My Bullshit

Lisa is introduced to us as quiet, unsure, awkward. Her initial movements while getting ready for the party are even stilted, and in the car she’s very quiet and dreamy-sounding. This is not a person who moves through the world fully in her body. When she talks about not wanting anyone to be forgotten, she’s clearly talking about herself and her mother, because the current familial situation was rushed, even when described by Taffy, its most avid proponent.

Her interactions at the party are negative - Tamara embarrasses her in front of Michael and then drugs her, Doug acts protective but then assaults her *as she talks about her dead mother,* sending her into a horrific trip.

Directly after she stumbles through the graveyard to the headstone and said she wishes she was with Creature, the lightning strike happens — right as she breaks the mirror, fracturing her consciousness.

The dream sequence shows gum, sticking dream!Lisa in her silent film form (selective mutism) to a stone shaped like a person - impenetrable and impossible to kill because he’s already dead.

When the Creature appears, he’s been buried, he’s rotted and falling apart. The song from the dream (Strange by Galaxie 500) plays as she speaks with him against her better judgment. She’s externalized everything about herself that feels damaged and unlovable -the literal scars and decay, the silence, and the violence. He hands her mom’s rosary back to her - indicating his connection to her trauma.

She remarks on how she hasn’t spoken this much in ages, and immediately starts nurturing him in the way no one nurtures her. The dress-up montage is, albeit a silly send up, an addressing of her loss of identity. She stores him in a closet decorated with a famous silent film still from Trip to the Moon (1902) done in glow-in-the-dark, signifying things she hasn’t explored yet but stays aware of, and she’s still trying to maintain that barrier.

The outfit he chooses for her is dark, powerful, and commanding, unlike her other articles.

Janet’s outburst and threat signify a paradigm shift from her perceiving herself as alienated to seeing herself as predated.

She appears shocked at Janet’s death, but embraces it fully after being soothed for a moment. Each death opens her up more - expressively AND emotionally. She dances with the creature made whole, and that’s the first time we hear her laugh open-throated. She’s fully chosen to stop hating herself and place the blame externally, shown when she justifies the events to Creature and the talk after the ‘massage.’

In the omake we get more of their past as mob tries to get better at what she's interested in, mostly physical strength.

We get Takeru who keeps trying to win her over. He is great at everything (plus has minions listing all his qualities) and yet she isn't interested. So he asks whats her type, what he might possibly be missing that she'd reject him for. And she tells him: she likes guys who persevere.

It must be Mob then right? When it comes to persevering, he's the one trying his hardest at whatever she asked, despite how hard her challenges are for him. Then again he stopped doing the challenges when Tsubomi lost interest.

In middle school he joined the body improvement club for her at first then liked it and persevered in it for himself. One might even assume he has grown to be her type!

This omake was posted while s3 was airing but way later than the manga's ending. Someone who's anime only but following along with the new omakes may think they've cracked the code that Tsubomi would accept his confession!

Here's another theory: When someone is crushing on her and tries to figure out her type, she lies with something that eliminates them as possible candidates.

Takeru is considered great at anything and doesn't need to make an effort and persevere to reach his goals, so she says she likes guys who perseveres.

Mob is bad at physical activities, so when he tries to impress her she challenges him with physical activities. And other things he's bad at too (like maths! Of all challenges she could ask for!).

>Let's then unpack how in confession arc shigeo said she is a genuine person,

in divine tree arc, that's the arc with the message of how someone who idolised or considered a god would have trouble getting genuine friends who know their true self and can be bluntly honest to them when they get carried away. Dimple and Mezato were both pushing Mob into being god when that kind of idolization would put prevent them from having an honest and close relationship, and from both parties getting to know the other's true self.

-Dimple tells Mob she is strong, doesn't compromise her values and beliefs for others, and is blunt ..... as he was trying to brainwash everyone in the city to consider him god. As in, his character arc is understanding that being idolised is bad for him as would cause a distance between him and others, and he wouldn't have the type of close relationship where someone can be blunt with him, like call him out for going too far trying to be a god, or call him out for wearing an ugly monkey shirt, or call someone out for not reading the atmosphere etc.

As in, Mob wouldn't be showing his true self by instead projecting the image of a god, and Tsubomi wouldn't be showing her true self as someone who fell for him because of brainwashing and became one of generic mass of admirers without truly knowing him.

- when Mezato tells Mob not to confess to Tsubomi behind school, she explains how everyone is getting rejected, with the imagery of masks on an assembly line...smth smth lol cult using smiley masks and how a sea of admirers' masks blend together with no one standing out. "Mob" characters even.

in one of the drama cds, mezato interviews tsubomi and asks about her type, the "fight on!" yelling from the bi club covered her response.

Mezato don't get what others see in her, she's the school idol who hides her true self from others (ironic because she thought making mob into someone who's idolized>wordshipped would be cool) ...but tells him that general advice about being courteous to girls being reliable a good listener and accepting those who show weakness, things he already does. And nothing specific to Tsubomi either, Mezato even says "you might be able to take on Takane-san" like it's a last boss challenge

.. then she asks what he sees in her

- why does Mob love her?

Mob is the outer self/shell/ the one who focuses more on his actions and how he is perceived by others. His answer is that they get along well. and he is more accepting of changing for the one you like..

- now why does Shigeo love her?

he focuses more on inward emotion and thoughts. His answer is that she's a genuine person who liked him for who he truly was.

Since Tsubomi is that guarded around others,even lied to Reigen about having a crush (omake) and possibly lied about her type(omake), it's interesting that shigeo loves her for being genuine and right after talking about her said that he hated Reigen for being a liar.

Shigeo is projecting the way he sees himself on Tsubomi. It is by understanding that everyone has two sides of them (his talk with Reigen) and recognizing that Tsubomi has a side he doesn't know that he can actually know her. Even after the rejection they become closer and talk often.

Note: in the fanbook she answered "what kind of person would you marry" with "someone who tries to do the right thing and is hardworking" which fits Mob but she also answered "what are the chances you will go out with Mob-kun?" with "right now 0%" so maybe she was just giving a general answer.

[ID: The next three drawings consist of Tome, Mezato, Takenaka, and Tsubomi from Mob Psycho 100.

The first drawing shows Tome surrounded by walls of red string boards. Her hand is leaning against one of them and she seems to be passionately talking to Mezato, who we only see the back of her shoulder and head of.

The second drawing is of Takenaka and Tsubomi. They’re facing each other on a grass field. They’re dressed in their tennis uniforms and have tennis rackets positioned above their heads in a threatening manner.