Somehow I managed to do a fluffy ship piece that ends in Teru cryingā¦
At any rate, my personal headcanon is that Teru, without any actual adult role models in his life, has instead modeled himself off of the movies that he watches. Hence why he assigns everybody (himself included) a role: main character, rival, etcā¦ However, with that comes the fact that he doesnāt have the greatest concept of love, which, letās be honest, films generally suck at.Ā
As a result, he keeps saying heās not in love with Mob, but itās less of a denial so much as he doesnāt have a word for the way that Mob makes him feel.Ā
(Iām not really sure I have a word for it either. But I hope that I managed to convey it anyways.)
LISTEN. I KNOWWW that the polls haven't even started, but I'm impatient, ok, I'm just putting this out there now cause I can't take it..... anyways - I've seen people do powerpoints as a way to campaign for their blorbos in the various polls that have been going on, so!! I thought I'd do one of my own for the @autismswagsummit ^^ as I simply can't pass on any chance to be brainrotted over this series, it seems...
ID under cut, as it's very long!
[ID: a powerpoint presentation campaigning for Mob from Mob Psycho 100. It's formatted in dark purples and pinks.
The first slide is the titlecard, differing from the main slides by having a pink holographic aura, like the ones from the show, as the background. The text says:
"#MOBSWEEP 2023
Aka why you should vote for Mob in the upcoming autistic swag summit. Please
(JK follow your own heart ^^ but for your consideration:)"
The second slide is titled: "Who is Mob, aka Kageyama Shigeo?" and below the text lists:
"Source: Mob Psycho 100, which is also where Reigen comes from;
The protagonist! Only with background character syndrome (which is why heās named āMobā ā itās kinda like naming your protag āJohn Doeā lol);
A 14 year old with the psychic strength to destroy the world. Which heās not very happy about actually;
Cause really, heās just a nice, gentle boy who simply wants to improve and impress his crush by getting swole :) Oh, and he also experiences the horrors. Btw."
On the right of this text, there are two images: One is a zoomed in screenshot of Mob, his face blank and confused, and the other is an official art of the show, depicting Mob in the center, aura glowing, with many of the show's other characters around him, with the show's title at the bottom of the image.
The third slide's title is "Ok but tell me more about the autism", and below, the text says:
"Gladly ^^
Ok, first off ā symptoms:
Bad at reading social cues, detecting sarcasm, lies, etc.;
Struggles with recognizing/expressing emotions. Has what could be called psychic meltdowns;
Very honest and blunt, sometimes appearing āruthlessā as a result;
Explicitly low empathy, in that he canāt feel what others are feeling;
Actually very compassionate, and follows a really strict moral code;"
There are no images in this or the next slide.
The fourth slide is a continuation of the previous, with the text being:
"Abnormal reaction to sensations, but instead of overreacting, he underreacts, rarely responding to physical touch and disturbing imagery. Has shown to be at times sensitive to loud sounds, however;
Prefers following a routine. One of his biggest conflicts with Reigen literally arise from the man often calling him out of the blue and making him suddenly adapt, which Mob finds really annoying/upsetting;
Struggles in school. Explicitly bad at math, japanese and PE (really passionate about the latter tho), which could be for a variety of reasons, autism related conditions (like dyscalculia/dyslexia/dyspraxia) being one of them;
Has felt like an outcast for most of his life. Even if he grew up in a pretty loving environment, he recognizes that he is different to others, and people sometimes treat him as such (in a /neg way);
His main arc is about overcoming trauma andā¦ just masking (and how to stop doing it), pretty much, lol."
The fifth slide, in contrast, is mostly just images, placed upon a white background. The title for this one is "Alternatively, just look at him:"
The images, from top to down, and then left to right, are:
Three cropped subtitles out of screenshots of the show, which say:
"I'm sure I just got the wrong idea again. How embarrassing."
"He's detached from urban legends, fads, and other hot topics among people."
"You just can't lie, can you?"
The fourth is a cropped screenshot of Mob's explosion meter. Both in Japanese and English. Specifically, it says: "Progress towards Mob's explosion: 92%". Additionally, there is an annotation above this image, saying: "Literally has a meltdown meter ksfdks"
In-between these and the next column of images, there is also a transparent image of Mob, him standing stiffly, faced towards the camera, his standard, blank expression with a small smile on his face.
The next column of images goes like this:
A screenshot from the show, done in paint on glass, of various kids towering over Mob, who's standing in the middle of the image, small. Their expressions wary, from sneering, to frowning, to looking disgusted. The subtitles at the bottom say, with one part blocked out due to spoilers: "[spoilers] didn't treat me any differently even though I could use psychic powers."
Next two are cropped dialogues as well. They say:
"This version of him was created from being suppressed and locked away."
"Social skills like that are beyond you."
And on the right of the slide is one vertical image, showing one of Mob's books, with the subtitles translating the Japanese title of the book as "The Proper Way of Reading the Room". Next to this one, there is also an annotation, saying: "He has a book on learning social cues :ā)" That's all for this slide.
The sixth slide is titled "Is he good rep though?" Text below is:
"Well, to answer the first thing relevant to this questionā¦ no, heās not actually confirmed canon autistic. But cāmon.. itās so obvious. This kid is not fucking allistic like cāmonnnn
Of course, what people consider good and bad rep is gonna vary from person to person. But to explain why a lot of people see him as very positive rep:
"1) Heās the main character, so he gets the most spotlight, and the narrative is formed around his pov, in that we only see things that are relevant to Mob, and visually things are often represented in the way Mob sees them as well (take the body improvement club or Tsubomi, for example), which puts all viewers soundly in his shoes and makes him easy to relate to and sympathize with, and makes it clear how important his emotions and view of things really are;"
On the right of this are 3 images against a white background. The first one is a screenshot of the Body Improvement Club - 5 very buff and large dudes - standing against an explosively red and yellow background, with all of them enthusiastically flexing. The caption below that is "The body improvement club! ...they're supposed to be middle schoolers lol".
The next two, below the first one, are two screenshots of Tsubomi. The one on the left has her smiling, her eyes wide and bright, the background being pastel pinks and yellows. The one on the right, however, has her frowning, the background turned black, her eyes dark and disinterested. The caption below says: "Tsubomi :) And how her design subtly changes alongside Mobās view of her".
The seventh slide is a continuation of the previous, with the text being:
"2) Heās a very well rounded character, with well thought out strengths, flaws, motives, and his overall story is very cohesive and satisfying;
3) His autistic traits are portrayed neutrally ā in both where they help, and where they can cause conflict. It balances between him learning what things he would benefit to address and deal with, and what things he shouldnāt be trying to change at all, and as the whole message of the show emphasizes ā he is no more or less special than anyone, no more or less of a person ā he is simply human, and his autistic traits are just part of what makes him himself."
This one has images next to it as well. The first one is a screenshot of Reigen looking towards the camera (at an off-screen Mob), hand to his chin, eyebrow raised and smiling, some food crumbs still stuck to his face, as he says: "Today you happened to save some people that only you could have saved." Next to it is the annotation: "Reigen reassuring Mob about how his inability to read the room and feel empathy actually can be a huge benefit sometimes :)"
The next image below is a zoom in of Mob's face, his eyes shadowed by his hair, the scene's lighting dark, as he says: "I'm not being mocked, nor am I easily taken advantage of." The annotation next to this one says "Mob learning to recognize his emotions and assert himself better as the story goes on!"
And the last two images is a screenshotted dialogue, saying "You don't think changing yourself for someone you love is natural?" "I don't. At least, not when we're talking about [spoilers]" (The last bit is blocked out again).
The eight slide is also a continuation. The text says:
"4) He is loved. Loved by his friends, his family, his alliesā¦ even most villains come to take a liking to him. In fact, heās something I havenāt seen many autistic characters be ā heās admired! So many characters, and even viewers of the show Iāve found, really admire him and want to be more like him. And not because heās a perfect person, or super smart or anything, but because he sincerely tries his best. And I just really appreciate that, personally,,
5) And more than just loved, he is accepted ā the whole main arc and the resolution of his story centers around that, around how important it is to feel accepted by the people around you, in all your entirety, no matter how strange or destructive you may feel yourself to be. And how you need to come to accept yourself in the same way as well. I just think thatās a really sweet in a story centering around a neurodivergent person :ā)"
And the images next to it are as follows:
A screenshot of dialogue from the show, saying: "At first glance, Mob may seem unreliable, but his strength is undeniable." The annotation clarifies with: "The āstrengthā in question, in this case, being Mobās ability to reach out to people ^^";
A screenshot of Teru placed against a blindingly white background, him grinning widely, looking down, eyes shining, as he says: "I knew it, you really are amazing!". Next to him, there is a small caption of "Lol gayass /pos";
And a screenshot of Mob, in the bottom center of the image, small, as he is surrounded by various characters. Most of them are smiling encouragingly, with the ones closest to him, like Reigen, Ritsu, Dimple, Teru and Tsubomi, being bigger and placed in the front. A small caption at the top says: "He has so many friends and allies ueueeueueue.."
The ninth slide is titled "Additionally:" and the text lists:
"Psychic powers as a metaphor for being nd/othered, if that suits your fancy;
His design is iconic and versatile;
The boy has. Issues;;
There are many other characters in mp100 who can be read as autistic. Not a single neurotypical in this show /hj
Mob has more than just autism swag. Iāve seen people with bipolar disorder, ADHD, anxiety and those who are plural (etc.) also relate to him :)
He is simply the Boy ever"
Next to the last line is a small, low quality image of Mob smiling from the manga. The rest of the images, on the right, are:
The meme "I can be your angle....or yuour devil", with images of Mob instead - on the left, him smiling brightly and blushing, placed upon a colorful magenta background, and on the right, a panel from the manga: Mob in one of his explosion states, surrounded by fire, face shadowed, hair pushed back by his powers and waving in the air, and his eyes, wide and eerie, being the only features on his face that are visible.
On the right of these images, there is a smaller one, of Mob in another one of his explosion states (the one from episode 3, season 1 of the anime). He is facing to the side, aura surrounding him, hair pushed back by his powers and his eyes a glower. His pupils are red.
Below these, there are three images of, in order, Serizawa, Tome and Ritsu. Serizawa is sweating, nervous, Tome is sweating even more and yelling into a phone, and Ritsu is simply glaring towards the camera. The annotation pointing to them says: "A few of the other autistic blorbos in question :] (as I personally see them at least)".
And the last is a panel from the manga, of Mob sobbing, tears and drool dripping messily down his face, his hair waving in the air. His expression is somewhat blank despite the clear distress, and the text boxes next to him read: "His tears won't stop. It's an emotion he has never experienced before."
And the tenth, final slide, is formatted the same as the titlecard with the pink aura background, and says:
"Thank you if you got this far <3
Have good days everyones, and remember, the true win for autism is the fun we had along the way :]
Buh bye!! ^_^"
Around this text, there are various images of Mob. Counter clockwise, starting at the left corner:
A low quality screenshot of Mob flying in the air;
Mob, in his puppy hoodie, sweating in distress as he points at a vase;
Mob caught mid smear frame, his leg kicked high in the air as he jumps, his school bag swinging to the side, his expression comically flustered.
A panel from the manga. Mob's eyes are shadowed, chopsticks held to his face, as he stares to the side and says "Tch... Shut up and eat.";
A Mob in an alleyway from the anime, smiling, pointing and looking up and to the left (the center of the slide);
A photo of a Mob plushie tucked into bed;
A low quality screenshot of Mob, standing against a wire fence, facing forwards, his eyes appearing a bit angry due to his hair cowering them.
