#gege taking out all the characters that make his manga interesting one by one like dominos lol

[yioh]

the bfs are matching guys <333

[exo-raskreia]

Thoughts & Speculations On Utahime In The Shinjuku Showdown Arc

WARNING: MANGA SPOILERS & HIGH LEVELS OF COPIUM

There are theories going around about Gojo's potential revival & subsequent defeat of Sukuna. Several are interesting & seemingly possible. However, I've hardly seen any involving Utahime & her potential role in all this. While I shouldn't be hoping for anything in this manga 😩, I couldn't help but get some ideas.

With some of the theories out there, I wouldn't want Gojo to sacrifice part of his power in order to come back. But who knows at this rate...? Would Gege let him come back even more powerful? Or only temporarily before losing all, half, or some of his power? I don't want him to lose an eye or something like that... 😮‍💨

Once he returns, what will be the next step to defeat Sukuna? Gojo may get a new power-up or even has something else up his sleeve that he hasn't revealed yet.

This is why I wonder if Utahime could still have a role to play in this arc. She's the only character involved who hasn't gotten a flashback yet with, or in regards to, Gojo. She hasn't even spoken a word! Does this mean anything? Is Gege withholding something important? Will it come into play at all?

She's barely had any screen/panel time & was absent for 3 arcs spanning several chapters since Shibuya. Gege finally revealed her CT for the biggest fight of Gojo's life against the King of Curses. She helped Gojo achieve 200% Hollow Purple along with Gakuganji, while Ijichi hid them from Sukuna's view with a barrier.

They really come in a set, don't they? Every one of her appearances is related to Gojo. She is bound to him. So you see, we may next see her whenever Gojo is about to, or has already, returned.

Neither her, Gakuganji or Ijichi have reappeared since.

It's been 20+ chapters now & we know nothing of their status. Is this the last time we'll see them, especially Utahime, in action? Do they still have another role to play? They have not been shown to be back with the others at HQ, which implies they're still out on the battlefield.

What have they been doing all this time? Watching the fight unfold? Is it just taking them a while to head back to HQ? Or could it be that they're potentially doing something important?

Chapter 244 showcased a flashback scene with the other characters having a meeting before the fight regarding the possibilities of Gojo's defeat. Neither GojoHime, Gakuganji or Ijichi were seemingly present.

Unless the two people behind Shoko here could be either of them? The one in black could be Gojo & next to him is Utahime, or could it be Gakuganji?

If not, this could imply they were doing planning of their own, maybe in a separate room. That planning is the key.

Clearly, GojoHime (& maybe Gakuganji) must've practiced the Hollow Purple throughout the weeks-long timeskip since Gojo's unsealing. But is that all they did? Is there something else that they planned? The fact they're not back at HQ could imply this. It almost seems deliberate that there's no involvement of them with the others... unless Gege really doesn't care.

Gojo told Sukuna at the beginning of their fight that he did some "special training."

What could this special training be? It hasn't been brought up again. Did it involve Utahime & maybe Gakuganji? This further showcases that Gojo's role isn't over yet.

Now, there are theories that Shoko may heal Gojo with her RCT. If so, could Uta help by buffing her to make it quicker & more effective?

We know so little about Uta's CT. Gege stated singing is a big part of it (unless it's just the chanting?). Could it be used for healing (kinda like Rapunzel from Tangled, lol)? What about offensive abilities? How else would she be a Semi-Grade 1 sorcerer if she can't fight on her own? Is it possible, though? We know she has good reflexes based on her encounter with Haruta at the Goodwill Event. Maybe she's good at hand-to-hand combat & wielding weapons? Heck, can she weaponize her voice like a siren?

When Uta buffs someone, does her cursed energy cover them like a blanket? Does it feel a certain way? Is it visible to other sorcerers or does it become one with the buffed person's own CE so that it's undetectable?

If her CE is visible, wouldn't Sukuna (especially as powerful as he is) have sensed it enmeshed with Gojo's? Instead, he thought Gojo's initial HP was a lot stronger than usual due to a Binding Vow (which we know Gojo didn't make) in chapter 234.

Since Ijichi made a barrier that hid him & the others from view, Sukuna doesn't know about them. If he couldn't sense Uta's CE, that could also mean she might not have been buffing Gojo after the HP. How long is her full range anyway?

Speaking of Ijichi, Gojo told him he had a monumental task in chapter 222 before the timeskip.

As then shown in a flashback in 223, it seems it was just to put up the barrier to hide them, Uta & Gakuganji from Sukuna.

Does this mean that Gojo planned their team-up that early after he got unsealed? 🤔 The flashback here has Gojo in casual wear & the place looks similar to the inside of the Tokyo Tower. Could this mean they were headed to Shibuya Sky, the top of the tower, to practice or simply strategize, & maybe meet up with Uta & Gakuganji?

Still, why did Gojo place such importance to this task? Was it just to establish the trust he has for Ijichi despite his antics?

Was it to keep Utahime safe? Not just about the barrier?

So, I've been having these questions for a while now. Here's where my delulu really kicks in.

Absolute insanity mode. You've been WARNED.

There are theories discrediting the fact Sukuna doesn't know about Uta's CT, that it's NOT why he thinks Gojo made a Binding Vow to achieve 200% HP. I know I'm crazy, but I think him not knowing could come into play.

Other than potentially helping Shoko heal Gojo, could Utahime have a hand in bringing him back? Maybe she could even buff Gojo's own RCT, in the case it's still activated (since Gojo's head's still intact). If Gojo is meant to be truly enlightened upon his return, almost like a god, then wouldn't Uta being a shrine maiden mean something? Shrine maidens dance for the gods, communicate with them, summon them.

DELULU THEORY 1:

This scene in chapter 222 made me wonder if Ino told Gojo about him witnessing the summoning of a dead person (which we know is Toji) in Shibuya, as there's been no follow-up to it yet...

If it's about Toji, did Gojo get the idea that in the case of him "dying", then his soul could be summoned back into his body? And with no side effects as it's his own body, and/or that as long as it's done immediately upon "death"? Is this something that could have been researched?

Since Ino knows a form of necromancy, could he possibly have a role to play in this as well? With his help, could Uta along with Gakuganji do a similar ritual as the granny who summoned Toji in Shibuya?

If Uta sings or chants for the ritual, could Gojo hear her in the limbo & follow her voice or something? Could she guide him north towards enlightenment, make him remember (or realize) who he is & what he has to do, in the case he's temporarily forgotten? 🫢 (delulu, I know, I KNOW 😩)

There's a song called North Wing by Akina Nakamori, the artist who sang Kinku, which is the song that Uta's CT is based on. It was her 7th single released the year after Kinku (7?! A number associated with Gojo?!). It was then re-recorded years later on an album titled 'Utahime Double Decade' (Akina is nicknamed Utahime, meaning Diva in Japan). The lyrics talk about a woman who boards a plane to meet with her lover. Here's an excerpt:

Love Is The Mystery It calls me Love is a mystery With its mysterious power I’m an Airplane, throwing everything away Like a scene out of a movie North Wing I depart all alone tonight For where he is Someone I once gave up on Teardrops, my heart’s punctuation I watch the city lights from above As they get smaller and smaller I take a midnight flight, chasing the night through the fog As if I were wandering through a dream Love Is The Mystery I spread my wings And cross the shining seas. I’m a little nervous The date paints over yesterday Which was nothing but agonizing for you The foggy city you live in Awaits me beneath the clouds

Let's see. If we see it in Uta's POV, then she might've thought loving Gojo was not worth it (as loving someone like him wouldn't be easy), but something happened that changed her mind, maybe before/during the time-skip, or seeing his "death." She could be headed to meet him, meaning to help him? It says at midnight, so could Gojo be revived the following day on Christmas? It mentions yesterday was agonizing for him, meaning his "death" & the fact of whose body/vessel he's fighting?

What if we low-key see it in Gojo's POV? His love for his students (and Utahime?) will make him choose North to return to them. He'll leave his past behind, making peace with it, & depart all alone, as the others in the limbo are going South. He knows everyone must be sad over his "death" (the 'agonizing' part) but he's coming home.

There is also a sequel song to this called Dramatic Airport - North Wing Part II. The lyrics are about a (the same?) woman on her way to meet up with her man at the airport, reuniting with him at night. So, could we see it as Utahime heading towards Gojo to help him, to be there for him on his 2nd awakening?

(There's this amazing theory here, which talks about the possibility of Utahime helping Gojo reach true enlightenment like Buddha's wife did for him in Buddhist myths.)

DELULU THEORY 2:

If Gojo returns through some other means, then that gives us another possibility. He's the only one who knows the location of Sukuna's last finger. What if Gojo had told its location to Utahime & co. (maybe even Ino)? What if their absence in the flashbacks of everyone else making plans is because they were retrieving the finger? And what would they do with it, you ask?

Could it be they had planned & are currently making the preparations for a ritual like the one I mentioned, in which they'll summon Sukuna into another vessel by using the finger? Or simply give it to someone to swallow? And could that vessel possibly be Yuuji, as he's the only one who can really handle harboring Sukuna?

It's scary to think of what this could mean, though... 😥 I will not delve into that.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Anyway, I know I'm fully delulu & may be burning the kitchen, but I just wanted to get this out there. The theories and speculations are rampant these days so might as well add some more to the bunch.

I know for Utahime, a literal side character, to have a major role in the most important fight of Gojo's life, is too much to hope for. Gege also doesn't have a good streak with giving importance to his female characters (except Maki). Then again...no one expected Utahime, after a long absence, to finally reappear with Gojo the chapter after he got unsealed & having her CT finally revealed for him against Sukuna. Just what is Gege trying to say?

Whatever the outcome, I still have so many questions...

What was Utahime even doing during her long absence since Shibuya? As the main teacher of Kyoto, & all these crazy things happening to her students, not a single peep from her?! Was she training?! Put under protection because of her CT or cuz Gojo would have their heads if something happened to her? Buffing people secretly somehow?

How did she end up teaming up with Gojo? Did he ask for her help, like when he did to investigate the traitor? What did he say? Did he finally fess up & tell her what she means to him? Gakuganji & Ijichi got their flashbacks, Gojo showing them his true feelings/thoughts, so what could this mean for Utahime?! That he trusts her too? That he doesn't find her weak? Did he apologize for his constant teasing? Could he have said something more?

Did she offer to help him? Did he refuse & Uta insisted, giving a sort of speech that shut him up?

Just what happened between Gojo & Utahime during the time-skip?! 😫 Is the fact we haven't been shown yet deliberate?!

I wonder if Gege will ever give us this much, at least... 😮‍💨

While I'd like for her to do more, I just hope Uta will be safe. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her like nearly every other female character in this manga... 😥

LET'S HOPE FOR GOJO'S REVIVAL ✊️

[olivialau]

Shadow's Embrace Ch.10

Sukuna x Reader

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fanfiction based on the universe of "Jujutsu Kaisen," created by Gege Akutami. The original manga, anime, and characters belong to their respective owners and creators.

Notes:

This story unfolds in the Jujutsu Kaisen world, set in a slightly altered universe where Sukuna inhabits his own vessel distinct from Itadori Yuji's body, making him a separate entity.

Summary:

Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses, becomes fascinated with a female sorcerer rich in potential but lacking control. Initially seizing her for his destructive plans, Sukuna aims to bind her abilities through a contract. Yet, as he tries to dominate her, he finds himself intrigued by her strength and determination. Over time, his interest evolves from strategic advantage to a deeper, personal connection.

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CHAPTER 10 - Unwelcome Visitor

As the days dragged on in the grim, gloomy basement, you found yourself grappling with a strange mix of emotions. Despite the undeniable horror of being caged like an animal, the initial days of Sukuna's absence brought an unexpected sense of relief.

No longer did you have to constantly be on guard, worrying about what twisted plans the King of Curses had in store for you next. The break from his relentless torment allowed you to catch your breath, both physically and mentally.

Determined to make the most of this brief reprieve, you resolved to use the time wisely. You needed to allow your worn-down body to recover and regain its health. But more importantly, you needed to grow stronger.

You dedicated yourself to practicing your jujutsu techniques, careful not to overexert yourself but steadily honing your skill and control. This routine had made the first few days suprisingly bearable.

As the time ticked by, however, the initial sense of relief you had felt began to give way to growing unease and worry. The uncertainty of how long this would take started to weigh heavily on your mind.

Questions began to plague you - what if Sukuna never returned? Would you truly be left to starve, trapped in this awful place? And what if he did return, only to deem you no longer useful? Would he hesitate to snap your neck, would he think twice about it?

The loneliness, too, began to take its toll. Being in solitude with your thoughts, especially after all the horrors you had endured here, felt suffocating at times. Old wounds had been reopened and past pain resurfaced.

The non-stop isolation, without anyone to talk or vent to, made you long for the familiar comfort of your loved ones - your parents, your friends, your classmates.

The small window high up on the wall, had become a precious lifeline, allowing you to track the passing of time. The simple connection it provided to the outside world, as limited as it was, helped you feel a tiny bit more grounded.

Carefully tracking the passing of time, you counted twelve days since Sukuna had left. You had recognized the need to conserve your resources, and so you dilligently started to ration the food and water that he'd left behind.

You estimated that you had enough to properly sustain yourself for at least five more days. But after that, it would start to become troublesome.

As you sat down on the worn mattress, your body aching from another self-imposed training session, you couldn't help but let out a weary sigh.

The silence of the basement had become deafening, except for the small noises from outside the window every so often.

You had become so vigilant after being around Sukuna, that the tiniest of noises startled you. Though strangely enough- right now, they also filled you with a sense of anticipation, a glimmer of hope that perhaps your isolation would be broken soon.

The prospect of human interaction, even if it meant facing that horrible man once more, had become a tempting alternative to the relentless torment of your own mind.

Suddenly, another noise startled you, causing your heart to leap in your chest. This time, however, the sound did not seem to originate from outside the window. It felt closer, as if it were coming from the direction of the door.

You carefully tracked the sound, your senses heightened, as it seemed to draw nearer. Until a faint rattling at the door was unmistakable. This couldn't be Sukuna- he had a key.

Your mind raced with possibilities. Was it possible that someone had come to rescue you? The people at Jujutsu High must have noticed your absence by now.

Or perhaps Sukuna had sent for someone to check on you, like that mysterious man Geto.

The rattling grew more loud and impatient, until it stopped altogether and was replaced by the subtle sound of metallic clicks and scrapes- someone was picking the lock.

With a resounding click, the lock opened, and the slow creak of the door echoed through the basement. Whatever was happening, you could tell right away that this was bad news.

Slow, deliberate footsteps descended the stairs, accompanied by an immense, dangerous amount of cursed energy.

Until finally, around the corner, a familiar face appeared - the cursed spirit with the patchwork skin, the one you had seen around here before, the one who had spoken so happily of wanting to break you.

A smirk was plastered on his face as he regarded you, his mismatched eyes staring at you with an intensity that made your skin crawl.

Mahito.

His lips curled further as he explained his presence. "Ah, I haven't seen Sukuna around in a few days, so I just had to come check what he was up to, you know?" His tone was light, almost conversational, but the underlying malice was unmistakable.

He tilted his head, as he continued, "But imagine my surprise to find this place all empty!" Mahito let out a dramatic sigh, his lips curling into a pout.

The cursed spirit stepped closer, unable to contain the excited twitching of his hands.

"But then I sensed your presence down here, all alone" he cooed, with feigned sympathy. "I just couldn't resist taking a peek." He looked like a child who'd just been given a lollipop, as he licked his lips.

You took a defensive stance, glaring at Mahito and beckoning him to stay back. But he paid no heed to your warning, as he kept approaching further.

"Ever since I laid eyes on that quivering soul of yours, I've been just dying to play with you," he continued, with a corrupted innocence to his words.

"Sukuna's been hogging you all to himself, and I'm starting to feel a little left out." He sulked.

Instinctively, you backed away with each step that Mahito advanced, his dangerous aura was nearly as overwhelming as Sukuna's.

At that point, you remembered Sukuna's previous warning to Mahito about not playing with 'his toys', So with no other options you tried to remind the cursed spirit,

"Sukuna wouldn't like it if you touched me. He's made it clear I'm his to play with." Saying that out loud felt degrading and gross, but if it was what was needed to survive, you'd do it.

Mahito merely shrugged his shoulders, snickering dismissively at your warning. "Oh, Sukuna might get a bit angry, sure," he said, waving a hand carelessly. "But he knows the true nature of curses. He'll understand it's just instinct."

The cursed spirit paused, rubbing his chin contemplatively, before a gleeful expression spread across his face. "You know, thinking about it, you do have a point," he mused. "In that case, I won't kill you."

Mahito's carefree attitude made his next words even more unnerving as he met your gaze. "I'll just... twist you up a little, haha!"

Shit, this was bad news. Sukuna's barrier was still in place, trapping you within while allowing Mahito free access, escape was not an option. Attempting to fight him directly would be futile too, the difference in strength was just too great.

Your only hope seemed to be buying time, praying that Sukuna would miraculously arrive and intervene. It was a long shot, but you had to try.

So far, Mahito seemed to relish the opportunity to talk and taunt, so you decided to try and engage him.

With a measured tone, you said, "Your technique... can you at least tell me more about it, before I become a victim of it, that only seems fair."

Mahito burst out laughing, wiping away a tear from the corner of his eye, obviously entertained by your sudden interest. "Well, since you asked so nicely," he agreed, an amused grin spreading across his face.

He stepped even closer, now nearly at your feet as he launched into a suprisingly philosphical monologue. "You probably think of yourself as one whole. Mind, body, soul, combined- that is what makes up a human. Would you say the weight of these three is distributed evenly?".

You pondered over his words making sure to delay the time as much as possible before answering. "I would yes. I think they're all equally important,"

Mahito, prepared for your predictable answer, leaned in closely, as he spat "Wrong!". He then continued on,

"You see, the soul is the true essence of a being. The mind, body and soul are intimately connected, sure, but the soul is the core that shapes and defines your existence. If I reshape the soul, the body will follow. That is my technique- Idle Transfiguration."

His technique was even worse than you expected. You didn't think he'd meant twisting you up in a literal sense. Observing that he left out some details you asked more questions, to stall the time and think of a possible defense.

"So you can shape the physical form by altering the soul? How do you do it?" you questioned, your voice betraying a hint of trepidation. You were unsure if Mahito would divulge the details of his technique, but you had to try.

Mahito didn't seem reticent in sharing the specifics, perhaps because he knew you were no match for him anyway. "Well, for starters, I can see the soul. I'm aware of the shape of my own soul, too."

He suddenly changed the shape of his fingers to resemble sharp blades, waving them at you in a demonstration that startled you momentarily.

The cursed spirit chuckled, obviously satisfied at having been able to unsettle you a little. "Changing my own form like that is easy, but to change the shape of others, there is a condition that needs to be met,"

"What's that?" you pressed cautiously, your heart pounding as Mahito slowly reached out and landed his hand on your cheek, squeezing it slightly in a mocking gesture.

Mahito looked you straight in the eyes, his gaze turning serious, dangerous. Before he answered. "A touch,"

Your eyes widened and your heart sank as the realization dawned on you - he had already made contact.

Adrenaline flooded your system, and you cursed your own carelessness. Was this truly the end?

You scanned your body, bracing for the impending torture, but to your surprise, there was nothing. Mahito retracted his hand, bursting out into laughter as he bent over, holding his stomach.

"A touch, and intent," he muttered through his snickering. "And luckily for you, I don't intend to die by Sukuna's hands anytime soon. I told you, didn't I? That I wouldn't kill you."

Relief washed over you as you processed Mahito's words. He was merely playing around, taunting you and savoring your every response. But at least he seemed genuine in not intending to kill you outright.

However, the relief was short-lived as Mahito composed himself after his laughter, standing up straight again. His gaze turned menacing as he explained, "Tweaking your soul would be too much. It would kill you for sure..."

"But you know, I've been wondering lately... What would happen if I twist the body first?" He leaned in, a disturbing curiosity etched across his face. "Would the soul follow along?"

The cursed spirit let out a chilling chuckle. "This would be the perfect experiment, haha!,"

"Don't worry it won't kill you. It will just hurt..." His voice dropped to a menacing whisper. "A lot."

Shit, this wasn't over yet. As Mahito prepared to charge at you, you instinctively conjured up a blast of cursed energy from your hands. The training over the past week had improved the precision and aim of your attacks, causing Mahito to back away slightly to evade.

However, the short range barely gave you enough time to recharge your cursed energy between attacks. Mahito was quickly able to cover the distance again, and you had no way to defend yourself as he grabbed your arm and twisted it behind your back, applying pressure until it snapped beyond the range of motion with a sickening crack.

The pain of having your shoulder dislocated was excruciating, and you let out a agonized cry.

Mahito in turn, let out a delighted scream of his own as he reveled in your pain. "Yes, that's it!" he exclaimed, his eyes filled with sadistic glee. "Fight back, struggle! Make this even more fun!".

Barely giving you a chance to recover, he continued his assault. He kicked your legs, tackling you to the ground, before stomping on your ankle, grinding it mercilessly into the concrete floor.

The sickening crunch of bone against the unyielding surface sent aching shockwaves through your body, and left your ankle crumpled and useless.

Mahito towered over you, observing his work with a critical eye. "Hmm, its not quite right yet," he remarked, disappointment evident in his voice. "Altering the body directly is so much more limited than reshaping the soul."

The cursed spirit let out a sigh, as if your suffering had somehow fallen short of his expectations.

The pain was overwhelming, making it difficult to process what was happening, but through the haze of agony, you heard Mahito musing, "Maybe putting a hole in it would work."

Your eyes widened in horror as the cursed spirit warped his own body, transforming his arm into a drill. Without warning, he plunged the spinning appendage deep into your stomach.

The impact was devastating, knocking the breath from your lungs as you coughed up a spray of blood.

You looked down in horror at the massive, gaping hole in your stomach. The severity of the wound was undeniable - there was no way you would survive this without immediate medical attention.

Mahito let out a triumphant laugh, "Ahaha, that's more like it!"

But as your limbs went numb, and your lips turned a bluish hue from the pool of blood that started to form, a flicker of worry crossed the cursed spirit's face.

"Hmmm, maybe I overdid it," he muttered. His brows furrowed slightly, as he gently nudged his foot into your ribs to see if you were still responsive. Your body began to shiver and go cold, the world around you growing distant.

At that point, a deafening bang echoed across the basement as the door slammed open with incredible force. Mahito whirled around in shock, his eyes widening as an all-consuming, dark aura filled the room.

You were barely conscious, your vision blurred and your ears ringing with a high pitch. But you didn't need those senses to recognize the familiar, oppressive energy that had just flooded the space.

There was no mistaking it - Ryomen Sukuna was here.

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[sulky-cabbage]

I once made a not so serious post about a possible parallelism between Megumi and Sukuna.

And....

Sorry but how do you keep Megumi trapped inside Sukuna and when Yuji reaches the depths Megumi starts saying this stuff

right after the chapter where Yuji was trying to reach Sukuna and show him the beauty of life without me thinking that what Megumi's saying is a hint to Sukuna's true buried (human?) feelings and maybe what he could never have?? (Or maybe not and he's just the antithesis of Megumi which is another form of parallelism)

Megumi's soul is trapped inside a curse!!!

let me rephrase that...

A "Blessing" is drowned inside the king of curses!!

A "Blessing" that he tried so hard to suppress by killing his love one(s)

This is the exact type of symbolism that sticks in my brain and I just can't ignore it.

Maybe it's a reach but I just can't brush it off!!

Yuji tried to save them both!!

Keep in mind the Ksitigarbha is also a guardian of children and a patron deity of deceased children and aborted fetuses.

Gege did repeat the scene where Satoru meets child Megumi but with Yuji this time!!

Satoru was trying to save Megumi and reach Sukuna but he failed. (Seems like Yuta's method of becoming Satoru also failed)

I didn't take the Yuji being Satoru's parallel seriously before but I think there's some merit to it now.. (especially after that panel of him with child Megumi, Really Gege?)

Yuta was also a gojo parallel (he literally became gojo) and his character was connected to the theme of love as well. (There is also that whole Rika= Geto thing)

Maybe Gege is showing us two types of students? the one that imitates his teacher, and the other one that does it in his own way and actually succeeds??

Reminds me of these images lol

It makes sense that Yuta is the one to carry Satoru's will and kill Kenjaku (a major villain) and maybe even get to bury geto's body and Satoru's body... maybe next to each other?👀

I imagine Shoko will be there too at the burial...

On the other hand we have Yuji dealing with the main villain (the other thing that Satoru wanted to do and failed)..

I can see Yuji having the ability to see the afterlife of others like Sukuna and Maybe he will guide Sukuna and Gojo (and the others?) to go North?

Honestly this correlation between Megumi and Sukuna is interesting I don't know what it is exactly but...

The fact that we found out that Gege planned for Sukuna to possess Megumi from the start but he was told to change it!!??

AND The cursed womb arc (which I think is the heart of the manga) where Sukuna rips Yuji's heart out and says he can live without it but the brat can't..

(Which was a very cool and symbolic way to subtly tell us the difference in their ideals)

I don't know if it still has the double meaning in Japanese... it probably does

The shibuya stuff and everything was to get gojo out of the story so Sukuna can possess Megumi (which is what Gege wanted all along) so he can repeat what happened in the cursed womb arc again but in reverse.

Also..... there's a possible parallel between Megumi killing Tsumiki and Sukuna killing Gojo?????

Gege gave Megumi a sister that's important to him (and literally does nothing with her) makes me think she was made only so she can get killed by Megumi's hands, but not before making her possessed by a woman who's obsessed with teaching Sukuna about love. (Right before his fight with Gojo mind you) and then connecting this love thing with his fight with gojo (possibly Sukuna's important person?) Bringing up yorozu's words again and again and again during the fight!!

He killed gojo while in Megumi's Body!! (He didn't need to do that!! Don't you find it suspicious that right after killing gojo he turns into his true form??????)

He only gets into his true form when he starts fighting Kashimo (who's kinda Satoru's true form in a way) and he uses the weapon Yorozu gave him on Kashimo!!

And then more talk about love ensued !!!!

And love was never brought up again!!

Honestly this whole thing is diabolical I don't know how Gaygay managed to cook this hard !!

I still have no idea how this is gonna end though.. is Sukuna really just evil? Will we ever get his backstory? Will Yuji be able to actually reach him and make Satoru proud?

[exstasyplague]

UnPopular Jujutsu Kaisen Opinions (with arguments)

manga spoilers

☆ Yuji is the perfect MC

i've seen a lot of people trashing on him. some say gege writes him poorly and doesn't give him enough scenes, some say he's boring because he doesn't have any fancy cursed techniques. first of all, yuji has been aware of the jujutsu world for 6 months in manga; even less in anime. he doesn't have any OP cliche to him (looking at you Ichigo) and that makes him so much more enjoyable! when he loses he loses for good reasons and when he wins you can feel genuinely happy for him because you know he deserves it. he is a teenager and the shift in his mentalities embodies that perfectly; along with him we discover the cruelty and unfairness of the jujutsu world. at first, especially if you're a shonen watcher, you'd tend to believe he will shift to a high white knight borderline annoying mentality yet he doesn't, the jjk verse doesn't work like that. yuji is able to adapt. he has traits that you'd see in your real life friends: silliness, kindness, idiocy, love for jennifer lawrence etc but also traits that make him a perfect mc: empathy, resiliance, convinction, raw anger. + gege have him some of the HARDEST panels.

ㅡif it's just pain... Yuji Itadori won't ever stop

also. his last battle with mahito. hands down. best. panels.

mahito (another well structured villain) RUNNING for his life while yuji walks slowly behind him. if that doesn't show major improvement from the kid he was at the beginning idk what does. that's some MC shit right there man.

☆ Sukuna is not a fraud

the fraudkuna memes are funny. i admit. i'm sure mahoraga kisses him goodnight and tucks his blankey, however, sukuna is a fucking piece of shit, LOL (i mean it in the best way), my man literally became curse. people expect him to not use the weapons he has to his advantage as if he didn't want megumi from the beginning specifically for using his abilities. a good gun doesn't make you a military tier shooter. it's about the resources, it's about the experience, it's about the aim. "why doesn't he use his curse technique wah wah" — because he knows gojo is strong. unless he isn't absolutely sure he will strip him away from all his gimmicks, he has no reason to flaunt his true powers. sukuna wants to win. he wanted to kill gojo since the beginning of the series. i think the fight is balanced well, sukuna uses his resources and takes the consequences for being a tad too cautious. in the heian era when cursed energy had a purer, rawer output even domain expansions were simple in principles: you're in, i kill you. (line from the manga, btw) his CT is probably straightforward as well with a simple principle so having gojo use his infinity against it and figure out how to strip him naked would make him lose faster than todo called yuji his bestie.

☆ Gege doesn't hate women

because the unfortunate thing with nobara and yuki getting xd-d by kenjaku, a popular belief seems to be that gege is fond of trashing the women in his series. argument people have for that? "the only one in the spotlight is maki and she's female toji". first of all, if gege hated women he wouldn't write them as he does— each one of his lady characters is incredibly well structured and way beyond the love interest/ gotta be protected trope. mei mei, shoko, utahime, miwa and many others became non-existent, or what? even tengen is a woman. masashi kishimoto (the creator of naruto) is an author i'd say has 0 regards for women since the way most of his girl characters are built is literal dog shit. sakura is naruto's one sided love and a sasuke dickrider, hinata is a stalker that sharts when she sees naruto, karin is a sasuke dickrider, kurenai is asuma's chick and the only two women somewhat ok as a structure are tsunde and temari. (i am a big fan of the naruto series but i am spitting facts, also an avid sakura lover) plus there is a rumour that gege is a woman too and from the way sato sugu is written i'd agree anw

☆ Kenjaku is the best villain of the series

homie got railed by itadori's papi just for his plan, that's not even aizen level of plotting bro. he got drizzled in jizz and gave birth to yuji 💀

how good that d had to be for him to get impregnated....

ANYWAY jokes aside, he is very calculated and chill. he is not the strongest but his literal essence is to be a technique stealing leech and well, he's just that. with suguru, even in his villain arc you can empathize. sukuna is cool and straightforward: he wants to massacre people, kill gojo and then enjoy his life slashing random ass people who don't kneel is total submission.

kenjaku? bro, kenjaku has plans over plans and he executes all of them. even in geto's sexy body he still gets hated because there is genuinely nothing likeable about him. not because he's a poorly written character, he's written to be a piece of shit that makes you wanna break the screen when he gets a W and idk about y'all but even when he exorcised mahito i was like "aw hell nah bruh, get your hands off asap". may come as a shock, i know but we're like supposed to hate villains (not me being the biggest sukuna simp even in his crusty dusty OG form🤭) and well, nobody fucking roots for kenjaku. so gojo, go take your boyfriend's body or something fr.

☆ Yuta is.... mid

hear me out.

i don't hate him— not in the slightest. i hope he will actually have something going on with maki since apparently nobara is afk. i liked his entire rika situation but... bro.

yes, i will be going into the power system 😭I'M SORRY BUT like all he does is copy shit. wow. sure, he's a good copycat. i am not complaining about him being called so powerful and wtv but i don't find anything exciting about his battles and his personality is dead ass boring. do i get happy when he wins? yes. do i hope he'll come and save goatjo? yes. yes. yes. but people call him the real MC and all that shit... not even that— i... nothing in me likes him. my opinions are not absolute. his story is cool. i liked jjk 0 but the only thing that ruins his story is literally his lack of perosnality. and don't come at me for not grasping his depths or whatever. yuta is best fanfic y/n material because he can be turned into bashful stereotype really easily. "omg, best friend power, precious friends made me wanna live ❤️" very sweet HOWEVER very untouching for me. i only liked him when he made maki go all blushy because my girl deserves happiness.

☆ Toji actually cares about Megumi

is he the good father that would spoil his kid as a ray of sunshine?

no.

but he chose this. to forget about everything, to abandon his pride, to part himself away from the clan that rejected him and live his life on his own. megumi's mom made shit better for him and she died so his life became shit again. he thought that by entrusting megumi to the zenin clan he would actually be able to make something of himself since he had cursed energy.

also, people tend to forget just how conservative and judgemental the 3 big clans are, maki and mai have been shat on their whole life by the zenins, especially maki. toji went through the same shit if not worse. he wasn't always buff max version of himself, he wasn't born with anything. exactly because he gave up on all the things in his life he was able to reach that type of power and live with some purpose since he failed in everything else.

in the manga he has the option of coming back to life as long as he keeps killing sorcerers, which is his speciality, but he meets megumi, recognises him and kills himself in order to not hurt him. be fr. anciet sorcerers sold their booty holes to kenjaku to get a second chance at life.

ANYWAY. SADLY i can't post Toji memes since i reached my pic limits.

let me know what you think:) i may make a part 2. feel free to also ask for my opinions about anything in the verse, lol. if you wanna see my fics check my ao3, i promise i don't write in the same braindead way i type. <33

[dyaz-stories]

okay so i fucking hated the airport scene and i need to exorcise it by explaining why and making it everyone else's problem

jujutsu kaisen spoilers up until chapter 236

Okay, so to preface this, my main issue is that this part of the chapter strongly clashed with my interpretation of Gojo's character and, in my opinion, isn't a suitable farewell to him. I know that some people will read this and think "Oh, so you're just mad that things didn't go the way you wanted" and... yeah. You know, I didn't like that something I didn't like happened. That's not unexpected, but if you're not interested in reading that, I totally get it! I just want to go into more detail about why I wasn't happy with the way this went.

I also want to add that I have no qualms with Gojo dying. I'm not thrilled by the way it happened, but this happening is fully expected within shonen codes. I get the significance of it and why it needed to happen for the story Gege wanted to tell. That's fine by me.

Now, to the airport scene.

We'll start with the first panel, mostly as an illustration. This panel shows, from the uniforms to Gojo's glasses and his expression, that we are in the presence of "high-school Gojo". This is reinforced by the presence of Geto, particularly because the only time when we've seen the two of them interact normally was during the Hidden Inventory Arc.

On top of that, Gojo, throughout the airport scene, acts more 'naturally' than he does in the manga, Hidden Inventory Arc excepted. I'd argue that with his students and with everyone following Geto's defection, he tends to have this 'wall' up (both literally and metaphorically). He doesn't talk to them with this kind of ease.

My issue with this is that it very much reads like character regression. It's been a decade since high-school for Gojo, give or take, and for his farewell I don't find it interesting to portay him not as he was, but as he had been.

The obvious answer to that is that this depicts Gojo in the time period during which he was the happiest. I don't wholly disagree with that — especially considering the emphasis in this arc about 'the loneliness of the strongest' and the fact that this was likely the only time when he didn't feel lonely.

I just regret the lack of distance with this idea. Even if it was the time when he felt happiest, he wasn't his teenage self anymore. I wish this had been reflected more. Like I said — this, to me, doesn't feel like a farewell to who he was at the moment of his death, because I'm not seeing the Gojo I'd seen throughout the manga.

Another, less obvious counter-argument could be that this emphasises that Gojo was stuck in the past and couldn't move on from his years in high school. I don't think this is particularly proven as true through the manga. The importance he gives to training his students and his belief that they can become stronger than him seems to show an interest in the future, not the past.

This is the next one. My issue isn't with Sukuna being stronger than Gojo (I don't care about that). Considering the central part Mahoraga plays in Gojo's demise (as Sukuna states right after)

the line about the Ten Shadows feels icky to me, but whatever on that front as well. No, what annoys me about all of that is that considering all of Gojo's confidence up until the end, it... makes him look like a cocky idiot? Which, okay, isn't that far off when it comes to his characterization, I'll give Gege that, but it was always warranted up until that point. Being unable to see danger coming to that degree, especially with the Six Eyes, is kind of ridiculous.

It also lessens the importance of Sukuna's supposed admiration for him, imo.

It cheapens both his death and his character to me.

I'm fully aware that people have used this as proof of Gojo's selfishness and essentially as showcasing his adrenaline addiction, and I get that it would make sense if that was your read on his character, but it came out of left field for me.

Another answer to that argument could be that this is Gojo's perception and doesn't reflect the reality — maybe he thought that but Sukuna didn't — however considering the timing I can't help but feel that we, as readers, are at least supposed to receive it as fact.

This one is less of a criticism and more of a note. It's not uninteresting as far as characterization goes. I think it doesn't come as a huge surprise that Gojo would feel that way but I do regret that this was never explored before. I'm not convinced it was hinted at all that well either, and it doesn't help that the one example we have of him being 'adored' is Miwa being a fangirl. Once again, I regret that we don't see anything about his students here. I think it would have been warranted.

This is probably my favorite panel out of the bunch, which I don't think is going to come as a surprise. This feels like a callback to him being a teacher. I like it.

Okay, this is probably my least favorite part of this. Nanami has said things of this nature before, he's called Gojo egotiscal,

so it's not new that he believes that. However, that is echoed by Haibara (and other people apparently, hence "we all thought that") and also by Geto, since he's the one who concludes "was just proven right by your actions a second ago". I have to assume Geto, in saying that, is referring to Gojo's fight against Sukuna.

I kind of fucking hate that. First of all, what Nanami says is something that I considered to be blatantly untrue in the manga. As far as I'm concerned, Gojo was constantly portrayed as caring deeply for his students, wanting to leave them a better world, and while I don't think he wanted to protect people the same way Itadori does, it's not like it's absent from his motivations either.

(The second panel is him asking about the people that got trapped in his domain expansion, while in Shibuya. This showed he was worried for their well-being. His decisions in Shibuya were also motivated by his decision to limit human losses.)

Geto essentially agrees with what Nanami is saying, which I think is intended to tell the audience that Nanami is right. That's who Gojo is, the person who knows him best even tells you that. Again, this feels very high school Gojo, without the decade of character development and of caring for kids that he has necessarily done since then. It's also telling us that Gojo fought Sukuna because he thought he would enjoy it, not for any sort of higher purpose (I do also hate the "I had fun" panel that comes earlier, in case you were wondering lol).

I also think that this removes any notion of responsibility which Gojo would have shouldered by choice, which I think contradicts other parts of the manga. Honestly, to me, Nanami's take here is so far removed from what I had received from the manga up until that point that it's kind of jarring.

As mentioned before, due to Geto's intervention, I don't think this can be interpreted as "just Nanami's opinion". Due to Gojo's lack of disagreeing and the fact that this chapter is his last, I do think it's intended as the 'true interpretation' for Gojo's character, by the author that is (is it going to stop me? No, but I think authorial intention is interesting to look at/try to find).

This one I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt to, because considering Gojo's conversation with Nanami at this point, he could be talking about Nanami. If he is talking about himself (and I do think that is the case), I want to put it on the record that I also hate it! Again, Gojo not caring about the students he's leaving behind, to me, does not feel 'right' or in character, and they're not mentioned once save for that one throw-away line about Megumi.

I'll discuss this real quick before concluding: is it a dream? I don't think it's that important here. Regardless of whether that's Gojo's hallucination in his final moments or truly the afterlife/the antechamber before reincarnation, considering the position this half-chapter occupies in the story, I don't think it alters my reading of it.

With that being said, I'm leaning towards it not being a dream in part due to Nanami's line about Haibara, which echoes exactly what we saw when Nanami dies.

This line is for the audience in my opinion, not for Gojo.

So where does that leave us? Well, to me, the heart of it is what I said earlier: this feels like a goodbye to high school Gojo, not the one we see through most of the manga, and that was who I wanted to see, and the one who I believe deserved this farewell.

On top of that, for the most part, the characterization of Gojo as done by other characters borders on character assassination, in my completely personal and admittedly biased opinion. It's not at all what I would have wanted him to go out on. Leaves a very bad taste in my mouth and makes me feel silly for caring.

What a sad way to go.

I typically conclude these kinds of posts by saying that I'm happy to discuss what I've said if you disagree, however for this one, I hope I've made it clear that my issues lies with the disparity between my interpretation of Gojo and this scene, as well as just what I would have liked to see, and it's therefore very personal. I do think that if Gege wanted me to have this interpretation of Gojo he didn't do a good job of getting me there, but if you disagree and you liked this scene, you know, more power to you. I don't think that means you're wrong. I just had a bad time reading it and I wanted to talk about it. With all that said you can 100% disagree obviously, but I'm not looking for a debate.

[bxriles]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I said this months ago and I’ll say it again.

JJK 236 spoilers below.

I knew he would die. Between the Geto parallels, and the whole narrative of Gojo wanting his students to surpass him and make a better jujutsu world or whatever, and Gege’s straight up hatred of the character, and the juxtaposition of a super uplifting scene (him winning) with an impending black moment—I get it. I knew he would die. The signs were all there.

But just like I said a few months ago, I think this is boring.

The whole manga hypes up how strong Gojo is and talks about how his birth literally changed the world. Then this hyped up character gets sealed for like 100+ chapters. Then he gets out, is still hyped up, fights, and then… dies.

Like I’m a lil bored? Or maybe I’m just not being hit with a heavy emotional punch from this?

I mean, what the actual hell is the point of having a character THAT important/powerful just to off them? I know he’s just beaten an unbeatable enemy but idk. I feel like I’m missing an important emotional moment. (Which is entirely possible because these are just leaks and I haven’t read the full chapter)

For example, Gojo never has an emotional struggle with fighting Sukuna despite him wearing Megumi’s body. There doesn’t seem to be a moment of the mentor passing the torch to the student the way there was one with Nanami and Yuji. Jesus, he doesn’t even get to confront the monster who is in Geto’s body one final time.

I stand by my original idea. Instead of just killing him for the sake of getting rid of him, why not do something more meaningful? Why not take his eyes? Take away the only thing that makes Satoru Gojo special and make him be just like everybody else. Make him live in a world where he is essentially nobody, where he’s unimportant. Make him grapple with that.

And if you’re going to kill him then why not make it more interesting and have him completely fail? Why not make him fail so spectacularly that in his dying breath he realizes that being the strongest meant nothing because he couldn’t protect his students or anyone else he cared about?

I just hate seeing such interesting characters wasted like that. Of course, I’m sure there are people who will disagree SO HARD with me that I’ll get pissed off DMs about it. But that’s how I feel. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Or maybe I’m totally wrong and when I read the full chapter I’ll be blown away by the emotional payoff (assuming it isn’t just through a fucking flashback). Maybe I’ll read the full chapter and love the death.

I fucking doubt it tho lmao.

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

ARII HII

I cannot for the love of god stand the satoru cheating allegations 😭😭😭

Some brain dead redditors are so annoyingg omgg they keep bashing our perfect lil boy toru like they keep forcing him to be some sort of a heartless cheater who cheats continuously and hops from woman to woman??

They keep using this one gege interview as evidence to back up their brainless claims where gege said that “satoru wears his glasses when he goes out to see/pick up women”

AND IM LIKE??? Okay is that the only thing you have to backup all your bs (it’s other idiotic crap too) 🤦‍♀️

Like Gege might’ve said that to troll the gojo fans, or even if let’s say that statement is true it can be interpreted as him having like short-lived relief from his title as the strongest like maybe a one night stand but he would feel really shitty afterwards BECAUSE HE CRAVES GENUINE RELATIONSHIPS AND CONNECTIONS NOT HOOKING UP AND FLINGS 🤦‍♀️

It’s written everywhere in the manga that he needs to be understood and not some temporary relief by hooking up which is not something he cares for so idk why gege said that (the sunglasses woman thing) it doesn’t align with his character ☹️

ALSO DONT GET ME STARTED WITH THE MISTRANSLATION LINE 😭💀💔

ahhhhhhhhhhhh the cheater gojo allegations……. my old friend……………….. (<- said with exhaustion)

to be clear !!!! i have nothing against anyone who likes cheater!gojo, it just . isn’t for me/doesn’t align with the way i see him!!! :’3 realistically i don’t think it’d be easy for gojo to be in a committed relationship, but that’s because he’s bad with intimacy/sincerity, NOT because he would cheat on his partner. it just seems silly to me!!!! gojo is a good guy at the end of the day, the worst he’ll do is ghost you 😭 and even then it’ll be with both your best interests at heart, yk? he isn’t cruel.

… i will also add that . ace!gojo is real to me lmao so i just don’t see him . liking sex that much 💀 definitely not enough to cheat, anyway. so this take just… isn’t for me in a Lot of ways </3 i don’t think he’s the type to hook up with people at all because sex is something that demands a level of intimacy. one that i frankly don’t think gojo is comfortable giving. idk virgin!gojo is canon to me i can’t lie to you anon…

BUT. in regards to the akutami thing!!!! i think the jjk fandom is absolutely awful when it comes to spreading misinformation/bad translations 😭😭 and this little tidbit is a common example!!!! the interview that you’re referencing is this:

this translation is by @/soukatsu_ on twt!!! i highly recommend checking them out because their translations are always very accurate and thoughtful :3 i’d also recommend reading this, where they explain this q&a answer in particular!! but tldr: this answer is foreshadowing for the hidden inventory arc, where satoru meets riko (and is wearing glasses). it doesn’t have any bearing on his actual character and his ”tendencies to pick up girls” or whatever 😭

and even assuming it isn’t foreshadowing, akutami is literally just saying that gojo might wear shades when meeting a girl. meaning — he wears his glasses when he wants to make a good impression/connect with someone!! again, it literally does nothing to imply that gojo meets girls often, or that he’d cheat on them, and etc. there’s no actual evidence for that take in the manga. people are free to make what interpretations they want obviously!! but. yeah. not for me <33

[k-martins]

May i rant?

The way Gege implies that Naoya and Mei were pedos and then never properly addresses it is really disappointing. Why bring up a horrific issue like that? It serves no purpose. He already made Naoya a total dick with a murderous streak and Mei a greedy bitch without regard for people. They were already obviously terrible people without the additional child predator label.

Like if he’s gonna write characters that way then have them face consequences or if he wants them to get away with it at least write more about the victims so the audience can see how tragic their situations are

Better yet he shouldn’t write that at all and just focus on more character development for the main cast

Ah, little anon, I understand that feeling. Mei Mei and Naoya are two annoying little shits and the way Gege wrote them creates this feeling of "these horrible people are always getting away with it, when will justice be served?". It's frustrating, disgusting and unnecessary. After all, as you said, they've already been presented as nasty people, so why add the list of sins to "child predator"?

Actually, this is a very serious question and I'm just a profile that talks nonsense about ITFS.

But I'll do my best to explain my point of view and why I think Gege is doing an interesting job with his manga.

Well, I'm going to talk about Mei Mei because her situation is much more complicated.

She is a jujutsu sorceress who only cares about her own personal gain, not caring much about the situation if it is sending money into her pocket. So far, we have the character established and, although it is a somewhat altruistic attitude, it is not all bad. She's still there doing her job, still exorcising curses, still giving Yuji a choice between facing a high-grade curse or the humans transfigured by Mahito. Mei Mei is a greedy bitch, but a greedy bitch who does her job at the end of the day (which is expected). Until this moment, we can only consider her an eccentric character.

The issue becomes complicated when we observe her relationship with her younger brother, Ui Ui, a 12-year-old child who is subjected to her sister's technique which consists of suicide, from what I understand. It's a strange relationship, uncomfortable to watch and irritating (Yuji's face is the reaction of all of us seeing it). There IS something strange about these two.

Then we have the Malaysian scene.

I have my own opinions about this scene, but let's move on to what most people think happened. Mei Mei is naked next to her brother suggesting they sleep together. If incest doesn't shock, pedophilia does. And it makes it even worse because this scene takes place after Nanamin says how he would like to go to Malaysia and then he dies. It is at this moment that her question comes:

"Why bring up a horrible issue like this?"

Yes, why Sensei Akutami?

Why put in this horrible scene while we're still dealing with Nanami's death?

Why give Mei Mei, the greedy bitch, Nanami's dream and dirty it with this horrible, heavy-handed insinuation?

Why do I have to watch someone horrible live while a good person dies? … Oh.

Well, this is the point.

In JJK, the world is unequal. Megumi said that herself.

Good people like Nanami, Nobara and Yuji are killed and destroyed while horrible people like Mei Mei, Naoya and Sukuna get what they want. Therefore, their depravities have no consequences. That's why Mei Mei went to Malaysia, that's why Naoya didn't take any more damage, that's why Sukuna beat Satoru.

Gege is laying his cards on the table and saying "Good can lose and evil can win. Nanami's die while Mei Mei's enjoy peace."

This is one of the reasons I believe that even though JJK is a shonen, there is a possibility for Sukuna and Kenjaku to prevail. There's this not-so-small chance that we'll see our good guys blowing up while the bad guys rest in a hotel in Malaysia.

Who knows.

Gege Akutami is unpredictable and there are more names to cross out in his Death Note.

So, to recap, Gege is purposely making bad people with terrible morals "win" to show how unequal and unfair this world is. Good doesn't always win.

It is revolting? For sure.

Would you like justice to prevail? Obvious.

Think this could happen? Perhaps. I dream of this moment.

Well, I hope I made my point clear.

I'm not good at writing analysis or playing characters. But that's more or less how I see Gege's script choices.

Sorry if I didn't talk much about Naoya. I don't remember much about his character other than that he was a misogynistic piece of shit and wanted to kill Megs. I need to reread the manga.

Thanks for the question, little Anon! I had fun writing it! :D

[hxhhasmysoul]

You've frequently said that Yuuji is like a shoujo protagonist. Could you elaborate on that? I don't read shoujo and the last shoujo anime I watched was years ago so I'm not very familiar with it but I'm very fascinated as to why you think Yuuji's like a shoujo heroine. I don't think I've ever heard anyone else describe him as such.

I think I've seen some people talk about him in the context of a shoujo manga, though it might have been more in the context of him being a shoujo love interest which from what I recall of shoujo isn't really apt, Megumi with his aloof personality fits that bill more. but maybe others compared him to a protag too.

As you can see I'm also not some shoujou manga, or any manga category, expert. And I'm sure there's at least one, but more likely several, in-depth academic analyses of shoujo as a category, or what a shoujo protagonist is. And as with any such broad category there are surely exceptions, possibly even very popular ones.

With the above caveats, what I mean when I say "Yuuji is a shoujo manga heroine" is that he kinda fits the bill of what I picture when I think of a shoujo heroine. But also it's a bit of a sad joke, because, le sigh, patriarchy.

So historically, and maybe even today, not an expert, the manga categories were very strongly targeted at very particular demographics. Which any form of media like that, you of course get a lot of stereotypes baked into it. Stereotypes about what these groups may want to see which are based on societal norms and expectations for these groups. And the main manga categories are gendered and divided by age into shoujo - manga for adolescent women, josei - manga for adult women, shounen - manga for young men, seinen - manga for adult men.

From what I've gathered, the adult categories, I think especially the seinen category, are more flexible in what they allow for in terms of topics. Like adults can be interested in whatever they want, especially when it comes to men.

The categories directed at the youth feel more rigid when it comes to what they should depict. In gross simplification, girls should be exposed to relationships while boys should be exposed to action.

It's not like you don't get any action in shoujo, like you can get a lot of it, but it's framed differently than what you get in shounen and I will get to that. But the relationship will be at the forefront, and there's usually romance as an important part of the story.

You also get relationships in shounen, the already cliche power of friendship and so on, though rather no romance. It's a running joke that we get epilogues where we find out the protag who had the most dramatic and kinda romantic moments with his male friend/rival/enemy is happily married to one of the girls that cheered on him from the sidelines. Heteronormativity needs to be maintained. It's also a cliche that any romance that happens in shounen is played for laughs and kinda cringe, or downright laced with some really creepy shit like pedophilia (older women taking interest in young boys usually but it's "just a joke" or even depicted as cool) or incel shit (like male characters harassing and stalking female characters).

Gege doesn't do any of that, and will be very good about it if they stay on course and not make the "and they were all heterosexual" epilogue. I wrote a more detailed post about it, one that also delves into a lot of gender stuff, though it's a bit of a questionable one due to its origins and it's a bit old, etc. etc., proceed with caution if you choose to check it out. (A side note too, Hell's Paradise is quite interesting with it's premise of the protag loving his wife even if it's not executed well. Generally Kaku tries a lot of interesting things, though doesn't always manage to stick the landing).

A shoujo heroine often isn't the brightest when it comes to school stuff, or strongest in terms of physical strength, if there's magic involved her powers usually don't seem to be the most devastating in their effects. What she will usually have is an ability to deliver moments of very high vulnerability. She will also usually have a huge heart and ability to bring people together. These 3 combined is how she usually will win fights. A shounen character often can also have the last two, but usually the vulnerability he delivers is a bit one note, sometimes feels almost performative with the "I'm not strong enough". (also I'm sure that there a plenty of shoujo that also fail these). And the shounen character uses his vulnerability moment to charge the final attack while a shoujo heroine can win just through being vulnerable. (There's obviously shounen which has done this too, like categories this big will have everything, Killua wins with Palm through showing vulnerability, he does that with Illumi too.)

You might already see where I'm going with this.

Yuuji is built around his very strong humanity, his compassion. It's in his name. He is extremely good at delivering moments of devastating vulnerability, moments that are not power ups for him at all. He's also built around his loneliness and desire for connection, for being surrounded by people. He's very people oriented, has a warm personality and brings people together. He's capable of deep compassion and love. He has very high emotional intelligence. And he's capable of winning a fight through that alone, actually.

I started to call him a shoujo heroine after the Junpei battle, because he literally wins that by making himself vulnerable in front of Junpei and talking Junpei down. That's why what happens next is all the more devastating. He makes himself vulnerable in front of Higuruma.

If you apply shounen logic to JJK you get all those fans shitting on Yuuji because he's not the strongest. Because he doesn't have flashy powers like Gojou or Sukuna or Megumi. The cold takes like: "he loses several battles, omg he's not really the protagonist", or "he doesn't get amazing power ups", or "he's not driven to be the strongest, he's not proactive in achieving some lofty goals, climbing to the top of the hierarchy", etc. etc. blah, blah.

However if you apply a more shoujo logic to JJK, Yuuji is the clear and only protagonist. He's the heart of the story, he's the most people-oriented, relationship-oriented, vulnerable character. People are drawn to his warmth, not his power (Toudou's fanfiction about Yuuji is about Yuuji being his emotional support, about Yuuji letting Toudou be vulnerable together!).

All of the themes of the story converge onto him. He's emotionally tied to both major villains, and to their victims. His subtle personal, highly vulnerable goal, screams shoujo manga.

That's why I call him a shoujo heroine.

Why I say this is all a bit of a sad joke. While everything I wrote above, I stand by with my full conviction, the joke is that it all hinges on buying into patriarchy.

The division between shounen and shoujo is based on the societal norms for the gender binary. The idea that girls should like certain things, should behave a certain way... boys should like other things, behave in a different way etc. etc. In a system like that even personality traits are gendered. Men are stoic, calm, collected, decisive, forward, intellectual, high-minded, practical, project strength, they should feel comfortable taking up space blah blah. Women are emotional, fragile, caring, supportive, they don't care about practicality but are interested in the trivial and pretty things, they should be shy and quiet, feel good in the background, blah blah blah.

One of the principal traits of a shoujo and shounen protagonists is their gender. Because girls should read about girls and boys should read about boys.

This is why it's a bit of a sad joke, because calling Yuuji a shoujo heroine feels a bit like calling him a girl. And while I do it with love, and with my highly internally processed views on gender, I do it in public. I do it on this website where so many people perform a lot of feminism or queer activism in ways that are full of internalised misogyny and queerphobia of various stripes. In a patriarchal society calling a boy a girl is an insult, it's a form of devaluing him because girls are seen as less than. It's implying that he's failing at being a man. And Yuuji gets a lot of shit from the fandom for not being strong enough, for failing as a shounen protag. For failing to be that idealised, aspirational version of a boy. One that can overcome anything, one that's always strong, that is always driven.

I will quote here what I wrote about Yuuji in the post I linked above not to repeat myself:

"Yuuji is written more like a female character than a male one if we take the gender stereotypes into consideration, especially those that pervade the shounen genre. He’s built around compassion, cooperation and orienting himself towards others. These are stereotypically female coded traits. He doesn’t have a self aggrandising goal like so many shounen protagonists. His goal is intimate, it’s about his emotional needs. I forgot to mention that Yuuji is quite passive compared to a typical shounen protag. He rarely takes action on his own and only when the situation really forces him to do it. He’s reactive not proactive. He has this goal of eating all fingers but he waits for instructions, follows them. He doesn’t go out in the world seeking out the fingers. Same goes for his missions to kill curses. The reality had to hurt him real bad for him to become more active and still even now he falls in line, he’s not driven in the way shounen protags usually are. Passivity is associated with the concpet yin, which is also associated with femininity. Why do I mention this concept? Because jujutsu sorceres are kinda the successors of onmyōji, or more literally the yin-and-yang masters. He doesn’t have much of an ego. He knows he’s good at fighting but he’s not arrogant about it like Gojou or Sukuna are. He’s tactile, he has an open body language. His best friend is Nobara. The way they are close is astounding. All their idiot to idiot moments. All their physical contact. The way they complement each other while fighting. The way Nobara can just text Yuuji to come and he does. Nobara being gone really affects Yuuji deeply, to the point where he uncharacteristically lashed out at Hana. And it’s completely not sexual or romantic. Compared to that his friendship with Megumi is pretty shit and not really close. He’s been very clearly socialised as a boy in a pretty misogynist society on shit like shounen manga. He has “a type” when it comes to girls, that he can invoke instantly because that’s how young boys are socialised, it’s expected of them. And yet that type is just an aesthetic preference. It’s not really what he’d even want from a potential girlfriend. He treats women like people. Naturally, instinctively not in the fake “nice guy” way. He’s such a well rounded role model of young masculinity. He is that because Gege doesn’t build him on the stereotypes of what masculinity should be according to the conservative patriarchal viewpoint. Yuuji is a human who’s entitled to emotions, who’s not a total victim of his socialisation, who doesn’t strive to live up to societal expectations. No status quo, the mantra of JJK."

In a world not steeped through with patriarchy this wouldn't matter. In a world without such rigid standards as to what is masculine and what is feminine, calling Yuuji a shoujo manga heroine wouldn't stand out. Because it wouldn't feel like a thing. Yuuji wouldn't draw anyone's disappointment or ire. There wouldn't be a feeling of him crossing gender norms because the norms either wouldn't exist or would've been very very wide and flexible.

_____

tldr: Yuuji is a shoujo manga heroine because he also has pink hair and is capable of extreme cuteness, and have you seen him holding the bunny so adorably? Very Usagi coded.

[candycandy00]

Do you think Sukuna is or was a rapist?

Yes. I know there’s been some discussion about it and different people feel strongly about different answers, but for me, there’s definitely strong enough evidence for me to think he is/was. 

Let’s look at the evidence:

1.) In his very first scene, he specifically mentions women twice. The first time literally asking, “Where are the people? The women?” While grinning maniacally. Could he have simply meant that he wanted to kill a bunch of women? Sure, but I think the much more obvious interpretation is that he wanted them for carnal purposes. And the author knows this is the obvious interpretation of this dialogue. That’s likely why they used it. It was a convenient way of revealing that Sukuna is a sadistic monster. 

2.) His threat towards Nobara. He specifically mentions her to Yuji and strongly implies that he’ll do something very unsavory to her in particular (when both her and Megumi are in the area). Why single her out? Why mention her, the only girl, in particular? Why mention that she “seems lively” and that he’ll have fun with her? Now, could he have only meant that he’d have fun fighting/killing her? Sure, but why her and not Megumi, who is clearly stronger than her and would definitely put up a more “lively” fight? Again, I think the obvious implication here is the one the author intended. 

3.) We are told outright that Sukuna “lives according to his pleasure”. Meaning he seeks out things that bring him pleasure. What’s one of the most common and well known physical pleasures? Sex. And with this phrasing, it’s pretty strongly implied that he takes what he wants. Again, it’s possible that this line only meant that he ate good food whenever he wanted (something he does say later on, along with another line I’ll discuss next). But like with the other points, I think the obvious interpretation includes sexual pleasure. 

4.) Sukuna himself says, “If people are amusing, I’ll play with them.” He says this right after saying he eats when he wants. I think this works on proving the previous point, that he pursues different types of pleasure. Now, could he mean that he’ll fight people who seem strong? Of course, but I feel like he would have just said that if that’s all he meant. By saying it the way he did, it implies something broader. There are different ways to “play with” a person after all. So again, it seems obvious to me that we’re supposed to read this as him saying he’ll fuck someone he finds attractive and fight someone who seems strong. 

There’s also some less concrete evidence that doesn’t really prove that Sukuna raped anyone but instead makes it seem more plausible: 1.) Sukuna is a violent, sadistic villain who thinks nothing of murdering lots of innocent people and also eats people, is rape really off the table for him? 2.) We’re told in the manga that some villages threw festivals in his honor and gave him offerings. People were terrified of him and wanted to appease him. Back in the Heian era, it seems extremely plausible that women were offered to him. And 3.) One of the songs Gege listed as a “theme song” for Sukuna is (s)aint by Marilyn Manson, which has some rather sexually charged lyrics. I think this could definitely imply that Sukuna at the very least has an interest in sex. 

So yeah, I think all of this together strongly implies that Sukuna had his way with plenty of women in the Heian era. Now, you could argue all of those points individually. And individually, those might be good arguments. But taken all together, it gets harder to argue them. To deny that Sukuna is probably a rapist requires you to purposely interpret several scenes in the most unlikely ways possible. 

It’s not that I want him to be a rapist. I just don’t think it’s a good idea to completely deny the darker or more problematic aspects of a character. 

[linkspooky]

um... hello

i’ve been wondering how did you go about characterizing Nanako and Mimiko?

i’m slowly going through your jujutsu kaisen fanfics, michikatsu has my heart, and I’m surprised how well you wrote nanako and mimiko in exponential growth so far.

were some of it headcannon? or did you come to those characterization conclusions based on what was shown in the manga?

Thank you for your nice words about my fanfics. Nanako and Mimiko were a pretty big reason for why I started wanting to write fanfic of jujutsu kaisen, because number one Geto's family is the most interesting thing about him as a character and how he contrasts with Gojo, and number two they're crimminally underutilized in canon. I also found their deaths unnecessarily gratuitous. It was a start of a long series of Gege wasting female characters.

Which is why I wanted to explore them more in fic, and also just explore the idea of Geto's found family. As for where I came up with the idea for their characters, I'll answer below the cut.

There were enough hints in canon about Nanako and Mimiko's cursed techniques that I was able to extrapolate what each of them did, voodoo dolls that force others to commit suicide and cursed photography. I also took a little inspiration from their character designs, Mimiko is obviously meant to be the dark / gloomy one, whereas Nanako dresses like a Gyaru. The fact that they're always near each other / clutching each other hints to a bit of a codependent relationship as well.

However, the rest of their characterization I basically had to make up. The biggest source of inspiration for them comes from Durara!! which is another urban fantasy series by Ryoga Narita, which deals with a bunch of supernatural creatures like dullahans, and vampires existing in an urban setting. I draw a lot of inspiration from Durarara!! because a big thing that Ryoga Narita writes well is having loads and loads of characters share screen time in a bigger story which is something I want to accomplish for Jujutsu Kaisen and it's huge cast. Especially since the aim of my fanfic series is to focus the spotlight more on the minor characters as opposed to the main trio.

Ryoga Narita is pretty famous for his eccentric characters, all of them are crazy in their own special way. One of the ways he manages to balance so many characters is each of them kind of has a gimmick or central concept they're based around. Mimiko and Nanako take a lot of inspiration from Izaya's little sisters, Mairu and Kurui.

Mairu and Kurui are based around the trop of "twins having opposite personalities", but it's a parody of that trope because they're doing it on purpose. Basically, the story is that when they were younger their older brother Izaya emotionally abused them by saying that if they were twins and the same person one of them should kill themselves because they had an extra. (Izaya is a lovely person by the way). They wanted to please their brother, so they decided to write all their personality traits down on a list and then divide them equally. Their theory is that by balancing out their strengths and weaknesses between each other they create the "ultimate human being."

Kurui decided to be the quiet one who's eccentric at school, like a Rei Ayanami expy, she wears her gym clothes to the middle of class and doesn't socialize with anoyone. Mairu decided to be the loud, attention hungry, eccentric one. She screams to everyone the first day of class that she's bisexual and willing to date multiple partners. When a bunch of girls try to bully her, she literally almost forces them to swallow thumb tacks. Kurui barely talks, and Mairu does all the speaking for her.

The twist is that they're intentionally doing that, it's an act for both of them. When they're texting people, or when they're in an online chatroom Kurui becomes the talkative one and writes in paragraphs, while Mairu gives one word responses. Which suggests that at any time they could just swap personalities. Both of them also consider themselves the same person, they want to date the same guys, and if they disagree on anything they have mental breakdowns.

So Nanako and Mimiko share the same central concept, but the thing is while I love Kurui and Mairu and their character concept is excellent they literally have no character development in the story they are in. They're never challenged over the fact that they are super codependent and can't exist without each other. They never really grow past the trauma of the emotional abuse that their brother inflcited on them. It seems like a subversion of the "twins with the same personalities" trope at first, but then they don't really go anywhere with it. Also, there's a lot of icky twin incest subtext between the two of them. They just legit kiss once because light novels are gross sometimes.

The closest the two of them get to character development is their relationship is the friendship both of them make with Aoba Kuronuma.

Aoba is a first year student introduced in the second half of the story, he's basically a foil for their older brother Izaya. He's like an Izaya who's less of a villain because he's younger and capable of making friends. A lot of his positive character traits come out in his relationship with the twins, because while he's a selfish user of people he tends to be really selfless and protective when it comes to them.

This could have been a jumping board for having the twins have separate identities, because they are both friends with him, but Aoba has romantic feelings for Kurui. However, they do the twin incest thing again because the first time Kurui isses Aoba, Mairu is like "I have to kiss everyone my sister kisses" and then kisses him immediately afterwards and says it's an indirect kiss with Mairu.

There's a sequel to Durarara! called, Durarara! SH!. The trio shows up in that novel, but the original plan for that series was to make Aoba the main character with the Kurui and Mairu as the other parts of the main trio. However, that was scrapped in favor of three new characters which I thought was a pretty big waste of their potential.

A lot of the things I wanted to see in the Aoba / Kurui / Mairu trio, I put into Exponential Growth for the Junpei / Mimiko / Nanako dynamic. Basically the whole idea that after meeting Junpei, Mimiko and Nanako's relationship can't remain the same because it used to be their whole world was just the two of them but there's suddenly this third person their own age they both want to socialize with. Also, the two of them can't both date him so he forces them to actually act like individuals.

My trajectory with Nanako and Mimiko comes from what I wanted from Kurui and Mairu which is this deconstruction of the idea that they're the same person, by separating them and forcing them to learn to be their own people. Also, the sheer amount of distress it would cause a pair of twins this codependent to be forced to separate and live on their own. Because they're at that time in adolescence where they're going through some major changes in personality so the coping mechanism that worked for them as kids is starting to break down.

The other major inspiration for them is Maki and Mai. The basic premise is that they have the opposite relationship that Maki and Mai do, but it's just as unhealthy. Maki and Mai are permanently separated from their childhood closeness, because Maki always pushes Mai away. Maki needs to assert herself as an individual. However, this need is so strong that she doesn't think she can have any kind of relationship because she views it as a chain dragging her down.

Whereas, Mimiko and Nanako have been clinging to each other since childhood. They have the relationship that Mai basically WANTS to have with Maki. However, Maki thinks they're utterly pathetic because they can't survive on their own and are entirely dependent on each other. Which is Maki's unhealthy and toxic ideal of strength. At the same time, Mimiko and Nanako think that Maki just plain hates Mai. They can't imagine a sister ever completely ignoring another sister and pushing her out of her life because they value family more than anything else. As unhealthy as they are, at least Mimiko and Nanako make it clear they both love each other.

There's also another foiling point where they are both equally bad at communication with one another. Mimiko and Nanako claim they're the same person, and share the same thoughts on everything but Mimiko is constantly bullied by Nanako. Nanako's extremely bossy and domineering in the relationship. However, it's enabled by Mimiko who's been depending on Nanako too much over the years to make all the decisions for them. They also talk a lot but rarely talk about their true feelings with one another and when they start to it turns into an argument.

On the other hand, Maki and Mai could probably clear up a lot of tension between them with ONE HONEST CONVERSATION, but neither of them are willing to do that.

[olivialau]

Shadow's Embrace Ch.23

Sukuna x Reader

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fanfiction based on the universe of "Jujutsu Kaisen," created by Gege Akutami. The original manga, anime, and characters belong to their respective owners and creators.

Notes:

This story unfolds in the Jujutsu Kaisen world, set in a slightly altered universe where Sukuna inhabits his own vessel distinct from Itadori Yuji's body, making him a separate entity.

Summary:

Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses, becomes fascinated with a female sorcerer rich in potential but lacking control. Initially seizing her for his destructive plans, Sukuna aims to bind her abilities through a contract. Yet, as he tries to dominate her, he finds himself intrigued by her strength and determination. Over time, his interest evolves from strategic advantage to a deeper, personal connection.

---------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 23 - A Fragile Truce

You stood behind Sukuna in the dimly lit alley, the lingering warmth of alcohol still coloring your cheeks.

You’d yelled at him, kicked him, even come close to stabbing him—driven by a desperate need to shed the simmering rage that clung to you like a second skin. And strangely, after all that chaos, you felt like you’d done just that. There was an unexpected sense of relief, as if the outburst had vented the pressure that had been building for days.

Not all, but some of it at least.

And in that relative calm after the storm, you could no longer ignore the curiosity that had been buried beneath the layers of rage.

Those fleeting glimpses of something... almost human in Sukuna had planted an undeniable seed of intrigue—dangerous, but impossible to suppress.

Sukuna still had his back turned to you, making it difficult to gauge if his own outburst had brought him a similar semblance of calm. Though ‘calm’ was hardly a word you’d ever associate with him. Really, it was more a question of whether his intent to slaughter you had softened enough to be put on hold for now.

Cautiously, you took another step forward, hoping he might turn around at the sound of your approach. But the crunch of gravel under your feet was masked by the crumbling of the broken wall, still trembling from the force of his earlier blows.

With no other options, you chose a more daring approach.

“Uh, Sukuna?”

His shoulders tensed slightly, but he didn't turn.

And so, emboldened by the lingering buzz and the haze of slight anger, you pressed on. “Look, I’m drunk, I’m tired, and I’ve got classes tomorrow. Can we just… postpone this until another time?”

You waited, heart pounding, and painfully aware that you were extending an olive branch right after stupidly mocking the King of Curses in a moment of reckless impulse.

Then Sukuna finally glanced over his shoulder. The fire in his crimson eyes had cooled to a simmering ember, still dangerous but not quite the raging blaze it had been when he had you pinned to the wall.

He covered his eyes with one hand, a rough sigh escaping his lips as if you were an irritating puzzle he couldn’t quite solve.

“You truly think you’re getting off that easy, brat?”

Peering at you through the gaps between his fingers, he watched as you instinctively stepped back, nearly tripping over an uneven patch of pavement.

“Come on,” you tried to plead, your voice wavering between frustration and fatigue. “I shouldn’t have stayed away that long, okay? But you weren’t exactly reasonable about the memorial this weekend, and you pissed me off—a lot.”

Sukuna turned fully now, stepping into the faint glow of the streetlamp. The light carved out the sharp planes of his face and cast an intimidating silhouette on the wall behind him.

He lowered his hand, revealing that familiar mocking smirk that made your blood boil. And as he took another step in your direction, the last traces of anger in his eyes gave way to a certain... amusement.

“I’ll let it slide,” he drawled, taking yet another step until he stopped right in front of you.

“But only if you bow to me.”

You stared at him, momentarily stunned. Was he serious? Though deep down, you knew he was. He loved this twisted power play.

“No way,” you snapped back, crossing your arms. “I’m not bowing to you.”

His smirk widened as he toyed with the dagger he’d snatched from you earlier, lazily tossing it from hand to hand.

“Remember our binding vow,” he said, suddenly stopping the tossing to grab the dagger by the blade, pointing the hilt towards you. ���If I give you an order, you can’t refuse. Or are you that eager to find out what happens if you break the vow?”

Shit.

He had you cornered. The binding vow was no small matter—if you defied him, it would shatter the pact, unleashing a punishment you didn’t even want to imagine. You clenched your jaw, every muscle in your body tensing as if that might somehow help you resist your fate.

“Do it,” Sukuna commanded with a voice that felt unexpectedly gentle, almost coaxing, before it turned sharp and cold.

"Or don’t—and I’ll savor every moment of watching you face the consequences. Either way, it’ll be a spectacle for me and a harsh lesson for you.”

You hated that it was this way—a choice between humiliation or disaster—but you were exhausted. All you wanted was to shut your eyes, sleep off the alcohol, and forget about all this, even if it meant choosing the path of humiliation.

At this point, it was simply the least exhausting option.

With a deep, reluctant breath, you dropped your gaze and slowly bent at the waist, each inch feeling like a mile. Your face burned with embarrassment, and your fists clenched so tightly at your sides that your nails dug into your palms. You made sure to bow just enough to satisfy the command and not an inch more.

“There,” you muttered through gritted teeth, your voice tight with shame. “Happy now?”

Sukuna watched you with an increasingly smug grin, and you could almost swear he straightened out his spine to emphasize the difference between you and him even more. “Good girl... See? Was that really so difficult?” he said, relishing the way the words made you stiffen in indignation.

“Go to hell,” you spat back as you glared up at him.

Sukuna chuckled, his laugh harsh and sinister, as it echoed off the narrow walls of the alley. "Hell? I’d consider that a vacation."

He then tossed the dagger to the ground at your feet, a gesture that was so typical of him. It was a complicated duality you were starting to recognize.

Sukuna had a habit of doing things to you that, in another context, might almost be considered kind. Returning a weapon you'd tried to use against him, for example, or saving your life from a special grade curse.

But he always did it in a way that kept you beneath him—forcing you to bend down even lower. It was like he could only manage to show a sliver of decency when it was cloaked in a display of power.

And yet, the fact that there was a hint of consideration in his actions at all—wasn’t that proof he wasn’t entirely evil?

Or maybe you were losing your grip on reality for even thinking that.

You straightened up, and Sukuna had already turned away, heading in the direction of the apartment. You quickly caught up with him, and he shot you a sidelong glance, a flicker of surprise passing over his face.

Clearly, he had expected you to follow behind him, not beside him.

But you were done with shivering in his shadow.

You were determined to show Sukuna that you were more than just a tool to be used; you were a person—albeit a remarkably stupid one for entangling yourself with a monster like him.

---------------------------------------------------------

The walk back to the apartment was silent. Neither you nor Sukuna spoke a word, and even after stepping inside the apartment, the wordless tension continued. He didn't spare you so much as a glance before disappearing into the basement, off to do God knows what.

Well, whatever. You were too exhausted to care.

After gulping down a glass of water—hoping it might stave off the inevitable headache the next day—you threw yourself onto the couch, and sleep claimed you instantly.

The next morning, it wasn’t your alarm that dragged you from sleep but the rhythmic thud of Sukuna’s footsteps moving through the apartment.

Your eyes blinked open, and you reached for your phone, careful to keep your movements quiet so he wouldn’t notice you were awake.

6:30 a.m.

The bright screen pierced your eyes, sending a sharp pain through your skull.

So much for that glass of water working.

You set your phone down and listened closely as Sukuna’s footsteps headed toward the bathroom. A door slammed, and moments later, you heard the steady hiss of running water.

The sound made you instantly aware of how thirsty you were. Your throat felt dry as a desert, and you reasoned that if you drank another glass of water and squeezed in an extra hour of sleep, maybe you could beat this headache before your classes started.

Silently, you tiptoed to the kitchen, navigating through the dark with the flashlight of your phone.

You opened the cupboard, stretching onto your toes to grab a glass tucked away on the top shelf. Your fingers brushed against the rim, managing to grab hold, but in your haste, you missed the second glass sitting beside it.

With a dreaded clink, it tipped over and shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor.

For a moment, you froze, hoping—praying—that Sukuna hadn’t heard it over the sound of the shower. The last thing you needed at this hour was a lecture on human stupidity, especially while you were still feeling the effects of last night’s drinks.

With no time to waste, you dropped to your knees and began picking up the shards, using your hands to sweep them into a pile. The pieces cut into your skin, leaving stinging trails of red, but you didn’t care. You just needed to get this cleaned up before Sukuna came out and found you like this.

Right then, another sudden, fierce throb tore through your head. Reflexively, you reached up to rub your temple, but that caused you to lose your balance.

Before you could catch yourself, your hand slipped, sending you tumbling sideways—right into the mess of broken glass.

A sharp pain shot through you. You bit back a yelp, feeling the warm blood begin to seep from the wounds, trickling down your leg and pooling in your palms.

You angled the light from your phone down to assess the damage, and your heart skipped a beat. A large shard of glass was embedded about two inches deep into the inside of your thigh, with blood steadily oozing from the wound and pooling around its edges.

Gritting your teeth, you tried to stand up, but the glass drove a searing pain through your leg whenever you put any weight on it. You clumsily tried to pick at the shard with trembling fingers, but your body refused to obey the command to pull it out.

Steeling yourself, you dried your blood-slicked hands on your shorts as you prepared to try again. You gripped the shard firmly, resolved to yank it free this time, no matter how much it hurt. But just as you were about to pull—

Two feet appeared in front of you, the mix of your blood and the glass shards crunching beneath them. You froze, unable to comprehend how Sukuna had moved so silently and how you hadn’t sensed him at all.

"Disgusting," Sukuna muttered, glancing down at the sole of his foot with a grimace. "Now I've got your filthy blood all over my damn feet."

Your gaze traveled upward slowly, taking him in bit by bit. His skin still glistened with droplets of water and he wore only a flimsy towel slung low around his hips, the fabric barely covering his manhood. His expression was one of mild irritation, like you were more of a nuisance than a person bleeding out in front of him.

He shifted slightly, and the movement caused his muscles to flex, making them look even more defined beneath the intricate patterns of his tattoos. He was close enough that you could feel the heat radiating from his freshly showered skin, and for a moment, your heart pounded for an entirely different reason.

He clicked his tongue, and there was an unmistakable contempt in his voice. "Does your foolishness truly know no bounds? Or are you deliberately trying to get under my skin?"

His eyes narrowed, briefly meeting yours before he turned his gaze away. "Should’ve finished you off yesterday."

You wanted to snap back, but the words caught in your throat. The way he stood there, coldly declaring how he’d rather see you dead while you bled at his feet, made you feel strangely vulnerable.

It was absurd—just the day before, he’d held a knife to your throat, and you hadn’t felt this hurt. So why did his words cut so much deeper now?

Sukuna seemed almost surprised by your silence, as if he’d caught the slight flicker of hurt on your face. He sighed, crouching down with a sharp exhale, his towel threatening to slip. “Move your hands,” he ordered.

For a moment, you hesitated. His eyes flicked to yours, and something dangerous flashed in them.

"Now."

You reluctantly obeyed, moving your hands away from the shard in your leg.

You flinched when Sukuna reached out, his fingers rough yet surprisingly careful as they brushed against your thigh. A jolt of unexpected heat coursed through you, and you bit down on your lip, suppressing a gasp as he gripped the glass with a steady hand.

Without warning, he yanked it out in one swift motion. Pain exploded through your leg, so intense you almost screamed, but you managed to stifle it to a sharp intake of breath instead.

When you looked down, the blood gushed out at an even faster pace, forming a dark puddle beneath you. You quickly pressed your hand to the wound in an effort to stop the bleeding.

Sukuna sighed in response, muttering a “tsk” under his breath. His irritation with your fragile humanity seemed to grow with each passing second.

He let the glass shard clatter to the floor and then paused before roughly pulling your hand away from the wound. He hovered his own hand above it, and a steady stream of cursed energy began to emanate from his palm.

You'd seen this before—it was his reversed cursed technique. Was he healing you right now? Without you even asking?

Your eyes widened in surprise.“What are you—”

“Shut up,” Sukuna snapped, his frown deepening. “Lift your shorts a little. There are cuts there too.”

Heat rose to your cheeks, and you instinctively pressed your legs together. “Why would I—”

Sukuna growled, and there was a cold, dangerous intensity in his eyes. “Do you think I’m asking?”

He then huffed in frustration, as if he couldn’t believe he was even bothering with this. “Do it, or bleed out. It makes no difference to me.”

You hesitated, caught between embarrassment and the sharp pain radiating from your leg. Slowly, you lifted the hem of your shorts just enough to expose the wounds, your heart racing as his hand came dangerously close to the edge of your panties.

The warmth of his cursed energy radiated over your skin, and for a moment, you felt a faint tingling sensation as the energy pulsed through the wounds, knitting the torn flesh back together in a way that was surprisingy gentle.

Sukuna watched the process intently, his expression unreadable and his face so close that you could feel his breath against your skin. Every now and then, his fingers brushed lightly against your thigh, and you struggled to distinguish between the warmth of his energy and the heat rising between your legs.

You couldn’t believe yourself—were you really that starved for attention?

Just as you could barely bear it any longer, his energy faded, and Sukuna withdrew his hand. The wounds were completely healed, leaving no trace of blood or pain behind.

He moved on to treating your hands and some cuts on your side before finally standing up and stretching out the muscles in his back.

“Try not to embarrass yourself like this again,” he muttered, wiping the blood off his hands with a nearby cloth. “Now clean up your mess,” he added as he turned away.

But before he could walk off, you felt compelled to say something. Because, for the first time, it seemed like he had helped without expecting anything in return.

"Um… Sukuna, thank you," you said softly, the words slipping out before you could stop them. "For… for healing me, I mean."

He stopped dead in his tracks, his back still to you. You thought, for a second, he might ignore you. But then, slowly, he turned his head, the expression on his face unreadable in the darkness.

“Hah,” he scoffed, “I didn’t do it for your sake, so don’t flatter yourself.” He continued, as if he felt a dire need to defend his actions. “I don’t need you bleeding all over my floor and ruining my morning. That’s all.”

Despite the harshness in his words, he appeared strangely restless. He shifted his weight and crossed his arms, as if guarding himself against something he couldn’t quite name. Even in the dark, you could tell he was avoiding your gaze.

“Still,” you insisted, glancing down at your lap, “I appreciate it.”

At that, he turned abruptly, muttering something under his breath that you could just barely make out: "Ridiculous woman..."

And though his voice retained some irritation, it lacked its usual venom.

A small smile crept onto your lips as he slammed the door to his room. Despite the argument you’d had the day before, his unexpected act of care made you feel oddly... special.

---------------------------------------------------------

Thankyou for reading <3. I added my most recent Sukuna artwork below as a little treat. Hope you like it ;)

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Taglist: @sukunasthightattoos , @tomiokasecretlover , @6demonize6me6 , @blindbabycadder , @domainofmarie , @marcoschuitmaker , @geniejunn , @chanaaaannel

[rsatoru]

gege literally said ‘satoru gojo and suguru geto were made to complement each other- as partners. one can’t exist without the other, they are counterparts.’

gojo saw geto as more as friends and family.

gojo’s and geto’s breakup scene looks very similar to a scene from one of gege’s favourite bl.

all of gege’s favourite manga bl are stories where the couple does not get together. kind of reflects gojo and geto.

gege says he likes a manga called ‘feathers in the heart of love’, which is about school life, two boys who are best friends and in the same class, a tragic love due to separation at death.

in yuyu hakusho, a manga which contains mlm characters and whose author shows interest in making a more lgbt type series, there’s a character who, just like geto, had a mental breakdown and questions his own morals and sees the darkness and evil of humanity. the character’s relationship with another character is implied to be mlm, doomed and has a paranormal setting.

when gojo asked shoko and geto to throw something at him to test his limitless technique, geto chose an eraser, as to not hurt gojo. gojo let the eraser touch him, while he didn’t allow the pen—which shoko threw—to do so.

in hidden inventories outro, the flowers which are in between geto and gojo while they are sitting down and drinking soda are osmanthus, which symbolise true love.

gojo’s eyes, covered or not, were always staring at the shape of geto’s soul.

their appearances are complementary.

gojo wanted to get the same jacket uniform as geto.

geto is the first and only person who truly cared for gojo and saw him as a person, not ‘the strongest’.

'geto thought that love meant not taking the other person to hell, while gojo thought that love meant going to hell together with the other person, so it's inevitable that they would misunderstand each other.’ idk i saw this on twitter, don’t know if someone actually said this or the user made it up.

geto is gojo’s ‘one and only’ best friend. his first real friend.

gojo’s va said ‘geto’s presence was gojo’s emotional support. he would act freely like a spoiled child because geto could handle it.’ ‘geto was the only person that understood gojo and the only who could communicate with him.’

gojo actually listened to geto and changed the way he speaks. because of geto he also changed the way he acted around riko, getting an understanding of her and realising they’re all the same.

in anime or manga, ‘blue spring’ often means falling in love or the thrill of the more intense feelings you might experience as a teenager or young adult, yet it also means a certain amount of nostalgia and fondness, describing the ‘spring of youth’.

‘geto was gojo’s first and last blue spring’-jjk0 director.

jjk s2 hidden inventory promotion poster, specifically Geto’s one, says ‘the blue spring we can’t go back to’.

‘where our blue is’ is in the perspective of gojo. it’s about his feelings for geto and they used the word for romantic love, out of all the japanese words to describe love. when the song was being composed, the person got a request from the production staff, saying ‘we want a song than can encompass gojo satoru and geto suguru’s youth from the start to the end’.

literally the line when haibara asks what geto would want from his trip, yet he replies with ‘gojo might eat some too, so.. sweet, i think?’

when gojo was alone, he’d take sweet drinks, yet when he was with geto, he got drinks that he knew geto would like.

literally the chorus of one of gojo’s theme song which gege posted (shame on me by avicii) ‘that's what I get for lovin' you. you know I can't live without you’. the whole song is about love.

geto is gojo’s moral compass.

the song which plays when gojo begins to experience life and feel how wonderful everything is is called ‘if i am with you’. how wonderful everything is - if i am with you.

two people riding one bike is illegal, yet romantic in japan. it’s a common thing in anime, showing that these two characters are in love.

even after 10 years, gojo still recalls the events from the the hidden inventory arc.

geto’s gauges are very likely to be lapis lazuli because of the significance of lapis lazuli in buddism, which is gojo’s birthstone.

gojo asked if geto lost weight, in which geto replied it’s just heat fatigue. it wasn’t that gojo didn’t care, but he trusted his friend’s words.

geto left his second button from his uniform for gojo. in japan there’s a tradition, where after graduating you pull of the button from your jacket and give it to your loved one. though geto massacred the village before graduation.

gojo postponed geto’s execution for 10 years. he’s the only person that can kill geto, yet only did after he declared war.

before fighting geto, gojo said ‘i’d like to mourn suguru’s body’, even after what geto did.

the first thing gojo did after getting unsealed was to reach geto’s body because he wanted it back, to mourn and give it a proper funeral. he was literally in the deepest waters of japan, didn’t know if his students were alive or not, yet still teleported to kenjaku to kill him.

geto was capable of not leaving residules, yet he still left them for gojo.

gojo remembered geto’s curse power scent after 10 years (weird but whatever).

gojo died on the 24th december, just like geto a year before.

in japan, christmas eve is the most romantic day in the year. it’s japan’s valentines day.

gojo said that him and kenjaku should fight on december 24, in which kenjaku replied ‘are you a romantic? how nasty, scheduling our meeting on christmas eve’.

the song that played during geto’s and gojo’s last meeting was ‘this was pure love’.

geto dies, acknowledging how powerful the power of love and proceeds to tell gojo to curse him a little at the end.

‘this is my personal opinion, but there’s no curse more twisted than love’ was what gojo said to yuta, a statement probably indicating of personal experience.

geto said ‘i couldn’t wear a heartfelt smile while living in this world’, yet before he died gojo managed to make him smile.

‘when he heard the words gojo blurted out, geto couldn’t help but laugh, such embarrassing words. even when they were students, those words had never been said before’ jjk0 light novel. in japan, saying ‘i love you’ is seen as embarrassing.

gojo’s eng va said that gojo’s last words to geto were three words.

gege said that it was said in jjk0, plus the fact that the whole movie is resolved around the concept of love.

one of the va’s of jjk0 confirmed that gojo’s censored words to geto were along the lines of ‘you’ll always be my best friend and i love you so much’.

whatever gojo said to geto, it made geto blush.

‘show me your blushing face again’ was from gojo after all (from tawareco’s free press interview).

in geto’s last moments, gojo used the word ‘omae’, which is generally used only among close, close friends. it’s to show a deep bond between two people, even sometimes defined as referring to your beloved. it’s derogatory, but in this situation it shows that gojo still cared for geto.

gege connected the theme of ‘love’ and ‘satisfaction’ as he shows that gojo would’ve been satisfied if only geto was there. this made geto teary-eyed.

sukuna said love is worthless because he doesn’t need anyone to satisfy him, so he said to love someone is to satisfy them. then gojo told geto he’s the only once who could satisfy him.

when the girl with her mother came up to geto, asking for help, geto refused to call her by her name (which was saito) and continued to call her ‘sato’, because he said it sounds better.

geto’s clothes which he wears as a cult leader is a ‘gojo-kesa’. gege said it felt right for it to be that.

in japan, sharing an umbrella is an act to show that two people love and care for each other. it’s a common trope in anime and manga, showing that these two characters are in love. in hidden inventories outro, gojo was going to meet geto but it was raining so he brought an umbrella. yet it stopped raining when gojo got close to geto, meaning their relationship stopped before it got romantic.

in the outro, we see geto’s foot tapping anxiously while it’s raining. when gojo reached him, geto snapped out from whatever he’s been anxious about. the rain stops and the sun starts to shine.

there’s a phrase in japanese and it means a person bringing the sun with them and gojo is the sun in the outro. also, in jjk’s light novel, gojo describes geto as the setting sun.

gojo and geto always speak fondly of each other, even after 10 years.

jjk volume 26 cover has cameillas. they only bloom in winter. they symbolise union of lovers beyond death. it’s the birthday flower for 3rd february, which is geto’s birthday.

gege said to geto’s va, that when he’s calling satoru, he should do it like a wife calling her husband.

geto’s va was asked to soften his voice when talking to gojo.

kenjaku took over geto’s body not only because of his cursed technique, but mainly because he knew that geto was gojo’s only weakness and it was the only way to get him into the prison realm. he had no real plan other than that.

‘even a thousand measly human lives wouldn’t be enough to distract gojo’ yet kenjaku—in geto’s body—managed to do just that.

gege said that in the shibuya accident arc, when geto moved kenjaku’s hand and wanted to choke him, it was similar to a dragonfly after it’s head is cut off, implying that it’s muscle memory. protecting gojo when he’s in danger.

despite all these years, gojo still managed to notice that the kenjaku was not geto. kenjaku also couldn’t fully replicate his voice.

gojo always relies on his technique, except when it came to recognising suguru, he rather wanted to trust his soul.

apparently geto left a letter before he left. in one of the jjk expositions there were designs/concepts of this scene in and it just had ‘sorry’ written on it.

on a jjk exposition there was a clear kanji sign in bold that meant ‘romantic love’.

gojo wanted to become a teacher because he doesn’t want his students to end up on the same path as geto.

yuta said ‘don’t try to be the monster all alone anymore,’ in which gojo replied ‘that’s something i can’t do. at that moment i was left behind. i have to catch up to him’ and shows a panel of the kfc scene. what gojo means, is that he was left behind by geto because he’s not strong enough to choose his own path for what he truly believes (it’s not romantic but i wanted to add this).

[alonelystargazer]

jjk for the fandom ask (hope i was first and also that you're doing well <33)

hi rin! I'm having a nice day today actually, and I hope you're having a nice day too! also yeah you're the first one!

The first character I first fell in love with: 

This might be a surprise to some people, but I actually was a Megumi fan when I first got into JJK 3 years ago. I always gravitate towards the dark-haired, moody, reserved guy in media lol, so of course I would end up liking Megumi. But then I met Nanami and he got bumped down. Sorry! I still like Megumi though, he's definitely a top 5 JJK character for me.

I'm putting the rest under a read more because this is really long.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: 

Hmm, I guess I would say Yuuta for this one. Not that I didn't think I wouldn't like him as a character, but he definitely jumped higher on my list after I read/watched JJK 0.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

During season 1 I would've said Todo, because he seemed like one of those meathead frat boy type of guys, but he grew on me during Shibuya Incident as a source of inspiration for Yuuji, and in the more recent chapters of the manga.

But now, I would say Toji. Objectively speaking, he has a complicated history that seems interesting, and he's also attractive, but also he's a deadbeat dad who tried to sell his son to the Zen'in clan, and I can't really find any justification for that. Him sacrificing himself for Megumi in Shibuya is quite emotional, but I don't think it makes up for abandoning Megumi. Maybe it's just a personal issue for me lol.

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

I could joke and say Megumi for this one, but I'm gonna go with Mahito. He's a really compelling villain character and served as a foil to Yuuji in terms of philosophy regarding humanity. And him being the one to kill Nanami and Nobara, as his final acts as a cursed spirit, really impacted Yuuji and left a permanent mark on him.

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

I wouldn't say I loved Mei Mei, but I liked her enough as an example of a morally-gray character, someone who only looks out for herself. But then Gege showed us where she disappeared to during the Shibuya Incident and THAT whole scene was really disturbing to me and from that moment on, I wanted to erase her from my memory. We really didn't need to see THAT to get the impression that she's greedy and has secrets and all that. It was enough of an example of her taking bribes from Gojo to have the students being promoted and all that.

The character I would totally smooch: 

Hehe, well, I think it's obvious I wanna smooch Nanami and Choso, but would it be weird if I also said Heian Sukuna? Also, Kashimo (old man or reincarnated is fine with me hehe). I would also say Shoko, but she's a smoker and I don't really like the smell of cigarette smoke, sorry. She has a gf anyway.

The character I’d want to be like: 

I really want to be like Nanami in the sense of being a mentor to the next generation, and also like Choso in being the best older sibling.

The character I’d slap: 

Fuck ass Mei Mei lol. If Mei Mei has no haters, then I am dead.

A pairing that I love:

ItaFushi my beloved! The angst, the devotion, it's just so peak tragic yaoi. I've already said what I like about them as a ship, so I won't write a long ass paragraph, but I still have some hope for them, unlike with SatoSugu. I also like Haibara/Nanami and Yuuta/Toge as my top 3 JJK ships.

A pairing that I despise: 

*looks at the long list of ships I dislike/hate* Uhh... well, besides the incest and adult/minor ships, I REALLY hate Nanami/Mei Mei, which is something I've seen on twt a few times and it made me wanna rip the flesh off my bones. They are the antithesis of each other, Nanami who's so selfless and kind-hearted and protects children vs MM who's so greedy and selfish and is a danger to her younger brother, not just because she's a weirdo but also because she uses him for his Cursed Technique. They would never work as a ship, and it really irks me how she's the one who gave Nanami the idea for "going south".

anyway, this was fun!

[itadoriposting]

cant fully speak as i am not up to date with the manga so take this with huge spoonful of salt. as devastated as i have been reading the spoilers, i do have some thoughts. while i can 100% see how people find this last chapter frustrating, and agree to an extent, it does feel almost poetic in it's tragedy imo.

more thoughts under the cut

the satosugu of it all? we have to get this out of the way first. the way that both gojo and getu's bodies were used as tools and weapons to fight on the side of what they believed when they were alive, except it's contorted. gojo gets sealed because he's distracted by kenjaku in geto's body, yuuta appears as gojo because they cannot win without him. even if he lost. they were both just figureheads by the time they died, gods for their devotees to bow before. not to mention the toll on people around them, who have to live with this resurrected and came back wrong and yet somehow didn't come back at all because are you really back if you're just a puppet who's only purpose is to be used? they will always be intertwined. (also not to mention the physical appearances of the stitches, gege really went in with that one.)

also kind of love the call back to are you the strongest because you're gojo satoru or are you gojo saturo because you're the strongest? i've seen a few posts about this specifically in the tag and what the answer might reveal itself as. i don't know what it's gonna be, frankly, and i also don't know what i want it to turn out to be. i just know that it's going to be interesting, especially on the note of how gojo was really just a god to most people. he was The Strongest tm because he could do what no one else could. even he didn't really believe he could be defeated. was that because he was gojo saturo, who was at the end of the day permanently a little smug (though not without reason), or because he was the strongest, so he could simply acknowledge the fact? i don't know!

i think that for yuta and yuji and shoko, in particular, to have a chance at feeling any peace it needs to have been worthwhile. they've all sold their souls to win at this point, to beat sukuna, but especially yuta. who did what no-one else would or could fathom. (we do not support or accept any yuta hate on this blog thank u.) i also appreciate that it ties into the overall narrative of both jjk as a whole and the jujutsu society. it's a tragedy, and it's set up as a tragedy. for even the people who exist and live in this world. i hope that yuta doesn't end up dying as a result of this, though i know it's possible if not almost likely. i think there's a great deal of poeticism about a boy haunted by death once again kind of existing between alive and dead. his brain is alive, his body is dead. has he been a little bit dead since the day rika died? is that still why he can face all of this? i hope he gets a good ending, but i'm not really holding my breath for it. also i think the massacre of the higher ups was LONG TIME COMING. they claimed to want to protect the jujutsu world, but they did so at all costs, and honestly they were wrong often. having yuji itadori put to death when he's likely going to be the one to defeat sukuna. absolutely iconic, no notes. also i think killing the higher ups aligns with what gojo wanted most of all. he often said no one is supposed to take the joys of being young away from the youth, and he protected his students. two of which were going to be put to death by the higher ups if he hadn't stepped in. he said that his dream was to build a world where those kind of sorcerers would be able to run a better society, and hey after they defeat sukuna, maybe they will.

i know i'll have more thoughts about gojo giving consent for his body to be used after death, knowing that he was after all the strongest, but my initial thoughts are just that it makes sense, both for gojo as a character and because of the tragedy of the jujutsu world. death always walks beside them, they're always thinking about it. for someone as strong and vital as gojo, it makes sense to make plans for inevitabilities you can't prevent. especially after what happened to riko and how no one could save her, how gojo's first death lead to hers. even yuji, who has been a sorcerer for less than a year, is constantly thinking about death (and has died a fair few times himself). that's so much of the reason that he even joins the jujutsu world. he wants to have a Good Death and he thinks being a jujutsu sorcerer will lead the way for that. maybe gojo also wanted that. a good death where he was still able to serve people, even beyond it. a death that would mean he was able to uphold the society that geto, not radicalised geto but his best friend from high school, would've wanted.

this became a really long rambling essay, sorry to anyone who clicked under the cut expecting like concise expansion. thank you for reading this for this long if you did! like and subscribe for more of me dissecting the fact that gege akutami is absolutely a sadist wearing a chefs hat and we are all overheating in this kitchen