#saalvasam

Story behind: after getting Mika back the gang drives to Ferid's place. While exploring the house, Mika finds a window and decides to sit outside. Too much noise inside with the Shinoa squad exploring. Yuu notices Mika is not with them and rushes to his friend, and after finding him decides to join him. However, it is not like the spot could fit two, and of course both Yuu and Mika notice the problem, so Yuu just casually decides to sit on Mika's lap.

"Stupid Yuu-chan. You could fall!"

"Haha. Yeah?"

♥️

Never be sorry!

Don’t Ship It

1. Why don’t you ship it?

I preferred their sibling dynamic and considered them actual brother and sister despite not actually being related

2. What would have made you like it?

Honestly...nothing because their dynamic just doesn’t vibe with me even if Mikasa wasn’t introduced as having been adopted by the Jaegers

3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

when I saw Milk&Mocha's little comic, these two came to my mind so I had to do my version.

I was thinking. Well, I do that a lot. But I was thinking about JJK, about "finding where you belong".

I'll start my rant with Yuuta Okkotsu. Yuuta was an ordinary guy until tragedy came his way. No. Is it fair to call him ordinary? I don't think he ever was. And not because he had "cursed energy", even though he knew nothing about it, but because he was a loner. I believe one of the main reasons he became so close to Rika was because she made him feel special, and was that one friend that finally "clicked". Unfortunately for him, Rika was a little-pyscho and meeting her was the greatest unluck he could ever have. But let's focus on him.

Yuuta probably never had many friends from a very young age. He was probably that shy, weird kid in class that nobody paid much attention to. Also, he somehow seems to me like the type that was sick quite often, as he met Rika while he was treating FOR PNEUMONIA. After making friendship with her, she would be that one friend that was always with him and he could count on. His life up until this point (excluding the sick part) sounds pretty much... like mine.

Then Rika died.

Although this sounds like peak unluck, it was deliverance. Not that he knows, not that he will ever know. For Yuuta, incapable of seeing the whole picture, not knowing, perhaps, the true nature of Rika, her death will always be a point of great grief. He will never know that he dodged a bullet, and knowing his character, even if he came to know the details, his feelings for his Rika-chan wouldn't change.

I'm convinced Rika made it difficult for him to make new friends. While she was alive and after her death. She despised people and was possessive, and any possibility of making more friends was shoved away because of her. Rika wanted Yuuta for her and her only. She didn't want him to have any friends, especially girl friends. She isolated him even more. He was ok with that, because having Rika with him was enough (and he was just a kid. He would never understand the severity of all this). After her death and becoming a cursed spirit, Rika became truly violent and her persona disappeared, leaving behind only jealousy and obsession. That monster that was always with Yuuta forced him to distant himself from his own family. He truly became an outcast. Yuuta had no where to belong anymore.

He was filled with rejection, self isolation, grief, and sorrow. That kind, gentle kid, who never wanted to hurt anyone, got hurt pretty badly by others (he was bullied) and on the other hand, hurt people too (Rika, actually. But she was part of him now, and everything she did, he felt responsible for).

Yuuta, like many kids in our society, was different from the others, in a way that made him a target. In a sense, it's nothing more than an allegory.

Things changed for him when he was picked up to be a student in the Jujutsu High. In there, he met people for the first time that were just like him. Maki Zen'in, an outcast from her family. Toge Inumaki, a gentle boy who also hurt people he didn't want to. Panda... Well, Panda was weird enough on his own to match. He was finally taken care of (by Gojou-sensei). Someone who decided his LIFE MATTERED and was willing to take his side and die with him if needed. Yuuta finally BELONGED somewhere. He was able to connect with people and love them and FEEL LOVED. He was finally receiving what he starved the most: love and acceptance.

Lots of characters in JJK found a place within the Jujutsu world, even if it was far from perfect. On the other hand, we have a world that didn't suit some characters and they still tried to make their way there. Maki, Mai and Touji being the greatest example.

Mai is a special character in my opinion concerning this, because had she had a chance of being normal, she would have been popular (as stated by the author). She didn't want to be a sorceress, she felt forced to do that due to her sister wanting to become one and all the family pressure. A world that suited Yuuta so well was a world that took Mai's shine away. The same world that bullied Yuuta would have been Mai's place to shine brightest. A gentle reminder that a place where you don't grow might not be inherently bad and might be the best place for someone else.

Maki didn't belong in the Jujutsu world, but she wanted to. She wanted as an act of rebellion. She struggled for years until she ran away from her toxic, abusive family, and made friends that not only accepted her, but admired and encouraged her. Friends that saw what her family could never. In a way, her story is similar to Yuuta's. She too found something she deeply yearned for, even though it wasn't everything she needed and wanted. Finding a way for both her sister and her was the last missing puzzle, and failing it led her to a dark, dark, path.

Touji never found his place. Growing up just like Maki, he led a miserable life inside his family. He cut his ties from said family and lived a care free life, without any attachment and without feeling acknowledged. He didn't have a place in neither the normal world nor the Jujutsu world. A true outcast. And when he found love, he lost it. Distancing himself from his only son, not caring to remember the name he gave him (and hoping the boy would be free in a way he could never), Touji went down a path to become a villain.

Another character that missed finding his place by a finger was Junpei. Hadn't he died, he would probably have found a place to belong in the Jujutsu High, just like Yuuta did. Unfortunately, he never had the chance. He wasn't saved. Being bullied and rejected in his high school years led him to trusting a stranger that used him and killed him. His story is nothing more than a cautionary tale.

Growing up as an autistic kid but not knowing about it, from these characters the one I relate the most is Yuuta. I always had this one friend that was sort of enough and found the outside world quite cruel to me. I'm no jujutsu sorcerer, but being autistic is the closest to a incomprehensible super power one can get (with its downsides too). Unlike the story in JJK, we don't have a "autistic world" waiting for us, but it bear some similiarities when you are able to find people you can relate to and feel comfortable with. Like recent Yuuta, I consider myself blessed. Although I did suffer, and suffered a lot, I was able to make friends along the way. I collected weird people (not exactly like me, but like me) along my journey, and I was finally able to receive my answers. It just took me a good amount of time.

I think my purpose here is not to talk about autism per se, because not everyone that can relate to all this is autistic, but to talk about anyone that is different and is stuggling to find a place where to belong to, and how JJK and most stories that I read, saw, a main and recurring theme is about FINDING YOUR PLACE. This is true with Stranger Things, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Naruto, etc. And is not by chance that I'm so deeply drawn to this kind of story and my own stories are about this too.

What's so interesting about JJK and this theme is how different it can be perceived by the characters, and this is so realistic. I mean, finding their place, for Yuuta, was having friends. For Maki, being acknowledged. For Yuuji, saving people. For Nanami (may he rest in peace, my dear Nanamin), was living meaningfully. And, the funny part, what makes other people different might make a normal person among them, different.

But truly, what I get from reading these kind of stories, is that there IS a place where you belong, and if you are not thriving the way you want to, it's just because you didn't find your place yet. And we shouldn't give up.

Spoilers! Long post ahead, so Idk, you should probably grab a coffee or something.

I'll divide my takes according to the arcs and characters.

- Lab

1. Unpopular opinion, but I didn't enjoy as much. I mean, it was interesting to a certain degree seeing El's past and everything, but it was a boring progression for me.

2. Man I got so angry at Owens for betraying El like that. He had no rights to lure her to help them, and then bring her abuser back. Also, why the hell did they need to shave her head? For someone so concerned with her well-being, Owens certainly didn't behave as such.

3. I will not shut up about not bringing Kali and her gang back. She is not even in Eleven's memories (just that little shot in the rainbow room), and this makes 0 sense. No matter how much you hated the Lost Sister arc, it's already in the story and should have been addressed. They erased it, and that's downright terrible writing.

4. Brenner being shown as someone more acceptable made me ANGRY. That man DOES NOT deserve to call himself "papa" and call El "daughter". He's a child kidnapper, an abuser, a child torturer and a hungry for power bitch. Also, did they bother to explain how did he survive the demogorgon attack? Is he also a magician? Does he have powers? This guy survived a lot of knock outs.

5. The ending that also connects with the Hawkins timeline was SUPERB, I'll give you that. Number 01, Vecna? Henry Creel? This plot twist alone put this season miles and miles ahead from S3.

6. It's more about Eleven than the Lab arc, I felt so sorry for her throughout this season. She was so miserable and alone, I could perfectly understand her reasons for lying to Mike (even if wasn't the smartest decision). I love her, she is my baby and deserves better. She's been through so much. I wished there was a way to bring her powers back without involving Brenner... 😖😖😖

- Hawkins

7. Eddie Munson. I LOVED him. I had no previous knowledge about him, haven't seen what people were speculating about him, so everything was news-news. He kinda scared me, especially at the beginning, but he grew more and more on me. Like, seriously, one of the highlights of the season. I was already starting to like him and Chrissy, but her destiny was obvious for me from the start... Poor girl was bound to die.

8. Jason, the anti hero. Hum, I kinda feel sorry for him. I mean, he is a douchebag, but I don't think he is truly a bad person. He is arrogant and narrow minded, which can lead to bad decisions and actions (and he believes he is correct). He is probably going to die a gruesome death. It would have been so much easier for him if instead of thinking "oh, hey, Eddie Munson is Satan!", he'd actually have connected the right dots. A total clown.

9. Dustin. OK, so... *Crack knuckles* I love how smart he is, and baby Dustin is back in action with everything he got. I don't have much to say about him, other than I love his relationship with Steve and now with Eddie too. I hope to see more Steve/Dustin in near future, which makes me feel soooo hypocritical because I am sure somewhere in the past I might have complained they had too much screentime and I wanted to see them interact with other people. Well. Well. Well!

10. Lucas, so underrated my boy Lucas. I don't think he was wrong in trying to be popular and distancing himself from the nerdy things. Lots of people do that, and that's totally OK, but it was obvious it would cause problems between him and his friends. Part of growing up sometimes is forming new friendships and going different paths. It's easy to blame him, but I assure you all it's not easy to grow up being bullied. I laughed a good deal when he came back to school to warn Dustin, he was so behind from everything. Also? Can we talk about the fact that he still cared so much about Max? He was the only one seeing that something was odd and wanted to help, but she kept pushing him away. His role this season was kinda similar to s1.

11. I don't have much to say about Max, we can all agree she was one of the highlights and that Sadie performance was brilliant. I enjoyed every Steve/Max crumbs, and it was touchy that she cared to write him a letter too. I wonder if we will see what was inside said letters in volume 2 or season 5. And also, I'm so glad they depicted her suffering as a survivor guilt. It would be hard to buy it if she missed Billy as if they got along well and he was a great big brother.

12. Robin. Now there's someone I have a LOT to say about it. Because, personally, yes I loved her this season, but she felt different from season 3 when she was introduced. She was speaking non stop and at all times a goofball who could do few things right. According to herself, she gets nervous around people she has a crush on and acts weird, could that mean we had the entire season Robin crushing on Nancy? But even with Steve she would act this way, so it felt like it was her default. She felt smarter last season, Idk. Glad to see she has a new crush and, who knows, it might work out at the end if she is brave enough to ask her out!

13. Nancy. Honestly, speaking of Nancy is speaking about Jancy and Stancy, and the Stancy parts got me confused to the bones. Is Jancy over? Why built it then? My dudes, I am not a fan of Stancy and I do know this is very personal, but I don't want to see her cheating on Jonathan with Steve. Please, don't. If she leaves Jonathan, I want them to be on good terms at least. Jonathan doesn't deserve to be cheated on. Anyway, Nancy had great scenes this season, and episode 7? I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. Ready to see how she will escape.

14. Steve. He didn't have a lot to do so far, did he? Mostly it was him crushing on Nancy all over again, when all I wanted was for them to just, you know, be good friends. That's very personal, I know. Other than this, he is dear as always, and I need more Steve X Eddie. Please.

15. Was almost leaving Erica behind. She annoys me as usual, but I did love to see her winning the game in the first episode.

16. Probably my favorite arc? Maybe because there were more people and more things happening, and anyways how not to love Hawkins. It's where shit happens.

- Russia

17. I enjoyed the Russia arc more than the Lab, but there's not much to say about it. The new characters, "Enzo" and Yuri, were great. I would guess our Enzo will end up dead. There's always this new lovely character that dies, so I guess this is his turn.

18. I wasn't expecting the Jopper reunion this season! Or at least not until the very end (vol 2). It got me by surprise. 🥰

19. The drugged coffee was something I was already expecting. Never drink from your enemies cup, guys!

20. Wasn't Murray smarter than this? Well, gotta love him anyway.

21. How do they intend to fly away from Russia, a mystery worth solving.

- California

22. Seeing El suffering like that was hard. Real hard. Things got easier when she decided to go with Owens. Man, can't believe they arrested my girl for assault...

23. Jonathan, Will and El being siblings is peak ST. I don't make the rules.

24. Wished Will would have stood up more for El, but I guess I can understand him. He also suffered seeing her go through the bullying. I just wanted more Will X El bonding.

25. They went to the Gay-Will-crushing-on-Mike route. That's a statement. There's no more denying after this season. I can save all my comments about Will to another post.

26. Mike being a douchebag and then apologizing is classic Mike for you. I like him. I like how he is honest about his feelings. I wonder what will become of Mike X Will, if Mike breaks his heart I'm coming for him. 🔪🔪🔪

27. Which leads me to the point where I don't see a reason why not support these two. Ok son, you are in love with your best friend, that's what they gave you so I'll root for you.

28. But please, can they make Will relevant again? Please?

29. Argyle was suuuuuuuch a great addition. Another dork to the group.

30. Jonathan and Argyle. That's it, that's my take. The friendship of the year.

31. Kinda disappointed with Jonathan's life choices lmao

32. Suzie's house? That many siblings? Susie is a hacker? Argyle finding a crush there? 10/10. But honestly, at this point they may as well tell her the truth and get the girl involved. She is a genius.

33. This gang will probably be more relevant in volume 2. Looking forward to it!

- Overall

34. I thought the series would open with the Creels past. Was almost disappointing (who am I kidding, it WAS disappointing) seeing instead Brenner's face.

35. The plot twist was 11/10, soo great.

36. Some people are complaining they were padding out in the beginning, but I'm OK with it. I just think something was missing and I'm not so sure what it was.

37. Robin and Will are definitely autistic coded, and I'm so happy.

"...the time has come, let us be brave."

~

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bloody version (just a little, though ^^):