#tgre 129

[seraphine16]

TOUKEN FANDOM PRAYING FOR THE BABY TO SURVIVE

[juuuzo]

Kaneki and Toukas child will live

(DISCLAIMER: This is my own opinion regarding the survivability of Kaneki and Toukas child. There's no actual proof that anything i'm saying is in fact true, and there's a possibility Ishida might just punch me in the gut and prove me wrong.)

Following the release of the latest chapter of Tokyo Ghoul:re, chapter 129, we receive confirmation that Touka is indeed pregnant, and with Kaneki as the father, the child is either a half-ghoul or half-human (im working on a meta on the genetic implications which ill post later on). While everyone has been theorizing about the possibility of a pregnancy since Ishida's drawing of Touka with a bloody belly and the burnt-womb poem; having finally received its validation, the fandom seems sure of one thing: the baby will die. Whether it will be through a natural miscarriage or during some kind of combat, the baby will certainly die. And with reason, after all, its our first time experiencing a ghoul pregnancy,of a hybrid nonetheless, and considering what we know (the ghoul mother absorbs the child, the child dies of malnutrition,etc), there's no hope for the baby. And yet, here I am,saying that I believe the child will live. Why? Well for various reasons:

1. It would be more tragic to have the child live

One of the main reasons readers believe the child is “bound to die” is because this is a tragedy manga. In fact, everything only happens in favor of this tragedy and only pain and suffering are allowed in the Tokyo Ghoul universe. So for all you sadists out there, I raise you the following question: Wouldn't it be even more tragic for the child to live? Think about it. If the baby were to die before birth, be it due to absorption or in combat, it would be sad, no doubt, but there wouldn't be that much of an impact in the story. Sure, Kaneki and Touka would suffer the loss of their infant, which would further cement the “tragic” aspect of Kaneki's life, but there was no hope that it would’ve lived anyway. Kaneki especially understands the stakes of this kind of pregnancy, and with the current situation the ghouls are in, he may even feel relieved the child didn’t come to be. Which then brings me to my point: it would be much more tragic for the child to survive. As of right now, the ghouls have mostly retreated into the depths of the 24th ward. The oggai are on patrol, killing anyone they find, adult or child. And we've seen in this chapter that the CCG has caught onto Goat and their hiding place. Especially, they'll be on the hunt for the King and his subordinates. Not only that, but the ghouls are in a dire situation. Food and resources are scarce, and the depths of the 24th ward consist mostly of ruins and broken down buildings. And we don't even know what's beyond the depths of the ward. Take all these factors into consideration and now imagine having a baby in these conditions. A newborn half-ghoul or half-human, requiring constant attention, feeding and care. Supposing Touka survives this alongside her child, she’ll be forced to exit the battlefront in favor of the infant, and become its guardian. Not only that, but a newborn is extremely fragile, especially a hybrid one, and would be an easy target. As the King's child, well, that just makes it even more of a target. And Kaneki, Touka and everyone else would know that. If, lets say, word gets out that the King has a child, I don't doubt for a minute that Furuta would set forth a race for its death, rewarding whoever kills the infant and brings back its head. And I'm sure there are quite a few characters that would be veeeery interested in its death, either for their own satisfaction or as a striking blow to the King's psyche. It would also force Kaneki to rethink his strategy, after all, he now has something very important he must protect. Other ghouls would also probably put their lives on the line for the child. The entire story would take a different shape. And that's not even considering the psychological effects of caring for this child, evidenced by Kaneki and Toukas rough childhood and family traumas. Nonetheless, if this baby comes to be, whether half-ghoul or half-human, it will have a very rough upbringing.

2. The child will become a symbol of hope

A recurring theme throughout the story, and one of Kaneki's main goals, is the possibility of coexistence between ghouls and humans. Ishida has shown us both sides of the coin, that of prey and that of predator, through the use of Kaneki's character: a human turned ghoul who has experienced firsthand both sides of the battlefield. However, at the same time, Kaneki has been shown to forsake his humanity in favor of the ghouls, acting as their King and fighting on their behalf. On the other hand, there is another character that, given different circumstances, could’ve very well taken on the role of King: Eto.

Eto was the only known natural half-ghoul, born from a human(Ukina) and a ghoul(Yoshimura). Her physiology gave her the best of both worlds: the abilities and prowess of a ghoul all while maintaining human characteristics and traits, allowing her to live both as Takatsuki Sen and the One-Eyed Owl. Her childhood allowed her to experience firsthand the plight of the ghouls, while her late mother's diary and her career as a novelist let her see the world as a human. One can’t help but wonder, had her parents raised her and her circumstances been different, what kind of world views Eto would've had and what kind of role she would’ve taken on, seeing as she believes in a society where ghouls are no longer persecuted.

What does this have to do with Kaneki and Toukas child? Well, I believe the child will take on a similar role. Whether it is half-ghoul or half-human, the child will become a mediator between both worlds. There are many theories regarding the end of Tokyo Ghoul, most saying that Kaneki will die in the end. Whether or not he’ll achieve his ghoul of coexistence, his child, being his direct descendant, could very well take on his legacy and take on the role of King, continuing the battle for a future where ghouls are no longer persecuted, becoming a symbol of hope for ghouls just like Kaneki currently is, considering its future status as both human and ghoul.

3. Allows Kaneki and Touka to have major character development

Having to take care of a newborn child will allow for some major character development, especially for Kaneki. Although he has undergone multiple changes throughout the story, one of Kaneki's main characteristics is his desire to ���sacrifice himself”. Regarding this trait, his relationship with Touka has already altered this to some degree, with her existence “grounding” him, tied to his vow to protect her. Touka, as we all know, can defend and take care of herself. The same can't be said about a newborn child, especially a hybrid newborn. Fragile and defenseless, the baby will be 100% dependant on its parents for its survival, which means that staying alive and protecting the child will become the main priority. No more reckless fighting, no more aimless wandering around. Kaneki will be forced to stay alive for the sake of the child, and knowing him, i'm sure he’ll do everything he can for his infant. The same can be said for Touka, who can already be seen going as far as consuming human food just to guarantee its survival within her womb. 

4. The child will become a plot moving force

It is an undeniable fact that this pregnancy has been foreshadowed for months now. Since the drawing of Touka with a bloody belly, the burnt womb poem, to the development of Kanekis and Toukas relationship, to an entire chapter dedicated to them finally consummating it. Creating all of this build-up just for the baby to die is just too anticlimactic and predictable. Pregnancy and miscarriage theories have been circulating for weeks now, and simply getting rid of the child after setting up the stage just seems too predictable and wasteful. Everyones expecting it, and story wise there's no point in introducing an element with so much potential and immediately getting rid of it. Ishida has yet to disappoint me plot wise, and I honestly think he has a lot more planned. Not only that, but, while both scenarios will have some form of impact within the story, a miscarriage will only directly affect Touka and Kaneki, who will obviously suffer for the loss of their child. On the other hand, introducing such an obstacle in the story will have multiple implications, affect various characters, and become a driving force in plot. It may even be a resource that Ishida may use to continue the story without its current main character(Boruto). Nonetheless, the stage is more than ready to receive this child, and with so much to bring to the story, I doubt Ishida would miss this chance (to bring us more misery).

In conclusion, while all the odds are against Kaneki and Toukas baby, I believe that, for the sake of the story, it'll live. However this pregnancy will progress is a complete mystery to me, but as someone who loves studying obstetrics and genetics, all this exposition on human and ghoul biology is making me brim with excitement. I can't wait to see how this will turn out and whether my theory will be right or wrong.

Thank you so much for reading, and please excuse any mistakes. 

[silverbulletsama]

IMPORTANT

[afrofairy96]

Kou in chapter 129

[rearima]

Happy Father's Day, Kaneki!

(sorry...)

[justapanda]

When Kaneki reads Mutsuki’s letter

Kaneki be like:

[sxyurii]

I love Ayato Kirishima and I’d die for him

[super-peace-fangirl]

Yup she’s pregnant. I just hope the baby will survive! <3

[yoshizawakasumi]

Tg:re Chapter 129 - Suffering

[touki-chan]

TG:RE is tiring me out

I have to make a post about this weeks chapter because this has me fucked up and i can’t be the only one. The chapter is actually a good build up for the arc but Ishida…really??? I normally don’t disagree with his writing and I don’t really care because my input doesn’t matter but…that ending has me fucked. The problem im seeing is the whole thing of getting Kaneki and Touka together. Fight me on this, but the timing is off. Personally I don’t think its right to have Kaneki be emotionally involved with someone when he cant sort out his own feelings of being suicidal (he still is) and being the one-eyeed king.

The whole thing is really rushed with him finally going back to RE, Touka having that “talk” with him which, honestly is ambushing him because he clearly hasn’t thought of them being together.  Kaneki is clearly uncomfortable by the whole thing by repeatedly drinking out of an EMPTY cup. 

 But good for Touka for making her feelings clear to a guy she’s waited for years. They dont really go too deep about where their relationship stands, just briefly going over how Touka isnt okay with Kaneki continuous suicidal attempts but nothing more. In a way it seems Touka uses herself as a means for Kaneki to not leave her behind and that throws me off even more.

Moving on to the RE attack and them both fleeing to safty. Both are distraught by their emotions and found comfort with each other which is fine and all. I didn’t find a problem with the chapter and thought it was actually really beautiful. Then the whole ring thing MY GOD, REALLY???

 They played it off as something just to give. Kaneki playing it and acting as he doesn’t know what type of ring it stands for is bullshit. The whole thing is downplayed and quick but bring it to this weeks and I’m actually over it. Again, they dont even talk about their relationship and where it is, they just move on.

 Them being together is being too forced and the quick progression of their relationship and now seeing that Touka is pregnant is just… quick (I don’t have a better word for it). I get it they had sex without a condom and bam, a baby on the way but I mean, come on. People shouldn’t be happy over this, it’s a death flag. Thinking that Kaneki is emotionally able to care for a child, with a potential death flag, he’s going to be more distraught than before. 

Seeing people ACTUALLY being excited over this baby is throwing me off. IT’S A DEATH FLAG. TOUKA ALREADY HAD A DEATH FLAG ON HERSELF AND NOW SHE HAS ANOTHER ONE. I’m just over this whole “Kaneki and Touka getting together” thing. Im not against them being together I’m just against the relationship progressing quickly from, ambushed confession, sex, heres a ring, and then baby.

[nikunikunikumanju]

Burger

It's Kaneki's favorite, right? 😭😭😭

[hyori-itai]

just a quick update after this recent chapter: i still hate mutsuki

[nicolethealpaca]

I BET TOUKA AND KANEKI ARE GOING TO NAME THEIR CHILD HIDE OR YORIKO

[silverbulletsama]

tbh

[afrofairy96]

When Kou is a confirmed Oggai spy and you are unable to contain your love for deceptive characters.

[rearima]

I think this is confirmation enough that she indeed is pregnant.

I wonder if she’s eating human food as a precaution or if she’s maybe already feeling that the baby is struggling to survive in her womb. Seeing how desperate and scared she is, I think it might even be the latter…

It’s obvious that now isn’t a good time to have a baby. They’ve been driven into a corner and it’s a daily fight for survival. Next second they could all be involved in a battle, get injured and die. Touka cannot even fight rn as It’s highly dangerous for the baby. But even if she doesn’t get involved into any kind of battle or physical activities, the baby could still die in her womb and I don’t want to imagine the horror and guilt she’d feel if she her ghoul body consumes her own child…

Tbh, I don’t see the baby surviving. It’s probably gonna die one way or another. Ishida is out for tragedy. After all the foreshadowing and setups and taking into account the current situation they’re in (Furuta planning to make a big move on them and the whole deal with Yoriko/Mutsuki) And also because I don’t think a baby would fit into the flow of the plot. Both of them are good with children but none of them are up to properly raise a child atm (both because of the circumstances and because they still have other issues to solve)

*copy/paste from my previous post* “From the spoilers I think it’s already indicating that Touka has not told Kaneki about the pregnancy. She asked him about Yoshimura’s child with a rather straight face that is totally hiding any indication that there’s more to that question (and Kaneki doesn’t seem to get it at all). Then she’s hiding in the toilet, desperately trying to keep down the human food and praying that the child doesn’t die. Atm nobody knows about the pregnancy is my guess (although Nishiki seems to have an idea of what is going on…). (We’ve been predicting this kind of situation but when it really happens it still hurts…)” So why doesn’t Touka tell Kaneki about the pregnancy? I think from her behavior this chapter, how she already seemed overwhelmed and scared with this situation, it can be assumed that she didn’t foresee this outcome? (But then again I find it hard to believe that neither her nor Kaneki seem to have thought of this… I remember it was stated that it is hard to get pregnant when a ghoul and a human have but did they just naively assume that it won’t come to this?) There are two main reasons as to why she didn’t tell him. One is that she’s well aware of the various consequences if Kaneki (and the others) learn of this. Kaneki and everyone else already have their hands full with dealing with the crisis at hand. She wouldn’t want to burden anyone, especially when they’re part of such a crucial organization/movement. Also, she’d turn into a major “weak spot” for Kaneki (and thus for the whole organization since we know how extremely biased Kaneki is). He’d go to extrem lengths to care for her safety and nutrition. And she’d turn into an easy target if being attacked. If Furuta or Mutsuki somehow get their hands on her, Kaneki would go ape shit. The other reason is that she’s probably scared and unsure of what to do atm. She will need time to process this and the difficult circumstances rn make it an extra tricky situation for her. However she decides, it’s already having many consequences and there are pros and cons about informing Kaneki or not. She might also be too scared that she’ll lose the baby and doesn’t want him to suffer with her through this. Anyway, as time progresses it will be inevitably noticed by others...