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Read on AO3. Words: 6645 Summary: The dinner party is held. Chapter 15 Chapter 17 Master Post

“This is a surprise, Kaiko. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Priest, my old friend. How’s the cage treating you?”

“There seems to be a shortage of books of late, but I can’t complain otherwise.”

“I’ll see what I can do, then… Either way, I’m here because of Kuzen’s kid. She’s been visiting you again, yeah?”

“Assuming she was, how would she get in? This is a Cochlea cell, not a hotel bedroom.”

“There are always cracks that a worm can struggle through. What does she want?”

“There’s really nothing to say. I’ve had no visitors of late besides my thoughts, my dreams, and my everlasting hatred for our mutual colleague.”

“Dreams, huh? Like seeing your son, maybe?”

“…”

“C’mon, Donato, we’re pals. Old pals, too.”

“… Hm hm hm, so we are. While I have you here— I’ve been quite curious— how has my replacement been? Is Saeki everything to your liking?”

“Torso’s been fine. Bit of an ungrateful bastard, though; been asking for more targets. And when he flounders, he’s way sloppier than you were. But we make do.”

“That’s no surprise; Kuzen’s eye for skill has always been… skewed.”

“Yeah, yeah. Look, I’ve got places to be, so can you answer my question about his kid so I can go?”

“I didn’t realize your time meant so much to me, Kaiko. Why are you pursuing her now? I wasn’t under the impression she was a threat to our— mostly your— bosses’ little schemes.”

“Listen here, you— Fine. Fine. She’s got connections to the Scarecrow. Kijima’s crew sniffed it out. Not much, but it’s dangerous.”

“My, my, the elusive information smuggler… And that’s a problem?”

“A big one. If a controversial figure like her releases even more controversial information, it could be catastrophic! Donato, the whole thing could explode in our faces!”

“Mm, yes, that sounds terrible… But why not stop the flow at its source? The Scarecrow, as I understand it, has been a thorn in your side for the past three or so years… Kill the white rabbit, and Alice becomes lost, no?”

“Donato, the Scarecrow doesn’t have any influence himself. His true identity, whatever it is, is a nobody. So to achieve his mystery goal, he needs to ride the coattails of bigger names.”

“Ah… You’re shrinking the cage until he has nowhere left to run. Amusing.”

“Sure. ‘Course, the bosses aren’t the brightest bulbs in the room, so it’s up to my branch to figure things out and settle this quietly. After Nimura’s colossal blunder with Tsuneyoshi and Yoshitoki— perfect waste of a good mind, too— we gotta get back into their good graces.”

“Yes, Souta is sorely missed, as Roma never tires of telling me.”

“So… you’ll help me?”

“You believe I hold the information you want?”

“For the love of— Look, Priest, do you wanna see your son or not? I’d rather not resort to usin’… heavier means on Kuzen’s little girl, but I will if it means keepin’ my fuckin’ job.”

“… Very well. She was with someone last time.”

“Alright, now we’re getting somewhere! Who was it? What’d they look like? Why was—”

“Patience, Kaiko. His name was—”

———

“Haise,” Sen got his attention, “You alright?”

“Hm? Oh, uh, yeah, I’m okay.” Haise scratched his cheek. “Just a little nervous, is all.”

“You’re nervous? I’m the one meeting a shitton of new people!” She laughed, leaning against their linked arms. “And under the shadow of death, of all things!”

“P-Please don’t say that when we get there…”

It was another weekend night, and the two of them had met at a station in the 10th ward. The get-together for Kurona was to be held at Kimi and Nishiki’s place. It was to mainly be a distraction above all else.

Haise was, for all intents and purposes, fine, but the revelations from Cochlea still weighed heavy on his mind. Nashiro, Ryouko, and countless others, all killed needlessly by what Shachi called V.

Like the Roman numeral for five. The fifth major arcana— the Hierophant.

It almost sounded fake. Like maybe the plot point of a B-movie. Something that Hide would have enjoyed back in college— the kind that dealt with shadowy puppet organizations and the ‘real enemy’. It was borderline childish to think that all of the world’s problems— or at least, all of Japan’s problems— really stemmed from a single source.

But Haise couldn’t ignore Shachi’s stories, corroborated by public lobbying records. Donations made to certain political parties. Convenient bills that became law, and record profits from said laws. It lined up too well to be a coincidence. People in positions of power were starved with greed, and they were sating it by gorging themselves on the remains of innocent lives.

And Sen, with their story, wanted to destroy them.

“I’ve been collecting interviews these past few years,” she had told him. “They’ll be released along with the book.”

The Hanged Man’s MacGuffin had only been the beginning. Certainly, Sen’s reputation had tanked with older and more traditional audiences, but her clearer stance, compared to her other works, had highlighted who she should be targeting. That was why she was willing to create a graphic novel; to literally illustrate her point better.

“I’m glad, you know,” she said, leaning affectionately against Haise’s arm. Nishiki and Kimi’s place wasn’t far away now.

“How so?” he asked.

“You’ve been a most willing participant in my little scheme.”

“‘Little’?” he repeated, baffled. “I looked up each of the families involved, and they’re… they’re everywhere.”

Hospitals, airways, food production, entertainment, law enforcement, law— V had its claws sunk into nearly every aspect of everyday life. To attack even one of them and succeed seemed impossible.

“But we’re not targeting everywhere; just the Washuu.” She shrugged. “Attacking their chokehold on law enforcement’s a good first step. It won’t solve everything, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

“I… see.” At least, he thought he did. Casting a wide net did risk being spread too thin. “But won’t releasing the information destroy your reputation?”

“I never cared much for that.” She played with the sleeve of his jacket. “But if you must know, I have accomplices that’ll release the information in my stead, all anonymous.”

He hummed in understanding.

“Besides—” she stopped and turned him by the shoulders— “there’s someone else I need to look out for.”

Haise’s first instinct was to ask who, but when Sen fixed his jacket and brushed off some lint, he flushed. “A-Ah…”

“It wouldn’t do if you couldn’t capitalize off your big break.” She smiled.

“But… But you’ve been working on this for a while, haven’t you?” He reached out to brush some of her hair out of the way. “I-I don’t want to get in the way if it means—”

She stopped him with her palm. “Oh no, you don’t.” She laced their fingers together, lowering them. “You won’t be attached to me forever, you know.”

He blinked, recalling what he’d said to her a few months back. Working alone, building his own reputation and following, setting down a path separate from her… That was, in some part, what he had envisioned for himself. The ability to be a solo act, free from the shadow of Sen Takatsuki, so that they could stand together as equals, under the sun, when he returned. So that she could respect him as much as he respected her.

“Sen…” Haise put his other hand over hers, smiling slightly. “I won’t leave you.”

Now he knew he didn’t have to; he didn’t need to be anything besides himself. Sen already respected him. Him, Haise Sasaki, the artist. Her artist.

She looked up at him now, blinking. “Oh, uh…” In the face of vulnerability, she had a habit of stumbling on her words. “I, um… I’d like that.”

When he kissed her head in approval, she shrunk into herself, a dark shade of red coloring her cheeks. She practically dragged him the rest of the way to their destination, too shy to show her face.

Kimi and Nishiki’s place wasn’t large, but it was a house, which was impressive in and of itself. A simple two-floor house, with beige walls and a dark square roof, as well as a simple paved yard leading up to the front door. A placard reading “Nishino” was on the gate, denoting who owned it.

Haise sent a text to Nishiki to say that they’d arrived, but when the door opened, it wasn’t his former coworker.

“Hey, Sauce!!” Hide said, jogging over to open the gate. The nickname was sort of growing on Haise, much as he didn’t want to admit.

“Hide!” He waved back, then stepped aside to make room for Sen. “I, uh… I brought her!”

Strangely enough, Hide’s grin dimmed, which only happened when he was cautious of someone. Haise thought to ask if he was okay— had they been stalked?— but the moment passed as quickly as it appeared. “Cool! So you’re Takatsuki?”

Sen stuck out her hand. “Sen’s just fine. It’s good to finally meet you in person, Hide.”

It happened again, but this time with Sen. Haise had spent enough time with her to know when she was wary of someone. But this was Hide, his best friend in the whole world; why was she like that now?

“Likewise,” Hide said, clasping her hand and giving a firm shake. “Been looking forward to this for a while.”

However, before Haise could ask either of them if they were okay, an interruption with glasses and a wool sweater appeared in the front door.

“Oi, Hide!” Nishiki called. “The fuck you doin’ out there? Bring ‘em in!”

“N-Nishiki!!” Haise shelved his thoughts at the sight of his old coworker. “Hey!”

He took the opportunity to take Sen by the hand and take her to the door, making her giggle in surprise. He also shot Hide, following behind, a quizzical glance, but Hide just gave an indifferent shrug. Haise made a note to confront him about it later.

Sen put on her usual smile. “Hi!”

Nishiki waved back. “Yo! You’re the elusive girlfriend, eh? Name’s Nishiki— pleasure. Used to man the counters with your little boytoy there.”

“Nishiki!” Haise hissed.

But Sen just laughed. “Customer service, huh? Sounds like hell.”

“Worse, actually.” He shrugged, but clapped a hand on Haise’s shoulder. “But this stupid idiot sometimes made it fun.”

“Y-You’re just being nice…” Haise scratched his cheek.

“And you’re just bein’ humble.” Nishiki stepped aside. “Get inside; it’s fuckin’ cold.”

Haise glanced at the shoes at the entrance. This was a surprisingly loaded gathering, and he swallowed. It was one thing for him to attend this sort of thing, and another to have to proactively introduce his girlfriend to everyone.

He felt Sen squeeze his hand. When he looked at her, her mouth was a thin line. Knowing he wasn’t alone, he squeezed back, trying to give her a reassuring smile. It was anything but, but she chuckled anyway.

They took it slow, getting her introduced to everyone in bits and quickly slipping away with irrelevant subjects. There was Kimi, Juuzou, Takizawa, Yoriko, and then Amon. Haise tensed up when introducing Sen to him, as he remembered Amon being friends with someone named ‘Mado’, but it didn’t come up.

As for Kurona, she seemed to be doing well; the gathering, plus the novelty of Sen’s appearance, was a good distraction from everything. People were clearly steering away from gloomier subjects, at least for tonight.

“It’s almost infuriating how good she has it,” Sen mumbled at one point.

Haise blinked. “How so?”

They had claimed their own little space in the kitchen, far enough away to have a hushed and private conversation.

“Friends willing to help her, a place like this to crash at— a support system,” she elaborated. “Infuriating.”

Juuzou was showing off a small party trick by balancing a shot glass on his nose. He took a second one, flicked it into the air, and then caught it perfectly in the first. Cheers and applause went around the room, and Kurona whistled.

“What about Big Bin and the others?” Haise asked. “Aren’t they—”

“I wasn’t talking about them.” She sighed. “I meant… before them. Before Shiono.”

The 8th ward. “O-Oh…” Haise twiddled his thumbs. “He told me you were at an orphanage.”

She nodded. “Not the greatest place to be. Big surprise, I know. No one really got along with anyone, and even when you did, well…” She brushed off the memories like dust. “Either way, the only person that could understand me was me; everyone else was a terrible liar.”

It struck a chord within Haise as Takizawa tried— then failed— to replicate the same trick. He apologized profusely to a laughing Kimi as he swept up the glass, much to the amusement of the others.

“Sometimes I wish I’d gone to school. Maybe I would’ve found someone there.”

Haise shook his head. “I wouldn’t count on it.”

“Oh?” She tossed a curious glance his way.

“Well… In grade school, after my mother died, a lot of the teachers were extremely accommodating toward me… It was almost smothering— and fake.” He scratched his cheek. “And all of the kids, except maybe Hide, started hating me too— because they’d get in trouble for bullying me. It only got better once everyone stopped caring.”

Amon was on the floor as well, searching for any stray glass shards Takizawa might have missed. He mumbled something about an ‘Akira’ and how grateful he was for her lack of presence. Takizawa seemed to agree.

“We’ve all got our own share of problems, then, hm?” Sen nudged Haise. “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

“It’s not all bad,” he replied. “I mean, even if it was bad at the time, it was still important.”

“Hmph. You’re too kind for your own good.” Her soft expression betrayed the words. “But sometimes, bad things aren’t important at all, yet they still change you, and for the worse.”

He wanted to ask her what she meant, but just then, new visitors arrived: Kaya, Ayato, Touka, and—

“Hina!” Haise said.

Hina beamed. “Haise!” she said, and hugged him.

She’d taken to his new name incredibly quickly; she also appreciated the construction far more than Hide or Touka did. She even caught the characters for ‘false’ and ‘king’ that made up the first half, which Haise hadn’t had happen yet. Truly one of a kind.

“Good to see you.” He grinned at her. “I’ve brought someone for you to meet.”

Sen smiled and waved. “Hello!”

Hina’s jaw dropped. “Y-Y-You’re… You’re Sen Takatsuki!”

Sen’s smile, once a mere performance, widened with real amusement. “That I am. And you are?”

The poor girl, usually brimming with quiet confidence, now looked ready to either melt from how she was sweating or freeze from how much she was shaking. “F-Fue… Um, H-Hinami…”

“Fuehi Nami?” Sen tilted her head innocently. Now she was just messing with the poor girl. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a name quite like that. How’s it spelled? Oh, lemme guess! ‘Fue’… ‘Fue’ as in ‘flute’ and… ‘hi’ as in ‘fire’!”

“N-No! I-I mean, that’s— Well, erm, I meant that—” Hina stumbled over her words, picking at her fingers anxiously. “It’s, um, It’s actually Hinami. Hinami Fueguchi…”

Haise would have felt bad for her if it wasn’t so entertaining… Wait, ‘entertaining’? Sen was rubbing off on him more than he thought; perhaps there really was something to her when she called her influence ‘monstrous’.

Sen, for the first time since arriving, gasped excitedly. “So you’re Hina! Oh, it’s so good to finally meet you! Ayato’s told me a lot.”

“H-He— Really?” Hina’s expression, once fearful, turned oddly curious.

“Yes! Did you like my autograph?”

She tilted her head. “A-Autograph…? Wait—”

Haise’s brow raised. So that was what the resort autograph was.

Another gasp. “You mean he didn’t give it to you?! It’s been months!” Sen practically glared at Ayato. “Ayato!!”

Ayato, who had dodged Sen and Haise to browse the snack rack with Juuzou, looked up at the sound of his name. When he saw who called it and who she was standing with, he went pale.

“Oh, he looks terrified.” She grabbed Hina by the arm. “Let’s go say hi.”

Hina flushed the reddest color Haise had ever seen. “W-What? M-Ms. Takatsuki, wait a—”

It was too late; they were already across the room. Hina shot Haise a pleading glance, but he just smiled sheepishly back. Hopefully, things were less embarrassing for her than it was for him and Sen. Surely she’d be more sympathetic to Hina’s plight than Miza and the Bins.

Now alone, someone nudged his shoulder. “Psst,” Touka whispered, like they were part of some conspiracy. “Got a moment?”

His brow furrowed. “Uh, sure…?”

He glanced at Kaya, who wet her lips in a grimace. “It’s… It’s important,” was all she said before walking back out.

His gaze found Sen again, who was busy happily chatting with Hina and a disgruntled Ayato. She’d be fine for a bit, he thought, and followed Touka outside.

Enji was there, and with him was—

“Mr. Yoshimura! E-Enji!” Haise was at his side in an instant. “You’re here!”

“Hey!” Enji waved and grinned. “It’s been a while.”

The manager’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Kaneki, it’s good to see you again.”

The sound of Haise’s old name gave him pause. He’d been called Haise or Sasaki for months at this point, so hearing ‘Kaneki’ again was— strange. He shook it off, however; this was Mr. Yoshimura! It didn’t matter what he called Haise so long as he was here.

“What’re you doing here?” Haise asked as he approached.

Mr. Yoshimura’s smile faded slightly, replaced with something a bit more… pensive. Maybe even a bit wistful or bittersweet. “That’s exactly why I asked you to come out here.”

Haise tilted his head. “Alright, but… what’s wrong?”

Mr. Yoshimura glanced at the others. “Please, enjoy the party; this is a… personal matter between Kaneki and myself.”

Enji and Kaya pursed their lips, but they headed in. Touka stayed where she was for a bit longer, before patting Haise’s shoulder and following. Now it was just him, Mr. Yoshimura, and the chill of an early winter night.

“A-Are you sure you don’t want to talk about this inside?” Haise offered. “I’m sure we could get a private room somewhere if—”

“No, no, that… I cannot head in just yet.” Mr. Yoshimura sighed. “I cannot head in because… It concerns your… your partner.”

“Sen?” Now Haise was really confused. “I-I’m sure you’ll get along fine with her; she’s actually really nice, and—”

“Kaneki.” Mr. Yoshimura put up his hand. “She is my daughter.”

A frigid gust, much colder than those before it, blew through the area. “She’s your…? She’s your what?”

Haise had to assume he misheard. Like, Sen was actually Mr. Yoshimura’s dinner, and he was secretly a cannibal, while Kaya and Enji were fetching him his sorely needed food! Or maybe, ‘She is my dragon’! Sen was a shapeshifting magical creature, and Mr. Yoshimura was covering for her as a kind soul! Surely Haise didn’t hear that she was actually Mr. Yoshimura’s—

“My daughter,” Mr. Yoshimura repeated, and the impossible impossibilities crumbled like ash. “I am… her father.”

Sen had never talked about her biological father. Even at the resort, she had only ever talked about Noroi, and it was Shiono who had mentioned that her biological father was even alive. But the idea that he was hiding under Haise’s nose— within his more positive memories, too— was… He didn’t know how to describe it.

“In all likelihood, she does not want to see me,” Mr. Yoshimura said. “I have… hurt her.”

Haise could only imagine how. He had never been given up before, not really, but knowing that someone chose not to take care of you had to be rough. Not only that, but it was Mr. Yoshimura who had made that choice.

Mr. Yoshimura, who had given Haise shelter when he needed it most. Mr. Yoshimura, who had given Touka and Ayato the chance to go to school.

Mr. Yoshimura, who was like the father Haise never had— caring, supportive, and loved by all who knew him.

Except for Sen, who was deprived of the chance.

Haise hesitated. “But… Do you want to see her?”

Mr. Yoshimura paused, then chuckled softly. “What sort of father doesn’t want to see his daughter?”

That was all Haise needed to hear. He stood behind Mr. Yoshimura and grabbed the push handles of his wheelchair. “Alright, then. I’ll take you to her.”

Mr. Yoshimura looked up at him, surprised at first, then smiled. “Thank you, Kaneki.”

Haise gave a reassuring nod and pushed him in. Once inside, he went ahead and quickly located Sen, who was chatting rather amicably with Touka now. Good; he didn’t know what he would do if she was tense around both his best friends.

Sen, as if she sensed his gaze, locked eyes with him and grinned. She dropped whatever conversation she had with Touka and immediately trotted over to him.

“Hina’s just adorable!” she said before he could speak, giggling. “I wish I’d met her sooner! I’ve always wanted a kid sister to dote on…”

Haise gave a glance over and found Hina, who was standing completely still, cheeks red with embarrassment. Next to her was Ayato, who wasn’t faring much better. Neither seemed inclined to say anything, but neither did they look like they wanted to leave each other’s side.

“Uh, Sen,” Haise was still looking, “what did you do over there?”

“Oh, you know how it is. A push here, a gift there— nothing crazy.” She smirked to herself. “Turns out our lighting kiddo brought Hina’s personal copy of Monochrome Rainbow for me to sign! Fancy that.”

“Oh, wow.” Haise laughed. That was… actually really sweet. Go, Ayato.

“Anyway, you look like you want to ask something, so go on.”

At least she gave him a window, more or less. He cleared his throat. “There’s one more person I’d like you to meet,” he said. “Someone really important.”

She raised a brow. “Alright…”

He took her hand, trying to look reassuring. “I-It’s nothing bad, I promise!” Even as he said so, he rubbed his chin.

She frowned, but didn’t push the issue. He led her to Mr. Yoshimura, who was waiting near the entrance. He swallowed at the sight of Sen.

“This, um…” Haise hesitated suddenly. What if something went wrong? What if this was a mistake? Could he afford such a thing? Between Sen and Mr. Yoshimura, could he choose one over the other?

… No, it was going to be fine; there wasn’t going to be a choice. Even if Mr. Yoshimura had hurt Sen in the past, it was nothing the two of them couldn’t overcome.

“This is Mr. Yoshimura,” he said with confidence. “He’s my old manager from—”

“From Anteiku,” Sen finished, all traces of her smile gone. “So that’s where you’ve been rotting all this time.”

Mr. Yoshimura pursed his lips.

Haise quickly realized the mistake he made. “A-Alright, um, Sen, why don’t we—”

“Pretty gutsy for you to show up to this thing.” She was glaring now, and her voice was raising. “You have no shame, Kuzen, you know that?”

“S-Sen, you’re—” Haise tried to intervene again.

It didn’t work. “Have you come to apologize, then?”

Mr. Yoshimura sighed. “I don’t want to fight, $%@.”

%*]? Who was that?

He continued. “But yes, I have. When I heard Kaneki was bringing you, I knew I had to at least try.” He bowed his head. “I’m… I’m sorry, #\*. For hurting you, and for—”

“I don’t want your apology,” Sen spat. “I don’t care about your apology. You had a thousand chances to apologize and took none of them. I was talking about your apology to Kurona.”

“^]-…”

“She’s a really sweet girl, and amazingly intelligent— Valedictorian of Iba University, kendo champion, and making a number of strides in the field of agriculture. Fascinating stuff.” She shook her head. “But of course, you didn’t know any of that; you were too busy patting yourself on the back for a dusty old achievement you gave to yourself.”

Someone approached them: Touka. She’d been eavesdropping. “Hey,” she said, glancing behind her as the conversations grew quieter. “If you guys are gonna do this, then—”

“Touka!” Sen grinned emptily. “Great timing. Your manager here was just getting ready to apologize to Kurona. Weren’t you, Mr. Manager?”

Mr. Yoshimura’s grip on his armrest tightened. “I—”

“Sen,” Haise tried not to hiss. “I really don’t think—”

But again, he went ignored. “Kurona, dear!!” Sen called, commanding the attention of the room. “‘Mr. Yoshimura’ here has something to say to you!”

Kurona’s brow furrowed. “Uh, what?”

Hide, very suddenly, also stood up. “Hey, guys! Let’s—”

“Do you wanna tell her, or should I?” Sen leaned toward Mr. Yoshimura. “It’s the least you can do after everything. This whole thing is your fault, after all.”

“What’s she talking about?” Kurona asked.

“Don’t do this, =|<;,” Mr. Yoshimura said. “That was a long time ago, and I had to protect you.”

Sen barked out a laugh. “Protect me? Protect me?! Is throwing me into a homeless shelter with your disgraced colleague, one you didn’t dare look in the eye until it was convenient to you— is that ‘protecting’ me?! Is impregnating a woman half your age and letting her die because she ‘knew too much’ ‘protecting’ me?! Is it, Dad?!”

“Sen!” Haise put his foot down. “You’re making a scene!”

She turned on him, practically jabbing her finger into his neck. “I’ll make a scene all I fucking want,” she growled. “The man who hired the Torso deserves to be ridiculed.”

If the room wasn’t quiet before, it was now. Amon’s face went white as a sheet. Takizawa, mid-drink, choked. Juuzou and Kimi stared at Sen. Hina shrunk into herself, and Ayato gripped her hand instinctively. Hide held his breath and looked away, and Touka, though her expression was carefully neutral, looked like she was about to bite her lip off.

And then there was Kurona, who was staring right at Mr. Yoshimura. “What…?”

Sen looked back at Mr. Yoshimura, a gleeful look on her face. “That is why you came here, right? To confess? You wouldn’t actually show up here just to offer your condolences and leave, would you? Like it wasn’t your fault?”

“Oi, oi…” Nishiki said, hands up in the air. “You’re… You’re just messing with us, right, Sen? Shitty joke, but I mean— Mr. Yoshimura, tell us she’s joking.”

Haise waited for a response. It had to be a joke; it just had to. Mr. Yoshimura wouldn’t do that. He was the one who rehabilitated the Devil Apes and Black Dobers with kindness and love! He had taken Touka and Ayato into his home, giving them the supplies they needed to succeed in school, and then did the same for Hina years later. He had sat down across from Haise, a broken soul, and put him back together.

There was no way someone so wonderful and kind and loving could have such a direct connection to the Torso. Right?

“I mean, imagine having the audacity to show up to a funeral as the one who hired the killer.” Sen checked her nails, chuckling. “But you’re the beloved Mr. Yoshimura, right? You wouldn’t do that.”

Yet, with this impossible possibility, the last piece of the puzzle that was the 8th ward fell into place. Donato’s arrest, after being free for decades. Sen, let go without a stain on her record. The Torso’s near-decade long streak of crimes.

Donato’s words echoed in Haise’s mind:

“Sometimes, Haise, when confronting a ‘child’, one must explore the circumstances of the ‘parent’.”

A moment passed, then another. Mr. Yoshimura gripped the armrests for dear life, struggling to come up with a response. However, his silence answered for him.

“Oh my God,” Kurona said finally. “You killed Shiro. It… It was you.”

Amon immediately put a firm hand on her shoulder. “Kurona, don’t. He’s just an—”

“How could you?” She shrugged his hand off and made her way around the kitchen table. “Shiro was… Shiro was…!”

Juuzou stood up. “Oh, boy.” He took out his phone and made a call. “Yeah, Hanbee? Uh, gonna need a ride. Fast, if you can.”

“Kuro, Kuro.” Takizawa tried to block her way. “L-Let’s calm down, and think this through—”

“I’LL KILL YOU!!” Kurona lunged forward at Mr. Yoshimura, but was held back by an agile Nishiki and Touka. “SHE WAS ALL I HAD LEFT!!!”

Haise, amidst the chaos, saw a smirking Sen flit out the door. He wanted to immediately follow, but Kurona had to be restrained first.

“YOU SLIMY OLD BASTARD, HOW COULD YOU?!” she screamed. “YOU’RE FUCKING DEAD! YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD!!!”

Enji immediately took action and got Mr. Yoshimura out of the house.

“LET ME GO!!” Kurona struggled, but Touka and Nishiki held fast. “LET ME GO, PLEASE!! I HAVE TO— SHIRO CAN’T JUST—! LET ME GO! TOUKA!!!”

Hina went to her, staying in her vision the entire time. “Kurona, Kurona,” she said, keeping her focused. “Listen to me. I know how you feel—”

“SHE WAS MURDERED!!” Kurona sobbed, but without her target in sight, she struggled less and less. “Shiro was… taken from me… You don’t… You’ll never understand…”

Touka and Nishiki let her down gently as she clung to either of them for support.

“I know how that feels,” Hina repeated. “My mother was taken from me too. Expensive surgeries that would have left her— us— debt-ridden for years…” In a rare show of anger, she scowled. “Because we were poor, she had to die. So I— I know how you feel.”

Kurona curled up into a ball on the floor. “First Dad, then Shiro. What do I…?”

Juuzou knelt down beside her and patted her back awkwardly. It seemed to help, like a familiar and comforting sensation. Her sobs were dry, but she wasn’t struggling anymore.

Touka, now free, came up to Haise, who’d been watching like a complete idiot. “The fuck are you still doing here?” she whispered.

“W-Well I— I thought maybe I could—” he stammered, unable to really answer.

“Get out! Right now!” She was already pushing him out the door. “Find Sen, stupid!”

“R-Right!” He bolted down the street toward the station.

—

He found Sen just a few blocks down; she was stalking down the sidewalk with her hands stuffed into her pockets.

“Sen!!!” he called. “Sen!!!!”

She slowed just enough for him to catch up. “Oh,” she said as soon as she saw him.

He stopped before her to catch his breath. He could do this; just… talk. He could do that, right? This was Sen; she’d listen to him.

“Come to drag me back?” She watched him, unamused. “I won’t apologize.”

He stood up straight. “But you can’t… You can’t just say something like that and— and leave!”

“Funny, because I just did.” She turned on her heel, about to leave.

“I-I’m serious!” He grabbed her sleeve. “You really shouldn’t have said what you said.”

“Why? Because he’s your precious manager?” She yanked away. “Because you have good memories of him? Because he’s your father?!”

He recoiled slightly. “I— This isn’t about that. This is about Kurona.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I gave Kurona a target. A perfectly good means of channeling her anger.”

“A person isn’t a target!” Haise argued. “And what good will her anger do? Kurona’s not like you! She doesn’t—”

“And how do you know what she’s like, hm?” Sen gestured toward Kimi and Nishiki’s house. “Would you prefer she remain in ignorance her whole life? Would you prefer that she just never learn about V’s oppression, never realizing that her loved ones were killed by some stupid control freaks? Would you rather she just descend into her sorrow and become an empty husk?!”

“I didn’t say that! I’m saying that she was going to hurt someone the way she learned!” Haise almost wanted to tear his hair out; why was she being so stubborn about this?! “Mr. Yoshimura’s just an old man; doing anything to him is wrong.”

“Well, if you’re so worried about him, then go do something about it! What are you doing out here?!”

“I’m out here because you’re coming back with me!” He reached for her arm. “Things have calmed down a bit, so you’re going to come back and apologize to her, then you’re going to apologize to your father and—”

Her fist suddenly collided with his cheek. If she wasn’t glaring at him before, she was now. There was a flame in her eyes that threatened to incinerate him in the cold.

Haise swayed in his spot, dazed from the impact. It wasn’t nearly as strong as Touka’s punches, but the sting was… familiar.

(Eyes that condemned him for disagreeing. Stubbornness that manifested in a stinging cheek and a dark room.)

“I… I’m sorry,” he said automatically, as though from a script, and he took a step back.

Her eyes wavered, but she didn’t falter, even as she shook out her wrist. Then, in a single motion, she turned and stormed down the street. She didn’t even get the last word, yet somehow, that was worse.

He watched her figure shrink until she disappeared around a corner. He desperately wanted to chase after her, even as memories of undeserved seconds and bloodied paper cranes weighed him down. Instead, he stayed where he was, a frozen icicle in the frigid night.

After a moment, he kicked the nearest wall. All it did was make his foot hurt. Way to go.

He had blown it, because of course he had. Mentioning her father to her face like that?! Unbelievably stupid. Not only was it so arrogant of him to think he could mediate things between Sen and her father, but it was doubly so to think that some no-name artist like himself could even prepare to fix an unfixable mess.

He looked behind him, toward Kimi and Nishiki’s. Everyone had probably cleared out by now, so there was no point in going now. They’d solved everything without him.

He sighed. No matter where he went, he was useless.

So if not there, then where?

Perhaps home; looking at the sky, it was getting late. The 12th ward bordered the 10th, so he didn’t really need to take the train (and risk seeing Sen), but the idea of walking wasn’t appealing, either. Plus, he almost felt like he was being watched here.

No, that was crazy talk. Paranoia feeding on the feelings of failure.

Haise sighed as he journeyed home. The quiet neighborhood became the city, and the empty air filled itself with mindless chatter, cars, and blaring lights. The world kept turning and turning, indifferent to the suffering. Perhaps it was intentional; by never caring, things would hurt less.

Haise stopped on the side of the road.

He wondered if Mr. Yoshimura felt similarly. In an organization like V, how did you deal with being the direct cause of death and destruction? When put that way, perhaps it wasn’t so far-fetched; in order to protect what was right in front of him, Mr. Yoshimura blindly flung the Torso at all of his victims until it blew up in his face.

Haise didn’t even realize a taxi had stopped in front of him. It was only when the driver rolled down the window and spoke that he looked up.

“N-Need a ride, sir? T-T-Tonight’s a special discount… Half off your ride…”

The driver was tall based on how hunched over he was in his seat. He… didn’t look healthy, either, based on his gaunt cheeks, messy black hair, and shaky gaze. It made Haise a little uncomfortable, honestly.

His first instinct would have been to leave, but he didn’t. There could be a story behind that gaze. There was a story behind everything, as Sen liked to say. Stories of tragedy, joy, loss, and triumph. Base assumptions founded on fear were only barriers in the end.

Plus, this driver had been kind enough to give Haise the chance to get home without much of a fuss. He didn’t like the idea of waving down a taxi in the first place; it felt too self-centered, and right now, all he wanted was to be left alone.

But at the same time, some new company could be good for him.

“Alright,” he said, getting into the back.

“S-S-So, where to?” the driver asked, tapping the wheel rhythmically.

“Um, the 12th ward station…” The inside smelled pretty nice… What sort of freshener did the driver use?

“Roger that…” He punched in a few numbers on the dashboard, then took off.

Haise glanced out the window, noting familiar landmarks and trying to see how he might draw them. Water colors, most likely, or maybe he might finally try his hand at sculpture? It would really help bring the buildings to life, and working in 3D space might help him grasp backgrounds a bit better.

He fought a yawn, but something about the evening was lulling him to sleep.

“L-L-Long day, hm?” the driver asked.

“Something like that…” Haise mumbled in response. He was just fine earlier, but it seemed the adrenaline was wearing off, leaving him bordering on lethargic.

“I-I feel you.” The driver tittered. “B-B-Bosses have been grilling me over an open f-f-fire for the past couple d-days… I messed up pretty bad, a-and they’re tryna clean up my m-mess.”

Haise wasn’t really paying attention, but he bobbed his head in a half-nod. He hoped he saw Sen again. Even if he had hurt her irrevocably, she’d taught him so much and tolerated his presence for so long. It felt wrong leaving without at least saying goodbye. There was no way that they’d continue working together, not after this.

“S-S-So I’m gonna h-help them out tonight, after this r-ride…” the driver continued, but his voice sounded strangely distant, like they were holding this conversation across a large tunnel.

Haise felt like he had swam a marathon. Sure, tonight had been exhausting, but not that exhausting. And the scent of the freshener was starting to overwhelm him.

He tried to entertain the driver to at least stay awake; some conversation might distract him from the drowsiness. “What… What did you… do…?” It took effort just to speak. What was going on?

The taxi made a turn. “I-I-I, uh, messed up with a c-client, is all…” The driver sounded a bit eager now. “Sh-She was b-beautiful, but the inquisitive type, y’know? So I sorta b-b-buckled under the pressure… T-Too many questions…”

What a strange coincidence; Nashiro had been an independent journalist of sorts, if Haise recalled correctly. Last he remembered, she was in the 13th ward, just next door…

When Haise glanced up next, he didn’t recognize where they were. He tried to sit up, to say something, but speaking was so… difficult. Plus, he felt so… sleepy…

They slowed to a stop.

“Sorry… Mr. Kaneki…” the driver’s distorted voice said. “Boss’s… orders… y’know?”

“Ungh…” What was happening? Why did he know Haise’s name?

“I-I-I wish chloroform… worked like the movies… Too long… work…”

He wished he could panic, summon the strength to do something, but even those feelings were dampened. But if he did nothing, he was doomed. He had to do something, anything.

He tried to get up, but only collapsed against the leather of the seat. His entire body tingled with numbness. He tried to speak, but only a weak groan came out.

The car door opened, and there was the driver, who said something. But what?

Darkness crept around the corners of Haise’s vision, and he drowned in its embrace.

#bulky one this time huh #thus ends another mini-arc...#blank canvas #writing

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popponn · 4 months

Text

blue lock — fics.

sae

another lazy day. sae was on the sofa, and you played with his hair.

a room of two, in three parts. roommate!au ; sae is one of a kind, indeed, even as a roommate.

weekend news, at night. sae really didn't know how to react when he watched you watching him on tv.

seagull t-shirt. according to rin, sae is insufferable whenever you get involved in anything. this includes the 'ugly seagull t-shirt you bought' topic too.

from the outsider's view. kaiser gets the misfortune of meeting sae and you during a simple trip to the convenience store.

from the roots, to the blooms. [series] [ongoing] in which, itoshi sae falls in love with you, someone who simply isn’t in love with him despite every admiration you hold for him. so, naturally, the answer to this problem is to throw out all the roots of those feelings in his lungs. of course, taking that decision was easier than seeing it through when you, as easy as always, put yourself next to him even closer.

chigiri

pretty boy. once upon a time, chigiri hyoma was a pretty boy who pines. so, of course, he wanted to confess.

kurona

lazy day. kurona ranze loves you even on a slow, lazy day.

rin

a sort of. you (could) always cry beside rin, it's as simple as that.

warm hands. rin is cold, but rin is warm.

the ins and outs. a (bit of) study on how rin might love.

over a sprain. rin tended your sprained leg. grumpily.

after a long while. rin came home, finally.

a boyfriend package. itoshi rin is good at soccer. itoshi rin is not good at jokes and cheering up, but for you, he tries anyway. (aka, you are stressed and rin is there.)

isagi

a long run. isagi yoichi changes a lot after blue lock and carries changes with him.

before sleeping. isagi yoichi wanted to bite you before going to sleep.

a fool in love. downbad!isagi yoichi is a sight to behold, in a lovely handsome disaster kind of way.

soulmate au blurb + scenario. soulmate au!isagi in which of course, he thinks he got lucky and didn't think he will fall, but falls hard anyway.

how one looks. a good love is not blind to your partner's, in this case yoichi's, horrible fashion sense.

late night. isagi was supposed to be sleeping. meanwhile, you were still working.

a bit and more. isagi is an egoist, no matter how sweet he is or tries to be for you.

listener bf. isagi likes to listen to you, a lot.

a seat beside you. as your seatmate, yoichi couldn't help but notice some things about you.

a cushion, two continents away. isagi wishes he could be hugging you right now.

coincidences and flickers. - [series] [ongoing] It was perhaps the way he unwaveringly displays his love to his passion that made your gaze landed upon him. Or maybe it was even less than that and it was simply because the two of you met at that party. Amidst a crowd of elegant dresses and suits, across the product of your craft that you had come to hate. Put it simply, Isagi Yoichi—who loves soccer very much—met you—who used to love painting very much. Then, it went somewhere from there.

nagi

unwilling audience. reo watched two pinning childhood friends, you and nagi.

dating consultations. nagi is a childhood friend and an unwilling dating consultant that still listen to your break up stories.

as classmates, it starts. nagi and you just happens to be classmates, most of the time.

mundane things and where you sit with them. nagi doesn't understand many things (but he does really, really like you.)

reo

a hug and some words. sometimes being comforted means having mikage reo as a boyfriend and hugging him.

a duck and a prince. a story about the oblivous you, the princely reo, and a snowy day.

bachira

bring your boyfriend to work day. you forgot something!!! so he will bring it for you! (kind of.)

aryu

hair and lovers. even if you love him, his hair is a bit too much sometimes.

#navi stuffs

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tim-shii · 1 year

Text

a/n: wrote this in the middle of a math test so sorry if its a mess cuz i was a mess. the test got me fucked up i couldve sworn there were tear stains on my paper </3 n e ways heres a little thing cuz my babygirl is out of the box *weeps*

HE'S EVERYTHING !! you've read it. everything. you're hungry? oh now he's a chef busying himself in the kitchen cooking you a 3 star michelin dish. are you having trouble with your study? don't worry, he knows the material by heart. just sit next to him so he can wrap an arm around you as he hovers over your shoulder closer to point out your mistake. feeling under the weather? he's knocking on your door as soon as possible. plopping down on the mattress, he sits you up leaning on the headboard. even playfully mimicking an airplane while feeding you. going on a date with him? before you can even step out of the car, he's like a footman awaiting your steps off the carriage. by the end of the night, you're completely overwhelmed with love and joy. the bouquet of flowers he gave earlier that was almost taller as you and the ring he gave you during dinner that can pay for the rest of your life. yep. you definitely hit the jackpot on the lover wheel.

geto, megumi, yuuta, nanami ; sae, rin, isagi, barou, reo, yukimiya, karasu, hiori, kunigami ; akaashi, kuroo, osamu, sakusa, kita ++ your favs !!

HE'S JUST KEN !! he's not really the most knowledgeable in terms of ..things but he's the sweetest out there, that's for sure! yeah he may not cook for you or help you study, but who else hugs you so tightly whenever you're down? no other than him of course! heading out for class? don't forget to say goodbye to him so he can tell you how pretty you look before leaving. getting ready for an event tonight? oh? is that him beside you, fingers digging through your make up bag, trying to find the best shade that matches you. with him around, no doubt fun and excitement follows you around. so maybe he's just 'ken' but hey, definitely another jackpot.

gojo, yuuji, inumaki ; bachira, nagi, zantestu, otoya, chigiri, kurona, shidou, raichi ; bokuto, kenma, atsumu, suna ++ your favs !!

likes and reblogs are appreciated! masterlist

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midnight-in-town · 4 years

Note

Do you think Sui Ishida will write a new manga or will he work on some Tokyo Ghoul spin offs? I am rather look forward for something new

Hello Anon!

Ah well, as I already talked about here, if you’re wondering about more TG content, I think the only possibilities are indeed characters’ spin-off (Kurona’s travel to Middle East for example) or a prequel, namely about the events 100 years ago about the Washuu family:

...because a lot of TG’s plot (and even ghoul/hybrid biology with the Sunlit Garden) is linked to this after all.

Besides that though, I find it’d be pushing it a little, because the series and Kaneki’s story definitely ended with :Re ch179. I mean, there is always a way to expand on what the characters became and all, but not enough to make a sequel of the same genre in my opinion.

Of course, if Sensei were to write anything about TG, I for sure would read it (even if it’s only slice of life with no real plot) and I know many others would as well, so it’s entirely up to him.

As for new projects, there is already one: the game Jack Jeanne that he seems super fond of already. I think it’s keeping him rather busy, so actually I doubt there will be anything else that he’ll be working on in the meantime.

I hope this answers your question! Have a nice day Anon. :))

#tokyo ghoul #jack jeanne #ishida sui #anon #answers

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soutasnotebook · 6 years

Note

would you fuck your clone tg re edition

Re Affiliates

Kaneki Ken - No, my clone makes me sad.

Nagachika Hideyoshi - It’d be fun.

Kamishiro Rize - Yes please.

Kirishima Touka - I’d rather fuck Kaneki.

Koma Enji - Ab-sol-ute-ly!

Irimi Kaya - I’m sorry, did you say something?

Yomo Renji - No way.

Kosaka Yoriko - No?

Hinami Feuguchi - Uh…ummmmmm…

Nishiki Nishio - I’d rather fuck Kimi.

Nishino Kimi - I’d do it for science.

Tsukiyama Family

Tsukiyama Shuu - I’d do it while eating myself.

Karren von Rosewald - If I could pretend it was Master Shuu.

Matsumae - Nah.

Mirumo - 100x yes.

Chie Hori - No.

Clowns

Uta - I’ve already done it. Kagune clone.

Itori - Hell yeah. I’m hot.

Hoito Roma - *giggles* obviously

Nimura Furuta - My answer is a resounding yes.

Rio/Shikorae - ?!

Nico - It’d be so tragic, since you couldn’t be in love with yourself…

Donato Porpora - Technically, that’s not against the Bible…

Aogiri Tree

Kirishima Ayato - I’m gonna decline to answer this

Tatara - What is wrong with you people

Yoshimura Eto - Never say never

Noro - Why am I alive.

Miza Kusakari - Yep.

Naki - Huh?

Yumitsu Tomoe/Hakatori - Probably

Banjou Kazuichi - I’m scared and my answer is no.

CCG

Amon Koutarou - Amon.exe has ceased to function

Takizawa Seidou - No, because I hate myself.

Mado Akira - I’d rather fuck a kakuja ghoul.

Houji Kousuke- Shh don’t tell.

Marude Itsuki - Hell no.

Washuu Yoshitoki - Hell yes.

Washuu Matsuri - No. Give me Urie.

Washuu Tsuneyoshi - Over and over.

Kuriowa Takeomi - Uh - uh - n - no?

Kuriowa Iwao - Nope.

Aura Kiyoko - I’m not even dignifying that with a response.

Tanakamaru Mougan - I wish.

Itou Kuramoto - Tee-hee. Yes.

Kurona Yasuhisa - I used to have a clone. My identical twin. Sometimes I can still hear her voice…

Arima Squad

Ihei Hairu - Probably

Arima Kishou - Did Eto send you to ask this?

Ui Koori - It’s unethical.

Take Hirako - Who can say?

Suzuya Squad

Suzuya Juuzou - Why not?

Keijin Nakarai - I’d rather have someone else interested in me besides me.

Hanbee Abara - Nooooooo.

Miyuki Mikage - OMG YES.

Mizurou Tamaki - Possibly.

Quinx Squad

Yonebayashi Saiko - hahahaha of course.

Shirazu Ginshi - Why the fuck are you asking this?

Urie Kuki - indubitably.

Mutsuki Tooru - I’m grotesque :(

Hsaio Ching-Li - lol no.

Aura Shinsanpei - That sounds melodramatic, so yes.

Higemaru Touma - lol. lol. lol. uh. Come back later after I’ve thought about it.

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nekosayuri · 6 years

Photo

Family: Uchiha.

I recreated this family first, ages ago, pretty much when Konoha was still empty. <3 it’s probably no surprise if you know me even a little (I mean, I use them in my previews too nowadays xD that’s how much I love them.)

I first created Sasuke and Sayuri in Belladonna Cove for the heck of it, but then I got really attached, especially to their kids. Back then (2014ish), my ACOH story was also not all that developed past their 20s, but playing their sims inspired me a lot, and the kids they had became their kids in my story too (well, only the first three, cause come on, eight kids?!) I literally let their sims guide my writing. <3

Since I wrote little Sim/story profiles for them, I posted them separately first, but here’s the all at once post. :D

This is like the first time I ever do this, but I really wanted to try, so sorry if I’m confusing!

Uchiha Sayuri, previously Amamiya, is first, cause why not? She’s one of the main OCs. Self insert originally, too, so I’m a little biased. :D

Sayuri never really fit into the Ninja world. Something about the occupation always rubbed her the wrong way. She knew she was born in a Ninja village to a Ninja family, but was that really all there was? Was her destiny really to fight and kill? She refused that. It took many years, and some friends in high places, but with effort and stubbornness, Sayuri got people to follow her dream and make it a reality: a village where kids could be kids, without the pressure of the Ninja world on their shoulders, where they have a choice and can make their own way. A place where she would want her own kids to grow up.

Nowadays, Sayuri is the head of the Diplomacy department of Konoha’s government. A skilled negotiator who is not afraid to get in the thick of it, she’s solved many situations that could have ended far worse. She gets personally involved, though, which takes its toll. But she can’t help it– this is how she is. She wouldn’t be so good at it otherwise.

Sayuri is a family sim with a pleasure secondary. Her zodiac is Cancer, with a personality of 5/4/5/5/6. She’s relatively in-the-middle there for someone as revolutionary as her, but despite being kinda shy, she’s also VERY stubborn and willing to fight for her dreams/goals/whatever.

Traits: Family oriented, nurturing, over-emotional, bookworm, and terrible cook.

Turn ons: black hair, logical (may have been influenced a little over the years she was married to Sasuke… xD). Turn offs: bad at cooking that should be a turn off, ugh! Right now, it’s robots, because there’s no such thing, yet! I can never find turn offs that actually make sense.

Sasuke is next, this is my attempt at explaining what he is like in my story?

Sasuke spent 10 years living a life that wasn’t his, pursuing a goal that was forced on him by his brother, Itachi. When he came out on the other side, he couldn’t recognise himself anymore– not the person he was before the whole thing started, not the person he had become over the years. He had nothing left but a hollowness inside that scared him. But he was wrong, and there were people who were there to show him that. As soon as he saw in himself something good that could become bigger, he grabbed it with both of his hands and never let go.

Nowadays, he’s the Head of Shield, a team of elite ninja, chosen only by him and the Hokage. They’re the very best for a reason. Each and every one of them are experts in their field and they normally go on the most dangerous missions, and come back alive. That must say something! Due to his position, Sasuke also has a seat on the council. Though he clearly cares about his position and the village itself, Sasuke would prefer to stay out of harm’s way most of the time… so he can come back home to his family at the end of the day.

Random facts: the name ‘Shield’ was chosen by the Hokage, Naruto, at the time. It’s inspired by a word he heard while visiting the Cloud village. Also, ‘dangerous’ isn’t the same as it used to be 10-20 years ago.

Sasuke is a family sim, too, with a knowledge secondary. His zodiac is Leo, with a personality of 7/4/8/3/5 (mostly head-canon, really). He’s a bit of a clean freak and his active personality is literally his core.

Traits: Athletic, disciplined, brave (a condition for his job), social disaster, natural cook.

Turn ons: fitness, creative. Turn offs: fat.

Kaito is the eldest and the only boy in the family besides Sasuke. I admit I was delighted their first kid was a boy. :D

Kaito is a genius. Everybody knows that. He’s “perfect” in every way (ask his fangirls), and so he should be, he’s an Uchiha after all. Kaito sees it a different way though, he just wants to be left alone, so he can read his books and do his ninja training and hang out with his friends and figure himself out. Everybody is in such a hurry to put him on a pedestal...

Kaito is a teenager (15 story-time), so he has only one aspiration, knowledge. His zodiac is Aries, with a personality of 5/4/7/3/7. He was born in game and everything was copied over, although originally I had Sayuri encourage him to be nicer, so that was copied over as well. He’s hell of a lot like Sasuke, personality wise, but his attitude towards people is more like Sayuri’s. xD

Traits: Genius, brave (from Sasuke), terrible cook (from Sayuri). Teens in my game will have only three traits, get another one as YA, and last one as adults.

Turn ons: athletic, brown hair. Turn offs: jewellery.

Mikoto got her name from Sasuke’s mother, because she was born with her eyes (grey which is lighter than Sasuke’s.) It’s mostly not a thing to name your kids after your parents (with some clan exceptions), but meh.

Right from the start, there was one thing that stood out about Mikoto: her unending care for others. Even as a young child, she would take care of her friends and her little sister, watching over them as if she were their mother. She got more into art as she grew, and she loves painting. She doesn’t really know what she wants to do with her life, you know? She’s only 13 after all! She still has two years before she has to decide whether to go to Ninja school or the Academic one, and she’s going to take her time figuring it out.

Mikoto is a child in the sims, despite being 13 story-time (I kinda figure Teen stage starts at 15), so her aspiration is still to grow up. Her zodiac is Aquarius, with a personality of 4/5/5/5/6. Again, born in game and everything was copied. She’s obviously a lot like Sayuri with the whole in-the-middle thing.

Traits: nurturing (from Sayuri), artistic.

Hikari was born in the middle of the night, when Sasuke and Sayuri caught a glimpse of a falling star just before Sayuri went into labor (that actually happened in my game, I’ll add a link to the picture when the archive actually works -_-). Anyway, I’m a bit of a cliche, so obviously she got her name from the stars lighting up the night sky. XD

Hikari is not like Kaito and Mikoto. She’s not unsure, she’s not confused. She knows exactly what she wants: to be a ninja, of course, so she can be as strong as her father, or even more! so what if she’s just 10 and has plenty of time to make up her mind?

Hikari’s aspiration is to grow up in the sims, since she’s still a child. Her zodiac is Cancer, with a personality of 5/3/8/4/5. She got her active trait from Sasuke and her shyness from Sayuri. :D born in game, copied faithfully as always.

Traits: Shy, athletic (from Sasuke).

Bonus: The cats!

From right (sitting cat) to left: Kuro, Kurona and Ryoma.

Sasuke found Kuro on a dark, rainy night when he was just a kitten. He never cared for animals all that much, but when their eyes met, he couldn’t just leave him be, either. Kuro had the kind of eyes that reminded him of his own, at the time-- aloof, independent, but also lonely and lost. So he took him in for the night. That was when he was 17. Needless to say, Kuro stayed. But Kuro came with his own dark past and his own troubles... he’s a ninja cat, after all!

Fun fact: Kuro means Black in Japanese. That’s how creative his name is! Sasuke’s idea.

It was again a dark, rainy night when… ok no, it was a sunny weekend day, when Sasuke and Sayuri were 21, that Kuro came running in frantically and begged (by meowing, a lot) for them to come with him. When they arrived at the destination, they found a pregnant white cat, but she seemed sick. They took her to the animal hospital, who decided to get her kittens out ASAP. Luckily, everybody survived. The kittens were given homes, and the pretty white cat, well… Kuro got attached to her, so Sasuke and Sayuri ended up taking her in, too. Need I mention she’s also a ninja cat?

Fun fact: Kurona was given her name because, well, there’s Kuro, so if we add na (supposedly, a short for nya, which is the sound cats make in Japanese), you get Kurona. It was Sasuke’s idea

Ryoma is their son. He was a part of a litter of four, but the other three were given away because there was just too much chaos at home and Sasuke couldn’t stand it. There was some whining and crying from the children, who were all old enough to understand what was happening, but what had to be done was done. For some odd reason, though, Sasuke decided to keep Ryoma... the hyper, wild kitten!

Funny fact: He got his name from a character in Prince of Tennis. Yep. No story reason there. XD (the other kittens were named Ryoga, Nana, and Kana. Two males, two females. :D)

A note on ninja cats for interested people: they’re not like normal cats. Their lifespan is much longer (closer to humans), even though their ability to breed is similar to normal cats– basically, they can breed as soon as normal cats, but they lose that ability the older they get (halfway through their life). As always, females sooner than males. Another thing is that they do understand the human language, and they can also talk! That said, both Kuro and Kurona escaped from their ninja village before they actually learned to talk, so neither of them can. They do understand the human language though, as they’re taught that sooner than to actually talk it. They can also read it, but not write.

#The sims 2 #ACOH intros

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linkspooky · 7 years

Note

Do you think the baby is gonna die by kanou?

Alright I am going to attempt now, to answer the question of Kanou’s… methodology and morality, which I answered as a joke about two posts earlier. It’s actually quite complicated so it’s going to take a bit of disecting.

The question is, how much of a danger would Kanou be to Touka if he were to kidnap her and then assist her with the pregnancy. That answer in itself is not clear as we actually have no idea as to Kanou’s motivations even now, only his methods.

Looking at his methods alone it’s not particularly looking good. Kanou has most likely the highest body count in the series. Even if you were to assume the low end of the number of Investigators who had Owl transferred into them and say there were only about 100 who went missing and were kindapped by Aogiri. That would mean that in addition to the 1200 that were kidnapped and experimented on by Kanou, that would be a 1300 total.

Which gives kanou the highest individual body count in the series, possibly tied with Furuta at this point if you consider Furuta the accomplice to all of those deaths. Kanou is also more closely tied to Furuta than any other character in the series.

Furuta’s weird flashback could reveal that the only person that Furuta might cooperate, or even trust rather than simply dominate and manipulate is Kanou. The two of them share some similarities, they both are good at using rhetoric in order to put on acts and convince others to fight for causes that they themselves do not care particularly about.

He also created the birdcage metaphor that Eto adopts. However, Eto actually believes in it while it’s likely that Kanou doesn’t. Especially considering that he went immediately back to working for the CCG the moment that Furuta took over.

Kanou even muses for a moment that rather than having an assistant, he might simply be an assistant to someone else.It’s likely the person he’s talking about here is Furuta.

If you were to look at Furuta and Kanou as characters with similiar mindsets then and compare them, it would mean that at best Kanou finds his closest cooperation partner with an extremist whose willing to go to lengths far exceeding Eto’s in order to become a perfect villain to destroy the world, and at worst a complete nihilist who wants to bring an end to the fighting by motivating both sides into killing each other in an elaborate double suicide to give significance to his own death.

Either interpretation of Furuta, and thus Kanou however puts them ata great distance from most of humanity.

Kanou’s one small flashback connection to Ogura in 103 even hints at that. The omake gives us a little depth into Kanou.

Narration: Ever since Akki joined, the number of female members had increased…

Girls crowding around Kanou: Kyaa! Kanou-ku~n!

Ogura: Hey, the order in this club is falling apart! As the president of the Ghoul Research Society, I can’t keep quiet about this! I can’t turn a blind eye to you and your popularity with the ladies! Are you going to pick the meetings or the ladies? I’ll make it clear for you…Akki!

Ogura: The girls or the Research Society…which one are you going to choose!?

Kanou: You’re a pain in the ass.

Narration: It was then that I thought that this was the first time that I had ever heard his true thoughts.

Kanou has the charisma to attract people left and right, and yet at the same time he seems to have absolutely no regard for other people that do not interest him as well.

Narration: From the next day on, Kanou Akihiro didn’t show up to the Research Society. It seemed like he had finished reading all the valuable literature the Research Society had [on ghouls]. I graduated a year late from university, and several years later I ran into him by chance on the street. He went and left without a sign that he had recognized me. Later, I regretted not being able to speak to him then. I…I had wanted to keep being friends with him.

When he leaves the ghoul research society, it’s because he read through all of their literature and therefore they are useless to him. Despite spending time in college together, he completely forgets Ogura’s name and face too.

Falling in and out of relationships easily, and yet at the same time having a tendency towards total fixation of certain individuals. Which is how his obsession with Kaneki has always been portrayed. A fixation. Furuta says so plainly, there is absolutely nothing special about Kaneki, he was not chosen in any way besides pure luck.

Kanou’s obsession with Kaneki, especially in comparison to Eto who probably could have put anyone in the seat of the one eyed king as long as they were powerful enough to defeat Arima Kishou (it’s a nameless king intentionally named by her that way after all), is likely just the result of his own personality disorder.

Kanou falling in and out of relationships with others depending more on their usefulness to him, his tendency to hyper fixate then on certain individuals, his disregard for society’s rules and even total disdain for it, all of these are traits that are typical potrayals of antisocial personality disorder in characters.

However, even if we were to say that Kanou’s actions can be explained away by his sociopathy, that’s very much the antithesis of the story’s thematic insistence that monsters are created and not born. Even Torso so far has had a so called crybaby backstory in order to explain away his actions but why not Kanou? It is thematically a little weird to have Kanou as an outlier completely incapable of empathy in a story that is about human relationships, and the natural want for empathy in everyone.

My counter to that of course, is that Kanou himself is not really ever depicted as completely void of empathy. Even calling Kanou Frankenstein might be inaccurate, because Kanou never hated the monster like Viktor did. In fact he offered to help Kaneki, and fell in love with his creation from afar as soon as he heard about what it had accomplished. That’s pretty much the opposite of Viktor.

Kanou is actually nothing but kind to both Kurona and Nashiro when raising the two of them as a surrogate father. Even when Kurona fails entirely to repel Suzuya, Kanou himself does not seem particularly hostile towards them for their failure. He’s just entirely pragmatic.

She can’t be saved so it’s no use bothering to try. Which means, kindness, compassion, are all behaiors Kanou can demonstrate but it’s always up until a point. That point is usually just however long they remain useful to him. Kurona even comments so much after the fact, that both Nashiro and Herself came out being treated as objects by Kanou when they turned out not so useful as he thought they might.

Kanou strings people along with affection and charisma, and he almost never has any malicious intent towards those people. Which makes him quite different from a lot of the abusers in Tokyo Ghoul. At the end of the day though they ultimately end up being objects to him.

Even Kanou’s great abuse of Takizawa, was not done with any sadistic intentions in mind, it was pure pragmatism.

There are a couple of suggestions that Kanou might have a greater motivation than simply “science is fun.” Kurona makes a mention of a lab of his that burned down once, and also he seems to scoff at the idea that Kurona suggests he’s simply a mad scientist.

However, I think the true problem with Kanou might not arise from his own lack of empathy, but rather the system that enables him. After all, if Kanou had never been exposed to ghoulification, he would probably just be a normal doctor. In fact, his lack of empathy might have made him a better doctor as he would be able to withstand the wear and tear of hospital work much better without being affected much mentally by it.

It was the CCG who enabled Kanou, and the pulled the plug without any regard for what might happen to Kanou after the fact. The CCG has always shown to be careless with individuals like this, Goumasa Tokage, Kijima, Mado they are all allowed basically free reign to do whatever they please as long as they point those sadistic tendencies sometimes at ghouls.

Sure, Kanou has a body count in the thousands when it comes to humans but how many still alive ghouls has Chigyou taken in, in order to be most likely experimented on while still alive and turned into Quinques. Considering that the CCG has no ethical restraints when it comes to torturing ghouls I can’t see them even bothering to use sedative when the quinque is being extracted, and after it’s out they threw them straight into the grinder. What about Shiba who was willing to operate on a girl who gave no consent to having ghoul parts put in her, and instead had her parents sign a form for her for money.

It’s likely, Kanou, Chigyou, Shiba, all of them are exactly as Urie observed. They just want to work with pure science and be praised for their scientific skill, and this is enabled and taken to it’s absolute worse by the CCG’s methodology, of being completely unscrupulous towards the killing of ghouls.

What exactly does this mean for Touka? As I said before, it’s likely Kanou has no malicious intent for Touka at all.He would probably keep her safe as a fun science experiment, but the exact same way he treated Kurona and rendered her essentially an object, he would be abusing Touka as well.

What Kanou is likely to hold her in is more akin to an extremely comfortable prison cell, rather than a sterile operating chamber.

#metasks #akihiro kanou #Anonymous

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maerceci · 6 years

Text

Tokyo Ghoul: end (The Last of Us AU)

"So they found him dead, huh?" Hide looked down at the picture sent to him by Marude. "Death from suicide", the picture of the report wrote. "Matsuri's dead -," said Hide to the woman laid at the hospital bed in front of him. "- Rize." Rize looked at him. "…I'm glad," she spoke slowly. "The Washuus… deserved what happened to them." "… If only I stopped him that day," Hide said. "…Kaneki?," she asked. "That's right… Kaneki… he was your friend." Rize noticed the sad expression on Hide's face. "…He got what was coming to him, too." Hide glared at her. "You know what else I like?" She continued, "it's seeing the look of despair on someone's face before I-" And with that, Rize let out her last breath. Hide turned and left the room.

Kaneki slowly opened his eyes. The effects of the RC gas still rendered him nauseous. Slowly and carefully, he sat up from what looked like a hospital bed. "…Hello?" He looked around but saw not a single sign of life around him. As his feet touched the ground, he heard the sound of the door opening. What he saw next made him feel like he just woke up from a deep slumber. "Yo! Kaneki!," said Hide in a bright and cheerful voice. "Hide?" Kaneki said in a tone that was a mix of surprise and longing. It had only been a couple of months since they had reunited. Seeing his friend stand in front of him like this reminded him of that faithful day. "Disappointed, Kaneki? Were you expecting a beautiful nurse or something?" "No..." The white-haired boy smiled. "What happened?" "Huh?," said Hide in an exaggerated voice. "Don't you remember anything? You were sent here after that trial. You know, the one after we dug you up from that big, creepy sausage-looking sac." That's right, Kaneki thought. It was a long deliberation. The whole country had to do something about him after he had wreaked havoc at the whole capital. Exactly as Kanou's premonition, ghoul research had shed some light on incredible medical applications. And as it turns out, Kaneki was the catalyst.

Kaneki trailed behind his best friend, walking along a hallway that was barely recognizable yet familiar. He thought that they were a hundred meters below ground. They kept walking, seeing the same walls as before. "It's quite a long way but we're near. You think you can still hold up, Kaneki?" "Yes. Thanks, Hide." His arm was placed around Hide's shoulders as they walked along the endless path and climbed up countless stairs. "Where is everyone?" "Oh, Touka-chan? They're safe. Don't worry about it. By the way, it's almost December, aren't you excited about-" "No, Hide. I mean, the people in this place. Where are they?" "Well-" "… Wait," Kaneki cuts off Hide again. This time, he recognized a familiar smell. "What's the matter, Kaneki?" "I think there are ghouls around. I can smell blood. Get behind me. Hurry." "It's fine, Kaneki." Hide said in a calm voice. "Hide…" He looked back and saw Hide standing behind him. "What are you-" It suddenly dawned on him. As his senses finally came back to normal, he realized where the smell was coming from. He turned to face Hide. "Guess your senses were numb, huh?" His friend took out a handkerchief from the right pocket of his jeans. "Here, use this to wipe it off." Kaneki took the handkerchief and wiped the blood from his eyes. It was obvious to Hide that his friend's health was faltering. "Better give that to Tsukiyama." Hide chuckled. "Hide." "Yes?" "What happened while I was there? At that room?" "Well, I wouldn't know. It was my first time going here." Hide scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I guess your right-" "Of course I'm right!" Hide exclaimed. The few seconds of silence was broken when Kaneki spoke again. "Then…" Kaneki saw Hide looking at him intently. "What happened in the trial?" Kaneki thought it was weird that he had no recollection of the event whatsoever. Hide answered, "they let you out and sent you to this place." "What's this place?" "You really don't remember?" Hide looked bewildered. "It's the CCG Lab Division." Kaneki didn't believe what he heard at first. But he quickly realized something. "So Kurona was right…" "Kurona?" "Yes. She told me about Kanou's plan. By exposing V, the medical research of ghouls in the past would continue." Hide had a blank and unreadable look on his face. Kaneki kept talking. "I have to go back," declared Kaneki. "… Hide?" He had already took a few steps back to the direction where they came from when Hide gently yanked his right arm. He turned around and faced him. "…It didn't have to be you, Kaneki." "Hide…" Hide had a sad expression on his face. "I don't understand." He waited for his reply but there was only silence. "What do you mean?" Kaneki's voice was slightly raised. "Aren't I the only one left? I mean, aren't I the only one left who holds the power of the Washuus?" Kaneki paused. "I don't want people to die because of me." "Kaneki," said Hide in a serious voice. "You know Matsuri, right?" And Rize? They're all Washuus. It didn't have to be you." "But still-" "Besides," Hide cuts him off. "- you're not even a Washuu. You're a Kaneki." Hide laughed and scratched his cheek. Kaneki stared at his friend. "So, the research would continue?" "Yes," Hide assured him. "With or without you, Kaneki." There was a long pause. Kaneki looked to his right and saw a small gleam of light. He didn't notice they were already above ground. The sun's rays tore through the narrow gap between the ground and the door. Kaneki turned to look at Hide. "Then… promise me." "…" "Swear to me that what you said was true - that the research will go on without me." "…I promise," Hide said while maintaining a straight face. Kaneki looked at Hide and confidently made his decision. "Okay." Without looking back, Kaneki followed Hide out the door.

End.

#nagachika hideyoshi #kaneki ken #kamishiro rize #tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul re #fanfiction

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milaisreading · 2 months

Note

The Bastards wage war with the Ubers for kidnapping CD!yn, and meanwhile CD!yn has dragged Sendou off to enjoy the food she was bribed with.

This is how I imagine it:

Noa: You can't just kidnap my player, Snuffy!

Snuffy: Is it really kidnapping if he agreed to join us?

Kaiser: That's because your players bribed him with food!

Ness: Just leave him alone. He is in our team.

Lorenzo: We have way better food, Kaiser, Ness. Of course he would want to join us.

Snuffy: You probably starved that poor thing. Don't worry, under my team he won't be hung-

Noa: He isn't joining a new team.

Barou:...

Isagi: So?

Barou: He was my midfielder first, Isagi.

Isagi: I don't care. He is my midfielder and friend!

Kurona: Besides, he likes us more.

Niko: Since when? He likes everyone equally.

Hiori: He just said that to not hurt your feelings. Of course he likes us more :]

Yukimiya: Yep. He definitely does.

Aryu: You guys are way too confident in your own lies.

Meanwhile...

Crossdresser!Yn: You sure you don't want any of this? The pizza is really good! The cheese is really creamy!

Sendou: No thanks. I will eat later-

Crossdresser!Yn interrupts him while feeding him with some of the pasta.

Sendou: ○/////○

Crossdresser!Yn: Noooo! Eat with me!!

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milaisreading · 1 year

Text

Random scenarios between the manager and Blue Lock (pt 1)

Characters: Isagi, Bachira, Chigiri, Kunigami, Gagamaru, Baro, Reo and Nagi

Pt II will include: Yukimiya, Otoya, Hiori, Karasu, Rin and Kurona

Idk, thought of this randomly and I am sorry that it's this long for no reason. Requests are open if anyone wants to!

Warning ⚠️: Y/n is used with she/her. Possible manga spoilers.

⚽️Blue Lock is owned by: Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura⚽️

Part II

Isagi:

"Do you need help with that, (Y/n)?" The girl turned to look in the direction the familiar voice came from, shaking her head with a smile.

"It's alright, Isagi. The boxes aren't heavy, go and rest. It's not everyday Ego-san shows mercy and let's you rest." (Y/n) said as the boy frowned a little. Shaking his head, he walked to where one of the boxes was and took it.

"It's really nothing. Friends are there to help, and I do feel kind of guilty that you can't rest." He admitted with a blush. The statement surprised the girl and she smiled back softly.

"I don't mind, it's in my contract after all. And besides, I am trying to do my best to make it easy on you guys as well. Being the future champions of Japan is a big burden!"

"Champions? You think we have a chance at winning?" Isagi asked, surprised at how confident she was in them. It warmed his heart knowing there was someone who believed in him even if he didn't.

"Of course! You guys are doing great, and with the talents you all are polishing you will be unstoppable at the World Cup! Trust me." (Y/n)'s grin along with her words caused the boy's face to turn a brighter red and a new sense of confidence took over his body.

"Thanks! I promise to not disappoint your expectations!"

"I know you won't!" (Y/n) nodded her head.

'I promise to get the Cup! Then I will ask (Y/n) out.' Isagi nodded to himself, a new goal already formed in his head.

Bachira:

"Bachira, come on! It's getting late and you need to sleep too." (Y/n) said, trying to get the boy off of the ground, but he wouldn't budge. It was already late and (Y/n) just wanted to clean everything up and go to sleep. Knowing how Ego is, he was probably judging her behind one of the cameras.

"No! I want to still play and train!"

"Is your monster telling you that?" (Y/n) wondered out loud as the boy kept quiet. She already got used to the talk of the monster and in Blue Lock nothing can really surprise her anymore, so asking about the monster came like a 2nd instinct to her.

"No... I just want to do better." Bachira said, hiding a small blush. It still amazed him how little she cared about the monster and acted like it's a normal thing. Unlike all the other people he met out and in Blue Lock.

"You are already great! Bachira, you need to rest too. Wanting to become great is a good thing here, but with no rest you will never achieve it." (Y/n) argued, but the boy still wouldn't budge. The girl thought for a moment, then went to pick up a ball from nearby.

'If you can't beat him, then join in.' She thought, kicking the ball towards the boy.

"Huh?" Bachira thought, picking the balk up and looking at the girl.

"How about this, I will help you train everyday for 30 minutes and then you go to sleep? Is that good?" Bachira looked at her in confusion for a moment, but soon after grinned and jumped up, kicking the ball back.

"Alright! It's a deal!"

'She is all I need to keep calm... my monster loves her and so do I. I can't wait till I win the World Cup and ask her out!'

Chigiri:

Excitedly, (Y/n) ran down the hallway to look for her red haired friend, package held tightly against her chest. She had been waiting for the item for weeks, and she was more than happy to know it came before the U-20 match.

'It's here! Teieri-san was right when she said it will be fast! Chigiri will love this!' She thought, running to the cafeteria where she eventually found the boy eating.

"Chigiri! I got something for you!"

Surprised, the boy looked up from his plate as (Y/n) stood in front of him, holding out the mysterious box to him.

"What... what is that? I didn't order anything." Chigiri argued, his face going a bright red when he looked at (Y/n) more closely.

'She looks so pretty today...'

"I know! I ordered it... well Teieri-san did since she is the one with the money... but that doesn't matter! Here, open it please!"

Confused, Chigiri took the box and slowly opened it. His expression turned into a shocked one, inside was a red knee brace and he took it out to inspect it.

"Where... where did you find that?" Chigiri asked, noticing it had his initials on the inside.

"I showed it to Teieri-san after I looked for a way to make your running easier, and she agreed to use the funds to buy it! The company even offered some personal touches as well. Hope you like it!" (Y/n) grinned excitedly as Chigiri kept quiet for a moment, unsure what to say. He was really touched that someone outside his family cared this much, not to mention it was the same girl he had liked for the past few months.

"I... I love it. Thank you, I will make sure to wear it whenever I can."

As (Y/n) was cheering him on, Chigiri couldn't help a fond smile as he looked up at her.

'Yes, she is the one I want. Coming and staying in Blue Lock was the best decision. I love her so much that I don't think I can hold it in till the World Cup.' He sighed.

Kunigami:

"Why are you eating alone? I am used to seeing Isagi and Chigiri with you." (Y/n) said as she sat across Kunigami, who nervously swallowed his food down.

"They went to sleep, I stayed a little later than usually to train."

(Y/n) nodded her head, sliding her noodles to him.

"Huh?"

"You need the food more than I do right now. Besides, I ate a lot during lunch today." The girl explained as the boy looked around the place, then back at her.

"You sure Ego-san won't get mad?"

"It won't be the first time. I stopped counting the amount of times Nagi stole food from me." (Y/n) shrugged her shoulders as Kunigami took the bowl, grateful for the extra food.

"Thank you... and thanks for the help. We don't tell you that often." He said with a tint of red on his cheeks.

"You really don't need to thank me, watching you all play is rewarding enough. Can't wait till I see you guys bring Japanese football to the next level! That will be exciting!"

The answer surprised the boy and he slowly nodded his head. A comforting silence fell among them and Kunigami kept sending the girl a few short glances.

'She looks prettier than normally... I really hope we stay close after Blue Lock. Maybe in a year or so I could ask her out properly.'

Gagamaru:

"Good job, Gagamaru! You did great out there! The save was amazing!" The boy blushed as (Y/n) patted his back. It wasn't a everyday thing that anyone paid this much attention to him. He was mostly silent and on the goal, not scoring and usually out of the attention radar. Well, except from Ego and (Y/n)'s, who paid attention to him for different reasons. Ego to either point out his flaws or sometimes compliment him in a weird way. (Y/n) meanwhile watched him always in a encouraging and warm way, a way that made him want to do better, show off his skills.

"Y-you think so?" The boy wondered as he wiped off his sweat.

"Yeah! You are so ready for the U-20 match! They won't know what hit them when they see you on the goal!" (Y/n) told him. Her words meant a lot more to him than (Y/n) could imagine, and je was kind of greatful for Reo coming over to pull (Y/n) away for some reason. Gagamaru watched her and sighed dreamily.

'If only I wasn't so silent... but soon I will open up. I just need to prove myself first.' Gagamaru nodded to himself.

Baro:

"Why do the towels smell so differently?" Baro wondered and looked straight at (Y/n) as she picked up the empty water bottles. The girl stopped in her tracks and thought for a moment.

"Oh! I forgot that I am using a new detergent now. That's why it smells differently."

"A new detergent?" Baro questioned.

"You complained a week ago that the detergent smelled bad and made the towels rougher than necessary. After inspecting them I asked Ego-san to switch them out. Thank God Teieri-san was there to help me." Baro kept quiet for a moment as he stared at (Y/n), making the girl more nervous than needed.

"Is that not good either? I made sure to get the extra softening one."

"No! No it's fine, I just didn't expect you to care enough for it this much." Baro said, sounding genuinely dumbfounded.

"My job is to take care of your issues, and you are my friend. So why wouldn't I care." (Y/n) shrugged, going back to her previous duties as Baro sighed and smelled the towel a little more.

'My queen is always making sure I am doing great. Can't wait till I make everything official. She will have the best of the best.'

Reo:

Reo walked through the hallway as he held a box with some baked goods his parents had sent him. It wasn't normal for Ego to allow presents inside, but after the victory over U-20, he became more lenient. So now once a month they could get some baked goods from the outside.

'Where is she... I hope she will like them. I asked my mom to find the best bakery in the city.'

The boy opened the door to one of the training rooms and sighed in relief when he saw (Y/n) there taking notes.

"(Y/n)! Are you busy?" The boy asked as the girl turned around to look at Reo in surprise.

"Reo?! Not at all, did you need something?" (Y/n) wondered as the boy jogged over to her, handing her the box.

"Not really! I just wanted to give you this! Hope you like them." Reo said as he blushed. (Y/n) looked at the box in surprise and took it slowly.

"For me? Strange, I already got the package from my parents."

"This is from my parents. I asked them to get these for you... as a thank you gift." Reo said, sounding bashful as he watched (Y/n) open the box, gasping when she saw the cupcakes inside.

"Reo! This is too much! They look like those expensive ones advertised on the internet! Why would you do this?!" (Y/n) asked, sounding genuinely embarrassed.

"You do a lot for us...and I wanted to thank you in some way. And this is my way of doing so. Just take them, please." Reo insisted, and after a minute or two (Y/n) finally agreed.

"I owe you one." She muttered as she took a bite from one of the cupcakes and the boy shook his head as he ate one too, after (Y/n) forced him to take it.

'Typical... she never let's anyone take care of her. But I will show (Y/n) that she can always rely on me. I will keep doing it as long as it takes for her to realize she deserves it.' Reo sighed, already planning something else.

Nagi:

Nagi groaned as he hid in a nearby storage room. Out of Ego's short neglect, the boy had escaped the training room and found safety in the abandoned corner of the building. He really didn't wish to leave training today, since (Y/n) was there, but he barely got any sleep the past week. It was all because of his ever-growing crush on the girl, he felt like his heart would explode when he was around her, and at night it became hard to sleep because of it.

'Stupid feelings...' Nagi groaned, closing his eyes shut as he heard the doorknob rattle. He groaned inwardly, prepared for a scolding from Ego or whoever it was, but nothing came of it.

"Did you find him, (Y/n)?" Reo's voice was heard and Nagi resisted the urge to open his eyes and look at the girl.

'Great...' The boy thought, expecting her to say yes.

"Uhh... no. Just some old brooms."

'Huh? Did he just lie?' Nagi thought in shock as he heard Reo groan and walking off to a different place. He heard (Y/n) sigh and she walked closer to Nagi's frozen form.

"I know you are awake. Go and take a nap, I will deal with Ego-san."

"And why would you do that?" Nagi asked suspiciously, opening one eye as (Y/n) shrugged her shoulders.

"You need rest, that's quite obvious. I want you to be healthy and well-rested, not half dead. Just go, Nagi." (Y/n) said and walked out to go and talk with Ego.

The boy stared at the entrance as his face turned a bright red and he hid his face with his hands.

'I think I really do love her even more now!'

#blue lock manga #blue lock anime #blue lock x reader #bllk #bllk x reader #isagi yoichi #bachira meguru #blue lock kunigami #chigiri hyoma #gin gagamaru #reo mikage #nagi seishiro #random scenarios #blue lock barou

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linkspooky · 7 years

Text

Mutsuki, Gratuity, and Violence

Mutsuki’s behavior is shocking to say the least. There’s been a lot of speculation made of exactly why his character made the turn it did from introduction to this point. I’m going to attempt to give my own personal interpretation, on putting together an arc for Mutsuki, and what point Ishida intends thematically by bringing out Mutsuki’s violent side the way he did. Note, this meta is almost entirely about violence, so besides spare mentions of torso the sexual aspect of Mutsuki’s character are not going to be explored. I’ll do that in a later post.

Read more under the cut:

There are several problems with Mutsuki’s portrayal as of now, especially the oversexualization of the only trans character in the cast (In comparison Urie also had a fugue state lashing out of violence this arc but he didn’t like, rip his shirt off or anything), and also what Mutsuki’s thoughts on his gender are being sloppily and confusingly conveyed to the audience. I acknowledge that these problems exist, but this meta is not about that because I want to focus on story and character for now.

In the words of @hysyartmaskstudio Mutsuki’s thread right now is a B-Plot or Sidestory.

And it is ultimately a side story. Side stories ideally are meant to bolster the main narrative, either further reenforcing themes in a way the main narrative could not, or providing backstory to characters necessary to the main narrative in order to make them more effective in that main thread.

A much clearer sidestory example would lie again in Urie. Here in chapter Set P, Urie framing out (The B scenario) shares the same chapter with Amon stepping out from the pod and activating his Kagune (the A scenario because the main character Kaneki is experiencing it). This is because not only are their situations similiar, both are former investigators turned ghoul losing control of their power.

There’s more to it than that though, as the characters are foils things said directly about Urie can be applied also to Amon. It gives us a reason for why Amon despite being conscious enough to remember how he became a ghoul would immediately jump out of the pod and start attacking.

Both of them are lashing out against the environment around them, because of a very basic and deep wound inflicted upon them by their fathers which they cannot possibly cope with on their own. Not only does this writing tidbit inform something not necessarily explained in the text, but it also gives a new perspective on Amon. His long thought selfless and noble quest for justice, can be compared to the selfish glory hogging actions of Urie Kuki much more closely than one would have thought. This hunch about the relationship between their fathers, and also both using their extermination of ghouls as a substitute for their issues is then confirmed a few chapters later by text, more or less.

This is a really clear and efficient use of a sideplot to go back and inform the main plot. However, Mutsuki’s is much more muddled, and a lot of readers unable to understand the point behind showing Mutsuki in this light have dismissed it as cheap gratuity for shock value.

While there’s an element of truth to that interpretation, I would say Tokyo Ghoul is using its genre as a way of expressing an idea. I’ve discussed this before in previous meta, but I consider Tokyo Ghoul to be Pulp, rather than straight horror.

Pulp itself has a long history of representation of otherwise non-mainstream topics of discussion (apparent taboos such as homosexuality and transgender characters), because of their cheap and not as regulated method of publishing. The name pulp coming from the cheaper way of printing the paperback book covers that essentially made them a dime a dozen. However, because they were so cheap these topics were often presented in exploitation fashion in order to draw more readers who would only get one glance at the cover. This is how the genre of ‘Pulp Exploitation’ arose, this is the film genre that Quentin Tarantino pays tribute to (the most obvious example being Pulp Fiction). There also exists exploitation of minority B movies, Black Dynamite is a parody of blaxploitation films.

The point of that brief introduction to pulp being there is a long history of showing representation through exploitation, in the genre of pulp itself. It’s not a good thing of course, but it’s not pointless either it does say something. At the bare minimum besides being an expression of genre, it’s very eye catching. So, starting with a baseline interpretation, Ishida drew Mutsuki like this:

Because he wanted the audience to notice something that they hadn’t before. With the discussion above, about the relation of B to A plots, and also the inclusion of Haise Sasaki within this scene as a direct line back to Kaneki, this scene must be to inform us of something we are missing in the A plot.

So, to continue this analysis let’s talk about the two characters that foil Mutsuki the most right now.

Suzuya Juuzou, or How I learned that becoming a CCG agent does not solve all your problems.

Mutsuki’s reassignment to S3 rather than the main Quinx squad under Urie is purposeful for this arc, as Mutsuki has been serving as a narrative foil for Suzuya for a long time. Suzuya being one of the first characters to mentor Mutsuki and having a profound effect on him, causing his first leap in ability and rank after the auction.

Just as Suzuya, Mutsuki managed to be promoted two ranks at once a feat only ever acquired by Arima before that. The two of them also share similiar backstories of abuse by parental figures. If you want more elaboration I covered the ways in which they are similar and different in this post here (x), for now though I am going to attempt to postulate on what lining their character arcs together means for the story.

To be more precise, I want to talk about why Suzuya’s arc is a progression that is positive character development, while Mutsuki’s is regression, negative character development. Even though the two of them went through the same basic arc (unable to fit in within the ccg -> gained power and confidence from a specific mentor -> found their place within their own squad and became a person willing to protect their friends).

Why did this pathway work perfectly for Suzuya, but fail for Mutsuki?

Let’s start in a very basic difference between their two characters, which is demonstrated to us by a parallel. Back in the academy, both Suzuya and Mutsuki were accused of killing cats, and interacted with Tokage. However, Mutsuki was actually murdering those cats, while Juuzou did not.

Why go so far as to establish this difference, when Mutsuki’s behavior towards his family already showed that he had murderous tendencies? Is it to show that Suzuya is a better person than Mutsuki? Doubtful.

Juuzou did not kill the cats, but also he did not see the problem in them dying. At the time he had no value for life. The only reason he was not killing the cats is because he had no motivation to kill them. While, Mutsuki killed the cats because he found internal motivation to do. It’s a question of motivators, Juuzou’s are all external, while Mutsuki’s are internal. it goes back to their starting incidences of trauma.

Juuzou’s abuse revolved entirely around positive and negative reinforcement. He would fight to earn good boy points, and then have pain inflicted upon him. We also know though his mother intentionally would treat him kindly at times, just so Juuzou would be easier to manipulate and would not turn against her. His sense of self eroded and he lost all meaning to life.

When we see Juuzou recklessly attacking ghoul life later on, it is because of this conditioning inflicted upon him. He has been taught that he has to be violent in order to gain a reward, and after leaving that environment he was put into the CCG where violence against ghouls is rewarded. He specifically cites their roles as ghoul investigator and ghoul as an excuse for his own violence against them. “There shouldn’t be a problem if I were to kill you, right?” (A line later referenced by Centipede Kaneki, if you need a reference as for how unstable Juuzou is being here).

As a side note though before I finish ths point, Juuzou is engaging in hyper violence in this scene. The same kind of hyper violence (mixed in with hypersexuality in Mutsuki’s case) that Mutsuki engages in, in these last few chapters. What does it show here though. In this case, is Juuzou not performing the exact same task he did s a scrapper, but only with a different master. Using hyper violence draws attention to just how cruel Juuzou is being here, is it really okay for him to act this excessively just because Kurona and Nashiro are ghouls? Is that violence somehow only bad when it’s conducted against humans?

If Juuzou is just being violent again in the hopes of achieving external reward though, the CCG has done little to nothing in terms of breaking him from his bad coping mechanism. (This is what we are discussing here, both Mutsuki and Juuzou suffer from terribly violent coping mechanisms in dealing with their trauma, I can argue the narrative has gone through great lengths to show that rather than just dismissing them as bad violent people). Then, what is it that helped Juuzou break free from this chain and allowed him to grow.

It’s easy to give a shallow reading of events and say it was because the CCG rescued him that Juuzou eventually found stability. However, as I’ve hopefully proven above the CCG did little to help him, and were more than likely taking advantage of his violent tendencies as long as they were pointed at ghouls. It was rather the efforts of an individual who reached out past the system in order to help Juuzou, and try to give him positive reinforcement simply for existing and being a person, rather than having to kill to earn it first.

Juuzou’s arc is therefore misleading. He is integrated into the system of the CCG and improves, but it is not the system itself which leads to him improving, but rather the actions of individuals outside of the system.

At this point, Juuzou’s need for positive reinfrocement is basically resolved. While he is still stigmatized by a portion of the CCG, he is surrounded by his own squad who look up to him, praise him, and try to take care of his individual needs. Juuzou in return genuinely values their lives and wants to protect them. He’s crossed the barrier of learning to understand human relationships and have functioning relationships with others, and considering the massive amount of time the Suzuya Squad hang out, their relationship even bypasses the problem of the CCG hierarchy of not allowing themselves to have anything more intimate than work based relationships.

Suzuya has found what he was looking for in trying to placate Big Mama, a genuine family.

However, it would be a mistake to assume Juuzou’s development stops entirely here. Even after being given a supportive surrogate family, and a secure place within the CCG Juuzou’s empathy problems still exist arguably. One, because if Juuzou did not grow anymore as a character in RE: he would not be featured so heavily in the narrative, and two becase there are plenty of hints of it still in the narrative.

Juuzou’s current choice to move from enjoying the killing of ghouls, to regard it as just a job is still a wrong one. Especially if the manga is making the argument that ghoul life is just as worthwhile as human life, a point coming to a head in this arc. While Juuzou is much less sadistic an individual, he’s still doing things like this to Kurona, showing her no sympathy to the point of his entire squad laughing cruelly at her.

And then walking around wearing everybody’s favorite peace loving dad for armor.

Why should Juuzou even be asked to show sympathy for Kurona? Look at the chapter both of these screencaps are taken from Ch: 87, A Hated Child. That was what Juuzou was in the past, and Kurona is now. The reason Juuzou should be asked to have sympathy is because the reason Juuzou is standing where he is has nothing to do with his personal strength, but because somebody else took sympathy on him.

This scene parallels Juuzou’s fight with Kurona and Nashiro pretty much exactly from the original manga, including Juuzou looking to have taken a hit only to effortlessly dispatch Kurona and then let her go. The reason I can think of showing the same scene twice is exactly that, to show how little has changed between then and now. Juuzou has grown a lot, but not necessarily in the right ways. I would say part of the reason for this is because Shinohara, who was once so influential is Juuzou’s growth, is now acting as a stop gap on his character.

Juuzou right now is not acting entirely on his own will, but rather how he thought Shinohara would. If anything, Uta’s use of Shinohara’s face to instantly distract Suzuya (this same trick did not work on Take at all) just shows how unresolved these issues in Juuzou are. Which makes sense as Shinohara was suddenly taken from Juuzou traumatically, and he was given no chance for closure.

(Note also, returning to my argument of parallel running plots informing each other. Donato says in this same chapter “You choose to do these things? You wanted to acknowledge him didn’t you? Wanted him to pat your head in approval.” Which suggests that Suzuya’s motivations may not be as nobly for the sake of the whole CCG as he might suggest).

Shinohara was a good person who reached out to Juuzou, but he was also one of the CCG veterans. Him, Kuroiwa and Aura basically exist in a bubble where they are so secure in their status they do not even question the killing of ghouls. Aura refers to them as rats, for example. Shinohara quite famously called Kaneki “The Craziest Ghoul he’s Ever Met” even though the audience knows that Kaneki is a very gentle person who wants to be gentle but is the product of a violent system. While to the CCG career investigators, it might just be a job for them and they are not even unnecessarily violent like Mado was, their job however is still to take away life. This isn’t even a point on my part, but rather something stated directly by the manga.

Therefore at this point in his arc Suzuya has reached a point where he is in a similiar position as Shinohara. He has developed enough that he no longer acts unnecessarily cruelly towards ghouls, and even cares about those around him and goes out of his way to watch over them, but he has no developed all the way.

In that case, Juuzou’s relationship to Mutsuki is also incomplete. While Juuzou has taught Mutsuki not to be fearful of his strength, he’s not nearly reached out enough as Shinohara did to him. The reason we can tell is because the moment Mutsuki left Juuzou’s supervision, he began to violently dissociate again. He doesn’t perfectly understand yet how to stand in Shinohara’s shoes, because he can’t see how the system is failing both him and Mutsuki.

That’s why this moment, which should be the climax of Suzuya’s arc if he really were only just about climbing the ranks of the CCG and becoming a better investigator, falls so flat. While being considered talented enough to replace Arima is at least a good thing from a positive reinforcement perspective as in the past Suzuya has been maligned from all around him, you have to consider what we now know about Arima.

That Arima hated his position, prestige, and wished for nothing but death despite being the strongest. He was a person who had enough empathy for ghouls that killing them made him hate himself. The person now stepping into the role of Arima Kishou’s shoes, has basically no empathy for ghouls, and thinks very little about whether or not a ghoul life should be considered as an equivalent. If Juuzou really follows the path of Arima, he’ll either be corrupted by his attitude of just following orders, or come to hate himself.

The bottom line of Juuzou’s arc right now, is that gaining strength and recognition in the CCG did not lead him to happiness. That is also the point of Urie’s arc-

The point of Ui’s arc-

And also, it is what Mutsuki’s current breakdown led to Mutsuki’s current breakdown. All three of these characters are entirely reliant upon the system to give them security, and these same characters are failed by that system.

This is where we return finally in the comparison between Suzuya and Mutsuki to talking about Mutsuki.

Let’s begin with the question posed at the start of the Suzuya and Mutsuki comparison. Why does Suzuya flourish in the CCG, while Mutsuki is currently spiraling.

While that could be answered with perhaps a different chain of events, Mutsuki would not be in the current state he is right now without Torso’s interference, and therefore Mutsuki right now is not a 1:1 comparison to Suzuya because he’s fresh from being captured and tortured, I would say that’s not the case.

We’re going to talk about Torso in the Kaneki section of this meta, but mainly to dismiss that argument now, the manga makes it pretty clear that Mutsuki’s current existing problems existed with him from the start even before Torso, and even during the earlier arcs such as the auction arc, stretching far back to his academy days.

Then the true difference between the two of them lies where their failed coping device lies. Both of them are dealing with trauma using violence, but remember Mutsuki killed the cats, and Suzuya did not.

This is because Mutsuki’s way of coping is internal, while Suzuya’s is external. We see this also, right at the establishment of Mutsuki’s trauma. Mutsuki’s way of dealing with the violence inflicted upon him was to placate his tormentor, and escape deep into himself.

His way of coping has always been internal. He tries to retreat within himself, and find security there. Which is what eventualy led to his violent lashing out on everything around him, without even being conscious of it.

Which is why Mutsuki watches his own body move to violently kill his parents, while he himself is not aware of it. His way of coping was to escape from the current reality by retreating into himself, and then withstanding as much violence as he could until he violently lashed out. Mutsuki also has a pattern, almost exclusively to male figures in his life of enduring their abuse, and giving them affection regardless. His main method of dealing with them has always been to play passive. This scene right here, is it Mutsuki being exceptionally kind of accept Urie even after this, or is it Mutsuki just repeating a pattern he’s played towards men all of his life.

He shows the same behavior towards Torso, and Haise as well. This establishes Mutsuki is caught in a pattern of behavior, but if that is so why did the pattern of violence repeat even after Mutsuki had been removed of his abusers and placed into at least somewhat safer housing?

The answer lies in that same internal motivators. Mutsuki found what he wanted (internal security) in violence (killing his family). Therefore, he will continue to seek that internal security by becoming more violent. His character arc too, also follows this path. While people praise whatever good character arc Mutsuki had before the point of Torso interfering in it, I’ve always seen that as a misreading. Mutsuki’s character arc has always been about getting stronger as a ghoul investigator first and foremost.

Juuzou’s advice to Mustuki even revolves around this strength based personal growth route, as he tells Mutsuki that getting rid of his fear will amount to taming his weakness.

Nice words indeed, but that same line of thinking leads to mindsets like this.

I’m not here to argue that Mutsuki is a bad person, or that he’s never grown as a person, but rather that he’s been attempting to grow the wrong way since the very beginning. Therefore the notion that Mutsuki had an excellent character arc, then Ishida decided to veer off with Torso and go in an entirely different direction is a misnomer. Mutsuki has been heading this direction all along, and will continue to head this direction. Not because he’s a bad person, but because his coping mechanism is wrong, he’s using violence against ghouls an entire race of sentient thinking and feeling beings, as a method of securing his own internal security.

He views ghouls as violent. Therefore he can conveniently blame his own internal violence on them, while also being able to enact violence against them in order to feel more secure. Not once in the entire narrative has Mutsuki ever questioned whether it was okay or not to kill ghouls, he was only reluctant because he was afraid of he, himself, becoming violent and uncontrollable like he thought they were.

This of course, isn’t Mutsuki being a bad person either, but rather a bad coping mechanism that has been encouraged by the CCG. There’s no way the CCG actually believed the lie that Mutsuki’s parents were killed by ghouls, as he was holding the blood stained axe while he said it. However, they chose to play along with and encourage this delusion of his in order to turn him into an investigator. Then they slapped a dangerous weapon inside of his body and left him alone without much guidance.

Therefore Mutsuki has moved to the point where he now is taking advantage of the CCG’s reckless handling of them as an excuse for his own violence.

There are others who have interpreted this as Mutsuki specifically lashing out against Akira because she is a mother figure in an Oedipus/Electra tragedy, but I would say Mutsuki is just completely disregarding Akira as a person here. The CCG has sanctioned him to be violent against his ghoul, and Akira is standing in the way of that. Therefore, according to the CCG he also has a right to be violent against her as well.

As foreshadowed here by Mutsuki cutting Akira on accident. It’s not that he has any malice towards her, she was simply stading in the wrong place. Who he can and cannot kill seems arbitrary by this point, but wasn’t it like that to begin with? Mutsuki is simply following the CCG’s dictation, that it’s okay to kill ghouls, but not to kill human.

So this behavior, of Mutsuki mercilessly taking out low rank aogiri ghouls while his arc was ‘on track’ is totally okay.

However, Mutsuki suddenly turning against Akira and stabbing her is “not okay” and Mutsuki “going off track in his arc.” Not to mention the various implications he has been killing humans.

Even if Mutsuki’s arc were different, and he did not start to pick up the behavior of killing humans. If he had never killed his parents, and his tendency towards violent fugue states was removed from him, he would still be just as morally dubious. He would still be a murderer, because the base of his self confidence, is and has always been getting better at killing ghouls. That is the central problem of his character.

Mutsuki even acknowledges there’s no difference. Murder is murder.

Therefore, the CCG growth path which worked for Suzuya at least part way is not working for Mutsuki. This is because his problems cannot be solved with external validation like Suzuya’s could, what he needs is internal. From a character development standpoint I would say hat he needs is better self reflection, but from a point of in story goals to work towards, this is what Mutsuki wants:

Basically the same thing Urie wants, to have the internal security of having a family and feel that human connection. However, Mutsuki makes the mistake of trying to find this security through violence rather than reaching out to others. Therefore most of his instability comes from an inability to fail to realize and act on that basic need.

I am horrible because I do not realize a thing. I am repulsive because I cannot realize a thing .

Therefore unlike Suzuya, the central problem of Mutsuki is not his violence but rather the way he thinks of that violence and the way he relates it to himself. Which will require a different character of comparison to finish up this argument.

Kaneki Ken, or How I Learned That Being a Ghoul Does not Automatically Make One Violent

Kaneki’s arc with Yamori is one of the most famous in the manga, and is paralleled pretty effectively with Mutsuki. I am not going to recap that, because both are pretty obvious and this is more attempting to look at how the plot lines tie together. Basically though, Kaneki starts to amke an unconscious association of his ghoul side with violence and his human side with his ability to show kindness.

That’s why his tender side has always been represented as black, and his violent side as white. Not only has he always oversimplified his own narrative and seen his lost innocent self as his Black Haired self who tried to continue to pretend to be human, and his White Haired self as his corrupted self who lived as a ghoul, but also that Kaneki’s view on these things has always tended to be black and white.

This is the trait which Mutsuki parallels the strongest, their inborne hypocrisy and internal notions where they automatically associate ghouls with their violent and fearful side, and humans with their more peaceful side. Especially when on a basic level their violent tendencies did not arise from the abuse inflicted onto them by ghouls, but rather by humans.

Kaneki says “I am a ghoul.”

Mutsuki says “I am grotesque.”

In other words, ghouls are grotesque. That’s obviously not the case though, as the entire manga has been trying to make the argument that ghouls are the way they are because of circumstance, rather than natural tendencies towards violence.

However, despite being directly told that lesson we see Kaneki show a clear bias towards the way he fights against humans.

And the way he fights against ghouls.

There is no strategic reason for simply cutting the tendons of the V members, or even risking trying to perform such a precise maneuver when he can cut their heads off. Now, it’s not right to kill humans, but there’s at least strategic reason for it when you are fighting a war. The V members which Kaneki assumes are human are all part of a ruthless regime which Kaneki is now currently fighting against, and have been responsible for the deaths of innocent ghouls for generations, he has no real reason to show mercy on them because they are not going to change their ways, and their living probably means more dead ghouls in the future. The people who Kaneki is supposed to be fighting for as a whole. However, Kaneki is not acting on logic here but rather his own internal sensibilities. Basically his own emotions are dictating his actions.Subtext, which was brought as text when Ayato specifically called him on that.

This extends to Kaneki’s strategy as a whole. That because the CCG is made up of a few people who are decent, or even because it is run by human beings, he does not act to destroy it no matter how many horrible things he witness it doing, but rather wants to reason with it.

This bias can be seen in how his strategy plays out, how he is risking a few of the strongest members of his force, as well as abandoning his main fighting force when he is supposed to be the strongest one leading them in order to save one human being who is a former ghoul investigator at that. Or how his strategy revolves around so far fighting other ghouls to protect ghoul investigators. Instead of doing the obvious thing, and fighting ghoul investigators to protect ghouls.

I don’t think Furuta’s being overconfident in his analysis, just accurate. If Kaneki is going to protect the CCG by fighting the clowns, but then fight V at the same time he won’t be seen as a separate force, he’s just making meaningless distinctions based on his own personal feelings. His strategy is failing. That is why the entire point of this arc is how meaningless the distiction between human and ghoul is, when it comes to the value of their lives are. As highlighted by this specific action on Furuta’s part.

He’s making the point and making it hard, what led to the reckless loss of human life in this situation is because the CCG all along has been treating ghouls like enemies to be exterminated and slaughtered without discretion. Except there’s no real difference between the value of a human life and a ghoul life. Suddenly feeling guilty now that they’ve been accidentally killing humans while attacking ghouls, is merely a hypocrisy on their part.

Kaneki and Mutsuki’s strongest shared element is their internal hypocrisy on this subject manner. Mutsuki just makes it obvious though, by not distinguishing at all anymore between human and ghoul.

To reinforce this argument though, let’s return to the way that Mutsuki and Kaneki imitate their abusers. For Kaneki it was the picking up of torture, as well as the knuckle cracking. Mutsuki has started to tap his fingers as Torso did.

He even removes his shirt as Torso had.

And Also Mutilates corpses as Torso did, to pretend they are a proxy for who he really loves and prevent them from ever escaping.

Showing that Mutsuki has picked up some of Torso’s habits though, is not to say that Mutsuki is just as bad of a person as Torso though. It’s because Mutsuki assumed that Torso was a terrifying person, and a monster because he was born a ghoul, because he had to eat flesh in order to survive. Rather, that it was circumstances that changed them.

Kaneki and Mutsuki both come close to sympathizing with the backstories of their captors, however they both assume their different in some way. That they will overcome the cycle of violence. While they do have that capability and they are strong people, I would argue this belief comes from the fact that both Kaneki and Mutsuki were born humans. No matter how ghoul like they become, they will see themselves and their inherent worth as different from Yamori and Torso.

So what happens then when two people who were born human, end up picking the same habits of the monstrous ghouls who abuse them? It’s pretty good evidence that ghouls themselves are not inherently violent or even predisposed towards violence, but even humans put in those same circumstances will pick up similar violent tendencies.

Therefore, in total this is the reason why Mutsuki’s arc has become so violent, and also why Mutsuki needs to be the focus of this violence. Because Mutsuki is a representative of the entire CCG’s attitude towards ghouls, by being a product of its very dangerous system of taking children who were injured by ghoul attacks and instead of giving them proper closure and homes, raising them to hate and kill ghouls.

Mutsuki would need to be so obviously violent because otherwise the point would not be so obvious to the audience. This is how Mutsuki’s seemingly tangent character arc ties back to the main plot, and why it seems so visceral. It’s showing us the violence inflicted against ghouls we’ve seen through the manga all along, but gotten used to, but making it obvious once again just how horrifying that violence is.

Therefore I would say from this point forward Mutsuki’s arc is actually pretty clear. Once he stops seeing things as black and white within his own mind (ghouls= bad, grotesque, humans= good, kind) then he will be able to take his actions at face value. What prevents Mutsuki from growing and causes him to spiral is his inhability to do so, his constant lying. That’s why I think at some point Mutsuki is going to be removed from the framing of the CCG which is influencing and exploiting his thoughts to turn him more violent, and be able to reach a point of self realization as Kaneki did, where he was able to truly look at himself.

In other words, hopefully Mutsuki soon too will be able to break his own egg.

#meta #tg meta #mutsuki tooru #suzuya juuzou #kaneki ken #torso warning #mak don't look

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