HIII omg this is SO CUTE!! toads and frogs are an excellent topic, i do the same with fish sdkjfj this is so adorable

YES i completely agree!! takaba is a certified yapper and megumi is often the subject of that yapping so i think he would also like to share and feel comfortable enough to do so hehe. i think megumi would talk about his technique a ton!! its so technical and has so many combinations - megumi is super creative in how he uses it, and since takaba is a creative mind too, he'd probably be a good sounding board hehe

also i have this years long spanning headcanon based on that one season 1 ending that megumi has a bike and he LOVES riding that thing. i could definitely see him getting big into biking and explaining all the parts, taking care of it, just getting really into this thing what brings him freedom and joy hehe. maybe they get takaba a bike too so they can ride together 🥰

HII thank you so much, i'd be HAPPY to go crazy! im really happy you wanna learn more about IOL and i'll try to share some fun facts hehe:

• i chose for takaba and megumi to go see gremlins 2 at the movies because its a film i watched as a kid and it always stuck with me
• originally, when megumi found takaba sleeping, i wanted for him to read some of takaba's jokes and notes and circle the one he liked most for takaba to find later on
• when writing the scene where megumi confronted gojo, i ended up listening to "know now" by alex g on repeat and i think that defined the vibe for the scene. in general, i listened to a ton of alex g when writing this fic series and it def has an influence
• takaba is friends with charles! i included this as a present for ME because takaba/charles is a hilarious ship and i have a half formed outline for a fic for them
• in the original outline of IOL, the fic ended at the scene where megumi broke down laugh-crying. it felt too sad and final that they would never be together, so i added the last scene for the ambiguity (which didn't last long anyway! haha)
• for megumi's POV, the epilogue was one of the first scenes i wrote

ah thank you so much!! im so happy you enjoyed reading, and you're interested to know more about it, hehe that means a lot to me 💗 i apologise for the long post ahead kjsfjksdkjdg

yes absolutely!! so, i actually came up for the concept for the fic when dropping my friend tenn (bargtenn if ur familiar!) off at the train station last year and ended up being so into the idea that i outlined the whole thing on my phone on the way home. i already shipped takaba and megumi together at the time, but it was more in like a jokey ironic way and you know what they say: if you start doing something ironically it will inevitably become real lmaoooo

anyway, IOL basically originated from the piece of trivia gege released about how megumi has never laughed so hard he cried (which is referenced directly in the fic). which, i mean, what’s the point of having him pair up with the Funny Man if he’s not going to be the one to make it happen? and then it just spiralled from here

in addition, takaba is my fave and there was literally zero fic where he was the main focus so i made the content myself! takaba is an incredibly difficult character to write, i did a whole character analysis and even now having written him a ton, i still struggle. he's CHALLENGING!!!

but one of the things im super SUPER proud of is how accurate i got his characterisation in IOL based on the little information i had and what was revealed in the idiot survivor arc. like, the staring contest to deal with conflict, the tapes/dvds, the loneliness angle, his general vibe and view of his purpose. yeah, im pleased. i did my pookie justice and that makes me happy!!

here's some general little fun facts for IOL and the other fics in that series:
- original titles for IOL were "fifty-fifty"/ "seventy-thirty" in reference to takaba's whole theme, and "odds and ends"
- both megumi and takaba are somewhat unreliable narrators. for example, there are certain things that megumi notes in his perspective that takaba deliberately didn’t, such as the more intimate moments like kissing megumi’s temple after their ‘break-up.’
- takaba's forehead scar is one of my fave details and i think it should be takaba fanon. i predicted that takaba would fight sukuna, and higuruma would fight kenjaku, but i got them totally flipped!
- in a slow, slow death, i wanted to explore the moment where megumi was first taken over by sukuna and takaba was electrocuted by nue because it's an Underrated takafushi moment in that takaba ran to help megumi and couldn't get there. also explore megumi's anxiety about having actually hurt takaba then and the feelings surrounding it. ultimately, i felt there wasn't space for it in the story though so i didn't include it.
- i wanted to have takaba refer to himself as "fumihiko" for IOL, because that's, his first name and that's more natural for a POV character. however, no one knew who he was really back then so i figured it would be better for readers to just go with takaba 😭
- how yuuji died is kept deliberately ambiguous, with no mention of a body, because i predict that yuuji will sacrifice or give up his body to save megumi (if he’s saved at all). also sorry i killed him offscreen lol
- i listened to a lot of 70s/80s music writing IOL because i associate Takaba with music from this era. my ultimate takaba tune is “make your own kind of music” by cass elliot.
- hakari showed up because i wanted to imply hakashimo. hakashimo is Real in every fic i write even if they don’t appear. they are out there somewhere. watching. waiting. embarrassing kirara in public. this is a threat.

the IOL fic series is what i’m proudest of writing-wise to date. even if megumi and takaba die in JJK (and let's face it, it’s not looking good for either of them rn), then this will be the happy ending version of them that will exist in my mind. and i’m very glad i wrote it and got to share it with all of you!!!

anyway, HIT IT!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfNCbUvUv3I

HAKASHIMOOOOOOO yes i agree completely, i love and miss them!! rn my thought is does hakari even know that kashimo is dead-dead...he has to right? or maybe not? i know gege doesn't do reactions to character deaths lol but i'd love to see that. i don't think hakari would've been sad, because kashimo was dying the way he intended but there would be some mixed up feelings in there. he doesn't have any right to interfere with someone's fever though....

how about an au where old kashimo ends up in the future somehow and sees this young version of himself with hakari?? would be so interesting i think. seeing yourself from a different time living a different life.

orrrrr i had a small thread for this where after hakari dies of old age he meets kashimo in the afterlife. which makes me sad, but also they're together. they'll have to wait a little longer for kirara. one of the things that strikes me about jjk is these trios/groups of 4 form, and they're torn apart so quickly, but they always have such a lasting impact for the rest of their lives. and i want that for hakari, kashimo and kirara but its also fueled by complicated emotional feelings and sex and regret. a moment in time they cant ever have back, and it's during the end of the world.

thank you so much friend!! ill be manifesting takaba's energy to get through the week ❤️‍🔥 and awww omg thank you so much, childhood friends takafushi is so fun

oooh im actually writing a little bit of a no curses au right now! i def think takaba would still be a comedian (partnered with kenjaku who is still evil but in less grand scheme ways sdadagdfs). as for megumi, i could see a couple of diff options! maybe he's working for gojo in a bit of a nepo baby role, or studying! i could also see him being a foster for animals and brings lots of dogs and cats to his and takaba's place hehe. i think they are definitely artsy people (takaba bc he's takaba and megumi because of how creative he is with his technique in canon) so i think they'll visit art galleries and theatre shows perhaps.

oh also! neither of them can cook especially well so i think they'll embark on overcoming this together!! with lots of ruined pans and burnt food and small fires along the way hehe

hehe that makes me v happy to hear, they gave mine too!! i have a half-outlined fic for them so i have quite a few headcanons and ideas hehe. here's some of my faves!
- they initially didn't like each other at all. takaba because megumi was so gloomy (a bit like looking in a mirror) and never laughed at his jokes, and megumi because takaba tried too hard to impress others and was inauthentic
- megumi summons his shinigami to show off (although he'd never admit it). for the longest time, he thinks the rabbits are takaba's favourites but takaba actually likes the toads most
- megumi goes to takaba's house for dinner very often. takaba's mom was wary of megumi initially but warmed up to him. she was also charmed by gojo as megumi's guardian when they met once
- takaba never visits megumi's place but he's super curious. he once follows megumi home without asking hoping to surprise him but megumi gets upset and starts a fight. tsumiki calms things down and they make up!
- takaba does not like gojo at all and is very distrusting whenever they interact lol
- takaba normally gets strawberry milk with his lunch and shares it with megumi because he knows he likes it hehe