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atopearth · 3 years

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Collar X Malice Part 5 - Yanagi Aiji Route (including Criminal Chapter & Mini Review)

Time for the best looking guy Yanagi!! Okay, usually my favourite looking guy is never the route I like the most but we'll see how it goes! He's even got his own common route! Anyway, lmao at the glossary on Enomoto's relationship history, I find it hilarious how it says he's still haunted by the memory of his kindergarten teacher crush being married😂😂😂 HAHAHA, no wonder why Sasazuka doesn't have a good impression of Enomoto. Even on their first meeting, Enomoto gets his profession wrong and then he calls him tiny LOL. Way to be straightforward, I can imagine Sasazuka killing him in his mind already. On the other hand, Enomoto being a starstruck kid with Shiraishi's profiling job is so cute lol. Lmao at Sasazuka and Enomoto being nicknamed the Miso Soup Duo by Shiraishi because Enomoto calls Sasazuka seaweed, and initially Shiraishi called Enomoto Enoki loll. I'm really liking all the guys' first meeting! Especially how even though Sasazuka thinks Enomoto is an idiot, but could also understand and feel his sincerity towards the X-Day cases when they asked Enomoto what his motivations were. Well, it seems like Yanagi failed to protect someone a long time ago and that haunts him to this day, so I can see why he was so anxious over Ichika, and then so relieved to see she was alive (when they first met)🤔 I always felt like Yanagi knew Ichika, but it kinda got brushed to the side so I forgot, but now that he's actually asking her, I wonder where he met her... Yanagi's goal is as sweet as he is. To a certain extent, I have to agree with him that having a normal everyday life where you can talk with friends, eat what you want, go to work and then sleep soundly at night is something we should all be able to have, so Adonis taking that away from the people in Shinjuku makes him strive to return these "normal lives" back to the people. I guess that's understandable, I can't imagine the amount of stress all these people are under tbh. They're all stuck in Shinjuku, every adult has a gun, terrorists are everywhere with murder cases rampant, and the more cases that are discovered, the more the police's powers are questioned, as well as the discovery of more and more corruption within the police. No one feels safe, everyone wants a bit of their normal lives back so they try to live "normally" but at the same time it's not really their life because they're restricted, they're scared and they don't know if they'll even survive by the time X-Day comes.

Anyway, Yanagi is really so gentle and caring. Considering how patient Yanagi really is, it's kinda amusing how much he can't stand Okazaki lol. LMAO when Ichika asked Mukai and Sakuragawa if they were questioning her relationship with Shiraishi because they were interested in him😂😂 I can so imagine their absolute disgust lmao. Even though Kazuki doesn't have the best attitude, you really can't fault him for his sentiments. If December really is the last month they'll all get before X-Day then yeah, it would definitely be worse being stuck at home feeling too scared to go out and missing out on actually living your life, and honestly it's true, I mean that guy who was the game developer got killed at home, so really, staying at home doesn't guarantee your safety, the only thing that guarantees your safety is if you're not targeted and no one will really know if they are until they're about to be killed. When Kazuki said no one has never done anything wrong in their lives, so there's no guarantee that any of us could be safe, it really resonated with me because he's right. Everything has done something "wrong" at least once in their lives and Adonis is judging them for it on their own terms, meaning no one knows if they'll get judged or not because it's not like Adonis is very clear about what kind of people they target. I guess despite Kazuki's brashness, he does think quite a bit about Shinjuku's situation. But yeah, I don't blame Ichika, like dude, Kazuki goes out at 2am?! Yep, I'd be super worried. Anyway, one of the things I hate the most about starting a new route again is having to experience Kazuki and Ichika's bad relationship again. I honestly feel so hurt for Ichika every time he shouts at her saying she doesn't care about him, when he just doesn't notice that even though she's been busy and neglected him to an extent, she always makes sure to do stuff like make him breakfast, dinner etc and tries to communicate with him in the time she does have, whereas he has never made the effort to try to reach out to her and understand her life or situation. Honestly, if he ever just worried about her considering how much danger she's in as a police officer right now with Adonis and all the other crap going on, I would probably be less annoyed by how rebellious he is but really, he still aggravates me because of how inconsiderate and harsh she is. Anyway, I'm glad Ichika called Yanagi to go with her to check on Kazuki, and it was so nice of him to immediately come out to help her. Lmao when he asked Okazaki if he was there and he really was following them😂 HAHAHA, when Okazaki asked Ichika for her phone number and she looked at Yanagi to see if it was okay, and when he said yeah, Okazaki was like yay he got her dad's blessing lmaooo. Yanagi really is everyone's dad😂

How interesting though! Mochida and Ichika joining Investigations HQ to help out with the X-Day cases! I can understand why Ichika is so desperate though, honestly I always thought Ichika was never desperate enough in the other routes hahahaha. Ooh wow, so Yanagi couldn't shoot a criminal during his time as a policeman, and I guess that's probably related to this traumatic past and also Ichika's. Anyway, it's good that he puts a lot of weight to every life and doesn't believe in taking that away from a person, but yeah it would have been hard for him to continue as a policeman like that. Awwww, Ichika, Yanagi and the lost little girl holding hands looking for the girl's mother was sooo cuteeee!🥰🥰 I really liked how talking to Yanagi motivated Ichika to be more frank and honest with Kazuki and tell him what she couldn't before, as well as apologise for always just lecturing him and not trying to understand him. The CG with Yanagi touching her forehead checking if she has a fever and stuff after her "nightmare" was so pretty!! Yanagi has such beautiful CGs like dang, I love them all. Anyway, so great that she got to wake up to Yanagi's face hahahha, and food prepared by him too! It must feel pretty bad for Ichika...she so honestly told him she wanted to know more about him and be a proper partner with him for the investigations and he rejected her and pushed her away..

Akito's plight always breaks my heart. But hearing him so honestly telling Ichika that not only has he recently finally realised that what he hated most weren't the people who harassed his sister but instead himself, and then telling Ichika that he really really regrets joining Adonis, I couldn't help but feel so much pain for him. It's also because of Akito that makes me think that no matter how much I think those people who died in a sense "deserved" what happened to them, what Adonis does for people like Akito will never truly help them with what they truly need and want in their lives after what they suffered. Adonis only takes advantage of them and their weaknesses to do their personal bidding for their own personal revenge against society. No matter how pretty they make it sound as a rebirth of society and from corruption etc, all they're doing is using all the people who need the most help to hurt themselves and others in a pursuit of hatred and revenge. It also makes me think of Sanjou, that even though Adonis supposedly "helped" him with stuff like his revenge etc, in the end Sanjou didn't feel anything more from it than wanting to die. However, it's also undeniable that despite the result, I'm sure a part of these people would be relieved to have been "saved" by Adonis, and probably don't regret it like Akito. I mean, Sugawara Rika's torment was one that Adonis really helped to erase. One thing I always appreciate about Akito is that Kazuki's dreams and trust in Akito is always what makes Akito have the determination to go against Adonis, so it really makes me happy how much their friendship means to them and how much they cherish each other.

I was so happy that Ichika was there to help Yanagi continue to believe in his principles that you don't have to sacrifice people to save others, and that there can be ways to resolve situations without killing. I'm just happy that he didn't need to compromise himself in a state of confusion. As for Yanagi's past, it's something difficult for him to take considering even if it was ruled as self-defence back in the day (when he killed the guy who captured Ichika when she was young) it doesn't change the fact that he killed someone, so I'm sure that weighed heavily on him. I don't think many people would be able to stay the same after experiencing something like that. Just as Yanagi was saved by Ichika's words and could finally overcome a bit of the fear he had in shooting someone, him telling her how much he appreciated her encouraging him and helping him also relieved her of her own trembling fear in shooting in a real field and not just for target practice. I thought it was so cute how Yanagi admitted it was "his lost" and that he wants Ichika as his partner and wants to work hard together now. I'm not surprised that what happened at the Tokyo Metropolitan Building with the hostage situation was something Yanagi encountered before and that's why he found it difficult to face again, especially since in that incident, he continued to negotiate with the suspect even though he had orders to shoot him, and in the end the suspect got violent so others shot him anyway. Honestly, I'm sure that Yanagi understands that it must feel like naivety to want no one to die and not just prioritise "innocents" and "victims" knowing the danger that "criminals" can create especially when you're planted in such a situation, but I can understand a bit of Yanagi's sentiments. Tbh, it has always unsettled me whenever I think about criminals dying, and I understand that there are situations where it can't be helped, especially when it puts so many other people in danger and I would never arrogantly think that these people "could have done better" because I'm sure most people would rather not kill someone if they had the choice to not, but yeah digging into the thoughts and emotions of "criminals" have always been something I've been curious about a lot of my life. And of course even if we just capture criminals, we could probably never really "understand" why they did what they did anyway, but I do naively feel that as long as we keep trying, maybe we can find ways to create less of these situations where so many people wouldn't have to be so "hurt" and turn to crime. Of course, this would probably only apply to some "criminals" though since if crimes only stemmed from people who were hurt somehow in their lives, then things would probably be much simpler, but instead people's lives are complicated and what they choose to do would never come about from just one or two things that happened to them.

Anyway, considering Yanagi's thoughts, I agree with his decision to leave the police. With such doubts in his mind, I don't think he would be able to do what is expected of him, so instead of endangering others with his indecision, he might as well leave or take a break. And coupled with his desire to protect everything and new directives to prioritise shooting criminals performing acts related to X-Day, there's no way Yanagi would be able to stay with the police. And with that, I'm glad that Ichika was the one who was able to make Yanagi realise that alongside these ideals of his, he would still need to shoot people, even if it's not to cause death, but to protect others by disabling them from being able to cause danger. I think it's nice that Yanagi finally feels like he's actually moving forward from his fear of hurting people excessively. But yeah, seeing the past incident from Ichika's and Yanagi's perspectives was pretty daunting in the sense that Yanagi must have felt really bad that his actions caused the kidnapper to become violent with Ichika, and he felt responsible for needing to protect her and save her even more. His reckless and thoughtless actions led to that, and because he was "weak", he knew that if he wanted to protect Ichika properly, he needed to do everything he could to save her, and that meant killing the guy to make it impossible for him to do anything to them anymore. Yanagi was only a high school kid too, so that must have broken him so much. Ooh the kidnapper guy isn't dead, he's the guy in a coma that Yanagi has been visiting for 10 years! I'm surprised that no one took Yanagi to a therapist even if it was ruled as self-defence and he was a minor... It's so adorable how Yanagi was so concerned about whether Okazaki hit on Ichika, he had to message her again in the middle of the night after talking about the serious stuff before lol. I'm not sure if I'm being super suspicious but I feel like Mochida is a part of Adonis haha, sorry if I'm wrong since he's so nice😅 Saeki is expected since I kinda got spoiled haha but I've always wondered about him ever since he said in the beginning of the game that he admired Ichika's ideals or something haha. I'm glad that Yanagi told Ichika that just because Saeki is most likely the one who collared her, she doesn't need to think or deny everything she knows about him, and that if she wants to believe he has his own reasons, she should hear those first before thinking that everything was a lie.

I'm kinda shocked at how ruthlessly Saeki poisoned Ichika with the collar...but I guess I shouldn't be surprised since there were other times he killed her in those bad endings... Anyway, Mikuni's mother being a part of the religious cult that was kinda where Adonis originated is interesting...I wonder what exactly is the difference between Mikuni and Saeki now that Mikuni is willing to discard Saeki to save himself and his other followers? It's so nice of Kazuki care so much about Ichika btw~ Those moments are always so nice and worth it. On the other hand, as usual, Yanagi's CGs are so so beautiful! I love how upfront they are with each other with wanting to hold hands and get some physical support from the other. They're so cute~ It's interesting how Saeki has the same goal as Yanagi, which is to restore normal everyday life to everyone, but I guess mostly for the "weaker" people who have been oppressed and he'll just destroy the other "evil" people who interrupt that peace. Well, aside from it being problematic that he'll probably kill a lot of the population depending on what he regards as evil, but I can understand his sentiments to an extent. If most of the people he wants to get rid of are like people who "destroyed" Sanjou and his other colleagues' lives, or all those stalkers that basically made Sugawara paranoid and crazy, then yeah definitely understandable, but I still think people like Fujii are worth turning things around for. Yeah, Fujii made a lot of mistakes, abused his power and connections, oppressed others to elevate himself, and it's understandable if the ones involved like Isshiki and Ogata never forgave him, but seeing him sincerely regret his actions and want to repent, and continuously go to apologise to Isshiki and do what he can to make amends makes me believe that Saeki obviously thinks everyone is irredeemable. Fujii was terrible, and he can never give back what he took, but he had the potential again to give to others what he gave Enomoto, and I think that's something only someone who has learnt from their mistakes will much more appreciate in doing imo anyway.

Mikuni and Saeki seem much closer than it felt from the other routes, I guess that makes it all the more saddening that he died in Shiraishi's route. Sometimes I wonder if it's more saddening to be Mikuni, the person who has been so close to Saeki all this time and still not feel like he had truly understood him, or would it be more saddening to be Saeki and feel that Mikuni has been by his side all this time but still not really understand what he really wanted? I guess it's sad for both sides... It was really sad to see Mukai cry over Shiraishi, I honestly still feel like she's a better match for Shiraishi than Ichika but that's not important right now haha, but I do enjoy seeing how much it affected Mukai and how much she respects him even if she hates him at the same time lol. I'm so happy that Yanagi finally properly responded to Ichika's feelings!! I'm happy that he's finally come to terms with the idea that he can be selfish and happy as well, like it took a while, but it was honestly worth it with how the confession and everything went, it was so adorable and it really felt like Yanagi could fully desire a future with Ichika. Aww, I love how even Sasazuka made time to come to Enomoto's Christmas party (well Yanagi made the food though but yeah lolol). HAHAHA, I love how Yoshinari noticed something was going on with Yanagi and Ichika (when she told him to stop smoking so much since he's been smoking even more these days), and so Yanagi admitted to it by kissing her on the cheek in front of everyone hahahahaha! It was so funny how Yanagi was blushing after doing that lmaoo. And I died when Enomoto screamed that Yanagi was so cool😂😂 I love how supportive Enomoto is all the time, and I guess Sasazuka as well with his tsundere-ness lol~ Yanagi calling her Ichika instead of Hoshino was so cuteee~ Anyway, I'm kinda disappointed with how Saeki was...handled? Like, considering how much it was the core of the story for Ichika to be the one who was supposed to in a sense "truly understand" and succeed Saeki's ideals, I honestly wanted to hear more of what Saeki desired. Like yeah, he wanted to erase all sorrow and honestly it's understandable, especially when he said to Yanagi and them that there are people who are too weak to be like those who are "strong" and can continue to face forward and power through their "sorrow", because really, if everyone really could soldier on through their sorrow, then no one would be truly "unhappy". Anyway, I just felt it was pretty underwhelming to have Saeki to be the "mastermind" but he probably has less screentime than the other villains in the other routes lol. Otherwise, Yanagi giving a ring to Ichika was so adorable, I love how literally everyone is so curious about their love that they would all go to peek on them lmao. The other endings are pretty interesting, but honestly wayy too short to really feel anything about them. I think the crazed Ichika that wanted to lock up Kazuki and Yanagi so that they would never get hurt from Adonis was amusing.

The Criminal Chapter is kinda interesting, but I think they might have been more useful in the chapters themselves than separately, since I feel like, if you felt something for them, then this only solidifies it, but if you didn't, then nothing can really change your opinion of them now. Personally, I've always liked quite a few of them though, so I did appreciate Ogata being fleshed out with the departure of his wife, I think it's more saddening that what caused her to leave wasn't really because she lost faith in Ogata himself but because she couldn't handle the pressure from everything that came from it. But yeah I think that would have made him a more empathised character in Enomoto's route, since I feel like in the route, they focused more on him hating the police and justice itself rather than exploring directly his pain itself, which I think would have made him a more interesting villain for that route. Hana didn't change for me, because it was pretty expected, considering how "normal" her reason was, her obsession and craziness was probably the worst, and probably the most uncomfortable to watch because out of all the victims, Enomoto's relation to Fujii and hearing about his story really made Fujii's death that much more personal. Akito's was definitely really tragic, because seeing Akito's attitude towards his sister before her death, and even calling her creepy like all the other bullies did made me further understand how much Akito hated himself the most. I always feel so bad for Sugawara though, I can't imagine these stalkers scrutinising every moment of her life, hindering her work, all her friends and everything, I honestly think I would want to just die to get away from all that. As for Souda... Honestly, the way Sasazuka captured Souda in his route still kinda haunts me, and reading a bit more about his past solidifies how uncomfortable I felt having to see Souda experience all he did in Sasazuka's route. I know it's not a healthy way to handle things and his problems, but I think by being able to personally understand how much a game could "save" you, and then having that betray you because of something that isn't your fault and then being hated for it really hurt. Shion and Suzune got a lot of screentime in Shiraishi's route, so yeah nothing much to say that I haven't said tbh.

Something I think I would have really appreciated in Okazaki's route would be seeing more about how Sanjou and the other officers despaired over the physical and mental abuse they suffered at work from their superiors. Sanjou's feelings still got across to me though so I guess it was good enough, but I think it would have nice to delve deeper into how terrible the environment was, and how much hope Sanjou lost because this was the police itself that was destroying them, so where could they even turn? Considering how important Saeki and Mikuni's meeting 10 years ago should have been, and their ideals and everything, it's a bit frustrating to have to see it in this chapter that's not a part of the actual main story. Also, considering how much Mikuni being the prime minister's son was a big deal, and the assassination attempt years ago, you would assume the story would at least talk about the prime minister himself to get a gauge of his image and stuff, but this is also only loosely explored in this criminal chapter lol. But through this, I think I can better understand why Mikuni and Saeki can never really "understand" each other. Which can already be kinda described through their respective lives with Mikuni being strong in the sense that even though he grew up with most things people would wish to have, he chooses to discard all that to fight for a more equal world, whereas Saeki's determination was never something that stemmed from "choice", Saeki's desires seemed to be more fuelled by the pressure of survival in itself, and that's why Mikuni will never be able to understand his desperation, and also how truly personal it is to be fighting for the "weak" who just aren't strong enough to properly fight or do something about their situation, such as his mother. I really liked the CG of all the executors at the end though~

MINI REVIEW Overall, I really did like Collar X Malice. There's a lot of things I felt a bit weird about such as Shiraishi's ending, how boring Ichika became in the second half of Sasazuka's route, lack of exploration into Saeki's character etc, but I still really enjoyed it! I think what I loved most was definitely the individual cases themselves, because exploring police corruption and the unfairness in society by "victims" who felt like they were forced to rely on Adonis to solve their problems and injustice was interesting and emotionally engaging. I empathised with a lot of them and especially liked Akito and Sanjou since something about them really resonated with me, it was probably their sadness tbh. A lot of them lash out in anger towards the "perpetrators" so I think seeing Sanjou and Akito just so "done" with this world and so sad about how they were forced to view themselves, their place in this world and how the world has treated them kinda broke my heart. Honestly, I liked all of them except Hana lol. As for Saeki, I didn't really feel much for him even after getting to know more about his story and relationship with Mikuni. Maybe my opinion might change after I play Collar X Malice: Unlimited since there's apparently an Adonis route lol, but yeah, honestly after all the fleshed out (most of them) "villains" in each route, it's kinda "funny" how shallow Saeki was portrayed imo even though I thought his ideals for helping the "weak" was an interesting idea. Anyway, as for the LIs, this is surprising (and kinda funny) but my favourite was definitely Enomoto. Whenever people mention CxM, it's always about Shiraishi and Sasazuka, so I had no expectations at all for Enomoto but I loved him SO MUCH. Not kidding at all, because every time I read his route, I couldn't stop smiling or laughing because he was so cute, earnest, sincere and funny. He's honestly not even the type I like because Yanagi is my favourite type lmao, but I loved Enomoto to the max. He and Ichika play off each other really well and in a cute way. The funny thing is that usually my favourite type usually has a boring route, but surprisingly I really liked Yanagi's route too! I think exploring Yanagi's weakness, guilt and inability to move forward properly was more interesting than I thought it would be and I really enjoyed how he and Ichika interacted. Honestly, I reallyyyy like Okazaki as an LI but I found his route rather boring until the end lol, and even though Sasazuka was kinda cute and less mean than I thought, I found that the "fire" Ichika had towards others in other routes wasn't present with Sasazuka and it kinda felt like she just followed him around in the second half lol. As for Shiraishi, it's funny how he's so mysterious but has such a "wholesome" route for the most part until the end lol, but yeah anyway, he wasn't my type in terms of looks, personality, story or anything so yeah... Lol. Overall, I would rate the game an 8/10! Enjoyable and probably one of the "better” otome out there with a good story~

#collar x malice

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jokertrap-ran · 4 years

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Collar X Malice ~UNLIMITED~ Seiji Minegishi Route PRIDE Translations (Part 1)

Translator’s note : MC’s name shall remain as my normal (ラン) Spoiler FREE : Translations under cut !

Ran Hoshino: Yes, this is the Special regions crime prevention office speaking.

Male: Oh, hello! I can go through this line regarding any inquires about the X-Day incident, right?

Male: I've heard that the isolative measures that have been placed onto Shinjuku will be lifted soon, but...When will that happen!?

Ran Hoshino: Oh...I'm afraid that I can't disclose the exact date at this present moment in time.

Ran Hoshino: My apologies, but if you could wait for the official announcement to pass...

Ran Hoshino: ...Yes, that's right. Of course, understood. This is behind the 6th district's park, yes?

Old Lady: I'm really sorry about this, Hoshino-san. I don't want to be viewed as odd in the eyes of my neighbours but, I just can't help but to be concerned...

Ran Hoshino: No, not at all. Every little bit of information you provide will ultimately help in crime prevention of the area.

Ran Hoshino: Please feel free to contact us again if you find anything amiss.

Old Lady: Yes, thank you. I'll be leaving it to you then.

Ran Hoshino: Urgency: Low. Location: Shinjuku District 6. Classification: Suspicious person...There.

It has already been 2 months since we nabbed the perpetrators involved in X-Day; 2 months since the destruction of Adonis.

And those of us in the Shinjuku station spent the end of the year post-processing and cleaning up the mess it left behind all the way through the New Years.

But in all honestly, truth to be told... The SRCPO's job hasn't changed significantly from the past, much unlike the other departments.

We mainly deal with minor reports detailing minor offenses on a day-to-day basis and gathering all information related to X-Day.

Working alongside the Life Safety Division, we strive towards attaining regional security and crime prevention. Our goal and the amount of work we do is no different now.

Ran Hoshino: Whew...

I looked up after entering all the records from our conversation and saw Mochida-senpai crack his neck a couple of times before he made to stand up and leave his seat.

Masanobu Mochida: How about you take a break now, Hoshino? I see that the wave of reports have finally calmed down.

Ran Hoshino: Good work, Mochida-senpai. There were really a lot of them today.

Masanobu Mochida: Yeah. During the X-Day Incident, I was always thought to myself about how I wanted to resolve the case as soon as possible and free myself from the daily madness of being kept busy everyday, but...

Masanobu Mochida: I never would have thought that I'd be even busier after we finally managed to wrap the case up.

Ran Hoshino: I think that just goes to show how much everyone's getting jittery in their boots waiting for the quarantine to lift.

Ran Hoshino: Even the calls I got today! 60% of them were all regarding the matter of when the quarantine ban was to be lifted!

Masanobu Mochida: I'm about the same as you in that aspect. "I want to make a bullet train reservation, so could I please know the date of when the quarantine ban will be lifted?"

Mochida-senpai replied with a bitter smile.

There's a platform specifically meant for those enquiries, we are faced with a situation where everyone is more concerned about special defence measures due to X-Day.

While I'm glad that our direct hotline is becoming more widely known, it's quite a challenge deciding if special defence can handle the enquires and redirecting them elsewhere.

Ran Hoshino: Seems like it'll take a while for the system to calm down...Still, I feel like the number of calls have drastically reduced now.

Masanobu Mochida: It's been 10 months since Adonis made their first statement...This just goes to show that everyone is able to have a peace of mind now that the turbulent times are over.

Ran Hoshino: ............

The case is over.

Rolling the words over the tip of my tongue, I turned and fixtated my gaze at the window.

Ran Hoshino: ...Mochida-senpai. The X-Day Incident is truly over, right?

Masanobu Mochida: What's with that out of the blue?

Masanobu Mochida: Of course, not everything has been solved. We'd have caught all the suspects if that were so.

Masanobu Mochida: Adonis has been destroyed and the isolation ban, lifted. I think it's fine to say it's done and over with for now.

Ran Hoshino: ...I guess you're right.

My hands ghosted over my neck, feeling the skin there despite no longer feeling the weight of the collar.

I could only feel the warmth radiating from my skin through the material of my shirt.

Gone was the feeling of the restrictive and cold collar that had used to be there.

Ran Hoshino: (I guess I should count my lucky stars that I'm still able to continue my line of work in the police...)

—— —— ≿————-　❈　————-≾ —— ——

--Last year, December.

A collar had been placed upon my being by Adonis. The day that we were threatened by the coming of X-Day.

[We'll kill you if you tell the police]

Bound by those words, I was forced to rely on on others, those not of the police. Investigating in secret.

—— —— ≿————-　❈　————-≾ —— ——

But the X-Day Incidents continued on, the victims increasing by the day.

Even if we managed to catch the perpetrators, their memories were erased. We were utterly helpless.

—— —— ≿————-　❈　————-≾ —— ——

Stuck, I made my decision then. --I'd tell the police everything.

It was inevitable that I'd become a burden to the police, to get the collar off and to solve the case. Of course, with it came the fact that my life itself was also endangered.

We still managed to remove the collar in the end thanks to the help of Sasazuka-kun and co. And above all...

We were able to nab Adonis thanks to the trust that the Investigation Headquarters had in my words.

—— —— ≿————-　❈　————-≾ —— ——

They took my actions in stride, choosing to go along with my choices rather than to abandon me.

It is only with thanks to a good many others that I am now able to stay on as a police officer.

Ran Hoshino: (That's right...There's no longer any need for me to fear my death, no need for me to be afraid that today might be the day I breathe my last.)

I was finally able to let go of that one fear of mine now that Adonis has been destroyed.

And the city of Shinjuku too.

—— —— ≿————-　❈　————-≾ —— ——

My throat's going to get wrecked by winter if I'm to continue picking up calls all morning.

I've still got some time...I should go get some tea and lozenges before my break ends.

Someone called out to me, just as I headed out with that intention in mind.

???: Good work today, Hoshino-san.

Ran Hoshino: Oh, Minegishi-san. Good work today. I didn't know that you were coming over today.

Seiji Minegishi: Yes, I came to see how the Investigation Headquarters' faring.

Seiji Minegishi: I have to show my face around here once in a while since I am the commissioner after all. Otherwise, people will start questioning my position.

Minegishi Seiji, the individual overseeing the X-Day case back in the Investigation Headquarters.

He was always stuck around the Shinjuku station, giving out commands during the incident.

Since the case has been closed and marked solved, he's now more often found in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department now that things have settled down.

So, it's been about three days since I last saw his face around here.

Ran Hoshino: You're going back and forth the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department now, right?

Seiji Minegishi: Yes, I have some other cases to handle now that the X-Day Incident is more or less resolved.

Seiji Minegishi: What about you, Hoshino-san...? How's everything after that ordeal?

Ran Hoshino: Well, the reports regarding that matter has reduced considerably. But, I can't help but to feel that the dams holding in the public's anxiety has been broken...

Seiji Minegishi: Ah...Yes, while that is also a cause for concern, I'm actually asking about you, yourself.

Ran Hoshino: Huh?

Seiji Minegishi: Because you're the only one who Adonis has "allowed to live" despite being in direct contact with them.

Ran Hoshino: Oh...

My hand unconciously reached up to my neck.

We have yet to find the perpetrator who had placed the collar on me.

Despite the fact that they had ran away, we can't ignore the possibility of them returning.

It was natural for him to harbour doubts. Realizing his apparently concern, I adverted my eyes and turned away.

Ran Hoshino: Nothing much has changed...

Minegishi-san had widened his eyes in response before a wry smile formed on his face.

Seiji Minegishi: ...I apologise. It wasn't my intention to corner you between a wall and a hard place, I was just concerned about your mental state.

Ran Hoshino: Come again?

Seiji Minegishi: A good many things happened throughout the incident. So...When you really think about it, I don't think you can say that you have a peace of mind yet.

Ran Hoshino: No, I'm fine and well. ...I've really must have been a hassle to you. I thank you for all the help and consideration you have extended to me.

Seiji Minegishi: It wasn't me at all, no. I didn't do anything. In fact, I think Sasazuka-kun and the rest were the ones who had truly managed to help your cause.

Ran Hoshino: Oh, yes. Of course. I was just about to go visit them again.

—— —— ≿————-　❈　————-≾ —— ——

The odd combination of a group of people who had left the police force for one reason or another, working together to uncover the secrets of the X-Day case. ——Also known as the "Investigation Headquarters".

They had all separated ways and continued down their own paths in lives after the X-Day case had been closed. I was indebted to them.

And Sasazuka-san, who had just recently re-joined the force had gone back to the Metropolitan Police Department.

I heard that Enomoto-san and Yanagi-san we're both struggling to run a full-fledged detective agency on their own, a 2-man team.

And I've also heard that Shiraishi-san had taken a long vacation, disappearing off to god knows where...

Just recalling their individual faces made nostalgia well up within me.

—— —— ≿————-　❈　————-≾ —— ——

Ran Hoshino: It certainly does feel a little odd. To think that the case was closed just 2 months ago...

Seiji Minegishi: Heh, well you're absolutely right. It doesn't quite strike you as reality, seeing as how the quarantine ban has yet to be lifted as of yet.

Seiji Minegishi: I'm sure the citizens feel the same way too.

Ran Hoshino: I think so too. Most of the calls we've been receiving are more often than not citizens who are voicing their concerns.

Seiji Minegishi: ...In any case, there has been no reoccurring cases ever since Adonis was shut down despite there being remanants of them lurking about.

Ran Hoshino: Yes, but on the contrary...

Ran Hoshino: ............

Seiji Minegishi: Hoshino-san?

He looked at me curiously, noting the slight hesitance on my end.

Softly prompted by him, I opened my mouth once more to speak my mind.

Ran Hoshino: Crime rates have actually fallen as of late and there are lesser large-scale crimes that aren't related to Adonis. I'm sure the statistics show as such too.

Ran Hoshino: "Because Adonis had become a deterrent".

...That's right. It's been quite the hot topic on the internet recently. So much that most people actually agree on this as a whole.

Adonis had simply brought justice onto whom they deemed evil in their eyes.

Of course, their the whys and wherefores of their actions were unacceptable, but still...

Weren't they rather effective? They made criminals afraid of commiting criminal acts. They feared that they'd be next to face the brunt of it all.

The plausibility of that story is still being widely discussed over the net even now.

Seiji Minegishi: I see. So you're saying that there's a dwindling rate of crime thanks to Adonis?

Ran Hoshino: It feels rather conflicting when you actually read about someone justificating Adonis...

Ran Hoshino: Even though Adonis should be no doubt, evil in terms of legal and human rights--

Seiji Minegishi: Well, they're not exactly wrong either. It is a fact that Adonis does exact justice, in a sense.

Ran Hoshino: Eh...!? Seiji Minegishi: It is without a doubt that those whom they've disposed of did have some shady business.

Seiji Minegishi: But ethics aside, I think they exact justice on those people because they believe that they're right.

Ran Hoshino: But...Their actions are only lynching and nothing else!

Ran Hoshino: The school bombings and net-game killings, even if it's for revenge, it's still no reason to cause deaths across the board!

I've never had such a mindset for vengeance, not one that'd drive me to such viciousness.

That's why I can also never understand just how hurt and broken the suspects are.

That being said, this country still has it's laws. You'll only be denying the police's existence if you let them go scot-free like that.

Ran Hoshino: I don't think that such a terrible sight is justice at all...

There are many videos up on the net. I clenched my fist, recalling how bloody it was.

He gave a small chuckle in reply.

Seiji Minegishi: ...It's exactly as you say, Hoshino-san. Their judging criterias are way too general and vague that one may find it subjective.

Seiji Minegishi: If everyone could exact their own revenge, the vicious cycle will only continue to no end.

Ran Hoshino: ...You're right.

Seiji Minegishi: So even if Adonis was upholding and exacting justice as they deemed fit...

Seiji Minegishi: They are still to become outlaws of this country for passing judgement against the law.

Slow but steady, the evil will grow.

Minegishi-san placed his hand upon my shoulder, a small smile on his lips.

Seiji Minegishi: Seems like we had a misunderstanding. I don't agree with Adonis' way of handling things.

Seiji Minegishi: It's just that, I'm sure...That there a still a handful of people out there who still believe in their version of justice.

Seiji Minegishi: Even if Adonis is destroyed now, there's no denying the possibility of a second or third Adonis being created due to them.

Seiji Minegishi: ...And that's precisely why we must strive to understand how and why people sympathise and agree with Adonis on that matter.

Ran Hoshino: Right... You do have a point.

Seiji Minegishi: Have more confidence in yourself. You did the right thing.

Ran Hoshino: Thank you...

Previously looking at me in encouragement, his eyes slid close as he smiled.

Thinking about it, this might actually be the first time we've talked together so closely.

Feeling unrest, I opened my mouth to speak again.

Ran Hoshino: You're amazing.

Ran Hoshino: You're always so logical about things. I guess you're reliable and that's a relief.

Seiji Minegishi: Haha. Well, the subordinates wouldn't know what to believe if even the boss' blur as a squid.

He laughed at his own joke before jolting up, as if he had just remembered something.

Seiji Minegishi: You say I'm "amazing", but... I think you're the amazing one here.

Ran Hoshino: Amazing? Me?

Seiji Minegishi: Of course. Do you not remember how you were collared during the X-Day incident, putting your life at stake...

Seiji Minegishi: Any normal person, regardless of whether they're a police officer will have been used as a spy to get them leaks on inside info.

Seiji Minegishi: But you managed to put up a resistance till the very end, even going so far as to sacrifice your being. Not everyone's capable of that.

Seiji Minegishi: But more than anything else...We were able to control the Adonis situation thanks to your trust in the police and it's top brass.

Ran Hoshino: No, I should be the one saying that. It was thanks to the trust you and the rest of the Investigation Headquarters had in me.

Ran Hoshino: I was only able to get out of that precarious situation thanks to all of your instructions on how I should proceed with that collar on me,

Seiji Minegishi: ...How humble, not to mention, how stubborn.

Ran Hoshino: Sorry. But it's a fact that I didn't do anything...

Ran Hoshino: This all happened only because they didn't decide to kill me first, right off the bat. I mean even I'd have no choice but to comply

Ran Hoshino: if they told me that "We'll kill you if you refuse to become a spy for us right now".

Seiji Minegishi: That seems plausible. Truth to be told, it is your courage and judgement that has brought peace to Shinjuku as it is right now.

Seiji Minegishi: I was probably able to lead this case to it's closure only because the collar was on you.

That being said, being told as such tickles me a a little on the sides and I can't help being humble.

I just so happened to have the collar forced upon me and managed to successfully close the case.

Unable to hold his gaze any longer, I found myself adverting my eyes from his.

Seiji Minegishi: ...But...

He trailed off.

Seiji Minegishi: Why were you the one they chose?

Ran Hoshino: What?

Seiji Minegishi: ............

He stared at me, lips forming a frown as he pondered over something.

--Why was it me?

It was the very same question that had been circling through my head back then.

I couldn't see why it had to be me.

Ran Hoshino: Minegishi-san? Um-

Office Announcement: Calling for the Shinjuku Station's Special crime prevention. A report has come in from a public phone in a park at Shinjuku's 6th district.

Office Announcement: The caller sounds like a girl, reporting that she was going to be killed and managed to escape.

Office Announcement: All patrols in the vincinity are to head to the scene, immidietely. I repeat, a report has come in from Shinjuku's 6th district-

Ran Hoshino: That announcement!

Seiji Minegishi: Indeed. It's not time for a drawn-out conversation right now. I'll head to the Crime Department.

Ran Hoshino: Of course!

——≿————-𝕿𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊… ————-≾ ——

#Collar X Malice #Collar X Malice Unlimited #Collar X Malice -Unlimited-#CxM #CxM-unlimited-#CxMu #Otome #Translations #Seiji Minegishi

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eidolonlathi · 5 years

Text

Asirpa, Wilk and the Entire Ballast Attached to this Bond

I decided to make a separate post out of a comment I left a few days ago in the context of a discussion developing on my Inkarmat-Wilk meta. Because I think the way Asirpa is getting treated inner and outer universe is worth getting looked at.

Asirpa, Wilk and the Entire Ballast Attached to this Bond

The impression strongly stays with me that a lot of implications served by most recent developments like the flashback of chapter 179 were accidental. The thing is, Wilk always used to stand here as an extremely shady character but he never was supposed to appear in such a wholly unfavourable light either. The few genuine positive traits he used to have are now all erased and I don’t think this was done by intention.

About the charme he used to get what he wants: You can be absolutely certain he used whatever façade and manipulation he needed to get the trust of Sofia and Inkarmat, showing them exactly the kind of Wilk they wanted to see. Be it his smiling self, his serious or brooding self or whatever. The charm he uses as a manipulator is nothing in his favour but only proof what a chameleon he is, willing to never stay true to himself and instead quickly adapt to whatever a certain situation or person he’s dealing with demands.

The thing is he’s looking worse than ever either way. Him looking cold and detached by Fina’s death while Sofia is getting upset over what happened only shows that it’s a habit for him to dismiss the victims of their cause, be it them suffering directly or indirectly through their actions. Sofia as well as Kiroranke during other situations both show that they feel some kind of conflict and remorse. Wilk never does.

Inkarmat stated Wilk saw her as a child in circumstances concerning her romantic feelings for him. This doesn’t justify the fact he used manipulation, lies and deception to win the trust of a lonely child. He didn’t hide information from her because he was worried about her safety, he did it because it was more convenient for him. Just as he used Sofia before her. In his mind people are not much more than playthings he can use to reach his goals and nothing about that has changed over time as his treatment of Asirpa shows.

Wilk is not impressed by the accusations Sugimoto is making towards him when he accuses him of grooming Asirpa as a freedom fighting icon. No, Wilk is surprised someone is calling him out of the atrocities he’s pulling. He’s used to people either enabling him or him having the upper hand over the victims he’s deceiving, them usually not catching on what’s really going on. His answer to Sugimoto is proof of that.

This isn’t a touching moment. Wilk is still seeing Asirpa as a tool only. She is a young teenager, there is no, absolutely no justification why she has to be burdened with the task of leading or training anyone. Be it for a freedom fighter movement she never consented to participate with nor is it her responsibility to heal people who got lost in life. It’s not Asirpa’s role to change the worldview of her father, to heal Sugimoto’s mental scars not is it to erase Ogata’s issues or to let Tanigaki see his new destination in life. It’s frankly disturbing and creepy how people in and outer universe act as it’s okay for Asirpa to get forced into the role of the healing nurse for an entire bunch of grown men.

She’s still a child, it’s her who still needs support and protection. Asirpa is dealing with pain and her own insecurities too but it’s treated as completely reasonable she puts those issues aside in favour of looking after other people. And now that she’s away from home and with no Sugimoto by her side either she’s more vulnerable than ever. The only person currently looking after Asirpa’s needs and caring about her feelings is Shiraishi. It’s him who takes her seriously as a person instead of thinking what could be done next to press information out of her or to try and make her do what he wants her to. There are aspects of Asirpa’s character that are deeply vulnerable and sensitive and I’m glad with Shiraishi he has a loyal friend by her side.

Because you know, Asirpa is no Jesus figure either. The fact the writing desperately wants to cast her as one doesn’t change that and only hits home how asinine that forced parallel is. If most recent chapter have proven anything than that Noda’s understanding of Christianity is very shallow and he’s not able to handle that kind of symbolism. His portraying of the subject always has been clumsy but the plotline with Sekiya really shows he has no idea what he is actually doing.

Honestly, pointing out other parents were just as bad or even worse than Wilk makes nothing of this better. The trope of messed up people getting healed by the love and new perspective a child offers to them is a disgusting trope. The moment Wilk decided to become a parent it was his responsibility to be here for Asirpa, not the other way around. His issues are his to deal with, she’s not the healing solution for any of his pain because she happens to be his child. But then, from what we’ve seen Wilk most likely sees Asirpa as not much else than the extension of his own ego and doesn’t care much about the individual she is. Convenient she was the kind of child who agreed with going on hunting trips with him and was interested in what was there to learn about the natural world. But what if she had voiced dissatisfaction the moment she had learned about the plans Wilk had for her? Or if she had been the kind of girl who was interested in learning to weave and do other traditionally female activities, showing no interest or even reluctance to go into the woods and learn to hunt? Seeing how cold and calculating Wilk acts as soon as his cause is concerned you can bet he would have dismissed her and would have focused on breeding and grooming a new, more agreeable future freedom fighting icon he could use.

If anything I was hoping the whole messiah parallel would get subverted. Showing what a strain it puts on Asirpa how her father, Sugimoto, so many other are using her as an emotional crutch and despite her love for them it’s not a burden she can be expected to bear. But seeing how the writing these days has reduced Asirpa to not much more than a plot tool, letting her go along without asking any deeper questions or showing resistance towards the destination and adventure of the week those hopes are gone. For an Ainu woman of the new age the plot sure has gotten her conveniently obsessed with the past. And that’s sad to see; whatever Wilk has done wrong in the past is not her responsibility. He is several decades older than her and her father, setting right what their parents messed up is not the responsibility of any child.

The sad thing is that at some point far in the past the writing was even aware of this.

This is Asirpa’s uncle saying these words to Sugimoto. He’s one of the few in the cast pointing out that it’s not Asirpa’s role to heal of fix anyone or to act older than she actually is. Instead he sees her for the vulnerable young person she still is, acknowledging her still existing need for protection. That part seems almost ironic now. As if Asirpa’s uncle had felt she was the kind of lonely kid crafty adults were just too happy to use and exploit. (Uncanny her similarities with young Inkarmat on that part.)

The thing is even without Wilk’s character getting darker due to the most recent flashback there already were a lot of things wrong with him. But he was still showing some genuine sparks of being human. His past friendship with Inkarmat carrying innocent and heartwarming aspects only did a lot to humanize him. Robbing him of these aspects and shifting his character into the most coldest and manipulative setting was a loss in nuance not only taking away from his character but from the entire story too.

#golden kamuy #asirpa #wilk #golden kamui #eidolonlathi writes #lathi writes gk

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