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psychewritesbs · 1 year

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hi!! i really love your blog, i love reading your posts, your analysis... after the most recent chapters, couldn't help but wonder how you would be feeling about megumi's fate. his character has also intrigued me so much, i find the implications of his paths and of his world view so interesting - even though i strongly disagree with most of it today, i really identify my past self with him, and sometimes also my present self - he makes me think and feel so much about life, my life, my relationships, identity, choices, traumas etc.... it's been rough with the last chapters.. anyway, i know the possibilities are not exactly on our side, regarding his fate/ending, but i can't help but wonder how fulfilling it would feel like to see more development from him. yes, a lot of development was made, but he has repeated some fateful mistakes, and i think, if he didn't die, that we would be yet to see him build for himself a new philosophy, a new fundamental understanding of the world and his place in all of it, making different choices and taking different paths. i also know a lot of characters don't get this chance (or don't take this chance) before ......dying, but this time, i would really like to see him changing and growing, learning even more from his mistakes.. what do you think about this? is there anything in particular you would like to see about his character development? if you have the time, i would love to hear your thoughts about it! really sorry for making this ask so long though!!! xx

HOLA!

So... first, thank you for sending Megumi love ♥, I love it when people share with me why they love the characters they love, ESPECIALLY if it's about Megumi.

Second, your ask gives me life in so many ways. Thank you for the kind words and taking the time to reach out.

So let's see... "how are you feeling about Megumi's fate?" you ask.

This is what I'll say above the cut.

I really hope there will be a moment of "poetic justice" that underscores and gives meaning to what happened to Megumi. I don't know that, of course, but I feel like it's consistent with how Gege writes... even if he flops the ending.

More word vomit under the cut...

After all... there's meaning in everything but if only we choose to create it in the face of the existential dread that is the chaos of the human experience.

After keeping up with this manga for the better part of nearly three years, I've fallen in love with Gege's writing style for several reasons.

The main reason is that JJK is very dark and gritty but not for the sake of dark and gritty per se. Rather, JJK is dark and gritty for the sake of characters exploring and giving meaning to the existential dread that comes from the circumstances of the world Gege has created.

So... to me... this alone tells me that even if Megumi were to die and even if the execution is lackluster (think chapter 208), it won't feel like an inconclusive ending once it's all been said and done.

Megumi isn't Aki after all, and Gege isn't Fujimoto.

As you say, "i know the possibilities are not exactly on our side, regarding his fate/ending" and what I'll say is that it's not that I don't trust that Megumi can do amazing #things like getting back control of his body. It's the cursed cat that I don't trust because he will kill any character off if the themes he is trying to depict call for it in the plot.

There IS good reason to think that, thematically, Megumi is getting out alive (for the sake of meaning-making) AND I STILL DON'T TRUST THE CAT AFTER WHAT HE DID IN CHAPTER 212!

Also...

Oops, I did it again, I typed a whole response to your ask, and then the chapter 214 leaks started dropping and I had to go back and delete what I had written.

So if you haven't seen the leaks/spoilers for chapter 214 you might want to wait until Sunday to read the rest of my response.

The thing is... I also wasn't sure how Jungian I wanted to get in my response to you.

So after much debate I decided to get Jungian af... After all, you bared your own soul to me. Why shouldn't I do the same? So... there will be personal rambling lol.

BASICALLY this is how I'm excusing myself for always taking forever to answer asks lol. In the end, I just want to give thoughtful and insight provoking answers if at all possible.

So thanks for your patience. You were never for a moment forgotten.

Anyways... as I like to say: without further ado...

You see, I have this condition...

You see, I have this condition... and I feel like you can relate.

But this condition--I call it character myopia, its main symptom is that when I love a character with my entire sense of self, I can't tell where a character begins and where I end.

his character has also intrigued me so much, i find the implications of his paths and of his world view so interesting - even though i strongly disagree with most of it today, i really identify my past self with him, and sometimes also my present self - he makes me think and feel so much about life, my life, my relationships, identity, choices, traumas etc

Everything you've said about how you relate to him, from his life, to his relationships, identity choices and traumas... yes. Thank you for sharing your Megumi love with me.

Honestly, since we're having this convo. idk about you, but it's not often that I love a character to the point of seeing myself in them.

I don't know that there is a whole lot more that I can add to this. I just love what you said so much.

This has got to be one of my favorite parts about experiencing works of fiction and deeply resonating with certain characters.

Fiction can be such a transformative experience and Megumi has been just that for me and it seems for you as well. I love that in Megumi, Gege has created a character that is a container for exploring ourselves creatively.

I agree with the sentiment of identifying with him.

I think for me, right now... I am going through a phase in my life where, like Megumi, I keep bumping my head up against my own self-inflicted limitations.

In addition, in Megumi I have found a reflection of my own darker instincts.

I don't know how to explain what Megumi has done to my psyche. Literally... it's like he's working behind the scenes in transforming how I see the world.

I've literally had dreams with Megumi in them that also include black and white dog symbolism. In retrospect, the dreams have felt archetypal, like a reflection of psychic processes I am unaware of that are working underneath the surface and transforming my consciousness.

With Megumi getting possessed came a new dream with clear satanic symbolism that I thought was really interesting. More specifically because I wasn't scared to face what I saw in myself.

i can't help but wonder how fulfilling it would feel like to see more development from him. yes, a lot of development was made, but he has repeated some fateful mistakes, and i think, if he didn't die, that we would be yet to see him build for himself a new philosophy, a new fundamental understanding of the world and his place in all of it, making different choices and taking different paths

Yes 🥺🙏🏼! This. All of this.

You made me realize I want to see him believe in himself again. When Megumi believes in himself, literal magic happens.

And going back to what is happening at the end of chapter 214, I cannot wait to see Megumi wreck Sukuna from the inside.

There's so much happening for Megumi right now, and he's told the audience before that he will do whatever it takes to protect the people he holds in high esteem.

That's my boy!!!!!!!!!!

So to your point... I love that he will not go down without putting up a fight as he re-negotiates this new philosophy about himself.

YES!

Again, it's not that I don't trust that Megumi has what it takes, it's the cat I don't trust!!!!

i would really like to see him changing and growing, learning even more from his mistakes.. what do you think about this? is there anything in particular you would like to see about his character development?

Yeah, for sure. This is a bit of a loaded question because there's so much about Megumi that still needs to unfold in terms of how he relates to the world around him.

I personally love how Gege has gone out of his way to show how immature Megumi is compared to other characters who share the same trope. Megumi is a flawed human after all.

And aren't we all?

In the end, Megumi has to grow in many different aspects like...

How he relates to his own power.

The limits of his own sense of self and how he uses his imagination to overcome how his sense of self can become unnecessarily bound by reason.

The much needed growth he needs to achieve in how he relates to others (more specifically Tsumiki and how that is a metaphor for how he relates to his own emotional world).

Bridging opposites together (good and evil).

Taking responsibility for himself and his actions...

I mean there's just so much!

If Megumi dies at this point... ok, yes, and "what meaning will Gege give his death?" is what I would like to know to feel like it was a satisfying end to his arc.

Honestly. I just want to see Megumi work his magic. I want to see him get pissed off, like really pissed off and fed up with his fate, and I want to see how that changes him and what he makes of it.

I want to see him say "fuck this fate, I still have things I need to do."

And then maybe perhaps come to realize, once again, that he can't manipulate others because they too have a free will of their own.

I may be projecting here but... Megumi's manipulative tendencies and the way he relates to others, it feels like it comes from a place in which his inner-child has not learned that it does not need to do anything to fulfill his need to be loved.

Megumi is beloved, and its a real tragedy that he hasn't figured that out about himself.

And... if that is not relatable, then I don't know what is.

AH but thank you so much again for reaching out! Thank you for your patience too.

I hope to hear from you again especially as we get to see what our Megumi does!

#ask the mental gymnastics anime girl #megumi being relatable af #fushiguro megumi lovers unite

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kosmiccarma · 10 months

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jjk season 2 episode 4 spoilers! just my rambling thoughts

- toji vs geto went the way I was expecting altho I forgot how long toji was gonna monologue lol

- rip rainbow dragon you will be missed my dear

- toji did the meme. actually cackled out loud when I clocked that, it was a nice addition and made sense in the scene itself

- gojo vs toji pt. 2. gotta be honest, I think I prefer the manga's pacing for that. and what I imagined it would be was different than what the animators had planned. not saying it's bad, I think for anime-onlys that looked sick af. but my imagination got the best of me there. at least I thought the clouds and background would look less holy, or at least not use golden lighting - I get where mappa was coming from with the whole rebirth aspect, but I think that puts more leveraged nuance onto gojo which I don't particularly read as 'religious'. toji's right in calling him a monster there, he's only a 'holy figure' in the sense of his after-death high and battle adrenaline. I think his apology to riko was genuine, and the beauty he saw in the world reflected his state of awareness with his six-eyes opened to their fullest extent. he couldn't even hate toji in the end, just did his duty to end him and ask for his final words and toji planted the seed of megumi into his mind.

- voice actors killed it as always. toji having soft reverence for his wife and megumi at the end, when he knows he's finished and done for - was glad to hear that voice acted.

- toji's cursed spirit crawling to geto with its master dead. I think that jump-started geto into thinking about gojo possibly being alive or toji having lost a battle somewhere. and the speed he makes it to the cult center (gojo mentioning multiple facilities?) had me thinking that he bolted straight after consuming the curse. also someone on twitter mentioned it's a curse that's made after a child's neediness? so that's why it was clingy with toji and toji not really caring that much

- gojo and geto meeting up once again! gojo's not dead but something has shifted in his eyes, and it's not his power awakening. gojo truly doesn't care about anything after his death, we can count that as numbness. geto's his only moral high ground in that instance of the 'monkeys' clapping. and I think geto knew that. he had to choose for them of them in that instance, although we know he regrets it later, and that's the beginning of the end for him and their relationship as partners.

overall good episode! I'm excited to see what the dub changes in relation to the wording and phrases of any characters' important moments. will give it a re-watch then.

#karma.talks #jjk season 2 spoilers #jjk season 2 episode 4 spoilers

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megumixtsumiki · 1 year

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Finally I found your account dedicated tu Megumi and Tsumiki and....I've read so many of your posts and you're totally right. Fandom nowadays is..idk how to call it..way too obsessed with male×male shipping ignoring way too obvious hints Gege is shoving to readers mouth. I mean these last chapters of Megumi being solebroken pointed by Sukuna and it's because of Tsumiki despite the whole backstory and motivation, his type it's all about Tsumiki...and fandom is still refusing and ignoring and also bullying if you have this kind of opinion..sigh. It's not only they pissed about megumiki possibility but also about yutamaki and itakugi (who also had tons of hints). This really is sad thing that audience is too dumb and can't read properly

Hey hey!!!

Ah my poor abandoned megumiki blog 🥲. Thanks for stopping by and glad you found this little corner of the internet! I considered deleting the blog but someone told me that it's a place for megumiki fans to come and realize that it's safe to love this underrated ship despite what the hive mind might say.

To your point about fandom, at the exception of one instance which I instigated, I've had a couple of trolls stop by and try to harass/bully me over this account and unfortunately for them not only do I love feeding trolls, they're also just not very smart? Like at all?

One of the trolls was adamant about Megumi and Tsumiki being blood related and like... SIGH... if this is the non-existent level of reading comprehension we are dealing with I just don't want to deal with people like that. The fact that they are step siblings is not even subtext ffs.

I've since untagged anything that includes the names Megumi or Tsumiki and only tag megumiki or megutsumi to preserve my peace of mind. Unfortunately this makes it hard to find this blog.

More word vomit under the cut...

Anyways...

You know what's funny? another moot and I kind of predicted that we would get an ambiguous moment between megumiki and that the fandom would cancel that moment and just say "oh its because she's his sister" and like... is this fandom predictable or what?

Because totally. Megumi's soul broke because of Tsumiki and all fandom can see is the itafushi and satosugu parallels.

And like... don't get me wrong, I actually LOVE itafushi and think it makes A LOT of sense--I just don't necessarily ship itafushi and that's perfectly ok.

So I have to admit it does irk me that megumiki gets cancelled by the antis and that reading the panel of Megumi declaring Tsumiki as his type is seen as a poor interpretation. LE SIGH.

Like there's this big account here on Tumblr who gets offended whenever the question comes up about Megumi's type and publicly declares that its canon that Megumi is SOLELY talking about Yuji here.

Me: ok yes. I get it. The kanji is hiding a secret message. But you're going to tell me that you think of your sibling when someone asks you who your type is? Because I sure don't. Not even to represent the idea of who I like. In fact, the idea of thinking of my brother feels repulsive to me. Ew. Gross. No!

It's like people can't handle the idea that Megumi can see both Tsumiki and Yuji as his type. Why is that such a crime? Like come on people, he's suuuuuuper weird about her and I love him all the more for it.

Oh wait... that's right. Gross, they're blood related! 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️.

The state of the fandom really is sad from that perspective. But I have to say that the fetishization of "gayness" is another huge problem--especially when people get called homophobic for not shipping the gay ships in JJK.

Like... my brother in christ, my two favorite ships are gay af and I am very VERY bisexual and pansexual. Please. Talk about poor interpretations ffs.

That's not to say everyone does it, but the vast majority does... unfortunately, a few rotten apples can ruin a fandom experience.

As you say, on top of fetishizing "gay", fandom is also misogynistic in this really weird way. God forbid you ship a hetero ship in JJK.

Like the reaction from itafushi fans when Hana had her wings torn by Sukuna actually broke my heart! People were legit rejoicing at the fact that Megumi stepped up to defend Yuji as though he wouldn't have done it for Hana if he could have.

So it's ok for Yuji and Megumi to loooooooove each other deeply (which they totally do), but God forbid Hana has a crush on him.

There's this REALLY good post that I reblogged to my main blog (but that I can't find for the life of me rn) that goes into the heterophobia that is rampant in fandoms nowadays. If I run into it again I'll make sure to reblog it here too.

Because that's exactly what it is: heterophobia and biphobia.

I get it that straight people and the dominant culture oppressed LGBT people for too long, and that's no reason for the pendulum to swing in the complete opposite direction and to hate on heteroships and the people who love them.

Honestly, I feel like at this point, the inclusive thing to do is to ship hetero ships. I know I ship a bunch of different dynamics, whether gay, lesbian, bi or straight. And I don't ship them because of their sexual orientation but because of the dynamic.

And that is not to say that people shouldn't ship characters based on their sexual orientation either.

Basically, ship and let ship.

Anyways, this is why I don't tweet very much at all lol 🤣. I word vomit too much for twitter.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

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tempenensis · 3 years

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Quick question,

We know that for Geto to be able to use a cursed spirit he need to make them “surrender” to him, while for Megumi to control his shikigami he has to “tame” them first. What’s the difference? I’m specifically thinking about Mahoraga here. Is he gonna need to defeat it? How else is he gonna prove himself worth then? If that’s the case… he’s gonna have to find a way to beat Mahoraga’s ass! If he’s able to do that + getting Mahoraga to obey him, he’s gonna be OP af.

Would that be way too obvious in your opinion? Like I’ve seen in your previous posts, the foreshadowing is there.

Some say that power up would be way too shounen-y but Gege himself said that he wants JJK to feel like a classic shounen manga, right? (He said we were gonna see familiar tropes/settings del other shounens) Everyone is expecting a Chainsaw Man ending, but I’m more optimistic.

Hello!

This is just what I assume since we haven't had more explanation (especially related to Getou's curse technique). The main difference here is curse spirits are something akin to "wild animals", made from foreign curse energy that Getou have to "tame" first, while Fushiguro summons his shikigami from his own curse technique, so they are made from his own curse energy. Both have different source and methods to be subdued, on top of different level of the user, so I can't really say which one is more difficult

Yes, there's indeed hints about Mahoraga. But as Megumi has said, it's never been subdued by all other previous Ten shadows users. But, going with what Sukuna has said (about "being shown" by Megumi), only summoning Mahoraga seems to be a feat already. So I can't really say for sure if he will subdue it in the future. Even if he does, Gege may make a twist out of it, like he always do to common shounen trope.

In short; all we can do is wait and see.

#le-ask #jjk #fushiguro megumi #jjk manga spoilers #im also hoping for more optimistic ending even if my rationality scream otherwise

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ib4ryuguji · 2 years

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Hello, Tumblr!

I’ve been on tumblr for at least 6 months but I haven’t posted anything. Lately though, I’ve been demotivated af so I’m starting this blog! I’d say this is a studyblr account but really, it might end up being random lol.

About me * ˚ ✦

Kol, Asia, intp, libra

Interested in anything science related

English/Burmese/Mandarin

Avid reader

Anime/manga enjoyer

Shows I like: Jujutsu Kaisen, Dr. Stone, Bungou Stray Dogs, Mob Psycho 100

Characters I like: Megumi Fushiguro(Jujutsu Kaisen), Senku Ishigami(Dr. Stone), Ranpo Edogawa(Bungou Stray Dogs), Bakugou Katsuki(My Hero Academia), Draken(Tokyo Revengers)

I write fanfiction in my free time

Master procrastinator

If you have similar interests(or not, doesn’t matter), let’s be friends! I love talking to people and discussing stuff ପ(๑•ᴗ•๑)ଓ ♡

(pic of my desk, very messy huhu)

#studyblr #anime #manga #bungoustraydogs #aesthetic #study #motivation #readerblr #drstone #letsbefriends

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smokingtomas · 6 years

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3, 6, 10, 12, 14, 18, 19, 23, 24, 26, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 41, 47 :)

Thank you for the ask!! You’re the MVP and I adore you

3. In your opinion, what’s your best fic?You know, it’s really hard to pick between Late Night Lullabies and Akai Ito because they’re precious in their own way. LNL is a very special fic for me since it’s my first Sorina fic and well, you can say that… some people know about it, and the fic is very cute and fluffy. With Akai Ito, it was the a very labor-intensive fic. There was a lot of drafting (which I never do when it comes to writing), a lot of different docs filled with just backstories, poems that inspire it– it was a hard work, and I’m proud of myself that it all paid off. Yet after those two fics (and those I’ve recently published), I still have so many things to learn and calling one of them my “best fic”.

6. Is there any fic that makes you super embarrassed to reread and remember you wrote that?Probably Keeping You. It’s the one that I wrote during Mortal Kombat X and a sequel to Mad Souls (which I discontinued) and yet Keeping You is completed and published… Like it’s so weird tbh.

10. Have you ever written for a fandom without reading other fanfic for it?Nope! To write a fic for a fandom, you have to be obsessed with another fic first imo.

12. Have you ever written a fic and decided never to publish it? Why?Yes, because apparently every time I do a collab with my beta @itsardnaid, it’s gonna be a lot of OCs and inside jokes that people wouldn’t get.

14. What’s the biggest change in your taste between when you started in fandom and today?Should be very obvious from my two most popular fics (God I hate saying that). LNL is generally me with my hopeless romantic fantasies which I still love, but with Akai Ito and it’s realistic feels plus a mix of angst, I’d say I appreciate angsty fics more now since it’s not easy to get all emotions into one fic. Also, I used to love writing smut before, but it’s not my cup of tea to write anymore (but reading it tho…)

18. What’s your most underrated fic?Twisted Trees. I mean I ship Sorina with all my heart and soul and I want them to be canon af, but you gotta admit that Eishi looks good witth Erina. And the text format I wrote it in, it’s so easy to read and totally not overwhelming for those who doesn’t have a lot of time to read.

19. If you had to pick one fic/scene/chapter of your work to describe your entire portfolio to a stranger, which would you pick?I’d say read Chapter one of Symphonies of Dawn. It’s got Megumi (the most relatable character for me), a beautiful European boy, and baked goods! xD

23. What’s the nicest review you’ve ever gotten?Ahhhhh there are so manyyyy that I feel like I don’t deserve >.

24. What’s the meanest review you’ve ever gotten? Do you think the reviewer intended it?I got one from my older MK fic. The reviewer said he/she would burn my fic down and throw the ashes outside of the earth if he/she could. Does it get meaner than that? xD Plus, the reviewer also did it with a guest mode so I can’t interact back.

26. What aspect of your writing do you most enjoy to see praised?My characterization of Soma :’) because man he was HAAAARD to write, especially having him in love with Erina knowing how dense he is, so to have it praised is kind of an accomplishment lmao.

31. Who’s the one character you’ve just never managed to get perfectly right?I think Hisako. A few weeks ago I reread the short Akisako fic I created for @wishingforatypewriter, and then I feel like her character is too… happy? And seems different from what I wrote in Akai Ito, but idk maybe it’s just her being around Akira, but I’ll definitely work on that.

32. Who’s the one character who shines without you even trying?Megumi? Because you know, I’m basically writing about a shy girl who is all over the place at times and doesn’t believe in herself too much when she’s not supposed to. So it sort of feels natural.

33. Is there any particular character whose scenes always wind up being longer/more frequent than you expected? Does the quality hold up?I don’t think so. On the contrary, the scenes are often shorter than I think it’ll be.

34. Was there any fic that you wrote that really surprised you in the fandom reaction? Was it just by the numbers or did they take it an entirely different way?Both LNL (for the numbers) and Akai Ito (for a fandom to actually read a 20k words one-shot and actually liking it and be their most favorite and have it in a few fic recs)!

35. Have you ever written a ship into a fic without meaning to?Tbh Akisako in Akai Ito was kind of random/afterthought. I was like, “Meh, slight Akisako will be cute in this.”

41. If you cross-post your fics on multiple sites, do you have a favorite? Are there certain fics you would only post on certain site?ffnet is definitely the site I post all my published fics to since it has more traffic than ao3/wattpad. Some shorter drabbles I only post to Tumblr, but I recently have been including those in my Sorina drabble series.

47. If someone you know in real life who isn’t involved in fandoms asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first?Sure! I mean I put a link to Akai Ito on my Instagram bio for something xD I don’t expect them to read the whole thing, but it’s a glimpse for what I can actually do.

Whoa that was a lot of fun! Thank you for asking and I wouldn’t reject a few more :D

fanfic author ask

#ask #fanfiction #akai ito

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deann1120 · 7 years

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Worst to Best Precure Seasons (Futari Wa - Go! Princess)

I’ve decided to do this just to get it off my chest. Remember, this is my personal opinion. Note: Max Heart and GoGo are not included in this because I honestly never had any interest in the sequel series.

SPOILERS FOLLOW 10. HappinessCharge Precure! I'm only 13 episodes into this season, but so far it's boring the crap out of me. The animation and their uniforms are beautiful, as is with most of the newer seasons, but I'm confused why they have SO many attacks and forms. Megumi/Lovely and Hime/Princess are kind of hard to watch; them, along with Yuuko/Honey seem pretty underdeveloped. I was expecting myself to like Hime because I had really loved Erika from HeartCatch, but she just doesn't have her charm and comes off as annoying. But, maybe my opinions will change as I continue with the season. FAVORITE CURE: Iona/Fortune 9. Yes! PreCure 5 I found this particular season to be pretty forgettable, unfortunately. Not only did I find Nozomi/Dream pretty annoying, I didn't approve of her thing with Coco because 1) he's kinda her teacher and 2) he's a chipmunk?? Like is she still attracted to him in his chipmunk form??? The whole thing is weird, and the same goes for Komachi/MintxNuts. Also, Milk was equally as annoying and this plot line wasn't too creative either. Plus, those Despair Mask-things were creepy af! FAVORITE CURE: Rin/Rouge 8. Suite PreCure One of my biggest problems with this season was the design. HeartCatch was such a big improvement in the animation from the previous seasons, and this one just looks like it falls flat. I kinda hated Kanade/Rhythm, and I had a couple of problems with Ako/Muse (specifically, I don't understand why, if she wanted to GET TO her father, why she disguised herself, or what the point of the disguise was at all). I did like her sassy personality though,and I was upset that they just sorta forgot about that once she joined the Cures. I will applaud this season's humor, villains, and Hibiki/Melody's characterization. FAVORITE CURE: Siren/Eren/Beat 7. Futari Wa Pretty Cure Splash Star As with most Precure fans, I assume, this season felt very similar to the Futari Wa. Saki/Bloom and Mai/Egret are pretty much descendants of the original pair, down to their personalities and voices. However, this season did feel a little newer, as it did introduce the whole "bad guys turn good and get Precure powers" trope with Michiru and Kaoru, even if they didn't officially become Precure. Also, Muup and Fuup are adorable af. However, I didn't understand why Saki and Mai got their Bright and Windy, forms, to be honest; it just didn't seem very necessary? Plus, the concept of two Precure forms wasn't really ever brought up again (not counting HappinessCharge). FAVORITE CURE: Saki/Bloom/Bright 6. Fresh Pretty Cure! When I first watched this season, I didn't like it very much because its animation looked stiff and the girls, besides Eas/Setsuna/Passion, barely had any difference in personality. However, I realize now that it was better than I thought it was. For example, I find this season to have the best use of the "bad guy turns good" trope; it's played out very nicely. This season also had a good deal of humor, especially in Westar and Soular (who I low key kinda shipped.) I also liked the idea of Love/Peach and Setsuna being adoptive sisters, since they had surprisingly good chemistry. I always saw Chiffon as just another damsel in distress, but Tarte is my bae because he was funny af and looked out for Chiffon like a big bro. Also, the concept of having the big-baddy be a computer was interesting and creative. FAVORITE CURE: Eas/Setsuna/Passion 5. DokiDoki! PreCure Okay, I can see why people love to hate this season, but personally, I kinda loved it. As mentioned before, the animation is beautiful, the girls and villains are well written (except for Aguri/Ace, which I'll get to), and the story is nice. Ai just overwhelms me with cuteness and Sebastian is the best side-character ever, I swear (he's basically Precure's Alfred Pennyworth). I think people hate the Mana/HeartxRegina pairing mostly because it takes up too much of the plot line, but I thought it was a nice divergence from the usual formula seen in Precure. Plus, they're pretty much canon already (they were holding hands in bed for fuck's sakes!) But there things with this one that will hang over my head every time I rewatch the scenes. One is Rikka/Diamond, who annoyed me just a little cause she was kind of a smartass. But my biggest problem is AGURI. Oh my lord, where do I start? How about the fact that she's like 9 in her normal form, but is suddenly 14 as Ace? Or that her transformation, while it is cool, is overdramatized and doesn't fit well with the others? Or how about the fact that when Mana becomes upset that she lost Regina again, Ace comes with no remorse and fucking TAKES AWAY HER LOVEADS??? FOR CRYING OVER A LOST LOVE??? Excuse me, bitch, what right do you have to determine whether or not a girl can be Precure. Get the fuck back, you're not helping. #LeaveManaAlone. Okay rant over lol. FAVORITE CURE: Mana/Heart 4. Futari Wa Pretty Cure Like with most franchises, the first is always a classic, and that's the case with Precure. Nagisa/Black and Honoka/White were both very likable characters, and I adored the love-hate relationship between Nagisa and Mepple. I liked how it was mostly hand-to-hand combat with this one, unlike the later seasons. I was also rooting immensely for the HonokaxKiriya pairing, and I was upset to hear that Kiriya is not even mentioned in Max Heart after what happened to him. I just felt like he was such a great anti-hero and they kinda just forgot about him entirely. FAVORITE CURE: Nagisa/Black 3. Smile PreCure! I will admit, I first watched this one as Glitter Force. However, I then went back and watched it as Smile, which was obviously better. This is the season that got me into Precure in the first place, and I'm glad it did. All of the girls are likable (notably Yayoi/Peace, she is my smol weeb bean and I luv and relate to her), their uniforms are easy on the eyes, and I loved their attacks. Joker was quite the villain too, especially for a kids' show. Everything in this one pops, and it just really uplifting, except for that one scene where they're all crying near the end. FAVORITE CURE: Yayoi/Peace 2. Go! Princess PreCure I had wanted to see this season for a while, after watching the transformation sequences ahead of time; when I did catch up to it, it was as good as I expected it to be. Everything about this season is so cool, from the proper-yet-badass style of the entire season to the girls' outfits and Keys. Pafu was really pretty, and Aroma was funny and cute too. While I didn't ship Haruka/FloraxKanata too much, Kanata is fuckin gorgeous, his hair is goals. This show definitely handled the whole dream motive better than Yes! 5, and I thought it was a great choice of character development to have the ever-optimistic Haruka lose her faith in her own dream when the one who initiated in the first place put her down for it. The girls are all great, Kirara/Twinkle is a queen of sass and super goals as well. I just wish they would've expanded on their future selves longer than the last 2 minutes of the series. One thing I wasn't a fan of in this season was those CGI attacks and scenes; they looked strange. FAVORITE CURE: Haruka/Flora 1. HeartCatch PreCure! You knew this was coming. Okay, so my first reason for this one topping the list is the animation style. It's vivid and energetic, just as the series itself is. I'm also lauding the much different tone of story in this one; it gives a sense of maturity in PreCure as a show for more than preteen girls. Specifically, my favorite parts were the whole Yuri/Moonlight vs. Dark PreCure battle (which contained some pretty fucking lit fight scenes) and Moonlight's history. I'm amazed they went as far to actually kill a fairy in this one, but I'm glad they decided to go through with it (not that I wanted little Cologne dead at all). I also loved Kaoruko/Flower as Tsubomi/Blossom's grandmother, I thought that was a nice twist. As with the others higher on this list, the girls are all well done, and this is the only season where I have more than one favorite cure. This season also had some pretty lit songs, and the final battle between the PreCure and Dune is pretty epic. FAVORITE CURE(S): Erika/Marine and Yuri/Moonlight

#Futari wa pretty cure #splash Star #yes precure 5 #fresh precure #HeartCatch PreCure #suite precure #smile precure #dokidoki PreCure #HappinessCharge Precure #go princess precure #leavemanaalone #top10 #plzdontjudgeme

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psychewritesbs · 1 year

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Chapter 212: Fester—Megumi's sense of self

Y’all.

Cursed JJK-Sunday.

So much for me being like “oh yeah catharsis is fucking amazing guys, you should defo try it every once in a while.”

And then laughing like a maniacal and tacky Mexican telenovela villainess because I loved the idea that Gege was about to make Megumi suffer and...

Joke’s on me... that cursed cat is a sadist and landed a low blow and now Megumi’s beautiful sense of self is...

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BE NORMAL ABOUT THIS?!!!!!

It’s personal under the cut btw.

Literal picture of me waking up to see the JJK leaks first thing in the morning on Wednesday:

Just because I am not using the evil laughter doesn’t mean I don’t have other tacky af moments up my sleeves.

But... as per usual, today I wish to go on a massive tangent.

As I said above the cut, this got personal real quick.

Like, yes, let’s talk about how cruel it is for Tsumiki’s memories to be used against Megumi by Yorozu...

And how cruel it was for Yuji to have to witness Sukuna take over Megumi’s body despite his best efforts to not just protect Megumi, but to save him...

Gege went to town with the irony this chapter...

And how sad it is for Yuji to continue to undervalue his life as a mere cog that has served a “practical” purpose in the grander scheme of things.

I personally really, really want to see Yuji love himself but like... I also know my kind and we can be very self-loathing.

Yes. All #the things.

Gege was seriously saving all of the good stuff for last.

That said, I want to focus instead on how chapter 212 is a culmination point to a number of disparate and seemingly unrelated factors with one thing in common--Megumi and the major reorganization to everything that he is and stands for.

Updated warning:

So today I am most interested in exploring Megumi’s sense of self because if there’s one thing that is clear to me is that I’m here for Megumi.

As a result, this turned into a sort of introspective headcanon exploration on the nature of the sense of self or self-identity using my interpretation and relationship with Megumi as the basis for it. So just keep that in mind if you keep reading because as much as I care about “canon Megumi”, my interpretation of him, however “accurate or not accurate” it might feel to others, is inevitably a projection of my own psyche.

Thing is... and I am not sure that I’ve harped enough about it in my rambles but... as an amateur art historian, I see art as a mirror upon which we can see ourselves reflected both as collective members of humanity, and as individuals. One is a macrocosm to the other after all.

This is why I am a huge proponent of how the characters we love are reflections of our deepest sense of self whether we consciously recognize it or not.

Megumi being relatable af

That said... Megumi’s sense of self has always been incredibly relatable to me and this post captures that experience really well from a personal perspective.

So... yeah. Episode 23 in the anime is THE reason I read JJK.

I know I’ve said this three hundred million times I’ve been keeping track, but seeing Megumi step into a version of himself beyond his self-perceived limitations was one of the most inspiring and beautiful moments I have ever witnessed in animanga.

It awoke in me a desire to do the same for myself and inspired me to find a way to go about it. A desire to exercise my free will to overcome my fate, to exercise my sense of agency to take control of my life.

So to see Megumi’s sense of agency, his free will and consciousness get snuffed (even if it’s only temporarily) by Sukuna was... personal, not to mention a complete shock.

And yet... in retrospect it makes so much sense that things arrived at this point. Not just from a foreshadowing perspective, but from the perspective of the sense of self.

For some time now I’ve seen Megumi as a character on an identity defining character arc. Meaning that the events in JJK were shaping how he sees himself in relation to others and his place in the world around him.

Whereas prior to this arc Megumi was insecure and had a limited perception of himself...

During Shibuya he developed a confidence in himself and his ability to exert power over his environment that was not there before and that we got to see shine through in the events that followed Shibuya.

Perhaps that is why I always had the feeling that in the CG he was going to go through a reversal of his previous character development up to The Origin of Obedience arc where he kept “loosing” and bumping into obstacles he was afraid to tackle.

Rather, starting with Shibuya, Megumi kept “winning”. He was shown to combine his incredible intelligence (boy can manipulate people like a boss and there’s something very object-relations about it) with the new creative ways he was learning he could use his shadow-based Cursed Technique.

The sense of self and the proverbial glass ceiling

Now, given the nature of an identity-defining character arc, I felt like there would come a time when his current understanding of himself would be challenged by an outside force just as he was beginning to “coagulate” this new, more confident identity.

After all, Gege has shown us several times how when a sorcerer reaches the pinnacle of strength (self-knowledge) and takes it for granted, they get knocked down by their humanity (their shadow)--everything that they didn’t know that they didn’t know about themselves and the world around them.

Side note: I LOVE that Gege drew a soul in the panel above! This man is into soulmate bonds and soulmates recognizing each other and I love him all the more for it even after what he did to Megumi.

In other words, it’s like an invitation to never take our sense of self for granted. Because the moment you THINK you are The Strongest, you are quite literally putting a glass ceiling on top of who you THINK yourself to be.

The moment you THINK you are “enlightened” you are in the ego’s grip, an illusion created by Wetiko/Mara that severely limits how you see yourself in relation to the world around you.

“No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.” In other words, as above, so below--an enlightened being is most human insofar as their shadow keeps growing right along with them.

To be clear, I’m not saying that Gojo is not THE Strongest. I am saying that Gojo was so confident that he was THE Strongest, that he failed to take into consideration, not just Kenny’s existence, but his own human ego’s emotional attachments--an opening that Kenny exploited if you think about it.

For a limitless being such as Gojo, his downfall was his limited human ego attachments. He might be an enlightened being, but he’s still human.

Also, just a friendly reminder that ego is not good or bad. Don’t fall for the bad reputation that the word “ego” has picked up over the years. Psychologically speaking, ego is your sense of self and YOU NEED IT to move through and experience your reality.

Anyways... that’s how we got here... Gojo got sealed, which allowed for the chain of events to unfold as it did, and that brought us to this particular culmination point...

The reason I bring up Gojo’s “weakness” is because Megumi is going through the same thing. The moment Megumi THINKS he’s got everything under control, well...

Megumi is betrayed by one of his most important people’s, and as a result his consciousness or sense of self gets snuffed like a candle in the wind.

Enchain 恵+活

So, real quick before we keep going... Just to emphasize how important kanji is in JJK: the Japanese phonetic spelling for “enchain” is “kei + katsu” and the kanji Gege used is 契闊.

The individual meaning of each kanji character doesn’t matter as much as swapping kanji that have similar phonetic sounds.

There are several kanji that mean different concepts that have the same phonetic sound, so you have to find the right combination:

Like the kanji for 恵 (kei) + 活 (katsu). Which, if you recognize the kanji for “kei”, it’s the kanji used in Megumi’s name. As for the kanji that replaced “katsu” (活) it means “Live / Resuscitation / Being helped / Living”.

I think I read about this from this user.

Boom.

Gege hiding clues in the kanji?

Ok moving on...

We all know Sukuna wanted to use Megumi for something nefarious and that he was waiting for just the right moment to activate his binding vow.

What’s interesting to me is that the precise moment that Sukuna was waiting for had everything to do with finding the right opening for taking over Megumi’s psyche. As it turns out, that was when Megumi was at his most vulnerable, which is, as I’ve said over and over and over and over again, one of the qualities Megumi deeply rejects about himself. More on this in a bit.

Basically, Sukuna’s opening was Megumi’s sense of self being weakened by the utter emotional shock he was in because of the reveal about Tsumiki.

Like... we seriously have never seen Megumi show this much emotion, this strongly. And there’s something almost... idk... infantile about the way he’s depicted?

I’m just throwing arrows in the dark here, but I get massive “abandonment issues” vibes. Almost like we’re seeing Megumi’s ego regress to a stage in his childhood where he last felt the sheer terror of betrayal and abandonment.

Gege you sadist! He’s seriously out to punish Megumi like the wrathful “God” that he is.

But going back to the idea of Megumi’s vulnerability being exploited because he assumed that Tsumiki had awakened a Cursed Technique instead of being a vessel for a sorcerer from the past...

Not only is this, again, an ironic reversal on how he looked down on Remi’s vulnerability for believing Reggie’s empty promises (even though she probably had NO clue that her lover’s consciousness did not exist any longer), but, again, it’s Megumi feeling vulnerable, a feeling he rejects.

Self-obliteration vs. self-affirmation

I have to thank Fellow Fishie #7 for helping me see this because I was so caught up in the shock to my own ego and so engrossed in my own experience of Megumi that I had failed to notice how Megumi’s self-obliterating thoughts and behaviors were a big part of Sukuna taking over his body.

Not to mention the lack of self-affirming thoughts and behaviors.

And this REALLY got me thinking. Like... REALLY got me thinking about the nature of self-identity and self-sabotage and self-hatred and how despite our best efforts at developing a sense of self, we are afraid to interface with the world and choose instead to stay within self-obliterating comfort zones.

For reference, an example of a self-obliterating behavior would be “addiction” (as an extreme example) and a self-obliterating thought would be rejecting your vulnerability.

How so? With addiction you are numbing the self, and by rejecting your vulnerability you are inherently rejecting a part of your self.

In Jungian Psychology, the goal of psychological maturation is wholeness--that is, bringing the contents of the shadow to the light of consciousness and being able to hold the tension of all of our contradictions as human beings.

During maturation and identity-formation, however, the ego creates an idea of itself. As we experience unpleasant feelings like shame or guilt, a lot of the personality traits associated with those unpleasant feelings get pushed into the Shadow to protect the ego’s idea of itself.

i.e. you know that moment when you come to the cold realization that you have been doing the exact same thing you hate about others? It takes A LOT of psychological strength to be able to see this truth about oneself and not reject it.

If I am honest, this is why “anti” stances baffle me...

So any time you consciously, or even worse, unconsciously reject aspects of yourself, you are self-obliterating. As a clue, projection is one way you can recognize when you are rejecting aspects of yourself.

In Megumi’s case, we know he rejects both good and bad people. Megumi is neither good nor bad. To Megumi’s consciousness, neither of these personality traits apply to him. Other people are good, and other people are bad.

Meaning, good and bad exist outside of himself and he is not good because if he was good he would be weak-minded and pretentious...

And he’s also not bad because, if he was bad, he would have no brains and zero emotional capability what’s up with this translation omg now I want to go read the Japanese raws...

Actually, reading these panels I am noticing just how skewed Megumi’s opinion is of both. His take on both good and bad people is immature at best.

BUT ANYWAYS... the point I am trying to make here is that, despite how much more confident in his abilities his sense of self has become, Megumi still self-obliterates and doesn’t realize it.

I think the main reason I agree that if Megumi dies right now is inconclusive and anticlimactic, is precisely because his sense of self is a beautiful example of what is possible for our self-identity when we step outside our self-obliterating comfort zones and step into self and life-affirming thoughts and behaviors.

If I had to say what it is that broke my heart about Sukuna taking over Megumi’s body it is precisely the fact that I’ve been rooting for Megumi to keep growing, to keep bettering himself. So to see him loose agency over his soul and body it just... guh. It gutted me.

Again. It’s PERSONAL AND I CAN’T BE NORMAL ABOUT IT. LIKE... WHERE AM I SELF-OBLITERATING (other than the obvious) AND HOW DO I STOP MYSELF FROM SELF-SABOTAGING?! WHERE DO I NEED TO BE MORE SELF AFFIRMING IN MY OWN LIFE?

The thing is that Megumi’s confidence in himself might have increased, but his emotional intelligence and self-awareness stagnated. And again, what happens in JJK to a character whose self-awareness stagnates? They get put in the fucking corner after having their vulnerability and their very humanity exploited.

To complicate things, Sukuna is Wetiko personified, a sense of self corrupted by the illusion and trappings of ego. Sukuna is self-affirming but not life-affirming. So whatever actions Sukuna takes in Megumi’s body, again... it will be self-affirming but not life-affirming for Megumi’s ego.

In other words... if Megumi’s sense of self is still alive somewhere in there, this is the ego death I’ve been waiting for.

IF he’s still alive, the real test to his sense of self comes after Sukuna leaves his body.

idk if this makes sense but the content of this lecture will be on your finals. Please study properly.

All of this to say...

TLDR; in conclusion

You son of a....

How am I supposed to continue to call him Daddy Sukuna?!!!! It feels SO wrong on SO many levels.

#jjk ch 212 #god I love jujutsu kaisen #give me back my megumi

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psychewritesbs · 7 months

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Hello, I was wondering if you are aware of the the speculations that Kenjaku, Tengen and Sukuna might represent the 3 popular buddhist schools/paths and how their successors are Yuji, Gojo, and Megumi respectively? And if so, what do you think about it?

I have! You're probably referring to Ant's thread here. This makes a lot of sense actually and is loosely related to the conversation about parallels between characters from a couple of days ago. Here's Sukuna/Megumi and here's Megumi/Geto.

Although I admit that I have an agenda and want there to be a parallel between all three characters. My agenda is basically that Sukuna is Mara/Wetiko, an archetypal force of complete individuality and corruption of the self. In Wetiko lore, an "evil" being like Sukuna exists for it's own sake and is depicted as a cannibalistic being.

Nerdy af comparative mythology win.

#god i love jujutsu kaisen #ask the mental gymnastics anime girl #sukuna is in the details #nerdy af comparative mythology win

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psychewritesbs · 5 months

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Chapter 244: Inhuman Makyo Shinjuku Showdown, Part 16--Miwa's sword vs Higuruma's sword

😮‍💨 phew. What a week to be a jjk fan.

I've been on jjk defense mode for days 😂 quite the exercise in futility truly joke's on me lmao

So this week I am going on a tangent about Miwa because I would have liked to see more from her AND I think Gege was using Miwa to tell a story that did not align with those expectations.

So... at the expense of ghost writing for Gege...

... I am going on a tangent about the symbolism in this chapter surrounding Miwa's character and what that says for her and why I find it relatable af, not necessarily as a woman, but as a human.

You have been warned...

Your death would be meaningless

So we start the chapter with the main complaint against jjk this last week: its character deaths are meaningless, purely for shock value, and don't contribute anything to the overall themes, other characters, and plot.

So I love Kusakabe here saying "your death would be meaningless if you joined this battle, if you don't want to die then you don't want to die and that's a'ok kthanksbye" because this speaks to having a reasonable mindset and a strong sense of self needed to make a choice like Nori did.

One thing to consider is that jjk is a battle between instinct free from reason (Sukuna and other sorcerers like him) and reason (whom Angel and characters like her represent).

Which brings us to Miwa who has not explicitly shared any reasoning regarding running away. In fact, she's still very much part of the gang even if she can't swing her sword anymore--that kind of says something about her instinctual self.

That is not to mention that, Miwa is an ant in a battle of dancing elephants, and Kokichi wanted to protect and see her flourish.

So Miwa joining this battle directly would truly be a meaningless death.

And yet, I wanted her to do something unexpected.

I wanted her to do something kick ass because plot twist, I was hoping that every time she called herself useless she was just being self-depreciating and that she could actually make something, anything happen.

And that's when I realized that Miwa is past "me".

So there goes all objectivity about jjk out the window. Here comes the ghostwriting.

Miwa has bought into an identity about herself that keeps her limited in what she can do and accomplish--this is one of the most basic themes at the core of jjk.

People who THINK they are the strongest and how that idea of themselves limits how they perceive and relate to others.

People who THINK the best they can do is throw away their life and how that idea of themselves makes them downplay their abilities.

Or people who THINK they are useless and how they fumble their future because of the one time they decided to believe in themselves... well, we all know how that went.

What I love about this is that it's anticlimactic af given how easily Kenny breaks Miwa's sword.

And I love it precisely because it's real. Like... after seeing herself as useless for so long instead of focusing on developing her sense of self, never being able to swing the katana is the result of how Miwa overestimated herself because of her naivety.

Our actions have consequences, and jjk does not shy away from that truth and never has. Look at Megumi right now.

I also loved that there's a character with a sword so powerful, it can kill it's opponent with a single swing.

And that got me thinking about the symbolic significance of the sword in relation to Miwa and Higuruma because it almost feels like Gege might just be intentional about juxtaposing these two characters in terms of their sense of self.

The sword as symbol of the mind

This is true especially when you look at Miwa's clueless reactions to all of the talk about law, which is a logic-based endeavor, and you compare that to Higuruma's effortless handling of the discussion.

The thing is that the sword is a masculine/yang symbol that can represent authority, power, and dominance, and more importantly, the penetrative and discriminative abilities of the intellect.

Think of it this way, like the mind, a sword can metaphorically cut through darkness to create clarity and understanding, just as much as it can penetrate through surfaces in search for depth and meaning.

We all have this ability, but in this chapter Miwa is shown to struggle to keep up with the conversation compared to everyone else.

What we saw in this chapter is a clueless 16 year old girl actually idk how old Miwa is but that's besides the point who made a really bad decision because she's young af and lacks the ability to reason the way a grown up would and who has to pay the consequences of her blunder.

Compared to Higuruma's powerful sword, Miwa's sword breaking is symbolic of her will and her own sense of self. Miwa is "weak" because of how she sees herself.

I can see why people would find that annoying, but I kind of personally see it as very empowering because it now means Miwa has to find a way to be useful without her sword. But that's just me. That's kind of how I see the world.

Now, will we get to see said character development? mmm probably not? She is side character af.

Is there an imbalance of "powerful" male characters compared to "powerful" female characters (that tend to all follow a Warrior/Amazon Queen archetype or rely on masculine definitions of strength)?

I'm going to dodge that question by redirecting your attention to the latest hc I was sold because I can't do anything about the question: Higuruma and Mei Mei were a thing.

#Self-righteous lawyer and self-serving hottie have a fling 😮‍💨 this is what shadow dynamics are made of.

That said, would I have preferred that Higuruma was in Miwa's place and that Miwa was the one with the sword powerful enough to bring truth and clarity?

As this chapter showed, I'm not sure Miwa has ever demonstrated that she could be that person at this exact moment in time. And I personally like to think that given time and her own spinoff series "useless Miwa learns she's not useless", she would develop her sense of self further. But more importantly, as I feel about the other characters, I ope that she would learn to love herself as she is.

How's that for ghostwriting?

Anyways... guys... I need to stop getting involved in futile arguments lmao. I know I'm not convincing anyone of anything and I'm not trying to because I respect people don't like what I like. All I can do is share my perspective of things.

Actually. Why did I write all of this? idk. I wanted to share that I like the idea that Miwa has to learn from her mistake and the possibility of where her character goes from there, whether we see it or not. It's all written between the lines as per usual because I have to agree that Gege only has so many panels and a big cast of characters who may or may not be what he wants to focus on.

Which is something that happens with a lot of manga.

Have a happy jjk-break week. Here's to hoping we survive it.

#god i love jujutsu kaisen #jjk ch 244

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psychewritesbs · 1 year

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Hola capaa~~ argentina y entusiasta de Clamp, JJK y Sonny Boy sos todo❣️❣️

I absolutely love all your psych analysis!! I was wondering if you’d like to write a little about Gojo’s relationship with Megumi, like what he views him as. I know there’s a lot of discourse about whether megumi views him as a father/brother/uncle/mentor/guardián but I’d like to read about Gojo’s probable view.

Saludos de CABA❤️

Hola hola! Mucho gusto ♥!

Dear CABAnon... I just need you to know that your ask is an amazing question that required so much fun and multilayered brainrot.

So thank you for the ask and thank you so much for your kind comments. I will write in English in case anyone else wants to read this word vomit but will say hello in Español at the end of this post.

I'm also so glad you're a CLAMP enthusiast too because I'm going to drop clamptastic moments to illustrate points. My heart rejoices in knowing you'll get it.

So without further ado...

Gojo + Megumi. Let's brainrot...

Also... I may or may not have written a whole analysis post only to realize that I wasn't necessarily answering your question so I ended up deleting most of what I had written.

Hence the delay...

Ok procrastination, attention deficit disorder, and my overall slow temperament might have had something to do with it too. So thank you as well for your patience! 😂

ANY-WAYS!

I've written about my thoughts on this relationship from Megumi's perspective in the past, but I feel like my thoughts could use some more nuance given everything we've seen of this dynamic as of late.

What I'll start by saying is that Gojo isn't a character I spend a lot of time brain rotting about, so I may only scratch the surface of my interpretation of him, or perhaps even mischaracterize him a bit *gasp*.

That to say that in order to answer your question, we kind of have to peel back the layers of this dynamic.

So let's start by taking an in-depth look at Gojo:

Gojo Satoru is human af

Ok so... names have meaning in JJK, right?

So given how popular he is in the JJK-fandom, I am assuming it is common knowledge that his name, and the kanji in his name, alludes to an enlightened being.

In other words, Gojo is a bodhisattva--an enlightened being who is able to enter Nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion for others and their suffering.

But here's the thing...

“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”

Carl Jung

What is interesting about Gojo is that, despite his exalted spiritual status as the personification of a bodhisattva, he is actually VERY human.

For one, in relational dynamic to others he keeps others at a safe distance. Like that's literally part of how his Cursed Technique manifests, which is a beautiful example of how Cursed Technique can be a metaphor for the sense of self.

Second, Gojo CARES SO MUCH AND SO DEEPLY, it is actually shown how his emotional entanglements are one of his main weaknesses.

Now, for context, consider that emotional entanglements are a form of self-related attachment and that, in very simple terms, the goal of enlightenment is to transcend attachments that might hold the sense of self back from Nirvana.

Third, Gojo is a direct product of the society he is a part of since he does carry the burden of The Strongest / The Chosen One.

It's almost like Gojo's clown externalized persona is an attempt to add some much needed comic relief to the self-definition others have given him. An attempt to lessen the heavy burden of what it means for others to think of him and define him as The Strongest.

Now, what does strength/power mean in JJK? Overwhelming sense of self which is the byproduct of self-knowledge.

So I headcanon that it is precisely because he knows he is The Strongest, that, true to his character archetype as a bodhisattva, Gojo seeks to alleviate the suffering of others. Thus, his actions in an attempt to alleviate suffering are the result of his nature.

And here's the fun twist: Gojo seeks to do so through "power".

Now let's add Megumi to the mix.

Issai shujo to tomo ni

To answer your question, in addition to understanding Gojo's nature as a compassionate being driven by his attachment to others, we have to consider his actions and motivations.

Gojo bringing Megumi under his wing is an interesting rabbit hole for many reasons.

So let's start with the idea behind the theme issai shujo to tomo ni (“together with all sentient beings”—regardless of what hell one might fall into).

Consider that "it’s not enough for a bodhisattva of the Mahayana to just uphold the precepts. There are times when you have to break them, too. It’s just that when you do, you have to do so with the resolve of also being willing to accept whatever consequences might follow" (source).

To put it in JJK-words, how is Gojo abusing his position of power to further his own agenda?

Basically, it's a major red flag in terms of how Gojo might initially see Megumi as a means to pushing his own agenda for seeking power in order to fulfill his function as bodhisattva.

It's just that Gojo, as the adult in the dynamic, consciously and willingly manipulated Megumi into something that was beneficial for the both of them.

In other words, this is a red flag because Gojo, the adult, acted like a child and gave Megumi, the child, an adult choice.

This might loosely remind you of this fantastic meme and the context behind it:

(Source: noa-ciharu's fantastic talent for shitposting).

I just wanted to use the meme because it's about someone taking advantage of someone else's lack of psychological maturity.

As a side note, this also made me realize just how much JJK is exploring the idea that people's vulnerabilities get exploited by those who are in positions of power.

The thing is that Gojo could have just as easily ignored Megumi or reported him to the authorities. But he didn't do that, did he?

Instead he took Megumi under his wing and groomed him to become a tool that could help him change the Jujutsu-scheme of things. You could look at this and think "that's awful!" and you can also look at this and think "yes, it's shady, AND Gojo was also looking to help Megumi maximize his highest destiny and potential." More on this in a bit.

This is relevant because it says a lot about Gojo's "humanity" and the lengths he will go to for the sake of his goal and desire to alleviate the suffering of others.

Again, Gojo gave Megumi a choice Megumi should not have had to make. I have a 9 year old nephew, so I'm all for giving children choices so that they can develop their own sense of self. But the choices have to be age appropriate.

In other words, the adult in the room, Gojo, anticipated and used Megumi's innocence and love for Tsumiki as leverage to manipulate a specific response from Megumi that would benefit the both of them.

Which brings us to the next layer...

Noblesse Oblige

I think that because I come from a last name De los Reyes, I LOVE and deeply resonate with this term.

It's so...

"With great power comes great responsibility."

Voltaire

This is where the rabbit hole gets fun because, were it not for Toji's last words to Gojo, Megumi and Gojo might have never crossed paths.

And is there anything more clamptastic than the idea that inevitable emotional entanglements are the result of fate bringing people together?

The question this brings up for me is... even though Toji gave Gojo the choice (here we have choice as a theme again) to do as he pleased, can we consider this to be a curse that Toji put on Gojo seeing as these were his last words to him?

So the fact that Gojo chose to follow through with Toji's last words is the stuff of tragedy given we've already seen that Gojo's weakness are his emotional entanglement to others. And now that Sukuna has taken over Megumi's body... well... should we brace for tragedy?

But I digress...

The point of this layer is to introduce the idea that perhaps Gojo is someone who fosters strength / power in others through self-knowledge, both for the sake of his own agenda, and also because of the idea behind noblesse oblige--with great power comes great responsibility.

In other words, consider Megumi's theme in the sense that it would have been a complete waste of the talent he was born with, the prized family jewel worthy of one chosen by fate, to be squandered away in a lifetime spent fighting bullies.

Did Gojo see Megumi's worth only in terms of his family's name and his Cursed Technique? I think initially that might have been the case.

There's definitively something to be said about how Jujutsu society as a whole is a microcosm for the toxic Capitalist zeitgeist that permeates our world where our worth is measured against what we can do rather than for the mere fact that we are alive.

But... that's the thing, even if Gojo, as a product of his environment who is ironically seeking to upturn the very system that gave him the power that he has... Gojo is still Gojo, and Gojo is human af.

And for someone who is as enlightened as he is...

To blind himself to this truth about himself, to keep others at a safe distance in an attempt to lessen those emotional entanglements... well, it is kind of tragic, isn't it?

My precious student

I could have literally written this section only and called it a day but like... where's the fun in not word vomitting?

I have to say that I am loving how Gege is starting to tie loose ends. Promises he made early on in the manga are starting to unfold before our eyes.

For Gojo, the Hidden Inventory arc sets the stage for seeing just how much Gojo cares and the lengths that he will go through to alleviate the suffering of others because of how deeply compassionate he is.

So there is no doubt in my mind that Gojo CARES for Megumi deeply and holds Megumi in high regard both intellectually and emotionally.

Like... even if the way he recruited Megumi can be considered shady, I personally think it's in Gojo's nature to care deeply.

As a result I personally like the idea that Gojo came to care for, know and understand Megumi deeply. I should probably open a thesaurus to find a synonym for deeply, I've used that word like 5 times already.

I also think that Gojo sees in Megumi a mirror of himself given their fate has been somewhat defined by their respective Cursed Techniques. There's actually a lot of parallels in their behavior if you look closely.

Now, one of the biggest questions in fandom has been what life was like growing up in the Fushiguro household and what it was like to grow up under Gojo's tutelage.

So I love that Gege has finally given us a sneak peek at that dynamic because it sheds light into the answer to your question.

To me the panels above might show how Gojo approached fostering Megumi's talent. I could be wrong, but I get major "let's go for a walk so I can teach you something" vibes.

And like... I can't imagine how Gojo could have possibly avoided getting attached to Megumi if he basically saw him grow up. Whether he was around every day or came and went is the stuff of head canons.

But I definitively think there's a lot of love between these two characters and that Gojo sees Megumi not just as a student whose power he needs to foster through self-knowledge, but also as a protégé that was entrusted to him.

Now... given emotional entanglement is one of Gojo's major weaknesses, it makes me wonder what Gege is going to do once he lets Gojo out of the prison realm.

It makes me wonder what lengths Gojo will go through to alleviate Megumi's suffering.

Spanglish alert!

Merci a ma chérie (@justafrenchlondoner) for being a sounding board to help me answer this loaded question. We both loved the brainrot that ensued because of it.

Finalmente...

EAAAAA! Mucho gusto CABAnon!

Así es! Soy entusiasta de clamp, JJK, y Sonny Boy! Me encanta q t gusten a ti tb! The trifecta of perfection if you ask me. Lo único differente es q soy Mexicana pero al fin de cuenta, esa diferencia importa poco :)

Espero halla podido contestar tu pregunta... jeje... con eso d q me fui por una tangente q ni al caso me tardé un poco mas de lo esperado pero la vdd disfruté mucho contestando tu pregunta.

Espero escuchar de ti y tus pensamientos al respecto d nuevo!

Saludos desde mi pedacito en el Desierto de Chihuahua, victoria la psicoloca.

#ask the mental gymnastics anime girl #god I love jujutsu kaisen #1 out of 3 asks answered #2 more to go!

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