A/N: Originally posted 8/12/2015. what am i even doing with my life anymore i wrote this at 2 am and laughed my ass off at the idea

I am a disgrace upon this ship

this is a joke

Kaneki knew that college would be a dramatic change in his life, but he had no idea how big of a change it would be. As a Chicago native, moving to Alabama was rough enough, having to get used to the accents and the different ways of life; however, that wasn't the worst of it.

When he met Tsukiyama he felt he understood the meaning of "southern hospitality" more clearly than ever. He was a welcoming roommate, glad to meet a new person from such a vastly different life from him. Tsukiyama had lived in Alabama his whole life and Kaneki was a breath of fresh air for him.

For weeks the two had a great time as roommates, going to all the social events their university offered together, eating together at the dining hall, and exploring the campus together. After a few weeks the two took their relationship to the next step and at a football game, Tsukiyama pulled Kaneki into a kiss that caused various people to wolf-whistle around them, as well as shouts of various slurs over their blunt homosexuality.

The two generally kept their relationship on the down-low after that and enjoyed living together- until one day trouble came to paradise.

Tsukiyama was watching the news when he uttered a sentence that changed Kaneki's view on him forever, "This is such bullshit, we're losing our heritage here!"

Kaneki looked up from his book, glancing over at the TV to see a group of people lowering the confederate flag from a flagpole and removing it. He wasn't entirely sure what Tsukiyama meant.

"This is utterly disgraceful, my ancestors died for that flag and now they're spitting on it and disgracing it".

Kaneki refused to believe what he was hearing. Tsukiyama, his boyfriend, was… defending the confederate flag- a symbol of racism. He closed his book and sat up straighter, fully alert to his surroundings now, "I think it's good they're getting rid of it," he said quietly, "Slavery was horrible and that flag is a tie this country still has to that horrible past. It stood for hatred and prejudice".

"No, it's about heritage!" Tsukiyama retorted, his voice rising slightly, "It ain't about racism- why do people think everything is always about racism?"

"…the Confederacy seceded from the Union because they were outraged that their right to own slaves was being challenged. They claimed it was for other reasons, but it was obviously prominently tied to the fact that they might have their slaves taken away".

"Kaneki, you're a northerner," Tsukiyama scoffed, "All you know is what they taught you in school- my ancestors were a part of the south and they fought for their rights and now we're being told we can't honor them?" He spat, "That is disrespectful".

Kaneki rolled his eyes, clearly done with the conversation as he returned to his book.

Tsukiyama got up and approached Kaneki, hands on his hips, "Now you're just gonna ignore me because I'm speaking the truth?"
"No," Kaneki replied, "I'm going to ignore you because you refuse to see the truth of the matter".

Tsukiyama stormed from the room, cursing Kaneki's name as he went, slamming the door behind him. He grabbed something to eat from the dining hall when his phone vibrated in his pocket, displaying Kaneki's name on the screen. He opened the text message and his heart stopped.

"I put in a request to change roommates. I can't be around someone like you. I'm sorry but we're going to have to break up".

Tsukiyama threw his phone on the table and swore, running a hand through his violently purple hair. This day could not have gotten any worse.