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linkspooky · 2 months

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The Death of Kenjaku

So I was planning to write this meta the week that Kenjaku died, but decided to delay until we got full confirmation of his death. Something I didn't believe in even after Kenjaku passed the merger onto Sukuna. However, watching this video about death in Jujutsu Kaisen inspired me to finish this post. Not because I disagree with anything the YouTuber is saying, but because they can speculate on the meaning of so many deaths in Jujutsu Kaisen but can't find the meaning in Kenjaku's sudden death. This has led me to speculate why Gege made the choice to kill Kenjaku in the way that he did. What meaning is there in Kenjaku's abrupt and unsatisfying death?

Who is Kenjaku?

The first step in understanding Kenjaku's death is of course understanding how he lived. We actually know incredibly little about Kenjaku's character by design. Despite the fact he's literally in Geto's body, he's not meant to have sympathetic or human motivations to his actions (though hold onto that "human motivation" in your head for a moment). No flashback sequence shows the audience why this guy is the way he is, no single event seems to have driven him to do what he did.

This is what we know about Kenjaku in brief. He is a sorcerer who is over a thousand years old who was around in Sukuna's day. He once had a friendship with Tengen, but found her original self boring and unambitious. He also contrasts heavily with Tengen, who lives outside of humanity, because he has lived among humanity for 1,000 years. One of those lifetimes was Noritoshi Kamo who violated a woman and conducted heinous experiments. He produced ten children in his one thousand years, the nine death painting siblings and Yuji Itadori. He considers the first children boring, because human and curse hybrids turned out too normal.

He also partially blames himself for how boring they are, because he can't create anything that will exceed his expectations, the only thing that can exceed his expectations is born in chaos. He spent a thousand years organizing the culling games, and wants to use the games to create a merger, because he thinks creating a merger between Tengen and Humanity will create something entirely new and interesting. He also believes the way towards the future lies in further optimizing cursed energy, not in breaking away from it the way Yuki Tsukumo tried to do and Maki has.

The only people whose word we have on Kenjaku's motivations are Kenjaku himself, and Tengen's word and Tengen themselves who claims to not know what goes on in the human heart.

From all of the above Kenjaku seems to be a shallow character who's motivations can be summed up as "because I can" and "I want to see what happens." This shallowness is intentional however, as Gege who once praised the minimalist storytelling of Nasu and Evangelion likes to pick and choose what crumbs of backstory he gives out for his characters. We've never gotten any exposition on the Gojo clan, but we have an entire chapter about Takaba's failed career as a stand-up comic. This isn't a judgement of good or bad writing, this is just how Gege writes as minimalist as possible. This is in line with how Gege writes the ancient sorcerers as well, they are all much more shallow driven by instinct or Freudian Id (I desire) rather than the higher reasoning of modern-day sorcerers. Takaba uses comedy as a means of communication and bridging the gaps between people, Higuruma's backstory is the critique of the modern day justice system. Ishigori apparently lived a satisfying life where he was succesful and had good women, but that wasn't enough so he wants to get into a fight with Yuta to satisfy his hunger and feel like he's eaten desert.

It sounds shallow when I summarize it in text, but in the context of the fight with Yuta, it's a challenge for Yuta who for the most part only cares about his loved ones and sees the world through his love goggles to be more selfish and fight for his own desires. It's also reflective of a more basic and instinctual kind of thinking, as opposed to the higher reasoning and logic that modern-day sorcerers apply.

I'm keeping most of this first part to text for this reason, like go back and read the fight with Ishigori and Yuta. If I summarize Ishigori's character reasoning out of context it sounds stupid, but read the fight and it works because it's ID (I Desire) vs. Yuta's superego in not only having to collect points to help rescue Tsumiki, find a way to protect all the innocent people in the Culling Games, and also collect enough points to take on Kenjaku himself so Gojo won't have to. Meanwhile Ishigori's just fighting to get some of that sweet desert, the shallow works in contrast to the more layered motivations of our heroes.

Kenjaku is a shallow archetype fighting to satisfy his baser impulses (in his case curiosity) in comparison to the main characters who are fighting for more complicated reasons and often people besides themselves.

The question then becomes what archetype is Kenjaku. In that case answering who Kenjaku is is quite simple.

Kenjaku is a clown.

It might be more accurate to say that Kenjaku embodies what's commonly known as the "trickster archetype" but I'mma go with clown.

The most obvious example of a clown villain is what most consider the joker to be, that is a silly little clown man who challenges the straight faced and grim batman and sews chaos where Batman attempts to establish law and order in Gotham and make the city into a better place.

From the book Batman and Psychology:

More than any other villains, the Joker and Two-face reflect Batman himself as funhouse distortions, converses of who and what he is. The laughing, jesting, brightly colored Joker contrasts with grim, dark Batman. The Joker is the Joker. No alter ego. The film's opening bank robbery shows him wearing a clown mask over clown makeup, Under the surface there's only more Joker. He gives no history except inconsistent lies. When he finally considers the impact of his demand Batman unmask, he retracts the threat and demands that Batman's identity remain undisclosed. He wants a batman who has no other self, a Dark Knight whose only deeper layer is further darkness.

Is there a better descriptor for Kenjaku then these words?

Kenjaku is Kenjaku. No alter ego. A clown mask over clown makeup., Under the surface there's only more Kenjaku.

In other words, what you see is what you get.

Kenjaku even mirrors Joker's opinion of Batman, he thinks people should be more like him, not the other way around. He's not the outlier, he's being true to humanity's basic impulses of curiousity and discovery.

A more apt comparison as a clown though would probably be Loki, one of the most classic examples of clowning in the shared mythology of humanity. The character who challenges the common wisdom of gods like Odin who suspended themselves from the world tree for eleven days in order to gain wisdom. Loki, who through his trickery manages to bring about the events of Ragnarok for no deeper reason than because he can. Everyone swore not to harm Balder and Loki goes to find something that can harm him because BET.

Mythological Loki doesn't need a deeper motivation because what he represents in the mythology is someone who challenges authority and brings about a change, because in Norse Mythology nothing lasts forever and no era is permanent. Jujutsu Kaisen is also a story about how things should not in fact stay the same and tradition is bad sometimes.

When Kenjaku finds Tengen's true body he's curled up in a tree root in the fetal position, and he killed what is basically the all-knowing, all-seeing supposedly immortal sorcerer that maintains the status quo of japan, it's not exactly subtle.

Kenjaku is a clown, and clown's gotta clown. We don't need any more explanation that, it's more about what he does for the story. However, what he represents, the deep intellectual curiosity, and also a drive to disrupt the status quo in an attempt to see something more interesting can also be analyzed more deeply because they are human emotions that motivate us as well. The same way that Mahito is an inhuman monster, but he's created and motivated by the fear of other humans, something all of us have. '

Before moving onto his death though, I wanna hammer in how Kenjaku really is just motivated by these two things, a desire to see something interesting, and intellectual curiosity by comparing him to other characters.

The Clown in Fiction

I've already compared Kenjaku to Loki and the Joker, but when it comes to someone who wants to disrupt the entire order of the world simply because they're bored we've got to go to the original girlboss.

So there are plenty of villains who go "I'm evil because I'm bored" but they usually tend to be pretty shallow, either shallowly written for the lulz evil characters who just exist for shock value or just kinda dull. No one has ever done it as good as Junko Enoshima and no one ever will again.

For those who need context DanganRonpa is a death game series where the main villain basically has caused the apocalypse, wiped out most of humanity, and then induces survivors in a bunker to kill each other in a death game, where if someone commits a succesful murder they can escape the bunker, but if they're caught in a trial they're executed. Also, if they're not convicted in the trial everyone else is killed, motivating the jury to find and execute the guilty murderer.

Junko Enoshima the main villain and orchestrator of this death game ended the world because despair. She wants to inflict despair on everyone because despair. Because hope sucks and despair is where it's at.

It sounds shallow and it is and Kodaka has said in interview he wrote Junko to be a villain character with zero redeeming character traits, and no sympathetic backstory to describe why she is the way she is, but there is still something motivating her.

If you go a bit deeper into the lore and read Dangan Ronpa Zero, there is an entire book which explains the lengths which Junko goes to feel normal human emotions. The thing is much like Kenjaku Junko is too smart for her own good, everything is predictable and therefore everything bores her. Once in an attempt to live normally, she literally lobotomizes herself, makes it so that she can't remember anything and has continual amnesia constantly forgetting what just happened to her, because that's the only way she can live without knowing everything that's going to happen and constantly predicting everyone's actions.

Junko has whatever her universe's version of the six-eyes is, but instead of lording it over other people like Gojo and basking in her superiority she wants to feel normal, and connected to the world. If she can't have that she tries to make the world as unpredictable place as possible so she can experience it the same way that everyone else does.

Hope is harmony. A just heart, moving toward the light. That is all. Despair is hope's polar opposite. It is messy and confusing. It swallows up love, hatred, and everything else. Because not knowing where you will end up is despair. Despair is even what you cannot predict. Only despair's unpredictability can save you from a boring future.

I'm still not describing it properly because I don't want to go into a Danganronpa essay in this post about Jujutsu Kaisen, but one example I always use is two characters from American Dragon Jake Long. They're a pair of twins who see the future, one always sees happy things, and one always sees sad things. The one who has happy visions is a goth who's very depressed and the one who sees disaster is an incredibly peppy girl.

Jake is so confused as to why the twin who always sees good visions is so depressed, and she basically tells him to imagine having every good thing, every small little surprise, every pleasure taken out of life.

Kara: When you only see good things, nothing's special anymore. All the pleasant surprises are taken out of life. Sara: But, when you only see bad stuff, even the smallest bit of good news makes you happy!

All of this to say what Junko feels isn't just boredom, or a desire to commit evil for evil's sake, but also a full on existential crisis where she's simply too smart so she doesn't feel any connection to other people or the world around her. In order to feel that connection, that connection that everyone else has, to feel like she is actually a participant in her life not an observer she's willing to go to extremes to make the world a more interesting place, to therefore make her own life feel satisfying.

Kenjaku vs. The World (Kenjaku Pilgrim's sad little life)

To connect all this back to Kenjaku imagine the profound existential despair of a person who's lived for a thousand years, and felt bored all that time. Sukuna is at least a hedonist, he gets his fun by getting into fights, humans might be bugs to him but they're tasty bugs.

Kenjaku goes to similiar motivations and has similiar extremes, he's uninvested in the world around him, he's lived a thousand years but has no attachment to the world, to life, to the people around him. I said that Junko wants to be a participant in life not an all seeing observer and that was purposeful language because to bring back an old post. I rambled on this post about Gojo that part of Gojo's problem is that he only experiences observer-to-object relationships or I to it.

Ich and Du, translated as I and Thou is a book by philosopher Martin Buber. His two main porositions is that we may address existence in two ways:

The attitude of the “I” towards “it” towards an object that is separate in itself, which we either use or experience.

The attitude of “I” towards “Thou” in a relationship in which the other is not separated by discrete bounds.

In Buber's terms, those who only experience the first type of relationships are only observing the world around them not relating to them. Kenjaku doesn't relate to other human beings because they are objects, he only experiences subject -> object relationships and never subject -> subject.

Buber also goes on to theorize that meaning in our lives comes from subject -> subject relationships we form with other people.

Kenjaku jokingly says that to be his friend you have to never bore him and be his equal, but there's no one considers his equal because he's the subject and everyone else are just objects.

He regrets he can't sit down and talk theories with Tsukumo Yuki because she's one of the few people who think like him.

Kenjaku is a paradox of an incredibly brilliant man who is also shallow as a puddle that you can stand in and not get your socks wet. However, he tragically can't really form a more complex identity because our identities are formed by our relationships to other people and Kenjaku doesn't relate to anybody.

That's basically the theme of the whole Choso and Kenjaku fight, Choso is a weird aborted fetus of a curse who still has a strong identity and is able to feel unconditional love for Yuji because of the connection of family and the ideas of brotherhood that binds the two. Kenjaku is a bad father who abandoned Choso because they were "boring" but also never really gave them a chance to grow up or be interesting, he just dismissed them offhand and moved on to the next weird science project.

However, his reason for dismissing Choso isn't Choso's fault but rather a case of Psychological projection. It's not Choso who is boring, but rather Kenjaku himself, he said so earlier.

"What I can create, does not exceed the bounds of my own potential. The answer is always flickering darkly in chaos."

Kenjaku cannot look within to find anything satisfying abput his life because there's nothing inside of him. He doesn't have a fully formed identiy he's just ID, and because he tramples all over other people to form his desires he also cannot ever form a full ego. Just like Sukuna and most of the ancient sorcerers he's a paradox of being all ego, and yet having an underdeveloped ego with shallow motivators.

Kenjaku cannot look within because he's a boring person, and he cannot look for other people to find worth in his life because they're just objects, so instead he looks into the void, he tries to change the world around him by spreading more chaos hoping that it will make something unpredictable happen in front of his eyes - and that will give him the meaning and investment in his life he's deprived himself of because he refuses to form relationships with other people.

It's the Gojo problem. It's the Kashimo problem. It's not the Sukuna problem, because Sukuna admits he doesn't care about and rejects things like love and meaning.

If Kenjaku makes the world around him a more interesting place, he will be able to live in it. It's the same as Gojo trying to raise people up to his level by creating stronger students.

So after going to great length to demonstrate how powerful and all-consuming Kenjaku's boredom is, and how cut off he is from his own humanity, here's the part where I sort of defend his death.

Wouldn't it be funny if the joke character killed the main villain?

Let's be honest it was Takaba's kill here, Yuta just camped and killstole. I think part of the problem with people not understanding the meaning behind Kenjaku's sudden and unexpected death is attributing the death to Yuta cutting his head off out of nowhere, and not Takaba's thematic victory over Kenjaku.

Takaba represents a blindspot for Kenjaku which is why the main characters use him as a weapon against him, and he also calls out in a fashion Kenjaku's hypocrisy. First and foremost, Kenjaku presents himself as an agent of change, but he actually has no interest in many of the modern sorcerers and holds a bias towards the heian era as the peak of sorcery. He even says that he's going to bring back the Heian Golden Age to Sukuna at the end of Shibuya arc.

Because that's what Chaos is Kenjaku, things being the same as they were 1,000 years ago. Kenjaku is an agent of change and chaos and somehow his definition of change is... resetting things back to the past because the sorcerers of the past were so much better than today.

Kenjaku goes out of his way to awaken hundreds of modern day sorcerers, and then dismisses literally off of them except for Hiromi because they don't have enough potential for him compared to ancient sorcerers. He essentially did the same with the Death Painting Bros, he went through all of the trouble to create them, then dismissed them as not having enough potential BEFORE THEY EVEN GOT THE CHANCE TO GROW UP.

Kenjaku has a habit of just going BORED NOW and leaving before he even gives things the time to impress him. He does the same with the Culling Game, he set up the death game to push sorcerers to fight each other and bring out their powers, but he never actually intended to watch the sorcerers evolve. He just wanted to slaughter everyone inside to start the merger.

He goes through a lot of potential to set up these situations and then abandons them before they have the chance to even evolve, because they do not have enough "potential" in his opinion, but like his opinion is often shown to be wrong. Takaba represents that blindspot because he was one of the modern sorcerers that Kenjaku underestimated and dismissed offhand as boring without giving him a chance to shine.

That is the joke that Takaba introduces himself with "Wouldn't it be funny if a random comic relief side character suddenly defeated the big bad?"

He's immediately pointing out a blindspot, because Kenjaku automatically believes himself to be an important character, he underestimates Takaba because he's a side character, one of the people Kenjaku has dismissed as boring and uninteresting (before they even had a chance to evolve into something else). Like that's the other thing Kenjaku wants things to evolve but he doesn't... let them. He abandoned Choso and the rest before they even grew up, they were literally fetuses and he threw them away. Kenjaku is the protagonist of reality, and Takaba is a side character, and therefore Takaba couldn't possibly harm him because Kenjaku and his boundless curiosity are the center of the world.

It's not just about subverting the audience's expectations to have the main villain die in such an anti-climactic way before the final act even starts, but it's pointing out how narrow Kenjaku's viewpoints really were all along. He wants everything to be surprised but he never lets anything surprise him, because either he gets bored right away, or he looks down on others before giving them the chance to evolve, or the third thing he just straight up has to control everything. He can't let the culling game evolve naturally he's going to slaughter all the players by hand so he can move onto the next part.

It's the contradiction between a schemer who needs to control everything and everyone to bring about his intended result and everything needs to be a part of his big plans, to someone who wants to be surprised by others and have things go off the rails. You can't have both of these things at once, Kenjaku cannot have things surprise him if he rigs everything to go his way with his overly elaborate schemes and his tight-fisted control of everyone in the story.

Like, in comparison to Kenjaku the joker just blows things up and sprays people with laughing gas. They're both playing the same game but the joker is having fun and Kenjaku isn't.

Kenjaku wants an unexpected future, but he doesn't care about any of the modern sorcerers and has a bias towards the heiean era that he considers the height and wants to reset things to bring back the heian era. He wants to be surprised but won't give up control.

Kenjaku's boast is that unlike Tengen he's spent a thousand years living on the ground instead of lording up on them from above like some deity, but is that true? Has Kenjaku lived? Has he engaged with the world? Formed relationships with people? Or does he just sit in the corner rubbing his hands together menacingly and scheming his schemes.

Takaba unironically gives Kenjaku what he wants, something he's never seen before in a thousand years, and it's from a place Kenjaku never expected. Some random guy, who he dismissed as one of the boring modern sorcerers with no potential like Higuruma.

Takaba not only exists in Kenjaku's blindspot, he almost immediately points out Kenjaku's second hypocrisy. If he's willing to resort to mass murder just to feel entertained, then if he found something else to entertain him there'd be no reason to get violent and scheme his schemes.

In other words Kenjaku hasn't really gone looking for other places to try to find what makes life worth living, or at least enertaining, he hasn't really tried any alternatives to finding joy in life because Jujutsu is all he cares about. Takaba says that if he found something else even more entertaining than the merger there'd be no need to go through with the merger, and he turns out to be right. Kenjaku could have found meaning and entertainment with the world someplace else, he was just too narrow minded and never looked anywhere else.

As I said from the beginning Kenjaku's existential crisis comes from his inability to relate to other people and viewing them all as objects, but in Kenjaku's mind of course he can't relate to others they're too boring, so therefore it's the world's fault, and the fault of others and not himself.

However, right away one of those boring people starts relating to Kenjaku.

I joked about how we know nothing about the Gojo clan but Takaba gets an entire backstory chapter about his failed comedy career, but this chapter is plot important because jokes are the way that Takaba relates to and forms relationships with other people. Takaba makes jokes to relate to others but has a fallout with a comedy partner and has never been able to form a lasting relationship with a comedic partner because comedy doesn't mean the same to them as it does to him - because to Takaba comedy is about forming relationships with people. Which is why he thinks he's failed if he's failed to make everyone in the audience laugh because he wants to make comedy that will make other people relate to him and understand him.

However, he almost gives up on comedy because he's afraid that he might fail on that endeavor. He gives up on striving to make everybody in the audience laugh, because of self-affirmation and a desire to protect himself. He didn't want to fail so he started distancing himself from the audience under the excuse "Well, I can't make everyone laugh so it's okay if not everyone understands me."

Takaba at some point gave up on trying to use comedy as a means of understanding and relating to others, because of his fear of failure and at that point he nearly lost - but he rallies himself by saying that he won't give up on making someone like Kenjaku laugh. If his comedy is about connecting to others, about understanding others and having others understand him then he can't just give up on Kenjaku and say it's Kenjaku's fault that Kenjaku can't relate to his sense of humor. He's got to try even harder to make Kenjaku laugh.

This is also pretty much the opposite of Kenjaku's point of view. For Kenjaku it's everyone else's fault for being so boring that's why he can't relate to them. Wheras, Takaba takes personal responsibility, he wasn't funny enough, he has to try harder, he's the one who's going to make Kenjaku laugh by improving himself. Takaba looks inward, and Kenjaku looks outwards because there's nothing inside Kenjaku.

This is a parallel to this.

The difference however, is that Sukuna did not betray his ideology. Sukuna lives for the kicks that battle provides him and wants to face strong opponents so he can eventually devoured them and be momentarily entertained.

Like Sukuna is not bored the way Kenjaku is. The world is his playground. He may refer to living as just killing time until you die, but he also says that there's an infinite variety of humans to entertain yourself with. The world is Sukuna's toybox and he's satisfied with just that. In fact he doesn't even care about the merger, until his frustration with Yuji makes him think a little deeper about himself.

Kenjaku is not the Sukuna in this scene, he's the Gojo. He believed he was above others, only to be reminded suddenly that he was just the same as everyone else and brought back down to humanity. I mean, they even die off panel the same anticlimactic way. Gojo's infinity meant nothing in the face of one surprise attack a world-cleaving slash Gojo didn't see coming. All of Kenjaku's backup plans meant nothing in the face of Yuta camping and kill-stealing.

Kenjaku didn't lose because Yuta's plan of camping and killstealing was simply too brilliant for him to prepare for however, we're given the exact reason kenjaku lost - because he was having too much fun with Takaba.

Which meant what Takaba said earlier was true, if Kenjaku found something funnier, something other than the merger that could make him laugh there'd be no need to go through with the merger to begin with.

Kenjaku loses because all along he could have related to people, formed meaningful relationships with others, looked for meaning in life outside of Jujutsu but just chose not to. Which is also a parallel to this.

Sukuna says that Kashimo and Gojo both lost because they were greedy. They already received love in a way, they had the love of everyone who regarded them as the strongest, they had people who earnestly wanted to challenge them and respected them - which Sukuna sees as a form of love, and yet they still wanted more.

They were the ones who put themselves up on that pedestal and decided to stand above all of humanity, they don't get to whine about being lonely on top of that.

To add my interpretation to Sukuna's speech, what he's outlining is a general conflict in Jujutsu Kaisen, you can choose to be all ego to put personal development above everything else but it comes at the cost of not being able to form relationships. Maki's as powerful as Toji now, but the sister she always wanted to protect is dead and basically committed suicide. Meanwhile Noritoshi Kamo didn't participate in the final battle, but he reconnected with his mother and half-brother.

There are plenty of characters who die and suffer in jujutsu kaisen because they chose to value other people above themselves, because Jujutsu Kaisen rewards selfishness and punishes selflessness / having an underdeveloped sense of self.

I'll pick Mechamaru as my biggest example, he lived to protect Miwa, and not only does he die an unsatisfying death, he also breaks her heart.

However, at least Mechamaru experienced love. His desire to protect Miwa is granted, because Miwa is also out of the final conflict. Mechamaru is one of the most miserable characters in the manga, and yet he experienced love in his life for someone else that made his brief life meaningful. The characters who choose love, and other people over strength tend to get stepped on, but they at least had that love in their life to begin with.

It's a having your cake and eating it too situation. Kashimo chose strength over love, and he got to be so strong he was unbeatable and lived to old age, but not only is he unfulfilled but he whines about being unable to relate to the people around him - you're the one who chose to step on everyone like bugs.

Characters in Jujutsu Kaisen don't just experience death when they try to be selfless however, like yeah there's a disproportionate amont of selfless minor characters who die, but like Yuji is the most selfless character in the manga and he's continually punished for it and yet he's the one referred to as a person with an unbreakable will.

Rather instead of Jujutsu Kiasen preferring the selfish side on the scale of selfishness / selflessness, the kind of messy, deaths that get handed out to people like Mechamaru happen when you betray the ideals you were living for. Whether they were selfish or selfless.

It goes back to Toji's internal monologue. You lose when you lose sight of yourself - like there's some deaths that don't fit the mould but for the most part, Gojo, Kashimo, Toji's and then Kenjaku's deaths all follow this pattern. By coincidence they also all take place offscreen for the most part (I suppose we see Yuta cut off Kenjaku's head but it's quick and unsatisfying compared to all the rest).

Kenjaku died because he betrayed what he was living for and he temporarily lost sight of himself. As I said Kenjaku's airtight principles were that everyone was boring and people weren't worth relating too so the only way to find enertainment in life is to cause chaos - but he found himself relating to some nobody he wrote off as a minor character Takaba and having fun with him. Which meant the belief he was false, he could have tried relating to other people all along he just didn't.

He warped his sense of self to reaffirm his identity. Takaba almost did that too, he tried to blame other people for not finding him funny to protect himself, but he moved past that and redoubled his efforts to make Kenjaku laugh.

There's also the added layer of irony that Kenjaku's sudden death brings about, the person who spent a thousand years trying to make the merger happen doesn't get to see it.

However, here's my assertion on why Kenjaku's death before the merger always had to happen.

Because, even if Kenjaku had seen the merger he still would have been bored.

Literally everything about Kenjaku's character and previous actions shows that even if he made his big scheme come true, he would have gone "meh" and moved onto the next scheme because that's how he always reacts.

He got bored of the death painting siblings, he presumably got bored of Yuji, he got bored of all the ancient sorcerers and new sorcerers he made for the culling game, he worked with the disaster curses and got bored of them and dismissed them as inferior primitive curses, he goes out of the way to engineer these chaotic situations and then never feels any satisfaction from them so why would the Merger be any different?

Not only did Kenjaku die before he saw the merger, he was basically doomed to never see the merger, because it would not have fixed whatever is wrong inside of him.

Because it's not the world that's boring, it's Kenjaku himself.

He gets a brief glimpse of what he could have done in life, that he could have tried to forge connections with the people around him and related to them on a personal level - and then he dies the way he lived, in a kind of boring and unsatisfying way.

It's the narrative punishing him in a way, the same way it punished Gojo, and Kashimo, by not letting him see the big explosion after he went to all the trouble rigging the bombs. It's punishing him for the same reason too - by deviating from his true self and showing what he thought were his reasons were shallow all along. Gojo could have always related to people he just chose to stand on his pedestal alone, and Kenjaku could have always found the world to be more enertaining he was the one dismissing other people as boring without giving them a chance to grow.

Takaba confronted his beliefs and then stayed true to his ideology of making everyone, 100% of the people in the crowd laugh. Kenjaku didn't confront his beliefs, he strayed from them because he didn't have the strength of character to evaluate himself the way Takaba did.

Hence, he's finished off by one of those boring people who used their power in a way he never expected. The main villain is defeated by the comic relief character and it's hilarious.

#jjk meta #kenjaku #fumihiko takaba #ryomen sukuna #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen theory #jujutsu kaisen analysis #jjk spoiler #jujutsu kaisne spoiler #big spoiler actually

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sawiyoush · 22 days

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You were defeated by your own self , self-loathing,selfeating, Sukuna .- twisted power of love

The projection of Gege's self-hatred onto his favorite character.

---The hardest battle you'll ever fight, is against yourself---

TL;DR

And thus, Yuji will strive to separate (Cut like Sukuna) his opponents BUT from their "evil" and direct his energy only towards this "evil," which is the opposite of a Sukuna's self-hatred power ,Yuji can be viewed as a mirror reflecting Sukuna's twisted power of love.

Therefore, the first chapter essentially, by title, reflects Yuuji and Sukuna

Sukuna's statement that "only the strong are loved" ("strong" can be of different kinds)takes on a particular significance: he attracts love through his strength , highlighting his main conflict reflected in his relationship with Yuji. For Yuji, strength and violence are alien; his essence is permeated with kindness. As a result, Sukuna feels his vulnerability, realizing that his achievements hold no value in Yuji's eyes. Experiencing self-hatred, he understands that while Yuji is simply kind to people, his love can be obtained "just like that," whereas towards Sukuna, Yuji harbors disdain, which is painful, as Sukuna has become strong out of a desire to receive love.

"Thus, he became strong because he realized that they loved strength, while he himself was weak. From this, he concluded that by being strong, he would receive love and respect simply for his existence as strong, and he would no longer feel weak. Therefore, his desire for love lost its significance, as only the weak needed it. Now his primary strength became his "love". And this means that using this strength towards himself and others can be compared to its application on the battlefield, where it is used to defeat the enemy. Thus, those who seek love from him will be destroyed, because all he has and who he is, is strength. Without it, he is nothing. "This implies that he cannot be loved because only the strong are loved". Thus, this expresses contempt for weakness, as the weak rely on "love" and connections, while he, being strong, does not need these connections, leading to rejection of both self-love and everything associated with it, and therefore, it is an expression of hatred.

The application of force (hatred) even towards oneself, towards one's weakness - the human side.

Thus, the application of force towards oneself and one's weakness in this context becomes a manifestation of contempt for the human side and dependence on love. This path can be interpreted as an extreme way to achieve self-assurance, which, nevertheless, cuts off from love and leads to hatred towards both oneself and the surrounding world.

The application of force towards oneself and one's weakness here is presented as a way of rejecting love and refusing to accept the human side - thus self-denial-self-eating.

This contradiction is manifested in the irony of the situation: a person becomes strong in his desire to rid himself of his weakness and dependence on love, but as a result, he becomes consumed by hatred, both towards himself and towards the surrounding world.

This desire is expressed through the denial of the human side, the refusal to accept one's weaknesses and dependence on love. This leads to strength becoming the main attribute of personality, while human connections and emotions, such as love, are rejected as unnecessary and even harmful.

Thus, the application of force towards oneself and one's weakness, as well as the denial of love and dependence on it, create a cycle of self-destruction and hatred towards oneself and the surrounding world. This can be interpreted as a path that, although aimed at achieving self-assurance, ultimately leads to isolation and spiritual destruction.

The cycle of samsara.

("twisted love ") his curse and power "kitchen"- (10 bulls Buddhism- you can read in wiki ) - he literally kills (eats) the “bull” "human" his own self constantly, so there are a lot of their skulls inside him - his own , and he sits on the throne of them, his essences, believing that he has “surpassed” himself - the human nature

"Sukuna is surrounded by the remnants of his failed attempts to transcend his ego, symbolized by the "skulls" of his former selves."

maybe this is part of the “vow” of constantly fighting (eating) within yourself

Self hatred

Like the seals on his shoulders - circles

Sukuna is the strongest because he suffers the most, hates himself and experiences an internal conflict that generates cursed energy.

Anger (rage, aggression, a sense of vengeance, disgust) is represented in the image of a snake. The snake typically slithers away when approached by a human or attacks them. Similarly, a person seeks to eliminate an irritating object from their field of perception, either by avoiding it or destroying it. This is similar to his behavior and avoidance of Yuji - the epitome of absolution - kindness, because he unconsciously experiences disgust – the truth.

The Rooster is a symbol of passion, as it is both the owner of a harem and capable of finding a tiny grain in the grass and dust – exactly what it needs; just as passion keenly selects its object of desire from the multitude presented. This can be compared to how Sukuna chooses his opponents.

Ignorance (neglect, stupidity, laziness, foolishness) is represented in the image of a pig. The pig eats everything indiscriminately, unable to discern between good and bad, fortunate and unfortunate due to its lack of understanding. Incidentally, the pig is the only animal unable to lift its head to the sun. However, Sukuna usually regards others disdainfully from top to bottom, like a large pig, experiencing "foolishness" because he has confined himself within the pigsty of his own convictions.

Perhaps not intentionally, but symbolically, Yuji's head is at the level of his heart.

In other words, the cursed energy spawns a concentration circle of hatred , trapping individuals in an endless cycle of conflict,a cycle of samsara- in which people remain fighting with another person with their emotions. - mostly hatred

This could be seen as a vow or a struggle to overcome one's own limitations , by constantly confronting and consuming aspects of the self.

"You weren't merely defeated by external forces, but by your own internal strife—your perpetual disdain for your human side." your downfall stemmed from your own internal contradictions, which morphed into a binding oath (all his seals on his body literally seal a person in him). Your disdain for humanity, extending even to yourself, became both your strength and your curse, corroding your soul from within (gestures toward the mask).

(the mask) Much like Tengen, embodies a constructive "emptiness" that exists harmoniously with the world, at peace with people. However, Sukuna's "emptiness" is purely literal, representing a detachment from humanity, a void of sorts.

You've lost all sense of purpose, consumed by self-loathing to the point of utter emptiness.

he is his strength - and if he loses, he "strength "will die, which means to him that he is nothing(because "I" = strength ),( which everything) he can feel , towards "him " is hate, emptiness ,insignificance - nothing - cant take "love". nothing is nothing - so it his - corpse paradoxically there cannot be “love”, because only the “strong” are loved.

It's as if he can't even comprehend the idea of being loved or valued without his strength. Without it, he feel like a mere shell of himself, devoid of purpose or meaning. - corpse

his "manhtra "

His strength defines him, and should he lose it, his very essence will wither away, leaving him feeling like nothing.-(which everything to him.) Because in his eyes, strength equals identity, and without it, he is left hollow, consumed by feelings of worthlessness and self-loathing.

To him, strength is everything, and without it, he feels empty and insignificant. He's trapped in a mindset where only the strong are valued or capable of receiving love, leaving him unable to grasp the concept of being cherished for anything other than his strength. Without this defining trait, he fears becoming a mere shadow of himself, devoid of purpose and meaning—a walking corpse. His mantra revolves around the idea that his strength is synonymous with his identity; losing it would strip away everything that makes him who he is, leaving behind only a hollow shell consumed by feelings of worthlessness and self-doubt.

This fear of worthlessness drives him to cling desperately to his strength, as he sees it as the only thing protecting him from a profound sense of misery and insignificance. It's not so much a fear of death that motivates him, but a fear of experiencing the emptiness and smallness he associates with weakness.

So when he talks to Yuji he projects

You are my special

"Get lost in me" - "Become me."

I wanna feel your heatwave - Break down.

I love you, baby - I hate you

because you don't yield to me, to my strength

A world spinning in ambiguity - on the other hand, if Yuji does not give in, then Sukuna loses his “power” - himself and his hatred,"And will make him feel (1 )'loven'."- (This means that Yuji literally robs him of his purpose - his strength - himself - his self-loathing.)

(1 )This suggests that Sukuna's identity is closely tied to his ability to dominate others, especially Yuji. If Yuji resists, Sukuna not only loses his power and sense of self but also his profound self-hatred, leaving him vulnerable to experiencing an unfamiliar emotion—love. In essence, losing control and self-hatred allows Sukuna to explore a more vulnerable side of himself.

You are my special

"Even if the meaning is not correct, the fact is that they mirror to each other."

He wants to prove that his own existence and self-hatred are justified.

Sukuna conducts " a series of trials " before Yuji, aiming to prove to him that his purity of soul is not the basis of his strength. He expresses the belief that the source of strength lies in the ability to be cruel and hateful rather than kind. In his worldview, strength arises from self-loathing and denial, while love and compassion are seen as manifestations of weakness.

Sukuna seeks to affirm his beliefs through these trials and sufferings. He desires to break Yuji, to bring him down to his own level of hatred, in order to confirm his own existence and self-hatred. For him, pure strength becomes a symbol of his self-loathing - his own "self." He seeks to reinforce this hatred through Yuji, who, in his opinion, is excessively pure and capable of loving others unconditionally, which, in his view, renders his strength useless and undermines his own existence.

Overall, Sukuna's character is driven by a complex interplay of fear and a desperate need for validation through the lens of strength and self-loathing.

SURVIVAL

"You're so weak yet you cling to life?"

CHILD "I"- lack of strength" - weak and misery- unwanted , rejected, unloved, insignificant, unimportant, nothing, profound sense of emptiness and smallness.- DEATH

"You should spend your lives stifling (EATING)your misery. "

(Sukuna -Child - Yuji)

It seems to me that here it is being said that a brother or another close person can replace a parent in terms of providing love and understanding "self", as well as becoming a reliable support for the individual.

Perhaps previously he believed that self-love was meaningless (although he assumed this applied to others as well), but after encountering Yugi's soul, he realized that love, akin to dedication to an ideal, gains significance as it can transcend death and become something eternal, which is the true meaning. This enlightenment proved more significant than Sukuna's physical prowess, piercing his self-perception for the first time and shaking him to the core.

As the only thing he had been doing was killing time to die.

From the expression on his face in these two frames, there is a similarity: when it comes to love, he appears irritated, but this time he felt it - the love - and experienced pain, for the first time in a long while.

Sukuna, as the most powerful being, has moved away from the notion that his strength guarantees victory. Now it's more of a shadow of an ideal—meaning himself as well, because Sukuna possesses only power—a symbol of relentless personal resilience that he finds in Yuji. He has realized that without this strength, he is devoid of purpose, and in his pursuit of it, he has lost everything, including himself and his inner content. While in Yuji, lacking this power, his eyes shine like a beacon of humanity the love he needed—an ideal that transcends himself, through the idea of protecting others, akin to Prometheus his kindness. This irritates Sukuna and casts doubt on his own existence.

The deal is that Sukuna, regarded as the "strongest " was bored and annoyed with Yuji because his strength was based on something Sukuna could never understand or accept—the true essence of love.

Love, as a force and a tool, is immeasurable except through the sacrifice of those who gave their lives for the ideals of higher humanity—those whom Sukuna could not understand and whom he killed in his pursuit of "strength" and acts of violence deemed "supreme" beyond human nature.

Only after meeting Yuji did Sukuna gain insight, and his transformation can be characterized as a (2 )manifestation of love. Because he begins to "understand" other aspects of human existence, such as compassion, selflessness, and the ideals of higher humanity. In this context, his insight and change are perceived as manifestations of (2 ) love—understanding and accepting these human qualities that he previously could not comprehend or acknowledge.

The (1 ) first follows from the (2) second, but Sukuna hasn't understood it yet, he has only feel it.

Sukuna has long lost the battle against his own hatred, mired in feelings of anger and jealousy. These emotions only fill him with disappointment and rage, fueling his desire to seek ways to cause pain and damage solely to destroy Yuji and undermine his faith

The acknowledgment that his kindness - love is genuine and unconditional seems incomprehensible to him, as if he's afraid to admit that such a thing is possible - because he was not loved and had no one. and that means he didn’t need anyone to satisfy him

Short version

He remembers his yearning for love during childhood, seeing it as a symbol of vulnerability and lack of significance. Regarding dependence on someone "stronger" as a weakness, he holds the belief that seeking affection and connections is characteristic only of the weak.

As a child, Sukuna often felt vulnerable due to his weaknesses, which made him feel chained to his flaws. This prevented him from truly loving himself and others, and he believed that only the strong deserved love, attention, and respect. Sukuna realized that true strength lies not in seeking love, but in giving it to others. However, he saw this gesture as a weakness and chose to demonstrate his strength through hatred instead of love. In battles, he "gave" his "strength " - "love "to others as a form of victory, judging the weak (including himself) as deserving of destruction. Sukuna rejected the concept of love as a dependency for the weak and meaningless for the strong. He avoids using names because he sees his past (weak) self in others, particularly Yuji, and despises himself for it.

In the past, Sukuna often felt vulnerable because of his weaknesses. It created the impression that he was shackled by a chain linking him to his flaws. This hindered him from truly "loving" himself and others, experiencing compassion ..? huh. He believed that only the strong deserved love, attention, and respect, and without strength, he was nothing.

That's why Sukuna realized that true strength lies not in the pursuit of love, but in being able to "give" it to others. He concluded that such a gesture is something only the weak need. Therefore, he decided to resort to another way of demonstrating his "strength"—using it as a tool of hatred instead of love.

Here, he seems to be contemplating a reflection that doesn't actually exist, only its silhouette - in the present, or, to be more precise, he sees himself in Yuji - in the past.

I wonder that this drop falls in Sukuna's domain, isn't it?

Sukuna began "giving" his "strength" to others in battles, seeing it as his version of "love"—an act of victory, where he acts as the judge of the battle, where the weak (Sukuna)are destroyed. And he decided to abandon the concept of love, considering it a dependency meant only for the weak and meaningless (now he's above "love" ,he is not a child, a parallel with Yuji and his treatment of him is disdainful-he recognizes himself in him)for the strong.

So he refrains from using his name because he sees himself (specifically, his past self as a child) in him - and despises himself.

Sukuna regarded strength as the sole indicator of success, and it became his driving force, but, like fuel, it only fed his inner hunger, the desire for self-destruction, rather than self?-love. He replaced strength with a sense of his former insignificance. Even being the most powerful, he couldn't stop and didn't find satisfaction, destroying himself, killing his "self" in the process, which ultimately led him to emptiness. - But the fact is that this emptiness is not of a Buddhist nature, not grounding, but self-eating

In the depths of Yuji, there is something that I am sure will turn out to be his hidden power : the ability to transform internal negative emotions into a manifestation of faith in goodness. He will not just suppress these emotions but actively engage in a struggle with them. Yuji uses hatred as a sort of weapon against hatred itself—like fighting fire with fire. He will begin to see "more than he" the idea of hatred as an inner enemy present in each of us, reflected in his own personality, in Sukuna, and in the personalities of those around him.

And thus, Yuji will strive to separate (Cut like Sukuna) his opponents from their "evil" and direct his energy only towards this "evil," which is the opposite of a Sukuna's self-hatred power ,Yuji can be viewed as a mirror reflecting Sukuna's twisted power of love.

Speculation below

The absence of parental love can create a profound void in childhood, leading to a deficiency in emotional support which, in turn, contributes to negative self-perception and attitudes toward oneself and the world. This deficiency often manifests as low self-esteem, self-hatred, and behavioral issues such as aggression or depression. Jacques Lacan's concept of the "mirror" provides insight into how parental relationships sculpt a child's self-perception and psychological development.

It is intriguing to observe how Yuji and Sukuna mirror each other's behaviors.

Identification and emulation: Individuals who lack parental figures may seek to emulate others who resonate with them or serve as role models. This behavior often stems from a desire to comprehend how to appear, feel, and act based on observed traits in others.

Search for emotional connection: People who lacked parental figures or did not receive adequate emotional connection during childhood often strive for intimate relationships with individuals who can fulfill this emotional void.

It's worth noting that characters may not fit perfectly into any one personality type due to their complexity and fantastical nature.

Yuji's identity is deeply intertwined with television. Gege's narrative underscores that he "grew up on television," suggesting that this medium became a surrogate for parental figures and filled the emotional void in his life. His enthusiasm for parodies and karaoke, venues where he could interact with others, reflects his ambiguous sense of individuality, likely influenced by television as his primary source of inspiration and behavioral model. Additionally, his emotionally reserved grandfather deprived him of necessary support during childhood. - if unfounded then Yuji INFJ -INFJs are known as chameleons, adapting to different situations. This clarifies why Yuuji excels in collaborative combat and absorbs lessons from others—he's like a sponge.

Sukuna's depiction as a petulant child reflects emotional immaturity and egocentrism commonly associated with unresolved childhood traumas or deficiencies in parental nurturing. His reactions and demeanor echo characteristics typical of children: egocentrism, emotional volatility, rebellion, and disobedience. His unpredictable behavior mirrors the emotional turbulence of a child grappling with feelings of abandonment or neglect, particularly evident in situations beyond his control or comprehension. - if unfounded then Sukuna INTJ

INFJ : "I may not always understand the intricacies of your emotions on an intellectual level, but I can feel them deeply.It might not intrigue you cold mind , but it brings warmth to your heart." Breathing life into your being."

INTJ: "Your natural stands as an enigma within my ordered world. Yet, I find myself drawn to this anomaly, stirring within me something beyond rational comprehension. This connection, however unconventional, holds a fascination that I cannot ignore."

One feels the other thinks - but they are one -connection between Yuji and Sukuna, suggesting that despite their apparent differences, there is a symbiotic relationship between them. This mean that they influence each other in profound ways, with Yuji's emotional sensitivity complementing Sukuna's strategic thinking, or vice versa. It indicates that their identities are intertwined on a fundamental level, even though they may manifest differently in terms of behavior and personality.

Nevertheless, Sukuna experiences a transformative moment when he acknowledges and embraces the profound love emanating from Yuji. This revelation serves as a form of "enlightenment" or "rebirth," illuminating a path within the darkness of his existence. This is the first time Sukuna encounters unconditional love. For him, it signifies liberation from hidden motives, such as the desire to use others in his childish power games ("me versus you," "who's superior," etc.), simply to kill time. Now, he avoids manipulations he once considered normal but which Yuji interprets as a craving for attention. Yuji doesn't value "power," leading Sukuna to the paradoxical conclusion that he's unloved - the only thing he ever desired. He realizes his past actions were merely theatrics, where he played the leading role, but now, meeting Yuji, everything changes. Yuji doesn't engage in this game, refusing to succumb to the spectacle of death for emptiness' sake. This moment underscores parental resilience, selfless guidance, and dedication to the greater good.

This realization is especially poignant following Sukuna's unsuccessful attempts to break Yuji. Yuji's unwavering loyalty and resilience, directed not towards himself, exemplify a depth of love Sukuna has never encountered. Sukuna's inability to avert his gaze from Yuji, despite the accompanying anguish, underscores his inner turmoil. This revelation challenges his preconceived notions, exposes internal conflicts, and highlights emotional vacancy, reflecting the difficulty he faces in embracing newfound emotions and comprehending the true essence of love and loyalty.

#jjk meta #ryomen sukuna #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen theory #jujutsu kaisen analysis #jjk #jujutsu kaisne spoiler #yuji itadori #jjk manga #manga #anime #jjk spoiler #jjk analysis #jjk 255 #jjk 256 #sukuita

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aliensupersyn · 2 months

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Gege Prefers Deception, and So Does Sukuna

Before, I predicted Sukuna and Maki's dynamic revealed in 253; I also argued that Sukuna would get serious versus Maki. Now, I want to examine what a serious fight for Sukuna looks like.

TLDR: When holding back, Sukuna plays with his food and allows his opponents handicaps. When serious, Sukuna plays dirty, hides his hand, and uses tricks to deceive his opponent to create more advantages for himself. Both Gojo and Maki are the only ones to push Sukuna to use underhanded tactics to best them.

Introduction

Holding back for Sukuna means being less creative and resourceful for the most part. In 253 and 252, Sukuna went back to using underhanded tactics to win a fight. Here's a rundown of how Sukuna fought the rest of the cast:

He faced Kashimo's blast and gave him a warning before using the world dismantle:

Sukuna stood out in the open when everyone gathered to jump him. Choso was the first victim to get speed bltized.

After isolating Higuruma, Sukuna was impressed by his domain amplification and reverted to using world dismantle. He then demanded that Higuruma heal himself to keep fighting while standing out in the open.

Against Yuta, Sukuna stood with an open stance before both him and Rika. I acknowledge that for most of their fight, Sukuna was trapped in Yuta's domain and had few to zero methods of deception available while in the barrier. Here, I focus on Sukuna's demeanor at the beginning because it was equal footing before Yuta's domain expansion.

In all of these fights, Sukuna exposed himself directly to his targets while taunting them. Against Kashimo, Higuruma, Yuji, and Yuta, he was mostly open and obvious with his attacks. He didn't try to hide anything and would even give warnings as a taunt (Kashimo and Higuruma).

A Sneaky Devil

Against Gojo and Maki, Sukuna hides his hands to catch them both off guard.

Sukuna fakes out Gojo by pretending to aim at him, but instead targets the building and attempts to sneak Gojo while he's distracted.

Sukuna used the fire hydrant to create a cover for Mahoraga and himself while he used his pseudo-piercing blood.

Of course, Sukuna also prepared a three vs. one against Gojo, increasing his chances even more against him. Mahoraga and Agito allowed Sukuna to hide in the shadows while Maho prepared an attack that could counter limitless.

After Maki dodged his first dismantle and overpowered him, Sukuna immediately switched back to underhanded tactics. He used the wall to create a cover for himself to fire a world dismantle at Maki, whose vision and hearing was obscured by his distraction. Given the narrator's words that Sukuna had been looking forward to Maki the most after Gojo's defeat, his sudden switch up in attitude makes sense. When Maki showed herself, Sukuna reverted back to the same tactics he used on Gojo, which juxtapose his attitude towards the others. Sukuna switched from an open and exposed demeaner to suddenly obscuring himself behind debris; this is so sudden that Sukuna's purposeful concealment of his technique was one of the main things people talked about after 252 was released. I do not think most people understood the context that I am shaping, but the idea of Sukuna hiding his own hand was jarring nonetheless.

To speak on the narrative, Gege had been writing Sukuna as a cocky fighter for weeks, and in 252 that changed. I do not think many understand that Sukuna reverted back to tactics he used against Gojo, and instead have mostly ignored his change in tactics. My argument and my evidence correlate to Uraume's warning in 252.

Sukuna used more underhanded fighting tactics against only Gojo and Maki; thus I argue that a serious Sukuna is one who does not play fair. An opponent that pushes Sukuna forces him to rely on deception and trickery in order to gain an upper hand against them in an otherwise difficult matchup. Sukuna, at his most serious, is a cheater.

"I won't cheat by revealing my cursed technique."

When Sukuna's taunting his opponent by leaving himself open to their attacks, he's playing with his food. When Sukuna has to get serious, he's an unapologetic cheater.

A General Retrospection

Gojo also used deceptive tactics in the fight against Sukuna. Deception seems to be the main aspect of Gege's fighting choreography. The Jumpjutsu Kaisen meme has merit: characters often group against lone enemies; they often use sneak attacks when possible; and fights can end by outsmarting the enemy, not necessarily overpowering them. While calculating Mahoraga's adaption, in a race against time, Gojo also used the pillar the same way Sukuna used the car against Maki. He set a trap, hid, and attempted to take Sukuna off guard.

Sukuna used the cars nearby to hide and shoot a dismantle at Maki, but she still dodged it. Even then, the car exploded and knocked Maki away and Sukuna used that momentum to catch her in a cleave.

Both Gojo and Sukuna relied on strategy and their power to win; for most competent fighters in jjk, both of these qualities make or break a fight. Though Sukuna's understood to be a patient and strategic person (how he played both Yuji and Megumi), he stopped being himself and became arrogant in front of everyone else.

I've argued about Sukuna reverting to unfair tactics to win against Gojo and Maki, but what did she do? Just like any other competent fighter, Maki also used deception against Sukuna. For one, Maki began her fight with a sneak attack directly to Sukuna's heart. After Sukuna cleaved her, she reappeared while he was distracted and rushed him. While he was unable to defend himself midair, Maki quickly used a pillar against him to send a shockwave that launched him across the room.

Perhaps it was because his cleave apparently did little to no damage against her, but this attack was the final straw for Sukuna. After this, he finally admitted his motivations for fighting Maki.

Uraume's comments may hint at why Sukuna's speed suddenly ramped up against Maki after he entered a state of ecstasy. Maki survived his attacks without much of a scratch all the way up until his final speed spike that chapter. Something that will hopefully be revealed soon may provide an understanding for his apparent escalation in speed throughout their fight. At the beginning of the chapter, Maki dodged a dismantle directly to the face. Just after the car exploded, Sukuna was already inside the building and coming around the corner from Maki. When he was caught off guard, she was able attack him from two different angles within an instant. The face grab was yet another spike in Sukuna's speed.

Sukuna suddenly dropped the sneaky attacks and went straight for Maki's face and a direct punch. It's like he suddenly lost his patience for a strategic battle and went berserk. He hasn't ever done that until now. Even against Mahoraga and Jogo, when he was his most wild and unserious, it was an aura of fun. Against Maki, it was like madness.

It's safe to say a serious Sukuna is a dirty fighter more than anything else. I wonder how black box plays into this interesting trait. Sukuna's escalation of his own speed, and forgoing healing, hint that he may be close to revealing his real technique soon. Last time I tried to predict this, he hit a black flash. I knew something big was coming, it just wasn't the right big one. I don't wanna be wrong about which chapter it will happen, but I think it will be soon.

Notes:

I like that Gege writes JJK's characters to rely on strategy more than overpowering the enemy. It can make some fights messy, but I think it works great for the most part.

Who would make Sukuna use his full CT? Maki.

Since Maki's arc began, Gege always begins her big fights with two prerequisites: she starts off with confidence against her opponent, but then they overwhelm her. At the end of the chapter, she's seemingly killed off. She always gets back up and fights even harder than before after an awakening of some sort.

#jjk #jjk manga #jjk 253 #jjk theory #maki zenin #ryomen sukuna #higuruma hiromi #yuta okkotsu #yuji itadori #gojo satoru

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lxmelle · 1 month

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Thoughts/Ponderings/Musings on ch 236. About Gojo reaching Sukuna, his death, his relationships, etc.

I know there are people who really dislike the characterisation here, expressing that Gojo is likely far more kind and caring for his students, etc.

Gege and his infinite wisdom over his creation seems to like encouraging headcanon kaisen, lol. He certainly keeps things quite true to life and allows the reader to make their own conclusions.

It is not my place as a casual reader to judge his writing, and I will defend it inasmuch as I also had hoped for more: Just because it isn’t explicitly said, doesn’t mean those things we have seen about Gojo aren’t true. I agree that it is also a shame that more wasn’t or couldn’t be included in this chapter to either dispel or confirm, but that’s masterful writing in itself, I guess.

I take small refuge in my interpretation that this is a glimpse of a conversation; as in real life, we ease into conversations. I enjoyed the dynamics and overall tone. I like to remember that each expression was a decision made, and these details can hold a lot of weight in meaning.

So we see that Gojo prefaces with something else and was responding rather specifically to Geto’s question regarding his fight, his end.

Geto, a natural conversationalist, who is said to be good at being at Gojo’s level, enquires about his fight - entering into neutral territory after Gojo expressed frustration and being stunned after his sudden arrival there.

Geto reads him / the atmosphere well and responds to tune the conversation to a level he can reach Gojo, despite possibly having a lot to say and catch up on himself. (Like, we never hear him talk about his family aside from confirming they escaped.)

He is showing respect for his friend. What do they have to rush for, anyway? I don’t think there is a specific afterlife if they chose to go south. Time may be infinite?

—

A lot more under the cut. Feel free to skim and apologies in advance for tangents. I hope it makes sense overall. I tried to make it as cohesive as possible despite being lengthy.

:: Beware the Word Vomit, overall reaching, meta, interpretations, some satosugu shipping, and general weaving and stringing of themes. ::

Disclaimer: I’m fully aware I may be wrong, as I am with many things, and you’re welcome to drop me any comments or thoughts.

One of the glaring issues was the “Sukuna glazing” as some fans called it. To see Gojo having regard for Sukuna’s strength doesn’t take anything away from Gojo imho, but I get it. What was all this reaching that Gojo was expressing? Surely that doesn’t that precedence? Of all things, is this what he’s regretting in what is possibly his last significant scene in the manga?

A part of me relates to this outrage, but then I try to bring myself down, because we are often kept out of what intimacies are exchanged between Gojo and significant ones (Geto, students, etc.) and we aren’t / haven’t been privy to many deep and elaborate reflections of Gojo or Geto. All we get are ellipses “...” and depictions of longing stares that don’t quite betray their honest thoughts.

So, within the context of the above, Geto asks directly and Gojo describes. Of course he’d want to know how Gojo experienced it. He’s always been the one who cared about how Gojo actually feels or experiences things. He might join in a bit of friendly ribbing, but Geto and Gojo communicate on another level with banter, etc. there’s a reason they’re each other’s best friend.

I also see an interpretation where it cycles back to love is the most twisted curse: it can save people, but it may hold you back from being the strongest. Love has been a theme since the origin story in jjk 0. Gojo’s love for his students and Megumi may or may not have affected their chances of success, but he nevertheless cares and bets on the future (students).

Geto has always been shown to be Gojo’s significant person - a safe person, if you will. Thematically, their designs are two parts of a whole. Their fates intertwine in so many ways, only to be separated ultimately to death.

Since, he’s described not feeling lonely anymore, through love for this students (his legacy and will) and even more now (for himself) that he was wrong about dying alone. He had wanted to find a way to bring Geto home (to jujutsu high [Geto’s theme song “come back home” given by Gege is all about this after all]) but despite all that’s happened, he is with him at the airport, and Gojo is satisfied enough with that, but won’t waste time not bridging gaps any longer -

Gojo is so very forthcoming with Geto in his adult years. Given the opportunity in jjk 0, he not only asks for his last wishes, but conveys his as well. He then speaks his heart in his conversation with Geto; he is candid, yet serious.

I’d like to think it’s infused with more emotion than he ever did in their early days. He confirms his feelings to Geto and confesses his desire to have had him there to send him off. More on this later.

In the original version of the manga, Gojo momentarily reverts back to the use of “ore” just once, before it becomes “boku” again - a shift had taken place in him due to what Geto said in the past. To demonstrate that in a few short panels is quite something too. People change; we evolve through the influence of significant others.

Gojo knows loneliness as he has learnt about love in its different forms. To really know it is perchance what Sukuna doesn’t, despite saying he does.

From this point of view, he says he is sorry for him, as he’s got empathy for Sukuna; that Sukuna couldn’t learn what he had wanted to convey, but perhaps the emphasis was more of a pity for him than feeling disappointed.

In a typical Gojo fashion, he captures it clumsily and makes it about strength in his speech, as if punches and skills thrown at each other could convey that it doesn’t have to be lonely and that they could understand each other - that having a peer would be interesting / satisfying - perhaps also seeking a sense of validation himself in Sukuna. It’s possibly also what prompts people like Nanami to call him out on the extreme emphasis on strength. But maybe that’s Gojo’s defence mechanism too, who knows. If Gojo had a love language, would it be fighting talk? Ha ha.

This reminds me of how Gojo was perhaps unintentionally condescending to Geto at the KFC breakup scene - it was the final nail in the coffin for Geto and he shut down completely, remarking the now infamous, “Are you Gojo Satoru because you’re the strongest or are you the strongest because you are Gojo Satoru?” But that’s by the by I guess. It wasn’t as if Sukuna was going in for therapy / love intervention with anyone, lol. Fighting was the conversation.

So moving on, what is Sukuna’s perspective and what could it be that Gojo wanted to convey, and presumably died trying? Looking at the next fight, he is asked directly about his perspective as the strongest in history who stands above the rest.

Sukuna. The pinnacle; the epitome of strength, solitude, and one who has cast away everything - seemingly peacefully - in favour of being formidable at the top. Revered and feared in equal measure.

He is so strong yet he doesn’t need anything the others facing off with him seem to yearn. The all want to reach him for their own reasons. Maybe like disciples chasing the Buddha. What is his message? Can I understand him, and he, me? And then, ourselves?

This fight was supposedly for himself too - but what was he yearning? Gojo at first glance appears to wish to defend himself, everyone, and save megumi. Mourn Geto too. From what we understand, he's been lonely, despite this improving over the past year (through his admission to Geto later on in the airport scene).

The mark of The Strongest has been left: As soon as Gojo became strong, Geto left. Geto didn’t love him for his strength - he had to leave; in part, because feeling out of place and left behind in the a shadow of a person who is now living by “the strongest, alone” hurt, making the ills of the world unbearable, as it tipped the balance greatly for him. He could not see beyond Gojo’s apparent selfless selfishness, and he did the same with his own version of it. He had to pave his own way and build another family & world - even if it was a shell of what he had with Gojo.

But I digress. Gojo had strength but it wasn’t enough to reach Geto. He has been using his Strength as a teacher to foster a new generation, allies, in a bid to change the Jujutsu world in a different way to Geto. Yes, they shared a dream. (I hope this comes back into the picture with Geto's side fighting Sukuna too.)

He sees this curse taking shape - first with Yuji and then Megumi. I can’t imagine the outrage, and how it’s internalised by Gojo. He possibly dissociates to some degree, as one wouldn’t be able to function if they carried the weight of the world (in information and in sensation overload) all the time. He’s trained himself to be selective. So, nevertheless, there is a call to defend his title; he is also bored, wants to be a good example, and plays his part to assist with defeating Sukuna - tries to reach him but maybe it just wasn’t his message to relay. Gojo’s job was done here. He got what he wanted - a satisfying fight. More on this later.

We see the futility this far in reaching Sukuna across chapters. Responding to “love”… Harming those along the way carelessly, as he wanders simply proving his existence, as if that alone is enough to justify and bring it purpose. As a calamity or curse, he doesn’t need to consider what he is.

This is the extreme of what strength is - of what Gojo could have become. Perhaps if he wasn't so deeply touched by having someone complete him, so he could be a brat in his youth and actually trust someone to fall back on. And had he not suffered loss through Geto leaving, would've meant he never had to question himself or experience doubt or longing in his life, as he was gifted, was he not? Or was it actually a curse?

Is it meaningful to be the only one at the top of the mountain where nobody can even reach? What good does the embodiment of strength bring, if there is nobody to recognise that it is, no one to yield the power for to give it meaning, and no use for the sheer magnitude of what you can do to give it purpose?

Sukuna says he knows love and cast it away, finding it worthless, that he responds to others’ strength with love through besting them in a fight. He gets his “kicks” like Gojo did to some degree like in the theme song for Gojo by Aviccii:

(Oh, my, my) That's what I get for lovin' you

(Lie, lie, lie) You know I can't live without you

(Why, why, why?) And all the things you put me through

(Cry, cry, cry) 'Cause I'll get my kicks without you

Life must be pretty monochromatic as The Strongest. Rinse repeat until no one is left.

Following the loss of love, Gojo tried to find meaning and pass the time in ways befitting of him too. Everyone has to find a way to move on, right? But it doesn’t mean everyone feels fulfilled or healed. He drilled skills into his tempered body throughout the years of his existence; he wanted to showcase it all to Sukuna - the reason he fought and battled and trained and developed his incredible sense - his spirit that does so for himself (yes he does get kicks from it) but also for others - because Gojo is an evolved form of The Strongest. Maybe The Strongest 2.0 and Yuta is version 3.0. You get my drift.

Gojo is representing the sorcerers of the modern world. Whilst Gege likes to poke fun and say he is devoid of a personality; I’d say that isn’t it quite natural when your role in life has already been partially determined for you at birth? Further, as a “victim” of circumstance due to the setting, trauma and heavy reliance on Gojo to fulfil all sorcerer duties from a young age (esp after Geto left) can certainly leave you in a state of emotional arrested development.

To reiterate, Gojo, unlike Sukuna, DOES find meaning and purpose in his students. He wised up and found the sense in what he and Geto discussed, learning from the past and adopting certain philosophies that suited him.

But still, as the strongest, Gojo was lonely with the line drawn - as a human being (self/identity) hiding behind a living creature (of strength/facade); Gojo seemed to be saying through the blooming lotuses (flowers growing out of literal muddy waters - rich in religious and cultural sumbolism) that he loves everyone but despite that they couldn’t understand him, and him, them. This is the main interpretation that makes sense as Gojo is talking about himself, his allies (esp Megumi), even possibly Geto, but he is also talking about reaching Sukuna.

Considering the possible interpretations for who the lotuses symbolise... he less common one from my readings thus far would be Sukuna; but it kinda makes sense: Sukuna, who was born to unfavourable circumstances, and similar to Hakari who described the strong looking down at others as if they were dirt. And achieving so much like a rising from the ashes. We also see him glorified as the strongest of all time now.

And it reinforces the “unreachability” (made up a word here) and how it was an impossible task in the first place.

The message being: How can Gojo reach someone who does not want to be reached? This cycles back to what he said to Yaga when Geto left. He cannot save anyone who does not want to be saved by others.

If Sukuna was the lotus, and was a beautiful flower in strength that defied odds to bloom in the murky depths of dirt - he certainly isn’t pure as the flower symbolises, but he certainly is some kind of divinity. But I really don’t want to glorify Sukuna.

I prefer the interpretation of the lotus being Gojo or those around him, but narratively, it is simply possible he is describing several people’s parallels here with how solitude accompanies being strong. Sukuna is like the unreachable Enlightened One. Yet, he strangely doesn’t seem to have a solid sense of identity - there is no “I am the strongest” that Gojo embraces, not that this is anything to hinge one’s identity upon, as it is part of Gojo’s problem.

And yet this still brings us to what Gojo wanted to reach Sukuna with aside from a demonstration of his skills. Does Yuta have anything to add to this, as the next Gojo Satoru?

Yuta, if we can appeal to his character for parallels in messages, and if we can consider him The Strongest 3.0 asked Uro - don’t you have a lover or friends? Implying that if one fights so desperately for their own sake, it reaches a dead end fairly quickly. Just WHO are you fighting for, and doesn’t fighting for yourself get a little old after decades?

Even Toji (without his soul when ressurected) instinctively ended his rampage at the sight of what his reason for living was, his son, albeit he cared for Megumi in a very dodgy roundabout way, fearing his closeness would ruin / stain his son. I’m reminded here of how Geto’s body reacted to Gojo’s voice; momentarily seizing Kenjaku by the throat.

Somehow the bond between Gojo and Geto is marking its significance again, isn’t it? They all had reasons they fought for, and through the many evidences of these, we are allowed insight into recurring ones that may hold more significance than others. You know, like: my students are watching, let’s schedule it on the 24th of December.

These are important things to gojo, he is also showing Sukuna what he doesn’t have. He didn’t need to live like a cursed object for decades, etc and his significance doesn’t die when he does. Yes, a big part of Gojo had craved this “all out” but as he lives his life and engages in the battle, all the pieces of WHY, WHO, and WHAT he is wielding power for start to surface.

As the reader we are finding these Easter eggs along with him, because the narrator and Gojo don’t disclose this openly. Gojo has people modelling this for him throughout his short life, and he seems to be quick on the uptake, despite preaching about strength. Maybe he isn’t terribly aware, but he knows more than he lets on - Gojo had a persona.

We probably can say the same about the “I’d win” scene that pretty much foreshadowed his defeat. That kind of a Champion enters the ring without fighting talk?

The scene depicting him reflecting upon his first ever defeat showed him to be chasing a “high” of satisfaction from going all out and fulfilling the itch of Boredom and Loneliness that plagues the unimaginably strong. Pursuing and honing his skill, getting stronger and stronger, drew him further and further away from anything meaningful - ending up in a state where he never really gets the satisfying release he craves.

Like a runner who is only allowed to run at 5kmph for a short distance; an artist who isn’t able to paint their desired masterpiece; a singer whose voice can only whispered to an audience; the strongest weightlifter who can only utilise 20% of his max strength... How terribly dissatisfying.

How stifling it is to have such a limitation. And yes, his skill is limitless. How ironic indeed - the repression, the impotence strength imposes.

And while we are on skill/technique names, others have pointed out before - unlimited void? What a perfect description of what felt meaninglessness / existential emptiness is.

The underside of this however was how it also alluded to the possibility that he was going to experience another enlightenment - but of a final kind of his physical form. It implies he was tired from his isolation or that there was at least no remedy for it, and therefore his present sense of fulfilment was to engage in battle and enjoy it - although he recognised signs of defeat - it would be satisfying as he could go all out or die trying.

It would fulfill the purpose of his existence as The Strongest contender anyway. He, could be the victor, or the pawn, who plays his part in the universe. His reigning time as the champion needed to be defended with dignity anyway. It reminds me of his conversation with Megumi about death and being selfish.

I mean, that's just imbued with meaning there. A whole post needs to be dedicated to It, and I'm not the subject matter expert by a long mile. Gojo’s bottom line was that strength did define him; he was born with it.

Watching Megumi possibly minimise his worth and clip his wings without pursuing / living up to his potential may be a waste, as a person who inherited the skills that took their ancestors down. However, the selfish path may not be for everyone.

Other writers’ meta I’ve read seem to touch on this too - that Gojo unwittingly became a form of the old Jujutsu world himself due to being a product of it himself, but he did do his best by his students to inspire change. This, to me, speaks volumes about him entrusting them to live out their paths upon his passing - what could he do in death, anyway? He taught them the importance of accountability and his own version of the truth - that power and strength - living to your potential is certainly one way of living, and they can expect to die alone, so make the most of their youth!

We witnessed Gojo making preparations for the match, following setting the date on 24th December. How romantic of Geto, to try and either seek Rika in jjk 0 or die to Gojo’s hand - and then now, Gojo, who may mourn Geto again, or die trying on the same day. It begs the question: was he also secretly at peace with the possibility of dying to Sukuna? At not being the strongest? It seems that him being a pragmatist (or “resignation man” as Gege apparently once put it) he would find some peace, especially since he was Geto in the afterlife and could see that his soul wasn’t trapped in his physical body or something - their corpses could be left to the living and Shoko, which seems to be the faithful stance they both take in trusting the living to “carry on” their respective teachings.

Nevertheless, Gojo is trying to reach Megumi here. But as the incredibly gifted, talented, and strongest - albeit as cursed as it is to be afflicted with it all, Gojo may not empathise with the struggles of the weaker. It is reminiscent of how he approaches the battle with Sukuna in the first place. He was challenged and he accepted.

A sport. That's not to say he lost sight of the bigger picture - we saw Gojo making preparations for a possible reality where he does not return.

Unfortunately, his skills also lend towards fighting alone, unless they were back-to-back with him. (I still hold onto the belief he and Geto could be a dynamic duo). Which Sukuna also used against him in their match in order to not get hit. Gojo has never learnt what it would be like to fight with others and it's old-fashioned egoist rules about matches when viewing it as a sport rather than of survival. But, Gojo had changed enough to feel he could reach Sukuna and had desired to impart something - maybe to have significance or be regarded by an equal - once again - for this would be of utmost satisfaction for him to receive.

He had learnt a whole lot about things in his short life. He did well. In a final battle of 3 vs 1? Against Sukuna in the body of Megumi and the 10 shadows that his ancestors had died to? That’s already unprecedented. But strength aside, Gojo had reached many people and it’s time for him to pass on the baton and be where he wants to be, in the version of himself where he is the happiest.

Gojo admits to being wrong about dying alone, further listening to how Nanami and Haibara reflected on the former's death betting on the future seemed to solidify some kind of understanding for him.

That he didn’t have regrets either. He, too, fought for a purpose beyond seeing satisfaction of being strong; it just became evident as it surfaced to his awareness. With his six eyes, he couldn’t see everything. With limitless, he couldn’t reach it all either. Even if you have everything, you can’t do anything. It is not enough to just be strong. And Gojo wasn’t just strong in the end.

He may or may not have reached Sukuna, but maybe, just maybe, in being wrong about dying alone, the necessity for everyone to be both selfless and selfish, was enough for Gojo. To reach and arrive at: Acceptance.

Seems pretty good to me, to be at peace.

—

“The absolute strongest, the loneliness that follows, the one who will teach you about love is... “

Yorozu’s haunting words.

Gojo is not the strongest anymore

Gojo didn’t feel lonely anymore

The one who will teach has taught him about love is...

You, Geto Suguru. It started with you, and it ends with you.

—

Yes, sound the alarm! It's satosugu brainrot headcanon.

Gojo seems to be saying, and I’ll phrase this as if he were speaking to Geto in his mind’s voice:

Yes, I was undeniably the strongest; until I wasn't. It was a fun fight. My students are my legacy; I trust them to take it from here too. They know they have the permission to be selfish. I trust that they have their own wisdom to know the difference; it is up to them now. I did my best to change the world that let us down in our youth; and fostered and shielded those under my care as best as I could with what I had. I think they had some good memories; I sought to give them a flavour of what we had, preserving the treasure that it was for us. I was never the teacher type, but I wanted to do something and clung onto a dream you and I shared.

I responded to others who loved me and surrounded me for my strength (living creature); but for me as a human, I am undeniably greedy and longed, pined for you (the only one who saw me: Satoru). You held the space as my one and only. I let you go back then in Shinjuku, and couldn’t let your body go when you died, and you came back as a puppet... I didn’t get to mourn you, but here we are: dying on the same date a year apart. Others still don’t quite get me (like Nanami and Haibara) but they understand the creature that is a part of me. They accept me; in itself, it’s enough, for a part of it is true.

As for the rest of me: you complete me with your understanding of me; parts of me that I don’t see or have forgotten. Just as unchanging as it was before, I’ve only ever needed you to satisfy me (and ease my solitude) ; no matter who filled the space around me, your absence spoke the loudest, because your presence alone would have been the most profound - I’d have felt satisfied / complete.

And yes, I am 100% romanticising here. Unashamedly!

—

A more pragmatic take would be:

He could be quite simply implying that he carried a guilt for the longest time and the one thing he couldn't achieve was to bring his best friend back home to Jujutsu High. I mean I adore Teacher AU and I'm totally open to this more shonen interpretation too.

The finale was as he entered the other land, in a dreamlike state, he sees Geto, remembers he’s tasked Shoko to tell Megumi, demonstrating he has infinite faith in the next generation to survive, and it’s sufficient, it seems, to have a death without regret.

We see Sukuna offering recognition of his skill and existence after he is slashed, laying on the floor, as it begins to snow. A small smirk appears that seems to also mirror the same on his expression in the cover of volume 26. Satisfaction. Gojo might’ve been a worthy opponent and reached Sukuna in that regard after all; maybe love was not his lesson to teach Sukuna. He has died a noble death befitting of a warrior to be surrounded by camellias.

Gojo Satoru passes onto the afterlife and heads south.

—

It’s controversial somehow; it is both enough, and leaves me wanting more. Here’s to hoping it’s not the last of Gojo (or Geto).

Maybe I did just want to dream a little. Thanks for reading if you made it this far. My tapestries tend to get quite complicated, and I wouldn’t blame anyone if they bailed!

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chuluoyi · 1 month

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since you’re asian figures you wont even care whether gojo is racist or not 🤷🏿‍♀️

i really don’t want to deign you with an answer, nonnie seriously (bc you’re ridiculous and why are we discoursing about whether a fictional character is racist/not? you should go for gege akutami instead) but i’ve seen a lot of reactions and you’re my last straw so i think i might after all

first of all, i’m not defending any racist allegations. what gojo (or rather gege akutami) said in that one manga panel constitutes as micro-aggression. but unlike you, i’m not using negative lens to see it, rather, i’m seeing the bigger picture:

let’s be real, gege won’t want to lose his job or getting cancelled bc he’s caught being a racist

the context -> what is gojo doing in that one manga panel? he’s describing miguel’s CE. he’s saying that due to his build and etc, he is impressive. does he mean any malice in it? no. is he hateful? no either. he’s praising him even

in conclusion: he’s stating facts. but since gege has to get into his character, gojo seems ignorant about it. it’s actually in-character for him and not ooc at all, in my opinion, bc gege creates him to be socially inept and not able to relate to his peers

have you ever thought it’s also gege’s way to educate his readers? that they can’t be carelessly pointing out someone’s physique? they have to apologize for it

final conclusion: gojo comes off as being racist, yes, but i believe gege akutami doesn’t mean it that way. he’s explaining miguel’s CE in gojo’s way. i don’t need anyone to agree with this bc frankly, i don’t care about what others think about a fictional character’s racist tendencies. but if you come to my askbox with this topic so rudely, then this is what i’m telling you: touch grass

and now let me ask you something in return. how does me being asian relate to me not caring about racism or not?

#🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️#just a psa: if you’re racist pls dni #—chu’s mailbox 📬

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neonscandal · 3 months

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something I wanted to understand, the author said that satoru was quite a womanizer, but then he said that geto was much more popular among women than satoru I didn't understand

Technically, the author said that they didn't see Gojo being faithful to one or a certain woman not that he was a womanizer.

With what we know about Gojo (and Gege Akutami's trolling ways, for that matter), I think that's up for interpretation.

FAN INTERPRETATION

Fans really took that sentiment and kind of ran with it because, to us, Gojo is high spec in every way. Canonically good looking, tall, competent at like.. everything according to Akutami, strong and presumably loaded. Of course someone like that would be a womanizer, right?

Except Gojo is an oversized child who still kinda refers to Digimon in conversation and primarily hangs out with 16 year olds. People project a lot of their BS onto him because they can't imagine ticking all those boxes and not being an asshole. But he’s a corny dork who is seemingly impervious to the outright disdain of most of the people around him. IT’S COMICAL. Personally, I think this interpretation is incorrect, demonstrably.

The other side of the fandom is naturally like... well of course he couldn't stay faithful to one woman. He's been faithful to Geto for ten years! I think we know what camp I've pitched my tent in *gestures vaguely to the rest of my blog* Especially when you bear in mind that Gege Akutami specifically designed Gojo and Geto to be intrinsic complements of one another.

CANON

I'm not so SatoSugu addled (once the brain rot sets in, it's terminal) that I am unable to disclose the secret third way we can interpret this. Canonically, when we look at Gojo as a character... it almost makes sense to assume he's simply not interested in dating at all.

Empirically finds it hard to relate to others

Even when he does care for others, he's still emotionally shallow and aware of it

Gojo clan leader with all associated unpleasantries and responsibilities from a young age

Single benefactor to two children; assumes direct responsibility over two more by staving off their execution

First line of defense for all of jujutsu society

Has a grand design of toppling said jujutsu society

Has experienced devastating loss which informs the grand design of his life's mission and he's always plotting, even when it comes to the seemingly altruistic act of "adopting" the Fushiguro kids or pressing Yuta and Yuji to learn under his care. When you consider that context, it furthers the idea that he's pretty divorced from emotion. Like, he wants them to have a childhood but its still at the pleasure of his convenience and ultimate purpose.

LOOK at this gorgeous, gorgeous boy from pop layer art because I need it and, when I covet, you must also covet. Edit: I'd accidently copied the wrong link there! It's been fixed 💙

In universe, we've seen maybe two canonical couples: Yuta & Rika and Hakari & Kirara (to be animated). This supports the fact that Gege's not really concerned with injecting "romance" into the plot unnecessarily. Undeniably and supporting the SatoSugu agenda, however, is the fact that JJK 0 very much aligned Gojo & Geto with Yuta & Rika with the theme coming to a head in season 2 with Gojo's sealment. For clarity, I mean how love ultimately cursed Rika and Geto after death by Yuta's begging her not to leave and Gojo not properly disposing of Geto's body. Love turned Rika into a curse and allowed Kenjaku to swoop in on Geto.

GETO'S POPULARITY

Geto is, quite literally, popular with everyone in universe and that was before he became a cult leader... which also indicates a predilection for popularity, I guess? As a character, he is principled, thoughtful, gentle and strong. I think, collectively, we tend to toil over the fact that Gojo spent more time missing Geto than he actually knew him. But... that's the same for Shoko and Nanami. After Geto's defection, Nanami couldn't forsake him even if he morally couldn't approve of his actions. Over ten years later as the night parade of a hundred demons is set to take place, Yaga starts saying something along the lines of finally getting rid of the scourge that is Suguru Geto and Shoko makes it a point to leave. I think it's because, after everything, she still holds affection and pity for Geto and would rather not hear him being bad-mouthed for breaking under the pressure of things.

He was the best of them, after all.

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blog-of-hubris · 7 months

Text

Jujutsu Kaisen 236: Heading South

This is probably the craziest chapter for the JJK community (rightfully so), and I have been on the fence about writing this up. It won't be super long, I hope… but there are a few things from the chapter I want to highlight.

So once you get past this cut, be prepared to see me bare all in my emotions and analysis for this amazing chapter Gege has given us!

P.S FORGIVE ME IF THIS META SUCKS! I AM OUT OF PRACTICE!!

The Afterlife

None of the jujutsu kaisen fandom is new to death. It is quite the opposite, actually. Characters that the fans love are put in life or death scenarios with no guarantee of them getting out. Even simple side characters that fans enjoy are subject to death, so pandering has never been Gege's thing. For me, the death of Gojo is emotionally hard because I love him, but his death isn't what moved me in this chapter… it was his experience in the afterlife.

The beginning of the chapter is us seeing Geto walking up to Gojo and Gojo reacting sourly. Of course this is him realizing he lost, but before I get into the words shared, I want to focus on the environment Gege gave us. We don't see adult Geto and Gojo, but the hidden inventory or teenage versions of them. I think everyone knows the reasoning behind this is because this is Gojo's “ideal time” of his life. His time as an adolescent with Geto by his side was when he was the happiest.

The fact Gojo form reverts to those days is so sad. To me, it reflects that Gojo never left the past. Everyone he encounters is from his time as a teenager, even showing us Ririka, her maid and even TOJI. (Toji appearing there was a fucking SHOCK to me… that's something else entirely to unpack for another time.) It is very sad seeing Gojo admit in many ways that he didn't feel truly happy after Geto's death. He became the strongest, and that even separated him from Geto, the person who would have given him satisfaction as a living being, not a jujutsu sorcerer. No matter how much he loved everyone, he knew that people could never understand him. But he felt that he could pour that feeling into Sukuna, since he is the only other being to be separated by others in that way.

On top of that, the dead group seem to be in an airport, symbolizing death and taking flight to a new land. This all makes sense when you think about the context of the chapter discussing heading north or south. The airport represents the flight into the next part of the soul's existence. I don't have too much to add on that specific theme, but I implore you to look up the symbolism for yourself.

A Curse Can Save People...

Is anyone else geeking with excitement over the fact that this chapter confirms the connection the living world has with the dead? Gojo literally asks Nanami how was his death, and we get Haibara explaining how he jumped in. This was the confirmation that what Gojo was seeing couldn't be a dream because how could he imagine receiving information that no one except Nanami would know.

This means a lot to me, because it deepens the level of meaning behind Nanami's death. In the moments of his death, he knew he was cursing Yuji, but that curse was exactly what Yuji needed to understand the gravity of his new life and choices he made. Specifically for Nanami, this was his final turning point. He chose to bet on the future instead of believing in the usual way of doing things. Haibara jumping in, was him reaching over from the other side, which implies (at least to me) that your loved ones are always watching even in death. I believe that is the “curse” that stays on jujutsu sorcerers, but also can be their saving grace in their last moments.

At the end of the day, the living cannot understand the dead, hence why Yaga said that all sorcerers die with regrets, but the truth is in those final moments only the dead can understand the curse placed upon them. It is the hindsight that creates an atmosphere of understanding, and only then will a person know if the choices they made truly made them happy. Even for Yaga specifically, him cursing Gakuganji was him reliving himself of burden and regret. “My Curse unto you” is literally a curse that saved Gakuganji from being a puppet of the higher ups. I love how Gege is perfectly tieing all the knots together!

Gojo was cursed by love (geto), and felt he was separated by everyone until his final moments, but those who knew him when he wasn't “the strongest” are those that are there to comfort him as he heads south. I love that Gojo was able to get this final moment with those that he loves, and I hope that this is where they are all experiencing their time. It makes me wonder if THIS is the place Kenjakub discussed (in between dreams and reality).

I will never forget you for as long as I live…

I won't explain the 4 dimensional slash that Sukuna used in this post, but if you would like me to do a more detailed explanation, just let me know in the comments!

What I want to talk about is Sukuna and how this fight impacted him. I think Gojo was wrong when he said his feelings didn't reach Sukuna. In fact, Sukuna saying he will never forget Gojo is him acknowledging that Gojo's feelings did reach him. The King of Curses has not acknowledged a single character in the way he acknowledged Gojo. Even with Jogo, he called him strong but the words “I will never forget you…” + a genuine smile is so powerful that it gave me chills. (Not to mention he is doing this in Megumi's body… it hurts me.)

I am proud of Gojo because he fought his hardest and got the acknowledgement he wanted, but I think this conclusion shows that Gojo was never as selfish as Sukuna. He was never as alone as Sukuna is, even with Uraume by his side, Sukuna still exuded a sense of loneliness that caused Yozoru to chase after him. Gojo still believes in the next generation, but he still represents the old generation. I personally don't think his death is necessary to symbolize the next generation stepping up, but when you think about it, many of the adult sorcerers we are introduced to (with relevance) have been killed off. This topic can divulge into what Gege is trying to do with progression of the Jujutsu world (giving gakuganji a change of heart and establishing him as a leader for the next generation, for example). I can see how Gojo's death is the literal nail in the coffin, ending the influence of the old generation… Leaving Shoko and Gakuganji to be there as support for the future.

I digress, the point I want to make here is that Gojo did the best he could do to show Sukuna "love" and I wonder what else Gege is going to do to continue that plot point. I also need to see how Megumi will tie into this, because I know his soul is going to play an important role in all of this, I just cannot pinpoint how exactly.

In Conclusion

I will most likely be doing a write-up for every chapter from here on out because I know this situation is going to get deeper. I will be watching Gege's movements closely and can't wait to see how it is all put together!!!

Will Megumi wake up? What is Kashimo's technique gonna be? How will Sukuna counter it? Will Yuta and Maki jump in? WILL MEGUMI WAKE UP??!?!?!?!

#jjk meta #jujutsu kaisen #manga #dh🍵#jjk #Chapter 236 #jjk chapter 236 #gojo death #cursed energy

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diorsbrando · 4 months

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cw ━━ ! minors, ageless and blank blogs DO NOT INTERACT. this is a toji-centric fic (exclusively from his pov with third person narration) so it doesn’t truly have a reader, but the “woman” often being mentioned throughout is afab. loosely based on chapter 75 of the manga. contains heavy (ish) angst + and descriptions of angst. contains nsfw and descriptions of explicit scenarios, including penetrative sex (reflecting on it already happening) and masturbation (m. receiving, mentions of dried cum). metaphorical (sort of??) depictions of dark themes (i.e., nonexistent “voices”, bad coping skills, toji’s deep emotional and mental trauma, hints of dissociation, etc.). toji is emotionally stunted n constipated and therefore kinda rude. i’m trying to depict him as realistically as possible. lmk if i missed something ♡.

word count ━━ ! 2.0k

notes ━━ ! i posted this fic last night but i am reposting because it wasn’t showing up in the tags (sobs loudly) so i'm sorry for tagging everyone again. i hope you all enjoy this though. wanted highlight an important aspect of toji's life (after mamaguro's death) in a different way bc a lot of the fandom glosses it over w/ jokes. they can be funny or whatever but what this man has been through is actually sad and must have been difficult. since gege refuses to give more backstory on him, i wanted to try and verbalize a more somber, realistic version of toji and dissect him a bit. hopefully i did well characterizing him in this context. reblogs and commentary are very much appreciated!!!!

TOJI'S RAGGED BREATHS SOON evened out after a few minutes. His strong, scarred chest resumed its normal pattern and pacing of its rises and falls. The tail end of his constrained groans of pleasure and expletives lingered in the air along with the stuffy aroma of sex.

With his head resting against the headboard of this woman's bed━ a woman whose name briefly escaped from his mind━ and his increasingly soft cock resting in his callous palms, Toji's eyes slowly pried themselves open and were motionlessly glued to the white ceiling.

He laid there in that position, unmoving, for at least five minutes. Silence swallowed up the space of the room, except for the distant sound of a shower running directly across the hall.

At present, all Toji had the energy for was to breathe and blink. He didn't even move to immediately rid himself of his own ropes of cum that were beginning to harden in his hand in spots on his inner thighs.

Like a spark of static electricity giving him a miniscule jolt of energy, Toji found it within himself to drag his dark, jade irises over to the bedroom door that was slightly ajar, and stared at it as he listened to the water from the showerhead rain on the woman bathing herself.

The events of the last couple of hours replayed throughout his mind's eye as he blankly stared at the entryway. He thought about how he met the woman at one of the establishments he preferred to gamble his money at and how her sugary smile sweetened his silver tongue. He pondered over how he somehow persuaded her to take him back to her very nice apartment, and how he in return gained a place to lay low and rest for the next week or so, by coaxing her with his words and his well-endowed cock.

A gruff, sardonic chuckle fell from his parted lips when he then started thinking about the intercourse he engaged in with this woman. Despite how good it was, despite how her cunt squeezed and fluttered around him, at the end of it all, he still had to resort to pumping his own length like a touch deprived teenager just to obtain that release that's been building up over the last few hours.

Mentally shaking away the lethargy that plagued every square inch of his brain and body, the former Zen'in lifted his head and directed his vision at his bare lap and the sheets that pooled around his knees. Allowing his head fall forward a bit, his inky black hair acted as curtains to conceal his scarred face━ and the other thoughts that lurked in the shadows of his mind that threatened to reveal themselves on his countenance.

If this is what post-nut clarity truly felt like, Toji would have preferred to remain in the state of blissful ignorance and perpetual 'arousal' forever.

He's never felt so blinded by his reality than he did in this moment.

As he thought over this, dark tendrils of smoke rose and slithered out from his repressed memories, suffocating his consciousness like a python squeezing the life out of its prey. He ignored the sensation and its whispers that told him that that wasn't true. He lent a deaf ear to its reminders that he had always been cognizant.

Toji had always been painfully aware of his feelings and the realities that were constantly handed to him. The reality of the life he ran away from, the reality that crumbled away and died with his wife, and of the fucking pathetic reality that stared at him in the face in the form of his dried seed and some stranger's bed. Deep down he unfortunately remembered and was aware of everything. He only became increasingly more conscious, as the months and years toiled by, that he didn't want to be. It was less of a pain that way.

But goddamn it, sometimes his mind was too sharp for its own good, his thoughts strayed too far that it would pierce his very heart and soul.

Toji's vacant gaze was no longer trained on his hands, but more like past them━ into the metaphysical void of space itself, and he was dragged deeper into thoughts he didn't like to revisit or linger on. Everything around him seemed to become muffled and faded into nonexistence.

Toji had previously believed that he didn't care how he lived anymore, as long as he got paid what he was owed and someone didn't try to assassinate him as he slept, then everything else was fine. He believed that going through life like this was no big deal, that this ephemeral living situation didn't bother him. He again ignored the tendrils that reminded him that it did.

A grimace of contempt formed on his face when he subconsciously compared his current behavior of jumping from woman to woman to that of some kind of male prostitute. It shouldn't have bothered him, really━ wasn't like he put a gun to any of their heads or something. It was their problem if they wanted to spread their legs for him, and he enjoyed sex, relatively free meals and some extra spending cash here and there. None of that was supposed to tug uncomfortably at his soul but it did.

And it made sense that it did, when memories of his late wife still flashed in his mind from time to time━ like at this very moment, for example. She appeared whenever his eyes fluttered shut for too long or when he was pulled so far underneath the surface of his own thoughts. Strangely enough, this wasn't exclusive to after having sex with another woman or mindless masturbating.

He was supposed to have gotten rid of that stupid self-respect, this dignity and its adjacent shame, that still lingered in the back of his chest.

He promised himself that he wouldn't live by such standards of pride anymore. He hasn't for a long time, and has been doing well but. . . . but why did the specters of doubt still haunt him so? Hasn't he suffered enough? Those remnants and emotions of an existence that slipped through the cracks and fell into the abyss, shouldn't be able to reach him all the way up here.

But they did.

Toji wasn't as foreign to doubt, to shame, to pride & to self-respect as he thought he was. He'd just been fooling himself. He had always been very persuasive.

None of those things had ever done him any good anyway. All they did was remind him that he was still human.

A useless sentiment. One that no longer mattered.

He shifted his head to the right, gaze hooded before he briefly closed his eyes━ as if he were trying to avert his attention away from something disturbing━ in a feeble attempt to extinguish the wispy embers of his thoughts and ignore its voice.

But Toji’s soul would always smolder with rejection, a characteristic of his that was so deeply ingrained into the fabric of his existence, it wouldn't dissipate no matter how much he wanted it to. His acceptance or refusal of this notion would always be apart of him━ it would always define who he was, whether he welcomed it or not.

But he didn’t care. Caring would make him feel, and reflect and remember too much, and he wasn't really itching to do any of those things anymore.

He only opened his eyes again by a few centimeters, his long dark lashes nearly obscuring his vision completely. His broad shoulders faintly slumped forward, and the fist he didn’t know was clenched into a fist relaxed itself. Like everything else, he ignored the dull ache his short finger nails caused, creating crescent shaped marks on his hand.

The large man hadn't realized the woman was finished with her shower until his ears picked up the sound of her feet on the hardwood floor. The padding noise that steadily increased in volume was enough to break Toji free of his torpid stupor, allowing him to swing his legs over the bed and finally stand up.

Stretching out his limbs and rolling his shoulders, his muscles flexed and shifted across the wide planes of his marred but statuesque body.

As he began looking around for his shirt and boxers, his phone vibrated on the bedside table. Toji picked up and answered without even bothering to check who it was, because there were only two people that had this particular number. And one of those people had an unfortunate "accident” during a previous job.

“What is it?” he answered, slightly startling himself with his own voice; it didn’t quite sound like it came from his mouth. It seemed a little raspier, rougher around the edges, and deeper than usual, like he hasn't spoken in long time.

“Now is that any way to greet the person who so generously hands you on a silver platter?” Shiu Kong’s equally deep but honey-smooth voice reverberated in Toji’s ear.

Toji’s eye roll was practically audible as Shiu chuckled mirthfully on the other line, already imagining the look on his client’s face.

Without having to turn around, he sensed the presence of the woman he was currently “staying” with enter the room. He couldn’t even be bothered to acknowledge her wrapping her arms around him from behind and kissing his upper back before floating off to her vanity and closet, which sat on the other side of the room closer to the door.

Still, even though he wasn’t next to her, Toji knew he couldn’t speak as freely as he would of liked now, which irritated him.

“Do you have something for me or not?”

“I wouldn’t be calling if I didn’t.”

After listening to what Shiu had to say, and agreeing to confirm the meeting spot via text, the phone call between them ended as swiftly as it started. Toji sighed.

Another job.

Another chance to earn money.

And although he didn’t wholly or immediately admit it to himself, it was his new distraction, and another chance to reject the wretched society that birthed him.

Toji had unknowingly zoned out trying not to think too hard about this, before the woman’s voice regained his attention by cutting through the air like a knife on a chopping board.

“Did you hear me? I was just asking who that was? . . . . Are you okay?”

The raven haired man remained still for a moment before directing his stare at the woman. He was nearly staring down his nose at her, confusion, concern and light curiosity laced in her own eyes.

The silence carried on for what felt like ages, Toji’s mostly unreadable but still intimidating expression scalded the space in between them.

But, as if his thoughts and whatever emotions it mirrored were never there to begin with, the corners of his mouth twitched upwards, and the scar that stretched across his lips curved with them in tandem. His smirk looked disarming— maybe even harmless, but something about it felt cold and wolfish, as if it weren’t genuine.

“I’m really sorry if this comes as a bit of a shock and disappointment to you, but if I'm not mistaken, I believe the phone call came through my phone. Not yours, and not ours. Thanks for the concern though, sweetheart.”

As he headed towards the door, still bare as the day he was born, Toji didn’t miss the opportunity to glide a heavy hand across the woman’s delicate shoulder blades, his grin widening by a fraction when she tried and failed to suppress a shudder.

“Oh, and um I made a little bit of a mess on the sheets after you left so, you might wanna clean that up. Probably already dried up by now. Sorry 'bout that,” his voice dipped low, utterly tantalizing as he whispered against the woman’s earlobe. The man didn’t even stick around to see her reaction, as he was already out the door and making his way to the bathroom for his own shower.

When the water warmed up to his liking, he didn’t waste any time stepping in and letting the droplets cascade down his body and relax his muscles.

Running his left hand through his hair to push it out of his face, he inhaled and exhaled deeply. Toji was able to silence and cool down the smoldering coal that burned at the bottom of his soul, the opaque tendrils retracting back to whence it came.

Just . . . . nearly.

(#) @triangularz @stygianoir @valentineluvu @ramonathinks @valentineluvu @ryukenzz @gabzlovesu @luxesiren @honeybleed @blkjupiters @souyaszn @sxphyroth . let me know if you wanna join my tag list ♡. again i apologize for tagging folks twice, this is a repost of the original 💔

#໒꒱ newborn stand ─ sosa’s filez #praying this shows up in the tags this time #jujutsu kaisen #jjk fanfic #jjk x reader #toji fushiguro #shiu kong #toji zenin #toji x reader #toji fushiguro x reader #toji x you #toji x fem reader #toji fushiguro fanfic #toji fushiguro x you

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hualianisms · 9 days

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TGCF Audio Drama Ep 12 pt 2: XL gambles himself in exchange for one night of HC's company

[context: see part 1 translation. basically, after the Gambler's Den dice-throwing scene, SQX & LQQ need a distraction to investigate Ghost City, so XL gambles against HC to cause a distraction. XL asked for HC to accompany him for one night as the prize if XL wins. HC has just agreed.]

HC: Alright.

Ghosts: (shocked) Chengzhu agreed!

HC: However, what this gege seeks is of considerable value. It's also my first time.* Accordingly, the stake you bet on must also not be arbitrary.

XL: Of course, it cannot be arbitrary.

HC: However, there's a small matter gege must be reminded of. The last thing gege has on his person, he has already lost to me yesterday.

XL: Ah… Yes indeed. Please wait. I will search again. …Um… I…. Here… (searches his sleeves and pockets and finds nothing)

Ghost 1: I say, Daozhang, if you really have nothing to gamble with, why not just use your clothes to gamble with? Every time you lose one round, take off one layer of clothes!

HC to ghost 1: Shut up.

Ghost maiden: Daozhang, what is that which you're wearing on your neck?

XL: (takes out the necklace of HC's ashes) Are you referring this?

Ghost maiden: This ring looks like a really amazing treasure.

XL's thoughts: This is what San Lang gave me…

HC: This gege, do you wish to bet on this ring, and gamble with me in a game of victory or defeat?

XL: …I can't do that.

HC: Oh? Why not?

XL: This item is far too precious, it cannot be carelessly handled and disposed of.

HC: It's been given to you, so it's yours to do with as you please. Why can't it be carelessly handled?

XL: That's all the more reason I can't. This is the kind of gift I do not accept. If I do accept it, then of course I must treasure it, only then I can be worthy of the sincere intentions behind it. How can I possibly use it to gamble, and squander it away frivolously?

Ghosts: So that's how it is, there's even these sincere intentions behind the gift!

Ghost Maiden: But this can't be used, that can't be used, then Daozhang, what do you have left?

XL: (Sheepishly) …It seems… The only thing left is me.

HC: Alright.

XL: (blinks) …What?

HC: You.

Ghost maiden 1: Wonderful! If you lose, you can sell yourself and come here to wash clothes and fold bedsheets for old Chengzhu, serve tea and pour water for him!

Ghosts: What a great idea! Yeah! Yeah!

SQX: You'd better not agree. This bet has no winning odds!

XL: Alright, I will place my bet!

HC: (chuckles) Great.

Ghosts: Xiao Daozhang, you will definitely lose!

SQX: (gloomily) This time, we're really done for!

XL to SQX: Don't worry. This time I might not lose. You guys, go quickly [to investigate Ghost City].

[Translation notes:]

*This line is likely also innuendo (subtextually). the CN line here literally means "It's also the first time for me", which on the surface mean HC's first time accepting such a request. But the subtext seems to imply it can also mean HC's first time (sexually). The ghosts clearly interpreted the sexual meaning as they were gossiping later in this episode that "Someone wants to gamble for Chengzhu's 初夜!" 初夜 refers to "wedding night" i.e. the first night of a marriage where the marriage is expected to be consummated for the first time.

Essentially HC is saying, since XL wants something of such great value' (HC's company; subtext implying HC's first time), then XL must also give something of equal value i.e. "You". I interpret it as HC deliberately trying to leverage the value/rarity of XL's request as an excuse to get something just as intimate from XL in return. The way HC said "You." was so slow and seductive hahaha

Bonus: there's also a part later in this episode where the ghosts are gossiping and hilariously misinterpreted. A ghost said "I heard that Chengzhu's brother wants to gamble him and steal away his wedding night" (aka first time) 😭 As that line is from the uncensored revised novel, I assume MXTX wrote it to make fun of how censorship wants to turn hualian into just Very Good Bros.

#tgcf audio drama #hualian #xie lian #hua cheng #my translation #tgcf audio drama spoilers #unfortunately i cant translate the actual xl vs hc gamble bc its a whole ass game of 5 riddles (sort of)#where xl uses too much literary/classical style of speech thats way above my pay grade 😭😭#when I'm free I'll translate the part where XL lost and basically says he hands himself over to HC (since he had betted himself)

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prettypei · 5 months

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hi i'm here to request again! may i have another drabble with gojo, choso, yuta, kashimo and kamo! could you please write about how he accidentally discovers that gender neutral s/o is a good singer and used to be in an award-winning school choir? thank you!!

some context: s/o doesn't like to brag or even care enough to behave like that, so he isn't aware of the fact that s/o is an all-rounder and has many hidden skills and talents! (it's all thanks to their hardworking, passionate nature but also having countless hobbies due to their curious personality)

oh i just remembered... regarding the previous request, gege once said that gojo is canonically good at everything so he doesn't want to be too involved or attached to things. i think it's safe to say that he's actually good at cooking hahaha

plot: them with reader who's good at singing; fluff

reader: gn! Reader

characters: gojo, choso, yuta, kashimo, kamo

warnings: kashi’s is a bit angsty at first

a/n: HI ANON!! Your requests are so cute to write yayaya! Fun fact: I was in the school choir in elementary! also I want to believe that gojo is vulnerable in some aspects of his character so he doesn't get too cocky LOL but I'll keep that in mind so I can write more accurate reqs :3 also for those who want to request in the future: this is the last post I'll accept with five characters since this was submitted before I changed my rules!!

✰GOJO

Normally, Gojo doesn’t press his ear to others doors, but normally, Gojo doesn’t hear a lot of amazing singers singing live. Gojo was at your apartment, and he wanted to give you a fright since he was supposed to leave 15 minutes ago, but now, he’s entranced by your voice. At first, he was shocked by your amazing voice, because, could someone really be that perfect? Attractive and a good voice? He just won in life! "Baby?" Gojo coos while knocking on the door. There's a reluctant pause before you open the door. "Gojo? Aren't you supposed to be gone?" You try to hide your bashful face with the brush in your hand. "Not the point, where did you learn to sing like that babe?" He smiles. "Well... I used to be in xxx choir.." Gojo's eyes widen in surprise as he feigns a dramatic gasp. "You mean... like the one who won the national competition?" "Yeah that's the one." You answer nonchalantly, as if it wasn't such a big deal. Gojo then wraps his long arms around you, mumbling about how "my baby's so talented" and "I have such an amazing partner". "Stop that, weirdo." You giggle while burying your face in his chest. "What else are you hiding from me?" Gojo's eyes twinkle as he says those words.

✰CHOSO

Choso should not have came here. You had reassured him that "It's fine! Go out with your family once in a while babe" but in reality, he preferred to spend some time with you. But when he brought this up to you, you said that you had something busy tonight. Busy? What did you have to do today? Animal Shelter? No, that was on Thursday mornings. Coffee Shop? No, that was on weekdays. Cheating? Choso feels guilty for even thinking about the idea of you cheating on him, but you had just disappeared so mysteriously that he didn't even have the chance to question you. So now, he's at a bar with his brother. "Choso! Have you tried the food here? It's delicious." Itadori grins while holding up a can of coke. "...no, not yet." Choso mumbles halfheartedly. "mic check, mic check!" The whole club goes silent as the manger steps up on the stage. "Hello! Welcome to xxx club! Can I hear a big round of applause from the audience?" The crowd around him erupts in cheers and Choso covers his ears. "Welcome, all! So today, xxx club has prepared a lovely guest that has been in high demand since the start of the year! Lets welcome... (name) from xxx choir!" Choso swears that his mouth fell to the ground as you waltzed onstage with a microphone. What? You're a singer? He's still in disbelief...and he loses it when you start singing. Choso had never head such beautiful singing in his life before... okay maybe it might be the fact that you're his s/o but still! The crowd erupts in cheers as you take a bow. In that moment, Your eyes meets Choso's and you give his an almost secret wink. Choso's whole face is red as he tries to hide his face with his hands. You and him were definitely gonna have a little talk tonight.

✰YUUTA

"I hate escape rooms..." You mumble while clutching onto yuuta's arm. "You were the one who suggested this for date night, remember?" Yuuta chuckled. “Shut up… and wipe that smirk off your face!” You hiss. “I’ll go find clues in this room and you go look for ones in another room, Kay?” Yuuta suggests. The bth of you split up, and you find a key. You rush to find your boyfriend, but… “BOO!” “AHHHHHH!” Yuuta falls to the ground, belly-laughing as he just gave you a heart-attack. “WHAT THE HELL?” You shriek. “You’re so-!” “I know, I know.” Yuuta smirks before grabbing the key from you. “Let’s head to the next room, shall we?” The both of you unlock the door as Yuuta starts flipping through the cabinets. “(name), I think-(name)?” He turns his head, confused to see no one. All of a sudden, he hears a creepy singing behind the door he came from. Its high and weird, like a little girl speaking, which does definitely not sound like your voice. Although the singing is good, he’s too creeped out to appreciate it, so he takes a chair in self-defense and opens the door, surprised to see you. “(name)?? B-but y-your voice-“ “I have many talents yuuta.” He shudders as you speak in that voice again. “Where did you learn how to sing like that though?” You shrug mysteriously. “Let’s head to the next room, shall we?” You tease before giving him a kiss on the cheek. Damn, he loves you.

✰KASHIMO

Kashimo doesn’t doubt you. He really, really doesn’t but when you had signed up for the national singing competition rather than the city one first, he asked you to think twice before going onstage, the biggest performance of your life happening in 5 minutes. “Kashi I’m gonna be fine!” You reassure him. “(name), I mean this in the nicest way possible, don’t go.” It was then when he knew he struck a nerve. “Kashi, can’t you just support me for once?” You mumble. “I just…” he grits his teeth as he musters out the words. “I just don’t wanna see you get hurt. I’ve done the same thing before… rushing into battle before I’m prepared… and I paid the price. I don’t.. wanna see it happen to you.” You eyes soften instantly as you press a kiss on his cheek. “Kashi, I’ve trained for a long time… plus you’ll be here for me right?” You grin. “(name)? You’re on.” A staff member pushes you onto the stage and all Kashimo can do is pray that you won’t get hurt. But as soon as you start singing, Kashimo knows, he knows that his worrying was for nothing. You sing like a bird flapping its long and delicate wings, spinning and spiriting into the wind, as if it was really where you belonged to. He watches in amazement as you channel your voice to the highest note, the whole crowd screaming as you do. And as the judges clap and the audience cheers, a certain someone pushes the guards away and engulfs you in a tight hug, to show you how much you meant to him.

✰KAMO

“Kamo! I bought your favorite…!” It’s pretty funny seeing your once stoic boyfriend be reduced to a sniveling mess, but you can’t help but feel pity for him. “Babe *sniffs* s’ okay, I can do it myself-“ “Say ahhhhhh…” you tease as you serve a spoon into his mouth, airplane style, earning a blush from him. “Shut up…” He hissed. “I’ll go cook some more chicken soup, Kay? Gimmie a sec.” You left his side to serve another bowl, and that’s when Kamo heard the most beautiful melody of his life. It was bittersweet and kind, a smooth mixture of love and…home. When had he ever felt at home before? Probably only with his mom or you. Sure, his eyesight was blurry and he has a raging fever, but he’s pretty sure that that wonderful melody is coming from you. “(name)?” He whispers when you come back. “Hmmm?” You sigh as you feed him another spoon. “Can you sing that melody you were humming again? It was…nice.” You nod as you start humming along to the tune, head bobbing up and down. Perhaps being sick wasn’t so bad after all.

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