#Yuusaku is a good older brother

[empressyu123]

My Bllk AU! 4#

Isagi: Saku… am i ugly?

Yuusaku: what nonsense, i’m looking at you right now, you’re the most beautiful boy in the world! *both smiling*

Rin: … *to Sae* Nii-chan. Am i ugly?

Sae: Very much

[ladihokabae]

Last one I swear!!!!!

YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY THIS MADE ME FEEL.

Lmao ok jk , this too but not as much as this

Did you see it!? Ogata/Yota has a brother! In this world he is blessed with an older brother. I hope it’s the DOGSRED equivalent of Yuusaku because then it would confirm that Yota is indeed a reincarnation of Ogata’s character. And Yuusaku and Ogata had another chance at being brothers again. And it would make sense if Yuusaku died ealier than Ogata he would be reborn earlier, therefore becoming the oldest instead of Ogata. From the panels it also seems that they have a good relationship.

Saturo Noda, please hear my prayers and make this canon. Ogata and Yuusaku deserve to be brothers again. 🙏🏻

[ogize]

I’ve considered the possibility of having children with Ogata. To tell the truth, I’ve never been one to want children. I’m good with kids but I never felt the need nor want to have my own. Up until, me and Ogata’s relationship progressed. The thought of children weren’t so daunting anymore. Though the desire was not completely there to have children, if it happened then it happened. Both me and Ogata would rather spend every second and every moment together. So throwing a child into the mix would take away our attention from each other. We are selfishly in love with each other utterly in every sense. So for us, we live our life together with nothing nor anyone to lessen our attention from each other. (I mean even in the picture I’m the one selflessly being carried by Ogata)

Nonetheless, I like to indulge in an alternative universes. If we were to have children, it would be accidental. During pregnancy he took care of me, possibly even more protective of me than ever. Ogata is an unconventional, complex, and protective father. For him to open up and be vulnerable to another human besides me, was difficult at first. He isn’t the type to coddle our child but he expresses his affection to our son in his own way, such as rubbing his head or letting him sit on his lap. He teaches him his skills, encouraging our child to be independent and capable. I could see the silent pride in his face. He really did try his best and seeing their interaction was absolutely adorable.

Our son, I figured, would maybe be named Yuusaku. Due to the face that I was able to facilitate and assist with the acceptance regarding his feeling of guilt regarding his brother. And so it’s as if by naming our son after his brother, it’s as if giving him a second chance in life. Allowing my husband to somewhat remedy his past. Yuuchan was a spitting image of his father. Except that he was a tad tanner because of me. He also had my personality. We would both tease Ogata together. We were able to give our child a life where his parents were utterly and almost disgustingly in love with each other.

I think I’ll end it here for now…

Commission credit Shilouuu

Edit: I had this photo I thought I’d share. The reason why we would name our child after his brother. It’s how I see Ogata would make amends with Yuusaku. At least in his mind. Naming our child after him and by taking care of our child as proper parents, he is giving Yuusaku another chance in life. I know Yuusaku would be proud of his older brother….

I don’t usually cry but I did as I typed this part. Just because i feel as if it is a way for Ogata to get his closure and accept what he did. Especially since the guilt ate at him internally till it became his downfall. So finding a way to overcome this to give Ogata a sense of peace, gets me a bit emotional.

I’ll need to discuss more regarding how he would deal with the guilt without a child. But till then…thank you for reading my rambles.

[darkscorpiox]

Dogsred - Theories on Tsunemaru Youta

Before the next chapter will come, I would like to present my theories concerning Tsunemaru Youta.

For starters, Youta was not the first Tsunemaru mentioned in the manga. In fact, it was in Chapter 8, when Higuchi was looking at the scrapbook of newspaper clippings about Oinokami’s victories, though you wouldn’t know unless you saw the untranslated version.

DF常丸拓也主将（3年） -> Defenseman Captain Tsunemaru Takuya (3rd year)

That information was from last year (the 19th consecutive victory) when Youta was a first year. So not only was he probably a member of the team at that time, but an older relative (most likely a brother) was the captain as well.

(Does that mean Ogata-expy Youta is the younger brother in this universe?)

Their positions aren’t the same, yet people from the same lineage, if they aren’t compared to each other, are usually expected to share the same potential. The Shirakawa siblings and the Genma brothers are examples of such respective cases.

Rou and Haruna both loved figure skating, but the former was more talented than the latter.

Keichi is expected to join Kouichi’s team next year because of the potential he shares with his older brother.

Youta too must probably live up to (the town’s, his family’s and) his team’s expectations of being not only an Oinokami hockey player, but also one related to the previous captain. I speculate that he is compared to the older Genma brother, who is a year younger than him, as well.

(I would like to point out that in every page Youta appeared in before the beginning of the match in Chapter 9 Kouichi was there too. Coincidence? I (would like to) think not.)

Despite being a decent goalie, he’s not as talented as Kouichi. As the last defense against his team’s opponents, his position is (one of) the most important one(s) in hockey. Any point scored by the opposing team can be considered more on him than the other players. So that’s a lot of pressure on his shoulders, something I believed his teammates didn’t help with (in the last image)…at first.

I thought they were bullying him, but the fact that it had been done on the leg pads had given me pause. Wondering if it’s something related to hockey, I searched on the internet and found these tidbits on the sport’s traditions and superstitions:

“Before the game begins, almost every player goes up to the goalie and taps him on the pads. It is done for good luck and to signal that the goalie is ready for action.” (source)

“[…] It is common for players to give [goalies] a tap on the pads before face offs, after great saves and after disappointing goals. These little gestures provide support and encouragement that words can’t always convey.” (source)

So that’s normal for hockey players and not a teammate’s act of malice. I was relieved that Youta didn’t seem to be hated by others like Ogata and even more after that scene:

I’m sure they would have helped any of their teammates, but still.

Maybe I’m looking too deep into things, but surely, Noda wouldn’t have put all those details without a reason.

(Also, because I was too focused on Youta being an Ogata-expy in Chapter 1, I didn’t notice the leg pads, the same as Koichi’s, which would have been all I would have needed to know his goalie position from the beginning.)

(And while it might just be a hockey reference, 39 can be the goroawase of the "saku" (3 + 9) of Yuusaku. Even in his next life, he's not free of his brother. It's probably his karma 😅😂😅)

[dcmk-hoard]

you say you like to imagine other ways for Kaito to find out the truth about Conan. This is your free pass to ramble about your favorite scenarios because I am CURIOUS. Somehow, I've never actually addressed the how, I just accepted it as a natural fact that Kaito knows, no questions asked xD

Since you asked :3c

If we disregard movie 3 but keep as close as possible from canon (including narrative with the canon pairings), my favorite scenario is that Kaito connected the dots after a little investigation after he was blackmailed into disguising as Shiho with Haibara telling him what to say.

Even if he never discovered about the APTX, he knows real magic is a possibility thanks to Akako - things that should be impossible suddenly become an explanation. It wouldn't be out of ordinary for him to accept that people can shrink and that Conan is hiding his true identity. If anything, I like to headcanon he initially thinks it's the work of magic and only way too later discovers there is an actual scientific explanation.

(More under Keep Reading because there are so many possibilities ops)

Other canonverse explanation I like is something similar to movie 3 - Kid accidentally overhears it while preparing for a heist. But instead of phone call he is disguised as someone Conan is directly interacting with and now Kid needs to pretend he knows what the hell Conan is even talking about being Kudou Shinichi and guys in black?? Otherwise his cover would blow.

Another similar one is that we could also have Conan deducing that Kid just knows while Kid thinks Conan is just a really mature child and treats him accordingly just to accidentally discover he is a teenager when Conan casually talks about it and then Kid needs pretends he knew all along to keep face while being "wtf" inside. This one will always amuse me.

Alternatively, Kaito could have put things together if he ever looked into Kudou Yuusaku and his family. Since Yuusaku is supposed to be Kid's "father" and Shinichi Kid's "older brother", I like to imagine Kaito looked into them just in case he ever needs to interact with Yuusaku and accidentally discovered Shinichi = Conan in the process.

One more way would be Akako giving warnings about Conan being older than he is since the beginning and Kaito just thinking she was talking in riddles again until he realizes that for once in her life she is being straightforward about something.

Other favorite scenarios would take part of the fanfiction world with canon divergent elements.

You see, KaiShin, HakuKai and KaiHei are all Kid X Detective pairings, but they all have different flavors. I would say the main flavors of KaiShin are Protagonist Shipping, "Two sides of the same coin", Identity Reveal and Identity Porn.

And oh boy, I'm weak for those flavors, especially identity porn. It's good enough identity porn already with Kaito knowing Conan = Shinichi. But if you want to make my brain really happy, including that Kaito has no idea they're the same person makes the trope even more fun.

The two finding each other again post-canon as Kaito and Shinichi while not knowing the other is Kid/Conan but sensing a familiarity and longing in each other makes me really, really weak.

Any shenanigans with common fanfic tropes like soulmates / guides & sentinels / ABO or supernatural AUs where we can explore extra senses as a way of identity reveal both ways will always grab my attention owo

Aaah, there are so many possibilities in canon divergence verses that I probably would get overwhelmed listing all my favorite cases. But since I think the ask was more for the canonverse, I will stop it here xD

Since I'm a sucker for identity reveal and identity porn, if anyone has any headcanons they want to share, I would love to hear OWO

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Hello hello! I LOVE your summaries and chapter & character analyses! I just wanted to ask...what is the significance of the bottom panel with little Ogata and his mom plus that text? Maybe I'm reading his expression wrong, but little Ogata seems to be looking lovingly at his mom (looks like a slight smile on his face)? It's interesting that this was shown near the final battle...

Sorry, I placed these three asks together because they deal with a similar topic.

Now, as I mentioned more than once I'm in the group that believes that Ogata is indeed feeling emotions like any human being but he's used to suppress them so that not only he often doesn't show them but he manages to keep his conscious side not even aware of them.

I've a by now ancient meta dealing with how characters in the story cope with guilt trying to suppress it, as this is a recurring theme through GK.

Noda seems to remark on how Ogata is so good at ignoring his guilt yet he's feeling it by giving to said guilt a manifestation in form of Ogata hallucinating Yuusaku.

Basically, unless we assume Yuusaku is a real wandering ghost tormenting Ogata, the fact Ogata keeps on hallucinating Yuusaku tells us he feels guilty, that murdering Yuusaku wasn't like stepping on a leaf for him, an act he did without thinking about it and forgot short after.

The memory of Yuusaku torments Ogata each time his psychological defences are at their weakest point, we see it happening when he was lying in a hospital after having been injuried by Sugimoto but also when in Karafuto he get feverish and, in this case, Yuusaku's image superimpose with Asirpa, creating in his mind a subconscious connection.

Later, in fact Yuusaku's hallucination will 'stop' him each time he'll try to shoot Asirpa.

We see something similar happening to Asirpa as well, as, when she consider killing Ostrog, she can't because she's reminded of when her arrow hit Ogata.

In Asirpa the whole thing is more natural as, although she too is prone to suppress negative emotions, she's not really doing it as much as Ogata, who's a lot more psychologically damaged than Asirpa will ever be.

Ogata has likely felt affection for his mother.

He remembers her, he dreams her as she sung him a lullaby, he used to love the anglerfish nabe she made, when he realized she was going insane, he tried to 'heal' her by providing her other things to cook.

When he lies about Sugimoto's last words in his mind he basically imagines Sugimoto's last minutes were what he wanted his father's last minutes to be, him thinking at his mother, him wanting to provide to her, him wanting to eat her anglerfish nabe again.

He had genuine attachment for his mother.

I don't know how he came up with the idea that, if she were to die, his father would finally come for her.

I know back then insane people weren't entrusted to a mental asylum but left in the family's 'care' the family either keeping trapped in a room that would work as a cell or disposing of them as discreetly as possible (a common way was to bring them to a trip on the mountains and 'forget' them there).

This social background could have influenced him but I don't know if we'll ever know why he came up with such an idea.

But that act likely impacted deeply on his psyche because Hanazawa never came and he lost his mother.

Possibly it's from that act Ogata learnt to bury guilt. So as not to feel pain for his own actions, for his own loss, he learnt to bury it, to disconnect from it and grew up with the idea he felt none when instead he continued to repress it... which is encouraged because Ogata becomes a soldier when he's really young and soldiers are actively encouraged and brainwashed into not feeling guilt for killing people.

And so Ogata ends up on meeting Yuusaku who latches on him like a lost puppy, without any care for how Ogata, as politely as he could, told him to let him be.

As far as Ogata knows, Yuusaku is the reason due to why Hanazawa stopped visiting his mother.

Ogata doesn't want to play the role of the 'Ani-sama' (兄様 "older brother") to the guy who, according to what he knows, caused his mother's abandonment... and Tsurumi feeds this feeling by suggesting if Yuusaku were out of the picture Hanazawa would love Ogata.

All this eventually leads to Yuusaku's demise, which, again, gives Ogata nothing. Hanazawa doesn't care for Ogata all the same. When Ogata goes and talk with him there's the implication his mother was already starting to lose her mind and that's why Hanazawa rejected her.

My speculation is Tome was a bit like Usami, obsessed with Hanazawa, thinking he would eventually dump his wife and marry her.

She, as far as we know, differently from Usami didn't get to the point she murdered someone to get Hanazawa, but he probably saw her obsession as insanity, he likely never planned to leave his wife, which is from the upper class, and marry a geisha and this is possibly why he left her, because she wouldn't content herself with being just his lover but had the 'insane' fantasy she could become more.

Anyway, while Ogata probably managed to bury deep enough the guilt for his mother's death, he just can't work out in the same way the guilt for Yuusaku's death, which haunts him even though he tries to deny it even to this day.

It's meaningful how in chap 253, when he tries to aim at Asirpa, he senses Yuusaku in the same way as he has sensed it in chap 246, when he was trying to aim at her again but, despite Ogata being usually intelligent, he doesn't manage to make the connection between those two happenings.

Actually in chap 253 the fact he got distracted by Yuusaku's presence even saved his life, yet he interprets it as Yuusaku's ghost trying to get in his way.

He lives in denial, his father, with his dying breath, cursed him so of course Yuusaku would be there to get in his way.

Either there's really a ghost in this story or Ogata is just not ready to accept he feels guilty.

And in all this mess he stumbles into Asirpa who we can see presents parallels with both his mother (she feeds him but she also loves someone who loves another) and Yuusaku.

And so at this point we've to wonder where Noda is going to lead him.

Since there was all this big build up between him and Asirpa, we can wonder if he'll face her again and this will force him to face the emotions he repressed for such a long time.

Will this cause him to be more open with his emotions and not suprress them? Will this cause him to accept he feels guilty? Will it make him cry? Will it make him show affection for someone again?

It's hard to say.

Unless Noda radically changed his plans, as I've said many times, I don't think he plans to kill Ogata... but this doesn't necessarily mean he'll make a 180° turn from how he is.

We've seen how Tsukishima tried to face what he kept inside... only to go back on square 1 and return on being a loyal Tsurumi follower.

We've seen Koito trying to be different... but then he let doubt catch him and he didn't dare to confront Tsurumi when he understood the latter knew they were there.

Changing is difficult.

We saw Shiraishi... slowly growing attached to Sugimoto and Asirpa to the point he went into the brewery despite the fire to save Sugimoto (and we've heard Boutarou saying through his whole permanence into the group how Shiraishi changed from how he was even though Shiraishi himself denied it).

Changing is possible... but it requires time... and, often, it requires help, a reason to do so. Shiraishi changed because he formed an emotional bond with Sugimoto and Asirpa due to the GOOD time they spent together. They had bad times as well, but the good ones just won.

So, back to Ogata... even if he finally were to face what he keeps inside... how much this would change him?

Hard to say but this is not a shonen so I doubt we'll have a drastical change in a short amount of time.

The story is ending, my guess, according to what Noda did, is Ogata isn't going to die but, all the bets are open on how he's going to live.

Tears when he were to face his buried feelings would be a good release of bottled up emotions but again, it depends on how he faces them. If he does it the bare minimum to realize he actually can feel guilt, we might not get them.

There's no time for him to develop emotional attachment/affection. Either he already has it, and he is in denial for it, or this is something that will require time. So it's a bit like a videogame. Will Noda unlock this event or not?

As Noda showed a flashback with his mother of whome we hadn't seen the face yet, I expect we'll get more about her... and possibly about his grandparents.

So yeah, we could get to see a more emotional Ogata, but it can also be this won't be the case... or Noda will save the best scenes for the volume version because sometimes Noda is like that.

Long story short, I've no idea what will be of Ogata beyond that I think that Noda won't kill him and that he has been building him up to have him face 'the ghosts of his pasts' and it's possible he's meant to do it while facing Asirpa but I think we should prepare ourselves for an interesting ride because Noda so far still seems to have plans for him.

We'll see... thank you all for your asks and sorry if I put them together!

[chibivesicle]

Golden Kamuy - Kikuta deserved better - 273-276

As I catch up on things, I’m gonna hit the highlights that really stuck with me.  Ogata is able to escape from Vasily using the tactics he observed from the showdown in Barato with Hijikata cutting through random row houses.  He’s seriously gotten into Vasily’s head as he hesitated to snipe aggressively after killing the wrong guy with Ogata’s cloak.

The only worthwhile thing from this continued and seriously a no longer interesting plot point, is getting to see Ogata wiggle under a fence like a cat.

So, I approve of this at least.  My own cat scores this as an 8/10 in cat wiggling.  Minus 2 points for not enough emotion from Ogata’s face.

Thankfully, Asirpa was able to escape with Sofia after Tsukishima gunned down Ariko.  It seemed to me that Koito froze/hesitated during that situation.  Tsukishima had no problem brutally shooting Ariko at point blank while Koito literally just hung back and watched. 

Asirpa is in a state of extreme shock. She just interrogated by Tsurumi to give up the code, watched Ariko be shot and now sees Boutarou’s corpse in the bottle-mobile.  Our girl needs years of therapy - she’s reaching the same level as our male cast members at this rate.

At least she breaks down in tears as Sugimoto tries to console her.  The artwork for this part of the page is excellent, it really does capture the melting of her mind and how she’s realizing how deadly the gold is.

It ties directly back to her argument with Kikuta before all this shit went down.  I’m always giving Sugimoto crap for being a moron, but it seems that he did make the right action by reaching out to allow her to hug his arm.  There is that soft look as he gazes down at her and just lets her be emotional.  It is clear that his presence is a comfort to her as she takes her time before returning to a more lucid mental state.  This is shown by how she opens her eyes and looks up before declaring that they need to meet up with Hijikata since she’s figured out how to crack the code.

Meanwhile, Kikuta rushed Ariko to a clinic to save his life.  Being the father figure/older brother he is, he tells him that it isn’t his time to die; he never made that makiri yet! And to my relief, Ariko wakes up!  Noda didn’t go for the lazy writing of killing of the minor Ainu character, something I was afraid of.

If his father saved him, it means his makiri was where he was shot in the chest under his uniform.  There is a lovely transition about a makiri in a fictional museum that was made by him, implying that he returned home and did make the makiri and likely resolved some of his identity issues, though it was still likely a tough life for him.  Ariko apologies for not being able to work as a spy for Central and really it isn’t like he’d be able to do so anyways.  But he did verbally point out he’s now politically on the side of someone like Asirpa to fight for their culture and right to exist in spite of colonial powers. The middle panel of Kikuta bidding him farewell just gives me the feels.  It is so clear that Kikuta knows he’s toast.  He saw Tsukishima shoot Ariko and Tsukishima likely watched him as he tried to save the man.

The fact that he said a casual line about going to an onsen.  Ugh, death flag for sure right there.  It seems Ariko knows that as he looks forlorn.  Kikuta is that sort of suave man who is going to look cool even though he’s doomed; he’s that awesome.

The action returns to Tsurumi at the church having solved the code.  With Tsukishima gone off to try to kill Ariko, Koito has remained behind.  All of a sudden Koito reverts to his extreme Satsuma accent when addressing Tsurumi in the absence of Tsukishima.  I think he didn’t even realize it at first, just like how after they escaped the fight with Boutarou, Koito spoke normally to Tsurumi without realizing it.

It is clear it took him a moment to realize he was speaking ‘Koito’ as Tsurumi is unable to respond to him and he then panics.  Koito is more than willing to chase after Tsukishima and support him, but Tsurumi instead recalls him.

At first he consoles himself that everything is okay. 

He is trying very hard to convince himself that everything that they witnessed through the keyhole was all an act to get the key!  Yes, it isn’t that Tsurumi doesn’t have some sort of awesome goal and this isn’t about how the death of his wife and daughter left him unhinged!

But the other random members of the 27th then comment on how strongly Nikaido reeks of beer . . . and Koito then thinks about how he and Tsukishima were hiding in the room at the church when Tsurumi ‘checked’ that he was alone.  And then it hits him - they were also played as a part of the ‘Tsurumi theatre’.  Unlike Tsukishima who has whole-heartily given himself over to Tsurumi, it is clear that Koito can’t.

That monologue sounded too good to be true.  He weakly says Tsukishima’s name into the rain as he then thinks ‘No . . .’  The rain is really fitting in this scene, I think it really is a stand in for Koito’s own disappointment and tears in this entire crazy quest for the gold.  Is he worried about his ‘older’ brother figure?  Himself?  Both of them?

He continues to try to rationalize the performance that Tsurumi gave them - even if Tsurumi lied to them, it wasn’t all a lie.  Oh Koito.  I want to give you a hug and pull you away as your little bon-bon-ness has won me over.  Most of that speech wasn’t for Koito, it was for Tsukishima.  Speaking about helping Japan is what Koito would like to hear but we can tell he doubts that as well.  Hence, his waffling.

But then he realizes that as Tsukishima has given so much - all of Tsurumi’s words, even if they were ‘sweet lies’ as he he referred to them on Karafuto, it was just perfect for Tsukishima.  However, Koito has broken the spell that Tsurumi held over him.  The final page of the chapter of Koito looking at the illuminated Tsurumi and shutting the door on him.  It is the exact opposite of when Tsurumi rescued Koito from the kidnappers when in his youth. I now find myself wondering how this relates to the tiger curse.  It is clear that the curse for Tsukishima will not end well.  After he shot Ariko, his eyes regained their sparkle!  Not good, not good at all!  However, have I misinterpreted it for Koito that by becoming disillusioned with Tsurumi he will be cursed to be miserable through him gaining independence from his hero worship of Tsurumi?  The idea that ignorance is bliss, and now Koito is well in the know.  The fact that when he and Tsukishima were sort of on the same page was when he could speak to Tsurumi but now that he’s on a different path from Tsukishima he’s tripped up again.

Chapter 274 finally allows Asirpa to determine the fake skins after what she witnessed with Boutarou in the brewery and thinking about Ainu garments that she figured out that Edogai likely went above and beyond with his fakes.  Thanks money counterfeiting guy from the fake Ainu village for the inspiration.  It is a lot of pages that tie together other plot points nicely but really doesn’t do anything for me as a reader personally.

The most important point is that as Sugimoto falls asleep while Asirpa and Hijikata work with the skins is that we get another flashback - one that links him to Kikuta!

and even more importantly - Hanazawa Yuusaku!  Chapter 275 starts out with an homage to the classic movie ‘Singing in the Rain’.  As soon as I saw Sugimoto spinning on a lamp post, it was obvious.  Yes, small town boy in the big city - causing trouble.  He gets in some sort of brawl with random guys from the army and is ‘rescued’ by Kikuta, who immediately realizes that he’s hungry and decides to treat him to some lunch.

It shows that Sugimoto has a short fuse and is an impulsive youngster.  Really, he is lucky that he didn’t do more stupid shit to get him in trouble.  We can also clearly see that Kikuta is a member of the 1st Division, the Tokyo based one that Sugimoto eventually enlists with.

Kikuta decides that he wants Sugimoto to impersonate Hanazawa Yuusaku and to go on a marriage interview for him.  This is because Hanazawa Hiro, the now identified wife of Hanazawa, is pulling the strings in the background to prevent Yuusaku from becoming a flag bearer.

This then makes us wonder why these two parents have such contrasting expectations for their only son.  It makes me think back to my theory that Yuusaku was a pretty poor solider and lacked any skill or potential.  Long ago, Tsurumi told Nikaido that Ogata is the ‘true heir’ of Hanazawa inheriting his military and [some] leadership skills as he stood on the watch tower in Barato ordering the random gangsters how to fight effectively.  Yuusaku is a disappointment for Hanazawa - he can only save face by having his son become such a symbolic part of the army.

I laughed at the next page where Kikuta confirms that Hiro is colluding with the young heiress to steal Yuusaku’s virginity and thus preventing him from becoming a flag bearer.  I love the posture of the terrified Yuusaku!

However, Hiro’s plan has been found out by Hanazawa and he consulted with the leader of the 1st Division to assist him with resolving this unpatriotic and embarrassing issue.  Recall that Ogata was born as a result of Hanazawa being posted to Tokyo - this implies that he likely became good friends with the leader of the 1st Division during this time.

To prevent anyone from identifying Sugimoto, he’s the perfect substitute for Yuusaku and changes into Kikuta’s uniform.  He’s one of those guys who just has that look.  Sugimoto immediately thinks that since he’s been treated well by Kikuta, joining the military might be a good way to find security - in food.  However, we get a link of the cap to Kikuta and what appears to be his dying younger brother.

Kikuta looks so sad, like there is something unfortunate with Sugimoto’s statement of food.  We don’t get to see his expression, indicating he’s likely hiding his emotions from Sugimoto and instead tells Sugimoto he’s going to have to train him in food etiquette.

He’s presented with some Western cuisine, something that may blow his cover and something that Kikuta didn’t expect as he watches from a tree outside.  But again, due to his extreme luck, he’s able to use nervousness as an excuse and it gives him time to state his family his super traditional so they wouldn’t have eaten food like this.  When he’s removed the cap, Kaneko Kaeko is smitten with his handsome face. He can use his excuse as a way to have an out for not knowing how to eat that tasty ebi fry (why to I hear ‘ebi fry’ in Nyanko-sensei’s voice?).

As she explains the fancy places she’s dined at, Sugimoto thinks about how he was living off of cat food.  Cue another reason why he just hates on Ogata, since he was stealing food from Ogata’s people! 

The rest of the dinner goes well, and Kikuta checks in with him.  Meanwhile, our wealthy heiress is completely smitten with him!

As Sugimoto mulls over the idea of a somewhat arranged marriage as a negative he spills the beans about Toraji and Umeko.  And Kikuta isn’t having any of his bullshit.  I love how Kikuta points out how selfish and downright stupid Sugimoto is being in all of this.  Kikuta gives Sugimoto good advice - which he’s clearly still never followed.

He makes it clear that he’s got to give up on that hometown and move on.  Which will be completely ignored as Toraji will end up in the 1st Division with Sugimoto in the trenches.  I’m now wondering how Toraji and Sugimoto reconnected.  Hrrrmmmmm?  Is this something that Sugimoto encouraged and that’s why he has all of these unresolved emotions about Toraji’s death in the war?

The chapter reveals to us that Tsukishima’s love ended up marrying the cousin of Kaeko, making Tsukishima’s acceptance of her ‘death’ even more heartbreaking as he thought that Tsurumi had lied to him about her fate.  [weeps bitterly]. 

As Kikuta and Sugimoto discuss what appears to be Yuusaku’s lack of a free will, he’s told not to meddle in others concerns.  What does Sugimoto do? The man just can’t keep to himself and he goes and finds Yuusaku to confront him.  He wants to know if Yuusaku wants to be a flag bearer even though it is a death sentence.  How does that conversation go? Just how we’d expect with all of the information we know about Yuusaku.

I love how he’s like it isn’t to meet my father’s expectations!  It is because understand my father’s convictions and fight for my country.  Okay, you keep telling yourself that Yuusaku, but it still sounds like you are doing this for your father, you know tomay-to, tomah-to.  Sugimoto mulls over what Yuusaku would choose if given the choice.  I just sigh as we know enough about Yuusaku’s backstory that the man only does what his father says - with great conviction. All of our Ogata flashbacks have made this so clear, Yuusaku is a doomed man from the moment he entered the army.  Maybe even a doomed man from his birth even.  Perhaps, he’s acutely aware of this, but based on how freakkin’ awkward he’s with Ogata and his older brother actions, I continue to think he’s not the brightest bulb in the pack and can only be used as a patriotic pawn.

Yuusaku then becomes suspicious of Sugimoto’s line of inquiry and realizes that he’s got Kikuta’s cap.

Not sure how to respond, he runs away and we learn that Kikuta’s younger brother died of illness during the first Sino-Japanese war.   That same war that killed Koito’s older brother and that Tsurumi and Tsukishima fought in as well. With the statement of illness, I know what most likely killed Kikuta’s younger brother - malnutrition - specifically beri beri.  As the Japanese military rapidly modernized using European models, they ran into an issue with many soldiers and sailors dying of some sort of mysterious illness and it wasn’t something that impacted the Westerners at all.  Most of this has to do with the ability to eat white rice which was much more processed.  It made it more expensive, but was nutritionally bad for men who came from lower incomes or poverty.  Remember how stoked Asirpa was when she ate white rice all the way back at the herring fishery?  If anyone has read “House of Five Leaves” by Natsume Ono, you’d know the protagonist is a poor ronin and he falls ill due to beri beri.  The solution was to return to the countryside/hometown to eat a more diverse diet.  For a more detailed explanation of how bad this was for the Japanese military check out the video by Linfamy on youtube here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzIBpFDRr5g

The video even highlights the fierce (and counterproductive) competition between the Army and Navy which has already been well defined through Koito’s backstory. The chapter ends with Sugimoto dropping the cap and the polite man who picks it up for him is Tsurumi with Ogata, Usami and Tsukishima in Tokyo. The plot thickens . . . somehow Sugimoto got mixed up in the business of the 27th and apparently Tokyo isn’t a vast city that you can get lost in and everyone knows everyone.  Like how I was on flight to Saskatoon and the man next to me started up a conversation how he was from Burlington and went to Guelph and my friend who I was going to visit was also from Burlington and went to Guelph it is a small world kinda moment and in agriculture.  I digress though.  Things are starting to pull back together but I’m still not 100% on with this plot direction/story arc.

[piduai]

i don’t think that what ogata feels towards yuusaku can be called guilt, or rather that he feels anything towards yuusaku at all. don’t get me wrong there are definitely complex feelings involved and i do think that what he’s feeling is close enough to guilt but it’s more than that and less than that at the same time.

people go really deep into analysis of biblical themes in gk while clearly having a christian-influenced perspective. gk does have its share of them obviously, though i think most if not all of them are fake deep and hand-picked for the aesthetic. one of the more obvious biblical themes is that yuusaku was ogata’s sacrificial lamb, therefore he was the perfect, blameless victim. yuusaku’s purity is what drives ogata crazy - a life so innocent even someone who kills with no remorse gets second thoughts. ogata’s slip into insanity started the second he shot yuusaku; we get an objective perspective where he falls down immediately, and we have ogata’s perspective when he turns back and looks at ogata in an accusing, surprised, disappointed way. your sins staring back at you, in a way, accusing you of committing them, accusing you of evil.

yuusaku is not really a person in the narrative, he’s purposefully kept as lacking personality as possible, and without ogata he would be pointless. yuusaku is everything ogata could be. yuusaku is everything ogata hates.��

ogata was never loved. as humans we're all wired to want to connect with others, but because he was never loved, good, healthy bonds are alien to him, so he tries to reach others in the only ways he knows how - through negative bonding. ogata is hyperaware of his inadequacy and the fact that he's severely lacking something as a person, but he prefers to self-sabotage and self-destroy by hurting others. he projects onto people as a way of connecting and as a way of rationalizing his own thoughts and experiences. yuusaku is everything that ogata could have been, he represents everything ogata lacks as a person and is ogata’s antithesis. he is the epitome of the normalcy ogata so craves. i don't think ogata would care much if it wasn't his own flesh and blood, but by being his brother yuusaku basically stole ogata's spot under the sun, the normal life and normal personality ogata could have had, in a way. of course, none of it was yuusaku’s fault, and ogata was aware of that, but bitterness and jealousy are feelings difficult to control just by understanding and acknowledging them.

if yuusaku left him alone ogata would probably leave him mind his own business, but yuusaku pushed his presence on him too - not out of ill intent, he just wanted to get close to his older brother because that’s what normal people do, they value and appreciate family, especially someone who was actually raised with love and care and virtue. he kept rubbing salt into ogata’s wounds by being so painfully normal and pure and idealistic and stupid, and his worst sin was trying to be kind to his brother. trying to see the best in him, telling him that he’ll be by his side no matter what, and showing hope for him. he cried for him. who else cried for ogata? who else disregarded his defenses and embraced him for warmth and compassion? who else accepted him? ogata is so critically not used to being shown normal human kindness that when he gets it he freezes. and it's the worst when it comes from his nemesis. "how dare you look at me from your high position, golden boy? how dare you pity me? how dare you love me?"

and ogata tried his best to tear yuusaku down, to dirty him and soil him and drag him down to his level, but he could not. so he killed him in hopes that his death will prove that ogata also had a chance at normalcy, and that if yuusaku's gone he will become ok. but he didn't. so he hates himself for killing yuusaku without managing to soil him. he realized his own mistake the moment his bullet hit his brother’s head; he realized that this mistake will haunt him to the end of his days, this failure of absolving himself of perceived sin, this acceptance for innocence as the currency for moral corruption. guilt towards other comes with a regret for doing them wrong, guilt towards oneself is often selfish in nature, born out of failure to do the right thing. i don’t think ogata feels regret towards killing yuusaku, but he does feel regret towards killing yuusaku while allowing him to stay pure and failing to tear him and his hypocrisy to shreds. if only yuusaku allowed himself to get corrupted in order to humor his brother - slept with a hooker, murdered an enemy - then these moral qualms on ogata’s side wouldn’t exist; he would have killed someone who is just like him. 

while obviously flawed, ogata’s logic isn’t difficult to follow. both yuusaku and asirpa were innocent if the question is framed in terms of morality, but their innocence comes with a price everyone else has to pay. asirpa is against committing murder for religious reasons; those who kill humans are cursed and will go to hell, but she isn’t necessarily against murder itself if others do it, though she does not condone it. yuusaku was keen on keeping both his virginity and his killing count to 0 because he wanted to fulfill the role his father put on him - bearing the flag, putting yourself in the danger of the front lines and raising morale, what an honor. but ultimately both of them just refused to get their hands dirty while everyone else had to. it comes off as hypocritical and cruel. there is no bloodless revolution and there is no bloodless war.

ogata saw yuusaku in asirpa. he hated her for that. he hated asirpa for holding onto her hypocritical ideals and principles of purity the same way yuusaku did.  he hated asirpa for being kind to him. "people like you and him shouldn't exist in this world" - they crumble his delusion that everyone is inherently rotten. and if people are not inherently rotten, then it means that the problem, indeed, lies within himself.

guilt towards others comes with remorse, wanting their forgiveness and pursuing ways to atone. it is selfless, it is something that is not self-centered. therefore i do not think ogata feels guilt towards yuusaku. even after yuusaku’s murder at his own hands, ogata assumes that he is forgiven - he tells the ghost he hallucinates that his kindness will ruin him. guilt towards himself and his failures though? that’s his cross to bear.

[schocooca]

Golden Kamuy Yuusaku x Ogata One Shot

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33297505

Usami gave Ogata the wrong drink.

Or, when fellow coworkers go to a bar after work and Ogata is so done that he doesn't care about the wrong color of alcohol in the glass and just drinks the all thing in one shot. 

He ends up in Yuusaku's arms.

He did not want to be here. He really, really and again really, didn’t want to be here. He went along with the idea of going to the bar for some drinks with his coworkers only because he would hate hearing their whines about how he never goes out with them after work. 

They always whine and cry anyway, so thinkin now, what was the difference? 

He just moved the glass in his hands, small, compared to the other men. Small, but still firm, and yet soft. Sigh escaped his mouth, when the next part of alcohol came to their table. 

Today, the one in charge of drinks was Usami and it showed. These colors were so weird that Ogata doubted if they were still edible, but then remembered the time when Usami drank the mix of… some things and it was pitch black. Oh lord, it was so hideous and stank so much that he threw up, but no, Usami drank it in one shot.

He ended up in hospital for a few days. 

Now, looking at a one year older man, he seemed… no, he didn’t. He was still stupid and with some bad ideas in his head. But then, the drinks this time don’t look like they came up from the deepest hole in hell. Nah, they looked like they only came from hell. 

Ogata made a disgusted face. 

— What's that face for, huh? 

His eyes picked up a movement to his right and ears picked up sound. He stared at the man who just talked to him. Younger than him, but started at the same time at the office. Sugimoto was his name and sure, he was capable, but always somehow after a few hours of work ends up somewhere too far to that place that he should be at. One time he disappeared and was found on the playground with some young girl. 

— Should I really answer that? — he grumbled, low voice vibrating and he picked up glass with low percentage alcohol, drinking all the liquid that was left. 

Glass left his hands and then table, and next one with some really intensive color appeared. 

Sugimoto eyed that drink and laughed, but when he saw his own - stayed silent.

That was so wrong.

— I hope that at least no one drugged them… — Ogata heard a whisper from the end of a table. It came from Kadokura, who was one of the oldest ones here. Let's say that… Usami might be kinda fixated about him and the poor guy was always the victim. Lucky for him that he never stayed at the hospital because of it.

Guys before him weren't always that lucky.

— EVERYONE! CHEERS!

Ogata grabbed glass and moved it slightly towards others and after that - drank all of it in one shot.

He felt the alcohol killing inside of his mouth and throat and that feeling was pleasurable, obviously.

But the taste was kinda off.

Welp, he didn't care at this point.

— Ah! I gave Ogata my own drink!

It's too late.

Taste was off, but made him crawl more and it was totally not like him to be the first one with the red face and hazy eyes. His head was on the table, looking at the person opposite him, smiling like a kitten that he was. 

— Did Ogata just get drunk?

— I think so

— Welp of course he did, after he drank MY drink and stole some others. 

Ogata closed eyes, head dropping to the side and his hand moving onto his face.

— What a stupid cat.

— Koito, you aren't better. 

Suddenly, Hyakunosuke's head went up and looked around, like he was searching for someone, but didn't find it, so he started pouting and then - clinged to Sugimoto, who was next to him. 

— What the—

That wasn't all. Ogata purred, while rubbing against him. Sugimoto choked.

— Woah woah, kitten, don't get too fired up

Kiroranke laughed and patted Sugimoto on the arm, trying not to laugh more after seeing his face. 

— Y...ku.. 

Ogata was mumbling, while sniffing Sugimoto. Yes, that's his smell… But he would not sit so stiff.

— Where is Yuusaku — he groaned and tried to move away from the warm body that he wanted to feel so much. But it couldn't be anyone. It had to be him. 

Ogata hit the table and spilled drink on his shirt. He wanted to stand up, but legs weren't listening to him and he stumbled on them, right onto Sugimoto's lap. 

— Ow!

— That's funny to watch, but also it starts getting annoying.

It was Usami who said that.

— Sugimoto, take care of him~

— WHAT

Said man screamed and Ogata trembled at that. Hot. And so, he said his name again.

— Ugh, fine! Shiraishi, Tsukishima, could you help me with it?

And so they went, trying to take the man who started to get really needy and horny and it showed.

At the end, when they rang the bell to a place that Usami told them to go, they hesitated.

— Does he really live here? 

— I don't know man, he never really told us where he lives, so—

— Please be faster because I swear to god I'm gonna leave you two alone with him

— Jeez, chill…

And then they waited. Few moments later they heard doors opening.

— Good evening, what can I- Oh, Brother? 

Ogata's head perked up and in one moment he tried running to him but missed a step and face hit his chest. Yuusaku caught him and held firmly, yet soft. 

— That's all! Take care!

Three of them disappeared really fast, whispering to each other.

Ogata looked up and bit his lip, his mind going crazy. How he wanted the younger brother to hold him, whisper to his ear, move fingers on his body, touch him… He whined and pushed him inside their house.

— Ah, Hyaku, are you okay?

Yuusaku tried to move him away, and sure, he did that, but man, how his heart fluttered at the sight. 

— Brother, let's get you changed, okay? 

— Mmm… 

Ogata couldn't walk on his own, his head was full with naughty thoughts about them and damn, he sure was hard. 

So when they got into the bathroom and Yuusaku made him sit on the bathtub, he was wiggling for touch. He was in so much need for it.

That he just took his hand and placed it on his crotch, whining sweetly and making the young man blush. 

— Yuusaku, fuck me

His heart was beating so hard now. Imagination of him and Ogata having sex was before his eyes and made him twitch. 

— Brother, I couldn't-

Ogata second hand grabbed the young man's hair and after that, he went for a kiss.

It was messy at first and Yuusaku was still in shock. It was also short, since Ogata gasped for air and whined, wiggling under his touch on his pants. 

— You are cute, brother — Yuusaku whispered, their lips brushing slightly and went for a kiss. It was sweet and soft, innocent and full of affection. His hand was on Ogata's cheeks, thumb caressing his skin and so loving. 

Then, his second hand took care of buttons of his shirt, belt and zipper of pants. 

After a while, they stopped kissing and while Ogata's drunk brain was still processing the love, Yuusaku pulled off his shirt and pants.

Ogata shivered from the cold and opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off with a peck on his forehead. And then cheeks. Eyes. Nose. Mouth.

— You are loved, brother 

He took his small hand and placed a soft kiss on the palm, and then put that small hand on his cheeks. He saw how his eyes looked between his lips, hand and eyes, but he didn’t say anything. 

Yuusaku then waited, giving more soft touches.

They stayed like that for a while, until Ogata sniffed. Yuusaku froze.

— What-

There were tears in his eyes and they were going down, making wet stains along the way. 

Ogata was crying.

Seeing his older brother in that state was heartbreaking.

—Hyakunosuke…? 

He spoke in a soft voice, full of worry. In a moment, he was cupping Ogata's face in hands and wiping away his tears with thumbs. 

— Why you make me feel all these things… — he sobbed — I am bad, I do bad things and I despise you

There was a faint smile hiding in Yuusaku's lips. 

— I don’t care about all of this. Well, maybe I love you because of all of this?

He spoke these words, while looking at him with loving eyes. 

Caressed his cheeks and placed a soft kiss on his nose. After that, he just embraced him and let his beloved brother wet his shirt with tears. He stroked his bare back, feeling how muscles tensed under his touch, and - after a while - they relaxed. 

Yuusaku closed eyes, humming under his breath and when Ogata was no longer crying, he just picked him up and went to his bedroom. Put in bed and lied next to him. 

Ogata snuggled into him right away, making the younger man chuckle. But he didn’t say anything. 

Yuusaku just put his arms around him and petted Ogata hair, both of them listening to each other's breath and heartbeats, which – lulled both of them to sleep.

The next day, Ogata had a hangover. And people give him stares in the office. 

— Hey, Ogata, what is your relationship with your brother?

It was Shiraishi and oh look, that's the coffee Ogata was just drinking on his face.

[stormech]

So, I did an ask meme I found. For context, this is geared towards Yugioh kin, and I’m a fictive but the questions are applicable and I wanted to answer them. I guess this is also my way of reaching out to the community, if there are any people like me I haven’t met yet, because I like meeting new people.

1. Are you canon divergent? If so, how?

Not really divergent, more like extended. It’s been almost 4 years since canon for me, so I’m 20 now. Things certainly kept going after what you see in the show ended. The Ignis were all revived and there was a second war… I’ll talk about it to people who want to hear it.

2. Do you still play the game today? Are you any good? Do you still use your original deck?

Yes! I don’t duel in canon but I use the deck I remember using, Thunder Dragons.

3. Is there anything in particular you remember that wasn’t shown in source that you feel is important?

The Ignis Revival project, and the reveal that in my canon at least, Genome was behind coding Lightning’s behavior. Revolver, who analyzed the code, described it as being “like being born with PTSD”. Genome wanted to create an AI weapon and he was hoping that Lightning would kill me and the others off so that he could get away with no survivors that knew about it. I also wish people knew that Lightning has been making amends after the war and has settled down very peacefully and is working to leave his trauma behind him. I, for my part, have forgiven him completely. I know that’s not the narrative a lot of people hoped to hear but that’s what happened to me and that’s how I feel about it.

4. What’s something mundane that’s funny now?

I can’t think of much because I’ve had so little life experience and so little of it was funny, but my favorite little memory was when I first met Lightning and I asked him if he was a fairy.

5. Did you have friends or enemies? If so, who are they? Are you in contact with any of them today?

I consider Yuusaku my best friend, and we’re in contact today. Revolver, Takeru, Aoi, and Spectre too… and Baira, who I’ve definitely adopted as an older sister. And my brother, of course! And Lightning, the light of my life (quite literally). I’m very blessed to be in contact with everyone, whether they’re in my system or another. As for enemies, the Genome from my canon can rot in hell and I’m glad we’re not in contact.

6. If you’re comfortable sharing, is there anything traumatic or heavily negative that you went through that you still struggle thinking about?

The Genome stuff mentioned above. I don’t really remember the Lost Incident at all, since Lightning took those memories away in canon, but I still struggle with the “You Lose” screens in games like Duel Links.

7. Did you have a favorite Duel Monster? If so, which?

Thunder Dragon Thunderstormech was my ace, so it’s very special to me! Paladin of Storm Dragon is also important to me and I make sure to keep it in my deck.

8. How do you feel about doubles? What would you do if you met one?

I have met one! We haven’t talked much, but I regard him with fondness and am happy to see him around. I find the concept of doubles fascinating, so I’m totally fine with doubles of me or my friends.

9. If you’re from a world that didn’t have one of the later forms of dueling (ex. Rush Duels) what’s your opinion on them now?

I know the rules, even though none of us have seen Sevens. It sounds interesting and I think I’d try it if given the chance! Also, we didn’t have Pendulum in my world, so that’s super cool too!

10. Do you have any regrets? If you could go back is there one thing you would do or change? If so what would it be?

I think… I would find Lightning right after the revival — or maybe at the beginning of the second war so I could explain the misunderstanding — and talk to him and open up to him and… I don’t know. I had so little control for most of my life, it’s hard to think of where I could have done something different. But maybe if I had shown him my love sooner, things would have turned out better for him sooner, too.

[bitway-arts]

title: What a Party characters: yuusaku, ryoken, aoi pairing: slight datastormshipping summary: Aoi invites Yuusaku to a party hosted by SOL. He doesn't want to be there, but maybe someone will turn his night around. {AU}

"Thanks for coming with me, Yuusaku.

"Don't mention it."

The boy gulped as he looked ahead, already dreading the event. Yuusaku was not one to be found in large social gatherings. He didn't like the crowds, the stuffy feeling, the forced conversations. Everything about it made him shudder to the mere thought. You'd never catch him at a formal, upper class, business like party setting. Ever.

Until tonight.

"You could have denied coming with me, you know?"

"Hm."

He knows. He's very aware that he could have denied Aoi's request. That he could be home and enjoying the night on his own or with Kusanagi. It was either logging into Vrains or helping his friend hack. Either one was a very tame activity compared to…a party.

But, this was a personal request from Aoi. She had asked him to come to SOL Technology's business party with her. It was more of a request from her brother, he found out. He wanted his sister to have someone to be with here. And Yuusaku was the ideal candidate.

Like him, she hardly spoke with others. Sure she was kind but didn't have many she would be able to call friends. Yuusaku was the closest person she could think of aside from their other mutual friend; Naoki. And while that boy might enjoy a night like this more than the two of them combined, he wasn't the type who could fit in at a party like this.

The boy hears a sigh come from Aoi and he glances over to the girl. She wore a white dress tied with a blue ribbon around her waist, another resting on her chest. Meanwhile, he was put into a suit that was almost identical to his school uniform. The only difference was this one was suffocating as it was passed down from Kusanagi and didn't quite fit.

Their eyes meet and he could see the apologies in her gaze already. It's his turn to sigh, not wanting her to let doubts plague her mind.

"Let's go in."

With a nod, they turn to the door. Yuusaku steps forward, pushing the door open and letting her follow in. Inside, the banquet hall is filled with a bunch of older folks. Most were in tuxedos and fancy, yet revealing enough dresses. It was something he would expect to see from a business party.

And he already hated it.

The amount of people filling this room was nauseating. All the chattering smell of alcohol wasn't something he was used to being around. If only he could turn back now.

A hand comes into his vision. He looks to it. Aoi was holding it out for him to take. Normally he'd decline, but…he takes it. Just this once. Holding her hand put him at ease. Not too much, but it was better than before.

The two walk deeper into the party, heads turning to see what else could be here. There was a food table and Yuusaku hoped that it offered something non-alcoholic here. Maybe they could go and grab something there.

"Akira!"

Or not.

Aoi had spotted her brother and a smile had lit her face. Without thinking, she begins to drag Yuusaku along with her towards him. She only releases his hand when they had stopped before him.

"Aoi," Zaizen smiles softly. "You're here. I'm sorry I couldn't meet you at the door." He looks down for a moment before looking to her partner. "And this is Yuusaku, correct?"

"Yes. My classmate."

"I'm glad to see you came along with her. Thank you for coming."

"Yeah…It's no problem."

Yuusaku didn't know what to say. He was't one for talking and being truthful in this moment didn't seem quite right. He'd play the part of the friend that was (somewhat) happy to be here.

"I know it's a little different from parties you should be going at around your age," Zaizen starts. "But, I hope you can enjoy the night."

"We will!" Aoi chirps.

"Zaizen! Zaizen!" A woman calls out for him. A young one with brown, wavy hair, blue eyes, and a navy blue dress. "I didn't mean to leave your side- oh, is this your sister?"

"It's alright, Hayami. And yes, this is Aoi, my sister."

Aoi gives the girl a smile and Yuusaku can already feel that he's going to have to introduce himself to more people. He takes in a breath, ready to speak before Aoi steps in front of him. She gives him a look and with a hand behind her back, urges him to go. While she had dragged him to this party, she never meant to drag him into endless chit chat.

Yuusaku doesn't hesitate taking this hint. He gives a slight nod to her before taking off. And, surprisingly, it's so easy to slip away in this crowd of people. He feels a bit guilty for leaving her, but that was something she was more accustomed to. She could handle the adult, business like chatter. He couldn't.

For now, he decides to try and make his way to the food table. No one approaches him and he's very thankful for that. People might wonder who he is, but as long as no one spoke to him, he would be happy. It would make his night that much easier to handle.

At the food table, nothing really catches his eye. He'd eaten a hot dog earlier thanks to Kusanagi's warnings about fancy dinners and how daunting they could be. As the food had failed him, that left him with only one more option. Wait until Aoi met up with him so he could enjoy the night a little better.

"Hey, you're one of little Zaizen's friends, aren't you?"

Yuusaku frowns as he hears a feminine voice beside him. He doesn't bother to look to address her, hoping that she would leave him alone. But, of course, business folks like to make connections in any and all forms.

"I saw you come in with her. So, you must know the older Zaizen to, right?"

Whatever is said after that, the boy drowns her out. He could care less about what she really wanted from him. Honestly, it was a futile effort. He'd only met Zaizen today and barely spoken to him. She'd have a better chance with speaking to someone else at this party if she wanted to connect to him.

"I won't bother you much longer." Was she starting to get the message? God, he hoped so. "I just want to ask-"

"Pardon me," another voice interrupts. Yuusaku turns his head slightly, catching sight of this stranger. He could only see him from behind, his white hair and a touch of purple highlights as he wore a white tuxedo. "You seem to have him confused with someone else. He came with me."

The woman wears a confused look, surprised that he had just strolled up to them and uttered this blatant lie to her face. She inhaled, ready to give her response back, but she was silenced with a single glare.

"Sorry…" Her head dips and she turns, leaving the two alone.

"You're welcome."

"I didn't ask for your help."

The man smirks. "Would you have preferred being hounded by her and others thanks to entering with Zaizen's sister?"

Yuusaku falls quiet. A part of him was thankfully, truly, he was. But he disliked feeling like he had to pay a debt to him.

"No…"

He turns to face Yuusaku and now he can get a better look at the stranger who helped him. He was a bit taller than him, had fair skin, and shimmering blue eyes. And…

"Have we met before?"

He doesn't answer him, only holding out a hand for Yuusaku to take.

"I won't ask you for a dance. You don't seem the type."

He can see the wariness in his gaze and how he even inched back. It seemed that the boy disliked strangers.

"Trust me."

"Why should I?"

"Three reasons. One, if you're with me no one will bother you. Two, I have no interest in your alliance with either Zaizen. Three, I know a place that would allow us to breathe."

Yuusaku's eyes had gone wide. Not only had it all seemed to good to be true, but that use of three reasons. He used it to. It was something told to him long ago…he thinks. He couldn't quite remember, but he knew it was special and hearing it come from someone else was odd yet made him curious.

Perhaps that's why he'd decided to slip his hand into his. The man smiles before leading him through the crowd. Yuusaku was surprised by how many people moved out of his path. In no time at all, they had made it to the end of the room, standing before a pair of double doors. The man had pushed it open, ushering Yuusaku to go in first.

As he walked out, he was greeted with a light breeze against his cheek. He blinked as his eyes adjusted from that artificial light to the moonlit glow. They were now outside on a private balcony. The sound of chattering disappearing behind them as the doors shut. Yuusaku took in a breath of fresh air, feeling more relaxed then he ever did.

Their hands are separated as the stranger walks ahead. He rests upon the rails of the balcony, gaze looking out over the scenery of the city. Yuusaku does the same.

Except he tilts his gaze up to the night sky instead. It was a rather pretty night. No cloud in sight, only stars shining with a crescent moon amongst them. Even if he was the type to prefer being indoors, he could appreciate nights like this.

"The stars are beautiful, aren't they?"

"Yeah."

For once, he feels like he should have tried keeping the conversation going. It's not like he was disinterested in this stranger like the others. But, starting conversations was difficult. Still, he could try.

"Why'd you lead me out here?"

"To get away from the crowd." He replied with a shrug. "I'm not one for social parties like these. I dislike the fake pleasantries and poor attempts at social connections."

"You said no one would bother you though." He hears the man snicker. "Why come then?"

"Family business. I only came to show up, nothing more."

Yuusaku gives a hum in response. He didn't know big named folks. He's certain if the name Zaizen wasn't tied to Vrains, or Aoi, he wouldn't even know it. He wouldn't even be able to guess who this guy was or even if his name was attached to something in SOL Tech.

"Is that why you decided to use me as a way to escape?"

The man gave a slight chuckle to his question. He hadn't heard anything like that before.

"I think I'd prefer a kindred spirit than the plus one I brought." The man rolls his eyes. He then pushes himself off the railings, hands still on them as he stands tall. His head turns, looking too Yuusaku. "Why are you here? I assume it was for Zaizen's sister?"

"She's…my friend. She asked me to come along."

"How kind of you."

Yuusaku nearly expects more probing questions about his relationship to Aoi, but they never come. He was true to his word about not having an interest in the Zaizen siblings.

With that, they fall into silence. And it's a strange type of silence. One that isn't fully awkward but one that isn't too peaceful either. He does feel as if he should be trying to talk more, but maybe that's due to being in a party setting. If it weren't for that nagging at him, Yuusaku thinks he could enjoy the stranger's presence.

He glances over to him again, curious. He finds the man's gaze focused on the stars now. A familiar feeling comes up again. He isn't sure why and hates that he can't place it. Maybe he's imagining things. Maybe not. He'd go with the latter. He knows him.

"You're staring at me."

Yuusaku blinks, unaware that he had been for a while. His head turns, cheeks turning pink. He'd find something else to stare at. There was the city, the sky, and even the ocean. Which was glowing tonight. Not all of it, just a portion of it.

"You can see it from here."

"Hm?" The man looks over. "Stardust Road?"

"It's glowing tonight."

"It's better seen up close."

"I've only seen it up close once."

The memory was hazy but he's certain that he's seen it when he was younger. A kid had led the way and showed it to him. As pretty as the sight was, it wasn't something that stuck in his memories. And even as he tried to recapture the sight, his timing was poor.

"If leaving this party was easy, I could take you there. I think it's something that everyone should see. More than once."

"There'd be too many people there."

"Less than you think." He smirks. "Would you like to disappear with me tonight?"

Yuusaku turned to see if he was serious. He was. The thought of leaving this wretched party was very tempting. He'd love to disappear, to not go back into that crowded and stuffy room and force himself to speak with others. But there was one reason he had to stay.

"I can't."

"Staying for your girlfriend?"

"She's my friend."

"You have a good heart. Don't ever change." He smiles softly and something about it warms Yuusaku's chest.

The smile doesn't last long once he hears the doors behind them open.

"Ryoken!" A man excitedly chirps out his name. "Found you!"

"Spectre." The man- Ryoken turns to face the other. Yuusaku managed to catch a hint of annoyance on his face before he did.

"Genome was looking for you. I told him I could find you." Spectre pauses as he looks over to Yuusaku. "Not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No. Go on, I'll be there shortly."

"Of course, Ryoken." The other man bows before departing, but not after staring at Yuusaku for a while. It was rather unsettling how his gaze lingered on him.

"Don't mind him." Ryoken said as if he could see the unease on his face. "Anyway, I hope we can meet again, Yuusaku."

"How did you-"

Ryoken takes the boy's hand in his, raising it to gently brush his lips against his knuckles. It's a soft and tender touch that lasts seconds. It makes the boy's cheeks flush a dark red.

"If you want to meet once more, come to Stardust Road the next time it shines. I'll be waiting for you."

With a small smile, he turns to leave. Yuusaku watches him head back inside, eyes still staring at the doors even once they've closed. A hand is placed over his chest to feel his racing heartbeat.

He wasn't sure what happened tonight. But he was certain that he would like to meet him again.

[beneathtreemomo]

Victorious AU

So I’ve been thinking of messing around with a Victorious AU that’s similar to the Burlesque AU I thought of around a year or so ago in that It’s basically a massive modern au with all my OCs involved somehow. And as I recently got a new phone that comes with a pen and has a drawing section in the notes, I figured I’d draw the OCs that star in the AU! Some of them don’t look as they normally would, though, because they had to be turned into fully-human characters! At most that means their teeth or eyes have changed. I’ll eventually do a headshot for all my ocs, but these were the ones I wanted to do for now. Here we go!

Ashton Fairweather: Dancer/Stunt Double, Junior (3rd year)

Ashton is homoromantic asexual & is crushing on/ eventually ends up with Kenny McCormick, a singer in their grade. His mom used to teach dance at the school. He prefers ballet and pole dancing and is vice-captain of the cheer team. He and Jasper used to be dance partners.

Jasper Wells: Dancer-> Songwriter/Guitar player, Junior (3rd year)

Jasper is homoromantic demisexual & is in a polyamorous relationship with Adrien Agreste, an actor/piano player in his grade, and recently graduated guitar player/singer/songwriter Luka Couffaine. Jasper starts off as a dancer at the school, but after a certain incident that completely destroys his vocal cords & affects his breathing, he turns to writing songs and playing guitar. He and Ashton used to be dance partners. His friend Neeks is trying to help him dance again.

Yoru Yukimura: Dancer/Actor, Junior (3rd year)

Yoru is demiromantic asexual & eventually ends up with Shirou Fubuki, a singer/songwriter in his year. He’s new transfer student to the school and he has an odd knack for being able to read people with ease. His singing isn’t amazing but it’s enough for him to pass classes. He still dances after his leg gets injured, but it’s harder and he can’t do as many hard-core dances. Partners with Shirou for pretty much everything involving performances and hates how protective Natsume, his older brother, is some times.

Natsume Yukimura: Actor, Senior (4th year)

(first I’d like to offer apologies for his face looking a bit weird, my hand didn’t agree with me that day) Natsume is bi and currently stuck between crushes on his best friends Haruka and Toshiro. He is Yoru’s older brother and pretty protective over him. He's a good actor, but no one really knows why he goes to a performing arts school when his passion is clearly baking. He’s also great in the make-up courses thanks to his skill at decorating cakes.

Neeks: Dancer/Singer, Junior (3rd year)

Neeks is demiromantic/demisexual & in a sort-of-romantic relationship with Plagg, a dancer/actor in his grade. It’s complicated. No one knows Neeks’ real name and he’s sort of like Jasper’s big brother after Jasper’s incident. He is working with Jasper to help him get back into dancing. He and Plagg are dance partners and his singing isn’t half bad. Adores wolves more than anything.

Haruka Hamasaki: Singer/Costume Designer, Senior (4th year)

Haruka is straight & one of Natsume’s best friends. She doesn’t have a crush on him yet but they’re super close and eventually date in college. Her passion is costume designing and she’s the best in their grade. She’s also a pretty good singer, but she prefers the costume department. Is like the mother of the group and can always be found either doing something or helping someone out.

Hurricane Lantern: Mermaid Performances/Singer, Senior (4th year)

Hurricane is demiromantic/demisexual & crushing super hard on his best friend Tyler Ridgemount, an actor/ director in their grade. Hurricane got into the school via singing but his true passion is mermaid performances. He practically lives and breathes swimming and is captain of the swim team. At some point his relationship with Ty becomes strained and he decides to put his heart on his sleeve one last time before they graduate. He doesn’t plan to stick around after graduation.

Koray Storm: Actor/Tech Theatre, Senior (4th year)

Koray is demiromantic homosexual & crushing on Yuusei Fudo, an actor in their grade. He spends more time on the tech team than he does acting but he doesn’t mind. He’s a bit of a troublemaker but has a heart of gold. Spends his free time riding around on his motorcycle and visiting the local orphanages.

Hiraku Kurosawa: Tech Theatre, Senior (4th year)

Hiraku is demiromantic asexual & eventually crushes on his friend Yuusaku Fujiki, a singer/guitar player that’s a sophomore (2nd year). He got into the school by acting but told the teachers flat-out that he really just wanted to work in the technical theatre department. He’s always tinkering with things and can be found covered in oil and grease outside of school. He works at his dad’s mechanic shop and is close friends with Koray. His older sister went missing a few years ago, and this year the case has finally taken a dark turn.

Drakon Silverstar: Actor/Singer, Senior (4th year) 

Drakon is panromantic demisexual & freaks out the second he starts crushing on his friend Varian, a singer/actor/tech theatre kid who is also a freshman (1st year). He likes to joke that he’s half dragon and can often be seen with gold and blue stripes in his hair. Sometimes he’ll even wear contacts w/ dragon pupils and fake fangs. He’s close with the others but sort of became Varian’s support pillar after Varian had a difficult falling-out with his friends and actually helps them reconcile! Puts friendship before crushes every time and has a strained relationship with his family.

[jojotier]

whoa wait there's an usami=yuusaku theory floating around??? do you have more details on how that works within the context of canon? cause i felt like yuusaku's death was pretty clear (not to mention their very different personalities) :o

Sorry for the time is took on this one! I had to track down the person who made the theory first ‘cause I didn’t wanna leave them without credit vhjbjkuvj

Here’s the original theory! Theory by lovhko on twitter

To be honest, there are a couple points that are compelling about this, but there are other points that don’t really make sense. The biggest one being that in an interview Noda actually said that Usami is a bit older than Ogata, which of course helps take into account the years Usami spent working at Abashiri. Of course, since Usami is older than Ogata, the theory just doesn’t work- Yuusaku is the little brother, after all.

If Usami were younger than Ogata, the theory goes that after getting shot by his brother, Yuusaku was brought in by Tsurumi, who gets him the necessary medical attention. The bullet path might have hit an area between the parietal and temporal lobes, which can possibly cause changes in personality and damage to memory, which might explain the personality change. The fact that Tsurumi “saved” him might explain why Usami is so obsessed with him, and fits nicely into Tsurumi’s MO of targetting vulnerable, often mentally unstable, men to manipulate.

However, the brain bits of the theory aren’t all that accurate, I would say. While the original theorist does point out that damage to the ocipital lobe, where the bullet most likely passed, would result in vision loss (which Usami doesn’t have), it also misses two critical bits- the wrong kind of memory is damaged, and the area that they have circled is about where Wernicke’s Area is.

See, there are different kinds of memory- implicit, or procedural memories (routines, how to cut with scissors, bike riding, that kind of thing) and explicit, or declarative memories (your first kiss, where you live, who you are). The hippocampus by and large handles explicit memories, particularly long term memories, and helps to regulate emotions. For Yuusaku to have suffered damage enough to forget who he is or not recognize who he knew before, he would have to sustain damage to this region.

This is where the supposed entry point is:

and this is a little map that shows where the hippocampus Actually is:

Bit on the low side, eh?

So why is memory loss resulting from a hit through the temporal and parietal lobes? I’d like you to pay attention to that great big orange organ: the basal ganglia. It’s the bit that more likely than not was hit by Ogata’s bullet. 

The basal ganglia is a fascinating system. It helps control movement overall, in conjunction with some other bits of the brain, and it’s suspected in being a factor in why people with ADHD have poor impulse control. It also just so happens to be the part of the memory system that handles procedural memory, rather than declarative. 

If the basal ganglia is hit, it is entirely possible to suffer some memory loss- but not of loved ones. The memory loss sustained would more likely than not affect Yuusaku’s impulse control, as well as his ability to remember procedural tasks that can’t be easily explained, like cutting something with a knife. As you can see, Usami has perfect control over his procedural memory- just look at how well he handles a hammer.

Now, I’d like to direct your attention once again to the place circled on lovhko’s graph.

Somewhere between the temporal and parietal lobes. 

There’s no doubt that Yuusaku likely suffered damage within the left hemisphere. The left hemisphere, as it turns out, has a unique area nestled inside the left side of that circle- Wernicke’s Area. Wernicke’s Area is a wonderful little organ, because it helps us comprehend spoken speech. When the area is damaged, patients experience something called Wernicke’s Aphasia.

What is Wernicke’s Aphasia? It essentially means that patients’s brains have trouble understanding spoken language. However, since another language center in the left hemisphere (Broca’s area) is presumably unaffected, sufferers have no trouble producing sounds and fluent sounding phrases.

The trouble is, those with Wernicke’s Aphasia speak in a sort of fluent word salad- if you were to casually overhear one part of them speaking, you might mistake them for sounding as if they make sense, but when you pay attention to the contents of what they say, this is what they tend to sound like. As you can see, Usami has no trouble speaking in the slightest.

So we know that Yuusaku can’t possibly be Usami. But lovhko does make a good point: the only real point of reference for Yuusaku’s death that we have is through Ogata. 

As everyone knows, Ogata’s a lying bitch. While it is still possible that Ogata was telling the truth in this instance, as he was telling the truth about his father (since he doesn’t really feel true remorse about his deeds), it’s also possible that Ogata’s POV is simply flawed in general. He could have just left Yuusaku to bleed out, since checking to make sure he was dead would be suspicious and waste time. Plus, Ogata does have a pretty nasty habit of not checking the bodies he leaves.

So for the sake of this theory, let’s say that Ogata has it wrong and that Yuusaku did survive. What are the chances of that? 

Really, I think the question is what are the chances that he hasn’t.

Simply put, humans have this horrible, amazing tendency to survive things that should have killed them. Below is the bullet path that lovhko outlines:

maybe a bit higher than strictly necessary, but it works.

We know that the bullet would likely hit the ocipital lobe, Wernicke’s Area, go by the basal ganglia, and likely hit a clean path through a good portion of Yuusaku’s frontal lobe.

All in all… I can’t exactly say for sure. 

And that’s because there have been worse cases survived. 

I could probably go into them, but it makes me pretty uncomfortable to use them, so I won’t. A lot of those cases are still alive and kicking, and it strikes me as pretty disrespectful to use real-life cases (that aren’t enshrined in medical history the same way that a case like HM or Phineas Gage were) to prove a point about a fictional character, so you’re going to have to believe me on that. Or like, Google “worst brain injuries survived”.

So if Yuusaku survived, there’s no real concrete answer on that as of yet. As canon moves forward, we’ll likely see more hints to it, like people talking about General Hanazawa’s honorable son’s death… or hints as to where he’s holed up. 

It strikes me as almost an ironic end, for Yuusaku. What if, instead of death, he survived? What if he survived but, due to the damage suffered, was unable to act in ways that would bring “honor” to his father? 

We’ll see where Noda takes it.

[tskumoyuuma]

AAAAAAAA I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY

1) i lov that first shot w all of them in the field. v anime, v nice

2) new bad guy ???? i LOV his design so far. he also ?? has VERY similiar colors to yuusakus real life look. n seeing that theres been a heavy theme on family bonds n the like, imma go out on a limb and say this guys yuusakus older brother 👀

3) AKIRA N AOI FIGHTING TOGETHER SIDE BY SIDE FUCK YEA THATS WHAT IM HERE FOR

4) whoever this new guy is, he’s gonna REALLY piss of yuusaku n im for one excited to see why

5) ROBOTS ??? ROBOTS BAD THE SEASON (but also that robot ladys design ?? yes)

6) new little boy ? v similar to haru, could somehow be him or someone like him. cant tell if he’s good or bad yet .. prob bad if wer gonna be honest tho loll

[playmakiing]

“You won’t always be around to save him.”

.anon questions. // selectively accepting?

| ❀ |  Hands clenched into fists at the words spoken to him, a small flare of anger shooting through Yuusaku at the implications.  While it wasn’t one hundred percent clear as to who was being referred to, any possible suspects were people that he held close to him.  

        ❝ You don’t know that. ❞

        Revolver, Takeru, even Jin–three people that Yuusaku wanted to keep safe.  Kusanagi and Ai also fall under this category, but those circumstances were different.  Kusanagi was his shield while Playmaker was the sword; their partnership has been strong for several months, and Yuusaku knew the older man was more than capable of handling himself.        As for Ai, well he was protected by the mere fact that Playmaker refused to lose any of his duels, so there wasn’t any way anyone could even touch him.

        But for the other three?  Jin was the reason why he began to fight alongside the elder Kusanagi brother; he was unable to protect himself.          Takeru, while an excellent duelist, has shown to be prone to danger simply because he wanted to protect Playmaker as well.  Yet unlike Kusanagi, their partnership is framed differently and Soulburner tags along right beside him.  Protecting him was much more difficult than protecting someone who remained in the real world.

        And Revolver… Yuusaku was still determined to create a new future with him.  He needed to save the other from the path he was currently walking and show him that dwelling in the past was not good.        Yeah, he’s one to talk, but that’s because he knows what it is like.

        ❝ I will be around to keep them safe.  I have to be. ❞

[goldenkamuyhunting]

I have recently fallen into the Kikuta pit, so you have any headcanons about him? I love your stuff!

First of all,

I’ve to compliment you for falling for one of the most charming GK characters!

As for headcanons (mind you all those are my speculations)...

- Kikuta came from a very poor family, much more poorer than Sugimoto’s;

- He was the older brother. Some of his younger siblings died of starvation, that’s why not only he joined the army but encouraged his younger brother to do so as well, thinking he was saving him;

- When he enlisted Kikuta worked harder than anyone because he wanted to rise in ranks so as to have a better pay in his struggle to escape his memories of misery and starvation;

- He also studied his superior officers so as to be good at giving them what they wanted before they were to ask, in order to get in their good graces so they would promote him more easily. This though, also helped him to improve his observant spirit;

- When his brother enlisted he took him under his wing, acting protective with him. Even during the war he tried to protect him but he couldn’t shield him from illness;

- His brother’s death made him struggle even harder to escape his memory of misery, because, if they hadn’t been poor, he wouldn’t have enlisted in the first place and wouldn’t have told his brother to join him. He started finding harder to throw away things, and even started collecting them from the corpses of his enemies or have his underlings collect them for him;

- After the war Kikuta used to help training the officer candidates but he felt little connection with them because they were way too often rich spoiled kids that didn’t understand the struggles of who’s poor and often looked down at them;

- On the other side Kikuta tended to be friendlier and more informal with low ranking soldiers as they often were as poor as him;

- Personally Kikuta doesn’t like neither what Okuda is doing or what Hanazawa did or what Tsurumi is doing. He views them all the same, high ranking officers who don’t really care about poor the people below them. However he’s careful to keep his feelings for himself and don’t let them interfer with his job;

- Kikuta is strongly against harming civilians if this can be avoided or in sacrificing low ranking soldiers for no good reason. Although he’s not prone to go against his superior officers, if it’s about this, if possible, he speaks against it trying to sound reasonable. However he’ll do it even without discussion if he knows there’s really no way to talk the officer out of it;

- Kikuta figured out if they weren’t calling him back into service it was because Tsurumi distrusted him. A side of him enjoyed the forced holiday and the free time to bond with Ariko, the other instead wanted to go back on doing his job and prove to Central his usefulness so as to rise in ranks further and, hopefully, to have Ariko rise as well;

- First class privates liked Kikuta. He’s friendly and cares about them. They view the fact they carry him things from the corpses more as if bringing gifts to him than as something he ordered them to do and most of them like to see him satisfied with what they got him;

- Kikuta never asked Sugimoto his name first because he didn’t want to get too close to him and then because he saw in him his little brother and wanted to continue doing so;

- Although Kikuta worked so that Yuusaku would become a flagbearer and wouldn’t have actively stopped Tsurumi from killing Yuusaku if it was clear Tsurumi wanted so, deep down Kikuta felt responsible for his death. Still, he found Yuusaku sacrificable for the mission of getting closer to Tsurumi;

- Kikuta knew of Ogata’s situation and a side of him pitied him. However he kept on his own as per instructions he go by Okuda;

I’ll stop here if it’s okay with you. Thank you for your ask!