#And Megumi is such a good example of breaking the cycle

[tatertotcosmonaut]

JJK 231 Leak Discussion

Okay so these leaks, whew boy these leaks. Imma be real I don’t know how to feel about them. Theres some things I really like and some things that make me really disgruntled.

First let me state this. I’m not mad about Yuta using Gojo’s body like this. Gojo has already stated that he doesn’t really care too much what happens to his body, and I think it fits well into this tragedy of Gojo still being used as a weapon even in death (like he’s literally being piloted as a flesh mecha). The disgust that it has caused is very intentional, because it is indeed revolting and as Yuta has accepted, an inhumane thing to do. But Hakari and Maki said that in a fight against Sukuna, a concern over what’s moral should be on the back burner.

Although he said this to Yuuji, Sukuna has already said that he will break down someone’s morals and worldview- and he is doing that. His sheer presence his pushing people to become “monsters” in hopes of beating him down. They have hope in Gojo being the “strongest” and have hope that even in death Gojo will somehow save him.

Now onto what I’m critical of. Even though Yuta and everyone else has faith, this is a “if all else fails” method, I truly think that Yuta will still fail and as a consequence he will die. While this isn’t a “power of friendship” story, it’s a story where brutal decisions do sometimes have to be made, it is as much a battle of philosophy as it is a battle of strengths.

Gojo, Kashimo, Yorozu, and Higuruma’s deaths are not just them losing battles of the strongest. It is them losing and failing to answer the philosophical question that has been looming since the culling games. What is love? What can you teach me (Sukuna) about it? What is the worth of love? Why keep going in the face of such adversity? Yuuta originally got his shit rocked for the exact same reason, while yes love is a theme of his character, philosophically he is not challenging Sukuna on anything.

Jujutsu Society and thus this new generation are still pivoted in this view of there being a “strongest”, in the need for there being a “monster of society”. But by losing their morals, by continuing to feed into Sukuna’s own philosophical views (he has a very “the strongest” view as well) the cycle just keeps continuing. Sorcerers still die, at a fundamental level society does not change. A society cannot function properly if it is constantly leaning on a pillar that will topple and crumble everything if it dies, this is as much a story about the need for community and love as it is about making tough decisions and sacrifices for future generations.

Yuuji is the only one who is challenging Sukuna on a philosophical level (even though he is not doing son intentionally). He irritates Sukuna so fucking much, because he is an exact narrative foil to Sukuna. Yuuji is someone who does not give up, he is someone motivated by love, by community, he is someone who is naive in ways that Sukuna absolutely hates. Some of the only times where Sukuna has actually been stunted or truly angered is by Yuuji and his philosophy, his absolute refusal to not stop loving and to keep reaching for Megumi.

The Mahito fight is a good example of the importance of philosophical battles and the power that a philosophical shake up has, and why it is necessary. Mahito didn’t start running in fear and crying just because Yuuji had physically beaten him down. The true fear showed when he became vulnerable mentally, when his world view was shaken. That is when Mahito finally started to run.

This is why I am very annoyed with Yuuji being constantly sidelined. And this narrative that Yuta is the “true MC” (I do not hate Yuta, I think that needs to be clarified).

“But Faust, Yuuji also has become jaded and now sees himself as a cog in a machine. He has literally changed his body to gain power-“ mhm! And that is presented as a negative thing. Yuuji losing his spark, become consumed by this mentality that it’s okay to die and be disposable (like the higher ups see sorcerers in general) is seen as a BAD thing. Jujutsu society IS unfair, it IS cruel, it is something that Yuuji needed to learn…but does it have to be this way? Yuuji’s character very much reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

This should not be a world where jujutsu sorcerers are seen as disposable. Where tough decisions must be made, where literal high school students have to be sacrificing their minds and bodies for others. In order for Sukuna to go down, for Gojo to see the world that he hoped would prosper from his students, for the youth to take control of themselves so they can be selfish (which is also a theme), this world must be philosophically shaken. The notion of a “strongest” must be challenged, if not abolished, and there must be room for community, love, and naivety.

Thank you for reading my rant lol.

[hermitw]

I want to make a list of my JJK theories and opinions so we got (part 1 bc I know I'll have / remember more later).

-let gege cook, everyone will be fine, chill tf out (I have rambled about this in other posts so I'll just leave it at that here)

-Toji and Geto's worm is like banana fish (the drug from banana fish that makes someone delusional, easily suggestible, and violent until they self destruct. Geto lasted a lot longer than Toji under its influence bc he had his rituals of meditations, affirmations, and strong ethics. His cursed energy would have also fed the worm, though it had been trained to feed off of the soul when it was with toji). It eats away at their souls/BRAIN so Kenjaku can get into a new skull will little resistance. Remember when Geto was unconscious and Toji said the thing about monkeys? Then Geto kept repeating that kind of thing (but he never rly acted like he believed that. He was just trying to keep his daughters and innocent youth safe from becoming skapegoats like Rika was. He saw that the cult and the village would repeat their cycles and more would be hurt in the future. He couldn't redeem those adults so he killed them.) I go into this theory a good bit in my longest/first jjk fanfic, and I AM DYING for gege to confirm this. I also ofc think that Kenjaku set up the worm and Toji to find each other. Maybe by throwing it into the zenin curse pit.

-kenjaku hit Rika with his car, or at least manipulated someone else into doing it (which seems to be the theme here, the way he made geto and yuta fight, for example. It's suspicious that Yuta and Yuuji were both from Sendai. I'm sure that he was keeping an eye on them both. We see nanako and mimiko at yuuji's school in that one manga panel in the beginning.

-the prison realm can be used for time travel (since Gojo first got sealed I was expecting him to break out. And then I was expecting him to be so understimulated in there that he'd figure out how to warp time. Dude can already warp space, what's the difference?) and Hakari even suggested using the prison realm for time travel so EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE FINE they just have to go as far as they can without using it first so they can learn what to do the next time, yeah? I also had a dream about this and Gojo told me that Sukuna didn't feel the time loop, but the rest of us knew it was our second time (at least) going back and trying to defeat him. Which doesn't mean that I'm right but it was nice ok 😭

Theories that have been proven right or wrong by now

-I've been saying from the beginning that Yuuji and Sukuna share a common ancestor and that's why he can be a vessel. I was right!! But I didn't know he was also born with a fingie

-sukuna has six eyes (this has since been disproven but I used to think so)

-the way that RCT works between two people

CHAPTER 261 SPOILERS ON THIS NEXT ONE but I hope ur caught up by now.

-yuta should use as many techniques as possible in Gojo's body bc when Gojo returns to it, then he will be able to learn them as well. Kenjaku was able to retain techniques from his previous bodies, so even if all he transfers is the copy technique, that's fkn useful too.

-there is no chemistry between Yuki and Choso. That concept feels fucking forced and gives me the ick so hard.

-yuki is a terrible influence. She has good intentions, but she isn't present enough to be helpful - showing up in shibuya after Mahito was absorbed, for example. Not keeping in touch with the sorcerers who were involved in that. Not to mention the shit with Geto. She started the whole "what kind of woman is your type" thing and it's her fault that todo beats people nearly to death for giving an answer that doesn't match his own stupid taste (it took several watches for me to forgive todo for beating up megumi tbh)

-todo is also Kenjaku's son, and possibly Yuki - tho yuki is more vibes than evidence. All of Kenjaku's confirmed kids have a strong resolve, and false memories with Yuuji. But I think that kenjaku, in a male body, would be a total slut. His motivation for anything is that maybe it'll be interesting, or funny, he's just here for a good time. I think that he wouldn't even know how many kids he has, and that by having an unknown number possibly out there, it would bring up unexpected sorcerers. The frame where kenjaku asks why don't you heal yourself and yuki says I don't want to... That feels confirmed for me but I know it isn't solid evidence.

-I think kenjaku set up yuki to meet todo bc that feels too sus as well but I forget my logic on that one lmaoooo everything is their fault tho

[obito-in-disguise]

I appreciate all the discourse and various perspectives in the comments, and the fact that we're keeping it respectful.

That being said, someone said I was mischaracterizing Toji, so I would like to double down and clarify a bit.

Toji Fushiguro: A Terrible Person and an Even Worse Father

First and foremost, I DO NOT hate Toji, ya’ll😭! Release me from these allegations, release meee. Can we not love someone and still point out their shortcomings, especially when said shortcomings actively harm others, including his own kids?

Now, onto the issue at hand.

The Problem of Idealization

What I’ve noticed in many discussions about Toji is a tendency toward idealization. For those unfamiliar, idealization is when someone is perceived as much better than they actually are, to the point where it becomes difficult (or in the most extreme cases, impossible) to acknowledge their flaws.

Please please please (Sabrina Carpenter reference) do not do this in real life, you will get walked all over. As a lot of the times, people who are idealized are well aware, and will take advantage of your rose tinted perception to the best of their abilities. We see that a lot in celebrities and other public figures.

And now, the koko of the matter. Calling upon all sense of objectivity in this world, Fushiguro Toji is 1. A terrible person, and 2. An even worse father.

1. Toji as a Terrible Person

Let’s look at the evidence:

He is a literal assassin. Toji ends lives for money and takes pride in his skill. Not only that, but he derives a sense of enjoyment from this.

He killed Riko Amanai, a child, with a bullet to the head.(this one still keeps me up at night)

Actively creates monsters through his actions. A good example of this is Suguru Geto who was so traumatized by Toji and his actions, that he became a mass murderer and lost his marbles. He even adopted Toji's view of powerless people as monkeys.

He’s a hypocrite. This is the one that gets me. He despises the Zen’in clan and sorcerers for their treatment of him as a child, yet he willingly engages in behavior that perpetuates the same kind of harm he claims to despise.

He exploits the weak. Time and time again, Toji chooses self-interest over protecting or helping vulnerable individuals, cementing his moral failings.

2. Toji as an Even Worse Father

Now, let’s address the heart of the matter: his treatment of Megumi.

He sold Megumi to the Zen’in clan. Toji claims this was for Megumi’s benefit, but realistically, it was about getting Megumi off his hands and securing financial gain. The Zen’in clan is known for abuse and hierarchy, yet Toji willingly sends Megumi into that environment.

He abandoned his children. After selling Megumi and leaving Tsumiki behind, he never looks back. Their physical safety and emotional well-being are left entirely up to chance.

HE DOESN'T EVEN REMEMBER MEGUMI . When Shiu mentions Megumi’s name, Toji's like- huh? who's that. This highlights his utter lack of care or interest in his son’s life.

He perpetuates cycles of abuse. Instead of breaking free from the harm he endured as a child, Toji repeats the same patterns, ensuring Megumi suffers in similar ways.

Once again, ABANDONS HIS LITTLE CHILDREN, not only resulting in physical and reckless endangerment but a myriad of emotional trauma and wounds on the children who weren't even teenagers yet.

Toji’s Backstory: An Explanation, Not a Justification

The person who said I mischaracterized him told me to read up on his backstory, and I assure you, I am quite aware.

Toji is undeniably a product of his environment. His harsh upbringing and downright abuse shaped him into the man he became, and it is worth acknowledging my friends, that his bitterness and cynicism didn’t come from nowhere.

However, at some point, adults become responsible for their actions, regardless of their trauma.

Toji consistently chooses selfishness and violence over accountability and care. Instead of using his experiences to empathize with his children or break the cycle of abuse, he allows it to continue, further harming those around him, and I cannot stress this enough, HARMING LITTLE CHILDREN.

Final Thoughts

These reasons are why I consider Toji both a terrible person and a terrible father, and at the very least, a morally reprehensible character.

But please understand, I can still love him as a character while holding him accountable for his flaws.

J’ai fini 👌🏽. I rest my case.

Me watching people praise Toji for the bare minimum after fucking up Megumi's life.

He died with Megumi on his mind, he's such a good dad! Girl, he sold him for gambling money.

[psychewritesbs]

Hii~~ greetings from Argentina oh juremos con gloria a morir~~

Question, do you have any hcs/ assumptions of what Touji’s early life in the clan was like? Cause I’d like to hear you out🥺

HOLA my dear CABAnon ♥ ¡Al gran pueblo Argentino, saludsita! 🍻

hcs about this man you ask...

Why I'm happy to bs about it under the cut mwahaha.

BUT FIRST... clarification:

I'm actually more of a daddy Sukuna stan... literally no one asked you, v.

Or basically how I just love this panel of Sukuna and GO. BACK. TO. YOUR BODY ALREADY DAMMIT!

Also, in case people have not noticed, I have such an obsession with Megumi that I sleep on any arc where he's not front and center. It's, literally, a #thing I am afflicted by.

So I must confess I don't spend a lot of time thinking about anyone else in this darn manga and most people who send me asks haven't realized yet how much of a fraud I am LOL.

So, no, I spend absolutely no time thinking about Toji's swag.

Zero time thinking about his sexy back.

Nope.

Sorry not sorry Toji, but...

Ok he's KINDA sexy. kinda.

So to answer your ask I pulled panels that I think might say something about Toji and then mixed it all with my perhaps unrealistic hc that Toji was actually quite the domestic daddy. It just so happened to be that Megumi-mama's death broke him.

Basically Toji is such a tragic character.

I am no longer who I used to be

So first there's defo a clear delineation in how Toji perceives himself. The person he was before he took the Fushiguro last name, Zenin Toji, and Fushiguro Toji.

And remember, names have power because they define your sense of self. ngl I love that my name is victoria.

I think there's some disagreement as to who was Fushiguro, whether Megumi's mom or Tsumiki's mom, but I personally prefer the idea that it was Megumi's mom.

My perspective, I'll admit, is a bit romanticized, it's just that Toji is always shown as being sentimental about Megumi and Megumi-mama.

So I like the idea that he took the Fushiguro last name because it was Megumi's mom's. I feel like in his head this also served the purpose of hiding himself and leaving behind the person he used to be. That is not to mention that it would also help keep Megumi a secret from the Zenin.

Self-sabotage runs in the family

I get the sense that Toji internalized all of the toxic masculinity of the Zenin household and expressed it by being a complete fuck up.

I get the sense that Toji was so disillusioned with life that he just allowed himself to become the worst version of himself until he met Megumi's mom.

He was also a womanizer, which implies that he knew he was good looking or was attractive to others and probably used that to his advantage.

Toji, truly was, irredeemable.

Just appalling behavior, really.

But I think that's part of Toji's tragedy, that just like Megumi, Toji did not grow up in an environment that was conducive to fostering one's best self. It's like a testament of how damaging extreme psychological attitudes like the ones held by the Zenin can poison the psyche and the sense of self and severely limit its ability to self-actualize.

In that sense, Toji and Megumi (more specifically Megumi) are examples of breaking the cycle of trauma from abuse. It's all about generational trauma getting passed on generation after generation until someone can break the curse.

So yeah, we gotta talk about everybody's favorite toxic family, the Kardashians Zenin.

The Zenin

Now, the irony of the Zenin is that their last name is a literal allusion to a family that is "Zen". And what is Zen if not mindfulness?

Quite the contrary, the Zenin, as an institution within Jujutsu society, epitomize everything that is wrong with Jujutsu Society: misogyny, toxic masculinity, corruption.

There's this really "cute" platitude, something about "bloom where you're planted."

And I believe you can bloom where you're planted. But when the very soil that is the basis for your sense of self is poisoned, well, the way you bloom is going to be a little poisoned.

So I imagine Toji's behavior was a sort of open defiance to the pressure to perform and conform to the unrealistic expectation his family held of him.

For that reason, I think the fact that he's a direct descendant of the previous head of the Zenin clan is a big fucking deal. Like, how are you going to be the son of the clan's head and not even be able to use Cursed Energy?

The nerve!

In other words, if he couldn't be accepted for who he was, what was the point in trying? Why not just give up altogether and be a complete and utter fuck up?

This portion of the post was sponsored by red wine. Thank you red wine.

Sorcerer Killer

Is it a collective headcanon or canon that Toji started killing sorcerers as a way to impose his sense of self against the injustice of being rejected for not having the same abilities as sorerers?

I'm assuming someone said "I'll pay you" and he said "sure ok" and he just became known as the person to go to if you wanted to kill a sorcerer.

Like father, like son

This epic panel...

Is a testament to how broken Fushiguro Toji is.

How does a father forget his son? Or more like... how does a father make himself forget he has a son he would rather forget he has?

Anyways, this reads to me like psychological suppression. And I have to wonder how much Toji had to resort to suppressing himself and his thoughts while growing up in the Zenin household.

Yeah you could take the panel at face value, or you can take the whole context of Toji's backstory and the environment he grew up in, + the tragedy of Megumi Mama's death, and wonder whether Toji cared so much about Megumi that he knew the best thing for him was to not be in his life.

He's a fuck up, right? Worst of the worst. So what's better than abandoning his child with someone else who is capable of caring for him the way he can't?

That's a lot of self-awareness on Toji's behalf if you ask me.

I just get the sense that Toji does not see himself as a "good" person and doesn't care to prove anyone wrong about it.

Toji had to learn to control his strength

Like... what if something as simple as splitting chopsticks is something that requires a lot of finesse and concentration for Toji? Makes me wonder if Toji had to learn to regulate his strength.

Toji is utterly unimpressed

Due to the word choice in the panel above, I have to wonder about how Toji perceives most people who can use cursed energy.

In other words, he's completely unimpressed with most sorcerers and their abilities because he has found he can overpower the vast majority of them with raw strength alone.

Think of it this way, he's the direct descendant of the head of the Zenin clan and is considered an anomaly and a failure due to his inability to use Cursed Energy, right?

Now...

If, in the words of a Zenin, the Zenin clan exists because of Toji's whim, that tells me that the Zenin feared Toji's physical prowess even if they did not acknowledge him.

It tells me Toji was perhaps unafraid to demonstrate his strength in order to gain respect from others in a similar way Maki did during the Perfect Preparation arc.

But for some reason Toji never quite did anything about it and instead decided to leave the clan.

I wondered for a sec whether Naobito perhaps defeated him but then I remembered how easily Toji took on Dagon compared to Naobito struggling.

I think what's sad about it is that after going to such lengths, Toji still found himself as the clan's reject.

In a sense, even if he could wipe out the clan, it wouldn't achieve being accepted and acknowledged as a human by them. And honestly, I can't say for sure that he wanted to be accepted and cherished by the Zenin, but the human need to belong is incredibly powerful.

So to see him call himself a monkey in spite of what he's able to accomplish shows how deep that wound runs.

To see his endless plight to validate himself in a world that denied him the belonging he most likely desperately sought...

And it's a real tragedy just how damaged Toji's self esteem is and how growing up in the Zenin clan completely destroyed his self-esteem.

Which brings us back full circle to...

I am no longer who I used to be + Megumi-Mama

Fudge me.

I know you specifically asked about Toji's early life in the clan but I find myself unable to write about Toji without addressing the clear delineation of who Zenin Toji was before he became Fushiguro Toji.

Again, this is assuming that Megumi's mom was the one with the Fushiguro last name, which I don't think Gege has confirmed.

But there's just something about how Toji was changed from his meeting Megumi's mom and Megumi's birth.

If Zenin Toji was unafraid to impose his will in order to validate himself through raw strength, we can assume from the panels above that Fushiguro Toji became someone whose priorities were reorganized when he met Megumi's mom.

Perhaps for the first time in his life he saw a reason to become the better version of himself and then he had that taken from him.

Breaking the curse of intergenerational trauma

Last but not least, Toji passes the torch onto Megumi...

I love that even though Toji had set out for Megumi to be sold to the Zenin clan because he thought it was the best for him, he is glad to hear his son did not have to grow up in the same toxic environment he grew up in.

God I love Jujutsu Kaisen... please excuse me while I go cry in the corner.

Anyways...

Spanglish Alert

Que hongo CABAnon? Gracias por el ask! Espero q mi tangente no halla sido muy tangencial LOL. Ya ves, con eso d q tiendo a irme por otros rumbos.

Anyways, me dió mucha curiosidad q compartieras ese pedacito del himno nacional Argentino pq inmediatamente pensé en el himno Mexicano y el himno Mexicano es total y completamente acerca d la guerra.

Me quedé con el ojo cuadrado pq nunca me había tomado el tiempo para pensar en la posible razón por la q el himno Mexicano está enfocado en q los Mexicanos vamos al grito d guerra.

En fin. Será por la lucha de independencia contra España y la sangre indígena hablando por medio de los mestizos?

Oh well... gracias d nuevo y muchos saludos!

[sou-ver-2-0]

I think the deal with the monitor room is that the AIs can just be synced in like monitors to pcs so my guess is that the floormasters just plugged the AIs of the candidates who survived the first trial in while everyone was downstairs. I guess they didn’t add the dummies because meeting them for the first time in ch3 is an important element of the subgame? Also they don’t seem to want the cast to know about Joe AI because clearly he’s not supposed to be a candidate but they were expecting him.

Now I’m also thinking that if the mastermind/Meister/memo man wants Sara specifically to win, maybe the simulations exist to create the perfect mix of participants to increase her chance. Some characters would probably survive some trials, but not others just based on their thinking style and skills. As for Shin, he’s weird because his trial relies on him either never surviving the sims or surviving so few times that it rounds down to zero. Keiji was also probably shown the papers

The papers themselves change the flow of events, Keiji immediately trying to get on Sara’s good side and Shin not trusting her. The implied lack of card roles in the sims makes me think that unless it’s just a math error by nakidai, maybe the simulations were literally only first trials, if not miscellaneous things akin to island existence. We still don’t know Reko or Gin’s trials, any details from the dummies’, Kai’s if he had one, or Keiji and Megumi’s though I have my theories about that one

I like these!! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me!

I actually don’t have much worthy commentary to add! I was already pretty much on the same page with you with your first two messages and the beginning of your third message, but I really appreciate how you were able to word your thoughts so clearly and concisely, while I’ve been stumbling a bit. :) So that’s great!

After that, I find your theories in your third message intriguing! Even if we can’t say exactly how the simulations worked, your guesses are logical. I respect that!

I admit that I have a lot of self-indulgent ideas about the simulations, mainly because I’m deeply invested in what the percentages can tell us about the characters’ personalities, and possibly their relationships with each other. For example, I like to think that the reason Megumi’s percentage is so low is due to the presence of Keiji, who would be a formidable foe to her. 

I’ll also admit that I happen to really like the idea that the characters have been “stuck in cycles” (via the simulations), playing this Death Game for a long time, and now that we’re in “real life” as opposed to “AI life,” it’s the final cycle and the final chance for the characters to break free. However, I admit that it’s fully possible that I’m reading the percentage papers the wrong way, just because I have a rather romantic notion about them...

In any case, thank you for reaching out and answering my plea for help! I appreciate it a lot. <3