thesightofworms

[thesightofworms]

[thesightofworms]

a quick doodle of the ONLY currently ongoing gakuen alice fanfic. it is so cute and fun!! everyone is characterized nicely :)) <33333

subjectives by extenuatingcircumlocution (@everythingsinred)

PLEASE read it here and then go read the manga(gakuen alice) and join the fandom.

[thesightofworms]

Natsume Is a Cat (pt. 3)

If anyone is looking at this nonsense... thanks. Isn't the world golden on our side of things? Let's get back to it, to our academic and scholarly research!

Where were we? Onto cats likes and dislikes?

Cats don't much like water. They don't care for swimming and avoid it when possible (that doesn't mean they're dirty though; cats are very good at self-grooming).

Water bugs them, after all.

But the dark doesn't! Cats have a tapetum lucidum in their eyes which lets them see in the dark, so there's nothing to fear even in total darkness.

They tend to underestimate their weight and enjoy sitting on chests if they so choose, even if the person they're sitting on doesn't like it as much.

I had to include this because my cat Phoebe does this to me every night.

But they don't really like going places. They would prefer to do nothing.

You can try to make them, but they revert back to inaction. Always.

Natsume does nothing all the time. It's his favorite thing to do.

Cats also typically dislike when they're introduced to a new cat in their home. Especially at first, they might be cruel to the new cat, but in time, they might get attached.

Cats do this often. They look at you, spot your interest, and then run, for the sole purpose of making you chase them. They do this on purpose. They like the chase. They will stop and let you pet them eventually but they need to play the game first. I'm not making this up. This is true.

And to wrap things up, I will conclude with pages I had in my folder with unclear captions that I saved too long ago and now no longer remember where I was going with them.

Titled, "catlike". I agree, but I can't explain it.

Titled, "gives cat vibes." Don't know what that's supposed to mean. He does look like a black cat here though.

Titled, "hes a cat i can tell". Very unhelpful to me. I guess it's just a vibe?

"hes a cat what do u want me to say" Well, past!Anya, I want you to say specifically where you were going with this. But I'll bite. He does seem like a cat here.

"omg just like a cat". Have no idea if this is about what Aoi is saying (misunderstood and thought of as scary, like a cat) or Natsume in the background doing fuck all. Maybe both. Either way, I agree.

And to finally finish off, let's discuss the fact that the person he gets along best with is Ruka, who has the animal pheromone alice. Unlike literally every other person on the planet, Natsume has never been angry at Ruka. He loves Ruka. He always loved Ruka. Natsume is a cat.

(This is clearly a joke. Natsume is not nice to Ruka because he's under the affect of animal pheromones. Because Natsume is a human being. But it's a funny joke. Their friendship is very clearly authentic and beautiful. Natsume is kind to Ruka because Ruka is perfect and has never done anything wrong ever, in his life.)

BONUS

Not related to cat stuff, but this one was funny:

"AND HERE COMES NATSUME WITH THE STEEL CHAIR!"

Okay I'm done now! Thanks so much for reading this silly nonsense rambling. It was fun to put together and I hope it was a fun read too! Have a great day/night. I'm very tired and this took longer than I thought it would, so I'm going to sleep. Love y'all <3

Also, in case y'all missed the first two parts, they are as follows:

Part 1. or Part 2.

[thesightofworms]

Natsume Is a Cat (pt. 2)

Hello again. Let's get straight back into this nonsensical rambling about our beloved Natsume, who is a cat in a person's body. Please believe me when I say I have researched this thoroughly and am more than prepared to cite my evidence and show my work.

We left off with the point that cats like to climb trees to be tall and will come down when they feel like it. Maybe for food.

He only came down from his tree for some cake and had no intention of staying until Ruka roped him into dancing with Mikan. After that fiasco, where did he go? That's right--right back to the tree.

Cats don't just climb trees, they climb everything so they can be tall. This is why it's important to get them a cat tree or something they can climb because otherwise they'll climb your shelves. They also always land on their feet, so jumping is no problem.

He's never even a bit scared to hop down. He knows he'll land on his feet. (This is not normal human behavior, as seen by people's reactions to his impressive jumps.)

It's not just a lack of fear about heights; it's a NEED to be high.

He also crawls about, like a rascal.

All this crawling about leads to interesting discoveries from time to time. After all, curiosity killed the cat, and what is Natsume if not a dead boy walking?

Warn him all you like, but he will stick his nose in things no matter how dangerous it is. That's just how cats are.

They're notoriously difficult to train because they don't always like to cooperate.

But let's not linger on sad things! What else do cats like?

They often prefer flowing water to a water bowl, so it's sometimes recommended to get them a fountain.

They also love to play. Hanging objects are always fair game.

And they like to sleep, as previously established!

So very cute and innocent-looking when they sleep! It's easy to be fooled into complacency then, to think it will last forever...

But they're actually light sleepers. Move even a bit and the cat will wake up in no time.

They are capable of being horrid, too. Rascals.

Sadly, sometimes the negative is all people focus on. As a result, cats are demonized, thought of as evil, vilified. They are not evil, though. They're still just little babies.

People even make stuff up about them!

So it makes sense when cats become wary of humans, considering the way they are sometimes treated. But feral cats tend to have close bonds with other cats.

Perhaps with a kitten?

And cats tend to look like cats, which you might have noticed.

Again, Tumblr doesn't want me to finish this post. It's fine. I think I'll have one more to clean off the folder I made for this silly post series! Thanks for being patient with me, y'all, and indulging my ridiculous "essays".

The other parts are here:

Part 1. or Part 3.

[thesightofworms]

Natsume Is a Cat (pt. 1)

Hi guys. This was a long time coming. I've kinda always planned on making a post like this, for fun. It's not exhaustive, and it's not intelligent, but these are some musing about Natsume being a cat. Maybe I'll find new examples and add them, but for now, this is what I've come up with. Enjoy.

Now, Natsume being a cat is not connected to him being the Black Cat and wearing the cat mask. That's incidental. We'll discuss it anyway. Natsume is the Black Cat because of plot and relationship reasons. Mikan is told in Chapter 2 to "Beware of black cats," specifically in relation to Natsume and his mask. Black cats are bad luck. Natsume is bad luck. I think Higuchi Tachibana chose the mask because his personality was already catlike and the mask just cemented it in a visual form. The superstition adds fun and spice to the NM relationship.

But I won't be bringing up examples of his mask as proof that he's a cat because, in my opinion, that's weak evidence. Instead, we'll go into detail about what exactly makes someone a cat person vs. any other kind of person and why Natsume is a cat person, or more accurately, a person who is a cat.

Typically, the term "cat person" or "dog person" refers to which animal a person prefers to keep as a pet. Though Natsume clearly likes all kinds of animals (he's best friends with Ruka, and this will come up again), I think a cat would make the best pet for him because of his personality and what exactly cats require of their owners as opposed to dogs or other animals. Surprisingly, cat or dog people have actually been shown time and time again to have certain traits associated with them. For cat people, they tend to be as follows: neurotic, creative, open-minded, introverted, sensitive, non-conformist, and intelligent. I won't get into all that here, because I'm actually not trying to prove that Natsume is a cat person; rather, I'm making the point that Natsume is a cat who just so happens to be a person. I hope that makes sense.

Essentially, this post will be a claim that Natsume is a cat, particularly a feral cat, particularly a stereotypical feral cat. Cats have different personalities, and sometimes act opposite the way I'll be describing here. I have three cats who all have different personalities so I know that there's no one-size-fits-all traits to be ascribed to an entire species. This is a post for fun.

(Special note: cats are innocent creatures and thus should never be subject to violence or cruelty the way they so often are, especially black cats being viewed as bad luck, or by neighbors leaving out catfood soaked in antifreeze because they're bothered by a neighborhood cat. Cats are victim to a lot of violence, which is why it's often recommended you keep your cat indoors to help prevent them from being hurt or killed, either by accident or on purpose. Unlike dogs, cats as an entire species have always been negatively depicted throughout history and those superstitions still persist today. Also if you hate cats, I don't trust you. I don't think we can be friends.)

Let's begin.

What's a feral cat?

A feral cat is a cat that has not been socialized and is thus not accustomed to interacting with humans. I would actually argue that Natsume as he is in the manga is more of a stray cat that has become feral over time. That particular definition would be a cat that was once socialized, or perhaps had an owner, but was abandoned somehow until it lost trust in humans. These cats have the potential to be resocialized, but only if someone is willing to be patient and work with them. So. Natsume.

Did you know that cats only meow to communicate with humans? They do not meow with each other. Thus, a feral cat that is not accustomed to interacting with humans is not likely to vocalize much. Why do I bring this up?

Natsume doesn't talk much.

Natsume's most common speech bubble is as seen above. "....." He doesn't talk, doesn't feel the need to communicate, doesn't have much to say at all. I have indoor cats, who are all vocal when they're trying to talk to me, but most of the time they're quiet. Even unferal cats tend to keep quiet.

These instances are great examples of that, where people are talking to him, maybe asking questions even, and he doesn't say anything. In the second example, the most he says is, "what." In the first, all he does is glare. Cat-core.

Feral cats don't really trust people. They can be aggressive towards those they perceive as threats. Living on the streets can make you wary of any potential dangers.

Have you ever tried to approach a cat, only to get scratched? It's because they're scared! (Yes, I do think Natsume is scared here and that's why he reacts like this; he is also wary and even--dare I say--scared of Nobara, who is timid and means well, just because he thinks of her as Persona's tool. A girl may look helpless and innocent, but at the Academy, anybody could be a spy or a threat meant to cow him into obedience.)

Even further--they don't appreciate being hugged without their consent. (This is actually a reason why people hate cats. Can you believe?? The absolute stupidity of cat haters. Cats have boundaries and aren't afraid to stand by them. If you pull a cat's tail or try to hug it when it doesn't wanna be held, they will scratch. This isn't a sign that cats are evil; this is a sign that you don't care much about others' boundaries.)

I'm not saying Tsubasa doesn't care about Natsume's boundaries, but he's trying too hard and isn't patient enough to act on Natsume's terms. (Also, Tsubasa is a dog person.)

Meanwhile, cats like to be the one to come to you, and to demonstrate affection on their own terms.

They actually like snuggling from time to time, but they don't like when it's forced on them.

In fact, even for people they like, cats can get irritated when affection is forced upon them in any way, or if it isn't entirely on their own terms.

Natsume stays put in the first example because Ruka is drunk and sleeping, but it's clear he's not happy to be trapped like that. Meanwhile, in the second example, Mikan has pet Natsume too much! Cats get unhappy when they've been overstimulated (also she called him cute and cats think they're bigger and cooler and tougher than they actually are).

Meanwhile, sometimes you give a cat affection and they don't really react at all, for various reasons.

Cats react like this to being kissed in real life actually. They can't do anything about it and they don't get it. Just O.O. That's all.

I titled this image "cats react like this to being hugged jsyk" which is usually true if the cat is used to you and permits your touch.

So how do cats show their love if they're so picky about affection? Easy! For one, they love gift-giving, particularly with food! A cat might bring you prey it's caught.

Or you might have heard that cats convey trust and affection through eye contact and slow blinking.

But cats often like to be by themselves. They don't often relish large crowds and uncomfortable stray cats will even hide themselves from humans.

Cats actually don't do very much. They like to sit around and do nothing. You know who else likes to sit around and do nothing? That's right!

He is sleepy! Cats sleep 12-16 hours a day, and my cat Phoebe sleeps way more than that. Natsume probably doesn't sleep enough at night considering his missions, but let's pretend he's just sleepier than the average person.

In particular, you'll often find a cat sitting and looking out the window. They love to watch through the window.

Such a big world out there. They don't necessarily wanna be a part of it, but they sure do like looking at it.

And they LOVE to climb! Trees are a big part of this. They love to be tall.

Trees allow for cats who are otherwise small to feel tall. They're also an excellent hiding space from dastardly humans. Cats don't so much get "stuck" in trees as their owners just desperately want them back down. The cat will likely come down when it feels like it.

Okay. Dang it. Tumblr told me I reached an image limit. Be patient with me. There will be a part 2! I'll link to it when it's done. Which will be soon. Like, within the next hour.

Update: As promised, the next two parts are available here.

Part 2. and Part 3.

[thesightofworms]

Hey, has it ever occurred to you why Mikan doesn't like her hair down?

This is a pretty interesting question! I'll try to answer to the best of my ability, but to be honest this is all conjecture. Also I made this a NatsuMikan post because discussions about Mikan's hair/Natsume's back turn into NM on principle.

Very long NM rambling under the cut...

Yes, Mikan seems to be very uncomfortable about her hair being down.

In Chapter 24, Mikan is dressed as the prince and has her hair down for the role. She's instantly insecure and contemplates putting her hair up again. She needs outside validation from an opinion she cares about (Hotaru's) to make her feel okay about it in the moment, but after this she continues to keep her hair down.

A lot of it seems to come from feeling like she looks weird somehow with her hair down, and prior to this she says she feels "antsy" with her hair down. At no point does she elect to have her hair down between this and when she's stuck in the labyrinth. If she ever switches up her hairstyle, she still keeps it up, like at the Christmas Ball or New Years. Even when she sleeps, she keeps her hair in pigtails or braided.

I am not sure why having her hair down bothers her so much, but let's discuss some possibilities.

Mikan's iconic pigtail hair style is pretty childish. That makes sense, because she is a child, but when she's aged up by the Gulliver candy, she defaults to the same style, which prevents her from looking more mature. I might say from a narrative sense that Mikan's hairstyle being so childish is supposed to set her aside as being more immature than the rest of the kids in Class B. Hotaru's short and practical hairstyle seems leagues more mature and chic than Mikan's cute little pigtail thing.

It might be nothing more than a habit. Mikan likes sports, and keeping your hair up comes in handy when you're exercising. Whatever the initial reason she built this habit is, she might be so unaccustomed to seeing herself with her hair down that it feels bizarre and wrong.

But I genuinely don't know what an in-story reason for her behavior is, because it seems much stronger than a mere preference or habit. She doesn't like herself with her hair down at all, and never has it down until this moment in Chapter 24. Maybe she's just insecure for whatever reason and thinks she looks bad with her hair down (though she definitely doesn't).

In any case, my idea is that it feels vulnerable to have her hair down. She describes the feeling as "antsy", like it doesn't feel right. I think her wearing her hair up is a comfort zone thing, where she feels more protected with her hair in a do. In a way, it might be comparable to her insistence on smiling. Mikan is, despite everything, actually very hard on herself. She doesn't think she's smart, capable, pretty, useful. She is surrounded by smart people, by people with interesting and useful alices, by people she perceives as "strong" while she is weak. And, of course, people who are beautiful, when she is not.

Just like Mikan gets very pathological about her smile after being told it's a charm of hers, I think she might rely on her hair being up. She is not pretty on her own, but if she puts extra pizzazz into her hair, maybe it'll make up for how plain she is? Maybe is she uses different hair-ties, sometimes with ribbons, sometimes with flowers, she can be a bit cute sometimes? Mikan thinks very little of herself but is very interested in making up for it.

What's really interesting is when she starts wearing her hair down more. When is that? Oh, yes, during the time she's trapped in the labyrinth after coming to terms with her love for Natsume, who told her once that she looked better with her hair down.

Mostly she wears her hair down in the labyrinth when she goes to sleep, and that could easily be brushed aside as a given EXCEPT that Mikan has always had her hair up before, even when she was going to sleep!

So what makes this time period different? Why should Natsume have anything to do with how she wears her sleep when she goes to sleep anyway? It's not like he's living in the labyrinth with her. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she can hear him calling for her every night...

She does keep her hair up in pigtails when she's wearing her school uniform, of course, but when she's out of it, we see her exclusively with her down. The best example of this, of course, is on Christmas when she stays in her room because she's not allowed to go to the party.

She dresses it up a bit with those fluff balls, of course, but it's still down. And that's a big change when we consider that Mikan used to EXCLUSIVELY have her hair up, no matter the occasion.

When I was analyzing this chapters in my essays, I did say it helps make the confessions scene seem more surreal, having him dressed like a lil bat and her with her hair down, both of them out of their uniform. The surreal nature of the scene makes it dreamlike, for both of them, almost like it never happened, and I think that's important, but it didn't occur to me at the time how important it is narratively for Mikan that her hair is down for that.

I will concede that Hotaru told Mikan in Chapter 24 that she doesn't have to put her hair up, that it looks cute down. She does say that. But what Natsume says in Chapter 38 is a bit bigger. He doesn't use words like cute or pretty, but he makes a point of saying he prefers her hair down, that her pigtails won't suit her in a few years.

He doesn't say it out loud, but this is a compliment, and it clearly means a lot to her. If Mikan feels like she's not pretty (and she is called plain by so many people in the manga it's hard not to imagine that's how she views herself), and her putting her hair up is her way of "making up for it", then Natsume saying he likes her better with her hair down is, essentially, saying she looks pretty as she is, without all the trimmings.

It's kinda akin to those love songs where a girl swoons that a guy likes her better with her makeup off. Mikan wears her hair up because if her hair is cute or styled, then it can distract from her otherwise plain appearance. But Natsume prefers her as is, that the extra work she puts into tying her hair isn't necessary because he does think she's pretty, that she has nothing to make up for.

Once Mikan realizes she's in love with Natsume, and that this love is fully reciprocated, she wears her hair down more (or at all), because it's her way of connecting with him even though she can't see him as often. Her hair is down, and it doesn't need to be up, because somebody told her she looked better with it down. And, even more than that, she wears it down when she hears his voice, or there's a chance she might catch a glimpse of him, because she wants him to see her with her hair down.

Mikan, who got "antsy" in Chapter 24 with her hair down, sees Natsume in Chapter 144 and 145 and doesn't feel antsy about her hair at all. In fact, it's down because of him. For him.

I'm not saying girls should base their entire appearances off of what boys what, but that's not what this is either and I think that would be a cynical takeaway. Please don't misunderstand me! This is a boy making a girl feel better about how she looks, to the point where she feels like her hair down is a selling point, not another plain element to her appearance. There is nothing wrong with wanting the person you like to think you're pretty, especially when the person you like helped you feel prettier in the first place.

Anyway, that's basically the summation of my thoughts on this topic. I'm really grateful to you, Anon, for bringing this to my attention. Obviously, I did know Mikan didn't like her hair down and that Natsume did, but I have never observed it all that closely. This is one more aspect to the manga I was given the opportunity to analyze more and I'm so happy with having one more reason to love these two together!

[thesightofworms]

"One day she was wandering along the edges of the forest when she encountered a snake. Though she was afraid, the snake was courteous and polite. “Good morning,” he said to her, so she greeted him the same. After all, she was a kind girl and loathed to offend even the lowliest of God’s creatures. He bowed his head to her in respect and slithered on his way. The next day, this happened again. She met the snake and was afraid, but he only greeted her and moved along."

fairytale-esque doodle for a fairytale from my story <3 im very obsessed with my book these days, it seems...

[thesightofworms]

place cards i drew for my book! out of order...

i drew these to make my manuscript pretty and to entice my mom into reading <3 it was nice to practice drawing backgrounds/landscapes/buildings, but i must say its very challenging and i obviously have a long way to go... that being said, i had fun! and im pretty proud of the time and effort i put into these <3

[thesightofworms]

"I've heard allegations 'bout your reputation, I'll show you my shadows if you show me yours."

[thesightofworms]

"I've heard allegations 'bout your reputation, I'll show you my shadows if you show me yours."

[thesightofworms]

Natsume is a Leftie

I am BACK with another important research post.

At the end of the day, I am a scholar and an academic and I must go out of my way to closely research and study in my field (Natsume). Today it is time, after gathering my evidence, to establish my thesis on Natsume being a leftie.

(I gathered evidence in the background of gathering evidence for ANOTHER post about Natsume being a cat, so this isn't exhaustive, just strongly suggestive. Except that I'm right. So.)

Alright we'll start with a caveat! Higuchi Tachibana is a human being and makes many mistakes while drawing (draws buttons on wrong side sometimes, drew Natsume wearing the elementary uniform when he was supposed to be wearing the middle school uniform, drew Ruka in the girl uniform, etc.) so there ARE times when Natsume is using his right hand to do things he should be using his left hand for OR that other characters who are usually right-handed are seen using their left hand.

Take this image, simultaneously an example of Natsume being a leftie but also depicting Ruka, who (as far as I can tell from other evidence) is right-handed, as left-handed too. There are inconsistencies! But I am basing this off of the overwhelming amount of evidence the manga provides.

And! While I did focus on Natsume's handedness for this post, I did periodically check other characters' eating and writing and alice use (if applicable, since not everyone's alice works like Natsume) and the above image of Ruka feels like an exception rather than a rule. Most people are righthanded and most of the characters seem righthanded.

Mikan is a rightie and Chapter 27 is full of her writing with her right hand. You can see her eating with her right hand in other chapters and primarily using her right hand in other scenes throughout the manga.

We see most characters here eating with their right hands with the exception of Natsume and Mikan, who have their hands down and aren't eating. Hotaru handles weaponry primarily with her right hand and eats with her right hand. She also uses wrenches and other tools with her right hand. Koko and Iinchou and Permy all seem like righties from what I can tell.

Dainty Ruka-pyon uses his right hand to eat! It's kinda hard to track with him, honestly. There's not a lot of instances of him writing or eating, so who's to say. He might very well be right-handed as evidenced by this evidence with his fork (and there's another one on the same page) or maybe he's left-handed as evidenced by the above writing picture with Natsume. He's usually holding an animal (typically Usagi), so it's hard to tell sometimes if he's using a certain hand because it's his dominant or because it's the hand that's not busy holding an animal. Maybe he's ambidextrous! Who knows!

Anyway! About Natsume...

Let's begin with what exactly handedness is. Wikipedia says it's "an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous" with the other hand usually being less so. Thus, for complex actions that require precision and control will be carried out with the dominant hand. You'll defer to your dominant side most times and it tends to be subconscious. So for both absent movements and precision-requiring movements, you will probably default to your dominant hand. Our muscle memory and precision is usually significantly more developed in our dominant hand. Handedness is usually determined by observing the hand people use to write or eat with. This post will also feature heavily that Natsume predominantly uses his left hand to use his alice.

10% of the population is left-handed and most of society was built to cater to right-handed individuals. In Japan in particular, children are sometimes still forced to write with their right hand because of the way writing kanji works. Previously, throughout history, people have assumed that left-handedness was a sign of the devil. People have also historically correlated left-handedness with mental illness and have encouraged forcing leftie children to use their right hand (though this practice often resulted in children having self-esteem issues and speech impediments, which probably means the lefties have higher rates of mental illness because of how they've been treated rather than some innate issue).

Thus pages like this, where he's using his right hand to use the water fountain, are because they are designed for right-handed people, thus are not evidence that he's not left-handed, if that makes sense.

Alright here's the evidence for him being a leftie!

This is my most consistent evidence. Most people with alices don't have a manifested thing to keep in their hands like Natsume does to showcase this, really, so he's kinda unique in this way, but most of the time that I've been able to notice, he's primarily using his left hand to summon his fire. This is pretty consistent until we get to later chapters when his battles are much grander and he summons much larger flames that surround him rather than manifesting in one hand or the other.

I mean. This is pretty solid evidence that he's a leftie. Medusa here points out that he's specifically targeted Natsume's left hand because he caught on to the fact that Natsume has been using that hand to use his alice for most of the battle. He can use his right hand, as we see in other moments, and even on the next page of this scene, but I think his left hand is his dominant hand and thus the one he feels most comfortable using.

He even uses his left hand to make an alice stone! If you were crafting something with love and care, you'd probably use your dominant hand, right? (Or, rather... left.... hehe :P)

Honestly if this was a couple one-off times regarding his alice use, I wouldn't make anything of it, but it's so consistent, it must mean something.

But! I have more evidence than just alice use, although I think that's pretty significant.

We'll start with my weaker and more desperate evidence...

He tends to reach out with the left hand. I've noticed a slight tendency for him to turn on his left side (like in the above example with the water fountain as well as this scene with Ruka), or to lean on the left side, which is not necessarily proof but just padding for my study.

The center image in particular seems so telling to me. After the ground closes up, Natsume instantly collects himself and even seems embarrassed by how much emotion he showed, which signals that this moment was knee-jerk fear to help Mikan. He reaches out with his left hand because it's the familiar hand and it's an instinctive move.

This is the same reasoning as above. Natsume grabs this kid and gets him out of the way of danger and thus his left hand is stuck to the kid for an hour, so we consistently see him with his left hand out of commission. I think, because this was a knee-jerk and instinctive move, he reached out with the left hand again to save the kid from being crushed.

These are stretches, but humor me! The shape of the fingers suggests that's his left hand, and I either hold a book with two hands or with my dominant. It feels a little weird to hold it with my non-dominant. The next one is him feeding the animals with his left hand despite the animals being on his right. Subconsciously, people move to favor their dominant side to make things easier.

Alright, on to stronger stuff. According to the internet, what hand you use to write is pretty indicative of your handedness. We have the image with Ruka above, where we can see him writing with his left hand.

This scene is very important to me! Technically, Natsume does end up writing the answer on the chalkboard with fire using his right pointer finger, but that's because he'd already picked up the chalk with his left to write with and only drops it when he's moving past the area. He's a lazy boy too, so...

Using violence, LMAO. He hits with his left hand and... I don't know if y'all have ever thrown a punch or slapped someone, but... I mean, in my experience you prefer your dominant hand.

For such precision-oriented actions as these examples above, you'd likely use your left-hand. He does use his right hand in Chapter 9 playing dodgeball (but it's the one time he's shown actively throwing it, so IDK. Could be a fluke or a mistake.), but I'm inclined to ignore that. I don't really toss things with my non-dominant hand the way Natsume does with the cockroach, so that's probably the hand he's more comfortable with. The second image is him after he threw a ball at Tono's head, and, for max aim ability, one would use their dominant hand for that. The last one.... First, he's so cool. I've never been able to do that, dominant hand or no (I'm bad at sports), but it was always a bit easier on my right hand (dominant) than otherwise, so I think that's proof too.

Moving on...

People use their dominant hand to use eating utensils, as we saw above with other characters. These are multiple examples from across the manga where Natsume uses his left hand to use a fork or chopsticks. I will concede that in the last image where Natsume is eating a New Year's meal with chopsticks, many other characters are using their left hands despite me knowing they're right-handed, namely Hotaru. That being said, the other evidence here makes me think Natsume's left-handedness is intentional.

And here it is, my biggest proof:

(Ruka is a rightie here, and no animal in sight, so maybe this is his natural way of being... Then again, he could always be ambidextrous, like I said, though that is exceptionally rare. Then again, Ruka is exceptional, so <3)

Here, Higuchi Tachibana would have had to go out of her way to draw Natsume eating with a different hand than Aoi or Ruka. This evidence to me is SO LOUD. Not only does this further cement that Natsume is a leftie and not all other characters are, but also that it's not an accident or even a headcanon. This is proof that it was intentional on Higuchi Tachibana's part to draw him left-handed! I've always been obsessed with this page, so I was bound to catch this eventually. Yet another reason to love this panel lol.

I have stuff I couldn't fit in here because even with a 30 image limit I am tempted to go overboard, but this should be sufficient. Natsume is a leftie!

Did y'all know lefties tend to excel more in sports? They also tend to be better fighters (as we can see in the violence examples above) because they move from an unexpected side. The fact that the world is designed to favor right-handedness means lefties have an unforeseen advantage in sports and fighting because they move from a side righties don't anticipate as naturally.

But many tools, computer equipment, and even instruments are designed for easier right-handed use, which can be inconvenient or even dangerous for lefties. Thus, I didn't know how a sax would work regarding handedness (and also Natsume sucks at playing it anyway) which is why I didn't even really check out those chapters.

Anyway, handedness doesn't really affect many things in a meaningful way despite some propaganda or vague correlations saying otherwise and lefties face an often-overlooked series of disadvantages, which is why I think Natsume being a leftie is interesting, because his life is hard enough already. Oh well.

Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed reading this rambling! Natsume being left-handed is something I will not let go of. I will DIE on this hill, especially because it's pretty clearly intentional.

[thesightofworms]

The Addams Family (1991) dir. Barry Sonnenfeld

[thesightofworms]

this doesnt matter to anyone but me but yes i WILL be making a post abt this using canonical evidence bc this is IMPORTANT RESEARCH

poor @thesightofworms tho she puts up w so much

[thesightofworms]

when i was a kid my grandpa was a great depression survivor and he wouldn't waste ANY amount of food so he taught me i had to eat the apple core and i started eating the whole apple in grade school and the kids called me horse boy

[thesightofworms]

[thesightofworms]

New weird horse just dropped, folks.

A spotless giraffe was recently born at Bright’s Zoo in Limestone, TN and was just announced in the media this morning. They’re starting a public naming contest for her, of course.

I’d love to know what type of mutation causes this lack of of pattern, but I don’t know if we have genetics on that for giraffes the way we do other species. As far as is known, she’s the first spotless giraffe ever documented!

[thesightofworms]

Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Mikan (pt. 21)

Finally! We have at long last reached the Sports Festival Arc, one of my favorite arcs, and perhaps even my last favorite arc! I like parts of every arc, but I find the Sports Festival to be one of the last Perfect TM arcs. Just my opinion.

We'll aggressively analyze Mikan's love for Natsume in this arc, something she will definitely not be doing herself, even though she will be repeatedly confronted with it, especially with Luna's arrival to Class B.

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Chapter Seventy-Seven

Need y’all to know that this is the fourth google doc I’m using for this essay. I figured I’d open a new one to celebrate a new arc beginning. We’re officially 87600 words in. Very impressive! 

The chapter begins with a lot of bad news for Mikan and friends. She has been having nightmares where she’s chased by Persona, probably a consequence of the traumatic experience of nearly being murdered by him, with the added pizazz of hearing the ESP’s voice warning her not to lose anything important. Mikan is so haunted by this that she is even afraid to fall asleep since the dream feels so real. We can discern from this state of unease that she might not be getting the proper sleep she needs to remain alert, and she seems pretty out of it at times.

I'm afraid... "Where's Natsume?" Maybe... she thinks of him because he makes her feel safe? Hmm?

Mikan’s mood changes when she realizes that Natsume is absent from the dining hall. He’s been on an alleged “trip” for three days and she is curious about where he’s gone--probably missing him, though she’d never admit it.

Mikan has been going to Hotaru’s room to get some sleep, seeking comfort for her nightmares. But she also seeks Natsume at this point too--he’s been able to help her a lot the last few times she’s faced a problem and he was able to make the problem feel small or insignificant. The fact that she seeks his presence now makes sense, even though she doesn’t actually put the two thoughts together. 

In any case, a whole term has passed and now is the beginning of a new school year, so Mikan is now officially a sixth-grader!

Goshima has been appointed the new student council president, which Mikan is excited about regardless of the negative changes he promises to bring--and that’s because she’s not really paying attention to him. Instead, her attention is on the fact that, just as Yuu had suggested, Natsume is on stage with the other principal students for the ceremony.

"He looks a little more adult now..." she also says... Damn, Mikan.

Natsume has been gone a lot, apparently, and although the reader (us) knows that he’s been going on an increased amount of missions for the DA class, Mikan has no clue. She’s just excited to see him. “After making us worry so much!” she says. “It’s been so long since we’ve seen Natsume!” And, yes, the class hasn’t seen him a lot these days, but Mikan was the one vocally worrying. We have discussed at length Mikan’s attempts to distance herself from her feelings by saying “we” or “people” when she means herself. This is about as close as we’ll get to her admitting that she’s been worried and missing him. 

Her focus is entirely on him, that he looks tired, wondering where he’d been all this time, noticing that he looks more grown-up all of a sudden.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

Mikan has not seen Natsume consistently for a while. She’s already in love with him, as we’ve discussed, but having the object of her affection leave her sights for a while and then return makes the feelings he brings--including attraction--come back suddenly, making her think that he looks different somehow. Yes, the kids are growing and he might have had a growth spurt, but I think the absence hit her as well. 

She is snapped back to reality by Goshima’s conclusion. She has missed his announcement of controversial new policies, including the establishment of a morals committee (the fukitai), a means to control the rebellious spirit of the students associated with Mikan and Natsume. This is awful and terrifying and no such institution has ever brought feelings of comfort or safety to a school, but it’s interesting that Goshima’s entire address went over Mikan’s head because she was too busy staring at Natsume. She managed to disregard his warnings as well as the concerned gossip surrounding her because of her distracted focus. Wow!

Her mood is dismal now because she’s thinking of the ESP’s Christmas warning not to lose anything important to her--the threat feels more potent with each new piece of information. The fukitai will be standing guard in each classroom, apparently, and none of the students are pleased with that. Mikan feels like her darkest nightmare came true. 

<3

But the gloomy mood made her think of Natsume, and she perks up. (“When I hear 'gloomy,' I think of Natsume. When I think of Natsume, I think of slanty eyes. When I think of slanty eyes, I think of foxes--”) Just the thought of him changes her mood and she looks over the room to try and find him, only for Ruka to inform her that he won’t be in class today. Though it’s a short scene, I think it’s telling that the excitement of seeing Natsume again changes her entire mood and makes her entirely forget her worries and concerns, if only for a moment.

Mikan rushes to the SA class to share good news with her senpai but is sadly crushed by two immediate revelations: one, that the fukitai are haunting this classroom as well, and two, that Tsubasa is absent. Many excuses have been made by Noda and Tsubasa for where he’s been, but none of it makes sense and Mikan idly wonders if Natsume and Tsubasa are going through the same thing (yes, they are). Her intuition is spot on again, though her train of thought is quickly derailed by her desire to share three pieces of news with her senpais. 

She’s very excited about the Sports Festival coming up, but the senpais are unmoved since that happens every year and isn’t a big deal. 

Then, the elementary class has some student teachers, which also isn’t news, because high school kids have to do vocational training every year too. But her real news is that all three student teachers in her class are the former student council: Sakurano, Subaru, and Shizune. This is shocking because they’re only in their first year of vocational training and already acting as student teachers, an exceptionally impressive feat. 

Always pay attention to changes like this! Mikan never reacted this way before to being pulled into Tono's lap... Though I have no idea what this is supposed to reflect TBH.

Mikan notices Tono is tuned out, but then he scoops her up and asks for the third piece of news. I find her reaction of revulsion to be interesting. She gets away from him and says “You’re gross,” which is certainly not how she’d reacted to his grabbing her before. Mikan, previously oblivious to what all his perverted comments and actions really mean, has come to realize that he isn’t all that innocent. I do wonder where this change comes from. It could be that Tsubasa and Misaki’s warnings have started to accumulate enough for her to build a better idea of what Tono’s unclean motives are. It could also be the natural consequence of growing up and becoming--even by a little--more mature over this past school term. I honestly couldn’t tell you.

Her last piece of news is that Class B is welcoming a new student tomorrow, which does mildly surprise her senpais enough that she’s satisfied with her sharing now. She hopes that the new student will be nice and is actually excited for their arrival, though she shouldn’t be.

She shares one more bit of information, that Sakurano has warned her not to talk too much to him or the other student teachers, and to not get caught by the fukitai for anything.

Mikan is walking alone, possibly back to class, when she spots Natsume. She calls out to him and starts to ask him where he’s been when he darts away for no good reason. She chases after him, desperate to talk to him again after such a long time. He stops suddenly and she bumps her face into his back and when she finally looks up into his face, he’s smiling. 

So much to say about this moment…. Where do I even start?

Mikan is holding onto him, probably to keep him there, afraid that he’ll run off again if she doesn’t (because she doesn’t want him to leave).

He calls her a spaz and she’s unbothered, because, once again, she’s distracted by her staring at him. Just as she thought--he is different. Cue sparkly panels of her staring at him…

She holds onto him! Sparkly panels! This is romance!

She tugs on his shirt while she muses that he has had a growth spurt, that he has gotten taller. His smile fades a little because of the prolonged silence until she asks him again where he’s been, if he’s been doing some kind of training.

Training?!

Is this one of the excuses Ruka gave for Natsume’s absence? Or did Mikan assume that because of the physical changes she sees in Natsume? I couldn’t tell you, but either way, Mikan’s distraction with his appearance is pretty noteworthy!

Mikan is easily taken with physical beauty. It’s one of her many weaknesses. She is easily awed by beautiful people. I believe that Mikan’s sparkly panels from when she first meets Natsume are an example of that--that when she first saw his face without his mask on, she was in awe for even a moment before he ruined her first impression. I think that’s how she’s feeling now--awestruck and staring at a pretty face. Despite being usually very talkative, she was unresponsive for long enough that Natsume had to prompt her into speaking.

"Distance makes the heart grow fonder."

The conversation quickly turns into bickering from there, but it’s still not unpleasant. Natsume is a constant for her school life and he seems to have returned, complete with teasing remarks. He's the whole package, really.

And then we see Luna, staring at them, about to be led to class.

I’ve been in (or at least I’ve been observing) the GA fandom for a really long time. Since 2010, to be precise. Like, 13 years straight. I’ve read the manga countless times, seen countless AMVs, and read countless fanfics and I know how people feel about Luna. I’ve seen it all--Luna is ugly, a slut, an evil bitch, a villain for tearing NatsuMikan apart. Yes, she’s frustrating for sure, but I love Luna’s role in this story. Always have!

What to steal from Mikan.....? Oh... Maybe this...

Why does Luna appear here? Suspense, probably. A little tease that things will change even further.

But why does she appear here, looking at them? 

Her job is to watch over Mikan and make sure she doesn’t get into trouble (causing rebellions and the like). She’s also here to “punish” her for her behavior on New Years. Luna could’ve gone about this punishment any number of ways, but we’ve been seeing ESP’s warning (“Be careful not to lose anything important to you.”) over and over again for a reason. Mikan cares about a lot of people, but Luna’s punishment is focused on Natsume, on taking Natsume away from Mikan. She makes little efforts into manipulating Hotaru and turns Class B against Mikan, but this arc is focused on NatsuMikan. 

After all, this is Luna's projected revenge against Yuka, and Yuka didn't just steal her alice. Luna felt, as a groomed teenager, that Yuka was stealing the ESP's affections as well. She felt like her romance suffered because of her former best friend. She couldn't interfere in Yuka's romance (the ESP already did that), so she'll interfere here. This is her revenge, her personal little mission. There's a reason she targets so much energy on stealing Natsume as opposed to Ruka or Hotaru. That reason is romance.

Chapter 77 is the intro chapter. Often, in chapters like this one, that precede a big emotional arc, we’re introduced to themes or ideas that will be expanded upon later on in the arc. In this case, Chapter 77 traced Mikan’s yearning for Natsume, her deepening affections for him, and her desire to have him by her side (to not leave). There’s other themes too, of course, like the fukitai and the threat of a changing social order, but those are secondary. Thus, we can deduce, just based off this chapter, that her relationship with Natsume will face some obstacles. 

We saw how awestruck and happy to see him Mikan was just now. But so did Luna.

Luna focuses her punishment on Natsume for a reason, and thus her appearance here isn’t just important in order to keep our interest, it’s also for the plot reason of giving Luna a specific target right away.

Chapter Seventy-Eight

“Mikan keeps walking in the thorny path. What will be waiting for her hereafter?” Nothing good.

Luna has just become a new student in Class B. Everyone is instantly taken with her, including Mikan, who is eager to make a new friend. There’s a lot of “ooh”-ing and “ahh”-ing, in regards to Luna being cute and curiosity about her alice. These questions are put on pause when Narumi announces that Luna has the life-shortening alice and has been forbidden from using it. (We all know how I feel about that already LMAO.)

I’ve seen some people take Luna’s “life-shortening alice” at face value, but I always assumed her “having the fourth shape” was an excuse not to reveal her alice to the class. When Luna was first going to school years ago, she was hated and unpopular because of her alice. If Luna wants to be popular now, it’s important that she seems as innocent and harmless as possible. Additionally, her alice needs to be a secret so that she can keep using it on people without anybody figuring out what she’s up to. Her sickness later on in the story--as far as I can tell--was the consequence of her abusing Gulliver candy on a regular basis for weeks at a time (since we already know it's been banned from Central Town for its adverse side effects), not because of her alice shape. 

I don't think that's how any disease works NGL.

Besides, her “life-shortening” alice seems to involve nothing more than coughing loudly whenever she doesn’t get what she wants. And right off the bat too.

She doesn’t want to sit next to Kabayaki-kun, so apparently her health is affected and she starts coughing until her gaze lands on Natsume. But she can’t sit next to Natsume, because he’s already sitting with Ruka and Mikan. Until that affects her health too and Narumi orders Mikan to move seats to accommodate Luna’s fickle demands.

It’s not that Mikan wants to, but there’s instantly an air of pressure in the class to walk on eggshells and make sure not to worsen Luna’s alice-related health by upsetting her. I think Mikan probably really doesn’t want to move because she’s been missing Natsume all last chapter and for a while longer off page. She wants to spend time with him when she has the chance, and that’s probably why she’s sitting next to him today.

But apparently Luna will die if she doesn’t get what she wants, so Mikan agrees to move.

Until Natsume grabs her by the arm and insists that he is the one who decides who he sits next to, and he chooses Mikan. Cue a sparkly panel of Mikan being touched that Natsume wants to sit with her and not Luna…

He also uses her name here, something that always gets to her.

This is a short moment, but it's one that Mikan thinks back on later. In this moment, she feels wanted by him, like whatever affection she has for him is requited, like if he had it his way, they could sit together all the time. She's touched because it's like he's saying "me too" to all the thoughts she's never let herself think. It's always about them.

Sadly, this is short-lived. Luna will fucking DIE if she doesn’t get to sit next to NATSUME, and if anybody stops her from getting what she wants, they are responsible for MURDERING her.

It’s only when the entire class begs that Natsume finally gives in.

The entire class is still curious about Luna despite her wretched behavior, still convinced her sickness must be related to her alice. Meanwhile, all this talk about life-shortening alices makes Mikan think about Natsume.

It’s interesting to note the school’s treatment of Luna’s alice shape versus Mikan’s theory about Natsume. Apparently, when a student has the fourth shape, the teachers make an announcement and forbid them from using it. If there was no such announcement for Natsume, perhaps he doesn’t have that alice shape! But Natsume has been a special case for the school from the beginning. He even told her he’s not like the rest of them and he’s been mistreated far worse than his classmates could imagine.

Mikan wonders if his missions have stopped since the New Year’s fiasco. Her attention remains fixed on him, as it will throughout this arc, really, wondering again if maybe his alice is the fourth shape, until Luna says she’ll use a bit of her alice to show everyone. Because for some reason, using a small bit wouldn’t really affect her health, but sitting next to Kabayaki-kun would.

Mikan wants to see, but apparently Luna can’t use her alice--something is nullifying it. Mikan instantly insists it wasn’t her and we know already that she wouldn’t do that, but the seeds of suspicion have been planted. She introduces herself to Luna, but Luna does not react the way a normal person would to meeting a stranger. She smiles in a sinister way and reaches out for her face. None of this is normal, and Mikan can sense that there’s something wrong with Luna. But the moment is resolved with Hotaru pushing her out of the way and, heartbreakingly, Natsume taking Luna’s hand in his.

Not good!

Before, Mikan knew Natsume would prefer to sit next to her instead of Luna, but he was pressured into sitting with Luna. Now, he elects to sit next to her, their hands interlaced. Mikan is incredibly bothered by this. How could he change his mind about Luna--about her--over the course of one class period? It’s definitely not the best day of her life, but it’s about to get worse.

The Sports Fest teams are being split up. Technical and Somatic classes are together on the White Team, with Special and Latent on the Red Team. The DA class then fills in at the end, so Natsume has the choice of whether he’ll be on the Red or White Team. Since Mikan can’t be on the same team as Ruka or Hotaru, her attention zeroes in on Natsume, her dear partner and the boy she loves. Maybe they can be on the same team!

But Luna is on the White Team, in the Somatic Class. And she wants Natsume on her team.

I love Mikan’s thoughts and behaviors here. Though she’d initially been excited to make friends with Luna, her opinion has shifted very quickly. Yes, Luna did act like a creep with her before, but Mikan’s main beef isn’t about that, it’s about Natsume. 

“wOn’T yOu, hyUuGa-kUn?” Sinister, mocking, unpleasant. Mikan now views Luna as (correctly) insincere and manipulative, and (incorrectly) as a threat to Natsume’s affections for her. “Here she goes again,” Mikan thinks, because she watched Luna get precisely what she wants all day for no real reason. If she doesn’t step in, Luna will continue to get what she wants, and Mikan doesn’t want that because she wants Natsume more.

So she speaks up, desperate. Calling out to him and telling him straight up that she wants him on her team, asking him to join the Red Team and be with her. That's right! She asks Natsume to be on her team, to choose her, something she has never ever done before, because she's that desperate to keep him with her.

Come to the Red Team. Come to MY team. Come to me.

But Natsume chooses to be on the White Team anyway.

This is important for a lot of reasons so I’ll do my best to sum it all up.

Luna and Mikan’s mini face-off here makes Natsume’s choice about more than color--it’s specifically choosing between Luna and Mikan. Thus, even though Natsume’s best friend is also on the White Team, Mikan is hurt and shocked because he didn’t choose Ruka over her, he chose Luna over her.

Mikan rarely tells Natsume what she wants from him, mainly because she doesn’t even want to admit it to herself. So here, when she pleads with him to pick her team (to pick her), it’s because she’s that desperate. This is a rare glimpse of bare honesty from Mikan, where she finally says out loud what she wants. That makes it hurt all the more when he rejects her. 

Chapter 77 introduced us to Mikan’s desire to keep Natsume with her. I’d stated then that her desire would be under threat in this arc, and it begins right away, with Luna threatening to swipe him away to the White Team and away from Mikan.

She has just been rejected by the boy she loves. He chose another girl over her, even after she asked him to pick her (her team, her, etc.). Now Mikan has to confront her own hurt and conflicting feelings. She is jealous, unhappy, hurt, and now has to ask herself why.

“Be careful not to lose anything important to you.”

Mikan feels like she is, now, losing something very important. She hadn’t admitted to herself yet just how important Natsume really was, but that doesn’t make the pain and fear of losing him any less potent.

Chapter Seventy-Nine

Things were bad, got worse, and are now about to break all kinds of records of terrible because it’s apparently not awful enough that Natsume chose to be on Luna’s team instead of Mikan’s; nooo, Narumi has to rub salt in the wound by announcing that Natsume is now Luna’s partner. Mikan has adapted to school life after all, and she’s always hated being Natsume’s partner, hasn’t she? They’re not really working on anything together, either, so there’s really no issue with appointing Natsume a new partner, someone who wants to be his partner. Surely, Mikan doesn’t mind.

But Mikan does mind! 

"Because you're my partner!" isn't gonna work anymore.

And this is important, because, in reality, Narumi dissolving their partnership doesn't have any actual consequences in the story. It's not like Natsume has to work with Luna on any projects or anything afterward. Things are almost the same, but the loss of that word matters, especially to Mikan.

From the beginning, their partnership was what tied them together. She had to go back and save Natsume from blowing himself up because he’s her partner. He had to accompany her to Central Town. They were narratively paired. Everyone knew her because of her tie to him through their partnership. Mikan doesn’t really call Natsume her friend often because it’s not entirely accurate to her feelings for him. He’s her partner. 

Even if he’s rude to her, they’re partners. No matter what happens, they will always have that to bond them together. If he chooses Luna, it sucks, but at least they’re partners. He can’t do anything to change that.

But they’re not partners anymore. 

Losing this isn’t just hurtful, it’s confusing. If Natsume and Mikan aren’t partners, then what are they? And why is all of this happening at once? Why is it that when Luna gains something, Mikan loses it?

“You really hated being Natsume’s partner, after all!” But she didn’t. 

This day sucks, huh.

But Mikan would rather cling to confusion about Narumi’s motives than anything else. Confronting her own feelings or Natsume’s is not pleasant, so she’d rather wonder why Narumi is acting weird and making such sudden decisions. But when Natsume is brought up, Mikan is once again confronted with her pained feelings about his role in this situation. He’s so wishy-washy. Hadn’t he wanted to sit next to her, not Luna? Why would that change so quickly?

In any case, the Sports Festival is about to begin. They have a day of training before the events begin. Mikan has plenty of friends on her team, so she focuses on having fun instead of on the painful memory of not having Natsume beside her. But apparently the Sports Festival is a far more serious event than she’d realized. Red Team is forbidden from fraternizing with the opposing team until the end of the festival, to maintain a Red victory.

Mikan is crushed, since many of her friends are on the white team. She especially focuses on Natsume, staring at him until he looks over at her. She quickly looks away, embarrassed to be caught. When we compare this to Mikan's staring at him in Chapter 77, this is a sad change. She felt more comfortable looking at him then because she was under the impression that he felt similarly to however she did--those unspoken, unacknowledged feelings. But now it's different. He seems miles away, and she doesn't feel like she's allowed to stare anymore. The mood does change for the better when we discover Youichi chose Red over White and when Yuu reassures Mikan that they’ll all have fun regardless of the crazy rules. 

She can no longer look at her beloved!

But Luna’s “harem of followers” takes issue with Mikan’s nullification and warn her that if she nullifies Luna’s alice, they’ll punish her for it. She’s faced with a barrage of accusations. Though Mikan is not bullying Luna, they are right about her being jealous that Natsume has been spending all of his time with Luna these days. The thing is that the partial truth to the situation makes her look that much more responsible. 

This run-in with Luna’s victims rises suspicions that Luna might be using some sort of pheromone, since the kids aren’t acting like themselves.

Things take a dramatic turn when the equipment goes flying--a genuinely dangerous incident since some of the equipment in question is heavy and could cause severe damage. Mikan is saved in the nick of time by a mysterious person tugging her to the safety of a utility closet. 

Chapter Eighty

The mysterious person is Luna, and she is not acting out of kindness.

Mikan wonders about what’s going on outside and who brought her here when suddenly she realizes there are hands around her throat. Luna starts cackling and by now Mikan knows for sure that there’s something wrong with her, because Luna seems to hate her something special for no reason. Mikan shoves her away and tries to recover her breath. 

Luna only seems amused, whining about being scared of Mikan’s violent tendencies. This is, of course, ridiculous. Luna was the one who just attacked her, and Mikan pushed her off in self-defense. Luna's attitude here, particularly in regards to skewing the facts, reflects how she will act throughout this arc, and how rumors and carefully chosen words can challenge people's loyalty.

Luna isn't finished berating Mikan. Acting so violent--just like her criminal mother.

But she doesn’t linger on that topic, switching instead to egg Mikan on--she’s so popular, isn’t she? She must be having so much fun! But Luna will have fun too, “breaking and stealing” everything that Mikan holds dear, one by one, imagining that Mikan’s suffering face is her mother’s. There’s a lot that Mikan is suddenly facing in this one conversation. Luna knows the secret of her “shameful birth,” and seems to know her mom. On top of that, Luna hates her and wants to ruin her life. But if Mikan is good, then Luna might fill her in a little more. That means Mikan has to stay quiet about what happened here. She should do as she’s told because otherwise the people she loves could get hurt.

Can Mikan have a break? Or is that too much to ask?

Mikan has no time to respond or even to process what she’s just heard, because suddenly, the door is open. Mikan is now accused of being a bully, but she can’t say much to defend herself. She looks around and sees how much damage this incident has caused. Luna threatened to do worse if Mikan didn’t comply with her demands, so how can she say anything? Mikan thinks, “I’m scared.” She’s faced with a horrible choice: either she sullies her own reputation and lets Luna do as she wants, or she must watch as people close to her are hurt.

Sacrifice, Mikan. Isn't that what you wanted to do at the start of this manga?

Mikan’s silence results in her getting arrested by the fukitai.

Conclusion

It's really fun analyzing the Sports Fest Arc. Mikan's love for Natsume and subsequent jealousy is at the forefront here, and I always have a blast reading these chapters because of how clear her feelings are even without her ever saying them out loud. Tomorrow, we'll continue!

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