I was originally going to add this as a reblog to this post, but it deserves its own post actually
So, my thoughts on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, aka Starmine:
Oh that is so fucked up. Izumi. Makoto. Please. Stop it.
They’ve both fallen into the exact same perfectionist mentality. They both believe that they have to put on a flawless performance all the time to protect the people around them (and themselves, by extension) from being hurt. They are hurting each other so much and even if they realise it, they don’t realise the extent of the hurt. Izumi can’t understand Makoto’s need for freedom and deep insecurities, even if he can see and acknowledge it. Makoto can’t understand the depth of Izumi’s love and desperation for control in a life where he has next to none, even if he’s witnessing how it destroys him in real time. Izumi knows that Makoto doesn’t love him, not in the same way he loves Trickstar, but now he at least knows that Makoto doesn’t hate him either. Goddamnit they make me go insane.
I love how Hokuto tells Makoto to stop with the fake smile, but when Makoto asks Izumi, Izumi tells him the exact opposite. Izumi can only see himself as a doll with no way out, and he wants Makoto to be a doll too so that he isn’t alone, so that he can have some semblance of control. Izumi needs Makoto in his life, even if the Makoto in front of him isn’t real at all. He doesn’t believe that he can even have the real Makoto, because the real Makoto must hate him for all he’s done.
And let’s not forget Leo’s perpetual haunting of the narrative.