#// womp womp remi get over yourself

[loftycries]

open to everyone / the gala, at approx. 8pm

REMI is not too proud to admit that he had anticipated that this night would go — well, badly isn't exactly the word he's searching for, but it's close. after talking to some colleagues at work earlier in the day, he had been under the impression that everyone would be more or less dreading the event. remi himself had to arrive a little late, as he had to rush to go and get ready in his apartment after work.

he's hovering near the bar, waiting for drinks, but since an hour has already passed since the event began, the bar is currently swarming with guests vying for their own orders. he's not surprised — it's more or less expected at an event that's offering free drinks on a friday night, especially when it's taking place at a location that's as nice as the ritz-carlson.

" i had expected fewer people to be so... thrilled to be here, " he says, more or less under his breath.

[psychewritesbs]

Chapter 167: Tokyo Colony No. 1, part 7: Higuruma’s righteousness + Megumi’s righteousness

Gah, I LOVE Megumi. 

I have absolutely loved seeing Higuruma and getting my fix of my favorite care bear, Yuji, but I was also going through Megumi withdrawals over here. I almost started foaming at the mouth.

Our patience as Megu-stans was rewarded with your usual Megumi bad-assery and with Gege shinning a light on his beautiful character yet again. Life is good--we don’t even have to wait a week for next week’s chapter.

It is indeed a happy JJK-Sunday!

Higuruma’s righteousness

Wait no, where is he going?!

Someone stop him ffs! 

WE LOVE YOU HIROMI! Don’t leave us...

Aaaaaaaaaand he’s gone.... womp womp womp (*cue sad music*).

I figured he could have death flags just for becoming Yuji’s mentor, but this... he JUST came into the picture and Gege gave him an amazing backstory and development as a character and he’s gone just as quickly as he showed up.

I have to say I truly admire Gege for taking the risks he takes in his writing. So far he’s turned the JJK world he built upside down, he’s killed off a number of beloved characters, he’s hiding a couple of super popular and beloved characters, and he’s scarred the faces and bodies of yet more beloved characters.

Basically getting too attached to any character in JJK ultimately leads to heartache...

So it really is no surprise Higuruma is out of the picture (hopefully only for the time being?). 

Above all, I absolutely loved how Gege continues to unfold Higuruma's character right up until the end.

This is a man who has such a blind trust in justice that he will go as far as turning himself in for a crime he committed even when he could just as easily walk away. Talk about being congruent with your values and having the strength of character to walk your talk.

Higuruma is indeed quite the righteous person. And yet, despite having a strong moral compass that points him in the right direction, again, I just cannot emphasize enough how much I love that Higuruma does not see himself as someone who has the right to judge others and dictate what is right or wrong for them (*cough* antis *cough*).

There is a big difference between holding yourself to high moral standards, and holding others to high moral standards without taking the time to understand them. I keep repeating myself, but to me, this is what Higuruma stands for--that willingness to set aside your judgments and lead with heart, lead with compassion. And if I am to be honest, I could learn some lessons from Higuruma’s deeply compassionate character as well. 

Higuruma is deeply compassionate of the duality of being human--of the interplay between our light and our shadow. Unfortunately, that level of compassion comes with a steep cost (just go ask Tokyo Babylon and x/1999’s Sumeragi Subaru).

In the end, Higuruma understands he too is deeply human and as such, just as ugly as he is virtuous. 

Yes Yuji, I felt the same way when he walked away from us.

Megumi’s righteousness

Megumi’s brand of righteousness is very similar to Higuruma’s. In Megumi’s case, however, I would call him a true Knight in shinning armor (mostly because this is what Remi asked of him).

Megumi is someone who, despite constantly being cruel to Remi, despite threatening to kill her, and despite how pissed off he is at her for stabbing him in the back, being the deeply compassionate person that he is, he gives her one more chance.

Perhaps Megumi sees how naive Remi is to blindly trust that someone else would take care of her in a situation like the Culling Game. 

In the end, Remi too is a victim of Kenjaku’s goals and she’s only showing her true colors because she has her back against the wall--so her reaction is only natural.

To me, this is Gege showing a couple of things.

First, people will show their true colors and how weak their character is when under pressure or with their back against the wall. Again, just notice how Higuruma is planning to turn himself in even though he could get away with murderer, and compare that to how Remi is doing something she knows is wrong to keep herself alive but has no problem justifying her actions.

Second, Megumi is the kind of person who has no interest in abusing his power over those he knows he could easily overpower. In other words, he is a benevolent person at heart.

Whatever the case, perhaps Megumi realized he doesn’t want to kill her or has not been pushed into a place that would cause him to cross that line just quite yet.

A line that Gege himself is playing with right now in what could be an attempt to show either how Megumi did or did not go down the path of carnage. 

Gege you tease. Talk about a slow burn...

I just finished reading x/1999 where I saw at least 5 rolling heads and 3 or 4 dismembered corpses (I kind of lost count), so I am sort of itching for some  Megumi in all of his glorious, violent repressed self.

For the time being, Megumi is prioritizing strategy and has not let his anxiety (which we have seen escalate in previous chapters) get the better of him just yet.

Other random thoughts

Right. I have to ask again. Am I the only one who thinks things are unfolding rather well for our boys? Like... too good to be true given this is Gege Akutami we’re talking about here.

At the rate things are going, the two rules will be implemented just as planned. But, something is bound to go wrong at some point. The question is when and how.

We already knew Kenny is up to no good but Gege is starting to flesh out what that means in the big scheme of JJK-things.

This makes me curious because of the deadlock in Tokyo Colony No. 2 and how Tokyo Colony No. 1 could be headed in that direction with Yuji, Higuruma and Megumi at the top. Maybe Gege will show that Mr. Fashionable Receipts is indeed strong (he did hurt Kon after all, poor puppy) or another strong character is introduced.

Also, what’s with the Chinese? Do I smell more political commentary in the air? This reminded me of Shinichiro Watanabe making commentary about America’s meddling with Japanese politics in Zankyou no Terror.

And, of course, who the hell goes around throwing eye balls in the air?

I’ve heard there is speculation that it could be either Nobara or Gojo. I have no wild guesses to make about this one but I have my doubts that it’s either of them. 

But hey, I could be wrong. Let’s wait to find out until next week!

Until then, happy JJK-Sunday!

Thank you as always for reading, liking and reblogging my nerdery.