#tokyo debunker rambles

[ouiouimochi]

it's literally the same

bonus meme I saw lmao

[fulcrumforce66]

SPOILERS BELOW FOR EPISODE 12

I haven't seen anyone post about this yet, so thought I'd bring it up...

Are we just going to ignore the fact that Ren wished away HUNDREDS of people and there wasn't any indication if they came back?

After everyone disappears, Haru, MC, and Towa seem at a loss for words. Ren is the only one that speaks up and awkwardly expresses relief.

Then the cat anomaly shows up and the gang's attention gets refocused to that. The people don't get mentioned for the rest of the chapter. Understandably a lot happened in a short amount of time, so I can see it being easy to forget things in the heat of the moment.

Here's the kicker though - when they meet the sheepdog god in the next chapter, NO ONE THINKS TO MENTION BRINGING ALL THE PEOPLE BACK!

Both Haru and Ren make wishes for themselves to return to normal, but then the chapter ends. There's no indication in the remaining chapters that anyone made a wish for the people to return or for everything to return to normal on the farm.

So now the big question is what happened to the people???

Did the gang just conveniently forget to wish the people back once they returned to normal?

Did Haru decide it was too risky because the god didn't have enough power and might make things worse?

Does wishing people away mean you also forget that they existed entirely?

Could this just be a silly little plot hole the devs overlooked, that I'm reading way too much into? (.... most likely honestly 🫠)

🤷‍♀️ 🤷‍♀️ 🤷‍♀️ 🤷‍♀️ 🤷‍♀️ 🤷‍♀️ 🤷‍♀️ 🤷‍♀️ 🤷‍♀️ 🤷‍♀️ 🤷‍♀️

TUNE IN NEXT WEEK WHEN I DISCUSS WHY THE CHANCELLOR'S BIAS AGAINST DOGS WAS THE REAL REASON HE LOCKED AWAY LYCA 🙀

[istharoth]

Thinking about how the MC helps around Jabberwock so much that they're almost an honorary member. So, Haru decides to use the Jabberwock funds to buy them a uniform.

How did he know the colour he chose was their favourite colour? [Idk, Yandere Haru brainrot goes brrr] BUT, anyways, there's a dandelion, peekaboo and calamari stitched on the jumpsuit.

PC: A jabberwock uniform...

Ren shaking Haru: I TOLD YOU THEY WON'T LIKE IT

PC fucking ecstatic: YOU GOT ME A JABBERWOCK UNIFORM!?

Ren: WHY DO YOU LIKE IT!?

[12am-motivation]

ok one last thing before i sleep- this bit is kinda cute lol

[cherriiish]

Oh zzg i hate you so much im going to KILL MYSELF

[shiongenkai]

Taiga, Romeo, and Gluttony

NOTE: This post contains spoilers for the entirety of the recently released Auction chapter. Read at your own risk.

So the recent chapter was everything to me. It was the shortest, but in my opinion it showed us a lot about Taiga and Romeo and their relationship to one another, and it also helped me refine a specific thought I had about Taiga and his whole deal he has going on.

To put it shortly; I think Taiga has a gluttony curse, and I think it functions as a mirror to that of Romeo's stigma, and is part of why they had a falling out, and why they can't seem to get away from each other.

To put it horrifically, horribly long....

So what do I mean when I say Taiga is cursed? Well, exactly that. I believe he's cursed in a similar way Rui or the MC are; he has an insatiable need to eat anomalies. I believe that this grants certain side effects like the MC and Rui's curse, and that one of them is a sixth sense for anomalies and anomalous circumstances.

I want to explain this before the Romeo part, because it's the basis for my analysis and thoughts on the two of them.

To start from the very beginning; I think Taiga, during one of his missions, was cursed by something like a jikininki as punishment for his 'gluttony' — the rapid rate at which he completed missions in his first year. This left him with his insatiable need to eat anomalies, but more specifically, is the reason he doesn't seem to want to eat them.

While I'm not certain the anomaly is for certain a jikininki, especially because there's certainly other similar folk legends out there, I chose that one specifically because they are noted for their sharp teeth and for not liking the insatiable need to eat corpses.

Now, what does this mean for Taiga? I think he's stuck between being a ghoul and being a jikininki, or whatever anomaly it ends up being, and I think this has given him a sixth sense that messes with his perception of time, self, and memory. But why would it do that?

Jikininki are immortal creatures, and wish to be freed from the torment they're in for the most part. If one was cursed to be part Jikininki, it would make sense for their existence to be similarly excruciating, with a difference being a lack of full immortality.

Remember the Mortkranken chapter, with the failed mermaid flesh? How their bodies continued even as their minds didn't? Taiga has multiple lines detailing how his 'body' remembers, even if his mind doesn't. Yuri and Jiro also explain that part of the side effects of the reaction are rapid mental deterioration. If Taiga had gone through a similar deterioration, it would explain his seemingly sporadic memory loss (not total blackouts like Jiro, nor specific category based amnesia either, just like. Random shit) and the fact that he doesn't have a concrete sense of identity (showcased through his constantly shifting first-person pronoun choice in Japanese). His cells of his body are reverting to their pre-aged self, and his mind is attempting to do that too, but it's imperfect and messy.

The key to the idea of the sixth sense comes from the fact that he's specifically cursed for anomalous gluttony. I think that he can sense anomalous material or anomalies themselves, and as demonstrated from Ed, this includes some sort of future sense. While we don't know the full specifics of what a sixth sense grants, we can see him utilise it in multiple different places. It's also, in my opinion, why he was sent on the Prologue mission.

Some examples of his supposed sixth sense are how he intuitively understood the anomalous dealer's entire thing, the scenes where he knows the Like Dove will appear before it does, when he senses Romeo approaching (Romeo is carrying an anomaly: his artifact), how he understands the auction is an anomaly, when he gets the mask under unknown circumstances, when he directly knows there's no anomalies... the list honestly could go on forever.

There's one other fact that I personally believe sealed this theory for me; his association with Haku.

In the recent chapter, when the MC is thinking about who to talk to about curses, Taiga instantly knows who we're thinking of, and rejects it on the basis that '[He] can't get rid of curses unless the anomaly that did the deed's right in front of him.' and that he's a 'Simp for the rules anyway.'

... Which is interesting, since it seems like Taiga has tried to ask him about this before. But if you think of this as Haku's stigma, and imagine Taiga trying to get his curse cleansed before, it makes sense! It would also be a good reason to put Haku and Taiga together in the prologue; Taiga can track the anomaly with his sense, and Haku can cleanse whatever curse it gives so long as Taiga manages to capture it or subdue it for long enough.

(Which, side note, is so tragic for the MC...)

Okay, now that the basis of 'Taiga is cursed' is out of the way, how on earth does this relate to Romeo?

Simple. I think Taiga's curse directly mirror's Romeo's stigma, and it's what caused their rift.

Romeo's stigma, as we learn in the new chapter as well, is dependent on his attachment to the items he throws. This, thematically, works with Romeo, who is known to be greedy. Everything he does is motivated by a profit of some kind, whether that profit is social or monetary or whatever. He wants special privileges so he does special missions. He wants money so he raises fees and coerces people to gamble. He wants popularity so he dresses nicely and pampers himself. It doesn't always mean he is money grubbing and stingy (because we see he's willing to spend lavishly on grooming and decor!) but it means that he's attached to what he has. His stigma requires him to give up that attachment. It is a punishment, a sacrifice, as a result of the pact. Similar to how Luca lost his brother (and gained a protective stigma), Romeo has to lose what he feels is worth something in order to fully utilise his ability. Call it a sort of pride.

I think, on the other hand, Taiga's curse is one of envy. He has a desire to eat anomalies, yes, but the desire becomes stronger the more attached someone else is to the anomaly. He doesn't need any interest in it, really. If someone else likes it he will need to eat it.

Taiga covets Haru's Peekaboo to eat instead of the wild one that we also know is in Jabberwock. He's composed about the Like Dove (barely, but he restrains himself!) until Romeo wants it. He steals the plants from Rui's BAR, not the ones in the garden outside (both are Rui's, but his bar is arguably the more loved thing of his since it was fully his choice). He covets Mortkranken's anomalies, and becomes mildly obsessed with the immortal one as soon as it becomes a major research subject. He's also completely fine holding and handling the mask, presumably for a long time, up until Romeo sees it as valuable and worthy.

Now, this doesn't necessarily make them instantly incompatible. But when you take one of Romeo's core traits being 'Greed towards anomalies' (He wants to collect them and frequently complains that other houses are 'stealing' them from under him; he sells them; he gets missions from Hyde to get them; etc), it becomes evidently clear that Taiga's curse is directly oppositional to it.

I think it's pretty obvious by now that Taiga and Romeo have a pretty turbulent relationship now, but were extremely close in the past. Multiple characters state that it would be nice to see them on good terms again, and it's certainly worth mentioning that Romeo is one of the few people Taiga consistently remembers. They both know each other exceptionally well, too. Taiga knows how to get under Romeo's skin and Romeo knows Taiga's habits.

Going back to the idea of this curse causing their rift, if Romeo was constantly on the verge of an important capture, or even if there was just one mission that was important, and Taiga ruined it by eating the anomaly, I doubt Romeo would easily forgive and forget. I think it could very easily cause a massive rift that just kept growing with each new snack Taiga picked up.

I think a moment that gets its nuance overlooked a lot is the scene just before Taiga eats the dove. The Japanese line emphasises that Taiga is referring to HIS heart, that Romeo could shoot through HIS heart, not just a general appraisal of sharpshooting. He even points directly to his heart as he says this, and it makes Romeo hesitate. They're BOTH in pain in this scene. They're both conflicted; this is their ex-partner (which I don't mean in the romantic sense, just in the general sense) who they were very, very close with, and who is now literally at arms length with a loaded gun. Romeo could just shoot him. Romeo could put an end to all of this supposed pain. And Taiga might even let him. And wouldn't that be karma for all he's done? But he can't. He hesitates.

And you know what appears after that? The dove.

This dove that symbolises both general desire (flies over peoples' heads when they're thought about) and Romeo's desire. His desire to escape probation. His desire to make money. His desire to capture, not kill. His desire to reconcile instead of fight. His desire to shoot.

And Taiga kills it. Eats it.

I think this is the most tragic scene between the two of them. This is the crux of it; they both want to reconcile. They want to be friends, to be close, to stop the war raging between the two of them that has done nothing but hurt them both AND hurt the wellbeing of Sinostra, but they can't, because Romeo will ALWAYS desire, and Taiga will ALWAYS take that from him.

It's a cycle they can't escape. The auction chapter shows it too. Taiga is almost disappointed at Romeo's greed. He seems jaded by it, and seems proud and happy when Romeo gives it up for once. Romeo is happy too; MC goes out of her way to say that Taiga handing him the mask makes him look more peaceful than he ever has before. It is quite literally a perfect ending for the two of them and a perfect way to reconcile.

And then Taiga eats it! Again! But I think the most horrifying part of it is that he tries to warn Romeo.

The comic doesn't translate or even transcribe it, so it's so, so easy to miss, especially if you don't speak Japanese, but Taiga grunts out the words 'I', 'Eat', and 'Next' as he approaches Romeo and the mask, and it's the direct reason why Romeo is able to realise that Taiga is about to eat it before it actually happens. He basically just grunts out 'I'm gonna eat that next' as he's fighting against it! But inevitably, neither of them can stop it. The cycle continues.

As long as Romeo is greedy, and as long as Taiga is gluttonous, they will never be able to fully reconcile, no matter how much they both want it. Both of them have to change, but I want to point out that at this moment Romeo is the bigger active obstacle between the two of them. Romeo can't let things go, he holds onto everything and lets it build until it explodes in one way or another. Tiris, his stigma, is symbolic in that sense, that he has to learn to let things go, because if he lets it build too much it will explode spectacularly.

(All of the ghouls have this sort of symbolism with their stigma, so it's not just a Romeo thing, but it's definitely important to his character.)

But Romeo can't get over it yet. He can't get over his greed, he can't let go of things he can't achieve (like getting Kaito's necklace), he can't get over past betrayals (Taiga, what happened with his family, etc)... He's too stuck and stubborn, and his refusal to budge has therefore lead to Taiga's refusal to push. Taiga has stopped caring about getting on good terms because he knows it won't turn out well. He's given up and become cynical, which in turn means that IF Romeo were to change, Taiga... still probably wouldn't. They're cyclical again. Always, always missing each other. So close and yet so far.

I hope the MC can be the catalyst for this cycle to end. Or Ritsu, who is a good equalizer to the two of them. But until she learns to see her own worth in the Academy, and until Ritsu accepts that sometimes he's wrong / he doesn't always know the most out of everyone in the room, I'm afraid Romeo and Taiga will remain stuck in this loop forever...

[rottenzombrainz]

How would the ghouls feel if a like dove appears while they're with mc/pc

I'm so so sorry this took me so long!!!

anon this is a beautiful idea I love you mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah

I hope you don't mind me tweaking this just a little though!

Ghouls Reaction to Seeing a Like Dove While Alone with MC

These are all written under the assumption that you're the one whose feelings made the Like Dove show.

Frostheim:

Jin Kamurai - Jin would notice the dove but he wouldn't care for its presence or for what it means. He's King Kamurai, after all. There's probably dozens of students thinking about him.

Tohma Ishibashi - I could totally see Tohma teasing you about the dove once he sees it. He'd ask you if you know what it means or if you brought it here- but he'd change the topic before you could answer

Lucas Errant - Luca would point out the dove, thinking it looks pretty, but he wouldn't realize what it means despite Kaito telling him in the early chapters.

Kaito Fuji - Kaito would freak the fuck out and cry like he just won the lottery. Seeing a Like Dove basically is like winning the lottery for him.

Vagastorm:

Alan Mido - Alan would point out the dove, but only because he thinks it looks nice. He has absolutely no idea what it means. "Hey. Look at that bird. Why?... It seems like something you'd like."

Shohei Haizono - Sho is used to seeing the doves hang around Leo, but not him. What did they mean again? Something about someone liking someone else? Whatever, he doesn't care.

Leo Kurosagi - Leo wouldn't pay any mind to the Like Dove. He sees those things all the time, after all. It doesn't mean anything to him anymore.

Jabberwock:

Haru Sagara - Haru would think it's just another anomaly wandering around Jabberwock- not that it's near him for any specific reason. He'd still tease you about it though. "Gyahaha! A Like Dove! Those only show up when someone's crushing on you!! Do you have a thing for me?"

Towa Otonashi - Towa would get so giddy and happy. After all, he saw a Like Dove while he was with you!! That must mean you love him justtt as much as he loves you! He'd wrap his arms tightly around you and give you a big hug as he nuzzles you.

Ren Shiranami - Ren would brush it off completely. "Oh, that? Yeah apparently those show up and visit people when someone's crushing on them. Dunno who'd ever be into me tho."

Sinostra:

Taiga Hoshibami - He'd eat it. And then he'd eat you. It's up to you whether it's in the kinky way or not.

Romeo Lucci - The Like Dove would immediately catch Romeo's eye and he'd demand you to capture it for him. He'd be too focused on grabbing the rare anomaly to even confront you about why it appeared when you were with him.

Ritsu Shinjo - Ritsu wouldn't say anything about the dove but he'd take note of it. If he kept seeing them around, he'd eventually talk to you about it. " I often see Like Doves whenever we're together. Do you have romantic feelings for me?"

Hotarubi:

Haku Kusanagi - Haku would tease you about the dove, but in the kind of way that revolves around you. "You see that dove over there? It means someone's thinking of you. I'm not surprised. You're quite the catch~"

Subaru Kagami - Subaru would be more shy about it than you. He wouldn't want to bring it up... what if you think he's accusing you of having a crush on him? He probably wouldn't even be able to look at the pink bird.

Zenji Kotodama - Zenji would point out the dove and sing a little rhyme he wrote about it. He'd tell you stories of the dove without really realizing why it showed up for him.

Obscuary:

Edward Hart - Ed would pretend not to notice the dove while he teases you (aka asks you outlandish questions). And of course, he'd throw in a "Do you prefer Rui or Lyca?"

Rui Mizuki - Rui would point it out and tease you about it relentlessly. "You know what those mean, right? Someone has a crush~"

Lyca Colt - Lyca would notice the Like Dove from the sudden new smell. He'd glare and growl at it, thinking it means danger. "Grrr... what is that thing? Why's it following me around?"

Mortkranken:

Yuri Isami - Seeing the dove would boost Yuri's already massive ego. Of course someone's thinking of him! He's a magnificent doctor! Wait... what do you mean Like Doves show for romantic adoration?! After this realization, he'd go into Victorian Gentleman Cardiac Arrest ™

Jiro Kirisaki - Jiro probably wouldn't even notice it unless you pointed it out. Even then, he'd just info dump about the biology of the Like Dove, the meaning of it's presence completely going over his head.

[subarukagami]

Guys, he's literally gay AND european!

That song keeps playing in my head every single time I see this warding card lmao.

[aayakashii]

So we're getting major arcana themed cards 👁 interesting, because a standard tarot deck usually has 22 major arcana cards, but there's only 21 ghouls. Maybe we'll get a card of all of them together (?), or maybe there's gonna be a new ghoul? or maybe MC could have her own card :o

I doubt they'd do something like "the world = darkwick" because it wouldn't be feasible during battles lol maybe a warding card? It'd mess up the pattern though

Anyway it's gonna be fun to interpret the cards with their respective tarot meaning >:3 Finally, something to motivate me to pull out my tarot cards and start studying again hehe

[tetraharmonic]

When Ed said "A A A", I really felt that.

Such a way with words.

[jade0088]

I have a fairly small question that admittedly stems from something I don’t think was supposed to be taken all that seriously. Like what’s the deal with Professor Moby? He’s clearly an anomaly, and yet nobody raises any questions, and the general students don’t really bring that fact up even though those bitches have problems with basically everything else. They’re over here causing a huge fuss over Lyca even though he’s never harmed anyone. In general, they seem to treat anomalies like crap, but not Moby. I know I’m probably missing something because this just doesn’t make sense.

…did he always look like that… I imagine he has. So what’s the deal? The general students are pretty consistent with their predigest, disdain, concerns, and everything else they have going on. So why not with Moby? I mean, it’s a good thing they aren’t completely awful, but like why… and actually, how did he get his job? 

The institution locks up anomalies and just generally treats them horribly. They don’t seem to like anomalies, so why would they hire one? It’s not like he’s good at his job or shows any signs of being competent. What’s his deal? 

This is just my ramblings and thoughts on something that ultimately doesn’t mean much, and I’m probably just overthinking. It’s just something I need to put down so I can stop thinking about it. 

[ouiouimochi]

the first twenty pulls in Alan's banner ain't looking too good

goddamit taiga I already got ur warding card from the last one why are you HERE

pls let this be a sign that I can get the charac card PLS

[tokutaiseichan]

'Tis the day I first cursed this world so of course!! I go around and let the anime boys celebrate it with me >:33

(Spoiler warning for player birthday lines from: Tohma, Luca, Kaito, Taiga, Romeo, Ritsu, Subaru, Ed, Yuri, and Jiro! DON'T CLICK READ MORE IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT A SURPRISE FOR YOURSELF!!)

Thank you, Luca~ You're so sweet. You're probably the only one who can earnestly say that in this academy...

You never disappoints, Kaito. Nothing less from my bestie 🫶 Thank you! Don't worry, you're still cool in my eyes!

I feel like being congratulated by a teacher or an older relative.... Thank you, Ritsu.

Please don't turn my birthday into my death anniversary, Isami-san................

Me? Reserved? Hahaha, not at all! ^_^ By the way.... the gift is safe, right? Ishibashi-san??

M-my room?! Jiro-kun, I think it's too early for that一huh? You're going to prepare some relaxing tea for me? O-oh! Thank you...

Okay, can you stop texting me with the ojisan syntax? It's kinda hard to read your text, Edo-san.......

Subaru-san............ Telling me that is okay but telling that to the Honor Student feels kind of cruel...........

IS THAT REALLY FINE, BAMI-PAISEN??? Okay, can I pleaseeeee have the torture machine? I prommy I won't do anything bad with it! ^_^ Oh, Happy Bami Day to you too, btw~

Thank you for using your precious, precious time to celebrate my day, Fico!!! I love y一eh, I'm being annoying?! NOO DON'T GO YET, FICO!!!! 😭

CONTINUED IN REBLOG BC I HIT THE PIC LIMIT!!

[istharoth]

Very them, I fear.

[12am-motivation]

i think this is the softest ren i've ever seen

[cherriiish]

I can't BELIEVE they're doing this to us TWICE. How dare they.