#panharmonium

Heeeee, yes - you got it in one!

53. What's worse, the DMV or the Social Security Office?

Now, I fully admit to my personal bias coming into play here. On average, I have to wrestle with DMV-related matters much less than most people in the country do. However, that will not stop me from wholeheartedly believing that the Social Security Office is my mortal enemy in this life. No other entity has ever jerked me around the way they are determined to carry on so doing, or so frequently come to me like, "Hey, you didn't do anything, but we messed this up, so now you have to take care of it." Accountability, guys. ACCOUNTABLITY.

27. Do you prefer Boardgame Night, Build-Your-Own-Pizza Night, or Movie Night with your friends?

Oh, this one is so hard! I love cooking with people, and I have some really, really wonderful memories of watching movies and TV shows with friends, but I think playing board games and card games together ultimately edges the other two out, if only because it usually takes people by surprise when my competitive spirit comes out. I get super intense!

43. Favorite book you've read recently?

Ah, sorry, I don't have as good of an answer for this one though. My reading pool hasn't been too wide for this last while because I've just been slowly working through the Wheel of Time series. I only have two and three-quarters more books to go though, so soon I'll be able to branch out again!

48. If you could build your home from scratch, what outrageous feature would you want to build into it?

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is an elevator. I never noticed until I needed to help my mom find a place for herself how few, at least in my area, houses don't have at least a few steps, either inside or outside. Obviously if my theoretical designed house were on a single level, an elevator isn't necessary. But that's the first practical idea I thought of. For more fun options, I am really fond of the idea of having a dedicated library-type room or study. While I'm not sure this counts as an outrageous feature, I have ridiculously fervent feelings about the presence of a fireplace. Also, kitchen design/layout is another thing I have strong opinions about, so I could probably go overboard there pretty easily? Oh, and I love window seats!

62. Where are you on the minimalism-maximalism kinsey scale?

Wheel of the Year by panharmonium

It's the last year in Ealdor for both of them, though they don’t know it yet. | Merlin and his peasant prince, as the wheel turns. In eight parts.

Fandom: Merlin (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: Gen Relationship: Merlin & Will Words: 101,119

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This is my completed ficbind of Wheel of the Year by @panharmonium. I'm so excited to have it on my shelf as an actual physical book!

The typeset and cover design has a growth/leaves motif to pay homage to how the story feels rooted in the changing of the seasons. The cover colours were chosen to for similar reasons (gold/brown tones to represent earth & fields + Merlin's magic, blue/green to represent the Ea + Merlin's eyes & growth/life).

Is this track too weird? Please tell me. It's the answer to the question, "Can I make a track on a modern MPC with nothing but samples of a TV show taken from an old VHS tape and run through a modular synth?"

Lol I thought so! But I saw just my tags without context and it looked so accusatory I just had to make the joke!

(I want you to imagine something, since we’re both in the Merlin fandom. I promise, I knew it wasn’t like that, but you just... sending me my own tags, with absolutely no context, made the image of someone throwing a gauntlet at my feet, staring straight into my eyes and telling me to own up to my deeds sprung fully formed into my head and had me in stitches.)

You know, I actually saw a post not too long ago explaining at least two reasons why asks might get eaten by the insatiable maws of tumblr’s subpar coding. One of them was separating elipses from the next word (like... this and not like...this) and I think the other one was a heart made the old fashioned way, like this <3

https://unwrapping.tumblr.com/post/92287014232/watch-for-failing-asks-tumblr

No stone left unturned!

1x01:

The two canine shikigami Megumi (Fushiguro) can summon are called the gyokuken, the divine dogs, which ties into his cursed technique, the Ten Shadows, being based off the ten sacred treasures from shintoism. No idea why it was changed to be called the demon dogs in the anime.

In the manga, Megumi has green eyes instead of blue.

Megumi may be a grumpy guy with sea urchin hair (as opposed to duck butt hair 😉), but he's also very polite! He always addresses Gojo as “Gojo-sensei” and the Zen'in person he compares Yuji to in episode 1 is “Zen’in-senpai” too!

Yuji is just the best and I love him dearly.

1x02:

Gojo:

[shows up in an intense moment and immediately starts teasing Megumi and taking pictures of him] "Since my student is watching, I think I'll show off a little. :D" "A request from a precious student? Leave it to me!" (Also, I like that Megumi's answer to Satoru asking if his desire to not let Yuji die is motivated by personal feelings is “Yes. Please do something about this.”) [notices Yuji likes hoodies and incorporates a hood into his school uniform customization, and according to Megumi, this is a pattern.] [tricks his new country bumpkin students but then treats them to dinner (without trying to weasel out of paying *cough cough* *fond side-eye of certain other team leaders*)]

Me: I'm fine. This is fine. I like him a normal amount. [vibrates]

Gojo's line to Yuji about Sukuna, “Don't worry, I'm way too strong for him” is a very good translation under the syllable constraints, though it doesn’t completely capture the thematic bearing of “Don't worry, I'm the strongest.” (Nothing spoilery concerning what I am alluding to here; this is just one motif-type thing that is somewhat lost via non-specific wordings.)

The fact that the first thing Satoru says about the Jujutsu world's elders/higher-ups is that they're cowards… really just about says it all. If you enjoyed how Kakashi handled/acted towards Homura and Koharu after Danzo's death, then you are in for a treat. :)

As is pretty obvious at this point, I'm just really amused by the ways Kakashi and Satoru either mirror each other or are total inverses of the other. They both have revolutionary mindsets, they are both habitually late, Gojo has a massive sweet tooth and, as we know, Kakashi does not. They're both dog people (this never comes up in jjk's story, but was mentioned in a Q&A with Gege Akutami). I'll try to add on to this list as you progress ‘cause it's like my favorite thing.

Gojo’s big smiles in reaction to Yuji stating his convictions of how he wants to live and die. 🥰 [“Nice! I like people like you.” 😊]

Megumi: There were plenty of other empty rooms, weren't there? Satoru: But isn't livelier better? I thought it'd be good for– Megumi: Classes and missions are enough. This was an unwelcome favor. Satoru: 😟

I have A LOT of feelings about this exchange and it wouldn’t make sense to talk about now and it is KILLING ME. THEY'RE THERE THOUGH.

1x03:

Protagonist throwing himself at his new teacher to hug him? Check!

At the beginning of episode 3, Yuji is enjoying a light blue (ramune flavored) popsicle, the same kind of popsicle Gojo is often depicted with in official art, such as this chapter cover illustration by Gege:

I wonder if Yuji and Gojo have the same favorite flavor?

Yuji (observing Nobara for the first time while decked out in tourist-y stuff): This is kinda embarrassing. Megumi: Yeah, so are you.

Nobara: *disgusted by Yuji's eating habits* Yuji: Hey! That's not very nice! Megumi: I agree with her.

I adore the first-year trio's dynamics so much. <3<3<3

Megumi: I think I'll go [in with Nobara and Yuji], too.  Satoru “Tough Love” Gojo: Don't push yourself. You're still recovering. *sits on the ground so his student has the nicer resting spot*

Nobara Kugisaki makes self-referential puns to herself like a DWEEB and I love her for it. <3

Yuji Itadori casually Kool-Aid Mans through a wall and thinks nothing of it because it’s not like it was reinforced concrete or anything, just like he rammed into my heart. <3

Megumi Fushiguro always has his nose in his phone and quietly pouts when he's left out of things and I love him for his grumpy sea urchin ways. <3

1x04:

Oh yeah, so the series picks up in June 2018 and then skips ahead a week or two to the start of July 2018 for episode 4. And since we're on the topic of dates, all three of our first years are currently fifteen. Nobara, like Sakura before her, is the oldest, Born August 7, 2002. Megumi is in the middle, born on December 22, 2002. Making Yuji the baby with a birth date of March 20, 2003. Satoru is 28 and was born on December 7, 1989. Oh lookie there, what a similar age gap between–

Okay, but the way Yuji's Japanese VA first speaks to the white divine dog (popular fanon headcanon is the wolves’ names are Shiro and Kuro because Megumi does seem the type to simply dub them White and Black 😄) and says he's a good boy has to be one of my favorite line deliveries ever!

Nobara and Yuji may have gotten off on the wrong foot with each other, but I love that they react the same way to the disappearing door in the innate domain and praise Shiro upon learning he can smell the way out for them, much to Megumi’s annoyance. :) All three of them complement each other so well!

Megumi: And what happens when someone you saved goes on to kill someone else? Yuji: Then why did you bother saving me?!

Gaaahhhhh they respect/admire each other so much but the way they clash and navigate their personal philosophies and how that impacts their relationship is so, so great! Yuji is trying to honor his grandpa’s request to help/save others and if he can’t, give them at least “proper” deaths, while Megumi has a strict moral code of his own, though you’ll have to wait a little longer to hear it…

Nooooooo! Shirooooooooo! :( :( :( :( :(

“If I died here - if I actually died - would that be a proper death?!” + “I thought I was at least strong enough to choose when I died.” MY BOY. :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

Fun fact about Ijichi, the auxiliary manager/assistant manager depending on the translation with the glasses: he’s actually only 26! His birthday is April 20, 1991. Unlike many of the other managers, he has a cursed technique and originally trained to be a sorcerer before switching over to his current career track.

Yuji: You're often irritated when you're on the phone, Fushiguro. Megumi: That's because of Gojo-sensei, not the phone.

😂😂😂

1x05:

•‘The only thing granted equally to all is an unfair reality.’ 👀 •Ah, we’re starting to get into some terminology! Healing via cursed energy = reverse cursed technique. Regular cursed energy is derived from negative emotions, so it makes sense that the reversal of CE is positive in nature and can be used to heal. As Sukuna notes, since cursed spirits are made of cursed energy, it’s much easier for them to heal this way. RCT as an ability is very rare amongst sorcerers, and highly prized. •NOT OROCHI TOO. :( :( :( •So yeah, Megumi gets thrown around here quite dramatically by three-finger!Sukuna. It's not explained until later - you didn’t miss anything! - but this is known as cursed energy reinforcement. Sorcerers are not inherently super strong or non-breakable; that is specifically a Yuji thing. •C’mon, Sukuna! You can’t just say “nice technique there” and just leave it at that! You have to finish the meme! •Outwardly, Megumi doesn't treat his shikigami as pets, but according to Gege, he is really connected to them and deeply mourns when any of them are destroyed. The loss of Yuji is the bigger blow of course, but losing two of them in one day at the detention center really weighed on him:

•‘If I have the time to curse someone, I'd rather spend it thinking about those precious to me.’ TSUMIKIIIIII. <3 •‘The father who named me “Megumi” with no regard for my gender…’ The name Megumi is traditionally considered more of a feminine one. It means “blessing.” •‘Jujutsu sorcerers are just another cog in that machine of retribution. I want more good people to enjoy fairness, even if only a few, so I save people unequally.’ This gets fleshed out a bit more down the line, but it's a good first summary. •‘Sacred treasure swing and ring, ring. Eight grip…!’ I wonder what that is…? ;)

Megumi: I'm not a hero. I'm a Jujutsu sorcerer. So I've never once regretted saving you.

😭 (Also very important to Megumi's mentality.)

Yuuji: Oh, looks like I'm done for. Guess I won't have to worry about you, Kugisaki, or Gojo-sensei. Live a long life.

😭😭😭

•I don't think I've ever seen the source for this, but legend has it Gege decided to have Yuuji die here because he thought the series was about to be canceled. We should've known then and there how diabolical of a person he truly is! Well, I say we but I'm completely blameless ‘cause I didn't hear about it until it was already too late. •Gojo: [Yuji's death] was intentional….Besides, with Yuji, I was the one who forced the issue and got his execution Indefinitely suspended.[1](<- tally for future reference, though I wouldn't be surprised if you see where I'm going with it. 😉) Some higher-ups who didn't like that took advantage of my absence and the special grade to tactfully dispose of him. If the other two had also died, it'd be more trouble for me and two birds with one stone for them. (Also, I know this is a rather flimsy link, but this situation = shades of Kakashi returning from an inconveniently-timed mission only to hear Sasuke's defected and the only people who've been sent after him are five genin? Just the emotional blows suffered by each teacher, I mean.)

Gojo: Searching for someone to blame is such a pain. Maybe I should just… kill all the higher-ups. 😡😡😡

Yeah, his best Shikamaru impression aside, you do NOT threaten or harm Satoru's kids and expect to get away with it. Or, at least you don't if you're smart and not blinded by ambition. Oh, wait…

Shoko (Ieiri, AKA MY DARLING GIRL, and who sadly looks like she hasn't had a good night's sleep in literal years): You're not usually this emotional. Looks to me like you've taken quite a liking to him. Satoru: I've always been the kind of guy who cares for my students.

Me: Yeah you are my darling boy!! Shoko just likes to tease you in that droll way of hers. :) (She is also 28 and was classmates with Gojo. Her birthday is November 7th, which delights me as apparently Rin is a November baby, too.) •Nobara: Panda? That's all you're giving me is Panda? (🤣) •Megumi & Nobara, while thinking of Yuji: I have to get stronger. I’ll do anything to achieve that! (Very shounen-y but still, 🥹) •Alright, regarding the punchline for episode 5's Juju Stroll: Megumi says Panda kinda smells like the sun (now, which Febreze leads to that, huh?), but he refers to the sun as “ohisama” instead of using “hi” or “taiyo.” Maki and Nobara were so shocked (and endeared) by this because that's what Japanese children call the sun. It's akin to saying Mr. Sun (or Honorable Sun more literally). Super cute. :)

1x06:

•The deal, or “pact,” Sukuna tricks Yuji into making to come back to life is known as a “binding vow” in the manga, which is important to note due to the anime later on using “pact” interchangeably with another concept as well called heavenly restriction. Binding vows and heavenly restrictions have similar mechanics but are otherwise very distinct. Just so you know, in the manga the trigger word for Yuji and Sukuna’s binding vow is “enchain” in case they end up replacing “extension” with it. •“You know, I have a bad personality.” Satoru says, and then expresses that, “No one is allowed to take the events of youth away from young people/I refuse to keep this kid from living the best years of his life. Not just him, but everyone.” So do you really have a bad personality, or is it that no one around you makes positive statements about you on a personal level and so you've internalized that impression, silly dude? (I don’t expect you to take my word for it or anything, Pan. Although I’d be excited if you wind up drawing a close conclusion yourself! Unfortunately I can’t explain my entire reasoning as of yet.)

•HE HAS A DREAM!!!!! :’) TO RESET THAT GARBAGE JUJUTSU WORLD. SO HE CHOSE EDUCATION TO CREATE HIS REVOLUTION! TO RAISE UP STRONG, CLEVER COMRADES! HE LIKES BEING THE STRONGEST AND IS PROUD OF IT BUT HE'S EXCITED FOR HIS STUDENTS TO BE ON PAR WITH HIM OR SURPASS HIM! HE WANTS A BETTER WORLD FOR THEM! Sorry for the shouting; I've been holding that in for a long time. :D

I’m glad he calls the higher-ups scum, and not himself. :) •‘Yuji would have been one of them.’ DO YOU EVER CRY? •Best high-five ever! 😁

Yuji: Oh, I figured you'd be the best person to train me, so I'm just happy. ☺️

HE IS VERY DEAR TO MEEEEEE!!! <3 <3 <3

Yuji: Teach me to be the strongest! Gojo: Heh. You've got a keen eye. ;) Yuji: Sensei, you're the one who called yourself the strongest. Gojo: *doesn't deign to acknowledge that last comment*

Once again, I LOVE them!! <3

•‘I see. I don't get it.’ The most on-brand Yuji statement ever. XD •Gege just casually name-dropping moves from Yu Yu Hakusho, Bleach, Naruto, and Dragon Ball. Yuji SHOULD get to do a rasengan haha! •Megumi: “I just got really irritated…” (🤣 I am easily amused by the “character can sense when they are being badmouthed somewhere else” trope!) •I can give you somewhat of a little cheat sheet for understanding Inumaki's onigiri code, if you'd like?

1x07:

•Oh crap. Gojo asks Ijichi, “Just what do you think I am?” not, “Just who do you think I am?” I had never caught that before… •Gojo’s “Hora, hora! Horahora! Hoooora!” is a fantastic line delivery, too. •So you get to see a bunch of Gojo's abilities in this episode but only a couple of them are explained in any depth, i.e. Infinity (the “neutral” form of his cursed technique, Limitless) and his domain expansion, Infinite Void (or technically Unlimited Void in the manga). You'll eventually get a fuller rundown of Limitless, however Gege is going to take his sweet time about it, so if you're curious, I can go into more of the details. Essentially, his technique is the materialization of certain physics and math concepts. Fun stuff. :) •Fellowship of the Ring reference my beloved!!!!! <3 I maintain that the first movie was Yuuji’s choice and Satoru picked LotR to be up next as his go-to film most likely to invoke strong emotions based on personal experience and that is part of why he was impressed by Yuuji’s focus. That’s my headcanon and I’m stickin’ to it!

Yuji: Sensei, I was at the school just ten seconds ago, right? What's going on here? Gojo: Oh, we warped here. Yuji: He has no intention of explaining.

Awww, look at how well he already knows his sensei!

•Gojo: “You'll be fine. Just stay close to me.” Head pats!!

Yuji: Hey, Sensei! 🙋‍♂️ Gojo: Yes, Yuji-kun! 👉 Yuji: The exchange event is… what? 🫨 Gojo: Huh? 😯 I didn’t tell you?

I believe this is what the kids today call idiot-to-idiot communication.

I might pick up some of the manga from the library, just to have it on hand.  I also prefer watching the animated versions, but I felt like in our second watch session I was having trouble understanding some of what was going on.  I don’t know if maybe some of that is attributable to watching it in a room with five other people - my friends occasionally talk or make jokes, which on the one hand does add to my enjoyment but also possibly is distracting.  Or possibly I’ve just been spoiled by Naruto - I expect the characters to break out a classroom pointer and show me cute charts while interminably lecturing me about the mechanics of how things work. XD

As I mentioned a few days ago, I really think this is a smart way to go about it. I believe you've hit the nail on the head (*winks at Nobara with a thumbs-up*) that some things are getting lost amongst y’all’s talking, BUT I actually wouldn’t recommend changing that. From what you’ve described, it doesn't sound like you're sacrificing anything in truth, if that makes sense. My guess is reading over the parts you've seen thus far will likely solidify the concepts and connections that have been set up, but in general, as a viewer, JJK throws you into the deep end in multiple ways. That is why I included the note about Gojo's powers in episode seven for example; they are left largely unspecified except for Infinity, since it essentially makes Gojo untouchable, and hence, the need for the villains to “seal” him in lieu of killing him. But I totally understand the inherent uncertainty that causes, trying to determine what is okay not to follow/decipher and what you're supposed to have figured out. So I hope I can clear some of it up here.

Some of it might just be stuff we’re not actually supposed to get yet.  We’ve had flashbacks for the other two kids at this point, but I honestly didn’t fully understand what was going on in either of them - I’m sure more will be revealed later. 

Yeah. I’d say the purpose of those flashbacks was less about the contents than the motivations they were meant to establish. Did that come through?

And I had a bit of trouble figuring out the mechanics of what exactly Yuji was doing while watching TV

Right! So you know how the treewalking exercise Kakashi had Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke practice was for honing chakra control? This is kinda like that. Satoru is helping Yuji learn to better control his cursed energy by continuously pushing a certain amount of cursed energy into the bear plush. All the movies do is instigate strong emotions that thereby provide a resource of cursed energy for Yuji to manipulate. That way, he doesn’t have to split his focus on both supplementing his cursed energy and being efficient with its output as well, I think? (I feel as though I didn’t organize that explanation in the best order. I’m sorry if it didn't clarify it all that well!)

I’m unclear on what exactly the “innate domains” are and how Gojo’s was different?

Ooh, this is a good question! When Gojo is explaining domain expansions to Yuji, he says the domain at the detention center sounds like it was an incomplete one. This is because a domain expansion consists of two components: expanding one's “innate domain” into the surrounding environs (typically encompassed by a barrier “shell”) + imbuing your individualized cursed technique into the domain's area. This takes a hefty amount of cursed energy, which means not everyone is capable of casting one. Most of those who have the capability can only use domain expansion no more than once a day. (Another reason Satoru's domain is special. You haven't heard this term yet, but he has what is known as the Six Eyes and they make it possible for him to cast his domain several times a day if it were needed.) At the detention center, the interior landscape of the dormitory building was altered, but it lacked an imbued technique, making it incomplete. Sukuna’s domain expansion, Malevolent Shrine, slices things at its most basic level. Jogo’s (volcano head) technique is called Disaster Flames, and his domain expansion, Coffin of the Iron Mountain, transports its target into the inside of a raging volcano, usually causing instant incineration. Gojo's domain expansion, Unlimited Void, traps anyone in it in a void-like space, ‘the inside of Limitless,’ immobilizing and overwhelming them with an endless stream of information. Yuji was in contact with Gojo the entire time, so he wasn't affected. Likewise to cursed techniques, everyone's innate domain is specific to themselves. Sukuna tells Yuji after he dies that they are in his innate domain and to think of it as being inside Sukuna's mind. Influenced by his incarnation within Yuji, the borders of it look like a ribcage, but the rest is emblematic of Sukuna’s self-concept. No, I didn't bring that last part up just to angst about the implications of Gojo's innate domain resembling an empty void. That sounds nothing like me!

I do process information better when I read, so it might be worth it just to have a copy of the manga on hand to flip through afterwards, even if I prefer watching as a general rule.