#appear sociable but still exist apart. dude...

[12thbiologist]

i think about how the biologist wants to be able to "appear sociable but still exist apart" every single day. every moment. its burned into my skull basically. its such a profound and relatable sentiment that only makes sense if you have lived that. its legendary. me too biologist. me too.

[toonstarterz]

BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #154

The Sports Tournament Arc has come to a close (watch me eat my words), and while things may not have ended in the most spectacular or dramatic fashion, it does offer a healthy dose of retrospection after the flurry of emotions we’ve undergone during this whole thing. Tomoko’s world may be winding down for the moment, but as we all know, that just sets the pace for things to spring right back up. 

Chapter 154: Because I’m Not Popular, The Sports Tournament Will End

Watamote has always been relatively good at picking apart what it means to be female, and acknowledging their habit for casual grooming is just one of those times. But where this series shines is that it neither advocates or condemns stereotypical female behavior. Its stance has always been, “it is what it is,” and the reader is open to make their own opinions on that.

Well, I never expected them to win, honestly speaking. This ain’t no shounen sports manga after all, where the underdogs make a dubious comeback thanks to Nakama Power™. The obligatory homosexual subtext was there, though.  

Yeeeah, one of Yuri’s biggest flaws is that it takes her some time to admit, or even recognize her own responsibilities. Naturally, that includes pointing out other’s faults before her own. That being said...

Is Yuri being Bitchy or Awkward? An Analysis to Come in A Couple More Pages.

Tomoko, being the one to slightly raise up everyone else’s spirits? I’d be more shocked if her growth didn’t already make that actually kind of plausible.

This right here is the single coolest girl in the entire manga.

Side note: Komi’s rekt face is sublime. 

That hit had so much force, it burst through the panel borders. For once, poor Minami.

I see friendships all over the place.

In spite of (or perhaps because of) Komiyama’s overzealous nature, she can also be hit pretty hard with a sense of shame when her efforts prove fruitless. Maybe Itou plays the role of the “Lift Their Spirits” Friend in times like this.

At least the other girls are also taking their defeat in stride. Although, Minami seems particularly down for once. Perhaps she surprisingly feels some disappointment over their loss.,,

....or maybe she just feels jaded watching Mike and her Boyfriend make kissy-face. 

The thing about Kiyota is that he doesn’t seem like an especially capable guy. But from what we’ve seen, the dude’s got a pretty agreeable personality that sort of just makes it easier for people to follow him. It’s the same reason why he became the class representative. Kiyota may not be at the top of the class in any way (that we know of), but his likability makes him a natural leader.

Of course, his true friends will still give him hella shit for it.

Like many loners with self-esteem issues, no one cares about winning until they actually start winning.

Hey, hey, hey! It seems that the disastrous fallout between Tomoko and Ucchi didn’t the stop the latter from making good on her claim to cheer Tomoko on. We don’t know if the Emoji Gang ever intervened after those events, but if Ucchi still has the nerve(cluelessness) to cheer the girl she berated, that can only be a good sign.

It’s kind of weird seeing Hirasawa next to her though, considered how Ucchi cut her down that one time. Long-term grudges do not exist unless you’re Tomoko.

Fuuka, eh? The gap between a character’s first major appearance and their revealed name gets smaller each time.  

So these two are close friends, I see. They certainly give off those “alpha girl’ airs, but not in an unapproachable way. Contrary to what Western media has fed me, bitchy queen bees aren’t actually that popular. 

I’m sure many a shipper thinks that Katou chose table tennis to be with Tomoko, but I don’t that’s the only reason. It could just as well be that she’s into the sport. For the longest time, Katou’s personality has increasingly contrasted with her appearance. On the surface, she looks like the stereotypical beauty whose friendly, girly, and is super popular. But underneath, she’s also rather unaware, possibly perverted, not actually that good with makeup, and frankly, a bit of a weirdo. She’s all full of surprises, and it honestly makes her feel more human.

That was probably not her intent, but a mini party is definitely more up Tomoko’s alley. She just barely made it through the KBBQ party after all, and while Tomoko would’ve probably made it through another large-scale party even easier, small get-togethers are the introvert’s bee’s knees.  

It’s still hard to get a read on Futaki’s sociability, but she seems like a middle-of-the-road case as far as we’ve seen.

Yuri using Tomoko as a support beam is way within my expectations of her. It hasn’t steered too far into the Unhealthy Zone (yet), but I do enjoy that Tomoko’s simple company is all Yuri really needs to enjoy herself.  

Introvert Problems #092: Preoccupying yourself with your beverage to break the awkward silence without realizing the social cue of waiting to clink glasses before drinking. 

Smooth move, me Tomoko.

Good taste, my girl. Very good taste.

I love how the artistic license in this series is played completely straight. Girls with cat smiles are a dime-a-dozen in manga, but it’s usually a visualization only apparent to the readers. But not here. Emoji eyes and a feline grin are just as ludicrous in-universe as it is to us.

Yeah...I have no idea what to make of this. Guess Yuri has her own weird quirks, after all. What makes it extra funny is when you remember that Tomoko is strangely good at cutting things. Ironic humor at its finest.

Harking back to what I said about Katou being full of surprises, it’s easy to judge Katou sorely on her appearance, given how much more refined she looks next to the other “plain" girls. But when you look beyond what’s skin deep, Katou actually has more similarities to Tomoko than she let on. Being decently athletic, but not sporty; having a high tolerance for perversion, and socially naive at times. Katou’s affection for Tomoko had always felt out-of-place when we didn’t know her personality too well. But now that we’ve gotten a good look at it, her budding friendship with Tomoko feels all the more authentic.

Being the Nucleus Friend is never easy, Tomoko. 

Ah, Tomoko, regrets are natural. One of the more informed aspects about Tomoko is that she doesn’t dwell on the past too much. Her episodes of cringe hardly have everlasting negative effects on her personality, and the only times she does dwell are when she comes to terms with the mistakes she’s made. The twist now is that Tomoko puts a positive spin on it this time. Instead of bemoaning how she did something bad, she now reflects on how she could have done something good. It’s a layer of positive reinforcement that I think Tomoko has truly benefited from.  

Futaki coming through with the Nakama Speech™. It’s a pretty good one, too. Not heavy-handed or overly sentimental, but it’s from a place of earnestness that many can appreciate.

And I just realized that Futaki has been going through a quiet development from being a single-player gamer to multi-player gamer. Damn, that was slick, Nico Tanigawa.    

Hey now, those Spot the Difference games are totally legitimate critical thinking exercises.

It’s easy to think from first glance that Yuri is being purposely insensitive by the way she’s ignoring such a heartwarming speech, but I don’t think that’s really the case. It’s not that she doesn’t care about it, it just that those dining table games are too damn engaging for her introverted mind to resist. Yuri’s personality is a lot of things, but a lack of empathy is not one of them. 

Even though that’s true, it sounds vaguely hypocritical coming from you, Tomoko.

As I thought, Mako the Mom is also Mako the Enabler. 

Is Yuri Being Bitchy or Awkward?

Neither. She’s being a weirdo.

We all know by now that Yuri’s no sheep. She’s not going to pretend she’s something she’s not just to reciprocate the mood. But at the same time, she’s aware enough to adjust herself in situations where just doing anything she wants would be potentially hurtful. Of course, that’s only when she realizes she’s being hurtful. And there’ve been a number of times where she failed at that. Yuri’s behavior is very much circumstantial, and in cases where she’s expected to fit in with the crowd, she can be bitchy, awkward, or neither based on how well she can read the atmosphere. 

And that, my friends, is why Yuri’s a weirdo.

I don’t know about that, Tomoko. As absurd as her face and gaming skills are, Futaki’s personality has always seemed fairly normal to me.

Don’t judge an emoji by its emoji.

You may laugh at their apparent difficulty at finding them all, but I read up that these specific Spot the Difference games are a reference to the ones they have in Saizeriya restaurants, which are known for being notoriously tough. (Seriously, a dude called up the manufacturer because he couldn’t find the last one). Thanks as always, /r/watamote!

Eat your words, Tomoko! Just because you have more friends now, that doesn’t mean you’re hot shit and too good for “childish” games. Not that I can blame her too much, though. It’s understandable that Tomoko feels there are certain social conventions that come with increased popularity. But if there’s one thing that Tomoko still has to realize, it’s that popularity doesn’t equal maturity. No matter how high you are on the food chain, doing dumb kiddie stuff is present all across the board. 

Didn’t I tell you that, “Not that I care” was going to be this series’ tsundere line? 

When you think about it, Yuri’s come a long way from how she was at the start. At the end of second year, she lamented that her new friends might drift away from her. Compare that to now, where she’s actually more optimistic about her relationships. Sure, the fact that they’re now in the same class is the key difference, but the sentiment is still there, and feels a lot more impactful given that Yuri has never really been this open about her feelings. 

That’s what happens when you get the last word in.

As with most of these arcs, it’s the journey rather than the end that has the most impact on our characters. For some, like Ucchi and Yuri, it was a major game-changer in their relationships with Tomoko. For others, like Itou and Hirasawa, it was an exploration of what made them the way they are. And then there’s Tomoko, still fumbling around with a degree of popularity she was never fully prepared for. 

But for everyone, it was all about trying. Trying something new, putting in the extra effort, and reaching out to others. While the results were kind of a mixed bag, nearly everyone came out of this tournament with some form of victory.

[halfkryptn]

* BREAKING APART IN POINTS : BENDIS EDITION !

Comics: Man of Steel (2018) and Superman (2018). Other materials mentioned may be Super Sons (2017) and Adventure of Super Sons (2018).

A few warnings, that: (1) Beware of spoilers, if you’re interested in reading any of the comics above. If not, yeah my dude, go crazy. (2) This might not make sense since I’m pretty sure I’m rambling and have no specific idea on what truly I am doing ever with my entire life. Hopefully, once the current issues end (which, at this point, idk if I’ll honestly be following), there’s a more thorough and proper grasp on how my interpretation might go from there written much better.

Until then, have my thoughts sized up in point forms based on the garbage — I mean, material — that I’ve been given. Enjoy.

I’m just gonna go straight to the point.

Summary:

In Superman (2018), we discover that Clark’s alone. And he’s fighting. And there’s a lot of thoughts he’s processing about his journey and moral dilemmas etc. We found out in the first page that Jon and Lois are on a space trip with Jor-El, Clark’s birth father.

That’s all explained back in Man of Steel (2018) which, as I’ve read, was, fortunately for Bender, wasn’t that far off from how Tomasi has written Jon. There’s that softness in him that’s still there, and humours that only ten-year-olds and very Jon Kent-like that he executed, so I’m at least applauding Bendis for sticking to the interpretation of Jon we all knew so well.

Positive:

In all of that lack of butchering on Jon’s character from Man of Steel (2018), I do appreciate Bendis properly further pick apart Jon’s insecurities, especially after the whole solar flare thing and the prophecy that alternate version of Tim Drake brought.

I also cannot help but to appreciate how thoroughly well Bendis wrote on the reactions from both Lois and Clark at Jon’s sudden outburst regarding his insecurity, as well. Clark, especially, gave Jon excellent advises.

Here are the dialogues:

Jon discussing the prophecy.

Jon: Then why do I grow up to kill million of people?! Lois: What? Clark: What is this? Jon, frantically: There is another reality, okay? And I have seen it! Where -- where I grew up to be Superman, okay?! And then —— oh yeah, I kill millions of people with my out-of-control solar flare power!! That happens!

Clark giving the advice.

Clark: We can’t worry about all the different realities and timelines. I told you, it’s all just —— you have to focus on what is in here. And what you put out there. You worry about you. Not the other you or the other other you. ...or the guy that looks like you but he has a big goatee so we know he’s really the evil you. Jon: That guy’s actually funny... Clark: Those boys are just other boys. Just like Damian is a different boy. And just like you can’t be responsible for everything Damian does, you can’t be responsible for all of those other boys do too. Be your own self, and you are doing it, buddy. Every day. We’re so proud of you.

Jon opening up about his insecurity.

Jon: They rejected me. Clark: Who? Jon: The Titans. Lois: The Titans of--? Jon: The Teen Titans. The— The Gold Standard of the Superhero Team Dynamics.  Clark, whispering: Well, Justice League is really the Gold-- Jon: They said I wasn’t good enough! They said “Come back in a few years”! Clark: So? You will. Jon: But they rejected me because there’s something wrong with me!

So, yeah, Jon has never truly felt comfortable in his skin. Of course, there’s a lot to unpack from these dialogues and Jon’s journey so far as Superboy and what it all means, but we’re not going into details about that today. Point from these was: that it was in-character.

In fact, I was actually disappointed when this issue regarding Jon being rejected and the prophecy being told wasn’t previously addressed or addressed more, and when it was confronted out like these? It was actually refreshing to read.

Moving on, Jor-El offered to let Jon travel with him to find out who he is or whatever (I really couldn’t care less) and Lois decided that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. So she went along, and both Jon and her promised they’d be back once the Summer ends.

Ok. This is an important detail: Jor-El and the Kents stroke a deal to return before school starts. We continue.

Negative.

It starts getting wonky from there. The series leap back to Superman (2018), present time I assume, and Clark’s having these flashbacks of his perfect family when they were with him. Oh, and did I mention? He lost the only communication device that he had to connect with Lois and Jon.

We’re revealed in a flashback on an incident where Jon was complaining about school. Okay, let’s stop it right here. No.

There’s been several canon materials all throughout the Super Sons issues on how Jon likes school. Maybe, yeah, he’s not fond of the schoolwork. Typical. But he’s participated in school activities, he was engaging with his teachers, he was sociable to the point of being generally likeable all around that he was invited to a pool party.

Moving forward, Clark’s in this adventure of going through obstacles to save Earth while longing for his family, when, while deep in his thoughts about finding his father, he was approached by his son. Yup, Jon Kent.

But not any Jon Kent: an older version of him. His shoulders are broad, his face lost its baby fat, and he grew in into his much larger and sculpted form as he hovers and tells his Dad not to worry.

It has also been pointed out in leaked covers that Jon may be portrayed as sinister and... a killer.

Continuity Error.

Now not only we have small details that work against one another regarding Jon’s personality ( *refer to my argument on how Jon likes school above ) , I’m also caught confused by this interstellar bullshit they’re trying to pull and, understandably, could relate to many angry fans.

It doesn’t make sense and it isn’t fair. Admittedly, the flow of the story was still salvageable and Jon’s willingness to be separated from his father to properly get a hold of who he is, isn’t, yet, something to haul my pitchforks up for. Jon had even voiced out his concern about being brought back before school starts, and now we blasted by this appearance of him skipping about, oh, six to seven years of his life?

Not only that, we were robbed of Jon’s lovely growth and characterisation that Tomasi has carefully built. 

Think about it: wouldn’t Jon have demanded to return? Not only he had schools, obligations he knew he can’t afford to miss as Superboy and Jon Kent, but he’s a person who loves the people he knew and he was whole-heartedly devoted to Earth, which he had called his home a few times throughout his featured appearances because, guess what, Earth is the only fucking home he knows. 

And he made a promise to come home to his father. He made a promise to stand by Damian’s side, which, I think, at this point in his life, was a vow he’s taken to heart (since the vow involved his dad doubting Damian which, I think, he won’t stand for). He has family and friends that he adores like Kara, Kathy, Maya, Georgia etc. He wouldn’t abandon the people he cares for just like that. And even if he was somehow heavily influenced by Jor-El, wouldn’t Lois be raising her voice once the she figured out the communicator wasn’t working?

Let’s not even get into the fact that, with Adventures of Super Sons (2018) existing simultaneously with this issue, both of these stories clashes with each canon materials.

In Bendis’ interpretation, Jon went on and grew up in out-of-space directly after the events of the solar-flare and the rejection during Summer. Meanwhile Tomasi continues to write Jon having multiple adventures with Damian in the exact same season. You guessed it: Summer. The season Jon supposedly isn’t on Earth at all. 

Then again, of course, one can argue that maybe this isn’t the same summer when they’ve hinted Jon outgrowing his Superboy clothes. But consider: Why would Jon still be hung up on the same worry from when he was a ten-year-old, if this had happened when he was eleven? Or Twelve? If he’d been older, I bet this is a worry he would’ve blurted out sooner than to let it simmer till he’s eleven or twelve.

Tomasi also hinted that the adventures didn’t stop between the son of Batman and son of Superman, and that Jon and Damian actually grows up together.

So, yeah. Continuity error. Clashes of plot. Whatever you call it, it’s here.

In Conclusion.

There’s still so many issues of the current series that I, admittedly, haven’t gone through since it’s yet to be published. So, I don’t know. Maybe Bendis will shock me into accepting his canon, or maybe I’ll continue to live in a make-believe world where Jon was never abducted by his grandfather and, instead, works his issues out with the people who’re already there.

please don’t reblog !!