#reigen also does this and also teaches him to see it as just one thing he happens to be good at

[spaceistheplaceart]

Body Swap - How Do I Talk Like That? Part One

can you tell I got a little lazy on this one? aha

masterpost

Summarized ID: Reigen cleans up his appearance and tries to teach Mob about customer service. It makes Mob nervous and he's not quite getting it. Then, the customer comes in.

FULL ID UNDER CUT:

(I'll be referring to Reigen in Mob's body as Reigen and Mob in Reigen's body as Mob.)

A short compilation of Reigen fixing his appearance. He brushes his hair to the side, buttons up his PJ shirt, rolls up his sleeves, and sprays some deodorant under his arms. Then, he comes out of the bathroom and asks: "Well? How do I look?" Mob is reading a book at his desk, and Dimple is looking at Reigen.

Reigen stands with his arms out, waiting for a response. Dimple says: "You're still a kid in PJs, Reigen." Reigen looks to the side and clicks his teeth. "Tch."

He comes over to Mob, who is still reading a "how to" book. He leans over his shoulder. "So, you think you're getting the hang of it?" He asks.

Mob replies: "Not really. It looks complicated."

Reigen asks: "Which part?"

Mob points to a page, his finger is blocking some of the text. "Well... It says phrasing is important, and it ggives an example, but I don't see how this is rude."

The page reads: "Writing is very important. The key is nuance. How you phrase your sentences can make... difference between sounding... you care, and sounding like... of a jerk.

"You have to log out first."

"logging you should... that problem!"

Reigen puts a finger to his chin in thought. "Well, Mob, using 'you' in a request can sometimes be seen as rude, like you're ordering them around." He points to the page. "Also the tone of it. See how it's a period and not an exclamation? That makes it come off coldly."

Mob looks up at Reigen, sweating a bit. He's tense, but his expression is still stiff. He looks back down at the book. "Then, um... Tip #10 says to solve problems in new ways for each customer? I'm not sure I could exorcise spirits in..." He looks to the side, thinking. "Uh... for you to... I mean..."

Reigen interrupts: "Ignore that tip, we aren't doing that."

"Oh." Mob responds. There is a sweatdrop on his cheek. His eyes are a bit wider.

Reigen puts a hand on Mob's shoulder, his other gesturing as he speaks: "The main thing you gotta worry about today, Mob, is just trying to finish the sale. Be polite, figure out his problem, get the where and when... and then help him select a package! After that, It'll all fall into place."

Dimple says: "You're making him nervous."

Reigen leans over to look at Mob's face. He does indeed look a little nervous. Reigen asks: "You'll be fine. You've watched me work enough years, right?"

Dimple responds: "I don't think he's been taking notes, Reigen. He's got a whole life to worry about, why would he be watching YOU so intently?"

Reigen puts his hands on his hips. "Fine! Alright, alright, I'll just teach you a few things-- stepping stones, really. The basics."

He waves his hand. "Ok. Posture. Stand up, Mob."

Mob stands up. Reigen waves around his hand again, the other in his pocket. "Great! See, look at that, you're as straight as an arrow! Already, you've got a basic nailed down naturally!"

"Oh, Thank you, Master." Mob says.

"Now try giving your best smile!" Reigen beams, giving Mob an example of a nice smile. There are sparkles around him. The smile is cute! "Like this!" He says.

Mob tries to mimick it, but the smile is creepy. All his teeth are drawn in, and his eyes are squinted nearly shut. He's sweating and there's a wrinkle on the corner of his mouth. "This?"

Reigen looks unsure. "Ah... could use a bit of... improvement."

"You look like a serial killer." Dimple says bluntly.

Reigen glares at him and smacks him with the back of his hand. He drops his hand and stares in shock at Dimple. "Wait, did I just touch you?"

Dimple hides behind Mob's shoulder, glaring at him and sweating. "You do that again and I'll kill you."

Reigen looks at him deviously. There's a sparkle beside his head and his mouth is curled up into a cat's smile, much like a :3. He stretches out, dropping the expression, and cracks his knuckles. "Alright. as I was saying..."

We see the silhouettes of Mob, Reigen, and Dimple, as Reigen talks to Mob for a while.

"You think you got it?" He asks. Mob looks down at him, expression blank. "...Yes."

He sits down, and Dimple floats over with a mocking expression. "Don't worry, Shigeo! All you have to do is be good at talking and read the room. You're super good at that, aren't you?~"

Mob glares at Dimple, sweating and annoyed. "No, I'm not. But Master is counting on me, so--"

Reigen pinches his brows together. "Mob, Mob! Adding all this pressure will just make things worse!"

He places a hand on Mob's shoulder and looks him in the eye. "I have complete faith in you?"

Close up of Reigen's face. He looks very nervous, indicating that he probably does not have complete faith in Mob.

Mob looks at him through his brows/hair. "... Thanks."

The door opens, both of them turning to look at the source of the noise.

We see on the top of the head of the client, who has side swept hair and is coloured red. Dimple smirks from the top left corner of the panel and says: "Showtime."

END ID

[grimalkinmessor]

Not to be Mogarei on main but since Reigen obviously recognized who Mogami was when Dimple said his name, that means he was probably a fan of his. BUT Reigen also says Mogami's downfall happened forty years ago, and Reigen is just a few years shy of thirty in canon, so that means that Mogami was already dead and likely a powerful ghost by the time Reigen was born. So—and hear me out—what if tiny Reigen, obsessed with the Unknown™, sees this psychic on the television and immediately becomes obsessed with him. Even if he's dead, Reigen's seen him do exorcisms on ghosts! So what if he ALSO came back as a ghost?

Cue little ten year old Reigen becoming a detective/ghost hunter, determined to find Mogami Keiji and make him teach him all his cool psychic tricks. (And also maybe get his autograph but that's less important than the psychic thing he swears). And since Reigen is a smart kid, and incredibly impulsive, he actually DOES end up finding Mogami.

Mogami, who is literally in the middle of making one of those rich assholes he killed for in life suffer when this ten year old boy pops up out of nowhere and accosts him. Normally Reigen wouldn't be able to see ghosts, but Mogami's aura is just so oppressive and powerful that it makes him visible even to people who aren't psychic when they're looking for him.

And seeing Reigen talking animatedly and asking questions and being so excited that he's found him and that he gets to talk to him and can he pretty pretty please sign Reigen's backpack it's so so important here he has a marker you can use—well, it kind of,,,,snaps Mogami out of the whole murderous rage thing. Not COMPLETELY, absolutely not ever completely because he was very murderous even when he was alive, but in the moment Mogami is just kinda. godsmacked. bewildered. confuzzled. It's been so long since he talked to a fan, let alone a child, and it reminds him of what he used to be like. The man he used to be.

Rich Asshole™ gets to live for the moment, because Mogami sits down with Reigen and talks with him instead. Luxuriating in feeling like his old self again. Someone good. Someone worthy of admiration.

And of course, Reigen isn't stupid. He's naive but he's not ignorant; he absolutely did his research and he knows that Mogami killed people. He knows that Mogami was likely going to kill that guy he was possessing before Reigen showed up. But he saw him stop. Saw him have mercy on the man he hated so he could talk to Reigen instead. And this puts the hope in Reigen that he can be fixed. That he can get better. And Reigen, who admires the man on TV who said inspiring words and gave beautiful displays of psychic power, wants to help him to do that. He is very determined to do so now, actually. He wants to redeem Mogami.

And he can't, of course! Not completely! Probably not even halfway! :D

But Mogami hangs around. They're friends now. And if Mogami goes off and gets his revenge whenever he's not with little Reigen, well, he just makes sure those deaths never make the news.

By the time Mob shows up, however, Mogami has probably chilled out a bit. Probably. Just don't try taking him away from Reigen. He bites.

[etherealhoneybee777]

Just your daily reminder to think about Teruki Hanazawa.

If you can say anything about Teru, it’s that he always tries hard. Tries hard to sharpen his techniques, to be a good person—the kind of person that others want to love. He already deserves love, of course, but he doesn’t receive enough of it. His parents have abandoned him, and he lives life with barely any adult guidance or care.

Where is the happy ending for Teru? He ends the manga still relatively distant from everyone. He and Mob barely hang out, and he sees Reigen only sometimes. He hangs out with the awakening lab kids at least. But that’s not enough.

Teruki Hanazawa’s story isn’t over. He still has years of growth ahead. There’s this longing I experience at the end of Mob Psycho. When I see Teru’s sad little face at the end of the manga, I want to pull him out of fiction and make him a nice dinner. I want to sign his permission slips. I want to give him a curfew. I want to pay for his therapy. I want to start up a college fund for him and tell him he can go to any school he dreams of.

But I can’t. Because Mob Psycho is over, and is also not real. Teruki Hanazawa is just an idea.

But that doesn’t mean that I can’t do anything. There are so many Terukis in this world—people who try so hard only to remain unloved. And there is something you can do about it!! There are so many ways to go out and love others. You can volunteer for a cause you believe in or check up on your friends or your family. There are always people who need and want love and care.

And if you don’t have the energy to do those things, you can make a difference in this world by being kind to yourself. You are also one of the earth’s creatures, and you deserve more love and affection than you could ever dream of.

Maybe you’re a Teru: maybe you’re the one who needs love and help. Maybe, like Teru, you are lonely and have familial issues. Or maybe, like me, you have a chronic illness. Or maybe this capitalist hellscape has made you depressed. Or maybe something else has happened that has made your life hard. I think the message that Mob Psycho teaches is that people need other people. You can’t be expected to do everything on your own, and it is necessary to rely on others. While help and love often aren’t accessible or easy to find—it’s hard to find for Teru—love does exist in this world. It will happen for you!

I bet that if you were a character in a fictional work, people would look at you like I look at Teru. People would wish they could take you out to the movies and fold your laundry, and fanfic writers would write you all the best endings because they want to see you happy. Whenever you think that you don’t deserve something, imagine that you’re in the Mob Psycho world, where everything is touched by kindness.

[truly-morgan]

[Age Swap Mafia, Rebellious Reigen wants to smoke]

Ekubo + Reigen | Mob Psycho 100 Age Swap MAfia AU 12-06-2023

okay more Ekubo and Reigen interaction for the Agw swap/Mafia AU

But Reigen who has a rebellious phase and wants to try being a Bad Boy, so he attempts to start smoking.

Of course, Mob won't let him do that (even tho the man himself regularly).

So of course, he turns to Ekubo for that.

He knows Ekubo will be more lax about it, not as worried about his health. Not that the man doesn't care, but smoking got to be one of the less harmful things he could start in that kind of world.

they are leaning at the window of one of the "break rooms", like Ekubo would call them as if it was an office. The window is open to let some fresh air come in and let the smoke out. Reigen can see multiple little burn marks on the windowsill.

Despite how teasing Ekubo had been about him trying to be a rebellious little brat, he still give him a cigarette, teaching him how to light it.

He laughs his ass off when Reigen starts coughing at the first drag he takes, loud enough they can probably hear him down the hall.

His next attempts are better, he doesn't feel like coughing anymore, although it still feels like it burns a little.

He observes as Ekubo simply leans against the window, looking at the view outside. He'd lie if he said he had never thought the man looked cool when he smoked, although he doesn't understand why anyone would like to do it every day, it's not pleasant.

although Mob looks even cooler when he smokes.

They stay quiet, the moment feeling actually pretty nice. Maybe Reigen could make it something he does more regularly with Ekubo...

Then there's a new set of footsteps coming from the hallway, and contrary to all the other time he has heard some, the hair on the back of Ekubo's neck stand. "Fuck" he swears under his breath, snatching the cigarette out of Reigen's mouth, putting it out against the windowsill and throwing it out, ignoring him when he exclaims "What the hell man!! What did you do that for?".

"Did what?" a voice suddenly comes from the door, both turn towards it to find Mob, the man looking at Ekubo.

"Nothing, the brat's just complaining again, I threw out the little rock he found" he tries, but it's obvious that his boss isn't believing him in any kind of way.

Reigen tenses a little as Mob makes his way to him, a hand gently but firmly grabbing his jaw.

Before he knows it Mob is all up in his face, Reigen trying to stutter out a protest.

Just as suddenly, Mob is standing straight again, gaze landing on Ekubo again. The man tries to keep himself from swallowing nervously too loudly.

He dug his own grave. He had heard his boss refused to let reigen smoke more than once and had given him insistent looks when Reigen would try to turn to him for help.

"Look, it's no-"

"I stole them from his coat!!" Reigen suddenly exclaimed.

this makes both older men look back at him, Mob arching a brow at his words while Ekubo simply looks shocked.

"He had left his packet in the inner pocket and I stole one to try and smoke, since no one will sell me any and no one gives me one, Ekubo grabbed it and threw it out when he saw me smoking here" Reigen lied.

It was pretty obvious that Mob wasn't buying his lie, not this time at least. Not when Ekubo had also lied first about a situation where Mob wouldn't have been mad at him in the first place anyway.

But since it was Reigen saying it now...

"No more smoking" Mob simply stated, finger gently brushing against his cheek, making Reigen lean closer to the touch.

"okay," reigen quietly replied. Honestly, as cool as he was certain it made him look, he didn't like the feeling.

Mob then reminded Ekubo about the job he had to do later in the day, Ekubo gave him a thumbs up at the reminder.

And like that, he was once again on his way to wherever he was going the first time, leaving them alone.

They were quiet for a moment, both just staring at the opened door. Then Ekubo started laughing again, ruffling the young man's hair playfully.

"You saved my ass here" he stated, "Guess I'll own you one".

Original - AO3

[teruthecreator]

using this as my jumping off point bc fuck it i actually Do wanna explain what i mean and the answer to ur question is: it started off as a funny #divorce moment but then actually became very real (and we're talking dr!toriel but in order to understand her u also have to understand ut!toriel too bc its not like she's changed drastically between the games)

on the surface, toriel and reigen aren't two characters you would typically equate to each other. toriel is an overly loving, soft, protective force in both games--providing a comforting presence for both her in-game children and (more importantly) the player themself. and reigen is...well, reigen. he cares a lot, sure, but his force is more of a solid comfort than something that is soft, like toriel. he serves as kind of guiding beacon for mob, though he doesn't always lead by example, and he only really learns how to do that by becoming more vulnerable.

but like. okay. hear me out: while both of these characters care greatly for the children in their care, their motivations aren't necessarily pure.

in undertale, toriel operates as caretaker of the ruins primarily because she's hiding. she removes herself from the situation entirely in a fit of righteous betrayal against her husband, but in doing so basically solves nothing. all she did was run away from the issue and left it to fester, far out of her sight. she's aware that every human that comes through the ruins is fated to die, but she does nothing to stop them. she Is complicit! as much as ut fans would like to pretend she isn't, her and asgore share the blame for those lost souls.

we haven't gotten too much of this from deltarune yet, but the breadcrumbs are already being left out that she may be also hiding or tucking away her issues in this game as well. she refuses to keep in contact with her ex-husband (not like he's making that a palatable idea -__- asgore pls) and it seems like she doesn't make too serious of an attempt to connect with kris. her hiding, in this world, is through ignorance--by avoiding kris' developing personality and issues, she is essentially ridding herself of any problems her parenting (or lack thereof) might've caused. it's clear from the library book you can find in chap 2 (the one about raising humans--checked out repeatedly by only toriel) that kris was not a child she had planned to raise. we don't know exactly how they came into the dreemurrs lives, but however it was had to have been unexpected. toriel has, essentially, been playing on the defensive the entire time: raising a human child in a town full of monsters; monsters that might not want to understand them, monsters that might want to get rid of them. and from how asriel is talked about, you can see how the parenting kind of only rlly stuck to one kid. all of this to say, i think toriel understands something is very very wrong with kris, but she refuses to do anything about it, lest it shatter the picture-perfect family she remembers having.

similarly to reigen, who literally has an arc about using manipulative tactics to try and keep mob solely dependent on him (in order to avoid the reality that reigen does not have a life outside of mob, and also would not have his business without mob). i think a lot of reigen's teachings pre-separation, while beneficial to mob's growth, basically preached the concept of normalcy to protect reigen from the reality that there was a Very Real esper that he was Actively lying each and every day to. and, sure, his lies were only meant to make mob trust him and his word; but isn't that just as bad? he was using his lies to form this bond that he then began to rely on, and had to keep feeding mob a narrative that would make him reliant on reigen. this is something he even admits to himself! he admits he used mob and has continued to use mob! that's like, a very important part of his arc!

so its suffice to say that, in a world where things were a bit different, reigen would also use similar tactics of avoidance in order to keep mob a certain way. that maybe if mob was actually his kid, he would want to maintain that static image for just a liiiittle while longer, if only to keep himself from accepting the reality that he won't always be there to protect him.

and yeah, there would be divorce arc serirei but im not getting into the serizawa-asgore comparison rn bc this is too damn long already

"oh haha reigen is a scummy businessman just like spamton so he'd be spamton!!!" okay but like. be real with me for a second here: reigen would be toriel.

[luckyfailure]

matilda and mob psycho 100 are the only works of art ever about gifted children. i'm not interested about the rest.

[pockethep]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

It took me a while to get past my top 3 because for some reason my mind blanked when it came to every piece of media I've ever consumed HOWEVER almost all of these characters are characters who could be considered my favorites if you ask me on the street do you like "x". They'll probably shift and change though but these are some off the top of my head.

Shigeo Kageyama (Mob) (Mob Psycho 100) - Mob Psycho 100 is a series I hold very dear to my heart, it is in my constant top 3 Anime/Manga (You will likely see the other 2 on this list) and Mob is my favorite character. He is a character that I rooted for every second of his screentime, who actually drove me to be better. The "Your Life is Your Own" message lead to me changing my college major. He's incredibly kind, sincere, and honest.

Grovyle (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky) A little story behind this. My first pokemon game was Red Rescue Team (not a mainline game but a spinoff) because my parents didn't know the difference. However I loved Red Rescue Team to the point of playing it until the in game timer broke. The sequel was better in every way. Grovyle is a character who embodies the notion that existence is temporary. There will come a day when all of us are gone. However instead of living in regret, fear, and selfishness he was willing to sacrifice his life for the greater good even though he wouldn't be there to see it. Using your life to do something incredible ensures your spirit will live beyond you.

Edward Elric (Full Metal Alchemist) My second favorite anime/manga of all time. His determination to fix his mistakes at the expense of his own body. he's one of my favorite older brothers in any media because of the lengths he's willing to go to right his wrong. There are many points in the series where anyone would've given up, especially throughout all the pain, but he kept going. Because he loved his brother. And I think that's beautiful. Also helps that he was written by a woman.

Every single character from Everything Everywhere All At Once but for this space Waymond Wang. A sneak hit that completely shook the leaderboard of my top ten movies, EEAAO succeeded in everything. But Waymond Wang stuck with me and still does. It's about how he shields the people he loves even though he was afraid, how much he loves his wife, how he fights so hard for her even though she broke things and was at times dismissive. His kindness was how he fought. How even at the height of his success, in every lifetime he would go to Evelyn. I believe in kind people because Waymond is a kind person.

Reigen Arataka (Mob Psycho 100) Another MP100 character but hear me out. He is likely one of my favorite anime/manga mentors. Rather than teaching Mob right or wrong he taught him choice. The right choice is good but you don't always have to go for that option. One of my favorite moments was him just telling Mob it was okay to run away. Something most other shonen don't do. He does all this while still lying about being an esper. But at that point I don't think Mob cares. Regardless of if he has power or not, he's a good person.

Maki Zenin (Jujutsu Kaisen) I don't even know where to start. Probably with the fact that she is one of the best developed female characters in some of the recent shonen manga I've read. Next the depiction of female rage, what she did to the Zenin clan deserves to go down in the history books. I live a girlboss and Maki checks every single boss.

Toph Beifong (Avatar the Last Airbender) This is my GIRL. I loved her when I was younegr and I still do. It is rare for a cocky, abrasive, girl character in a TV show to not be humbled or bashed or fridged. She was so unabashedly Toph. The best earthbender in the world who didn't let blindness get to her. She created metalbending. Who else was doing it like her. She's such a strong character and a role model for me.

Denji (Chainsaw Man) A somewhat new edition to the list but as someone who went from Fire Punch to Chainsawman, he deserves a spot as my favorite Fujimoto character next to the girls from goodby Eri. Denji's story is about what happens when someone is so deeply denied humanity. On all levels he's had it stripped from him for the benefit of all his abusers. To the point where he thinks its correct. That he'll be happy if he's used. By everyone he tries to get close with (Reze, Makima) he is considered a resource to exploit which is why his change of heart in the last few chapter was so cathartic. He recognized his own humanity and the abuse that he had previously endured and started to act more selfish as a human. Perseverance in the face of suffering will ultimately lead to happiness.He's also not a traditional anime perv as many would label him to be, he is surprisingly well versed in consent.

Eleanor Shellstrop (The Good Place) This spot almost went to Chidi HOWEVER I related more to Eleanor. Something that always got me about The Good Place was its depiction of honest people. Eleanor was realistic, she was rude, selfish at times, but in the end she wanted to be better. That's what made her a good person. She wanted to earn a spot in The Good Place and watching her work for that spot and then work to eventually fix the good place was very satisfying.

Percy Jackson. (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) No elaboration needed. That's my boy. This series has been a staple in my life, even when I moved away from Harry Potter Percy "Backtalk the Gods" Jackson was still my boy. He chose his girlfriend over a seat in Olympus I don't think I need to go further.

[livykitty3]

half-baked mob psycho 100 avatar au idea thingys that i'm probably gonna do nothing with:

mob is avatar

ritsu is still a late bloomer and does waterbending

dimple is some green waterbender dude and teaches ritsu to bloodbend

ritsu attacks random people with bloodbending until mob is like 'dude that's kinda messed up'

shou is a firebender and still burns down mobs house and convinces him his family is dead

dimple still starts LOL by using his bloodbending skills to make people laugh and smile

mob is still immune to that

mob learns plantbending

dimple also learns plantbending

the sacred tree happens because of a similar reason to canon

he lets out a bunch of energy to stop the explosion from claw leader dude and put it into broccoli seeds thus leading to the sacred tree

reigen isn't a bender he just throws salt at people

mob is still convinced that reigen is a really powerful bender

reigen 1000% still happens but this time he also accidentally invents metalbending

i don't remember anything about the spiritbending from legend of korra so that doesn't exist here ig

go (the fire guy from the awakening lab) is obviously a firebender

the spoonbending guy from the awakening lab is an earthbender who starts metalbending after learning it's a thing

the twins from the awakening lab are airbenders

the girl from the awakening lab is an earthbender who senses things due to vibrations like how toph does

teru is an airbender

I can see how someone might say that he's a firebender but people thought that his strength was just muscle and no one knew that he was an esper in canon and airbending seems the easiest to conceal

when dimple becomes one with the sacred tree he uses a mixture of plantbending and bloodbending to do it

[mp100fanworkstranslation]

Better than when you found it -Part 2-

Part 1 Here

-The Second Day: Saturday- 

Ekubo: Yawwwwn~~What are we doing today?

Reigen brushing teeth: There’s a DVD rental kiosk around the corner. Wanna check it out? 

Mob: Yes I’m here

Reigen: Wait, Mob what? (btw you have foam on your face.)

Mob: Weren’t you asking me where I was?

Reigen: No?

Serizawa pops out: Did someone say movie?!

Mob thinks: I keep hearing someone calling my name.

One unspecified adult: What movies are we getting?

Another unspecified adult: Lets go take a look at what they have.

--20 Minutes Later--

Unspecified Adult: Alright! What do we have? 

(It’s not specified who is speaking here, but based on the speech form it’s either Reigen or Ekubo, not Serizawa)

Ekubo reads: The Hunger Games?

Someone else: We’ll that’s....

Mob: I’ve heard of it before.

Ekubo: Yeah?

Mob: Master told me about it. -He holds up a clothes hanger-

Mob puts the clothes hanger on his head: Yeah! Hunger Games!

Ekubo: Um....

Reigen: NO NO, That’s not it.

(Can someone explain this reference to me? I’ve never seen the Hunger games. I have no idea what this is about.)

Somebody: Whatever. Lets try it. 

There is a loud scream from the TV. Serizawa is startled into dropping his tea tray. Ekubo covers Mob’s eyes. 

Reigen is pissed: WHO PICKED THIS VIOLENT FILM?! Take care of Mob!

Mob peeling Ekubo’s hands off his face: Um... I’m fine with it. I just.....I just feel like something is wrong. 

(He’s actually referring to the presence of the spirit in the apartment. He’s been talking about it since the first panel. The adults are having too much fun they forgot.)

Reigen: You.....You’re not likeing this violence are you?  hmmmmmm

Reigen: Okay Mob! Listen up! I’m gonna teach you the right way to approach media like movies and TV.

You gotta put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist.

(I LOVE THE WAY THIS PANEL IS DRAWN. The framing of the panel is encouraging and mentorly, like a coach telling his player to go out there and do his best, ........except it’s Reigen...teaching Mob to watch movies.... He’s 14, I’m sure he’s seen movies before.)

Reigen puts his hand on Mob’s shoulder: You think you can do it? 

Mob: um....

Reigen: Try it out! I guarantee you’ll get a different experience out of it.

Mob is watching intently while all three adults look bored. The room is filled with fighting sounds.

Mob: That looks like it hurts.

Reigen looks over at Mob and fails to notice the rustling behind him. 

Reigen’s Phone Rings: Crap I forgot

Mob: Is it a client?

Reigen: Yeah

Reigen: I’m just going to go on my own, it’ll be quick.

Ekubo: Are you gonna be okay on your own?

Reigen: Yeah it’s fine, It’s just an in-office consultation. I’ll be back at around noon.

Mob: Okay, see you later

Reigen: yep

Ekubo: So.... what are we gonna do?

Serizawa: Ummmmm

(I like how Ekubo hangs out on top of Mobs head, the way he does all the time as a spirit.)

Serizawa gets an idea looking at the microwave: How about we cook while waiting for Reigen to return?

Mob: That’s a good idea, he’d be hungry when he comes back Mob thinks: I don’t know how to cook though. 

Ekubo rolls up sleeves: Lets do it! It’s not like we’re busy. I’ll show you my signature dish!

Serizawa: Ekubo-kun...

Ekubo: Alright lets divide up  the work.

Mob: Okay

Serizawa: ah! Yes!

They start cooking. Mob cuts himself chopping vegetables.

Serizawa: Ah! You’re bleeding!  Mob: Ow ow... Ekubo: You cut yourself AGAIN?!

They’re almost done.  Mob: Im hungry Ekubo making fried rice. Should we make something more than just this? Serizawa: Ah, we can add a salad!

It’s 12:42

Reigen Returns: Ugh this place is so far from the office. I’m starving.

He’s jiggling the key in the lock: lock is acting up again. 

Huh?

(This is a callback to the beginning when he was working the lock, he told everyone to do things in pairs to avoid being possessed. He forgot and went off on his own.) Reigen gets possessed

The door clatters and he enters the apartment. 

Mob: ah! Master! Welcome back!

Mob: Master?

Reigen: What have you guys busied yourself with? 

Ekubo: Um.... what?

Serizawa: We made lunch

Mob: eh? ehhh?

Reigen:THIS is what you’ve decided to whittle away the last few hours on?

(This is so hard to translate, but it’s what I love about translating. His word choice here is saying that 1. they acted without permission. 2. they did something that wasted time, and resources and was ultimately unnecessary. 3. they’re screwing around like children.)

Reigen: No one asked you to do this. Why you did is beyond me. 

Others: ?!

Reigen: I put a lot of effort into planning what foods to bring and what the meal plans were going to be.

(Reigen doesn’t normally have light colored eyes. That’s a nice touch.)

Ekubo is looking at Mob

Mob: I....Im sorry

Ekubo remembers how eager mob wanted to cook for Reigen, how he cut him self trying. 

Serizawa: Mr. Reigen, this is very unlike you. Is something wrong?

Ekubo to Reigen:  I don’t like your tone.

Serizawa: Ekubo-kun!*

Ekubo: Look, I’m not sure what’s gotten into you but.......

Reigen: Hmm?

(*This wasn’t made all that clear in the manga, but Serizawa is ALWAYS very deferential around Reigen. He’s never direct with him, meekly suggests things rather than outright stating them. He doesn’t treat their relationship as that of equals, he’s the subordinate and he expresses this in the language he uses and the tone he takes. As opposed to Ekubo who is direct and not afraid to confront Reigen. Ekubo’s pronouns, word choice and tone expresses the belief that he is an equal if not better than the people around him.

Which is why Serizawa is shocked that Ekubo is so direct. Like, How could he just outright say “I dont like your tone” TO Reigen?)

Reigen: got something to say? 

Ekubo: ....how dare you? What gives you the right?

Serizawa: ....?

Reigen: What gives YOU the right? It’s not YOUR body. It’s not like I asked you to possess this man. You did that yourself. 

Serizawa notices that there’s something on Reigen: Ekubo-kun w...wait!

Ekubo: Bastard, if you don’t stop running your mouth....

Reigen smiles: Hmmm? Are you not an evil spirit? You REALLY think you live a normal human life again? 

(I love that panel with Reigen’s silent open-mouthed smile, he knows he’s won.  He’s gonna pull the trigger now.)

Ekubo: ..... I see 

Mob: Eku~ Ekubo: I understand now. -He walks out and closes the door being him-

Mob stands at the door: Ekubo?

Serizawa: Ekubo-kun

(AAAHHH I LOVE HOW YOU DON’T SEE EKUBO’S EXPRESSION IN THE FIRST PANEL THERE)

Reigen: Enough.... he’s so much trouble.

Mob is still at the door:..... Ekubo

Mob: When we were cooking, he said....

Ekubo: He’s considerate in a way.... For an evil spirit like me, he treats me no different than anyone else around him.... that’s something. 

Mob: Eventhough Ekubo is an evil spirit, and a dangerously powerful one at that,... he’s an uncharacteristically a good person.

Mob opens the door and runs outside after him. 

TO BE CONTINUED

I like this part SO GODDAMN MUCH. Reigen is really good at reading people and knowing what to say. He can use his words to get people to feel how he wants them to, and the idea of him getting possessed and unleashing his ability on other people to destroy them is so goddamn cool. 

You’ve heard of Empaths. They are people that easily understand the emotions of others. But in psychology, there’s a lesser known personality type called a “Dark Empath” that can understand peoples feelings well but is also a sociopath that has no problems hurting other people.

Dark Empaths use their understanding of other people to hurt, defraud and other take advantage of others. These are people that convince others to commit suicide or charm people out of their life savings etc.

I wish there was more Dark Empath! Reigen fics. This is something I’ve not seen in Fanfiction, in fact, this comic is the only place I’ve seen it. It’s such an interesting concept. Like, if there were fics that cast him as a villan, then it’s perfectly in-character and logical for him to be a Dark Empath.

[justphilia]

Royalty AU I had but won’t write maybe probably I don’t know

Guess who got unsatisfied with a post and decided to rewrite the whole damn thing?

This bitch!

Anyways I’m gonna give this a go again, this time gonna write in arcs and not in characters.

Same situation as my DBH idea, except this one is even more loose since I don’t know a lot about royalty and I thought about this while sitting around.

Kageyama parents ambiguously dies and Reigen takes pity on the boys. They’re like teens turning adults I suppose? Seventeen to twenty??????? It’s tough, I will fix this.

Ritsu doesn’t like the idea but Shigeo hears there’s a really nifty garden in the palace and what could go wrong if they lived as princes anyways?

One thing about Reigen that is commonly known in the kingdom is that, no matter how many times he denies it, he has a soft spot for kids that ranges from younger than him. 

Which is an issue because staff members are counted.

Cue Tome and Teru. Tome’s a maid servant who also got picked up by Reigen since she was some thief or something idk I’m working on that. At first she got offered the princess role too but she’d rather work with dirt than wear a dress bigger than herself.

Teru’s a knight who has always been in the palace, so he wasn’t offered the prince role. Fine by him though, he gets treated like one anyways, which is why he’s such a prick sometimes.

When Tome arrived, Teru assumed she was hired as staff and wasn’t aware she was suppose to be a princess. So when Ritsu and Shigeo arrives, he thought they’d be the same as her, so he gets a little cocky, assuming they were new servants or something.

Until Reigen declares them as his new sons.

Both requested to keep their family name until they get comfortable, which Reigen immediately understands. Ritsu low key gets a crush on Teru because he’s handsome, and nearly fucking dies when Teru is assigned to teach Ritsu the basics.

Tome gets assigned with Shigeo, and even though she turned down the offer, she was aware of the basics after reading a few books and watching how Reigen acts.

Ritsu, being the fast learner he is, grabs ahold of the idea pretty fast. Shigeo, on the other hand, keeps screwing it up. Mostly because during the times he was suppose to practice, he was vibing in the garden.

This ticks Teru off, because, “Isn’t he at least grateful he’s here? Can’t he take this prince thing seriously?”

Anyways news got out to the other kingdoms that there were new princes, so they’re all buzzing around pretty excited because, for one, despite how shady Reigen seemed, his kingdom is running wealthily and everyone wants a piece of that. But since he didn’t had kids before, they couldn’t arrange marriages to mooch off his shit.

Now that he did though...

But since the news was still pretty fresh, no one really knows who the kids are exactly.

The first person who got intrigued was Suzuki, specifically Shou. He gets a bit too impatient in waiting for more news and decides to travel over to see the new princes himself. He meant to visit Shigeo - since the only info he knew was their names and who was older - but accidentally found his way towards Ritsu’s room instead.

Ritsu isn’t the least bit amused when he saw Shou just sitting there, but he was definitely panicking. 

Shou thought ahead and came in with a disguise, actually, so it won’t give a reason for Ritsu to act all nice and shit. But even after revealing who Shou really was, Ritsu was still just blatantly rude.

Shou liked that.

He promises to visit every week at night.

Ritshou ensues.

After Ritsu finally gets the gist of this royalty jazz, Teru gets a bit frustrated and requested that he teaches Shigeo. Tome shrugs and lets him do it, wishes the blonde good luck, and continues with her chores.

Terumob ensues, will not elaborate. Shigeo is lovable that way.

When Shigeo and Ritsu both finally got the hang of things, Reigen organized a ball to celebrate it. People are invited.

Tsubomi’s role in this is pretty shaky not gonna lie, but she does live as a Suzuki and I’ll probably fix this too. She gets a little crush on Tome and they talk.

Tsutome ensues, but it’s forbidden love (wahhhhhh).

Tome reveals she was suppose to be a princess too, but it would be awkward if she decided to change her status now. She still strongly doesn’t want to be a princess either.

There’s a huge plot hole here as I jump to the next arc without explaining how.

Tsubomi convinces Ritsu that since they are both extremely gay, they should get married without having to worry about accidental crushes. After getting married, Tsubomi can take Tome (as funny as it sounds, it’s technically what happens), then request a divorce and have Ritsu marry Shou instead so there’s not much backlash.

Problem is, they can’t tell anyone else, because rumors do happen and they don’t want to risk that.

Which causes a lot of issues that gives Reigen a large headache I suppose, ranging from Shou sending flowers to Ritsu, to Shou getting mad at Tsubomi, to Shou trying to get Shigeo instead but Teru goes, “HISSSS MINE.”

Things go well in the end. But I did have like a sequel where Shou would take Ritsu on an adventure to find Shou’s mom. Forgetting to tell people.

Cue Reigen screaming as he searches for his son. 

Shigeo: Can I come, that’s my brother--

Reigen: No you stay here and rule the kingdom in my place with Teru and Tome.

AND HERE’S THE FUNNY PLOT TWIST GUYS:

Reigen finds Shou’s mom first, she’s in a tower locked away with Serizawa guarding the place and also to keep her company. Reigen low key gets injured, it’s vague, and Serizawa’s like: Damn, now to protect two royalties I guess.

Problem: Reigen isn’t even aware Shou’s mom is Queen Suzuki, so he rests in a cool tower with Serizawa and her until he feels better to search for his son again.

“Imma go now.” Reigen throws a peace sign but Serizawa has been given orders that if anyone was to trespass this area, they cannot leave alive.

But hey, he said they can’t leave alive, never said they can’t stay alive.

So Serizawa’s like, “Noooooo, you’re still hurt.”

“Damn, guess you’re right.”

Serizawa tries numerous ways to delay Reigen’s healing, but it can only do so much without actually killing the man.

But the moment he gets better, Ritsu and Shou finds them.

“DAD WHAT THE FUCK.”

“Oh hey son.” Suzuki and Reigen says at the exact same time. They look at each other. “What.”

“hellu mommy, i found u, is our hide and seek game over did i win?”

[serenlyss]

Mob Psycho Fic Recs Part 2!

So I keep a running tag on my bookmarks in AO3 with my favorite mp100 fics on it, and now that I have a bunch more it’s time for part 2! Like last time I’ll be including my personal thoughts on them and why I think they’re so good. If you notice your fic on this list and want me to tag your tumblr, let me know!

Effusive Author: Yuu-chi Rating: T Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: serirei, slice of life, character study, relationship study Summary: In the quiet corners of his mind, Reigen cannot help but be unbearably smug. He thinks of Sakurai’s disapproving expression, and the too-careful way he’d said goodbye to Serizawa at the door. He can just imagine how the other former Claw members are going to react when they find out. Serves you all right, Reigen thinks, fingers tangled in the knot of Serizawa’s tie. None of you seem to really understand him at all. My Notes:  Sakurai warns Reigen not to push Serizawa too hard or manipulate them, but Reigen knows that Serizawa isn’t as childish or dumb as they think he is. It’s very sweet and both Reigen and Serizawa are well-written and in character.

Through Hardships to the Stars Author: BeyondTheClouds777 Rating: T Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: no romance, brotherly affection, protective kageyama brothers, canon divergence, hurt/comfort, dad reigen, injury, healing, protective reigen Summary: Shigeo and Ritsu have been on the run for most of their lives, and Claw has never failed to be right behind them. For as long as they can remember, running is all they've ever known. It's all they've ever done. But then, they stumble into the life of Reigen Arataka, and maybe, just maybe, the time has finally come for them to stop running. My Notes: This fic is just... so good. Ritsu and Shigeo protecting each other from harm is simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking, and the writer is so good at creating both tension and moments of levity that let you rest for a bit. Reigen is fantastic in this fic so far despite only being in a few chapters so far, but he’s already proving to be one of the best parts of the fic.

Ostensible Author: CScarlet Rating: T Archive Warnings: Major Character Death Completion Status: Complete Tags: ritshou, character death (or is it?), blood, swearing, panic attacks, angst, psychic violence, corpses Summary: Shou is already searching for Ritsu’s hand with his own. He moves slowly, arm raising in a sluggish arc, like a newborn kitten, blind and unable to control its gait. His complete trust is written all over that poor motion, and Suzuki’s overly sure that Ritsu is going to take his hand. But the thing is, Ritsu can’t. My Notes: This fic threw me for such an emotional loop. It’s extremely well-written and ominous, with a very distinctive and mysterious feel to it. The whole thing is super atmospheric and has maybe one of the most jarring and impactful twists/realizations I’ve ever seen in fanfiction, and once I realized it it made me grin like a madwoman despite the dark atmosphere and content. One of my all-time favorite mp100 fics.

Milk Doesn’t Taste the Same Anymore, Does it? Author: Nyomio Rating: T Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: fluff and angst, happy ending, post-mogami arc, fallout & recovery, transitioning back to normal, swearing Summary: Ritsu knows something is wrong. He feels it before he can even see it. Reigen knows something is wrong without even needing psychic powers. It's all in the body language. Teru doesn't know what's wrong, but he can feel it in the air and in the motions his friend makes. Dimple knew something would be wrong as soon as they left Mogami's hellish world - the question was just how bad it would be. None of them know how to solve it, but they sure as hell were going to find out. After all, if something was bothering Mob - their student, brother, best friend, partner - well, it was bothering them, too. They were going to help. After all, Mob had helped all of them just so much - and Mob was going to learn to accept help back. After all, what goes around comes around, and Mob was overdue for some help of his own. My Notes: This is a really sweet recovery fic focusing on Mob’s trauma post-mogami arc and how it affects him in the days and weeks afterward. It’s overall fairly light-hearted despite the subject matter and has a heavy focus on how much Mob’s friends/family care about him, which is always nice to read.

Permanency Author: Aerugonian Rating: T Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: serirei, canon divergence, dad reigen, reigen as teru’s dad, canon divergence, referenced child abuse/neglect, found family, swearing, slow burn Summary: Reigen never planned on having kids. His relationships have always been short and shallow, he doesn't really care for the idea of marriage (except for the tax breaks), and that's without even considering his lack of interest in women. Reigen can barely take care of himself half the time. The point is, he’d make a terrible parent. Letting Teruki stay on his spare futon after the kid’s apartment was destroyed during the Claw attack was an impulse decision. Reigen never had any illusions that he was a good guy, but he wasn’t such an asshole that he’d let a fourteen-year-old stay on the streets alone. They'd find Teru's parents any day now, and everything would go back to normal. Teru's lack of concern over their whereabouts was weird, but surely no parent in their right mind would ever leave their kid on his own without even a phone call to let him know they were alive. Right? My Notes: If you’re a fan of dad Reigen or Teru as Reigen’s adopted son/ward, this is the fic for you. It’s cute, tender, sweet and just a little heartbreaking, focusing on Teru’s estrangement from his parents and the way Reigen becomes privy to that information after the world domination arc. I really love the way Reigen is written in this fic as a guy who really isn’t cut out to be a father but finds himself unable to say no when Teru needs his help, I think it’s very in character and makes for a really fun and interesting dynamic between them.

Five Second Rule Author: SpiritusRex Rating: G Archive Warnings: Unspecified (no alarming content) Completion Status: Complete Tags: angst, family, time travel, bad decisions, hurt/comfort, brotherly bonds Summary: Ritsu discovers something new about his powers. And then he takes it too far. My Notes: Another fic that quickly shot to the top of my favorites list as early at the first chapter. Despite having short chapters and a relatively simple premise, every chapter has a lot of emotional weight and relevance, packing its own punch despite the low word count. Ritsu having time manipulation abilities wasn’t something I knew I needed until I came across this fic, but it’s such a cool and fun idea that I instantly fell in love with. The author’s writing has a very distinctive and engaging tone and makes great use of the short chapters to pack as much as they can into each installment and it lands pretty much every time. I was so impressed every chapter how they managed to work the time travel concept into so many parts of the story in so many unique ways, definitely a must-read for any fandom member!

tea leaf bandages Author: shcherbatskayas Rating: T Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: no romances, ageswap au, post-mogami arc, mental health issues, panic attacks, PTSD, hurt/comfort Summary: Kageyama Shigeo knows that he isn't the most observant person in the world, but he knows when something is wrong with his students. And so he knows that ever since the Mogami job, Reigen just hasn't been right. (If only he knew exactly what was wrong.) My Notes: An ageswap AU ficlet where Reigen gets possessed and manipulated by Mogami instead of Mob. It focuses on the fallout and Shigeo attempting to comfort Reigen as a student without prying too deeply. It’s very sweet and sad but does have a happy ending.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words Author: Hino Rating: T Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: post-mogami arc, mute mob, PTSD, dad reigen, sign language  Summary: Six Months trapped in that world didn't just go away the moment Mob opened his eyes. He tried to speak and found himself unable. But Reigen, he always knows how to talk to someone. My Notes: This fic is so nice. In the wake of the Mogami arc Mob becomes mute due to his PTSD from the events, so Reigen teaches him sign language to help him communicate better. It’s really sweet to see Reigen patiently teaching Mob (and Dimple trying his hardest to learn too, bless him), and Mob being just really excited to learn and have another way of communicated that doesn’t require him to speak. It’s well-written and heartwarming.

Leftovers Author: SpiritusRex Rating: G Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: time travel, 5+1, brotherly bonding Summary: Ritsu knows now how his power works.But he thinks that, with his brother's help, he can push it further than before, and maybe even do something meaningful with it. (Five times Ritsu and Shigeo use Ritsu's time travel to comfort someone, and one time it's used to comfort Ritsu himself) My Notes: The sequel to Five Second Rule, which is also on this list. It’s only a few chapters in atm but I’m super excited to see where it goes! There’s sure to be plenty of time travel hijinks in this one as well, plus Ritsu and Mob’s sibling relationship is very good.

When there’s nothing but the long way ‘round Author: taizi Rating: T Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: terumob, slow burn, found family, dad reigen, lots of fluff, getting together Summary: If it were anyone else, his tone would have been teasing, and the thoughtful lift of his brow would have been playful, and the tilt to his mouth would have leaned closer to a warm smile. As it is, only bits and pieces make it through Kageyama’s careful repression, shining like irrepressible dawn through tiny cracks in a window shade, and Teruki blinks rapidly, something like sunspots dancing across his eyes. My Notes: An oldie but a goodie! It’s a series of loosely connected terumob shorts for the mp100 valentine’s day event back in 2017, and maybe the cutest terumob fic I’ve read so far. It’s ridiculously sweet and fluffy, told from Teru’s perspective, and it made me cry with how just soft and nice it was to read it. It’s a quick but really worthwhile read if you just want to feel good.

[inarislair]

Thoughts on Reigens self-worth after REIGEN chapter 7

Whoa, its been a wonderful ride reading the REIGEN manga from start to finish. Thanks so much to the team of @reigenscans that worked really hard and did an amazing job <3

Ive been following the discussion on reddit about the last chapter of the Reigen manga. While many here on tumblr and reddit liked the chapter, some people thought it felt a bit off. On reddit, treehouseclimber_ made an interesting post about how Reigens character arc felt unresolved in the end. I replied, going by “framedarcanes” on reddit, but thought I could post a more elaborated reply here too.

So, where does Reigen find himself at the end of chapter 7? I thought id share my view on it. 

  Long analysis under the cut ! 😊  (my first one too .___.)

At the end of chapter 7, Reigen has shown he is ready to open up about his secrets to remain responsible towards the people that come into his life. He is ready for any means necessary to take responsibility when things go too far, even if it takes him getting himself cursed and driven to a forest. He is ready to try harder not to rely on others for help and resolve issues on his own, while still calling for and accepting help (Mob) when it comes to it. He is mostly content with his current life, and has helped Tome realize a great deal about whats important when learning to get to know, accept and respect new people.

Despite, this, I think he is still not able to accept and respect himself completely, which leaves me thinking his characters remains a little unresolved.

 I think the series did some small hints regarding Reigens own insecurities about his "hidden identity" throughout the chapters, letting off a feeling that while Reigen has come to take in and accept new people in his life instead of being alone, he still does not value himself that much. Like his reactions to supposedly only having middle school friends to contact for help and only handling "control of salt" as an exorcist are expressed with more insecurity rather than just acceptance.

His dependence on others, or own skills in his work is clearly a touchy subject, one that is a bit embarrassing and difficult to deal with. While he also speaks calmly about coming to accept his current situation to Tome in chapter 5, these instances make it seem he has a lot of self-doubt despite being better off now. And i think that could have been expanded upon and resolved a bit more. In the last chapter, he comes clean to Tome, but not Serisawa (edit: it can be argued that he likely already knows, but this has yet to be confirmed), decides to sacrifice himself to take responsibility and would have died alone in the woods if it wasn’t for Mob. And yes, he has a badass plan in his mind. But the way he also looks so done and ready to accept his possible death until Mob shows up, is…in one way really sad and concerning.

I feel a part of Reigen maturing was admitting and coming to terms with his hidden self, (which he despised back then) to Mob in mp100 and now with Tome. And him sacrificing himself shows how much he is willing to take responsibility and care for other people...but also how little he values his own life? Put in other words,  it does not show in any way that he has come to accept and value himself enough to not give his life away like that.

In the end Mob saved him, thankfully. But in my opinion, he didnt really open up to others as much as he could have. The most open and vulnerable we see him is again, only with mob;

He has clearly allowed himself to be more open and fragile to Mob, but keeps a much more restricted and professional “self” on for the rest of his workmates. Towards the others (well, mostly Seri), he is still partly hiding his identity, that Tome contrastingly got her friends to admit, and drew closer to them for it; Tome came to the conclusion in the beginning of chapter 7 by seeing that everyone has secrets that they are still good people. By seeing this in her friends, she gained a better understanding of them. She also gained a better view of Reigen and was ready to forgive him.

And i think it was a great development for Tome, and it wraps up her story nicely. But compared to her, im left wondering whether Reigen knows this or could have learnt this, since in the end, he only confessed his secret to Tome and specifically asked her not to tell Serisawa. So my view of him now is he still has room to grow to accept himself a bit more, just valuing himself for who he is.

And i would have hoped we could have gotten to see him begin to value himself more, by admitting the truth to his own friends (Seri), just like Tome did. I think the series had a very good potential to expand on this theme through Reigens and Serisawas relationship and have them grow a bit closer by having a similiar talk and show Serisawa is willing to work with Reigen regardless of him not having psychic powers. Overall, just examining their dynamic more would have been interesting.

Then again, this is Tomes story, and maybe from a counter-perspective, a point to her revelation could be that whether or not someone has secrets, they are probably more genuine and well-meaning beneath than what they first appear to be. She learns not to judge her friends too fast. Reigen telling her the truth helps her realize this. As such, the secret in itself is not important, but the fact that the people having some secrets are still multifaceted and genuine. While it takes some secrets being revealed for Tome to learn this, it does not have to mean you always have to uncover everyones deepest personalities to value and understand them as a person.

Still, while Reigen teaches Tome this, and Tome helps her friends be more okay with their ”hidden selves”, i am left feeling Reigen could have grown to value his “hidden self” more from it, too. So as it stands, in the end i do think Reigen still has room for development.

Other than that, i loved this spinoff, and might make more posts about it if I have time. And if you had other takes on this I missed or viewed differently, im always eager to think about this from other perspectives!

[gurguliare]

please talk about teru. what is going on in his head?

What can I say that “prince of light” doesn’t say? No, Teru is… a nice boy… My favorite Teru scene right now is easily the part of the manga where he decides to confront the broccoli alone; it’s funny both as a measure of confidence, but also because it comes right after Claw arc, where Teru achieves a considerable victory through… the power of teamwork. Some people, taking note of that, might seek to use collaboration more into future battles! Teru shrugs off the lesson entirely. New arc, blank slate. (Is someone maybe smarting a little from Mob’s line about “you’ll only hold me back”? Guess leadership ability wasn’t worth THAT much after all!)

The thing about reformed Teru in most of the comic is that he basically hasn’t replaced his previous identity with anything stable—he’s a chameleon not just as a fighter but also in any context, we see him kind of flip from “warm, charming sidekick” to “grounded leader” to “supportive civilian friend” as he thinks the moment dictates, transitions which are much more jarring than his pre-Mob codeswitching as popular star student/urabanchou. The few times he’s really alone onscreen also tend to be a complete blank as far as expressed personality; even when he’s furious with the divine tree, he doesn’t look furious, which is made odder by the fact that Teru when we first meet him is perfectly capable of quite genuine, sincere-seeming outbursts of emotion, admittedly with an audience he very much wants to impress. But because Mob convinces him that his “real” self is the part of him that feels apathetically detached from the best parts of his life—the joys of performing well and being praised for it—he kind of adopts that detachment wholesale as his starting point for a new, improved personality. And then he, er, has no idea where to go from there and slaps things on experimentally, but drops them just as easily. Only when he admits to himself that Mob is also a hypocrite who throws tantrums does he start to de-repress more normal desires and resentments, as in the epilogue.

… None of the above is an observation original to me, BUT, one thing I do think about a lot is the fact that Teru’s first real encounter with Mob after Black Vinegar is… uh… Mob freely violently attacking Koyama in the alley + committing to an assault on Claw not long after. Like, there’s basically no point in their friendship when Teru ISN’T aware on some level that Mob’s principles are conditional, and tbh I think if Reigen hadn’t intervened at the end of the 7th division arc then Teru would have initiated a hard backslide then and there—crush aside, his unspoken motive for going with Mob to fight Claw seems to proving to himself that, actually, psychic powers are the most important thing, and his mistake was in using them for trivial gain. So when the end fight doesn’t go the way he expects, that’s a big secondary shock following on his original defeat, and kind of forces him to course-correct from even his first approach to reinventing himself… we also see him back off a little from I’m Your New Best Friend And Fated Ally at this point. Idk. It’s a charming slight turn in his development that happens entirely in the background but sets up his greater reticence going forward. I would read the AU where Mob (or maybe Reigen? Reigen would be more fun) did semi-murder at least one dude there and Teru was like, great! Now I have something to teach you about disposing of the bodies.

[awkwardbsd]

For the ask game, bnha and mp100! (If you watched them, or feel free to ignore)

Thank you for the ask!! I really appreciate it~

I think this is gonna get a little long, so everything is UNDER THE “KEEP READING”!

Boku no Hero Academia

Favourite character: Eijirou Kirishima, Kyouka Jirou, and Shouta Aizawa

Kirishima - He’s just such a good guy, he embodies masculinity and courage, his backstory isn’t the “tragic” type comparing to most Shonen Jump characters yet the story still evokes sympathy for him with relatability, and he’s willing to do anything for his friends.

Jirou - Her character design is really nice, she’s realistic and sharp-witted, her interest in music just makes her that much more awesome, and her moments are all highlights.

Aizawa - He seems like a really lazy teacher on the surface, but he’s secretly a really compassionate guy whose passion is teaching and protecting his students when it comes down to it. He doesn’t want much attention and does things for the greater good whether people are watching or not.

Most relatable character: Shouta Aizawa

I relate to a lot of BNHA characters except for maybe Grape and Momo (I’m not that bad, and I’m not that rich or composed or amazing). I’m also nothing like Uraraka. I wish I was like Momo and Uraraka though.

Aizawa - laziness on the surface

Bakugou - Yes, internally, I really do possess some anger

Midoriya - emotional and wears his heart on his sleeve

Kaminari - I’m a dumbass

Most underrated character: Kyouka Jirou

Do I really need to say much? She’s amazing!

Most overrated character: Tsuyu Asui, Dabi, and Toga

I don’t see the appeal. I also included a little more below. Plus, some of the fanart I’ve seen is NSFW and makes me uncomfortable. I just don’t like her that much.

Yeah, I don’t care if Dabi is a Todoroki. I don’t care for Toga.

Least favourite character: Grape and Endeavor

Obviously. Although I don’t support them as people, I can see why they exist, and I appreciate the way that they are presented and written because it’s given in a way that you “aren’t supposed to turn out like them”.

Favourite pairing: Izuku x Ochako, Bakugou x Kirishima, Todoroki x Yaoyorozu, and Kaminari x Jirou

Yeah, I think all of these are pretty basic and self-explanatory.

Least favourite pairing: TodoBaku(Deku)

I just don’t see the point.

Favourite part/moment: Sports Festival Arc + All for One vs One for All

I think the second season was the strongest overall because I watched it all at once (which affected my perception of the series), and it was amazing. I can’t pick one part of it.

And that fight in the third season was far more emotional than I expected. I didn’t feel anything when I did read some of the manga for the third season. I think emotional impact is far greater in the anime for me.

Least favourite part/moment: Kota hitting Deku in the nuts + Tsuyu crying after the Bakugou Retrieval Arc 

Both of these made it so I just couldn’t like either character.

What about it got my attention: The Hype

What about it kept my attention: Animation, Soundtrack, Voice Acting, and Story

Yuuki Hayashi is amazing on score, Studio Bones gave this series their all, the cast deserves all the hype they get, and the story is amazing.

Overall opinion:

Yeah, it’s overhyped, but it deserves a lot of the hype it gets. I just wish the fanbase didn’t ruin a little of the show for me. The amount of “antis” really surprises me.

Mob Psycho 100

Favourite character: Ritsu Kageyama + Arataka Reigen

I’m one of those people who relate to Ritsu. No matter how much you have, you’re never thankful for it. Plus, Ritsu is a surprise and is a lot more likable than you’d think. I don’t understand the hate he gets.

Surprisingly, I didn’t like Reigen at first, but now I do. I think Studio Bones and the writing really do him justice. Seriously, Studio Bone’s likes him more than the rest of us. Studio Bones is Reigen’s biggest fan. I will admit that I will never like him as much as the staff at Bones.

Most relatable character: Ritsu Kageyama

^^

Most underrated character: Ekubo

The fact that he’s voice by the same person as One for All makes me feel odd.

Most overrated character: N/A

Least favourite character: Touichirou Suzuki

I found his character surprisingly weak compared to the rest of the cast.

Favourite pairing: Mob x Tsubomi

Mob deserves what he wants. I don’t really ship in this series.

Least favourite pairing: Reigen x Mob

Boi, if you ship this… I don’t know… I have seen a couple of things… cannot be erased. *curls into a ball*

Favourite part/moment: Reigen’s Antics + End of First Season + Reigen’s Growth

Least favourite part/moment: N/A

I don’t have a particular moment that I hate.

What about it got my attention: The Hype

What about it kept my attention: Animation, Voice Acting, and Story

It was one of Setsuo Itou’s first roles, but he killed it (in a good way). Takahiro Sakurai and Miyu Irino both give amazing performances as well, especially Sakurai because Reigen wouldn’t be the same without his voice.

Overall opinion:

I like this show a lot. It’s really fun, and if you like this, you should watch Hinamatsuri.

[witchreflection]

Hello friends, I not only translated from Spanish my MP100/GO crossover, I expanded it a bit 

The one where Mob is the Antichrist (WIP)

As it happens with all important projects, when the moment to set the apocalypse into motion arrived, the infernal powers appointed (or may be, sentenced) a committee to oversee all details, and as it happens with all committees, no one ever agreed on anything and only one person (or in this case, being) did all the work[1].

In another world, the unfortunate sap in charge of the allocation of a human family for the Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan and Lord of Darkness, chose the family of the American Cultural Attaché in the United Kingdom as the best suited for the task, and then devised an ingenious plan (for a demon) where all the actual planning for the interchange of babies was delegated to other even more unfortunate infernal agents.

In this world, however, the outcome of the committee representative’s game of eeny, meeny, miny, moe was different, so the chosen family was that of the daughter of a Japanese home appliances tycoon, and then the committee’s representative forgot to actually delegate the planning until the last moment. This is why the demon Crowley received the following orders alongside a basket with a perfectly average looking, dark haired male baby:

“Corrupt a human so they can be persuaded to steal a child from his mother’s arms, to be unknowingly replaced by our Lord’s son.”

And,

“DO NOT MESS IT UP, CROWLEY.”

Crowley offered ₤100[2] to a nurse he found smoking in the parking lot to do the deed.

And well, many years later Crowley will wash his hands over the whole affair, arguing that his plan would have worked if that same day, at that same hospital, at the other end of the same hall where Hoshino Nadeshiko-san (full-time heiress) was in labor, Kageyama Akane-san (programmer, alongside her husband at the UK for work) was not in the same situation. Or maybe it would have worked if this nurse were not terribly racist, on top of unscrupulous, and didn’t think that “all Chinese people look the same”[3].

***

Eventually, the Kageyama family (now including their much-loved Shigeo) had to return to Japan once their contracts and visas expire. In the meanwhile, the young Hoshino Asahi-kun grew a bit neglected by his parents, but with the constant attention and counsel of his kendo instructor[4] and the housekeeper.

***

Asahi-kun’s 15th birthday comes but no hellhound does.

Crowley and Aziraphale scramble to find out what happened to the Antichrist, and they first search for the nurse who is now in prison[5] and doesn’t know anything of use, then the hospital, where they pick up a paper trail[6] that leads them to Japan.

“Well,” says the demon to the angel. “On the bright side, you do like sushi.”

***

Kageyama Shigeo is a very normal baby. Average size, average weight, reaches the developmental milestones at the expected ages. His parents love him very much and if Shige-chan has an habit of always managing get things he shouldn’t into his hands, they don’t think too much about it and gently correct him, just as they do when he tries to lick the neighbour’s cat or pulls from mommy’s hair.

When things start to float a bit, they take it on stride, because, well, it is not really problem, it is only small things and not very high, and Akane is pregnant again.

It does take them by surprise when Ritsu-chan keeps dropping his pacifier or a preferred toy and they have to keep picking it up for him, which immediately raises a concern about how many things that touched the floor ended up on Shige-chan’s mouth, and relief that they don’t have to worry about that with Ritsu-chan[7].

As Shige grows, so do his powers, and his family also grows accustomed to them. Soon, every time he cries –which is not often– the furniture will rattle, the rain will not touch him and he would make little and not so little animals swim through the air, or the bath water would float in shapes, but is always to entertain Ritsu or their friend Tsubomi. Sometimes the cutlery will bend, or Shige would accidentally make everything in the house hover 2cm over the floor in his sleep, but he is a good kid and it’s not like he does it intentionally.

Then, after an incident where Ritsu returns unharmed but covered in blood and Shige in in tears, and they don’t tell no matter how much Akane and Hisao ask their children what happened, Shige stops using his powers deliberately while the accidents increase, but they can’t do anything about it, because who do you ask about your child ESP problems? 

***

Later, people will debate if the well-timed appearance of Reigen Arataka into Shigeo’s life was in fact as “godsend” as the Kageyamas thought the day their child returned home from school happier and more at ease that they had seen him in months.

The fact that the man would also act as a quick response free babysitter and chaperon also helped to improve their opinion of him[8].

***

Kageyama Shigeo is a very unremarkable boy, but he tends to have a tangible effect in the people who cross his path, and he achieves this despite his powers and no thanks to them, mostly.

Had this been a different world, his powers would have not been obvious, but would have arranged the world around him to his liking. In this one, they never get him what he wants and he has to figure that one all on his own[9].

***

A list of times the world could have ended ahead of schedule:

After the incident when Shigeo lost control of his powers for the first time and believed, for a second, before he heard him cry, that Ritsu was dead.

All the times Dimple tried and failed to convince Shigeo to help him become a god[10].

The time a technician’s shoelace got caught in his desk chair’s wheel, making him trip and smash his keyboard, almost starting up a chain of events that would have resulted in a Chinese Navy ship colliding with an American one, had he not also accidentally disconnected the ethernet connection of his terminal in the process.

The time Mogami almost managed to make Shigeo lose his faith in humanity.

The time Dimple did achieve godhood thanks to Shigeo’s powers, before Shigeo’s powers decided they could do give it a try on their own and Dimple realised his mistake.

That one incident by the end of Shigeo’s second year at middle school, which is not discussed in public by people in the known, for plausible deniability, you understand. Even thought it was not his fault, he is very sorry and very sure it won’t happen again and he helped put everything together again, and he has been reassured that no one died, miraculously[10].

But the important bit is that it didn’t happen.

*** For a being that some of the time is a snake, Crowley has way too much leg to fit into a tourist class plane seat, and he has time to complain about it at length during the 12 hours flight.

You see, due to the intrinsic nature of airlines, miracling two last-minute first-class plane tickets, does not mean that those two first-class seats actually exist in that flight.

The fact that Crowley was responsible for making flying a terribly uncomfortable ordeal for the masses, was an irony lost on him.

So was the fact that he was directly contributing to the flight attendant’s path to sainthood, attained by her infinite patience.

________________________

[1]Except that, in fact, none of them did anything.

[2] The money was fake, but the nurse deserved it.

[3] Yeah, neither I know what Crowley was expecting to happen.

[4] If he’d had the time to pay attention to these things, Hoshino Katashi-san (CEO of his father-in-law’s company and absent but demanding parent) would had made an issue out of the kendo instructor being British. Fortunately, not only he never asked who was teaching his son, but the instructor wasn’t even really British in the first place, nor Japanese as Hoshino-san would preferred, nor anything, simply because the instructor wasn’t born in any country, or region, or geographic zone, as he had been brought into existence by Divine Will before the Creation, and he has been issued the physical form he inhabited after a long and tedious bureaucratic process, and he very much prefers to never have to go through it again, thank you.

[5]After noticing the money she had been paid with was fake, the nurse took a very pragmatic decision by taking the extra baby she found herself with to an adoption agency for rich people, where she received a quite large “fee”. This inspired her to a change in careers and became a full time “recruiter” for the agency, until it was closed under investigations for human trafficking.

[6]Not literally. The paper archive was burnt in a freak accident which was in no way caused by infernal agents with no knowledge about electronic databases.

[7]What they don’t know is that, soon enough, Shige-chan starts picking up things for his brother too when they are not looking. Maybe this is the reason why the brothers built extraordinarily strong immune systems and rarely get sick, maybe it is the other way around. I’m betting in the later.

[8]So did the discreet background check they did(a) on Reigen to make sure nothing untoward would happen. It also revealed that the man had his driving licence and an updated certification in first aid, making him qualified enough to take up child-care professionally.

[8.a] A leftover form their youth, before they decided to use their skills in a more legitimate manner as “cybersecurity”.

[9]With the support of loving family and friends, not that it lessens his effort in any way, but it is nice to mention it and Shigeo likes be reminded of it, too.

[10]But not a god as in God, more like a god as in the inaccurate translation of kami in Shintoism. Unbeknownst, back then, to Dimple, had he succeeded in making a god out of Shigeo, the results could had been less like the Emperor (like he envisioned) and closer (but not quite) to the actual Almighty.

[11]This is still being debated by the people in the known.

[sandflakedraws]

Hey so I've been considering checking out abot for a while now. But before I do, I wanna know what the draw is for you. What do you like so much about it ?

Strap yourself in, we’re about to go through one longass hell of a ride. Fair warning that this gushy love letter has a good chunk of spoils for canon mp100 and abot alike, so do with that what you will. (though i keep most of the spoils to the earlier chapters so i can leave some firsthand experience left)

ABoT has 5 main (not all) attractions for me, most of which are incredibly personal :1. nuanced, actually mature depiction of abuse2. lack of a ‘perfect savior’3. plotting cause+effect4. scene setting (okay this one is more a taste thing that i happen to really love)5. incredible writing all around

Part 1. Nuanced, actually mature depiction of abuse.

I was an abused and neglected child. As such, it’s very easy to see where some of the appeal of this type of fanfic would come from. Course, I’d encourage a looksie regardless because it’s written with respect to the subject matter, and because fics like these have great potential to expand on human understanding and empathy.

THAT SAID ! In order to talk about the depiction of abuse in abot, I first need to talk about the abuse in mp100 canon.

To be frank, I think phantomrose96 handles it better than mp100. Especially the execution and aftermath of said topic.

For comparison I’m going to use the Mogami arc (an arc i do like, perhaps less than the majority of fandom, tho this’ll likely shed a light on why)

The depiction of abuse between abot and canon have some similarities. In both cases, Mob is uprooted from his foundations of support, and the strain goes on for a lengthy amount of time. Canon!Mob’s experiences are 6 months long, and abot!Mob is 4 years. The differences start hereafter, though.

For starters, with canon!Mob, we learn about his torture mainly through his own POV, with Mogami making commentary. His firsthand experience is bolded and put at the forefront, and functions as the end note of the scenes which feature them. Mob is isolated, ostracized, and bullied. He is beat up at several points. One such instance sees him lose a tooth. His bullies torture a cat to death, smash a brick on his head, and stab him with an exacto knife.The ‘maturity’ of canon!Mob’s abuse comes firstly from the severity and cruelty of it. And secondly, for how it could drive him into using his psychic powers against people willingly. It highlights that one can be as shaped by their surroundings as by their choices.It’s dark, and it’s weighty.

However, the abuse in the arc is used a mechanic, and is glossed over once its primary use is over with. No abuse in this vein crops up after this arc.

The point of it’s presence is to raise the stakes, to showcase “this is fucked up” and then move on when the lesson is learned. We only get 2 peaks that Mob even remembers it. Once is with Mob acting quite fearful when Mogami shows up again, and the other when Mob goes to help a cat off a pole.

Still, the fact remains that it’s never mentioned for the rest of mp100. 

And thusly, Mob is presented with no means to process or deal with the trauma other than to, presumably, remain quiet about it. Or otherwise, for the reader to assume that the experience was relegated to subconsciousness. After all, we’re told expressly with Minori that the memory begins to fade as early as a day after. 

This stance can be detrimental to those who experience abuse, as it can imply that no help exists for the survivor to seek. That it’s better to simply forget about it, and move on without guidance.

Which, y’know, could work fine if it was ONE’s intention to showcase that some people don’t deal with trauma outright, keeping it hidden.

But there is a difference between “purposefully writing someone to seem unaffected when they really are” and “purposefully writing a macguffin to clear the way of an old arc to make room for a new one" 

I love ONE’s writing, I do, but it seems very clear to me that he was giving himself an out for having to write long reaching consequences of such a brutal arc going forward. Folks can get from the arc what they want, and that’s hella valid. I mean, shit, my trauma was never front and center either when I was Mob’s age. 

However, there’s a clear delineation between coincidence and intentionality. 

By having the abuse all happen in a dreamlike world, he gives himself an out. The characters are more or less able to skirt around the issue, or otherwise forget about it.ONE thereby dodges having to write further complications to the story he wants to tell.

Enter A Breach of Trust.

In Abot, the aftermath of being abused is a part of Mob’s day to day life, like actual trauma do. And here, the process of dealing and coping with said abuse is the main function of it’s appearance in the fanfic.

The four years Mob spends on his own are broadly covered in a punchy ~1k words at the beginning of chapter 4 (the fic is 133k words long, for comparison). They are to let you know the nature of Mob’s problems, without lingering unnecessarily on them, exploiting them, or making them voyeuristic. And in fact, Mob gets out of the Mogami house in chapter 8 (again, in a fic 24 chaps long).

The rest of the chapters where Mob makes an appearance are about addressing what he went through, and trying to help him. 

As opposed to mp100 canon, we learn a lot of information as to the nature of what mob experienced through Reigen. He often has sad or horrified responses, as one could expect to have in his shoes. But his response is not the end note of the scenes which feature them. Instead, it’s the actions he and Mob take, in equal turns, to bring about change which gets the end note.

I’ll use the milk scene in chapter 11 as an example.

Reigen learns a piece of information about Mob’s life, namely that he was denied milk:

“You have milk?”

“Uh…yeah. Not even expired. I bought it like two days ago.”

“But Shishou said…” Mob swallowed the words. His breathing picked up, eyes flickering across the single carton of milk in Reigen’s fridge. Slowly, his voice almost choked, Mob answered, “Yes, yes please…”

Reigen’s response:

He couldn’t fathom what sort of world the kid had just escaped, but he knew now he didn’t want to. And he didn’t want to make Mob relive it, not if it was something so horrific that a single glass of warm milk could move him to tears.

The end note of the scene (literally the last line):

“Here,” Reigen said, sliding his mug across the oaken table. “Have mine too…”

Abot, unlike a good chunk of media, seeks not to use traumatic experiences as a throwaway mechanic for a separate, main focus. Or as a stand in for faux character depth or grittiness. I’m lookin at you Kaneki Ken.  Or worse, as an inevitable reality. No.

The actual maturity of abot!Mob’s abuse, which I’ve been hootin about with the title card, comes from its application to Mob.

It will not be brushed off as a bad dream. It will not be relegated to subconscious, or forgotten. It is not a ‘shortcut to coolness’, or a ‘dark history’ to earn abot!mob some tragic backstory cred. Nor will it be “solved” with a single long talk, or hug, or even to just put Mob back in his house.

Abot seeks to offer a more layered, real world approach to it. That trauma, fictional or not, does not make you cooler. That it takes several, seemingly small steps to start on the path of recovery. And that there is no reaching your “before” status, but just changing the shape of your “after”.

For that matter! Mob also has agency of his own. It is not Reigen that springs Mob from the Mogami house, but rather Mob himself, taking matters into his own hands. 

There was no plan to it. Mob moved. He raced to the door and the inky world beyond. His feet collided with cold stone. Stone became grass, which sheared away before each footfall, leaving wet pulp and mud beneath his beating steps. The vastness of the open sky and the world stretching off in all directions, even after four years, could not overwhelm him more than the image of his dead Shishou scorched behind his eyelids.

Mob will fight on matters he considers important, calling the cops, for example.

Mob’s jaw moved, his wide eyes steeled over, harder now, resolve tight in his face. He looked up to Reigen. “I…wouldn’t like that, Mr. Reigen.”

He’ll voice his own opinion, draw his own conclusions, set his own goals.

His hands twisted in his lap, eyes dropping to them for a moment before they flickered up with new, burning resolve. “…If you could teach me…”

“Teach you?”

Mob nodded vigorously. “How you’re getting rid of it.”

And Mob is not relegated to cowering at all times either.  He’ll enjoy things he likes, build himself up, amongst other things.

The rain drenched him. Through the blues and pinks, water could pass. Water wasn’t living, so it wasn’t stopped, it wasn’t shredded. But it felt alive enough to Mob. It felt like something that wanted to reach him, and could.

Mob shut his eyes and smiled. Even if he couldn’t suppress the barrier now, that wasn’t reason enough to give up, not this time around. This time was different.

Rest assured that this journey is as much an active choice on Mob’s part, as it is Reigen’s. Reigen is simply a guide for Mob. And he’s meandering through his guidance half the time, which brings me to part deux.

Part 2. Lack of a perfect savior

I will be the first to admit that Reigen is hilariously flawed. Abot!Reigen likewise. And yes! This is another reason why I like Abot ^^

Preface in place before I talk about this, I am. a tough ass customer. We just had a whole previous section of analysis to illustrate that (which confession time, i cut that down by half), but to go more in depth - It is extremely easy to take me out of a story. And this is because, ironically, I love storytelling.

For better or worse, when I’m consuming media, I cannot turn off the storytelling part of my brain. Ergo, if I see something that can be improved, I’m launched back into a 4th person perspective, no longer engaging directly with the content. Sometimes it’s minor enough where I don’t mind any. But unfortunately, more often than not, it’s enough to get me to drop things when too many instances pile up. 

And as one of those Hoity Toity Connoisseurs of the hurt/comfort genre, the human version of the Messianic Archetype™ is both a common occurrence, and a surefire way to get me to drop your story upon first sight.

I cannot engage with media that have regular ass people know exactly how to react, what to say, what to read into, on the first try, when the nature of human existence so chaotic and varied.

Maybe that kid is hiding under the table because you’re wearing fuchsia, maybe it’s because your voice sounds like someone they had a nightmare about, maybe its because the lights hurt their eyes, maybe it’s because they feel safer in cramped spaces, maybe they’re eating ants. You don’t know. They don’t know. Getting things wrong is as much a part of the process as getting things right.

SO!!! ONCE MORE WITH FEELING!!! ABOT!!!

Phantomrose makes it clear, as early as Reigen & Mob’s first meeting, that we’re dealing with a regular ass human fuckup, even in the midst of the rose filter from Mob’s POV.

In the scene, Reigen is presented as being undoubtedly ignorant as to the true nature of what the hell is going on. He, mistakenly, does not believe that the barrier is real. All he knows that is Mob has come from some Yikes and needs help. Oh, and in Reigen’s limited knowledge, he thinks there’s a confirmed Dead Man off somewhere too.

And yet, despite the pressing circumstances, or y’know, having a presumed corpse he should probably mention to somebody, Reigen does not call the cops.

“Okay. Okay… Do you—just—do you want to come to my house? Just for tonight. It’s…late. Don’t feel like dealing with any more police officers tonight anyway. Maybe we just…go sleep. Get you some clothes or, a shower probably. It’s…I’m tired. You’ve got to be tired too.”

We get an explanation for this later on, in chapter 14…

What if he ran off again, back to his dead Shishou’s basement…?

…but. Were the audience not clued into Mob’s circumstances, one would argue that though well intentioned, Reigen’s messing up. And despite the many things Reigen does to help Mob (which he does, he really does) this motif continues throughout the fic.

With Reigen sometimes saying insensitive things to Mob.

“No, I’m…” Mob paused. He hiccupped, voice still hitching, body still trembling. “I’m sorry Shishou is dead. I did something to make him kill himself. I know it.”

“Good, Mob. Good…”

Mob stared up, jaw slack, baffled.

With Reigen often acting as much as his own interest as in Mob’s.

“Toast, Mob, it’s going to be toast. And eggs. And yes. This is breakfast for both of us, and you’re going to help.” Reigen looked the boy over, and the feeling in his chest was almost manic. He was looking at something maybe he could fix.

Where Reigen will make logical assumptions, but false ones nonetheless.

“I’m going to grab just a handful of things from those aisles, okay? Not going far. I just want you to stay here, with the paper, and pick up our order when it’s ready. Okay? It’s another exercise. I’m still here. I’m still suppressing the barrier. I just think you’re strong enough to stand here for a moment by yourself. Can you do that?”

–carved things up, sliced them, killed them…

Mob’s mind filled with static.

He nodded. It was the only thing he could think to do.

Reigen smiled, and stood up from his crouched position. He turned on his heel, toward the left side of the store. He rounded the edge of the counter, and suddenly he was gone.

And yes ! As a survivor, this shit is important to me. 

These scenes showcase that comfort does not have to be found gift wrapped, pure and untainted, and delivered by an angel spluttering down from the shiniest parts of heaven. No. It can be found in people who are flawed and sometimes selfish and who are just trying. It can be found in folks like abot!Reigen.

In folks who weren’t predestined by some holy undertaking, but rather who are just making the best of the circumstances they find themselves thrust into.

SPEAKING OF WHICH,

Part 3. Plotting cause + effect 

I’ll be honest and say this is something I learned very recently from Phanrose. 

From my creative perspective, as long as an action is in character for someone, I can find a way to make it happen. A good showcase for this is, ironically enough, Attic Au, and it’s many incarnations. I can adapt to circumstances to cause what I want to happen. 

This is, again, a tie-in to the way I rationalize the chaotic nature of human existence. Sometimes shit can just do, and as long as you pull hard enough emotionally, you can get people on board. So I spend a lot of time on the “why”, with my “hows” remaining fairly lose and interchangeable.

Abot takes this in the opposite direction. She says ‘okay but what if I use the chaotic nature of human existence to cause everything to bump into eachother’.

And honestly I’m kinda tripping over it ?? Like it’s extremely fun ? Connecting all these dots? And it doesn’t feel convenient either. It feels like a logical progression.

To use early examples, as I have been for the most part:

Jun hires Reigen to investigate her husband Tetsuo disappearing at weird hours.

“That’s really all I want from this.” She looked up now, palms in her lap, eyes set to Reigen. “I want you to just figure out what’s going on because I can’t.”

Reigen then discovers that Tetsuo is being possessed.

A thousand memories assaulted him at once, tainted with the raw smell of incense, the grittiness of salt between his fingers and under his nails, dimmed lights and candles and incantations and that dread in the air, like pressure, that he felt whenever a Spirits and Such case turned out to be real.

Reigen decides to confront Mogami 2 different times. The first time he learns his identity, and the second time Reigen gets too close to hitting on Mob’s presence for Mogami’s comfort.

“Why did you buy cough syrup today?” Reigen blurted out. “You miss that taste too? Tetsuo doesn’t have a cold. It’s not for him. You got other puppets I don’t know about?!”

Mogami threatens to kill Tetsuo and take Reigen, so Reigen makes a bargain (with newly cut up hand to make his 1 sigil out of 1000 work).

Reigen thrust his hands down and out, body displayed unprotected. Sweat slid down his face, soaked through his suit, mixed with the blood in his palm. “Come possess me! Space for rent right here, y-yeah? Yeah! Not gonna resist. Not gonna fight. All I’m gonna do is slam you with these tags if you get too close!” 

The tag works, banishing Mogami. Mob notices the lack of Mogami’s presence, and goes looking for him.

Even when Mogami left the house, his aura only ever grew fainter, steadily diffused as Mogami established distance between himself and the house. It was an easy blip to detect at all times. It was a constant thrumming presence in Mob’s life for the last four years.

And it had vanished in an explosion that left Mob’s psychic core ringing.

“…Shishou?” Mob called through the door.

Upon finding Mogami’s corpse in the attic, Mob makes for the streets, thinking Mogami has freshly killed himself and that he can no longer stay there.

Mob shot down the hall, took the stairs two at a time with his hand skimming the banister. His mind wasn’t clearing. His thoughts weren’t forming. The reality of what he’d seen beat in heavier against him with each passing second. Mob let out another keening crying, finding no response in the black house.

Another brush of wind, Mob turned toward the foyer. He’d been right—the front door had been left open.

This makes for a wonderful storytelling device. Firstly, it makes the audience both wary and excited for the consequences of any actions in the future. If any action can seemingly build off one another, what’s to say a throwaway moment wont come back to haunt us? 

Plus! Aside from making scenes engaging, it also subverts some tropes while it’s at it.

Reigen, despite literally being a PI, does not find Mob on a missing person’s case. And does not discover Mob either of the times he followed Tetsuo into the Mogami house. Instead he only finds Mob by the boy crashing into him. Which only happens again because of a set up in chapter 3.

This carries on and spills over into Ritsu’s plotline too! Which nbnmbxn, I haven’t touched on as much in order to leave a good chunk of story there to peruse as you will.

I’ve learned a lot just from watching pr96 chisel out a story. And you wanna know what else I’ve learned?

Part 4. Scene setting 

OKAY I FESS UP THIS IS JUST ME HAVING A THING FOR SETTINGS BEING INCORPORATED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE SCENE OKAY, OKAY.

With that out of the way, she’s damn good at it yall.

Phantomrose96 likes to employ what I call mood scenery. Where the physical objects present in a setting take a backseat to how the characters feel about it, and therefore flesh it out all the better.

Compare how Reigen sees his apartment:

Reigen cringed a bit as he looked about, taking in, remembering the mess decorating the living room. The ashtray on the table overflowed with cigarette butts, staining the wood around it with sooty acrid residue. Three empty plates were pushed to the table’s edge, scraped of food and left to stagnate for…how many days, Reigen wasn’t sure. Empty beer cans gathered in a herd near them, a few on the floor, leaving sticky coagulated rings around their rim and smelling of staleness, of stagnant fermentation.

With how Mob sees it:

Mob’s apprehension eased off. The look was replaced entirely with something like confusion. He pulled out of his blanket cocoon, let his eyes rove over the apartment in full inspection. The confusion never left his face.

“It’s so much cleaner than Shishou’s house.”

Scenes like this are peppered and expertly handled throughout the entirety of abot. 

As a comic illustrator, I often struggle with coming up with backgrounds that tell you a bit about the circumstances of the people who live there, and about the mood of someone viewing it. But Phananarosa does it.

And, like. every setting is like this. Instead of getting fatigue at scene changes, I eagerly dive in because what’s not to love !!! It captures just enough details that it can be fleshed out, without boring the audience with a surplus of inconsequential details.

Teruki walked past the rows of lockers. Further back were bathroom stalls. Three sinks lined up beneath a wall-length mirror. This area existed as its own pocket, seemingly separate from the rest of the lockers, and the light only scarcely touched it. The shadows grew heavy along a gradient, the farthest sink half shrouded in darkness. Even farther back, crowned by a single burnt-out hanging light, was a row of four showerheads, no curtains separating one from the next.

It is no coincidence that some of the backgrounds I consider to be some of my better ones, are ones I made for abot.

It’s very apparent that Phanro9 knows what she’s doing with the words she chooses to dress these with. And, you guessed it, TIME TO SEGUE INTO

Part 5. Incredible writing all around

Okay now I can just gush about some the extra little details that GhostFlower96 uses that just make her tale that much more fun to read.

Amazing dialogue. Especially in Reigen’s case.

“Gottaswirl the eggs to seal in the moisture. Gotta just…put extra butteron the toast, I guess, so you don’t taste the black part cuz that’sprobably bitter, so you—never mind I’ll make different toast thatisn’t burned, gimme your plate.”

You ever tire of reading fics where the characters sound the same ? Spectreblossom has got you covered!

He thrust a hand out, palm open to Ritsu. “My name is Teruki Hanazawa. I’m the esper who’s better than you.”

Ritsu stared at the offered hand. He fought the instinct to step back. “The spirits didn’t say anyone owned them.” He paused, and weighed his options. “And who says you’re stronger than I am?”

Say you wanna feel ur heartstrings tugged because god oh god he’s a mess but he’s still good for something. we got a fresh supply

Beside them, the rice pot boiled over, glutinous water dripping down the black pot’s side and charring against the newly cleaned grating. The sauce bowl sat stagnant and undissolved, a colloid of new and stale ingredients perhaps unsalvageable for the recipe. Broken spoons, filthy sponges, open containers of starch and sugar and soy sauce littered the counter tops, the smell of something burning lingering overtop.

And at the center of the mess, Mob sliced the knife clean through the red bell pepper.

You wanna be haunted by singular closing lines? Already on it.

Thebarrier swept back around Mob, like the curtain drawn at the close ofa play.

Kids ? Being written like kids ? In phantomroseyboboeybananafanafofoseyfiphimomoseyphantomrosey’s fanfic? It’s more likely than you think! 

“After this, can we go back to the park?” Mob asked. He wobbled, tilting his head over his shoulder to ask Mogami directly.

“We go to the park every day.” Mogami answered. He walked the sidewalk, thin silver hair catching sunlight and twists of icy wind. The hollow pockets beneath his eyes were deep, but not unkind, intently watchful of Mob who dipped and wavered with each balance-beam step.

“Yeah, because I like it.”

You want some de-glorification of teenage violence? Boy have I just the thing.

He felt 9 again, scared, weak, unsafe, and he cried quietly while he watched the consciousness leave Teruki’s body.

Limp and loose, Teruki’s hands dropped from the tie around his neck.

You like metaflours and symbopolism ? WE GOT THAT TOO

Reigen looked over his shoulder. Mob shut the door behind them, turning to investigate the apartment with wide captive eyes. “…It’s warm,” he muttered, and stepped in line behind Reigen.

You wanna feel like you got punched in your chest ? Even on things you knew already ? Even things you had every tool in your belt to see coming?

Reigen stopped. He lost track of his own words as his focus fell entirely on the sight in front of him. The kid was standing halfway between the bathroom and the living room, his hair still a bit wet, and his borrowed clothes soft and loose. He stood a head shorter than Reigen, and his wide eyes stared back, lost, waiting for instruction. Waiting as though he needed permission to even get his sheets and go to bed.God, it really was just a kid…

fuck ing , d we . g o t       tHat    t o o         goddammit

If you wanna read, you can start here ! Or here, on tumblr.