Gambling Apocalypse Tenma AU
As I rewatch Kaiji I inevitably end up wanting to combine show I like with other show I like and stuffing fav characters into show. So here we are.
This was uh going to be a short summary type thing but I accidentally wrote a novella about it sorry
This AU starts off with a much more depressive Tenma. After Tobio's death, rather than immediately pour his grief into developing a robot version of his son, he recedes into himself, psychologically paralyzed, likely turning to alcohol to drown out his anguish.
His mental state is taken as an opportunity within the Ministry of Science to have him ejected from his position; Tenma was never the most well-liked director, and there were those with ambition to usurp him that would jump at the chance. Not that he especially cares in his state.
He's eventually dragged out of his stagnation by Ochanomizu - who, inadvertently, becomes the very catalyst pushing Tenma to develop a robot replacement to his child. This was not what he meant by encouraging Tenma to fill the void left by his son.
...But, well, he is no longer the director of the Ministry of Science. His access to limitless government funds and resources for "scientific research" has been cut off, and this is a project he cannot finance on his own. He can't ask Ochanomizu for help, but...interestingly...a representative of a certain shady organization known as the Teiai Corporation reaches out to him, offering to finance and support his project. A sane and well-minded Tenma might think better of it, but grieving and desperate, Tenma accepts their offer and is able to create a robot in the image of his beloved Tobio. For a while, there's joy in his life.
But the bill, as ever, comes due: Tenma must pay up, and the very resources that had been at his disposal will certainly ensure that he will, or else. Of course, he doesn't have the money; instead, he is given a choice. He can relinquish the robot Tobio in order to wipe out his debt - the child is a sophisticated and powerful robot, after all - or he can participate in a certain illicit event hosted by the Teiai Corporation.
It's nothing major...just a four-hour gambling cruise with a collection of desperate, damned souls that were also swept into debt with Teiai. The conditions are simple: Those who choose to participate are given a chance to clear their debts wholesale should they win. And should they lose...?
Well...no one really knows what happens to the losers seized by Teiai. It's said that they labour away their debts under Teiai's watchful eye and are freed once their work has covered their debts, though it's rumoured that most perish before they reclaim freedom.
There's only one answer Tenma can give, of course; he's not willing to lose Tobio again.
Thus is Tenma's debut into the Gambling Apocalypse, where he must become cutthroat in order to survive; if he wants to see his son again, he must make choices that will doom the hapless to miserable servitude, with a nonzero chance it ends in their death.
He survives the cruise, but of course, it was hardly enough to clear his debt; the cruise was never going to be the end of it. Teiai doesn't let go of its victims that easily. He will be called on again: this is a weight that hangs over him, all while he returns to his son Tobio. The same hands that have pushed innocents into hell must now be the hands that can embrace his child.
He wants to protect Tobio from the truth and enjoy what peaceful moments he's allowed with his son, but it's difficult. It's difficult to be the parent of a child who cannot understand the danger that looms ahead; this "happy" home is not to last. Tenma angers quickly and easily. He turns that anger onto Tobio.
As Teiai's games become more and more vicious and unrelenting, as his conscience holds onto the last vestiges of thread that remain, Tenma even threatens, once, to give the boy in: it would all end, then; the debt would be clear and no longer would he have to endure Tobio's childish annoyances, his ungratefulness.
The next time that Tenma is beckoned, Tobio takes matters into his own hands. He does understand, now; and he would have, if only Tenma had bothered to explain sooner. If it's a debt that needs clearing, he will work. He will help his father clear his debts however he can. Of course, it's difficult to find work as a child; but a circus troupe finds amusement in the idea of a child robot, and takes him in. He is whisked into a certainly unpleasant working situation, but he remembers his father, and what he must be enduring. Tobio, also, will endure.
When Tenma returns, Tobio is gone.
All that held Tenma back from becoming something monstrous has disappeared. All that kept him going has disappeared. When he is called upon by Teiai, there is no knowing what sort of person might come out the other end; whether a monster clawing his way to freedom regardless of what actions he must take, or a desolate husk surrendering defeat.
There is still a light, however dim: Found by Professor Ochanomizu and rescued from the circus, Tobio - now Atom - is able to shed light on the situation which Tenma took great pains to keep hidden from his old friend. With time running out, Ochanomizu and Atom must do what they can to save Tenma - from Teiai, and from himself.
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UHHH and that's a wrap!!!! I couldn't quite decide which way Tenma would go after hitting Rock Bottom in this AU, and tbh it would really depend on the kind of mental state he's in at the time. On the one hand I like the narrative of Ochanomizu and Tobio racing to prevent Tenma from crossing a line (actual outright murder probably) - or having to pull him back into humanity (and yknow, his ensuing penance)
But on the other hand having him get sent to Teiai Evil Hell Prison would be interesting because a) there's a lot of narrative potential having Tenma faced with what Teiai is doing with the people that lose the games and b) need him to decimate the foreman at chinchirorin Kaiji style
Tenma's whole character is definitely a much different guy in this AU, he starts off pretty sympathetic, the guy you wanna root for, he just ends up having an inverse character arc where he gets worse instead of better. His conflict with "Tobio" is also kind of reversed, less about being unsatisfied with Tobio as a son and more not being able to handle the fact that he probably has intense PTSD now and isnt capable of coping with it in a way conducive to being a parent (or like, coping at all)
Anyway that's gambling apocalypse tenma!!!
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Sorry for talking so much today, but I had a potential idea for a spidey!Kazuha scenario (yes, it’s cliche, but some cliches just hit you in the right spot):
Maybe you get injured in some large-scale fight, and the moment Kazuha defeats the bad guy, he finds you (still in spidey form) and tends to your injuries with shaking hands, trying to remember what he’s learned from you patching him up time and time again (and to be honest, he doesn’t do too bad a job.)
As soon as he knows you’re safe, he makes an excuse about having to leave and deal with some other damage caused and disappears. Less than five minutes later, Kazuha (the cute barista you’ve called head over heels for) comes sprinting towards you, out of breath, telling you that he heard you got hurt in the fight and came over as quickly as he could. After making sure you’re okay and not too badly injured (you find it interesting how he doesn’t question why you’ve already been patched up, but let it slide: he’s probably just worried and the thought slipped his mind), he glances away from you guiltily.
You ask him what’s wrong, and he mumbles a comment about how useless an excuse for a hero Spiderman must be if he lets you get hurt like this. Surely you must blame him, no?
You point out that it’s not too serious an injury, and that no, you don’t blame him: he’s doing his job, which is to protect the city and it’s citizens, not just you. If anything, you’re grateful towards and admire him for working so tirelessly every day to ensure that as little people get hurt as possible.
Then you stop yourself, realising that maybe you’ve run your mouth a little too much: you’re dating Kazuha, and him finding out about the little crush you have on Spiderman definitely would not be ideal. However, he doesn’t seem to mind; if anything, he seems to perk up a little, before sinking again.
He asks if you’re sure that you believe what you’re saying, and you nod firmly. For whatever reason, Kazuha still doesn’t seem quite convinced, but you don’t miss the warm smile that crosses his face— one that makes your stomach do somersaults.
He decides to leave the topic alone for the time being, because no matter whose fault it was and who each of you blame, at the end of the day, you’re safe now, and that’s all that matters to him.
——————
On another note, I feel like this Kazuha might slight self-worth issues— as in, no matter what form he shows himself to you in, he always feels guilty that he can’t give you the best. On Kazuha’s side, he’s always missing dates and abandoning your plans last minute because ‘something came up’, and on Spiderman’s end, whenever you get hurt, it’s almost always a result of any conflict centred around him. So, whenever he’s in his opposite identity, he makes bitter throwaway comments about his other self.
For example, Kazuha starts muttering about how useless Spiderman is and how he shouldn’t have let you get injured, and got you out of danger before the chance for something bad happening even arose; he calls himself pathetic and not worthy of the title ‘hero’.
Similarly, whenever he’s had to abandon your plans for something that comes up and swings by your place afterwards, Spiderman goes on about what a bad boyfriend Kazuha must be to always let you down last-minute and stand you up time and time again. The next time you see Kazuha after these occurrences, he’s always showering you with apologies and making up to you by putting aside his time to spend with you instead.
And every time either Kazuha or Spiderman scorns the other, he’s always shocked by how forgiving you are. Why don’t you blame Spiderman after getting hurt? Why aren’t you beyond mad at Kazuha for always missing your dates? Why are you always so kind about him when he doesn’t deserve it?
(Meanwhile, over on your side, you’re just super confused, because Kazuha and Spiderman seem to be spitting daggers at each other whenever they get the chance. Do they know each other? Are they… jealous? Fighting over you? What on earth is going on here?)
-🎻 anon
PPELWAWWWEJWJSJSHJDWH B AUWHSJEDBWJEHEDHSHHEH 😭😭😭😭😭💕💗💕💗💗💕💕💗💕💕💗💕
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I came home early from my silly little mountain trip because my mom decided to tag along with my sister to LA and the kids were left here alone. Now, they're 15 and 16, so probably ok on their own. I just know they're.... not the brightest when it comes to things like not setting the house on fire (I came home to no one in the house but 5 candles lit, and there are 3 cats in the house who love to knock things onto the floor) or locking doors (front door was unlocked) or saving energy (AC was set at 62 and every single light - inside and out - was on).
My brother and sister come home from whatever teenagers do these days and my brother instantly goes, "Did you hear what happened when you were gone?" And I start freaking out because oh my god what did they do? But it turns out it's just shit with my mom again. Of course. She goes to this festival in LA promising to be on her best behavior and then starts throwing herself in front of moving vehicles, begging people to hit her and kill her, all because my sister told her she was being dramatic about some event that got lost in the rendition I was told. So she called a 5150 on my mom and had her put in a psych ward for the past two days. Allegedly she's checked herself out now and was last heard from walking from this hospital to the airport, which I was told was something like 15 miles apart. I told my sister it wasn't her fault, whatever it is that happened, and that I hope she knows everything our mom does is for attention and to gain control of a situation, which is true. She only threatens to kill herself if she feels she doesn't have control over one of us. I told her that, next time, she should just let her do whatever histrionic bullshit she's pulling and move along like it's not happening. The only way I've ever found to combat my mom's "you're not doing what I want you to so I'll go hang myself in a tree!" behavior is to say, "Ok. Bet." and ignore her from there. Is that callous? I wish I had the capacity to care about that any more.
So this psycho ass bitch decides on a whim to leave her teenage kids alone without telling them, goes to the opposite side of the country, ruins my little mini vacation because I have more of a sense of responsibility than she does and don't want two inexperienced young people left alone for several days, ruins my other sister's vacation by being a crazy ass and leaving her with no ride home when she gets back into town (and an Uber from the airport to her house is like $70, so I'll end up having to get her), and now that I'm home I'll have to deal with her whenever she finds her way back out east.
This is the second or third time she's ended up in a mental hospital in the past two years, and for some reason no one in these places cares enough to do shit. They just let her go, every time. I cannot stand her. The sister she went to LA with is the world's biggest ass kisser, so I'm surprised she drew the line somewhere; usually she just tells my mom she's the best mom ever and buys her shit and things get dropped, though it only serves to fuel my mom's delusions that I'm a total sack of shit for not caring when she's throwing a tantrum. My youngest sister only wants a relationship with our mom because that's her last living parent and she regrets not being able to know her dad as well as she'd like to have, even though she admits regularly that she doesn't like talking to our mom because she's always mean to her. And my brother wants nothing to do with her because she's always telling him he's a failure and a piece of shit and he should just drop out of school and kill himself because he'll never be anything. But we've also all given up calling DCS long ago because they don't give a single fuck either. I'm 27 and my other sister is 25. Either of us could easily take our teen siblings - anyone who knows us knows we've done more to raise them than our own mother. But nope. No one cares. So she's just allowed custody of kids she clearly doesn't want because reasons.
I'm so sick of the shit. I can't even have a fucking break because of her, and I'm at a point (again, because of her) where I feel my only way out is death. She's hands down the worst person I've met in my entire life, and I've never been a person who holds any value to others unless it's as a sexual object or for exploitative reasons such as "I am a hard worker and will do anything I'm asked." Just so fucking tired, but I can't escape. I swear to god, though, if she comes home and wants to throw hands, I can bench more than she weighs and can squat almost double her weight, and I have been waiting for a bitch to try some shit with me for a very long time.
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