Can we talk about how Toji destroyed Playful Cloud to make 2 pointed sticks out of it? 2 STICKS; A SPACIAL GRADE WEAPON!! That was literally a crime, Playful Cloud was like the coolest Sansetsukun ever! Someone needs to resurrect him again so he can serve jail time
Do we have any canon information about Playful Cloud past? Like who was the owner before Geto etc? I once read on the wikia that Geto got it through Hidden Inventory worm meaning that it was Toji's initially (I don't know how much I can trust it though). Many fans share the headcanon it belonged to Gojo clan and Satoru gifted it to Suguru. But are these all rumours?
Not as a clear-cut canonical info, but we have speculated about this before, that Touji might be the original owner of Playful Cloud.
warnings: this will pull from chapters: 75, 98, 108, 110, 148, 149, 150 - so if you don’t wanna see up to the current manga chapter, no click; also these panels do show tw.blood, tw.gore & tw.death
ok. i’ve got some thoughts about the latest chapters & their possible connection to the overarching story, so bear with me as i attempt to unpack them.
firstly. i think the special grade weapon: Playful Cloud, was likely a person.
it’s the only weapon, to date, that isn’t imbued with a cursed technique. because of this it can only really be utilized to its full potential by someone [Toji] who wields super human prowess and power.
now we don’t know much about Mai’s technique: Construction. but we do know that cursed abilities are passed down through families or appear randomly throughout the general population when that person’s internal conditions are aligned. Mai’s power is considered useless by her family - ergo, if Construction has popped up before it may have been tossed aside just as quickly in previous generations.
and in the grand scheme of things, yeah, you just make one thing and you’re out of commission - we’ve now learned that if you want to make something bigger it literally takes your life - so on the whole, not super useful.
now we know about the big techniques - they’re kinda like dominant traits - and while the six path eyes is rare, and it does reincarnate within the Gojo family specifically - the technique Limitless might be more common - like the Kamo clan with their Blood technique or the Unimaki clan with their cursed speech. it appears more frequently in members of the clan, much like genes.
with Mai’s Construction it may have only popped up intermittently, or, for sake of this half-baked theory of mine, one other time.
Playful Cloud is an enigma within the vast array of weaponry that’s available to the school - and it’s fairly new to their arsenal - as Getō lost it to Yuta, and by association Jujutsu Tech, during his failed attack on the Kyoto & Tokyo schools.
the only time we see it fully unleashed is when Toji yinks the weapon from Maki and proceeds to OBLITERATE BRITANNIA cut Dagon into sashimi. Toji himself is a special case among the Zen’in clan because he’s one of their (if not the most) powerful fighters. because of his Heavily Restriction he doesn’t have any cursed energy - but with that trade he has been granted superhuman strength and can easily take on cursed spirits and other jujutsu sorcerers.
even as a manifestation, his soul instantly overpowers the cursed user he was summoned to inhabit, where he proceeds to embark on a rampage.
while JJK is littered with narrative parallels, Maki & Toji are by far one of Gege’s most prevalent. they link them through storyline, illustration, repetition of theme, and shared identity and struggles. one of the major connectors is their shared Heavenly Restriction - but, as we learned in 149, Maki, due to the existence of her sister Mai, hasn’t been able to reach her full potential, or experience the full power of her Restriction.
because Maki & Mai are twins, most likely monozygotic twins - a single fertilized egg that splits into two - they, as a pair, are not meant to exist as two separate persons, and Maki is restrained from her “true potential” by her sister’s Construction technique and the presence of her cursed energy.
Mai has likely long realized this - after all, she wasn’t consumed by running away from the clan and growing up to prove them wrong - instead, she was forced to follow after her sister & that exposure and resentment bred something more than animosity, it fostered understanding, true, unblinking understanding of their predicament as twin jujutsu sorceresses.
Mai knows this is the only way. and while it’s bittersweet, it does nestle beautifully within the theme of revolution vs reformation - which, i’d argue, aside from the theme of death and proper mourning, is the main crux of JJK’s story. Mai doesn’t want reform and, deep down, neither does Maki.
so Mai gives her sister a parting gift; a cursed weapon that isn’t imbued with a particular technique, it’s her.
we don’t know what this weapon, what Mai, will allow Maki to do going forward - but if she had this much forethought & love for her sister to open the path to her true potential i bet it’s going to be earth-shattering.
and, like Playful Cloud, she’ll be able to show the world her own strength within the hands of her twin.
and while we don’t know much about Playful Cloud itself - as it’s been almost completely destroyed by Toji - who’s to say that it was not created under similar circumstances? to give power and potential for a user in the ultimate symbol of love and sacrifice?
notes: speaking of sisters: shout out to @albinoburrito for her edits & excellent conversation on this - you the best & ily