#but that's the thing gojo makes the stakes so high so when he died it felt so empty

[longagoitwastuesday]

Kusakabe, dear, you're too beautiful to be saying that kind of stuff

[neflheimen]

To be very honest, the only thing I find genuinely interesting about jujutsu kaisen besides the art is the storyline at the beginning of Season 2.

I couldn't care less about what sukuna and kenjaku were up to. Literally the relationship and drama around gojo and geto is what kept me on the edge of my seat. Otherwise the manga for me feels pretty basic ? Itadori is supposed to be the main character but he's so sidelined in his own story ? Everybody else keeps dying too fast for me to care about it ?

Like I wish the manga was actually about early gojo, geto, nanami and co. I wish instead of a 2 episode flashback we had the entire manga dedicated to geto slow descent to madness and events that unfold. Can you imagine jujutsu kaisen as a psychological horror anime ? Waaahhh

And obviously this is just my personal opinion don't crucify me I'm not saying the manga is bad just ....

[shewasverynice]

Fandoms: 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen 

⚠️ SPOILER HEAVY ⚠️

Major Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death 

Full tags/warnings on Chapter links post

Major Characters: Original Character, Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru, Ieiri Shoko, Yaga Masamichi, Nanami Kento, Haibara Yu, Tsukumo Yuki, Choso

‎‧₊˚✧ Chapter 7 ✧˚₊‧

Satoru watched carefully as the three second years, the four third years, and the two fourth years were briefed on the school goodwill event. He knew all of them from before of course, but somehow he hadn't remembered what happened to them. With the slow rising of curse activity over the years, a few of them had died and he was pretty sure one of them gave up the life completely.

The two fourth years were Tadao Miyasato and Yūdai Mori. He remembered specifically that Mori could increase his size and fought like a hulking beast. Miyasato though, he couldn't quite remember. He had some sort of technique that worked well with a teammate but he was largely useless alone.

The third years were Chiyoko Kagawa, Toshio Nishimura, Satoshi Hano, and Yuichi Itoh. He barely remembered them at all either. As far as he could recall their techniques weren't all that impressive to him, but then again back then nothing was.

Takao Tsutsui and Shou Kuwahara were two of the second years but the third was oddly missing. He remembered vaguely that his last name was Murano but not even what he looked like. Upon pondering it a little longer he did recall that Murano was sickly but his technique was interesting.

None of them were people he'd ever called friends or even took an interest in. From day one he was already well known, but most of them had distanced themselves from him immediately. That suited him just fine back then. He'd been so arrogant that he likely said some pretty awful stuff, not that he wasn't arrogant still. Even though Sukuna had sliced his ass in half he knew he still was the strongest. That wouldn't change.

Suguru and Shoko sat beside him on the steps as the others were introduced to the Kyoto students. As usual, the first years weren't allowed to participate, but Suguru had insisted they go to at least watch.

"It's Hano," Suguru said quietly, "The second year? He's also a cursed spirit manipulator like me."

Satoru nodded as he sized up Hano. Once Suguru had reminded him it flooded back to him. Hano had been the one that was so angry with Satoru when he pointed out that he could never be a special grade even though Suguru was. That was of course because he couldn't extract techniques the way that Suguru could, but he also hadn't explained any of that. He'd just taken the opportunity to be an ass and take an older sorcerer down a peg.

"I'm interested in seeing how he operates," Suguru said with a smile.

"He's not as good as you," Satoru scoffed, but then grinned, "But yeah, maybe you can get some ideas or something."

Across the way he of course saw Utahime and Mei-Mei. Utahime was a third year and Mei-Mei as well. He vaguely recognized some of the others, but they'd never struck him as anyone interesting.

Satoru pursed his lips, deep in thought. Maybe this time he'd take the time to learn who they were. One of the things he'd resolved to change this time was the shortage of sorcerers and at least getting to know them would likely change things. Anything at all would make at least some kind of difference. The butterfly thing, right? That's how time stuff worked?

Satoru, Suguru and Shoko settled in to watch. The first event of the day had just begun: a competition to exorcise as many cursed spirits as possible. The stakes were high, and the atmosphere crackled with tension as both teams fanned out across the forest.

The competition flip-flopped throughout the day. Kyoto would pull ahead, but for every curse exorcised by Kyoto, Tokyo seemed to catch up quickly, the two teams neck-and-neck as the clock ticked down. The air was filled with the sounds of battle—cursed energy crackling, trees splintering, and the distant roars of curses being exorcised.

With minutes left in the competition, Kyoto surged once more, this time with the big one leading the charge directly at the heart of the cursed hotspot. His overwhelming strength allowed him to decimate several powerful curses in quick succession, pushing Kyoto back into the lead. The final bell rang, signaling the end of the first round, and when the results were tallied, Kyoto emerged victorious by a narrow margin.

"Damn!" Satoru huffed, sliding down in his seat, "Can't wait until next year. We'll shit on these kids."

Shoko and Suguru snickered and he snapped his head over, pushing his sunglasses down, "What?"

"You're talking like her," Suguru teased, holding his hand up in front of his mouth like a court lady. Shoko smirked beside him, looking just as smug.

"Huh!?" Satoru furrowed his brow, "What are you suggesting?"

"Nothiiing~ ⁠♪⁠♪"

The competition picked up again, and the Tokyo students were not deterred despite their loss. The next part of the event was where they planned to shine: the one-on-one combat competition. With a sweep of victories in the one-on-one combat, Tokyo reclaimed their honor, the students standing tall as the crowd cheered their hard-fought victory.

With that, Satoru had his opportunity. He dragged Suguru with him, the two of them going to quickly meet as many of the other sorcerers there as possible. As expected, they were wary of him at first. It wasn't often they'd be approached by a sorcerer from one of the big three clans.

Suguru was the key to a good introduction of course. He was so good at talking, so disarmingly charming. It was easy for him to get in good with the others quickly and soon enough at least all the Tokyo students seemed to view the two of them relatively well. Certainly better so far anyway.

However... Utahime...

"Uh, okay?" She looked Satoru and Suguru up and down suspiciously, Mei-Mei standing beside her with a serene smile.

"Uhh, yes well we just wanted to meet our seniors from the other school," Suguru said, surprised enough to stumble over his words.

Utahime crossed her arms, "You're the two special grades, aren't you?"

Suguru nodded, "Yes, we are."

"Well, then," she said, bowing politely, "It's nice to meet you both. I hope we can work well together."

They bowed in return, returning the introduction. They glanced at each other as she quickly turned to leave, apparently having nothing more to say.

"It's like she's hardwired to hate me," Satoru muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, "I didn't even do anything yet..."

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

The dim light flickered as Satoru crouched low, his breath barely audible in the quiet, decaying hallway. Shadows danced on the crumbling walls where the eerie silence was interrupted only by the occasional groan of the undead. The zombies in the building were blind, but their hearing was sharp. They seemed to be picking up even the faintest rustle of fabric or scuff of a shoe against the floor.

Satoru's bright eyes gleamed from behind his dark sunglasses, and his usual smirk was absent replaced by a concentrated frown. His objective was simple: a med pack sitting innocently at the far end of the hallway, but between him and it, three zombies loomed shuffling ever so slowly and sensing the faintest vibrations in the air.

He approached the first a towering figure with long, gaunt arms that scraped the walls as it aimlessly swayed. Satoru watched the rhythmic motion of its arms, waiting for the perfect moment to slip beneath them. His steps were silent, so light that even the dust on the floor seemed undisturbed. As the zombie's hand reached high above, he darted forward, ducking under the outstretched arm and freezing in place as it swung back down, just missing his head.

For a moment, he didn’t dare move. The zombie stood still, its head twitching, nostrils flaring as if sensing something nearby. Satoru's grin flickered back onto his face. "Too slow", he thought.

But the next one was trickier. A female zombie stood still as stone near a doorway, unmoving, her head tilted unnervingly to the side. Satoru approached with more caution, his footfalls delicate, barely brushing the creaky floorboards. Yet, as he drew closer, a groan escaped from one of the rotting beams beneath him. The floor creaked, low and long.

The female zombie’s head snapped in his direction, and in an instant, she lunged, moving faster than Satoru had anticipated. He twisted sharply, flattening himself against the wall as she rushed past him, her clawed hands swiping at the air where he'd just been standing.

"Close one," he muttered under his breath, quickly sidestepping before she could react.

The med pack was just within reach now, sitting on the end of a worn desk. Only one more obstacle stood between him and his prize: a small, hunched zombie that seemed less dangerous than the others. It was crawling over the ground, its bony fingers scraping the floor as it searched for any sign of life.

Satoru advanced cautiously, but as he moved, the creature suddenly leapt forward attempting to grab his ankle. He hopped back just in time, the zombie’s fingers missing him by a hair. Its momentum sent it crashing into the side of the desk with a dull thud. The zombie groaned in frustration, its head hitting the desk with a resounding smack before slumping over. Satoru couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

With a light hop, he crossed the last few steps and grabbed the med pack. "Got it!" he shouted, spinning on his heels in triumph.

Instantly, the tension broke, and the zombies around him groaned, stood up straighter, and began to laugh. The long-armed zombie tugged off his face mask and Suguru grinned at him. In the hallway Shoko stretched, cracking her back and dropping her act, while Sarah rubbed her head and crawled out from under the desk.

“Zombie Tag is too easy,” Satoru teased, tossing the bag of chips in the air and catching it, “You guys need to step up your game!”

His friends groaned, but not in the undead way this time. "Next time, we’re adding traps," Shoko huffed, rolling her eyes.

"And I'd still nail it," Satoru sighed, rubbing his nails on his shirt with a smug smile.

Yaga entered the hallway moments later, looking at all of them as he approached and said, "You four. Clear out. We're having the cleaners come and polish the floors."

They groaned together in unison and Satoru whined, "But it's SO hot outside!"

Shoko nodded and added, "And the air conditioner in the dorms isn't working yet!"

Yaga paused then shrugged and said, "Well if it can't be helped I suppose the four of you will have to wax the floors--"

"We were JUST leaving," Satoru said quickly scooping Sarah up under one arm and linking the other with Suguru's to drag him out behind him. Shoko was hot on his tail, nearly shoving him faster outside.

The running swiftly became nearly a crawl as the summer sun beat down on the four of them. Sarah squinted up at the sky and grimaced and Suguru huffed, tying his hair back into a ponytail. Shoko gave up completely and sat under the nearest tree which Satoru quickly joined her under.

"I'm gonna die," Shoko mumbled, "This is it."

"What do you want me to write in your obituary?" Satoru wheezed, rolling his head lazily into his shoulder to look over at her.

"I don't want your stupid ass to write it," she grumbled, shoving his shoulder.

"What can we even do?" Suguru asked, "Does this school even have a pool?"

"Why doesn't it?" Sarah huffed, "Don't like... All schools have to have a pool?"

"I don't think they have to..." Suguru sighed, "But they should..."

"Can we call CPS on them?" Sarah mumbled, "Is that a thing? Child abuse for no pool?"

"Why don't we go find one?" Satoru asked, "There's a bunch of indoor ones aren't there?"

"I don't have a swimsuit or anything though," Sarah said, fanning herself, "I'd have to get one first."

"Well stores have AC," Satoru said, hopping to his feet, "Let's all go, yeah? I'll get one for you."

"Bruh--" Sarah started to argue then sighed, shaking her head in defeat, "Is too hot to even argue with you. Fuck it. Let's go."

The scorching mid-summer sun had left the pavement sizzling and the four friends practically melting as they trudged towards the entrance of the cool air-conditioned store. Satoru was the first to breach the invisible barrier, stepping into the doorway as a blast of icy air hit him full force. He let out a loud, exaggerated sigh, throwing his head back as if the cold air alone had saved his life.

"Ohhh, finally!" he groaned, letting his arms hang limply at his sides.

Sarah followed closely behind, her expression mimicking his dramatic exhaustion. "I second that," she sighed in agreement, slouching forward like a wilted flower, letting the cool breeze from the door blow through her hair.

"You two are such idiots," Shoko muttered, giving each of them a shove to move them further into the store. She marched past them with an unimpressed shake of her head, her expression mostly hidden behind large dark sunglasses.

Suguru strolled in after her, chuckling softly at their theatrics. "You two really need to learn how to handle the heat better," he teased, giving Satoru a playful nudge.

With the refreshing cold air enveloping them, Satoru and Sarah straightened up, grinning. They jogged to catch up with the other two, their exhaustion quickly forgotten in the comfort of the store.

"Alright, swimming suits," Sarah declared as they all looked around at the racks of clothes, scanning the store for the right section.

"Yeah, mine’s pretty much falling apart," Shoko added nonchalantly, brushing her fingers through her short hair as she spotted the swimwear section. Without waiting for the others, she motioned for Sarah to follow. "Come on, let’s get this over with."

Sarah exchanged a quick glance with Satoru, who just shrugged with a smirk. “Good luck,” he said, waving them off.

The two girls quickly disappeared into the nearest store, Shoko leading the way with Sarah by her side, already sifting through the racks.

Suguru lingered behind with Satoru, casting a glance at the store sign. “Honestly, I don’t even need a new one," he said, casually crossing his arms, “Mine’s fine.”

Satoru scoffed and scratched the back of his head. “Same here, I’m good.”

With nothing better to do, the two of them strolled over to a little stand in the shopping center, grabbed a couple of cold drinks, and stepped back outside to sit on a bench near the store entrance. Satoru cracked open his drink with a satisfying hiss, taking a long gulp before slouching back against the bench. Suguru set his bag down on the ground, twisting off the cap of his own drink, taking a thoughtful sip.

For a moment, they sat in comfortable silence, the buzz of the shopping center a low hum around them. The cool drink in Satoru’s hand was a welcome relief from the day’s relentless heat, and he found himself staring absently towards the store window where Sarah and Shoko were now browsing. Sarah held up a swimsuit, showing it to Shoko, who seemed to be giving her opinion, her finger tapping her chin as she considered the option.

Suguru, watching Satoru from the corner of his eye, smirked to himself. His lips curled into a sly, cat-like grin as he noticed the way Satoru’s gaze lingered just a little too long on Sarah. After another quiet sip, he turned his head slightly towards his friend, his expression teasing.

"So," Suguru said, dragging the word out with a hint of mischief, "You gonna tell me, or do I have to guess?"

Satoru blinked, confused, his head turning towards Suguru. "What?"

Suguru raised an eyebrow, a knowing glint in his eye. He didn’t answer right away, instead glancing back toward the store window. “You’ve been staring for a while now.”

Satoru furrowed his brow. “Huh?” he asked, genuinely clueless at first.

Suguru shrugged, leaning back against the bench. “Sarah,” he said simply, the smirk still playing on his lips, “You’ve got a crush, don’t you?”

Satoru blinked again, his confusion deepening before his expression twisted into something between exasperation and amusement. “A crush?” he repeated, incredulous, “On who?”

Suguru chuckled, lifting his drink to his lips before nodding toward the store window. "You know," he said, tipping his head slightly in Sarah’s direction as she showed Shoko yet another swimsuit.

Satoru’s eyes followed Suguru’s gesture, then quickly darted back, a frown tugging at his features. “No way,” he said, shaking his head almost too quickly, “That’s ridiculous.”

Suguru gave a nonchalant shrug, leaning back on the bench as though the conversation didn’t really matter to him. “If you say so,” he muttered, his grin widening.

Satoru, now slightly flustered, took another swig of his drink, letting the cold liquid settle the sudden unease in his chest. His mind wandered again, but not to where Suguru thought it was. Satoru wasn’t thinking about crushes or anything like that. He had been thinking about Sarah’s technique again and what he could do to get her out of the grasp of the higher-ups. No, a crush on a fourteen year old was the last thing his twenty-nine year old brain was considering.

He hated the way the Jujutsu society operated, how they used her potential without regard for her well-being. More than anything he wanted to just make sure her life could be safe and happy with no need to kill herself to bring anyone back. His gaze softened slightly, his thoughts deepening, until he felt Suguru’s eyes on him again.

He shifted uncomfortably and shot Suguru a pointed look. “Seriously, stop,” he muttered.

Suguru’s laughter rang out softly. "Whatever you say, Satoru."

"It's not like that," Satoru sighed, "I just feel so bad for her. I wish we could do something now."

"It's so hard for young sorcerers," Suguru said thoughtfully, "I'm glad she's at least here with us where she can be around others like her. It was so hard to not understand what was happening to me when I was the only one."

Satoru nodded along as Suguru spoke, suddenly thinking of Megumi and Tsumiki. The two of them were probably three and four years old and living alone with Toji. He grimaced at the thought, remembering how relieved Tsumiki had been when he took the two of them in.

His eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses and he considered the future events. If Toji were to die now...

"Satoru," Suguru said, shaking his shoulder and breaking his train of thought.

"Mm? Oh, sorry," Satoru said, looking up as his friend stood. He glanced at the store where Shoko and Sarah were walking out, "They done?"

Suguru nodded, "Looks like it."

"Got something good?" Satoru called as he stood up, heading towards them.

"Yeah, thanks," Sarah said, handing him his card back, ".... Thank you."

"No worries," he said, instinctively just reaching out to pat her on the head. She swatted his hand away, but grinned at him anyway.

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

The doors to the indoor pool burst open with a loud slam, the cool, chlorinated air rushing to greet them. Satoru, Suguru, Shoko, and Sarah stormed in like soldiers charging a foreign beach, their wild laughter echoing off the tall walls of the water park. Sunlight streamed in through the wide glass ceiling, casting shimmering reflections across the vast pool and the twisting slides overhead. The sound of rushing water and distant splashes filled the air.

“We’re doing that one first!” Satoru declared, pointing to the biggest slide in the entire park. It towered above the others, winding down in sharp loops and drops. His wide grin was met by Sarah’s equally wild smirk.

“You’re on, Gojo!” Sarah shouted, already sprinting toward the slide’s entrance.

Without missing a beat, Satoru followed, his long legs catching up in no time. “Better hurry up!” he called after her, but she only laughed, elbowing him as they jostled for position.

“I'm going first!” Sarah retorted, shoving his arm as they stumbled toward the staircase leading up to the slide, cackling like kids who’d just been let loose at recess. Their energy was contagious, drawing the eyes of other pool-goers, but neither of them cared.

Meanwhile, Shoko stood at the edge of the pool, hands on her hips, watching them with an exasperated smile. “Idiots,” she muttered under her breath.

Suguru came up beside her, chuckling as he dropped his towel to the ground. “At least they’re predictable,” he said, shaking his head, “I give them five minutes before someone gets dunked.”

Shoko just laughed, “You’re giving them too much credit.”

They both eased into the cool water, sighing with relief as it soothed their skin from the heat of the day. The water was perfect—cool, clear, and welcoming. They waded to the shallow end, content to float and watch as their friends made fools of themselves.

Satoru and Sarah, now at the top of the slide, leaned over the edge, staring down at the water far below. The height would have made anyone else hesitate, but they were too wrapped up in their competition to care.

“You ready for this?” Satoru asked, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

Sarah grinned, shaking her head at him. “I was born ready, bitch.”

Before either could second guess, they launched themselves onto the slide, speeding down the twisting, turning path at a dizzying pace. Satoru let out a loud whoop as they spun around the sharp corners, water splashing up around them.

They hit the water at nearly the same time with a loud splash, sending waves out in every direction. Sarah surfaced first, laughing as she swam toward Satoru, who had barely managed to right himself.

Without warning, she climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Ha! Got you!” she shouted triumphantly, trying to dunk him under the water. But Satoru, tall and lanky, was having none of it.

“Oh, no you don’t!” he laughed, flipping her over with a quick movement. Sarah landed in the water with a resounding slap, sending a wave up toward the edge of the pool.

Shoko snorted at the sight, glancing at Suguru. “Five minutes,” she muttered, smirking.

Suguru leaned back in the water, crossing his arms lazily and shrugged.

Sarah popped back up, spitting water at him and glaring at Satoru. “You’re so dead, Gojo!” She lunged at him again, but he was already swimming backward, out of her reach.

They scrambled, splashing each other like overgrown children before rushing back toward the slide, shouting and pushing at each other to see who could get there first. Their energy was infectious, drawing laughs from other swimmers as they bolted for round two.

“They’re gonna keep this up all day, aren’t they?” Suguru asked, raising an eyebrow as Satoru and Sarah nearly tripped over each other in their haste to get back to the top of the slide.

Shoko just shrugged, her smile soft. “At least they’re having fun.”

After what felt like their tenth slide race, Satoru and Sarah finally slowed down, both panting and leaning against the edge of the pool. The sun streamed in from above, catching the water as it rippled around them, and for a moment, everything seemed peaceful. But of course, that wasn’t going to last.

"You know what I haven’t done in forever?" Satoru asked, mischief gleaming in his eyes as he turned to Sarah.

She gave him a sideways glance, already catching onto his tone. “What?”

"Chicken fight," Satoru declared, grinning widely.

Sarah rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smirk tugging at her lips. "We're gonna get kicked out of here if we get all worked up."

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Satoru splashed water at her, "Besides, you know I’ll win."

That did it. Sarah’s competitive side flared up instantly. “I'm gonna fuckin' ruin you.”

With newfound energy, they turned to Shoko and Suguru, who were still lounging lazily in the shallow end. "Hey! You two—quit floating around. We're playing chicken!" Satoru demanded, waving them over.

Shoko raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "You’re delusional," she said, barely moving from her spot.

Suguru, on the other hand, shrugged and pushed off from the wall, wading over. “Alright, let's go,” He shot a teasing smirk at Satoru.

Suguru crouched down and let Shoko clamber onto his shoulders. She settled in comfortably, crossing her arms as she surveyed Satoru and Sarah with a challenge in her eyes. “You’re done for.”

Meanwhile, Satoru, true to his chaotic self, immediately scrambled to get onto Sarah’s shoulders.

“Hey, what the hell!” Sarah protested, laughing as she braced herself under his weight, “You can’t just—ugh—you’re like a foot taller than me, this is ridiculous!”

Satoru, ever the smug bastard, settled on top of her, grinning like a kid who’d just won the lottery. “Oh, I’m perfectly comfortable, thanks for asking.”

Sarah grunted, rolling her eyes as she steadied herself. "I'm gonna drown,” she muttered under her breath, struggling for balance but managing to hold him up. Barely.

Across the pool, Suguru exchanged a glance with Shoko. They didn’t even need words. With a wicked grin, Suguru charged forward, Shoko leaning in for support. They hit Sarah and Satoru with a solid shoulder bump, and the two toppled over immediately, crashing into the water in a messy heap.

Satoru surfaced first, shaking water out of his hair and pointing an accusing finger at Suguru. “Hey! That’s cheating! We weren't ready yet!”

Suguru just shrugged, all innocent-like, while Shoko leaned her elbow on his head, looking entirely nonchalant. “Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Shoko said with a smirk.

Before Satoru could argue more, Sarah popped up out of the water and immediately climbed onto his back, locking her arms around his shoulders. "Okay, alright," she grumbled, her palm planting on his head as she pushed up.

Satoru laughed, hoisting her up as he trudged back into position. “Alright, alright. Let’s show them who’s boss.”

The two teams squared off again, this time taking it a little more seriously. Sarah steadied herself on Satoru’s shoulders, giving him a tap to signal she was ready, while Shoko got herself balanced on Suguru. Then the chaos began.

They pushed and pulled, slapping at each other’s arms, water splashing wildly as the four of them wrestled like maniacs in the pool. Shoko surprised everyone by lunging forward aggressively, trying to knock Sarah off, but Sarah was quick and managed to dodge. The next moment, Suguru was on the offense, spinning around and almost sending Satoru toppling, but Satoru held his ground, steadying Sarah just in time.

The fight was intense, and it was clear none of them were holding back. Other pool-goers stopped to stare at the scene—the four wild teenagers completely absorbed in their own world, laughing and shouting like they were the only ones in the place.

“You’re going down, Suguru!” Satoru called out, trying to make him lose balance.

“Not happening,” Suguru replied smoothly, though his grin said otherwise. Shoko, on his shoulders, reached out to grab Sarah’s arms, but Sarah quickly swatted her away, holding firm.

It went on like that for a good while—loud, splash-filled chaos. Even Shoko, who usually stayed more composed, was fully into the game now, determined not to lose. Every time one of them slipped, they scrambled back into position for another round. They took it way too seriously for what was supposed to be a fun game, but that was just how they were.

Eventually, after what felt like their hundredth rematch, Sarah finally managed to shove Shoko just hard enough to send her tumbling into the water. Shoko surfaced with a dramatic gasp, shaking water out of her hair as Suguru groaned in defeat.

“Yes!” Satoru cheered, throwing his fists up in victory, “We win!”

Sarah grinned, finally sliding off his shoulders with a splash, “Told you we’d take them.”

Shoko just shook her head, still catching her breath, “You two are insane.”

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

As the train rattled along the tracks, the four friends finally settled into the calm after an exhausting, laughter-filled day. Sarah and Shoko had slumped down onto the train seats, completely knocked out. Sarah’s head was leaning against Shoko’s shoulder, while Shoko's head lolled to the side, her hair tousled from the water. The gentle sway of the train, combined with the quiet hum of its movement, had lulled them both to sleep almost immediately after they sat down.

Satoru and Suguru stood in front of them, casually holding the overhead railings, their bags slung over their shoulders. The light from the setting sun filtered in through the windows, casting a warm orange glow over the scene. It painted long shadows inside the train, mixing with the muted fluorescent lights.

Suguru let out a long, slow yawn, stretching his arms above his head. Satoru shot him a sideways glance, the corner of his mouth curling into a teasing grin. “Getting tired, huh? Thought you had more stamina than that.”

Suguru chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, some of us don’t have boundless energy like you do, Satoru," he said with a little smile.

Satoru smirked, his blue eyes glinting with amusement. “You’re just mad ‘cause I won that last chicken fight," he teased.

Suguru gave a mock sigh, shaking his head, “Right, because having a giant like you on top of someone’s shoulders is totally fair.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault I’m just that good,” Satoru puffed out his chest, trying to look as smug as possible, but Suguru just rolled his eyes at him.

Their banter faded into a comfortable silence after a moment, both of them still grinning from the exchange. The train clattered steadily beneath their feet, the faint hum of conversation from a few other passengers mixing with the rhythmic sounds of the tracks. It was the kind of quiet that felt good after a long day, not awkward, but restful.

Satoru glanced down at Sarah and Shoko, who were still fast asleep. He watched as Sarah shifted slightly, her hair falling over her face, and Shoko’s arm twitching as if she was dreaming. There was something oddly peaceful about seeing them like this—no arguments, no teasing, just the two of them completely relaxed.

Suguru noticed Satoru staring and raised an eyebrow. “They look like they had fun,” he murmured, his voice quieter now.

Satoru nodded, his usual cocky grin replaced by a softer smile. “Yeah. Days like this are good. Don’t get enough of ‘em," he said softly.

Suguru hummed in agreement, leaning his head back against the railing. He let his eyes drift shut for a second, taking in the rare moment of calm. “It’s nice to just… relax, y’know? No cursed spirits, no missions. Just us being idiots for a day.”

Satoru didn’t respond immediately, his gaze shifting out the window as the scenery passed by. Buildings, trees, and the fading light of the day blurred together. The world outside looked serene, the orange glow of sunset casting everything in a soft, golden hue. It was the kind of beauty you only noticed when you weren’t rushing around, caught up in everything else.

He let out a quiet breath, the ghost of a smile still on his face. “Yeah, we need more days like this.”

Suguru opened his eyes again and glanced at Satoru. “You alright?” he asked, his voice low, almost as if he didn’t want to disturb the quiet.

Satoru blinked, snapping out of his thoughts, and looked over at his friend. “What do you mean?”

Suguru shrugged, his dark eyes steady but understanding. “I don’t know," he said, "You just seem... I don’t wanna say ‘reflective,’ but... reflective.”

Satoru’s grin flickered back, but it was gentler now. “Don’t get used to it. Just ‘cause I’m not running my mouth for two seconds doesn’t mean I’m all deep and brooding.”

Suguru chuckled, shaking his head, “Fair enough.”

Another lull in the conversation settled in, but it wasn’t awkward. The train clicked along, carrying them further from the water park and closer to home. Satoru’s eyes wandered back to the window, watching the sky slowly shift from orange to pink, then purple as the sun sank lower. He couldn’t help but think how rare these moments of peace were—between the missions, the curses, and all the chaos that seemed to follow them wherever they went.

He turned his head slightly, watching Sarah and Shoko again, their quiet breathing syncing with the rhythm of the train. It was strange, how close they’d all become in such a short time. He’d never really let himself dwell on it too much, but it was hard not to appreciate these rare, quiet moments. Especially when he'd felt so isolated for so long.

⤶ Prev Main Next ↪

[ultfreakme]

Hello, I'm new to the jujutsu fandom, I've already watched season 1 of the movie and I'm in season 2 of jujutsu, I also follow the jujutsu manga, I liked your tumblr and started following you, I like your analyzes and you make me understand more jujutsu, thank you. I have a question, don't you think Sukuna is a boring villain, sorry, but he's too annoying, even Mahito is more interesting than him and it's impressive that Mahito gave more weight to the work than Sukuna, Sukuna killed Gojo and his death It had no significance in the work, it's something terrible, I think the author got lost.

Ah thank you so much! Glad the blog could add to the JJK experience!

Personally, I am getting a little tired of Sukuna never being phased. I'd understand his constant victories if we got more insight into his Cursed Technique but we still have no explanation for what he is and how he came to be, very little Sukuna info has been unlocked since the beginning so it feels kind of frustrating for me.

I can't tell what the author is thinking, but I think the number of deaths is getting to us as readers. People just keep on losing and dying with little impact on those that are alive. Deaths had a huge impact at the start of the story. Like S1, Junpei's death shook Yuuji so bad that he entirely changed his way of thinking. But he only knew Junpei for like a day. So when characters like Nanami, Nobara, Gojo and many more people that Yuuji has known for months die, I think equal levels of impact is expected on Yuuji.

But that doesn't happen.

We don't know Yuuji's mental state after witnessing his teacher die. The excessive focus on fights without slowing down to let the characters grieve or process what they've seen is likely impacting how we see Sukuna, his fights, and his powers.

Like why wasn't Yuuji freaking out more when Higurama died? What was he really going through when he saw Higurama and got reminded of Nanami? A moment's pause, just focused on the grief of that could up the stakes and make Sukuna, if not interesting, at least someone we can hate more.

Emotions and character interactions are what gives a story stakes. We care that Gojo died not only because he's the only person who can stand up against Sukuna, but also because he is someone we connected with emotionally from S1. His death will make characters we love devastated.

When you take away the emotion, the sense of loss and don't show that, the fights become boring. Yuuji's still moving and seems to hold the same attitude as the beginning of Culling Games while fighting Sukuna right now after witnessing multiple deaths.

You could say he's hardened his heart and has gone numb to everything but that's speculation as readers, it'd be way more meaningful if we see Yuuji falling into that kind of state, or be shown to have some kind of emotion and reaction.

My one big critique for JJK is pacing. It's fight after fight after fight. Okay, bad take when the manga is literally called "Sorcery Fight" but I am no stranger to manga/anime entirely focused on fighting (I've read a weirdly high amount of martial arts and hand to hand combat manga). Even in most fight-centric stories, we get breaks, we get characters talking to each other. Like how come we STILL haven't gotten a proper, extended interaction between Yuuji and Yuuta that isn't a fight? Has Yuuji even spoken to Maki? How does Ino feel about Choso?

I think it's why I enjoyed the Yuki v Kenjaku fight more. The fight was interspersed with moments of character interaction.

No stakes and impact makes it boring. Sukuna's the most dangerous villain now and he keeps defeating people without proper explanation or faltering in any real way so like, why would we care? Sukuna's going to win against anyone that isn't Yuuji, so what's the point? It used to be fun for me to try to understand how Sukuna does the things he does. I still enjoy watching him beat the shit outta people but i do admit it's getting tiring.

Sure, the CT and Domain expansions whenever an improvement is shown are very cool but it'd help if we could slow down a little and talk about the character interactions. Honestly Sukuna himself can remain a mystery but our MCs should get more backstory and emotional moments.

[yazzydream]

JJK Playlists: Geto | Toji | Gojo

It's Me, I'm the Problem (Geto Suguru Playlist)

Playlist for Geto. Gotta admit, he gets the gears in my brain running. Main themes are about Geto's descent, follows life as a genocidal cult leader, to the end of his life. Manga SPOILERS ahead.

-> [Spotify Link]

1. Paradiso - Pia-no-jac An instrumental chosen by Akutami Gege. Unfortunately, not available on Spotify.

2. Enemy (feat. JID) - Imagine Dragons

Tell you, you're the greatest But once you turn, they hate us (ha)

3. The Wall - PatrickReza When Geto starts questioning his life and philosophy.

Banging my head against the wall Nothing makes sense, no sense at all Nothing can numb me from what I've seen Pull me down, demons, yeah, try me

4. Cradles - Sub Urban Lots of imagery about eating and disassociation.

I love everything Fire's spreading all around my room My world's so bright It's hard to breathe, but that's alright Hush! Shh Tape my eyes open to force reality (oh, no, no) Why can't you just let me eat my weight in glee? I live inside my own world of make-believe Kids screaming in their cradles, profanities Somedays, I feel skinnier than all the other days Sometimes, I can't tell if my body belongs to me

5. Savages - MARINA Covers how the lowly non-sorcerers are monkey--I mean, savages.

One man can build a bomb, another run a race To save somebody's life and have it blow up in his face I'm not the only one who finds it hard to understand I'm not afraid of God, I am afraid of man

///

Underneath it all, we're just savages Hidden behind shirts, ties and marriages How could we expect anything at all? We're just animals still learning how to crawl

6. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen If there's any JJK character who suits Bohemian Rhapsody, it's Geto. The line about being a poor boy made me think of how he's from a non-sorcerer family.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me Mama, just killed a man Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead Mama, life had just begun But now I've gone and thrown it all away Mama, ooh, didn't mean to make you cry If I'm not back again this time tomorrow Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters

7. Wait For It - Hamilton: An American Musical The lines "Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints" popped into my head after watching s2e4. But when I went back to listen to it to add to this playlist I was blown away by how Burr's (Geto's) thoughts about Hamilton (Gojo) were so suitable. Also, it wasn't always intentional but there's so much religious imagery (and a few mentions of parents...) in this playlist that I'm loving.

Death doesn't discriminate Between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes and we keep living anyway. We rise and we fall and we break and we make our mistakes. And if there's a reason I'm still alive when everyone who loves me has died I'm willing to wait for it. I'm willing to wait for it.

///

I am the one thing in life I can control I am inimitable I am an original I'm not falling behind or running late I'm not standing still, I am lying in wait Hamilton faces an endless uphill climb He has something to prove He has nothing to lose Hamilton's pace is relentless he wastes no time What is it like in his shoes? Hamilton doesn't hesitate. He exhibits no restraint. He takes and he takes and he takes and he keeps winning anyway. He changes the game. He plays and he raises the stakes. And if there's a reason he seems to thrive when so few survive, then God dammit I'm willing to wait for it. I'm willing to wait for it.

8. Time of my Life - UPSAHL As Nanami would later say, being a jujutsushi is shit. No wonder Nanami's response was he doesn't blame Geto. Geto suffered from compassion fatigue; he was all burnt up.

I cleaned my room I paid my dues I did all of the things that they all told me to I filled my head With common sense I did all of the things that everybody said So how come all the worst days Are in the time of my life

9. Burning Pile - Mother Mother The turning point. Geto changes his aim.

It goes, all my troubles on a burning pile All lit up and I start to smile If I catch fire then I change my aim Throw my troubles at the pearly gates

10. Bang - AJR Geto certainly left legitimate jujutsu society behind with a bang.

So put your best face on everybody Pretend you know this song Everybody come hang (come hang) Let's go out with a bang Bang! Bang! Bang! I'm way too young to lie here forever I'm way too old to try so whatever come hang (come hang) Let's go out with a bang Bang! Bang! Bang!

11. The Other Side of Paradise - Glass Animals Reflecting on how Gojo (his strength) just went to a place Geto could no longer reach. So, Geto leaves too.

Bye-bye, baby blue I wish you could see the wicked truth Caught up in a rush, it's killing you Screaming at the sun you blow into Curled up in a grip when we were us Fingers in a fist like you might run I settle for a ghost I never knew Super paradise I held on to But I settle for a ghost

///

My thunder shook him down My thunder came and shook him down

12. Come Back Home - Two Door Cinema Club I usually prefer sandwiching my playlists with Akutami's music choices, but in this case it felt like it made more sense narratively to place this here. Lol. Sounds like a heartfelt plea from Gojo telling Geto to come back home honestly.

So now you're on your own Won't you come back home? To see you're not that kind And find the strength To find the strength, to find another way

13. East Jesus Nowhere - Green Day Yeah! Classic Green Day, this song popped into my head while thinking about Geto. Geto embraces his religious persona.

A fire burns today Of blasphemy and genocide The sirens of decay Will infiltrate the faith fanatics Oh, bless me Lord for I have sinned It's been a lifetime since I last confessed I threw my crutches in the river of a shadow of doubt And I'll be dressed up in my Sunday best Say a prayer for the family Drop a coin for humanity Ain't this uniform so flattering? I never asked you a goddamn thing

14. cult leader - KiNG MALA

I might be the villain in somebody else's story, but that's fine My methods are controversial, but at least it keeps 'em all in line In line I don't need your roses, I like men on their knees Praying up to their god, seein' visions of me I'm a cult leader, mind reader, heart eater Fear feeder, say I'm your favorite preacher If I wasn't a narcissist, I wouldn't like me either

15. Mental Funeral - EHLE From those devotees.

You're a criminal cute and creepy Dangerous for me When you're all alone, love me, dearly Psychopath

16. Godly Behaviour - ELIO "Monkeys have their roles. Money collecting monkeys and curse collecting monkeys."

Nothing comes for free, there's a fee for my time I'm so heavenly, hard to reach, gotta climb, 'cause I got godly behaviour And I'm not doing any favours I'll be in your dreams tonight, but I'm not an angel 'Cause it's confirmed, I got godly behaviour

17. Do It All The Time - IDKHOW He seemed pretty nonchalant about the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

We're taking over the world A little victim-less crime And when I'm taking your innocence I'll be corrupting your mind

///

Now we're so young But we're probably gonna die And it's so fun We're so good at selling lies We look so good And we never even try I don't wanna do it, but I do it 'Cause I do it all the time

18. Freak (feat. REI AMI) by Sub Urban Geto's family of curse users.

Welcome to our freak show, come meet my monsters Oh, such a fine collection of stranger things

19. Family - Mother Mother More found family music. Affectionate.

They is my family, they is my family They might be crazy, but they is my family You can't get to them unless you get through me You fuck with them, you fuck with me

20. cutlery collector - Sion POV: Geto when Kenjaku takes over his body.

Cutting me open and switching my insides Make me an avatar girl, just let me die And they all say that I have changed But oh, nobody knew why 'Cause you're a cutlery collector You cut open my mind

21. House of Memories - Panic! At the Disco Lots of melancholic death songs.

Baby, we built this house On memories Take my picture now Shake it 'til you see it And when your fantasies Become your legacy Promise me a place In your house of memories

22. Goodbye - Bo Burnham

So long, goodbye I'll see you when I see you You can pick the street I'll meet you on the other side

///

Am I going crazy? Would I even know? Am I right back where I started fourteen years ago? Wanna guess the ending, if it ever does I swear to God that all I've ever wanted was A little bit of everything all of the time A bit of everything all of the time Apathy's a tragedy and boredom is a crime I'm finished playing and I'm staying inside

23. Akari - Soushi Sakiyama The third ED best describes Geto I think.

Before my goodwill crumbles away I should have told you everything In a life descending and dissolving into the night Fuzzy emotions, a flickering light If accepting it as inevitable Means it's all over, even though I know It somehow doesn't feel worth it, there's No meaning to it

[worldwright]

NO NO EXACTLY!! I have this working theory that most or all of the fully realized sorcerers are built on regret. Nanami regrets that his classmate died young, so he draws a hard line between children -- who are to be protected and kept from danger -- and adults. The principal regrets that Geto turned bitter, so he makes sure that every student he accepts into Jujutsu High has a powerful conviction to keep them moving forward.

And Gojo-- Gojo regrets (among many other things) that he himself never got to have a normal childhood. He was the golden child from the instant he opened his eyes, constantly targeted and put on a pedestal and entrusted with the future of not only his clan but the entire jujutsu world. The only time he got to be a regular person was when he was a student with Shoko and Suguru. So he constantly defends his students' right to be children. He could have had Yuuji stay hidden after his faked death, but he made sure to let him back into the world on time for the exchange event. He made the second event be a silly, low-stakes baseball game. And all the points you made -- the uniform, room placement, just including them in everything! Gojo understands how important it is to just goof off and he works hard to make sure that his precious students don't go through what he did.

Something something ....... we become what we needed most as a child....

rewatching JJK season 1 (and rereading some manga sections) before the shibuya arc airs, i’ve noticed all the heartbreaking tiny things gojo does for his students, because he had no one to do that for him.

he could have left yuji at jujutsu tech with megumi, but instead he took them on a fun trip to go get nobara in tokyo, because yuji had just lost his only family and then immediately had 10 more traumatic things happen to him at once. gojo customizes yuji’s uniform to show him that someone is still looking out for him and he’s not alone in this world, even though the entire jujutsu world wants him dead.

and megumi says that gojo does stuff like this all the time, which means he did stuff like this for megumi and tsumiki to make sure they had normal childhood joys as they grew up, because he was always thinking of giving them the things he didn’t have.

he has nobara and yuji do their little mission together, because he knows they’re both new to the city and alone and need a friend. he forces megumi to come along, and gives yuji the room next to megumi’s, bc he wants megumi to have the friend group he lost, and bc megumi is so lonely without his sister, and bc when geto was going through something difficult as a teen, he was isolated and his friends couldn’t help him until it was too late.

and in JKK 0 he does the SAME for yuta - yuta is a special grade like gojo is, and he could easily train him a bit alone and then send him on missions alone like he was at that age, but he makes him learn hand to hand combat and hang out with maki, toge and panda because no kid deserves to go through something that traumatic and scary and be alone.

and then, in shibuya, gojo gets sealed in a box, alone.

[sweetcathedral]

🃏Jujutsu Kaisen: Heartbreaking Traits🃏

Note: These traits would be considered toxic in our world, but it makes sense in theirs. Basically, a love-hate relationship with an open ending—men in love with the feeling, but not in love with the consequences.

Characters: Gojo | Nanami | Toji

Gojo feeds you empty words, false reassurances. Everything looks perfect from the outside, but in reality it was a laughing mess. You’re never taken seriously, and when you try it’s either "you’re just overthinking it" or "you know it was just a joke, right". He never lets you in on the details about his work or let’s you get close to his friends, coworkers, family and students. Whenever you bring them up, he gets agitated & angry, "keep asking those questions and I’ll leave you for real this time". Truth is, Gojo doesn’t even know why he’s still clinging to you. Nanami tells him over and over again to break it off with you ‘cause it’s selfish enough that it’s a one-sided relationship—he knows everything about you, but you know nothing of him. Everything in your relationship with him works in his favour. Gojo always has the need to know where you are, what you’re doing and who you’re with at all times, even if it’s not planned ‘cause god forbid he finds out that your day isn’t how it went with what you told him. You know it’s for your safety, but it can be overbearing at times. Yet, when you ask him about his whereabouts or when he’d come home, he’d avoid it saying “it’s a work thing, it’s out of my control”. . . and you still stick around with him—except you stopped putting in the effort. He hates the way you make him feel vulnerable, but he loves the comforting feeling you give him. It’s a sense of normalcy he never experiences in his personal life, and he protects that feeling by keeping you in the dark about everything. Is it worth being treated like this? Your relationship with Gojo is desperately hanging by a thread, and you don’t know if that thread is begging to hold on or begging to let go.

“Don’t expect a relationship out of me,” Nanami had told you from the very start. He’s always been straightforward about everything, but they never match his actions. Flowers, gifts, daily messages & outings for just the two of you were habits of his . . . that’s normal for someone who isn’t in a relationship, right? Anytime someone mentions ‘girlfriend, boyfriend, couple’, he doesn’t correct them. “. . . your girlfriend? . . . your boyfriend? . . . the lovely couple,” neither of you denied it and neither of you acknowledged it. “Nanami—” but before you could string the question together, he cuts you off, knowing what you were about to ask. “No. Like I said in the beginning, we’ll never be together,” he sternly said, glaring back at you to make sure that you knew he was serious & that he doesn’t plan on moving forward from it. You don’t understand. If he knows how you feel about him, and how he feels about you, why won’t he take the next step? It’s not easy being in a relationship in his line of work, cause he doesn’t know if he’ll come back to you alive or not . . . and he doesn’t want you to experience a loss like he did. But he loves you so much that he’s not able to end this complicated relationship with you. He’s doing all the right things, calling you, texting you, being there for you, thick & thin, good & bad. Yet, at the same time, he’s doing all the wrong things, waiting to see if it was enough for you to hate him & end everything right now and then. Nanami would rather give you reasons to hate him than to break it off himself, so that if he dies it wouldn’t be hard to let him go and move on. “Do you love me?” you ask. The silence between you and him sits heavily in the air, but it was a good enough answer for you. He couldn’t even look you in the eye when you asked that question, “. . . no,” he replied, placing a tender kiss on your forehead before resting his head on your shoulder. I’m sorry. I do, but I can’t.

After his wife had gone off, Toji risked it all in his gambling habit & high-stake bounty hunts. When he’s drunk or in a broken daze, he’ll mumble whatever words come to mind: pretty, warm, soft, sun. Sometimes you’ll even hear his wife’s name or Megumi, it hurts but it makes you happy. The thought of him caring for someone gives you reassurance that he still has those types of emotions—even if it’s not because of you. “If you get caught in something, don’t expect my help. So leave while you can,” he told you. You never needed his help and you never asked for it, so you tagged along with him. Although he treated you as if you weren’t there, it didn’t matter, as long as you could see that he was doing okay. Yet, there are the rare occasions, where you’d feel his arms wrap around you in his sleep, or he’d keep brushing his hand against yours, finding any type of excuse to just touch you anywhere. Like wiping leftover crumbs from the corner of your mouth, assisting you in taking a lash out from your eye so that he could cup your face in his hand, lifting you up to get to a high place that you couldn’t reach unless you jumped or climbed, tying your hair, carrying you if you were annoyingly slow, pulling you closer to him if he couldn’t hear you clearly (or acting like he couldn’t hear you clearly). Toji was ironically clingy for someone with such a high wall up to keep you from getting closer to him. Because of his ties with the Zen’in family, he had to cut his ties with Megumi. It’s not that he abandoned them to avoid responsibility, he did it for Megumi’s safety. Toji already lost his wife, he doesn’t want to lose him too. As for you, it was the same. Anything can come between the two of you, but the difference is that you’d always find a way back to each other, regardless of the recklessness you’ll face. But when the time comes where he’s gone before you are, would you have already found your purpose—or would you mindlessly cross that line and follow him too?

[colorisbyshe]

If you don't want to talk about JJK anymore, just ignore this. But I've been feeling weird about it too lately for the reasons you laid out. I got into it just for fun, but as I kept reading the way the female characters are treated (it doesn't get better) plus making fascists sympathetic was getting to me. The way the author tries to make Geto's cult like an insurgent force of marginalized people against the higher ups like you said, but they're... straight up fascists planning for genocide and subjugating "monkeys"... A lot of fans try to justify/sympathize what they're doing too because it's such a mess! And I don't think the story takes a hard stance on it yet either, because it's possibly making Geto sympathetic? Makes me really mad and uncomfortable.

I didn't realize the implications about the blood poison curse guy (who gets killed but his non-gay coded, lighter skin brother [w/ the hairbuns] survives), but now I see there's a pattern, so thanks for pointing that out. Altogether seriously upsetting and don't blame you for dropping it. Gotta reevaluate how I feel about the manga

Honestly, I've cooled on a lot of the interest in Geto's character now that I know (prequel/JJK 0 Spoilers, if that matters?) that... the JJK character in the main series... isn't Geto. I genuinely thought that it was him but like Resurrected or some other curse shenanigans going on. But it's just some brain thing that took over him in the main series...?

Which makes the writing... even weirder to me. Like, Geto and Gojo were besties as teens, Geto... becomes a sorcerer supremacist while being a bestie with Gojo, like full on "genocidal maniac" level shit, and then DIES... and then... comes back to do the same shi tbut as an imposter. It's all in such extremes that it lacks any depth? Like... yeah... Gojo probably should stop caring about his friend and also... any reactions he has to Geto in the main series is him reacting to an imposter in his body, which means he's never gonna get closure...?

Like... it isn't Geto is fucking around with curses but we can have some nuance around this. It isn't Geto is still around so it's gonna be extra sad when Gojo has to put him down (again). It's... "Geto was pure evil before he died and was taken over by something that wants to be pure evil again but as a character his arc is over."

So for the emotional heart of it to be largely zapped out, at this point... you just have... a fascist. Who hangs out with marginalized people. Maybe some of whom get to have some redemption (I've very confused about the stinger with Miguel sitting with Yuta), which I guess would be compelling, but....

All of this feels like it's being handled by a mangaka who wants to create a more "elevated" and "gritty" craft who thinks being more inclusive and wild in character design is part of that but has none of the consideration into how he's doing it. He knows having a fascist as a villain is extremely high stakes and having his body have a history with one of the leads is a source of emotional friction but... doesn't know how to execute. He knows having more diverse rep is commendable these days and audiences are clamoring for strong women... but doesn't know how and where to write them. And ends up doing more harm than good, intentionally or not. I'm sure he's convinced Nobara is a compelling character when she rants about how she can be wrong and like going shopping, too.

He wants the political fuckery from shit like GOT but thinks it comes from incest and gore, not realizing that a. the political fuckery of GOT was mid at best to begin with and b. no, it did not come from the incest and gore, the incest and gore was to distract from the mid-dery.

It's just... very "Baby's first story."

Like apparently there is a character people have spent the last year arguing about whether or not they're trans, a cross dresser, merely misgendered by bad writing (ie referred to a boy by a character before Gege realized he wanted to write a girl instead). And if that makes their bf bi or not. And that ties into my theory that "Gege wants the credit that diverse writing might give him but has no interest in doing it well."

Everything he does to try to set his story apart from teh stories he's heavily aping from makes JJK worse not better.

And I think it's not at the point where consuming it at all makes you a bad person but it is teetering on the line between "Critical engagement is still possible" and "Nah, it's garbage and its readers are too" in a way that is too close to comfort for me. Like it's a few narrative twists or new "x coded" villains away from me straight up putting in the AOT/Hetalia pile of "There's no ethical way to consume it, unless you're mining it from warnings to deter people from reading it."

[seoafin]

jjk & tower of god chapter on the same day,,, i spent all of my brainjuice talking abt tog w some friends + working on my wip so this one might be incoherent LMAO but nsjdhfjd this my 2 cents for the chp (1) - 🐱

first of all, the zenins shld just eat shit 🥰 the bar is just nonexistant now 😭😭😭

also maki’s mother said sth that hits way too close to home for me too🥴

the maki & mai, megumi & tsumiki "make a place where they are happy” parallels...mai,, maki wanted a place where u'd be happy!!! 😭😭😭 good points abt any interesting nuances the original jpn might have had though

ALSO MUSCLE MAKI IS HERE

and lmao megumi's "ew no" face ,,, i didn't think he could make a face like that JDJJDJD ,, once again i think his outsider-insider status is interesting but the amount of ppl counting on him/leaning on him bc of strategic position is a lot. ig this is what kamo meant by supporting the 3 families,,,, gojou indeed is playing the long game. megumi in the meantime, very persistent in not getting more involved in clan politics, not using power that is offered to him, or leveraging it - in a way it is good, and it also makes sense with "stress is other ppl" but is interesting from a structural pov. megumi may not rly give a shit abt the rest of the jujutsu world. if the ppl close to him are affected, then he cares. otherwise, forget it.

also im interested in power implications here bcs it sound a little like there’s a slight split b/w leadership and everyday zenins and im curious what it's like if u have no connection to the top of the clan,, and again higher ups being unaffiliated with the 3 clans so they have to appeal to them. curious what other talents the gojou clan have and what they're known for bc clearly it's not just gojou, they still have power without him and still have a stake in the shifting power structure. kamo must be busy too...

MAKIIIIII ,,, honestly my heart hurts a little seeing her getting beat up in recent chapters. but i’m rly happy,, shes FINALLY getting the focus she deserves and i’m confident she will make a recovery and she IS in fact the one leading efforts on the zenin side. im rly hopeful she can take over the clan one day and no longer say she's not good enough

that stomach wound is bad news though so im wondering how she will come back from that,, that she didn't know her own father's abilities says a lot, too. i wonder if she could see the extension of his blade, or if she hasn't been able to see/understand many ppl abilities

im hopeful for next chp now. u can do it maki!!!!

flashing back on these bits, it makes more sense now why megumi wasn't melting down post-shibuya,, seems most information came to him in a sort of timely and calm way? also i rly have to wonder if gojou did not spend a decade plotting in front him bcs he's done it before,,,, like the whole clan head scene in megumi's middle school years....in a way i imagine he wouldve seen that gojou come out of the high school and watch him get more serious as he acquired even more skin in the game

all the time though i wonder abt megumi's tendency toward inertia and nonaction to things that would seemingly give him power and trying to understand it and that IS him being selfish and that IS,, imo the biggest indication of what he actually does or doesn't want. he wants it, he will act and work on it immediately himself. he doesn't like it? act like it doesn't exist. it make me want to shake him around like NO!! megumi pay attention!!! But his reaction to this clan stuff is a contrast to his behavior in recent chapters imo

and more mahjong references,,, between this and yuuji’s pachinko,, i wonder abt the undercurrent of gambling haha. a gamble for the shaman world and who will come out on top? a contrast to the flowy ocean imagery that connects shaman stuff out to the rest of the world

also this ,,,, there's that one jp tweet (i cant find it again😞) that talks about how toji, as the point of distortion, created megumi, who is currently playing a potential convergence/healing/uniting role (if he actually takes it on as a responsibility lol) and connects this back to the medicine buddha,,, whose mudra (hand sign) is used for chimera shadow garden. with the commentary abt ppl with heavenly restriction needing to know what to throw away in order to become strong or tap into their full strength and toji’s commentary at the end of fight with gojou,,  i actually always felt that toji died not having been entirely resolved with himself bc he talks abt going against the self that decided to forget abt self-respect, to live without thinking abt himself or others,,, in a way, living selfishly, for himself, by ignoring anything immediate and i think he succeeded for a while bc he didnt even remember megumi's name. he remembers it when he talks to getou abt him being thankful for toji not killing him bc of potential drawbacks

and at the very end he thinks of megumi again and that last act does think of someone else, like a "life before your eyes" moment where toji thinks about how the zenin's treatment of him led him there or how his return to shibuya ends with him remembering how he gave megumi back to the zenin,,, i think atm of his death he was starting to think he did want to care, in a different way, or that he needed a different paradigm. or,, maybe he was just starting to realize how far the zenin thinking had set into him

so we dont rly talk abt that being an enlightenment moment for toji but i kind of think it was. that megumi has the potential to become a pivotal piece as a legacy of distortion is interesting. i dont actually think toji set up everything intentionally bc he didnt know megumi's ability, and i dont think he wouldve thought that far. i think a lot of the heir and inheritance stuff is sth naobito set in after seeing megumi's development under gojou. it's clear now everyone has been keeping eyes on everyone else

at some point there's some interesting discussion to be had abt megumi and privilege - i'm surprised the canon characters dont hate him more for having stuff just fall into his lap, and so i liked that maki pointed this out that he could use this and he shld bc theres a frustration there - and yet at the same time megumi himself seemingly feels very little attachment to the zenin and the shaman world still. he just cares abt his little circle of people, and it's a very intentional choice, based on his good/bad ppl thing

u cant really affect the entire world, but u can assert urself on the environment around u and decide what u do and dont act on. this part of megumi is more teenage boy and kind of toji-like, i think,,, hence the emphasis on action

u express ur effect and existence through action, who u kill or who u save. toji having very little, while so much falls into megumi's lap while he doesn't want it, doesn't want to acknowledge it, likely doesn't want to take part in a system he doesn't like or, having been raised under gojou's wing, resents or finds corrupt or useless, or doesn't even think on bc he thinks its above his pay grade and gojou's there - this is also megumi's moment to solidify his own direction and commit to working in the system or out of it

the "not caring" is a defensive measure in a way too, i think. i dont think megumi is Big Good and wants to save everyone and everything and the world to be good and pure, i tend to think of him as a resigned chaotic neutral, who wishes he could be good orz

ANYWAY i think there's some interesting juxtapositions with the whole toji > megumi thing, that someone who is born without, restricted, births and creates someone full of blessings. its very shaman-like, action then reaction

AND i wish u luck on ur final paper (bless ur eyes to see incels bc i’ll just log off for the day when i saw one (1) of them on the net) AND DONT FORGET TO TAKE A REST,, the self care is much needed me thinks <333 (2) - 🐱

i love u 🥺🥺😭😭😭 you take care of yourself too!!!

also ur right...all this political intrigue im so curious i need to know how the jujutsu world is structured in terms of the higher ups and the clans. like i assumed that the three clan elders WERE to some extent also part of the higher ups???? but now it seems that the higher ups are a separate entity altogether, so like checks and balances i suppose. except both the higher ups and the clans are corrupt so no balance there 😭

the chapter implied the zenins are losing when it comes to the power struggle between the three clans. im interested. i want to see them all rot!!! like i also said though it’s going to be interesting to see the state of the kamo clan though, considering “noritoshi kamo.” like what do you even say to that???? im going to be surprised if it doesn’t affect their standing in the jujutsu world but then again the kamo clan IS one of the big three.

megumi really is a character that was blessed in all regards but like. doesn’t want anything to do with it LOL he really said ‘this is a pain no thanks.’ like gojo like megumi i suppose. i agree with u the whole toji and megumi set up....genius....i also love their juxtaposition. it’s so interesting and another source of irony.