The Butterfly Who Couldn’t Fly

so, why /is/ Joshu good actually and doesn't deserve all the hate he gets?

Because the hate comes mostly from the people who are incapable of empathizing with what’s honestly a really pitiable person. They only see the negatives and don’t question why he acts like he does. Also, he’s brave AF.

And don’t get me wrong: there ARE negatives. Joshu is by no means a completely misunderstood good person, he’s kind of a scumbag, but so are most JoJo characters. And yet, people apparently just love to hate Joshu specifically.

When I started reading Jojolion, I initially couldn’t help but just feel bad for the guy, because I realized what he struggles with, and how it affects him as a person who’s honestly just trying his best most of the time.

Here’s the big thing that I think puts a LOT in perspective:

Joshu is essentially the prime example of the neglected middle child. He has an older brother who is his father’s pride and joy, an older sister who is a successful model, and a younger, blind sister who everyone coddles. Norisuke is very loving and playful with his daughters and very chummy with his older son, but Joshu never really gets the same loving treatment.

Instead, Joshu is seen treated sternly and unfairly by his brother and father, who both just seem annoyed by his presence. It’s very, painfully clear to me that this is something that makes Joshu extremely insecure, as it can be easily observed from his facial expressions. For example, here’s him when Josuke is given his usual space on family photographs;

He’s shown shivering when Norisuke yells at him, and standing next to his father clearly means a lot to him, but his feelings are not taken into account at all.

This clearly causes him a lot of stress, as he is already insecure about his position in the family, and it makes PERFECT SENSE for him to feel threatened by Josuke, who immediately gained his father’s love, respect, and support. 

This kind of behavior towards Joshu is seen again during the beetle battle arc with Jobin, who belittles him several times in a short amount of time, and orders him to cheer for Josuke (threatening him with violence if he won’t), despite Joshu clearly not liking Josuke for reasons that I really can’t judge him for.

And Joshu always obliges.

Mind you - this is not the behavior they have towards Joshu ALL the time, but Joshu is the only Higashikata kid we see getting this kind of treatment.

Joshu, to me, comes across as someone who is absolutely starved for validation from his brother and father, but he never gets it. Instead, he’s constantly pushed around and belittled by them, and treated as an annoyance. A stranger in their home is being given more care and respect than the son.

It just felt really really hard to me to watch what I feel was sadly a fairly realistic depiction of how some children in larger families just don’t get the same amount of love and support as others.

Okay, now I’ll tackle some of the biggest things that people point at when they try to claim that Joshu is a terrible character;

He's a “nice guy” and is possessive over Yasuho who's not interested

He tried to r*pe Yasuho (I’ll say it right here and now: This is a COMPLETE AND UTTER misrepresentation of the events that transpired)

He assaulted Kaato

When we start Jojolion, Joshu has a mistaken impression that him and Yasuho are a couple. That assumption is not completely groundless on his part, because both him and Yasuho confirm that they DID kiss, so you really can’t blame him for having a certain idea of a relationship.

When first seeing Josuke and Yasuho, Joshu gets the wrong idea and believes that Josuke was at the very least being extremely inappropriate to Yasuho, with him being naked and all. He immediately tries to save her by attacking him.

Joshu is indeed very possessive of Yasuho and while that’s not something that can be excused, we CAN track down to the reason why he acts that way, and that reason once again goes back to him being neglected by his family.

It looks to me like Yasuho remained his friend because she pitied him, as she off-handedly acknowledges how poorly socialized he is;

If his father and brother cared to give him a better example and lead him, he would probably be less of a creep. Instead, all he had was his confused feelings, the entitlement that come from being raised in a rich family, and no one to teach him how to properly behave - mind you that he also grew up without a mother.

The reason he clings to Yasuho as much as he does is very likely because she gave him the empathy that he feels like he lacks at home. She’s essentially his comfort person.

I think it’s also important to point out that Joshu is not possessive of Yasuho in an objectifying manner - he genuinely cares for her and wants to protect her. That doesn’t excuse some of his actions of course, but I think it’s still fair to acknowledge it.

Next, the r*pe accusation, and context is EVERYTHING here.

Here’s what happened to lead up to the so-called r*pe attempt, and this includes spoilers for the Paper Moon King arc (Vol.6, Chapers 23-25)

Yasuho was attacked by a stand that made everyone look the same to her, and was unable to tell one person from the other. She called Josuke for help, but while waiting for him, she ran into Joshu.

What followed was a whole slew of statements that Joshu TERRIBLY misinterpreted, as his thirsty unsocialized ass tends to do.

One thing leads to another and Joshu takes off his pants - at which point Yasuho realized that he’s not Josuke, at which point she screams Josuke’s name, and Joshu practically freezes in place, the gears in his head probably starting to turn a bit. And then Yasuho knocks him out and that’s where that ends.

I’d say that Joshu was definitely over-eager to get into Yasuho’s pants, but he only did what he thought she wanted, and I believe that if he wasn’t knocked out when he was, he would probably back off once the mistake was acknowledged. Joshu did not want to r*pe Yasuho. That was NEVER his intent.

Joshu is someone who’s entitled, but he’s not evil.

Last thing I see people point to when shit talking Joshu is his harassment of Kaato, and honestly, I am shocked that people are even remotely able to misinterpret that scene, which does nothing but show how protective Joshu is of his family, and how quick he is to defend them.

The following is a spoiler of Vol.14, Chapter 58.

We see the mother of the Higashikata family return after being imprisoned for 15 years for killing a child. She is a murderer and enters the house uninvited, possibly while everyone else was still sleeping.

This is how Norisuke, the father, reacts:

To reiterate:

The father is so startled by the presence of this woman, that he screams and falls on the ground with shock. He then proceeds to yell at her, demanding for her to get out. She doesn’t.

The convicted murderer then proceeds to walk towards Daiya, the youngest daughter, and that’s when Joshu immediately takes action.

He trips Kaato with a chair and then proceeds to speak to her with a very clear intent to try to make her leave.

Is what he said inappropriate? Abso-fucking-lutely. But that was the INTENT.

I genuinely don’t understand why people think this is something that proves that Joshu is a terrible person when what he’s doing is honestly really damn brave.

Think back to how Norisuke reacted to Kaato. For what Joshu knew, she could’ve had an extremely dangerous ability, but he jumped in to stop her from reaching his little sister anyway.

One last thing, and this is a spoiler for some of the most recent chapters of Jojolion; the Endless Calamity arc (Vol.24, chapter 95)

I want to point out one more extremely brave thing Joshu has done; He saved Yasuho’s life while once again possibly putting his own life in danger.

Here’s the scene: Joshu and his sisters just watched his older brother possibly murder their father during a heated confrontation and a clash of ideals.

During this, Yasuho is currently dying. Her stand is trapped in a cellphone, and not close enough to an electrical socket to escape. Jobin had FULL INTENT to kill her. But then this scene happens;

The phone is suddenly by the socket, and Paisley Park got to escape. We never see it being moved, but there is a panel specifically directing our attention to Joshu’s foot.

Someone moved the phone to let Paisley Park escape, and all signs point to that being Joshu.

Again - Joshu, who just watched his brother possibly murder his father, and who had fully attempted murdering his friend. From what Joshu was concerned, nothing would stop Jobin from killing him as well.

Joshu has flaws. He’s entitled, he’s annoying and he’s creepy. He’s also very stupid and very naive at times.

But there are also reasons for why he turned out this way, and those reasons are just.. plainly sad. I can’t help but to pity this character and just hope the best for him, because he deserves to feel loved by someone because he’s not a bad person.

Personally, I think Joshu is a really interesting character and I thoroughly enjoyed every most moments featuring him, especially interacting with his family, because their relationships come across very realistic and lovable (minus the times Joshu is unfairly belittled).

He’s also a really funny character whose ideas, thoughts, and opinions and just a delight to read every time he gets to just act casually.

PS - his hairstyle is great and y’all are just mean

You know what ? *include Retz in the canon timeline*

I do that myself whith Picsart and Sketch!

Cuz I try to reproduce the style of HxH

Well see you soon I hope ^^

I love this ! I need more Hisoka x Transmasc y/n in my life

Ummmm hisoka×trans man y/n? 😳😳😳

🙏🙏🙏🙏

Contains: trans male y/n, soft Hisoka, mundane Hisoka, possibly ooc

You ask and you shall receive!! :D sorry this was so late ;-; I have to check my inbox on this blog more often lol. Especially since the shadowban got lifted😭

!!!!!TRANSPHOBES DNI!!!!!

Hisoka is actually a very open minded individual. When you came out to him he happily accepted you as you were, calling you his “handsome little man”, “cute little boy”

He actually won’t treat you any different, to be honest. Hisoka loves you for who you truly are, he’ll do anything to make you feel as comfortable as possible.

If you need binders or testosterone, he’ll do anything to help you get it!

Again, I really don’t see him treating you any differently! Which is why this is so short :”) I feel like he’s a very supportive guy, and just because you’re trans doesn’t make you any less of his boyfriend lol! Trans men are men! :D

HxH logic be like:

Omg stop shipping Hisoka with Gon it's horrible and problematic 😭 😭

Also fans:

I think Kurokura it's a good ship ☺ 😊

“This ship/character of this one specific show, is extremely unhealthy and toxic and should NEVER be liked or talked about in any way.”

Meanwhile this one specific show: contains about 98% of unhealthy characters, shows every character making immoral acts depending on what they believe in, presents realistic situations that are at times good but tragic.

This fanart gives me Undertale vibes

Visiting kurtan ruins, feeling like a child again

My honest reaction:

The story of how Zepile lost his first game of pool EVER ✨

Ptn à cause de vous le français il crève c'est inadmissible... voir même inadmetable

Also if we learn in the future that something bad happened to Zzigg I'll 🗡🗡🗡🗡🗡🗡🗡

So genderqueer Hisoka wasn't a headcanon at all

Wait a minute, so basically based on japanese language hisoka is using female pronoun while machi is using the male ones when talking? They're so alike in a way...

Wait wait, let me clarify. I think you mixed things up here.

Hisoka uses boku and kimi as his pronouns. They are masculine Japanese pronouns but not as rough as the pronouns ore, omae, temee, kisama. This suits him because of his childish behaviour and tendencies, though fcked up. (I mean, he's like a fcked adult child so........)

He hovers between masculine and neutral speech but he does sometimes use or switches use female speech endings.

The most prominent one where he used female pronoun is when he was battle horny with Chrollo in York New arc.

This is part of what he said when Chrollo fell for his sword of law bs trap in anime, which idk if it's the exact same dialogue in the manga (I might have some particles wrong or missing or some stuff wrong, so forgive me since I'm only going off based on my memory):

やっぱりいいよあなた. 絶対あなたはボクが殺る. (Yappari ii yo anata. Zettai anata wa boku ga yaru)

'As expected, you're great, my dear. My dear, I will definitely kill (do) you.'

Note: to kill verb here is pronounced as yaru, which also sounds rhe same as the very informal version of to do verb, which is also yaru.

Anata is a feminine pronoun of you. 99% wxclusively used by women or people who want to sound feminine or identifies as one. Men might use it in real life in situation where they have to be polite and formal. In fiction, men may use it to let other knows that 'hey I'm not exactly a man' or hey, I'm not rude, I have respect and not a ruffian exactly.'

(Men uses feminine speech when they have to be formal like speaking to people in charities, being a host and all, as well)

Anata is also used by females (or those who are feminine whether they be homosexual or trans) to call their significant other. When they use it in this context, it means 'honey, dear, sweetheart' or whatever affectionate words to call your s/o is out there.

So yeah............ Hisoka..... used anata in that scene when talking about Chrollo......... not just for second-person pronoun..........

Anyways, Hisoka mostly speaks in masculine and neutral language speech, but sometimes does use female language.

Machi on the other hand used masculine language when she was a kid and, masculine and feminine language as an adult.

Kid Machi talks almost like Uvo ahahhahahaha.

お前がやれ！- Omae ga yare - You do it!

いやだ. - iya da - No/No way

Omae is a very masculine pronoun, much more than boku and kimi. And Yare is also a very masculine command, given its verb conjugation. And the sentence ending -だ is also masculine. Machi as a kid speaks so much like a guy xD Hisoka (adult one) doesn't speak very masculine which is makes sense since he wants to sound playful and all xD

Adult Machi is different from child Machi. Adult Machi uses atashi, which is the informal version of watashi, and anta, the informal version of anata. Clearly her pronouns are not very feminine but feminine enough.

And here comes the interesting thing, she still uses masculine speech but with certain people, she uses feminine speech.

She uses a bit of feminine speech with Pakunoda. With Gon, she does as well, when she corners him with Pakunoda and asks him if he knows about the chain dude. We see the same thing with Feitan when they continued walking together and left Franklin and Nobunaga fighting when they were otw to York New. She also spoke to Kalluto in female speech back in Greed Island.

But the most she spoke with using feminine speech is Hisoka. I repeat. Hisoka.

One thing I observed is when she speaks in feminine speech, she either is close to whomever she is soeaking to or is showing consideration.

We can tell that she shows consideration with kids based on the fact she uses a bit of feminine speech when speaking to Gon (can someone remind me if she also spoke to Killua directly? I think she only spoke to Gon directly during York New arc when the Troupe caught the teo of them trailing them).

We see the same thing when she is speaking with Kalluto. When she said to him to come out, 出といで, for instance. She spoke a bit in female speech. Not that much. But we can see that they are not close, which means she's being considerate to him. I mean Kalluto is a kid..........

As for Feitan, I'm on the fact that she's showing consideration because she's seeing him as an adorable kid due to his height. I don't think they are close like to the point of sharing a few secrets or something like that, no. So far, no evidence they are. So, I'm on she sees him as a kid due to his height and softens up team xD

As for Pakunoda, it makes sense if Machi is close to her even if it's just a little bit. I mean Pakunoda was probably the big sis who helped her out when puberty hit her or whenever there are girl problems she has to resolve. I don't doubt if Pakunoda was also the one she confided with when she fell for someone *ahem*

And as for Hisoka. Oml, Machi spoke to him in female speech all throughout before the Chrollo vs. Hisoka fight.

This is how I came to the conclusion that when she speaks in female speech, she is close to them or trust them to some extent - based on the way she spoke to Hisoka.

On chapter 55, when she made her first appearance in the manga, quite a number of her dialogues are in female speech.

Even during their conversation in Greed Island, she was using female speech.

But after the Chrollo vs Hisoka fight, she would speak to him in masculine form. Sadt. I assumed it was because she knew that might be their final interaction and their relationship will never be the same again. Rip.

Maybe her speaking in female speech just means she's showing consideration to him like how she does with kids but man the amount of female speech in her dialogues tells me otherwise........

Anyways.

She would also speak in very rough masculine speech whenever she is very pissed or angry. You can even tell she's pissed or annoyed when her masculine speech becomes rougher.

For instance, in York New arc, when Franklin asked if she knew whether Hisoka is coming to the meeting and part of her answer is

あたし聞くな！ - Atashi kiku na! - Don't ask me!

聞くな is a command form of to listen 聞く but among the masculine command conjugation, it's on rougher side.

And when Machi is speaking in a rougher masculine speech, she doesn't use アンタ (Anta), she uses the pronoun, テメエ, Temee, instead.

Now who uses Temee when they're pissed or annoyed?

Nobunaga and Uvogin.

When Machi got pissed a bit at Nobunaga when they were arguing about the 'chain dude' on whether they will be recruited by Chrollo or not, she used Temee on him.

Basically, the more pissed or angry she is, the more her speech tend to resemble Uvo's.

This is apparent when she got angry at Hisoka when he declared war on Spiders.

Zakk.....kken ja nee!!!! Ima atashi ga koroshite yaru!!

Mate!! Modore temee!! Kore hodoke korosuzo GORAAAA!!

Did you hear Uvo when she was saying those Japanese lines especially the one with GORAAA in it?

That's how you know that Machi is super pissed and angry at you.

Which means when she was talking to Hisoka back in Greed Island, she wasn't even pissed lmao ahahahha

I hope this clarifies any misunderstandings and confusion about Hisoka and Machi way of speech.

Kurapika's hand and chains

I'm something of a Kurapika simp myself.

Hisoka o(〃＾▽＾〃)o