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lxmelle · 7 days

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KFC breakup.

I’m seeing it from a slightly different perspective which is still kind of aligned with what my thoughts were over what Geto meant when he posed the question:

Are you Gojo Satoru therefore the Strongest? Or are you the Strongest therefore you’re Gojo Satoru?

Was this hinting at how he wanted Gojo to think about who he is, because he cannot be by his side anymore following his choice. Leaving him with this question.

He wished to push him away. Never asked him to leave with him despite needing strength to realise it. Was he intending for Gojo to remain as the Human Satoru, who was the Strongest?

Since he said, “if I were you, this foolish dream would not be impossible”. So he took on the role of what Gojo could’ve done, to do it to the best of his ability, knowing he probably wouldn’t be as strong, but was committed to anyway.

And tried to leave Satoru as the one who could retain humanity? (And he did, trying to realise Geto’s own dreams because Geto did model humanity for Gojo and he made it his own set of morals and philosophy - which he did fulfil as best as he could).

More context:

Spoiler for chapter 261:

I’ll loosely translate:

Yuta says don’t become a monster all on your own, please. Gojo turns much like Geto did in chapter 78.

He then recollects his memory of Geto when Yuta expressed this concern for him, he thought to himself that it was an impossibility to not become a monster on his own. He was left behind then (when Geto left) and then in the white panel, that he has to catch up to him.

I think there is a parallel with how he has decided to proceed with the plan to kill mercilessly. To opt for moral greyness for the sake of his students and their future. Even if it is a future without him.

This is paralleled with what Geto was trying to do. Protect Gojo. Keep him humane. Since, he opted to do what Yuki thought was crazy. Since, he opted to do what he told Gojo not to do at the hideout in retaliation for Riko’s death.

Chasing after Geto could possibly mean he wished to repent for not killing him then and there, but I think it’s more about what Yuta said and the futility of it, with the burden he now bore to fight Sukuna and protect by weatherproofing the future. He had made up his mind like Geto did. Even if he isn’t alive to see it. To try his best for an impossible dream.

He seemed to understand and think about Geto’s motives then, and wished to wield his strength as The Strongest with a solid purpose this time. He would do it to protect those he cared about. He would chase the same dream as Geto. To catch up to him and not be left alone, for this (meaning/purpose) was all he had of his best friend lover all along.

That’s my interpretation anyway. Thoughts?

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stsgbackup · 9 months

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Found this post on twt (X??), and it says some interesting things about gego, so I'm gonna talk about it:

yes, geto has a specific personal style, while gojo is only seen wearing the most basic stuff (when not in uniform, which is also not customised). I feel like it says a lot about gojo's life pre jujutsu high.

as we know gojo is the heir of THE rich and exclusive gojo clan, and was taken care of by servants (as seen in the manga and anime scene where toji meets him as a child) and i believe that a person of interest like him didn't receive normal education and wasn't allowed to participate in normal childlike activities, until he was a teenager in jujutsu high. so it's obvious that he didn't have many role models and inspirations to look at as he grew. children model after the adults in their lives until they go to preschool and school where they then take inspiration from their friends— neither of which gojo had access to. also his clothes were probably picked out for him by other people for the longest time.

Then he is thrust into the world of jujutsu high and meets suguru, who he sincerely believes is his other half. he is inspired by suguru and shows that by customizing his uniform according to suguru's. this is his way of getting influenced by suguru.

Maybe im looking too much into it, idk man

But what i'm trying to say is, gojo didn't have the opportunity to develop a personal style well into his teenage years where he just starts with what's comfy/basic enough and kinda...sticks to it well into his adulthood. the only time he was inspired by a friend in his personal style was suguru, because of course he was.

#jjk #jjk analysis #jjk shitpost #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu gojo #jujutsu kaisen analysis #jujutsu kaisen gojo satoru #gojo satoru analysis #gojo satoru discourse #discourse #jujutsu kaisen geto #this is my magnum opus #my addition to the stsg fandom #thank you and goodbye

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sasukesun · 8 months

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the directing choice of putting the soft music playing the moment kenjaku says “yo, satoru” and make it stop the moment gojou realises it was a trap, the moment he falls back into reality and asks who is he, as if in the meantime he was dumbstruck by the possibility of having suguru back while also being flooded with the memories of his first and last blue spring of youth and the warmth that those memories bring him, to make him subtly smile when his six eyes tell him that it’s suguru, and then to play the same song but in a sinister way when kenjaku reveals himself and gojou realises his best friend’s body was violated like that, the sickening feeling. you could say the music expresses how gojou was feeling inside. and would also like to highlight the excellent job getou’s va did here, he speaks in a much somber way than real getou. great choices mappa.

#satosugu #gojou satoru #gojo satoru #kenjaku #getou suguru #geto suguru #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jjk analysis #bella.txt

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justrustandstardust · 4 months

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in the season two op, we see gojo with an umbrella, rushing over to meet geto. despite the fact that he literally doesn't need one, gojo very clearly brings the umbrella for geto; this is made obvious because this scene is intercut with shots of geto impatiently waiting in the rain and holding a bag over his head.

in the season one op, he's once again walking through the rain, but this time he doesn't have an umbrella.

the absence of an umbrella in the rain is stark in comparison to the season 2 op, where the umbrella is the focal point of gojo's stroll through the rain. in season 1, literally everyone else in the opening has an umbrella, making the absence of gojo's even more noticeable.

in both openings, he's walking in the rain. but only in one of them does he have an umbrella, despite the fact that he doesn't need it in either of them.

if you notice something is missing from a room, it's still there, isn't it?

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waiting-for-a-sunny-day · 5 months

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The way that Gojo cares so much about protecting his students’ right to be young and have fun…

In JJK0, with Yuta

In JJK S1, with Yuji

Because Gojo's own youth (especially his early years at Jujutsu high) was so precious to him. Probably the happiest times of his life.

#killll meeeeeee #gojo satoru #jujutsu kaisen #satosugu #jjk analysis #gojo x geto #geto suguru #jjk #itadori yuji #okkotsu yuta #satoru gojo #my thoughts #my jjk thoughts

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rk-tmblr · 5 days

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And I said “take my body, use it as you need”, because the only one I wanted to be buried with didn't have a grave, so why should I?

-Gojo Satoru/Geto Suguru

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redrocketpanda · 11 months

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Something that has been driving me insane about the credits are these sections with the fish so please bear with me whilst I do a mini deep dive (hehe) into fish discourse because YO, we need to talk about these fish!

Notice how at the beginning of the credits we actually have two white fish swimming along beside one another; one with bright turquoise eyes and the other with black.

A little while later the fish begin to circle each other and a droplet falls into the water between them. As the disturbance ripples out from the center, one of the fish dives deeper into the water and changes its colour to black; symbolizing Geto's change and descent into darkness

Then we have this heartbreakingly beautiful moment with Gojo and Geto:

I cannot stop thinking about how long Gojo watches the black fish for as it swims across the screen, whereas Geto's eyes are lowered the moment the white fish appears and he closes them as it swims past.

Gojo cannot bear to tear his eyes away, whilst Geto cannot bear to look

Throughout the credits, Gojo and Geto have been making their way towards each other through the pouring rain (or mostly sitting and waiting in Geto's case). At the end, they meet each other under a bridge and as they walk away together we see the fish a final time, swimming together again in a puddle formed by the heavy rain.

Geto walks on the left in the light, as the white fish swims close to his head, almost invisible in the brightness of the light. Whilst Gojo walks on the right in the shadow with the black fish swimming further away but still close by.

The fish speed after the two men before disappearing completely under the water just before the camera pans up and we watch as Gojo pulls Geto in for a hug as they walk away, before he's playfully shoved away by Geto.

There's a lot going on the credits (+ opening) that is absolutely killing me but man, these fish?! Breathtaking.

#just been sitting here for 20 minutes sobbing over fish discourse bc altho they only appear very briefly they are saying SO MUCH #i haven't read the manga so i sadly cannot provide a deep dive stsg analysis so would love to hear other people's thoughts #also apologies as I know some people haven't even had a chance to watch ep 1 yet but i need to scream into the internet about these fkn fis #stsg #satosugu #gojo satoru #geto suguru #gojo #geto #jjk #jjk s2 #jjk s2 ep1 #jjk season 2 #jujutsu kaisen season 2 spoilers #jujutsu kaisen season 2 #jujutsu kaisen

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bliss-in-the-void · 7 months

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The way Suguru looks at Satoru has me by the neck already, but the way Satoru looks at Suguru?? Oh my god.

That’s his entire world right there. I don’t know how to explain it but these frames just scream “all Satoru sees is Suguru.” Like. He adores Suguru.

Don’t get me started on the look in his eyes when Suguru expresses his concern over his overuse of his technique. The vulnerability? The way he looks surprised, the way it looks as though he feels seen for the first time ever? There is something so tender about this. I can’t even describe it but it’s just there.

“I’m fine.”

Satoru knew damn well he wasn’t okay. No one sneaks up on him. I know he had to have been freaking out on the inside. How did he sneak in? How did I not sense him? No one gets behind me, no one is stronger than me, what’s going to happen?

But he held it together for Suguru. I feel like it’s instinct for him to automatically reassure Suguru, regardless of if it’s true or not. He schooled that expression on his face and looked so gently at Suguru…man.

You can just see how absolutely devastated this man is in the moment he has to kill the man he loves.

The split second he defied all logic and believed that, even though he’d killed Suguru with his own hands, Suguru had somehow survived? The elation on his face to see him one last time?

“It might be goodnight for me, but it’s about time for you to wake up.” This is the smile he had on his face before calling out to Suguru, attempting to reach into the land of the dead for him. It’s like in this frame instead of the monster inhabiting Suguru, he just saw Suguru.

The last thing he sees before he gets sealed is Suguru’s face, smiling. I can’t imagine the anguish he must have felt here. It’s almost as if he’s clinging to it, trying to pretend that it really is Suguru. Trying to convince himself what he knows isn’t true.

Conclusion: there is no one that loves anyone as much as Satoru loves Suguru.

#i want someone to love me like that #they have the kind of love everyone dreams of #just so deep and prevailing #satosugu #satosugu meta #satosugu angst #satosugu analysis #satosugu brainrot #gojo satoru #satoru gojo #geto suguru #suguru geto #stsg #jjk meta

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anulithots · 2 months

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Him

But... apparently Gojo's stronger alone. Without Geto.

And... just look at how he fought before Riko's death:

Versus after Riko's death:

He really did blame himself for Riko's death.

(Imagine if we saw the scene where he found her body?!)

And decided to not spend so much time deliberating (like he did in the Toji fight) and instead he'll use full force on his opponents with near reckless abandon.

And the thing that hurts me the most is that technically if Gojo's alone, then he's the strongest.

But he was so much happier with Geto.

love is the most twisted curse of all

#jjk #jjk analysis #jjk manga #gojo satoru #satosugu #jjk satoru #satorugojo #geto #jujutsu satoru #gojo saturo #gojo jjk #gojo #jujutsu gojo #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu geto #jujutsu sorcerer #love is the most twisted curse of all

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satocidal · 6 months

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𓂂 ˚ ☆ ꙳ * ࣭ 𓂂 ˚ ☆ ꙳ * A lesson to Learn — Gojo Satoru

Tw: no smut but very very suggestive; Reader is like 4-5 years younger than Gojo; idk? Not proof read; Gojo’s mean :(

“What were you thinking?” A growl met your ears, panting, you dare not look up at him—“was it necessary to be acting like a fuckin’ child? Huh?”

It was the first Satoru had used a harsh tone in front of you- let alone at you- it was baffling in most senses.

More baffling was the way your eyes yearned to look at his annoyed stature, to see his face contorted with rage—baffling was the way you partially did it to get his attention.

Stranded that you stood with him, the middle of nowhere blanketed your forms—a clearance.

“Well?” A lick of your lips, you raised you head finally, hesitantly, a hand on his hip and the blindfold entirely off—you would’ve almost cowered at the way he glowered at you.

“I-” you paused, what explanation would you offer?

There was nothing except the blatant truth that you had wanted his attention, his praise- something he’d been generous with for the past many weeks with his students.

Another lick of your lips, had you known the way Satoru stared at you in this moment still, enamouring all the more.

Slow, your eyes trailed at his figure—his shirt lay sweat soaked, breathy pants his too, it was a tough mission, and he was right too—all you actually was hinder him.

The vision was clear, you were on the ground, as a heap—not a scratch on your face, Satoru wouldn’t ever let that happen after all—he stood unscathed too, “what? Huh? Are you that much of a moron? Don’t fucking follow me, simple instructions- hell my first years carry out instructions better than you.”

Defiant, in the way he spoke—“listen, Toru’ I just… I don’t know what came over me— you went alone and Ieiri told me it’s a tough mission so I just wanted to-”

“-help? By getting your ass handed back to you? Let some things remain in the hands of those who do it best,”

Your face fell at that, best? Sure you weren’t as good as him but…it wasn’t that you were weak?

“I just wanted-”

“No. I’ll tell you what you wanted,” and a sudden way your face flushed, it wouldn’t be that he knew…right?

“You wanted nothing more than my attention huh? Think I don’t notice your shit? Wearing those short fuckin’ skirts to “look over” the training? Giggling around with Nanami? Think I don’t notice your need for my attention? Really? Gonna drop so low to compete with kids for it?”

You’d known it was mostly shameful but just the way he reminded you, the way he was doing nothing but berating you—you couldn’t help the blurry vision your tears suddenly provided.

“Get up,” he scoffed, “C’mere,” you hesitated, did he know you were down there with tears in your face—of course he did.

He was Gojo Satoru.

Steady, you stood up, shaky from the entire experience, shy of becoming just a mess—you stood up, Satoru moved closer and suddenly the proximity was all you could notice.

You were sure, as you stood inches away from him, he was still calling you out—calling off your sheer idiocy but however could you pay attention to that when all you could focus on was the way his abs were visible slightly through the shirt—the way his glossy lips never stopped moving—the way visions of his hand lifting you so casually came flashing in right about now—

“You’re such a whore huh? Here I am going off about how stupid you’ve been and All you wanna do is stare at me?”

Another moment of your ears tipping so hot it was hard to bear it—“n-no I-”

A hand held up, placed quick on your waist, “if a bad girl is what you’re gonna act like then I don’t have issues teaching you a lesson- hell I think that’s the only way your perverted little brain can think,”

A shaky breath was all you could let out, gulping at the facts he presented, and for a second silence that befell you—you stared at his lips, his, yours.

Just a lean in and you could taste him, and lean in he did, fingers gripping your jaw slight, a dark smile he bore.

Your breath hitched- mouth falling open, you continued staring dumbly, a scoff he passed—“as is you like acting stupid school girl who wants attention right? About time you get enough of it—and before the kiss…I think there’s a lesson I gotta drill in,”

“Here?”

An internal face palm you offered yourself—of everything sketchy about possibly having a suggestive conversation with Gojo Satoru, the strongest, someone you’ve admired ever since your first year (and his sudden stops at the school to catch up with everyone), someone who’ve dreamt of since you were 16 and now 24 — the location should’ve been the last of your issues.

A humourless chuckle he passed, “always knew there was a slut in you somewhere,”

A small pout drifted onto your face at that—now uttering a humoured chuckle, his fingers traced your cheek—“don’t think for a second you’re off the hook, y’er just lucky that I’ve wanted you slightly more than you, me.”

Yeah, y’all fuck like bunnies after this <3 I may or may not expand on to it soon.

All of this work is original and entirely my own— please refrain from copying or reposting.

Likes and Reblogs highly appreciated!

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exstasyplague · 8 months

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geto shedding a tear after gojo tells him he wished he'd be there to cheer on him will never cease to break me.

after he got released from the prison realm, he instantly teleported where geto's body was.

just realising that back then, his gaze was so cold because he sought suguru in the crowd is..... GEGE WHEN I CATCH YOU GEGE

#jjk 236 #gojo satoru #jujutsu kaisen #geto suguru #jjk manga #jjk analysis #jjk #satosugu analysis #satosugu #geto x gojo #jjk spoilers #jjk manga spoilers #jjk panel analysis #jujutsu kaisen 236

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lxmelle · 2 months

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"When the day turns into night

And you’re way beyond my sight,

I’ll think of you, I’ll think of you.

When the night turns into day

And you still are far away,

I’ll think of you, I’ll think of you.

Even when I am not here

We still can be so very near

I want you to know my dear

I’ll think of you."

Source: Facebook & misterrogers.org/videos/when-the-day-turns-into-night

And think of each other throughout their short lives they did.

Headcannon, analysis and theorising - more under the cut:

I’ll preface with how I’m aware there is some reaching and rambling, but there are so many interesting parallels and foreshadowing in Gege’s work that I’ll be at risk of writing my own “war and peace” with my theories and headcannon. I might be wrong as always, but I hope it makes for an interesting read even if you don’t agree! Comments and reblogs welcome!

I’ve pondered on this theme of lateness. I have another draft post on this topic, but in this scenario it illustrates the impact of riko’s death and their defeat (eventual victory for Gojo) to Toji.

One ascended and the other descended. Arguably one saved the other, and equally debatably, they exchanged paths. However else you wish to explain it, Gojo deferred to Geto who was his moral compass, and was guided back to a sensible path. Geto did not wish to be saved by the time Gojo intervened, but ultimately was saved from himself before he could get too twisted.

Or, was it ultimately still a tale where Gojo was indeed too late, and despite everything he had, he could do nothing?

Nevertheless, their first defeat left them both scarred and changed.

Losing each other was something they never got over - Gojo and Geto had wounds shaped like each other.

One went off to find strength to change the world; the other went off to foster students to change the world. They pursued each other’s forte to make up for the sense of loss from their separation - trying to find completion within themselves and their world around them, but falling short of healing their emotions wounds - until they could meet the other once again to resolve their relational rupture.

Look at these two paralleling each other... papa Geto and Gojo sensei.

Let me start with Geto:

In this world, Geto admitted before his death that he could never smile from the bottom of his heart.

No matter how many people loved him, how much they were willing to dedicate to him by following and trusting him, Geto didn’t feel happy. We see, so touchingly, how much he was loved by his family - Mimiko, Nanako, Miguel, Larue.

Did he ever feel loved? He certainly felt protective over them, but did he feel he mattered, besides being the one who gave them a vision?

It doesn’t seem so. Geto seemed to think little of himself, for someone prideful and egotistical (by his own definition). He lost a sense of security in himself and value following Gojo’s distancing of himself too. Untethered, he probably felt like he was free falling.

I theorise that his desire for a better world was born out of a desire for redemption, and it was a curse to avenge the loss of his youth as well as those who had died under his care - Riko, “Gojo” (pre-enlightenment), and Haibara. Geto had lost himself within a spiral of depression and self-affirmation following the Toji incident.

I sense that his search for meaning and purpose through the protection of others was always an act of self-sacrifice that was exhausting and defeating for him. Just like the consumption of curses. Like a futile attempt at regaining control when he was slowly losing it even more - getting further and further away from what he really needed - to heal from his emotional wounds.

What he needed to resolve was learning that he was loved within the world; that he had a place and belonging there. It didn’t have to be about him being a protector or making a difference. When he was feeling balanced from within (secure), existing in harmony could become possible. The rest could then fall into place.

But how could Geto have faith in the universe, after the system fails them all, his best friend now finds meaning in acting alone (being protective in his own way), he learns that riko’s death/sacrifice was inconsequential, and that his fellow peers would just keep dying if he continued powerlessly chugging on. He began to believe he can only rely on himself in a world separate from jujutsu high.

The only time he can remember feeling safe or having equilibrium was in his youth beside his best friend, Gojo. The primary source of his wound was losing Gojo and the disillusionment of their defeat was not repairable.

For Geto, despite chasing his goals to the best of his ability, he could not smile authentically for all these years. The world that was presented to him felt cruel; like a curse stuck on vengeance and justice, he kept burying himself with lies that he used to avoid facing the inevitable truth that this could only end in one way. It began and will end with Gojo.

He could not replace what Gojo was to him, and the strength he may have envied to fulfil his goal, was a constant reminder of what he had lost - the trust and understanding of someone. His vision of clarity had become costly and darkened as time passed. To gain more power meant he’d become increasingly twisted. Knowing he was on borrowed time, that what he was doing was wrong, that it could only end one way - to Gojo’s hand.

Did Geto, like Yorozu, need to be seen too? Was this the validation he found / sought - to be witnessed? I honestly don’t know, but whatever Gojo and Geto shared, it was more reciprocal than Sukuna and Yorozu. I do wish Geto was more honest with Gojo, but I think it was enough in itself to yield completely to Gojo and accept his end.

Geto had a Gojo-shaped wound that Gojo mercifully filled upon his last moments - showing him unconditional love and regard despite the changes between them.

We are kept out of the last words Gojo delivered, but we see that: He was recognised by the one who had truly mattered to him the most - the one whom he loved, and thought he had lost. He smiled sincerely at the very end.

Geto was shown to shed not one but two tears in Gojo’s afterlife scene. How moved must he have been to receive the regard and love from his best friend? Despite the lack of honest insight from Geto (Gege, you’re so stingy with inner narratives), it seems rather clear that there is something there that only Gojo can ease for him.

As for Gojo:

In his death dream / afterlife scene, Gojo was shown to express to Geto: If you were there, I probably would’ve been satisfied. It was received as loving, as Geto shed tears to this, and we know Gojo deflects from emotions by abruptly changing topics when he gets a bit heavy.

Gojo also describes how, no matter how many people adored him, he felt a distance between them; although he didn’t feel lonely, he could not feel understood in all these years as the strongest.

The line was drawn even more following his enlightenment, and his only memory of connection was with Geto, who had modelled a way for him to connect with those weaker than him and not see them like feeble dirt beneath his feet (as Hajime did) or pursue power like Sukuna did without caring about “worthless” love.

His main reason for being a teacher was also Geto. I headcannon/theorise that it wouldn’t have been the first time Gojo missed him, imagined “what would Geto do?” or saw Geto in his students in those 10+ years. What could he do differently?

Through the impact of Geto’s loss and the power of their love within their friendship, Gojo was compelled to think about others - whether he wished to prevent it from happening again, to reform the jujutsu world, to make room for Geto to potentially return (pre-jjk 0), or to simply understand his students... Gojo stretched himself to carry the emotional and mental load that was almost exclusively Geto’s role in their friendship.

Gojo was never the most nurturing type, but he did his very best - to advise, demonstrate, and protect the youth of these students. Giving them their own blue spring was also an ode to what he shared with Geto. Despite healing a lot and making room for others, Gojo had a Geto-shaped would that only Geto could fill.

What Gojo needed to resolve was to learn to love others - even moreso following his enlightenment in the manner in which he did after Toji - that he did not have to be isolated and alone, that true connection (love) exists and was worthwhile.

Meaning and purpose beyond “just getting kicks” out of being the strongest or wielding his skills beyond self-fulfilment - were all possible - but Gojo only had a limited canvas to work from - it was mostly Geto’s palette that he expanded upon. That he didn’t want to repeat whatever mistakes either of them made if possible.

His main forte was being a skilled sorcerer. This was his primary focus still, because this was just in his nature. Gojo was practically bestowed with the assets for this role. Nobody can blame him for being greedy and coveting more (love/connection he once knew) or attempting more (influencing a new generation). Gojo was meant to be human with all his flaws and thankfully, he kept his humanity.

He ultimately tried to reach and connect to Sukuna - a potential peer whom he could “converse” with, but they were too different. He fulfilled a need to showcase his skill and philosophy to his students - alongside his own personal desire to “go all out” and die gloriously-victorious through giving it his all.

He found the connection he needed right upon his death; meeting Geto and his friends without the need for an encounter at death’s door with Sukuna - unlike Jogo and Hajime who spent their last moments with Sukuna in a dialogue. Gojo didn’t need to talk with Sukuna. They could not understand each other; not when Sukuna did not know real love - even Yorozu did not think so.

To know love is to long for it enough to recognise it.

Since Gojo could not share with Sukuna what he wanted to teach (about love) he was able to tell and share it with the only person he knew who could understand - Geto. Even if Nanami and Haibara didn’t, Geto did.

It’s enough for them, isn’t it?

And it’s enough for us to know their legacy continues. It is so heartwarming to see Gojo’s students and members of Geto’s family being there too - all fighting for their own reasons - to defend and / or in honour of their memory.

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sscarletvenus · 4 days

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yes suguru's plans to exterminate a vast majority of humanity is undeniably evil, but to say that he is murderous from the very start, cruel for the sake of being so, or lacks compassion or any emotional nuance is a gross disservice to his character's writing.

suguru is a case study of a romantic idealist and self-sacrificial saviour whose absurdly rigid, quixotic ideals are shattered brutally by reality intervening. the intense hatred he has for humanity is born out of, is an inverse of, the intense love he once possessesed for it. this is also why even though satoru is portrayed as brash and selfish and arrogant in the hidden inventory arc, it is suguru that turns "villainous."

suguru places his faith in the goodness of humanity, believes the duty of shamans is to protect the weak, their existence solely hinged upon saving the lives of non-sorcerers, and for that he is disappointed so tremendously, betrayed to an extent that makes it impossible for him to recover his ideals and past self.

ultimately there are also more than one reasons why satoru doesn't become "evil" : 1) "protecting humanity" was never his cause to begin with. he hardly cared about preserving human life, as is evident in his intentions to kill the cultists who cheered on riko's death, and 2) he had someone shielding his inner self : suguru. for it is suguru that tells him the duty of shamans is to protect non-shamans and the weak, suguru who asks him to sympathise with riko, suguru who persuades him to not kill meaninglessly.

satoru is indeed attached to riko, as well. he is the one who decides not to hand riko over to tengen if she wishes to return home, and tries to enliven her last days as a lucid person. it would thus not surpass one’s expectations if satoru turned to villainy post riko's demise, since he never even liked non-shamans to begin with. and yet, he doesn't. suguru protects his heart, which is a part of why he is able to steadily process his grief and anguish over riko's death.

suguru doesn't have anyone to do that for him, he is strong in his own right but not the "strongest", nobody notices how deep of an abyss his soul has sunken in, and he succumbs to the lethal loneliness, falters in this marathon of sorcery.

suguru is brimming with love and compassion: it is what drives his heroism in youth and villainy as a cult leader. he is able to protect gojo's heart but not his own. he fluctuates between two polar extremes : utter distaste of humanity Vs. a duty to protect it despite its horrors. three things serve as final nails to the metaphorical coffin : yuki's words, haibara's death, miminana's abuse. he describes imbibing curses for curse manipulation is "like eating a rag used to clean vomit". how macabre, how grotesque, how enlightening - who is he doing all this for? the humans who killed riko? it was these humans haibara died serving, these same humans violently mistreated miminana.

toji and sonoda encapsulate evil very blatantly, and aren't enough to shake suguru's belief in humanity. but the turning point is the non-shaman cultists rejoicing : suguru is thus forced to confront the banality of evil.

and suguru responds by rejecting what he once loved, embraces the darkness plaguing him. believes the only way to eradicate curses is to uproot their source : humanity. humans, for as long as they will live, will give rise to curses born out of their negative emotions. there is no one to tell him any better, or protect his self-identity. he loses himself to his own sense of empathy, his own ideals.

he isn't indifferent at all, cannot pick and choose whom he loves and doesn't. his love and hatred is collective, in both he gives his all. even amidst his hatred, he doesn't lose his love.

who does he choose to target first, once amassing enough money, power, and reputation? sonoda, the man who ordered riko's assassination. someone who lies in wait to enact vengeance does it out of love. if he was nothing more than a corrupt tyrant, he wouldn't remember the circumstances of riko's demise or care enough about them. suguru's rise as a hero and his subsequent fall as a villain has always been about love. and it seems, to me, up until his death, he prioritizes satoru over himself. doesn't see satoru as a weapon at all, or he would have directly asked satoru to join his cause. instead he poses to satoru a question, presents him with a choice - which in turn makes satoru shaken enough to question his identity, his place in the system, becoming a teacher and dedicating his all to a fitting reformist centrism from an isolated and dare i say, individualistic person such as himself, who stands on the pinnacle of power. but he wouldn't have come to such a conclusion without suguru's experiences shaping his worldview (he himself apologizes to riko during his fight with toji because rather than feeling depressed over her death, he feels the pure pleasure of the world in that moment. killing toji endows him with a sense of duty towards megumi, and riko's death but obviously impacts him, but the change from full apathy, to neutral indifference except in the case of his students, was losing suguru.)

as evil as suguru becomes, he is not a hypocrite. that he kills his own parents is to show the seriousness and conviction he has in his ideals. his code of operation is consistent, even when it turns from pro-human to pro-shaman.

reminds you of what mahito tells yuuji: does yuuji ever consider how many curses he kills? so why should mahito account for how many humans he kills? suguru geto presents us with a possible answer : someone has to care about how many shamans are killed.

you can condemn him for his use of collective punishment, but suguru is a villain!

you can criticize his killing of innocents, but jjk conveys the carefully crafted narrative of a villain who once held staunch traditional and moral ideals.

suguru is evil for proposing collective punishment, but it is incredibly consistent with how emotional he is. he is empathetic because he cares about a girl like riko, doomed by the actions of the rest of the world, forgotten in her misery. he cares and it drives him to the deepest pits of despair, where life loses all color and meaning, despite only knowing her for so long and haibara as well, he enshrines haibara in his memory, when no one other than nanami does. hardly anyone remembers riko's existence, haibara's laughing face, but he does! and for that he spends each moment sinking in the quagmire of his grief and torment. his empathy is a sword of damocles hanging over his neck! to say that he is cruel and unfeeling is to contradict the very agony that drives his (wrongful?) actions. and he is indeed wrong for externalizing this indelible pain, wanting to inflict it upon innocents. but suguru is a villain! has been set up as such!

mahito raises this question to junpei,"is the opposite of love really indifference?" to satoru, it is. but to suguru, it is hatred which is the opposite of love.

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alluratron · 8 months

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Thoughts on Gojo Satoru

Gojo Satoru is a character with nuance.

With the release of JJK chapter 236, many people are shocked, confused and outraged at his characterisation at the end of his run in the manga. There are claims of character assassination, of blatant disregard for everything he has done so far, of telling instead of showing. The portrayal of Gojo as someone whose primary motivation was strength has left multitudes of fans reeling.

Nanami states that Gojo’s reason for wielding jujutsu was not his own survival, nor the protection of others, but rather in pursuit of wanton satisfaction. Gojo does not deny this and neither can we. After all, in chapter 233 it was stated by the narrator that as the possibility of defeat crossed Gojo’s mind, an intense feeling of satisfaction bubbled up in him as well. The truth is, Gojo loves jujutsu. He loves his own strength. He loves to use it, to show it off, to flex. He revels in his own power.

Gojo enjoys being The Strongest.

However, he doesn’t enjoy being The Strongest, alone.

The contradiction in Gojo is that, much like Sukuna, he sees himself as More Than. They are beyond humans, beyond curses, beyond anything of this world. They exist in a realm of their own. Make no mistake, Gojo harbours great affection for those around him. He says as much in 236 (みんな大好きさ寂しくはなかった - I really liked everyone and I wasn’t lonely). But he also admits that there was a separation between himself and other other living creatures. This phrasing is crucial. Gojo is effectively admitting here that from his perspective, other humans are as different from him as any other creature of this world. He doesn’t even really consider them to be the same species. This is further reinforced through his analogy of flowers. He states that you can admire a flower and make it bloom, but you don’t wish to be understood by it. Gojo cares for those around him and he cultivated his students to help them blossom, to achieve their potential, but they were flowers to him. They were inferior beings, incapable of understanding his superior existence, and so why should he open himself up to them? Shoko mentally chastises him for this in chapter 220, pointing out that she was right there alongside him even with the loss of Geto, that all his talk of being alone was idiotic because she was there and he could’ve relied on her. But he didn’t because in his mind, Shoko, like everyone else, is inferior and incapable of understanding him. To him, it is pointless to try.

But where Gojo differs significantly from Sukuna, is that Gojo desperately wants to be understood.

Gojo is so painfully human in that way. Perhaps he wouldn’t be, had he never known Geto. But he did know him, and for those 3 years, Gojo knew companionship. He felt understood by Geto because Geto, being equally The Strongest, was capable of understanding Gojo, in Gojo’s own mind. When Geto defected, he called Gojo arrogant in his own strength for saying killing all non-sorcerers would be impossible for Geto and attempting the impossible was pointless, when such a task would not be impossible for Gojo himself. He asks of Gojo, “are you the strongest because you’re Gojo Satoru, or are you Gojo Satoru because you’re the strongest?”. This exchange, unfortunately causes Gojo to misunderstand Geto’s reason for defecting, or at least to oversimplify it. Gojo’s takeaway is that the issue was in Geto’s inability to keep pace with him. This would further solidify his belief that he exists apart from all of humanity. Yet he could not make peace with that. He mourned Geto’s departure and disliked his newfound loneliness (which, mind you, was only the case because of that very belief that only an equal in strength can understand him).

This would drive Gojo to seek out Megumi, something he could have done at any point in the year since Toji’s death but had no motivation to do. The words he says to Megumi are crucial - “強くなってよ。僕に置いていかれないくらい” or “Get strong. Enough to not be left behind by me.” From this, two things are clear. First, that Gojo has no intention of slowing down. Second, that Gojo wants Megumi to be on his level. He’s essentially seeking out another Geto, one that he won’t lose to their own inability to keep up with him. He’s not willing to come down from his superhuman level to connect with the average - as previously said, Gojo revels in his own strength - but rather he wants others to ascend to his level. Gege stated in the fanbook that the reason Gojo went to find Megumi was because he’s seeking talented people, and the reason he helps problem children like Yuta and Yuji is because they’re strong so he doesn’t care about the other details. There is no mention of righteousness or kindness in his actions here. Now, the fanbook is secondary material so I will always err on the side of the main text taking precedence. But since the main text does not give us any explanation from Gojo as to his true reason for saving Yuta and Yuji, and Gege’s explanation in the fanbook on Gojo’s recruit of Megumi aligns with what we see in the manga, it’s likely that his interest in Yuta and Yuji is indeed purely due to their strength potential, at least at first. He does grow fond of them as people, and he wants them to enjoy their youth. But ultimately, his reason for raising them remains that, selfishly, he doesn’t want to be alone at the top.

His idea of “resetting the crappy jujutsu world” is making it so that life as a jujutsu sorcerer is as fun for everyone as it is for him, or at least as he imagines it would be if his youth hadn’t been interrupted by Geto’s spiral. Being a jujutsu sorcerer is Gojo’s job, but he doesn’t resent it at all. Because unlike all the other sorcerers who are here because they have no choice, or because they feel a sense of responsibility to protect the defenceless, or because they fear being killed by curses and using jujutsu as a retired sorcerer is illegal (looking at you, Kusakabe), Gojo is here because jujutsu is fun. He doesn’t feel that inherent drive to protect the defenceless (he actually finds that part of it kind of exhausting) and he doesn’t feel that fear because no curse could remotely threaten him, so he just gets to enjoy jujutsu for what it is. Gojo wants the same for his students. He wants them to enjoy the experience of life as a jujutsu sorcerer, without fear, and without suffering and being forced to question what the hell they’re even doing this for. If they can be as strong as him, there is nothing to worry about - nobody dies, nobody gets left alone, nobody falls behind. It’s an idyllic picture for Gojo.

There seems to be a misconception that 326 suggests that Gojo’s only reason for training the students was to eventually fight them at their best. That is not the case. Gojo’s love of fighting and Gojo’s desire for an equal are two separate things that only got amalgamated in Sukuna. After all, Gojo never sought to fight Geto. We know they scuffled sometimes, but it’s not like Gojo was constantly trying to instigate a death match. His desire for an equal is, on its own, simply a desire to be understood, something he does not believe is possible by a weaker being. He longs for companionship but won’t let himself find it in people he views as inferior. Regardless of having an equal, Gojo still loves his own strength. He loves toying with opponents, and showing off, and brutal violence. The more challenging the opponent/situation, the further he gets to stretch his limbs.

Fighting Sukuna presented Gojo with an opportunity to satisfy both of these things.

Does Gojo have anything against Sukuna or the way he lives his life? Not really. There isn’t an ideological opposition at play here like there is between Yuji and Sukuna, they just happen to be allied with parties who are in conflict. And, with them both being the jujutsu-loving, strength merchants that they are, they’re genuinely excited at the prospect of fighting each other. Gojo does want and plan to save Megumi, sure, but in any case that requires defeating Sukuna. He wasn’t bluffing when he said he’d worry about that later - fighting Sukuna genuinely takes priority, both strategically and selfishly.

In terms of the fight, Gojo has a blast. He gets to go all out like he’s never gone all out before. He’s pushed to invent things on the spot or legitimately just die. He doesn’t even have to toy with his opponent to keep the fight going, he’s sprinting from start to finish and is giddy with it. This is possibly the most fun he’s ever had.

In terms of the emotion, Gojo has been desperately trying to find someone as strong as him because (he believes) only they can understand him. It’s to the point that he has spent the past decade trying to basically build-a-bear some equals. Suddenly, he’s presented with one, fully formed, requiring no additional shaping on his part. It’s believable that he would be excited to take that chance of being understood, being seen wholly, by the only person alive in the world at this moment that he believes capable of wrapping their mind around him, since they’re both so far above every other living being.

And so Gojo fights Sukuna and pours everything he is into it. He pushes his body to its physical limits, he uses every jujutsu ability he’s ever learned, he comes up with new ideas on the spot, he throws out multiple max output attacks. Everything we have ever been told that Gojo is capable of doing gets put on show in this fight. He does all this because he wants Sukuna to see him in his entirety, because nobody else ever has. If he tried to unleash all of this on anybody else, it would kill them before he could even get a quarter of the way through.

See, on the one hand, Gojo’s self imposed isolation is born of his own arrogance but on the other hand, he’s also right in a way; because jujutsu is a part of the makeup of Gojo Satoru - its something he enjoys and it will always be a part of him. Yet he does not fight with allies because in doing so, he would be forced to limit himself. Like Yuta acknowledges in 235, if they were on the battlefield Gojo would have been unable to perform that AoE purple blast without harming them too. He must choose between being alone when doing jujutsu, or restricting himself in this thing that he loves. This feeds into the notion that they can’t understand him - he literally has to contain himself so as not to be too much for them.

He’s not too much for Sukuna, though.

Against Sukuna, Gojo gets to exist in his entirety, unrestrained, and for that he is appreciative. But we also see Gojo’s kindness, or rather empathy. He personally was satisfied by the fight - he was able to be seen wholly. He could simply have a “fuck you, got mine” mentality about it, but we see that he actually feels sorry to Sukuna for not being able to take everything Sukuna is the way Sukuna was for him. Sukuna could not afford to go all out if it meant dying to the other sorcerers as soon as the fight with Gojo ended. I believe this is why he looked less impressive throughout the whole fight - a Gojo giving it his all puts on more of a display than a Sukuna sticking to a pre-determined plan and doing minimal improvisation. But even though Sukuna didn’t let himself go all out, he still won. This would lead Gojo to believe (and it’s not an illogical conclusion) that if Sukuna had been going all out, Gojo wouldn’t be able to take it all. Gojo feels bad about it because he was unable to be for Sukuna what Sukuna was for him, he feels bad that Sukuna will seemingly never experience that same satisfaction (because, of course, if it’s not Gojo himself giving him that, he thinks nobody else can). This isn’t Gojo feeling bad about himself for being weaker, it is genuine empathy for Sukuna because Sukuna is someone that Gojo does actually perceive as the same species as him, not someone he necessarily considers evil or an enemy.

It’s not as bad as he thinks, though, because Sukuna did take immense enjoyment in this fight. It’s true that he wasn’t pushed to the point of having to give everything here, but he was still pushed further than ever before. Many people have confused “he wasn’t going all out” for “he wasn’t even trying” and that’s such a dichotomous way of looking at things - zero or one hundred. Sukuna was absolutely trying in this fight. For the first time in a thousand years, he actually felt the nervousness of possibly losing, because Gojo’s final purple could have killed him. It’s only because it was an AoE attack and not directly aimed at Sukuna that he survived, and visibly in the worst condition of his life. And after slicing Gojo, he praises him (“you were magnificent” is crazy levels of acknowledgment from Sukuna!) and admits that he will never forget him for as long as he lives. This is coming from the guy that called Gojo ordinary and unenlightened just 6 chapters prior. Gojo moved him, this much is undeniable. And Gojo’s smile in his final moment suggests that he heard Sukuna. In the end, he knows that he did reach him in some way.

(Brief side note: Gojo never says he would definitely have lost to Sukuna even without the ten shadows. What he actually says is simply that he’s unsure as to if he would’ve won. And that’s because he, unlike much of the fandom, recognises that Sukuna’s skill and genius understanding of CE and jujutsu mean that without the ten shadows, he would’ve approached the fight very differently, especially those domain clashes, during which it’s clearly stated that Sukuna refrained from using his CT or even domain amplification too much so that the ten shadows could continue adapting in the background. Take out that element and of course Sukuna has more resources freed up to put into fighting Gojo actively.)

So this is the nuance of Gojo’s character. He’s selfish, yet capable of true empathy. He cares deeply, despite his unfathomable arrogance. His motivations are questionable, without being malicious. He sees himself as beyond human, yet at his core is painfully so. He’s not a hero, nor even really a “good” person. But he influenced those around him in ways they will carry forever.

#gojo is a bitch and i like him so much #he’s so [squeezes him with my fist until the juices run out]#he is not normal! there is something deeply wrong with him!#(affectionate)#but he cares #not in the way ppl thought but he does #take him as he is or don’t #gojo satoru #sukuna #jjk 236 #jjk analysis #jjk meta #jjk #duo: the one who will teach you about love #satoru

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justrustandstardust · 3 months

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i saw an incredible post on tiktok and i wanted to expand on it, because it's genuinely amazing. all the credit to @noesbf on tt for the idea that inspired these thoughts.

geto's character is threaded through with motifs of consumption. he takes things in, whether they be curses or daughters, and is spurred by intense empathy that ends up going in the "wrong" direction once he takes the entire jujutsu world under his wing.

when we're introduced to him in hidden inventory, our first glimpse is of him consuming a curse. he's also alone, in a dark alleyway, a symbolic image that parallels his journey throughout the story. he's a consumptive force, a facet of his being that ultimately leads to his undoing because he consumes the responsibility of "saving" the strong, who are burdened by the weak.

gojo, on the other hand, repels. he's an outward force, extending out a physical barrier that creates distance between his body and the world. where geto invites, gojo rejects. their abilities are constructed as diametrically opposed to one another's.

through the motif of gojo's abilities, this image captures their consume/repel dynamic in a singular shot. after riko's death, gojo leans into red, which repels. he focuses on growing stronger and in doing so, isolates himself from the world (and subsequently, geto). on the other hand, geto leans into blue, which aligns with the consumptive nature of his character. he harbours riko's death inside of himself and it festers, like a curse.

black holes are all-consuming vacuums. they subsume everything around them and create an inescapable vortex— once you're pulled in, you're never getting out. it will literally eat you and in doing so, makes you an everlasting part of it.

white holes, on the other hand, function in opposition to black ones along the same axis. where black holes pull, white holes push. nothing can enter them; they're doomed to a lonely eternity because of the force that holds the universe at a distance. nothing outside of it can affect what goes on within, yet it affects everything around it.

however, white holes can be subsumed by black holes. while nothing can enter them, if a white hole were to cross paths with a black hole, its consumptive force is so powerful that it would eat them too.

after geto and gojo experience a rapture in their relationship, gojo withdraws from the world, holding everyone at a literal and figurative distance. yet, even while he's alone, he's endlessly drawn towards geto. his eyes are bound but his soul isn't— it's tied to the piece of him inside of someone else, and gojo visibly feels the pull.

white/black holes also correspond to the colours associated with gojo and geto's characters (they align with their yin/yang dynamic, where yin (black) symbolizes darkness & the moon and yang (white) symbolizes light & the sun).

yin/yang are more than two halves; they form an indivisible whole. they become one another: light turns to dark, the moon replaces the sun in the sky, life transitions into death only to be born as life again.

if two celestial bodies exert oppositional forces upon each other, they function in equilibrium. geto's consumption was growing alongside gojo's repelling, reaching an event horizon when he took the lives of 112 villagers and forcing the two of them out of equilibrium. he continued to consume (curses, money, vulnerable people through his cult) until he died and took gojo's soul with him.

consumption can only exist if there's a repellant force pushing back. geto and gojo are not opposites, instead, they each contain the other— every yin has yang within it and vice versa.

they are borne of each other, they are unknowable without the other. they are more than matching; together, they are complete.

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waiting-for-a-sunny-day · 6 months

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Let’s talk about how much Geto (canonically) loved Gojo. He saw Gojo in a way no one else did.

The way that Geto answers this question is deceptively meaningful. Let me explain…

This is a flashback, but we can assume this interaction is roughly 10 years after Geto’s defection, based on Nanako and Mimiko’s (Geto’s adopted-ish daughters) apparent ages. Right around the time of JJK0.

For context, let’s remember that the last time Geto and Gojo spoke as friends (KFC breakup), Geto said this:

Geto was being intentionally hurtful here. He knew that everyone (except him) sees Gojo, first and foremost, as “the strongest.” Gojo is barely even a real person to them; he’s just a savior or threat or deus ex machina.

Geto used that to twist a knife and ask: “Is there actually anything more to who you are than just being the strongest sorcerer?” He knew this would be devastating to Gojo. Gojo’s best and only friend is saying: “even I don’t know if there is anything else that’s important about you other than your strength.”

Let’s go back to Nanako's question.

She sets this question up in an important way. Like every (non-Geto) person, she sees Gojo’s fundamental defining quality as “strong." So, naturally, her immediate sub-question to “who is he?” is “he’s super strong, right?”

She’s asked the question in a way that Geto could very easily answer it: “yes, that’s right. He’s the strongest sorcerer.”

BUT

- - - - - Keep reading cut - - - - -

Geto gets contemplative. (“Hm…” - he’s thinking about how to answer because “Who is X?” is either a very basic question or a very philosophical question).

He ends up not even acknowledging the second part of the question about Gojo’s strength and instead tells her who Gojo is to him.

Because when they were best friends and even a decade later, he never actually thought of Gojo as just the strongest. Gojo was always something more to him.

“He was my best friend.”

As an adult, an ex-best friend from high school isn’t necessarily someone meaningful to you. Is Geto saying this actually significant? Yes.

This memory (“who is Satoru Gojo anyway?”) is what Nanako remembers as the context to this next thought:

This is WILD.

This thought is during Nanako’s interaction with Sukuna where she is essentially blackmailing Sukuna into helping get Geto’s body back.

She loves Geto so much that she’d risk pissing off the most dangerous curse/demon/sorcerer just to get Geto’s body back. That’s how much she loves him.

But the man who actually killed Geto she will (never fully forgive but) “let things be” with. Because Gojo was Geto’s one and only best friend in a way that was deeply meaningful to him up until his death.

“Are you the strongest because you’re Satoru Gojo or are you Satoru Gojo because you’re the strongest?” is just what you say to someone you love when you need to hurt him enough that you can stay away from each other.

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