#more yapping

He has the very important job of making sure Futaba actually keeps a consistent sleep schedule while at her Kirijo internship :> All the Thieves sort of agreed letting their youngest intern at a megacorp with Metaverse ties all alone wasn't the Best idea and Morgana wasn't all that jazzed about following shuake on their (permanent) honeymoon. thus! Futaba. She spoils him rotten and is not above bribes.

You better believe Akira kidnaps him every time he and Akechi come home for a visit though!

while we're on the subject, he's also got a pretty wholesome dynamic going with Akechi post palace, i didn't get into it in the PT cat introduction post,

Tbh, I do get the criticism too because I too wish that the interaction could have been a bit more fleshed out and showcased the characters a bit more strongly and how those could play off each other in a dynamic...and it does feel like an abrupt shift from the somewhat tense but curious dynamic we have from the voicelines we have of the interactions so far... Loki has not managed to catch her off balance like this so far and if anything she's been the one taking him by surprise in their interactions thus far so what changed here in this conversation and why. it's a fun idea that he could finally get her a bit flustered, honestly, after so much of her taking his attempts of winning her over in stride. BUT you gotta indicate for those who aren't combing through interactions obsessively that this is the exception and not the rule or it loses some of its impact!! and most importantly...tell me more!!! I wanna know..... (in lieu of answers I will make up my own as usual, but also....tell me what it's Supposed to be, marvel...) I definitely hope they are potentially planning to go into it much more. I've enjoyed a lot of the writing in Rivals, I want to see these two get to interact in one of the more Involved bits of writing and see what happens or if we can get more insight. But yes I definitely agree, a lot of what makes Mantis very lovable to me too is that she's silly and strange and awkward and earnest and indeed relatable. And I do get very 'um actually' when I see people saying specifically that Mantis is the all powerful Celestial Madonna actually and would neeever stammer or blush, especially not for an Unrighteous fellow, for she is too Pure and Strong. no!!! shut up! wrong! not liking the ship is fine, but abandon all ideas of strength = stoicism!! in general and especially for this particular weird little freak! earnest and unfettered emotion is literally her power and she preaches explicitly never to hold your feelings back!! getting shamelessly emotional makes her buff!! of course she gets nervous!! like anyone else!! probably more than anyone else sometimes, and potentially on purpose! it'll make her surge with nervousness power probably! I need people to acknowledge this not just because it's true and interesting and cool but also because it's so so so fucking funny and absolutely rife with comedy potential. like. come on. Pictured: pure raw power. you may not like it but this is what peak performance and terrifying levels of raw celestial energy looks like.

"Can you... Sami, now you're bullying me, you'll get fired soon. Can you put some scent in this? Mikko can do it, can I get a fart smell? It would be nice that shit went over there - then I would put on an oxygen mask on and everyone would be like [passed out]. Then Sami, we could rob everyone, wallets and everything. When I'm ending my career, I'll stuff this thing full of shit, you all be knocked out, I'll empty your pockets and get the fuck out of here."

He looks like a blind kitten who can't find his milk bowl. That's why he's angry.