#if u don't cry to don't forget where you belong are u even human

[ice-sculptures]

yk what.....midnight memories isn't a top 3 album for me but it is the album that tugs at my heartstrings the most (other than made in the AM - but that's only bc that's their last one)

[thewritingstar]

So hear me out for a fic idea yeah u know how after gray and juvia fought for the first time and they were seated on top of the guild, let's say her and gray were talking for a bit and then he asks where she go from here and she says "just like the rain wherever the wind blows" and she leaves

This request is from 2021.......I-I don't even know what to say.

I do hope that you like this. I love exploring Juvia's mind and feelings in these <3

we are switching povs like changing lanes in this one lol.

Please enjoy <3

--

He was officially out of breath. His lungs were screaming and while it wasn't the longest battle he had ever encountered, it was still a contender for one of the hardest.

How did she even do that? Lock him in a chamber of water? He thought for a second that she would kill him. She easily could have and he assumed that she might have. There was a flicker of something in her eye when she released him and he wasn't sure if he should be thankful or not.

Usually you don't stay and talk with the enemy. Usually one of you is dead or you walk away. Not this time. Instead of running or hurting her further, he had saved her. She slipped off of the rooftop and for some reason, he couldn't let her die. It wasn't in his moral code to kill someone and even thought this guild was trying to do that to his members, he didn't think it was her idea. He knew what it was like to be a pawn in someones game.

Her dark blue hair that was once curled perfectly into big ringlets had now started to loosen. She looked paler when she first showed up on the roof but now? Now she looked more human. She seemed like something just happened and he couldn't place it. He was always a mess after a good fight but she sat perfectly still and looked...rejuvenated.

"So what now?" Gray asked.

He thought she was like a deer. Her eyes were wide when he spoke and her head turned sharply towards him. It was as if no one had ever spoken to her before.

"What do you mean?" She questioned.

She felt weird staring at this man. What was weirder was the sky above them. A beautiful cyan that she had never seen before. She almost started to cry but held those tears back. She had just gotten the sky, she would not let it darken.

"Where are you going to go after this?"

The question confused her. She was a Phantom Lord member. She was S Class wizard in the most frighting guild. Where else would she go besides there? Deep down, she didn't want to return. She had failed to kill a member but how could she? Somehow kindness leaked from his pores even as he was trapped in her spell. She wouldn't remove that light from the world. She couldn't.

She wanted to say that she was going back home where she belonged. Did she belong? Did she really want to return to a place that didn't care about her well being. They cared that she was strong. They cared that her magic could frighten anyone. But thats all she was. A weapon of destruction.

She looked out towards the fields. Flowers grew within the sea of green grass. Oh how she wondered how they smelled. The feeling of the soft petals. Its been a long time since she had seen a flower not be drowned by her presence.

While she stared at the field, she thought about what he had said during battle. That he would fight to the death to save a member of Fairy Tail. It hurt her. She knew that no one would do that for her. That if she were to die, not one member would bat an eye. No flowers would be at her grave.

She wasn't even sure if she would have a tombstone.

Juvia Lockser. The one no one knows. The rain woman, she is as forgetful as a raindrop. One hit of the pavement, and then that was it.

Phantom Lord didn't care for funerals. They didn't care for much in general.

She wondered if she was someone else, maybe she would receive flowers on her deathbed. Could she ever live in a world where her death meant something? Could someone ever love her enough to shed tears for her permeant absence?

Where are you going to go from here?

That is what he had asked and he was still waiting for her answer.

The clouds had left and she wanted to stay here forever and gaze at a sight she had missed. Oh how the sun felt against her skin! This is where she wanted to go.

She wanted the sunlight on her forever. She wanted to see the flowers bloom and the snow melt. Those dark clouds had cleared something up in her.

Perhaps maybe, just maybe, she could find a home.

Home.

The word felt foreign in her mind but she liked it. She wanted to be wanted and to be loved and remembered. She didn't need a legacy. She didn't need to be the rain woman. She just wanted to be-

"Juvia?"

Her head snapped to his.

He said her name. It sounded like heaven. The way he said it, it was almost like she had forgotten her own name. She couldn't remember a time that her name sounded genuine from another person. There was so much good surrounding him, she almost couldn't believe it.

"Yes?" Her voice almost cracked.

"I asked where you were going to go after this? You can't possibly think your guild is good?" He said sternly.

He was right. This beautiful stranger was right. He had shown a kindness she had never found before so simply. She wanted that. She wanted to be kind. He had saved her. A man from an enemy guild saw something in her and decided she had a life worth living.

A life she should treasure.

If the sky could be clear and hopefully, then she could be too.

Little did she know, he thought that too. Gray knew she was stronger. Much stronger than she let on. Right now all he saw was a fragile woman. Someone who needed to be healed. He knew what it was like to feel hopeless and lost. He was lucky he found people before the darkness corrupted her. Most would think that she was off in the deep end. Too lost to be saved. Not him.

Even in the height of their battle, he could tell she was a gentle soul. Someone who needed a light to guide them, even if it couldn't be him. He wanted to scream at her and tell her to leave that guild. To have her run into Fairy Tail's arms and to never look back. Maybe she would. Maybe she could find a place that treated her better.

No person should look content falling to their death. There was no fear in her eyes and it almost broke him. It wasn't his place to tell her things, just question if she was alright. He didn't know her, but he knew she needed something better. Somewhere to thrive.

When they weren't fighting, she looked delicate and soft. He wouldn't place her as a dark wizard, not a chance. She was a good person, he could sense it.

"No. Juvia does not believe it is good. Juvia is tired of being seen as a monster. She shall find a new home." She stood and dusted off her coat. She began to walk away. "Thank you Gray. to just for saving Juvia's life, but saving Juvia's future as well."

"Is there a chance I'll see you again? Where will you look for your home?" He didn't want her to leave oddly.

"Hopefully." She smiled. "Just like the rain, Juvia will go where ever the wind blows. Maybe one day she will find her way back to you."

"I wish you the best." He waved at her and watched her walk away until she was nothing but a memory.

---

Thank you very much for reading/liking/ commenting. Thank you to whoever submitted this once upon a time ago, it means a lot and im sorry it took so long.

request/ questions/inbox always open :)

[minouyujis]

he loves her.

he loves everything about her.

she was warm. she made him feel loved. made him forget about the abandonment issues he faced every night when it indulged him in his sleep. made him forget that he had a last name that belonged to his mother, the woman he had never met.

megumi loves y/n.

she was sweet. she was so nice.

it could be one in the morning, and just the simple text of what are you doing? would be responded to in the blink of an eye. he was whipped. he was whole with her.

y/n: what are u doing gumi??

megumi: thinking of you

y/n is typing . . .

y/n: really?!???!

megumi: yeah

y/n: come to my dorm!! i'm watching ratatouille!

megumi: okay

he would watch all of the disney pixar movies in the world with her if it meant she would continue smothering him, basking into the presence of her warmth. he loved how she smelled just like how she presented herself. fresh out of the shower, her strawberry scented shampoo lingering off of her hair. he could even smell the non-scented body wash on her sensitive skin, he enjoyed how fragile she was in certain places of her character.

it made him feel protective.

he wanted to protect her. she knew the power she held over him, and did not bother to abuse it.

"do you think someone like that exists? like, a rat that can cook?" she spoke into his chest, eyes fixated on the television in front of the lovebirds. he mumbled into her head, one of his long arms in the back of his head as the other wrapped itself around the girl, slender, pale fingers twirling around the ends of her hair. "if curses can speak, why can't a rat." it had sounded more like an answer than a question.

"oh my gosh gumi," she would dart, retorting her eyes away to look back up at him for a quick second giggling. "you're so right! i totally forgot curses can speak. duh! silly me."

he loved that about her.

he enjoyed how opposite she was from him. every yin needed a yang. her run on sentences responded to by his one word answers. her cheery mood compared to his introverted actions. her ability to keep a conversation with five people at a time as he stood across the room, his eyes on her every second they were there.

y/n would be the death of megumi fushiguro.

he only hated it when she was sad.

he didn't enjoy it when she would cry. not when he felt like it was always his fault for something he didn't do. he hated when she would get hurt. if he really loved her, he would've prevented it from happening in the first place. even if it was as small as a simple paper cut.

he did not like the idea of her blood being visible to the human eye. it hurt him more than it showed.

megumi: are you almost finished with your errands

y/n: mhm

megumi: let me know when you're coming over

y/n: i don't feel like coming today. ily

he hated it when she was so terrible at telling him how she was feeling.

he hated it so much because they both knew that he could read her like a book. the shortened affirmation bothered him more than it should've, and he knew she only made a half ass comment because she was feeling down.

megumi: alright. i love you.

megumi was patient with her.

he didn't push it if she didn't want him too, and it's what drew her to him even more.

y/n loved megumi. there was nothing in this world that she wouldn't do for him.

y/n: ): when u do that it makes me feel bad

y/n: can we pls watch wall-e when i come over

the two loved each other. they didn't need to tell one another for them to know. it could be said through their actions. by the way she took care of him after a mission. the way he comforted her after watching a sad scene. where she fed him when he had a fever.

megumi: i'll do anything for you

it was undeniable that he was truly whipped.

but it was all for her.

[minahoeshi]

you were loved the most of all.

Ushijima Wakatoshi x reader | break-up angst

summary: You should've known that when Ushijima Wakatoshi found it easy to fall in love with you, it might be even easier for him to fall out of it. But who expects the worst when it comes to loving someone as seemingly perfect as him, anyway?

Chapter 1 of 2

Chapter 2 of 2

He said it was easy to fall in love with you. He said he didn’t know when exactly, at which place, nor for what reason. Simply one day, Ushijima Wakatoshi found himself looking at you with the epiphany that maybe there’s something more meant to happen between you and him. There you stood before him that day, the person he could promise love to. (And there he stood before you that moment, the boy whose promises you found yourself believing in no matter what.)

So maybe that’s why it was even easier for him to fall out of love. When he told you he was no longer in love with you, it didn’t matter to you to ask when exactly, at which place, or for what reason. Even the universe itself is meant to fizzle out one day along with the death of the stars. Just one more person drifting away from you like a lone planet with no real orbit shouldn’t leave you broken. You are used to this. You won’t fall apart.

But you break anyway.

It was snowing outside when he decided to tell you to end things now before it hurts both of you even further. Not that the snow has anything to do with the coldness creeping up your chest threatening to spill out of you in endless sobs. You were glad, though. That at the very least, he remained honest with his feelings. He never left you guessing. Every time, he never forgets to tell you what’s on his mind. His honesty is something he thought was necessary.

“I understand, don’t worry. Thank you for telling me right away. I know you’re also considering me–” you tell him and choke up. There are tears running down your face but you’re not worried about that. Wakatoshi never let you mask your emotions around him. For the longest time, he reminded you to feel free to be completely bare with him. All the good and the bad, he said. Don’t be afraid to show them to me. I will always understand.

He steps closer and puts you between his arms. You feel his chin on top of your head as you lean your face into his chest. You’re sobbing now. “I’ll be fine, Toshi. We’ll be fine.”

He kisses the top of your head and lets you stay in his arms for minutes. “I loved you then, and I love you still. It’s just that they’re no longer the same kind. I will stay if you ask me to, okay? Anything you want.”

This only makes you cry harder. He’s always been too good. And even in breaking your heart, he’s too good. You want him to hold on. You want to ask him to stay with you for years and years. Even with a different kind of love, you’ll let him be as long he’s close by. But someone like him who has dreams beyond yourself shouldn’t ever be with someone like you who still lacks certainty toward anything.

“Just for tonight,” you ask, still crying. “Can I stay?”

“of course,” he replies. Anytime you want. Anything you want. It has always been this way.

Because humans are creatures of routines and familiarity, you spend that night the way you usually do when you’re at his place. You cook dinner with him and eat on the dining table, sharing stories and laughter. You keep adding food to his plate and he smiles as you giggle at everything you find funny.

It’s okay, it’s okay. You’ll be okay. You’ll be fine.

You clean the kitchen and stay in the living room. He leans on the couch as you lay down with your head on his lap. You keep talking and laughing. He goes along, sometimes adding things to make you laugh even more, sometimes simply agreeing, sometimes asking questions. You keep it loud and light, afraid of the silence. Inside you, it’s so heavy, your heart might just fall off. This will be the last, you tell yourself. You want to be happy for now. While he’s still here.

"Do me a favor, okay?" You tell him as you're nearing slumber. "Let me leave first tomorrow. Maybe stay in bed, maybe pretend you're asleep. But tomorrow, don't get out of the room until I've left the house." Your voice shakes, feeling yourself wanting to sob.

"I don't want to wake up to another empty bed but I don't want to see your face when I wake up too," you curl into him even further. "I'm sorry for being selfish. I'm sorry I still don't really know what to do. And I know you wake up pretty early and you know, do stuff, but just for tomorrow, please?"

Wakatoshi didn't really understand why. He originally planned on cooking breakfast for you and taking you to the train station. He would watch you board the train and he'd make sure to smile at you as he waves. You always waved back. That's how it works. Even after fights, and even after especially bad nights, you'd still do the same. Watching you leave with a smile was how you both knew you'd still be fine the days after. That nothing much can affect your relationship. For years, this has been the routine.

But tomorrow, he knows he has to give way. He knows what he said hurt you. It would be wrong of him to do what he wants simply because he's used to.

Tomorrow's the last, he realises. And then if you want, he'd never see you again.

--

You wake up pretty early. The sky is a calm shade of blue, the world outside still waking up. You check the time on your phone and find it's 6 AM. Last night, you slept with your back on him. The sight before you is the other end of his bedroom and you notice just how much of yourself you've managed to leave around his place. Pieces of just one other person in his life, scattered in places around his world pretending that’s just where they belong. You didn't mind leaving things behind back then. You never really thought of the day that you might’ve to take back all of them. Just how does one pick up parts of themselves when they thought they’ve finally found a place for them to stay?

But as you stand up, you conclude that when things end, traces shouldn’t be left behind. He didn’t decide to break up only to be reminded of you even after you’re no longer close to him. So you go and pick every little thing that's yours. Even your jacket and sweaters and a few pairs pyjamas in his closet. You'll just take his things from your place too and hand it to Tendou's shop. Coming back here won’t do you any good. Him coming to your place instead wouldn’t either.

Collecting all your things, even the ones you can't use anymore, you leave the bedroom and enter the living room. You don't have many belongings here aside from some DVDs and books. You only take the books and leave the rest for him. You've always preferred reading anyway.

Setting your bag and things aside on the sofa, you go ahead and wash yourself in the bathroom and bring your toothbrush and some other products with you when you're done. You then head to the kitchen to cook him something light to eat for breakfast . You knew you didn't have to. He knows how to cook. It has always been him cooking breakfast for you. When you could, you’d rather stay in bed until the very moment you must start preparing to go to uni or work. But you did anyway. He's probably in his bed, awake. He has never been a heavy sleeper. With all the moving you did around his room, he was bound to wake up if he wasn't already.

You make him a simple omelette and write a small message on top of it with ketchup. "Good luck with practice today!"

You've already cleaned everything you used, preferring to wash and set utensils as soon as you're done with them. That way, when you're sitting down to eat, there won't be any cluster around to distract you.

You put the ketchup down and decide that should be enough. You'll stop here. You should go now.

Ushijima is sitting on his bed. He's been awake since 5 AM when he usually goes on his run. It isn't the first time he chose to stay with you instead of going out, but he can't help but feel heavy this time. He stayed in for you. But as the minutes pass by, it seems that he simply cannot find the courage to sit up and face you.

He wants to sink into his bed.

There's knock on the door followed by sentences uttered softly. "Toshi, I'm going now. There's breakfast on the table. Make sure to eat before you go."

There goes the heavy feeling again. Maybe if this keeps up, he might just actually sink and never get back up.

You've done that a few times. Leaving while he's still in the room. You don't even open the door. You simply knock and tell him you're about to go, always reminding him to eat before he goes too.

But this will be the last, he thinks. If you leave now, will he never see you again?

a/n

chapter 2 will be up soon not rly sure when tho. (it's up now the link is at the top)

also, im not entirely sure but i think i didnt use any pronouns or gendered nouns for this except "girl" in the 1st paragraph which i erased just now? if i'm right, then i hope everyone reading this get to feel as though theyre rly the person in the story. unless ofc u dont want that bc this isnt the happiest ushitoshi x reader fic u can find🥲. but thanks for reading!!!! m so sorry for typos nd other errors as well. i kinda cant read my own writings bc sometimes doing so makes me wanna smack myself in the head and never write again nd i hate that so now im leaving my mistakes to the gods nd hope they love me enough or smth. but yes thank u sm again for reading!!!!

[lyaress]

hi i read ur post about touka/kaneki as a ship ending unless the tragedy is taken to the extreme, and i was wondering if u don't mind answering why is that. i mean what do you think indicates touka/kaneki splitting up? i am just asking because in my mind kaneki will either die (like, i haven't re-read :re but didn't some doctor or something tell him that his health is deteriorating?) or tou//ken will sail... what do you think?

I believe Kaneki x Touka as a romantic pairing was never supposed to be viewed as a positive thing. The reasoning here is that I have some faith in Ishida’s writing capabilities and I don’t think he is dumb enough to write an abusive relationship and not realise that that’s what he has done. This gets very long so I’m putting it behind a read more.

Disclaimer: yes, I ship hidekane but not because I hate tou/ken. This post does not devolve into why hidekane > tou/ken like my posts normally do :P This posts only tries to establish why Touka and Kaneki are each others “bad ending.”

Touka

Since the very beginning, Touka is established as an attractive but troubled girl with anger management issues. She acts out and will ALWAYS resort to physical and verbal abuse to get her feelings of anger and frustration across. Touka is not an emotionally mature person. She is a mirror of Kaneki in this situation; Kaneki takes all the pain on himself, Touka inflicts all her pain on other people. Just as a foundation, this is not a good basis for a friendship let alone a romance. 

Due to circumstance and a mutual benefit from working together, they are able to enter a somewhat unstable friendship. Even in this fragile alliance between them, she is needlessly violent for no reason at all:

He is an abuse victim, don’t forget. It is especially bad for someone like Kaneki to be victim to this.

But by now, Touka recognises that Kaneki is a person who was much like her father, and a person who is at risk of leaving her behind, too.

This is the point where Touka’s abandonment issues really start to shine through. It is no coincidence that we have Touka’s background reveal right before Kaneki decides to leave ainteku. Touka’s father is established to be a personality very similar to original Kaneki’s, even their looks are almost identical. That section ends with Touka curled up on her bed thinking about her father and how everyone always leaves her. So this section tells us the following things:

Touka loved her father

Kaneki is very much like Touka’s father

Touka’s father and brother left her and she feels abandoned

Kaneki made the choice to abandon her, too

Touka suffers abandonment twice

Ishida knows this, and keeps coming back to this. He repeatedly has Touka suffering from abandonment in regards to Kaneki especially. And she reacts to abandonment violently, when she isn’t crying about it.

Now, from a shippers perspective, they probably think its cute that Touka needs Kaneki to function. They are so caught up in their little romantic fantasy that they forget this is a tragedy where Ishida is out to make Kaneki’s life as ironic and miserable as possible.They don’t acknowledge that Touka’s attachment issues and violent behaviour as a result of trauma are even unhealthy.

Now, let’s be a little bit productive about this. I’m going to link some sources that identify and explain Touka’s character and then I’m going to establish how her life led to her becoming an abuser. Please note that I do believe Touka has some deeper issues than simply abandonment, but because I’m not a psychologist I won’t try to diagnose her.

A general source about abandonment to establish some of what abandonment is and some of the symptoms that a person with abandonment issues might display.

Another source on abandonment

This source tells you about how abandonment rage is a thing. I don’t think it requires much contemplation to figure out how this relates back to Touka.

Here is list of possible traits that abusers can have , please be aware that not every trait will apply to any one person. In particular, I would like you to consider traits numbered 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, and 24. Honorable mentions are numbers 4, 10 and 25.

Here is another source on abuse

If anyone could provide me with a counter to this and explain how Touka is not actually abusive, that would be both wonderful and very impressive. In addition, we can acknowledge that the only relationships Touka is functional in involve an over-protective big sister who is the sole provider for that person. She even gets offended when her perceived dependent (Hinami) chooses to study with Kaneki instead of her. 

So, so far we have concluded that Touka’s abandonment issues led to her becoming an abusive adult, and that Kaneki is one of her victims. And that she she only knows how to be in one kind of relationship. I haven’t even covered how Touka uses physical intimacy as a last resort to manipulate Kaneki into not leaving her. 

Now, let’s identify what a “bad ending” for Touka would look like.

She stays in a relationship where she feels the need to desperately search for any way to make her father her lover stay with her.

She raises a child while emotionally explosive and insecure. Her “this is how I was raised/grew up/was trained mentality is used on her kid, who then becomes another clone of her basically what happened when she was raising Ayato. Her child then becomes like her, another abuser born of their environment.

She is never given room to emotionally recover from her childhood trauma. She never gets therapy. She never changes.

She keeps being enabled to use violence to convey her emotions.

Now, let’s identify what a good ending would look like:

Touka gets therapy and no longer has to rely on her father a lover to feel validated.

Touka is no longer explosive. She learns how to communicate with words,

Touka is happy with who she is, as she is. No longer uses her body as a tool.

Touka raises a child with the help of someone who is emotionally mature and was raised in a stable environment and who knows what good parenting looks like. Hint: this person isn’t Kaneki.

Touka gets more relationships like Yoriko in her life that are genuine and without strings attached.

Touka finds a partner who she could actually sit around and chat with in their old age about their similarities instead of someone who she would never consider even talking to in a perfect world.

Kaneki

Oh boy, here we go. I’m not going to even attempt to get into Kaneki’s psychology, But I will point to some important things.

We know that Kaneki is used to violence from the people he loved. Wouldn’t you agree that Ishida is smart enough to draw these parallels in Kaneki’s love life in the same way that he did for Touka regarding her father?

He paired up the woman who uses violence as her way of communication with the man who is used to violence from people he loves. This is a recipe for disaster.

For a while, Kaneki was happy with Hide. Kaneki was content as a human living his life with Hide and casually dating people. Here is what Kaneki says about his life with Hide at the beginning before he starts excluding Hide and feeling lonely.

and

So, at this point, Kaneki was happy. He had some issues regarding his family but he wasn’t aggressive. He was self-sacrificing but his issues could be fixed with some therapy over time. He had a place he belonged, he wasn’t lonely, and he was studying to progress his life.

It wasn’t until Kaneki started realising that he needed to lose contact with Hide because ghouls were dangerous, and that he no longer had a place he fully belonged to, that Kaneki started talking about how lonely he is. 

Even when Touka is doing everything she can to give Kaneki a home:

Kaneki is still lonely.

We know that Kaneki just wants a source of comfort:

It isn’t until Kaneki believes that Hide is dead that Touka is able to seduce him and become a source of comfort:

Hook, line and sinker, Kaneki how relies on her for comfort instead of clinging to a person he assumes is now dead:

And she still puts in all the effort to make sure Kaneki can’t forget her. 

She gives him something he can’t leave behind:

And Kaneki believes that he is happy with her. But, we know this isn’t a good ending:

As Kaneki says:

So, Ishida is telling us that Kaneki’s current state of “happiness,” born from the desire only to feel love, is what eventually caused the current most devastating event in all of Tokyo Ghoul.

So now Kaneki has to actually deal with his underlying problems:

For Kaneki, what he needs is:

Obviously, therapy

A place where he can feel at home and not still be loney

A cure to his selfish desire to feel any kind of love he can get

To not associate violence with love

To learn what love is

To find a lover that loves him for who he is and not because of their daddy abandonment issues

To develop emotional control

An interesting note is that Touka’s “happy ending” does not have room for her relationship with Kaneki continuing like this. So, it is impossible for them to fix all of their issues AND be happy together. It just doesn’t work in the end because the glue that holds them together is born of their own insecurities and issues, if you remove those issues they no longer have anything to keep them together other than a difficult history.

Yeah, I really feel sorry for that tou/ken child…

But to answer the question: Tou/ken sticking together is a part of a tragedy ending because it is not what either of those characters really needs, especially when you take away their emotional scars. They represent each other’s weaknesses too exactly for this to be anything other than perfect planning by Ishida. I am also interested in seeing what happens when Kaneki’s original support foundation (Hide) is brought back into the picture. What reason does he have to cling to Touka anymore?

I see four possible endings:

1. Touken stay together. Neither can recover from their histories. Neither get a chance to recover. They keep up the tragic cycles of their past and cling to each other for comfort without healing.

2. Touka recovers from her issues. She no longer needs Kaneki to feel secure in herself. She has no reason to retain interest in Kaneki and can find a more suitable partner for herself.

3. Kaneki is able to find comfort in someone else (probably Hide) like he did at the start. He no longer has to cling to Touka to avoid feeling lonely and he can soundly begin his path to recovery like he should have at the start of the series.

4. One or both die. The other has a chance to move on.

I can’t give you a definite answer of how I think it will go down because Ishida can do a lot in the remaining chapters.

TLDR:

Kaneki and Touka are almost tailor-made representations of each other’s weaknesses. To heal, they cannot continue their relationship. If Ishida is trying to make the most tragic and ironic ending possible, it would include Kaneki and Touka staying together.