#scarposting

[marbleboa]

Thinking about the true role of the Scars and the Divisions in Claw again. The system that's implied by what Shimazaki tells the former Scars is…well, I always joke about Toichiro tossing people he can't stand into the Dumbass Idiot Corner, but honestly it's such a brutally pragmatic setup. You have groups of espers that, while decently powerful, end up too unstable/ambitious to trust. Casting them out entirely would be an option, sure, but that risks breeding resentment, leaking of secrets, and possible trouble later on. Eliminating them full stop could work, but it’s a waste of potential manpower.

So what do you do? You make use of the bloated sense of pride your organization/cult's already instilled within them and hand them a shiny new title that makes them feel special. Put one of the more competent ones at the head, establish a framework for them to act within, then leave them to it. Recruiting members, brainwashing espers, awakening experiments you already know don't really work--all tasks that, while of meager importance to your goals in the long run, offers an illusion of trust. Makes them feel important.

Add in a higher level on the hierarchy, the HQ espers/the ultimate five, and you've got a handy reward to lead them on with that they don't even know is unreachable. You hardly need to involve yourself anymore, just serving as a looming figurehead to keep them in line, and once their convenience wears off they can be easily accessed to be disposed of.

It's not completely foolproof of course. There's still undercurrents of power struggles--take Ishiguro, Sakurai, Muraki and Matsuo, where once they hear that the President has arrived they immediately think about challenging him again. They're so certain that they can prove themselves to him, while to Toichiro, they all really were just. Dead people walking. Just that single revelation from Shimazaki paints so much about the organization and how Toichiro's beliefs are ingrained in its every aspect, it's really good.

[princescar]

don't think I've seen this posted here before, which sucks bc this piece goes HARD

[astronomical-bagel]

This man is the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life

Scar is hot, and I’m not talking about silly goofy Minecraft skitties skins. I mean the REAL person is actually a very attractive person! Some people find wheelchairs a turn off, I think that’s very bigoted thinking. Scar is an attractive person. Thank u for coming to my Ted talk 🤝

[thecrazyphantom]

The only thing he could catch. (He will become emotionally bonded to him)

Here's the original image btw

[princescar]

"And when the world treats you way too fairly Well, it's a shame I'm a dream"

and

"I could follow you to the beginning Just to relive the start Maybe then we'd remember to slow down At all of our favorite parts"

reblog w the song lyrics in your head NOW. either stuck in yr head or what yr listening to

[marbleboa]

I know he isn’t really discussed in the fandom outside of the Detestable Anime Design(which I absolutely get, it’s SO bad), but man, Takeuchi is a character I’m still so intrigued by. In particular I really like the concept of the whole “face changes when powers are activated” thing, especially knowing that psychic powers are never really just in Mob Psycho. What they are, how they’re used, a lot of times they end up reflecting a bigger picture.

We don’t really see any powers that affect a person’s physical appearance that drastically(according to the fanbook, even Takeuchi’s height/weight changes), and it only really happens for him and Toichiro at the end of his fight with Mob. There’s Shibata and Udo’s muscle abilities, sure, but those strike me as more of a purposeful use of their powers, not an unconscious effect.

Faces are important things—a way to express your feelings outside of words, and something people often remember you by. Ishiguro says he can’t get a read on Takeuchi, but he’s powerful—so it probably doesn’t really matter to him. Takeuchi joins Teru & co against a group of Scars during WD arc, and as shown in this one omake they don’t even recognize his normal face(despite previously recognizing Terada). One of the Scars basically goes “Oh, I thought this might’ve been this one really powerful guy in the 7th division, but this can’t be him.”, Takeuchi activates his ability to show them otherwise and that’s that.

Despite Claw’s indoctrination the other 7th division Scars still kept their quirks, their stories, their interpersonal relationships, but Takeuchi—it seems like he’s always known by his powers first. The face crafted by them is the only one so many others have cared to remember. And he’s only 21, one of the youngest out of the Scars(save for Mukai of course)—I have to wonder how long he’s lived in that sort of isolation. All the Scars had the mindset that their powers gave them worth, set them apart, but I think Takeuchi takes it a step further and sees himself as just a vessel for his powers. When all of that got shattered, I’m curious how he worked through that fallout.

[princescar]

she was probably the worst middle schooler ever

ft. matsuda who was also the worst version of himself

[marbleboa]

Mukai Speculation: The Hell is Up With the Divine Wood

So. I've been thinking about potential avenues for Mukai's backstory lately. She is one of those characters that is given very little characterization-wise, however her very existence in her role as a Scar is one of those things that give a lot of people pause. Often with the question 'hey uh what's that 11 year old doing there'.

As such, I thought I'd put down some rambles about the matter here!

One common route I've seen taken is that Mukai was kidnapped by Claw, and it makes sense! Claw’s basically got child kidnapping down to a science, and apparently brainwashing to boot.

Though in regards to the later, I was thinking about Shou's comments in the 7th Division Arc immediately after Ishiguro suggests brainwashing the protags. He seems to imply the process dulls an esper's abilities, turning them into trash/mindless slaves. As such, I think it's safe to assume none of the scars are brainwashed in an unnatural sense, but rather succumbed to Claw's ideals due to personal weakness and/or vulnerability

Back to Mukai, if brainwashing wasn't in the picture I'm thinking either she was kidnapped at a young enough age where under Claw's indoctrination her cooperation never was an issue, or she entered the organization a different way. But if she wasn't kidnapped, then how did this kid end up in the role of a Scar? Well, I'm basing my speculation here primarily on this scene from the manga:

Quite the info, as it both comes out of nowhere and is never mentioned again. Not unheard of especially for the World Domination Arc in the manga, where the readers get so much thrown at them at once. On its own, there's only a bit we can glean from Mukai's reaction: 1. this was a place she had a lot of attachment to, and 2. it was important enough to be noted by Claw and later destroyed after the 7th Division's defection.

The whole 'divine wood' thing brings to mind an element of spirituality, some spot of nature that's deemed as sacred. This brings me further back to the beginning of WD arc. Prior to Toichiro’s speech, the other Division Leaders are kind enough to grant us some exposition on the extent of Claw’s influence:

So. Religious cults. It paints an interesting, unseen picture of these different organizations vying for a place at the table when Claw takes over the world. Thinking about it, I had an idea--what if Mukai came from one of these cults?

Probably a bit of a stretch, but I could imagine those special tree(s) she talked about being one of the main fixtures of the group's beliefs, something believed to aid those who paid tribute to it(you know how we love tree cults here). A place that Mukai was taught to be special ever since she was little...it's no wonder her powers would resonate with objects made from there, belief's a powerful thing. And if it was involved in Claw, they would certainly have information about all that on record to dispose of it later.

What's more, it seems pretty common for upper level cults to make things a family affair--and child with powers like that would be sure to grab attention. Money's well and good of course, but what better way to make your organization stand out than to give up an offering of power instead? What if Mukai was given to Claw willingly? And Mukai, well, she's not made privy to any of that of course. But with all the praise for her powers and the promise of freedom to use them, plus her family's pride...it's not hard to imagine how she'd be easily entangled like that.

In regards to her post-Claw life, I think this could open up some interesting possibilities for different dynamics and conflicts to say the least. It's of course a horrible thing for a child to be taken from their family, but maybe in that situation there could be a bittersweet reunion in the end. For a child to grow up realizing they were given up as a bargaining chip, one that the other side didn't even end up wanting to keep(marked as damaged goods, remember?)...that has to be a trial on its own.

Obviously I doubt this is what ONE intended to be gleaned from the whole thing--but hey, it's interesting to think about.

[princescar]

Actually really like the sketch for this, might actually make it two separate drawings.

[marbleboa]

In relation to my prev post I’ve also been thinking and like. Since we basically get nothing concrete about Koyama’s past before Claw, one thing I’ve decided to do when developing hcs for it was to make it in contrast to Sakurai’s.

Sakurai has had an tumultuous life from the get go, rife with isolation. A while back I read up on childcare facilities in Japan, and especially in the time period he would’ve lived in a place like that before certain laws to improve conditions there were out in place…man. It’s rough. It really comes as no surprise the core of his powers is ill intent, hatred towards the world around him thats strong enough to harm, to sharpen a blade. As much as a sad story is no excuse for the harm he had done no matter how he tries to spin it, it’s…kind of understandable Claw was able to get such a strong hold on him. He was vulnerable, always an outside observer to a view of normalcy and safety he used to want but could never reach, only to have someone tap him on the shoulder and say: “it’s okay, you don’t need to join them. You’re special.”

As for Koyama’s home life, well, I like to imagine that for a long while it was fine. He grew up in a fairly stable household, with siblings to keep him company(particularly an older brother he looked up to with equal balance of admiration and jealousy—a surprise tool to help us later). His parents, well, no parent is perfect—but despite their high expectations, their kids did mean the world to them. But as Koyama went into his teenage years he began to take all that peace for granted—the average, monotone pace of life felt stifling, he wanted something more. This brings him into the sphere of school gangs, which are(squints at Big Cleanup Arc) clearly left unchecked, which then ultimately sets off the downward spiral of his obsession with the hierarchy of strength and his place in it. It’s just interesting to me to think about how the kind of care Sakurai would’ve killed for was the very thing Koyama ended up tossing aside.

[princescar]

the double sided girls

[marbleboa]

Having a bunch of Koyama thoughts, particularly about the early part of his and the other Scars' redemption arcs following the disbanding of their division. As fun as it would be to write a fic about it I definitely don't have the time to do so, so! Text post it is.

When I was first watching S2, seeing Koyama among the group of former Scars who were trying to put their lives back together definitely surprised me a little. "The Scars did shitty things" is a given, but when it comes to Koyama I feel like his wrongdoings are more...personal to a lot of the audience, if that makes sense. His fight with Mob--if you could even call it that--had this drawn out, visceral brutality to it that I don't think any of the Scars replicated, except maybe Muto. If Koyama got his ass kicked during the end of S1 and went poof along with said Chin Man and Miyagawa, I wouldn't have been surprised.

Don't get me wrong, I love where his arc ended up, and I think the Scars' stories fall in well with the messages the show was trying to convey. That change in him feels like a big leap to make, though, so it's been fun to try to fill in the gap. I'd imagine that transition period after the fall of the 7th division must've been...pretty messy(gonna ramble more about this under the cut)

The blanket explanation the Scars gave was how being beaten by a bunch of kids snapped them out of their flawed way of viewing the world, which makes sense—for the majority of them, anyway. But Koyama wasn’t around for the Great Reigen Roast of 2012–you could say the same for Terada, Takeuchi and Tsuchiya as well, but while all the Scars have been characterized with a certain immaturity towards society and the like, Koyama’s blaring faults directly clash against any kind of progression.

He’s the school bully that gets in trouble and only resolves to get revenge, that one little kid who’d refuse to ‘lose’ when playing make believe by coming up with all sorts of excuses. Judging by the way he’d lash out at any sign of his strength being questioned…I don’t think his pride would’ve let him have that swift moment of clarity like the others(even after being turned into a human ping pong ball by a middle schooler). Far from it as you could go, in fact—that humiliation would only make him double down. Not that the other Scars aren't drastically affected by the whole thing, of course, but Koyama…Koyama’s a prime candidate for making his frustration everyone else’s problem.

Hell I could even see him getting it into his dumbass head that he could find a place in Claw again if he just took down the ones that put an end to the 7th division. His fellow Scars who failed—well they just didn’t have the grit to fight their way past this setback, lost their teeth, but not him. He thinks he could succeed where they failed, and rise back to the top. Shallow as hell plan, painfully desperate, but it’s all he has now. I’m sure that would go sooooo well for him, especially when the rest of the Scars find out what he’s up to while they’ve been trying to fix their lives. Lmao.

[princescar]

the rest, pre-orders opening soon

[marbleboa]

This is way into headcanon territory of how Sakurai’s curses work but I really like the concept of Koyama developing a sort of ‘resistance’ to them(not complete immunity of course, but any negative effects get mitigated some). This develops than for no other reason than Sakurai being petty in their early Scar days and repeatedly putting minor curses on him in hopes that some inconvenience will get him fired/injured. Also likely from cutting Koyama off in an argument with cursed cologne several times. Koyama’s aura eventually just. Began to adjust.

[princescar]

Chubby Ryoko cause i needed to draw something for myself and not work related.

[princescar]

love this so much, why is mukuro running like the kid who pretends they are a dog