#but my sister said that she thought he was because of the way Reigen was looking at him

[doctorsiren]

reigen you should tell him he’s not supposed to eat the green part

[just-some-guy-joust]

im stubborn and i like talking here's the reasons i put every character i did in side a into the tourney. I'll do side b later cause i gotta go to bed soon

important first note, quite a few of my decisions were because i was trying to get women in here and it was getting desperate because i had to cut out a lot of women for only being "just some guy" because they were written by a misogynist that made her sit on the sidelines and cheer for the male leads. The Woman Situation Is Always So Fucking Dire.

anyways on to the actual contestants im gonna start with the characters that have been causing the most people to start up shit about them not being just some guy

barry bluejeans (taz balance): 2 submissions, personal bias. i think a lot of people are misunderstanding what this tournament is tbh. this isnt about the "normal" characters, tho normalcy does play a factor in it. this is about dudes who are just some guy. there is a difference. barry is a dnd npc who wears blue jeans in a fantasy world and he loves his wife. yes he is a lich. yes he is involved in the main plot. he's also just chillin. like if the plot didn't happen the way it did barry would be playing sudoku or crosswords. he'd be an average man in a very fantasy world. he is so average and human its funny. he is just some guy

tommy (hlvrai): 1 submission, personal bias. his just some guy energy is so there. he gets a propeller hat that does nothing when all of his crew is getting cool guns and upgrades. his life goal is to go home and take his dog for a walk. he gets a chuck e cheese birthday party. he sounds like he's going to burst into tears at any moment. compared to the rest of the crew, tommy is comedically just some guy

ulala (persona 2): 1 submission, description swayed me. it described the list of characters in persona 2 and ulala was just "your roommate that wanted to go to a party". that's hilarious. also i was getting fucking desperate for women that didn't suck ass as i stated above

apollo (ace attorney): 2 submissions, personal bias, descriptions swayed me. yall the submissions for him were so fucking funny. he's just a lawyer. he just wants to do his job but he lives in the ace attorney universe so everything is fucked all the time. he would've been a normal lawyer if he hadn't met phoenix wright. he's just chillin.

ok now here's every other character

sasha james (tma): 1 submission, friend bias, good description. i asked r if i should put her in because they know tma and they said yes. submission described her as loving to organize and avoided many monsters by being just some guy.

reigen arataka (mp100): 2 submissions. i thought it'd be funny and i was right. he is also just a normal man pretending he's not and he refuses to give up the bit he 100% deserves to be here

joy (underworld office): 1 submission, friend bias. the mc is going through wild ghost related problems and she's just going . hey man. you good??? r's sister submitted her and im not letting her down dude she's awesome

junpei (zero escape): 3 submissions, personal bias. he is literally the only character who has no connection to the larger mystery he's just there because he loves 1 girl. he's PAINFULLY and VITALLY just a dude. i need him

horse (centaurworld): 1 submission. i thought it'd be really funny to include just a horse. her name is horse. thats fucking awesome dude

phone guy (fnaf): 2 submissions. he was the only character from fnaf that got more than 1 submission and there were like 9 fnaf submissions i kinda felt bad tbh. he was also the best example of just some guy out of all the fnaf submissions

gordon freeman (hlvrai): 1 submission. he is a guy playing a video game. he is the straight man to the rest of the crews antics and by god he plays his role well

joshua gillespie (tma): 4 submissions, friend bias, hilarious descriptions. he avoids getting killed because he's so good at following instructions despite him clearly supposed to be dying here. they said don't open the coffin so he didn't. simply don't tuesday

namari (dungeon meshi): 1 submission, personal bias. i like her c: she's pretty level headed compared to like. everyone else in laios's crew. she seems like somebody i could just be friends with and hang out with

shez (fire emblem): 3 submissions, hilarious descriptions. i might try getting into fire emblem because of this. ok so they got murdered in a previous game off screen and now they're the playable character of a new game in a new timeline and they're fucking everything up because they're just supposed to be some guy? thats so fucking funny holy shit i want to know more

henry stickmin (henry stickmin): 1 submission. henry stickmin. like idk i dont feel like i gotta explain this one he's a stickman

stanley (tsp): guaranteed entry

whole (chonny jash): 1 submission, friend bias. tbh i saw him and went oh fuck yeah thats the thing my friends like and then i put him in there. i dont actually know enough about chonny jash to say anything on this but i fully trust the submitter knew what they were doing

larry (pokemon): guaranteed entry

luke carder (inscryption): 1 submission, friend bias, good description. he is just a normal youtuber in the lore of the game. he fucking love card game. good for him man good for him

leorio (hxh): 3 submissions, friend bias, good descriptions. idk a lot about hxh but the descriptions of him compared to the other main characters was pretty convincing

barry the quokka (sonic): guaranteed entry

april o'neil (tmnt): 1 submission, friend bias. absolutely normal girl that just happens to be the one that found the turtles and become their friend

tsuzuru (a3!): 3 submissions, friend bias. descriptions definitely made him feel like a good fit. he's so good at being just some guy i actually thought he was a different character and was shocked when i went to grab images for the tourney and he wasnt the guy i thought he was. which is really funny. like who the fuck is he then. this didn't change my opinion or anything it was just so good

matt (woe.begone): 1 submission. woe.begone fans have ALWAYS been kind to me so they got some mod bias sprinkled in. i dont know what this guys deal is but in the dbtn tourney the guy who got in there had a giant fucking list of things that are happening to him all the time and apparently thats just what woe.begone is like so i believe it when told matt is normal in comparison. everything else is so batshit wild I Just Believe You

gilear (fantasy high): 2 submissions. he seems to be just a dad. wasn't going to get in at first tbh just for personal reasons but i was running out of characters that i felt actually fit the tournament well so ultimately he got in

emmet (lego movie): 4 submissions. honestly with the number of submissions we got, 4 submissions was basically a guaranteed entry. and emmet's whole story is about being just some guy

stahl (fire emblem): 1 submission, hilarious description. fire emblem fans are so funny. what do you mean he can only be perfectly average because everyone else improves/gets worse with him to keep him perfectly average. what the fuck. thats so good

doug (wolf359): 2 entries. i dont know jack shit about wolf359 and honestly the submissions didn't tell me a lot but it was enough to figure he qualifies and i was running out of characters that felt good for the tourney. i trust you wolf359 fans

jack townsend (tales from the gas station): 1 submission, good description. he works at an evil gas station and the description gave me no follow up on what an evil gas station is which is awesome. apparently the horrors are constantly happening and he's just kinda staring at them. he's not paid enough for this

frisk (undertale): guaranteed entry

brian pasternack (yuppie psycho): 1 submission. im gonna be super honest with you here. i dont remember. i know he qualifies but i have 0 thoughts about him. maybe thats a good thing in this tourney. he's an average office worker who has now been tasked with killing The Witch.

trevor (american arcadia): 4 submissions, personal bias, good descriptions. dude i fucking love american arcadia it's so fucking good what a nightmare. he's so normal they were going to kill him for not being entertaining enough

[candieberrie]

part 1/part2

Pretend Girlfriend: part 2

“So you're the girl Reigen was talking about...” Reigen's mother said to the young woman infront if her.

“Yes, my name is L/N Y/N, you're son's girlfriend and it is nice to meet you Mrs. Reigen” you greeted

There was a short but long pause between you two and now Reigen is sweating bullets thinking that his mother didnt like you.

“I've never thought that my son could score someone as amazing like you! And no need for formalities just call me Auntie or however you like and come in you are very welcome inside the Reigen household!” his mother said happily.

“This is very embarrassing! I'm really sorry if we weren't able to prepare food because this visit was very unexpected.” Reigen's mother said as there were groceries still packed over the kitchen counter.

“Oh no worries! Allow me to help, are there any allergies that anyone has? I would like to cook lunch for everyone” you said as you tied an apron around your waist

“Oh i do! I have an allergy for crustaceans but mom and my daughter loves those.” someone suddenly asked startling you.

You turned around to see a woman who looks like they are a little but older than Reigen.

“You must be Reigen's older sister, its nice to meet you!” you greeted her.

“Oh uhm, thank you, allow me to help with the cooking. I am the one who always cook here but i forgot that you were coming today so sorry about that...” she said as she also wrapped an apron around her waist.

“Oh its okay!” you said, opening the stove to heat the pan. You began chopping some onions, garlic, and other spices. You just saw the ingridients but immediately knew what they were planning to cook.

“Say, what are the preferences of each family member?” you asked as you put some olive oil on the pan that you heated earlier.

“Oh uhm, they like this and that...” she began telling you their food preferences and etc. While you listened attentively.

After cooking, you began putting the dish on the dinner table where Reigen, his mom and dad, and his niece sat.

“Dinner is ready!” you say. Reigen's sister started putting the other side dishes you made and those were alot...

“Itadakimasu!” you all said before eating the food you made. You were anxiously eating, waiting for their responses about how the dish tastes.

Reigen sensed your anxiousness so he looked at you in the eyes and gave a small smile. “It tastes amazing!” he says.

“Yeah it does! How do you cook like that?” his mother asked.

“Son you scored an amazing person.” his father said to Reigen.

“Y/N has such amazing cooking skills!” his sister said while her daughter just nodded.

“Shall we finish eating then?” you say still feeling flustered by all of their compliments.

Some time has passed after you finished eating, you helped cleaning the dishes and tucked Reigen's niece to sleep.

“Y/N, you're just pretending that you're my brother's girlfriend right?” his sister suddenly asked.

“I guess there is no point hiding it anymore...” you say as you turned to look infront of her.

“Lets be frank here, do you like him? It is very easy to tell by the way you look at him into the eyes but i just wanted to make sure.” she asked, still staring into your eyes.

“Yes, yes i do like- no love him.” you say looking away from her piercing gaze.

“You better tell him your feelings later. I'll be watching” she said as she left her daughter's room.

“Okay- wait did she say later!?!? Does that mean she supports my feelings for him!?!” you said to yourself as you also make your way to leave the kid's room.

A few moments later....

“I'm sorry for all the trouble.” Reigen said as you two walked to your house after getting out of the bus.

“It's fine really...” you say as the both of you continued to walk along the sidewalks.

There was a long pause.

“This place really seems to be empty around these times. Creepy isn't it?” Reigen said to break the silence between you two.

“It is a bit creepy, but i should be the one saying that considering you are the one who exorcises spirits!” you giggled.

There was another long pause between you two. You stopped walking from your tracks which Reigen then followed, curious of why you stopped.

“Why did you stop? Is there anything wrong?” he asked concern filling his voice.

“Reigen were already here, infront of my house.” you say.

“Oh sorry! I didn't notice it hahaha” he laughed as he scratched the back of his head.

“Reigen, can i tell you something?” you say before opening the door to your apartment.

“Sure what is it?” he asked.

“Reigen, i- i have, nevermind just-” you suddenly kissed his cheeks.

“I like you Reigen.” you say before making a dash into the comforts of your home.

“Wait what...” He was still shocked of what happened. Just a second ago you kissed him and now just left him infront of your house.

“Huh?” he said as he saw a letter slip under your door saying ‘i like you, can we be real lovers this time?’

Reigen, now more flustered than before, took his phone to call your number which you then answered.

“Of course, i uhhh, lets arrange another date next time if you want” he said.

“Wait really?!?! Does this mean you just accepted my feelings for you!?!” you opened the door if your house again almost screaming of what he said.

“Yes, Y/N oh my god, just go to bed already okay! You must be tired already.” he answered, feeling the serotonin fill his brain.

“Oh uhmm okay i uhh i can do this right?” you gave Reigen another peck on his cheeks making him even more flustered than he was earlier.

“Of course, i uh i'll call you when i go back home okay!” he said almost not wanting to leave.

“Be careful Reigen!” you say before closing the door after he left.

“Okay Y/N inhale, exhale.... OMG I CANT BELIEVE THIS I AM ACTUALLY DATING REIGEN NOW OH MY GOSH” you screamed in your brain.

Meanwhile with Reigen...

“I am actually dating her now... I can't believe it!” he began cheering on himself.

“I can't- this seems to be a dream!” a never leaving smile was painted on his face.

“I should think about where i should take her next time... I did say i will take her on a date” he said to himself as he began thinking of places that you might like.

A/N: Look idk how to properly end this so im sorry!😭😭😭Yes i made part two i didnt think i would actually make it! I uhmm thank you for everyone that liked this two part oneshot and uhh pls leave a like on this i you liked this story

[lunar-lair]

Alright, it's the next day, and, as promised, I have a backstory to tell of.

Now...as for the biggest reveals, the ones that really break things open...

Reigen knew a psychic.

A psychic who idolized Mogami. One who followed in his footsteps. Maybe Mogami even contacted him at some point; who knows.

And he knew another psychic;

Serizawa Katsuya himself.

Now, for things to work for me, I had to adjust Serizawa's age back a couple years to be the same as Reigen, but Reigen's literally dead in this AU, so I figured it was fine. And adding more to the story itself, this psychic friend of his was known as Daichi. He started going rotten when they were all in 6th grade, just 12 years old, and he was kinda like Teruki, at first, but a little worse.

He started up a gang, dragging Reigen and a lot of his friensds into it. Serizawa had been a part of their friend group for a while, but he started getting a little...concerned, to say the least, when their friend started using his powers for bad things.

He started fearing his own, if only a little.

And, unsurprisingly, this is part of what leads him to lock himself away.

Through it all, Reigen tried his best to keep Serizawa from fearing his powers; tried to convince him it was ok, told him he didn't have to use his powers the way their friend was.

Serizawa never forgot him.

(Ghosts don't often remember a whole ton of their lives; mostly bits and pieces.

...though, they can be reminded.)

But even after Serizawa relented to his fear, even after Reigen was left with the gang and Daichi and the looming threat of what might happen next, he trudged on. He learned how to fight, got into plenty that he didn't want to be in. He slowly learned what psychics could do, that they're all egotistical, that it was just awful and unfair to use them to use their powers against others.

And yet, he knew Serizawa was a good person. Knew he would never.

He weighed the scales, and found them in the middle.

He realized psychics are just like normal people.

He carried it on til he found Mob.

And...well, I think I'll let my original notes talk from here; I got it down well enough the first time, if you ask me. These are just the raw thoughts from my doc:

'As the years wore on, Reigen grew to hate his friend. He grew depressed, he started losing his faith in the world, he realized hard truths, and he slowly fell apart.

But he stayed in the gang because there were people there who needed help.

He stuck around his friend because he felt like he could stop him, one day, just maybe.

He stuck around because he was able to get people out, teach them morals and help them from the inside.

No matter what, his strict moral code stayed intact.

No matter what, his kindness stayed.

No matter who he fought, he fought fairly and honestly and only if they attacked first. He only beat them down enough to win.

He refused to be overly aggressive, or unjust.

But it was hard, with everything around him.

Everything became hard. Being around people was hard and scary, and he had so many bruises to hide and even more things to hide from his mother and sister. He was quickly becoming more and more depressed, and it was harder to face things every day. He stopped fighting; there was no point in it anyways. It didn't cross his mind to be angry when his friend beat him for it. The cigarettes the highschoolers had looked tempting, but at least he stayed away from them. Anxiety crippled his every movement, unsure of what to do about his predicament. He was lonely, without any real friends or close family.

He was lonely, and sad, and scared, and tired. 

Life was so, so hard.

That psychic friend of his was rapidly becoming a worse person, started cursing people left and right and beat people within an inch of their life.

He believed he was superior. 

He believed they deserved it for not having powers.

He believed that everyone was awful, anyways. (His parents were never the best, and he followed Mogami's teachings so, so well.)

Then, one day, he finally managed to kill someone.

He showed no remorse.

Reigen finally lashed out at him. He finally said 'fuck it' and called him out on his bullshit before leaving.

He finally became a loner; a true one.

But everything in his life was so broken by what he'd been through; he didn't know where to turn, and the thought of never having to deal with it again was tempting.

His only anchor was his sister and mother.

His mom had divorced his dad (a mentally abusive asshole who he never liked anyways) a couple years back and she was still a mess. Reigen's behavior wasn't making things better, either.

One day, she said under her breath that things would be so much easier if she didn't have to deal with him, the same way her parents used to.

(Not to mention all the complaining she does about how awful he is, and how bad it makes him feel that he doesn't know how to change it; especially not the laziness and the lack of interest in anything.)

Then...then, his sister. Wouldn't she be sad if he were gone?

She blamed their dad leaving on him; he was always nice to her, so she didn't get it. She was 17, and she was moody, and she was easily annoyed.

One day, she was angry at him for coming home late again, and said to him, "I swear, things wouldn't be such a mess if you'd just...left or something!" She had said it in a huff.

(Not to mention all the complaining she does, about how annoying he is or how he's in the way, even if he tries to make sure he isn't. 

She just didn't like him, and Reigen couldn't figure why.)

But words are sticks and stones, and Reigen was already beaten down.

That...that. 

That was enough.

Only a few days later, Reigen was staring down the pavement at the bottom of Salt Middle School, perched on the edge of the roof, shoes discarded with a simple letter.

He smiled. 

Finally. He wouldn't have to deal with all of this anymore.

He tipped over the edge,

And at 15 years old, Reigen Arataka was no longer for this world.

(2 weeks before that, a new child had been born.

An esper, who's name was Kageyama Shigeo.)'

And that pretty much does it for Reigen's backstory in this AU. It's a little depressing, but it works to build his morals and the lessons he teaches Mob but still making him a kid, fastfowarding his development with a couple of tragic helpers along the way.

Also fun fact, I *think* if you count the years right, the year Reigen and Mob meet is the same year Serizawa and Touichirou meet, in this AU; there's the 3 years before Reigen commits suicide and then the 12 for Mob to grow up, which ends up being 15; perfect for the two parallels to find each other in the same year.

Also I decided to make Reigen and Serizawa meet when they were younger because like...well, there are plenty of reasons; it's an interesting idea to think that Serizawa has history with him, it gives Reigen the good side of psychics, and in general, it adds to the World Domination arc a little, I guess. Plus it makes up for the bonding we won't get.

And there's not really a significant reason for Reigen dying 2 weeks after Mob was born; I just thought it was an interesting idea. Kind of like...a trade of life? But also they celebrate Mob's birthday and then celebrate Reigen's "death day", in a sense, just a couple weeks later. Just thought that could be a lil funny thing.

[starberry-cupcake]

Mob Psycho 100 and the new layers of shonen anime

I recently finished watching both seasons of Mob Psycho and I felt I had to write something about what it meant to me as a viewer to be introduced to this anime, because it’s been a while since I’ve been as pleasantly surprised as I was. I think this one deserves some positive observations, so here we go. 

I’ve watched anime and read manga for most of my life. 

I grew up around stuff like Captain Tsubasa, Sailor Moon, Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball, and evolved as a viewer as genres and products did around me. 

I re-discovered what sports manga and anime could be when I first encountered Slam Dunk. I re-discovered what shonen manga and anime could be with stories like Fullmetal Alchemist. I re-discovered what shojo manga could be with mangakas like Rumiko Takahashi, Yukiru Sugisaki and CLAMP, and later Bisco Hatori. I re-discovered what josei manga could offer with Ai Yazawa. And so on. 

I saw genres grow and develop, exceed their limits and question themselves. You had shojos with male protagonists, lgbt content in josei manga (and I mean actual content, not fanservice), shojo manga about sports, magical girls AND magical boys fighting alongside one another, archetypes deconstructing, seinen with philosophical debates, fantasy and mechas at the same time...

However, even though good content was never completely gone, the last decade or so was marked by a very big increase on niche exploitation.

Others have explained it better than I can but, basically, we saw an explosion of anime with certain types and genres which are absolutely clones of one another and respond to the same niche interests in order to sell merchandise and be produced quickly and easily. 

And, worse than that, there are others which disguise themselves as “revolutionary” and “different” yet are the same exact thing with maybe a bit more quality on one aspect or another, but ultimately follow the same patterns and generate the same kind of mindset on their viewership and the same expectations. 

Like I said, it isn’t that stuff with more complex content didn’t exist anymore, but it had a harder time to sustain itself out there when the market was asking for faster and bigger profit and anime and manga which don’t follow a formula are difficult to sell. So it’s harder to pitch new ideas when studios want to make a quick yen and when a lot of the fanbase outside national limits doesn’t pay for content. 

I had kind of given up a bit. I watched stuff I already knew, new seasons of this or that, sometimes I explored different things, some of which were pleasant, some of which were fantastic, but the ones I enjoyed the most tended to really differ from the genres I was used to. 

This year, my sister ( @strawberrydaydreams ) recommended me Mob Psycho 100. She knew I liked One Punch Man well enough and thought I’d like this one better. 

She was right. 

Mob Psycho does something different with the genre than what I had seen before. It doesn’t quite deconstruct archetypes and tropes, it doesn’t quite subvert them. 

What I feel Mob Psycho does is re-contextualize them for an audience who isn’t content anymore with the blandness of genres past. 

It doesn’t quite deconstruct masculinity in shonen, it enhances it. It adds more layers to it than the mere idea of power and competition that has been installed in it for ages. 

The idea of power is accompanied by notions of emotion, vulnerability, guilt, love, kindness, respect, fear, responsibility, courage. There’s this idea that power means nothing in a vacuum if you aren’t human enough to be able to live without it. 

And it isn’t just that Mob is such a vulnerable and likable kid, it’s also his surroundings. 

He has a teacher who has 0% power but 100% common sense. Reigen is a lot of things, but he’s mostly the voice of reason, a reason that exceeds the believability of the genre and contextualizes it in the real world. 

I don’t remember when was the last time I heard an adult character in an anime saying something like “I don’t care how powerful he is, he’s a child, this is too much for him to handle”. The first time I heard him say that I remembered all those small shonen protagonists being beaten up by grown ass adults and normalized by the plot because hey, power = physical power in shonen. 

When I was a kid, I thought nothing of tiny Gohan being beaten up to death by grown ass men, but when I was a little older and saw Gon being almost killed in HunterxHunter, I was in pain. Every time in shonen someone pointed out that a character “is just a kid” it was taken as a joke, implying something along the lines of “that person doesn’t understand that this kid is super powerful”. 

The fact that a character was a kid had no relation, in the context of the show, to the idea that they were strong enough to fight and, most often than not, that physical strength was enough to put the weight of the world, universe or multiverse on those tiny shoulders. 

The suspension of disbelief is part of the genre, especially with anime and manga where everything tends to be exaggerated and taken to an extreme. Still, shonen is a genre aimed at a young audience, and in a tradition of decades upon decades of the normalization of this, and the subsequent separation of power from anything emotional or mental, where physical strength is the only requirement for a story to allow someone to be chosen, it sends a conflicting message on what power, and subsequently in this genre the idea of masculinity, can entail. 

And even though other shonen have de-constructed masculinity and the genre itself, they completely let go of the archetypes of a regular shonen story to do it, which is another process entirely, a valid and amazing one, but another one. 

Mob Psycho introduces common sense in an archetypal shonen. It’s built on the premise that power and physical force aren’t romanticized, setting archetypes and storylines that are typical of the genre on a setting that emulates how the world actually works and how social interactions are a part of human nature, as is empathy. 

It doesn’t retort to isolation and suffering, to pain and torture, to make the protagonist strong, he is already strong physically, what he needs to become a better person, to grow up, is the constantly growing support system and voices of reason helping him through it. 

And, most importantly, it isn’t anymore about how a protagonist is forgiving because he’s just “a good goofy character archetype”, here he is forgiving because it’s fair in the context of human empathy and interaction. 

And it isn’t just about Reigen as a mentor (a faulty, complex and far from perfect mentor, but who is, after all, a good person). 

There’s the bodybuilding team, these super ripped guys who look too old to go to school (and one ex gang member) all training together and taking Mob under their wing, with this idea of masculinity being completely extended from “we have muscles and physical strength” to “we don’t use it against people unless they’re abusing others who can’t protect themselves”. 

And there is family, friends, an entire growing circle of people who attach themselves to this universe because they learn from this kid and his journey. 

I have to admit that though Ritsu’s path was something I wasn’t sure of at the start, it made for such a complex dynamic of the older and younger brother rivalry archetype. It took this idea that is present in so many shonen anime and manga of the younger brother’s conflicts with the shadow of the oldest to an entirely different level of complexity and discussion, of guilt, fear, doubt, conversation and reconciliation. 

And, through all this, Mob recognizes, at every step of the way, that his absolute incredible power is not everything. That he is, first and foremost, a person. That he can always improve in something. 

He doesn’t see his powers as an advantage, but he also doesn’t completely reject them. He fights for control, yes, but he doesn’t let go of who he is. He has to learn to reconcile different parts of his life, because everything is part of him all the same. 

Added to all this there are fascinating characters and great designs, stories within stories and a lot of lore and interesting things that keep adding themselves to it all. 

In and of itself it’s an interesting and smart story. But what surprised me is the level of re-contextualization of genre archetypes into a more realistic plain of what the world needs. 

A shonen anime, which traditionally represents the young cis male demographic, which follows the same patterns and archetypes of power, rivals, fights, abilities, leveling up; but adds to that layers which build up on that with empathy, kindness and common sense, it’s a pretty refreshing thing to see.

[saiangelo999]

2020 T.V Show Tracker

T.V. Shows

The Witcher 

Started 2019 finished 2020. Click here for my thoughts.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Completed - I really enjoyed the episode with Pimento, that episode was just hilarious. I think that was one of my favourite episodes this season.

Self Made

It was very a enjoyable mini-series. Sarah's story is so fascinating and inspirational precisely because of how many hardships she had to deal with throughout her life. I enjoyed the show and learning more about Madam CJ Walker.

Interior Design Masters

This was a really fun show. I didn’t agree with everything that the judges said, but I definitely had fun watching the contestants renovate commercial and residential places. My favourite episode was when they worked on the stores (not restaurants). I really loved those transformations.

The Big Flower Fight

It was such a fun show! I really enjoyed watching how the contestants used plants to create beautiful and interesting topiaries/sculptures. I loved most of the contestants and was always looking forward to their take on each challenge!

Space Force

It was a fun show! Enjoyed watching it with my sister.  :)

Hannibal

Re-visiting this show from the one or two episodes I watched back when I was in grade 12 and one of my teachers was promoting this show because her friend was an extra in it. But, I really am intrigued by the concept, the way the show is filmed is just so gorgeous for such a gory show and the plot is very fascinating. Anytime Hannibal feeds anyone I get a bit antsy. But Will Graham is just such an interesting character. I have high expectations of the show!

Update: Finished s1 and LOVED it! As I was binging s2 I started to get nightmares and also the plot started to move forward at a snail’s pace (imo) so I will put this show on hold for now.

The Umbrella Academy s2

So I really enjoyed this season of Umbrella Academy because I got to see more of Five kicking ass as a teenager, the character growth of BOTH Diego and Luther, seeing the entire family getting closer to Vanya and the general action sequences of the show. I enjoyed the new characters as well - Lila and The Swedes. I admit my memory of season 1 of this show is somewhat vague, but I found that the ending of the season (its climax to be precise in episode 10) to be somewhat lackluster considering the build-up. 

I really enjoyed was seeing Klaus, Allison and Vanya deal with their respective subplots and that scene in the barbershop with the three of them bonding really was a highlight of the season. Also when (spoiler alert) Ben finally ‘died’ and went to the afterlife that scene was so well executed and emotional and has got to be one of my favorite moments of the season. It was nice to see him helping Vanya out.

The Haunting of Bly Manor

I loved this show! I grew to love these characters so much! I loved Hannah and Owen’s relationship so much.

The Haunting of Hill House

So, I read the book first and wanted to see what the hype was all about. I really enjoyed the little easter eggs to the book in the show, and that ONE SCENE with the ‘Bent-Neck lady’ gave me a nightmare... It was good, definitely an interesting take on the story.

Anime

The Disastrous Life of Saiki: Reawakened

I love how the show constantly shows us that Saiki will tolerate anyone for the sweet sweet coffee jelly. I need more of this show!! Please give me more episodes @Netflix.

Haikyuu!

I love it. I understand the hype now. I really enjoy how they show the lives of all the people in the show, the ‘extras’ on the team, the opponents and give us a glimpse into their lives and their stories. I finished season two and am looking forward to more! It’s honestly so hard to be rooting for just one person in this show and I love that.  Finished 2 seasons so far. Will get back into it eventually. I’m honestly jealous that I can’t play volleyball rn.

Mob Psycho 100

This will probably take me a while to finish as I am planning to read it before watching it. It’s so so lovable. I love Mob and I would do anything to protect him. Also I really like Regen’s protectiveness and genuineness towards Shigeo. It’s just a great manga/anime. Finished season one. It is so addicting! I love Mob and Reigen so much! <3

Update: finished season two. Man watching this show makes my heart grow 5 x as big every time I watch it! It’s just so endearing, fun, comedic. I love how season two really just show’s Shigeo’s growth throughout the season. His speech to Shirazawa at the last episode and how it came full circle - loved it! I also was surprised by the red headed son (Ryu?) in the best way. I hope we see more of him in the next season. Can’t wait for more!

Fruits Basket season 2

Can’t wait for more crying. 🙃 I am really looking forward to seeing Yuki’s character development and his relationship with Machi and Kakeru developing. Also looking forward to seeing Momiji growing and more moments between Kyo and Tohru.

Update: Love seeing Yuki’s arc in the anime format. Seeing him reach out to his brother, Hatsuharu and the student council peeps and grow is so rewarding to watch. Looking forward to more and more Kyorhu. One wish is that, I wish with this season we could see Momiiji change physically a bit more but I’m holding onto hope for that near the end of the season. 

March Comes in like a Lion/ 3-gatsu no Lion

It’s not my usual type of anime to watch as it is so slice-of-life, but in a weird way it really reminds me of My Roommate is a Cat except after I watch it I want to play chess or learn shogi. Of course, Rei has depression and a lot of issues he needs to work with, but the sisters are just so sweet and the moments that they show up to take care of him are so heartwarming. I love his self-proclaimed ‘best’ friend and rival - Nikaidou. I just really love how he’s drawn, his personality and when he shows up in the show it definitely perks me up. I really enjoy seeing him develop as a character and as a person. I am somewhat sympathetic to the plight of his foster sister but where I am in the show (finished s1) I absolutely loathe her. I really like seeing  how many people are around Rei and watching him tackle life and grow. Looking forward to watching s2!

The animation is very interesting. One thing that I am not sure if it is deliberate or not is how the characters’ facial expressions (mostly the way the mouth is in close-ups) are drawn to me seems very ambiguous to me - I can’t quite understand what emotion is being conveyed.

Update: Started s2 and man the bullying storyline with Hina is so sad.

Teasing Master Takagi-san

DNF. Just started it randomly. It’s very cute.

The Great Pretender

I started it cuz it was short and seemed like fun. It has darker undertones than I expected going into it. On the Singapore storyline.

Wotaku

This was very short and binge-able. I liked it, it’s fun for what it is.

Dramas

Never Twice

So idk if I’ll actually keep up with this as it is a guilty pleasure atm. I just started it because I liked some of the tropes that the show had (found family, sweet male lead, baby being doted on etc.). I am enjoying the gifs of the show. The plot is very... boring and I do recognize that for the most part the female characters don’t have much intrinsic motivation or identity outside male characters... 

05.2020 Update: DNF. 

Crash Landing on You

I am really enjoying it so far. I really like that both the female leads are just very powerful and interesting on their own. Really like how the found family trope is being used. The romance is cute (a bit much at times imo). I still can’t get over how Captain Ri heard her suicide tape and just went ‘oh we are fated to be together’. That was... an interesting interpretation of the tape...

Also the whole thing with her being in N. Korea is hilarious and really the drama asks the viewer to really suspend disbelief to enjoy the show but  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Update: Completed. Enjoyed it overall. Wasn’t the best drama I’ve ever seen but REALLY loved the female leads in the show. Seo Dan and her family are just SO adorable. Can’t believe Gu Suengjoon was killed just as his relationship with Dan became so cute. One qualm is that this show does the whole near death thing WAY too many times with the main couple for my taste. 

365: Repeat the Year

Interesting premise and it has Nam Jihyun who I love. Looking forward to more and hoping it will keep my attention. I can’t believe that by episode 10 that the serial killer was revealed. I mean, I’m still invested in the show but that definitely caught me off-guard.

Finished it! I am really glad that they reduced the total amount of episodes because I felt that the ending was well done - not too rushed, not too out there (for the show). It was a very good ending for the show! I recommend it to anyone interested in a sci-fi/thriller. Overall, it was a fun time! Very engaging and would appeal to anyone interested in thrillers. I do have ONE gripe about the show which is a spoiler but it did not prevent me from enjoying the show. 

Love with Flaws/ People with Flaws

Finished! I started it cuz of a random compilation I saw on Youtube with the show and the gifs of it here and there and it’s decent overall. I would say that out of the many kdramas I’ve seen in this genre, it does stand slightly apart from the rest because of how each character is portrayed. I feel like there were no overt archetypes for the characters and I especially liked how they portrayed characters relationships. I liked how the siblings’ relationships were portrayed, and I really ended up loving the female lead’s eldest brother. He’s just so sweet and kind and I love how he does his best to take care of their entire family. It was definitely sad to see at points knowing that Cha In Ha committed suicide, but his character in the show was just so well done and important! Also his boyfriend is literally so pure I love him. As usual Seulgi just makes me go  😍😍.   

Nobody Knows 2020

It’s really good - very dark and bizarre. The shady foundation’s motivations are a mystery to me, but that hotel owner is a very interesting character. I will get back to it when I can handle more pain.

Update few months later: The twists and the turns though. Wow. I love all the children and how (so far) they are all portrayed as victims of circumstance. They are so sweet and I appreciate how Eun Ho, Dong Ryong and Min Sung’s relationships progress throughout the show. I’m also enjoying the character development of Sun Woo (the teacher/heir to the foundation). It’s also nice to see Cha Young-Jin begin to slowly open up. I’m enjoying the show a lot so far and am very intrigued by Baek Sang Ho’s group.

Final update: FINISHED it! Really loved this drama a lot. I love how all the characters are written so lovingly with so much depth to them. I liked the way the plot unraveled, I liked how all the relationships developed in the story, I loved the way forgiveness and morality were discussed. It was a really good drama and I am missing it already!

Chicago Typewriter

A re-watch. Man I love this drama. The three leads and their relationship is just adorable. 

I hope that in Shin Yul’s world/afterlife or whatever they can be happy together. <3 

Oh My Baby

I started this out because I was extremely bored and saw a few gifs of the show. It seems promising. Don’t have super high expectations of the show tbh. I do like the main couple though! They are adorable, nervously awaiting how it will conclude.

Update: Skipped a couple of episodes (4?) and went to the end. It ended up alright, very open ending and somewhat realistic. I’m glad the main characters were able to put their relationship above their disappointment in being infertile.

Strangers from Hell/ Hell is Other People

I really enjoyed it!! - If I were to recommend it to anyone I would recommend they go into it as blind as possible to enjoy it to the fullest.

So... I had no clue that this show was ONLY 10 episodes long, so imagine my surprise as the events that have been put to play begin to climax, I checked and was surprised that it wasn’t a 16 episode drama. Anyways, this drama had superb writing, directing, acting and fight scene choreography. Everything came together to really make this show have such a dark, creepy atmosphere that intensified as the episodes went on. I loved how the show portrayed how Yoon Joon Yoo/O’s mentality was tested to the breaking point. Tbh I thought he was slow in the beginning of the show (episode 1-2), but turned out that he did far better than his counterparts. I think that one thing that was a shame was they didn’t really show the strength of his relationship w his girlfriend too much before, and had they had more screen time as a couple I would have been even more invested in the story. 

Mystic Pop-up Bar

Loved it! This was a really enjoyable show. The pacing was good, the story was interesting and I liked watching the characters relationships develop. It was heartwarming and a fun watch! I enjoyed the focus on various people’s stories showcasing all sorts of relationships. 

It’s Okay Not to be Okay/ Psycho But It’s Okay

Put it on hold for now - watched up until episode 10-12ish.

Flower of Evil

The best kdrama of 2020 so far? Possibly.  Love how it mixes being a thriller with the marital relationship aspect. One potential con is that it seems that the mystery aspect of the show for now seems fairly obvious but how the situations will be handled keeps me on the edge of my seat!! Also I totally did not expect such a strong marriage to be shown in a thriller drama! Also the way that Cha Ji Won is written is just chef’s kiss. I love how complex she is, how intelligent, kind, caring and so so good at putting things together. I love Hyun So’s family and I hope it ends with them staying together.

Update: Finished it! Not sure how I feel about the very last episode... but I can say I’m glad that Do Hae Su got some crumbs in terms of character development by the end. So glad she didn’t end up with Moo Jin and started a new life abroad. The amnesia plot was unnecessary imo, I would have rather seen more cute scenes of them together than angst in the last episode. But, it was interesting to see how the trial was revealed, and the Baek’s got way better than they deserved which is unfortunately realistic.

Lie after Lie

Plot sounded way more interesting in the synopsis vs the execution. Mediocre plot which I thought was easy to see through.

Eighteen Again

sort of dnf? I made it to epi 14 or so and just finished it in my head and through gifs. It had so much potential which I think it squandered... but there were some genuinely heart warming scenes from the show which I really enjoyed. (Siwoo and his dad bonding, all the scenes showing the mc as the nicest dude).

I don’t want to be friends with you

I really enjoyed the show. I liked how it portrayed the mother-daughter relationship, the differences in how they were raised and how Li Jing Bu was able to get the love she so craved through her dream?/journey. I liked how the romance was handled, how she gained such meaningful relationships during the show and how important it was to her that her mom was happy.

The Good Detective (2020)

I really enjoyed this show! It was really cool to see a show that critiques the corrupt systems they have in place and the unexpected consequences that it can have on people. I liked how it touched on themes of guilt, remorse, forgiveness and resilience. Also, it was interesting to see a guy who has all the money in the world choose to be a workaholic detective.

Part 2

[palms-upturned]

The Psychic Turnabout

ao3 | ffnet

"...Why was his case turned down?"

"Because the killer was a ghost, and Shishou was possessed."

A heavy silence hung in the air. Mob looked anywhere but at Nick and Maya, who exchanged a glance with one another, and they knew they were both thinking the same thing.

Goddammit, again?

ch1 | ch2 | ch 3 | ch 4

October 13th, 9:27 AM Wright Anything Agency

It was the first time in a while that things were starting to feel... normal.

After coming home from Khura'in, things at the Wright Anything Agency had been pretty weird. Apollo being halfway across the globe was weird. Trucy throwing herself into her magician work to take her mind off Apollo and being away from the office for days at a time was weird. Athena talking twice as much and three times as loud to fill the silence in the office was sweet – but still weird. It gave Nick a creeping feeling of familiarity, and he remembered the way his office gradually emptied out nine years ago after he was disbarred. It made it hard to sit at his desk most mornings.

But then there was Maya, and Maya wasn't weird at all. Even after three years absence, Maya was as much a fixture of the place as Wright Anything Agency as any of its agents, having predated all of them – even good ol' Charley, the eternal office mascot, had been picked out by Maya herself when her sister had first furnished the office. Whenever she had time away from her duties as master of Kurain village, she came down to visit the office. And like some kind of balm, her presence always managed to soothe whatever was ailing the little Agency.

Today, Trucy had a show, as was usual lately. She'd dragged poor Athena off to fulfill her harrowing duty as magician's assistant, leaving Nick alone to hold down the fort. But when Maya dropped by with her usual warning (none) and her favorite watering can for Charley, any loneliness Nick felt slowly started to ebb away. The morning was starting slow without any calls from clients, and as Nick stared out the office window at the hotel across the street, Maya's favorite old Steel Samurai DVD playing on the office TV, he felt twenty four and content again.

Things were finally starting to feel normal, and that should have been the first warning.

"Hey, Nick?"

He was brought out of his reverie with a start and glanced over at where Maya had moved from the couch to the far window, staring down at the street with a frown.

"What's up?" Nick asked, stifling a yawn as he stood to his feet and peered over her shoulder.

Maya squinted a little in reply. "Hmm."

"Hmm?"

"Hmm. That kid's been standing in front of the building for a while now."

Nick followed her gaze down to the sidewalk in front of their office building to see a bobbing head of dark hair, shuffling about uncertainly by the entrance. The two of them watched for a minute, but any time the kid looked like they might actually walk inside, they seemed to change their mind and fiddled with a piece of paper instead.

"Maybe we should go down and say something," Maya pondered. "Ask them what the trouble is."

Nick shrugged, glancing at Maya. "Wouldn't that be a little nosy?"

Maya shook her head emphatically. "Of course not! We're just two concerned citizens looking out for a poor, lost kid. Aren't you like the world's biggest softie for kids in trouble, anyway?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "I'm not that bad. Besides, you don't even know if the kid's lost."

"But they could be! Or maybe they might even be a client, trying to make the fateful decision of whether or not to put their life into the hands of the infamous Phoenix Wright."

"Or maybe they're just waiting to meet someone in front of the building." He frowned. "Wait, 'infamous'?"

Maya pouted. "You have no imagination, Nick."

"Ah- I guess it doesn't matter now," Nick mumbled, looking down at the now empty sidewalk. "They're gone."

Maya sighed. "Damn. And just when I thought we were gonna–"

The two of them jumped out of their skin as a knock sounded from the office door, and Maya whipped around to shoot Nick a grin equal parts smug and delighted. Nick bit back a smile of his own and quickly dove for the TV remote, shutting off the Steel Samurai special, while Maya grabbed a random law book from the shelf and tried to look busy. Then they shared a nod, and Nick opened the door with his best professional smile.

"Welcome to the Wright Anything Agency," he said cheerfully. "Come on in."

The boy who stood in the door was indeed the very same one from the street, still wearing his middle school uniform and carrying a backpack on his shoulder and a slightly crumpled sheet of paper in his hand. His hair was dark and straight and worn in a bowlcut, with his bangs hanging a little in his eyes. He seemed hesitant to cross the threshold into the office, but after a moment's thought, he nodded politely and took a step forward, glancing around the room without a word.

Maya looked up sharply, the book dangling from her hand, forgotten along with her favorite studious legal assistant routine. Her eyes widened as she looked at the kid, gaping a little. It wasn't until he caught her eye and started to look flustered that she finally seemed to snap out of it, smoothing over her expression. "Oh– hello there!" she said cordially. "Maya Fey, spirit channeler and legal assistant extraordinaire at your service." She held out a hand to the boy, whose face seemed to light up a little at her words.

"Um... I'm Kageyama Shigeo," he said, taking her hand hesitantly. "But most people call me Mob. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Mob!" Maya broke into a wide smile and gestured to one of the couches in the center of the office. "Please, have a seat!"

Mob gingerly moved a plate of floating spaghetti from the cushion and sat down.

Nick and Maya sat across from him on the other couch, waiting expectantly. But Mob said nothing, instead looking curiously past the two of them at some point above their heads. Nick glanced over his shoulder, but there wasn't anything there.

That seemed to shake Mob from his thoughts and he met Nick's eye with an unexpected intensity – or perhaps it was the lack of intensity that was unexpected, because Mob's face was awfully blank, despite the sensation that the boy could see straight through you. It made Nick's hairs stand on end a little, and by Maya's quiet intake of breath, he suspected she felt the same.

"W-What can we do for you?" Nick asked, clearing his throat.

Mob pondered this for a moment, glancing down at the paper in his hands. "Well... I need a lawyer," he began slowly, "but I'm afraid you might not take my case."

Nick blinked. A lawyer...? For a middle schooler?

"Well good news!" Maya said cheerfully. "Nick here will take on any case, really. One time he represented a whale. He's not very picky."

Nick grimaced, but that seemed to get a small smile out of Mob.

"What Maya means to say," Nick sighed, "is that the Wright Anything Agency will do... well... anything you need us to do. You can count on us!"

Mob nodded slowly, and it didn't occur to Nick how stiffly the boy had been holding himself until Nick saw his shoulders start to relax as if his whole body had sighed in relief. "Thank you," he said. "Then I'll tell you my story, if that's okay."

Nick and Maya leaned in closer, nodding in encouragement.

Mob took a deep breath and said, "I work at the Spirits and Such Consultation Office."

Nick stiffened and glanced at Maya out of the corner of his eye. As master of the Kurainese technique of spirit channeling, Nick knew she was particularly sensitive when it came to phony mediums, psychics, and the like. It was an affront to her culture and her beliefs. But strangely, she nodded him on, quite literally on the edge of her seat.

Mob continued, "My Shishou is a psychic named Reigen Arataka. I perform exorcisms for him sometimes, but last night he went on a job alone." His eyes flickered like he was glancing at something on his left, but it was so quick, Nick thought he might have imagined it. "Since it's Friday the thirteenth, we get a lot of prank calls and false alarms from the evening before into the morning after, so I usually don't need to come into work during that time."

Maya's eyes were like saucers. "You... exorcise spirits?"

Mob nodded timidly. "I'm an esper as well. I can't do any kind of seances or channellings like you, though," he added, glancing at Maya.

Maya chewed her lip, but didn't say anything more.

Mob cleared his throat and plowed onwards, squirming a little in his seat. "I... know Shishou went to answer a call from last night about a haunted house, but late last night on the news, they were saying he..." He frowned a little, his fingers leaving more and more creases in the paper as his grip tightened. Nick felt the hair begin to stand on the back of his head for reasons he couldn't quite explain, and when he glanced at Maya, he saw that she had turned a little pale.

But after a moment, the strange pressure in the air subsided and Mob's expression evened out once again. "They were saying someone had been arrested for a murder at the house Shishou went to. When my brother and I went to the police station to ask about it, they said Shishou was the one who had been arrested."

Nick's heart sank. "So then your boss, he needs a lawyer because he's been charged with murder?"

"Yes."

"And you think there's no way he could have done it?"

Mob rubbed his chin in thought. "....................................................No, he couldn't have."

"That was a really long pause, kid! Are you sure you believe in him?"

"I do."

Nick was a little startled by the matter-of-fact response. That time, Mob didn't hesitate. "Shishou would never harm another person. I know he didn't hurt anyone." He said it with the same kind of mild mannered honesty Nick might use if someone asked if he was sure that Maya had watered Charley today. The answer seemed obvious. Nick nodded slowly, and Mob continued. "So I went to the detention center this morning to ask him what happened, and he said..." Mob hesitated, glancing at Nick uncertainly. When he spoke again, he changed gears. "He said Serizawa-san was looking for a lawyer. So I called Serizawa-san and asked if he'd found one, and he said he'd been turned down by every one he called."

Nick's chest tightened as he looked a little more closely at Mob's eyes, half hidden under his bangs. Dark circles hung beneath them like bruises. The kid obviously cared a lot about his mentor.

He glanced over at the space beneath his window at the ghost of an eleven year old bloodstain that had never quite come out of the carpet.

"...Why was his case turned down?" he finally asked, turning back to Mob.

Mob fiddled idly with the paper in his hand, nearly crumpling it beyond recovery. "Because..." He took another deep breath. "Because the killer was a ghost, and Shishou was possessed."

A heavy silence hung in the air. Mob looked anywhere but at Nick and Maya, who exchanged a glance with one another, and they knew they were both thinking the same thing.

Goddammit, again?

After a moment, Mob cleared his throat nervously. "I-I came to you because of this," he said, holding out the now nearly illegible paper. But when Nick took it, he recognized the photograph at the top of the page as one of Dahlia Hawthorne.

"I was looking for other lawyers who might be espers," he explained, a little sheepish, "but I found that article about a spirit testifying in court with the help of a medium." Mob's earnest gaze turned to Maya. "I thought if anyone would believe me, it would be you."

Maya looked at the picture of Dahlia, eyes narrowed. "Ah."

Mob started to fidget again and turned to Nick. "I-I don't have much money, but I'm sure Shishou would be able to pay whatever fee you need."

Nick hesitated. Just the memory of Dahlia and Iris's trial was already starting to make him feel ill, even before they'd started looking for any spirits. And if he felt ill, he knew Maya must have felt even shittier. "Well... I don't kn–"

"Please."

And suddenly that pressure was in the air again, sending a chill down Nick's spine. But as Mob scrambled off the couch and lowered his nose to the floor, a lump rose in Nick's throat. The poor kid was trembling. "I know this is a lot to ask," Mob said quietly, his voice muffled by the carpet, "a-and I promise after this is over, we won't bother your agency again. But please. I... don't know what else to do."

Before Nick could speak, Maya walked over to kneel beside Mob and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Mob?"

Mob looked up nervously, and Maya coaxed him into sitting up straight. "Remember our name?"

"...The Wright Anything Agency?"

"That's right. And that means we'll do anything to prove our clients innocent." She winked. "Even a little ghost hunting."

Mob's eyes went wide. "Then you'll-?!"

"We'll take the case," Nick said firmly, kneeling down at Mob's other side. He smiled warmly, helping Mob back up to his feet. "Your boss must be a good guy if he's got somebody like you working for him."

Mob's face turned pink and he stammered out a polite denial, brushing the dust off his pant legs. Nick grimaced, making a mental note to vacuum the carpet in the office ASAP.

"T-Thank you," Mob said, bowing low, his voice suddenly effused with an unexpected warmth. "I can take you to Shishou, if you want."

"Give me just a second to lock up," Nick said, "we'll meet you downstairs."

Mob nodded and bowed again, then scurried off down the hall.

When he was out of sight, Nick turned to Maya and laid a hand on her shoulder. "You okay with this?" he asked quietly, frowning. "Like... really okay?"

Maya nodded, grinning. "Especially since I was right about you being a big ol' softie for kids in trouble."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he mumbled. "Even if we're defending a fake psychic, though?"

Maya blinked. "Fake? What do you mean?"

"...Not real? Unless the definition of 'fake' has changed since the last time I read the dictionary."

She gaped at him. "Nick, are you serious right now? Like really really for real? You couldn't feel it when he walked in the door?"

"Feel what?"

"He's a real psychic, you dummy!"

Nick raised an eyebrow, looking back at the doorway where Mob had just disappeared.

Well, he thought tiredly, so much for being back to normal.

next chapter

[lo2writes]

“Living Up to Your Name” - a mob psycho 100 fic

AO3 link here!

Summary: Takenaka accompanies Mob and Reigen on a job, and it turns out that using his telepathic powers to help others has a bit more emotional baggage than he bargained for.

~~~~~

Takenaka looked up to read the sign, then back down at the address he’d written on a scrap of paper in his hand. Spirits and Such Consultation Office. This was the place, of course. A tacky neon sign couldn’t very much be mistaken for anything else. He sighed, opening the door and ascending the steps. He was not looking forward to this.

When he reached the office proper, he knocked on the door a few times and a tall, sturdy-looking man answered it after a moment.

Takenaka looked up at the stranger, then past him to peek into the office before finally making eye contact. “Hello, I’m—“

The man startled as if suddenly remembering something. “Takenaka! Yes, hello! This is… You’re in the right place. Please, come this way.” He guided Takenaka inside and closed the door. “Would you like some tea?”

“Er, no. Thank you, um...?”

“Oh, my name is Serizawa. Pleased to meet you,” he said with a slight bow. He reached out a hand and Takenaka took it hesitantly. Serizawa’s grip was firm and friendly.

"I’m an esper, like you,” Serizawa continued. “I’ll be watching the office while you are gone with Kageyama-senpai and Master Reigen.”

Takenaka nodded, not sure what else to say. They rounded the corner and Reigen’s desk came into view, the man himself typing intently on a laptop. Reigen glanced up at the sound of their footsteps, his eyes brightening as he stood and greeted him.

“Ah, Takenaka! Right on time.”

“I’ll, uh… leave you to it then,” Serizawa said, and Reigen nodded at him in thanks. Serizawa turned awkwardly with a slight smile and took a seat at a nearby table to resume what looked to be organizing paperwork into various piles.

(Why had he hired an esper just to do secretary work?)

Reigen came around the desk and shook Takenaka’s hand. His bony fingers cut into his skin, the grip even stronger than Serizawa’s despite his smaller size. Then Reigen released him and clasped his shoulder instead, showing off a warm smile.

“We should get going,” Reigen said, swinging on his heels and sauntering toward the door. “Come on, Mob, we’re leaving,” he yelled over his shoulder. Kageyama, who had been sitting patiently in the corner of the room, stood and grabbed his backpack before following suit. He’d been so quiet that Takenaka hadn’t even noticed him until now.

Takenaka was the last to leave the room. Just before he went through the threshold, he heard Serizawa’s soft voice wish them luck.

They descended the stairs quietly, with just the clomp of footsteps on wood resounding through the narrow passageway. Takenaka bit his lip and sighed again. This was the first time he’d ever done something like this and well... he was nervous. He didn’t really know what to expect. Or if he’d actually be of any help at all.

“Hey, Kageyama?” Takenaka asked quietly.

“Hm?”

“How many of these job things have you done with Reigen?”

Mob’s eyes squinted almost imperceptibly as he thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. I’ve been working for Master Reigen for several years now, though. So it’s been a lot.”

“Have you ever done anything like this before?”

“Not really. But I do think we’ll be able to help the client either way.”

Takenaka huffed a breath. “I hope so.”

“Don’t worry, Takenaka,” Mob reassured. "Master Reigen is a spirit specialist. He’ll help you if you need it.”

“...I honestly don’t know whether that’s supposed to comfort me or not,” Takenaka replied curtly.

Mob’s mouth flattened into a line. “Ah. Well, I’ll be there to help you if you need it then.”

Okay, that was, admittedly, a little more encouraging. Besides, the only reason he was helping them in the first place was because Mob had asked him to. And regrettably, this wasn’t the first time that kid had persuaded him to do something he didn’t want to do despite his better judgment.

~~~~~

When they arrived at the client’s home, they were greeted by the hospice caregiver at the door, a small, thin woman with a kind face. She looked like she’d been expecting them.

“Tachibana-san is upstairs with the family,” she explained.

“Yes, thank you,” Reigen said. Takenaka was right in assuming Reigen would be doing most of the talking here. Mob and Takenaka shared a glance before stepping inside after Reigen.

Takenaka had felt a bombardment of negative thoughts hitting his mental barrier like pebbles against a window ever since they had entered the neighborhood. However, as they ascended the stairs, it only got worse, forcing him to focus on keeping the barrier in place more securely than usual.

They followed the sound of quiet voices until they came to one of the bedrooms and stepped inside. Immediately, Takenaka’s face fell.

Hearing about it was one thing. Seeing it, though, connecting the situation Mob and Reigen had told him about to a real person and a real family and a real life, was something entirely different.

The sick grandmother was lying in a railed hospital bed in the middle of the room, swathed in blankets. A plethora of wires were attached to her, probably to do different kinds of monitoring, though the most noticeable thing was a cannula wrapped around her ears and into her nose. She was surrounded by about a dozen family members who were scattered around the space, sitting, standing, whispering quietly to each other.

No one was crying. It was obvious that they’d all done their fair share of that already. Still, the whole scene made a heavy weight drop in Takenaka’s stomach, tugging at his insides and filling him with complicated negative emotions he would really rather not be feeling.

The client was the grandmother’s eldest son, Mr. Tachibana. He stood at the side of the room wringing his hands and he spoke briefly with the hospice caregiver as they came in. He looked to be in his late fifties, bits of grey peppering his dark hair. The youngest in the room was a girl who couldn’t be older than six, sitting on her mother’s lap, gentle fingers stroking her head. In between were aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings from all walks of life.

Takenaka thought it was understandable; of course they’d all wanted to be present at the prospect of knowing their recently-nonvocal grandmother’s thoughts.

Takenaka took another timid step forward into the room and was able to see the old woman more clearly. She was sleeping, her wrinkled eyes closed in a slight frown and her labored breaths coming and going with steady motions. He could see that her neck was puffy and swelled with fluid, a side effect of the cancer that had overtaken her throat and lungs.

Reigen walked over and began speaking with Mr. Tachibana and the hospice caregiver. They shook hands, their words coming in hushed tones. Reigen nodded occasionally and gestured at the two boys he’d brought with him. Takenaka was actually glad Reigen was there to play the adult, even if he was a glorified conman.

A girl who looked to be a little older than himself was sitting by her grandmother’s side, holding her fragile hand. The girl’s face was blank, though Takenaka could see the remnants of dried tears staining her cheeks. Her chest deflated as she exhaled a heavy breath and she shifted a bit in her seat. The six-year-old he saw earlier (maybe her sister?) left her mother’s lap and padded over to the other side of the room, wrapping her arms around the elder girl’s waist and squeezing with all the force she could muster. Lifting her gaze from the six-year-old, the elder girl turned and caught Takenaka looking at them. Her eyes softened and the side of her mouth lifted into a sad smile. Takenaka blinked and awkwardly turned away, feeling as though he had intruded on something.

Eventually, Reigen returned to them with Mr. Tachibana in tow. He placed a slender hand on Takenaka’s shoulder.

“Our client would like to get started,” he said, voice significantly muted compared to its usual grandiosity.

“Yes. Reigen tells me that you are the telepath who agreed to help us?” Mr. Tachibana began.

Takenaka nodded.

Mr. Tachibana suddenly gave him a low bow, and Takenaka startled. He hadn’t even done anything to deserve it yet.

“Thank you so much for coming today,” the man said. He raised his head and reached out to take one of Takenaka’s hand’s in both of his.

He was receiving far too many handshakes today.

“The family and I didn’t know what else to do,” Mr. Tachibana continued. “Her illness just progressed so fast… I hope that you can help us.” Then he smiled, his eyes shining with unshed tears.

Takenaka returned the smile weakly. “Yes, sir. I’ll do my best.”

“If there’s anything you need, please let me know.”

“I-I will, thank you.”

“Takenaka, could you try getting a gauge of Mrs. Tachibana’s thoughts now?” Reigen asked.

With a nod, Takenaka made his way over to Mrs. Tachibana’s bedside. The older girl he’d noticed before got up and wordlessly offered him her seat.

“Oh, thank you,” he mumbled awkwardly. For some reason he couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes.

“You’re welcome,” she replied with a small bow of her head. The girl gave him that same sad smile and stepped away to join the rest of her family on the other side of the room. Then, it was suddenly very quiet. Takenaka could feel their eyes watching him.

Mob came over and stood by his side, nearby but with enough space between them so he could concentrate. Mob wasn’t a telepath, but he could certainly do more with his powers than Takenaka could and, though he wouldn’t ever admit to it, having him here was the biggest relief he’d had all day.

Hooray for moral support.

With a deep breath, Takenaka reached inwardly at the barrier he’d so carefully built in his head over the years. He lifted it slowly to allow some thoughts to come in.

Immediately, Takenaka’s brain was overwhelmed with the worry and sorrow resonating from every living person in the room, his face contorting at the searing pressure that pounded suddenly at his temples and the crown of his head. The sheer volume and weight of the thoughts, the emotions that flooded into his skull, felt more like it was coming from a hundred people rather than the few that were actually present in the room. He felt like his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets.

It quickly became too much, and Takenaka replaced his barrier with a sharp wince after a few seconds, graciously welcoming the silence. Mob placed a gentle hand on Takenaka’s tense shoulder.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his concern breaking the usual monotone.

Takenaka cleared his throat. “Y-yeah, it’s just… a lot.” He rubbed at his temples. Doing that never really helped, but it was hard to break out of the habit.

Mob hummed in understanding, letting his hand fall back to his side once Takenaka’s face had relaxed again.

“Would it be easier if you did this alone? We could ask the family to leave for a moment,” Reigen said.

Takenaka almost let out a dry laugh but he choked it back. “Sadly no. They’re so emotional that I could probably still hear them from ten blocks away if I let my barrier down.”

“Ok, that’s a problem,” Reigen mused, bringing a hand to his chin.

“I could try to block out the others for you,” Mob suggested. “So you could focus on Mrs. Tachibana.”

That was… actually a good idea. There was no way he’d be able to pay attention to one person with everyone else essentially screaming at him at once. He knew that they didn’t mean to, of course, but you couldn’t exactly tell someone to just turn off their thoughts.

Takenaka nodded. “Alright. I guess we could try that.”

“Master, Mr. Tachibana, please stand back a little,” Mob said. They complied.

Then, Mob extended an arm in front of him, palm facing forward, and released a flash of energy. Immediately, his hair lifted slightly at the roots and floated around his head like he was underwater. A barrier appeared to surround the two espers and the bed, the swirling blues and purples of his aura forming a dome.

The family startled and gasped in awe at his small display of power, a tiny “ Wooow… ” coming from the little girl. After a moment, the colors began to flicker and fade until all that remained was a faint distortion of light where the barrier remained in place.

“Okay, it should be quieter for you now,” Mob said, his hair gently falling back to its original shape. Takenaka couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy at how effortlessly Mob used his psychic abilities, how they were so much more versatile than his own, but he shook away the thought.

Takenaka took another deep breath. Alright then. Round two. He tentatively removed his mental earplugs again and sighed in relief as he was met only with the quiet hum of Mrs. Tachibana’s dreams. He listened for a moment. They were mostly nonsensical, a conglomeration of short-lived thoughts and feelings that didn’t tie together very well.

Reigen took a step toward him but was careful to remain just outside the barrier.

“Is that better for you?” Reigen asked.

“Yes,” Takenaka replied, a bit surprised at Reigen’s consideration.

“Whenever you’re ready, you can go on and wake her. It’s alright,” Mr. Tachibana said, gesturing at his mother.

Takenaka steeled his nerves, trying not to focus on the dozens of eyes fixed on him as he reached out and placed a hand on Mrs. Tachibana, carefully shaking her shoulder to rouse her awake.

“Hello? Mrs. Tachibana, can you hear me? Your family would like to speak with you,” he relayed.

Her eyes blinked open and she turned her head to face Takenaka.

“Hmm? Would they now,” she replied.

Takenaka drew back in his chair, utterly stunned. People did not usually react so casually to having someone else’s thoughts thrust into their heads.

“Y-yes. They asked me to come and—”

“And read my thoughts? I figured as much.”

Takenaka startled. “Have you... met telepaths before?”

She smiled, amused. “I was married to one, actually. Why do you think my family asked you to come? Did you think we were a bunch of whack jobs or something?”

Well, obviously, despite her illness, Mrs. Tachibana still had a very readable consciousness and enough strength to talk to him and… make jokes. Takenaka’s mood shifted to something considerably lighter. He welcomed it, considering what the atmosphere had felt like ever since he first entered the room.

Mrs. Tachibana must have noticed Takenaka’s change of expression. “There you go, young man, there’s no need to worry. I’m very much used to this. My children were too young to remember much of my husband before he died, but they do remember his abilities, I’m sure.”

“Oh, that’s… I’ve never... known any other telepaths,” Takenaka admitted.

“Really? That’s a shame. I wish there were more of you, honestly. You make quite interesting conversationalists.”

She smiled weakly at him again. “But listen to me go on. Should we get down to business? I’m sure my family is quite eager.”

“Um, yes, of course.”

Takenaka turned to face her son, whose brow was furrowed with worry. “Well? Can you… communicate with her?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Mr. Tachibana sighed in relief. “Oh, that’s wonderful. Can you ask her how she’s doing? Does she need anything? Is she hungry? Thirsty? Is she in any pain? Does she need more blankets?”

“Slow down, son, I can only answer one thing at a time.”

Takenaka repeated her aloud.

“Oh. Sorry.” Mr. Tachibana scratched his cheek awkwardly. “What’s most important is that she is comfortable. Would you please ask her if there is anything she needs?”

Takenaka was about to relay him when Mrs. Tachibana’s thoughts interrupted, “Stop, stop, you don’t have to repeat everything. I’m mute, not deaf. Please tell my son that I am quite comfortable. I am a bit thirsty, though. This awful cannula dries my throat out.”

Takenaka turned again to face the others and repeated what she said, prompting the hospice caregiver to dash over with a cup of water and a straw for the elder woman. After she had taken a drink, Mr. Tachibana tentatively spoke to Takenaka.

“Young man, if you please, many members of my family would like to speak with my mother… We would appreciate if you could translate her thoughts for us.”

Takenaka nodded. “Of course, sir.”

Mr. Tachibana motioned over to two older women. Apparently they had already planned out who would get to speak with her first.

“Takenaka, these are my sisters.” Both of them gave a small bow. The elder one took out a slip of paper from inside the pocket of her suit jacket and took another tentative step toward him.

“We’ve each prepared a list of things to talk about so we won’t take up too much of your time,” she said, her voice apologetic.

“O-oh, um...” Takenaka stuttered. “It’s no trouble, really. Please.” He motioned for her to come next to him, but she hesitated. She extended a slightly trembling hand and hovered it over the distorted light of the barrier for a moment before withdrawing it to her chest.

“Is it safe?”

Mob spoke up. “The barrier I created is ethereal. It won’t hurt you, I promise.”

Reigen nodded and hummed in agreement. “Nice work, student. I’ve taught you well.”

Takenaka resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

The woman hesitated another moment, staring unblinking at the barrier. Then she took a deep breath and stepped through, looking relieved when she realized she’d made it in one piece. She exhaled and turned her attention to her mother, unfolding the paper in her hand as she gave a watery smile.

“Hi, mom.”

Takenaka spent about a half hour with them inside the barrier, translating Mrs. Tachibana’s responses, all the while hearing her daughter’s thoughts and trying not to let the particularly depressing ones get to him. They were, unsurprisingly, turbulent and disjointed, a mix of anxiety and sorrow and love all at once. He tried to focus on his task of translating, and, miraculously, succeeded for the most part. Hopefully this whole experience was helping him get better at filtering out people’s mind-equivalents of word vomit that he usually had to sort through.

When she had finished, she leaned down and kissed her mother on the cheek. She whispered a goodbye and exited the barrier wordlessly, her sister pulling her into an embrace and holding her head against her shoulder. They parted after a moment, then the younger sister walked over next to Takenaka to begin her time.

She didn’t stay as long, having heard the earlier conversation and not wanting to risk breaking down crying in front of her children.

Um. Takenaka felt like he’d intruded having read that last thought of hers, but he couldn’t really help it.

It went on like that for a long while, each person spending time with Takenaka and Mrs. Tachibana within the barrier and saying their goodbyes. Mr. Tachibana stayed for an especially long time, his thoughts saturated with a grief Takenaka couldn’t begin to understand. The afternoon eventually tipped over into evening.

At some point, Reigen had left his spot next to Mob and was wandering from person to person throughout the room, striking up quiet conversation and trying to lighten the mood while everyone waited their turn. Takenaka couldn’t hear him exactly, but he was definitely an expert at entertaining. His hands moved animatedly as he spoke and it seemed that he never ran out of things to say. Mob, on the other hand, remained silent, observing Takenaka or Reigen with his usual stoicism. It was strange to see such polar opposites working together.

Takenaka had expected it would be tiring, using his powers so much like this. But it was actually sort of liberating not having to keep his own barrier in place for an extended period of time. Despite everything, he was… happy.

Eventually, the two girls he saw earlier came over hand-in-hand. The elder one spoke.

“Is it alright if we go together? Kaori’s too shy to be on her own.” She looked down at her young companion, who was averting her eyes from Takenaka and fussing with the hem of her skirt.

“That’s fine with me.” Little kids were pretty easy to handle, actually, so having an extra person wouldn’t be much trouble. Children always said what they thought.

They walked through the barrier and both girls quietly greeted their grandmother. Takenaka listened and relayed her response.

“She says hello too. She’s… she says she’s very proud of you.” It was a bit of a simplification, but he hoped they would understand all the other things that went with a statement like that.

He was right. The elder girl’s eyes immediately welled up with tears, but she smiled through them.

“Thank you,” she replied, then looked down at her sister. “What do you say, Kaori?”

The girl hesitated, looking to the side.

“We talked about this, remember?” She knelt down and pointed at Takenaka. “This boy knows what grandma’s thinking, and he can tell us. That way we can talk to her even though she can’t talk herself.”

“I know…”

“You don’t have to be scared,” she said, looking up at him. “He’s a friend.”

“Um…” Kaori hesitated again.

Takenaka may have been able to deal with children’s thoughts, but children themselves were a different story. He had no siblings, no experience with situations like this. But he had to do something. He could hear her nervousness but also her quiet curiosity whispering in his ear.

“Do you want to play a game?” Takenaka offered.

Kaori eyed him from her hiding spot behind her sister’s skirt. After a moment, she stepped forward a bit and nodded.

“How about you think of a color, and I’ll tell you which one you chose?”

Her eyes lit up. “Okay.”

“Alright then,” Takenaka said. “Think of any color you want.”

Kaori pursed her lips and squinted her eyes, thinking. She hummed little contemplative noises as Takenaka sensed her cycling through the color wheel in her own thoughts. Green, blue, yellow, purple, orange… He could see them clear as day. Then Kaori smirked, finally settling on something.

“Ready?” Takenaka asked.

“Yeah.”

Takenaka’s lips cracked into a smile. “Oh, come on now, that’s cheating. You can’t pick ‘rainbow’ as a color. That’s too confusing.”

Kaori gasped in awe. Her tiny, adorable voice made Takenaka’s heart melt a little bit.

“How did you know?” she whispered. Her sister let out a watery laugh.

Takenaka tapped his temple with one finger. “Like your sister said, I can see it all right here.”

“Wow…” Kaori gasped.

Her sister spoke up. “See? He can do the same thing with grandma. Want to talk to her?”

Kaori nodded, a hint of a smile on her face as she approached her grandmother’s bed. Then she looked at Takenaka.

“Ready?” he asked.

~~~~~

“Tell me, what is your name?”

“Huh?” Takenaka startled.

“You know so much about me now, but I don’t even know your name.”

“Oh, right...It’s Takenaka. Takenaka Yuuto.”

Suddenly, Mrs. Tachibana smiled. “Yuuto, huh? Well, I should have figured. You really live up to your name, don’t you?”

Takenaka didn’t know what to say to that.

“You’re going to be just fine, young man. Take an old lady’s word for it.”

The corner of his lip lifted into a small smile. “It was good to meet you, Mrs. Tachibana.”

“Likewise, Yuuto.”

He finally stood from his chair and bowed to her, doing his best to show the deep respect he felt for her and her family in the gesture. Then, reluctantly, Takenaka raised his head, willed his mental block back into place, and the world went silent. Mrs. Tachibana’s smile never faded.

Takenaka turned and looked at Mob. He raised his hand without a word, palm facing forward, and his own barrier dissipated, the light of the room shifting back to normalcy. Again, he felt the thoughts of everyone in the room battering at his barrier, but they felt calmer now. He took that as a good sign. Straightening out his uniform, Takenaka made his way back over to Mob and Reigen.

Regien clasped a hand over his shoulder. “You handled that very well, Takenaka. Couldn’t have done it better myself.”

It was very possible that Reigen was telling him what he thought he wanted to hear, but something about the tone in his voice made him think the praise was actually genuine. They said their goodbyes to the family and Reigen spoke with Mr. Tachibana before the trio headed back down the stairs. Just before Reigen opened the door, he heard the sound of tiny feet coming down the stairs.

“Wait! Mister telepath!”

Takenaka turned to see Kaori pattering toward him. She held out something in her hand.

“Mama said I could give this to you. To remember us by,” she said.

Takenaka held out his own hand, tentative. She dropped a tiny, smooth stone into his palm.

“I found this yesterday, by the creek behind our house. I… I thought it was pretty.”

“Thank you. I’ll keep it with me, don’t worry,” he replied, ignoring the way his voice shook a little. He wrapped his fingers around it, feeling the coolness of its surface on his skin.

Kaori nodded. “Okay.” She hesitated for a second before rushing in to give him a fierce hug around the waist, then dashed back up the stairs before he could say another word.

Reigen cleared his throat. “Let’s head back to the office. We can stop for soba on the way.”

“Alright, Master,” Mob said. And Takenaka was in no place to disagree.

~~~~~

end

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Mob Psycho 100 II 9 - 11 | My Roommate is a Cat 9 - 11 | Spec Ops Asuka 9 - 11 | Shield Hero 9 - 10 | Morose Mononokean 10 | Double Decker! EX 2 | Price of Smiles 10 - 11

Mob Psycho II 9

So…uh…is this the first time we’ve had lyrics for the OP???

For some reason, “you little s***” is a hilarious nickname…in my head.

Is it just me, or did the style of Teruki’s eyes change when he got that stack of hair off his head?

My Roommate is a Cat 9

Please don’t let that random voice be the do-oh no. I was right *sigh* As much as I think dogs are fine and cute and all, this is a show about a cat, so naturally I feel diametrically opposed to dogs when watching.

Long ago, the writer and his cat lived in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Signing attacked! …Yeah. I couldn’t resist the Avatar pun…of course.

Aw…Kawase is a good guy, even if he’s a bit obnoxious to poor Haru.

As someone who’s currently volunteering at a charity store, I forget to say “thanks” all the time. It eats me up, it really does…

That post-credits sequence was funny, but only because I could read the “dying message” (it’s katakana ha <-> kanji hachi -> number 8).

Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka 9

Oh hey, a cheerleader stamp (sticker...?) from the Cheerleader vs Megaton Shark movie!

Wait, whaaaaaaaaat?! I thought Asuka was Tamara’s older sister (metaphorically), but…she’s nottttttttttttttt??? Also, why doesn’t Tamara get creeped out by the fact her stuffed toy could be a Disas in disguise?

Why is everyone so…for lack of a better term…gay for Asuka?! Even Tabira…

Ouch for Tabira. I’m just laughing because it’s like seeing SekaTsuyo or Bikini Warriors being torn up in front of my face – I’m thanking whoever made this for that image alone!

Cenobite. Basically…it’s another horror reference.

The Osprey stands out so much…CGI..it’s so garish…

Garish CGI strikes again, this time in the form of a 4WD!

Shield Hero 9

Naofumi’s such a dad…haha.

It’s a Filo-and-fish! Hahaha! (Update: I’m aware there are some of you who might never have heard of a Fillet-o-fish and so…there you go. It’s a McDonald’s meal name. It makes me hungry just thinking about it, to be honest though.)

Why does Motoyasu even care so much for underage girls? Sure, they have their rights too, but…is he a lolicon???

They talk about “white privilege”…so maybe there’s “hero privilege” as well…hmm…

Motoyasu’s “treasure-protection shields” versus Filo = 0 to 2, Filo’s victory! Hahaha!

Morose Mononokean 10

The idea of Rippou being amused by “a mundane world plank”…amuses me. So does the idea of Abeno and Ashiya walking around as a shingami and witch, respectively…Come to think of it, Ashiya’s always the one who dresses like a woman if the need arises, huh?

I feel sorry for Zenko, to be honest…I mean, she’s wearing what’s meant to be Abeno’s outfit! She’s going to trip, y’know? Where are the OH and S concerns (OH and S = occupational healh and safety, though...yeah, I make that mistake a lot)???

Come to think of it, I wasn’t tracking where Abeno’s book went. So he left it in the Mononokean…I see.

Poor Fuzzy! He got taken by Komon!!!

Smol Itsuki…I swear I’ve seen a similar character in a manga before – and somehow I know it’s a manga, but I don’t remember which one…

Double Decker! EX 2

Couldn’t you just ask “Milla” (even if he’s not a Police Academy graduate)? Pretend Valery is Kirill or something, maybe.

I can’t believe they’re still making jokes about Doug’s laundry…

I feel kind of bad at snickering at this crossdressing thing – you know how the LGBTIQ+ community feels about this stuff, don’t you?

Travis’s pick-up lines are too cheesy for this earth…*shakes head with grin on face*

There’s a police bird mascot on the dashboard of the Seven-O car.

When I realised what Mr Goldman was doing to Kirill (potential sekuhara and disguise reveal, if you know what I mean)…my face went all funny…

I don’t think I’ve seen a Kirill and Valery eyecatch before…hmm.

The fact there were two men making out in the change rooms…I wonder if that was played for humour? If so, that’s nasty to the LGBTIQ+ people, y’know?

“Max, that’s mine. Take good care of it.” – Your…what, Deana? Your target???

The next-ep preview had me laughing! Travis, don’t give yourself away!!! But now I get why Kirill was in a wedding dress.

Price of Smiles 10

Y’know, Lily, you shouldn’t wish for a kid to be confined to their house forever. Kids grow up and then need to make a living…at least, that’s what I’ve learnt.

I honestly (almost…?) thought we’d only see casualties on Yuki’s side…guess I was wrong.

Shield Hero 10

Notably, a lot of Western-inspired fantasy works such as this use “runes” based on stylised English…including the map that appears in this ep.

This knight that’s doing all the talking…his name is Ake, according to the interface.

My Roommate is a Cat 10

The irony of that dog bag of Haru’s (the human girl’s).

Cats and Dreams (Neko to Yume) = a parody of Hana to Yume (Flowers and Dreams).

All these thoughts Subaru has of his mother make me want to hug mine…

“50 inches”, my butt! (The newspaper says there’ll be 50 centimetres of snow...)

I expected Okami to be at the supermarket (Nana, not her brother)…but instead, Hiroto showed up. What a small world it is in this anime…(well, it is all set in the same neighbourhood, with the exception of that signing, so it should be. At least, I guess so.)

F*** it, Hiroto. I thought you were annoying in the past, but you’re nice too! What’s up with this show??? Why do I feel everything Subaru feels??? (Uh…past me, maybe, that’s the point of this show…?)

The cat show is also relatable in how I peel apples…and that would probably carry over to other fruit and veg too…

If there’s one thing I can annoy this show about, it’s how to transition between human and cat perspectives. Aside from that, it’s A-OK!

Morose Mononokean 11

Wait, these birds have one foot (each) and ear wings??? Wuh???

Oh, now that Abeno mentions it, Chungo has a crescent, but one of the other bros has a heart on his belly. Another one has a circular pattern with a round dent where the head is (like a partial moon, with the smaller edge inverted).

One of the “birds” has two dents in his belly pattern (like the one I described just before, but this time with a W shape).

Hmm…in much the same way the police act as a representative of the state, the reason there needs to be a master of the Mononokean is to represent it…and maybe the Legislator. Is that right, people?

Come to think of it…”chun” roughly means “tweet”, hence “Chunichi”, “Chunji” etc.

The name of this episode is Kii (literally, “return to residence” as far as I understand it…I may have misinterpreted that second kanji though).

Is Komon a “she”? It’s hard to tell, really.

Mob Psycho 100 10

“Prime Minister Yabe”, eh?

I think I saw “ONE” written on one of the buildings.

I sort of saw the comparison between Sho and his dad coming as soon as I saw Ritsu and Sho hanging out together.

I found my old first season predictions from summer 2016 and now I just remembr Dimple as a “green cloud”, LOL.

Well…sorry to break it to you guys, but someone’s post was called “Dimple makes the Body Improvement Club PLUS ULTRA” so I sort of know where this is going…

Hmm…this “muscles with psychic power =/= muscles with training” thing reminds me of the tomatoes from s2 ep 1.

Mob Psycho 100 11

(Mob says something along the lines of “you need to rely on others to help you survive.”) - Welp, Mob, that’s a consumerist post-Fordist society for ya.

“…don’t use your psychic powers against others.” Don’t think I’ve corrected any subs in a while.

…and randomly, Reigen.

Post-credits scene. Keep watching!

I just realised these “courses” mentiond in the next-ep previews are related to the Japanese side of things – BDs, DVDs, events and manga.

Egao no Daika 11

Almost done with the season, eh?

Couldn’t Huey have been shown giving the money, rather than keeping it a secre until the rest of the group did it…?

Please say that’s an armistice, Yu-oh no.

I feel like revealing Izana’s death to his family now…is a bit late.

That’s Stella’s fish bowl! Great Scott! (Okay…that was a terrible pun. Y’see, Scott was the one who believed Stella was Layla’s daughter…and he was right.)

Oh…end of credits segment. Keep watching.

Notably, the ep 12 title (”The Price of Smiles”) is written in kanji + hiragana, instead of the katakana of the show title.

Spec Ops Asuka 11

“I don’t want to run.” – Well, with Nozo-chan leaning on her like that, Sayako definitely won’t be running…in more ways than one.

Ken can mean “dog” in certain contexts, y’know. So Kenjou seems like a good name for a dog boi...spirit…thing?

My Roommate is a Cat 11

I’m going to miss this show when it’s gone…

I feel like a better episode title translation would be “Overlapping Feelings”.

Hmm…I never thought he (Subaru) was wearing a tonne of blue because he liked it. I just thought it was a good aesthetic choice on the part of the mangaka…welp, at least there’s a reason for it now.

Rabbiteye blueberries. I’d never heard of them before, to be honest. (Isn’t blue meant to be rare in nature???)

I could tell from the silhouette it was Kawase…

I know that feel…haven’t you seen the meme that goes…oh, I’ll go find it. Then you’ll understand what I mean.

^…This one.

LOL, that image of Haru on Kawase’s computer.

This show makes me wanna hug my parents…Update: Hey, I said that a few episodes ago. That makes me feel really stupid.

[dartlekey]

A walk in the park

~For the MP100 Valentine’s week challenge, Day 1~

Category: Gen, M/M

Pairing: Serizawa Katsuya/Reigen Arataka, mention of Terumob

Word count: 2363

Warnings: Child neglect, Child abandonment. Also some Death (well, you know. Dead people. It’s a show about espers, ghosts and exorcists; what do you expect)

Notes: Yes, I managed to take a cute, fluffy topic and turn it into an absolute angst fic - although it does have a fluffy ending, so please forgive me ;)

***

"Cinnamon Park?"

The client, a young mother with tired eyes, nodded nervously. "I always go there with the twins in the afternoon, because there's a great playground. Lots of my friends bring their children there too, and the kids have lots of fun together - or at least, they used to. Since a few days ago, a spirit has manifested in the tube that connects the play structure, and violently attacks anyone that goes near - even the adults! My friend Mina still has the scratches to prove it!"

As if on cue, the small girl on her lap started crying; whether she understood the words or just got frightened by her mother's fearful tone, Reigen didn't know. He couldn't even tell how old the kid was; he'd never been good with children. Dealing with Mob from a young age had only worked out because the small esper was so insensitive to social interaction, and despite his naiveté so very mature for his age. (As Reigen had learned, the two weren't mutually exclusive.)

To make matters worse, the other twin, a small boy resting at the mother's feet, looked up because of the noise and realized his sister was crying - and suddenly his lip was wobbling as well.

The mother herself winced, looking exhausted already; she'd probably suffered through a lot of this in the past few days. "There, there," she said half-heartedly and patted the girl's back, but the kid didn't let up, and the boy started sniffling.

"E-excuse me - may I...?"

Both Reigen and the mother looked up at Serizawa, who'd previously been standing off to the side, taking notes, but now had stepped up to them, looking nervous.

The mother shrugged, while Reigen hesitated; he had no idea what Serizawa planned to do and also doubted it was the best idea to let someone with strong social anxiety near a crying child - but surprisingly, Serizawa didn't wait for Reigen's okay. Instead, he crouched down, picked up a toddler with each hand, settled them on his lap and said, "Hey, do you like sparkly things? And colors?"

The girl ignored him and continued bawling, but the boy looked up and wrinkled his tiny nose at him in confusion. "Oh, you do? I love them as well. Blue, yellow, green... my favorite is orange, you know. What's your favorite color?" The boy hesitated, then stammered out: "W-wed..."

The girl looked over suspiciously, seeming almost irritated that her brother was hogging the attention, and started to cry louder. Serizawa, on the other hand, beamed at the boy. "Oh, yes, I love red! A strong color for a strong boy... Oh, maybe I can call it here... 'Red! Red, appear!'"

Even though he still wasn't very susceptible to such things, Reigen could feel the aura charge collecting around Serizawa - and suddenly the dark-haired esper and kids were surrounded with pulsing red swirls and sparkles, flowing and weaving around them. The kids stared at the sparkles, completely baffled. The girl even stopped crying, she was so surprised.

And then the boy started laughing and clapping his hands. "Pwetty!!!", he squeaked, bouncing up and down on Serizawa's knee. "Pwetty!!!" Serizawa smiled, and turned to the little girl, who was still pouting. "And what's your favorite color?"

The girl pressed her lips together, then mumbled, "Blue." Serizawa's smile widened, and he said, "How fitting, a cool color for such a cool little girl. Could you call for it, do you think? Call for blue?"

The girl frowned, then hesitantly nodded. "Blue. Bluuuue!"

Serizawa flicked his fingers, and more swirls burst foward, the blue mingling and intertwining with the red, creating a starburst like fireworks. The girl, fascinated, reached out to grab one of the strands, and it flowed towards her and nuzzled against her cheek; there was no other word for it. "Warm!"

Reigen and the mother stared down at the little scene, lost for words. "How does he do that?", the mother asked. "No idea," Reigen responded, not realizing she meant the aura manifestation. How does this guy get more amazing every time he walks into my office...?

Then he shook his head to regain his focus. "Anyway, this spirit, you want it exorcised? No problem at all, as you can see, this office has three strong, capable espers to take care of your problem."

The woman frowned. "Where's the third?"

Reigen scowled, about to retort angrily - until he realized his mistake. "Oh, right, Mob isn't here today. He has his date..." He frowned. "That Hanazawa kid better not mess this up, Mob's been excited about it for days..."

He turned back to the woman, who gave him a confused look. "Ah, no matter. Lets discuss the different exorcism courses..."

*

An hour later, Reigen and Serizawa were walking through the park, on their way to the playground. It was a beatiful day, the sun was shining and the first cherry blossoms were opening on the trees despite that sudden frost five days prior. Wow, Reigen thought drily, such a wonderfully romantic setting for an exorcism. The spirit will be thrilled.

Why not you?, an unacknowledged part of him whispered. After all, you're here alone with Serizawa...

No! No, shut up, brain!

Even so, Reigen couldn't help but glance over at Serizawa, who was marveling at the cherry blossoms. It had been more than two years since Serizawa had joined the Spirits And Such office, and in that time, Serizawa had grown so much. In the beginning, Reigen had actually thought that he'd be dealing with just another frightened child, but he'd been so wrong that it made him cringe now. Because once he'd finally managed to coax Serizawa out of his shell of fear, Serizawa had turned out to be so much more. So thoughtful, so dependable, so kind, so gentle, so sincere... always so sincere.

Not someone a fraud like him even deserved to be working with. Reigen was constantly afraid of the day when Serizawa would shed his past insecurities completely, and realize he could do so much better than Spirits and Such. But Reigen had no right to keep him tethered here, and definitely no right to ask for anything more than friendship.

No matter how much his heart ached.

"Uh, Reigen-san? Is there something on my face?"

Reigen blinked, and realized he'd been staring. "Ah, sorry, no... I was just, uhm. Thinking. That you were really good with the kids back in the office. Amazing, actually. I hadn't expected that."

Serizawa smiled, flushing at the praise, and Reigen felt a stinging in his chest. "Ah, thank you, Reigen, but that was nothing. Children are easy to understand, it's the adults that are difficult... Not that I think you're difficult," he quickly added, "but-"

"It's fine, I understand," Reigen quickly interrupted, "but well. You know. I couldn't have done it. I'm terrible with children, and always have been. Maybe it's hereditary. But I always feel like their big round eyes are judging me, like they see right through me. And that makes me nervous, and that makes them dislike me."

Serizawa chuckled gently. "Huh. Well then, I guess we'll just have to stick together." Then his eyes widened and he blushed. "F-for balance, I mean. Socially. Dealing with adults a-and kids. Um. Ah- sorry. Forget it."

Reigen swallowed, and forced a smile. Of course he doesn't want to stick with me for other reasons. "Right."

They spent the next few minutes in silence, only broken when they finally reached the playground. Reigen slowed his walk, letting his gaze trail over the swings and monkey bars. "Do you sense anything?"

"Only a slight presence," Serizawa responded, frowning at the tube.

Reigen chuckled. "Then I guess this'll be... a walk in the park."

Serizawa paused, then snorted, a grin sneaking on to his face. "Indeed."

Reigen felt absurdly proud of himself.

He walked over to the tube slowly, and started doing what he did best: talking. "Hello? Spirit, are you in there? Can you hear me?"

He stepped closer, but as soon as he neared the opening, an angry array of something spiked and broken lashed out, narrowly missing him as he jumped back.

Reigen inspected his tie. About half of it had been torn off and ripped to shreds. "Um. Well then."

"Reigen-san!" Serizawa was immediately at his side, staring alternately at the deceased tie and the tube. "I... the aura just expanded tenfold. I think the spirit was hiding it... I apologize for not noticing -"

Reigen waved his hand airily, hoping his legs weren't shaking. "Ah, it's fine, no harm done... Spirit? Why are you here?"

A buzzing like of a thousand bees, and a distorted voice, "gO aWAy;.!"

Reigen frowned. Not a good start. "Spirit -"

"gO aWaYyy; . aND dO''Nt caLL mE ThAt;;!"

Reigen stepped closer again, frowning. "What? 'Spirit'?"

Another explosion of spikes, this time blocked by Serizawa. Reigen felt his hair stand up on end, but remained still.

"My nAMe iS kaITo.,."

"Kai-" Reigen faltered. Something about the way that the spirit spoke, petulant, almost whining. So adamant about it's name, but only giving its first name, not the surname. Could it be -

"Are you a child?"

The spirit was silent. Then, "I dON;t AnsWEr tO StrAnGeRs,,."

Reigen exchanged a worried look with Serizawa, because that answer was as clear as any. They were definitely dealing with the spirit of a child, and those were violent and unstable at the best of times.

Serizawa stepped forwards, and crouched down to the tube even though he couldn't see in - the entire opening of the tube was blocked by dark, writhing aura tentacles, shimmering like oil slicks. What a powerful spirit, Reigen thought and shivered.

"Are you..." Serizawa wet his lips and tried again. "Are you waiting for your mother?"

A pause, then. "i DO';nt HaVE a mOTheR;.,."

Did it sound sad? Reigen couldn't tell through all the buzzing.

"Then, your father?"

The spikes flashed out again. "hE,,'S CoMiNg:., HE prOMiSeD!!.-,!"

Was it... agitated?

Serizawa slowly shuffled closer. "He's coming for you? Did he say when?"

Another pause. "DadDY wOrKs LonG. loNG. DaRk alReaDy. KaITo WaiTs."

Serizawa smiled softly and inched towards the psychic mess leaking out of the tube. "Because you're a good boy, a very responsible one. Practically an adult."

The tentacles withdrew a bit, became a bit more see-through. "ThAt'"s RIgHt.,. i;'M stRonG.. NoT cOLd.;,,-. Don#;T fEEl coLd--.,,,."

Reigen leaned closer, confused. "You're cold?"

"NOT COLD!;::!!;"

If not for Serizawa's shield, they would both have been shredded. "NoT cOlD. ,, nOT slEePy.;:: i WaIT.;;;:.-,-"

"Yes, you wait, like a grown-up," Serizawa said soothingly, then turned to Reigen, worry evident on his face. He mouthed, Should I excorcise him now?, but Reigen held up his hand, signaled him to wait. Because he had a horrible feeling in his gut and a growing suspition in his head that he needed to prove.

"How long Kaito? How long have you been waiting?"

"i,::,"

The spirit paused, became even more see-through. Reigen and Serizawa peered into the tube; they could just make out something small and lumpy at the bottom of it.

"I wAit.;::"

"More than a day?"

"i wAIt.;:-"

"Two days? Three?"

"I WaiT..,;:-"

"A week?"

Silence.

Reigen clearly remembered the weather report. '- experiencing a sudden cold front despite the previous approach of spring. Be sure to bring your jacket if you're going out at night, because temperatures are dropping below zero degrees celcius-'

"Five days?", he asked.

The spirit paled even more, almost translucent now. Reigen leaned as close to it as he dared, staring into the tube and confirming the shape of of the lumpy thing.

"I----:;;--:... hE PrOmiSEd.;:!:;,"

Reigen looked up at Serizawa, and swallowed hard. Exorcise it, he mouthed, feeling close to throwing up. Now.

Serizawa blinked. "Are you sure?"

"Now!"

And Serizawa - Serizawa shook his head.

He shook his head, and said to the spirit, "Of course your dad will come. He'll be here. Because he loves you."

And suddenly, there was a little boy crouching at the edge of the tube, form glowing green, looking up at them with empty eyes. "he dOEs,,:?;,.,"

Serizawa smiled softly. "All parents love their children. But your dad? He loves you the absolute most."

The spirit smiled, and glowed gold - and then it dissapeared, gone forever.

Reigen swallowed.

Then he reached into the tube with trembling hands, and pulled out the corpse.

The former body of small Kaito smiled blissfully in death, happy with a promise that may or may not have been true. "Not all parents love their children," Reigen said hollowly, gently brushing the hair back from the bluish tinged face, not even caring about the smell of five day's decomposition.

Serizawa gently pulled the body away from him. "They do. Even yours did. Even if they weren't there when they should have been."

Reigen stared at him.

Stared at Serizawa, his insides exposed; opened and closed his mouth without words coming out. "How...?"

Serizawa smiled. "Reigen-san... if anyone, I know what real fear looks like. You were projecting onto Kaito."

Reigen suddenly feels a tear running down his cheek without being sure how it got there. "I..." He swallowed again. "I guess I was, huh."

Serizawa reached out, hesitantly, and brushed the tear away. His hand was so tender, and Reigen leaned into the touch.

"Don't worry, Reigen-san. I'll never leave, as long as you want me to stay. Because you're important to me, so, so important. Because I -"

Serizawa hesitated, then plunged onwards, "Because I love you."

Reigen's breath hitched, but Serizawa didn't notice. "And I know you don't love me back, not in that way, but that's okay. I don't have to be your lover, and I won't leave just because I can't be... I just want you to know that you always have a shoulder to lean on."

Reigen stared into Serizawa's warm brown eyes, and thought, I don't deserve you... But I want to, I want to, so much.

And Reigen leaned forwards and as his eyes closed, he brushed his lips against Serizawa's; carefully, tenderly. Serizawa froze, at first, but as Reigens hand came up to cup his face he melted into the kiss, a soft sigh escaping his lips and warming Reigen to his core. Never cold again.

He pulled back and smiled softly, saw his blush mirrored on Serizawa's face, as the esper stuttered, "R-reigen-san?"

And for the first time in too many years, Reigen thought he'd like to hear his own first name again.

"Please, call me Arataka."