The First Of A Set Of MP100 Post Cards I’m Making! I Really Like Slice Of Life If That Isn’t Already

Okay to elaborate on that last tag rant:

When Reigen tells Serizawa to get him as close to Mob as possible, he doesn’t know what he’s going to do when he gets there. This isn’t surprising. Reigen very seldom knows what he’s going to do until he’s actually doing it. He thrives under pressure. He’ll dance at the edge of a precipice and come out unscathed. He doesn’t need a plan! He’s been thrown into wilder situations before!

He doesn’t crucially, really understand what’s going on. He doesn’t know what the problem is. He knows that Mob’s involved, but he thinks he can fix it the same way he’s fixed things before: with some quick thinking and off-the-cuff advice and half-truths papered over with offers of ramen.

And then he sees Mob. (Check out the last post by @exilepurify for a fantastic analysis of this moment!) That’s when he realizes what Mob’s been dealing with and the scale of his struggles and the harm he’s capable of causing. And it’s also when Reigen realizes how much harm his lies have caused, because he promised to help but he didn’t, he couldn’t, he has no freaking idea how any of this works, but he let Mob believe him.

And after the moment of shocked, horrified realization, he knows what he has to say. And it says so much about Reigen that he’s right! He’s able to figure out what Mob needs! He’s able to pinpoint the thing that will undo this giant knot of insecurities at the center of Mob’s heart! He sees what looks like a monster inside his kid and he immediately understands!

(It’s because he sees a monster inside of himself, too.)

The thing that Reigen gets wrong is in thinking that once he makes his confession, that will be the end of his and Mob’s relationship. It makes sense that he’d assume that! He hurt this kid, and it would be totally justified for Mob to cut him off. But this isn’t that kind of story.

But while he’s running through the tornado, while he’s screaming for Mob to please listen to him, while he’s looking up at the sky and trembling, he’s steeling himself for this to be their final conversation. I’ve seen all the posts about the shoes, and while I’m not disputing a more literal interpretation, to me it feels much more like an acknowledgment of “There’s no coming back from this.” He can’t talk his way out. He can’t cover it up. He’s laying bare the worst parts of himself and ready to suffer the consequences. Whether Mob kills him or decides never to speak to him again almost doesn’t matter; they feel equally final and equally painful. But he doesn’t care, because his confession is what Mob needs.

I… I don’t know

Motherly Love.

and without the silly quote, because I can't decide which one I like best:

In the Separation Arc, we see Reigen tell a young Mob that is doesn't matter whether or not he has powers, all that matters is that he's a good person. This is immediately followed by our slightly older Mob returning that exact gift: telling Reigen it doesn't matter whether or not he has powers, all that matters is that he's a good person.

And they both desperately needed these assurances from each other. They saved each other from drowning in guilt and self-loathing. And they weren't wrong.

But they weren't exactly right either.

The Confession Arc exists because they both need to grow beyond that point. Confronting the fact that these things do matter—that they can't just ignore Mob's powers, or Reigen's lies. "Being a good person" does not unmake the part of yourself you wish wasn't there. Those parts of you still don't define you—that was right—but they still matter, and they still have to be faced.

Going to that next level is just... gah. This writing is so good.

Roy Mustang snaps his fingers accidentally (while wearing his gloves)

What people think will happen: fire, death, destruction

What will actually happen: a small spark

Why people are wrong: they think Roy’s Flame Alchemy actually creates flame, whereas what he’s alchemizing is the oxygen concentration of the air. Alchemy takes concentration and intelligence so he can’t accidentally move air particles around to make the air so oxygenated as to be flammable. The finger-snap just ignites the oxygen. If the air is normal, it’s not going to ignite.

Extra fun fact: you can probably tell if Roy Mustang is about to set you on fire. The air will feel intoxicatingly easy to breathe because it’s pure oxygen. During the war, Ishvalans probably learned to GTFO if they felt heady and energized.

Extra extra fun fact: Roy Mustang doesn’t need to set you on fire to kill you. He can probably just remove all the oxygen from the air around you, and you’ll suffocate.

The point of this post: flame alchemy is both really cool and really simple.

The kicker: to use flame alchemy effectively, you probably have to visualize the shape of the oxygen cloud that’s going to form. This probably requires a lot of focus.

I am: a nerd.

hey, i think i just Got it. 

Reigen not really understanding what Mob is going thru (him not being a psychic) is the perfect parent/teen child analogy. Like, he kinda pretends to get it, but he doesn’t really know – until the end. and he says, “I didn’t know! Is that what you’ve been going through? something this big?” That line just cuts me to my core and it’s because… isn’t that what we all wanted to hear from our parents when we were 14 and at the mercy of our uncontrollable emotions? to be seen, to be validated in that way? wow

the clickbait title: Amazing! This manga has the power to heal your childhood trauma!

anime Mob not being as sassy as manga Mob was truly a loss

look at these

it even looks like he’s kind of grinning

#tomeweek2023 Day 4: Telepathy

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reigen and his army of middle schoolers

i’m upset that part of the Shigeo/Mob conversation that was cut in the anime was Shigeo holding Mob’s face almost lovingly, with Mob being the one to eventually push the hands away. i just feel like that would’ve added a shit-ton of subtext to the confession arc that the anime didn’t really provide.