#lalá rambling...

[da-janela-lateral]

I like to think that Teruki has always been a bit arrogant due to the "rich + family who glorifies his powers" combo, but that before his absurd amounts of trauma, he was just the kind of proud kid who went "My Mama/Papa/toy is better than yours!!" at everyone. A little misbehaved, a few tantrums here and there, yet overall, harmless pride.

Then Claw and parental neglect happened.

[da-janela-lateral]

Ah, I'm afraid I haven't reached the part where his unhealthy obsession and complicated trauma-related coping mechanisms truly shine yet, as the fic is still on the first chapter... I was talking mainly of the general planning and themes. However, the "Obsessive Behavior" and "Mental Instability" tags are here for a good (future) reason! If you're curious about how that could develop, you can read it here:

personally ive never been a huge terumobber but i also think everyone else is doing it wrong. i guess a lot of people like fluffier depictions (often w/ teru providjng guidance/advice in some way, which he does on a few occasions tbf) but i can actually see him wanting to suck up to/appeal to mob. we've seen that teru has a pretty hierarchical worldview that takes him a while to shake off even after mob defeats him. the only thing that changes is that he's been displaced from the top by mob (it takes him a shockingly quick time to accept this). based on personal experience, if you have tgis type of worldview (and you're near the top of the hierarchy you've internalized) then your relationships w/ people (at least in relation to the skill you value & are good at) are probably something like

dismiss people lesser than you (most people)

compete with (& try to surpass) people on par with you (though healthy collaboration is possible in some cases)

try to appeal (mostly by proving your competence) to the (few) people greater than you

we've seen 2/3 from teru in the source material but i think it would be interesting to explore the 3rd. mob was not only the first person to fight teru w/ the same powers, he fucking obliterated teru once he stopped being on the defensive. teru experienced full ego death when he got flung into the sky. that's huge. if anything he should be weird about mob bordering on obsession/idolization

[da-janela-lateral]

Recently I saw someone questioning "why would Tsubomi stay in the park during a hurricane just to reject Mob. No sane person would choose that without having feelings", which is an interesting question with three main factors:

Tsubomi didn't know Mob planned to confess. He only said he wanted to tell her something. She stayed out of care for him (justifying it by noting that he sounded very worried in the call) and respect for their promise, which is only emphasized by the fact she decided to reject all those boys individually before. Tsubomi minds other people's feelings!

People can do extreme actions for the sake of their friends;

In the kindest way possible: I don't think this girl is sane at all.

[da-janela-lateral]

"I'M STILL HERE" WON THE BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM OSCAR WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! BRASIL CAMPEÃO DO MUNDO 🏆🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷💚💛💚💛💚💛💛

[da-janela-lateral]

One of the funniest concepts I've seen in terumob fanfiction is the Black Vinegar and Salt middle school gangs making a peace treaty like it's a damn international politics reunion because their respective shadow leaders are dating. 100+ bonus points if they aren't actually dating, but the juvenile gangsters picked on Teruki's massive obvious crush and assumed that it would be a bad idea to mess with their shadow-leader-in-law's gang. 1000+ bonus points if neither Mob or Teruki have anything to do with these guys anymore and they're making up things just because.

[da-janela-lateral]

Always love the interpretations of Claw as a serious, horrifying group who was responsible for severe long-lasting damage (it's a terrorist organization, after all), but I also wish people recognized it was badly administered in almost stupid levels because not only it is fun: it only enhances how awful it was!

Claw was structured specifically to attract powerhungry and deeply immature individuals, since this is the only type of person that finds it sensible to destroy society and make espers stand on top. Claw didn't have a strong ideology to guide its members besides "esper = good". Claw didn't have a focus besides creating a huge mass of strong espers to take over everything by force, because no one ever stopped to think "who would keep society running if not normal people?". What happens? Constant infighting because most of these idiots believe they have the right of being the leader. The organization only didn't crumble on itself because it worked by a "might makes right" logic and Toichiro was stronger than everybody there.

How did such a pathetic organization keep existing for 20 years? That's the dreadful core of it all. Claw only could sustain itself despite its members' overwhelming incompetence and amateurish lack of foresight because it preyed on vulnerable people. No functional member of society mattered to them. It was the cult victims, it was the lonely and misunderstood, it was the children. People who didn't have anything else - or better put, couldn't defend themselves. That's the lifeforce of the organization, because Claw couldn't depend on mature citizens to give them money and soldiers. Of course they had to target the "weak", of course. It was not like they could face anyone else either way. That above all is what makes it such a deplorable group.

[da-janela-lateral]

Something fun I noticed in terumob fanfiction is that 2016 Anime Release era fics tended to portray Teruki as such a suave guy getting Mob flustered with his flirtatious charm while nowadays the general consensus is that Teruki is so weird and hopelessly infatuated by Mob that Mob's simple existence is enough to make him suck ass at anything he tries. Realistic 14 year old with a crush

[da-janela-lateral]

The REIGEN spin-off is so great because it is like. It's easy to feel isolated due to your quirks, and even easier for this to trick you into thinking that the rest of the world will never understand you, so you idealize a mysterious and niche concept because you believe it'll promise you fulfillment but it's a mistake! None of these ever wonderful things are as mindblowing as you think because they won't change the fact that you are you! You are in charge of your life! You can have an impact by yourself! You are capable of genuine happiness outside of that fairytale because it isn't the mystique that makes everything good, it's the connections! There is no reason to glorify another reality when your own is capable of so much more than you could imagine! There is no reason to make your otherness a self-fulfilling prophecy when every single person is unique! You can be loved as you are because you already love them as they are! Oh and Tome is so the autistic highschooler experience it's physically painful.

[da-janela-lateral]

The fanbook has some great information but I CANNOT believe Shou and Mukai have only a 1-2 year age difference. Are you serious. Don't trick me like that

[da-janela-lateral]

Getting cuteness aggression from that thing he is so adorable I cannot physically contain myself I want to bake him cookies and cakes and get him nice clothes and toys also he has such round pinchable cheeks. Happy

[da-janela-lateral]

There is an opinion I've seen a lot on anime circles that Dimple's return on Confession Arc cheapened the emotional impact of the Divine Tree Arc finale. However, I don't think him coming back from "dead" was that sudden, nor that it was unnecessary or ruined anything, because:

1 - Dimple is supposedly exorcized in several major conflicts, only to return like nothing had happened. It's almost a gag.

2 - Dimple's presence was ABSOLUTELY necessary on Confession Arc for plot and thematic reasons (not only through helping a wounded Reigen, but also because Dimple and Reigen are Mob's closest friends and see two opposite sides of him)

3 - The emotional weight of the Divine Tree Arc is not just Dimple's "death". It was much more about Dimple's character development and motivations and his bond with Mob. These elements are the very foundation for the feelings the audience had on the conclusion.

[da-janela-lateral]

For some reason I have a mild form of cuteness agression with any of the MP100 kids and I don't even mean in the flashbacks it's just the 14 year olds. People say the artstyle makes everyone look 'weird' but they are pretty endearing. To me. Strange little guys <3

[da-janela-lateral]

Really love Mezato for an infinitude of reasons, one of them being that while many anime watchers brush her off as "oh, girl with the camera who does everything for Mob", the truth couldn't be farther from that.

Mezato is obsessed with Mob's powers? Yes! But "for Mob" is an inversal of the facts. What is actually happening is that this weird as fuck middle schooler wants to goad her classmate into being a sacred figure for HER cult that SHE administrates for HER religious pseudo-world domination plan. Mob never asked to be involved. It isn't even enjoyable to him. If Mezato's effort is for anything its for her own goals and honestly I respect her for that. What does she mean by "I was just bored".

[da-janela-lateral]

What gets me most in the Body Improvement Club vs Shibata fight is the fact that they were completely out of the loop. They weren't espers. They didn't know a single thing about Claw (probably besides what the news told). They didn't even know why Mob randomly flew to them while knocked down when they were running around. But there was a big menacing guy trying to harm their Good Friend and Club Member Kageyama and of course they wouldn't let him, even though his strenght seemed to surpass their own.

[da-janela-lateral]

How funny would it be if the Kageyama parents were aware of Dimple. Strange things occasionally happen in their house while none of their psychic children are around, so they ask them about it, only to discover there is an evil spirit living on the house?? But its their friend and has never done anything too bad inside the Kageyama household. So they just know there is a fart shaped ghost they can't see in their place almost everyday. It's okay though because he at least doesn't break plates.

[da-janela-lateral]

Big fan of Mob harboring very complex feelings towards Teruki during canon. That is an extremely repressed teenager who cannot allow himself to act on his negative feelings due to his guilt and trauma (which only makes the inevitable outbursts more serious), so even though he may tolerate or even enjoy this guy's company, it doesn't mean there isn't something Going On. For months.