#benizakura arc

[ella390-the-potato]

Is Katsura...?

a. Striking the Harusame

b. Striking a Pose

Celebrating Gintama's 20th Anniversary by finally finishing this piece, which has been a work in progress for YEARS!

[regnigt]

Gintama shortfic, angst, TakaZura

[This ficlet might see some reworking - I'm particularly unsure about the title. As always, feedback is very welcome!]

Working Title: Never Get Between Two Parties In A Divorce Character: Katsura Pairing: Takasugi/Katsura, but it’s a post-break-up fic Spoilers/Setting: Set after the Benizakura arc, no spoilers beyond it Genre/flavour: Angst Word count: about 600

There is, for no clear reason, a faint taste of iron in Katsura’s mouth as he steps out into the early morning to put out the burnable rubbish in time for the garbage truck. The streets are all but deserted apart from stray cats and the odd stumbling drunk. As he puts down the garbage bag, he spots the last of his used bandages inside it. At the top of the trash bag he spots the last of his bandages. He’s all healed up again, now, over two weeks since the Benizakura were destroyed and defeated.

Katsura straightens up, looks up into the sky over Edo, clear and blue. There’s no wound on his chest or his back anymore, just the familiar weight of the old notebook. Torn through.

It would soon have happened anyway, he tells himself, sighing over the fact that he can’t stop himself from sighing. He was never yours to save. It’s not a very cold morning. Yet he shivers.

The cuts were one thing. The slashes had been mutual, even if one were dealt out by a crazed underling and the other dealt in defence of the young ones. Still – one horizontal, the other vertical, slashing the notebooks – it was chilling, yet almost clean, in a way. But… that smirk on Takasugi’s face as he revealed that he’d sold them out, Gintoki and him, to the enemy -- and not even to the Shogunate, but to those filthy, drug-dealing Amanto pirates -- Katsura can feel the bitter rage bubbling up again at that recent memory, his hands forming into fists momentarily.

No use in that, he realizes, pushing it down. Letting his mind wander that way will just put him off his breakfast, which would be a shame, since Elizabeth has improved so much at cooking traditional food recently.

Another deep sigh, then he puts his arms into his sleeves and turns back to the house, walking up the steps at a slow pace. Old scents of skin and tobacco and incense fill up his head, old touches of hands and lips – of courage and strength and fury and hatred – they had shared that hatred, he had thought back then, but he understood now that Takasugi had known better. Had perhaps already back then been disappointed in him.

On the first landing, he stops, barking out a sudden, joyless laugh. Maybe what I can’t get over is that he gave up on me so quickly. A villain should try to persuade you to join him on the Dark Side, shouldn’t he? But no. He’d preferred just to end it.

It would have happened anyway. And at least they had made the declaration together, Gintoki and him. Ringing out on that airship deck that was wet with blood. Bright and clear like sun on polished metal.

He wonders how much relief Takasugi had felt, as the Amanto ship he’d just boarded ascended, much higher in the air, perhaps to space; relief to feel the remains of those old bonds falling, torn apart like old rusted chains, tumbling towards the bottom of the dark sea underneath. He must have felt a great deal of it… Otherwise you wouldn’t go to such efforts to tear those bonds apart, would you?

Katsura takes another deep breath, turns the handle of his apartment and walks in to the smell of breakfast. “I’m home.”

The fight goes on, as always. And soon summer will come; then maybe the cold hollow inside his chest will turn just a little warmer.

[gintama-polls]

[theworstbastardhere]

Part 2 of what might have happened to Zura's ponytail after it was cut off.

I'm glad I did the Takazura one first, because this one turned out cuter and I actually ship them. For the record, he doesn't know what's going on with his hair, it's like in anime where you sneeze when people talk about you only he gets feelings when people snuggle his lost ponytail.

As I said on the other post, it's most likely the ponytail ended up with Elizabeth, who buried it when she made the funeral mound for Katsura by the river.

Part one and my diatribe about Takasugi and his love songs about domestic terrorism here:

[itstimetowritecl]

Gintama: A Samurai Story Coping and Self-Acceptance by Finding the Child Within

One thematic element that’s always prevalent in Gintama is preservation of one’s meaning and identity within a world determined to eradicate it. This is especially true for samurai within the series, as Sakata Gintoki, Katsura Kotaru, and Takasugi Shinsuke often find themselves confronted with this philosophical quandary given their lingering trauma from the Joui War’s aftermath. This is especially evident during the Benizakura Arc.

Gintoki, while often pursuing childlike hobbies and engaging in immature behavior, seeks to find manners to cope with a world denying him a normal childhood. Only violence and self-preservation surrounded him. His behavior masks a desire to protect the innocence youth provides, one where loss and trauma have yet to inflict unbearable pain. This includes the loss of his mentor Shouyou who he was forced to murder, a driving factor in his desire to preserve deep bonds with others.

Katsura, known as Edo’s most wanted terrorist and Joui faction leader, believes it is one’s responsibility to protect the country and its founding principles. While his childhood provided some warmth, it was filled with rules and regulations. His lifestyle now is no different; only there are more people to protect. With responsibility comes burden, and thus Katsura’s acts of confusion and silliness allow freedom only a childlike curiosity can provide. If his mind is free to find joy, thus his burdens are gone.

Takasugi, however, chooses a different path from Gintoki and Katsura. While the latter seek to find forgiveness within themselves and thereby find extrinsic meaning, Takasugi refuses to accept the current world and outright rejects it via extreme violence and anger. The Kiheitai leader is unable to forgive the cruelty and unpredictability of life, particularly Shouyou’s death. Thus, he seeks to maintain control by dictating ‘fair’ justice through his own cruelty. There is no innocence or fun in this world, only destruction - that’s all he is here for.

Because Takasugi cannot appropriately cope with loss and anger, he is unable to connect to his inner child and rediscover the youthful happiness that engaging with the outer world and others provides. His hatred is a mere manifestation of his self-hatred and unwillingness to trust in a better future, one with hope and promise. There is no meaning for Takasugi, only suffering. And with this suffering, everyone should suffer, because that’s all this hateful world offers us.

The Benzikura Arc concludes by Gintoki and Katsura rejecting Takasugi’s ambitions of destroying Edo, setting up future conflicts between them. It is a reminder of how important embracing our inner child is, for healing those wounds inflicted by others can only come from self-acceptance within. Those who can find meaning will always stand beside each other, and those who cannot remain alone. Meaning, after all, comes from understanding others.

That is why Takasugi stood alone on the boat.

[vesivoro]

Just finishing the Benizakura arc and nobody can't tell me it doesn't fuck

[wehavecometoanend--maybe]

when zura is revealed to be alive and shinpachi and kagura beat him up while the kihetai waits to attack... was takasugi just watching? was he like, at any point, like zura, who are these kids. did someone tell him that those are the children zura adopted together with gintoki. was this why the breakup fight had to happen? was it a "I'm filing for divorce and I'm getting back together with our ex. he has kids now. you're NOT invited to their birthday parties."

[whosname]

That’s either a woman with no style or a stupid man

[urmom-jokes-ceo]

OMFG im loving the benizakura arc so much... the whump the feelings... priceless

[fuafurunchi]

he's so cute i just can't- 🥺

😥

this arc is something different, it's just so perfect <3<3<3

[babygray]

Gintama「AMV」- Bakuchi Dancer

[courtesanofdeath]

Pale crimson burns bright as it's polished by the spring breeze. Beaten by the shadows of your urges, full speed dancer, full speed dancer, let's dance.

[regnigt]

Gintama Inktober , Day 19: Favourite villain

I feel rather unoriginal, but it's Takasugi. 🦋 This drawing is based on the last glimpse of him we see in the Benizakura movie, taking off towards the stratosphere right as the ending song Bokutachi no kisetsu starts to play.

[gintama-polls]

Gintama Episode Tourney

Episode 32, "Life Moves On Like a Conveyor Belt" After losing his memory, Gintoki starts working at a factory making Justaways. The second half of the Memory Loss Arc.

Gintama: A New Retelling Benizakura Arc The Benizakura Arc, on the big screen.

[beautiful-fleshy-bisexual]

how dare takagin makes the best covers like this

[2383-lines-of-code]

when gintama gets serious kagura becomes an absolute girlboss