I HC That Ripred Is Only Hard On Gregor Because He See's Himself In That Kid. Like, Ripred Is A Dick

So there's this rat, and his name is Ripred

Ok, so chances are none of you know a damn thing about JJK, but I started writing this fic on a whim, so I may as well tell you all about it:

Gregor as a jujutsu sorcerer. After the Underland, his parents just decided to get the hell away from that place that stole away their kids and shoved them into some war by moving to Japan. And then their son gets dragged into the world of Jujutsu sorcery, which adds an interesting parallel into the mix.

Not sure if I'll give him a technique or not, but I kinda like the idea of him just going at all the curses Japan has to offer with nothing but his skill with a sword and cursed energy manipulation. BUT what I could also do is give him some kind of curse bond, like Ares or maybe even the Bane, like how Yuta fights alongside Rika.

I'm honestly thinking of sending him to the Kyoto school to even out the scoreboard, as a rager with cursed energy on their side could start to even things out, along with Mechamaru and Todo. He could also act as opposition to the higher ups and Principal Gakuganji, though I wouldn't be surprised if he got scouted by Gojo and taken to Tokyo, where Kusakabe could've helped train him (although Kusakabe seems to have taught Miwa so it's not really a deal breaker if Gregor goes to Kyoto).

I also have some ideas about him finding a curse on accident at first, then as he fights it he ends up channeling cursed energy through his rage, which allows him to kill it, before a sorcerer and/or a window show up, as they intended to kill it before he showed up, which leads to him getting enrolled.

So yeah. Came out a bit longer than intended, and most of you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but what do you guys think? Any other ideas? Thinking of calling it "The Cursed Warrior", but I might choose another name if I find or come up with a better one.

praise be

How long did everyone believe Gregor was going to die, but not tell him. Like seriously. Cuz it's kinda fucked up when you think about it.

mmmm, writer juice

One of the best writing advice I have gotten in all the months I have been writing is "if you can't go anywhere from a sentence, the problem isn't in you, it's in the last sentence." and I'm mad because it works so well and barely anyone talks about it. If you're stuck at a line, go back. Backspace those last two lines and write it from another angle or take it to some other route. You're stuck because you thought up to that exact sentence and nothing after that. Well, delete that sentence, make your brain think because the dead end is gone. It has worked wonders for me for so long it's unreal

What?

My genuine reaction after learning that Ares and Ripred MIGHT have fucked at some point. That Ripred is denying it happened, but Vikus is saying Nerissa saw it in a vision??? Was it truly innocent like Ripred is claiming? I have so many questions that I am afraid to ask.

Also @ripred-tuc-offical please, I must know these rat curses that you taught Ares

Reject fluff, return to everyone-in-the-Overland-knowing-Gregor-has-issues-because-of-his-dad's-disappearance-and-being-forced-to-take-care-of-his-younger-siblings-and-grandmother-out-of-necessity-and-his-friends-and-teachers-and-Mrs-Cormaci-watching-his-mental-health-get-worse-and-worse-to-the-point-where-he's-like-the-boogeyman-of-his-school-but-he-refuses-to-talk-about-it-because-he-knows-they'll-think-he's-insane-if-he-tells-them-the-truth-so-it's-like-a-tragedy-as-this-previously-bright-and-happy-kid-who-loved-playing-his-saxophone-and-being-on-the-track-team-spirals-into-a-hollow-wreck-of-a-teen angst.

Ok, but like

Rasputin edit of Ripred when/if a tv show or movie series comes out about TUC.

I might have seen this said before, on a different post, but I couldn't find it, so I'm just gonna say a few words on this, partially because of that and partially because it's been ages since I've last read the series, despite it being ingrained into my head.

Almost all of the characters in TUC have moments where they are genuine assholes. Gregor has a few points where he says some genuinely disrespectful shit. Luxa, as well as most of the other humans (including Gregor, although arguably to a lesser extent), are deeply prejudiced against the gnawers. Ripred, is, well, Ripred (look, I love him, we all do, but he's a dick).

Even Vikus, arguably one of the nicest characters in the series, admires Sandwich (I think, been a while), a man who literally used poison to commit genocide in the name of stealing land that didn't belong to him.

The only characters I can think of in TUC that don't have flaws are the ones who also have the least lines: Aurora, Dulcet, Miravet. Oh, and all of those characters? Probably also prejudiced against gnawers, just never explicitly stated (to my knowledge), probably due to their obscene lack of lines. Of course there are characters like Lizzie and Hazard, who are literal fucking children so as nice as they are, I think it's safe to say they can't really be counted up here. (Should probably also mention that Gregor and Luxa are also children, just ones that were forced to grow up faster, sadly).

Then again, all of these characters have redeeming qualities. Gregor can be disrespectful at times, but that's mainly because of the stress placed upon him by the various bullshit situations he has to go through, and he usually apologizes after. Luxa and all the humans are deeply prejudiced (actually, I should probably add the fliers might be in that category too), but they are basically raised from birth to hate and kill gnawers, and vice versa. plus, it's shown that despite what is practically being brainwashed from birth, they can grow and change to overcome their own bigotry and accept gnawers as genuine people, as well as friends.

And yes, Ripred, the glorious bastard himself, is a dick. But he's also a war veteran who's lost his family, and most of the respect from his people, meaning he mainly works with humans, who tend to treat him with suspicion, if not outright hostility (until they get to know him). And he makes up for it by letting his guard down at times to be a father to the traumatized pups that dragged him into their pack.

Point is, flawed characters are one of the things that make TUC so great. They're not few and hid away either, they're everywhere, with visible flaws. If you want to make a good character, TUC is a great series to use as an example. Everything casts a shadow, just like every character has a flaw. If they don't, you probably just can't see them from your angle. And if they don't? Like, at all? Give them some, just make sure the shadow they cast matches up with the object itself.

“There’s not enough art of Ripred raging.” I completely agree.

“Not enough soft art of red with the kids.” I know and I love you.

But hear me out. There’s not enough art depicting Ripred in his melancholy majesty. Sensual tired delusional man bathed in blood. A romantic and depressing renaissance oil painting of carnage and despondent curiosity of the world around him. Exhausted from the answers he’s gotten.