anyway not to beat a dead horse but thinking about the parallels... it's about going from the one who pulls away to the one who reaches out their hand... fuchi switching positions from the one being saved to the one saving... gaining a new family member and realizing you now have something to lose... do you get it
rotating them in my brain (more yapping under the cut)(it's long)
anyway i think the events of ghost avenue and the recent lore drop is an interesting setup for a potential turning point for fuchi... the way it parallels his own suicide attempt in sayonara end roll but puts him on the other side of the saving/being saved equation. giving him a new family member, someone who chooses to stand by him despite the world turning against him, and then threatening to take him away before he's even really processed that he now has something to lose after thinking for so long he has nothing to live for...
the emotional aftermath of the MVs is interesting to think about. pairing tobi with fuchi is especially tragic because if you've read the novels you'd know that tobi has MASSIVE abandonment issues and a deep seated belief that everything he loves gets taken away from him eventually (basically stemming from being an orphan+his brother leaving him as a kid) and the events of the MVs (ryuuko getting abducted, fuchi trying to off himself) do nothing but reinforce that belief. but also he's so allergic to being honest about his feelings he would never say it out loud (see: SER 3 mil comic). his defense mechanism of 'curbing' his desires and acting like he can take anything life throws at him becomes a prison of his own making. meanwhile fuchi appreciates tobi ("you're the only one who talks to me as an equal/this is the one place where my heart belongs") but still feels like no one can truly understand him ("I don't need your pity/you could never hope to understand" IMMEDIATELY after that line), in a way confirming tobi's fear that he's not good enough to stop his loved ones from leaving...
from the most recent comic we can see that fuchi still has his habit of bottling things up, not even telling tobi about mahiru until after his move from the facility seemed highly likely to go through, despite both of them coming to visit multiple times. we can also see that fuchi has other people in his life (possibly other distant relatives or acquaintances) who all turned away from him, so he probably didn't want to get his hopes up. there's also a lot to be inferred from mahiru's behaviour. while his attitude towards the whole insomnia incident is flippant (tiktok? really??) he does have a more serious and capable side and it doesn't seem like he took the decision lightly. putting the effort for the months long procedure of getting fuchi to move in with him is partially for his own sake (he really is THAT desperate for any sort of relationship, not just sexual ones, to stave off his loneliness) and partially because he's taken a liking to fuchi (possibly seeing his own neglected self reflected in him+wanting to do something for the family he didn't know he had)
tobi being a little hater to mahiru is really funny but also pretty understandable. mahiru sounds super shady from his description, and tobi is extra concerned because he know fuchi has zero physical resistance and would just let anyone do anything to him... but he doesnt have the power to do anything for fuchi's situation except show up to visit him because he's literally just another orphan kid with no support system+literally younger than him. i think fuchi and mahiru have the potential to change each other for the better but also i think tobi would secretly be soooo salty that this rando dipshit who showed up out of nowhere has the power to do something that he can't... absolutely malding about it..
anyway i think they have an interesting dynamic cant wait 2 see what happens next
There was a line for the ride home so I took out my wireless earphone to listen to some tunes. little did i know that my earphones connected to a stranger's phone (don't ask me how coz idk) so now i'm listening to their song of choice.
it's so funny how tumblr rolls out updates because i keep seeing a slowly growing number of posts about how terrible it is but your tumblr is the same. it's like a slow going zombie apocalypse. there is no escape but for now you're alive
My adaptation of the God of Arepo short story, which was originally up at ShortBox Comics Fair for charity. You can get a copy of the DRM-free ebook here for free - and I'd encourage you to donate to Mighty Writers or The Ministry of Stories in exchange.
Again it's an honour to be drawing one of my favourite short stories ever. Thank you so much for the original authors for creating this story; and for everyone who bought a copy and donated to the above non-profits.
origamiaround
tangentwithtanner
dailybridgerton
titsay
gummygunk
