I dont think Mob is naive as much as he's socially unaware, like the reason why he trusts Reigen so blindly is a bit more complex than just him being naive
Cause Mob reached out to Reigen because he was desperate to find someone like him, someone who understood his psychic specific issues, someone that could truly know what he's feeling and going through and give him guidance and support
Post incident Mob's thinking process was something along the lines of my powers hurt people -> my powers are bad -> my powers (my emotions, my instincts, myself) cannot be trusted
So he lost all confidence and trust in his own actions, resigning to being as passive as possible to avoid any further damage to anyone else, thus he started doubting his own perception of reality too
He's a kid already struggling with being ostracised for being socially inept, who just got traumatised and all of his insecurity increased by the tenfold, he doesn't know how to process what he's going through. He needs help.
And here comes Reigen, seemingly reliable, a responsible adult in a child's eyes, someone who claims he can understand him
Even tho Reigen doesnt. But it doesn't matter, because Mob finds comfort in his words and takes them to heart
Even if Reigen doesn't fully get it, even if he doesn't see the bigger picture, even if his advice isn't always the best
Eventually, Mob grows up, realises Reigen isn't as honest as he seemed through his 11 year old perspective, but like most things, he refuses to acknowledge it on a deeper level
Mob knows, but never tells Reigen, never thinks about what all those lies mean to him (ofc until he forces himself to face those doubts regarding Reigen, to properly acknowledge both of their flaws and accept them as they are, I should scream into the void about Confession Arc more God)
Due to his lack of trust in himself, Mob has relied on Reigen for years now to shape his moral compass, his thoughts, his decisions
Because well, Reigen lies, sure, but he isnt a bad person. When he hurts Mob, it isn't intentional or with ill intent, he still wants the best for him, what's the issue?
Except that it stunts Mob's growth. He doesn't develop as a person, doesn't have goals or wishes or ambitions, can't make choices on his own, he doesn't even let himself acknowledge his own emotions, he refuses to let himself exist
But Mob realises in time that he wants more than that, he wants to become better and be independent and feel again
Still, he puts the acknowledgement of the lies on hold for as long as he can, unwilling to question the way things are
This can make him feel a little naive, he constantly relies on Reigen and trusts his decisions and raises questions rarely until separation arc when he finally puts his foot down
And I do think that moment is the most resounding proof we have that Mob knows and allows himself to be used by Reigen, not wanting to shake the status quo, until he gets fed up
I mentioned the social ineptitude at the beggining but idk if I should even elaborate on that, you've watched the show, you know what I mean
He's blunt and can't read social cues or tonality that well and can't speak in front of crowds and is overall pretty awkward and I do think some people conflate that with naivety
Mob is still a child, he doesnt fully understand how the world works at the ripe age of 14 years old, but some folks take that as him being inherently naive/innocent/whatever which I don't find true
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……Mumbo and Grian Boatem Circus AU Please please please I needddd…..
yesss! time to talk about boatem circus mumbo and grian!
(1,8k words long ramble ahead)
mumbo’s grown used to the circus by the time grian comes along, but he’s still never set foot on stage during performances. he might’ve teleported a couple of times by himself, a nervous wreck each time, recognising how off it feels to him—something that should be natural and normal, like breathing, now feeling vile and threatening. and yet the urge is still there whenever his anxiety rises, and below it, a quiet, much gentler instinct that tells him that teleporting ought to belong to him.
when grian comes to the circus, he’s a traumatised, scared little heap of feathers.
mumbo doesn’t know where he came from, or what his past was like, or what he’s afraid of. all he knows is that as a boatem circus member, he’s meant to do his best to help, and grian deserves to be protected until he re-learns the feeling of safety, just like mumbo had before.
once grian isn’t so afraid of any new person approaching him, mumbo comes to nervously ask him if… he’d like some new clothes maybe? he’s been making stage clothes for the others, and fixing up their daily clothes. he got better at estimating the right sizes, and he has experience making avian stuff too, thanks to jimmy!
so even though he’s not entirely confident he could do this right, without coming all up in grian’s space and taking proper measurements, he offers anyway, willing to try to wing it. to give him something new, something solely his, removed from whatever he's been through.
unlike all the others who asked for fancy things, grian… just wants something soft and baggy. something to cushion him and protect his skin and hide him a little bit.
it’s a challenge, but mumbo tries hard and… he ends up making him a soft woolen sweater, only slightly oversized.
it’s red, like grian’s wings. he isn’t sure if that’s okay, but grian didn’t ask for any specific colour, and— mumbo noticed that when grian first came in, underneath the borrowed jacket from scar that swallowed up his small, hunched frame, he had tight fitting black clothes. he thought maybe something brighter would be better, then.
grian wears the sweater constantly.
and once grian starts getting out more and interacting with the crew, mumbo notices that he seems to gravitate towards him. that he seeks out his (and scar’s) presence above all else, a bit like a lost puppy, still scared, but choosing the two of them to attach himself to.
mumbo doesn’t know why he was chosen. he doesn’t feel entirely competent. but he does like the little avian, and wants to see who he could be, once he learns that this place can truly be safe for him.
he does ask, at some point, nervously curious. why grian seeks him out in particular?
grian tells him it’s because he seems harmless. (because mumbo’s endearingly nervous behaviour feels much safer than the cheer and overbearing friendliness of others. and because he’s pretty sure mumbo couldn’t hurt a fly.) and then, quieter, he says that mumbo doesn’t seem like someone who’d put people in cages.
because that’s a quality that’s decisive for grian, at a time when he’s quiet and timid and still shaken.
mumbo looks back at him with concern and softness and also kind of horrified, and he agrees quietly that no, he wouldn’t. (he was caged, once. and he was trapped before that, for a long time. he’d never wish that on someone else.)
he doesn’t know what other triggers grian has, or what upsets him. they don’t talk about what they’ve been through. he sees his panic rise up several times, scar always swooping in to take grian away when he blindly flinches from everyone else, but mumbo doesn’t understand what causes it. all he knows to do is to protect grian from feeling trapped.
they hang out together a lot, mumbo also liking the feeling of freedom instead of staying cooped up in his room. they roam the camp, but also explore further area, whether around their home base or on their travels when the circus is on the move.
once, they find a nice serene lake. which is a big pool of water, and that makes mumbo nervous. he makes sure grian knows water hurts him (grian knows this already, because of rainy days), and grian makes sure when he playfully splashes the water, it’s far, far from the reach of mumbo.
it still makes him squeal, and it still makes grian laugh, but mumbo is finding that he is being kept safe here. that someone is looking out for him. that grian is being playful, not malicious. and that maybe, just maybe, he’s helping mumbo face his fear in a controlled, small way.
(the first time grian splashes water, on the other end of the lake, mumbo jolts and teleports. on nothing but startled instinct. and he promptly becomes nauseous.) (but it gets better over time, and he does want to challenge himself here. he does want grian to challenge him, to help him overcome a part of him he’s been running away from.) (and oh, grian looks so calm gliding over water, much more than anywhere else.)
there’s a time when grian goes to look for mumbo in a storm. it came unexpectedly, and mumbo was out on a walk or gathering herbs or something—grian isn’t sure—and now it’s raining horribly.
and rain hurts mumbo.
grian doesn’t let the wretched weather deter him. he goes through muddy terrain, clothes drenched, trying to follow a path that mumbo likes to take, until he finds him huddling in a cave. trapped by the storm, unable to leave or go back to camp. purple particles wild around him but with nowhere safe for him to teleport to.
grian sits down, forcing down the urge to shake his feathers, because he doesn’t want the stray drops to land on mumbo. he sits at a distance, not reaching out, his skin and clothes wet. but he is there.
he is there, and it counts.
he waits the storm out with mumbo, then guides him back home across mud and puddles and wet-slicked bark of trees.
(and if mumbo mentions lighting a fire back in the cave to help grian dry off? and if grian goes dead silent at that, and then mumbo instantly rambles on about how they don’t even have the things needed to start the fire, and surely all the wood outside is wet anyway, and oh gosh, how silly of him… he never caught on to that plunge into silence and then tentative relief that grian felt in that moment.)
time passes, and mumbo recognises that grian feels purposeless. that he still feels a little lost. that he looks at the circus shows with a sort of confused longing, scared to take that step to bring himself closer to them and to everyone else.
he has no idea that grian was in a circus before. he has no idea how horrible it was.
but grian sees what scar has made here, and everyone is always so eager to perform and so happy afterwards, and… and maybe he could—
he wants to be a part of it, but he’s terrified.
(he also feels like it’s maybe something he should do—is supposed to do—no matter how many times scar tells him otherwise, reassuring him that it’s all up to him. there’s a nagging feeling in the back of grian’s mind that he’s expected, sooner or later, to do his part and participate in the shows.)
mumbo wants to help him. he wants to help him give this thing a try, even though he himself has been avoiding it this whole time, and… and maybe they could do it together?
it’s mumbo who coaxes grian on stage. [art here]
he does so by starting to participate in the shows himself. just a little bit, the tiniest bit. he goes out there, and he does tricks that involve him teleporting. he starts small. (he’s healing through this.) and, eventually, he tells grian it’s okay. he tells him he’ll be there with him. he’s doing all this just so he can be there with grian, to put him at ease.
every time mumbo’s bit is over, he keeps watching from the back, eyes on grian. (protective mumbo!! <3) because grian isn’t okay and. he really needs it. he needs mumbo there, watching, ready to step in the moment grian might need him. because sometimes it all still feels too overwhelming. because sometimes the anxiety and fears and memories hit like a freight train out of nowhere and he needs a fast way out.
there are times when mumbo sweeps in and takes grian and teleports with him back to the safety of the backstage. they make it seem intentional. others work and improvise around it. it’s a little bit clumsy, but it works.
and it means everything.
on stage, they can’t show their full emotions, so mumbo is really looking out for the smallest hints. and the moment they are backstage and grian slumps into him, sobbing? he knows he did the right thing.
of course there are times when mumbo isn’t sure. and times when he does this when grian doesn’t need him to. but more often than not he’s right, and it makes all the difference.
the others never mind. they’re glad he’s there for grian, doing this! they always balance between giving grian space afterwards and checking up on him. but mumbo’s always that first line. that link to immediate safety.
gradually, mumbo becomes less nauseous and disoriented when teleporting, and grian becomes more assured on stage, doing flight acrobatics without hoops and without fire and with a support of a wonderful crew, playing off of each other in a way that even starts to be fun. it’s wonderful to see! he’s growing to be pesky and clingy, and… and he still has panic attacks that seemingly come from nowhere. and he’s still antsy around some people for some reason. and he's still nervous before each show. and he’s still not okay.
but he’s getting there.
him and mumbo both are getting there.
… and then the fire happens <3
please think about how readily mumbo teleports to help and save the people he grew to desperately care about. because it’s one thing for mumbo to teleport in the safety of the circus tent, when he knows all the variables and isn’t in any danger. but now he’s doing it when there’s active danger, panic set deep into his veins in a way that feels horribly close to his worst memories.
he’s teleporting to places that are painful and scary, and the lines are becoming blurred and he’s losing track a little bit. and yet he keeps going.
he has to keep going.
he teleports until exhaustion. which, isn’t that familiar? (and sure, his exhaustion point has been pushed somewhere else; he would’ve been able to keep going a lot longer in the past, before everything, but his stamina seems to be permanently damaged, always running on half-depleted.)
and maybe it isn’t so obvious, when he’s in the overdrive to keep going, but it’s all going to catch up with him eventually. he’s not going to have a fun aftermath.
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Wilbur's Visit
day 5 everyone! I had like 12 different ideas for today, but none of them happened and I suddenly got a fever and everything very quickly went downhill :D BUT, I'm fine, I managed to write a cute lil fic with some georgebur <3 and post before midnight, which I guess is something! Anyway, I hope you enjoy! (also, remember to use the # "mushies lee!George week" if you participate! thank u!)
day 5 - thighs / prompts found here!
(lee!George / ler!Wilbur / ler!Dream : 1.1K words)
“Your garden is huge!”
“It’s called a yard here in America, Wilbur.”
“Okay, your yard is huge!” He adjusted his wording, using the heaviest American accent he could muster up. George rolled his eyes with a fake huff as he looked up at his friend with a wide smile.
The two British boys stood next to each other outside in the back of the Dream Team home, Wilbur having visited due to Lovejoy having a show somewhere in Orlando. Dream and Sapnap had run out to pick up food for the four of them while the rest of the band had opted to get some much needed rest in their hotel rooms before their show tomorrow.
“It is! Almost as massive as- HEY! Whahahat?! Wilbur!” George was in the middle of making some idiotic joke, turning away from the taller boy to admire the expanse of his backyard when suddenly Wilbur was in front of him, crouching down and quickly standing up with a very confused George clinging to his back.
“Tradition, Gogs!” Wilbur exclaimed, adjusting his grip under George’s thighs as he spoke to make sure he wouldn’t slip off of his back during the spontaneous piggyback ride he had decided to give the brunette. Wilbur squeezed at George’s thighs, on the sensitive flesh above the back of his knee, causing the smaller boy to kick out with a yelp.
Wilbur tilted his head to the side so he could see George, realizing quickly that he was just as surprised as Wilbur was at the reaction he had. He curled his fingers a few times and watched as the younger boy’s face twisted into a huge smile, a few more squeaks escaping and confirming what he had suspected all along - George was ticklish.
“What was tha-“
“Don’t.”
The elder giggled at George’s response, bouncing him a little on his back to make him squeal a few times, making sure to squeeze his hands up the bottom of George’s thighs as he did so.
The reaction was instantaneous. George was giggling like mad, kicking as much as he could as he buried his face into the back of Wilbur’s neck in an attempt to muffle his laughter. This caused Wilbur to start giggling as well, tilting his head to block the sensitive skin on his neck that George was now inadvertently tickling.
“Stahap, you’re ti-! Y-You’re- ….just stohohop!” George exclaimed as Wilbur continued to squeeze, focusing on a spot towards his upper thighs that seemed to make the younger boy shriek every time he danced his fingers gently over it. George made a move to squirm out of the grasp, but to his surprise Wilbur started sprinting across the yard, cackling wildly when George screamed.
“I’m what, Gogy? Tickling you?” He flashed George a smile over his shoulder, chuckling when he watched George’s face turn a bright red.
“Whahahahat?! Nohoho! Stohohop, plehehease! Wilbur!”
“Noho can do! You were trying to escape my tickles! That’s extremely rude, don’t you think?” Wilbur spoke, bouncing George again to readjust his grip on the smaller boy. He moved his grasp towards George’s inner thighs this time, pushing in with his fingers a few times with a little more pressure and breaking out into giggles as George shrieked and attempted to climb off of him again.
“Look! You’re doing it again!” Wilbur yelled before taking off once more across the yard, ending up next to the lounge chairs near the back door of the house. “Looks like you leave me no choice, George!”
“Whahahat, I just- WILBUR!” George was suddenly dropped from Wilbur’s arms and landed on one of the chairs below, startling him and sending him into a frenzy of giggles. The weight of the two caused the back of the lounge chair to lay down completely, allowing Wilbur to push the smaller boy down onto his back. George quickly turned over onto his tummy to try and get away, but the taller boy straddled the backs of his calves so he couldn’t escape.
“It’s fine, king, just relax!”
Contrary to his calming tone and request, Wilbur dug both hands into the backs of George’s upper thighs, focusing on the area towards the tops of them to make the brunette shriek. George clawed at the cushions of the seat before dropping his hands into the grass below, ripping up the blades as he laughed himself silly and pleaded like his life depended on it.
“NAHAHA PLEHEHEASE! Nohohohot there not thehehere!”
“Yes here! It seems like a good enough spot to me!”
George resorted to bringing his hands up to cover his face, trying to block out his laughter and also to try and soothe the rapidly growing blush before Wilbur would try to flip him over and see.
“It is a good spot,” George froze as he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him. “In fact, it’s probably the best.”
“Dream! How lovely to see you here on this fine afternoon!” He heard Wilbur over exaggerate his accent, deniably making him giggle more at the ridiculousness of the situation.
“DREHEHEHEAM! Hehehelp mehehehe!” George pleaded, shoulders scrunched up to his ears and face still hidden in his hands due to the embarrassment of his best friend finding him in this predicament. It was nothing new, he had ended up in this exact scenario more times than he could count with the blonde, but that didn’t seem to make this any easier on him.
“Help you? Alright, if you say so.”
George suddenly felt another set of hands begin squeezing at a very precise spot on his upper inner thighs, a spot only Dream knew, sending his laughter up an octave and causing his squirming to turn to thrashing.
“DREHEHEAM!”
“Whahat?! I'm helping!”
The brunette was in full hysterics, smacking his hands against the cushions of the chair as his thighs were tormented by his friends. It wasn’t until Sapnap wandered into the backyard looking for everyone, too hungry to wait for them to finish whatever torture Wilbur and Dream had started, that the two finally let him up.
When he was finally able to sit up, George felt tears streaming down his cheeks and whined in embarrassment. He wiped his face with his sleeves with a groan, turning to face the two and swearing to take down everyone in the house if they pulled anything like that again.i
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