#especially if Fushimi mentions the time he tried to say something and Yata misunderstood

[ridiasfangirlings]

Funny how Fushimi has such insecurities when practically one king was Making a mess just to have him join his group (Hisui) while the other (Munakata) helped him with the intention, I think, of having him join the blue clan instead. He's wanted and his talent is recognised by three Kings, if we add Mikoto. And that makes me wonder, how would Yata react if he learned about the whole Hisui fiasco just to have Fushimi? 😧😧 Please?

Yata probably wouldn't have time to be impressed that Fushimi was being courted by three Kings, being too upset that Hisui was messing with Fushimi like that and Yata never even knew. Like imagine some point post-ROK when Yata and Fushimi are having their talk he mentions the hallucinations and how Hisui tried to recruit him and Yata's just like wait wait what happened now. Fushimi explains how all that went down and I think Yata's first reaction would just be 'why didn't you say something you idiot?' Fushimi clicks his tongue and he says Yata wouldn't have listened to him even if he had and Yata's like see this is why you get misunderstood all the time Saruhiko, because you assume shit like this and then end up not saying anything and wondering why no one notices. I think Yata would be really pissed that Hisui was playing with Fushimi that way, like even if the whole hallucination idea was initiated in any way by Aya there's still the simple fact that Hisui was trying to isolate Fushimi even more from the Red clan just to recruit him and not caring about how that might affect Fushimi's mental health.

Imagine during their conversation too Yata's like you wouldn't have joined that guy anyway right and Fushimi kinda pauses, like he was so miserable in Homra at that point that he can't even say either way if he would have rejected Hisui if Munakata hadn't shown up when he did. This would make things hit home a bit more for Yata about how out of place Fushimi felt in Homra though, like even with jungle playing with him that way it still might have felt like more of a refuge than Homra did. I could see Yata also being a little angry at himself for never noticing what Fushimi was going through though, like even while he's annoyed that Fushimi never said anything part of Yata is just so upset because he feels like as Fushimi's partner he should have realized that something was off about Saruhiko at that time and he didn't, and maybe he could have avoided some of this mess if only he'd been trying harder to understand Fushimi at that time (also it probably rankles that Munakata was aware that something was going on with Fushimi while Yata wasn't, even though Yata probably knows how perceptive the Blue King is there's still this little twinge of jealousy that someone else saw what was happening with Fushimi while Yata was completely oblivious to it).

[ridiasfangirlings]

I've read your recent meta about Munakata, Fushimi, and Mikoto, but I'm still not convinced that Munakata is better King than Mikoto. Munakata is quite manipulative don't you think? Like on Fushimi's case, he's aware about the virus but he didn't tell directly to Fushimi nor he destroyed the phone but he deliberately made Fushimi lured Hisui out so Munakata can 'save' him. He also planned Kusuhara's death so Scepter 4 can develop (I felt so sick while reading that). Mikoto while he's maybe too lazy to remember every HOMRA member, he generously gave his power for people who need it like Eric, Anna, even Yata and Fushimi. He's also protective toward his clansmen.

Also I think that if only Fushimi didn't feel afraid toward Mikoto and he was willing to be more open with Yata, he should stay in Homra. The poor dude never have a family before, right? He came from a cold house, why does he join a cold clan, that even Jungle feels warmer than Scepter4? Like you said, Munakata only chose people who was 'useful' for him, isn't it unhealthy to see people by how much they're worth? I don't think Fushimi with his low self-esteem will be fine in environment like that. Homra's family dynamic can give Fushimi what was missing from him on his childhood. On Homra, everyone is equal and there's no talk about "useful" and "useless" member, for example Totsuka is the weakest, yet he was respected. Kusanagi and Totsuka also care about Fushimi so much, and of course he can be with Yata, the most (maybe only) important person in his life.

I'm sorry for long ask, I just love Sarumi and HOMRA so much so I hate Munakata for separating Sarumi on LSW and he acts like an ass toward Mikoto and HOMRA.

I'm gonna answer this one out of order because I have thoughts and want to answer it while the thoughts are still happening XD So firstly: I'm not sure where you're getting that Munakata 'planned' Kusuhara's death. Munakata clearly had plans for Kusuhara from the start but my impression was never that those plans meant for Kusuhara to die – on the contrary, I think Munakata was pretty clearly planning for Kusuhara to be his Zenjou, more of less, to be the one who uses his swift reflexes to cut off Munakata's head when the time comes. A failsafe, basically, because Munakata leaves nothing to chance. He brought Zenjou into the fold largely for that reason, the only one of Habari's Scepter 4 really offered a prominent position, and when Zenjou went to the Records department instead Munakata simply found himself someone who he felt might have the potential to do the job just as well. That Kusuhara's reflexes would cause him to jump in front of a bullet meant for Munakata – and which wouldn't have killed him, because Munakata's aura would have kicked in, but Kusuhara moved quicker than that consideration – was not part of Munakata's plan (in fact if we're talking responsibility for Kusuhara's death I would put that on Hisui's head. Side Blue the novel hints at it and 7Stories is even clearer in showing Douhan as the sniper who tries to take Munakata down later, that Hisui was testing whether or not he could take Munakata out via a third party). In DOB Munakata mentions that Scepter 4 is more 'complete' for Kusuhara's loss but again, I don't take that as Munakata admitting he plotted this – it's Munakata considering after the fact, making the loss into a positive for the clan and considering that perhaps it was a thing that had to happen to make 'his Scepter 4' complete but that is not at all the same as saying 'he planned Kusuhara's death.' (The rest is under the cut because for some reason Tumblr kept eating my first few paragraphs otherwise.)

As for the idea of who's a 'better' King, there's a difference in my mind between which Kings are objectively better than the others and which are better for a specific person. Both Munakata's and Mikoto's approaches have their own merits. Mikoto offers power to anyone brave enough to take his hand so yes, he does offer power to weak people or people who need it like Eric and Anna. Mikoto values free will, and so if someone has the will to take his hand he will offer it to them, give them the option to risk death if they so choose for power. On the other end, this leads to guys who act outside of Homra and can cause trouble (like the guy in R:B, for example). It also means that Mikoto might have actually killed people who didn't fit the Red power, which is no less a tragedy even if it was a risk they were willing to take.

Munakata by contrast only offers his sword to people that he knows are worthy. As Fushimi puts it in LSW: “Taking precaution to make sure he’s only granting power to those who will succeed. That’s quite Munakata’s course of action.” That said though, Munakata's idea of who is 'worthy' isn't necessarily just a specific obviously useful type, S4 isn't filled with just serious characters like Awashima, Akiyama and Benzai. Munakata saw fit to give power to those who thought they wouldn't belong in such a place, like sushi chef Kamo, or those who thought they might just live a 'normal' life, like Hidaka. Munakata's clan contains the heir of a dojo (Doumyouji) and a former NEET (Gotou), and someone who thought a job was just something to pay for your hobbies (Enomoto). It contains people who may have thought “surely, I'm not someone who would belong in such a place.” But Munakata saw potential and pursued it, and I don't think that's objectively any less 'generous' than Mikoto giving out his Red to anyone brave enough to reach for it, it's just going about Kingship in a different way.

And as for the idea of 'useful' vs 'useless,' keep in mind when I discuss that in regards to Fushimi's position at Scepter 4 in particular I really do mean that as Fushimi's perspective. Now, Munakata does choose people based on how he feels they would fit in his Scepter 4 – their use – but that's not just a simple thing either. Like you mention Totsuka being weak yet still equal to everyone else in Homra, however despite Totsuka's physical weakness he does very much have a use in Homra: he's Mikoto's 'stopper,' he's the mood maker of the clan, he's the one who often deals with troublesome people. That's a use, despite his weakness. Munakata's way of creating a clan is different from Mikoto's but I don't think that makes it worse, or less of a tight knit clan. Munakata does have his manipulative side of course, and may do and say things that could draw out dissatisfaction within the ranks of his own clan, but at the end of the day everyone in Scepter 4 is able to feel that they have been chosen by their King for a reason and that he believes in their abilities, from third in command Fushimi to even members of the rank and file like Yayoi. (And from a simple practical perspective too, Homra's a loose knit gang while Scepter 4 is an actual government agency with duties and expectations placed upon them. Munakata will make a place for those he feels worthy, but he needs people who have abilities because otherwise someone could easily feel like they don't fit in this place or have no worth in the clan, because this workplace is not for them. But because Munakata picks only who he believes will fit in his Scepter 4 no one has to feel that way, because they wouldn't have been chosen if they had no talent.)

Now, as to the matter of Fushimi. Like you mentioned, Fushimi grew up without a family so surely Homra's family atmosphere should be good for him, right? But it isn't. I think it's best expressed this way: trying to run before you can crawl. Basically, at the point Fushimi joins Homra, he is not in the headspace to accept the idea of 'family.' This is where the disconnect between him and Yata happens too, because Yata always wanted a huge family where he belongs. Yata has his biological family, of course, and they love him, but he still feels like an outsider. However precisely because he has a loving family he knows what that feels like, he knows how he felt like when it was just him and his mom he belonged, how he belonged when he was with Fushimi. Homra is an extension of that, the big family where everyone is together and the days are easy and he belongs. But then there's Fushimi, who says it himself in LSW: “Solve everyone’s misunderstanding, you say? Who ever said that I don’t want to be misunderstood? Why do you want me to be understood by everyone when you yourself don’t? … If YOU understand me, I would be content.”

Fushimi's a kid who was always rejected, even by his own family. He clings to Yata as the only one to ever care for him but at the same time, look at how Fushimi vocalizes his understanding of their relationship. “Looking at me with eyes shining and saying 'amazing.'” Fushimi is quantifying Yata's affection, that Yata cares for him because Fushimi is amazing, because Fushimi is wounded enough that he can't trust in Yata's sincere affection. So when they join Homra this is a blow to Fushimi, who has hung so much self esteem on Yata's 'amazing,' because now Mikoto is amazing and Fushimi is just Fushimi, and why should that be enough to get Yata to stay? Just being 'Fushimi' has never been enough for anyone to remain by his side.

Homra would have happily accepted Fushimi into their family and given him what he lacked, but Fushimi isn't in a mental state to accept it because Fushimi is the one who quantifies emotions for his own safety. The neglected and unloved kid still can't believe that family won't reject him, that he can actually have a family, and so Homra's atmosphere suffocates him even beyond Mikoto's presence. Fushimi doesn't want to be equal to everyone else because if he has nothing to offer, why would anyone want him around? Just being himself has never been enough before, why should it be enough now? Especially when he sees how Yata fits in and how much he doesn't, where he's afraid of Mikoto and can't wholeheartedly call this person his King, where he doesn't really talk to anyone and often irritates people when he does. When Kusanagi tells Fushimi he wants Fushimi to stay in Homra and be his successor Fushimi doesn't see this as a compliment, he sees this as 'you wouldn't have to say this to Yata because there would be no question about his loyalty, so clearly you question mine.'

Then enter Munakata, and Scepter 4. Where Homra wanted Fushimi to run, Munakata's letting him learn to crawl first. On the one hand yes, Munakata wanted Fushimi for his own reasons, because he believed Fushimi's talents were being wasted in Homra and that he would do well in Scepter 4. But Munakata also saw in Fushimi that there was so much potential not being realized, someone who was in a way like himself. Case Files: “still, the way the two of them felt out of place and alienated by those around them due to how outstandingly capable they were was very similar.” Munakata sees in Fushimi someone who is dissatisfied with the world and offers him a chance to change that world to his liking instead, rather than miserably clinging to a place where he feels he doesn't belong. In Scepter 4 Fushimi has a job and a use and sure, it may not be on paper as warm and inviting as 'family' but it's also what Fushimi needs – he doesn't have to deal with worries and doubts about his place, or feel like he doesn't belong.

Fushimi can focus on his work and let himself really reach his potential, he can be challenged and use his mind, and at the same time if he ends up interacting with the other members and softening towards them, and making friends, more the better. In Homra they may be a family but it's easy for Fushimi to remain on the fringes, wandering off by himself at amusement parks, but in Scepter 4 he has to interact with others in order to do his job. And we do see some of that softening in canon – the little 'thanks' to Hidaka in DOB 1, the way he talks with Akiyama, his interactions with Awashima and Munakata are all clearly 'easier' than he was with pretty much anyone outside of Yata and maybe Kusanagi in Homra. Yata himself says it in ROK: “The Blue King was your King all along.” For Fushimi, Scepter 4 and Munakata were what he needed in order to develop beyond that lonely kid still clinging to the idea that he doesn't belong anywhere (and yes it separated him from Yata but at the end of the day that was more Fushimi's issues talking than anything, because Awashima and Kusanagi pretty much show that yes, someone from Homra and someone from S4 can be friends. It was Fushimi himself who chose to break things, not because Munakata made him but because at the time Fushimi believed that his precious thing was going to break anyway and as I said before Fushimi can't bring himself to believe in Yata's sincere affection).

(Also I couldn't figure out where to put this in, but regarding Munakata not telling Fushimi about Hisui's illusions, that to me shows once again that Munakata does actually understand Fushimi pretty well, because if he told Fushimi then Fushimi loses. Look at that moment versus Mikoto saving Sarumi during the jungle surprise party: Fushimi is miserable walking home, because 'I failed.' His plan didn't work, he had to be saved by someone else, and then he gets to see Misaki crowing over how cool the person who saved him is. By contrast, if Munakata simply told Fushimi 'Hisui Nagare is controlling your PDA and making you see illusions' and then destroyed the PDA, Fushimi would not see that as a good deed. Fushimi would see that as him being too stupid to figure this out on his own and needing to be saved by someone 'above' him, another one of his failures. By only giving him a hint Munakata allows Fushimi to make the connection on his own, play the game against Aya and win. While Munakata steps in to confront Hisui, because there's no way Fushimi can go toe to toe with a King and anyway Munakata called dibs first, Fushimi is the one who ultimately claimed the victory. He figured out the trick, he played against Aya, he won the game stacked against him. Munakata may be testing Fushimi in his own way too, sure, but he's doing it in a way that he knows will actually be better for Fushimi's self esteem. While, say, Mikoto finding out and destroying the PDA right away may seem like the more 'correct' move, saving his clansman from pain, all that would make Fushimi think is that he wasn't good enough to figure it out on his own and he had to be saved again like a useless person. Munakata though understands how Fushimi thinks and realizes that for Fushimi, not being told is better because it allows him to win on his own terms with his own intelligence rather than having to rely on someone else.)