#Yuuji’s reaction is what killed me tbh

[kingofanemptyworld]

I cried more reading BNHA 422 than I did JJK 259, I think I’ve legit become desensitized to people dying in this series

[hxhhasmysoul]

I saw a post about yuji not having a sense of self and his cog mentality and he needs to first save himself, I would like to know what you think of it and if you agree then how will yuji gain it back?

Tbh I am asking this because having a sense of self is equivalent to having a strong soul in jjk which is basically to understand ourselves thoroughly and yuji knows himself. He already possesses a high sense of self which is to help/save people and because he doesn't want to die alone that's why he was able to suppress sukuna and sukuna also acknowledges that yuji's soul is indomitable/ unbreakable.it never changed. Like remove him from jujutsu world and he still would do something similar to that, gege also said if not sorcerer he would be a firefighter saving people.. He lost his will to fight but as soon as to do showed him a thread to hold on he took that instantly .same happened when todo appeared a second time and yuji was worried about others being killed

I personally see his cog mentality as his coping mechanism because sukuna and mahito destroyed his perception regarding curses and jujutsu world,his reason to fight kind of like until shibuya he never really understood the reason why he has to die as vessel .. They kind of opened his eyes and showed him what he is actually up against. It's just like mahito said that this wasn't some kind of pest control , he isn't naive but he repeatedly failed in his goal which weakened him. His desire to save people is both his strength and weakness.

Even when yuta wanted to kill him he defended himself although half heartedly , he even then didn't want to die ,was looking for reasons to save people and that is before megumi showed up . And he started to rely on others more. Even hakari notices that he calls himself cog but his behavior isn't like one... Megumi is the perfect example of cog.... I am waiting for his reaction to yujo to determine whether now he will finally acknowledge the reality of the jujutsu world and try to take matters into his own hands..

I mean, if Yuuji ever truly lost his sense of self and his strong soul, Sukuna would’ve taken over because that’s how that vessel business goes.

I agree that the cog mentality was a defence mechanism. Mahito did force Yuuji to admit to wanting to kill instead of save, and right after as you mentioned Sukuna’d made Yuuji realise why he needs to die. And then Megumi decided to make Yuuji feel more guilty for everything that had happened, because I’m sure Megumi felt super fucking guilty for releasing Makora. Megumi expected two people to die, Haruta and himself, not the whole fucking district becoming a crater. So he tries to spread the blame. 

And the cog mentality helps to deal with guilt. It absolves to some extent because it lets both Megumi and Yuuji offload some of the responsibility onto greater powers and the jujutsu system. 

And you’re absolutely right about Yuuji. The thing about him is that his core convictions are unshakable. He always values human life even if he stumbles, even if it’s not 100% selfless. 

To me that’s a very nice portrayal of someone who is heroic, because it feels true. It’s not mindless, it’s not divorced from who he is or what he’s going through. He wants to save people but he is allowed his weaknesses, he’s allowed to fear and to not want to die while at the same time saying he’s ready to die to take Sukuna with him. He’s human, not an icon so he is full of contradictions. To me it makes his attempts to protect others more sincere because they come with him constantly trying to reconcile his inner contradictions, it is his strength and his weakness. He constantly rebuilds his sense of self because life makes it clear to him that it’s impossible to be just selfless and pure and good. That’s inhuman and Yuuji is amazingly human and a good person. He probably doubts the latter but I think that a part of being a so-called “good person” is being aware of your own limitations and actually being open to the world around you. Like not deciding up front what is good and what is bad and sticking to it no matter what, even if the world gets complicated around you. I don’t know if it makes sense XD But a strong sense of self to me is not something rigid and static, it's something that constantly grows with the person. That constantly reconciles the self and the world that the self is a part of. And it is one that isn't afraid of reality.

Yuuji wins with Mahito because Mahito thinks that his soul can adjust to anything but it actually can’t. He manages to bring darkness out of Yuuji and Mahito’s world changes. He was the nihilist to toy with everyone, the one to torment Yuuji’s soul. He was the strong one in that relationship but instead of breaking Yuuji, he created a monster. His sense of self was built on human life being meaningless, souls being a dime a dozen but suddenly his own soul is on the line. He can’t be nihilist about his own soul, it’s an inner contradiction he can’t reconcile in the moment. Another being that from a predator he became just a curse, like all other curses hunted by a sorcerer. Curses seem to think that because they can’t lie, they always see the truth. But truth comes from perception, as long as something seems true to someone it’s not a lie. And it’s a huge shock to realise you haven’t seen the whole truth even when you were so convinced you are the ultimate truth seer because you could see souls. 

Yuuji manages to incorporate the contradiction Mahito forces onto him into his sense of self. Also I won’t get into it but I personally find the equivalence between humans and curses as kinda forced and not truly holding up to scrutiny upon inspection. 

Sorry it took me so long to answer. Thank you for the ask. I hope my answer makes sense XD

[voxofthevoid]

if it's not too late for the ask game, yuta/rika and geto/yuuji? (and just for fun: kenjaku/yuuji's dad?)

Still playing it, dw! And ah, these will be fun:

Yuuta/Rika

Ship It

What made you ship it?

I support the monsterfuckers by default. Get it, Yuuta!

In all seriousness, this isn't something I'd actively think about or seek out, but I like the weird, fucked-up mess this is in canon. The trauma-prompted creation of Rika and how she stays with Yuuta for years as an extremely powerful monster with the mentality of a child—it's a cool concept.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

The monsterfuckery, of course. In general, it amuses me greatly that Yuuta's type seems to be "inhuman special-grade curse." He kisses two "people" onscreen, and it's Rika and Kurourushi. I still think they should've let him out into the battlefield when Mahoraga and Agito entered the picture. Flash some dick/hole, save the day.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I think every word I say about Yuuta's sexuality would piss off his Reddit-type stans; does that count?

Yuuji/Getou

Don’t Ship It

Warning for my rather vehement dislike of Getou popping up below.

Why don’t you ship it?

The only thing I ship Getou with is a lobotomy.

What would have made you like it?

I'll be honest, Getou's pretty enough that I'd have sniffed around him (in this context, sniffing around involves writing Yuuji dicking him down) if not for his more...hardcore fans tainting the whole character for me. I was never his fan, but I find him to be interestingly written, especially pre-defection when he still had functional brain cells, and I might have delved into that some. I still do, but mostly in the form of past!stsg or just through Gojou's thoughts.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

I do think that, in a senpai-kouhai AU or in a time travel scenario, Yuuji and Getou would have very interesting interactions. They have similar (not the same) ideologies born out of very different mentalities, and those alone would lead to some insightful conversations. Yuuji's reaction to his defection and its rationale would also be fun to explore from various angles.

Kenjaku/Jin

Ship It

What made you ship it?

The Kaorijaku reveal, 'nuff said. Seriously, that blew my mind and did all sorts of ungentlemanly things to my perception of JJK overall.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

I love Kenjaku and think they deserve a husband who looks at them wearing his wife's corpse like a pretty sleeve and goes, "This Is My Normal Wife Who Totally Didn't Die. Let's Make A Baby." I'd also love to know whether, when, and how Kenjaku killed Jin. We don't know if they did, just that Wasuke was afraid of it. Clearly, they left Yuuji before Jin passed, and it could have been an unrelated incident, but I'd prefer it if Kenjaku did kill him.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Tbh the only opinions I see on Kenjaku/Jin are those of @cursedvibes, and I enjoy his takes on them. If there are larger conversations about this ship in the fandom, I remain blissfully unaware.

Ask can be found game here.

[empress-simps]

Hi💖! Can I have a scenario with JJK boys ( gojo, sukuna, itadori, megumi, inumaki ) with gn! Reader who is very soft, cute and innocent. At first glance they look like they couldn't even hurt a fly or know a single swear word but in battlefield they change completely by absolutely have no mercy on their enemies and a motherfcking badass?? I enjoyed your squishy cheeks scenario and I hope you can do mind! I hope you take your time and do whatever most important to you first ༼ つ ◕‿◕ ༽つ (*＾3＾)/～♡

Having a s/o who's soft but a badass in the battlefield

▪︎Featuring: Itadori Yuuji, Fushiguro Megumi, Inumaki Toge, Gojo Satoru and Ryomen Sukuna from Jujutsu Kaisen

▪︎Pronoun: They/Them [Gn! Reader]

▪︎Genre: Comedy, Humor, Flyff and a lil bit crack

▪︎Warnings: uhhh violence? language and Slight nsfw in sukuna if u squint

note: Hello! Thanks for reading my work I appreciate it! and tbh the squishy cheeks are also one of my faves I'm sorry if this took so long I wanna write the scenario I think that will suit them sooo- Enjoy! Hope this was what u had in mind

》 Jujutsu Kaisen Masterlist

》 Main Masterlist

How dare you decieve this literal sunshine :<

When you charged at the special grade curse he felt like he was about to die again.

"NO! Y/N!" He shouted, voice raw and full of desperation as he tried to catch up with you but Megumi pulled him back.

"What are you doing!? Let me go! They might die! I-i can't lose them!" He yelled, trying to get put of Megumi's clutches as he could only watch in horror as you charged to the curse.

Yuuji turned limp into Megumi's arms as he saw you battle the curse with fierceness and a dangerous edge on you. He turned into the paper thingy HHAHAHAH

"W-what just happened..?" He stammered, eyes still transfixed on your form as you ran to him smiling and cheering.

"Did you saw me fight the curse Yu?! I took it down!" You cheered and spun around with him, sparkles somehow floating around you. Kugisaki tried to hide her laugh as she watched you spin around while Itadori just kinda... floats? He probably traumatized poor boi got a heart attack-

He still haven't recovered from the shock but he managed to stammer out a 'Yes'. He's still Paper! Itadori

He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that you become an entirely different person when you fight.

He would probably shit himself if you ever get angry at him.

Ahhh my baby-

His reaction would be: 👁👄👁

Ope, sorry but he would clearly under estimate you. Not that it's intentional, he just thinks that you need his protection 24/7 because you just look so innocent and like you couldn't hurt a fly.

Oh how wrong he was.

Turns out he's the one that needs saving-

When he thought that he was done for, you suddenly kicked the curse in the face, seething. He almost thought you had an evil twin since he can't believe that's you.

"You thought you could get Megumi? Hah, fucker, DIEEEE!"

ExCuse mE wHaT wHy iS bAkugOu's SiBLiNg hErE-

Fushiguro just blinks at you while you fight the curse without even breaking a sweat, and did you curse?! He always thought his baby couldn't hurt someone but you're out there killing in cold blood-

It somehow warms his heart since you really care but he's kinda shaken to his core.

"Are you okay?!" You rushed to him and rubbed your cheek against his. "I was so worried! Don't worry! I'll watch your back so you won't get hurt!" You kissed his cheek, and just like that, any trace of you being an absolute op vanished.

He stammered, trying to ask a ton of questions but failing to.

Welp, It looks like he's the one that needs saving.

"Go honey! Screw them up! Kill them all!" Gojo let out a grin and cheered for you in the sidelines as he waved his arms around. This bitch i-

You giggled and grabbed your weapon, ready to show off to your clueless and worried students. "Of course! Wish me luck babe!"

"U-uhmm, Gojo sensei.." Yuuji gulped, worried for you. Even though he knows you're a special grade sorcerer he can't help but worry for you.

In the background you can already see them worry and being nervous

Gojo hummed, "They'll be alright! I know my baby can handle it!"

And just as he finished the sentence, you exorcised the curse succesfully. As you neared them, you have a shit eating grin plastered on your face as you took in the fsces of your students.

"We should invite L/n sensei next time when we spar!" Kugisaki suggested to her blindfolded teacher who just chuckled nervously in response.

"I would love to but-"

"He knows I'll beat his ass." You cackled, like kuroo as you looked over your lover who looked like he would pass out in embarassment.

"I did not brag you to our students just for you to bring me down."

Toge groaned in pain as blood spills out from his wound, rendering him immobile. When he found you rushing towards him he widened his eyes and shook his head rapidly, telling you to get far away as the curse is much stronger than they thought to be.

When he saw the curse approaching you and preparing to strike he felt himself grow cold as he desperately tries to use his voice, even though he already reached his limit. He felt tears prick his vision as he watched in pain in what he thought will be the end of you.

AAAACK DON'T CRY

Sliced.

Into thousand pieces. The curse didn't stand a chance against your speed and precision as you succesfully exorcised it.

He blinked; once, twice, a couple times, he couldn't really process what he was seeing.

You panted, hands on ur legs as you bent down to cath your breath. "That was a close one.." He stared in disbelief as your dangerous aura vanished and you approached him with a smile. "Are you okay? Can you stand baby?"

He shook his head "B-bonito Flakes." Then giving you a look that you better explain what just happened. You chuckled sheepishly, a cute but nervous smile appearing as you scratched the back of your head.

"Yes yes... I know I have to explain but let's get you patched up first okay?"

Never did he thought he would fall for a soft person. Not even once. Since he always find those types not worthy to gain his precious attention.

He figured out that there was something wrong with him since he's usually like more edgy type of person. Turns out he was wrong.

When he saw you in action he can't help but smirk and wolf whistle at you. He's also turned on but he wouldn't admit it outloud (save Yuuji cuz he's so ashamed by Sukuna's actions)

"Damn babe, you didn't tell me you weren't a damsel in distress-"

Sukuna didn't know if it was intentional that he got hit by your weapon, but when you apologized to him he automatically thinks that it was an accident.

"Oh no! Suku, are you okay?!" You fussed over him, trying not to burst out laughing so you won't blow your cover. He groaned in pain, you didn't exacly injure him since you'd feel bad when Yuuji takes over so that will do.

"Does it look like it?" He mumbled, not yelling since he doesn't want you to be upset with him. He becomes a putty in your hands, that's how much he's willing to do anything for you.

"I-im sorry but HHAHAHAH YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN YOUR FACE SUKU!" You booped his nose as he scowled, "You... I'll wreck you!"

You giggled, flashing him a cute smile and wink as you ran away, Sukuna hot on your heels.

You snickered, "Sure you will, honey."

[stephanythedramaqueen]

For the ask game (and if this is valid):

001. Jujutsu Kaisen

002. Zutara

003. Aleksander Morozova

— 💋

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my: Jujutsu Kaisen

Favorite character: The number one menace to society; Gojo Satoru.

Least Favorite character: Kenjaku. Give Suguru his body back, Kenny.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Gee, I don't have a lot of JJK ships. SatoSugu for sure!! GojoHime a close second. (I actually have a lot of GojoHime brainrot currently) ItaFushi definitely! They're so cute. And YuutaMaki bc they are the GOAT power couple. One is a descendant of Michizane no Suguwara and is as powerful as his very very distant cousin Satoru, and the other completely Uchiha Itachi'd her clan without a single curse technique. Queen behavior.

Character I find most attractive: my first gut reaction is to say GOJO, as I should tbh. But we've all seen Toji, and that dude ain't even animated yet! All the clout he's gained is deserved. idk what Gege was thinking when he was drawing Toji but he sure as fuck knew what he was doing. 😏

Character I would marry: Call me Mrs. Gojo Satoru. He is tall, he's hot af and he's filthy rich. Crazy, stupid rich. If being the strongest wasn't working for him, his deep pockets surely will lmaoooo

Character I would be best friends with: Yuuta. Because he's so shy and adorable, I would love and protect him. This was very hard bc I wanted to choose Yuuji, who is sunshine personified.

a random thought: JJK fandom grossly doesn't know how Gojo's Infinity technique works, it annoys the fuck outta me. In fact, there's so much misinformation about JJK in general such as the No One Can See Sukuna's Marks on Yuuji theory which is debunked in the text itself but it's still regarded as canon, when it's not.

An unpopular opinion: I don't ship Toji and his wife. I ship Toji with MEEE lololol

My Canon OTP: Gojo and I are canon every night in my dreams. JJK doesn't have a lot of canon ships and they sure as hell ain't my OTP but Miwa x Kokichi was sweet.

My Non-canon OTP: I mean SatoSugu is practically canon.

Most Badass Character: Sukuna or Toji idk. Sukuna for being such a wild threat to people that he couldn't even be killed nor destroyed as a curse. Toji bc that mf brought a glock to fight a dragon. And he WON!

Most Epic Villain: Sukuna! All these basic curses and sorcerers wished they were on his lvl. Peasants.

Pairing I am not a fan of: Suguru x Shoko. I just… nah. I don't like it. Utahime x Nanami. I love Nanami but I find him boring to be a love interest. Anyone x Mei Mei. She's a bad bitch, but she's pretty shady and an asshole (and also really creepy with her brother) lol

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): JJK is so young a manga yet, it hasn't really done any misses for now. But there's a lot Gege can and actually should expand on before he ends the manga. I really wanna see more politics within jujutsu society. Worldbuilding and lore on the Great Three clans. Flashbacks to Heian period society and its sorcerers. More jujutsu clans that aren't the three main ones, like Inumaki. And also, I'm biased so I want to see Utahime's curse technique before I die and it should absolutely be badass. (also revealing how and when she got that scar)

Favourite Friendship: Nobara/Yuuji/Megumi!! they are BESTIES in a way that Shoko/Suguru/Satoru has never been

Character I most identify with: Miwa. I, too, have an super mega gigantic crush on Gojo Satoru. And I, too, would likely get my butt whooped by Maki.

Character I wish I could be: Tsukumo Yuki. One of the only four special grade sorcerers, she don't even do shit, but still gets payed big money and she looks good doing it. Love that for her, wish that was me. Also her spending quality time with Choso. What a lucky gal.

002 | Send me a ship and I will tell you: Zutara

When I started shipping them: Zutara? Oh boy, it all started a long time ago, when I was 13/14 years old when ATLA was still airing. More than a decade later, and I'm still shipping them.

My thoughts: bryke missed out on the greatest love story that could have ever been told on American TV.

What makes me happy about them: the fact that they are complete opposites and still so much alike. fire/water, blue/red, awkward turtleduck/fierce opinionated baddie– and yet both are incredibly righteous to help people, both are loud and have a temper and have absolutely the worst, lousiest sense of humor. The way they understand each other, the way they both had to grow individually and how they grew together. Nah, they're perfect, your honor.

What makes me sad about them: the fact that they were denied the opportunity to heal the world together. If the comics are to be believed (and I do NOT consider them canon) Zuko spiraled into loneliness and distrustfulness after the end of the war. While there was a whole bunch of nonsense in those comics, something which is absolutely true bc it's just something repeated in history again and again; a sudden change in regime will always have detractors; some more violent than others. So assassination attempts on Zuko's life is something that definitely would have happened. It's unfortunate he went through that alone. And if LoK is to be believed, Katara didn't do much in terms of reformation post war besides being Aang's GF/Wife. The disrespect. Nothing would have been a better show of unity than having the Fire Lord marrying a woman from the SWT and then they do everything to heal and regrow their communities together. Worlds of potential wasted there.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: Bashing Aang. I do NOT fuck with that. Aang is a sweetie, innocent little bean. I understand he would have some emotional distress at Zutara, but fics bashing him or writing him completely OOC in lieu of Zutara is a no-go. I immediately skip. We love supportive, grown-out-of-his-childhood-crush Aang, not whatever the fuck some authors do with him to make Zuko look like the better option for Katara.

Things I look for in fanfic: Usually fix-it fics. But I'm a sucker for arranged marriage AU

My wishlist: I go back in time and somehow create ATLA when I was a kid and pitched it to Nick instead.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Jet. Both of them. Jetkotara is god tier!

My happily ever after for them: Fire Lord Zuko and his consort Katara, being so fantastic at repairing the world and ushering a golden age of peace and prosperity, that they're canonized into legend and protective spirits centuries down their line. Kind of like Oma and Shu, people make art about them, stories are told and rewritten about their love for each other, statues are erected in their honor, kids named after them, cities retitled because of them etc. forever after.

003 | Give me a character & I will tell you: Aleksander Morozova

How I feel about this character: Aleksander, you deserve so much more than these books.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Alina doesn't deserve him either, but their symbolism together is so beautiful. And Nikolai with Sasha, that handsome bastard!

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Sasha and Ivan. Ivan really was his ride and die, till the end. Wish we had Aleksander's POV to know how he felt about his death.

My unpopular opinion about this character: He shoulda fucked Elizaveta. And let Alina suffer the consequences of being a Grisha for a few centuries on her own. That'll teach her.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: He became the motherfucker TSAR! And won! And saved his people from death and persecution all around the world! Made his country flourish in culture and technology. Lived forever, yes. But happily. Knowing that no other child have to suffer fear and torture ever again the way he had when he was young

Favorite friendship for this character: Sasha and Nikolai and David. Completely fanon, but the potential of all three of their dynamics together would be hilarious, chaotic and ingenious.

My crossover ship: Aleksander Morozova, the Darkling, the Black General, descendant of Ilya Morozova and the Starless Saint x the Queen of Fire and Blood herself; Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, Queen of the Andals and the First Men. Protector of the Seven Kingdoms. Queen of Meereen. Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea. Mother of Dragons, The Unburnt, and the Breaker of Chains. They would have too many titles between them lmao but they would absolutely rule like no other has before and they're the power duo of all power duos.

Thank you for this! I had a blast ranting and I will always wanna rant more lol. This was fun.

[animayelmao]

Inumaki and Curse Seals

JJK Chapter 137 Theories/Questions

I noticed something about Inumaki while reading and.... I’m a little confused about what the implications are? So, naturally, I wrote up this super long post exploring different theories, lmao

Spoilers primarily for chapter 137 of the manga, but there are definitely spoilers for further chapters. 

so... what’s going on with the bandages used on Inumaki’s injury?? When I first saw this panel, I was immediately suspicious bc his bandages/wrappings look exactly like a seal: 

I even went back to chapter 1 and the markings on Inumaki’s bandages look nearly identical to the seal on Sukuna’s finger:

The previous uses of these type of seal/talisman have been to “seal curses and mediate cursed energy,” and I can only assume that this is a possible use for the seals on Inumaki’s injuries as well.  

 So, I guess my real question is: why would they seal Inumaki’s injury? I thought about it a little more, and have come up with some possible solutions as to why:

The first (and weakest) theory is:

1. Shoko’s healing techniques use curse seals to function. Or, she just uses curse seals as bandages for injuries done by curses, as a means of preventative care. Meaning, she wrapped Inumaki’s wounds in talisman in order to ensure that no adverse reactions would come from Sukuna injuring him. 

This theory is like, the least satisfying. But it would also be super funny if it was correct, because then it would mean that I’m really just overthinking this whole thing. However, knowing Gege Akutami’s storytelling methods, it feels more important that Inumaki is wrapped up in curse seals than just “Shoko is being a cautious, good physician.” 

Additionally, Shoko’s technique apparently allows her to “restore destroyed limbs” (not sure how true this is, given that we haven’t seen it in the manga), so... why isn’t Inumaki’s limb restored?

This question leads me to my second theory:

2. Sukuna’s Domain Expansion in Shibuya really fucked Inumaki’s shit up (y’know, past the whole ‘cutting his arm off’ thing) and has left him with some bad cursed symptoms. Since his injury is sealed, this theory assumes that Sukuna’s use of his “Cleave” attack during his Domain Expansion is leeching Inumaki of his cursed energy. These paper seals, in this case, would be to “fend off poison with poison by using one curse [the talisman/seal] to seal another [Sukuna’s hypothetical Domain Expansion curse].” 

The issue with this is that nowhere in the manga has Sukuna’s “Cleave” attack left symptoms on its victim.... besides death. Cleave is a slashing attack that adjusts itself depending on the target's toughness and cursed energy level, and it usually cuts its opponent down in one fell swoop. Clearly, this was not the case with Inumaki, who seemed to have barely been in range (literally just his left arm, poor guy) of Sukuna’s Doman Expansion: 

So, is it possible that Sukuna’s use of Cleave on Inumaki’s arm is leeching him of his cursed energy and this is the reason why he needs to seal it? I’m not sure; it seems like Inumaki is literally the only survivor of Sukuna’s Cleave attack that we know of. It’s a possibility, and maybe the most probable explanation? This could also be a great explanation/justification as to why Shoko (or even Yuuta?) is unable to restore Inumaki’s limb (again, this is assuming that the jjk wiki is right in claiming that Shoko’s abilities can restore limbs)

However, I have more theories. My third (and most complex) theory is:

3. The elders/higher-ups of the Jujutsu world are terrible (duh) and are using Inumaki as an incentive for Yuuta to act according to their will. The following pages in the manga (chapter 137) seem to support this idea:

This chapter begins with Yuuta killing curses to prove to the elders that he can be trusted as Yuuji’s executioner, and that he will follow their commands. But why would Yuuta even need to gain their trust? Couldn’t they get someone else to execute Yuuji? Clearly not, if they choose Yuuta over anyone else; in my mind, this means that Yuuta is the only person strong enough to execute Sukuna’s vessel, and so, the elders need to be completely certain that Yuuta will kill Yuuji instead of joining his side. In their minds (and rightfully so, lmao), if Yuuta and Yuuji are on the same side and against them, it can mean serious trouble. 

So, clearly, the elders need to ensure that Yuuta will kill Yuuji. They even have Yuuta enter a binding vow with them to be certain that he kills Yuuji. In my mind, using Inumaki in his injured state is a perfect incentive to make sure that Yuuta follows their orders. As of right now, the specifics of the binding vow that Yuuta enters haven’t been disclosed; so, perhaps Inumaki is part of said vow? 

Binding vows with others have to benefit both parties; if Yuuta kills Yuuji (benefitting the elders), then Yuuta must also benefit from the other party in return. Given the fact that Yuuta brings up Inumaki and his injury right after proposing a binding vow, I want to assume that Yuuta’s profit from the vow would involve Inumaki in some way. Perhaps he gets access from the elders to heal Inumaki? The possibilities are endless. 

For a boy who values the relationships he has with his friends (arguably his closest friend?), using a threat towards Inumaki/the promise of helping Inumaki is the perfect motivation for Yuuta to kill Yuuji. 

Personally? This is my favourite theory because it’s angsty and I live for this kind of stuff. Not only this, but it also feels like a possibility because of the strife that’s going on in the Jujutsu world right now. If the elders can’t trust Yuuta to perform his duties as Yuuji’s exorcist, then it makes sense that they would use Inumaki as leverage to ensure that Yuuta does what he’s told to.  

But, then, even more questions are raised at this point: 

1. what do the curse seals do to Inumaki, if they are put on him?

In this case, it seems like the curse seals wouldn’t be used in the same way as the previous theory (which is to fight a hypothetical Sukuna curse off). Rather, these curse seals would probably be used to stop Inumaki from using his cursed energy entirely; just like how they stopped the cursed energy in Sukuna’s fingers early on in the story.  

This theory would explain why neither Shoko nor Yuuta could heal Inumaki’s arm-- assuming that the talisman isn’t there directly because of something that Sukuna is doing to Inumaki. We see in Volume 0 that Yuuta’s reversed curse technique saves Maki’s incredibly mangled leg and fixes it to its original state. Additionally, even more recently in Chapter 143, Yuuta uses the same technique to heal Naoya: 

This theory leads me to believe that Yuuta can (again, assuming that Sukuna isn’t actively leeching Inumaki’s cursed energy or something else) heal Inumaki’s arm, but is unable to do so because of the higher ups in the Jujutsu world. If they are using Inumaki as a pawn to ensure that Yuuta kills Yuuji, of course they wouldn’t let Yuuta heal Inumaki. (Now, this is all assuming that Yuuta is able to fix injuries hours or days after they occur, as we’ve only seen him heal injuries right after they have been done. This could be another reason why Yuuta can’t heal Inumaki’s arm, lmao).

My biggest counter to this is: what happens if Inumaki just... takes the curse seal off? wouldn’t they stop being effective?

So, (and this makes the most sense, tbh), perhaps the curse seals are there because of some funky Sukuna business (as mentioned in theory 2), which serves as a primary motivator for Yuuta to enter a vow with the elders in the first case. In this way, theory 2 and 3 would be combined. If Sukuna is hurting Inumaki in some way, the elders can be using this to coerce Yuuta into a binding vow that would help Inumaki once Yuuta carries out his executioner duties.

One of the possible problems I have with this theory is that it is maybe very contingent upon where the fuck Inumaki is even at. In chapter 144 when everyone is reunited with Maki, Inumaki isn’t there. But, Inumaki is (probably) awake and recovering from his injuries in the single panel we see of him in chapter 137. So... where is he? If he is anywhere besides at Jujutsu High, I assume he is in the possession of the higher ups. Which would explain a lot, and how particularly downtrodden Inumaki looks in the panel (besides the fact that he got his arm cut off, obviously). Yet, nobody seems too concerned about him, which maybe means that he’s probably (hopefully?) with everyone at Jujutsu High-- just offscreen with Panda or smthn). 

But, to defend this theory, Yuuta seems to be in contact with both the elders and Jujutsu High, so maybe it’s the same deal with Inumaki? Inumaki doesn’t necessarily need to be in the possession of the higher ups in order for them to infringe upon him. Especially in tumultuous times like these, in which Gojo and Principle Yaga are not there to protect the students, and there is now some sort of Culling Game going on?? Essentially, what I’m getting at is that the higher ups are extremely in power right now. Even if Inumaki isn’t with them physically, they still may have a large influence over what happens to him.     

One of the actual problems I have with this theory is that Yuuta “killing” Yuuji and being unable to supply his body would mean trouble for Inumaki. In chapter 143, Naoya gets healed by Yuuta in exchange for promising to tell his superiors that Yuuji is dead... but, would they believe this without evidence (aka, Yuuji’s body)? If they do, then good! Yuuta saves both Yuuji and Inumaki, and all is well. But if they don’t believe this and demand Yuuji’s corpse, then Inumaki is definitely in danger once the higher ups find out. Or, if the binding vow didn’t register Yuuji’s temporary death by Yuuta, that would mean great harm would be done to Inumaki, probably. 

I’m just not sure if Yuuta would even bargain Inumaki like that? But, the fact that Yuuta makes Naoya tell their superiors, rather than reporting directly to them himself seems to prove that Yuuta believes Naoya’s word is enough. Regardless, Yuuta seems confident that the binding vow he made with the superiors was completed by “killing” Yuuji-- regardless of whether Inumaki is involved with the vow or not.

Granted, it seems that Yuuta has changed a bit since coming back, so we’ll see. Maybe he is extremely confident in himself now, to the extent that he is willing to bargain something like Inumaki’s wellbeing in a binding vow. Who knows?

Of course, I have to confess that I understand that I am giving little mind to translation when giving these theories; I read the English translated version of the manga, so I can only make assumptions with the material I have. Maybe I’m missing something crucial because of this?

Anyways. These are the theories I have right now! I know this post was extremely long-winded, but if I didn’t write all this out, I was going to Explode. This is literally all I have been thinking about since I saw the panel with Inumaki. If anyone else wants to talk about this by adding to my ideas or poking holes in them, PLEASE do. I need to know that I’m not the only person thinking about this, omg.