streets of old, cracking pavement of the maze Inaba makes itself to be. And as if a guy working in the economically suffering shopping district would get payed enough to even bother snitching on a police detective (who, equally embarrassing, was transferred to a backwater city for his own blunder).

A fool meets an actual fool. What would come out of it?

Interestingly enough, an entertaining and unforgettable experience that Adachi would warm up to and remember fondly.

(continuing the analysis down here and more of my au!!!! IT'S SO LONG)

Like mentioned, the attendant is more genuine of their clown personality. They’re polite, they have a sense of humor, overly curious, and do their best to follow the ethics of work. But they’re socially inept, which would probably make their actions, reactions and humor seem insensitive or rude and even unnecessarily nosy. But that’s simply because they aren’t aware of social etiquette or that they may perceive it differently. While their obliviousness isn't meant as an insult because they really don't Know.

Would Adachi have taken this as inspiration and possibly something to strive for in his own facade he’ll continue acting out for all his time here? Yes. ….to some extent.

The attendant is very good at being “anti-Adachi.” All of this man’s supposedly sly gimmicks wouldn’t work at all because of how incredibly stupid this guy even is. The attendant being the embodiment of “bit confused, but got the spirit,” makes Adachi wonder what this guy knows and doesn’t know. Down the line, it could be realized that Adachi’s been treating this guy like a kid who’s experienced life from watching through a window.

He can’t make fun of them, they don’t know what most insults even are—or they might turn it around and take it as a compliment, at worst. He can’t make himself look good, since they might as well take that context and connect it to a whole new thought entirely and make fun of him instead. He can’t make a joke that’s funny because all they’ll laugh at is how funny this poor man is for desperately trying to make a joke in the first place.

It’s not that Adachi can’t be himself just to interact with guy, but that he has to stop doing things under the intention of trying to wrap this guy around his finger. In fact, all he shouldn’t have any intentions, and just, be himself. There’s no need to strategise and start psychological warfare when it’ll just end up with pies to his face for trying so hard. This is a gas station attendant for pete’s sake.

Granted, he was pissed off. I suppose he was just trying to let out steam, which….just made shit worse if he directed to someone specifically.

Actually, he should just stop being easily offended and see this guy as a kid. Which, as said, is something he’ll realize down the line.

That being said, what would this man in his twenties (he assumes from what the guy said) had been doing for majority of their life to not understand the workings of this cruel world?

—That, or they truly know what’s going on with the world, just like himself.

…

Bah. They’re just an dumb idiot.

Going back to his first interaction with the attendant, he acts quite decently���kindly, even—when he’s not too fed up with everything. He goes on a rant of his life before Inaba and apologizes for his pessimism immediately after he’s realized it. He’s happy when he’s made someone laugh—well, before being told it was not because of his joke, but of how he himself was funny being related to another context, that is. He responds to all of the attendant’s blunders rashly, but doesn’t do anything to punish them for it and just lets them be (which could obviously be interpreted as Adachi not having any energy for everything, but I’m keeping note of this).

The most endearing part of all this is that, despite being harassed for the past five minutes straight (all due to a man’s genuine blunders which Adachi understands yet still whines about in accordance to his personality), Adachi sees the attendant crack and start laughing. Maybe the guy laughed because it was obligatory, or maybe they really did find Adachi funnier than his own “jokes.” But in any case, it broke through Adachi’s clouds of anger and annoyance and made him laugh too. (I KNOW THIS IS ON THE ACTOR’S PART OF FINALLY BREAKING CHARACTER IN A LITERAL COMEDY SKIT BUT I DO NOT. CARE). And Adachi could’ve just left them on the ground, but no! He picked them up driven by happy adrenaline and tried his best to get back on his “annoyed man who doesn’t want to be in the hicks” front.

Actually—the most endearing thing is here is that Adachi calls them “bakabaka.” Varying his “kimi” and the more derogatory “omae.” But if he ever had a fixed name for this unnamed moron, it’d certainly be “bakabaka.” I just find it amusing he’s consistent with this. A name in his brain he associates with one person, with derogatory intent or not.

And then /TV recording fast forward sound effect/ months later does Adachi try to bring this up.

In the rice fields in the middle of summer in the middle of an investigation does Adachi decide to tell Dojima of the story of his first day in Inaba. Adachi whining about the barrenness of the boonies and getting called a rookie with the usual bold annoyance Dojima holds does Adachi remember of his memory before the flowers bloomed (he said this. it was. kinda poetic when he was literally just trying to the recall the time it happened).

Maybe with the added factor that this would drive Dojima’s attention away from being annoyed at Adachi. But what’s interesting is how Adachi was just so incredibly persistent about talking about this story in the first place.

Calling the attendant “this interesting guy,” and having a stupid smile on his face starting out each attempt of his narratives with“so I was in my car…” all while bringing his hands up to imitate him holding the steering wheel (oh my GOD I’ll never get over these two scenes). Dojima, too many times to count, gets interrupted by calls to the point Adachi whines as Dojima picks up his phone like a little brat and even going “hey hey :3 y’know u can. u can turn off ur phone, right <:3 y’know that :3 right.”

All this to talk about the time his ass got grabbed and how he had to deal with five full minutes on earth with the most annoying man alive.

Steering this into the context of my au, it’s funny to think that in this relationship, Adachi’s…actually being his genuine self for once, but with a person putting up an act. Someone he doesn’t have to be fakey smiley around since they’re the one smiling for the crowd. In exchange for them wearing a mask, Adachi can finally take off his own mask and breathe for once.

A nobody in the unusually quiet part of town he can vent to without consequence. He can give the idiot a good smack on the back and he won’t get harassed by their dad or uncle or whatever who’s also his own boss.

Adachi has no inclination to put up an act in front of them, nor would that prove any benefit at this point. At some point Adachi’s become fond of their company and is glad he has someone he doesn’t have to act around. When he smiles, they’re no longer strained or fake. And he actually feels something from it besides thinking of it as an obligation to get by in life.

He can be as empty, hollow, pessimistic, and as sly as he wants. His emptiness would be filled naturally when he finds himself comfortable for once in his life. He might as well call himself guilty for leeching off of someone’s sunshine but he can’t help it when that someone’s a literal ball of light constantly deflecting all of his usual pessimism.

Some days, Adachi’s terrified of all their optimism. Similar to Souji being a guy who can’t stop helping people, would this moron he’s associated with also burn themself out one day? Or were they someone like him, just, even better at acting? And possibly, more empty than him?— But many of these times does his terror immediately subside when they do something stupid.

They do fun things together. They meet at the gas station (duh). They share drinks one of them bought from the convenience store (they take turns). They watch one rant about an annoyingly simple yet unsolvable case while the other gives him the last piece to the puzzle from a rumor they heard from the Housewife Network. In return the one has to watch the other service a broken gas fueled generator and give them the answer to their problem from whatever he remembered his boss mentioned when he gushed about taking care of his bike. Sitting behind the convenience store counter revising reports and counting the bills during the graveyard shift.

It doesn’t always have to be at the gas station. Adachi could go to Samegawa and see them float like a dead body in the river. He could get awkwardly strapped to the backseat of a bike and hanging on to dear life while he’s being cycled away after saying he overslept for work. He could strap himself to the passenger seat of his car while it’s a driven by a maniac drifting through the empty city streets in the middle of the night just to watch fireworks. He could be in Junes and having to be more alert than usual that he doesn’t lose a cryptid in a the supermarket and see twice more cabbages snuck into his basket when he blinks. He could go to Okina and wonder how a con artist got conned by an dumb idiot who doesn’t even want money.

He has to be careful of what he says around an impressionable….adult. Too many times has he stopped them from trying to say anything beyond “but mister detective said—” in front of Namatame, Souji, the old woman, or even Nanako.

They end up talking, walking, shopping, fixing shit, cooking, and even drinking together. Talking about everything under the…rain. Walking and stepping into puddles reflecting moonlight when it showered in the morning. Getting each other things because it reminded them of the other. Teaching each other how to fix and mend things back to what it once was. Or how to make instant ramen more interesting with leftovers, to stir fry cabbage in sesame oil, to heat nimono for longer so the renkon isn’t stiff. Getting one better branded canned beer while the other gets sparkling tomato juice with nine percent alcohol and simply being able to pour each other sake.

Smoking in one’s home because he lit their cigarette himself. Dragging people into his home by writing their parcel address as his apartment and getting the deliveryman to drink with them. Or guiding a boy through a better lit path in the middle of the night to his apartment to deliver him bento made of leftovers. Or simply helping a lady up the steps of the stairs while carrying her pot of home cooked stew.

Adachi being friends with the sunniest person in town who gets even sunnier when the rain pours. The man too good looking for their job but manages to make the dumbest faces. Who constantly smells like petrichor and gas and motor oil. Who has callouses on their hands carrying crates and boxes and tires alike, yet delicate enough to mend a tear with the thinnest needle in the house. Someone so incredibly stupid but would tell you of the dangers of fire in a way they look like they’d risk their life if you didn’t remember.

As for the perspective of the entity behind the attendant themself. Well, I’m sure it’s just as complicated for them.

update: happy 2023 pride. here’s mim’s side of things https://www.tumblr.com/m0e-ru/715542668206292992/i-meant-to-send-this-yesterday-buy-forgot-but-its