How Many Times Do I Have To Be Right For You All To Believe Me

How many times do I have to be right for you all to believe me

phlebotomist choso doodles

I was thinking about how happy Sukuna is that Mahoraga can see his technique when I noticed... The marks on his face in this panel look like an extra eye. As if he has six eyes.

What if Gojo becomes Sukuna's vessel?

Gojo and Sukuna have this hypervigilant need to be the strongest they possibly can (even when no one is close to their level).

Gojo told Geto that he felt sorry for Sukuna. That he knows how isolated it feels.

Idk there's so many posts about their similarities, how they're 2 sides of the same coin, and I think it would be neat.

Though I do wish Sukuna could have his own body, if it isn't possible to possess a cursed corpse, this is... Another possibility I'd like to explore.

Gojo invites Sukuna in.

Sukuna gets to be seen by someone who can understand him, without exploiting that vulnerability.

Latest update on Gojokuna clues

JJK 266 & Megumi's Childhood

i wanted to talk about megumi and his childhood for a bit, and how it ties into what happened in the most recent chapter, specifically the reasoning behind why yuuji's "i'm so lonely without you, fushiguro" was so moving for him.

i sincerely believe that everything about megumi and the way he acts can be traced back to being abandoned as a child, and i have a lot to say about this that doesn't pertain to this chapter, but that's for another post. for now, i want to talk about the logic megumi adopted to explain why he'd been left behind as a child, and how that carries through to 266.

the elephant in the room first: this is not a safe space to defend toji. you can say whatever you want about him "loving megumi," but it doesn't change the fact that he wasn't a good father, and he was never around for megumi. he gave megumi the first of many wounds, the one that megumi built his whole sense of self around.

what brought this up for me is this line that megumi shares to yuuji after yuuji has made contact with his soul in 266.

i've already talked a bit about how i don't think this should be taken literally (you can read my full thoughts here), but to paraphrase: megumi isn't saying they are literally walking side by side, rather that he holds them to the same level in his mind, and he wants to see them achieve peace and happiness. it's also implied by the "seeing off" part that he is standing back and watching this happen. he isn't a part of said peace

in that post, i touched on the way megumi is always willing to shoulder the burden of being a "bad" person when it comes to tsumiki and yuuji, and how that relates to this line, but for the sake of this post, i specifically want to draw the comparison between this line, and what megumi says to gojo in ch79 when talking about his dad.

he assumes that when toji and tsumiki's mom leave them behind, it's because they're going on to live a happier life without the kids. he adopts this mindset at a very young age, and with the previously mentioned line, we can see how it's carried through until now.

megumi has internalized the idea that he's nothing but burden that drags other people down. his young mind couldn't come up with any other explanation. he thinks he's the dead weight that's been cut in order for toji and tsumiki's mom to achieve happiness, so he believes that no one can be happy as long as he's around.

he also comes to accept that he will always inevitably be left behind. he assumes that everyone will outgrow him and move onto something better, so he lives in anticipation that he will be abandoned again eventually, hence, it is natural for him to envision the two people that matter the most to him needing to leave him behind to achieve happiness.

enter: yuuji.

he basically outright rejects the idea that he would be happier without megumi around. he tells megumi directly, "no, i'd be lonely without you." and he says this to child megumi, the one who only knew the feeling of being left behind and the idea that everyone else would be happier without him.

this is what pushes megumi to finally fight back, because he realizes his life actually is worth something to someone. he sees that him being gone won't make the people (or uh. singular remaining person) he cares about happy.

This aged well

EXCHANGE EVENT foreshadowing [manga spoiler warning further down, anime onlies ur safe for now] there are probably a million more that I didn't save, but at some point it just feels trivial and endless.

the shibuya arc:

Gojo got locked out of the barrier, everyone else could go in // Gojo getting sealed in the prison realm

Mahito gathering objects from the cursed warehouse for kenjaku // Mahito evolving into his final form, for kenjaku to absorb

Gojo walking over the ants but not crushing them bc infinity // walking over people in the station. You could even say Gakuganji telling Yaga to do something about Gojo // criminalizing any attempt to free him from the prison realm

Todo coming for Yuuji, then taking his side, getting false memories, calling him brother // same thing with Choso.

That was such a big clue he was working w Mahito tbh, BUT in the exchange event and shibuya arc, Mechamaru fell apart and had to be replaced with a machine. It was still helpful, but had to be utilized by the other sorcerers.

Nobara got hit the same way when she got the concussion, and Nishimiya's speech about having a scarred face is one of many reasons why I believe Nobara to still be alive.

Maki took Miwa's katana // Miwa lost her ability to weild one by the pact she made against Kenjaku.

Megumi summoning a shikigami that he could only use once

Even their injuries were very similar (though not everyone's), I see it most in Fushiguro and in the blood on Yuuji's face where he gets scars later, Panda's cores, and ofc Mechamaru.

things that happen after the shibuya arc (spoilers ahead if u don't read the manga)

After the veil went down, Gojo split the earth (hollow purple Hanami) // after the prison realm opened, Gojo caused a fucking earthquake

Noritoshi Kamo striking out bc he never swings the bat, he just stands there talking to Yuuji and doesn't even wear a helmet, though his head is covered in bandages // Noritoshi not getting involved against Sukuna, planning to flee with his family, but staying to teach Yuuji about blood manipulation CT.

Possibly a reach but Maki let Megumi use playful cloud // Toji took it from Maki

Also Maki losing her glasses against Hanami // no longer needing them

Yap part II got me thinking about more things uwu (I'm going to assume you've caught up on the reading linked however it will probably make sense if you didn't?

Content warning for SA topics

Cursed energy

Choso

Sukuna

((alternative methods to reduce cursed energy))

In reference to the SA statistics mentioned above (how it affects far more people than natural disasters, etc)

Reducing cursed energy doesn't mean eliminating non-sorcerers. A lot of curses could be avoided just by focusing on sex ed, consent, preventing these crimes from happening in the first place.

In addition to the weird, gropey curses, there were others from overworked employees, stressed students, and insecure children repeat things like "bento box" and "what time is it" and "no fair" etc.

But God, if cursed energy is from negative emotions, then why not address the causes of negative emotions?

Losing sleep and working to death for companies - I think Nanami's time as a salaryman taught him that jobs in general, not just as a sorcerer, are going to prey on the emoloyees' bodies. We all joke about how he looks 45 years old and is younger than Gojo, still in his 20s - the dude doesn't have RCT and the stress of work made him look like that, I swear. If Gojo weren't constantly running RCT, he'd look just as bad I think, maybe even worse.

The problems with jujutsu society in general are that they don't treat the cause, but only address the symptoms as a problem. And that they benefit the most, those who exploit others, often children.

If everyone has a better quality of life, safer environment, then curses would become fewer and weaker. But no one in power would push for that idea.

I want to elaborate a bit on Choso.

He accused Kenjaku of toying with his mother - with such anger - it felt like he was there, aware, watching it happen from his test tube.

And @thepersonperson mentioned Choso's guilt over the way he involuntarily repressed the original soul when he incarnated into some random guy's body. Choso gained knowledge of the modern world through that, but he isn't aware of anything about him, or his memories. It's like his soul is no longer there at all.

Choso is sensitive. He's very compassionate, emotional, and he is not afraid to change his mind, to admit that he was wrong, or to cry (he had tear stains immediately, like that's an integral part of his being). He holds himself responsible for his mistakes (even if he couldn't have known better).

Choso feels the need to justify his own existence (much like Yuuji after the shibuya incident) because his life is a product of rape - from both kenjaku and the curse that assaulted his mother.

People in his situation suffer from that awareness. It's easy to feel dirty, disgusting, unworthy of human decency or any kind of love. Not to mention that Choso's dad, half of him, is a curse. We all say that Kenjaku is Choso's father, and that's kind of true, but all he did was mix his blood in. Another layer of fucked up when you wonder what the real Noritoshi Kamo would feel about this. I believe that Kenjaku sought out his body specifically to run these abortion experiments. He needed to use blood manipulation for this to work (I'm assuming it also played a role in keeping Choso's mother alive through all of this, because abortions were more dangerous than childbirth with the methods used back then - though maybe it's different with a curse involved).

Still, Kenjaku is considered their parent - no one ever says "🤓 Um, actually" about this. He is granted the role of parenthood despite doing nothing to earn it, except for committing horrid acts of violence for his own curiosity.

It seemed weird, but he is responsible for their existence - the death painting wombs are only there because of what he's done.

It's less weird when I realize this is what certain rape victims have to live with - their abuser being accepted by society, by their family, as the parent. As a title that assumes responsibility, love and care. How sickening.

Yet, the death painting wombs were all locked away in the cursed warehouse - assumed to carry the evil of their father, these objects were feared and placed under a pact. They hadn't even incarnated yet, but were already demonized by the sins of their father. (this phenomenon is seen in real life as well, I don't have the heart to elaborate)

And Choso felt guilt for not only the way he was conceived and incarnated, but for allying with the curses and killing Yuuji. Though he forgives his brothers easily, he doesn't seem to ever forgive himself, like he's afraid that (albeit accidental) tragedy and violence are biologically placed in his fingertips, because his father and kenjaku live on in him.

As much as we want Choso to accept his right to live, he feels most at peace when he's able to sacrifice himself for his brothers (which is kind of ironic bc they're in the same situation, yet Choso doesn't see them as dirty or obscene). He seems to feel that he is alive to pay for his fathers' crimes.

Sukuna

This quote ^ got me thinking that, yeah, when he first appeared it was ugly. He made a horrible first impression. Sukuna came out craving violence, he wanted to lash out, he had anger to release.

Also I read through the lyrics of s(aint), the song Gege chose for Sukuna. It makes a lot more sense now than it did before I had caught up on the manga. It's also interesting that Marilyn Manson was a victim of csa from his neighbor, an older kid who liked to play "prison" (as in, he played this off as a game). This guy went on to kill his dog (that had heterochromia) with poison (sukuna's immunity to poisons). I read his autobiography when I was 15. It was disturbing and I don't recommend it. I doubt any other similarities between mm and sukuna are worth mentioning. The book is called the long hard road out of hell, and Sukuna was inspired by a deity of hell. Both of them are victims of abuse who continue its cycle. I think it also mentioned finding human bones in a graveyard, grinding them and smoking it, just to see what would happen which feels Kenjaku-coded.