madimpossibledreamer

Like, okay, can we talk for a minute about Constantine and Yashiki? They’re kind of opposites in terms of personality (though Yashiki’s inner voice—Kujou?—can snark with the best of them) but so much about their background is really really similar (it’s the outfit that got me thinking about this, so much later because they wear it so differently).
*the outfit. Loose tie, white shirt, tan trenchcoat, messy hair, the stubble. Yashiki has glasses & dark hair, but looks-wise they’re pretty similar.
*she’s not really mentioned in the NBC series, but in the comics John’s sister was pretty much one of the only things keeping him sane, protected, and out of trouble growing up. Same with Saya & Masaharu.
*Otherwise, it being a really terrible/abusive environment. Yeah, probably.
*Cursed. The Laughing Magician & the Kujou family have the same ‘Lone Wolf’ kind of curse—they’ll probably make it through just fine, but anyone that gets in contact with them for more than five minutes is in serious danger. Unlike Lone Wolf, there’s a definite danger where if they mess up they seriously might die.
*Loner. Because of this both of them try often, even in situations where it doesn’t make sense, to try to do it on their own. Which often ends up with themselves wounded & the ones that love them kind of annoyed. Even though how they go about this and how much they show other people they care is very different.
*Self-loathing. They cover it up differently. Yashiki is endlessly polite, inoffensive, and humble. Constantine is much more ‘in your face’ (like Mashita), keeping people at arm’s length by being rude, smoking in their faces, getting punched in the face. Both of them simultaneously have good survival instincts and no sense of self-preservation, trying to outrun their past and regrets while being chained to them.
*Magpie of magic. Yashiki almost literally is. They’ve both got high spiritual senses, but Yashiki’s directly involves having the sense of what junk will be useful. As befits a street magician Constantine can also do magic from random stuff he’s picked off the street, but in his case it tends to be a little more metaphorical, referring to his magic rather than his trinkets.
*Belief in humanity. Despite everything that they’ve seen and experienced, both have this unshakeable belief in humanity as a whole, if not individuals. (And though Yashiki tends to give everyone a little more benefit of the doubt, he’s still seen absolutely horrible people enough to at least be slightly careful about it—but it doesn’t break his faith, either.)

AAAAAAA Mashita saying “I’m not your priest” and then offering a bit of comfort, actually picking up on the fact that he’s having a vision, and then going “handy” and validating his powers when even Yashiki isn’t believing in himself or his powers—

I’m not mad at Yashiki, per se. I think the spirits are basically influencing him to go be a loner, plus the bullying, plus his natural inclinations. But replacement is one of the things that rubs me the wrong way.

Okay. Hiroo being greedy is...less cool, but still. He needed the slap in the face from these 3.

...he likes the sound of things sometimes too. (opening doors.)
(I think this was yashiki)

...don’t breathe in the spores, you goof.

Yeah Yashiki absolutely is a little less on edge with Mashita there. It’s...really noticeable.

We’re not whispering sweet nothings to each other about guns.
...We’re not. I’m pretty sure anyway.

Theory: Yashiki’s also getting more standoffish because of reminders of bullying, and he’s had bullying in his past. (not sure if he attended school or not, but his family definitely.)

THEY ARE TOTALLY HERE TO BE THE ANTI-YASHIKI OBLIVIOUS SQUAD Mashita and Hiroo are great.