#ch 251

[kikyocaps]

[kazumasamaanime]

Hak my boyyyyy finally action.... I can't wait a whole month 😭😭 why KUSA 😭😭😭

[lloydfrontera]

actually we are talking about it making lloyd see as arcos falls and breaks his neck while he's completely unable to do anything but watch??? sick and twisted oh my god

first of all, ouch. second of all, how dare you. and third of all, ouch இ௰இ

this is one of the changes from the novel that, while i don't completely agree with it, i do acknowledge it makes the even more impactful.

don't misunderstand me! lloyd's entry for arcos' death in the novel is heartbreakingly sad, just look at it

[This is the first time I have chosen to write in a journal. I am sad. The count got into an accident. He was simply enjoying horseback riding like usual. He was riding through a path he often enjoyed taking. Who would've imagined that a weasel would appear and surprise the horse into suddenly jumping? Who would've imagined the count would fall off and hit a tree branch on the neck? The physician says we should wait and see, but... I'm not so sure. I'm just sad.] Flip. [The count woke up after a day. He says he can't feel anything below his neck. But he forced a smile and tried to calm everyone down. He said that he was fine. That it doesn't hurt because he can't feel anything. That he's comfortable since he's on his back all day. He flashed a bright smile. And those were his last words. Right now, the countess is quietly weeping in secret. To be honest, I want to cry too. However, I should go out and comfort her first.]

like i said. heartbreaking.

however. making lloyd watch as it happened?? absolutely evil. i love it <33

i do think marbella's is sadder in the novel tho :((

like

this is fine. but.

[The countess doesn't talk anymore. She doesn't say a word. She no longer smiles and tends to her garden. I picked up the trowel for her lest the overlooked flowers wilt. I hope the freesias bloom beautifully this year and lessen her grief.] Flip [The freesias have bloomed pretty. But the countess can't see them. In the morning, I knew that something was wrong when I heard Emily scream. No one would have thought that the kitchen once filled with everyone's laughter would be where she passed. No one knew until last night. Could it be that she missed the count, who passed away before her. I must call Julian. He should be in the capital. Now our manor, once warm, feels cold a desolate.]

this is better. imo.

i just,,, lloyd tending to marbella's garden,,, picking up where arcos left because he's not there anymore to help her,,,, hoping the flowers will be beautiful that year so she won't be as sad anymore,, and then the reveal that she won't see them any way because she's gone, they're both gone and now their home, lloyd's home, is cold and lonely, empty of the people he loved.

(also i take so much offense to the idea that lloyd would've missed julian's funeral for being 'out of sorts'. he didn't know. he didn't fucking know. he tried to get julian to come home, he wrote to him and when he didn't get an answer he sent ggoming to get him but it was too late, julian was already dead, he was already gone and lloyd never got to see his little brother again. he held his parents' funeral and then held his little brother's and then he tried so hard to comfort sheherazade and even tried to get her to move back home because he was worried something would happen to her. he didn't fucking miss julian's funeral.)

anyway. good episode. i liked it ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

[49th-rabbitch]

{--YA'LL--}

[athanora]

WHY ARE YOU SUSPICIOUS

[anotherferalrat]

TO ALL THE BITCHASS MFS WHO KEEP MAKING 'TWO BIRDS' EDITS AND POSTS FOR ITAFUSHI AFTER CH251...

You're all going on the same list as Gege<3

And I will catch you all<3<3

[sunflowercider]

TURTLE POWER! ULTIMATE DEFENSE!!

[cringengl]

Doomed to die prematurely x dies before them anyway moodboard

[psychewritesbs]

Chapter 251: Decisive Battle in the Unhabited, Demon-Infested Shinjuku, Part 23--Megumi is back!! aaaaand it's not looking good

Well. In case you've been living under a rock, Megumi is back and everyone and their mom knows about it because Twitter demonstrated to be full of people who lack reading comprehension, basic human compassion, and an understanding of how trauma fucks with the mind. Only the latter is excusable, since this is domain-specific knowledge that I don't expect others to be aware of.

The number of times I've read the word "bitch" next to Megumi's name is appalling to say the least.

So... yeah... happy jjk-Sunday? Sorry, I wish I had a more upbeat intro to my ramble for this chapter but man... this fandom is something else and a lot of the comments about Megumi were just so...

Anyways let's taco'bout Megumi and share Megumi-love under the cut.

What is this irritating feeling?

Why does this matter? If you haven't seen me mention this over on the twt already, Sukuna makes a small gesture that is unequivocally Megumi body-language in chapter 248:

Megumi typically places his hand over his shoulder when he's stressed (although I have to confirm he only does it when stressed):

It isn't just the body language that is significant, but rather the way of thinking itself. I didn't catch this myself, but Ant and Danchou did, so I might not do it justice when explaining it.

This way of thinking is very Megumi-like in how he second-guesses himself. More than second-guessing, however, it also feels like a nascent sense of consciousness. All of this obviously presents a very interesting dilemma because, as Sukuna recognizes, sharing a body with Yuji has changed him.

I think we all knew Yuji or Megumi would be changed by Sukuna--because that is how Gege directed our attention by having Gojo mention Yuji could inherit Sukuna's CT by the mere fact that they shared a body. I know I also assumed that Megumi would maybe learn from Sukuna using 10s. But I also know I never even considered that the opposite could be true: Yuji and Megumi could also change Sukuna.

So, the way I see it, with that hand gesture, we have what appears to be Megumi's sense of self bubbling up from under the surface and changing Sukuna.

What's interesting to me is how subtle this is. Sukuna notices this as an "irritating feeling" that is incomprehensible to someone like him who rejects aspirational ideals.

So, part of what I love about this is that sharing a body with Yuji has deepened Sukuna's own experience of reality.

Sukuna is all ego, right? Ego is everything that is concrete...

So I have to wonder how much of this is also Megumi's own emotional turmoil given what we saw this chapter...

Wake up, Megumi!

Ok so let's do a quick recap...

We also know Tsumiki is integral to how Megumi sees himself. This is very important because Megumi basically makes her his raison d'être. In other words, his whole identity is framed around protecting her during the Culling Game. Aside from the obvious shock that it was to realize Yorozu was pretending to be Tsumiki the whole time, which meant Tsumiki was dead, the issue with Megumi was that he made Tsumiki his identity.

And if there is one thing we have seen happen time and time again in jjk is how being limited by your self-ascribed identity comes back and bites you in the ass.

So in Megumi's case, what happens when his whole identity was framed around a single outcome, and then he realized that outcome turned out to be a failure right from the start?

An identity crisis or basically no sense of self.

So what does he have to live for now?

What reason does he have for living if the person whom he had wrapped his identity around is now gone? This is what created the opening for Sukuna to possess him.

What's crazy about this is that even when he was weakened, he still put up a fight and elicited a "Fushiguro Megumi" from Sukuna. Sukuna had probably already considered the importance of the bath, but this likely solidified the need to have Megumi marinate in cursed energy. Like... this is what it took to bury Megumi's consciousness. Also, this is important because we're talking about marinating in negative emotions "to be near evil".

Now, it's midnight and I got to get to sleep, but the way jjk uses "evil" is not cliché at all, but almost like as a metaphor for chaos, hyper individuality, and instinct. I started writing about Naoki Urasawa's Monster, so hopefully I can get around to explaining the whole good vs. evil dichotomy (which is one of my favorite topics ever) soon, but this is all I'll say for now. I'll come back to this in a sec.

Next, Megumi's own Cursed Technique (which we know is tied to the brain and personality) and hands are used to kill Tsumiki's body and Gojo while Megumi can only observe.

And then, Gojo accidentally blitzes Megumi's soul with his technique.

Like are we for real expecting Megumi to just stand up and start throwing hands after all he's been through? What is wrong with people???!!!!!!!!!!! Have some compassion ffs.

Unfortunately, this isn't just about a lack of reading comprehension and compassion, it's also about lack of domain knowledge. This is Trauma with a BIG T we're talking about, and Trauma has been shown to limit how you see yourself and how you are able to think.

So, of course Megumi is distraught. The writing in this is so damn realistic.

Now, Gege has been paying special attention to Megumi's body language, and while the rest of the fandom is laughing at the "Mahoraga hands", I'm looking at how tightly closed those fists are. Even the way he's curled up in a tight ball... Almost like he's about to blow up from sheer pressure.

Quite the contrast to the last time we saw him in a similar position but with more relaxed body language.

And remember, he marinated in cursed energy so that he would be closer to "evil", right? Plus getting blitzed?

Listen, I am ready for Yuji's pep talk, I am sure it will be generational, but right now, I don't think Megumi is ready (or maybe even able) to hear it. Again, because Trauma with a big T.

Plus Sukuna loosing control of Megumi's body? You kind of have to wonder why Megumi's energy has been crescendoing to the point that Sukuna would be affected by it and not only think like Megumi, but also use body language that is unequivocally Megumi.

This feels like a Megumi is about to snap.

This is starting to feel ominous precisely because he's marinated in these self-destructive emotions for so long. Emotions which surely intensified as he saw the consequences of his inability to take action.

But then again... I was expecting a blood bath out of the culling game and it was everything but so 🤣 idk what to tell y'all. As predictable as he is, Gege is unpredictable af.

Ok I think those are my main thoughts? WHAT ABOUT Y'ALL?!!!!!! What are we thinking? What are the theories? oh mai gah.

Even if I'm responding to asks slowly, I'm still reading them as they come in guys. Sorry, school + work is kicking my ass because well... in typical Megumi fashion I haven't taken responsibility for bringing out my best.

That said, I go off to sleep 🫡 Thanks for reading!

[every-monkey-d-luffy]

[kazumasamaanime]

Ok now I feel a little strange with what I will say rn but pls soowon wake up NOW😤!

P.s. or these men will die for sure 😏(if you know what I mean 🖤)

[lloydfrontera]

Nevermind me asking for novel spoilers, I just waited a week and read chapter 123 myself. This was. I don't know what I expected but this was worse than I thought. Everybody is dancing and relaxing and they have no idea that Lloyd just saw or heard of all their deaths. I wonder why Javier didn't get mentioned in the ending spoiler, it's not like Lloyd to not care about him. I hope that's because Javier is all alone like he was in the book, and not because he's dead too and it was too painful for Lloyd to talk about. Which means that Lloyd/Suho died alone, technically killed himself drinking, and with no certainty that his past self would see him and hear all that. Oh gosh. That's not even something he can fight, it's all little things that nobody could stop. That's going to be interesting to see how he tries to prevent all that.

i am so sorry nonnie i kept meaning to reply to your ask but my inbox is,,, a mess alshdkddfs

this was!!!! such a good episode???? oh my god?????? i really liked it?????? THIS IS THE LEVEL OF QUALITY WE COULD HAVE ALL THE TIME???????

the change to make this particular spoiler happen during a festival for lloyd,,,, diabolical,,,, getting to see everyone happy while lloyd gets told in detail how everyone will die,,,, oh my god,,,

I wonder why Javier didn't get mentioned in the ending spoiler, it's not like Lloyd to not care about him. I hope that's because Javier is all alone like he was in the book, and not because he's dead too and it was too painful for Lloyd to talk about.

funny you should mention this because it is indeed my one complaint about the chapter lol

in the novel this spoiler isn't told outloud by lloyd. instead he's writing in a journal, which our lloyd initially takes to mean everything went okay because he was never one to write journals so the fact that he took on such a boring pastime must mean everything is fine, right?

it wasn't fine. at all.

in fact, as his future self passes every page, he gets to see every entry as things get worse and worse. it's somehow even more heartbreaking like that because we see lloyd's immediate thoughts as everything falls apart around him and not just a condensed version told months later.

but the point is! at the last moment, when lloyd has finished writing down his last entry, saying how he now just wants to... rest, admitting that he already came back once thanks to the bonus life from berkis, he starts convulsing, throwing up blood and covering the entire page with blood. and right as everything is fading away he hears someone into the rush calling out to him.

and lloyd's last word is javier's name. btw.

i meant it when i said in almost every spoiler we get to see javier is there with lloyd in one way or another. i don't know why they changed this particular detail, especially when as you said it's uncharacteristic of lloyd not to mention javier at all and someone who hasn't read the novel wouldn't know what happened to him. it makes sense in the novel because he's writing to himself and he knows where and how javier is, so him bursting at the last minute is purely for our benefit, to let us know that he is still there, he is still meant to be the last one standing, he is still the one fate wants to carry on with the story. but if he doesn't appear in the webcomic then lloyd should at least mention him in his message to substitute that.

it's weird. i wonder if they're gonna talk about it in the next chapter.

Which means that Lloyd/Suho died alone, technically killed himself drinking, and with no certainty that his past self would see him and hear all that.

yeah. Yeah. starting with this spoiler a pattern emerges concerning how increasingly self-inflicted lloyd's deaths are which is Fun :)

and yeah! we're officially into the second half of the plot where the most interesting and insane things happen so! it's gonna be real fun :DD!!!

[blue-thief]

rayuga's provider got arrested 😭😭 no more leaks

[dimenirvana]

Megumi 💔 I completely empathize with him but this is the wrong time to give up 😭

[vulcanette]

poor yuuji :(

[sunflowercider]

If there was something he had to face and get done, there was one move he made before anything else.

Let's cut down on my sleep first.