#and sakamoto would get to be the smartest person in the room for a change (apart from mutsu obv)

[wiskiemonk]

he's been talking about space for 45 minutes.

[zurajanaizurakoda]

Katsura Biologist Post

I haven't finished a fic in forever but I wrote 1k words about Katsura and his constitution and how him being a genius politician is actually really smart and well supported by the story. This contains major spoilers for season 4 of Gintama.

Another headcanon I don’t think is true but really like is the idea that Elizabeth has been slipping various antidepressants and other medicines to Katsura the whole time and the day she chose space Adderall he drinks his tea as usual, goes to his office as usual, locks his door and doesn’t come out for three days.  No one knows what to do, but hell, it’s Zarump, who knows what he’s thinking?  And three days later he leaves his office and he doesn’t look any different from when he went in, and he drops about a ream of paper on his secretary's desk and announces he’s taking the rest of the week off.  And she thumbs through it listlessly and there’s writing on every single page, front and back, with no corrections, and she asks him what it is, and he replies, “It’s a constitution.  I was thinking we needed one,” and then he walks off.  And she reads a little bit and it’s absolutely incomprehensible to her, so she calls someone who deals with legal jargon and he starts reading it and it’s absolute nonsense and he thinks, “Zarump-san is playing a joke,” and he decides he’d better read it so he doesn’t get in trouble but he’s not looking forward to it…

…and a few pages in it’s like a magic eye poster and it clicks-

It’s brilliant.  Everything works, the jargon makes it sound like incomprehensible bullshit but if you cut away the red tape then you get a perfectly balanced constitution.  It won’t insult the Amanto, but it retains autonomy for Japanese citizens.  What looks like a tough policy on criminals hides plans to offer services to marginalized and unhoused people.  It promotes equality.  It has long term plans to help ease the populace into the more radical changes.  It provides relief to citizens whose lives were upended by the battle of Edo.  It shouldn’t work, and if you took out a single paragraph it would fall to pieces, but it works.

He calls an emergency meeting and all the heads of state get together and they can’t explain it but it solves all the problems that people had been trying to foist onto others for months.  None of them can believe that idiot came up with this.  Of course they’re going to put it into action, but they have innumerable questions.  They call Zurump’s villa and gets a servant who announces that he’s not taking calls right now, and turns the camera to show Katsura in Elizabeth footie pajamas in the middle of the day, watching a Korean drama on the theater TV, eating popcorn and explaining to Elizabeth that the real killer is the porter in the first scene that didn’t even get a face reveal.  He’s right but his logic is 100% unhinged speculation.  Elizabeth is hanging on every word like it’s a religious manifesto.  The servant informs them that he’s not taking calls for the rest of the week, not because he’s avoiding them but because it’s over and it never occurred to him that there would be questions because it addressed the issues.  

And they just shake their heads and are glad he’s on their side.

Like I don’t think he’s a savant (I do strongly believe he’s autistic, but that’s another post) but I do believe he’s normally the smartest and the dumbest person in the room.  And  I think the constitution is baffling on purpose because he didn’t want anyone to mess with it (for instance, less accepting officials can’t just cut out the equality because it’s woven into the constitution) but it’s also oblique because he does not think like other people think. 

And I think the series does establish that, strange as he is, he’s a great leader and a strategist, and he’s also very good at getting people to underestimate him.  Especially in the episode Zura, Sakamoto says the war would be lost without Katsura’s guidance.  The soldiers agree and even refer to him as the leader of the Joui 4 but it never occurred to them that he was strong because he likes to give the impression he’s not important.  He was a total dumbass when he got taken by Prince Hata in the end arc, but he also shows shrewd strategizing when he wants Hata to declare war and then flee.  He doesn’t want unnecessary loss of life, even when it’s not his men, and he rightly choses plans that are more destructive in terms of property damage if they result in less loss of life. He wants to buy time, and of course, he has 100% faith that Gintoki will take care of the mess on earth if they can just give him the time.  He didn’t become Prime Minister for power, he became PM because there was a need for someone to do a lot of thankless work and be hated for it.  I think he’s in his best element when he’s handling jobs that would drive other people crazy, because it’s the only thing that can occupy his mind enough to get him to focus.

Anyway, I could keep going forever, but if I don’t stop I will go forever.  It seems like a lot of people think that Katsura is just a silly character and  trying to assign meaning to his actions ruins that, but I think they can both be true. He’s a brilliant war hero with  a traumatic past and crippling PTSD (I actually think he has CPTSD because of the homelessness, but that’s also another post)  and he’s also a goofy dumbass who manages to get through life despite having no self awareness.  He’s both.  Get you a guy that can do both.

Anyway, just my personal views and not to be taken as my argument that these things are canon.

[scritch-scratches]

Gecko

WIP dump: persona 5

An exploration into my favorite quest line! WIP, unedited, unpolished

Kaoru had been subtly chased out of Untouchable enough times to know how this visit would go, but he felt compelled to try. He wanted to be useful, to do what he could to ease the financial burdens on his dad.

Did they have financial problems? Probably, maybe? They had to, even if his dad didn’t talk about any of them. Dad had looked stressed, recently, a tiredness lingering in the edges of his face even when he forced a smile over dinner. They had been going out less and spending less time together, and Kaoru knew it had to be his own fault.

Even so, he never felt nervous walking into the store; it was home away from home, a place undeniably belonging to his dad and him. Even if Kaoru didn’t understand most of what they sold, didn’t connect with most of the customers, he used to always be comfortable in there.

Recently, though, his dad had been stricter about keeping out.

Walking in today, though, was different, and that made Kaoru anxious.

Someone else was in the store. Behind the counter, talking with his dad. And Kaoru realized too late, because the door was already open, the bell jingling, and his dad’s sharp eyes were cutting through him.

“He-hello.” Kaoru stuttered, suddenly feeling like he’d walked in on something he shouldn’t have. His dad’s stare was burning, so he looked at the other instead. A teenager, older than Kaoru, peered back at Kaoru from under his thick, unruly bangs and thick-rimmed spectacles, notably more curious than aggressive.

“I thought I told you to stop comin’ around here anymore.” His dad said, like they do in movies.

Kaoru shook his head in protest. “But…” He wanted to be useful, and he couldn’t do that while studying in his room. But he couldn’t find the right words to express that to his dad.

The teenager glanced between Kaoru and his dad and then asked in a plain voice, “Is this a customer?”

“You shut up. Ain’t none of you business.” Surprisinly, the teenager barely reacted to his dad’s harsh tone, just raised an eyebrow and went back to polishing the display case. His dad turned back to him with a softer expression, but still strict. “Just go home n’ study Kaoru. You got entrance exams comin’ up, remember?”

“Ok. I guess I’ll be going then.”

He screwed up again, somehow.

Later that night, when they settled down for dinner of leftover takeout from the day before, he finally got a chance to ask his dad about the stranger in the store.

“That kid? That’s my new part-timer. Don’t mind ‘im.”

“Is he a highschooler?”

“Yeah. Shujin, I think.”

“Really?” Shujin was the highschool that the Phantom Thieves had first appeared at. The knowledge caused a rush of excitement to creep down Kaoru’s back. That teenager probably knew all about it. Lucky.

“You know it? Ah, right, it’s been in the news lately, eh.”

“The Phantom Thieves took down an creepy teacher there.”

“Those ‘change your heart’ guys, huh?”

“I wonder if he knows anything about them…”

“When did you become a fan? I dunno the kid’s opinion on ‘em, but I should get you two together sometime.”

Kurusu helped out at the store often. His dad didn’t often actually talk about his work day, but Kaoru could always tell when Kurusu had worked a shift, because his dad came back more relaxed and cheery than usual. Sometimes, his mood was even celebratory.

Whatever type of person Kurusu was, he was lightening his dad’s day, and Kaoru didn’t really know how to feel about that. He was glad his dad was enjoying his work more and that he was making a friend, but Kaoru couldn’t help but wonder why he couldn’t have the same effect. All Kaoru ever did was make his dad more worried, even when he was trying to help.

We’re eatin’ out.

Just a simple text made him so happy it was embarressing.

Imma be late. Akira’s waiting 4 u outside the shop.

Oh. So they weren’t going alone.

As promised, Kurusu was outside Untouchable, spinning the store’s keys around his fingers. He noticed Kaoru immedietely and raised a hand in welcome. His fingers, long and slender, were calloused and roughened. Kaoru couldn’t help but think the callouses looked like his dad’s, but fresher, less softened by time and inactivity.

Akira was a quiet person, and Kaoru was uncomfortable with that for the first thirty minutes and struggled to make conversation about his dad’s lateness.

Then, when it became apparent that his dad wasn’t going to show up anytime soon, Kaoru reminded himself about how happy Kurusu made his dad. The thought made him relax a little.

Kurusu had a soft, easy demeanor: he leaned on the table between them with both elbows in attentiveness. It made Kaoru feel like his earlier impatience had been silly; Kurusu, despite his concise speech, was obviously devoting his whole attention to their conversation.

Nothing Kaoru said was judged, or felt awkward. He felt like he could tell Kurusu anything, and he was pretty sure his dad felt the same way.

If anyone knew what was going on with his dad, Kaoru would bet it was Kurusu.

Kurusu rubbed his neck, and Kaoru suddenly remembered the tattoo on his dad’s. It was funny, it was easy to forget the tattoo was there when he saw it everyday. Easy to forget why his dad got it.

Their family gecko, huh.

Crap, Kaoru was an idiot. No wonder his dad made him study so much, being this thick.

So, Akira was a Phantom Thief. Like, the Phantom Thief. The leader. The elader who faked his death and challenged the most powerful man in the country, and won.

Jeez, Kaoru’s family was the coolest.

“This is my little sister, Sakura Futaba. She’ll be a first-year at Shujin too.”

Futaba is an interesting girl, in that she inspires equal amounts of aggravation and sympathy in everyone she meets. She’s tiny, more long ginger hair than flesh and bone, and probably the smartest person Kaoru will ever meet. She and Akira are nothing alike, except for their almost identical big glasses and unyielding rebellious spirit.

Futaba is obviously lonely with Akira so far away, and it shows. She doesn’t quite get along well with Kaoru’s friends, too difficult and stubborn, but he and Kana do, so its fine.

On the third day, some second years tried to pick a fight with them.

For a half a minute, Kaoru thought something along the lines of ‘my dad’s gonna kill me for getting in a fight, after he kills these guys’ before Sakamoto stormed in with a scowl that could quail thunderstorms.

“What the hell do you punks think you’re doing?” He snarled, and the bullies were quickly on the backpedal. Kaoru could understand why, because Sakamoto looked fierce, his head crowned in golden spikes and with obvious muscle shifting under his uniform.

Sakamoto plopped a hand on both Futaba’s head and Kaoru’s shoulder, giving the bullies an incredulous look. “You guys realize who these two’s aniki is right? Kurusu Akira. “Better remember that next time you want trouble.”

The bullies ran away real fast after that.

Being associated with Akira and his known partner-in-crime changed things a little. Nobody tried to mess with Kaoru anymore, but his classmates were a little more wary of him too (his dad found that hilarious, and it kind of was). The teachers, though, seemed to like him more for it, which manifested in getting called on more in class and a good chance at getting a spot in the student council. Akira encouraged him to pursue it, and pointed to his friend Nijima, former Student President, for advice.

That had his dad looking like a chicken that laid a golden egg.