psychewritesbs

[psychewritesbs]

nothing to contribute other than saying "what great brainrot"

I’ll expand on this later but for now the whole Sukuna having a twin he absorbed, which then later caused him to end up becoming quite powerful, and the soul that belonged to the twin returning centuries later thing just makes even more sense when I think back to Maki and Mai, and part of Maki’s journey involving her absorbing Mai, and consider how Gege is likely circling back to that twin (specifically twin absorption) theme he planted a few arcs ago and returning to the theme of inheriting things like techniques and abilities from family and earlier generations as we see Yuji’s improvement and new techniques that are now manifesting, like blood manipulation (and the narrator mentioned malevolent shrine as a potential possibility, iirc)

and now I’m gonna tag in my friend @psychewritesbs who can likely expand on this before than I can

[psychewritesbs]

your url changed and I thought I lost you T.T your metas are so good I'm glad you're not actually gone

noooo I'm here I'm here. The Anime Psychologist will always be there, I just felt like the username didn't fit me anymore. I've felt like that for the longest time honestly...

Thanks for the comment 😭. I've only been answering asks but I now that the semester is almost over I would like to write a couple of meta that I have in mind. Stay tunned?

[psychewritesbs]

Hello, can I ask your top 7 favorite (fictional) books (no manga/manhwa) and your top 3 favorite (non fictional) books? Thx if you want to answer.....

Ok so off the top of my head and in no particular order...

Fiction:

Loved the first two Dune books. Holding off on the third one until after the movie.

I love Ann Patchett and every time I read a book by her I enjoy myself a lot. Bel Canto.

Como Agua para Chocolate is a must read that I adore. I've also read other books by Laura Esquivel that I've enjoyed a lot too. This one is best enjoyed in Spanish of course.

The Captive Prince Trilogy.

I also love the Vampire Chronicles by Ann Rice. Not sure how many I've read but probably 4 or 5 of them.

The Alchemist is another fave.

The Conference of the Birds is an absolute favorite.

Non-Fiction: Easier if I do it by topic...

Jungian Psychology

Marketing

Books on spiritual/esoteric topics.

[psychewritesbs]

Going off from some of your prev anons, is there really such a thing as "accurately interpreting the story/text 100% the way it was intended"? To me that sounds like a stretch someone who's vastly arrogant and self entitled would say.

Because, i find it really hard to believe story and characters are written with the utmost intent to be interpreted one way only.

If it's alright to ask, what do you think?

I agree. I think there is such a thing as "approximating the ultimate truth", but doing so forces me to negate other truths as more or less true.

In the end, we're perceiving the world through our very own unique lens. There is basically no taking off the lens... one would cease to exist.

We don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are.

[psychewritesbs]

I always thought it's just better to avoid fandom as a whole in general when it comes to analysing and understanding a character or story because we know having an opinion is like committing a war crime on the internet.

Instead it's better to just consume the story yourself and analyse it, and if you have moots then even better, you have a safe echo chamber with people who you know and like and are more free to exchange these ideas and thoughts.

But that's just me, i do this and it's much better. Because i don't really require someone from the outside to shape my view on fictional characters and their relationship. I think that any story is simply not meant to be interpreted just one way at the cost of an all out warzone.

I see what you mean... it's interesting because I share my thoughts on the internet and I've had a couple of people come and challenge my perception claiming theirs is the correct one. And ok, let's say they are factually correct. Idk... If I'm interested in being validated by others, I typically tend to ask for it lol, otherwise I don't care. I like how you put it tho "i don't really require someone from the outside to shape my view on fictional characters and their relationship".

But while I agree that it's fun to share thoughts with moots in private, I have met so many moots because I share my thoughts publicly in spite of the people who read what I say and think I am completely wrong.

This reminds me... there's another fandom I visit from time to time where I share my thoughts on characters, and sometimes people comment on my posts in a way that is very refreshing. Basically their comments are usually backed by the sentiment "this they way I interpreted this".

Wish the jjk fandom was more like that, but then again jjk wouldn't be a manga about sexy shirtless monks fighting for ideological supremacy.

[psychewritesbs]

Yesss, I'm the same anon that sent you rants about fandom clownery and hypocrisy, you got keen eyes, the kind that are good at detecting vermin. Good on ya, mate 👍

But yeah, let's just say that i wasn't having the most grand time amongst the fanbase and specifically shipping community but honestly who does? It was something i needed to get off my chest and I'm glad you shared your thoughts with me.

Have a good one!

I have keen eyes that are good at detecting vermin! 😭 anon I love this so much bahaha.

It's been a while but I hope you're feeling better.

[psychewritesbs]

Halo just sharing this for some SukuFushi brain rot in case you haven't come across it yet

https://twitter.com/Cashew524/status/1750684725029593243?t=nXBDgZW9slSlYyhWiQqkwA&s=19

Sukuna's 'fascination' has really come a long way huh. Also, the topic of love being pushed to the center as soon as Sukuna took over Megumi? What are you trying to say Gege😏?

omg... sukufushi fans, go feast... Thanks for sharing!

The one who will teach you about love... ??

[psychewritesbs]

Still don't get the takes that Megumi's done for or that he's done being a sorcerer. Am I tripping or isn't there a huge 'subject to awakening' glowing aign on top of Megumi right now? I don't think I've ever seen a more obvious set up from Gege than whatever this is right now with Megumi. Irregardless of the outcome, he's definitely coming back and I would gladly partake in the anguish and sorrows of all Megumi doubters when he does.

I totally get you anon. One the one hand, this is indeed, the most obvious Gege set up ever, ripe with symbolism for a generational comeback. And on the other, this is still Gege we're talking about... he could do something completely unexpected.

I remain cautiously optimistic because I just want to take Megumi's journey one breadcrumb at a time. I am enjoying pausing and taking in every single little morsel I'm handed by the cat.

It's funny that lately many mha fans are all about how jjk is doom and gloom, when to me jjk feels like it is a story about the journey to healing. And Megumi is that.

So yeah. I'll be waiting on the sidelines anon. The tl will be a generational shitshow and I'll be there. Hope to see you in the frontlines.

[psychewritesbs]

This reminds me, Nobara landing a blackflash makes it so that Megumi is the only one from the 4 main characters who've yet to land one, suspiciously just like Sukuna. I wonder what it would take these two to tap into it.

Ok so as per usual it takes me so long to answer asks that things happen in the manga that address the asks in the inbox. And we've had Sukuna do a BF for a few weeks now. So my guess is Megumi would learn how to do it by default.

[psychewritesbs]

Looking back at chapter 212 and everything that followed, I find it really jarring in retrospect how Megumi was so exposed during that time, in like a literal sense.

We've never really seen him show that much skin. He's always covered up and if I remember correctly, there was even an onsen chapter in the jjk phantom parade game and one of my moots who played the game was jokingly ruing the fact they never got to see him topless like other characters (Yuji and Todo). And I just love how this trait transcends between jjk media that I'd say it's a staple of his character.

So going back to when Sukuna possessed him and then we got a panel of his body shown in such a naked state, it felt violating to say the least (and it kinda is). Which makes me wonder if the nudity and exposure is symbolic of something deeper.

Anon this brainrot is so fucking delicious! Thanks for sharing it with me.

I see the vision. This also really drives home the idea of Sukuna being a hedonist. I feel like hedonism gets conflated with being only about the physical pleasures of life, but it can also be about psychological experience imo, and Sukuna embodies both. So there's something that is freer and more unrestrained about Sukuna than Megumi.

I think it's also been mentioned before on twt that the reason Uro and Yorozu are naked is because the kimono of their time would have severely limited their movement. So there's defo something there about nakedness symbolizing freedom.

Thanks again anon!

[psychewritesbs]

Gege's testing my patience. When are we gonna get another Megumi glimpse huh? Surely there must be an end to the edging? He can't keep getting away with this 😭

I'm so sorry for my dramatic ass but it's like he gave us a taste of fresh water after a long, dry walk in the vast desert, only to take it away after a tiny sip. Gege Akutami I've yet to quench my thirst!

Anon... it's been how long since you sent this? And still no Megumi...

WE ENDURE ANON!!!! WE MUST.

In the meantime, here's Megumi to satiate your desire for a glimpse if only for a tiny bit.

Go thank Cloudy for cleaning this pic up for me!

[psychewritesbs]

I wonder if there's something to be studied with how different sections of the fandom reacts to Megumi. Cause unlike in the english side, he's still, up to this day, well loved amongst the japanese and korean communities. So many korean artists, in particular, draw fushiguro family content and you can tell they love Toji and Megumi's dynamic.

Yes. I say we put them in a jar, shake it up, and observe.

Of particular interest to me are the "bitch boy" comments. Like whoa... because he cares for someone?

What is going on that a guy feels like it is normal to call another guy a "bitch" because he cares for someone and takes measures to demonstrate it?

The internalized misogyny is scary man.

Also, may the anime gods bless those Korean artists that draw happy Fushiguro porn. They keep many fans well-fed with their beautiful art.

[psychewritesbs]

Y'know for some reason I can see some Peter Pan inspiration on Gojo.

Puer Aeternus? I see the vision anon. To me, one of his greatest tragedies was getting emotionally stunted on that day when Toji nearly killed him. Kinda interesting that he experienced a moment of "enlightenment" and yet, something fundamental changed in him as well...

Do tell more if you're up for it.

[psychewritesbs]

Thanks so much for sharing your metas @theanimepsychologist , I learn a lot of things from you...

Sorry for just realizing it now, that you are the writer of one of my favorite 'Soul Eater' meta ever from a few years ago (love it so much).

Now I found your blog again through your JJK metas (new fan here, just got to JJK fandom last year)....

Can I ask something, do you think SatoSugu is queerbaiting? What do you think about Gojo and Geto's relationship as romantic subtext?

(Sorry if you don't ship them, it's just, I want to know objective pov like you that neither love nor hate Gojo and Geto as characters).

If I ask these questions to SatoSugu shipper or anti SatoSugu (Gojo/Geto hater) both of those groups are subjective to their likes and dislikes...

But if you don't want to talk about it, I understand, sorry if I ask too much.

Also, just want to tell you, one of the main reason why I entered the fandom, is because of stsg. The fan arts and fan fictions for SatoSugu are amazing....But I love JJK more and understand more about the story & characters are thanks to you @theanimepsychologist (Sorry again if my main reason for entering JJK fandom is because of shipping).

Well this is awkward... I've since changed my username and perplexed moots and followers alike because of it.

Anyways, is stsg queerbaiting???? HMMMMM let's taco'bout it under the cut.

I think the ship in the manga walks a very fine line between queerbaiting and whatever the opposite is, but imo, it is ultimately not queerbaiting. More about this in a little bit.

If I'm honest though, if we go by the strict definition of queerbaiting as a "marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation," the anime feels by contrast queerbaity.

I say this because MAPPA seems to be very aware it is catering to a very specific target audience...

Like... did they have to go this hard with Nanami?

Similarly, they took creative decisions that were very openly supportive of stsg as a ship while still remaining somewhat ambiguous to all of the people who do not see the romantic undertones.

In other words, MAPPA goes out of their way to make certain aspects of the story more obvious, which can feel like it is very intentionally speaking to an audience that would enjoy such changes.

Honestly tho, I LOVED the creative liberties that the anime took in general.

ANYWAYS.

My thoughts on stsg... I've actually talked about how I do like this ship before. I used to be on camp "they're just friends" and came around because I saw the vision and now I can't unsee it. But the fact that I had to be shown the vision in order to "get it" makes me feel like you have to see the ship through a certain lens in order to appreciate it romantically.

Thing is that I personally find it dissatisfying that a ship is presented to me in little "hints" and "clues" rather than through the dynamic itself. Which is where the queerbaiting allegations come in.

HOWEVER, to me, knowing how Gege writes by subverting tropes, the "queerbaiting" hints are very intentionally placed in the manga to say "these two were lovers" as opposed to doing it for "marketing purposes".

Personally, I much prefer Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle's kurofai because the clues are hidden in the dynamic and their emotional behavior to one another.

Compared to stsg, I can only read romantic subtext in two or three canon stsg panels, but I'm also not sure if it's because of Gege's skill level, lesser focus on emotional intimacy, idk...

That's how I see it at least. And I honestly respect anyone who doesn't think of them as lovers because, again, the ship is somewhat hidden in clues, not in the dynamic. And say a stsg fan reads this, they could very well think "is she blind?!"

And this is where we get into post-modernism and jjk's main theme: no one owns the objective truth. You are reading jjk through your very own unique lens, and any meaning you make out of jjk is always filtered through that lens. Trying to say your truth is absolute is basically power scaling.

At one point or another someone has to agree to disagree.

So yeah, you'll hear me say this bit about not owning the ultimate truth a lot.

Anon, thank you so much for the kind comments 🥲. I am so happy to hear you loved my Soul Eater write up and that you've ran into my jjk rambles too.

Honestly, I love writing about my favorite ships and nothing makes me sadder than the state of shipping in jjk fandom because people won't just mind their own business about who should be shipped with whom.

As a side note, I've been brainrotting about atsumei recently. Might actually write about the breadcrumbs because these two move me the way some of my absolute favorite ships, soma, asucaga, and kurofai move me.

Anyways I'VE RAMBLED WHY DID NO ONE STOP ME?, it looks like you are feeling worried about my thoughts on you starting to read jjk because of stsg. I say it is a wonderful thing that you started reading it and found enjoyment in it.

Thanks for reaching out, and as per usual I apologize on taking forever to answer asks... I have like 50 and I do try to answer most of them.

[psychewritesbs]

How do you think Megumi would fare if Toji raised him?

Two options: One, mamaguro lives:

Megumi has a better chance at a normal lifestyle but somehow still grows up in a somewhat dysfunctional home. After all, one's trauma doesn't suddenly disappear just because one is happily married.

Two, mamaguro dies:

Megumi has to assume a caregiver role for Toji who, as we know, has zero self-esteem and cannot model healthy self-esteem for Megumi. So now Megumi is carrying Toji as an extra emotional load that he has to care for because dad is emotionally absent.

I think Megumi is fucked one way or another lol. It would take Toji being an entirely different character for Megumi to have a chance at a better mindset.

[psychewritesbs]

Don't know how involved or if Gege is even involved in some of the directorial choices for Shibuya but during that Sukuna and Mahoraga fight I really like how they keep on emphasizing that Mahoraga is a part of Megumi. Like in that scene when Sukuna said 'you might have defeated me in the state I was in back then' and when the narrator explained Sukuna limiting his domain's range for Megumi's sake, the slow fade away and the blinking effect alternating between Megumi and Mahoraga is such a cool detail. Then topping it off with a 'you've fascinated me Fushiguro Megumi'. It didn't strike me until now that unlike the fandom's tendency to treat Mahoraga as a separate character from Megumi (esp. in powerscaling discussions), Sukuna on the other hand always regarded that shikigami as a part of him.

That is why this panel is pure gold...

Megumi's shikigamis have always felt like a manifestation of his psyche and psychoemotional state, but Sukuna calling Maho-chan his shadow really drove that home imo. Especially given Maho's abilities.

I'll have to go re-watch that bit from the episode you're referring to because that is indeed a nice detail.

[psychewritesbs]

I saw a video these days about jujutsu and I saw something that I never realized that Megumi is not a good person because he is willing to do anything for his sister, which makes him selfish and that he only saves those who he "deems" to be a good person and who qualify as a good person for him. his morality is very black and white just like geto. There's a line from him that is very realistic, especially today in the manga, that sorcerers are not heroes, an example satoru gojo.

Yo! Ok so... this is why I love Jujutsu Kaisen tho. The idea that there is a single definition of what a "good person" is blurred. Because he's not a good person according to whom?

According to him, he's doing something good for someone he loves. According to his friends who are willing to help him, he is a good person to sacrifice himself.

But what does it mean to be a "good" person anyways?

And what happens when someone who considers themselves to be "good" commits atrocities that they think they are justified in committing because they see themselves as "good"?

Nice brainrot anon!