Hm, it's a common question, I think, to wonder what parts of Akechi are real and which aren't. But because of that I think there's also the similar question tied to it of"how much of his confidant with Akira was genuine, and how much was faked?" and I just had a thought related to both.
See, a lot of how a lot of the Detective Prince is drawn from Akechi purposefully making himself pleasing to, and ingratiating himself toward, adults. That's a fact. A lot of his aspects there are straight up fabricated- like, for instance, his leaning toward sweets when the truth is that he doesn't care about the taste of what he eats much at all (aside from "too spicy" it seems).
But my thoughts were drawn more toward something else - how he is with Akira. And from there, the question of "what is genuine."
Here's an idea - with adults he didn't care about other than to impress them to gain their respect, he'd act a certain way, sure, but for Akira? We see that from the start, but most obviously from Rank 2, he isn't so much trying to ingratiate himself into Akira's good graces. In fact (and this is especially seen in the Japanese, from what I saw once), he's rather patronising and wants to put Akira in his place, which is in line with his earlier line of "if the Phantom Thieves faced a truly strong enemy, they'd run." He doesn't respect Akira a lot, and Akira only gives him reasons to at the end of Rank 2, with his keen observations.
But for the rest of the time, there's still a subtle sense of "Detective Prince" to him, right?
And that's where I started thinking, "what if some of how he acts with Akira is him putting on a mask of "if I weren't in this position, if my reasoning for hanging out with him was just this, how would I act?" - in other words, "in a world where we could just be friends."
Which, as I was writing the post, made ne think, "this is what Maruki gave him" because isn't it just? The thing is, though, that Akechi couldn't separate how he had grown up from who he came to be, and that's a big part of what drew him to Akira, as well as what kept coming through the cracks in his masks, and in the end, what made their bond fully rank up - the truth.
Maruki could give Akechi that bond without any of the pain, but it'd be flimsy, because just as much - or even more so than - any of the others, his bond wasn't built on a foundation that could last once you took the pain of his and Akira's respective pasts away.
Which accounts for the third semester, but- it also accounts for how I write him and see him, having a lot of those mannerisms and ways of putting himself across that aren't much different no matter which face he's wearing. The Detective Prince is a fabrication built to seem perfect, and perfect children and young adults only get angry in the right amount. In the third semester he's always angry because the situation calls for it, and he's got no chance to rest away from the danger and threat of dying the moment they're done. With Shido he focused on looking how Shido would want to see his assassin/hitman act.
Outside of all that? I'm thinking of the Akechi we see in unguarded moments, someone who's allowed to show frustration and anger without having his only outlet being the Metaverse. Someone who'd still have trouble letting people in, but who would have more genuine relationships given he'd be able to be honest in them. I think about how it's common for people who've lost their childhoods to any sort of abuse or neglect to regain it in some way, so him not just rambling about things to people he trusts not to make fun of him, but also using his money to indulge in his own interests that aren't to impress other people might also be a thing.
I vaguely remember seeing someone deride the idea that he'd take a year or so to himself, but I think he would need that time to get to know himself. Not just to figure out what he does and doesn't like, but also to accept the parts of him that either are just plain "Goro Akechi" that were integral parts of the Detective Prince mask that he may have seen as fake and false, as well as the things he only started doing because of it that are now a full part of who he is.
Just imagine him reacting in certain ways and flinching because he sees it as a muscle memory he wants to get rid of, but later coming to realise that it may have been a part of a mask, but that mask was also made up of bits and pieces of himself he already had.
73 notes
·
View notes
hey, Leverage peeps, I've got a thought. I've seen a lot of posts and memes joking about Nate's inability to understand that his clients do not want money, they want revenge. I also find this funny. but I was thinking about it and I realized something: there's a personal reason behind it. there is a very, very good reason why Nate doesn't get that.
Nate's drive to lead Leverage, outside of the crew, originated from his son's death due to his insurance company's refusal to cover the bill for the required treatment. we all know this. if his company had paid for Sam's treatment, everything would've been fine.
…or, if Nate had been a little wealthier, had a little more change to spend… maybe he could've paid for it. maybe Blackpool never would've had a say in any of it. maybe Nate would've had everything under control from the start.
we've discussed at length in the fandom how money equals safety for some of the others in the crew (Parker and Hardison grew up with little to none and know its importance to survival, Eliot needs it to stay ahead of his old enemies, etc.), but I don't know that I've seen any discussion on how it's relevant to Nate. for him, however, money equals security in healthcare and in housing (he lost the house, remember?). Nate's older than the others. he remained in the same place for much longer, and he had a stable life for a while. the others haven't been in that position before. many of their clients, however, are at that place in life.
yes, for the others, money keeps them ahead of the game and it keeps them secure. but none of them ever lost a kid because they couldn't pay for healthcare. none of them risk losing the life of someone who is completely dependent on them when they don't have enough.
(Hardison, perhaps, has the closest understanding, considering he hacked a bank to pay for his Nana's healthcare. but he never lost her.)
Nate thinks ahead, you know? he has a long-term view of things. I imagine that for him, when clients refuse the money, they're not just refusing a month's worth of groceries, or a place to stay the night, or the ability to keep running. for him, they're refusing control over their hard-earned, stable, long-term living situation. they're refusing the potential to save a family member's life.
I dunno, guys. I think that's a pretty good reason to not understand why people don't want the money.
2K notes
·
View notes