alright so, I saw this ask on beniseragaki's blog, and I just loved the way she explained it. But, there's another point to this that's very important that wasn't brought up and I'd like to expand on that…
first off, the anon says,
“ She was nothing but an extorted pawn USED AGAINST a kid, weak, and a martyr who still didn’t protect her kid. I imagined she at least made an effort, but that’s not even true. This makes less sense than before!”
“Let me just say, I completely understand your frustration. His mother wasn’t defending herself or her son, which was a very bad reaction to have.”
She then goes on to explain very well the emotional side of the abuse victims and why it’s fairly common for them not to do anything.
Here are a few facts about abusive relationships…
On average, a woman will leave an abusive relationship seven times before she leaves for good.
Approximately 75% of women who are killed by their batterers are murdered when they attempt to leave or after they have left an abusive relationship. (source)
50 percent of men who frequently assaulted their wives also abused their children
Studies show that for victims who experience severe forms of domestic violence, their children also are in danger of suffering serious physical harm. (Source)
In any type of domestic violence, the most dangerous time for the victims (and their children) is when they attempt to leave.
We all know that Koujaku said his father was abusing his mother, and him at times. This fits right into the common pattern of abuse victims. But there is one thing different that can be seen here that a lot of people seem to have gotten wrong.
Koujaku’s Mother did try to do something about the abuse.
Like most abuse victims, she does leave at one point. She takes her son and runs away to an island where she believes his father will not find them. But unlike most victims, she does not go back on her own. She does not willingly bring her son back into this violence. She tried to protect and save her son, to the best of her abilities.
His father was the head of a large Yakuza on the main land. The Yakuza often have dealings with the local police. She could not have gone to them for help like many abuse victims can.
In the game, Mizuki says Ryuuhou charges several million yen per session for his tattoos. Koujaku mentions that his tattoo took months to complete. Just think about that. That’s about a session about every 4-6 weeks for months, at the cost of millions of yen each time. His father easily had millions of yen to spend on branding his son with the family mark.
That just speaks to the success and reach of his Yakuza. If he has millions of yen to blow, then how much money does he make?How many local businesses does he own? How far away does his control reach? How many police are easily turned by that amount of money?
And yet, with all of this, his mother still runs away with him to protect him.In the end, she fails. They are found and brought back. All that power, money, and control are now focused on keeping them there.
But just because she inevitably failed doesn’t mean she didn’t try to protect her son. Even in the end, she goes to his side and tries to calm him down when he’s possessed and killing all those around him. Even when he too kills her, all she does is apologize.
Koujaku’s mom may have failed to protect him, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t try.
She may have been too kind and too weak, and there may have been nothing that she could do in the face of a large Yakuza who have control over all the surrounding cities. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t try to protect her son.
She may have been weak, but she was stronger than many other abused woman. She left with her child and herself, never looked back. Just because they were forced to return doesn’t mean she didn’t try.
