#takenaka is an interesting figure in this. yusuke seems to only trust his motives or even care about him when he hears how and why he mourn

[skrunksthatwunk]

hm. i'm not sure how i want to present this but i have an upsetting headcanon/interpretation proposal about yusuke that i wanna make

cw: csa discussion, nothing graphic

i don't think i've ever seen anyone mention this kind of hc for yusuke, but i think there's a lot of elements to his character and backstory that suggest he might have been a victim of csa. i've been thinking about it for a while, and here's what i've got:

neglected kid (only friend was keiko, no father, mother is frequently drunk or hungover, when not absent; almost certainly lonely, and in need of emotional and physical care (i.e. feeding himself) from an adult. shitty school, shitty teachers, possibly already issues with attendance, discipline, etc (skipping, poor/weak relationships with teachers); vulnerable, no reliable adults to notice abuse or report abuse to. in short, he's the perfect victim for grooming)

deep, deep mistrust of power, authority, adults; manifests as quiet resentment, because he doesn't believe anything can truly be done about it (which may seem a bit odd at first from a character as reckless and feisty as yusuke. but in terms of systemic change and justice, he's given up on changing things. he views himself as helpless. also an insistence that adults won't listen even if you tell them what's wrong, that explaining yourself or the situation is useless. which suggests past experience with being shut down, ignored, etc with something so important and/OR so frequently that it's stuck with him)

poor sexual boundaries (you could argue this extends to conversational matters, but i'm mostly talking about his habit of harassing (if not assaulting) keiko, as well as his treatment of miyuki. i usually see this symptom mentioned regarding young children, but i can't imagine it just.. goes away as they get older)

emotionally closed off, as a result of being hurt or dismissed by those he depended on to help him. has a hard time being vulnerable with people

seems to expect authority figures to want to hurt him (even does this with koenma/king yama in ep 2). doesn't even flinch when mr iwamoto punches him in ep 6(?), as though that sort of physical violence is normal at school and/or with adults regarding him (because no one thinks to protect yusuke)

only way of defending himself, of asserting himself, etc, is physical (again, talking doesn't work in yusuke's mind, or within the narrative, in most cases). power is expressed through physical violence within yyh, and it starts before we even meet yusuke. how did he get so good at fighting? at violence? he needed to protect himself (not necessarily from his abuser, but perhaps future malicious actors, real or imagined). those with power use it to hurt others, and yusuke knows this, and since no one was there to protect him, he had to learn to do it himself. i think csa could fit into this presentation of the world, and of yusuke, extremely easily

emotionally volatile, lashes out

disregard for his life, well-being; passively suicidal

none of these factors are That strong on their own, but it's a pattern i can't quite shake. i think it's worth considering, anyway, though i don't know that i have any real ideas regarding further explorations of it. it's one possible explanation for some of his behavior, and it fits into our glimpses of yusuke's world pretty neatly. i think a lot of people might dismiss this initially because 1) he perpetuates sexual violence (and what victim would do that?) 2) he's a guy 3) he's not a meek or helpless character. he doesn't fit into a typical depiction of csa victim, as flawless or delicate. but there are survivors like yusuke out there. it's not so cut and dry. idk

like.. did he seek out attention out of desperation, or did it find him? did he finally find someone who was good to him and watch as, slowly, that relationship twisted into something wrong? or did he accept it, thinking himself more mature than he was, and needing some kind of attention, even if it was unhealthy? and did he try to tell someone? was the response delayed, or nonexistent? or did he not even try, because he was afraid (of his abuser, of being rejected on something so important, of getting in trouble), or simply thought it could not matter to anyone enough to change a thing? would he tell keiko? would he tell anyone?

i look at his hopelessness and see the trauma that caused it. csa does not Have to be a part of forming the yusuke we see. but it's not that much of a stretch, imo.