In the aftermath of the Seasoning City Incident, tensions are high, and the future is uncertain.
As civil unrest grows and the question of what to do about Shigeo Kageyama is presented within the government, Mob simply tries to live life as normal. However, things are rarely 'normal' for a kid with the power to rip the planet in two.
The Trolley Problem
is a Mob Psycho 100 fanfic written by destituteDenouement on Archive of Our Own. Taking place after Chapter 100, Mob, and all of Seasoning City, come to terms with the unfortunate consequences of his rampage as ???.
Tropes found in The Trolley Problem include the following:
- And Then What?: Joseph asks this question to Mob what will happen the next time he gets another outburst and loses control of his powers.
- Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving: Ritsu goes on a rant to his brother about Reigen being an idiotic, self-centered jerkhole who constantly exploits him. But he admits at the end that the con man does genuinely care about Shigeo and how he is dependable for the most part.
- Ascended Extra: Joseph plays a bigger role in this series as he's assigned to watch over Shigeo and determine the best possible way to keep his powers under control.
- Big Fancy House: Aunt Hina lives in one and the Kageyama brothers can only marvel in awe over the majesty of the building.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Chihiro and Mari, the high school girls from the Pervert Ghost case, return to help Mob escape from Kirin Jodo's clutches.
- Muto returns as another member working for the JEA. He's also had a hand in manipulating his former boss Ishiguro for information.
- Spirits and Such gets a grim visit from the hoarding client.
- But Now I Must Go: Shigeo chooses to leave Bean Town to return to Seasoning City so he can confront his mistakes with the help of his master. Ritsu tags along so he won't have to do it alone.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Touichirou knows that the JEA won't make any efforts to kill him as he's too valuable as a psychic research subject to be destroyed on a whim.
- Cardboard Prison: Touichirou Suzuki may be trapped in the most advanced and fortified esper prison facilities on the planet, but he and the officers operating the prison know darn well that he can easily break out if he chose to. He even flaunts this fact to Joseph just to get under his skin.
- Cerebus Retcon: In the original show, the absolute destruction of Seasoning City is handwaved with the city being fully restored after a Time Skip and none of the citizens being bothered by it afterwards. The whole premise of this fic is to show the consequences that occurred during the restoration process.
- Continuity Nod: Mob has Serizawa take him to meet Terror, the dog he and Reigen bathed in the Urban Legends episode. He also mentioned the time Reigen was almost arrested for using the women's bathroom.
- Didn't Think This Through: Mob decides to go back to Seasoning City to seek his master's help with how to handle his past mistakes. But during the trip back, he completely forgot to tell Reigen about his arrival mixed with the fact that he didn't think of where he and Ritsu would stay.
- Dinner and a Show: In Chapter 3, the Kageyamas get into an argument with Aunt Hina after she mentions the ongoing repercussions that Seasoning City has to undergo because of Mob's outbursts. It gets worse when she flat out reveals her disdain towards Shigeo for being an esper.
- Fantastic Racism: Alot of anti-esper groups have risen and demand that they take responsibility for the destruction of Seasoning City. Aunt Hina is also anti-esper and viewed Shigeo in disgust since he was a boy because of his special powers.
- I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Shimazaki's allegiance is always towards the group that comes out on top. Hence him joining the Japanese Esper Association.
- Hard Truth Aesop: After being kicked out of their favorite restaurant courtesy of the hoarding client, Reigen explains to Mob that it's better not to react in anger even when you're in the right. Especially since not everyone will understand or accept your reasons and will only see the worst in you. So when things go south, all you can do is walk away.
- How the Mighty Have Fallen: Ishiguro was once the leader of the 7th Division who excelled with his kidnapping operations and had excellent skills with his anti-gravity Quirks. After his defeat, he was taken to Joseph's headquarters where he's mentally manipulated by his former coworker Muto for information. Joseph even mentions that he'll be tossed into a confinement cell and forgotten once he's of no further use.
- Innocently Insensitive: When meeting Mob for the first time, Kenji Mitsuura gushes on how excited he is to learn how powerful he is and what his powers can accomplish. He says this without understanding the devastating consequences that resulted whenever Mob lost control.
- Internal Reveal:
- Apparently Ritsu never knew that Shou set their house on fire to gaslight Mob until reuniting with him at the mall.
- To his outrage, Shimazaki learns that Reigen is a non-esper and isn't the Great Master he's hyped up to be.
- Mob also learns about Shou and Serizawa's friendship during their days in Claw.
- It's All My Fault: Shigeo accepts that it was his fault for the ruined state of the city.
- It's Personal: Shimazaki wants to remove Shigeo Kageyama after that fateful day where he experienced genuine fear and weakness because of the boy. He also plans to go after his master for humiliating him too.
- Locked Out of the Loop: To Mob's frustration, his family were planning to go on vacation but made preparations without including him.
- Ms. Exposition: Michiko Natakani is a research scientist at the JEA and provides long-winded explanations to Joseph (and the readers) about how psychic energy works in their universe.
- Must Make Amends: Before the Kageyama brothers leave, Aunt Hina apologizes to Mob for her deplorable behavior and how it was unfair to treat him so harshly.
- My Greatest Failure: Enforced. The JEA reported the failure of apprehending Claw from it's uprising to be Joseph's as to avoid having their image slandered.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: The clairvoyant esper Rei Kurosaki warns Shigeo that her abilities are telling that something within him is about to be unleashed that will cause great misfortune to those around him, especially Teruki.
- Mythology Gag: Shimazaki working at the Japanese Esper Association is inspired by his last manga appearance of him wearing a labcoat.
- Named by the Adaptation: Mrs. Kageyama is christened as "Kanae".
- Never My Fault: The hoarding client blames Mob for ruining his life and for not getting rid of his spirit problem. But Mob points out that he only has himself to blame if he did nothing to improve his personal life after the exorcism.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Mob only had good intentions with using his powers to restore a fallen food stand along with the fruit. Doing so resulted in the food vendor and the mall attendees going into a panic over esper activity.
- Nothing Is Scarier: As Michiko explains to Joseph, she has no idea how Shigeo is able to defy the Law of Conservation of Energy by making energy vanish into nothing.
- Obviously Not Fine: After Shou shows up to join Mob and Serizawa's spirit hunting mission, Mob thinks to himself that it's perfectly fine if Shou secretly dislikes him along with him and his brother frequently talking about him behind his back.
- Oh, Crap!: Aunt Hina gets one when Ritsu, her favorite nephew, reveals his psychic powers and questions if she still loves him despite being an esper.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Ryo Shimazaki is known for his playful, cocky and carefree nature. But he turns surprisingly furious after he sees Ishiguro's memory of Reigen (the Great Master who caught him off guard) annihilating the Scar Bosses with his adult powers.
- Original Character:
- The story introduces Hina, Shigeo and Ritsu's aunt who works as a financial consultation officer and has a negative opinion over her psychic nephew.
- We also have Michiko Nakatani, a spacey but clever scientist who unfortunately only exists to explain the concept of psychic energy to Joseph.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Another side effect of the ???% rampage was the influx of wraith activity. As spirits born from human emotion, they manifested as a result of the ongoing paranoia, fear and outrage from the Seasoning City public.
- Parental Obliviousness: Mr. Kageyama reacts and responds to conversations that highlight how utterly clueless he is when reading the room. At least we know where Shigeo gets it from.
- Pensieve Flashback: Joseph orders Muto to recreate Ishiguro's memory of the 7th Division's defeat by Reigen and Mob.
- Recruit Teenagers with Attitude: Joseph mentions that his organization has had an eye on Teruki Hanazawa and planned on recruiting him for his spectacular powers.
- Secret Test of Character: Just to show how easily Mob can lose control of his powers, Joseph hypothetically mentions that he can kill his little brother if he wanted to. Mob's Death Glare and the intense energy build up are all Joseph needed to confirm that his suspicions are correct.
- Selective Memory: One woman cries out how her daughter was almost killed because of the esper's energy going rogue. But Joseph thinks to himself how the daughter was saved because of another esper (Teruki).
- Shout-Out: Shimazaki compares the Seasoning City public wanting control while losing control themselves to be like the Allegory of the Cave.
- So Proud of You: Mr. Kageyama says this to Shigeo for all he's accomplished during his time as a middle schooler.
- Tears of Joy: Mob gets these when reunited with the Body Improvement and Telepathy Clubs.
- Vacation Episode: The Kageyama family decides to travel to the snowy mountains of Bean Town to get away from the rising tensions of Seasoning City.
- Villain Takes an Interest: "Villain" is a strong word, but the good for nothing relic Kirin Jodo tries to recruit Mob into joining his Sun Psychic Union and won't take no for an answer.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Ritsu and Reigen turn out to be this. Ritsu shows no shame in insulting Reigen or taking advantage of his hospitality and food during his return home and the con man is all too quick to fight back for his lack of respect and gratitude. Despite their bitter hostility, Ritsu only went to Reigen knowing that his brother cares for him and needs him for this critical period. And Reigen, being a responsible adult, allows the two minors to stay with him at his apartment.
- Witch Hunt: Anti-esper activism have come to include targeting people who are accused of being espers and bringing them to "justice".
- You Monster!: Aunt Hina calls Shigeo this during their family dinner. Though she does apologize afterwards.
