#only for them to immediately do the psychic arc

[coachbeards]

my most controversial opinion about rebecca’s character is that they focused much more on her finding romance than actually healing from her trauma and abuse

[gumy-shark]

ritsu and the divine tree

ok so we mock ritsu for his “i need to raise my blood sugar” moment where he got brainwashed. and we’re right it’s really funny. but also im going to zoom in on it a little- especially since i think he was already partially brainwashed before even meeting up with mob and reigen (or, at the very least, would’ve never made it to the tree, blood sugar or not).

first off, look at his reaction to being asked to help them destroy the Tree (well, we don’t see the question itself, but i think we can very safely assume that’s what mob and reigen asked)

^ on the surface level, ritsu seems Very apprehensive about getting rid of the divine tree because of the magnitude of the task- there’s no way even his brother could lift something that big! and on the surface level, that’s probably what it is- but also, considering what he JUST saw psychic powers do in the s2 finale, and factoring in his otherwise unshakable faith in Mob’s abilities… let’s just mark this one down as a yellow flag.

^ then we see ritsu distracted by someone handing out divine tree candy across the street. neither mob nor reigen notice that interaction, but it catches ritsu’s attention. even when reigen directly talks to him, ritsu is still looking at the people talking about the divine tree.

^ he is also noticeably defensive when reigen gets in his face, but considering his past interactions with reigen i’d say this has a chance of being normal. mostly only just putting this bc it’s ritsu once again reacting defensively to someone aiming to destroy the divine tree, and because it’s a funny screenshot.

^ next, we see ritsu thinking back to his student council meeting, and his confusion at everyone voting for a prayer time. things to note here: the psycho helmet religion is on ritsu’s mind, ritsu asks mob his opinion on the psycho helmet religion (which is how reigen’s brainwashing was revealed/cemented later on), and ritsu was exposed to (and confused by) “the faith of the masses”- one of the vectors of the Divine Tree’s brainwashing. (and looking back, we see this vector affecting him earlier in this scene as well)

AND THEN. reigen thinks about thinks, and concludes that the best course of action is to immediately destroy the divine tree.

^ it is NO ACCIDENT that ritsu’s headache hits right at that moment. reigen says “let’s harm the divine tree”, and the passive brainwashing that ritsu is already falling into reacts to that idea. there is a struggle here, between Dimple, ritsu’s desire to help his brother (and the little bits of respect he has for reigen), and whatever psychic immune system (<- gumy specific term that i will elaborate on if asked) ritsu has at that point, and it’s all happening in his brain.

^ this is the bit. ritsu has a headache, decides, “i need to raise my blood sugar,” and eats the divine tree candy.

Blood sugar? really? as far as i remember, ritsu’s blood sugar has never been a thing before. something’s not right here- especially not with the timing of that headache. not when his first response is to think to eat the divine tree candy.

on a meta level, ritsu’s blood sugar is an excuse for him to eat the divine tree candy and get brainwashed. in-universe, it is still exactly that.

(after all, ritsu’s headache is happening because he’s fighting the divine tree, and the second he gives in to that pressure is the second his headache stops.)

^ after ritsu eats the candy, he immediately seems happier, and hands some to mob and reigen. freaky as hell i love this arc man

[grimalkinmessor]

MP100 Characters Ranked on How Likely I Think They Would Be To Use The Death Note:

(because I like combining my hyperfixations ✨)

Mogami. I don't think I have to explain this one.

Ritsu. He is going on a killing spree IMMEDIATELY the boy practically IS Light Yagami, his name is literally spelled with the kanji for justice and he already went on one power-hungry crusade, he is RIPE on the Kira tree og

Dimple. He already has the god complex down, he just has to get on board with the whole killing people thing—considering he's already an evil spirit, it wouldn't take much convincing tbh

Shou. He would cause SO much havoc with it but only for fun. For the meme. For the vine. He kills the Queen of England with it and cackles as he watches the ensuing flood of Megamind memes. He would also threaten his dad into compliance with it because the Death Note isn't Battle Based, it's Instadeath. "Ever go on TV and embarrass me like that again and you're going out by dysentery."

Takenaka. He's not a bad kid, but being telepathic would make him incredibly susceptible to wanting to take bad people out before they did anything wrong. Plus just getting them to shut up. That idiot that keeps having vivid erotic fantasy in the middle of science class has ONE more again before Takenaka would embrace his villain arc whole-heartedly. The only reason he's this far down is because I think he'd hesitate.

Tsubomi. I think she'd kill someone just to see if she could get away with it. Then she'd put it away and only bring it out when certain situations arose that needed a Quick Solution™. That girl knows what needs to be done and she does it—she decisive. Anything like Suzuki happens again and she just drops them dead on live television Lind L. Tailor style and then goes on about her day like nothing happened. All heroes wear pretty hair clips 🙏

Tome. I don't know how to explain this one. Vibes. She feels like she'd be gripped by the powerful urge to kill someone but it would take her a lot to go through with actually writing someone's name down. She'd want to test the Death Note first to see if it worked, so that's one person down, but anyone else would need to have either hurt her or her friends irreversibly, and even then it would probably be a one time thing. She'd use it far less than Tsubomi—two people might actually be her max.

Serizawa. I hc that people with psychic powers can see the Death Note's bad jujus or whatever, so he wouldn't have to test it to know it would work, but I still think he'd use it. If he found it while he was still with Claw, he'd use it because it was easier to kill someone that way than with his psychic powers. Even if it he found it after Claw, it'd be the same reasoning. He's definitely killed people in the past and if someone hurt his friends or his mother he'd very much take the easy out of simply writing down a name rather than going for a fight. He'd still feel really bad about it though, so it'd probably only happen once.

Minori. She uses it to see if it's real, finds that it very much is, and then locks it away in her room. She won't use it, but it'll be a constant thought in her mind. A very real temptation.

Emi. She uses it once out of curiosity to see if it's real, then buries it in the woods where no one will ever find it...but she can go back for it if she ever needs it.

Hanazawa. He's reformed but his temper is still something to behold. He's only this far down the list because he's got that "I could kill you with my powers why would I need a book to do it for me" swag ✨

Shimazaki. Similar to Teru but less reformed. "I would just kill you with my powers why would I need a notebook" two electric boogaloo. Plus he's blind and idk if the Death Note takes braille or morse code.

Toichiro. The ULTIMATE "I'll just kill you with my powers I don't fucking need that thing"

Shinra. He wouldn't use it, but he'd absolutely make the mistake of picking it up and handing it over to someone that WOULD use it (cough rising sun psychic division cOugh)

Onigawara. Talks big shit about using it, but would never. Likes to think he COULD use it though, even though he's too upright for it.

Reigen. Picks it up out of curiosity and gets a laugh out of it, but doesn't test it. He's seen enough shit to be cautious though, so he has Mob look it over and then burns it once Mob confirms it's got bad vibes.

Mob. Sees bad vibes. Doesn't even pick it up. Blasts it into ash and goes home without thinking about it again. Buys milk on the way there.

[da-janela-lateral]

MP100 S2E01 under a writer's perspective

The Emi Fukami episode in Mob Psycho 100 was a beautiful display of Mob's character development in relation to his individuality and a earnest vision of emotional vulnerability, but I want to call attention to a single detail: Emi being a writer.

Out of all the secret truths that the cast masks during the narrative, Emi's must be one of the most mundane. She is writing a book. She doesn't want people to know about it, much less read it, as Emi was led to believe this hobby of hers was embarassing.

I find it very interesting that Emi, character whose focus episode revolves around vulnerability, has writing has her main passion. In a way, writing is one of the most revealing art forms that there is. Literary choices are a reflection of the author's context, beliefs, likes and dislikes, fears and dreams, even though many of these choices cannot be perceived in a sensible level. Even if I suddenly decided to write a tale about a random theme - you say, a blue-footed booby who becomes an architect while wearing ballet shoes - it would say something about me. It could be a preferred text type, my sense of humor or even my idea of what is "random". Word choices, rhythm, figures of speech, themes, narrative structures, spins on a literary genre's expectations - all of these and more consist of conscious or unconscious decisions made by the writer. Writing as an art form serves as a mirror to the artist's very mind.

As a result, a piece of text can be a very delicate thing. Many people would only reveal their works to a exemplarily trusted someone, or to no one at all. That's the origin and end of uncountable masterpieces. It is also associated to passion. Few are the writers who characterize themselves as such and don't feel a duty to write. Yes, duty. Not all pieces are a labor of love, but it's almost universal that they're one of resolve, as little as it might be. One can unlock a fundamental will to write something in spite of it being weary work. At this point, for many writers, it's not a simple hobby. It's a need. It's a compulsory manner of expression hardwired onto our brains; thus, it's an inseparable part of who we are.

So what does any of this have to do with Emi's arc?

S2E01 is all about being vulnerable. Even though Emi had only asked out Mob because of a bet and hanged out with him for a week, she felt safe enough to show him her book. Her own friend group didn't have an idea that she was working on one, and once they discovered this, they ridiculed Emi's effort and teared it to shreds. Emi tried to alleviate this rejection by affirming she didn't care for her work, while everything shown previously on the episode proved this was wrong. In turn, Mob uses his psychic powers to put back her text together - his first public demonstration of them since he was a child. Mob was honest about himself by revealing he was an esper. Emi was honest by wanting his opinion on her book.

Emi is a fourteen year old girl going through a confusing and ever changing phase of her life. After doubting on Mob's emotions, she tells him that she too doesn't know well who she is, and her actions around her friends prove how she was prone to peer pressure. Her mind and identity were on an uncertain state, and this would also reflect on her writing. Emi uses complicated words, perhaps to make her writing sound more serious. Based on a translation of her work "Adventure", she uses more of a stream of consciousness prose and ambiguous descriptions. She immediately decides to write something different after her experiences with Mob. Emi has a personal style! She has techniques and topics she enjoys and active choices about how she will employ them! Emi has a bit of her on her story and this was why she hid it so much: a mockery of it would be synonym of a mockery of herself.

This is what makes the plotline with her book so important to express the episode's themes. Emi felt insecure to reveal such an integral part of herself to the world until someone came and not only took it seriously, but appreciated it enough to make an effort to understand it better. It tells a lot how Mob's demonstration of caring made her leave the people who destroyed her work.

As a writer, this detail gave a whole another layer of significance for the episode. I've felt Emi's struggle in a very intense level on the past. Storytelling is something so dear to me I can't see myself without the adjective of "writer", but the acknowledgement of my work would be the same as exposing myself to the world. It can be scary at times, to divulge something so sincere to others. However, such is the writer's role: divulging. For reasons long unknown a magical excess of words was born to me, and this coincidence can't be supressed and abandoned on the dark. There is something I can offer copiously hand in hand and its words. Words. Words. Words... And the reflection of me resonates on others.

[desicanary]

Some thoughts after finishing the double that I need to expel from my consciousness:

1. I haven't enjoyed a show so much in a while. It had all the drama, and it didn't sacrifice it for the romance

2. Princess Wanning! She killed her dad and I think that was queen shit. She should have killed more people, frankly. She deserves to do so much murder

3. Shen Yurong how I hate you. This man is not only a murderer and a coward, he's also incompetent. None of his plans have ever worked. Mans couldn't manage to successfully kill his wife even if every god were on his side. I loved every time Xue Fangfei did psychic damage to him simply by existing

4. Xue Fangfei! Xue Li! Jiang Li! Xiao Limao! A'Li! Many other terms of address I've missed! She truly is that girl. She is gaslight gatekeep girl boss. She's a girl's girl. She stabbed a man in the dick 7 times. She has the man who once called her a pawn wrapped around her pinkie. When her man tells her he has to get into a political marriage for the nation she says do it then, and then he has to admit he was never gonna. She inflicted +9999999999999 damage on those who wronged her and Jiang Li. She can't fight to save her life (as evident) but can and will confuse her opponent into tripping over their own nonexistent shoelaces

5. I loved the progression of the relationship between A'Li and Xiao Heng. They weren't immediately lovers or friends. They fully used each other until they were willing to be used. The chemistry, the flirting, it's too much and too good. Also, Xiao Heng serves. See: the fans, the fucking gold plated murder fan, a walk-in closet full of capes, the most dramatic entrances known to cdramas, and all the audacity

6. BUT what were the last 20 minutes! They don't exist to me! My buddies Wen Ji and Lu Ji are watching their boss embarass himself at Duke Su's mansion and sharing in the hot goss, to me

7. Plus, I've gotta be missing something about the Longwu army. I do not understand them at all. Not a single one of them would survive the Nuremberg precedent. Not only are they not guided by ethics and morals, they're also not guided by loyalty or revenge or anger or hate or any understandable motivation. Instead, they're guided by a rock carving of a fish. wut. They find out the dude holding the fish works for the guy who betrayed and killed their general, their comrades, and even some of their family. And their response is: "How could they?!?!?! But we still have to listen to them because they have the fish!" Truly what. Someone explain this all-powerful rock fish to me

8. I do think that the Jiangs deserved more. And by more I mean worse. I think Xue Li should have told Jiang Yuanbai exactly how Jiang Li lived and died, and that she hated him for his negligence. I think she should have told the grandma too. They had their hand in this and they deserve to feel the full weight of Jiang Li's life and death and hatred

9. Also Jiang Yuanbai being like "It's not that I didn't know what was going on at home it's just that I was so busy working for the nation uwu". Sir, disrespectfully, no. You had not a clue. And if you did, that makes it worse. Like "Oh no! I'm so busy working that I have no choice but to let my wife frame my 8 yr old for her own attempted murder! The murder of the same stepmom that she, until yesterday, adored! Oh well, I gotta go to work so I'll just let that happen and abandon her for 10 years until politics makes it necessary for me to bring her home! And I'll feel really bad about abandoning her now, but I'll also never believe a single word out her mouth!" Actually, I think he should be hunted for sport

10. Anyway, that got off track! But I love this show, and how even the antagonists have arcs and backstories and aren't countering our girl just cuz. I love the fleshed out characters, all the looks it serves, the drama, and the adorable Wen Ji and Lu Ji and Jiang Jingrui

[weareallgonnaliveforawhile]

I NEED! THIS AU!!! (Sk and mob one)

No, seriously, your work is amazing, i am waiting happily for it!

Quick questions!

1. Will Saiki or any other Psychics from SK be integrated on the AU?

2. Does Kokomi meet Ritsu at some point?

3. Will Saiki meet our favorite conman? What would their interactions be like??

Thanks for the attention! I really like your writing btw!!

1. Will Saiki or any other Psychics from SK be integrated on the AU?

Absolutely. They have a much smaller role since the focus is more on Teruhashi being put into the Mob Psycho Universe, but they certainly exist and have met some of the Mob Psycho cast by pure coincidence. (Kokomi is very secretive of what she does for work).

They attempt to be like mentors to the psychics in mp100 but quickly find out that a majority of their advice is bad and also that they're so much weaker than literally all of them.

Also, it's really hard for any of their advice to beat Reigen's. Aiura tries to teach Teruki about the wonders of tax evasion, but he has to break it to her that not only has Reigen given a much better lecture but also gave him a detailed pamphlet on the pros and cons of dodging your taxes.

As for Saiki himself? He plays much less of a physical role, but he's still very much there. After all, who do you think makes sure that none of Teruhashi's stalkers even know that she's ever been to Condiment City? Or purposefully makes Makoto get lost while trying to go to Kokomi's job after hearing about the incident?

Plus, Mob is a very big part of Saiki's character development, though Saiki is a very minor part of Mob's life.

2. Does Kokomi meet Ritsu at some point?

She does! He goes to Spirits and Stuff to pick up Mob for some reason and is immediately dazed by Teruhashi's beauty. Once the initial reaction wears off, his first thought is that Reigen kidnapped a woman to work for him.

She introduces herself and insults Reigen in the same sentence. The two immediately begin bickering leaving Ritsu to weigh the possible theory that this is Reigen secret love child who he had with a woman that was much better than him in every way possible.

He leaves and attempts to gather evidence to prove one of the two theories. He only finds out what her actual relation to him is after the 7th division infiltration arc.

3. Will Saiki meet our favorite conman? What would their interactions be like??

Alright so imagine Ritsu and Reigen's relationship. Except Saiki can't be openly hostile to Reigen because he's too naturally polite and he can't use his powers to fuck with him because it'd fuck with Kokomi by extension and that'd be too bothersome (he really doesn't wanna upset her).

But Saiki doesn't trust this man a fucking bit. Even if he mentally gives our favorite con-man points for punching Makoto, literally anyone with a brain would do that if the opportunity arose.

It isn't until he hears Reigen's famous speech on how psychic powers don't make someone special, that he begins to let himself see parts of Reigen that aren't skewed with distrust.

He still won't let himself fully trust Reigen, but he respects Kokomi's decision to do so. He owes Teruhashi that at least.

-

EEEEE! THANK YOU FOR THE COMPLIMENTS!! Also thank you for the attention as well, I thrive off people acknowledging me.

[espers-n-espurrs]

OFFSCREEN POST

THE END OF THE MYSTERY NEIGHBOR ARC & UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES

Occurred On: 7/31/2024

Never before had anyone seen the young girl so very visibly furious, with fists clenched at her sides and lips curled into a sharp frown. If looks could kill, then she would have made a wasteland of Mesagoza by now.

Twelve hours. That’s how long they held her there. Twelve hours of her time wasted on diagnostic tests that yielded no results and only served to stump the doctors more. Nothing was gained in the twelve hours under hospital care. But you know what was lost? 

Time. Precious time. 

The blue-haired girl scowled as she turned the knob. What the doctors and nurses would never find was that there were no underlying medical issues behind the event. There was no disease, there were no conditions, there was no head trauma or anything of the sort. 

This was not a medical anomaly.

This was the result of a psychic attack.

Someone in this school tried to kill her.

She flung her door open. The most obvious suspect here would have been her idiotic brother. After all, the two of them had been arguing at that moment. But both she and her mother were quick to dismiss the theory. He was too weak for a psychic attack of that caliber, and a quick glimpse into his mind showed that he was innocent as can be. Barcelona, her Hatterene, was immediately placed under Mother’s scrutiny, but she too had nothing to do with the incident.

Which leads to the most terrifying realization of all:

Someone else in this school was psychic. Perhaps one as powerful as herself. And they’ve been hiding themselves amongst the student body, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

The girl cracked her knuckles. She closed her eyes and let the cacophony of voices filter into her mind.

She loved a good hunt.

The click of a cane echoed down the hall as another girl rounded the end of the otherwise empty corridor of the dorm wing-- being accompanied by a Maschiff in a service vest.

Esper had left the nurses office not too long ago, still feeling weak and somewhat sickly but it was at least somewhat better than what it was before where she felt as if her skull was going to rip itself in two and that her eyes were going to melt out of their sockets.

She rubbed her face as she traveled down the hall, cursing the fluorescent lights under her breath before the sound of a door opening down at the end of the corridor caught her attention.

A girl with dark blue hair was exiting the final dorm on the left side of the hall. The same side her own dorm was on. Her "mystery neighbor."

Esper blinked as her steps slowed down, getting closer and closer to her own dorm's door, unsure on whether to greet the other girl or not... Especially since the neighbor looked familiar yet she couldn't quite place why. And the girl seemed quite... angry.

Was it really hunting if the prey came to you?

At first, the blue-haired girl  hadn’t noticed the other girl approaching her. At least, not in the traditional way one would notice her. It wasn’t the clicking of the cane or the echoing footsteps that had caught her attention, no.

It was the nagging at her mind— a sudden chill creeping up every bone in her spine, like a horde of snakes slithering to her head.

Rubbing her temples, she turned to look down the hall, only to lock eyes with the stranger down the hall.

The feeling only intensified the closer she approached. Ekans rattles hissed in her brain, a warning of impending danger to come. Every fiber of her being screamed out in alarm over this one insignificant little girl. 

She’d recognized this feeling. But never before had she felt it so strongly. 

Her lips curled into a snarl.

How nice of her assailant to present herself so easily. Like a gift at her doorstep.

“You!” Without warning, the young girl snatched the other by the hair and pulled her into her room in a blur as Esper yelped— reaching her other hand to grip at her roots and slamming her head against the wall. 

The door slammed closed behind them seemingly on its own.

"FUCK—”  If Esper’s head wasn't pounding before it certainly was now as tears began to build at the corners of her eyes, the strain of the other girl's hand in her hair felt as if she were about to be scalped. Her cane clattered to the floor, having fallen out of her grip as she had been yanked into the dorm room. 

"WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING ISSUE??" Esper shouted, her hands shooting up to make a grab at the wrists of the girl who currently had her pinned to a wall.

(There was a quiet, little scratching at the door. A polite little knock if you will. The Maschiff was left outside.)

“Don’t play dumb with me!” she spat, seizing Esper’s hands and pushing her harder into the wall. The girl’s nails dug into her skin like the claws of a wretched beast. Bared teeth and wild eyes, she hissed out, “Projecting your insipid little Espurr into our brains— I should have known it was more than just a coincidence.”

"OW OW OW–" Esper winced, letting out a hiss of pain, "What are you fucking talking about????"

Is this other girl having a psychotic break????? What??????

“Enough pretending!” The girl in question pulled Esper’s head back slightly just to slam it back again. “I can sense your psionic energy, Psychic.”

"FUCKING. OW." The white haired girl grunted, taking note that her face is absolutely going to be bruised tomorrow as a dull throbbing made itself known beneath her skin.

This blue chick has got to have lost it. What the actual fuck.

"I'm not psychic–!" Esper argued with a snarl, "What the fuck makes you think I'm psychic–?!"

The girl in question let out a dark chuckle, bordering on the laugh of a villain. “Oh, Esper Hargrove, don’t you know?”

She pulled the girl by the roots of her hair and tossed her into the other wall, allowing her to be face to face with her attempted murderer. With a snap of her fingers, the girl’s limbs flew to the wall, pinned against the surface by absolutely nothing.

With a sickening grin and her hands clasped behind her back, she leaned forwards and sneered. “Psychics can’t hide from other psychics.”

Okay. Okay. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS HAPPENING.

Everything ached now as she was pinned to the wall much like a Butterfree in an Ariados' web, her eyes rapidly darting across the other girl's face. She recognized that face from the school group chat. From the argument yesterday.

Victoria.

Her assailant.

Who was psychic.

"O– Okay??" She stared at Victoria, her heart rate picking up, "So you're psychic... I'm not though–"

(There was another soft scratch at the door.)

“You literally tried to kill me with a targeted psychic attack,” Victoria deadpanned.

Esper blurted out before she could stop herself, "Oh you've actually lost it."

Victoria slammed her hand right beside the girl’s head, jabbing a finger at her chest with the other. “You’re the one who’s lost it!” she shouted back. “Did you really think you would have gotten away with such a sloppy job? Ha! You couldn’t even kill me right!”

The white haired girl just stared at her incredulously, unable to even begin to understand what the hell Victoria was talking about, "I did not try and fucking kill you?! Why would I even want to fucking kill you?!"

“That’s what I’d like to know,” she hissed. “Perhaps you’d gotten so angry over our little argument that you decided to put me in a comatose state? That’d solve your little issue, wouldn’t it?”

"Wha– Huh– Why–" Esper sputtered for a moment, a million thoughts running through her pounding head. Why would she try to kill someone over an argument? She'd like to think she's more sound of mind than that of all things. And she wouldn't even be capable of that so why does Victoria think she–?

She was tired of this.

Taking a moment to collect herself, she commanded with a sharp glare, "Put. Me. Down."

Surprisingly, Esper was dropped in an instant.

Victoria looked at her hands as if they had betrayed her. Her wide eyes darted between herself and the girl. 

“Compulsion…” she uttered quietly, furrowing her brow at her.

Esper found herself on the ground, leaning slightly against the wall and uttering a quiet, "Thank you.”

"Now, if we're done with your stupid damn accusations–" She rubbed a hand on the sore spot of her face with a grumble, glancing around the dorm as if looking for something, "Where is my cane."

Victoria slowly eyed the girl up and down, inspecting every subtle movement and reading her expression.

 After a long, silent moment, she simply lifted her arm and pointed to the corner of the entryway just by the door, where the cane lay. “Pick it up.”

"Yeah. That was the fucking plan." She scathed, moving to drag herself up into a standing position.

The other girl rushed forwards and slammed her hand against the wall directly in front of Esper’s path, blocking her from moving any closer. "Don’t move,” she barked at her. “Pick it up from right where you are.” 

Esper’s head snapped to stare Victoria in the eyes with furrowed brows, "And how the fuck do you expect me to do that? Stare at it hard enough that it'll sprout legs and come running on over?"

“Close.”

Victoria thrust her other hand out towards her kitchen. Suddenly, an empty mug burst from one of the cupboards and flew directly into the palm of her hand, which she caught without so much as a glance in its direction.

“Want it so badly that you will it in your direction.”

Okay that was cool I fucking guess.

Esper glanced from the mug in Victoria's hand and then to her cane before making eye contact with Victoria once more, "But I'm not psychic. I very clearly can't do that." She deadpanned.

“Then humor me,” Victoria scathed. 

With a roll of her eyes, Esper muttered under her breath as she turned to stare at the cane.

A moment passes. The cane does not move.

"Nothing is happening."

“You need to reach with your mind,” the other girl stated. “It is an extension of yourself.”

"You are just saying words at this point." She grumbled, staring at her mobility aide as it laid at the door. 'Reach with your mind', what the fuck does that even mean?

A moment passes. And then another. And then another. Until suddenly-- the cane twitched.

With a squint, she began to speak, "Wh–" Only to swiftly be cut off by her cane suddenly rocketing towards her, slamming directly into her face with a metallic thud that rang out through the dorm and sending her tumbling to the ground. She gripped her face, painful tears welling up in her eyes as her cane clattered to the ground next to her.

"Did–" She sputtered, her face aching too much for her to formulate her thoughts properly outside of, "Did you just– fu– fucking throw my cane at me???"

Victoria hadn’t even flinched. “No. You threw it at yourself. Good job, by the way.”

"And I'm just--" Esper slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, squinting at Victoria as she held her head, "Meant to take that at face value? I'm– I'm just meant to trust your word?? How do I know you're not trying to gaslight me so you don't have to admit you were wrong–?"

The other girl rubbed the bridge of her nose with a deeply annoyed sigh. “Have there ever been… any occurrences in your life of the inexplicable variety? Events of which you could not explain by any logical means?”

The girl on the floor didn’t speak for a moment. "...Possibly."

“Items moving of their own will, objects appearing exactly when you need them, knowing information you realistically should not know?”

Esper sat there quietly for a moment, clearly in thought, before quietly muttering, "Sometimes."

No. No. This is all bullshit. It has to be.

Victoria shook her head, “I’m afraid it’s not, Hargrove.”

A deep sense of dread seeped into her bones as she felt her blood pumping in her veins, "Okay. Okay. Fine. I'll humor you. If this isn't bullshit then why would it've taken me so long to learn about this? None of my family are psychic, isn't that meant to be genetic or something?"

There was a long pause as the young girl standing above her quietly scanned her face, searching for something in her eyes.

Her hardened expression seemed to relax ever so slightly. Just for a moment.

“You really are all alone in this, aren’t you?”

"I–" The girl’s voice faltered for a moment, glancing away as she continued, "I guess I am. If this is all real. Then yeah. Yeah I am."

Victoria squeezed her eyes shut with another deep sigh. “How do you feel your parents would react if you told them?”

A spike of anxiety shot through Esper, "I... I don't... know about my Mum. She never talks about any of this stuff or her opinions on it... But my Da..."

She trailed off, fiddling with the end of her braid in her hands before slowly continuing, "My Da has voiced his... displeasure... about Psychics and such things in that vein.... I don't think it'd go well...."

The other girl rubbed the bridge of her nose between her fingers, displeased. “So essentially, your options for safe council on the matter are extremely limited.”

"...I'd say so, yeah." Esper mumbled.

(There was yet another scratch at the door.)

Esper glanced towards it, "Uh. Can you let my service Pokemon in...? She was just kinda left... out there...."

Victoria glanced at the door for a moment, which then gently opened on its own to reveal the most polite looking Maschiff standing outside.

The Maschiff did not wait to be beckoned in, instead immediately stepping inside and trotting over to her handler with utmost haste and gently placing her head upon Esper's leg. The girl seemed to relax ever so slightly, taking to quietly petting the Pokemon for a moment.

The blue-haired girl turned back to Esper on the floor. “So you… genuinely had no clue you were psychic.” She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “For fourteen years.”

Esper turned her gaze up towards the heiress, "If I had known we wouldn't be in this situation now would w–WAIT I PUT YOU INTO A COMA????"

The canine Pokemon simply blinked at her handler's sudden uptick in anxiety, shoving her nose under the girl's hand to prompt her to keep petting.

“You shut off all non-vital neural functionality in my brain,” Victoria responded matter-of-factly. “Which is why I am questioning you over it, because that is an incredibly difficult and highly advanced thing to do.”

She stared at Victoria in silent horror for several seconds before sputtering out, "I'm sorry??? Both– Both in the sense of WHAT and also in the sense of I am so sorry I did that..."

She did that?? How did she do that??? What???? How?????

Esper felt sick. Not the same kind of sick as yesterday after the argument when she had suddenly gotten the bloody nose like she always does when she's highly stressed like when her window shattered and apparently so did Victoria's from what she heard–

Something clicked.

"The nosebleeds."

The other girl blanked. “What about them?”

"I– I get nosebleeds when I'm really stressed and I typically feel really tired and sick after– I felt like that yesterday shortly after the argument in the group chat," Esper rambled, waving her free hand around as she spoke, "I felt like that after the storm that knocked out the power– well not as sick as yesterday or today– but the nosebleed I got that time was shortly after my window shattered... I... don't think the storm shattered my window."

“Hm.” Victoria tapped her foot and raised an eyebrow. Her tone of voice was ever so slightly lighter than before. “So you’re the one I should demand financial compensation from for my shattered window.”

"I don't think I can– uh–," Esper gave a nervous smile as she spoke, "Do you take food as compensation...?"

“I believe that would be culinary compensation, not financial.” With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the topic and continued, “That aside, this is clearly indicative of a much larger issue at hand: ticking time bomb that you are at the moment, you cannot be left running around without some degree of psychic training.”

Ticking... time bomb....?

"Training?" She blinked, tilting her head as she thought it over. She supposed it made sense seeing as what she's done so far by accident. Getting it under control would be important...

"That makes sense, yeah..."

“It may also be in our best interest to notify my brother, since he can also assist you in my absence. Though regardless, I will have to tell my family about you, seeing as you did put me into a coma.” Seeing Esper’s expression, she quickly added, “I will explain your situation to them and they will sympathize. They can assist with your training and provide mentorship where I cannot. So, in truth, it’s a matter of whether you want to be the one to tell my brother, or shall I?”

Esper let out a breath as she thought it over, steadily petting her Maschiff as she thought it over.

"Can… can you tell him..." She muttered, "I don't think I can really do it myself yet. I don't think I'm ready."

“Of course,” Victoria nodded. With a tilt of her head, she noted, “You seem to be taking all of this remarkably well.”

"It's either I pretend to be okay right now and cry in my dorm later or cry right now in front of you and I don't think either of us are comfortable about that second option."

“Good call. Please do so quietly when you get to your dorm.”

"Am I going to get another note if I cry too loud?"

Victoria hummed in response. “I’ll do you one better.” Hargrove’s phone levitated into her hand, which she swiftly unlocked and input something into it. She handed it back to her and said, “I’ll send you a message.”

Esper blinked down at her phone, "Oh. Yeah, I think that'll work a bit better than you having to send something via messenger Pidove."

Scene End.

Victoria belongs to @jaimemes !

[vampzzz64]

Mob is most likely a blood player because of how important the people in his life are to him. He represses his emotions and psychic abilities because he is afraid of hurting Ritsu again and because Tsubomi became bored of him. No matter what he always thinks of others before himself, so much so that he literally will not fight back. Only when he is in his ??? does he become the aggressor. Even then he struggles against himself and begs those around him to hurt him so that he can stop hurting them. He is extremely trusting and caring. He sees the good in those around him and actively tries to release that goodness. During his fight with Teru he does not fight back and gives Teru advice. He tries to help Teru before he helps himself. He guides and he leads. He gives his abilities to Reigen briefly because of how much he respects, trusts, and believes in his master. He would do anything to protect the people he loves. Shigeo is selfless. He would sooner let himself bleed than anyone else.

Similarly to Roxy, a rogue, he harnesses his aspect and gives it to others. However, similarly to John, an heir, he has immense power that he gains through his aspect. Shigeo puts his all into remaining passive and in a sense “good”, and in extension into his aspect. Shigeo is a blood player that embodies his aspect.

Ritsu is a void player because of how often he is overlooked and perceives himself to be less than Shigeo. No matter how grand his own achievements are, they’re nothing compared to what Shigeo can do. He is constantly mistaken for his much stronger brother. He thinks he exists only as mob’s underwhelming little brother. Ritsu somewhat resents Shigeo for having psychic abilities when he doesn’t. He wants the one thing he can’t have more than anything in the world. He hates the emptiness that is his life. He tries to fill the void by studying, playing in sports, joining the student council, etc. He’s like a black hole in that way, mindlessly consuming but never able to be satisfied.

Similarly to Eridan, a prince, Ritsu aims to destroy his aspect with a deep hatred towards it. Once he unlocks his psychic powers, he immediately gets a massive ego. Being self centered is seen in princes. Both Dirk and Eridan think the entire world revolves around them, albeit in different ways. Ritsu is a destroyer class and Mob is a passive class. They couldn’t be further apart from one another. Throughout his arc, Ritsu realizes that he is no better than anyone else because of what he has. He learns to accept being “ordinary”. He moves from despising his aspect to learning to accept it. Initially a destroyer, he ends a “normal” boy. (I say “normal” because he’s literally an esper,,,). Ritsu is a void player that seeks to destroy his aspect.

[codenamesazanka]

opinion on how deku is being thrown into shigaraki’s memories ?

I've said it before, but to sum it up: Lazy writing. Instead of making Deku work or even talk to discover what happened, it's being handed to him.

Also backing what @itsnothingofinterest said in this post:

I worry this could go beyond just “viewing” memories. It’s also possible Deku could start influencing Shigaraki’s recollection of events to make him more agreeable (for example, I saw someone suggest this could end with Deku saving Tenko from under the bridge instead of AFO) and I wouldn’t be a fan of that. Didn’t like when 2 out of 3 of our last League conflicts relied on mentally impairing them & I wouldn’t like it any more if it was how Deku resolved the conflict here.

But fine, whatever. He'll see the memories. He'll learn Shigaraki's damage. It's what he wanted; it's what he needs.

Thanks for the ask!

I call this lazy writing because

What we should’ve had was Deku and the UA students having to work and investigate and just talk and truly come to understand the Villains and why they are the way they are, the root causes and the bad days where they received no helped and all the tiny things that built up and led to the breaking point.

For Deku specifically, we spent all of Edgy Deku arc literally doing fuck all about ‘learn what makes Shigaraki tick deep down’ (Chapter 308), which is such a waste of an opportunity to explore—anything at all. Being cold and hungry and tired and alone, being feared and rumored to be a monster - would that make Deku reflect on a villain’s circumstances? lmao. Did he confront All Might and Gran Torino about the Shimura family, which might offer a clue? lmao. Did he request to talk to Mr. Compress, League Member and Shigaraki's Ally? lmao. The story skips over anything that might mean real effort to learn about Shigaraki, or would cause reflection.

What are we left with for Deku to discover why Shigaraki seems to be in pain? Forcing a Memory Transfer. Practically the only option left.

I know people will argue that that’s just how OFA/AFO works, it has always been hinted at, it's a good thing that Deku will finally understand what Shigaraki has been through. But it feels so unearned. He wants to save Shigaraki, he wants to learn about Shigaraki -> he doesn't do any work that contributes to this, instead he happens upon it via surprise psychic link.

If I was being generous, I might allow that he’s being rewarded on having faith in Shigaraki’s inner goodness… but that also isn't working because his faith has never been seriously challenged, unless you count Nana and Gran Torino giving their one (1) doomerism line and Shigaraki provoking him. There was Bakugou's 'death' that ShigAFO caused... but Mirio was able to immediately calm Deku down and then Bakugou came back alive before Deku began trying to pry open the lid so. net zero loss/gain there.

(I also feel like, if the memories should be handed to him like this, it should've been done earlier, and turned into an extra burden of a different sort? Deku's got all these memories, this sympathy—but everyone around him tells him, so what? Shigaraki has suffered, but so have other people. He has suffered, but now he creates suffering. His memories are irrelevant to the fact that he needs to be defeated; his memories will be useful in rebuilding society after the war, but Shigaraki himself is beyond saving. And Deku should've had to reckon with that.)

And if it's not lazy writing—

Shigaraki said those words about "the destruction of everything stemming from that house" in Chapter 379. It is now 416. The Shigaraki-Deku fight doesn't start properly until 410, fine—but through the past six chapters, Deku literally had to be psychically-physically in front of the damn house in order to reflect on Shigaraki's words.

This is because Deku refuses to talk and have a proper conversation with Shigaraki. Ever since the end of Jaku, Deku gets one glimpse of the Crying Child and knows Something Is Wrong, but because Shigaraki declines to just explain the rest of it to him, Deku doesn't ask.

(If you look at his previous 'saves', we can see no wonder - Deku gets the tragic backstories told to him. Todoroki straight up just reveals his family’s dark secret. Mandalay was able to explain what Kouta’s issue was, literally telling Deku ‘he’s not being raised normally, he’s an orphan with dead hero parents’. The full extent of Eri’s abuse is revealed via official Hero investigation and deductions about Overhaul’s operations - which I like best because it flowed more naturally, with the horror element dawning on the characters. Deku learns not from Hawks about the crimes of the HPSC, it's only because Nagant herself exposed it to him. The Aoyama reveal is largely by Hagakure/accident/carelessness on his parents’ part.

I think Gentle is the only guy he sympathize with without knowing the full extent of his backstory?)

Does Deku, now unable to "ignore what he saw," ask Shigaraki "Hey, what do you mean by 'that house'?" Does he actually ask out loud, "Shigaraki! Why can't you let go of that lonely past?" Does he ever go, "Hey, I saw you and you were so sad. Why? And what happened to that dog?"

No. Deku makes statements about saving Shigaraki, about wanting to save that Crying Child, about how Shigaraki is a person, but all those are cool one-liners, and they feel barely even directed at Shigaraki himself.

Remember how in Chapter 360, Mirio asks ShigAFO why he destroys, and he gets an answer? Remember how Mirio engaged with ShigAFO, and that led to Tenko surfacing to angrily retort he does have friends? Asking questions has proven to have an effect!

And you can't say "Shigaraki is refusing to open up," when Shigaraki has been so chatty. You also can't just dismiss this by theoretically saying "Shigaraki would never open up, it's pointless to try, it's a guaranteed failure," when Deku literally hasn't tried, cross it off the list before moving on. Deku is just not engaging with the guy in front of him, but rather just looking for the Crying Child, and at best that's him being the world's most incurious guy, and at worst being a condescending ass.

[gaykarstaagforever]

This 1984 Teen Titans comic was the exciting conclusion to a multi-part story where they were battling something called H.I.V.E. This was a cult of people in purple druid robes who led an international network of mercenaries and assassins, who lived in an underwater dome and were all named numbers. I realize that sounds cool, but it absolutely isn't.

They were started / led by some guy, but then he married a 22-year-old blonde woman who murdered him and declared herself the leader. And the rest of them - this band of amoral assassins - just let this happen, even as she declared "none of you matters but me," and killed them every time they "failed" her.

This is in the past tense, because as soon as Nightwing and Wonder Girl go down there to punch these idiots, the blonde woman electrocuted all of her remaining people, then committed suicide. She also built a giant red missile and shot it at Atlantis, but Aqualad grabbed onto it and turned it off.

The H.I.V.E. master plan was to 1) poison all the world's oceans, 2) ???, 3) PROFIT, so it seemed like maybe that plan was going to thwart itself, really. They only seemed to have robot guns and tentacles exclusively inside their base, and also an army of loyal commandos in purple gimp outfits. But none of these could operate or breathe underwater. And all of their assassins had already failed to kill the Teen Titans. Which, no offense, but probably should haven been their first indication that they really weren't ready for primetime.

I don't know for sure who was on the Titan team at this exact point, but I DO know that Cyborg and Beast Boy (aka Changeling at this point, because ugh) don't even go on this mission. They stay back at wherever-it-is-they-live so Beast Boy can have an emotional break-down over his ex-girlfriend (Terra, some girl with floating-rock powers and a bad costume) turning evil, while Cyborg yells at him. Then a woman with pink hair wanders in.

She tells Beast Boy he's hot, and this makes Gar feel better enough to agree to not turn into a green tiger and murder people. Which was his actual plan before she showed up.

Starfire goes on the mission. This happens to her:

...Aren't they all supposed to be like 16 or 17? What are we doing here, gentlemen?

There is also a guy on the team named Jericho, who has muttonchops, dresses like every "cool" bard in every DnD campaign ever, can't talk, and can do whatever arbitrary psychic thing the plot suddenly demands of him. I had to look him up because so does everyone else.

He is apparently the son of Deathstroke, who became mute when someone after Deathstroke slashed his voicebox. His psychic powers are a result of it doesn't matter. No they don't explain why he looks like THIS in 1984:

Aqualad is also here. With his girlfriend Tula, who is Aquagirl. Who is an Atlantean cave-woman, or something...? She doesn't do much besides yell his name, and her presence in no way stops him from talking about how hot but insane Starfire is. To Nightwing. Who seems fine with this.

Dick and Wonder Girl are both here to punch and yell exposition, and they are immediately out of punches! Dick spends a quarter of the comic in a tube trying to turn off robots, which he fails to do? Or then kind of does? I've read it twice now and I'm not sure even Marv Wolfman knew what he had going on here.

Raven turns into a black void to save the Titans from drowning at the beginning of the comic. After they get out to safety, she says she's used too much power to help anymore and Poochie's on out of there.

I mean, they DO have Wonder Girl, kicking people and talking about her upcoming marriage. Who needs the incredibly powerful witch? It's fine. And easier to draw!

The art is George Perez, so it looks great, even if all these teenagers look like sexy 30-year-old adults, and half of them spend most of the comic not doing anything. The costumes are technically awful but in that 80s way that is just wonderful now. But as a conclusion to some kind of story arc, this is as mid as mid gets. There is exactly one cool splash-page battle, and it means exactly nothing.

This comic might be worth $3.50 now. It was 75 cents when it came out.

...This implies we in 2024 value this slightly more than anyone did in 1984.

I don't think that's true.

[inkblackorchid]

I was gonna try to keep my mouth shut, but I can't. I just can't. I have to go on another Aki rant because I feel like I'm going to explode. It's about this scene:

This drives me insane and I'm putting this under a readmore. Expect incoherent screaming, all ye who enter here.

Ok. Ok. I have so many issues with this scene. Specifically, with the way it develops later, when Aki's busy trying to figure out how to save a child from being swept up by a storm:

And I just. Look, I think the fact that I already wrote a fic that basically completely turns Aki's reaction here on its head should basically tell you everything. But! But. Allow me to defend why I think this whole scene is one big heap of horseshit, with a bit of analysis of canon and actual evidence to back up my claims and shit.

The thing is, I have seen people give this scene a charitable read. I've seen people be happy for Aki to enjoy freedom from the psychic powers that have given her so much trouble in her life. And the thing is, if this were season one or season two Aki, I would be completely on board with that take. Unfortunately, this scene is preceded by the pre-WRGP arc. But more on that below.

Moreover, I can make an educated guess about what they were going for here (in terms of messaging, because this is a kids' show at the end of the day and messaging is something you have to be properly concerned with when it comes to these). I can imagine it running somewhere along the lines of "you don't need special powers to be a hero". Or even "you can grow past the hurt and/or the mistakes in your life and still become a good person or even a hero". And really, I wish I could believe that take. It's just. The writing simply doesn't add up. I wish it did, but it doesn't.

This is where we get back to the pre-WRGP arc. And not just that, actually, but the timeskip between the dark signers and pre-WRGP arc, too. Because the thing is, the last time we have seen Aki in anguish about her powers on-screen by the time the episodes above (108-109) arrive was during the DS arc, during the duel with her father, which happened during episodes 40-41. 40. to. 41. This was over sixty episodes ago at this point. And after that, that's it. As far as the DS arc is concerned, Aki's conflict about her powers is resolved the second she controls them for the first time when her father tries to interfere in her second duel against Yusei.

(Yeah, remember this moment? That was literally the last time we saw Aki in conflict with her powers.)

And I know some people would argue "but what about the dark signer duel with Misty?". And yes, I get it. Misty does accuse her of having murdered her brother with her powers and Aki gets incredibly (understandably) upset about it. But the thing is, we know that's fake, and during the duel, Aki knows that, too. She goes as far as insisting that there were no casualties at the duel where Misty thinks Toby died.

(Yes, I have screenshot proof for literally every dumb little thing in this show, why do you ask?)

It's only after Misty keeps pushing and backing her into a corner during their duel (and literally gaslighting her) that she begins to believe Misty's version of the events. Which is why this doesn't "count" as Aki being in conflict with her powers the way her second duel with Yusei does. At least not to me, feel free to debate me over this if you wanna.

Okay, but what am I driving at here? Fair question. Let me hop back to after the dark signers' defeat.

So, we know there's a half-year timeskip between the DS and the pre-WRGP arc (which was allegedly enough for NDC to connect the city and Satellite, deal with all the social issues that entailed, and also build a giant duel network, which I will never believe but I digress). Unfortunately, what exactly our main characters did during that timeskip is never addressed, it's just kind of there to segway immediately into the WRGP setup. So the only thing we can do is guess at what they got up to based on where they are as people by the time we get back to them during the start of the pre-WRGP arc. So where's Aki at when we see her again after the dark signers' defeat then?

Oh, she's attending duel academy again now! That's nice. So that probably means the student body isn't scared shitless of her anymore and she's not being ostracised anymore.

Wow, she's an exceptional student! That means she must be a really good duellist. So she got the hang of her powers, then?

...Ah.

Do you start to see my problem? Past the DS arc, we are not being given any indication that Aki is still struggling with her powers or still resents them or herself like she used to. You could be forgiven for thinking that she's healed in the meantime. She's fine. She has accepted herself and can now use her powers safely. Which makes her later claiming "she no longer needs that cursed power" a bit... hmmm. And another thing. The fact that she refers to it as "cursed" rubs me the wrong way. After the defeat of the dark signers, she literally never does that even a single time before the moment in the hospital during the storm. (I'd post all the screenshots to prove it here but for one, tumblr doesn't allow it, and for two, I hope you'll believe I did my due diligence without it.)

And it just irks me. If the powers are still a "curse" to Aki by episodes 108-109, why give us the moment above?

And why give us this moment, where she saves Sherry, Yusei, and herself with those powers?

And why give us this moment, where she literally uses her powers at a public event to protect people, and is evidently not cussed out as a witch for it? Neither of these moments do anything to indicate that Aki still hates her powers. They don't indicate that she sees them as a "beast of burden" or necessary evil of a sort, either. On the contrary, I don't think it would be too out there to claim all these moments make her look rather badass. Like a small celebration of "hey, now she can finally use these powers for cool and not evil things!".

Yet, somehow, we still end up with episodes 108-109, where the writers expect the audience to buy that Aki was secretly still hoping she might eventually be rid of these powers after all. And maybe this would be easier to swallow if there weren't also the fact that they later literally go back on it to add to this confusing mess. Because the thing is, we all know the finale scene after the three-way duel with Sherry where Aki protects them with her powers (which have suddenly reappeared, aha!) again and also finds out she can use these powers to heal. So not only is the framing of Aki suddenly being glad to have lost her powers extremely weird, it's also temporary anyway!

So my question is. What was the point. What was the point of all this if the writers ended up going back on it anyway? Because I want to believe there's a reasonable, charitable explanation that also makes sense with what they show us in terms of Aki's characterisation past the DS arc, but if there is, I cannot for the life of me find it. If anything, this whole thing feels like it completely contradicts itself.

First, they tie up Aki's conflict with her powers with a neat bow after she manages not to hurt her father anymore. Then, they launch into the pre-WRGP arc and blatantly tell us that she can now control them. No questions asked. Indisputable fact, and we get nothing that contradicts that, either. Then, we get a bunch of setup showing her using her powers, too, and what's more, we get other significant players in the cast taking notice of it, too, as though it might become relevant. Because Sherry isn't the only one who gets curious about Aki's powers.

(I will never understand how Placido's hood works together with his horn-thingies and have stopped trying at this point.)

The literal, central antagonists of season 3-4 also take notice of it. Like that means something. Like it'll come up again later. But, well. We know it doesn't.

Instead, she suddenly loses her powers out of nowhere (and we are never given a reason for it, either, which does nothing to make this writing decision seem anymore understandable). And, look. The thing that upsets me most about this isn't even the fact that it feels a little inconsistent with Aki's character post DS arc. If that were the only problem, I could still suspend my disbelief far enough to go along with the idea that she secretly still hated her powers quietly in the background and wanted them gone anyway. What really pisses me off is that it reeks of zero setup and knee-jerk decisions in the writing room ten miles against the wind. If they wanted us to believe Aki's glad to be rid of her powers, why give absolutely no indication that she's at odds with them past episode 41 anymore? Why let her state outright that she can now control them? Why show her on several occasions using them to her own and other people's benefit, the way a hero would? And if her powers are supposed to vanish and it's supposed to make sense, why is there no reason for it? They already used cyborg timetravel at that point, they could have literally come up with any nonsense related to that and it would have probably made at least more sense than just letting her powers vanish for no reason at all. Also, if the message behind all this is supposed to be either of the things I mentioned way above—if the idea the audience is supposed to be getting is either "you don't need special powers to be a hero" or "your past and/or your mistakes don't define you and you can heal and grow past them"—why reintroduce the powers, which, in this reading, would be a symbol of Aki's pain, of her mistakes and her dreaded past, at the very end, during the finale, then? It just doesn't add up, and it frustrates me to no end.

The writers wanted to make the moment Aki realises she can help people (well, one person, a child) without her powers seem triumphant so bad, but every time I watch it, it just completely falls flat for me. This isn't a triumph, this is a hot mess of bad writing decisions. All I'm saying is, if they wanted me to buy that Aki would be happy about losing her powers here, they were missing a hefty amount of setup and also shouldn't actually have given them back to her during the finale (no, not even as healing powers).

Moreover... I'll freely admit I also have a personal problem with this scene. I've seen this show and these episodes several times by now, and during my last rewatch and my current one, something about this scene has been creeping up on me, and I think I've figured out what that is now. So I talked about the possible message behind this scene already, and the reading I've given so far was fairly forgiving. But the thing is, there is another reading that has occurred to me that I can't unsee anymore. As much as you could make a valid case that this scene is trying to say that people don't need to be special to be heroes and save others, that past mistakes don't define us, and yadda yadda, there's also a much, much less pleasant way to interpret this scene: "You're better off if you don't stand out." And I'll freely admit, this interpretation probably occurs to me specifically because I was considered a "weird kid" at school, singled out by bullies, and avoided by "popular" kids (take a wild guess why I relate to Aki so much!). And over the years, you learn to downplay that "weirdness" because you become desperate to be accepted by someone, anyone. And given everything the show gives us about Aki's relationship with her powers, it'd make sense that this idea would be buried somewhere in her head, too. It's better not to stand out. Don't be weird. Sand down your edges so there's no chance people could get upset about them. You're better off being whatever everyone else considers "normal" than being whoever you are. It doesn't matter if this is a part of who you are, just become someone else. Someone who's easier to accept. Who's easier to love. You don't need your "weirdness".

You don't need this cursed power.

You know, the "cursed power" that Aki had from the beginning of the show, that was a part of her for years, and that the show didn't give any indication could vanish. The power that we were led to believe would just be there forever, because it was simply a part of Aki, not a conscious thing she (or the narrative) could choose. The power that we were, for all intents and purposes, led to believe she had mastered and maybe even accepted along the way. But sure, let's get rid of that. It's better if she's """normal""". And more convenient for the writers, too! After all, if she doesn't have powers anymore, they can't cause plotholes (of which the WRGP already has enough) and can't possibly give Aki any more badass moments, which makes it that much easier to sideline her. And let's package this weird, shittily set-up moment in a message about how she's better off without her powers anyway. She's happy! It makes complete sense that she's happy. She's finally normal like everyone else. Ignore the way people who might relate to the character could possibly interpret this moment differently. And ignore how none of the writing surrounding this moment makes sense.

...Sigh.

Okay, I think I've let off enough steam. I just. Yeah. I'm sorry, but I cannot for the life of me view this scene in a favourable way and watching it today made me want to chew glass tbh. My only solace is that they went back on this trainwreck writing decision in the finale. Which, really, just makes this whole mess really, really pointless, doesn't it?

For anyone who stuck around this long, thanks for reading. Sorry if this got extra-rant-y. Idk man, I just think “it’s worth the effort to accept yourself as you are, even with all the bits you might not like at first” would have been a better message than whatever this turned out to be.

[garfeildfanpage]

What is your opinion on teru minamoto and how he is as a character :3 I find him and akane’s (boy) interactions very interesting tbh

Woah an ask! And as of the recent chapter(s) I think they help confirm a few things I had already thought, but I’d love to go in depth!

Overall, Teru is probably my favorite. He’s different from the rest of the cast in the sense that he’s not a “hero” nor a “villain”. To me he, Akane, and Aoi all sit right in the gray moral area rather than characters like Kou, Nene, and the members of the broadcasting club, who play the direct roles of protag and antag. But he’s always held my attention over any of the other characters because everything around him is just as morally gray, from childhood to now his values never changed as his view on the world is just as strict, though with a few exceptions (which are pretty important).

His interactions with other characters show his views in the most obvious way. He acts charming and aloof around Nene, but he’s never really paying direct attention to her (ex: the mokke of the dead arc and the current trial arc).

When with Kou his actual softer side is shown a little bit more, acting as normal as he possibly can be; save for the times when Kou goes against Teru’s moral code (Young exorcist, Bound for the far-shore) and he goes on the defensive, when Kou’s view on supernaturals rival his he immediately goes from being on his side to disregarding him and acting on his own judgment full throttle. Which shows how he ignores their differences instead of actually addressing them, since he wants Kou to not only NOT be an exorcist but also to not get in his way. And to him pretending Kou isn’t doing exactly what he doesn’t want him to do, keeps the positive dynamic alive and well in his mind.

Now, Akane specifically is where it gets a bit confusing. I’ll take it chapter by chapter (or arc by arc whatever)

Clock-Keeper (technically the chapter after but I’m not super technical about this and it’s close enough)

Where it gets silly! Their dynamic of not only Spirit v Human but also President and Vice-President is established. Teru’s bias towards Akane compared to other supernaturals is from the beginning pretty obvious (he didn’t kill him so that’s a good start) while he isn’t exactly nice to him, he does value Akane in some way or another. It also shows that Teru knows a lot more than he lets on, and that he doesn’t tell people what he does either (which foreshadows some stuff later) also the glasses stuff is kinda tease-y flirty if you ignore the getting attacked by mokke part. What can I say he’s just so charming!!!

(Finals)

Where the care is more obvious. Showing off the more playful side of their dynamic, along with Akane’s view on Teru, which as of now isn’t very positive. At the end, Teru asks Akane for a favor, showing again that he’s psychic or something. But his cruelty here can mostly be seen as him making sure he gets Akane’s help, so the immoral part of it is debatable, he just seems to go about things the wrong way most of the time. could also be seen as him giving an insensitive to Akane to help up his grades for the final, since his grades for the previous semester are comparatively not as good.

Severance

Oh great heavens. Teru’s continued disregard of other peoples values comes to a head here, where this time he’s shown how the person feels when not told important information. But I understand why he did it. If he had told Akane that Aoi wouldn’t have returned to the near-shore, he wouldn’t have returned either, and there’s no way Teru could’ve dragged him out. But would that have been an issue? If Akane was left in the boundary? He could’ve died, he was kindof already doing that anyway, but was that the reason? Or did Teru do it out of selfishness? Did he want Akane to stay? Maybe he wanted to kick some sense into him, maybe he just didn’t want him to leave? Could be a lot of things, Teru isn’t dumb, and typically he’s pretty rational, but he never said why so everything is always up for interpretation.

Day-Off

To regain lost trust. Hanging out, it isn’t obvious why exactly Teru wanted Nene and Akane to tag along, maybe he and his apparent prophetic mind decided it would be the best course of action to do so, or maybe he just wanted a girls day or something. Akane seems to have gotten over his anger at Teru (possibly due to off-screen conversations cause that’s convenient) but when Teru tells him that Aoi isn’t dead, a little bit of trust in Teru’s judgment is recovered. Maybe he had the whole thing planned out from the beginning who knows he seems to suck at being overt. Akane interrogates Teru about the severance and gets all up in his face. And then the “I like Akane-San” happens and stuff gets confusing again.

Red house

I’m starting to think he doesn’t actually like Aoi. Teru learns to complain for basically the first time! At least in front of Akane. It’s obvious Teru’s trust towards Akane didn’t falter the way it did for Akane, in fact in some way Teru put more of himself out for Akane because of the severance. He brings up the dreaded Akane & Aoi chapter, and remarks about it in a really…strange way. Not upset but more bitter, really. But it also seems that Akane’s view on Teru has improved as well, having Teru go from a nightmarish demon stealing Aoi away from him, to a seemingly doting husband to her, what does this mean? Something gay probably. But nonetheless it seems that Teru wants Aoi back as well, but for what reason specifically? Other than just the general “unjust death caused by some undead demi-god 10 year old”, he wants Aoi back for some “dream”. Or is he just bluffing to tease Akane? I don’t know, dissecting a characters motives is hard when he isn’t nearly fleshed out enough to infer things with any kind of confidence. But overall they end on better terms than the severance started with.

Bound for the far-shore

Back to normal-ish. Teru’s fight with Kou is the main catch of these chapters for him, but his back-and-forth with Akane is fun too. It’s playful, it’s sweet, and it’s also nice to see them show trust towards one another!

School festival / Omen

A subversion of the viewer’s beliefs that Teru would go back to tormenting Akane but in actuality he protects him from a threat and makes a weirdly flirty face at him?? I love literature! Anyway I love their interactions here, it’s fun yet simple! I really hope nothing bad happens right after!

Trial of the Clock-Keepers

Ok gonna be honest this chapter is interesting but dear god is the pacing so slow I’m kindof losing interest. But nonetheless! Divorce. It’s a pretty obvious parallel to the severance; in the sense that Akane blindsights Teru, Teru tries to fuck his shit up, and is then forcibly stopped and dragged somewhere else. And though it’s played off as comical, it’s not silly to assume that this is, just like the severance, another reset of trust. I mean Teru does dick while Akane gets his shit rocked (not like he can actually do anything to be fair). but even so he still shows the smallest bit of concern, concern about why they aren’t actually fighting back in any significant way, even though they’re all well capable of doing so. But since the arc is still ongoing, that’s about where by opinions end.

Overall, I love Teru! And I love his dynamic with Akane! Sorry this is like, really long I’ve been waiting for an excuse to talk about this, so thanks for the ask!!1!1!…,ninja out

[the-gordianknot117]

About Acquaintances and Human Bonds.

In this post I want to take a look at the “I’m just an acquaintance” moment and examine what significance this line holds in the context of the Esper Sisters arc, its themes and all the characters involved.

This post only takes into account the webcomic version of the arc.

Disclaimer: this is my interpretation of the scene, the characters and the series in general given the current released material. Future updates can always change the meaning behind this moment and add further context to it, thus proving me completely wrong. By the way, I do not ship anyone in the series (more power to those who do, however) and none of what follows implies romance in any way.

First of all, before examining the scene, we have to take into account the arc it takes place in and what was revealed prior to Sataima’s line.

The “Esper Sisters” is an arc entirely centered on the characters of Fubuki and Tatsumaki, whose relationship, already soured by a lifetime of trauma, estrangement and abuse, reaches its dramatic nadir in the confrontation that follows the events of the MA arc. For these reasons, the arc explores the backstories of both characters by featuring flashbacks set in the years of their childhood. In Fubuki’s case, this section of the story contains a crucial and essential episode from Fubuki’s troubled childhood days (Chapter 99: 1, 2, 3 and 4), where it’s explained why Fubuki grew up the way she did, what relationships (or lack thereof) Fubuki had during her growth, and what role her sister and the outside world played in her life (e.g., ”If they bully you, you need to bully them back”, mirrored by Blast’s advice to Tatsumaki). It's not an exaggeration to say that without this fundamental flashback, Fubuki’s character would utterly fall apart and cease to make sense - even the reason why Saitama’s line cuts deep would also fall flat without all the information provided beforehand by the story, as we will see: this memory from Fubuki’s past and everything surrounding it is the keystone holding together the entire narrative of the character and one of the two pillars of the Esper Sisters arc (the other being the Tatsumaki one).

If the flashback alone wasn’t clear enough, in the page that immediately follows, Fubuki explicitly states, with a smug Tatsumaki complementing her words, how she grew up with the only, terrifying company of an oppressive older sibling because no one else dared to approach her with Tatsumaki looming around. This image of Fubuki’s childhood, coupled with the high school flashback from the MA arc (I covered this topic in much more detail here, among other things), paints a rather lonely and gloomy picture of Fubuki’s backstory, a past characterized by a complete lack of significant relationships or personal bonds, aside from her sister Tatsumaki, who controlled Fubuki for most of her life (as stated by the S-Class psychic herself; Chapter 100) and whose shackles are still in place in the present, only slightly loosened but ready to tighten at any given moment (the Esper Sisters arc is a demonstration of this, I wrote a post about it). This isolated and sheltered background made Fubuki long for what was totally absent in her life, human contact, but, given the lack of social experiences and the isolation she suffered from the outside world, she grew up ignoring how to form relationships and with no idea of what a normal relationship looks like, something worsened tenfold by the fact that her only parental figure, the one responsible for her isolation, was also a traumatized and unstable person who rejected human connections and actively encouraged Fubuki to embrace her powers and use strength against others; additionally, in the few interactions Fubuki had with the outside world, reality was presented to her as nothing more than a hyper-competitive landscape dominated by violence and discrimination, where people used force as a way to interact with others and idolatred power as the only indicator of individual worth. Therefore, having been raised by someone who values power above anything else and having experienced firsthand how the outside world only understands strength and preys on the weak (i.e., the bullies who emarginated and harassed her, and Tatsumaki always resorting to violence and resolving any conflict with brutal displays of her telekinesis) warped Fubuki’s perception of reality and taught her that she had to embrace her powers and resort to violence at the first sign of a threat if she wanted to survive. A lesson that Fubuki learned and took to heart. And Fubuki was rewarded by doing so, seeing how people in high school started respecting her specifically and solely for her superior telekinesis, but not for Fubuki herself as a person. This conditioned her to view relationships only through a hierarchical lens and as an expression of the difference in powers between individuals, and that, in order to effectively interact with people, aside from employing force, she had to don a façade of haughty superiority, instead of being simply herself; at the same time, her psychological need for friendship never vanished and remained unfulfilled. This background shaped a damaged human being who, in an attempt to adhere to her “education” while, at the same time, trying to fill the void left by the lack of human bonds, resorted to establishing hierarchical dynamics that act as a replacement for real human bonds, where the role the members play in the organization codifies in terms of hierarchy the disparity in power between them, a template that is very reminiscent of Fubuki’s own relationship with Tatsumaki in a way. For most of her life, in fact, Fubuki was either powerlessly submitted to her sister, who dictated the terms of their relationship and held the power in it, or, later in her life and as a reaction to this, a leader with subordinates; beyond these templates, where it was either being subservient or superior to someone, Fubuki never met an “equal”, someone who, by existing outside of a hierarchically organized relationship/dynamic, didn’t fall under either of the aforementioned labels but stood on the same ground as her. As her experiences show, Fubuki only met an oppressive and tyrannic sister, bullies, followers, rivals and subordinates and for her, that was all there was in the world. People never formed connections outside of hierarchical structures, “power” was what attracted people and closer human connections, like even friendship, were totally out of the picture.

That’s where Saitama’s “group” comes into play. Its existence proves how Fubuki’s past experiences are only a partial representation of the world, that people can coexist on equal ground (so beyond the follower/subordinate templates Fubuki was aware of) and that there are alternatives to the toxic and unhealthy way of living Fubuki was following. The people at Saitama’s apartment do not obtain any immediate or foreseeable benefits from their gatherings; there are no rules or “hierarchies” and there is no grand goal that the group is carrying on following a particular agenda: they hang out simply because they want to spend time together. And Saitama himself is far different from any person Fubuki has ever encountered before: he doesn’t use others for his own gain, he doesn’t judge/value other people on the basis of their strength and he doesn’t take advantage of his incomprehensible power to impose his will or to submit and exploit others. As pointed out by Genos at the end of Fubuki’s introduction arc (Chapter 50), Saitama doesn’t antagonize or oppose anyone, but leaves them be, minding his own business without bothering anyone (unless they pick up a fight or represent a danger). Surprisingly enough, even with this particular attitude and his complete disregard for factions/rank/status, Saitama seems to naturally attract people. And yet he isn’t a “leader”, a “boss” or the “president” of a club. Instead of the usual boss/subordinate roles so ingrained in Fubuki’s mind to the point she can’t conceive of any other way to interact with others, Saitama is simply on friendly and equal terms with those who hang out with him, world-renown S-Class Heroes at that, despite him being only a B-Class rank-wise. Among those connections, what surprises Fubuki in particular are Saitama’s peculiar dynamic with Genos, which completely turns upside down anything Fubuki learned about status/ranking and the way these supposedly affect relationships (“D-disciple? An S-Class under a B-Class...”; Chapter 48), insomuch that later Fubuki asks about this “bizarre” dynamic directly to Genos himself in order to learn more about it (“Demon Cyborg, Genos... are you truly satisfied under that man?” Chapter 57), and Saitama’s friendship with the Strongest Man in the World, King (“How... is someone from S-Class so friendly with a B-Class...”; Chapter 50), that similarly ignores status as a factor that determines human interactions, much to Fubuki disbelief - there is also this little reaction upon learning about Saitama’s connection to Fang (“Bang? As in the S-Class Silver Fang?”; Chapter 51). But what’s more is that the unique rules of this group are applied to Fubuki as well: in this place, Fubuki spends her time and interacts with people outside of any social construct and logic previously known to the character and no one looks down on her with contempt nor up to her with reverence due to rank, status and/or telekinesis because these factors do not matter here, where she is neither a leader nor a subordinate, but “simply” a person; and despite the façade the character still resorts to, it’s always in this place that later we will see an extremely rare, if not unique, example of a relaxed and carefree Fubuki spending time in a casual and normal scenario like having a hot pot with other people to whom, beside working for the same organization, she has no actual affiliation (Chapter 57). All of this is completely unheard of and unprecedented for the esper. What the “group” ultimately represents for Fubuki is the importance of positive and healthy human bonds, of people being people, hanging out with no other goal than to stay together - all things that were completely missing in her life. Undescoring the utmost importance of this and establishing the core theme of Fubuki’s character arc (the importance of human bonds), Fubuki’s introduction arc ends precisely with Fubuki wondering if Saitama will allow her to join them (”Would he also let me...”; Chapter 50; in the official manga translation: “Maybe I could join them?”) - definitely not a casual or random choice from a writing standpoint.

So when Saitama says that he “is just an acquaintance” (Chapter 102: 1 and 2), in Fubuki’s mind, he is basically answering the question she was asking herself back in Chapter 50 (“would he also let me/maybe I could [join his group?]”) and she interprets it as “no”, that the only “group” of “normal” people she bumped into has the doors closed to her and won’t allow her to join this haven of “ordinarity”, even though that is not what Saitama meant there. After growing up in a toxic and sheltered environment, for the first time in her entire life Fubuki finally found a group that represents a healthy and positive alternative to all the deleterious experiences she had - an environment where power and hierarchies mean nothing at all, where people are simply themselves - and this made her desire to join this gathering, only to be reminded by the person who exposed Fubuki to this uncharted and fabled reality that she didn’t belong to the place nor, in the end, was she accepted in it - again, this is how Fubuki is perceiving Saitama’s words - due to being only an “acquaintance”. If Chapter 50 sparked in Fubuki the desire to join a group that represents everything that was always denied to her, Chapter 101 seems to put a roadblock in front of Fubuki that prevents the character from fulfilling (yet) what she has always deeply yearned for.

There is no better way to put Fubuki in front of the fact that her façade - the only way she believes it is possible to interact with others - and her mindset are actually keeping her distant from other people and affecting her life for the worse, sabotaging her chances at bonding with others and forming personal relationships. If we look back at her interactions with Saitama and co., in fact, Fubuki’s behavior there never actually manifested nor made apparent her genuine desire to spend time with the group and befriend them, despite the importance the place holds for the psychic and her actual intentions; if anything, whenever she (comically) opted for the defensive mechanism of the façade, which she used in order to fit in as the “new kid on the block” (more on this later), instead of being more genuine, it was something the members of the group didn’t find particularly endearing (Chapter 57; Chapter 98). It all goes to show how lacking Fubuki’s social skills are and how ineffective and inadeguate her way to interact with people also is (besides work, maybe), especially when it comes to ordinary and informal social settings such as this one; it also highlights to what degree Fubuki’s upbringing warped her ability to socialize with other human beings. While the Esper Sisters arc seemingly resolved the outside issue that threatened Fubuki’s freedom, Tatsumaki, Fubuki’s inner demons, spawned by that nefarious influence, are, by the end of the arc, something Fubuki will still have to face in the future. And if it’s true that, ultimately, the connection Fubuki forged as a leader will prove to be a strong and resilient bond once put to the test, Fubuki’s need for friendships, as in a non-hierarchical, not work/duty-related but informal and equal personal relationship, is still left completely unfulfilled, with a journey far from being completed yet. And, honestly, given how we are still in the middle of the story (?), it would be weird if such an important matter for the character was already solved.

For what specifically matters Fubuki’s reaction, in the past I have seen many write what essentially boils down to “what did she expect? Did she think they were friends or something?”. It’s frankly surprising how this confuses so many people because, once we look at the bigger picture and remember Fubuki’s characterization, the reasons behind her reaction become quite obvious since they are all ingrained into the very identity of the character. Again, Fubuki’s expression is symptomatic of the “fear” of having lost her chance at becoming part of something she always longed for - this also fits Fubuki’s insecurity and self-loathing issues, by the way. Sure, it could come off as an overreaction, especially as it is directed toward someone Fubuki met very recently and doesn’t have a strong connection with, but that is precisely the direct result of a sheltered backstory polluted only by unpleasant memories and isolation, to whom Saitama and his group represent an inedited and positive counterpoint; if Fubuki didn’t lack meaningful relationships (both in the past and her present) and her backstory wasn’t one of abuse and alienation, I very much doubt she would have reacted this way to Saitama’s comment or cared at all about about their relationship in general, but if that were the case, we would be discussing a very different character, and this moment would have no place in that story. Therefore, hearing from Saitama words that seem to lock away this dreamed oasis of normality and friendship is a major source of dejection for a person with her specific history, issues and hopes. Having no idea or knowledge of what a friend actually is and what a friendship/close relationship resembles made Fubuki think (or, better, hope) that the time spent at Saitama’s apartment was enough to forge a bond of that kind, a “mistake” that is quite reflective of how inexperienced Fubuki is in regard to people and how utterly ignorant she is about relationships and the way they actually flourish between human beings. 

By the way, thinking that Fubuki is only interested in Saitama's strength or that she is still trying to recruit him past her introduction arc would completely disregard Fubuki’s entire characterization and ignore several fundamental moments starring the character, like, for example, the one I linked from Chapter 50, one of the most important and character-defining pages featuring Fubuki in the entire series. Sure, given Fubuki’s background and the values the world projected into her, power is a main factor in what originally caught her attention in regard to this new, mysterious B-Class hero and surely affected how Fubuki’s perception of Saitama has changed over the course of the story. But Saitama as his own person and the precedent he sets is actually way more important to Fubuki than the physical strength he possesses, as he is the first source of positive influence Fubuki was ever exposed to: he is unlike any “strong” being Fubuki has ever met before (for the reasons stated above), and his mindset couldn’t be more different from her only parental figure/role model, Tatsumaki. During their fight (Chapter 48), Saitama didn’t fight back and retaliate, but was more concerned about reprehending Fubuki and reminding her what a hero is and what they stand for: he criticized her obsession with ranking and factions in a world where monsters run amok and few individuals stand against them, warning the esper against her egoistical mindset and predicting a scenario that Fubuki will later experience firsthand (the encounter with Garou; Chapter 78) - all things that will be proven correct and true as Fubuki can attest; even though Fubuki tried to recruit him into her group and then “lost” to him, Saitama never considered her someone he had “to bully back” or a rival/enemy who “must be destroyed”; in the interections following the fight, Saitama never demanded anything from her, he didn’t force her to join his “group”, he didn’t coerce her into following his goals nor did he try to dispose of this “rival”, but treated Fubuki as a human being and even admitted her into his apartment - where Fubuki stayed, or kept coming back behind the scenes, from Chapter 50 to Chapter 64, meaning that Saitama allowed her stay as much as she wanted. From this we can observe how Saitama is the one who finally snaps Fubuki out of her harmful way of living and warns her about the dangers of her conduct, leading the esper into a journey of maturation and improvement, whereas anyone else that Fubuki met before him directed Fubuki onto this very nefarious path, enabled her worst traits and encouraged the psychic to embrace the dangerous mindset that Saitama is criticizing and rebuking. More importantly, there is also the aforementioned existence of the Saitama’s group, which represents a gathering of people completely different from the ones Fubuki has ever experienced. As a testament to the peculiar role Saitama plays in her character arc and what sets him apart from those Fubuki met before, the dialogue in the elevator (Chapter 98) highlights (to me) how much of a high opinion Fubuki has of Saitama as a person, to the point that she lowers her façade and talks frankly, without resorting to the act she aways employs while dealing with others: in this scene, Fubuki is overtly praising Saitama while openly recognizing her own limits/shortcomings, right after he surpassed her in rank and Fubuki’s encounter with Garou proved Saitama right about her issues. None of this is something Fubuki would have ever done with someone she considers a “subordinate” or a “follower” (once again, I’m not implying anything romantic) - for a more in-depth look into the scene, the last section of my post about Fubuki in the MA arc contains an analysis of this conversation and what it means in the context of Fubuki’s character arc. This important dialogue makes all the more clear how much respect and admiration Fubuki holds for Saitama, hence why his comment has such a profound impact on her. Furthermore, when Tatsumaki seemingly killed Saitama, this was Fubuki’s reaction (Chapter 105) - ONE truly has a talent at portraying characters' expressions.

So, personally, I don’t think the subordinate angle matters at all in her reaction about being called an “acquaintance”: after all, Fubuki’s recruitment attempt failed and Saitama made abundantly clear to her that he wasn’t interested in her group (for example, this exchange, Chapter 50: 1 and 2; Saitama even remarked it at the start of the Esper Sisters arc), so, unless we want to believe that Fubuki is a dumbass with short-term memory, something not supported by the story in any way, I think there are other factors at play here and the character has other reasons to care for this person by the point the statement is made. It is important to note that, leading to Fubuki’s reacting to Saitama’s acquaintance comment, ONE specifically decided to depict Fubuki’s reactions growing more and more dejected at being called “not a friend” (“友達” [tomodachi]) and “not a companion” (“仲間” [nakama]) - both indicating a close and/or equal relationships between two persons that share a bond - which, for Fubuki, sounds like he was denying her the “right” (for the lack of a better word) to join; meanwhile, ONE didn’t include any reaction panel to Saitama stating he doesn’t work for her/isn’t part of her group because, since she is not delusional or stupid, Fubuki already knew that and recruiting Saitama is a non-thing by this point in the story. By the way, the recruitment stuff doesn’t even qualify as a recurring gag in the webcomic (at least so far) and the “Fubuki’s group” shtick is barely a thing in the webcomic, consisting of a couple of lines at most, which prevents the character from coming off as a stale and obnoxious parody of herself (unless in the future she gets turned into a rather sad and disappointing comic relief background entity). As mentioned before, the only time in the webcomic Fubuki has tried to recruit Saitama for real (up until now, at least) happened back in her introduction arc; past that point, the leader’s antics are a psychological denfensive mechanism she employs in order to hide her doubts and insecurities, to navigate unknown new dynamics and fit in a “foreign” environment, to compensate for her inability to deal with people in “normal” social settings (the hot pot and the Saitama group in general) or her way to ask for help while putting up appearances (the start of the Esper Sisters arc), instead of actual attempts to get him or others into her group. What draws Fubuki to Saitama and his group is not the egoistical aim to have these powerful beings under her tumb, but a desire that stems from personal reasons deeply rooted in her past. Once again, the fundamental page I linked above (Chapter 50) couldn’t be more explicit and unambiguous in its meaning: on it, Fubuki is expressing her true, sincere desire to join this group of people, wondering if Saitama and co. will permit her to do so; she is not, instead, secretly plotting to make them join her group and use them for her own ends. Surprisingly enough, Fang trying to have Saitama join his dojo is just as much a recurring joke as Fubuki's leader stuff (and way more one-note too, lacking all the subtext present in Fubuki’s case), let alone Flashy Flash’s attempts at becoming Saitama’s teacher in the post MA chapters. Once again, believing that Fubuki is only after recruiting others would completely ignore a core aspect of Fubuki’s character - her subconscious desire to form real human connections with people, compromised by the education that was imparted to her, by her traumas, and by the psychological defense mechanisms she employs in order to not appear “weak” - for the sake of boring flanderization that erases what makes the esper interesting and complex. 

Therefore, considering how character-related the topics tackled in this story-beat are for Fubuki, for the reasons stated above, it’s quite reductive, I believe, to label Saitama’s statement as a throwaway gag. Again, ONE made sure to reveal Fubuki’s entire backstory - a backstory specifically centered on a dramatic lack of positive and meaningful relationships and also isolation - before this scene, where, from Fubuki’s point of view, she is denied the right to join a social circle that she is drawn to. This statement ties perfectly into themes that have been linked to Fubuki from the very start (Chapter 50), but also plays into what constitutes the Esper Sisters arc narrative: the “acquaintance” line serves in fact as a lead-up to what Saitama states to Tatsumaki soon afterward, which is emblematic of the core message of this arc and its thematic backbone (again, all things I will elaborate on soon enough). If this was a simple comedic moment unrelated to Fubuki’s personal history, like, for example, how the door gag (Chapter 111) is a joke independent from Flashy Flash’s character and the story of the Ninja arc, then I wouldn’t stress over the importance of this page, but that clearly isn’t the case. Moreover, comedy serving a greater purpose and contributing to the narrative is a trademark of OPM and ONE’s style in general, and while not every single gag in the series accomplishes that, like the aforementioned Flashy Flash joke for example (and nonetheless, it serves to kickstart the Ninja arc and fits the characters), the scene in question between Fubuki and Saitama arc is clearly representative of that principle since it respects everyone’s characterization, takes into consideration their background, has a greater narrative purpose and develops the story accordingly. Beside, I don’t think this statement represents an end point but, rather, a source for future developments for the character(s). Now, I obviously don’t know if there will be a follow-up to it or not, but considering how this scene leaves things open and unresolved, it’s fair to expect progressions regarding this matter. In fact, I don’t see how leaving this relationship in its current state without ever bothering to advance it would make any sense narrative-wise, especially in the context of Fubuki’s character arc.

Before getting to Saitama’s side of things, there is another thing I want to point out in regard to Fubuki because I think it is paramount in order to understand the character and the scene in question.

I don’t keep up with the fan discourse anymore, so I don’t know if this is still a common interpretation of the character or not, but in the past I often saw a few readers describing Fubuki as a sociable and extroverted character. I find it very strange, because every single thing shown about her in the webcomic, from her general demeanor to her backstory, remarks how profound Fubuki’s psychological issues are and how distant and estranged from others she is as a result of her past: Fubuki is shown to have no close connections and to be unaware of how to be socially competent, hence her reliance on a removed and cold façade and the default template of hierarchies as substitutes for real human connections. In the sole instance where Fubuki interacts with people outside of work and under “normal” circumstances (already significant by and in itself), the hot pot with the Saitama’s group (probably the closest thing she ever got to spending time at a friend’s house or a sleepover), she comes off as incredibly ankward and naive, almost socially inept, due to her lack of experiences/social knowledge. I believe that the aforementioned confusion stems from the manga adaptation and, in particular, from its bonus/side art material, but this isn’t the right post to elaborate on the matter. In any case, even the presence of a group of subordinates doesn’t take away from what I stated above; if anything, it somehow accentuates it. Nowhere in the webcomic is it ever implied that Fubuki and the group spend time together outside of missions or work-related matters; their bond is strictly and consistently portrayed only as a boss-subordinate kind of relationship, albeit a positive and ultimately healthy one, in the light of the Esper Sisters arc. The only moment where their relationship progresses past the boundary of a boss-subordinates/work dynamic into a more “personal” territory occurs only at the very end of the Esper Sisters arc, when the Fubuki’s group members show their unwavering loyalty and profound gratitude toward Fubuki, going as far as to be ready to die against Tatsumaki for their leader’s sake (Chapter 105): from what we can see from Fubuki’s reaction, it’s evident how deeply touched she is from hearing their words of resolve and affection, to the point of shedding tears, because nothing of the sort - like someone genuinely complimenting her as a person - has ever happened to her before. If that moment sticks out, it’s because this exchange constitutes the poignant resolution of the Esper Sisters arc, driving home its message while at the same time refuting Tatsumaki’s distrust for others and her nihilistic outlook on humanity. But even then, that lasts only for a brief moment and Fubuki immediately speaks to her subordinates only as a leader, not as a “friend”; furthermore, she turns around and gives them her shoulders, thus hiding her tears and concealing her genuine emotional response to their words, because, as much as deeply she cares about them, she can’t afford to expose her true self and what she perceives is her most vulnerable side. As for the rest, thanks to Tatsumaki, Fubuki was socially isolated, and her only exposure to others as a child were the bullies who tormented her because of her psychic powers (a gift that Fubuki refused to use offensively at the time, before embracing the lesson the world taught her). Meanwhile, in regard to her high school years, ONE outright stated that Fubuki was a dark and unpopular girl (from “Other ONE-Bukuro 3″) - on the same page, Murata then comments that it was very important for him to depict Fubuki with lingering traces of her past emerging from the leader façade, since, after all, the manga was still following quite closely, at the time of the chapters covered by this behind-the-scenes self-published book, the general footsteps of the webcomic, where Fubuki retains the overall vibe she had in high school, and so he had to be very careful at making sure this element of her characterization was preserved in the remake and matched the source material, despite the differences between the two versions of the character (the leader façade being a detail much more prounounced in the manga version, well, in the early manga at this point); and speaking of that time period, the MA arc flashback underlines, through clever visual and narrative choices, how detached Fubuki was from the other members of the “Society of the Study for Supernatural” school club and, by extension, from anybody else: for the entirety of the flashback, which takes place exclusively in a school setting and in its immediate surroundings, Fubuki is consistently shown to be alone and on her own (more on this topic always here), she is never seen befriending anyone or even talking to people at all (obviously, she must have talked to them off-screen, nonetheless, this narrative omission is very deliberate, I believe), but, instead, she is constantly immersed in her solitude, an element the panels perfectly convey by having Fubuki always out of frame, far from others and/or visually separated from anyone else (a few examples) - I think it is worthy to compare how disinterested and annoyed Fubuki is toward the members of the club, an environment she was founder of and frequented for at least some time, compared to Saitama and his connections, people she is drawn to already by the end of her arc despite knowing them for a very limited timeframe. As for the reason people followed her, it wasn’t due to popularity (as a matter of fact, she wasn’t popular, as per ONE’s statement), “looks” or anything like that, but due to her superior telekinesis (as one of the panel I linked above showcases), which further convinced Fubuki that the sole value the world sees in a person is their power and that human connections are born and hierarchically organized only under this aegis (again, I talked about these fundamental topics in the post linked above). And while it is certanly a much more healthy relationship, this applies also to the Fubuki group: they follow Fubuki because she is their vastly more powerful superior who takes care of them and leads them. Power is still a major factor in their dynamic, whereas in regard to Saitama and his group it doesn’t matter at all. [EDIT 23/03/2024] I might as well include Fubuki’s relationship with Tatsumaki on top of what has already been mentioned. The Esper Sisters arc as a whole is centered around the lifelong issues and traumas of two estranged sisters. Dialogue between them is made impossible due to Tatsumaki’s total reliance on force as a way to resolve any dispute or personal problem. Any reasoning with Tatsumaki is therefore impossible, since, after all, the only language she seems to understand is force and Fubuki never dared to defy Tatsumaki before the Esper Sisters arc precisely due to this (Chapter 99).  Furthermore, Tatsumaki has no consideration for Fubuki’s personal feelings or understanding of her sister in general; it becomes apparent when we remember how the two sisters have polar opposite recollections of their past. The detachment from reality is so severe that Tatsumaki has no idea how compromised their relationship actually is, which reveals how Tatsumaki lives in a world of her own, unable to even perceive the fear she evokes in Fubuki, whom she considers a little helpless kid she can forcefully impose her will on. This demeaning attitude toward Fubuki exposes another detail. The utter disbelief in Fubuki’s repeatition of her sister words upon being (apparently) acknowledged by Tatsumaki (Chapter 101; soon afterward, the true meaning of Tatsumaki’s statements will dispel any sense of relief this moment gave to the B-Class) proves that Fubuki was never praised or complimented by the most important person in her life and how starved of recognition she is; the esper is flabbergasted of simply hearing a positive comment coming from the older sibling. But approval from Tatsumaki isn’t simply a matter of self-esteem for Fubuki, it also means that Tatsumaki will stop interfering and looming over Fubuki’s life and freedom, finally liberating Fubuki from that nefarious presence and influence. Regarding their life together, the webcomic depicts a very depressing family dynamic: besides what has already been discussed, in the flashback Tatsumaki’s presence frightened and concerned Fubuki more than the bullies themselves and, in the present, even the mere prospect of Tatsumaki taking once again complete control over her life leaves Fubuki utterly terrified (Chapter 100) - this reaction implies so much in such a coincise way, like why would Fubuki be this traumatized and afraid of Tatsumaki if she was actually a lovely sister and the time spent together pleasing? So, overall, not a very edificating picture of a sibling dynamic, and this in addition to Tatsumaki being an unstable, violent person whose common rage outburst and psychotic temper make her a nightmare to have around (as Fubuki can attest in Chapter 102), especially for a person like Fubuki, who, growing up under her threat and being the object of her obsession, had no means to defend herself against Tatsumaki. But, more importantly, Tatsumaki is the most important person in Fubuki's life, the one who raised the B-Class, isolating her from the outside world, and the source of several lessons Fubuki learned long the course of her life, like how to always rely on violence instead of dialogue, disregard human bonds, retaliate to any opposition, and never show any weakness, among other stuff [End of the EDIT]. 

So, considering what has been shown so far, the story depicts Fubuki as a socially stunted adult incapable (at the moment) of living a normal life, and pretty much anything about the esper evokes her friendless, isolated background and communicates Fubuki’s unfulfilled longing for human bonds.

This facet of the character directly ties to the topics of the Esper Sisters arc, where isolation and a lack of human relationships are explored through all the main characters’s experiences and how they deal with them:

for Fubuki, the point has been made abundantly clear already, and it comes down, essentially, to a sheltered and friendless background, paired with a harmful upbringing that cemented and reinforced warped worldviews, and being exposed solely to extremely negative experiences and power-obsessed-people perpetuating a distorted imagine of reality, all of which resulted in the development of what is a very damaged individual, whose traumas hinder her ability to open up to others and form bonds, among other things;

Tatsumaki, who, scarred from her past at the lab and misguided by a poor-timed advice, keeps anyone at a distance and disregards the value of human relationships by following an insane way of life that damages others (her sister in particular) and even herself, to the point that this has created a desert around the esper;

and finally Saitama himself, who, even prior to acquiring infinite strength, lived an unfulfilling and detached existence as a young salaryman in search of employment, completely alone and estranged from anyone else. The result of his training, after the fight against Crablante, only further heightened his alienation and led him to an almost jaded state, incapable of finding any fulfillment or satisfaction in life. Meeting Genos and all the other people who gather around him started to mitigate his condition, but Saitama has yet to understand the value these relationships have and find meaning in other aspects of his life.

Isolation and estrangement from other human beings are recurring elements in all three characters’ backstories and lives (with differences due to their individual histories and personalities). Similarly, everyone of them gets called out or receives a wake-up call by the end of the arc, which highlights how this situation is hindering their lives and puts them in front of their inability/unwillingness to open up to others: for Fubuki, it is the acquaintance moment; for Saitama and Tatsumaki, it occurs in their final conversation, Chapter 106. 

End of the digression.

As for Saitama, he is simply stating the truth. He first met Fubuki at her worst, and, in the interactions they had following it, Fubuki employed her façade the majority of the time - with that being said, while he doesn’t enjoy her company, Saitama in the webcomic actually pays attention to what Fubuki has to say (despite seemingly busy reading a manga, Saitama actually listens to Fubuki’s talk in his apartment and responds to her remaining on topic, unlike, for example, in Flashy Flash’s case, where Saitama only caught on to a single word out of the ninja’s entire monologue, which wasn’t even relevant to Flashy’s recount of his past; Chapter 115), admits her into his apartment and is even willing to follow Fubuki instead of outright avoiding her, which is not exactly negligible stuff if we compare it to how he treats several other characters (he remembers her name and who she is, for starters). Anyway. Only in the Esper Sisters arc did Saitama see a more admirable side of the esper, learning a bit more about her past and her situation with Tatsumaki (Chapter 99 and the followings); besides that, the first time Fubuki was actually genuine and direct with him only happened right at the start of this arc, in the elevator. Therefore, it’s obvious why Fubuki doesn’t represent anything more than an acquaintance to him, and, to be fair, it would be strange if this wasn’t the case. At the same time, I don’t think Saitama is saying this line with the ulterior motive of hurting or insulting Fubuki; if anything, it’s yet another case of Saitama’s trademark blunt honesty and his statement represents a fatual observation more than anything else. As I previously mentioned, in Chapter 99, Saitama is repeatedly shown listening to the sisters’s conversation, and he later acknowledges Fubuki’s efforts after all she went through during the fight (Chapter 102). So, I believe that the real narrative meaning of the “acquaintance” comment and its relation to the core message of the arc become apparent only in the light of the follow-up lines. Soon afterward, in fact, Saitama tells the older esper, who arbitrarily decided that Fubuki didn’t need any human connection in her life and thus was forcefully imposing her own decision against her sister will (Chapter 102), how nobody should dictate the life choices of someone else, that the value of human relationships shouldn’t be underestimated, and then he adds: “This is the power of Fubuki’s acquaintance! You better remember that, you shitfaced brat”. After hearing the reason behind the sisters’ conflict and having witnessed it unfold, Saitama decided to step in and take Fubuki’s side, assisting the B-Class esper fight an overwhelming and unfair battle against a toxic person who looms menacingly over her life and freedom, right when the S-Class psychic was about to re-take control over Fubuki’s life and cut any ties she has with the rest of the world (Chapter 101). Instead of a motivation unrelated to the core message of the arc and its characters, what actually brings Saitama to “fight” against the S-Class is his willingness to help Fubuki against her abuser (Chapter 103; Chapter 104), after the B-Class hero proved her growth as a person. Saitama’s actions, in fact, follow Fubuki’s bravest moment in the entire series (so far) and grant her the deserved assistence she is worthy of after giving her all for the sake of others, the human connections she feels responsible for as a leader. Now, make no mistake: Saitama would have helped anyone else in Fubuki’s place, but I think it is very important that Saitama witnessed Fubuki’s heroic side, understood what she was going through and personally ensured that she could confront her sister without an unfair gap of power on the side of the older sibling, making his involvement in the arc totally earned and organic.

Therefore, Saitama stepping in only as a mere acquaintance emphasizes the central theme of the arc - one of the most recurring themes in ONE’s works in general - which is the importance of human bonds and the unhealthiness of cutting ties with the rest of humanity. In this arc, Saitama is intervening not as a friend, not as her “nakama” nor as any other kind of more personal relationship, but simply as an acquaintance of Fubuki, and nonetheless, he is trying to help her against a toxic person who had (and keeps having) an extremely negative role in Fubuki’s life.  As an acquaintance, Saitama is showing Tatsumaki that no matter the degree of intimacy in a relationship, even a not-so-close connection between two human beings can make the difference in a time of need. Sometimes (like in this case), people who have no personal interest or involvement in a conflict might decide to help others without expecting anything in return or without having anything to gain. This nice subversion of the “power of friendship” is a major slap in the face of Tatsumaki’s toxic ideology and her twisted interpretation of Blast’s original advice, because it proves that not all people are egoistical and that not always human contact ends in exploitation, betrayal and mistreatment. The finale, when, in deliberate contrast to how people used to avoid Fubuki out of fear of Tatsumaki (I mentioned this already), the members of the Fubuki group courageously choose to stay at Fubuki’s side despite being up against a psychotic and immensely powerful S-Class esper (this and the following pages, Chapter 105), and then, when the latter wounds from the MA arc opened again, refused to fight Tatsumaki even though they had the perfect opportunity to finish off the person who wanted to maim them (or worse) up until that point, voicing instead their resolve to get stronger for the sake of their leader, further demolishes Tatsumaki’s biases, her idea of relationships as merely parassitic in nature and her complete distrust for people. The fact this showcase of humanity comes from an extension of Fubuki’s character, her group, makes it all the more poignant in the context of this arc and the sisters’ conflict, where the driving force that leads Fubuki, the heart and soul of the arc, to confront and fight Tatsumaki are, specifically, her human connections: in order to protect them, Fubuki finds the resolve and the courage necessary to face her own fears and traumas, in what represents the culmination of her character arc up until that point. It all goes to illustrate the healthy and positive role human bonds can play in our lives, and the profound impact they might have on our process of growth and maturation. And while the arc does acknowledge that relationships can be harmful and damaging as well (as Fubuki and Tatsumaki’s backstories and conflict demonstrate), it also proves how that is far from being the only case, that human connections are a fundamental part of what makes us humans and that no one, not even all mighty heroes, can live, or should live, on their own, isolated from anyone else.

Concluding the post, I believe the “acquaintance” moment has way more meaning to it than what it might appear at a first glance, because it’s actually deeply tied to the core message of the arc and the storylines of these characters. Removed from its context and without that specific lead-up, it can make for a boring and shallow “meme”, but its significance changes drastically when considered within the narrative framework provided by the arc.

[elkian]

I've probably said this before, but I absolutely love the Body Improvement Club in Mob Psycho 100, both in general and in what they bring to the story.

Early in the series, we're introduced to the Telepathy Club, essentially a hang-out gang for three disaffected tweens (their fourth member having just quit), only one of whom cares at all about telepathy for real. Lacking appropriate numbers, they're at immediate risk of losing their club room space. Enter Shigeo (Mob) who has actual psychic powers.

Ultimately the story closes with the Body Improvement Club taking the clubroom, but since they're constantly jogging, lifting, etc., they graciously allow the remaining Telepathy Club members to use the space.

Sidenote: I've seen a very interesting point about how Tome's motivations and inner monologue are given way more space than all of the BIC's combined, because she's trying to scam Shigeo while the BIC is just chillin', and Shigeo volunteers to join them unasked. Anyways, the focus here is on the buff bois.

The Body Improvement Club is full of unfeasibly jacked middle-schoolers, and one would be forgiven for assuming it's chock-full of stereotypical jocks. However, the BIC is actually full of nascent himbos. Every member of the club is constantly decent (if a little skewed in perceptions due to the Gainz being their core focus). This is really refreshing, especially with how they interact with Shigeo.

Shigeo starts the series as, well, a boilerplate bonafide wimp. He has no muscle mass, faints after a couple meters of sprinting (whether he actually has anemia or if that was a catch-all that didn't translate is uncler to me), can barely lift one of the smallest weights, etc. He starts out as the standard psychic minmaxer - absurdly powerful PSI, wet tissue body.

In fact, we only encounter a handful of psychics who have any physical prowess, and at least two of them (Teru, and the muscle dude from the mid-Claw arc) are implied or explicitly using their psychic powers to bolster their phsyical body.

(Sidenote, this is why Serizawa fanart of him being jacked is so damn funny to me - he went from stagnant shut-in to VIP in the Psychic Power Is The Only Thing That Matters Gang. When, exactly, was he hitting the gym?)

Shigeo doesn't, according to a significant chunk of the cast, need anything except his ESP. It's ridiculous for him to start weight training and jogging when he could just use his brain boost to do it!

And I think that's a big part of why I like the Body Improvement Club and their involvement in the series so much. Because MP100 is a story about becoming more than the lottery of birth, pushing yourself and improving yourself and learning to connect with other people.

And Shigeo not only improves his physical body by participating in the club, but constantly exemplifies this core theme by doing so.

(And in the epilogue he is 200% beef with his normal head on top, it's hilarious.)

But the real kicker here is how the other tweens in the club treat him. Because the "Improvement" part of "Body Improvement Club" is not tacked on for show. Every time Shigeo makes any kind of milestone, the entire club celebrates him. They are completely genuine in this, celebrating his accomplishments just as much as he is. It's not only endearing, but extremely encouraging, and not just to Shigeo. Watching a kid who struggled to pick up a gallon of milk become super buff in the end is funny, yes, but it's also a great way to end the seres. Not only did his effort matter, but his effort was recognized by the people around him.

Hell, in essence, I've just predicted the Separation Arc (spoilers) - because while there's multiple elements involved, what I remember really kicking this off is Reigen dismissing Shigeo's social life - something he has absolutely struggled to achieve at all. Something that, in the beginning, Reigen was supposed to be teaching Shigeo to improve at.

That isn't this post, though. My point is the Body Improvement Club.

ONE could have written the BIC as standard jocks whose encouragement was sarcastic or outright cruel, but he refused to take that easy route and instead made them a major element in Shigeo's growth. The message of the Body Improvement Club is the message of the series as a whole, in a way - that the effort one puts in (with the help of a good friend of five) matters much more than whatever you were born with. That striving to improve is essential to life, and worthwhile friends will celebrate your accomplishments. The Body Improvement Club is full of boys who are already tough and strong, but every single one of them praises Shigeo for his progress, no matter how it might compare to their own.

And I mentioned that Shigeo is buff in the epilogue, but I think it's worthwhile to note that this isn't just a visual gag. His buffness is revealed as he's discussing the trajectory of the club with one of the other members, in the next school year - and the other member acknowledges that the presence of the then-small, skinny, weak Shigeo had a useful effect on the image of the club. Because there was more than just a wall of beef already there, tentative newcomers could feel more secure in joining and improving theirselves, as was the club's goal. It's difficult to join a group of people you perceive as way more talented than you already - Shigeo's noted obliviousness to unspoken trends is actually a huge boon here, as it helped him volunteer without thinking this. But it wouldn't have been possible for him to improve without the goodwill of his peers.

Anyways, I love the Body Improvement Club and will never shut up about it, goodnight.

[weareallgonnaliveforawhile]

Do you think that the Arc where Reagan gets outed as a fake? Would that change with all these children or the children later?

Okay so, I've thought a lot about this, excuse the fact I was dead for a little while.

I don't think it'd change a damn thing. Despite there being more children, despite Teruhashi being there, despite everything. It still happens. It's something that needs to happen and there's nothing that could've stopped that inevitable arc from happening.

Kokomi is the only one who's aware of what's going on from the start. After Mob quits, Reigen sits there for a long time before deciding that he'd be completely fine on his own without any help and calling Kokomi to tell her to take an extended break from work. Kokomi is obviously confused but awkwardly agrees and calls Mob immediately after to ask what happened.

Once she finds out what happened...she's torn in a sense?

Between her innate desire to say 'Fuck that guy' to someone who was so rude to a friend.

Between her desire to stand by Reigen, the only real father figure she's had and try to help him,

and finally, her desire to mettle in their affairs and try to help.

In the end, she chose to stand by Reigen, by standing with Mob. Reigen always told her to value herself and to not stand with someone who would mistreat or be cruel to her. To stand by him right now, would be to disregard his words. To try and mettle in their affairs would be too much, just like how she'd be pissed if someone tried to mettle into her own affairs.

So she took a quiet step back and kept in firm contact in Mob. Luckily, during the arc her brother wasn't home and was instead out on various acting jobs so she didn't have to worry about that (A certain pink-haired psychic ensured that).

The kids all know when he's outed as a fake and the reactions vary. Kaidou and Toritsuka are completely unbelieving of it, Aren thinks he's been tricked and Saiki feels...complicated about this. He has no idea why he isn't just straightforwardly happy that someone so annoying just got exposed as a fraud (It's because his friends like him. It's because he made Kaidou feel less ashamed for not being brave all the time. It's because he made Aren have more hope in himself being able to be nonviolent in the future. It's because he made Teruhashi a home. How could he ever fully hate someone who's helped those he loved so much?)

Kokomi is calm, throughout this ordeal. She doesn't speak a word of it to anyone other than three two people.

A short and quiet but heartfelt conversation about what was going on with Mob

A tearful but pleasant talk with Saiki about how she was unsure if she felt afraid for Reigen or if she felt afraid of what she would be losing if he lost everything.

A text asking if he was okay, left unanswered.

In the end, all of the kids are watching the press conference. The Saiki K ones, and MP100 ones and Kokomi who's a mix of both at this point. And through it, Kokomi is desperately praying, but she's unsure of what for. For Reigen to be proven as a fraud? For him to be disproven? For him to apologize?

But, when he says that one phrase at the end, it was like she was a puppet with a strings cut. It was the only right thing to do. She would've lost respect for him if he did anything else. Though, she was one of the few people not surprised when everything started floating. She knew Mob well, and she knew him well enough to not have a second of doubt on what was causing it and why.

She doesn't call Mob afterward, but he sends her a text. Telling her that everything okay now. She asks him if he's sure and he tells her he is and the conversation ends. You don't need to have a long conversation about everything to convey what matters. Kokomi's learnt to weigh her words more carefully since she joined, you know? To make them light and useless or heavy and crushing.

She talks with Reigen afterwards, you know? That night, she knocks on his door with nothing but her bookbag and asks him if she can stay the night and they spend that night doing nothing but talking. It's as if a weight has been lifted off both of them. It's nice. To be reminded that a man you thought of as a version of you is still human at the end of the day.

Saiki, for all his grumbling, can't help but be relieved. He may not like Reigen (He does) but he gave Teruhashi someone she could turn to without fear of burdening them. And he will never not be grateful for that.

After this arc, she starts referring to herself as Kokomi Reigen more often.

[looniecartooni]

Okay- aside from everyone's qualms with the current arc and most recent chapter, let's talk about Mimic's eyes.

Silver seemed to make a special emphasis on how Duo's eyes could change. It seems like Mimic wasn't afraid to flash his signature eyes at Silver before practically ruining his life twice. Whisper states that maybe they reveal themselves when he is spooked. But given his big ol' grin as soon as the eyes start changing seems to suggest otherwise.

His eyes seem to reveal themselves when he feels sure and in control vs when he is supposedly in fear-

So Whisper's understanding seems to be less likely (unless becoming cocky and smiley is a fear response), but this begs the question: are Mimic's eyes changing because he wants them to change, or do they change involuntarily?

They seem to reveal themselves when Duo is being Mimic. Understandable to remind the viewer who we are dealing with, but Silver made the distinction not once, but twice that his eyes seemed to change. Whisper then goes on to say Mimic has certain tells and knows immediately Duo is Mimic by how Silver describes his eyes. Is he taunting Silver with them? If he was, why when he's talking to himself in private would his eyes also change (aside from letting the reader know Mimic is Duo and everything is coming to him easily)?

For a professional assassin as well, as cocky as he is, it does seem odd he'd give himself away so easily TWICE to the same psychic. Now, it has seemingly not affected in blowing his cover, but it almost did.

We also have him looking at his hands twice after shapeshifting- once at the beginning of this arc and once at the end of Tangle and Whisper. We've seen other tells of Mimic which he's been able to hide in this form (lighter color, brown eyes, visible suckers).

I might be overthinking this. It could simply just being him feeling cocky and something just to remind the readers that Duo is Mimic and Mimic is manipulative and Silver just happens to be observant. But the fact that it has been not only pointed out but almost lead to his discovery seems to feel like there's more to it than that. What's consistent is that it happens when Mimic tends to drop the act of Duo and does something like leaving Silver to die, faking an injury, and feeling in control. When Mimic feels in control, does he lose control over his tells, or does he just like taunting those he thinks he has control over?