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lurkerwithcomputer · 6 years

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Children of Madness, Part 1:2

Like the one before it, it’s an Oggai survivor fanfic. If you don’t like the Oggai, you probably don’t want this egg salad. Once again, thank you @hamliet for inspiring this. The usual warnings: gore/violence, foul language (Hajime is involved, of course there’s swearing), and anything else about the Oggai that might be triggering. Oh, mentions of bullying and Clockwork Orange references. Long(er) chapter.

Chapter 2: A Tiny Hyena Still Has Teeth

“Hajime-kun, Hajime-kun!”

“What’s up, Natsume?”

“Mayuzumi was bullying us again.”

“I’ll go keep him in line. Wish he’d keep his fuckin’ fun to ghouls, though. Vonny, grahzny bastard.”

She liked when Hajime swore, liked the punch and swagger of it.

“You don’t need to punish him, I threw him out a window and he landed on his ass.”

Hajime’s eyes bugged for a moment, then his face split in a grin. He burst out laughing.

“I -pfff -haha -always liked that about you, Natsume.”

The world cracked and blistered as he said that, and suddenly the Oggai dorm was an endless concrete tunnel, and Hajime’s laughing face was a bleeding void. Fanged, many-eyed tentacles reached out.

She snapped awake, nightmare sweat already drying. Memories seeped in, blood, screaming, the pain of lost limbs and then the falling. She had plunged into stale water, and her limbs had been reborn. She lay on a rough bed of her own clothing, now dry, while a massive vent breathed hot air on her bare back. She stood and wriggled into her clothes, which although dry, still smelled stale and damp. She pocketed her meager equipment: transmitter, spare battery, bandages, and a length of thin rope. As she stood and walked away from her rest, a resolve sparked inside her. I’m coming for you, Hajime-kun.

A cracked concrete stairway stretched upward. Eventually, it ended and a gaping hole began. She stood at the edge, toes gripping the rough surface. The far side of the hole seemed to taunt her, a flat platform of textured steel. I am... was an Oggai. My body can do this. She flexed her legs and jumped. Rubble-strewn abyss rushed under her, until the metal floor slid up to catch her. She landed lightly, crouched. A door marked “MAINTENANCE” in faded yellow stood at the end of a dim hallway. Beyond it, a passage sloped upward. She put one foot in front of the other.

Water rushed beneath the the metal grating she walked on, and carried with it a swampy smell that filled her lungs. Somewhere, machinery rumbled, pumping water and forcing air. Metal rungs embedded in the concrete ascended into shadows, and she was tired, but she smelled outside air, and it pulled her onward.

A massive ...thing... towered above the streets, while she crouched in the shadows of a half-collapsed building. She looked up at the evening skyline, twisted by the creature. Hajime-kun is up there somewhere? ...How will I find him? Her stomach growled and tightened, distracting her. How long since I’ve had even a snack? Or water? She turned to look at the building she hid behind. A shopping mall. Food. Water. Maybe clothing. It would be looting, but then, she was no stranger to stealing. I grew up on stealing.

The inside of the mall was dim and stuffy, and fallen pieces of the ceiling littered the floor. She stepped lightly around broken glass and twisted metal, and crawled under a row of dangling wires, even though she was sure they weren’t still live. The mall was T-shaped, with the food court one way and the hopefully intact shops the other. She looked longingly at the food court, but chose the shops instead. I can take whatever I want from here, but it’s not like it will all fit in my pockets. I need a... loot bag. Her own little joke made her smile. A run-down department store took up half of this end of the mall.

She found the luggage section, slowly searching for a suitable bag. It would have to be small enough for a twelve-year-old, and bright colors would make her stand out. She looked up at the racks of backpacks. Too big. Too colorful... and who put neon pink, sunflower yellow and electric blue together anyway? She found one that fit. It’s light, it’s snug on my shoulders, and it won’t block my kagune... or I won’t poke a hole in the bottom. It was light gray, black and rust brown. It reminded her of one she’d had when she was a child. She walked toward the clothing racks, slowly, and saw a dull navy-blue hoodie. She tried it on. It’s my size, and this cloth... She rubbed the sleeve against her cheek. Feels nice. Water-resistant... maybe. She pulled her Oggai jacket, more of a vest now, really, over it. A floppy cloth hat caught her eye, and her heart twisted a little. Hajime-kun. I’ll take it, just because. Maybe it’ll make me lucky. She padded past the shoe section, and looked down at her bare feet. Should I? The smell of rubber and glue and shoes filled her nose, but she could at least sit down on one of the benches, and rest for a little while.

Memories floated to the surface, of a little girl who lived on the streets. Her shoes quickly outgrown, and at first the pavement had made her skin prickle and ache. After a couple of weeks, her skin had grown thicker, and she had found that agility and light, padded steps might be better after all. Steps that had let her creep down dark alleys unnoticed, had let her climb, catlike, to steal and slip away. Sometimes, when there was no way out, those agile steps had let her dance a violent circle around someone stronger than her. She remembered how the shoes at the orphanage had pinched and hurt. Blisters, always blisters. The Oggai uniform boots were better, but still, her legs had felt heavy, and her steps always a split-second too slow. Would I have been quick enough to reach you, Hajime-kun?

Her stomach cramped, hard this time. Ouch. Food and water. She moved back to the food court. A counter serving deli foods was the closest. The fridges still felt cool to the touch. Maybe the food inside will be okay? She opened it to see racks of sandwiches. Egg salad? I love egg salad. She grabbed a couple and climbed onto the counter to enjoy them, unwrapped them - a mistake. The stench of rancid egg and mayonnaise clogged her nose and invaded her mind. She gagged, crouched on the counter, and leaned over the metal sink. Slowly the urge to vomit faded, and she tossed the sandwiches into the closest trash can. Not that egg salad.

She discovered that preserved foods and anything out of a can was still edible, if cold and not quite appetizing. I think cans might be my new favorite invention in the history of ever. Bottled water wasn’t exactly hard to find, and sports drinks and canned coffee weren’t hard either. She left the food court, with its faint smell of rot, behind her. She turned her steps back towards the shops. If... when I find Hajime-kun, I’m going to need to carry him, and I should wrap him in something. A set of bedsheets provided the answer. As she struggled with fitting them into her backpack, her transmitter dropped from her pocket. The screen was dark, the beeper silent. Still nothing? I know these are waterproof. Are we Oggai just forgotten all over again? Mutsuki-sensei... Still, she didn’t want to just leave it.

She left the ruined mall and wandered towards the monster. Finally, at a place where a piece of fallen scaffolding extended outward, was a way onto the body of this tower of flesh. The night breeze ruffled her hair, and carried a familiar scent. Hajime-kun. She remembered the bandages in her pocket. Anything for extra grip, I guess. She sat and wrapped her feet and hands. She stood and stepped onto the creature’s back. Despite its stone-like appearance, it was warm and spongy underfoot, and seemed to have a pulse. When she reached a place where it ascended into a vast pillar of lumpy kagune-flesh. As the sky clouded and chilly rain began to drip, she began to climb.

Next time: Natsume would be a good friend to have in an apocalypse, and Mutsuki might not have forgotten after all.

#tokyo ghoul #tg #tg fanfic #fanfic #my fanfic #hajime hazuki #oggai girl #the dragon #oggai #canon divergence

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theshandora · 2 years

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EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG WITH TOKYO GHOUL

Welcome to my series

EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG WITH TOKYO GHOUL

where I just bitch about Ishida's choices and decisions.

First things first: to me manga kinda went shit after Arima's death. Like I honestly thought the whole One-eyed King thing could be played off nicely and that Eto and Arima will give Kaneki something to work with. But yeah... nevermind, he had to handle everything himself.

Now let's review some of the problematic points in the story:

- The whole island 'extermination of Aogiri Tree' operation. It honestly seemed like the Aogiri Tree which was feared by the CCG for the rest of the manga just fell apart like a house of cards. Why did Tsukiyama and other 20th ward ghouls appeared there to help them in the first place? Like, that turn of events was never clarified.

- Touka's character in :re. Fuck you, Ishida. She wasn't my favorite in the first book, but I acknowledged her strength, her violent tendencies due to her childhood trauma and her desire to do better. And in :re all of a sudden she becomes this soft girl with a beautiful smile which does not appear in most of it and only enters again when Ishida decides that he has to force some romantic line for the main character. There is zero chemistry between Kaneki and Touka throughout the entire manga. It is pretty obvious from the start that Ishida wanted them to have some kind of romance, but he never followed through. Like, they don't see each other after Owl Eradication Op and then within a couple of chapters in :re they go from renewed friends to lovers to having a child and getting married? Nobody can convince that this is any kind of slowburn. That's a forced lazy arc. Besides... A CHILD???? "Fucckkking kidding". You are in the middle of the biggest crisis that ghoul society has ever faced. The ghouls rescued by the Goat are starving, Tokyo is filled with Furuta's Oggai army. Kaneki is traumatized (as always), overwhelmed with responsibility and trying his best to be the man that Arima believed him to be. SO YEAH, A PERFECT TIMING TO HAVE A CHILD. And there is not one panel where Kaneki questions if it is worth to bring a new life to this fucked up world. Yeah, Ishida, fuck you.

Okay, now I know some of you will think that I just don't like a straight ship. So let's get it out of the way straight away:

- Kaneki didn't need a romantic line. At least it should have never gotten to the point of marriage and kids. It should have been a romantic interest at most. I hate the ending of the Hunger Games for the same reason. Katniss Everdeen having a bunch of kids and being a happy mom? Yeah, fuck that. - The only valid romantic line in this manga is Amon/Akira. They must be protected at all cost. And of course Ishida does not even bother to show them in the last chapter, lol. - I don't ship Kaneki with Hide. Their friendship is precious, and it makes me sad that people can't be friends without being romantisized (Johnlock stans, I am talking to you). - Shuneki. That's a tough one because I believe that Tsukiyama at some point did develop feelings towards Kaneki, but let's be honest it's not mutual.

Which brings me to the next point:

- TSUKIYAMA WAS DONE DIRTY. He deserved THE WORLD. I can't even find words to describe how unfair his character was treated. In the first book when he is first introduced his character is pretty flat. Yeah, he has charm, he's problematic and obsessive, and randomly inserts French words into the conversation. I know many people liked him even at that point, but let's face it: his character gains his true depth and meaning in :re. After everything we learn about his family and his relationship with Karren, Chie and the servants I don't know how can anyone not love him. The influence Kaneki's death has on his character development is enormous. First of all, it was such a strong moment when he decides that it is not his place to bring Kaneki's memory back? You can see how much struggle was there in his head. He recognized that he could have been wrong in the past, that Haise might be happier than Kaneki, and also he puts his family above his desires. Imagine: we went from Shu trying to have Kaneki to himself no matter the cost to Shu thinking that Kaneki is better off being Haise so that he doesn't learn about all the suffering and loss he went through. THIS WAS SO GOOD.

Now, the fact that even after regaining his memory Kaneki throws him off the roof is a bit controversial but understandable. After all, they weren't on the best terms, Ken didn't completely trust him in the past. Moreover, he never got to learn how much Shu suffered and how much he grew emotionally. And last but not least, I like to believe that he really hoped that Shu will survive the fall. I still see this part as a bit problematic because Kaneki would literally die for any member of the squad before, but at the same time I just feel sorry that he got himself in this situation in the first place. Being confused, not having his memories, wondering whether he should hold on to being an investigator - that was too much.

Okay, I got a little carried away. This is all great, but my point in this was how Tsukiyama was treated later when he was part of the Goat. Like the man literally forgave you, never doubted you once, did everything you expected of him and more and Kaneki never thanked him once. NOT ONCE. They never even had a conversation which concerned anything outside their goal. It honestly looked like Kaneki finally realized he can trust Shu with his life, so he just used him. This was so painful to watch. Ken literally never recognized how big of a part Tsukiyama played in him being the One-eyed King. This just makes me angry. And also Shu's non-existent reaction to Kaneki being married to Touka????

I don't even know what to say about Ishida creating that panel with Tsukiyama saying he just wishes to see Ken happy JUST TO END IT WITH A SICK COMMENT ABOUT TASTING THEIR CHILD???!??!?!? Ishida, why?

To summarize: Tsukiyama is a beautiful precious flower who did not deserve to be Kaneki's unappreciated errand boy. My soul was aching everytime he adressed him as "My King".

That's all I have to say in this post. This fandom is probably dead anyways, but I felt like screaming into the void.

#tokyo ghoul #sui ishida #touka #kaneki ken #tsukiyama shuu #tsukiyama x kaneki #kaneki x touka #ishida why #amon x akira

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superryunosukeyuki · 5 years

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The True Nature of the Oggai

In the latter half of Tokyo Ghoul :re, the reader is introduced to a group known as the Oggai. This is a group of more advanced Quinx that each have one of Rize Kamishiro‘s kakuhou implanted into them. They were created by Akihiro Kanou on the orders of Furuta, supposedly to eliminate all ghouls in the city. However, it’s later revealed that they were created with the intention of eventually being eaten by Kaneki, so the resulting overload of rc cells would trigger his transformation into Dragon.

However, there are still a number of things about the Oggai that were never revealed. Where did the come from? Why, despite being only pre-/early teens did they seem to have no problem with mass slaughter, and why did they normally show no emotion? Also, why would Furuta use children for this purpose?

Origins

Some have theorized that the Oggai were typical CCG revenge recruits: their families were killed by ghouls, and they thus sought revenge. This was likely supported by the presence of Hajime Hazuki, their squad A leader who was such a recruit. However, the fact that there were 100 Oggai calls this into question. To elaborate:

Remember, the Oggai were a type of Quinx. When the original Quinx team were in their final year at the CCG junior academy, they were given an aptitude test to whether they could actually become Quinx. In the above picture, all of the cadets appear around the same age. This suggests that only the graduating class was tested. This is further supported by Aura and Higemaru (a year younger) not receiving the test until the following year.

So, the orginal Quinx team (Urie, Saiko, Mutsuki, and Shirazu) all came from that year’s graduating class. However, the CCG has seven junior academies, and so they had seven graduating classes (Mutsuki was from the second academy, while the others were from the seventh academy). This likely amounted to hundreds of graduates (if not more).

So, here’s the point: in a graduating class of at least hundreds only six (Urie, Saiko, Mutsuki, Shirazu, and two unnamed others) were capable of becoming Quinx. From this ratio, we assume that in order to find one hundred candidates for the Oggai, it would take a candidate pool of thousands (if not tens of thousands). Also, all of the Oggai were around the same age. Even with seven academies, it’s doubtful the CCG had this many kids of the same age on hand. So, where did they come from?

Another explanation is that many of the Oggai came from the Sunlit Garden. Ching-li Hsiao, a half-human from the Sunlit Garden, was able to become a Quinx. Also, since Rize (the ghoul whose kakuhou they received) came from the garden as well, her half-human relatives would acclimate to her kakuhou especially well.

However, there may be one more explanation. In the first picture above, I've drawn an arrow point to someone administering the test. It appears to be a blood test. In the series, humans have an average rc cell blood factor somewhere between 200 and 500. The first Quinx all had rc factors that were (for some reason) above 500, but below 1000 (the minimum rc factor for a ghoul). This above average rc rate is likely what determines whether one can become a Quinx. Also, from chapter 29 of the original series:

RC cell tests are performed even on ordinary citizens, with the CCG being allowed to take citizens with above average levels into custody. So, Furuta and Kanou could have simply searched through public records to find children with above average rc rates. Then, using the above law as as a precedent, took them into custody and forcibly converted them into Oggai.

So, the likely answer to where the Oggai came from is a combination of the above three hypotheses. While a few (like Hajime) may have been academy students searching for revenge, most were likely taken from the Sunlit Garden and the general public, and then subjected to the ghoulification procedure against their will.

However, this raises another question. If most of the Oggai were forcibly conscripted, why do they obey Furuta without question? The answer lies with how they were both created and trained.

The Walking Dead

While in the story it’s referenced that the Oggai were created using Quinx technology, Hajime states they were “made differently.” How they differ is alluded to in a :Re volume 11 omake.

Okahira was an investigator who died when the CCG attacked the Tsukiyama family in the Rose arc. Later, he was revived by Dr. Kanou in the Rushima Island arc as a half-ghoul using Quinx technology. By making this allusion, could Ishida be telling us that the Oggai were created in the same way (killed and then revived as half-ghouls)? There is additional evidence supporting this.

For example, even during battle the Oggai typically wore blank, stoic expressions on their faces. This is similar to Okahira after his revival.

However, there are exceptions to this. Hajime of course shifts his facial features, and a girl named Mayuzumi does as well.

Hajime and Mayuzumi were the only Oggai named in-story, and this suggests there was something special about them. However, most of the Oggai typically had bland expressions like Okahira did. Also:

In :re chapter 134, the Oggai are beginning to frame out. In the official English translation, one of them keeps asking “why did you kill me” over and over again. This further suggests that the Oggai were murdered and then revived as half-ghouls to do Furuta’s bidding. It also helps explain their absolute obedience. After his own resurrection, Okahira says he has no choice but to serve Kanou, and later gives a reason as to why.

He mentions that there is a medicine he has to take every so often or else he will die again. This “medicine” is likely a concentrated rc cell solution, and if the Oggai were made in the same way Okahira was it means they would have to take this medicine as well. As Furuta and Kanou are the only ones who could supply this, they would be forced to do Furuta’s bidding unless they wanted to die a second time.

On a side note, the kanji for Oggai is an invented one that is basically just two of the death kanji. They were made to die twice: once for their resurrection as half-ghouls, and then again as fuel to create Dragon.

A Clockwork Orange

The Oggai being undead dependents explains why they obey Furuta. However, this doesn’t seem to explain why they are able to kill without hesitation despite their young age. Psychologically, the mass slaughters they are forced to commit should have some effect on them, but we don’t see this. However, this may be explain by something referenced in the story.

In :re chapter 127, when Mayuzumi enters a coffee shop owned by a ghoul, her companions tell her to “tolchok” him. Tolchok isn’t a real word, but an invented word mentioned in the novel (and its later film adaptation) called “A Clockwork Orange.”

Set in a dystopian setting, the story features a slang known as “Nadsat” which is a hybrid of Russian and English. One word of Nadsat is tolchok, which means “hit.” The film’s main character is a teenager named Alex DeLarge (played by a young Malcolm McDowell).

Alex regularly goes out at night with his gang members (called “droogs”) to engage in “ultra-violence.” Whenever he performs these violent acts, he sings the song “Singing in the Rain.” When Hajime is in his cell in the 24th ward in :re chapter 131.

Two different Oggai both saying things related to this film suggests a correlation. In the film, Alex is caught after one of his violent escapades and is forced to go through a brainwashing therapy. Essentially, his eyes are forcibly kept open while he is made to watch terrifying images of violence and destruction on a projector.

This treatment makes Alex so adverse to violence that even thinking of violent acts makes him feel ill. It works to the point where can’t even defend himself. So, while Alex was brainwashed against violence, what if the Oggai were brainwashed towards it? This would explain why killing is no problem at all for them.

RC Cell Potential

The previous points all explain where the Oggai came from and reasons for their behavior. However, all of this begs the question: why would Furuta go to such lengths to use children for his project? For his kidnapping and brainwashing, why not use older teens/early adults? A textual reason:

Kanou mentions that their young bodies cause their kakuhou to permeate quicker. This is likely due to the nature of rc cells as a type of blood cell. A post by @coromoor titled “Ghoulology 101″ suggests the rc cell to be a type of human blood stem cell because of its presence in the blood, its shape (it looks like a blood cell that has undergone sickle-cell anemia) and because it can regenerate several different tissue types. Blood cells are produced in the red marrow of the bones, and the younger you are the more red marrow you have in your bones.

The Oggai, being in their pre-/early teens, have more red marrow in their bones than older ghouls and half-ghouls. This means they have more potential for rc cell production, and thus they can both adapt to kakuhou more quickly and form larger kagune. This is shown on occasions when the Oggai are able to quickly generate huge kagune.

Remember, the main reason Furuta had to create the Oggai was for them to be eaten by Kaneki in order to form Dragon. Since the Oggai had greater rc cell production then that means Kaneki received a greater rc cell overload (and thus formed a larger Dragon).

Conclusion

The Oggai were (for the most part) forcibly conscripted into service for Furuta. They were kidnapped, killed, and resurrected as half-ghouls before subsequently being brainwashed into killing machines. They were subjected to all of this for the express purpose of being eaten in order to create an eldritch abomination. They were disregarded by the CCG who they were forced to work for, and despised by the ghouls they were forced to hunt. After their deaths, both sides simply forgot about them. Their story is a tragedy that shows the darkest aspects of the Tokyo Ghoul universe.

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episentre · 5 years

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@cannibalic

He knows the Oggai exist, yet he’s never interacted with one personally. Yet even if Fumio did interact with them, he’d try his best to keep it short unless Kaito was around. He gets too nervous, too anxious, he doesn’t like it. But he listens to what the younger girl has to say, taking her words into consideration. ❝ Ye-Yeah… I guess you’re right. ❞ Fumio says shyly.

To be annoying, to be irritating, that’s what got him into trouble with his mother. If he didn’t do as she said, or if he acted to clingy ( which he was, he lived for attention ), there was punishment, so he believes if he were to irk anyone else, he would have to face the music. He didn’t like that. ❝ But I was taught better than that. ❞

They were ruthless and without fear-- children gifted with weapons within themselves and told that there were no restraints and no consequences. All you had to do was have fun. So when he seems to divert away from her attempts of trying to get him to open up a bit, she frowns.

“What were you taught?” she asks stiffly. Better? Better? As if he was trying to pick a fight with his words-- but his body language states otherwise. It puzzles her. What a strange kid.

#[ tg ;re: part two ]#ayanesatsuki.exe #roleplay #cannibalic

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yawmanzo · 6 years

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Yaws Personal Reflection on Touken

When I first watched/really read Tokyo ghoul, although I shipped Touken to get together eventually by some point; I didn't really understand why they fall so hard for each other at first. Upon looking back however, a lot of that could be attributed to the very nature of both characters. Touka (read here for my reflection on her) with a harsh/lashing out and violent exterior due to the violent past in which she grew up in as a ghoul, whilst still having a gentle interior and being selfless in most cases wanting to help others even whilst getting herself hurt.

Kaneki with a gentle exterior, yet a violent interior due to his own past and misgivings that we all know of as a human and being selfish in wanting to be needed by others and unconsciously hurting others by trying to burden everything upon himself and not fully rely on others.

I've noticed how Ishida likes portraying the values of Yin and Yang between the two (depicting them as polar opposites attracting and being complementary/interconnected/interdependent with some similarities as well, he did explicitly say they are characters of a set after all when he came up with them). Passive/ Active. Strong/Weak. Black/White. Direct/Indirect. Selfish/Selfless. Human/Ghoul. Harsh/Kind.

These terms aren't purely static stances but rather semblances of self that each saw/admired/invoked in the other, both positive and negative.

Kaneki said human relationships are like chemical reactions, if you have a reaction, you can't return back to your previous state of being.

Touka was there and saved Kaneki numerous times in Part 1 when he desperately needed someone the most aside from Hide and the others, while Kaneki also saved her several times.

What I love is the evolution of their feelings and relationship that started out pretty horribly with both seeing each other in a negative light as human (living a good peaceful life) and ghoul (being an evil killing monster).

The fact that a human becoming a half ghoul developed to be able to care and fall in love with a full ghoul that hated herself, the world, struggled working and living life as a human and ghoul is really phenomenal narratively speaking. Kaneki saw past all of Touka's violent exterior anger issues and looked at the gentle interior she possessed when it comes to how much she cares about people other than herself, even as a murderer. “If you died Touka-chan, I'd probably be sad”.

That line is so simple, yet for Touka it created a lasting impression since no one in her life really in viewed that kind value upon her, also count in her abandonment issues in always being left alone (Hikari, Arata, Ayato, later the Anteiku crew at the end of part 1).

Even if she had the Anteiku crew, no one truly gave that emphatic value about her life having importance and worth as a ghoul trying to LIVE in the human world amongst all the killing and violent predicaments of murder in the world, not even her uncle Renji or old man Yoshimura, even though they did look out for her. Meanwhile for Kaneki he felt like he belonged somewhere, again his most desperate desire. He felt needed as their friendship grew in training, fighting and working together, he wasn't alone anymore.

Even after getting separated after the Aogiri arc (about 6 months) and the Re time skip (about 3 years) you could always notice the subtle mentions of how much both thought of each other, Touka wanting to see him again and especially from Kaneki’s perspective even after each personality change in always mentioning Touka and Hide separately from every other important person in his life.

All personalities have mentioned her separately from everyone else (yes even centipede), “The others, Touka-chan and Hide”.

Even with the infamous bridge scene in part 1, Hide entrusted and helped Touka to expose Kaneki. And she did, however she unfortunately fell back on her violent anger issues and communication problems in truly conveying what she felt to Kaneki due to what can be seen as her fury at him being just like Arata and even Ayato to an extent. Kaneki promised never to leave her, yet he lied and left her to become stronger and shoulder all the burdens of everyone by himself in some tragic hero manner. Yet this time Kaneki genuinely believed his own lies, wanting to sacrifice himself to protect others when he said he wouldn't leave them.

However, unknown to Touka at that time, that encounter made Kaneki want to go back to Anteiku. “Touka, can I come back?”.

Haise sees her after 3 years at the second Anteiku home “Re” and cries after seeing that Touka was still alive after all this time and the encounter is titled “Inherited feelings”. Not for the person he knew the most in terms of time span, but for the beautiful person that created such a huge impression on him at the most vulnerable periods of his life after becoming a half ghoul and not having a true grasp on both worlds and companionship.

Is it unrealistic that Touka waited over 3 years for him and still had feelings only for him? “Even if time has passed, even if our bodies have changed, even if he had forgotten me completely... As long as he comes back home, things will be alright”.

Mostly yes for the majority but not strictly no… I view everything as not strictly one way with this; the main thing is about deep impressions that both instilled in each other, kinda like Star Crossed lovers, “I have faith in him, he will return”.

Touka was even willing to prioritize Kaneki’s own happiness and well being over hers as Haise in not forcing him to come back, but waiting for him come back of his own free will, even with all the new relationships Haise/Kaneki developed with other characters like the Qs family.

Time, change and distance never stopped them from still yearning to see the other, even amongst them both living different lives with different people and settings in part 2 of Re, most notably Haise/Kaneki with the Qs, CCG, Juuzou, Akira, Arima, Eto etc. Haise often visited Re just to look at her like he did with Rize even with his suppressed memories, even at times wondering what that girl(Touka) was up to. “I wonder what that person is doing today, on a date maybe?”.

Fast forward later to Touka also wondering about what Kaneki was up to in their 121-122 conversation... “Are you a virgin?”.

Black Reaper, the most savage,harsh and suicidal personality even changed his whole stance on dying simply upon looking at Touka in Cochlea.

This was also reinforced by Arimas threats in killing his ghoul friends, and the Hide inner dialogue about eventually finding a reason to live. I viewed this as a reverse of “If you died, I'd be sad” from part 1, both were scared at the very thought of the other dying. This time Touka is the gentle and kind exterior, Kaneki the violent harsh exterior not caring about his own life until someone reminded him the value of his life and the people that still care about that life. “Your life has MEANING, to us and to ME” type of thing, and as ghouls, they are hardly given any true instances of happiness, care and love that lasts before meeting a tragic end, some fuckery or death due to the harsh nature of the world.

The fact that they got together so quickly and yes rushed, after losing cafe Re and both feeling lonely and taking comfort in each other in 125 I found really emotional.

Touka asking Kaneki “Why are you crying?” was such a sweet gesture when you remember Haise crying when he first saw her in Re, but also how Kaneki felt that he was always beat a lot by the people he loved the most. And yet he was able to fully expose himself and have an extremely intimate moment with the woman that he's in love with, and to find out that she also loves him back and didn't hurt him at all this time.

Additionally was finding out that Kaneki was “dying” and how quickly they married after finding out about Touka’s pregnancy and her even CHOOSING Kaneki and their child over saving her best friend Yoriko (one of Kaneki's biggest flaws in choosing), for me only reaffirmed how desperate and strong each others feelings were for each other. Touka chose a life with Kaneki, something he wanted his mother to do… Choose him.

It's kinda like... “We lost each other before so many times, let's just confirm everything while we're still alive (The marriage bite mark and ring) because who knows when we'll lose these moments and our time together,” especially at how unforgiving shit can be with most TG relationships (AKA Eto’s parents Ukina and Kuzen, Touka’s parents Arata and Hikari and so forth).

Their love is flawed, rushed and has several problems yes with the time development and communication issues in execution... (I truly wish Ishida gave Touka more screen time and development in most of Re although she has developed and changed from Part 1 in her own way); but they are still growing and learning, nothings ever perfect. In fact even with that time discrepancy and change, its one of those relationships that's so genuine and loyal AF to me. Both can see the dark horror in each other, yet still love each other regardless and show genuine care to go through such lengths to make sure the other is okay in a world where such a thing for ghouls and humans is extremely rare. Especially during all the fuckery in the previous Underground and Dragon arcs. ALL of the Kaneki personalities agreed to literally kill and eat the Oggai children along with humans and ghouls (becoming a monster) just to see Touka again in fear of her death and hopefully to name his kid one day, repeatedly chanting her name over and over.

Touka played a prominent role and went out to save her husband with the CCG, Hide, hell even the Qs... incurring so much damn physical damage via all the fighting and all the mental/emotional stress concurred spanning days to weeks whilst fucking PREGNANT, starving herself with human food, and weakened as a ghoul.

Again, love is complicated, and it's not exactly “healthy” per say from that point of view… I'd say these two need some damn marriage counseling or some shit😂, but it is MUTUALLY genuine given the fucked up circumstances. (I'm also glad it didn't fall under the common anime/manga trope of “Will they? Won't they? shipping game that stalls for time... Just do it! Especially when TG isn't a romance manga, although it has romantic elements)

Personally for me, Touken represents an overall symbol of coexistence and hope for humans and ghouls (the positive core message of TG, even though yes I know it's not the main focal point outside all the story fuckery as a whole). It illustrates breaking past the species barrier of mutual understanding along with other ships to a degree like Ukina x Kuzen, Nishiki x Kimi etc; and I find it beautiful that Kaneki finally has a tangible reason to LIVE, with his Best Waifu Touka… And now also his Best Bro Hide and everyone else.

I wish I could add more insight, but as you can see... I'm a Touken boy through and through😅

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hamliet · 6 years

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Tokyo Ghoul’s Thematic Tightrope

TG has always walked the line between idealism and realism in an absolutely fascinating way, and it’s one of the main things I adore about this series. Both of these themes are explicitly explored through the characters of Furuta and Kaneki, and the reason people are not happy with what has been done with them is not because “I just hate Kaneki but Furuta’s an angel who deserved none of this,” (I LOVE Kaneki) it’s because the themes, depending on the person, may not have been satisfactorily addressed.

The series’ ending conclusion is that it tries to bring these two disparate pieces together in a way that was framed peculiarly, and because of that framing the message ultimately comes across as simplistic and, to some, confusing, because textually, it’s simply inaccurate to say Kaneki fought tragedy but Furuta did not. Instead of emphasizing individual responsibility and choices, the story seems to have emphasized choices made by others.

(It’s great that some find 177 optimistic, and this is not an attempt to convince people it’s not optimistic, but to explain that, even though we all agree Ishida was trying to send a hopeful message, many of us came away with the opposite message instead. It’s not correct to say that the message Ishida intended to say is the message he actually sent, nor is it correct to say that he did not send that message.)

We all know that TG wants us to live. It’s the most powerful line of the series imo: live, even if it’s not stylish.

That’s idealistic, and optimistic. Hence, the series sets up an expectation that it will deliver on this front. And in many ways it does just that. Even when things look hopeless, like when Mutsuki spirals, or when Urie frames out, or when Kaneki breaks into Dragon, these three characters are rescued by their loved ones, rescued from themselves. That’s beautiful.

However, the framing around Kaneki’s case in particular troubles me. He was told he did not have long to live.

We all wanted him to live, and the story granted it to us: he fixed his issue. Good. But fixing his life span came at the cost of 100 kids’ lives: one hundred traumatized orphans who were experimented upon and legitimately called “100 Kaneki Kens” by the narrative, and the narrative has not explicitly acknowledged this. Which the story could have work... except it contradicts the story’s earlier themes of having to truly grapple with the wrongs done to children as the concept of wrongs done to kids has been reflected in just about every characters’ arc, and even in the worldbuilding, starting from the Doves’ Emergence Arc.

The story has always emphasized this theme as highly important and influential for Kaneki personally and for the other characters as well, so if it was emphasized so much, it sets up an expectation in the reader that this should be dealt with explicily rather than never expressly acknowledged. I actually think Kaneki eating the Oggai is a good narrative decision for his lowest point, even if I personally find it triggering. The fact that it wasn’t then acknowledged, however, makes this theme of choosing to protect kids kind of fall apart. It also again stresses the idea of making choices for other people about the value of certain lives over other lives. And yes, Kaneki did not have a choice once in that scenario, but again, that emphasizes the idea that the world doesn’t allow for choices.

The story then also has Kaneki choose to kill Rize even though he does not want to (and it’s good that he doesn’t want to), but I don’t think anyone thinks that the way in which it was done was a good narrative decision. I actually haven’t seen anyone saying it was, lol. It would be one thing if he had not just been saved from the same exact situation, but he was. It would be one thing if he tried and then realized he could not. It would be one thing if Rize’s decision to stay at the Torii Gates was given more narrative emphasis rather than her commenting only on Kaneki’s decision, but it wasn’t.

Keep pressing on no matter what is a fine message, but to press on at the cost of kids’ lives and the life of a girl in the same circumstances he was just saved on frames this theme in a very uncomfortable way. Especially since Kaneki’s major flaw is criticizing behavior in other people that he also exhibits (that’s what Shironeki was kind of about).

Additionally, it can be interpreted as sending an “ends justify the means” message which I personally find morally reprehensible, and, well, there are lots of implications to Kaneki having to kill 100 orphans and a woman with little current choice that are deeply unsettling. While I totally agree that Ishida did not mean to imply what that implies, it doesn’t change the fact that some of us are going to be more troubled by how problematic that is than others. Intentions to communicate something important do not necessarily matter if the communication becomes muddled and the receiver hears something other.

I personally root for Kaneki against Furuta and always have, but the entire framing of this scene left me with a deeply pessimistic message. Accept the world, yes, do what you can, yes. But kill or be killed, rather than asking why anyone needs to die at all? That struck me as contradictory for the rest of the series’ themes. It is true that you cannot save the world, nor can you change it: you can only change yourself. The problem is that the narrative places emphasis on this when it comes to Kaneki’s character, but not with other characters, and allows Kaneki idealism in ways that it does not allow others. Of course, he is the main character, but thinking of himself as the center of everything has always led to disaster for him within the story. And it is not actually Kaneki’s choices that saved him, speaking textually.

It’s Touka’s. It’s Tsukiyama’s. It’s Hide’s. And it’s Furuta’s. They saved him.

I don’t think anyone would say Touka’s love for Kaneki is not idealistic. Most people would not wait three years and dig their husband out of a Dragon. I’m not saying this is bad in any way at all, mind you. I love Touken and think it’s beautiful, but I am saying it’s idealistic. And that’s good, but it sets certain expectations: namely, if Kaneki is on the receiving end of a lot of peoples’ idealistic forgiveness and belief that he can and will choose to make better decisions in the future (Hide, Tsukiyama, the Qs, etc. all share this perspective), it makes sense that we would expect him to then share this idealistic perspective with others, even if in they end they do not take it. But he does not. And this is actually not something new. He admitted to Takizawa he only cared about his loved ones (which is fine! But if you put yourself in a position where you are responsible for those people multiple times, as he has and as Ayato called him on, that’s less fine),

and he did not save Eto (the clowns presumably did) when he’d promised to: and she wasn’t trying to kill him then. She was lying there dying in front of him and had just saved Touka and everyone else and told him so. So it’s hard to see this Rize thing as growth when he’s done it before.

Again, this is where the rushing comes in: if Kaneki had offered this to Rize and she expressly rejected it, or if this was emphasized more in the Torii Gate scene, it could have worked, but it was truncated. To have the conclusion of “some people do need to die” (which is Kaneki’s conclusion) told to us from Kaneki’s perspective rather than shown (especially when Rize’s issues tend to be about precisely not being allowed to share her perspective), and not explored when TG has a habit of exploring its themes until Moon Hell, means that the themes ultimately come across as muddy. Is it Rize’s choice to die tragically? Or Kaneki’s to kill her? We’re supposed to see it as Rize’s most likely, but it simply isn’t clear, and to have it not clear when Kaneki is making a choice about someone else’s life is putting the onus on other people rather than on individual responsibility.

Continuing along those lines, the story early on tells us that connection is important. Interactions are chemical reactions; people are forever changed by them. People like Yamori, Arima, Furuta, and Rize, who do not connect with people, die without redemption (Eto is an exception, for... some reason. I’d say this is an inconsistency). However, the story also shows us that connection is hard. That’s a realistic view of connection, in that Kaneki struggles to connect with people and has actually deliberately severed himself from connection multiple times: first with Anteiku, then with the Qs, etc. It’s always been framed as something sad, because he doesn’t believe he can be loved, and Kaneki’s struggles to maintain connection are realistic and for me, highly relatable. However, the way in which people respond to his struggles to connect is idealistic and indeed beautiful, but also creates a dissonance with its contrast. It is honestly hard for me to believe that literally not one person would have expressed frustration or sorrow over Kaneki becoming Dragon, rather than just sorrow for him. That is not realistic. It’s beautiful in its idealism, but contrasts in an awkward way with the realism of Kaneki’s own struggles. It again puts the onus on other people rather than on oneself, which doesn’t work if we’re supposed to be interpreting Kaneki’s choices as what makes the difference. Such idealism also doesn’t work with Kaneki’s ultimate “kill or be killed” conclusion with the rushed pacing and framing the latest chapter had.

The conclusion of “I need to kill the Oggai/Rize to save everyone I love” struggles thematically because it is this entire mindset that has run the cruel world TG inhabits. The CCG agents (not the Washuu) kills ghouls to save the people they love. Like, I think what makes TG so interesting is that we can all relate to the notion that if there were terrifying people who had to eat humans to live, the world would not respond with empathy. The ghouls kill humans to stay alive and keep their loved ones alive. Essentially? While ghouls and humans may now be working together, that basic philosophy has remained the same. Making choices for other people about the worth of their lives is how this Tokyo runs in TG.

A lot of people find that pretty pessimistic. You can interpret that as “well, we can’t change the world, but we can still find happiness”--except TG has always offered a solution: changing the world via empathy. Empathy, putting yourself in the place of another. It’s what Touka offers Mado as a solution in the Dove’s Emergence Arc, and then she kills Mado because again, it’s kill or be killed there.

And yet the narrative does not let her off for this, because she deeply regrets it. So the scene in 177, without Rize being afforded a chance, suggests a cycle that is unbreakable, that the cage cannot be broken, and if you try to break it, you become a villain. The three characters who tried the hardest to break it are Furuta, Eto, Arima. That’s... an issue, especially when the story begins with this:

The only character who has tried to break that cage, who tried for revolution, is Furuta. Claiming that Furuta wanted to make things worse and Kaneki only wanted to make things better is a false ditchotomy. Kaneki only wanted a world that he could live in.

This is the entire point of Kaneki hiding in the 24th ward arc. He would have probably stayed in the 24th ward forever if he could rather than actually confront the others. He admits as much inside his head: he had no plan, no intention of fixing the world for ghouls and human, he only wanted a world where he could belong, where he was needed and therefore he only acted on what was directly in front of him. Maybe that’s the point, maybe he was never supposed to be born for love and revolution, but then I think it’s odd that everyone reading it thought it was supposed to be about freeing ghouls... because the story did set up those expectations.

This is in comparison to Furuta who has spent his entire life trying to break the system from within, who dedicated his whole life to one plan. All of Furuta's actions are making things worse with a purpose. We see exactly why this is necessary because every single person within the CCG is simply so accustomed to the cruel way things are that they barely even react. Torturers like Kijima and Tokage run free with no repercussions. Saiko has consent forms for a life-altering surgery signed by her mother and not her. Mutsuki is given a knife, and then turned into a living weapon when they show both a predisposition for violence and also come from a horrifically abusive family. The entirety of the CCG is built on compliance. They literally needed to be pushed to that extreme in order to break free. The Oggai are the CCG's method of taking child soldiers. The Washuu which control everything were slaughtered by Furuta who then went on to replace them, and show exactly everybody how the Washuu acted in his personality as “Kichimura.” Dragon literally drags humans into a conflict that ghouls have been living and born into their entire lives, and humans have the privilege of just treating like it's an urban legend.

All of these are targeted strikes against the system. Kaneki, on the other hand, broke quinques and hoped for the best. Kaneki's successes are all built explicitly on the back of Furuta's work. If Furuta had not done the dirty work Kaneki never would have even survived as king because Furuta did all the dirty work for him. He never had to confront the CCG because Furuta dismantled it for him from within. He never had to destroy the Washuu because Furuta already took care of that and he did it much better than both Marude and Hide.

Kaneki wanted to talk to the Washuu. He had no plan.

When Furuta was not directly challenging him, the only thing Kaneki did was move to save investigators. When Furuta was directly challenging him, he hid to the 24th ward and then slowly starved to death. When Kaneki was presented with the exact same limited life span problem Furuta dealt with his entire life, Kaneki didn't fight tragedy. He distracted himself. Kaneki only fixed his lifespan because of something Furuta did once again: because Furuta provided him the Oggai to eat.

Furuta acts, Kaneki reacts. That's been consistent throughout the entire narrative. The fact that the story suggests that acting is wrong in Furuta’s case (and it hella is! Nothing he does is excusable, but his motivations=dismantle the system so that no one has to suffer what he suffered) and that it’s right in Kaneki’s case (his motivations=protect his loved ones from suffering) is... well, the line between them is really thin. Not wanting to do something (like Kaneki has seldom ever wanted to hurt anybody) doesn’t change the fact that he has, in fact, hurt someone, and as Yoshimura says, “the act of taking a life is always evil.” To have the significant choice of Kaneki’s, the choice that’s supposed to exemplify him taking responsibility, being to kill someone who has no choice, is strange.

You have to accept the world and decided not to twist it yourself. In theory, I like these messages from Kaneki and Amon. In practice, the framing of the story with pushing aside other themes and Kaneki still committing an action the story has always described as wrong against someone experiencing the exact same thing he just went through, makes it hard. It’s a tightrope between just what the difference between Furuta and Kaneki actually is, and I personally can see why people buy this chapter as inspirational, and why people do not.

#tg meta #tgre meta #tgre 177 #kaneki ken #furuta nimura #kamishiro rize #touken #kirishima touka #amon koutarou #yoshimura kuzen #tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul re

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harostar · 6 years

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Headcanons, again

Random post-series headcanons for TG.

Media Frenzy

Okay, but one of the major unmentioned boons for United Front and the overall push towards coexistence is the media. Japanese media agencies see the enormous $$$$ to be had from securing Ghoul talents. There’s an explosive boom of Ghouls being welcomed openly into the entertainment industry, as the hot new thing.

Ghoul Idols become a huge thing, playing up their mystery and also the moe element of Monster Girls.

Shuu Tsukiyama is the media darling that everyone knew he could become. He is truly a blessing for United Front, making media appearances for the organization and basically charming the entire world. He’s pretty much the biggest crush for schoolgirls, even moreso than Furuta’s brief time as the hottie every single squealed about. He’s a triple-threat, which makes it even more incredible. He can go on variety shows and sing, dance, or play the piano for the audience. He gives interviews to foreign press without needing a translator. He does modeling campaigns for the Tsukiyama Group and charities. Truly the one-man PR campaign.

I don’t know who it was that wrote the fic where Ikuma has his big break. But absolutely, that wave of interest in ghoul talent sweeps him up. He’s offered a recording contract, but manages to become more than just a brief celebrity. His genuine talent, work ethic, and down to earth nature gives him appeal that survives the Ghoul Trend. He manages to have a lasting career as a singer/song-writer. He does collaborations with other acts, providing guitar for other singers and acting as a guest musician for other bands.

Amon joins forces with Mutsuki and Juuzou, working to completely abolish the Junior Academy system. They speak about their experiences as orphans raised within that system, and how it exploits traumatized orphans. The documentation about the Oggai becomes key evidence, prompting the government to remove children from the care of the remaining CCG branches in the nation. Instead of being raised as weapons, children both human and ghoul are placed into nurturing environments where they can heal from their ordeals and grow up happy. Hinami and Amon both become heavily involved in these programs, working to provide a better life for other children that suffered under the old conflict.

Somewhere along the line, Amon and Akira become responsible for one of these facilities. Though they never have biological children of their own, they raise numerous children dealing with the losses they once endured. There’s still a small part of Akira that wonders what her father would think of her helping care for ghoul children.....

That thought vanishes the first time one of them calls her mother.

#headcanon #rambling

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toukaisbetterthanyou · 7 years

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Here’s a list of all of the things in both TG and TG:Re that Touka has done that had nothing to do with Kaneki. And I’m probably missing some things.

TG:

Survive for years on the street in order to take care of both herself and her younger brother.

Fights off Tsukiyama and other brutal ghouls in order to take care of both herself and her younger brother.

Go to school in order to better blend in with humans and try to live a normal life so that she and her brother could be safe.

Become good friends with a human girl despite distrusting most humans (and for good reason given the life that she’s led).

Bonds with Hinami and Ryouko.

Fights off Nishiki (in order to save Kaneki, though she doesn’t realize she is saving Kaneki at first. It’s implied that Touka had fought Nishiki before, as well as other ghouls who try to disrupt the peace of the 20th ward).

Saves Hide from Kaneki. Brings Hide back to anteiku for care even though she didn’t have to and could have just left him in the alleyway.

Attempt to get revenge on the Doves for killing Ryouko.

Spreads false information to the CCG about Hinami in order for them to lose her trail.

Fights and kills Mado after he tries to kill Hinami in order to protect the younger girl.

Realizes that revenge is wrong because Mado has a family and killing continues the cycle of death and destruction that lead to her father’s death/disappearance.

Takes Hinami into her home and cares for her.

Helps to save Nishiki’s life from Tsukiyama.

Spares Kimi

Tries to get into Kamii in order to major in biology and learn more about why ghouls are the way that they are.

Talks to Shinohara and Juuzou in Roma’s place since the girl is “afraid” of the doves.

Displays such intense loyalty that she wants to go and die during the anteiku raid because she doesn’t want to abandon her new family.

TG:RE:

While Re is made in part to give Kaneki a place to return to, it also seems to serve a similar purpose as anteiku, as a peaceful place for ghouls to congregate. It’s implied hat she, Yomo, and Nishiki also enforce peace and stability among ghouls in their ward give that she takes part in other rescue efforts and seems to send Nishiki out to help with early scuffles in TG:RE.

Is the leader of Re:. Both Yomo and Nishiki defer to her and take orders from her.

Gives flowers to Shinohara as a way to gain personal closure to what she feels is an endless and pointless cycle of death and revenge.

Seems to know about the clowns and knows about Uta’s part in the clowns. Both she and Yomo use him as an informant.

Saves Tsukiyama, even though she doesn’t have to. Puts herself in danger to do this.

Takes part in the cochlea raid to rescue Hinami.

Makes up with her brother for their previous volatile relationship.

Saves Hinami. Reprimands her lovingly.

Fights Aura and that other guy in order to help save Hinami, her brother, and her uncle.

Takes the force of hive mind with her kagune in order to save Hinami, her brother, and her uncle.

Allows squad 0 and all of the ghouls who are now apart of GOAT a place to stay at Re:

Talks to Amon at her own behest in order to reach closure with him. Encourages him to speak to Akira.

Reaches closure with Akira. Changes Akira’s mind about revenge and ghouls. Gets Akira to make up with Hinami.

Takes care of the aogiri children and offers them a place to live.

During the 24th ward raid, she fights to kill some of the oggai, and protects the weaker ghouls and children.

Comes up with a plan to guide the weaker ghouls and children to safety.

Injures Hajime after he injures Hinami.

Takes on leadership role to protect the weaker ghouls and children instead of running off on her own, even though she could cover more ground alone or just with Hinami.

So, it’s almost like -- Touka has all kinds of interesting character dynamics and motivations that has nothing to do with her husband and unborn child. It’s almost like she’s still an interesting character that is doing a lot of things EVEN STILL that has nothing to do with Kaneki. It’s almost like a woman falling in love and getting married doesn’t immediately cancel out every interesting thing about her that existed previously! And brace yourselves for this -- she still is doing a lot of things that have absolutely nothing to do with Kaneki even after marrying him!

Wow, what a shocker.

#Touka Kirishima #kirishima touka #touken #kanetou #tg #tokyo ghoul:re #touka positive #touka stanning #meta #fandom commentary #so just because you might not have seen her importance #or her motivations and character development #because you didn't want to #or you were more interested in something else #doesn't mean that it didn't exist

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soutasnotebook · 7 years

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Touka and Mutsuki fight after 152 and then both decide to shoot for a peaceful solution. Mutsuki decides he doesn’t care if Kaneki loves someone else as long as he can also be loved by him. He helps Touka and Hide and everyone get Kaneki out of Dragon with Touka and Kaneki and the others all move into the Chateau with the rest of the Quinx. Mutsuki gets the pure genuine love he always wanted from his Sensei and Touka and the others watch on while smiling

Can this, like, happen?

“Why do you think love is so cheap?” Touka fires Rc shards into Mutsuki’s arm. God dammit, she knows Ken loves this kid, but if he ain’t testing her patience now. “What, you think if Kaneki loves me he can’t love you? Love isn’t a math game, Eyepatch! Kaneki left you because he was afraid of you! And he was afraid because he loved you all! It had nothing to do with me!”

“Then why didn’t he come back?!” Mutsuki screams.

“Because Kaneki wants to hide when he feels like he’s done something wrong - like leaving you!” Touka yells back.

Mutsuki hesitates. He wants to hide. He’s very good at hiding.

“Mucchan!” shrieks a voice. Touka whirls around to see the rest of the Quinx. The screaming one is the blue-haired girl, the first one to agree to work with ghouls. Saiko, if Touka recalls Kaneki’s descriptions correctly.

“What?” sobs Mutsuki. “Go away! She - stole him!” He points wildly at Touka.

Aura appears. “And we’re going to finish this.”

“Oh my god, really,” Higemaru mutters.

“No, Mutsuki. Sasaki - Kaneki - Maman, if you will - he left us because he was too cowardly to face us. Just like you, leaving us for the Oggai, right? Because you don’t want to admit you have problems?” Urie steps forward, tears in his eyes. “Just like me, ignoring all of you at the start? And you - you were the one who hugged me at my lowest. And kept me from damaging myself more. Now I’m returning the favor.”

Urie steps forward and wraps his arms around Mutsuki. “It’s awful being alone. You do it, I do it, Sasaki does it, Saiko does it, Hsaio is part ghoul so we’ll say she does it too, Aura clearly does it.”

“What about me?” demands Higemaru.

“You’re the balm to the rest of us,” Urie tells him. Higa brightens and prances over to Aura. He hugs him, and Hsaio joins in.

Aura looks like he’s never been hugged before.

Saiko rushes over to join Urie and Mutsuki. Touka and a recovering Miza tiptoe closer.

“Is this where Maman is?” Saiko whispers to Touka.

She nods.

Saiko fastens her kagune into a drill and stabs into the flesh of the giant worm.

Touka gasps as Saiko rips forth a bloodied Kaneki with ease. His arms are no longer scaled. He looks whole.

“Ken!” she cries. She and all of the Quinx rush forward as Saiko lays him down atop the kagune.

“He’s unconscious,” says Miza.

Kaneki, however, cracks open one eye. He sees Mutsuki - Touka - Urie - Saiko - Miza and the new quinx, all standing there.

“Family,” he mumbles before losing consciousness.

Mutsuki bawls and Touka hugs him. For Kaneki’s sake, she’ll forgive this poor kid.

Three months later

Mutsuki opens the door to the Chateau. “After you.”

“Thanks,” says Touka, stepping inside to see all of the Quinx, Hide, and her husband gathered in their living room. Aura still sulks in a corner, but he’s inching closer to the rest of them day by day.

“Well? What did the doctor say?” Kaneki wasn’t able to accompany Touka to her ultrasound this morning, because he’s still under house arrest at the Chateau.

Mutsuki exchanges a smile with Touka.

“It’s a girl,” Touka blurts out.

Saiko shrieks, Higemaru cheers, and Mutsuki claps. Kaneki stumbles forward to wrap his arms around Touka. “Another girl in our family.”

#tooru mutsuki #touka kirishima #tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul scenarios #touken #kaneki ken #mutsuki/kaneki #saiko yonebayashi #urie kuki #aura shinsanpei #miza kusakari #ching li hsiao #higemaru touma

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