“I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can. You’re ready and your band members-”

“Oh my god, Hide. My English is rusty.”

“Your English is good, you dramatic panda.” Hide doesn’t bother to hear the rest of his friend’s unfounded predicament when he pushes Ikuma towards the stage, where the rest of Ikuma’s members are waiting for their main vocal/guitarist.

The concert is not too grand. The amphitheater is small and it’s probably enough to house nearly two hundred people but Ikuma takes what he can get. The earnings will be used to provide a place to stay for homeless ghoul children.

Berlin is a little bit cold now. Winter is just at the tip of the horizon and autumn is slowly fading like an old record. Hide takes his time to glance down at his phone. Marude’s message is curt and precise: ‘Meetings start at three. Don’t be late’

Hide grins. Years later, and Marude still hates being the spokesman, preferring to let Hide sway people and advocate for peace in his own eloquent way.

He can stop thinking about it for a moment. For now, Hide has a friend to root for.

The music starts, Ikuma’s voice echoes in the amphitheater, loud and steadfast. People are yelling, calling out his name and when the ghoul begins to strum the strings of his guitar, the melody kicks in until the loudness soars in the sky like fireworks.

Hide smiles and enjoys the atmosphere. From where he’s standing, Hide has the best view. And then, even now, he wonders what Kaneki is doing; somewhere in Tokyo with his family surrounded by those that have fought at his side. Once upon a time, such a thing would make Hide wonder of his unworthiness in Kaneki’s eyes.

Now, Hide is far away, in all places, traveling the world, broadening his sight and suddenly it’s bright and ethereal and freedom tastes so sweet on his tongue, like crushed strawberry dripping from his chin. The stones in his chest have gradually turned to mist and now there’s only the lightness of a plume.

And Ikuma– where Hide goes, Ikuma goes.

Eight songs later, Ikuma takes a break, passing the next round to his other member as he skips off from the stage and saunters towards Hide.

“You did amazi–” Hide stops abruptly when Ikuma leaps towards him, grabs his hips and hauls Hide up, easily carrying the human and spinning him around. Hide yelps and shrieks before he laughs; his arms around Ikuma’s neck.

“They love my songs!” Ikuma states brightly. The pink on his cheeks is palpable. He finally puts Hide down and takes a few steps back, inhaling and exhaling; unrestrained and light.

Behind the softness of his mask, Hide’s smile widens. “Yes yes, we’re all glad. The hero of the hour.”

And oh wow, Hide is bombarded by the metaphorical evidence that points to his growing affection for this dorky ghoul; swooping in and stealing his heart, one broken piece at a time. Hide realizes he’s not doing anything at all to stop himself from falling in love with Ikuma like a complete fool he is.

“Not going back up there?” Hide asks.

“Later,” Ikuma says. He spares a glance at the stage, at his fans, at his band members and finally, he turns around to look at Hide. “I did well up there, right?”

“Yep, absolutely.”

“Sooo, I deserve a kiss, right?”

Hide chokes. Ikuma raises a brow lazily. The human sputters and stares at the ghoul, losing his words for the very first time.

“Ikuma, you can’t just-” Hide flails his arms around comically.

“Juuuusst?” Ikuma takes the moment to tease him, wearing the familiar grin that Hide comes to love. “Just what?”

Well, just– many things. Hide bites his lower lip. His next question is said so quietly. “Are you sure it’s me you– y'know?”

Ikuma blinks. “Yeah. Completely sure.” He leans in and cups Hide’s cheeks and Hide can feel the familiar heat from Ikuma. “Nagachika Hideyoshi, your problem is that you do not know how truly loved you are. You’re good enough. You’ve done enough. You no longer have to carry love like it’s a burden on your shoulders. I’m in love with you, Nagachika Hideyoshi, and that’s the truth.”

Hide opens his mouth, closes it, and finally, he settles down with a crooked grin. Hide tucks his mask off and rolls it in his hand. He’s ready to take a leap of faith. “Better be ready because you can’t take those words back.”

Whatever Ikuma wishes to say die in his throat when Hide grapples his front shirt and quickly covers his mouth. Ikuma yelps into the kiss but is quick to calm down and gently, so very gently, returns the kiss. It’s sloppy and messy and they’re really not doing it right so Hide laughs into the kiss, trying to salvage what he can. Ikuma’s muffled laughter is soft until both of them break away and tangle in each other’s arms. The laughter stays.

“That was awful!” Hide chortles.

“You shouldn’t have laughed. It’s your fault,” Ikuma says cheerily. A little bit too happy. It dawns to Hide that he really needs more good and bright things in his life and now evidently, Ikuma is a mix of both.

For all the things he is with and without, Hide is okay with it. It leads him here, after all.

‘Your dad bought a freaking goldfish. I told him to buy an otter but he wouldn’t listen 2 me. come back soon. I think he’s trying to replace u with his new goldfish’

Hide smiles softly after he reads the message, leaving his father on seen only because he knows it’s going to annoy his papa.

Hide tucks his phone away and looks up at the bride and groom standing on the altar, exchanging rings and trading kisses. Kaneki’s marriage to Touka is finally official now. The war is over and all happy endings must come.

Hide’s happy, more than anything. His heart almost leaps from his rib cage, it swells and expands, a calming thunderous of light tremor and Hide can’t even cry when he finally stands with the others and claps until his words are eaten by the sorrow in his veins.

He’s happy. This is everything Kaneki deserves and so much more. And Kaneki? He looks so amazingly good-looking in that white tuxedo of his, proud and content, holding Touka’s hands as if he’s holding a bouquet of precious roses between his fingers. Touka’s belly is getting bigger, carrying their first child.

They leave the altar, return everyone’s good wishes, reciprocate hugs and kisses to the cheeks and finally amongst the crowd, Hide grabs Kaneki’s wrist. The king turns around, his eyes shine so brightly when they fall on the blond.

“Good luck out there,” Hide says softly. The place is loud, crowded but Kaneki only has his eyes on Hide, his smile is tender. Kaneki tilts his body a bit and grips Hide’s wrist with both of his hands.

“Thank you, Hide. For everything,” Kaneki whispers reverently, only for Hide’s ears. The human hears it all. This is enough. Kaneki releases Hide and says nothing else when he leaves the chapel with his wife.

Hide’s phone vibrates again. He pulls it out from his pocket and reads the message.

‘Whatever your papa told you about the goldfish is a lie. Don’t listen to him. I love you more than I love the goldfish’

Hide bites his lower lip to stop the grin from spreading but his face is hurting from the smile he’s already wearing. He needs to go home. His fathers are waiting.

Hide arrives at his fathers’ home nearly an hour later, entering the apartment almost too eagerly.

“Guys? Your only son is home!”

“Hide, finally! Hey, Yuuto, show Hide that goldfish! He needs to see Breadbutt.”

“We’re not naming our goldfish Breadbutt. How many times–”

“Shh. Just go.”

“Asahi, this goldfish’s name is Eggie.”

“Atrocious. Marriage canceled. I’m taking Breadbutt and Hide with me.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“And yet you chose to spend the rest of your life with this idiot.”

There’s a laugh, follows by a sigh. Hide saunters towards the living room.

He sees his papa first, holding a small transparent tank with a goldfish in it. A smile so large is mapping Asahi’s face, bright and coated with every ounce of happiness in the world. He reaches one hand forward, curling his fingers in the back of Yuuto’s head and leaning forward to peck his husband’s lips; golden hair against golden hair when their foreheads touch.

And just like that, Yuuto smiles as if Asahi has just handed him the sky.

Hide clears his throat, his joy is uncontained. A pair of eyes find him and his fathers smile. Then his papa lifts the small fish tank, the goldfish stares at Hide. “So, Hide,” his papa gleefully adds, “Breadbutt or Eggie?”

Hide grins some more behind his face mask. He doesn’t answer and his face might crack from all the smiles and grins but Hide easily closes the gap between them and embraces both of his fathers, tucking his face between them, seeking the familiar warmth, comfort, and protection Hide knows his dad and papa can give. They smell of wine and roses.

Hide’s grateful his parents don’t say or ask anything about the wedding, about Kaneki. They know and that’s enough for him.

“Soooo, Breadbutt then?” his papa prods.

Hide laughs. In his parents’ protective arms, his voice is muffled softly.

“It’s Eggie or I’m not going down on you tonight, Asahi.”

“Dad! Not in front of me,” Hide whines. 

“Yeah, daddy, not in front of our son,” Yuuto says quietly, giving his husband a smirk over Hide’s head. Asahi giggles like a mischievous soul he is. Hide’s completely sure the exchange isn’t meant to be seen by him but he catches it anyway and the blond recoils and scrunches his nose.

Just as Hide is about to dislodge himself further from his parents, they quickly pull him back and wedge Hide in their arms, locking him there, messing with his hair and treating Hide like he’s a little boy again. The tiny transparent tank is crammed in the middle. The goldfish continues to swim aimlessly. 

This moment might as well be enshrined in a photograph forever.

It makes Hide think of Kaneki, how he’s going to love Kaneki forever, how it’s never going to be returned. But it’s not going to ruin him. Hide’s got years ahead of him, places to travel. Maybe Hide will join TSC, change the world. Perhaps fall in love again one day.

Outside, the world is covered in meadows of orange leaves, autumn color, and resplendent dust. Inside, across the hallway, Hide spots his old room, the door is slightly ajar, the light is dimmed and the posters are still there. Nothing has changed.

Hide thinks he’ll stay here for the night. Time stretches, unending, but for now, the world can wait.

Canon: and so they never met

Fanfic: here’s a funny story

Canon: There was tension and pining, but they never even kissed.

Fanfic: Actually,

Canon: Torture the cinnamon roll.

Fanfic: Torture the cinnamon roll.

Canon: When they traveled they stayed in separate rooms

Fanfic: AND. THERE. WAS. ONLY. ONE. BED!!!!!

Canon: … and they were roommates.

Fanfic: oh my god, they were roommates…

Canon: They were international assassins who assassinated assassins.

Fanfic: But hot DAMN wait till you hear about this cafe they opened

Canon: They had a coffeeshop

Fanfic: but they were ASSASSINS

Canon: they were mortal enemies and attempted to murder each other on multiple occasions

Fanfic: bUT THEY GOT MARRIED AND ADOPTED CHILDREN

Everytime I reblog this has a new addition and it’s the best

Canon:One of them is the cinnamon roll, the other is evil

Fanfic: The cinnamon roll is A  CRAZY YANDERE and the evil one is the REAL cinnamon roll.

Furuta’s last laugh

Hello there! With all sorts of character weeks and events coming around, and the manga ending, would you guys be interested in having a character appreciation week for the mischievous boy Furuta? 

 A week rampant with love for one of the most dynamic and unloved characters in the universe of Tokyo Ghoul :re

The event would go on from 6th-12th August and would welcome all sorts of fan art, fan fics, edits, GIFs, cosplay, playlists, mood boards and even meta. All of his personas would be appreciated. If it has enough interest, @kikajpg and I will make a blog and will give out prompts within a week from now.

It’s high time this boy gets some love.

We’d be so happy if you joined and participated! Please share to let everyone know about this fun event~

Hairu and Furuta

It’s especially poignant that Ishida chose to draw Furuta and Hairu together, the day that Hairu’s death airs in the anime and the week of Furuta’s death. As these two characters are meant to reflect extremely divergent choices a garden child could have made. 

I’m seeing a lot of if only Furuta decided to pursue a normal life like he wanted to, or if only Furuta had moved on and found somebody else to love and while yes a tragedy is supposed to make you think that way, I want to illustrate in the following post that it’s not really that black and white. As the story has already given us an example of somebody who tried to just live for love within the system and do their best to live for their simple desire to be loved and loved in return in their short lifespan. 

Unlike Furuta who is nihilistic, and only laughing in a sardonic sense at the tragedy of his life, Hairu is genuinely cheerful, kind to others and even forms bonds with people outside of the garden. She’s on friendly terms with Fura, and has a strong bond with Ui. She even was close to Okahira to an extent. 

Unlike Furuta also, Hairu is incredibly clear about what her desire is. She’s straightforward and lives her life for that simple desire. To be validated by Arima’s praise because he was the only person who showed her kindness in her childhood. 

Hairu in every sense of the word, was trying to live the best out of what a garden child was given in life. She was a Furuta who understood that she was going to die soon, and instead of rebelling against the world instead to choose to live for her own small personal happiness and live out the best of a bad situation.

Even following that path, and living for that simple happiness though Hairu still killed a ton of ghouls. She still had no scruples at all about using torture to produce results when it came to killing ghouls. 

She still delighted in doing it, and learned to enjoy it to an extent. Treating her fight with Matsumae like a game when Matsumae was only fighting to protect her younger brother figure and family, and making this face at the opportunity to kill more ghouls. 

And still in choosing to acknowledge and live for that simple desire, Hairu’s path led her to die one of the most brutal death’s possible in the series. 

I’m not saying Hairu is a bad person for making these choices though, but rather what makes Hairu fascinating as a character is the choices she made, and the results we see from them. There was no perfect way to handle the garden even for a bubbly bright person like Hairu. 

So, for all the people trying to read Furuta in the most reductive way possible and suggest there was some kind of healthy way for him to deal with the fact that he was born to die in a pointless war against ghouls conducted to keep the head of his family fed, and that even being born and raised as a child soldier he was going to die young in that war regardless even if he was the strongest of all the child soldeier’s, I would like to point out that Hairu already exists in the story as an alternative path that Furuta could have taken.

So yes, Furuta did not need to destroy everything, but neither did Eto, neither did Arima. Their characters are compelling to us because of the choices we see them make in a limited situation. To understand Arima is to understand that as common sense as saying “Arima should have just stood up to V instead of pretending to be on V’s side, killing a bunch of ghouls and make his final act being a martyr since he was so powerful and all” is, there are just as many reasons why it couldn’t be that simple for Arima. Why he couldn’t just stand up and go on the right side of the war, because he saw all killing as bad and wanted to make something with his final action. It’s compelling to see the choice he made, when his choices were extremely narrowed by circumstances.

I bring up Arima and Hairu because I don’t see this kind of criticism for these characters. “Arima should have just done x, the reason he did y is just because he’s a terrible and petty person.” or “Hairu should have just done x, the fact that she just kept projecting her desires onto Arima makes her a bad person.” Yes, I realize that Furuta is more tied to ideas of toxic masculinity than either of those characters and it’s more blatant in him, but also that same idea of wanting to destroy everything to spite the world you were born into is represented in both Arima and Eto, and that same idea of projecting a desire of the love you were denied in childhood onto somebody who doesn’t return it is represented in characters like Hairu and Karren.

Those characters are allowed to have nuance, whereas Furuta tends to be read reductively even though way more screentime and range is shown with Furuta as he is the final and ultimate antagonist of the series. So, let me once again show you that there is more than one way to read a scene with Furuta’s final death flashback. 

In order, we receive a flashback about how Furuta realized he was going to die young. 

Then, later on Furuta refreshes us on this flashback confirming what many read as this being the moment Furuta decided on his path.

The flashbacks we are shown all affirm the point that Furuta was very much aware his whole life that his choices were limited, he had a limited timeframe, and a limited place of belonging because no matter what he did he would still be born at the bottom of the Washuu totem pole.

So, Furuta’s final death flashback. A lot of people have been interpreting this as him still clinging to his childhood dream of marrying Rize, and his fatal flaw. If he had just found somebody who returned his love like Kaneki, then somehow that would have fixed everything. However once again this reading is missing out on the nuance. I myself read this flashback as taking place before this scene specifically, before he started training hard with the Washuu. 

We’re given a hint that Furuta at one point just played around with the daughters, and specifically with Rize all day. Then he became much more focused on learning to fight and get stronger. Much earlier we’re also shown a flashback where Furuta asks Rize if she was bred.

We’re told this story out of order so this is my best attempt to cobble this order together. First, Furuta and Rize are childhood friends living in blissful ignorance of the garden.

Then, Furuta finds out that he’s bred and asks Rize if she’s the same. Then at some point he invesetigates on his own the family tree of the Washuu and realizes they are going to die young, probably earlier then he was meant to learn that news.

Then in that moment decides to destroy the Washuu that created him, and the world that created him. Why I clarified this order is because in the final flashback Furuta says this.

A lot of people have chosen to read this scene in the sense of “We’ll get married and have grandchildren.” However, the language Furuta uses is Oba-can and Oba-san, which just means old man and old lady. You can call a random old lady on the street who has no grandchildren “Oba-chan” it doens’t necessarily carry that connotation. 

That, and the fact that everything up until this point has specifically been about the fact that garden children literally cannot age that long, that Furuta was never going to become an old man seems to support the interpretation that this playing around took place before Furuta hit that realization. That at one point before Furuta was told that he was going to die ¼ of the age of a normal human, he really was just a normal kid who was playing around in the garden with Rize and commented that he hopes even when they grow up that they’ll still get to play around like this.

And Rize’s response is “I don’t want to get old” in the sense of “I don’t want to grow up. Then, what Furuta reassures her with is “It’ll still be fun, even when we grow up.”

That’s the tragedy of this flashback specifically. It shows that at some point Furuta was not the twisted manchild we know him to be today. That at some point he really was just a kid that wanted to grow up, and was even looking forward to it. Before he was told that was literally not an option, that he was just going to die before ever getting the chance to grow up.

Furuta thought he left that kid behind. That he was no longer that kid. That he divorced from that part of himself, and that those desires meant nothing in the end because he was going to die regardless. 

In his final moments though he comes to peace with that kid. He accepts that there was a point where he too wanted to be happy, where he too wanted to grow up. He sees himself as a human being finally, and not a nihilistic agent of destruction who only existed to be the reckoning of the Washuu. 

In other words he steps out of the role as villain he painted himself in the whole series and accepts his own humanity, in a final moment of comfort before death. 

Tg:re Volume themed Chibis part 2 \(◍•ᴗ•◍)❤-! part 1 here (x)

<3

Hide

did someone ask for Hide icons?

i love his raccoon eyes

“How do I look?”

“In that pink shirt? Hideous,” Kaneki replies nonchalantly.

Hide stops twirling in front of the mirror. He swiftly turns around to gaze at Kaneki; disbelief and triumph blend together on his face. Kaneki hastily tears his gaze away from Hide to resume reading his book.

From where he’s lying on the bed, Kaneki tries his damn hardest not to acknowledge his friend because he has an inkling what’s currently on Hide’s mind right now.

Seconds later, the bed creaks and Kaneki groans when he feels the sudden impact on his chest and then Kaneki finds himself with an armful of Hide, lying on top of him after the blond has leaped clumsily from the floor.

“Neki!”

“No-”

“A jibe and a pun together? I’m so proud of you right now.” Hide pretends to clench his chest and sniff. Kaneki huffs.

“You’re an awful influence. That’s all,” Kaneki teases, smiling tenderly at the other. He puts his book down and circles one arm around Hide’s shoulders, brushing the golden strands from the crown of his friend’s forehead.

Hide returns the sentiment. A smile that Kaneki knows so well is on his face.

Hide has always been odd. His carries his scarred smile like a moon. It follows him everywhere involuntary; gentle and warm, an extremely beautiful sight to behold. And Kaneki is a greedy man so he always takes what Hide is willing to give.

Kaneki wants to kiss that smile sometimes.

“What are you thinking?” the human asks.

“I’m thinking of how heavy you are right now.”

Hide raises a brow at that. “Should I eat less?”

“Why? Planning to persuade me into giving you a piggyback again soon?”

“Hmm, considering it now. So don’t tempt me,” Hide answers cheekily. Kaneki can only smile.

They say nothing for a few moments.

Hide stares at nothing and listens to the sound of morning rain reverberating around their shared home.

It’s Sunday. There’s no need to rush. Tomorrow is going to be busy again. CCG needs Hide and Goat needs Kaneki.

“What’s the book you’re trying to finish?” Hide pokes Kaneki’s cheek. His eyes are on the forgotten book.

“That one? It’s called Sous les Vents de Neptune.”

“French novel? Really?” Hide blinks at him. “Since when do you speak French?”

“Well, since- you know-” Kaneki sheepishly scratches his cheek, blushing just the tiniest bit. “It’s a romantic language. So I thought, why not?”

There’s a grin on Hide’s face now. It stretches wide as if Hide’s got silly secrets to keep. As if he knows all the hidden wonders of the world. Sometimes Kaneki wonders if that’s true.

“Romantic? You?” the blond stares at his friend curiously, blinks, and then Hide beams mischievously at the ghoul. “Don’t tell me– oh, you’re trying to court someone? Kaneki Ken, the fine-spoken Courter of Dainty Maidens.”

Pink tint reaches Kaneki’s ears. Hide is ridiculous sometimes but he makes Kaneki tremendously happy.

“You can think whatever you want but I know what I’m doing,” the ghoul king says, impish.

“Then say something in French.”

Kaneki hums at first before he slowly stares at Hide, at the spark in his eyes. Effervescent aqua like an ephemeral spell and it makes Kaneki’s stomach tingle a little bit. When he says the next words, the fondness in his chest is loose and aglow, like a translucent canopy around his heart.

“Tu as de beaux yeux,” the ghoul finally says. 

Hide tilts his head, wonder in his eyes. “What does that mean?”

“It means you look ridiculous in that pink shirt.”

Hide immediately glances down at his shirt before he looks up at Kaneki again, grinning. He rests his arms on the ghoul’s chest without a care. Just the two of them in each other’s arms together. “Jealous ‘cause I look better in a pink shirt? I don’t blame you. Not everyone can pull it off like me.”

Kaneki rolls his eyes. “Definitely, Hide. I’m so jealous.”

Hide laughs wholeheartedly. He leans up a bit to kiss Kaneki’s chin and then stretches leisurely. Kaneki stutters.

You see? That’s the problem right there. Hide can act like a dork, or whine endlessly if his favorite shows are canceled, or even poke fun at sitcoms from the eighties, or complain about the pineapples on his pizza and Kaneki is still going to be irrevocably in love with his best friend.

It’s the universal truth that Kaneki Ken is a complete fool for Nagachika Hideyoshi.