In an alternate timeline, a pair of new generation jujutsu monsters grew up feral and fighting curses together in Sendai. I'm sure this will have no major ramifications for the world as a whole. AKA: What if we did Scooby-Doo hijinks with Rika because Itadori is too tough and charming to get murdered by her? (ao3) (okkoita)
When Yuji Itadori is twelve years old, he meets a ghost.
Well, okay, it’s probably not a ghost but it looks like a ghost. It coils malevolently and desperately like he imagines a ghost might—clinging to something human until all its own humanity is gone. He’s too young to have a great vocabulary for what else to call this entity. Usually, he would follow Gramps’ advice and ignore the spooky things he sometimes sees, but the ghost is sitting on a bus-stop bench next to a kid in a West Junior High uniform.
Yuji thinks, this time, it’s kinda on his turf.
It’s the third day of the school year. Yuji struggled only moderately to remember the locations of his classes, and while he forgot where his locker was yesterday, a soft-faced girl named Ozawa helped him out and, with the certainty of a tween with mostly movies for reference, he’s decided she can be his middle-school crush. (You gotta have one of those.)
All and all, not so bad for the first week of middle school and he can safely tell Gramps that his success rate for Not Fighting Sons Of Bitches is at 100%.
But the ghost thing is weird for sure.
It’s like black smoke, coagulated into a sticky clot beside the kid, almost leaning on his shoulder like a big cat on its favorite zookeeper. It’s got physical weight. Yuji can see it where it rubs its face on him, his uniform ripples and deforms. The kid ignores it, but Yuji can see even from here there are bloody scratches along his inner forearms where his uniform is too short on him. He’s been crying.
“Hey,” Yuji says, stepping under the roof of the bus-stop bench. “You go to West Junior, right?”
The kid on the bench, wide-eyed, looks up from his shoes. His uniform doesn’t fit him very well. His sneakers look beat up, like his mom didn’t take him clothes shopping this year and he’s still wearing what he had from last year. His hair sticks up the way iron-filings do under a magnet at the top, grown out shaggy at the front. Yuji thinks he’s maybe a year or two older, but small for his age.
The word ‘underfed’ comes to mind.
Yuji points at him. “Yeah. I saw you at passing period. You’re a grade ahead of me, right?”
“I-I guess,” the kid stammers. “Are you, um, a first year?”
“Yup.” He hooks a thumb and points it at himself. “I’m Yuji Itadori. You wanna ride to school together? I get lost easy.”
“Oh. Okay. I think that would be… that would be fine.” He keeps glancing at the shadow on his shoulder, which ignores Yuji and continues to coil on him like a rotting calico. “If you’re scared of getting lost, I can help. But just for a bit. Okay? We shouldn’t—” he swallows— “shouldn’t be friends.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“I’m, uh, I’m out of school a lot. You’d be better off with another upperclassman to—”
“What’s your name?”
“O-oh. Sorry. Okkotsu. Yuta Okkotsu.”
“Okkotsu-senpai. Got it.” Yuji sits down next to Yuta on the bench, opposite the dead thing that’s latched to him. “You wanna snack?” He digs around in his backpack. “I’ve got extra.” He produces a tuna-mayo onigiri. “Gramps says I shouldn’t leave them in my bag all day. Do you buy snacks from the corner store by the park? I live in an apartment building there. Do you live nearby?”
Okkotsu, shocked to find an onigiri in his hands before he can protest, stammers a little. Now that he’s close to Okkotsu, Yuji can kind of smell him—like he hasn’t bathed in a while and his clothes aren’t washed. Up close, there are bags under Okkotsu’s eyes, his nails are ragged from chewing, and the scratches on his wrists seem fresh.
Stuff his Gramps would say are ‘bad signs’.
“You should come over after school,” Yuji declares, kicking his heels on the sidewalk. “My gramps is always working so he leaves the fridge super stocked and puts lots of movies in the entertainment system for me. It’s awesome.”
“W-What?”
“You live close by.” Yuji beams. “We should be friends.”
“I—” Okkotsu looks over his shoulder again.
Yuji’s starting to suspect the Thing On Okkotsu’s Shoulder is dangerous with how he’s acting. That or it messes with him so bad it makes him seem crazy. Yuji, only then, wonders how smart it is to invite something like that into his house or if Okkotsu is crazy from having something like that glued to him. Yuji wonders if, maybe, he should be more scared. Maybe he should—
“Okay. We’re neighbors. We can be friends.” Okkotsu balls his sleeve up over his hand and uses it to wipe his face. “You should make friends in your own grade though.” A pause. “And don’t tell people your grandpa is working all the time. If you’re home alone sometimes, like, you shouldn’t tell people that.”
“Why?”
“You could get your grandpa in trouble? They could take you away from him?”
“Oh. He’s just out for the week. It’s fine. I haven’t punched anyone at school even once so no parent-teacher conferences!” Yuji flashes a thumbs up.
Okkotsu blinks owlishly. “Huh?
“I don’t like bullies.” Yuji gestures with his food, rolling his eyes. “Gramps says punching people is bad.”
“Uh, yeah—"
“But some people need punching,” Yuji quotes. “Gramps said that too.”
Okkotsu snorts, tries to hide the laugh with his hand. His laugh sounds funny, cracks in his throat and wheezes, like maybe he’s out of practice with it. “Um, aren’t you young to talk that way?”
“Gramps says you’re never too young to learn a hard lesson.”
Okkotsu’s face does something funny. “I… I don’t think that. I think you can be too young for—” He pauses. “Never mind. It’s nice to meet you, Itadori.”
“This is awesome. I have a middle school crush picked out. And I have an upperclassman mentor. I’m killing it.”
FYI: Since I posted up over the holiday weekend. Chapter 2 is up. Hit it here on AO3. Separate post and preview over here.
Fun Fact: Gege's original concept for JJK0 and Jujutsu Kaisen in general was following Yuta around while he kind of desperately investigated haunted houses and dangerous places to find a cursed spirit strong enough to defeat Rika. This fanfic is entirely because I genuinely thought that was SO SAD and also wanted to answer the question: What if Yuji was standing next to him going 'lol, this rules' the whole time Yuta was fighting his demons?
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Cienie's take on Mandalorian Culture: Mandalorian laws
Kad Ha’rangir and mandalorian traditional weapons part 1 — part 2 — part 3 – part 4 — part 5 ||| Arasuum - stagnation as symbol of death, not sloth, renamed as Arasuum - the God of Death, not Sloth part 1 — part 2 — part 3 — part 4 ||| Original Mandalorians and Gai bal manda ritual ||| Hod Ha'ran, the god of visions, prophecies and magic ||| God of Death as a mighty Beast
In Star Wars lore the general take on Mandalorians is that they have little use of laws, as they don’t have political-social structures similar to those of Republic’s nations.
Mandalorians: People and Culture:
Their society places no emphasis on birthplace, species, or citizenship, and so Mando’ade have no “state” as modern galactic politics understands it. They ignore rank and status and prefer to judge by actions and achievements, a true meritocracy: the Mandalore, or leader of the clans, is the nearest they have to a head of state. And yet nobody mistakes Mandalorians for any other people when they see them.
The Old Republic Encyclopedia
The Mandalorians have no use for senates, councils, or emperors. Only the mightiest of warriors is fit to lead a culture devoted entirely to battle.
CLAN SOCIETY
Mandalorian society operates with a minimal and largely informal power structure. Every Mandalorian is a member of a clan, either by birth or recruitment. Although different clans often disagree and even fight one another, they treat their own members like family, regardless of whatever they’re related by blood ties or oath. Other than the clan’s chieftain, members have no official ranks or positions unless organized into a fighting unit where chain of command has a valuable place. Each man or woman is expected to contribute however they can, with those who achieve great things gaining increased respect and new responsibilities. Although clans may have ties or rivalries with other clans, there is no formal hierarchy. All clan chieftains report directly to the Mandalore.
Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
Mandalorian society has no written laws and few norms, but the few that exist are sacred.
The special exception is Resol'nare[1], the Six Action that all members of society are required to follow to call themselves a Mandalorian.
Mandalorians: People and Culture:
Mando’ade regard the following six acts - known as the Six Actions, or Resol’Nare - as central to Mandalorian identity: wearing armor, speaking the Mandalorian language, defending themselves and their families, raising their children as Mandalorians, contributing to the clan’s welfare, and rallying to the Mand’alor when called to arms. Anyone who practices them is considered a Mando’ad. The emphasis is on carrying out these acts daily, not simply paying lip service to them.
The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia:
Resol’nare: A term that described the basic tenets of Mandalorian culture, or “Six Actions”: the wearing of armor, the use of Mando’a language, loyalty and defense of one’s family and oneself, raising children in the Mandalorian way, contributing to the welfare of one’s clan, and answering the call to combat of the Mand’alor during times of strife.
Following the Resol’nare is what allows one to call themselves a Mandalorian yet does not determine anything else in regard to said culture or morality. As the lore proved, Six Action was not enough to settle any conflict between (non-Taung) Mandalorians over who was a true Mandalorian and who didn’t deserve such a title or how Mandalorians should conduct their matters.
In contrast the little we know about Taungs made it clear, they follow much more strict codes:
History of the Mandalorians:
[...] Made up of clans of simianlike humanoids, these nomads roamed space seeking conflict, following a code called the Canons of Honor. The Canons aimed at helping warriors attain personal glory via combat and loyalty to one’s clan. Despite this simplistic aim, the Crusaders were scarcely primitive, placing highest priority on plundering cutting-edge weaponry at every opportunity.
The label of Mandalorian Crusader is misleading. It’s thought that the Crusaders’ forefathers were a religious warrior society with sophisticated laws that devolved into the Canons. [...].
Death Watch Manifesto said that once Mandalore the Ultimate opened ranks to non-Taung people, original teaching became Resol’nare that was passed down to new recruits
We call the Shadow Warriors our Progenitors, though we do not share their blood, and their bodies were those of beasts, not humans. We do so because their leaders forged the Mando’ade into warrior bands and taught them to treasure family, clan and honor. Their teaching became the Resol’nare, the Six Actions, that make us Mandalorians: raising the young to seek honor and glory, wearing armor, defending one’s self and one’s family, supporting one’s clan, speaking a common language, and owing fealty to the leader of the clans.
but the author of Manifesto twice mentioned non-Taung warriors following the original, ancient codes (plural form):
The age of the Taung was ending, but their great work was unfinished. To survive, the Mando'ade must be transformed.
It was a terrible burden, but Mandalore the Ultimate bore it with honor. He opened the clans to all who proved themselves in battle and followed the warrior codes. Non-Taungs were no longer confined to vassalship, but could be full-fledged Mandalorian warriors. Our forefathers were among these new Mando'ade, and soon proved they were ready to lead the clans
and
This perfect society threatened the Republic. Seven centuries ago, their craven, hut’uune warships and Jedi bombarded our worlds. They incinerated Mandalore’s farmland and forests, leaving much of our homeworld a forsaken desert of fine white sand, and then occupied our world. They killed, exiled, or disarmed our warriors and suppressed our ancient codes [...].
Which suggests that while Resol’nare was the basic set of laws, the behavior and social exceptions of Mandalorians (or at least warriors) were still regulated by much more complex set of legal principles (more details about that in sidenotes).
However as the Knights of the Old Republic comics series presented, Mandalore the Ultimate (representing original Taung-Mandalorians) was aware there is not enough time to teach the new recruits their culture.
So many new recruits. Different species, different armors, different languages -- and not enough time to learn our ways.
and chronology wise, the earliest use of Resol’nare was presented during Mandalorian Wars, when Republic citizens were forced into Mandalorian army (KotOR: Vector):
Once you were Dar’manda -- ignorant outsiders. Those lives are over! You will raise your young as Mandalorians -- and defend them. You will wear our armor and speak our language. And you will serve the clan, and rally when called. These are the Resol’nare -- the Six Actions - sacred to our movement. Do them -- and you may live to call yourselves Mandalorians!
All those above sources led me to think that Taung-original Mandalorians have much more complex laws, including religious ones, that defined their individual behavior and society as whole, while Resol’nare was specifically designed and implemented once Mandalore the Ultimate understood passing the Canons of Honor as it was to new recruits was impossible due to limited time and opportunity. So the law complexity of original culture was simplified to the bare minimum and/or essential rules, and the further from Mandalorian Wars, the more forgotten the Canons of Honor became.
SIDENOTES
[1] The other vital law that Mandalorian warriors seem to be bound to follow is a challenge to duel, as a way to settle serious matters. In Knight of the Old Republic, Canderous Ordo was challenged by Jagi and if he refused to fight the man or did not show up in designated place and time, Canderous would be forever cast out of Manalorian society.
Jagi: I challenge you Canderous. I challenge you to fight the fight you fled that day above Althir. In the dune seas of Tatooine, I will be waiting for you. I have spread the news of the challenge since I learned you had landed on this world. All the surviving Mandalorian clans know of what I do here, and that we shall meet on Tatooine to settle this debt of vengeance once and for all. If you fail to meet me there, you shall be stripped of all honor and forever cast out of our society! It will be you and me alone in the dune seas of Tatooine: a final battle that can only end in death. I shall be waiting for you there, Canderous.
and
Canderous (to Player): I've been given a challenge I can't ignore. We've got to go to the dune seas of Tatooine so I can find Jagi and kill him for his insult to me!
In The Old Republic game we learn that
Lane Vizla’s brother was challenged by Kur Ha’rangir (and the latter cheated during the duel but because of his clan’s social position, the cheating was ignored).
Lane Vizla: Years ago, Kur Ha'rangir challenged my brother to a duel. Over some perceived slight against his famous name. Kur used nothing but underhanded tricks - like he does with everything else. There was no honor in the way he fought... He killed my brother... and no one called out Kur's deception. Typical, for a Ha'rangir.
Shae Vizla was challenged to duel by her enemy, Heta Kol, the leader of Hidden Chain
In The Clone Wars TV animated series, Pre Vizsla was challenged by Maul. As we learn from Maul and Almec’s discussion, ancient laws regulated what should happen to followers of the defeated warrior
Almec: Clearly you are powerful, but how can two of you overthrow Vizsla and his supporters?
Maul: Vizsla is a soldier, and like every soldier, he is bound by honor. I will challenge him to single combat in front of his men. He will not deny me.
Almec: Hmm. If you defeat him, according to the ancient laws of Mandalore, his soldiers will be honor-bound to follow you.
Maul: Precisely.
After Pre's death, half of Death Watch accepted Maul as the new ruler, while Bo-Katan and her supporters rejected the Sith Lord.
I've been fiddling with this on the buss. Once more, I'm not an expert, nor do I claim that I'm even correct lol. BUT! This is the rules I use for my own writing and I thought I'd share. It's very "laminated A3 in middle school classroom"-core if you know what I mean. Anyway, feedback is welcome!
Updated 2025-03-18! Now version 2.0 after excellent feedback!
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Mando'a Adjectives! Part 2 of my "educational poster in a classroom"-esque mando'a series (does it count a a series now??)! The layout was a bit harder to figure out with this one. **The -'la, -'yc categories idea is mostly speculative and based on patterns I noticed in the available material, but shouldn't be taken as more than a guiding rule that I use! I pray there aren't any typos. Feedback is as always warmly welcomed!
To check out my pervious Mando'a Verbs post click -> here!
K'oyacyi!
I went a little off the rails for a power-point-party, so I thought I'd share. Don't come at me about canonicity. Also yes, I spent hours using illustrator to make pose-able vector mando'ade.
Review from my friend: "I feel like I actually learned something?"
National Theatre is streaming their rendition of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde this week for free on YouTube. The production is a delight.
This show is one I constantly return to as a theatre educator for middle/high school, and it is MUCH better enjoyed when performed rather than on paper.
I think I found my new favorite rabbit hole. This voice actor does Shakespeare scenes in a southern accent and I need to see the whole damn play. Absolutely beautiful
if you're not from the us american south, there's some amazing nuances to this you may have missed. i can't really describe all of them, because i've lived here my whole life and a lot of the body language is sort of a native tongue thing. the body language is its own language, and i am not so great at teaching language. i do know i instinctively sucked on my lower teeth at the same time as he did, and when he scratched the side of his face, i was ready to take up fucking arms with him.
but y'all. the way he said "brutus is an honourable man" - each and every time it changed just a little. it was the full condemnation Shakespeare wanted it to be. it started off slightly mock sincere. barely trying to cover the sarcasm. by the end...it wasn't a threat, it was a promise.
the eliding of “you all” to “y’all” while still maintaining 2 syllables is a deliberate and brilliant act of violence. “bear with me” said exactly like i’ve heard it at every funeral. the choices of breaking and re-establishing of eye contact. the balance of rehearsed and improvised tone. A+++ get this man a hollywood contract.
happy birthday to my favorite rapper, songwriter, producer, and all-around music lover, the man who brings joy and light to my life every day. wishing you all the love and happiness and success in the world, always.
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I love you but we don't love the same. I can't be near you when you want me to be. Your love is smothering and your need to keep me safe is trapping me. I'm my own person but I don't know how to show you that. I lash out and hurt you even though I don't mean to. I need you to move slowly around me or I'll bolt. I love you, even though I don't say it. If you stay still I'll sit next to you, and even though we don't understand each other we can be together like that.
cat love as in I am small and scared and all of my instincts and my experience and your vast power say you're a threat but I am choosing to trust in your kindness despite my fear. you could kill me with one hand but I know you won't.
cat love as in I can tell you are upset and I don't understand why so I will sit stiffly beside you and awkwardly provide the only reassurance I know how to give. I am uncomfortable with every single moment of this but it is what you would do for me.
cat love as in I am small and powerless but I will curl up back to back with you and stand guard while you sleep and I will mean it with every fiber of my being.
my cat Nepenthe was a former stray behavior case at risk of euthanasia because she kept mauling potential adopters. on her second week in my apartment--having already attacked me multiple times without provocation, I will add, I wasn't special, she needed genuine help--she slinked out of the bedroom yowling at me. when I went to check on her she kept walking back and forth until I followed her, where she insistently paced between my feet and her hidey-hole in the back of my dresser, increasingly distressed. about three seconds after she gave up and hid, an absolutely torrential rain front hit. she didn't understand yet that we couldn't get wet inside. she'd been trying to warn me.
she didn't know me yet, but she knew I hadn't yelled at her when she hurt me. she knew I hadn't tried to hurt her back. she didn't understand why she was attacking me; those episodes probably scared her more than me. she knew I "shared" food with her, and that I asked before touching her. and she went out of her way to bring me into her safe space, to protect her friend.
cat love as stiff hesitant uncertain acts of service that are devastating in their sincerity, as well.
I am an independant being. I will not be at your beck and call. I will go where I please, take an interest in what I please, play and sleep when I please. But sometimes it will please me to follow you. Sometimes it will please me to take an interest in what you are doing. Sometimes it will please me to play with you and sleep alongside you. My ears will catch your voice like a satellite dish. I will know your every name for me. My eyes will wink to show that I trust you. I will sit close by you with my back turned, each of us in our own world together. I may seem inscrutable to one who is unfamiliar with my ways, but you will know when I am happy and enjoying your affection. When it pleases me to show you affection you will know that too. I will leave my marks on you and take your marks on me so that the world knows we belong together. Our flesh and blood and minds will always be different but we are one tribe.
