#i'm literally like koito towards tsurumi.......

[zhabk4]

первый лейтенант цуруми токуширо секси

[piduai]

hello!! first, i want to thank u for translating those volume additions, amazing as always queen <3 has your opinion on koito changed after reading those additions, even the slightest bit or not? either way, i will always respect and enjoy your takes <333

i talked about it here but i don't mind elaborating. short answer to the question: no it hasn't and my opinion on him won't change. i think part of me will always be sad about koito solely because i mourn my own past investment and affection, since these are things i give away rarely and reluctantly therefore backfiring stings. however as time passes i just grow into acceptance of what koito's character is, acceptance that i am not fond of it, and respect for noda's decisions i don't agree with. i am thoroughly convinced that noda changed his plans regarding koito's development and tsukishima's ending somewhere after church arc. not a fan but he must have had his reasons so i respect that.

when 295 came out it made me unreasonably angry because the change of pace was chilling, i was absolutely 100% convinced that it's going to get a volume expansion - and it did. their dialogue was actually pretty much what i expected it to be. koito has been set to leave tsurumi on his own terms ever since the end of karafuto arc, the foreshadowing paid off is all. i liked the additions because they were in line with my expectations, and koito is still fine here because he doesn't do much except what he was narratively meant to do.

once he gets on the train it's another story. in order for koito to get organic, compelling development, tsukishima had to die - there simply is no other way to put it. tsukishima has always dragged koito as a character down because he reduced koito to being his satellite. tsukishima dying was supposed to be the catalyst of koito's newfound responsibility towards his men, not a random revelation in a fight with hijikata. tsukishima was supposed to follow tsurumi's theater through the end and give his life for tsurumi, which would have pushed koito out of his comfort zone and force him to grow into his own, since he lost the two pillars that he relied on, the two people that lied to him and manipulated him (plus the dad that decided to stay on his sinking ship lol).

but he hasn't. koito a) deserted his superior officer while literally in the middle of a battle which makes little sense logically. b) forced the plot to accommodate his actions since tsurumi just... let him go with no repercussions, despite them being military men that eat the hierarchical order with their morning rice and tsurumi as a person being previously shown as intolerant towards insubordination and c) went on that train for the sole purpose of centering his actions around tsukishima and kill both of their story lines for no good reason.

volume 31 will have 32 additional pages. i'm convinced that the chapter where koito drags tsukishima down (306? 307? idk i forgor) will have a few additional pages expanding their divorce scene but at that point neither koito's nor tsukishima's characters are salvageable because no context elaboration will be able to rectify the end result. noda never changes the plot points, only the details to how they got there. so maybe tsurumi will show more displeasure with their actions instead of simply walking away, maybe tsukishima will show more resolve and personal drive in leaving tsurumi instead of passing out, i don't know. but the end result will not change - koito will make him stay, thus severing his character arc and centering his own around tsukishima again. so to me, koito will stay disappointing and there's nothing that can be done about it.

[vykinq]

Some thoughts about 212

Okay so we all know that 212 was a doozy because of a LOT of things no matter who your fav is, but i've been particularly thinking a lot about the relationship between Koito, Tsukishima, and Tsurumi in this chapter. Obviously this will contain spoilers, so if you haven't caught up already I suggest doing so before reading this post!

Alright, so basically first thing's first- Koito got his shit royally wrecked. This time, unlike when he got his shit royally wrecked at the drift ice, he doesn't just bounce back up and walk around. Something else strikes me as different as well- his reactions.

Let's quickly compare all of young Koito's near death experiences, shall we?

Firstly, when he was kidnapped, when literally told 'sorry kid you're just gonna have to die for the sake of your country'. What was his response, fight back passionately. He tells his father he's sorry for not being the son his brother could be, and immediately headbutts the russian man later revealed to be Ogata.

When he's caught in an explosion with Tsukishima and confronts Kiroranke, his arm is stabbed completely through to the other side and he's badly beaten, and yet his only response is to push back, fight harder, and curse Kiro for hurting his men. But more on that a little later.

What's different about this time is that upon being stabbed, he isn't overcome with this perseverance. He's not hellbent on surviving. He's not determined. What does he do?

He makes a meager attempt to raise his gun. His expression is distant and afraid, but not the same as

See the difference? Screaming and fighting versus....

So I thought why on earth isn't he fighting back? Sure he just got stabbed completely through his chest (shoulder?) But usually he's so focused on completing the tasks ahead that a little stab won't do much. Except then I remembered chapter 210. Since finding out that Tsurumi isn't this amazing war hero he worshipped, and is instead someone who doesn't give a single shit about him, Koito has been more or less crushed. He isn't excited for Tsurumi to meet them again, and when the arrows came flying in 211, Koito didn't make a move to go take an arrow for Tsurumi like Usami did. Instead, he made moves to save himself. Even though he had a very strange breakdown and screamed over how incredible Tsurumi is at the end of 210, it's pretty clear that he obviously doesn't think that's the case. He's been manipulated almost since childhood into being the kind of soldier who would give life and limb for Tsurumi, only now being told that Tsurumi absolutely wouldn't do the same for him. And unlike Tsukishima, Koito doesn't seem like he's content with being a throwaway pawn. I'm not convinced Tsukishima really is either, but... that's a different post. Kind of.

Back to the scene, we next see Tsukishima yelling his name and coming to the rescue, and a few interesting things happen.

Koito tries to take the knife out. He may be young and dramatic but he isn't stupid- taking that blade out will most likely kill him and he should know that. On top of trying to quicken his death or escalate his injury (which of these is true I'm not sure yet, hopefully the latter), he tells Tsukishima to leave him alone. This isn't the first time he's done this- on the drift ice we've seen koito declining help from tsukishima.

Even though he's badly injured himself, Koito doesn't even want to be helped until he's done. However, this is different. Now Koito doesn't seem determined, he just looks resigned. Helpless. He knows he won't be fine but he doesn't seem to care all that much because he's failed Tsurumi before and he's failing Tsurumi now, and even if he wasn't, that man doesn't care about him. Listen, I know the straight explanation for Koito's behavior is that he admires Tsurumi's abilities as a leader, but there's just no way. Kioto is so gay coded it hurts, and with the extent of his obsession towards Tsurumi it would be a reach not to think he had a romantic attatchment to him. And he really is so crushed by the blow to his pride and the betrayal of someone he would lay down his life for, and so he just tries to pull out the blade.

Then there's what Tsukishima does. For someone who wants to watch the Tsurumi theater from the front row seats, he sure isn't going to see much by staying behind against Kikuta's orders and lovingly attending to Koito. His superior is badly wounded and I'm sure he probably knows how down in the dumps Koito is, what with the mental breakup he just had, and instead of asking some other soldier to take care of him, Tsukishima literally takes things into his own hands. This man cradles Koito, gently shoves his hand down, and softly scolds him for not listening to him today, despite so patiently hearing him out the day before.

And before going forward, can I just say:

Okay. Anyway, so he ALSO mentions Koito heading into this being emotional, but upon finding Sugimoto and Asirpa and asking them to cooperate, Koito literally seemed devoid of emotion. He wasn't angry or eager to please his abusive superior... which leaves me to wonder, what did Koito and Tsukishima talk about between their conversation in 210, and meeting Tsurumi in 212? Maybe they didn't even have to talk for Tsukishima to know Koito was, in general, feeling pretty lost and reckless. I don't know, it's just some food for thought, fic writers. Wink wink.

And lastly, I want to talk about this trainwreck of an ending.

NODA WHAT DOES THIS MEAN????

I've seen a few different theories on Twitter, but here's mine. I want you all to remember how much Tsurumi has taken away from this man, and how much he's seen Tsurumi take away from Koito. Since he was around to stage the kidnapping, Tsukishima has watched this kid be manipulated into being, basically, a dog. Loyal, obedient, questionless, and absolutely head over heels for the first lieutenant. This is after Tsukishima already lost Igogusa, and I have no doubts that in some capacity Tsukishima's become fond of Koito. He probably felt a bit of the same way for koito as he felt for Edogai, when he watched this young man throw his life away for someone who's literally the biggest snake alive. Part of me hopes that even though Tsukishima's apparently okay with the tsurumi theater and being a puppet, maybe he isn't as okay with watching others, people younger than him, being roped into the same thing. Tsukishima has always been caring and selfless to a degree, and in Igogusa's case, fucks shit up for the people he loves. That's why after watching as Tsurumi coldly ignores Koito dying on the ground, maybe Tsukishima's realizing he's sick of it. He thought he'd be the one to have to kill Koito, and be forced with the choice to either do so or rebel, but all of a sudden and all too soon, his superior is dying in his arms. And tsurumi doesn't give a single shit. I don't think that's a knowing glance he's giving Tsurumi, I think he's absolutely fucking pissed. So basically in short, Tsukishima talked big game about having to kill Koito if the other disobeys, but literally one single day later he looks like he's about to rip Tsurumi's head off for letting Koito just lay in his arms and die. That being said i HOPE he doesn't die and I doubt he will given that every other character has been able to survive so much so far, but I'm rlly scared.

That's really all i have, if you wanna scream about this chapter with me more or have anything to add, u know what to do