#and most of the claw espers

[mtndw-whteout]

Some more au doodles

[wolfjackle-creates]

Bring Me Home Arc 2 Part 16

Happy WIP Wednesday everyone! Sorry I missed last week, but I think I should be good to get back on track going forward. Finished making most of the baby things I want to make for my soon-to-be nephew, so I'll be able to spend more time writing than crocheting again.

Story Summary: Tim and Danny are both neglected by parents who care more about their work than their families. They deal with this by spending too much time online and find each other playing MMORPGs. They keep up their friendship as Tim becomes Robin and Danny becomes Phantom and don't bother keeping secrets from each other.

First, Previous

Word Count: 1.4k

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An hour later, all eight of them were ensconced in the theater in Sam’s basement with a few pizzas and salads spread around them. Wulf again refused any and the rest dug in.

“All right, Tuck, we need to figure out what Walker’s up to. Can you ask Wulf?”

Tim watched as Tucker asked and Wulf responded. Then Tucker burst out laughing and slapped his knee.

Tim’s eyes narrowed. He wouldn’t.

Sam scoffed. “You have no idea what he said, do you?”

“Not a clue,” Tucker admitted.

Tim groaned.

Bart cocked his head. “Give me five minutes, I’ll be right back!”

Before Danny could even finish asking, “Where are you going?” Bart was gone.

Conner grabbed another slice of pizza and said, “He’s off to learn Esperanto. Hang tight and he’ll be right back.”

“How can he learn a language so fast?” asked Sam.

Tim swallowed. “He’s a speedster. His normal is faster than our brains can comprehend. He slows himself down so he can interact with us mere mortals. He’ll be back.”

Sure enough, in less than ten minutes, Bart was back among them. He repeated Tucker’s question. This time, when Wulf responded, the ghost was understood.

“So, Walker is pissed at Danny,” translated Bart. “And he totally wants to ruin your entire life and drag you back to his prison in the ghost zone. Apparently he and his guards are overshadowing a bunch of the people you’re close to in the town to trap you in their web of lies.”

Danny groaned and buried his face in his hands. “How do I fight against that? I can’t just soup them all! I don’t even know who all is overshadowed!”

Cassie butt in then. “We know some of them. Dash and your classmates are definitely overshadowed.”

“Your reputation improved thanks to the other night,” commented Conner. “That might help mitigate Walker’s plans.”

“Doubt it,” said Danny. “Most people think I’m a menace. One night of good publicity won’t turn them around. Especially not with my parents there to dirty my name.”

“Let’s prepare a press release,” suggested Tim. “I bet the Young Justice team could get themselves on the local news. And if we speak up for you, it might help.”

Danny exchanged looks with his two friends. Tucker shrugged, “Couldn’t hurt, dude.”

“Fine,” bit out Danny. “What else?”

Conner looked at Wulf curiously. “Bart, does Wulf know how we can get his collar off?”

“Oooh, good question.” Bart asked, but Wulf shook his head as he answered.

“Will he let me look at it?” asked Tucker.

“I might be able to help, too,” added Tim as he stepped closer and reached out to touch.

Before he could actually touch the collar, though, Wulf snarled at him and jumped back several feet. Tim held up his hands in apology and took a step back himself. “Sorry!”

Bart grinned at him. “He said don’t touch it.”

Tim grimaced and nodded. “Think I got that.”

Tucker was already typing away on one of his devices. “I’m gonna try something. Might help.”

And that’s when Wulf screamed out in pain and fell to the floor clawing at the collar.

“Shit!” shouted Tucker as he rushed forward. He managed to plug his device into a port on the collar. Electricity arced back along the connection, causing Tucker to yelp in pain and drop his PDA.

But a moment later, there was a beep and the collar fell to pieces.

Wulf looked down in shock, then up at all of them. “Mi libras?”

“You’re free, dude,” said Tucker.

Bart added something in Esperanto.

Wulf grinned at them, sharp teeth shining in the light. “Mi libras!” Then he turned and disappeared as he jumped through the wall.

Conner groaned and collapsed backwards. “Jerk couldn’t even stick around long enough to help us after everything we did for him.”

Tim sighed and sat down as well. “Well, we’ll figure it out ourselves. Just like we always do. So, operation Fix Danny’s Reputation. We’ll start with talking to the press. What else?”

“Can we write up op-eds describing what really happened in some of his ghost fights?” asked Cassie. “Set the record straight?”

“What if we make you easier to reach?” added Tim. “Get a number the police or the mayor can reach you at so you can show them you’re willing to work with them instead of just on your own?”

“Do you think that’ll work?” asked Danny.

Tim shrugged. “Worked for Batman. Don’t see why it wouldn’t help you.”

Danny sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Great,” said Tim. “I’ll send out some emails asking for interviews. And then we can start working on the op-eds. How about we split into three groups, Danny and me in one, the rest of you can split up how we like. Then we can go over the major ghost fights that have happened and write tell-all articles that don’t run the risk of spoiling Danny’s identity.”

Conner shrugged. “Sam, wanna work with me?”

Sam grinned. “You betcha.”

Bart disappeared and reappeared next to Tucker. “Tucker and I will work together, too!”

Cassie moved until she was next to Conner. “I call working with Sam and Kon.”

“Great. Now, Tuck, do you happen to know the best contact info for local reporters?” Tim pulled out his laptop and powered it on as he spoke.

“Give me five minutes and I’ll get it for you.”

Fifteen minutes later, Tim had sent out a dozen emails asking for interviews. As he and Tucker were working, Danny and Sam had gone through which ghost fights would be the best to write about and divided up the attacks between the three groups.

Once he was ready to start on the articles, Tim sat down next to Danny. “So, what are we starting with?”

Danny grinned. “We’re going to go over my first fight. The one with Lunch Lady. She wasn’t bad, but caused a lot of clean up for the school and wasted a lot of resources. Most people still don’t even know that was a ghost attack.”

“Great, let’s get started.”

Tim had heard about most of Danny’s fights before, but being next to him in person definitely made a difference. They were sitting with their arms pressed against each other so they could both see the computer screen and add or delete bits as they went. It was nice.

They’d been working for a few hours when Sam’s parents came down.

“Children!” called her mom.

Tim wasn’t the only one to hide a grimace at the term.

Jeremy Manson continued, “The mayor has instituted a curfew for the city due to all the ghosts. No one is allowed out on the streets after nine PM.”

Pamela Manson giggled. “And it’s nine PM now! So looks like you’ll all be staying here. Tim, dear, be sure to tell your father how seriously we took your safety. I don’t want any of you leaving the house until morning.”

Tim turned on his gala smile. “My dad is in a coma, I’m afraid. But I’ll be sure to tell Bruce just how considerate all the people of Amity have been.”

Jeremy let out a forced laugh. “Of course, our mistake. We wish our best to your father, as well. I hope his prognosis is good?”

Tim blinked at him. “He’s been in a coma for months.”

Pamela giggled again. “Of course, we knew that. Right, dear?” She smacked her husband lightly on the arm.

“Sure did!” he agreed. “Well, I hope to hear news of his miraculous recovery. I’m sure he is getting the best of care.”

“Of course he is,” agreed Tim. “I wouldn’t put up with anything less.”

A few more giggles and well wishes, then Pamela and Jeremy made a hasty retreat.

Once they were alone, Conner looked at him with concern. “Tim—”

“I’m fine, Conner.”

Before anyone else could try and say anything, his email beeped. Tim took the excuse and read it over. The most popular morning radio talk show wanted to have the Young Justice on. Tim grinned.

“We’re getting up early, guys. Radio interview at six AM.”

Cassie laughed. “I can do that, can you?”

Tim shrugged. “I just won’t go to sleep. Easier to stay up that late than drag myself out of bed that early.”

Conner shook his head. “You and your family are insane, Rob.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get back to work.”

-----

Next

This is where I definitely go off the rails of what happened in the show. But that's half the fun of an AU! Hope you like it.

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Scroll down to the next post on my blog to see the really cool birthday comic @stealingyourbones made for me!

[etherealhoneybee777]

The Tragedy of Teru: An Unnecessarily Long Thesis

I’ve seen some people ask: why the sudden change in Teru? Why did he suddenly go from a total menace who was okay with choking Mob to unconsciousness to a good guy/best friend type whose moral axis now completely revolves around Mob? I’ve seen some people claim that Teru’s redemption was so sudden that it’s unconvincing.

I don’t think the redemption was a sudden shift in Teru’s character. Actually, it’s the most natural progression for him. Consider Teru’s life circumstances. His parents completely abandoned him with no remorse. It wasn’t even because of Claw, they were just “busy” and moved overseas. He has no one to look after him at home. His relationships at school are largely superficial. He probably has severe attachment issues because of childhood neglect. He has no connections, no one truly rooting for him.

It’s an extremely shitty situation—but Teru convinces himself that he’s okay. In fact, he’s better than okay. He’s doing great. He’s doing the best because he’s better than everyone else—he has psychic powers, he’s popular, he’s talented in pretty much everything. Why would he need people to love and care for him when he has everything else “average” people dream of?

And so Teru’s entire emotional state revolves around a shaky thesis: that he’s better than everyone else. The main character. Main characters don’t need families. They don’t need love and support. Teru’s too superior for those things. And he HAS to be superior, because if he’s not, if he’s like everyone else, then he has to acknowledge the facts: that his parents left him, that there’s no clear cut purpose for his life, he’s completely alone, and there’s nothing he can do about it.  

If Teru’s the main character, then trauma and abandonment are just part of a tragic backstory---necessary hardships that will pave the way for all the great and superior things that Teru is destined to do. Whereas “average” people don’t have tragic backstories. When “average” people are abused and abandoned, it’s not part of some epic tale. It’s just sad. If Teru’s average, then the trauma is meaningless. Purposeless. 

And the weight of that is just too much for him to bear.

And so he dates girls he doesn’t like, and he cheats on tests, and he wins at sports, and he runs a gang. And he copes. For a while, it works.

And then it doesn’t.

Enter Shigeo Kageyama.

Mob’s existence rocks Teru’s world. The idea that there’s another natural child esper as powerful as him shatters his core belief that psychic powers made him the main character. Not only that, but Mob withstands all of Teru’s attacks, and refuses to fight back--a move that Teru finds insulting.

When Mob insists that psychic powers are average, and that Teru’s average, Teru is enraged. (“You’re the only one who can make that point. And that’s why your very existence pisses me off!”)

Finally Mob puts the nail in the coffin: “You and I are the same. We both have no self-confidence.” Up until this point, I believe that NO ONE has genuinely seen through Teru like Mob does, or, at least, they didn’t point it out. Mob sees Teru for who he is: a sad and insecure kid with no real connections. And THAT’S what makes Teru put him in a chokehold.

In a move of infinite kindness, Mob refuses to use his powers against Teru. Only when Mob is knocked unconscious are his true powers revealed. Teru then sees how outmatched he was from the very beginning, and how intentional Mob’s pacifism was towards him.

Teru did nothing but try to hurt Mob, but Mob refused to hurt him back. This is probably the most intentional love and care Teru’s received in a long time.

It’s a turning point. Because here’s the thing about Teru: he latches on to any gesture of genuine kindness and holds onto it for dear life. Mob’s kindness is enough to make Teru completely reject his old ideals.

Teru’s emotional state depended on the idea that he’s superior, but now that this belief has been dismantled, he needs a new life purpose to fill the vacuum, something else to distract from the loneliness in his life. And Mob has given Teru a new purpose: to be a good person. A kind person. Teru wants to be Kageyama’s rival—not in terms of psychic power—but in terms of kindness. (That’s why Teru claims to have won against ???% even though he’s clearly overpowered. He was talking about winning a contest of kindness, about repaying the kindness Mob showed him when they met by refusing to use his psychic powers to hurt ???%---even when ???% was hurting him).

So, Teru’s new purpose: kindness and doing good for the world. It’s a good purpose to have. And Teru is good at being kind. He risks his life to fight Claw just because he cares about Mob. He takes down Claw’s splinter organizations all on his own. He fills in at spirits and such for probably negligible pay when Mob trains for the race. He gives advice. He practices intentional humility (sometimes). He always says thank you.

And, of course, he puts his life on the line to stop ???%’s rampage and get through to Mob. He almost dies to save every last civilian.

Teru is good at being good. He is the type of person who spins every stray thread of kindness he receives into gold. He multiplies every rare gesture of love tenfold. It’s a beautiful example of how the human spirit can withstand so much neglect and agony and evil and still come out good in the end. Teru’s name means “brilliance,” and his whole character is about shining a brilliant light into the darkness that surrounds him.

As much as I’d like to believe that’s the whole picture, it’s not. There’s a darker, sadder side to Teru’s redemption

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that Teru cares about his friends very much and is a genuinely kind and good person. BUT that’s not the only reason he’s kind and good. I believe that Teru is so obsessed with being good/putting Mob on a pedestal because “being good” is his new coping mechanism.

See, his coping mechanism before was being superior and having refined psychic powers. But, since Kageyama dismantled that, he found a new purpose: being good. And he uses the pursuit of being good to distract from his empty apartment, neglectful parents, and lack of personal connections.

And isn’t there something so utterly heartbreaking about that? Think about Teru single-handedly taking down all of Claw’s splinter organizations. Think of him spending constant hours refining his psychic powers to be able to beat the bad guys. Going into the forest to meditate to “improve” himself. Training the awakening lab kids. Working out until he is more ripped than any 13-year-old should be. All of it, he probably enjoys, but is it not also a distraction? Is he doing these things solely to become better or also to busy himself and fill the days? Anything to not be by himself, tiny and alone in an empty apartment with strange noises and the bleak reality that there is no one, no one who will even know if Claw sneaks into his house and kills him.

Teru is a tragic character. At the beginning of the story, he is a menace who is completely alone. He is then redeemed. He orients his life towards being good--and gains some meaningful connections, but at the end of the story, Teru is still functionally alone most of the time. Though they care for each other very much, Mob and Teru don’t really hang out in canon. (Fanbook) They’re not even on a first name basis. Teru comes by Reigen’s office sometimes, but not often. He still has no one at home to care for him.

At the end of it all,—months and months later—Teru still has to ask for the occasional hang out with Mob. He is sipping tea sadly when Mob talks about his friendship with Tsubomi, jealous. And then he will go home to an empty apartment, alone. There is no one to take care of him when he is sick. There is no one to discipline him, or tell him “no,” or to prepare him for his first date, or to help him apply for college.

And doesn’t that go against the usual abandoned child narrative? Where the abandoned and neglected child ends the story with so many deep connections and so much love pouring into them that they can barely breathe? Where is that love for Teru? He is doing everything right. He is repaying all of the love and kindness he has ever received, so why is he still alone?

Teru never talks about any friendships besides Mob or adult influences besides Reigen. I truly believe Teru is still relying on his sparse interactions with Mob and Reigen to stay afloat emotionally. And he’s not used to kindnesses---when Reigen takes him to the amusement park, he’s overly thankful (”Reigen-san, you went to all this trouble”) And Teru literally idolizes Mob for the kindness Mob has given him. But this is kind of heartbreaking too.

No child should have to subsist on stray inklings of love and support. Love should not be a limited resource. One of the reasons that Teru treasures kindnesses so much is because he knows that gestures of love towards him are few and far between.

It’s no life for a kid. Teru should have a support system that gives him so much love casually that he’s not afraid to let it slip through his fingers. He shouldn’t have to be overly thankful for kind gestures, he doesn’t have to say “you went to all this trouble,” after someone takes him on a fun summer excursion. Teru should be loved so much that he forgets to say thanks. Love should be an expectation, not just a treasure.

Maybe this is why I’m constantly reading fics where Teru is adopted or where he spends a lot of time with the Kageyamas. Because in canon (especially manga canon), Teru’s ending is incredibly tragic. I really love the way ONE wrote him, and I’m not complaining about the ending---I think it’s great. But I want to see this boy happy. There’s something so sad about someone who loves so much but never gets what they deserve. 

But fanfiction exists! So write him having happy moments. Write Teru at the water park. Write Teru being hugged by Reigen before his graduation. Write him planting a tree. Write him having his first kiss in the rain. Write him going to cosmetology school and becoming a hairdresser. Write Reigen saving up for Teru’s college fund. 

Write Teru experiencing all of the love and joy and beautiful things because he deserves them. I will read all of your fic just put it in my inbox. I will do anything to see this boy be loved.

[irradiatedsnakes]

POKEMOB!!!! ive been thinking abt this nonstop for like, weeks. check it out, though! lots of little guys! reigen's special move where he chucks his nacli at the foe as hard as possible! teru's furfrou's matching wig! other stuff! this post has 18 images

@skypiea helped SO much with pokemon choices for this also!

see under the cut for full teams and further explanation!!! please check it out

mob - ralts & espurr. later, silvally. mob isn't a trainer, and his pokemon don't fight. they're just little guys. type:null was originally toichiro's (who used various pokemon alongside the human claw grunts), mob met it in aftermath of the divine tree once everything in the domination arc was over. (it still doesn't battle or anything. big fancy lapdog full of love.)

ritsu - unovan braviary, bisharp, and alakazam. going along with his student council status & top-of-the-line grades, ritsu's a skilled trainer with some powerful pokemon. braviary and bisharp were his most used pokemon early on- they're sort of representative of his student council thing (note braviary's unobtainable psychic type form)- but abra was his first pokemon, a counterpart to mob's ralts. it only evolved first during ritsu and the esper kids' attempted escape of the 7th division claw building.

reigen - murkrow, greavard, thievul, and nacli. reigen's not a trainer, his pokemon are both pets and assist him with work. with the exception of nacli, dark and ghost types are his specialty (psychic-adjacent types, but Not actual psychic types). his murkrow imitates him constantly. greavard is uu-chan, of course, but this time he doesn't get eaten by dimple (uu-chan is still feeding on reigen's soul). one of nacli's possible abilities in the games is "purifying salt", which cuts damage from ghost moves. reigen's nacli, of course, has sturdy. and to quote kite, re: thievul: "Reigen: would an untrustworthy guy have THIS [sends out the thief pokemon]"

teru - furfrou (shiny), zoroark (maybe shiny i cant decide. burple), and togepi (later togekiss). before his encounter with mob in season 1, teru didn't actually use his pokemon in battle often- they're rare, flashy, and/or powerful, but they were lackeys and status symbols just as much as his underlings at black vinegar were. his relationship with his pokemon improved after he started to work on his humility, leading to the evolution of his togepi.

shou - morpeko, latias, and (mega) blaziken. he's a super tough trainer, and he cares about his pokemon So much. he rides his latias like she's a surfboard

serizawa - swoobat & bewear. serizawa didn't really have pokemon growing up after his self-imposed isolation- the stufful he had as a kid was taken care of by his mother once that happened. he met his woobat a while after joining claw, and it evolved sometime after the world domination arc. bewear isn't entirely his- but after the world domination arc, he reconnected with it and takes care of it some of the time. the rest of the time it's serimama's gigantic housebear

tome - two (later three which become a single magneton) magnemite, orbeetle, eventually elgyem. i think magnemite just fits her vibes... plus it's a bit ufo-y, innit. she HAD to have a bug, and i mean..look at orbeetle's gmax form! and it has the telepathy ability! unfortunately, despite her best efforts, orbeetle's telepathy ability hasn't proved useful for finding human telepaths. she caught elgyem on new years, on the way back down to the car. tome can hold her own in battle, but training for battle isn't something she's focused on.

dimple - is a yamask! his big powerful form is cofagrigus, obvs. his mask is usually blank save for the cheek spots, since he has no memory of his life as a human. the mask does change to fit the (LOL) and psycho helmet cult as well. he places his mask on someone's face to possess them like any other yamask, to others it just appears as the regular red cheeks, but to folks who can see spirits they see the mask. when possessing someone, his expressions will show on the mask as well.

whew, i think that's everything i wanted to talk about. thanks for reading!

[luciferstit]

it’s agonizing how much Reigen adores Mob. This whole episode I couldn’t stop thinking about his “I raised that kid!” comment from the fanbook. Every single person in Reigen’s life came directly from Mob and his influence on Reigen. He made the decision to die for Mob with barely a thought. He’s put himself in between Mob and an entire echelon of claw espers, angry teenagers, Shibata, and a homicidal terrorist dictator, unarmed. He tried to fight that man because he cut Mob in line for the bathroom. He’s guided him by the shoulder, tucked him into bed, and carried him on his back. Mob leaving in season 2 made him panic so bad that he threw up in public. In the dub, he calls him “kiddo”. Reigen’s most hated self is worth it because it brought Mob into his life. He raised that kid. He raised that kid!!

[jadeacereigen]

Claw Reigen? 👀

oh GOD I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN WITH THIS

TIME TO LOOK AT MY OLD NOTES ABOUT HIM TO REFRESH MY MEMORY 😭

So Claw Reigen was this AU I came up with based on that moment in S1 where they make it seem like he's the Claw Boss. I never believed it for a second, but in my head I was kinda going "huh it would be an interesting au if it WAS true". Then I had my friend Parker watch the show and they genuinely fell for it and got super upset, so this made me come back to the random idea in my head and develop it more.

He's not the actual boss in my AU though, I made him a Scar instead because I thought that fit him better. Although he's a member of Claw's 5th division, no one has ever seen him use his powers and he still only describes them as "spiritual" when asked. Despite this, he is the 5th division's second-in-command and the leader Sakakibara obviously favors him despite him seemingly not contributing much to the group. This leads to rumors about Reigen being an incredibly weak esper or maybe even someone who isn't actually a Scar. (Because how could the Boss have respected his weak powers enough to spare his life after challenging him?)

None of these rumors are true, however...

(more details below sorry this got really long)

Reigen is certainly hiding many things from everyone in his life, including his fellow colleagues at Claw. But perhaps he's hiding the most from his disciple, Mob, who he is training to become a strong esper. He wears makeup to hide most of his scar when he's not interacting with Claw members, so Mob doesn't see his scar until... Season 1 events. Mob believes that Claw is a group of superheros whose mission is to make the world a better place. If he proves his worth, they'll allow him to join his ranks and become a fellow hero. However, as of now he is just an apprentice and is not allowed to meet any other members.

Claw is actually unaware of Mob's existence, and Reigen very much intends to keep it that way. In truth, he's not actually loyal to Claw, but he knows what he must do to survive. He's fully aware that his scar is not a badge of honor but is in fact a marker of his own unworthiness to Suzuki. Once Suzuki completes his world domination, Reigen knows that he and the other Scars will be disposed of, and he is determined to not let that happen. Somehow, Mob is a very important part of this plan...

In terms of personality, Reigen is similar to his canon lighthearted counterpart when he's with Mob. However, he can have a bit of a cruel streak—when he saves Mob from the S1 art gallery scammers, he intentionally sends an evil spirit to haunt them. He's also not the best role model and still smokes around Mob sometimes, though he'll awkwardly snuff it out and make a lot of excuses if Mob stares at him for too long or points out that it's bad for his health.

This is in stark contrast to how he is when Mob isn't around. The makeup he wears to hide his scar also hides his dark eyebags and stress lines on his face. He generally has a bored, heavy look to his face and doesn't smile. When he's with Claw, he sneers a lot and talks very condescendingly to make sure he doesn't look weak. (Also he just hates everyone there tbh-) People don't take him seriously, but the few who actually manage to piss Reigen off know that his sneer disappearing is a very bad thing.

(Another random but important fact that I'm not sure how to fit in here is that he never takes off his gloves.)

In summary, Scar Reigen is still very much a man of lies and self-serving deceit, just... in a far more twisted way than canon. He thinks he's long past redemption or changing his ways, but is that really true?

Anyway uh wow I talked a lot I'm not even sure if any of this makes any sense 😭 I was pretty into the idea of writing this au out as a fanfic last year but I quickly got stuck because I just couldn't figure out where to begin with it and what the structure of the story would even be like. I don't exactly see myself coming back to it but who knows. Idk

[shigayokagayama]

FIGHTS TERU HAS WON:

- An unknown number of fights against random powerless middle school delinquents (we see two of these onscreen)

- An unknown number of fights against random weak ass Claw espers (we see one of these onscreen)

- A fight against Mob who was literally refusing to fight back against him (but Mob did shave the top of his head off so who was the REAL winner)

- A fight against some adult man trying to burn him to death (who he in turn burned to death (presumably))

- A fight against three moderately powerful Claw espers which happened offscreen in the anime because Teru truly cannot have anything

FIGHTS TERU HAS LOST:

- A fight against Mob’s evil shadowself which he lost so badly he lost his superiority complex (and his clothes)

- A fight against some Claw esper sneaking up behind him and hitting him in the back of the neck

- A fight against some dude with the ability to teleport and predict people’s movements (twice)

- A fight against a ghost possessing evil broccoli that was slowly draining his power

- A fight against normal Mob

- A fight against Mob’s shadowself where he lost his clothes again (but Teru stuck to his principles and saved all the civilians so who REALLY won)

CONCLUSION: teru mostly only loses if his opponent is WAY more powerful than him (every single minor character fighting against shimizaki at the same time couldn’t beat him and shigeo is so powerful he literally destroyed the entirety of mogamiland in SECONDS) but since these happen to be the majority of fights he’s involved in they are also what he is most known for. however most of his wins are also against people who he drastically outmatches so ?????????

[dykeyaoi]

I love love thinking about auras and psychics-- to what extent do we think they're hereditary? it seems common knowledge to little Mob that Ritsu will someday get powers too. when he does, the Kageyamas' colors are almost the same, they just emphasize different ones. their textures are different but I think that's all personality-based. we can look at Teru and Toichiro for some pretty potent examples of that.

I want to believe that color can change short- or long-term depending on what happens in your life because if you look at Claw, the VAST majority of those guys have red and/or purple in theirs, which are apparently the Evil Colors. but what my brain does with Serizawa and maybe the show does too is make him a LOT more purple-- the Less Evil color-- after he starts working at S&S. Ritsu's aura typically has more blue in it than Mob's, but if he's really stressed out, more purple seeps in. because he knows his brother would be powerful enough to handle the situation? because he wants to protect Shige? Shou's aura is much more red when he's with his dad during the Confession Arc than when he's emotionally fighting him in the Seventh Division & physically fighting him in World Domination. when a character's REALLY emotional, the range of their color expands-- see: Mob 100 % (adds green and red), Shou fighting Toichiro with his charge bomb (goes much heavier on and a little farther to the yellow side than usual), Ritsu 100% (adds red and green). so if color is circumstantial as well as familial, it'd make sense that texture is solely personality-based.

but how are psychics themselves inherited? do Mom & Dad Kageyama have latent abilities? is Teru's family super strong? it wouldn't make a ton of sense for him to think he's so special if his parent(s) were as powerful as he was. why the hell is Mob SO cracked when Ritsu is the weakest of the main four kids (though this could be an issue with the fact that he hasn't had his powers available for very long)? why was Shige able to reach ???% even before suppressing his emotions? Mogami and Teru and Mob, probably Shou too, have been able to use their powers since birth. what determines whether you can do that, or have to have them awakened?

Teru is infamous for his tendency to pick up psychic techniques like pebbles from a creek. he makes the air whips and telekinetic explosion his own after only seeing each once. but he never seems to get the hang of Shimazaki's teleportation. some ESPers like the Awakening Lab kids can only use one or two techniques because they're not super powerful, but Minegishi & Matsuo don't exactly seem to have any aces up their sleeves either. is that by choice? are their powers simply of another category that no one (except Mob and spirits) can figure them out?

we've only ever seen Shige and Toichiro share their powers with non-ESPers. my guess is that you have to be insanely strong to do that, with enough psychics to spare that your own body/mind don't even care that they're missing. what I'm interested in is the fact that Mob didn't do it on purpose, and that he seemingly gave EVERYTHING to Reigen. that part has to be more trust than anything, right? I have so many questions but it's the most fun thing in the world to speculate.

[aquaticasart]

A Small piece of writing between Sander and Yu Ran. To say I was grabbed by the collar by this character is an understatement, and I found a really cool little opportunity to get down some thoughts on Sander's characterisation and motivations onto the page.

A short, 2k word Political Thriller/Battle of Wits between Sander and Yu Ran, negotiating for the release of Freddy from Tangton custody.

Of Deer and Wolves

Sander was waved through by the imposing assistant and given leave to enter the office. He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts and remind himself of his strategy going into the meeting.

A Decree Agent had been detained by Tangton authorities, Sander himself had received the frantic call from Freddy’s squad mate and escalated immediately to Hyde. Normally, such a matter would be trivially resolved through whispers in carefully placed ears in Gyrate, but the Decree had no such connections in Tangton. Hyde had insisted that Sander attend to the matter in person, sending him on the first private transport bound for Tangton.

The normally unflappable Hyde had seemed tense briefing Sander before his trip, insinuating that he would have gone himself, but that Sander would be a more agreeable contact for the matter. He had apparently burned many favours to set up a meeting with a Tangton councilman, the highest possible authority to plead their case to. This was all very unusual, both the fear and the insinuation that Hyde would handle the matter personally. Regardless, the fragility and importance of the nature was stated again and again in no uncertain terms.

Steeling himself, Sander reached for the heavy wooden door and let himself in.

The office was resplendent, filled with immaculately kept Tangton native flora. A subtle bamboo motif stretched throughout the room from the woven floor coverings to long stalks diffused through frosted glass behind the ornate wooden desk. A gentle noon light poured into the room through the milky glass, giving every piece of ornate furniture soft shadows that made the entire room seem supernaturally lit with an invisible ambient light. However, the most beautiful thing in the room sat behind the desk.

Sander immediately realised what might have made him more attractive a diplomat, as he caught sight of an inescapably elegant Esper, transformed into a deer-like form.

Yu Ran sat with poise, a perpetually calming expression on his cervine visage, his long white hair falling over his shoulders like waterfalls, perfectly straight and silken smooth. His intricate glowing antlers were decorated modestly and yet richly with gold fixtures to match his white and purple suit. It was perfectly tailored with its tailcoat discarded to allow him to sit comfortably in his waistcoat, his black shirt ending in tightly fitted arm-length hand stockings and impeccably painted black claws.

Sander prepared to announce his entrance but didn’t need to as Yu Ran looked up at the closing door.

“Ah, Mr. Sander, I’ve been expecting you.”

“Hyde sends his regards and apologies, as his second in command I’ve been given the honour of meeting you” Sander replied, courteously.

“Such a shame. Cognac?” Yu Ran unstoppered a gleaming crystal decanter, splashing a small amount of amber liquid into a matching crystal glass.

“Not during business matters” Sander replied, almost immediately regretting it as the mature fruity notes reached his canine sense of smell. It was a VERY good bottle.

“Straight to the point I see, if only some of my peers were so efficient” Yu Ran mused, sifting through some of the many articles of paper on his desk.

“According to the report provided to me…” Yu Ran began, reaching for a thick stack of paper left in readily accessible range, gently lifting the first few pages to find a highlighted passage.

“…Your man stumbled across the border without any paperwork, tried to seduce a border agent, and then resisted with force before being detained.”

If Freddy got out of this in one piece, Sander was going to kill him.

Yu Ran flipped over to another page.

“And then I learn to my surprise that this isn’t an Esper Union Operation Chief making a clumsy mistake in a misguided act of heroism, but rather a wanted criminal, with charges ranging from public indecency to… kidnapping of children?”

“With all due respect…” Sander began, hating every word that came out of his own mouth defending Freddy “…He was later cleared of the kidnapping charges. It just probably hasn’t been reflected in the Esper Union records.”

“Oh, so the kidnapping was recent. Noted.” Yu Ran said, his tone holding neither sarcasm nor surprise. He let the substantial report fall closed in front of him.

“Needless to say, your friend has inadvertently caused a gigantic headache for two major governing entities and clearly at least a handful more organised syndicates, and while I would desperately like to see him removed from Tangton and never seen again, the other 6…pardon, 5 members of the council want to see him hauled into the Nether Gaol as an example, and no official entities in Gyrate are objecting.”

Despite Hyde’s warnings, Sander was suddenly feeling incredibly under briefed for the severity of the situation he found himself in, and yet very understanding of why he had been sent in person.

“Mr. Yu, I can assure you that the Shadow Decree is able to offer you substantial resources and assets in either an official or personal capacity for the safe transfer of this prisoner into our custody.”

Yu Ran clicked his pen, clearly thinking deeply about the proposition. Considering what to ask for, most likely.

“That won’t be necessary, at least I don’t believe it will be.” He said, gently. Sander tensed. It simply couldn’t be that easy.

“I think, instead, I’d like an answer of sorts.”

The deer was inscrutable and perfectly held. His gentle voice had never risen once throughout their conversation.

“Why are you here?” He asked Sander, pointedly.

The deer’s eyes were deep pools, staring right into Sander, fearless and inquisitive.

“For what it appears,” Sander responded stiffly “To entreat-”

“Nono, not about the wolf, I mean why are you HERE.”

Yu Ran reached for a different report, also neatly laid out for him.

“I must admit, when I learnt who the Decree were sending, I was intrigued. Ex-Navy, Ex-Esper Union, now Commander of a cabal of rogue agents, I must say it’s quite the career move for someone with your sense of duty, to be skulking around picking up the scraps of the Esper Union.”

There was a gentle creak of leather as Sander balled his hands into fists at his side. In that moment he realised why he in particular had been sent. He was a living gesture of deference on Hyde’s part, an inescapably visible Esper in one of the most Esper-hostile countries in Grandis. The deer in front of him knew it and was toying with him because of it. Sander hated it, the deference to authority. It was what had driven him from the Military and the Union all those years ago, and now it was expected of him here for this fragile Esper he had never met before in his life.

“The Union was holding me back.” Sander began, trying not to let an instinctual growl enter his tone “They refused to accept the power and responsibilities us Espers were gifted by the Miracles…”

“Please don’t lie to me, Mr. Sander. I’m a politician, I’m far better at it than you are.” Yu Ran retorted gently.

“I hate to disappoint you, but it’s the truth.” Sander replied, forcing a sense of certainty into his voice.

“Mhm.” Yu Ran pondered “And how is that going for you? Accomplished all those things the Union was keeping you from doing?”

The smallest of growls crept into Sander’s breathing. He summoned half a life of drills and procedure to force it down. He couldn’t let this fawn get the better of him. Despite it, his anger roiled deep inside him.

“And I’m sure your attempts to make Tangton safer for Espers has been wildly successful” Sander couldn’t help but release in retaliation. “I’m sure your council loves having a pampered obedient pet to offload their cruelty onto.”

The deer rose sharply from his chair, bringing himself up to full height with Sander. His eyeline was just below Sander’s but his towering antlers made his silhouette much taller. He walked slowly around the table, coming to stand just in front of the jackal. His lithe form was dwarfed in size by Sander’s wiry physique, but his silhouette was impossibly grown by his antlers and his status in the room. His eyes seemed infinite up close, a shining void that let no hint of anger or insult escape.

“You come into my office, from your self-imposed persecution in one of the most powerful Esper enclaves in the world and try to lecture me for not doing enough for people like us.” Yu Ran said, softly. His gentle tone was somehow more unnerving than if he had shouted. “I must admit it’s a bold negotiating strategy.”

Sander tightened his jaw, knowing better than to let his pride make this any worse.

“Tell me…” Yu Ran continued, inches from Sander “What did you have to lose for a belief you no longer hold? Do your spotless ideals keep you warm at night like he did?”

Sander couldn’t say anything. His mind had frozen, his heart stabbed clean through by the words.

“You gave up your power and everything that meant something to you for a misguided attempt at rebuilding it in your image. And look at where that got you. The lord commander of an organisation of cutthroats and misanthropes. Your principles and your theatrics cost you everything. So I ask again: Why are you here?”

“Don't you DARE insult my men you overgrown carrion”.

Sander’s fists were taught and trembling, every piece of finely honed discipline at his disposal keeping him from causing yet more of an international incident. Yu Ran tilted his head back. Instead of anger or shock, a small smile crept to the edges of his beautiful face.

'Ah. There it is. That's why.'

He moved back around and set elegantly back down at his desk. He clicked his pen and notated something on a notepad before tearing it off and folding it over.

“I’m afraid there’s simply nothing I can do to organise the release your friend.” Yu Ran began. Sander went to protest but was cut off with a raised hand.

“However, before you go, be sure to talk to my assistant about her current audit on structural faults in the precinct’s temporary holding cells. I’m sure a man of your experience would have great insight on areas that need reinforcement. The walls are practically crumbling! It's terribly unsafe for your agent to be held in such disrepaired quarters, I'm sure you'd agree.”

Sander took the folded note addressed to Yu Ran’s assistant, still emotionally raw but rapidly coming to terms with the game being played and the coded suggestion in Yu Ran's words.

“I’ve always hated the offices above those cells…” Yu Ran mused to himself “They’re an utter eyesore, no one wants to use them, and yet we never seem to have the budget to convert them to public space. Alas.”

He stood back up, moving around his desk and offered Sander a handshake. It was firm in an incredibly practiced way that wouldn’t have come naturally to the elegant figure.

“It’s been a pleasure, Mr Yu” Sander said, anger steadily seeping away to be replaced with a burning curiosity at the test he had clearly passed.

“No, Mr Sander” Yu Ran said with a smile that lit up his already stunning features “The pleasure was all mine.”

[ineedaplacetostay]

A day late, but I just had to do something for Mukai. She deserves nice things. I’m blending anime and manga canons because I’ve never read the manga, but there was something from the manga I just had to fix.

word count: 548

Content Warnings: canonical child abuse, discussion of Claws’ canon child soldier normalization, semi-graphic injury to a child

Summary: You can rebuild too.

jumping up and down the floor, my head is an animal

It takes you ten years to find it. Ten years of tracking it down, ten years of studying in dendrology classes where you’re the youngest in the classroom and digging through government-confiscated Claw files you weren’t supposed to have access to, ten years of searching to feel the first stirrings of something you thought you’d lost forever. Your beloved dolls.

But they were never just that.

They were your playmates, your protectors—you used to think some nights that you could have beaten the Claw president, escaped without a scar if they’d been with you then—your friends. Torn apart and then their forest burned away because you weren’t good enough. And you weren’t that, good enough. You were eleven.

You know that was terrible now, that your dolls weren’t a special gift for being powerful, that you shouldn’t have had a scar down your face because an adult thought he needed to test your power. But they called you strong then—the Claw president telling you why he ‘spared’ you with blood running down your face, Tsuchiya trying to calm you when you cried—and you wanted it to be true.

You weren’t strong or weak, you were a child who made friends where she had none. And he burned every chance to see those friends again for the crime of losing to the most powerful esper in the world, for Tsuchiya taking you back home to your father and out of Claw’s grasp.

You thought sometimes in the next ten years, even though the president got arrested, that he razed the whole forest for safety. Because if you got your hands on him, you’d be as dangerous as your younger self imagined. You thought that at twelve and fifteen and eighteen and once three weeks ago. It’s not true of course, you could have an island’s worth of humming maples at your command right now and you’d never be that strong an esper, but it was funny when nothing else was. Thinking of the look of horror on his face as you told the life whispering in that wood who killed the rest of them and had them charge.

Had sheer numbers—an army!—hold him down while you cut a line down his face and then walked away.

Reality isn’t that. It’s cross-checking dried leaf samples and hiking through other forgotten woods, learning not to cry at the half-whispers that aren’t your old dolls, getting trips out of the country for the promise of strange forests…and it’s assuring your father it wasn’t his fault for giving you a doll as a present when you were four, telling Tsuchiya over and over again that you’re alright.

And you are. You are now and you will be because the search, the dead ends, the little bits of heartbreak before you found a living clipping, they were worth it.

You’re standing at the edges of a flattened but greening field where a rare tree used to grow and you have a planter in your hands, several more behind you. The plants inside are small and fragile, young but alive. They hum like you haven’t heard in a decade and you cry, just a little, at the sound. You promise the one in your hands that it’s alright.

They aren’t dolls and you wouldn’t make them into ones. They aren’t a weapon—neither are you—but you promise them you’ll keep it safe. They protected you once and now you’ll do the same.

[malamiteltd]

The Esper Woods - Tortula

The Tortula is a spider that typically dwells in deep caves and holes. Their main source of food is the spiritual life force of other living creatures; it obtains this with the help of its unique webbing that's been called "soul web."

The soul web is woven along the walls and ceilings of its cave; as it sets, it gains a very elastic property. When prey reaches the right spot, the Tortula will trigger the soul web to spring onto the unsuspecting creature, and it will quickly weave even more web until the prey cannot hope to escape. As the prey struggles to break free, the soul web absorbs their life force, causing it to glow an eerie green. Later on, the Tortula will cut away the glowing soul web and eat it for the life force it has collected. Amazingly, the prey itself is never consumed, though its eventual fate may vary (more on that later).

If the situation occurs where the prey stops moving, either from exhaustion or defiance, the Tortula will utilize some method to encourage their prey to keep moving. Sometimes it just uses intimidating gestures to make the prey struggle again, but sometimes it will use its sharp retractable claws to painfully prod and scratch at the helpless prey. Worst-case scenario, it will bite the prey with its fangs, where its venom will cause all their muscles to spasm involuntarily. It gets the job done, but the venom dilutes the life force a lot. Plus Tortula seem to enjoy tormenting their prey.

Tortula have been seen in a wide range of sizes -- from as small as an average tarantula to roughly human size. Both ends of this range have advantages and drawbacks. Smaller Tortula have to take a lot more time end energy to make effective traps, but they don't require as much to satisfy their hunger, meaning most large captives are able to survive those Tortula encounters. The same can't be said for the larger Tortula; even though they can make traps in less than a few minutes, they often have to drain everything from their victims to get anywhere close to a satisfying amount of sustenance.

One other thing to mention about the Tortula... there are some that take their Spectral Force and apply it to attracting prey. Typically any prey that are fully drained of life force are usually just cast out for some other creature to eat. But every once in a while it will take a barely-living captive and string web strings around its limbs, channeling the consumed life force through the captive's body and controlling them like a puppet. The puppet-creature will then attempt to signal other creatures to follow it into the cave, where the clever, hungry Tortula will have a soul web trap waiting for them...

[teruthecreator]

1 AM and the servers asleep so i’m just gonna post my thoughts on here but i think it’s rlly so important and poignant how sho extends an olive branch to his father after everything that happened, when he absolutely would’ve been justified in spitting in toichiro’s face and walking out of his life forever (similarly to what toichiro did to him, metaphorically at least). and that decision that he makes is one that cements how mature and understanding sho is despite his antics and attitude.

like, he’s a kid, and he’s a kid that experienced massive amounts of abuse and trauma in his formative years. we will truly never know how he was raised whilst working in claw, but seeing how pretty much everyone else was manipulated, brainwashed, and tortured into reaching their full potential—the assumption can be made that it wasn’t easy. and sho’s father is Directly responsible for that, meaning he’s Directly responsible for any mistreatment or neglect sho faced even if it wasn’t done by him directly. and any kid at his age with all that baggage probably wouldn’t want to keep their dad around, after everything has finally been resolved. but sho doesn’t do that; he reminds toichiro that he’s still gotta hear an earful from his ex wife, and sho is ensuring that this won’t be the end. he is offering his father a kindness that that man never gave to him. and that’s like. Astounding for a kid his age

i think it’s really easy for people to place sho firmly in the trope of like silly, goofy kid with an insane side; but sho has one of the most level heads out of the esper teens. it’s kind of like he got a lot of that emotional turbulence out of the way beforehand, and now is just centering his focus on this one goal. of course, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t do stupid shit based on bad trains of thought (the whole concept of him trying to resist the narrative only to become more ingrained in it is like. right there. also the hero trope shit y’all have seen the essay posts i’m not reiterating). but sho is a lot more sure of what he’s doing and what he wants than ritsu, mob, or teru.

also it’s just like. the fact that he gives his father a second chance really drives home the message of the entire series. that people can make mistakes, but those mistakes do not have to define their whole existence if they’re willing to own up to them and change. sho is extending himself in much the same way mob extended himself to toichiro hours earlier, only this time there’s the weight of this probably not being the first time sho has given his father a second chance and yet he Still does it. and toichiro realizing that he could’ve squandered that chance during confession arc is SO GOOD like you see how sho is conflicted and hurt bc he’s essentially being let down once again, and so toichiro walks back. he won’t let his son’s trust be given in vain

the suzukis rival the kageyamas in terms of like. accurate familial representation. like if you eliminate all of the psychic terrorism bullshit, this is a broken family—further broken by a messy divorce—trying to navigate life post-everything. there is no expectation for sho to forgive his father (he doesn’t do that at any point and That Is Important), and there’s no expectation for him to do anything with his father At All. toichiro understands that he is deserving of no one’s kindness.

yet sho does it anyway. he does it because he wants to and because he cares. and that’s far more than toichiro could’ve ever asked for

[eukarisparadise]

(bad English and long text)

I understand that I'm probably far from the first person to say this, but one of the few things that genuinely touched me in MP100 was the moment in the "Claw" organization at the end of season 1, where Reigen told Mob to run away. I understand that he was most likely just broadcasting his self-preservation style – "flight" – but personally, I saw something different in it and my heart still aches with joy here. Reigen told him "you don’t need to take this all on yourself, let the adults handle everything."

As the oldest sister myself, I understand what it’s like when parents leave their other children to you, giving birth to them with the default thought that you have already grown up as a helper, while you, for example, are 11 years old. Mob's situation is different – there is only a year difference between him and Ritsu, but judging by the way Ritsu reaches out to him, takes his example not only as an esper, constantly emphasizes that Shigeo is his older brother (I can't speak for everyone, but I still don’t really perceive my older cousins, who are ~4 years older than me, as an elders, but as peers), and also from the apparent complete absence of parents in the boys' lives, I can assume that all his life Shigeo has been left to his own devices at best, and with Ritsu in his care at worst.

I don’t think that their parents are completely indifferent to them – they attended their school race after all – and I haven't read the manga, so I can't judge with certainty, however they have catastrophically few appearances in the anime, besides the standard dinner scenes together (my friends even joked while watching that "these NPCs at the table have one script about spoons"💀 lol).

Mob's whole story is about how he gradually develops his personality, learning to express emotions. But I don't believe he suppressed them solely out of fear of harming someone with his magical outbursts.

I know how children mature beyond their years behave, because I was one. Mob always acted like he was too burdened for his age, having restraint uncommon for kids. He himself disliked this fact, and it was a hard-fought battle to loosen the internal grip. All because this is the consequence of too much of a burden that good-natured but absent parents could've placed on him (I mean, come on, your child – the most powerful esper in the universe – disappears for days and sometimes nights, occasionally even with his brother, and not only do you not know this, but you also keep repeating your spoon script?).

This is where Reigen comes in. Little Mob needed guidance, advice from at least someone who could understand what to do with his gift and his life – and Reigen, not yet knowing about his abilities, gave him this advice, which he listened to with his mouth open. It was clear from that scene how much Shigeo needed support and guidance, and frankly, a parental figure. Real parents, as I wrote above, don't seem to care at all that their son easily comes home late at night or even in the morning, nor did they show any interest in his studies or hobbies. Maybe I'm wrong, please correct me on that, but it's really so little of them in the series.

Reigen, be he thrice a manipulator and swindle, saw a child with a truly divine gift, and his first instinct was "I can make something out of this." Mostly money. But as it turned out later – a good person too.

And Reigen's parenting abilities can be judged by the fact that Mob not only turned out to be a good person himself but also was able to guide others by his example – for instance, Teruki.

Even if we take into account the fact that Reigen never failed to use Mob’s abilities, relying too much on him, he still took care of him: he always treated him to food, never smoked around him, came to pick him when he had problems, stood up for him (in the episode where Mob was almost scammed in the vase incident by con artists, who did he call first? Not his parents, no. Reigen).

And finally that scene in the "Claw". Reigen told Mob to run away because the problem he was getting himself into was an adult problem, as he himself said. He literally said that Mob shouldn't act against his own morals, because he is still a child, he hasn't grown up to make such decisions (and it was clear how difficult it was for Mob to decide to harm someone from those espers, because it went against everything, what Reigen taught him). That's why he freed Shigeo from this responsibility: run away, leave it to me, kid, I'm an adult and you shouldn't risk anything and challenge anything in your heart.

Reigen may be a scammer, but he could put a lot of parents to shame. Including mine (in our translation he even literally said in that episode that he is Mob's "acting guardian", my gooood 😭😭😭). I wish having someone like him growing up, someone who can willingly take responsibility when it's necessary.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[theinternetisaweboflies]

Gates to Heck Chapter Three

Teru woke up on his couch with a headache and dry mouth, which would have been normal enough if it weren't for the fact that someone had removed his jacket. It was folded neatly on the coffee table next to his makeup kit. Then the hushed conversation coming from the genkan finally made it past that funny ringing in his ears.

He squinted against the too-bright overhead lights and barely made out Shigeo and Reigen. Teru relaxed the yellow power that had started to build between his hands. Shigeo hadn't noticed the change in his aura. He was reaching out a hand to steady Reigen, saying something about "-the wall above the bookshelf."

Reigen was standing with one foot in the genkan and the other in the air as he tugged off a shoe. He turned around to look into the living room and would have fallen over if Shigeo hadn't steadied him. Teru shut his eyes again.

"Psycho Union… Espers…" read Reigen. Teru could hear them approaching the bookshelf. "I'm sensing a theme."

"You're right, Reigen-shishou. I didn't even notice. Maybe he's renaming the Awakening Lab." The frown was audible in Shigeo's voice. "Oh, and I accused him of-"

"I don't think so," Reigen interrupted. "They're not exactly Extermination Club material."

Teru tried to even out his breathing so it wouldn't catch when Reigen snapped his fingers and said, "Is he still doing that Kaijin thing?"

"You mean when you sent me out to patrol the city at night in tights?"

"Don't put it like that."

"I don't think so," Shigeo said slowly. "He said nothing ever happens in this city."

"Was that before or after we dismantled a psychic terrorist organization?" asked Reigen.

"Before," said Shigeo, "but… they're… dismantled now. Right, Shishou?"

"Which means the ones that didn't get arrested are probably getting bored instead. Or angry."

Shigeo sighed. "Oh, Teruki," he said, and of course, that made Teru's breath catch.

Teru opened his eyes. Reigen and Shigeo had definitely heard him. He wouldn't have been surprised if the old lady from next door had heard him.

"Hanazawa-kun, how are you feeling?" asked Shigeo, and Teru already missed the sound of his first name in that voice. At least he could blame his blush on the fever.

"Fine," he said, sitting up. "I'm sorry."

Now he could see Shigeo's frown. "What for?"

Teru hadn't intended to laugh at Shigeo. He definitely hadn't intended to laugh so hard he passed out again, but the question had caught him off guard. For one thing, it seemed like he hadn't shaken his old urabanchou status after all.

For another, he hadn't exactly formed that gang.

Three months into his middle school career, Teru had finally hit back with his powers instead of his fists and broken Edano's nose.

Edano had threatened to turn him into the principal unless Teru agreed to go on-call for any fight more serious than rock-paper-scissors. Teru doubted the impending parent-teacher conference would have a good outcome if only half of the parties were present, so he became the shadow leader of Black Vinegar Middle School. By the time Edano's nose had healed, being an urabanchou had gone to Teru's head. At least Teru could win those fights.

By then he was winning most of his fights against Claw too. He'd always been stronger than them in terms of psychic powers, but it helped that he was no longer young enough to get two black eyes from one punch.

Teru just shrugged. "What's Reigen-san doing here?"

"Mob'll have to start heading home for dinner soon," said Reigen, before Shigeo could answer. "Unless you want Outoto-kun to make that headache of yours worse."

Teru tried to glare, but his squint probably ruined the effect.

"That doesn't-"

"You have a concussion, right?" Reigen interrupted. "You're not supposed to be alone in case you slip into a coma and die."

Shigeo looked alarmed, but Teru just glared harder. "I all know about concussion checks. I can do them myself."

"You-" Whatever carefully-controlled thing Reigen was doing with his face slipped out of place, and for a moment he looked genuinely confused. "How?"

"Balance test, cognitive function, visual tracking," Teru ticked them off his fingers. "I know what I'm doing."

"That's not as comforting as you think it is." Reigen's voice was faint.

"Please listen to Shishou, Hanazawa-kun," said Shigeo. "He thinks you should go to the hospital."

"Hospital?" Teru had been starting to list back against the pillows, but at that word, he jackknifed into a sitting position. "I don't need to go to a hospital!"

Hospital trips meant phone calls to his emergency contacts, which meant phone calls to the Seasoning City Child Guidance Center when his emergency contacts didn't pick up. He'd made that mistake once before and learned most of his acting skills the hard way putting out the resulting dumpster fire.

"Seriously, kiddo," said Reigen. "You don't look so hot. I think it would be a good idea if you got checked out by someone with an actual medical degree. The cab's waiting outside, so why don't we just-"

Teru didn't mean to teleport.

One second he was on his couch, and the next he'd been dunked ass-first in a rice paddy somewhere significantly more rural than Seasoning City. Without his shoes or coat.

He felt his fever go up a couple more degrees.

[docgold13]

Profiles in Villainy

Ishiguro

The sinister Ishiguro had been an ‘esper,’ a being possessing remarkable psychic powers.  He used these powers for crime, becoming a powerful member of the syndicate known as The Claw.  

Ishiguro belived in esper superiority, that those with psychic powers are better than regular humans and are meant to rule over them.  Furthermore, the strongest psychics should lord over those with weaker powers.  Shortly after joining The Claw, Ishiguro and several other espers challenged the group’s leader,  Suzuki.  Yet  Suzuki possessed much greater powers and the coup was quickly put down.  In order to remind these under-bosses to mind their place, each received terrible scars about their faces.  Ishiguro received the most scars and has since always covered his face under a mask.  He additionally wears a costume that makes him look taller as well as a voice-alteration device that provided him a creepy, child-like voice.  

Some time later, Ishiguro and his battalion were tasked with either recruiting or destroying a young esper named Mob.  Mob ended up possessing a much greater degree of power than Ishiguro had anticipated and the villain was thwarted in his various attempts to kill the youth.  After one final defeat, Ishiguro was killed by Suzuki’s son, Sho.

Actors Rumi Ōkubo and Hiroshi Iwasaki voiced the character in the original anime (with Cristina Vee and Mike McFarland providing the character’s voice in the English dub).   Ishiguro first appeared in the ninth episode of the Mob Psycho 100, airing on September 5th, 2016.

[yikes-strikes-again]

what's the age gap between shou & yūki !! can we know more abt her she sounds like best girl :> SHOU'S HAPPINESS ABT GETTING A LITTLE SIBLING IS SOOOOO

17 years 😁best prank his parents ever pulled on him

thank you for asking about yuuki !!!!!!! !!!!!! !!!! !!! !!! !!!! !!!!!!!!truly did not think anyone would give a shit about her.......................let's see if i can dredge up some facts from the ole noggin................................

was practically raised at spirits & such. now she works there.

"wise beyond her years" <- surrounded by old people

works under tome but learned social skills from reigen. as a result...

has a customer service voice so powerfully sugary that it blows the money out of peoples wallets instantly. this is one of yuuki's special moves. then flips back to her normal dry demeanor so fast it's unsettling.

"HE ASK FOR NO PICKLES!!!!!!!" <- when in public with her brother (or dad (or both (they leave it to her)))

sometimes when reigen does those weird hand movements she silently mimes them behind his back, having memorized all his patterns as a toddler like a professional DDR player

clients sometimes ask if she's reigen's daughter. one of the only things that can make her laugh. her laugh... her laugh is really scary

refers to everyone she knows as "an associate of mine" ("ah, energy manipulation. an associate of mine has that power." "you mean your father???")

has no psychic powers, but knows everything about how they work, being surrounded by espers her whole life. she could probably defeat any esper through a combination of tactical analysis and special moves alone

in short she is the most broken character and god help you if you ever find yourself facing her on any battlefield, social or otherwise. if she'd been leading claw we'd all be fucked.