jenjenpup

[jenjenpup]

Got reminded again of my old coworker who was a massive misogynist but also trans inclusive. Told me he believed trans women are indeed women because "only women would be stupid enough to want to be women"

I wonder what he's doing now

[jenjenpup]

A Closer Look at the Phaidei Memory

I've seen so many people talking about this scene with Phainon and Mydei and making fun of how blatantly obvious Phainon is about his... respect for Mydei's... conspicuous body, but one thing I feel like a lot of people missed (or at least I haven't seen anyone discussing) is that this memory seems to come from very early on in their acquaintance.

Looking at it closely, it's clear that the two aren't particularly familiar with each other yet in this memory sequence. For one, Phainon questions things that he should easily know if he was well-acquainted with Mydei already.

First, very comically: "Do you even bathe, bro?"

And second, Phainon questions why Mydei isn't immune to the black tide:

This suggests that, up to the point of this memory, Phainon had not been in enough battles with Mydei (or at least close enough to Mydei) to see him be affected by the black tide. Apparently, this memory-Phainon-and-Mydei don't have years of rushing into battle side-by-side to defend Okhema yet.

It's also hilariously clear that the Phainon in this memory has absolutely no idea how to talk to Mydei.

Breaking this scene down, it's literally Phainon just trying really hard to strike up conversation, doing his best to try to crack the tough exterior and get Mydei to actually interact with him. He jumps around through topics rapidly--the baths, the black tide, their personal sparring--looking for anything that will catch Mydei's attention.

Meanwhile, we can tell that Mydei is not particularly familiar or comfortable with Phainon yet because his dialogue is so different from any of his other scenes in the game. Although Mydei is obviously not the game's biggest yapper, he does always have full sentences to contribute to other conversations and banters readily with Phainon whenever he's baited into it.

In this memory, he instead starts off polite but also completely aloof:

This is the exact sort of response you'd have to a vague acquaintance coming up and trying to talk to you like you're best friends. Phainon skipped at least four steps of familiarity here, and Mydei is obviously at a loss for why the conversation is even happening.

He responds by blatantly stonewalling, answering Phainon's (slightly pathetic) attempts to start an actual conversation in nothing but single word answers:

You can even see Phainon recognize how bad he's failing half way through the conversation, which prompts him to vocally declare that he's going to make a complete topic switch:

And this time, it works!

When Phainon brings up their personal duel or spar, whichever it was, finally, finally Mydei caves and engages in the conversation with him:

Which prompts Phainon to laugh (in relief? lol) and flat out crow about how he's finally cracked the code and figured out how to get Mydei to notice him:

Poor Mydei, however, did not seem to realize his slight display of interest was going to lead him into a full conversation, and he responds to Phainon's blatant invitation to keep talking with a confused:

Witness Mydei accidentally turning down Phainon's request for a date in real time.

The only thing that complicates the situation is what Phainon says late in the memory: that they've battled "all this time." However, looking at his earlier comments, this last statement may just be in a general sense, as in "two Chrysos Heirs who have been fighting the titans for years," especially as the rest of the line "How do you train? Would you consider teaching me?" once again indicates a lack of close familiarity.

(It's also possible this line is just poorly translated in English, and was actually meant to refer to their legendary ten-day-long duel: "We battled all that time, yet I never saw you fatigued." Given the rest of the lines in the memory, I think "dodgy translation" honestly makes the most sense here, and would also just have really funny implications: Phainon and Mydei didn't fall in love at first sight; they fell in comically-long-duel at first sight. Okay, maybe for Phainon it was both.)

Phainon's earlier statements in the memory make it clear that he isn't very experienced with fighting Mydei specifically, with the overall implication of the dialogue being that they've just had their first duel against each other recently:

So anyway, where I am going with all this?

I know a lot of people got distracted by Phainon's (accidental?) pass at Mydei in the first line, but I think taking a step back and looking at the scene as a whole, in context, makes it even more hilarious and off-the-cuff:

Phainon and Mydei aren't well-acquainted in this scene.

Phainon literally walked up on a guy he barely knows and the first words that fell out of his mouth were "Dan Nicky your bobbies." "I would know that body anywhere."

Even Mydei was weirded out at first!

Like, Phainon has absolute foot-in-mouth syndrome around his new "friend." He spends the whole conversation narrating his own attempts to communicate ("Ah, I see I am unwanted. Instead of leaving, I shall try another tactic. Is it working yet?" and "Yes, yes, yes, it worked!") like this is a remotely normal thing to do around a person you're not even close with yet.

You can see his puppy tail wagging. He wants to be friends with Mydei so bad.

He is actively making up excuses to try to get Mydei to spend time with him here--first the comment about "Yay, you're here!" at the baths like he expects them to bathe together, then the whole "Why don't we go somewhere and have a long conversation about the insights we gained from rolling around in the dirt together?" to finally just flat out asking Mydei to train with him.

It's so charmingly earnest, straightforward, and even a bit awkward that I think this scene is really under-rated by the fans. It's not just another example of Phainon commenting on Mydei's muscles--it's a glimpse into what they were like before they were close and just how much Phainon wanted to connect to Mydei, how willing he was to explore to discover exactly what Mydei would be interested in so that he could seize that common ground between them.

Really a masterclass in showing us fans characterization right on the cusp of changing, and for showcasing both Phainon's charming audacity and Mydei's surprisingly-reserved-around-strangers behavior.

And, since we know the future that memory-Phainon-and-Mydei are headed toward... we also know it worked! Mydei is smiling by the end of the conversation! He and Phainon are going to become vitriolic best buds--er, rivals--and Phainon is going to get all the spars he wants.

Persistence pays off!

[jenjenpup]

I just think that corinthian deserves to be touched gently :)  

[jenjenpup]

@rriavian has been giving me so many modern au ideas🙏🥹💕

[im so excited for season two]

[jenjenpup]

Dream is the perfect male character bc he’s clearly dying from consumption at all times, he cries when someone calls him a friend, he commits acts of hubris he will not survive, his only friends are his bird and his big sister, his biggest opponents are his siblings who hate him for no reason and an insane gay serial killer HE created

[jenjenpup]

“Sukuna… Let’s try it one more time. Living not by cursing someone, but by existing alongside them. Even if no one else will accept you… I’ll live with you.”

[jenjenpup]

the random thought about stelle getting a couple of scars by accident and her resemblance to nanook starts to stand out even more

she's still silly

[jenjenpup]

the random thought about stelle getting a couple of scars by accident and her resemblance to nanook starts to stand out even more

she's still silly

[jenjenpup]

hello 💕 love your sukuita analyses and edits 🙏 my friend and i were looking through Gege's official chosen songs for each character specifically for yuji and sukuna now that the manga is over and i don't know if many people noticed Yujis first song was "Heart ni Ho wo Tsukete" and the lyrics are??????? literally canon sukuita 😭 "burn your loneliness" "don't turn to ashes" "you and i are together" "will we love each other? will we turn to ashes?" like 😭😭😭 if you haven't checked it out please do because we were losing it

Hi jenjen and thank you!

I already heard Heart ni Ho wo Tsukete and I agree. The lyrics are crazy. The song is quite beautiful, tho, shipping aside.

As someone who loves looking into stuff and finding connections, it's interesting to me that a character song is hinting at having a deep emotional connection with someone as a way of pushing on through the worst of "the worringly bad state they are in".

Sure, some would say "It doesn't have to mean that" as in "It doesn't have to be abt sukuita" but I like to think that it does because it's not like the story itself relied heavily on Sukuna and Yuuji- beginning with their reluctant union and ending with their parting- right? It's not like Yuuji taught Sukuna something about love and managed to reach him, right? That definitely didn't happen lmfao.

Also... how do you even begin to explain these lines?

I’m attached Deeply attached to you It doesn’t go in a single line I’m attached to you And the lies we tell each other

Remember that this is coming from a song picked for Yuuji, so it's supposed to represent him. Who is he deeply attached to, so much so that the attachment he shares with that person "doesn't just go in single line"? Who does he tell lies to?

Who, again, said he'd do anything to kill that creep and then asked for his return to his body, said that he is the only one who can accept him and would live with him?

It's all so mind-numbingly sweet, very confusing and terribly funny. It makes me want to hurl myself off a cliff. Gaze into the sunset with the cigarette in my hands and just sigh like I'm seventy thousand years old. It makes me want to squeal, screech and not at all act composed like I usually am.

Like, sukuita's relationship has been at the very center of the story even if it was out of focus for a while. Yuuji was with others and Sukuna was with others but then when they met again... those others just couldn't compete. One of my friends joked that they're lowkey that sentence "I have been looking for you in other people only to realize you've been right in front of me this entire time." and I can't help but giggle. Hell, the story itself is proof of it lol

Like I keep mentioning in my posts, these two tend to just act weirdly around each other. It's not even "just hate", neither "indifference", because everything that Yuuji did made him reluctant to part with Sukuna in the end, and no matter how much Sukuna dismisses Yuuji, he's also praising him and acknowledging him over and over and over. Yes, they can't see eye to eye, yes, they're fundamentally different from one another but Yuuji still managed to try and understand him. Sukuna also ended up accepting Yuuji's viewpoint and considered taking on a different path, finally changing after years of remaining stuck in a single mindset.

Like not one person had managed to change his mindset for all those years yet Yuuji- the idiot, brat, thing, whatever- did. In just a couple of months lol. That was the final seal on just how important he was to him in the end. The only one to beat him, the only one to reach him, the only one to come running back with arms open to still allow him to live no matter if he destroyed everything in his life.

Lol.

Which brings me to:

If we burn our union If we burn everything Won’t we love each other? Won’t we love each other? Won’t it become ash?

It fits them all too well. Love under the guise of hate, killing as an expression of love, hate as an expression of fondness. Everything flipped onto its head because, after all, aren't they too, (from human to curse in Yuuji's case, from curse to human in Sukuna's) when around each other?

I swear figuring out these two (and, in general, just trying to think about their relationship or write an analysis) makes me want to bang my head against the wall. All I'm saying is, if Gege ever goes to create a tragic romance manga, they have my full support because they knew what they were doing, twisting and intertwining these two to perfection before they ripped them away. They made them so entertaining, both as individual characters and when they collided with each other.

Yeah. I despise it here (affectionately).

I hope both you and your friend have an amazing day or night and thank you for the ask!

[jenjenpup]

The proof of sukuita's soul resonance and their oneness. Yuuji is shown without two fingers and cannot salvage them, considering how the person responsible for him losing those fingers (the missing piece) is dead and gone.

Fitting, no?

Let's talk about it.

Yuuji lost both his ring and pinky finger.

The pinky one (representing promises– pinky swear) was torn by Sukuna and used to overtake Megumi, symbolically representing Yuuji's failure to keep his promise- keep Megumi away from Sukuna and, in general, protect Megumi. In the beginning, Yuuji was shown as someone incapable of defending and keeping people alive despite the fact that he very much wished to. You could say Sukuna reminded him of that by taking over the very person that saved his life in the first place by postponing his execution.

The pinky remained in Megumi (because that's how Sukuna got to Megumi) until Yuuji tore it away- tore Sukuna away- and then spoke to him, leading to Blobkuna and Sukuna's passing. Of course, knowing Gege's love for everything sukuita, they fittingly made Sukuna the one to rip that finger away to be in someone else and conveniently not return it by instead choosing to die.

Mind you, the reason why this happened was because Yuuji didn't place a condition in the Binding Vow (the one he doesn't nor will ever even remember making) that he cannot be hurt when Sukuna has control which is, again, an insane thing because it implies he trusts him not to cause harm to himself or truly doesn't care what happens to him after he's "dead to the world" (kinda like Sukuna who doesn't care what happens to his body after his death).

So that's for the pinky. Yuuji also never got the ring finger back.

Now, Sukuna believed that his finger was eaten by Rika, but that wasn't the case. It was revealed to us that the finger Rika ate was Yuuji's, and according to Yuta, anything she eats cannot be salvaged by RCT. It cannot be healed and I'm crazy over the symbolism of Yuuji losing his ring finger because of the general, well-known meaning of the ring finger. He gave up that finger because of Sukuna (giving up his love in order for his downfall) and, conveniently, we're shown a single finger that remains of Sukuna. I also truly do wonder why the location of Sukuna's finger (for some reason) was fitting with the location of the music video for that one song.

Yuuji never got back the ring finger in form of a person who he had also asked (twice) to return. Who he could live with no matter what he had done. Who he would accept no matter what. Who he thinks back on fondly while looking at his lost fingers. He gave up that finger for him and that one finger (one person) remains in the Stevenson shed- right where he found him.

Through symbolism, the implications are insane because love and commitment (the ring finger) remains with Sukuna.

If you want more insanity, well... Remember what I said about the pinky? That it was how (basically) Yuuji lost Sukuna? Well, Sukuna didn't return to Yuuji (no matter if Yuuji wanted him to) and hence Yuuji couldn't truly get that finger back.

The fact is that Yuuji was supposed to be the only vessel (specifically made for him, so much so that he inherits his techniques and cursed energy like come on, you couldn't get more perfect than that, he even has his face!) for Sukuna and one made intently for the purpose of his true return and yet... Sukuna chose another one and reincarnated via that one. Lost because of that very choice.

So it's basically the fact that these two were practically perfectly made for each other (spelled out by the story), but unlike their mirrors (Yuta/Rika, Hana/Angel), they never acknowledged it nor chose to accept one another.

Yuuji only accepts Sukuna when it's over, during 268. Fittingly, Sukuna "accepts" Yuuji in the afterlife and to Mahito's face (which is hilarious because Yuuji hated Mahito's guts and Sukuna *of all curses* telling him off too was just chef's kiss).

If you think about it, if Sukuna ever reincarnates (and it's highly probable because of how the door to the shed is open, quite literally open for return), perhaps he'd stumble upon that finger in the Stevenson shed and that is so awfully romantic to me. Considering the placement of the finger being near Yuuji's high school, you could also say that's Yuuji leaving a clue for Sukuna to find him, should he ever reincarnate in this lifetime while he's still alive. If he doesn't, well, at least it could serve as a reminder (to jog his memory if he doesn't remember).

Yuuji got his permanent reminder of Sukuna- right there on his left hand. Hell, he can't even get married because of him (wedding rings are worn on the left hand in Japan and I'm cackling because oh the implications lmfao).

[jenjenpup]

which could mean nothing™️ part 1 (part 2)

[jenjenpup]

[jenjenpup]

Ryomen Sukuna

[jenjenpup]

Choosing North

[jenjenpup]

HELLO HONEY i just saw the full leaks and i don't know what everyone else is thinking i saw some people are sad yuji didn't end up together with sukuna or that yuji wasn't much the focus but. i personally LOVED it? let me explain why its still sukuita soulmatism. would i have liked to hear more of yujis thoughts sure but, his last smile is because of sukuna, he smiled up at the sky before we saw sukuna chose to change, he Felt that sukuna knew what love was and I've been losing it because sukuna literally changed because of yuji he turned his back to mahito whos a curse unlike him hes the manifestation of hating humanity and Chose that next time he'd like to walk a different path, loving others, the way he returned love by comforting uraume because yuji taught him love and as kashimo was saying "how can you return something you've never received" this ending for me wrapped up the whole story in such a sweet way it's not perfect but it's just as much about sukuna as it is about yuji. yuji changed him. and to me the "let's try again" and the "next time it might be nice to walk a different path" are clear signs that the two will reincarnate and be together in the next cycle however that will be we know reincarnation is canon. again this isn't perfect because i personally have many gripes with the story but its such a powerful heartwarming ending still? i take back something i said before i don't think gege hates yuji and sukuna he just probably got overwhelmed with having so many characters he was trying to balance everyone out and writing characters he already knew probably came easier, imo the worst he treated were nobara and megumi, but the last panels of his manga are yuji smiling because of sukuna saying that his finger is now the perfect talisman (something that protects) and sukuna choosing to go north because of him, choosing himself to change instead of yuji forcing him to change, but still because of yuji. im sorry for rambling i wanted to explain my view. what are your thoughts? i hope your day goes well! ❤️ i genuinely didn't expect to get sukuita at the end it made the ending so satisfying to me

hi, jenjen! so sorry for the late reply.

i just saw the full leaks and i don't know what everyone else is thinking i saw some people are sad yuji didn't end up together with sukuna or that yuji wasn't much the focus but. i personally LOVED it?

as much as i'm a huge fan of sukuna and yuuji either living or dying together, i'm also happy that this was the actual ending because it's more than i expected. and honestly it's very fitting for both of them. it really was such a subtle nod that yuuji was the reason why sukuna is headed on a different path, but it's still there and it's amazingly beautiful after everything they've been through together.

would i have liked to hear more of yujis thoughts sure but, his last smile is because of sukuna, he smiled up at the sky before we saw sukuna chose to change, he Felt that sukuna knew what love was and I've been losing it because sukuna literally changed because of yuji he turned his back to mahito whos a curse unlike him hes the manifestation of hating humanity and Chose that next time he'd like to walk a different path, loving others, the way he returned love by comforting uraume because yuji taught him love and as kashimo was saying "how can you return something you've never received"

the way yuuji's last scene is one with so much happiness....

i believe that after spending that much time tied to each other, sukuna and yuuji can still sense at least some of each other's feelings. yuuji looks so hopeful and at ease here. he's gotten through everything alive, with his friends by his side. but more than that, sukuna is no longer so serious a threat.

yuuji says "it's not dangerous anymore." even though the power contained in just one finger is what started this whole series, it's no longer a threat now because i think that sukuna's malice, his hatred, is finally subsiding as he considers a different path. and yuuji, perceptive and empathetic as he is, can sense that.

he's also looking down at his missing fingers, both the ring finger and little finger (i read a really amazing post about that just recently). i feel like the way yuuji is looking almost fondly at those missing fingers (the little finger for a promise and the ring finger for love and loyalty) shows us how much it means to him for sukuna to finally learn love.

him choosing to not restore one of those fingers indicates that he would rather have it missing, almost like an eternal reminder of what he and sukuna were to each other. because he knows that their time together has ended (for now....) but he's accepting of that because he and sukuna are both at peace, finally.

as for how yuuji taught sukuna love, i believe it's because - unlike everyone else - yuuji treated sukuna like a human, something neither gojo or yorozu or the rest did. and i believe that was the first time in a long time, if ever, that sukuna received such empathy.

i noticed in this scene how in his conversation with mahito, sukuna seems so much more open and even willing to reflect back on what he previously believed in. this is completely different how he is hostile or cold to anyone who challenges him. he only ever felt doubt over his ideals when yuuji confronted him, because yuuji alone had the kind of power to affect the unshakeable sukuna in such a way.

i've been a long time believer that sukuna became the king of curses to spite those who deemed him cursed at birth. and it makes sense that he would prey on those same humans (and curses) to not only maintain his status as the strongest, but to also get away from the fact that he almost starved before he was even born. such a horrifying experience more than likely led him to believe early on that only pure strength could protect him from such a fate, and only those at the top deserve that kind of immunity from suffering.

yet i feel like sukuna was suffering. he himself said "i feared my own curse would immolate me." so being the strongest didn't keep him insulated from those feelings, that loneliness and hatred. he couldn't keep being indifferent or 100% hateful either.

and i think sukuna understood that only when yuuji took him on that little date in his special memory mind palace (or whatever his domain is called since we don't know its name).

instead of attacking sukuna or making assumptions about how sukuna feels or projecting his own feelings onto him like gojo or kashimo did, yuuji is instead being open with sukuna, the most open he's been with anyone.

and sukuna is just shocked into silence for most of this. (i like to think his inner voice is freaking out at how intimate yuuji's being with him, recounting the smallest details of his childhood and walking sukuna through his life story).

this scene was particularly interesting because of how yuuji's describing the kind of feelings that come with discovering his first home town was pretty much abandoned, much like how there were so few people to mourn the passing of his grandfather's friend. you would expect someone to feel upset or even shocked about that, but yuuji wasn't. he said he wasn't "shaken" by it. and sukuna's silence, the expression on his face, seem to indicate at least some thought. for someone he called weak, yuuji is proving to be strong. emotionally and mentally because he had a foundation to keep his feelings tethered his whole life: his grandfather. wasuke's care allowed yuuji to be the kind of person he is, and it shows us that yuuji draws his strength from others, contrary to how weak curses come in packs or how sukuna feels like being alone is the only way to be strong.

something i think that did impact sukuna during their date was how yuuji is being emotionally vulnerable with the self-proclaimed king of curses, someone who wants to be seen as an inhuman force of chaos and evil, someone who considers himself above the "suffering of the weak" and the "loneliness of the strongest." sukuna, who claims to put no value on love or fulfillment, yet yuuji is showing him how such little things and memories gave meaning to his own life. he's talking to sukuna like an old friend, he's showing sukuna how he thinks and feels. not because he believes sukuna deep down is the same way (he even admits to knowing better than that, saying he expected sukuna to reject his ideals even before he tried to show them to sukuna) but because he wants to get closer to sukuna, to connect with him.

their souls are tied together. they were practically fated to end up together, and yuuji was made literally for sukuna. the only who could endure sukuna's poison, the only one who could control the king of curses. yet, despite all his advantages and strength over sukuna, yuuji never forces sukuna into anything. he's always given a sukuna a choice: "free megumi and come to me" or "live together with me because i only will accept you." because yuuji understands sukuna. not fully, but more than someone like gojo did, who only ever saw sukuna as an opposition because they were both "the strongest."

and yuuji wanted to understand sukuna more. to give him not just a second chance but to provide that fulfillment that wasuke and yuuji's friends gave to him. the fulfillment that sukuna denied needing. but yuuji understood that sukuna became a monster who ate humans for their "fleeting taste" as a way to pass time until his death because of that lack of fulfillment. (i feel like yuuji understood these basic feelings even if no one explicitly told him what sukuna talked about with kashimo. being so empathetic, i believe yuuji picked up on sukuna's true feelings both during and after the time they shared a body).

but for all that yuuji and sukuna understood each other, sukuna couldn't fully believe or accept yuuji's proposal because he would rather die being seen as the thing he was perceived at from birth on: a curse. he pushed yuuji away, but i have a feeling it was because he simply couldn't conceive of someone caring for him that much.

but yuuji comforted him even during sukuna's death, and held him tenderly. he never forgave sukuna, and he probably never would because yuuji knows that even if sukuna became a monster because of others, sukuna still did terrible things. he didn't offer sukuna redemption: he offered sukuna fulfillment. and that is so much more sincere. yet sukuna turned his proposal down because, though he was touched, it was simply too much for him.

but it did change his outlook. it did finally "free" him from his own curse.

this ending for me wrapped up the whole story in such a sweet way it's not perfect but it's just as much about sukuna as it is about yuji. yuji changed him. and to me the "let's try again" and the "next time it might be nice to walk a different path" are clear signs that the two will reincarnate and be together in the next cycle however that will be we know reincarnation is canon.

i have a strong feeling this isn't the last we'll see of sukuna. and to be honest, i have a crazy hope that this also isn't the last yuuji sees of sukuna. as you said, yuuji was willing for them to "try again" and it seems like to me sukuna has had a change of heart towards yuuji. he might not resist yuuji as much in the next life as he once did.

i think he needed to be away from yuuji in order to really feel something positive about yuuji's words and process everything. and yuuji respected sukuna's decision to die rather than come back to him because they both knew it was too late for them in this life. sukuna and yuuji could coexist, but whether or not they should after all of this is probably something they knew wouldn't happen. even though yuuji would be willing the fight for them, sukuna would probably consider it a form of punishment to be stuck back in the brat (even if he doesn't hate it or even if he comes to love it) because i feel like he would remain bitter about losing for a long time.

but him choosing death has let him have more control over his own choices, and in the next life he might just choose to make his way back to yuuji, too. still, even if yuuji didn't keep sukuna from dying, he still gave sukuna that choice. he showed sukuna he wasn't a true curse like mahito, that sukuna was in fact human and more than just a chaotic force of strength alone. he essentially freed the king of curses from his own curse.

and sukuna looks happier (and softer) because of it.

he's finally giving up on his vengeance. and it was because of yuuji, who he lost to, that he won against his own curse.

i take back something i said before i don't think gege hates yuji and sukuna he just probably got overwhelmed with having so many characters he was trying to balance everyone out and writing characters he already knew probably came easier, imo the worst he treated were nobara and megumi

i agree with you, jenjen.

i feel like the editors/publishers highly discouraged gege from giving more depth to sukuna and yuuji's story together, but gege resisted and gave us amazing interactions anyway, even if they were a bit rushed and sudden. i do feel, however, that gege undervalued yuuji a bit. i can see a personal bias in gege's tendency to spend so much time and focus on yuuta, but other than that it's exactly how you said it: gege was trying to give attention to all the characters, but being rushed certainly didn't help their story at all. yet gege did the best they could, and i think this ending really reflected their writing skills.

i do agree that both nobara and megumi were treated terribly by the narrative, and i wish they were handled better, but at least they're happy and all back together now.

the last panels of his manga are yuji smiling because of sukuna saying that his finger is now the perfect talisman (something that protects) and sukuna choosing to go north because of him, choosing himself to change instead of yuji forcing him to change, but still because of yuji.

i love how this doesn't really feel sinister at all. like it could be just me but it looks almost peaceful how the last finger is just sitting there, with the leaves around it. despite how threatening it looks, yuuji trusts it to be a talisman that protects, not damages.

and it's the perfect way to say yuuji and sukuna have gone their separate ways for now, but there's a chance they'll meet again. they made their choices without either of them being forced into it, but they were still the most significant people in each other's lives: sukuna because he put yuuji through a living hell but also awoke yuuji's sense of purpose and belonging, and yuuji because he led sukuna north and changed their narratives.

all i can think about is how sukuna once screamed that yuuji's future was his. and it's true. sukuna being inside of yuuji changed his entire life, even to this day, because there are still reminders of sukuna with yuuji's missing fingers. but it's also true that yuuji changed sukuna's future as well. they both impacted each other so much, in all the best and worst ways.

there will never be anything quite like them. i'm really going to miss them so much...

hope you've been keeping well, jenjen! thank you so much for the wonderful ask <3

[jenjenpup]

hello there 👋 i really like the way you view things i feel like there's way too much negativity surrounding this ending and not to invalidate anyone i don't think it's perfect but i personally was very satisfied and happy with it, especially with sukuna and yuji which Almost scared me we weren't going to get a conclusion on. isn't it so beautiful that yuji literally changed sukuna to his core? the he literally decided to try a different path in the next life because yuji showed him there's value in life and others outside just passing the time until death? it's such a powerful message for someone who didn't think there was anything more to life than just surviving and satisfying his basic needs. some people take the fact that sukuna didn't accept Yujis offer as a rejection and I wanted to hear your thoughts on this because I don't think that's the case I think sukuna is a very very veryyy stubborn individual that would not back down from his beliefs until he literally died/lost. as mahito said this was a battle of truths. i see so many people saying that's it and they'll part forever but their souls are canonly connected so much so that even other people could sense it like uraume, so much so that in one chapter i think mei mei was fearing that yuji could be unconsciously channeling his thoughts to sukuna via telepathy and give away their plan, while sukuna was possesing megumi! as you pointed out in a prior post and i also noticed yuji literally felt that sukuna was embracing his mindset in the afterlife how insane is that??? he was smiling up at the sky as if he could see him. these two will 10000% find each other in the "next life" and every other after it (and I'm definitely not writing a fic about that exact thing happening or anything) I'm sorry this ask isn't very much an ask tbh i just wanted to bother you because we have similar views jfkdkvj hope your day goes well you don't have to answer 🙏

Hi ... Yeah i agree that it is not the best but it certainly is not bad... But i can understand those who didn't like it as the majority of questions remain unanswered. I myself wanted some answers especially yuji related....what I really like was we were all ready to be disappointed but sukuna yuji again saved us😭😭...... I genuinely felt so relieved when I saw sukuna... I knew gege would give him the conclusion he deserved....

Post chp 237 my only wish for him was that he learns about love (through yuuji) dies satisfied... Like it was bare minimum and gege delivered it which made me so happy...

Although I still feel weird that he did not mention yuuji but at the same time I also can't deny that his calm and gentle expression, him accepting his faults, his wish to try a different path, him comforting and guiding uraume to North , every action of him screams yuuji .. And then him accepting that he has become boring coz he lost is chef's kiss.. You know why???? It's because that is what he used to call yuji 😭😭😭😭.... Even writing this made me feel so warm....Mind you he never called anyone else boring... . This is the level of effect yuji has on him.....

To think that he rejected all opportunities life gave him since he couldn't let go of the resentment he felt all his life... His wounds were so deep that couldn't help but inflict them back..And I understand that because in yorozu's flashback we saw how those heian nobles called him monster even though he was invited there as a "deity" by the emperor himself so we can imagine what he must have gone through when he was a child, weak...You know he went from this to this..

How tired he looks here, so done with life but here he looks so peaceful, composed . Like I can feel it that yuuji freed him from the shackles, from his curse... Him looking forward to trying a new path where he wants to live with someone rather than cursing them is just heartwarming...

Now about the rejection point.... I know many people use it to downplay yuuji's effort but I knew all that would become useless once we get sukuna's conclusion... ... You know this moment is very special because this is the only time we see sukuna being emotionally vulnerable.. Like you will only see his true emotions when he's with yuuji... Any other time his emotions are in control but with yuji his emotions are all over the place.. But I digress...

Well I feel he both accepted and rejected yuuji's offer...He calls yuji's kindness a farce but in the same breath he also acknowledges him.. Now if he believes yuji is acting which that grandpa knows yuji isn't as he has lived with him and said himself in 248 that he knows yuji. than what he's acknowledging him for?? That means either he's lying or it's yuji .which definitely isn't yuji...

And then he said to not underestimate him as he's a curse..notice how he pauses before calling himself a curse.. This is the first time he chose to address himself ..and this is enough to tell us how he views himself.. He enjoys fighting but never once did he call himself the strongest like gojo but a curse coz that's what he thinks of himself subconsciously....

What I felt at this moment was that he was trying to reject yuji by saying it's him who isn't capable of living with others... And yuji shouldn't forget that... later in 271 we did get to know that it's exactly what stopped him from getting help.. He rejected any opportunity to live with others because he wanted to curse others just like how others cursed him..

How I see this is as sukuna didn't want to live with yuji because he doesn't want to become a burden on yuuji especially after what he put yuji through, yuuji wanting to save him doesn't mean yuji should be responsible for him. Yuji finally got free from the burden of being his vessel so he deserves a carefree life..

And sukuna is too mature and proud enough to let yuji a kid bear the burden of his curse and so he chooses to die like a curse (south) so he can start anew as a human (north) .

But he didn't reject yuji completely which is evident in his wish to try a different path and that is to live with others and not curse them like yuji said. Sukuna type people believe in might is the right philosophy so all they need is a good beating to get things through their thick skull... And then all is good..

And If he really hated yuji or was furious at him he would have cursed him or would have rejected him outright like he has done before but he did not....

Although this is my personal opinion, I believe there's more to sukuna yuji that we have yet to see as sukuna went from calling himself a curse to accepting his faults and wishing to try a different path... Plus yuuji was assuring them that the finger is not dangerous and had this gentle look on his face remembering sukuna .. So maybe they did talk more or it's the soul bond ig..

Yes, I am surprised gege didn't give us an explanation on resonance but it definitely was a big issue as juju high literally excluded yuji from their plans.. So something must have caused this..Choso also mentioned in 251 that yuji sukuna souls are combined and that they are special case.. So I am hoping we get some more info..

Honestly I really wanted them to live together in this life but I don't want to complain as my mutual pointed out it was gege who showed us that this idea is feasible in the first place otherwise we all were almost convinced that yuji will die.. ..

Please do not write a fic , and definitely not send me the link, coz I definitely am so not gonna read it 🫣🫣🫣..

It's alright.. I have made this account specifically for sukuna and yuji. So if not them,then who am I even gonna talk about.... I am always ready to yap when it comes to yuji and sukuna..

[jenjenpup]

What if you loved me so much it literally undoomed me haha jk unless