#yuji just simply fits because of sukuna

[ipostmysimpingstuffanonymously]

This week's Discord Prompt!

JJK X OHSHC

Find @cocoabell drawing here

[zaddyazula]

i am gonna fully re-read jjk but already i think the ending is beautiful. is it perfect? no. is it the best ending i’ve seen? no. was it rushed? yes. but i think it fits jjk so well. yuji replacing the finger at his middle school to protect it; the very first panel being the hutch sukuna’s finger was in, and the very last being in that same hutch, with another of sukuna’s fingers. it was a cycle of curses, but yuji broke it by killing sukuna (as he says). sukuna’s death ends the cycle; he doesn’t seek vengeance, he accepts his loss and decides to move on and go north with uruame, in order to try again. yuji not only broke the cycle of curses by killing sukuna, but by also teaching him how to love and be human. 265 is such an important chapter going back to this. 271 highlights the difference between a curse and a human: mahito whinges and has a meltdown about how sukuna ‘gave up’, and sukuna simply moves on. sukuna fairly frequently describes how he was cursed from birth, perpetuating this cycle, and yuji broke it, by teaching him how to be human again. sukuna was someone who had never previously been given that chance to be human, and was instead practically shoved into becoming the villain he was. gojo couldn’t teach him this, because gojo himself was only a tool and a weapon for jujutsu society, and wasn’t widely thought of as an actual human being. gojo still loved as a human, but he was raised as a weapon. his death is integral to his character to finally being able to escape his given role (further breaking the cycle) and either be reborn (going north) or discovering himself (going south). (also just remembered how 265 had some allusion to going north in it, so well played gege.) yuji’s grandfather told him to save as many people as he could, and it turns out that included sukuna.

it truly was our jujutsu kaisen.

[invertedheaven]

If You Really Love Nothing

chapter 15: we're both of us above part.2

chapter index | next chapter

“Hello?” You answered the call, it was sukuna because of course he always had the worst timing

Sukuna could hear the uncertainty in your voice as if you didnt know who was calling

“Hey” he gruffly responded

Silence hung heavy over the phone, had you not checked to see if the call was still on you would’ve thought he hung up. You wish you could see his face, what was he doing right now? Did he have his brows furrowed the way he used to? when you both talked of something serious.

He wonders the same, if you’re biting your lips or shaking your leg in anticipation. He can imagine it clearly no matter how much has changed

You swallowed the lump stuck in your throat “sukuna?”

Calling his name simply a feeble attempt at getting him to talk, he probably wouldn’t speak you know this yet you tried anyway

“Mommy who is that?” airi asked

Sukuna heard a small voice ask— it was brief and far but he wanted to hear it again, he knew it was airi. He tried to concentrate on it but all he heard was your response

“A friend, baby” you replied calmly “here lets go watch a movie” you moved the phone to your other ear “give me a few minutes” you curtly told sukuna

He wanted to speak, really he did but he didnt know what he’d say, he felt his mouth open to respond and quickly shut again. His heart constricted at the idea that you called him a friend, even if he knows that was just said to appease a 3 and a half year olds mind.

Uncaring for his response— if he even had one, you muted your phone and tossed it on your bed you picked up airi and walked into the living room. Megumi was watching a scary movie while eating some popcorn

You cleared your throat “megumi, im sorry do you think you can watch her for a few minutes”

He turned from where he was sitting to find you looking almost worried he’d wanted to ask what happened, but you probably wouldn’t tell him

“No! Stay with me” airi whined, she clung onto you as you placed her down on the couch

“come on baby you can watch your movie with gumi for a few minutes okay? I’ll be right back” you didn’t know how long the call would take or why sukuna was calling, you’d really prefer if you could deal with him alone for a moment

She was building up to starting a fit but megumi placed the popcorn bowl in her lap and dumped some m&ms in the bowl, airi looked at him in disgust she liked both popcorn and chocolate but separately— she was as sure of this as she could be

“Yuji taught me this one” he softly smiled at airi, and her eyes widened it was instantly more enticing as it was pre-approved by the person who was arguably her favorite at the moment

Airi had her phases or moments where she preferred someones presence more than the other, it depended on the acivity or her mood. It hurts a little sometimes but you also know it’s a normal thing for her to be picky. You smiled at the interaction, while megumi asked airi what she wanted to watch

You quickly made your way back to your room after megumi changed the movie, your hands grabbing at the bottom of your shirt anxiously as you picked your phone back up

Taking a deep breath before unmuting you closed your eyes in acceptance “Why did you call?” You blurted out, but you were met with silence, you could hear him take a deep breath

“Dinner at 5?” He posed the question as if confirming plans you’d never made

You took the phone away from your ear to look at your phone, making sure you heard right “what does that mean?” You were perplexed

He could hear the sound of your disbelief, a prickling feeling crawling up his back— this was hard. He doesn’t understand why this is so hard, theres no way this was proving to be such a challenge.

“Can you do it?” his tone harsh, not meaning for it to come out that way he was just nervous

You rolled your eyes “Today? Thats ridiculously last minute, sukuna” You exclaimed, looking at the clock hanging in your room, 3:15 on the dot

Only receiving a hum in response you continued “I don’t understand, am I meeting you somewhere?”

“I have a place in mind” sukuna said too quietly for his liking, he didn’t really think there’d be a chance that you’d reject him considering he was reaching out, maybe you’d see that he was trying

“I don’t know” you mumbled, you’d hoped he’d be calling to ask about airi, not you, in your mind your dynamic with him has stalled indefinitely until you know what he wants

He could sense your hesitance and he had a feeling he knew why so he continued “can you bring her?”

Your eyes widened, thinking of a response. Your voice would come out unstable you know this, so you wait. You mute yourself, letting out a muttered profanity

You nodded to no one but yourself, trying to get it together, you wanted this right? This is what you’ve been waiting for, for years. Sukuna wanted to meet her, so why do you feel so scared?

“Hello?” Sukunas voice echoed from the phone in your hand, you felt happy but nervous and sad all at once

“Thats fine, we can do 5” you said quietly, but if sukuna could see your face he’d see your apprehensiveness

Sukuna nodded content that you didn’t say no, he feels as if 20 pounds got lifted off his chest, he got past the first part without you rejecting his olive branch. Now he just needed the dinner, that was what he was dreading.

“That all?” You asked, the silence on his end concerned you, was he okay? He was uncharacteristically quiet.

“Yeah” is all sukuna could manage, he opened his mouth to speak again, to say bye or something but you hung up without so much as saying goodbye. Sukuna was confused by your behavior, is this not what you wanted? For him to be present, to care? So why were you giving him the cold shoulder. He hoped it was your nerves and not some moral high horse you’re trying to preserve

————

“We’re going to meet my friend today” You looked into the rearview mirror of your car to see airi looking out the window with excitement, there was still a lot of christmas lights up on peoples houses and buildings, the reflection of them sparkling in her eyes, she always found the lights beautiful.

“I like that one” airi pointed out the window at a specific house that had an all white theme going on, it was rather pretty and you told her as much

You wonder if she heard you and just didnt care, very likely because why would she?

“Are you hungry?” You asked her to which she shrugged

It made you nervous that she might not be the best behaved when it came to food, that innate feeling of disappointing sukuna lurking in the corner of your mind

As you pulled into the parking lot airi drowned out any thoughts you could have while she “sang” along to her favorite songs (it was more like incoherent mumbling half the time with a few words being clear)

You were anxious beyond belief, your hands clammy and your heart beating faster than you’d ever known it to. Years of imagining what this moment would be like, sukunas first time meeting her coming to fruition, you didn’t know what to expect. You’re happy and you keep telling yourself that, this is what you wanted.

With airi in your arms you walked up to the front doors of the restaurant, you placed her down as you approached to pull out your phone, one hand holding tightly onto airis, the other frantically pulling up sukunas contact

“We’re here” you shakily typed the message, you blame the cold for the chill you were feeling but before you could hit send you heard your name

You looked up to lock eyes with sukuna, you chewed on the inside of your cheek at the sight of him he looked… tired. Bags under his eyes that hadn’t been there, hair disheveled, and a slight stubble forming. You wonder if he’d been just as restless as you, because you know you didn’t look any better. He almost looked paranoid, he was wearing a black jacket zipped up with his hands in his pockets, even in the most simple outfits his physique always left you a flustered.

Sukuna had gotten to the restaurant 15 minutes early and had to build up the courage to leave his car… what a strange sentence to relate to himself “building courage” either you had it or you didn’t so why did he try to reason that he was just waiting in his car because it was cold

He saw the moment you and airi had arrived, he couldn’t get a good look at airi but he could see she was bundled up in quite a few jackets. He looked over at the passenger seat at the stuffed rabbit he bought for her, he may or may not have had yuji help him pick it out. To say that yuji was shocked when sukuna recruited him for help was an understatement.

He wonders if she’d think its dumb, he thinks it is, he felt a surge of insecurity in his decisions. He’d always been so self assured, nothing if not aware of his own strengths and yet this small child is making him doubt if he was doing anything right— and he hadnt even met her yet.

He called your name and the sight of you almost made him frown, you looked exhausted with a wistful glint in your eyes, yet somehow so beautiful, he still felt so weak for you and he tries to get it together because thats not the focus here. And he feels it the second he notices his daughter, he stops dead in his tracks.

He was right, she had been suffocated in a big pink puffy jacket with a red sweater underneath and a white scarf. She had pink fluffy earmuffs and pink sparkly boots with fur. He vaguely wonders if thats her favorite color or if you chose that. She hadn’t noticed he was approaching she was too busy looking at you until she followed your line of sight

They locked eyes and sukuna feels his breath hitch. She had a look of confusion on her face her brows slightly furrowed as if trying to understand who he was. She reached out to your leg and slightly hid behind you, he’d be lying if he said that didn’t feel like shit.

You looked down at your daughter and wanted to cringe at her reaction, you don’t blame her though, the man in front of her currently looked like the most unfriendly person on the planet. She didn’t even react to the fact that he had her hair color— one she reacted to so enthusiastically with yuji. You cant blame her exactly it looks like hes never smiled a day in his life and hes abnormally tall and buff, as tall as gojo was his immature nature helped alleviate his intimidating appearance.

“We should go inside its too cold to stand around out here” you murmured, deciding to break the silence and wipe the disgruntled look off of sukunas face

The warmth of the restaurant enveloped your body to your relief, you know airi would be happy to get her jacket off too. It wasn’t anything too fancy but you could tell it wasn’t exactly somewhere toddlers were often at considering airi was the only kid there. The lighting was dim enough that it calmed your nerves and the music wasn’t too loud. You vaguely wondered if this was somewhere sukuna took his dates— you’re not stupid you know he’s moved on. Maybe thats where your unknown agitation for the dinner was coming from, a part of you felt like maybe this was an obligation, something to help his own conscience so he could keep living the way he was.

The hostess led you to your booth styled table and handed you the kids menu, making an off handed comment on how cute your family was, if she noticed how awkward and shifty you and sukuna behaved at that, she didn’t comment. Airi was attached to you like glue as she planted herself right next you, sukuna wasn’t hurt but it was the strangest scene to see both of you right in front of him. He was afraid to speak, feeling that if he did the image in front of him would change, he’d wake up from another dream. It didn’t feel real to be here with you and his kid, he cant tear his eyes away from her.

You notice this and realize he’s trying to accept that airi is actually real, it still hasn’t seemed to click, a look of vacant disbelief. Sukuna simply cant get over how much she looks like him, yeah he saw her pictures but here in person? Its different and guilt sits heavy in chest

As you helped airi take her scarf and jacket off as well as her earmuffs you placed everything in between the both of you. It was not lost on you that airi was unusually quiet she was eyeing the strange man in front of her with a skeptical look on her face

“Airi this is my friend, sukuna” you spoke

Sukuna couldn’t speak, he felt as if he was watching himself from outside of his body, his movements slow as he moved to unzip his jacket revealing a white rabbit plush, tossing the jacket aside. Airi immediately perked up and her expression changed from intimidated to intrigued.

Your eyes widened as you saw what he was holding, you wanted to smile you almost did a part of you screaming at how cute it was. Your mind also somehow short circuiting because this is the first time you’d seen sukuna without a jacket and he’d gotten so much more buff and you feel your face warm up in an embrassing way. Your interest also drawn to how he’d really gotten more tattoos across his arms and around his neck. He was only wearing a simple t-shirt but it made you feel like you had a stupid crush again.

“Uh this is yours” sukuna spoke, how the fuck do you talk to kids?

He moved the plush to the center of the table and airi looked at you then the plush as if asking for your permission

“Its yours” you smiled at her and nodded towards it

She smiled widely before reaching excitedly for the bunny “mommy its so cute!” She exclaimed, sukuna furrows his brows at how quickly her mood changed, thats really all it took? It was similar to yujis mood swings as a kid, maybe he could pull this off? (He thinks thats not likely as he reflects on his current relationship with his brother) So fine, maybe he should be better.

“It is, what do you say?” You urged her

She turned to smile at sukuna “thank you!”

Sukuna tried to hide the way he wanted to smile. She was… adorable and thats not a word he used at pretty much any point. He clenched his fist slightly, unsure of what to say, he really was nervous, why was he so concerned about a toddlers approval?

“Sukuna is yujis brother” you continued

Airi looked around as if searching for yuji, assuming he’d be here if you mentioned him, not fully understanding familial relations, its not like she had a clear idea of it. She wasn’t raised to call megumi her brother nor gojo her father, she knew people had them thanks to her movies but just not really understanding the idea of how they’re actually related

“He helped me pick that out” sukuna mentioned more so talking to you as airi had become distracted with the plush

“Its perfect” you smiled at him, it was your genuine smile, the smile he’d missed so much the one that flashed in his mind every time he closed his eyes to think of you.

He takes in your face, really seeing you without an argument or something to hide. The air between you two is heavy and he can feel how he wants to let himself slip back into the old routine with you. He wants to ask you what you’re going to get and if you want to split it (you usually liked what he got more than what you ordered), he wonders if you still order the same drink you always did.

He watched as you asked airi what she wanted to eat but she was only half paying attention, more distracted with the plush in front of her. Too lost in his thoughts he doesnt hear what airi decides to eat, being pulled further and further into his mind until you cleared your throat. The waitress had apparently come back to the table to ask for your orders, he hadn’t even noticed. He ordered last and the same thing he got last time— he found this place on accident and had yuji with him. It was good enough in his opinion that he’d come back to it, maybe it was good enough that you’d like it too.

With the way sukuna was behaving the idea that maybe he wasn’t sober skates across your mind, he was slow to react and couldn't keep eye contact. Those aren’t sure indicators but still, you'd just never seen him behave so strangely, not calculated in the slightest. You want to ask but decide against it, if you were really concerned you could just leave.

Sukuna unaware of your thought process watches you, moving to open your bag, which he’s now noticing is a little big considering the old bags you used to use. He guesses it makes sense considering you’re carrying stuff for two people now

“You want to color now?” You asked airi to which she nodded, you pulled out a coloring book and some crayons that clearly had been at the hands of a 3 year old. Did she like coloring often? He’s surprised you didn’t pull out an iPad, he’s somehow relieved airi wasn’t an “iPad kid”. He notes the child has gone back to ignoring him, he tells himself it doesn’t bother him because he understands he’s technically a stranger but he was here to meet her so… what now?

As airi flipped through the book he notices that some of the pages were just a massacre of 10 different crayon colors and not a single line was colored in. She lands on a page that has no color yet but the page next to it has the name ‘satoru’ on it and was neatly halfway colored, clearly it was an adults handwriting and coloring, sukuna knows his face twisted in slight disgust at the thought of gojo.

“Want to?” He hears a small voice ask him and he looks to see airi holding out a blue crayon to him, it looks like it’s been to war and back but he chooses not to comment on it. He wants to say no, he’s going to say no because hes a grown man even if this is what parents do he thinks he won’t until his daughter shoves the crayon in his hand

“No I dont-“ but his complaint is cut short as airi shushes him and points to the uncolored page of flowers and a cat sat in the middle. His brows raised as he looked at you, definitely hiding a laugh behind your hand. She just shushed him? Where did that come from? He’d never felt so insulted.

You know you should’ve corrected her, especially because she most definitely picks up the shushing from megumis interactions with gojo but it felt good to see sukuna so helpless. What is he going to do argue with a 3 year old? (You would be proven wrong much to your dismay)

“Here” airi called out to Sukuna when she noticed he still had not moved to color the page she was pointing to. Two of the most stubborn beings you’d known sat in an unspoken duel of who would cave first. You want to laugh because for fucks sake it was just coloring, would it kill him? Probably, knowing how dramatic he was.

Sukuna all but grumbled some words and decided to color on the page she wasn’t pointing at, the one with Gojos dumb ass name, a simple butterfly surrounded by some swirls. Fine, he’ll color but he’ll color where he wants, unknowing that airi takes her book very seriously.

“No!” She half shouted “thats uncle torus” she pouted and snatched the crayon from sukunas hand

“I dont ca-" he was rudely cut off by your foot meeting his shin under the table and before he could complain you turned to airi

“Yes, baby that is uncle torus” you turned to give a pointed look towards sukuna with a stern tone “and thats very nice that you are saving the page for him like he asked”

You know sukuna doesn’t get it, hes just being petty too because its gojo but you really were proud of the way airi was mindful of gojos request. But sure she could’ve been nicer, so you remind her as much

“But remember you can say it nicer next time, okay? We can say ’please don’t color there’”

To which airi pouted and nodded, sukuna watched completely baffled. This was foreign to him, this was something he could not handle— This was parenting? He hadn’t even thought of any of what you said. Every decision he makes being watched as if under a microscope filled him with dread.

“What do you say?” You asked

“Im sorry” airi mumbled and avoided eye contact with the man in front of her, turning her head to look at the other tables

You looked at him, clearly awaiting a response and he didn’t know what to say, he didn’t think it was that big of a deal. And honestly to you it wasn’t really either, you don’t want to police all her actions but when the boys at home let her get away with anything you feel like you have to put your foot down. Airi has to be reminded of manners considering she doesn’t have the most mindful family members between Megumis attitude and satorus childish nature you were left with no choice but to be the bad cop. And with yuji around more encouraging her chaotic side it felt like you were outnumbered and worried that all of this combined would be very influential to an already spoiled only child. You did not want that for her, you wanted her to be mindful.

“S’fine” sukuna grumbled, he noticed his daughter made no motion to pick up the crayon she was holding to continue coloring and it made him feel responsible for it. Even if it was technically because of gojos greedy ass (he thinks) that she got a scolding. He moved to start coloring on the page she asked but she still did not acknowledge him, so he tapped twice on the page with his index finger and she lifted her head to him slightly. Sukuna held out the crayon he was holding to her

“Where do I color” he asked with a monotone voice and you know hes trying but he really could not sound more disinterested

Airis mouth quirked up in a small smile and she grabbed the crayon from his hand “here” she pointed at the flower on the page and started coloring it in for him (the term coloring in used lightly she clearly did not know what the lines were for)

He gently removed the crayon from her hand and kept coloring the flower she told him to and she excitedly grabbed her abandoned crayon and began color the cat orange. She was humming mindlessly for a few moments and sukuna felt a small smile threaten to pull at his lips, he quickly realized that and shook his head slightly.

“Do you like cats?” airi asked, sukuna looked at you before answering as if asking for permission to speak, you shrugged and motioned your hand for him to continue

“No”

Airi looked at him as if he told her the sky wasn’t blue, that clearly wasn’t the answer she wanted, he honestly hadn’t even thought about his response. He’d never particularly wanted pets, too much responsibility and in some sense he felt bad being a pet owner— not that he’s some animal activist but a small part of him hates how domesticated animals have become because of humans, how dependent they are.

“Do you like cats?” Sukuna countered wanting to avoid a follow up question

“Yes!” Airi exclaimed “kitties and bunnies are so cute” she looked up at sukuna to see his reaction

He knows he fucked up with the cats so maybe he could fix it with the rabbits even if he thinks they’re boring “rabbits are… ” he trailed off “cute” he said completely expressionless to which airi scrunched up her nose, he was odd she thought vaguely

“What are those” airi asked pointing at his tattoos

So much for the rabbits comment he thinks, “tattoos” he responded bluntly

She looked at him waiting for an elaboration and then turned to you as if asking to clarify

“Its like coloring but on me and it doesn’t come off” he continued

Airi gasped excitedly and she looked at him “I want them!”

“No” this time you spoke up “they’re for adults only” no playfulness in your voice

Airi pouted and turned towards you “why”

You pondered the response until sukuna spoke up “cause it hurts”

Both you and airi turn to sukuna and he looks at airi face once again expressionless, you wonder if he knows he looks the way he does. Airi pouted once again, she didn’t like things that hurt (her doctors appointments for shots proving to be a prime example) so you’re thankful sukuna said something about pain.

And thankfully before her attitude could worsen the waitress came back with the food right in time to distract your daughter entirely. You wondered if the food was just fast to come out or if the time had flown by that fast.

A strange wave of awareness washed over sukuna as he picked up his fork to dig into his food, he looked up at you and airi and noticed that before you even began to eat you tore up airis chicken tenders to blow on them a bit before she ate them. He’s hungry and he wants to eat but he feels strange like he’s supposed to wait, he doesn’t know why because thats never been a thought for him. So he places his fork down and reaches for the ketchup at the end of he table and places it in front of airis plate. Airi looks at the bottle with a scowl on her face and then up to sukuna, he feels a slight flinch in his reaction because she had never looked more like him than in that moment, he almost feels proud. Almost, if the scowl wasn’t directed at him.

You’re fighting back a smile as he looks at you waiting for you to translate airis reaction for him you looked at him with a playful smugness “she doesn’t like ketchup”

“What kid doesn’t like ketchup” sukuna remarks, really though hes confused. Yuji would eat anything if ketchup was on it

“Yours” you deadpanned as you wiped off the crumbs from your fingers, moving to clear airis coloring book and crayons from the table and back to your bag.

There was a teasing undertone to your words that could’ve fooled sukuna into thinking this was a normal dinner, something you do all the time together.

He didn’t respond, choosing instead to eat now that airi was working on her food. He noted that she took a painfully long time on ONE fry, who takes that long to eat anything? He decides to keep his mouth shut (very hard to do) and appreciates his dish, avoiding looking at you entirely. Sure he could’ve made small talk but he knows you can feel it too, the understanding that this dinner was for airi, the food turns bitter in his mouth and his heart beats a little faster.

You feel the same, you have no appetite and you’re just eating to eat, its an oppressive feeling of anxiety that leaves you lightheaded. Its amazing how out of control you feel in this situation, like when you were a child and you knew you parents were upset with you and there was nothing you could do. Its a terrible emotion to experience at the age you are now, especially as a mother to be reminded that somehow you can still be haunted by those times. Even if its different than when you were a child and it was just your unstable parents being immature, you know you were now an adult who made the decision that upset sukuna, it was merely the notion that you were irremissible in sukunas eyes. That look in his eyes, it wasn’t what you remembered, and instead of the warmth and comfort you felt in his gaze it quickly began to feel like a suffocating inferno of whatever anger he held for you.

He can see you’re clearing thinking of something, in fact you’re kind of thinking quite loud, he opened his mouth to comment until he notices airi staring at what looks to be his forehead (he realizes shes looking at his hair). A glint of what could be considered recollection flashes across the toddlers face and she pokes your arm

“Pink hair” she not so quietly whispered to you

you nod your head and struggle to swallow the food in your mouth, surprised she didn’t say something sooner but it hurt to hear nonetheless

Sukuna had a small smirk as he chewed his food. You glared at him knowing he didn’t do a damn thing and those 9 months were cruel just so she could come out of you looking exactly like him, it did hurt, but whats more insulting is that your genes didn’t even try…

“It was the first thing she said about yuji” you said, you know it was petty but you couldn’t help it

“I had it first” sukuna snapped back grumbling something about how the brat ruins everything

Airis face quickly turned into one of discomfort, like she had eaten something bad, she didn’t like sukunas tone and you noticed immediately. She had shut down and scooted closer to you eating her tenders with her head looking down at her lap, she moved the bunny plush from next to her and put it on the table.

She’s not quite used to brashness such as sukunas, as much as megumi snapped at gojo he tried not to do it in front airi because she didn’t realize it wasn’t directed at her. And the pout and subtle teariness in her eyes made it so hard to reprimand her because It did hurt to have to get stern with her when she did something she wasn’t supposed to. The same look on her face now as sukuna had a disgruntled look on his (more directed at himself) at her reaction to his voice.

You could feel his eyes glaring daggers at you as you picked at your salad and brushed airis hair behind her ear as she ate, putting your fork down you picked up your phone he noticed you began texting and felt insecurity pull at his chest, were you texting gojo? Were you telling him it was going bad? Were you going to leave at airis abrupt change? But his phone pinging startled him out of such thoughts he looked down to see that you’d messaged him

“She doesn’t like people getting angry” your message read and he rolled his eyes

“I wasn’t mad at her” he texted back, he thinks it was clear he was talking to you

“She doesn’t like it either way.”

You locked your phone after that final response and continued to pick at your food, sukuna felt annoyed that nothing he seemed to do pleased the kid. She was temperamental sure, she is a toddler that aspect is subjected to change, yet he wonders why she is that way, yuji barely even flinched at sukunas harsh demeanor as a kid, used to sukunas harsh words by age 7.

Sukuna cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably he stared at the rabbit plush that had black buttoned eyes and felt like it was judging him, fine he thought

“Yuji says hi” sukuna mumbled

Airi looked up and around the room really thinking that he was going to show up

“He’s not here” to which airi went back to frowning

god this was exhausting he thinks “I can bring him next time” sukuna added as a last ditch attempt

Your heart skipped a little at the ‘next time’ the implication that this wasn’t a one time thing, you also saw that he was trying to cheer her up in his own way

“Come on baby cheer up, finish your food so you can get some dessert” you rubbed her back as she scooted back to her original spot and began to pick at her last tender, she was picky but she does eat what she likes so at least theres that

Sukunas not sure at what point airis mood changed but she started to ramble on and on about (according to you) her favorite movie at the moment, most of it doesn’t make sense at all he’s not even sure what she’s trying to describe because most of the words are incorrectly pronounced or just not known but at least she’s not upset.

Its an out of body experience for you, to see the look of concentration on sukunas face as airi talks, youre not even really paying attention but you know you have a dumb smile on your face. It’s written all over your features that you’re unbelievably happy in this moment, even if your mind is screaming that you were robbed of this for the past few years you try to tell yourself to focus on now, that at least he wanted to be around.

“Dessert?” Sukuna asked more so to you and you didnt even realize him and airi were looking at you for what seemed like permission, which was strange to you

“If airi wants it” you shrugged still not having an appetite, you barely finished your own meal, you know you’d come to regret that in an hour once your nerves calm down.

Sukuna squinted slightly at you as the waitress came to clear the table of the plates “can we see the dessert menu?” You asked with a kind smile, the waitress notes in her mind.

“No problem I’ll be right back with that” she nodded returning your smile and looking briefly at sukuna who appeared to be unhappy

“What now” you muttered towards him, airi was very much distracted by your phone taking blurry pictures of everything, including sukuna

“Are you going to eat?” He asked bluntly, remembering last minute that he couldnt ask with a tone that sounded even remotely upset

“I did” you replied smoothly

“Alright, here’s your dessert menu” the waitress conveniently returned before sukuna could interrogate you more, you hated when he did that

Thanking her as you grabbed it you looked down to see airi recording sukuna, he was checking something on his phone and looked up when he heard airi giggling mischievously. He furrowed his brows in what looked to be upset as he noticed the camera pointed towards him and he heard as airis laugh cut off abruptly towards his reaction

Fuck, he forgot about his face. He wasnt upset, in fact it kinda made him feel like an idiot how he was a little content at the idea that youd have pictures of him on your phone. He also realized he hadnt hear airi laugh, fully laugh the way she did now, so it startled him slightly

You noticed quickly enough and took the phone from her hands and distracted her with the menu “look baby they have your favorite” you pointed to the picture. It was a brownie with ice cream on top, you had made it at home for her a few times because she had it once at a restaurant and fell in love with it

Airi cheered and took the menu from your hands, you don’t know why because she couldn’t read it but she always liked to pretend she did

“Ill delete it later” you clarified speaking to sukuna “asshole” you muttered

“I wasn’t-“ he started defensively

“Not now” you quipped back

Sukuna swallowed his remark choosing to not make it worse

“I like this one” airi shoved the menu into sukunas hand and pointed towards the brownie

“We’ll get that one then” he responded

Airi smiled at him again “thank you!”

He knew you could see that he was left a little speechless, he just nodded in response, still not used to how it seemed that airi could ask him to walk into oncoming traffic and as long as she smiled he would do it. Gruesome comparison he knows but it’s how he imagines such levels of vulnerability. He just met this kid too, he really can’t understand it.

Sukuna knows the night is ending, airi finished her dessert with his help and the waitress bought back his card (he insisted on paying for dinner) You’re starting to look more tired and despite her sugar rush the kid keeps yawning. He knows he’s going to go home to an upset brother and you’re going to take his daughter to a home with that white haired bastard and his brat. He knows you’re happy with them and maybe thats what makes it harder, that as you sat here at dinner with him you probably wished to be back home with them. Such insecure and pathetic thoughts rattled around in his head as he watched you put airis jacket back on.

You cleared your throat as you zipped up her jacket “we should probably head back home”

He nodded quietly, getting up to lead you two out of the restaurant he felt anxious, he didn’t particularly want to say bye, sure he loved his peace and quiet and being able to express himself without making a kid cry but he knew he’d get home and sleep better than he has in months simply because he was with you again. Maybe not how he wants but he saw you, he saw your smile and heard your laugh, he saw a new you someone he wanted to know, if you’d let him— if he let himself. The cold air hits his face in a cruel way as if a literal smack to the face he looks back to see you’ve picked airi up and have her on your hip as airi holds onto the bunny plush for dear life.

“Let me walk you back to your car” sukuna stated-- not suggested, you didn’t even bother arguing it

The walk was quiet save for the scuff of your shoes on the concrete and the sound of your keys unlocking the doors as soon as you got close enough, already having them in your hands before you left the restaurant

“Thank you” you spoke softly, stopping in front of your car

He only nodded again, whats he supposed to say

“Uh, tomorrow’s New Years Eve” you started to which he hummed in response

“Yuji was going to come over, him and megumi wanted to watch some movies, they wanted to match a scene of one of their favorite movies to when it hits midnight” you continued, you noticed sukuna hadn’t looked away from airi since you’d started speaking

“You don’t have to but you can come too” you spat out, your heart was beating so fast you knew he’d say no, you don’t know why you invited him

He couldn’t think of anything worse and he doesn’t know how to tell you that. Not because of you or airi but because the minute he walked through that door he knows he’d be met with pity from everyone there. He knows they’d look at him like he was some sorry bastard who was down on his luck, like he had nowhere to go. He didn’t care what people thought about him but he refused to be pitied— to be at the hands of that filled him with dread

He scratched the back of his head and looked around and you braced yourself for the “no”

“I probably shouldn’t” he mumbled

“I know” you gave him a small smile, as if you had expected it and yet you still asked that stung a bit and he doesn’t know if it would’ve hurt more if you hadn’t invited him at all.

“You’re not gonna tell her?” He asked obviously you knew he was asking

how you hadn’t mentioned he was her father

You gave him a small look of annoyance, you know she should know but you’re still scared plus she probably wont even care and that reaction could do a lot more damage to sukunas pride then there already is

You sighed “airi” you took the plush from her hands and she was ready to complain “that’s sukuna” you pointed towards the man in front of you and she gave you a bored expression still trying to reach for the rabbit plush, she knew that you already told her she clearly thought

“Sukuna is your dad” she stopped reaching for the plush and turned her annoyance towards sukuna she looked at him as he awkwardly shifted

“No” airi replied and went back to reaching for the toy

Sukunas eyes widened and he barked out a laugh, which startled you. It was a humorless laugh more like her answer caught him off guard

“Don’t know what I expected” sukuna remarked, you looked at him an apology swimming in your eyes

“What do you mean baby” hoping maybe you could salvage it

She only shrugged

You didn’t really know what to say, you’d expected an uninterested reaction but this was far worse than that.

“Im sorry” you apologized you felt a tear fall down your face and thats somehow what made him feel bad. A small part of him respected airis answer, he cant blame her even if it was bizarrely blunt

“Its fine” sukuna replied and somehow his voiced almost made you believe him

Airi reached to wipe the tear “no mommy”

“I know baby im fine” you placed a kiss on her cheek “thank you”

Sukuna called your name and you looked at him “Its. Fine.” Its not like you could’ve controlled what airi said, he knows thats not the answer you wanted for him and maybe thats why he’s not that upset about it, you feel upset for him.

“I'll just take the rabbit back” he joked and he forgot that the toddler doesn't understand sarcasm

Airi screamed “NO!” She hugged the plush and looked at him with an anger in her eyes that hes not even sure a toddler should know

He put his hands up in fake surrender “I won’t”

And you sniffled and laughed at him, it was watery and almost sounded pained but it was a laugh nonetheless and he bit his cheek to fight the small smile pulling at his lips

“I’ll get you a bigger one” he told airi when he noticed airi was the only one not happy at all

To that she smiled and nodded yes enthusiastically

“She already has so many toys” you mumbled, your back aged 30 years just going around picking them up

Sukuna shrugged

“We seriously have to go, its getting late” you softly smiled at him, he felt him stuff his hands in his pockets grasping his phone, he wanted to take a picture. Airi was picking at the rabbits eye and you were looking up at him with such soft eyes he didn’t want you to leave.

“Ill see you soon” he replied and you nodded

Moving to the back seats door of the car you opened it and sukuna followed as he held the door open so it wouldn’t hit you as you buckled airi into her carseat. You could feel sukuna watching your every move, you swallowed your nerves

“Say bye airi”

“Bye kuna!” She smiled and waved and you felt your heart stop

His old nickname hit your ears in such a sorrowful way, you hadn’t even thought of it in years, you know its cause she cant pronounce his name fully but it made the smile fall from your face

Sukuna wasn’t in a better shape, he too hadn’t heard that name in years and he only ever heard it leave your lips in your voice. He felt a pang in his chest, like his heart threatened to stop. He couldn’t speak and whatever composure he had held throughout the evening crumbled, he nodded yes repeatedly avoiding eye contact

“Bye airi” he replied back and backed away from the door

You quickly shut it before she said anything else to make it worse

“Bye sukuna” you spoke as you walked around to the drivers side, he was following slowly behind

You turned to look at him and he did nothing but lift his hand in a lazy wave

He had a look in his eyes, like he’d seen a ghost and you cant blame him

It hurt you to get into your car and watch him slowly walk back to his own, the heater warming up yours, airi was telling you something, youre not sure what because all you could focus on was him.

Maybe you should’ve hugged him, maybe you should’ve said something but you know better than anyone that the name airi used dredged up memories that neither of you wanted to deal with. Not right now.

“Mommy!” Airi shouted, realizing you hadnt been hearing her

“Yes baby” you replied, almost robotically

“kunas scary”

“He can be nice” you replied voice cracking as you watch him open his car door, you don’t know why it kills you to see him alone like that

“Mmmmmm” airi hummed "no"

“Lets go home” you changed the subject not really in the mood to argue it, you wiped your eyes and pulled out of the parking space

[epickiya722]

So, I just read a posts about how some male anime/manga characters that are loved will be hated if they were female. And it got me thinking. What do you think will happen if Gojo, Sukuna or Bakugou were female characters (with the same power and same personality), will they be hated? For me, yes they will be hated. But, the same can't be said for Yuuji or Midoriya. Like, for me, even if their characters were female, somehow, I think will be loved... But what do you think?

Oooooh, I feel like there would be some mixed reactions with some of these characters. No, scratch that, all of these characters.

I'm tackling the MHA characters first.

With both Bakugou and Midoriya, I feel like the treatment they have now would relatively be the same, but there would be changes. Especially, depending on the type of fans.

Now, for sure, there would be people dragging Katsuki through the mud and cursing his name even if he had been a girl.

Remember, female characters aren't allowed to have flaws! If they do, somehow they're the worst person in existence! (Sarcasm, by the way, for anyone who thinks I think this of female characters. Like, some of you are quick to change the narrative of what someone is trying to say.)

But then at the same time, you can't tell me there would be people just being down bad for him had Bakugou been a girl. Like "Oh, I can change her", "oh, I want a girl who can dominate me like she can". If Maki gets the the "mommy" treatment from certain fans for simply being a girl with muscles and can kick ass, hands down Bakugou would, too.

Now with Midoriya, I feel like people would "tolerate" him a little more. There have been people who haven't even seen MHA, like actively watched or read it, and jumped on the train of "Midoriya is annoying because he cries a lot" and outright hate it because he is a boy. Had Midoriya been a girl? Oh, more people would have flocked to "Oh, she's so cute when she cries" and because "she's a girl, she's supposed to cry".

And you know how, especially during earlier years, Midoriya would get that "I need to be saved, I am a damsel" treatment? Who know the fic where he has to be saved Todoroki or someone else by Bakugou? Oh. That would come tenfold had Midoriya been a girl. Hell, with the ending, people who wanted Uraraka to be a wife so bad who definitely want the same for Midoriya.

They would ignore that, in this case, this girl isn't all fragile and can fight. Midoriya is a wild card and feral, and that would totally been ignored by the fandom. "She's too cute to not be a wife."

Well, Miss Midoriya has the goal to be a hero and help people, thank you very much!

Now onwards to the JJK characters.

Okay, with Gojo and Sukuna... yeah, I can see them being hated. People would hate, hate, hate to see women acting the way they do. Bashed left and right.

Know how Gojo has a complicated life? How he was practically born to be some trophy to show off and a weapon to be used? None of which is his fault?

Yeah, the fandom would just throw that out the window. Female characters don't get sympathy from some of these fans. Gojo would be reduced to nothing but "alpha rich bitch" status. (Which, now that it's hitting me, Gojo doesn't throw around his wealth like that. Sometimes I forget he is rich because he doesn't bring up money a lot. Or, shoot, at all.)

I can already seeing the fandom not taking their foot off a female Sukuna. Evil women are like the bane of some of these people's existence. The fandom already can't handle a complex, obviously meant to be judged female character like Mei Mei. (I get why she's hated, before anyone gets a hissy fit.)

Female Sukuna's saving grace would be her hotness. But that's taking a gamble given that most of the story Sukuna possesses Yuji's body.

A character that the fandom acts as if isn't allowed to be a main character. I agree that Yuji would be a little bit more loved as a girl, but I also feel like some people wouldn't still take to Yuji.

Some already hate him, yes, hate him because he's "boring". (I still don't understand those people and I don't want to. I'll leave it at that.) Had he been a girl... oooh, boy. I can't even begin to put into words.

Maybe Yuji being a girl would flock in more fans if everything was kept the same. And I mean everything. As in fans would immediately clock in his... well, her taste in women and that probably would be one of the few things that people would constantly talk about. That and her fighting skills.

Yuji as a girl would get the Maki treatment, hands down. "Oh, she's so hot when she's kicking ass! What's that? Trauma? Terrible family? I could look at more to her character than her looks and how badass she can be? Yeah, no, I'm not going to do that. She is only there for me to look and fantasize over for the role I assigned for her to the point she's practically a whole other character."

You know, all these characters would get that treatment. They get it even now sometimes.

Like, Sukuna would still be hated because he's evil and whatever other reasons, but he would still have his fans. Some people are fans of him because he just so happen to be that great of a character for them.

Same for Yuji, Gojo, Midoriya and Bakugou.

Male or female, boy or girl, man or woman, non-binary, genderfluid... no matter what these characters identify as, it's a winning and losing situation for them.

What changes would be how the fandom chooses to view that particular character.

Personally, for me, I would still like these characters for what they are.

While a character can be interesting because their gender can play a role into their story or maybe that kind of character isn't often seen in a specific gender, that character also shouldn't just be appealing because of and only their gender.

Sometimes, a character's gender just so happen to be a normal trait just as much as their hair color is.

It just sucks that a character's gender is what determines for some people if they'll love or hate that character.

[darlingofsatoru]

—HEARTSTRINGS UNBOUND (intros)

A Sukuna/reader smau— In which you fall for the stereotypical bad boy in high school, who just happens to be a friend you made in middle school.

YOUR FRIENDGROUP:

[Name] Gojo

-Dubbed most horrible taste in boys in the group.

-Horrendously down bad for Ryomen Sukuna, a boy who you met in middle school and never got over.

Nobara Kugisaki

-A shopping obsessed teen who always manages to get her friends to pay for her clothes and bags.

-Your friend who you met in p.e, where you both did nothing the whole lesson and somehow grew into best friends.

Megumi Fushiguro

-A stoic and quiet boy with a knack for getting into drama despite his avoidance of it.

-Nobodies sure how he joined the Friendgroup, Yuji just sort of introduced him one day and.. bam.

Maki Zenin

-The girl everyone goes to for genuine advice or opinions.

-You met at the start of highschool at lunchtime, where you were both sitting quietly next to each other. You spoke up & you’re most definitely two of the closest in the group.

Toge Inumaki

-Looks shy but is secretly a HUGE gossiper.

-Met you through Yuta & connected with you by getting milkshakes together a few times, which is now a habit.

Yuta Okkutsu

-An awkward boy who is merciless to those who insult or hurt his friends, despite his smiley or scared nature.

-You met him whilst Maki was talking to him & you just sort of became friends over time from continuously seeing each other.

Yuji Itadori

-An often very happy teenager who has a surprising talent for sporty activities yet struggles greatly with academic activities.

-You ran into him one day and he felt bad at the books dropping on your head, so he insisted on taking you to the nurses office just in case.

Panda

-A sarcastic yet cheerful student.

-Met him through Gojo, a senior who introduced Panda into the Friendgroup (who was happily accepted & fitted in well).

HIS FRIENDGROUP:

Ryomen Sukuna

-An extremely well known student, both for looks and fear.

-You met Sukuna in middle school, being the only one who bothered to give him a pen. From there on, you’d stop by his desk and eventually end up sitting together at lunch or parks as you got older.

Kenjaku Geto

-A calm and calculating boy who’s related to an older student; Suguru (who just happens to be your brother’s best friend).

-You met him very briefly when you had to do a test in the same room thanks to both of you missing it but haven’t really met elsewhere.

Uraume

-A quiet yet often borderlining rude person.

-You met many times, with Uraume finding your presence almost enjoyable in the rare study sessions and small talk.

Mahito

-A loud and proud teen who is often in detention for silly things & is hated by nearly half of the school for his antics.

-You haven’t met him but he’s seen you because of Yuji’s presence, might wanna watch out for him..

Dragon

-A curse only really in the group because of Jogo but liked by Hanami & Mahito anyway.

-You’ve yet to cross paths.

Hanami

-A lightly gentle yet also extremely opposite person who dislikes most but their friends.

-You’ve never spoken or glanced at each other.

Jogo

-An arrogant, irritable yet intelligent boy.

-You’ve sat next to each other in maths one class, when a substitute teacher rearranged the seating & had no further interaction.

EXTRAS:

Mai Zenin

-A classmate of yours who’s known for snarky comments & her distantness with her sister.

-You met when you first joined the school and are chill, who knows, you could always become friends?

Satoru Gojo

-Resident popular boy who’s two years older than you.

-A good older brother who is usually never at home despite that fact, being at parties or simply friend’s houses.

Suguru Geto

-A responsible popular boy; best friend of Satoru.

-You met him whilst you were about 10 and he was 13 because of Satoru. You’re not hugely close but he’s welcoming and you text each other about your brother occasionally.

One | two | three

[overly-verbose]

I'm just thinking that Uraume is a great cook, but the real masterpieces are made up of people. I understand that Sukuna will be a little uncomfortable eating people's kebabs (that usually scares teenagers, you know). BUT. The moral mobility of His Evil Majesty's mentality simply says to me: Find the enemy, and the big guy will finally get a nice meal. He worked so hard, he deserves dinner. ("Fu_k, Marry, Eat" game. Start). SO. ONE DAY. People tempura — yes or no? How much Curse is in our King?

Uraume is indeed a great cook, ridiculously even lol

- I mean afaik it's canon that, whilst human meat is supposedly difficult to prepare well, they managed to do it; which is one of the main reasons why Sukuna kept them around aside from the fact that they're a powerful sorcerer lol

(he most probably liked the unaltered taste by itself too (he did in my Series Canon for sure), but Uraume made it additionally enjoyable - so for Mr. I Do What I Want it was definitely a unique plus lol)

As for SIkuna eating people, hmm

Although he's pretty deeply in denial about it, he doesn't actually directly feel anything negative at the prospect

(as showed in Part 4, he actually found the little taste of Yuji's blood he got by accident ridiculously enjoyable, if in terms of Identity Issues and 'Ah Shit That's The Kid's Blood' extremely distressing as well. What a fun combination)

- it's Everything Else around it that makes him uneasy; like the fact that he Knows It's Wrong, The Kids Would Most Freaking Likely Not Like it, and just overall the Character Dissonance he feels about it all

because how the fuck can he be a protective inner marshmallow that would just like to hug the kids, and give them headpats, and heal their wounds, and just overall take care of them as best as he can 🥺

and someone that gets absolutely freaking giddy at the idea and acts of violence and bloodshed (as long as it doesn't involve Some People but especially if it involves Other Ones) at the same time y'know?

(sorry bro, you're not gonna get any less contradictory anytime soon if ever - have fun being yourself, whatever that means, lol

Complex characterisation and all that ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ)

But returning to the topic; I won't say anything about further down the timeline

(he might, he might not, who knows, probably not in a way that would upset the kids too much if anything but ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯)

but there is this one particular, hm, person that would fit all boxes in terms of being a mostly guiltless but still tasty snack, though not as tasty as possible, who miight be meeting him relatively soon (how??)

- and SIkuna wouldn't even need to break any promises with Yuji (oop spoiler 👀) to indeed have a spooky snack!

So, before anything as sophisticated as tempura - there may be moreso sashimi :] *HeeHee HoHo's a bit as lighting strikes in the background and I comically jump in surprise because wtf the sky's clear-????*

.

[artoriarts]

there’s a lot of talk about missed potential in jjk, and I agree, while culling games onward was a good ol fight shonen, shibuya incident was something special, dark and painful but built on a core foundation of hope and positivity that drives yuji as a character, but it kinda peaked there, never hitting the same emotional depth after, with the exception of maki and the zenin assassination arc.

But from the many things I’ve seen brought up, one of the things I haven’t seen is just the core premise of cursed energy not being used like it could be from the getgo. Instead of just being Ki, it was something developed *through* the negative emotions that pool and spawn curses. This is just gonna be me spitballing but listen listen.

Yuta’s the best way to segue into this. A sensitive kid loses his best friend and spirals into grief, unknowingly channeling his cursed technique (instead of just being able to copy, him being able to replicate/leech soul ‘data’ in general) as he hangs on to every memory and memento of her, acting as almost ritual and binding her soul to his, resulting in the vengeful spirit we know of rika, his raw cursed energy output resulting from the feedback loop of negativity that comes from the mass guilt of the horrors rika enacts in his defense, as well as the guilt of trapping her with him in the first place when he learns it’s his fault. His power is the direct result of the weight he carries with him.

And in the same way, other characters bear their trauma in their power. Maki’s frustration and spite at the circumstances of her birth placing her under every disadvantage with the system as it is. Sukuna’s raw hatred and disdain for his fellow man. Gojo’s isolation from his own humanity as The Strongest, growing up both closer to everyone than anyone could ever know, as the six eyes’ ability to see the flow of cursed energy allows him to practically read people’s minds emotionally, and yet expectations and power have placed him on a pedestal so far away from humanity, pressured and forced into sorcery, not a single other interest permitted, from the moment of his birth. Yuji, being a newcomer, predominantly working off fear and the still fresh grief of his grandpa, along with the pressure he now feels as someone capable of sorcery to protect those who are not, one bornout of love but no less harsh, and after shibuya, like yuta, he gains a burning core of guilt for what his life has allowed to happen. Stretching more now but instead of becoming racist and getting skilljacked, geto breaking at the end of hidden inventory is where his character launches off from, instead of how it dooms itself to end; I would need to put more thought into it to make it make concrete sense but his want to rid the world of nonsorcerers and “evolve humanity” is not out of hatred for the weak but his love for humanity as a whole, he wants a humanity that can defend itself against the natural consequence of its existence that is cursed energy, and sorcerers are basically the only ones who can do that, so non-sorcerers are simply liabilities and sources of cursed energy that don’t pull their own weight, and kenjaku is maybe more like a symbiote to him, his patron that just so happens to have the same practical goals as him, albeit a different motive of pure scientific curiosity (assuming they still want the tengen merger or if they’re still in the story at all, they don’t fit into this brainbaby idea quite as well as everything else, but I digress).

And this isn’t just a story thing, it also affects the battle system too. Desperation while losing a fight actively makes you more powerful - also means consequently that like people who keep their cool like gojo (ignoring the minor insanity (and him seeing his ex-boyfriend)) have an inherent power limiter; he may be the strongest but he doesn’t get the same power buffs that everyone else can. Maybe positive energy actually like exists aside from mahoraga and rct. it’s harder to use because well people latch onto negative emotion easier than positive emotion and if you’re fighting obviously things are not sunshine and rainbows, but it is more effective against pure curses and can heal (also then if you can only rct off positive emotion, that power swing from negativity kinda shifts you into a glass canon with more damage but less ability to heal).

Do I turn this into fanfic. Do I do that thing where you make fanfic but break it so far from anything canon it’s basically just original content. or do I just keep it all locked in my head because I’m lazy. Decisions decisions.

[voxofthevoid]

random ass question but i noticed for most of your other fandoms with the exception of jjk it seems like you're more of a monoshipper. just was curious if jjk did to you what it did to me. i've always been a pretty staunch monoshipper (both because i usually can't imagine my otps with other people and also even if i could i get DEEP into my otps and simply do not have the brain capacity to fit another ship from that fandom in there) but when i got into jjk i somehow came out of it shipping megumi with yuji, gojo, and sukuna. this is the very first time i've been a multishipper. all my friends are in shock lol.

I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE JJK WATER. It explains everything.

You're right though! On the writing end at least, I've largely been a monoshipper until JJK. I've always had and still do have one ship I'm fixated on (stucky for MCU and goyuu for JJK). But in general, I have a pattern where I like my favourite character (Steve from MCU, Yuuji from JJK) in multiple ships but will avoid the other half of my OTP (Bucky and Gojou, respectively) in any other ship.

Usually though, the OTP is all I write for and most of what I read for. It takes up all the brain space, like you said. JJK, however, has got me piling on Yuuji ships like nobody's business. I can't even list them all anymore, but even the main ones number five (goyuu, nanaita, sukuita, chosoita, itafushi).

It's delightful to have company in this! High five on the overlapping itafushi 🖐️

[earthtodora]

man I'm really enjoying all this Yuji analysis, I love this boy so much and there are definitely more sides to him than a lot of people realize. this isn't meant as disagreement necessarily, I just like what u have going on with the asks rn and wanna throw some thoughts in there, but regarding Yuji snapping at Hana and Angel I think it's actually a big sign of growth from him at the point in the story that it happens. Yuji is definitely someone with a lot of feelings and I think he does get overwhelmed by them and act out but not always fully understand his own reasoning, but throughout the story he also spends a lot of time pushing things down for the sake of others, trying to fit into a role and be what everyone needs, and berating himself when he's not able to perfectly fulfill that role.

after Shibuya his whole "I'm a cog" mentality is a kind of trauma response with him regressing to an extent, trying to isolate himself and trying not to allow himself to feel, because he's still trying to play a role and he doesn't think those things fit that role. I don't think he really processes what happened to Nobara until around the time they're staying in the hotel, once he's been able to spend time around people he cares about again, especially Megumi, and remember why he wanted to save people in the first place - he's just having to accept that he couldn't and still can't save everyone. him lashing out a bit at Hana out of fear that she might replace Nobara is Yuji starting to let himself really feel things again. I think he probably acted kind of harshly because it overwhelmed him and he didn't even really get why he was so upset when he said it, and once Megumi pointed out that it's not like him he understood and reflected and said "oh shit my bad I'll apologize." it's just a very human thing to do I guess, and my point is that it's really important that Yuji has started allowing himself to be human again at this point, not a cog with a sole purpose or someone playing a part that no one can actually reasonably live up to. it's a big step towards the self actualization we see in him towards the end of the story and him realizing that the way he feels and cares for people is actually one of his biggest strengths. it really makes me wish there had been more time given to show us that month of training because it definitely wasn't an instant change and I also think Choso probably had a big influence on Yuji during that time but that's a different conversation lol

I'm trying to not clog up your inbox with this too much but also a thought on Yuji and Sukuna: one of the things I like about Yuji as a protagonist is that while he is very easy going and forgiving he has very clear limits, and Sukuna has trampled all over them multiple times. my point in saying that is that I do think during their talk in Yuji's domain that Yuji does feel the same sadness for Sukuna as he would anyone with such a bleak mindset, because that's the person Yuji is, I don't think his show of compassion, the attempt to reach Sukuna and offer himself as a vessel again, is as genuine as it comes off. maybe it's my itfs brainrot jumping out lmao but I think that whole thing is less evidence of some kind of all encompassing compassion on Yuji's part and more a show of the fact that he simply loves Megumi (and everyone else but again, itfs brainrot) enough that he is willing to give Sukuna this out and to allow someone so awful to live in his body again just to resolve things as peacefully as possible and avoid more damage and strain to everyone else and especially to Megumi's body.

that's just my opinion tho!! again, not intending to argue or anything, I just liked the discussion and wanted to throw my thoughts in. sorry if I didn't make sense or if I missed anything in your previous asks or replies, I have had like 2 hours of sleep and I'm about to go back to bed lmao

oh, hi anon! i really love all your thoughts and perspective on yuuji's character. i can definitely see how his actions and reactions make sense within the context of his character development, and it's great to have this sort of a discussion.

i agree with everything you said about yuuji's character development and the way he starts letting himself feel things again, and it makes sense that, at the end of the day, yuuji's strength is his ability to empathise and love so deeply. and the fact that choso played a huge role in this process is a very important detail that is often overlooked.

you see, this is exactly why i love analyzing jjk characters - their actions can be interpreted in so many ways, and their motivations are complex and multi-faceted. i think we are both right about the same character, even though we've drawn slightly different conclusions. and that's the thing about fanfic and analysis in general - i don't see it as an either-or situation. the cog mentality is an important plot point for yuuji's arc, but then again, his character arc is about self-discovery, and finding his own identity outside of his grandfather's wishes, breaking out of his old role, and becoming more aware of his surroundings and his feelings. now whether this would make him more compassionate and less likely to hurt others is up for interpretation, and it's my personal HC that it would, as i have mentioned in a previous answer, but, again, there are no right or wrong opinions about this.

regarding sukuna, i do agree that his compassion towards him in 265 is defintely laced with the desire to protect his loved ones. when i first read this part of the manga, i did feel a lot of conflicting emotions, because i was worried that gege would try to redeem sukuna and/or make yuuji forgive him. but getting to the "sukuna. i loathe you" part (still giving me fucking feelings, goddamn it) was very much a relief. and again, it shows yuuji's maturity that he can remain civil and even show sympathy towards sukuna, without actually forgiving him.

however, in 268, megumi is saved and sukuna is defeated and reduced to ashes, and yuuji, once again, tries to help him. i think that's the true moment where yuuji extends his empathy towards sukuna, because, by this point, there is no benefit or personal gain from saving him, and yet yuuji still chooses to do it, as a show of compassion.

another thing is the buddhist motives that gege very purposefully chose for this story, and how yuuji embodies them - during his "awakening", he symbolically reaches the nirvana, or a state of pure bliss, and this is where his kindness comes from. the whole idea behind buddhism is selflessness and compassion towards other living beings, and, in a sense, yuuji becomes a living embodiment of the teachings of buddha, by choosing to show love and forgiveness, even to the most wicked and ruthless person, and choosing not to hate. after 265 came out, i made a little analysis on how i think yuuji's domain expansion represents the nirvana.

now my main reason for having the HC that post-awakening yuuji would become more empathetic is not because of his kindness or his compassion, but because, after the awakening, yuuji's emotional state is no longer as unstable, and he can deal with his feelings in a much more mature way. he's also no longer under the pressure of having to fit into his grandfather's role and expectations, so there is less of a need for him to repress his feelings, or act impulsively and make rash decisions.

all this being said, it is not a case of "yuji is an asshole, or yuji is an angel", it is more of "yuuji can be both at the same time, and his emotions can be volatile, as they are for any human being".

thank you for sharing your thoughts, and i think we mostly agree on the same things. and yeah, i'm a sucker for discussions like these, and i'm glad to be able to engage in a conversation like this! <3

[ultfreakme]

Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it)...So I just have an interesting discussions with my JJK moots (also fics writers) last night. There are 5 of us and we all have different ships (A = nanami/gojo, B = gojo/yuji, C = gojo/utahime, D = sukuna/yuuji & itadori/fushiguro also an anti gojo, and E (me) = gojo/ geto).

One of the thing that interest me is, when I asked the first three people why they include Getou in their fics. You know what they said? "We can't imagine Gojo without Getou's influence. So we made Getou as the 'memorable and unforgetable ex- lover'. Getou also fit as Gojo's 'one and only best friend'." And when I asked the fourth one, who do you ship Gojo with. They said, " I really dislike Gojo as a character so I can only see Gojo with Getou as the most reasonable ship."

Until now I was still surprised that even among non- SatoSugu shipper and anti Gojo fan, they can't deny the special bond between Gojo and Getou. And that's why they are my otp.... Sorry for this long ask, hope you don't mind....

Hi Anon! I didn't celebrate but thank you for the sentiment.

I'm surprised too that everyone agrees that Gojo and Geto's bond is special and it's just not going anywhere. I don't think anyone can write Gojo without Geto. A crucial part of his character development for what he's become disappears without him. It's just, in the narrative, they are heavily intertwined. If you try to erase Geto, Gojo would become extremely OOC imo, especially if it's following canon. Gege Akutami wrote them as the perfect, complementary duo.

I'm kicking my feet giggling that everyone knows SatoSugu are simply attached to each other, there is no way to truly remove them from each other XDXD. I don't mind long asks!! Thanks for this one Anon it was really fun getting insight into different shippers. I tend to avoid people who don't ship what I do online because I suck at setting aside my "hmm...no...." feelings lol.

I've seen people wondering what creators do with Geto when it's not a SatoSugu ship. He's the elephant in the room of Gojo's characterization.

[linkspooky]

I do wonder if Nobara do return— And that’s a big if since it’s been a hot while we last heard about her— What would be her role?

Or not necessarily role, since she does have a unique ability to damage the soul. But more like… character arc I suppose?

Like some people would theorize that Nobara could possibly help Maki from spiraling. However, I personally believe it makes much more narrative sense that it would be Yuta that does it.

I must think that Nobara would possibly go through her own arc. But my question is how?

Since I thought her arc is to be less judgmental with her black and white thinking and expand her world view. But the only person that I can think would challenge Nobara on this is Mai. Since Nobara judged Mai harshly despite the fact that she too was a victim like Maki.

But then like… Mai died so… now what?

Okay, so all the reasons Nobara might come back, and some of the reasons she might not. 

Let’s start with why she might not. By the way I’m not arguing whether or not she’ll come back, because in my mind it’s a very strong “...Maaaaaaaaybe?” so it’s just easier to list arguments in support or against. 

This is definitely the biggest reason why it would be hard to reintroduce Nobara back into the story. Part of this is Gege’s fumbling his handling of female characters, simply put Mai and Miwa are characters who are better written with way less screentime because they both have obvious character flaws, a character arc is built around a flaw the character has that they either have to work on or face the consequences. 

In comparison to Noara, Megumi and Yuji have clear flaws. Megumi is at times borderline suicidal, he’s really emotoinally unhealthy, he picks and chooses between the people he saves and he lets die. He has a lot of connection to bigger plotlines in the Jujutsu World, the Zenin Clan, his legacy as Toji’s son. 

Yuji also has a major flaw of being self sacrificing and has little self worth, he prioritizes other people far above himself, he has a character conflict around finding a way to die, being a little too willing to die, acting like he has little agency or that he’s individually worthless and much preferring to be a cog in society, he’s also continually dealing with Sukuna’s machinations from inside his own body. 

They have clear flaws and they’re connected to the world around them, in comparison Nobara seems a little tacked onto the trio as an afterthought to the point where it is hard to even speculate on where she would fit in post shibuya. We get one flashback to her home village and it’s not even about her life as a jujutsu sorcerer in the country side, just a childhood friend she had. That childhood friend is apparently just fine in the city, so that character motivation and plotline is resolved for the most part. Everything we know about why Nobara became a sorcerer is shoved into a databook (her grandmother), Saori just seems to be a normal person so I don’t even think there was a mystery about her home town. 

You could say her flaw is both her naivete and egotism, she ends up kind of repeating misogyny against Mai when Momo tries to explain what misogyny is like in the Jujutsu World because she views Mai as a bad victim. Solidarity is solidarity with all women and victims, not just the people you personally like. Nobara’s belief that she can simply overcome all adversity with her strong willpower could also be seen as a flaw.

This is a mistranslation it’s more like ...

⇒ “How to put it… The seats in my life? I don’t want people who’re not sitting there to affect my mind in that way or another.”

⇒ “(…) Well, I guess there are people like you who just come bringing their own chairs and sit [with me], too”

which is Nobara saying she only cares about a select group of people, which in a way reflects Megumi’s flaw of just picking and choosing who she saves. 

Nobara’s flaw could be seen as her hypocrisy, she’s one of those loud, crazy people who can easily step on other people’s lives. If they’re not in her small circle of friends she doesn’t really care, she feels little remorse over killing Choso’s brothers. If she comes back that could potentially lead to a conflict with Choso, as unlike Yuji who Choso can forgive because they are brothers, not only is nobara also a murderer, but she doesn’t really feel sorry about it. 

Her naivete and hypocrisy are things that could come to have consequences for her upon her return, for instance you mention Yuta seems more appropriate for the role of supporting Maki and saving her from her spiral than Nobara does. If you look at it from that angle, Nobara could try to help Maki and fail, number one because she does not actually understand all that much about what happened in the Zenin clan she was just making judgements as an outsider and number two because she never liked Mai and that’s the person that Maki is grieving. Mai in general just represents a part of Maki that Nobara doesn’t understand in her amdiration of her. 

This is also the part where I start quoting other people, because I ferociously googled other people’s posts on how they think Nobara might come back due to this being a weak point for me. This post, brings up the fact that if you look at the losses Nobara has suffered so far, they could be the result of Nobara being arrogant and naive to the world and therefore her loss at Shibuya could be a low part in her arc that she has to recover from. 

Jujutsu Kaisen is nothing if not rigidly efficient in how it tells this massive story. I believe every instance of Nobara actually leads us to see a low point in her character arc in Shibuya and a possible return in the Culling Games.

The major foreshadowing to her return is during the Kyoto exchange arc. Her fight against Momo clearly has her ignorant of the plight of women in the JJK universe in Chapters 40 and 41.

This seems to return with Mai dead, Maki scarred and Nobara seriously injured. There's some that claim her not being dead would lower stakes when it's obvious Mahito still would have irreversibly destroyed her youth and beauty that she was proud of all the way back in her introduction in Chapter 4 believing she should be a model.

If being beautiful and dressing up is part of what makes Nobara Kugisaki, Nobara Kugisaki then what is she with half of her face deformed or missing completely?

If Nobara’s main strength is the power of her ego and self confidence, then introducing her back with a severely bruised ego with all the losses she has endured then that could represent a new struggle her character has to deal with. 

The second part of the post brings up that Nobara’s power is currently under-explored, as I said of Yuji and Megumi she seems to be the least connected to the Jujutsu World around her, but Gojo himself said that all of his students are supposed to have remaining potential. Nobara is referred to having come close to feeling the core to cursed energy, which is why she dealt a bigger blow to Mahito than Mahito expected having written her off as weak. 

As several people have pointed out before me, Nobara is the only one of the students to feel the core of cursed energy, which is mentioned s Gojo’s feat that allowed him to come back and defeat Toji. Nobara like Gojo, suffered a near fatal wound that put her on the brink of death, but Nitta went into painstaking detail to point out that there wasn’t a zero percent chance of her coming back due to his cursed technique preventing her body from getting any worse. Just like Gojo, her head wasn’t cut off and she wasn’t finished off. 

There’s two possible theories I’ve seen to explain what could lead to Nobara coming back, number one her unlocking reversed curse technique similiar to Gojo. Number one the clear parallel to Nobara in the past trio is Shoko. While Megumi is parallled to Gojo and Geto to Yuji. Gojo even says that reversed cursed technique is impossible to expain and has to be figured out intuitively. 

Nobara’s technique also has a couple of techniques that closely resemble reverse cursed technique. Resonance connects her to her opponent, she can even use her own body and connect her with her opponent to share their pain together. Considering she connects herself to the opponent’s soul directly to inflict damage on them (how she attacked Mahito’s soul directly), then either using reversed curse technique to heal isn’t that far of a stretch because she is already fighting y directly applying her cursed eenrgy to someone else, she just inflicts negative harm. Gojo explains reverse cursed technique is quite literally just reversing in order to heal. 

Or, there’s the theory my linked post posited that Nobara herself is going to be shown to be an expert of the soul. This is where I bring alchemy into the equation. 

This, is the alchemy triangle. 

I’ve explained the significance of the man and woman, small and large circles, square and triangle at some length.  For a story, we need to focus on the triangle.  In spiritual alchemy, the triangle represents soul, spirit, and body.  Heinrich Khunrath helpfully labeled the sides of the triangle in this emblem.  In red capital letters you have Anima (soul), Spiritus (spirit), and Corpus (body).  

It is ambiguous where cursed energy comes and cursed technique comes from, but we are given multiple references for soul, body and mind. Extremely early on it’s mentioned that cursed energy may come from the brain, later on Mahito is able to change Junpei’s brain around in order to awaken his potential for cursed technique. Much, much later Kenjaku does this en masse to awaken a bunch of potential sorcerers. 

Mahito refers to the soul and the body afterwards, completing the triangle. Mahito’s cursed technique specifically manipulates the soul to transform the shape of his body around it. In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, the soul is definitely something that exists and has form. 

Todo even explicitly names the triangle later on when counselling Yuji, people exists in this world mind, body, and soul and sorcerers are at their strongest when they draw strength with all three are in harmony. Whereas Todo explains that the three of them being seperate and in disharmony makes cursed technique weaker.

So the goal of the triangle, and alchemy at large is to find the harmony between the alchemy triangle, or the three main characters that represent mind, body, soul (or sometimes, mind, body and heart). The Wizard of Oz is the most obvious example of three characters having to find harmony with each other in order to accomplish their goals by the end of the story. 

In the Wizard of Oz, Frank Baum used the heart/mind/body triangle in a completely different way.  Rather than marking his protagonist, Dorothy, as heart, as you would expect, Baum assigns heart, mind, and body characteristics to her three companions.  The Tin Man is in search of a heart, the Scarecrow in search of a brain, and the Cowardly Lion in search of “some nerve,” in other words the courage that Body characters typically lack.  

If you were to divide mind, body and soul then you can center the goal of each character of the main trio. Megumi has to find mind, he’s the most cerebral of the trio as the strategist, his entire arc revolves around his ideals (he hypocritically only chooses to save the people he wants too), his biggest flaw is also being inside his own head and refusing to connect with people. 

Yuji is obviously body, he shares his body with an intruder Sukuna, he is also out of harmony with Sukuna because Sukuna constantly possesses him to cause harm to the others around him. He only became a sorcerer in the first place because his body was modified the moment he ate the finger. He was also purposefully birthed for the sake of becoming a vessel, which means he was literally created to be a body for Sukuna to inhabit. Body characters are defined by their hunger and desires, Sukuna’s cursed technique literally revolves around cooking, his true form has a giant mouth on his stomach, Yuji has to eat fingers to grow stronger. 

That would leave Nobara as the soul, which is where I am going to reference the other post again. 

We never seen Gojo referring to Nobara's potential and so it's assumed it's because she's sidelined but there's no reason to say that it's not because her talents might be a major spoiler to whatever True Jujutsu and the Core of Cursed Energy is.

we already know that the power of the soul is something that goes beyond CE. Mahito even remarks all the way back in Chapter 31 that Sukuna should have less CE than Jogo yet his soul is simply on another level. It may be a completely separate power system and part of how Toji and Maki function so well with 0 CE. Their bodies after all can defeat souls.

, In fact, the separation of Sukuna's fingers into 20 is never explained as it's not a requirement seen for any other Special Grade Cursed Object capable of reincarnating like the Death Paintings (they are also mostly human but 1/3(?) curse). We don't actually know why he is different.

The influence souls have on cursed technique are unknown and unexplored too. The necromancer transfigures her grandsons bodies but specifically doesn’t summon the soul, but because Toji has a special body he comes back. 

Kenjaku even theorizes that the soul is the body, and the body is the soul therefore their connection influences one another both ways. Which is like... yet another way that Nobara can come back, if the body conforms to the soul and the soul conforms to the body, Nobara being able to manipulate her soul because her CT targets the soul directly could make her change her body enough to come back.

To make an argument with alchemy though, alchemy works by seperating the individual members of the triangle, and then eventually reuniting them. That’s a brief, brief summary of how alchemy works in a story, but basically for the story to be complete the alchemy triangle has to come together. For example, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are a similiar alchemy triangle, they spend most of the story seperated and developing on their own, but the story cannot end until the three of them reunite again. 

“The triangle symbolizes the tendency of the universe to converge towards the point of unity.” 

“Some philosophers maintain the quadrangle is to be reduced to a triangle, that is to body, spirit and soul. These three appear in three colors which precede the redness: the body, or earth, in saturnine blackness; the psirit in lunar whiteness, like water; and the soul or air, in solar yellow. Then the triangle will be perfect, but in its turn it must change into a circle (that is uncharangeable redness). 

“Out of man and woman make a round circle and extract the quadrangle from this and from the quadrangle the triangle. Make a round circle and you will have the philosopher’s stone.” 

The goal of alchemy is to form the philosopher’s stone, or essentially reach the endpoint of the story. The “man and woman” angle is also important. Remember, Nobara and Yuji have been depicted fighting together three times, the first time they were in disharmony because they just met, the second time they were in harmony after developing their bond as sorcerers and took on the death painting sibs together, the third time they were in disharmony again and they even seperated with Nobara’s “Death”. Alchemy would require the man and the woman coming together again at the end of the story (this doesn’t even specifically have to be romantic, just as symbols, Nobara and Yuji black flashed together they have a lot of potential for harmony). 

Whether or not you ship Sasuke and Sakura (PLEASE THIS iSN’T SHIpS I DONT EVEN SHIP THEM), the story also follows the formula of alchemy, Sasuke and Sakura are seperated for the majority of the story developing on their own and reforging themselves but the story cannot end until man and woman are brought together in a round circle. 

Therefore if Jujutsu Kaisen is an alchemical story, of mind, body and soul and cursed technique is at it’s strongest when these three elements are in harmony with each other, then the story can’t end unless the trio is repaired and Megumi (Mind), Yuji (Body) and Nobara (soul) are brought together once more. 

[maidenlessed]

Jjk and gojo

Long thread about my scattered thoughts about jjk

I always thought gojo dying a sorcerers death was fitting for his character an off screen death none of the grandure he has was given to him and that's the point no? in his final moments he died during his happiest spring with people he loved (in his head anyways)

Gojo satoru died a human death he preserved loved lived and he changed because of it

We constantly see Characters in jjk preserving fighting and trying as hard as they can to live and survive and they die, take nanami as an explample mei told him to move south if he wants stay the same, he dreamt of settling down in Thailand who is by the way south of Japan

And mei mei (you guessed it) was in Thailand right after, she managed to live bcs of that and the fact that he did change was the reason he died

Yuki was LITERALLY cut in half and she was still fighting kanjaku trying to prove to him that her philosophy is right and he's wrong about humans, same thing with choso and his fight he was thinking about his brother his LOVE for them that's what changed him

Yuji our LITERAL main character preserved trough his loved ones death and so hard for so long and he didn't even get to kill the person he hated the most, living in constant guilt and suicidal thoughts as TEENAGER to the point where just accepted his part as a clog in a bigger machine just trying his best to save people and honor his grandpa's death

Jujutsu kaisen is a horror story first and foremost it's a story about war and the cynical cycle of abuse not everybody is gonna break away from it, is it pessimistic? Sure, is it an invalid way telling a story? Absolutely not and anybody trying to say that gege doesn't know what their doing with the story is simply wrong and if you like so many people on twitter only read jjk for gojo you did not in fact read jjk

Gojo is FAR from one of my favorite characters I did not care for him for most of the story he's fun don't get me wrong but i thought getos decent to madness or sukunas very interesting and out there way of thinking (esp anything related to japeness culture )is far more fascinating but I loved his death and I genuinely thought it was beautiful, I think weekly leaks have rotted people brain perspection of jjk

Also english isn't my first language and I have never done an analysis befor so please don't be to mean to me🫶

[cursedvibes]

Do you think there's any chance of Yuji manifesting Kaori's "Anti-gravity" cursed technique? I've seen people mostly saying he'll manifest Cleave and Dismantle from being fused with Sukuna for so long, but it would be interesting if he "inherited" a technique.

I think there is a possibility. If he is going to have any inherited cursed technique, I would definitely prefer it to be Kaori's. Him getting Sukuna's techniques feels so...cheap? They already get constantly compared (in-universe & by the fandom) simply because they shared a body for a while, so I would want something more unique for him. Yes, he would inevitably use Cleave and Dismantle differently than Sukuna but that's just not enough for me.

AGS fits him better than Cleave or Dismantle anyway, I think. Just cutting down everything in his path doesn't seem his style. I don't remember him being a passionate cook either (although he's good at it). AGS/Gravity could be well combined with his physical attacks or applied to weapons to raise their effectiveness. Due to his physical resistance, he could also use it on himself to for example overwhelm opponents. If Newton's law of universal gravitation and gravitational fields apply to it (bodies attract each other based on their masses and proximity), then you could do a whole variety of things, even manipulate stars, planets and moons as we kinda saw with Kenjaku & Yuki, although I doubt we'll ever get to that scale. With the manipulation of gravitational fields you could also change the force between two masses, like making enemies collide in it's most simplest form or ensure that a weapon hits it's target. It's quite powerful is my point. Close combat isn't Kenjaku's forte, so I think we haven't really seen the full usefulness of these techniques (well, we generally haven't seen much of AGS). I refuse to believe that full-field deployment and pressing people to the ground is the only way to use this technique. Kenjaku just likes to keep people at a distance and they're generally more into biology than physics anyway.

As for the possibility of it: Yuuji used to be basically a non-sorcerer with special physical attributes, so it could be that whatever technique he might have is submerged too. He became aware of and able to use his cursed energy after coming in contact with Sukuna. Just like with sorcerer kids it could be that his technique takes a while to fully manifest, swallowing the first finger being his "birth". Or he got his "awakening" through Sukuna's immense energy just like with the new sorcerers but because it wasn't done through Idle Transfiguration it has a more gradual effect, that would also lead to Yuuji having more time to adjust to the changes. Which I think would be preferable in this case. He already has a steep learning curve since he became a sorcerer. It's definitely not impossible.

[megashadowdragon]

"

I think that Yuji is VERY heavily correlated to a famous Buddha named Kṣitigarbha, as shown by his newest feats.

Basically, this is his Domain Expansion:

And these are the hand signs correlated to this god (he hasn't yet achieved Buddha status, but is an enlightened being): (It is already proven that Gege is heavily inspired by Buddhism to create DE hand signs like Gojo, Sukuna, etc.)

See the similarity? Of course, just by hand signs alone is no proof. Now we will dive deeper into what this Bodhisattva is. He is an enlightened being who vows to "empty all hells" to save the sinners before achieving enlightenment to become a Buddha. AND the important part: he is the "guardian of children and patron deity of deceased children and aborted fetuses in Japanese culture."

Bodhisattva. This ties directly to Yuji's dad, Jin, being a "stillborn fetus" that never saw the light of day because Sukuna ate him, as well as Yuji himself consuming all the remaining cursed womb death paintings, all aborted fetuses, to gain Blood Manipulation. This is a good lead, but the MOST major lead that points to this is all the major players we have going against Sukuna in order for Yuji to land the Domain Expansion. To refresh your memories, this Buddha figure is known for his vow (binding vow) of not achieving Buddhahood until all hells are emptied and every sinner is saved, and he has 6 envoys under his command to save sinners of 6 different realms:

Envoys.

If you imagine Sukuna (or even Megumi himself) to be a great sinner that has to go through all 6 "Envoys" correlating to 6 different karma realms to be "saved," then the connections are clear.

1. He first has to go through the Yama Envoy, as in Gojo the honored one. Yama is the ruler of hell and can be considered an "honored one" of his realm. This can correlate to both Gojo and Sukuna calling themselves "strongest" and wanting to defeat the other to keep their titles. 2. Treasure Holding Lad, this is definitely Higuruma who is able to take away Sukuna's weapon (you can also argue that Kashimo is a "hungry ghost of the past," but I don't think it fits because Kashimo is more of an outsider rather than Yuji's true allies like other examples). 3. Great Strength Envoy, i.e., Maki and her pure physical prowess. 4. Great Compassionate Goddess, i.e., Yuta and his all-encompassing love domain. 5. Precious Treasure Goddess, this is Kusakabe because this envoy defends the human realm, and Kusakabe was able to buy time for the gang to recover with nothing but pure Simple Domain "Domain of the Weak," domain of the helpless human to fight against demons beyond their powers. 6. And finally, Summoning Heaven Envoy, guarding the heaven realms. Jacob's Ladder, enough said.

Only after Sukuna has gone through all these "tribulations," will Yuji be able to "save Megumi" or exorcise Sukuna forever. This also fits extremely well with how Yuji always wants to save Megumi, who is being drowned in the deepest trench of hell in his own right now.

Regardless of next week's result, even if Yuji's DE does not kill Sukuna or whatever, the inspiration is simply TOO on point and this is definitely what the cat used as inspiration for the final arc.

Tl;dr: Yuji, and by extension the final arc, is the manifestation of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva on his journey to grant redemption to the greatest sinners of hell, Sukuna, and his allies are manifestations of the "envoys" that Sukuna has to go through in order to be "exorcised."

( a comment on tcbscans by a refined gentleman

YUJI'S DOMAIN EXPANSION HAND SIGN AND THE MEANING BEHIND IT ⭐

FROM GLOKEN:

FROM MAZIE:

FROM SHIKI:

FROM DETECTIVE CRITICS (RESPONDING TO THE TWEET ABOVE) :

I find it very interesting that it follows the true nature of who Yuji is, and also the reference to Kenjaku? hmm 👀 🤔

[epickiya722]

You know what, I have a thought. Chapter 216, Kenjaku questions Sukuna about keeping Megumi's face. Later at the end, Sukuna tells Yorozu he likes Megumi's face better. (Kenjaku's face is killing me here. 😆)

And I'll be honest and I said it before, Sukuna was giving when he possessed Yuji's body. The vibes were just more menancing.

With Megumi, I adore Megumi, he just... it was like Megumi with extra eyes.

But I realized why Yuji was a more "fitting vessel".

He already kind looked like Sukuna! Just with less eyes and a more youthful face.

Which brings me to this...

You think Sukuna actually hated his own face for a while because of Yuji? Hear me out!

What if during the time he possessed Yuji's body, he picked up on their physical similarities and because he hates Yuji with a passion, he started to hate his own face? It's probably why he says he likes Megumi's face more. Megumi doesn't look like Sukuna.

This also plays into a theory I have, but simply put... what if Sukuna doesn't like seeing Yuji happy or crying because it's not how he (Sukuna) is. He hates seeing someone (Yuji) with his face look like he wouldn't hurt a fly, like he's sunshine incarnate.

It's probably one of the reasons why Sukuna eggs him on because he enjoys seeing Yuji's face twisted in anger and malice. It's the "right way" for him, it's how he wants Yuji to look. Yuji was designed in his image, so he should look the part at least. He wanted Yuji to be how he is, a damn menace to society but it didn't work. It just so odd to me that Sukuna would make a comment about liking Megumi's face better when Yuji just looked like a younger him.

(Which honestly Yuji can give the meanest death glares and hair up or down.)

[suna-reversed]

Hello :)

Sukuna. fluff. Pretty please.

Could you write something about sukuna falling for itadori's best friend. You can throw some angst in there too because I am a masochist❤️

Sukuna x F! Reader 

oh god, this turned purely self indulgent halfway through. low key thinking of turning this into a series to give you the angst you deserve.

A/N: (reader is Itadori’s senior and is 18) (loosely inspired by the song “me and my husband” by mitski)

“And I am the idiot with the painted face

In the corner, taking up space

But when he walks in, I am loved, I am loved”

——-

- You had been one of the few poor senior students who had been victim to what had been Itadori’s “elevator pitch” for more people to join the occult club early back in high school. [the said “elevator pitch” being him jumping out at random people with a white bedsheet over his head saying “boo” as he handed you the club form]

- You didn't end up joining the club. But you somehow did end up getting joined at the hip with the chaotic mess under the white sheet.

- Whether it was you two rushing to the theatre to watch Jennifer Lawrence’s new movie,  or going to a revolving sushi place [only to get pocky from a nearby vending machine instead because revolving sushi is apparently expensive], Itadori Yuuji had become a comforting and very important presence in your life.

- So of course when he suddenly dropped out of your life, being the worried friend you were, you decided to poke around a little only to find out that he was...dead?

- Maybe a few months down the line, you would’ve started to slightly recover from the tragic news you had just gotten. Instead, what you got was your supposedly dead best friend popping up days later to tell you that he ate a finger and now he was the vessel for some centuries old curse,,,

- Um yeah...safe to say that Yuji did not expect you to go into the fit of emotions that you did [boy had the audacity to call you dramatic for fainting and then crying while hugging him once you gained consciousness] 

- some time passed and Yuji and you didn’t see each other much with him practically training to be the strongest jujutsu sorcerer. Still, simply happy to have him back alive, your brain managed to convinced itself that everything was still the same. 

- And it was when he’d sneak out a day or two from his heavy schedule and you’d be back to your normal routine of watching movies, stuffing your face with snacks, getting your face licked by the mouth on Yuji’s hand…

- ,,,wait what

- The first time the curse had made contact with you was simply out of annoyance of why the stupid brat even took the time to see someone as mundane as you so often.

- His plan was to simply scare you into leaving, knowing it would cause the brat pain.

- So he grabbed the opportunity when Yuji moved forward to brush off some popcorn dust on the side of your mouth, not only licking the side of your face but also being successful in slightly grazing his teeth against your tender skin. 

- Yuji had mentioned that being a vessel had caused some weird physical “abnormalities” for him. you didn’t understand it back then but at least knowing that had sort of prepared you for such an instance.

- So imagine the curse’s surprise [and an even further growing annoyance] when your eyes barely widened for a second before you burst into laugher, 

“Didn’t you train your dog to not bite?”

- by now, Yuji had jumped 5 feet away from you and was still halfway through his string of apologies, but upon hearing your reaction, he mused on your fake calm while letting out a chuckle himself, 

- “Guess I’ve got to get a leash for him” 

- By this point, the ever so indifferent curse had taken two teenagers talking about him like a mere annoyance as a personal challenge.

- And that’s how it started.

- He’d come out every now and then, licking your fingers as Yuji passed you something or making lewd remarks on anything and everything that you ever started a conversation about. 

- But you and Yuji barely paid him attention and it was an understatement to say that it infuriated the living hell out of him.

- Particularly you, who wouldn’t even be annoyed or sarcastic about his tactics anymore. Instead, treating him like a friend who was simply joining you and the brat to hang out. 

- He hated it. Hated how bright your laugh was. Hated how you made them stop every time you saw a stray animal just so you could pet it. Hated how your skin was as soft as a cloud and how you sometimes smelled like cherry blossoms. He’d kill you in an instant if he could ugh.

- it was a weekend and Yuji and you had been watching a movie, even though Yuji was barely paying attention. You knew he was tired as his large frame slumped over your shoulder. Pulling the blanket up to his face, you once again felt the wet feeling of the assaults you had grown familiar with on the side of your hand.

- “You could’ve just asked for a pocky if you wanted one, no need to lick it off my fingers you grumpy little thing”, you laughed as you stood up to go to the bathroom

- that snapped the final string. 

- Coming back into your living room, you wondered if Yuji had somehow gotten up in his sleep and managed to draw weird black lines over himself all in the span of 5 minutes. 

- ‘Yuji, what the fuck?’

- ‘Well well, now who’s acting like a grumpy little thing’ 

- The deep voice sent rumbles down your spine and you knew in an instant what had happened. 

- Even though your breath hitched in your throat and your body begged for you to run as fast away as you can, you held your ground as you simply tilted your head at the curse 

- “Well, I’d like my best friend back if you don’t mind.”

- You saw the smirk on Sukuna’s face falter for just a second before he crossed the space between the couch and you.

- Now as strong of a front as you managed to hold up until now, watching something like that stride straight towards you would have had even the strongest of sorcerers shitting bricks.

- Instinctively, you took a few steps backwards, but he simply continued to close the distance between the two of you until you were backed up against the wall.

- You flinched as he slammed a hand right next to your head and he seemed to gain immense satisfaction from that as he looked down at your startled face with a smirk plastered on his tattooed face. 

- Sukuna was sure that you’d be begging for his mercy any second now. His smirk widened and he was ready to mock your pleas as he saw you open your mouth to say something, 

- “ ...so much for a damn pocky.”

- All those other times you had caught the curse off guard were nothing compared to the “partially-confused partially-baffled” expression that he held on his face now. It almost made him look human. Almost.

- You didn’t realise just how long you were holding his gaze until Yuji took back control and apologized like a million times over, reassuring you that he would’ve never let you get hurt. 

- The curse didn’t show up for almost a week after that. And while you were grateful for not having to wash off your hands or face 14 times a day, you somehow felt anxious about its sudden disappearance. 

- All those worries were thrown out the window as he once again showed up while Yuji was passed out on the couch after a particularly tough session with Gojo sensei.

- Looking at the curse, you felt anger more than anything, how could he just drop out on you with no warning and then show up in the middle of your living room- ...wait a second, why the hell are you mad at a literal curse for not telling you he was taking a mental health break or whatever it was that he was doing? 

- While you sorted out through these conflicting thoughts in your mind, the curse seemed to be going through a similar crisis. 

- Having woken up in the brat’s fragile human body with no warning whatsoever, Sukuna wasn’t in the mood to see your face so soon again. He didn’t know why your physical presence unsettled him so much. All he knew was that he hated it. Even more now that he knew what you looked like all scared and small compared to his vessel’s towering build, and how you smelled even sweeter than what he had tasted, and how despite all that you still had the courage to stand up to someone as dangerous as him. Ugh, disgusting. 

- “The stupid brat passed out.”

- Such a simple statement caused you to snap your head up at him. But he didn’t wait for your reaction as he somehow managed to plop down on the couch while still looking graceful. Picking up the half eaten box of pocky, he warily pulled one out, eyeing it as if it was  a poisoned dagger before breaking off a piece and placing it on his tongue.

- “This is what you would risk your life for, brat?” 

- He turned his head slightly to look at you still frozen in place, staring at him with that doe eyed look that made his chest burn a little. Isn’t this what he wanted all along?

- “Are you simply going to stand there and gawk? I don’t bite-...well, not unless you ask me to.”

- He knew that would set you right back to your usual self,

 - “...maybe we do need to get a leash after all.”

- Sukuna internally grinned as he saw you move to the other side of the couch, ready to hear whatever more of the snarky comeback that you’d have (not that he was anticipating it, it was just the better alternative to being gaped at. Or so he told himself)

- “You ate the non chocolate covered part of the pocky by the way-”

- “As if a layer of this disgusting brown substance can make the rotten stick taste bette-”

- “Well aren’t sticks all you had to eat in yOuR TiME anyways?”- 

—-

- You somehow managed to fall asleep after the bickering, proceeding to sit in silence after you told him to not bother you while you tried to read. You wouldn’t admit it, but you were a little disappointed when he actually didn’t. Instead, he sat on the couch with a slight smirk still plastered on his face, continuing to simply gaze at you. your heart did lunges every time you slyly looked up from your book to take a peak at him. you wondered how many ways he had come up with to kill you so far. 

- On the other hand, the curse sat idly, watching you while his thoughts rumbled in his mind. Maybe killing you can be pushed off the agenda for now. There are much better ways to hurt the brat anyways aren't there? Perhaps he could use one of these brownish covered sticks to-...what is he thinking?

- He ultimately deems it stupid brat’s humane emotions and sheer stupidity that must be interfering with his thoughts.

- A loud sneeze snaps him out of his daze as he sees you slumped against a pillow, your book falling off your lap. And then he does something that he immediately decides that he would pretend to have not done for the rest of his existence. Luckily, the brat takes back control right after he does it anyways.

- But that thought slips his mind as he finds himself replaying the serene look on your face as he gently pulled the book out of your hands, and how his hands shook a little as you nuzzled your nose into the fabric of the blanket that he pulled over you. How could you have felt so calm around him?