#jujutsu kaisen the millennium curse

[the-millennium-curse]

New chapter posted! "The Millennium Curse" by Juniper Pengold

It's been a long while since I posted a chapter! But the wait wasn't for nothing. "Hand in Hand, Stepping Forward" is the longest chapter yet, and it has the first moment of Miwa truly and fully losing her cool. Hopefully for her, it will be the last... but how could that ever be the case in the wake of the Shibuya Incident?

Stay tuned for chapter seven of my fix-it fic, where I totally rewrite Jujutsu Kaisen following the end of the Shibuya Incident Arc!

P.S. I owe this chapter's timely completion entirely to my friend Elisa. She was the one who pushed me to get it done today, in honor of the final manga chapter coming out (as raws), and she even went as far as beta reading the first half of it before I started writing the second. Everyone say thank you to Eli!

[zuzu-draws]

"Absolute Strength.. and the Loneliness that accompanies it...

...The one who tried teaching you about love is..."

[epickiya722]

Okay, okay, okay. I've been thinking about this for... a while-a while now and I know I mentioned before, but I didn't say why exactly!

(Work with me here, I'm, like, half awake writing this.)

Again, I think it would be wild if Itadori turned out to be Sukuna's reincarnation. You know, a reborn soul.

I know, I know. It's implied that Kenjaku created Itadori for the purpose of being Sukuna's vessel (I don't remember if it's ever been explicit that Kenjaku created Yuji for that purpose) so yeah, in a way to be his reincarnation. Now adding onto that, what if Kenjaku managed to somehow keep another piece of Sukuna's soul to turn Itadori into that full reincarnation? Knowing Kenjaku and anything can happen, hm? (Look, Kenjaku be having a lot of tricks up their sleeves, alright. This is the same story where a sword has a hand attached to it and a guy that swallows curses and uses them like damn... DUEL MONSTERS...)

Again, what if Yuuji Itadori isn't just Sukuna's vessel? But also his modern day reincarnation?

I say this because one of other anime/manga.

Yu-Gi-Oh.

Wait, I know, what does YGO have to do with Jujutsu Kaisen, let alone Itadori being Sukuna's reincarnation? Is it because of the recent YGO reference in chapter 241?

Yes, partly!

It's because of that reference, the "trap card and Kenjaku looking like Bandit Keith" reference that I realized it is possible Gege Akatumi may have already been making references to YGO but for the sake of the story!

(There's also the scene in the anime where Gojo is holding a parody of the YGO crossover movie, Bonds Beyond Time, in episode 6. Also, I just think it's awesome that Megumi Ogata voices Yuta Okkotsu. Ogata is the voice actress of Yugi in YGO Season 0.)

I realized that JJK does share some similarities with YGO when it comes to their protagonists.

Both Yuji and Yugi are high school students raised by their grandfathers and have absent parents (I swear though that you do see Yugi's mom like once in the anime).

Both get possessed by an ancient spirit by coming in contact with a cursed item that houses a piece of that spirit. Said spirits are merciless and brutal (especially Sukuna and season 0 Yami, but in the second anime series Yami got better). Both spirits also hold a "King" title. You got the King of Curses and the King of Games. And they hold up to said titles. In their pasts, they backed up those titles.

Then there's Yuji and Yugi's hair. Yuji used to be a blond! So three hair colors? Black, blond and pink hair? (Yugi's is more magenta, I know.) When Sukuna and Yami take over, there's little differences, but the most notable be the eyes and hair slicking back (some of Yami's bangs are pushed back).

Yuji and Yugi even got similar names!

They also got to collect "pieces". Yuji - Sukuna's fingers, Yugi - Millennium Items.

There's also the thing with souls in both these stories.

That's all I can really think of!

Honestly, this post was written for fun and really, I won't say this is concrete and it's a "hard-core theory you must believe".

I just think it's crazy that there's similarities between JJK and YGO. Could be coincidence, could be Akatumi having fun. And I do think it would be kinda crazy that Yuji turned out to Sukuna's modern-day self.

And maybe I wrote this post as a first half to another... because again, I have thoughts and I like sharing my thoughts sometimes.

[bloody-bee-tea]

Hi! I've recently fallen into the pit (of despair) of Jujutsu Kaisen 🙃 I was wondering, are there any art blogs or fics that you would absolutely recommend? I've caught up with the manga as well, so I'm not afraid of spoilers xD

In terms of ships, I'm good with satosugu, but I'm also always open to letting myself be influenced haha Fics with platonic relationships are also okay

Just anything that comes to mind that you feel I should not miss!! Thank you very much :3 🤍🖤

Haha another victim I've got, yes, good! No, but seriously, I'm happy you liked it!

As to any recs, well. I'm not the best to ask for fic recs, because I've been so busy writing that I've barely read anything but I can give you three:

Achilles, Come Down - a beautiful, painful fix-it; first part of a series and I've only read this so far

Knife-Edged Butterfly - Satosugu without curses and still slightly unhinged? What more do you want

Anchor - Suguru as a millennium old curse and Satoru who is maybe a bit too fascinated

As for art, there are these I can definitely recommend off the top of my head:

@muneonim

@ysd-2-0

@owwllly

@jjks-dodo

@kymsys

@arctvros

Otherwise, I just followed the tag of characters and ships I like and then went from there XD

[zanewatchestuff]

Jujutsu Kaisen - Sorcery and the Supernatural

Jujutsu Kaisen (2020-) is a supernatural anime set primarily in modern-day Japan. The show's premise is that every (most) living beings exert Cursed Energy from their negative emotions. Regular people cannot control the flow of cursed energy, therefore it leaks and mixes together to manifest into Curses or Cursed Spirits. 99% of the population cannot see these spirits but they are extremely harmful and are the cause of thousands of deaths across the country. Also existing in this world are Jujutsu Sorcers who are not only able to see these Cursed Spirits but can control their own flow of Cursed Energy, which grants them supernatural abilities. They typically use these abilities to exorcise Cursed Spirits to prevent as many deaths as possible, as you can only do so using Cursed energy of some form. They go through Jujutsu schools to learn how to use this cursed energy and become capable sorcerers.

What concepts of Gothic doubling function to define the natural from the supernatural?

Jujutsu Kaisen presents a moderately different scenario of Gothic Doubling than what Dina Pedro examines in the article “‘We’re Going to Make You into a Proper Woman’: Postfeminist Gender Performativity and the Supernatural in Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)” through the main protagonist, Yuji Itadori. Yuji begins the series as a “regular” (physically gifted) high school student with no Cursed abilities at all. He’s thrust into the supernatural world of Curses and Spirits when his friends from his after-school club are attacked by Cursed spirits drawn to an extremely powerful Cursed Object that Yuji found, a finger that belonged to the most powerful Cursed Spirit and Sorcerer to exist, Sukuna. In order to save his friends and exorcise the curses, Yuji eats the finger which not only grants him control of large amounts of Cursed energy but makes him a host to Sukuna who hasn’t been awakened in a millennium.

Sukuna and Yuji share one body, creating an interesting dynamic between the main protagonist and one of the main antagonists of the show, and allows us to separate and define the natural world of Yuji and the supernatural world of Sukuna that Yuji further explores throughout the show.

In what ways is gender performativity tied to the supernatural?

Maki Zenin, one of the sorcerers in the show who is a grade above Yuji at the Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School, comes from one of the most influential clans in the Jujutsu world, the Zenin clan. Maki is a unique character as she was born with no cursed energy at all and is unable to see curses, however, she possesses superhuman physical abilities that initially surpass the members of the school, and later in the Jujutsu Kaisen story, surpass all clan members. This, however, does not protect her from the problematic values and unrealistic expectations placed on female members of the Zenin clan who value power above all else and additionally expect girls to be ‘pretty and obedient’, forcing subservient roles upon them. The clan would come to view Maki as a failure from birth, forcing her into the role of a harshly treated servant and preventing her from progressing as a sorcerer which leads to her decision to leave the clan and pursue becoming a sorcerer without any ties to them. Maki’s decision to leave the Zenin clan liberates her from any gender performativity and traditional gender roles that are enforced in the clan, and this is evident all the way from her choice of clothing to her approach to sorcery.

How are characters rewarded or punished for subverting their expected character traits?

Many characters in Jujutsu Kaisen face some form of punishment for subverting their expected character traits, especially when it comes to morality. People who make unexpected morally good decisions are often punished. Yuji is no exception to this, as before his entering the Jujutsu world, he was more laid back and inactive in communities around him, but in his newfound agency to help people and uphold good moral systems, he is punished in several ways. The higher-ups of the Jujutsu world sentence Yuji to death from the first episode and covertly try to kill him since by law, any presence of Sukuna should be exorcised, however, other sorcerers, both morally good and evil, strive to keep Yuji alive so that he can consume all 20 of Sukuna’s fingers and fully summon Sukuna for whatever personal reasons they have. Additionally, Yuji loses companions and unintentionally causes several deaths as we see his moral code continually being tested throughout the series.  

How does the series use the supernatural to liberate characters from oppressive normalcy?

For most characters of the show, the supernatural doesn’t necessarily liberate them from oppressive normalcy because it is their oppressive normalcy. They are born into the families already in the world of Sorcery, growing up with the expectation that they will develop a career in sorcery and exorcising curses, however, few characters like Maki, Toji and Megumi (Maki’s Uncle and Cousin respectively) use their supernatural abilities to liberate themselves from the oppressive normalcy of the Zenin clan and its treatment of non-traditional sorcerers and women. For characters like Yuji, the supernatural literally does liberate him from oppressive normalcy of being sidelined and only able to observe those in need of help, especially from curses, and grants him the abilities that actually enable him to be a positive influence in saving lives, but interesting enough, subject him to new forms of oppression in his desire to help people.

Discussion Questions

Do themes of social constructs e.g. Gender Performativity benefit from being explored in animated supernatural settings?

Do characters who are liberated from the oppressive normalcy in your worlds end up better or worse than their previous situation?

What do you think a non-rigid morality system where good moral behaviour is punished and seemingly questionable moral behaviour is rewarded does for characters in supernatural settings?

@theuncannyprofessoro

[cyber-phobia]

all of these are complete! :) I may have recced some before but they are some of the few I reread.

metamorphosis (we are all human-shaped) [Jujutsu Kaisen] T

Yuuji begins to think that becoming a jujutsu sorcerer changes you in more ways than one. But it looks like he's the only one willing to think about it. or; many sorcerers are just human-shaped, really.

Anchor [Jujutsu Kaisen] G

the one where Getō is a millennium-old curse with an abnormal amount of moral agency and Gojō is very, very interested

A Sight for Sore Eyes [Genshin Impact] M

Childe's purpose in Liyue was to play the part of the fool in Signora's plans, all the while ensuring she didn't completely fuck it up. Childe to maybe possibly hopefully swing this in a way where everything worked out. Now, if only they would stop leaving jobs like this to the blind guy.

Mother [Jujutsu Kaisen] M

What knife doesn’t harm, love will conquer. Observations prove that Six Eyes cannot be defeated, nor can it be killed. But if it’s reared by the person it had stopped so many times before, will the results be different? After all, what kind of child would raise a hand against its own mother?

The World You've Grown [Borderlands] M

When Timothy is sent to Opportunity to kill the vault hunters, he prepares himself for the coming fight. Yet when the moment for slaughter comes, Tim finds himself hesitating, which proves to be a deadly mistake. Now held captive by the vault hunters, Tim finds those green eyes haunting him more than ever. Faced against vault hunters who only see him as Handsome Jack, Tim finds a spark of hope when Gaige sees a sliver of who he used to be buried under the Jack facade.

TOP FIVE FIC CHAIN

RULES:

Link your top 5 fics you've read.

They don't have to be for any particular fandom.

Ping at least 3 other people to give their recs.

if you get pinged again, just link the next five favorite you have.

Include title/link/fandom/rating(if available).

The Dragon Kings Temple-Stargate/Avatar the Last Airbender crossover where Zuko and Toph end up on Earth in Stargate Command under Cheyenne Mountain Washington. Lots of language lore and smart science. Rated T.

Presque Vu- The titular Inception fic. Arthur-centric backstory to the movie that is totally believable, and written by one of the greats. Rated M.

Underdark- TMNT2003. Leo and Mikey are lost underground. Rated G.

Now What I'm Gonna Say May Sound Indelicate- It Chapter2. Eddie Kaspbrak lives. Medical romantic drama. Rated E.

The Whispering Forest and Other Tales- Going to cheat and rec a series. Feudal era ROTTMNT/TMNT/Usagi Yojimbo. Incredibly written and historical drama and romance. Rated T-E.

@thisonesforturtles @olliethescribe @asummersday @radishhqueen @plothooksinc @dangerous-advantage @teainthesnow

[specialability]

2022 Reading

So it seems that my total is ~41 books read, although it's difficult to count. Thirty-eight different titles, although the web novels are often 3-6 volumes worth each. Manga is even harder to pin down, Naruto alone is 72 volumes and there are a lot of manga I read and don't keep track of or are ongoing. I don't remember what I was doing in June, I must have been reading something. Links are to novelupdates for webnovels and some to the publisher if they might be slightly harder to find.

January

Dune by Frank Herbert (reread)

Children of Dune

Dune Messiah

February

Hikaru no Go by Yumi Hotta & Takeshi Obata (reread)

Cried at the end, as one does. Recommended for fans of sports/trading card/proxy battle fans but also fans of dramatic men who carry hand fans.

March

Bu Tian Gang by Meng Xi Shi (web novel, DNF)

Qiang Jin Jiu by Tang Jiuqing (web novel, on hold)

Unseen Immortal of Three Hundred Years (web novel, translation stalled)

Spring Trees and Sunset Clouds by Wei Liang (web novel, Exiled Rebels translation)

post I made about these

April

Female General and Eldest Princess by 请君莫笑 (web novel, melts translation)

post about this great sweeping yuri romance

May

Otherside Picnic Omnibus Vol. 1-3 by Iori Miyazawa

I had trouble falling asleep after reading these they were so freakin scary. In a very good way. The yuri is also excellent and falls within the category of 'fucked up people finding love in a fucked up world'

Scum Villain's Self-Saving System Vol. 1 & 2 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (Seven Seas trans.) post about it

Stray by 年终 (web novel, Kinky Translations)

Interesting unusual danmei in a more western fantasy setting. Post about it.

Monster by Naoki Urasawa (reread)

July

Tai Sui by Priest (E. Danglars trans.) If I had to pick one, this would be my book of the year. Post at chapter 66 and the end although I think it would take a full year of a university level course to pick this novel apart properly.

August

Smiley's People by John LeCarré

I read a bunch of LeCarré last year and had this one laying around that I hadn't gotten to.

Bleach by Kubo Tite (reread, yes all of it)

Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami (reread, only some volumes)

Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto (reread, all of it)

September

The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson (reread)

The girl with the dragon tattoo

The girl who played with fire

The girl who kicked the hornet's nest

A Most Wanted Man by John LeCarré

October

all Pushkin Vertigo editions

Detective Kindaichi Mysteries by Seishi Yokomizo

The Honjin Murders

Death on Gokumon Island

The Village of Eight Graves

The Inugami Curse

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

Probably one of the best mysteries I've ever read, and I didn't even realize that the author was the same as one of my favourite horror light novels, Another. (He is also the husband of Fuyumi Ono!) I think it depends on the person whether you will enjoy the ending or not, but I very much did. This and a number of the other murder mysteries I read after it are all by members of the Honkaku Mystery Writers of Japan club who were part of a new wave of "fair play" mysteries based on golden age classics. From there I transitioned into reading more classic mysteries that were referenced in these novels.

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Shōji Shimada

Murder in the Crooked House Shōji Shimada

The Master Key by Masako Togawa

The Lady Killer by Masako Togawa

November

Honeymoon to Nowhere by Akimitsu Takagi

The Tattoo Murder Case by Akimitsu Takagi

Death Among the Undead by Masahiro Imamura

Another modern mystery novel that stands out for it's original premise: a locked room murder mystery with the characters all trapped in a cabin in the woods in the middle of a zombie outbreak. Personally I think the romance could have been done without, and a female narrator would have been stronger, but overall very compelling.

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett Turns out the movie is very accurate to the novel.

The 8 Mansion Murders by Takemaru Akiko

Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr

One of the golden age mysteries repeatedly referenced by some of the newer mysteries and genuinely a bit scary at points.

December

Golden age detective stories ed. by Otto Penzler

Currently working on this short story collection. The intros to each story putting it in context are very interesting.