#i imagine rukia always asking ichigo to go to the human world

[tae-shimura-is-my-wife]

What would you have changed about the Bleach final arc?

I kept thinking a lot about it, especially remembering everything from Bleach i have consumed. Since i'm terrible at writing metas, this will be kind of a simple answer ok 😭?

Make Uryu be the center of the arc, alongside with Ichigo, poor boy was so erased after SS arc, so this was his chance to shine again and made his bond with Ichigo stronger

Make Uryu and Ichigo defeat Yhwach. Idc if they would take power from their a$$es, seeing these two destroying the man who killed their mothers would be insane! They should be fighting together, not fcking Renji!

Give Rukia more screen time and importance, she was the second protagonist for the sake of god!

It would be good if Ori and Chad were more relevant for once...

Explain what happened with the rest of cast! Millions of characters disappeared and we know nothing about them after all;

Make Ichigo live in Soul Society, it can be in any way! My preference is he being a captain of gotei 13! But he could even be a lieutenaunt or just in some squad that i would be happy!

Chad could be a judo teacher! Especially since this is a self defense matial art! So he would use his fists to help protecting people :D

URYU WOULD BE A FAMOUS FASHION DESIGNER!!!

Orihime has so much possibilities man! She could be a nurse, a doctor, a pediatrician, a teacher, even a baker! As much she's working, i would be happy!

I would like to Ishihime be together! Especially because i feel these two have the vibes of wanting to date/be married, plus Ori could know the world, since Uryu would be famous!

IR? Well, there's nothing explicit about their relationship status, so you can imagine whatever you want about them 🤭

But Ichigo and Rukia are always together in everything!

They would reunite in Chad's house to see Uryu's fashion show! Ryuken would be watching too. Ori would be there with her husband in the vip session

Ichigo and Rukia would go back together to Soul Society after a while, with Isshin observing them meanwhile he smiles

When they enter the Soul Society, there's already enemies for them to defeat

And the manga would end with Ichigo and Rukia fighting side by side while smiling! Since it all started with them, it will end with them!

And of course no R//R

#anti bleach ending #ishihime #anti ichihime #anti renruki #just in case #anti 686 #i hope this answer your question! #i imagine rukia always asking ichigo to go to the human world #don't get me wrong i love IR! #but i think an open ending to their relationship would be fun #because you can interpret the various ways they could be together or even if they're already together but isn't explicit #at least i like these kind of things 😆 #since ishihime would've happened i//h would never exist #thanks to god #my biggest wish was to Uryu be the grey/yuno/kaiba to ichigo #but he barely appeared 😭 #i got more hurted after writing this #since i had to remember that ending 😭 #i felt like someone was pressing my heart #i just wanted my group to be happy man #if you wanted a more in depth thing i'm sorry #there's great posts on the tag #i always need to put ridiculous censoring in my posts

[recurring-polynya]

If you could pick just six Bleach characters for the story to focus on, who would they be?

Not sure how anyone could ask me this and think the answer was not going to be the Six Hearts crew, but the answer is, in fact, the Six Hearts crew.

For the most part, I really like Bleach the way it is. I am not a beefer with canon. At least for the first half to two-thirds of it, I find that Bleach has just about an optimal mix of main character focus to interesting side character ratio. I like that it sprawls. I like that a lot of side characters have really rich and interesting back stories that the main narrative gives you little bites of, but leaves the rest to the imagination and/or filler materials. I like stories that give you a lot of space to write fanfiction.

Now, the back half of the Winter War and nearly all of the TYBW did, in my opinion, sprawl too much. The Fake Karakura Town arc used up all my patience with the pillar fights and I spent the rest of it going "get back to Hueco Mundo, already." I definitely would have liked the TYBW to focus more on the core group of characters.

On the whole, though, I like that core the way it is. To be honest, it wouldn't be Bleach in any other way.

Ichigo is the heart of Bleach. His struggles are the themes of the narrative. He is not an everyman character. He is someone who cares so much about the world that he wants to save everyone, but at the same time, he understands and fears the weight of that obligation. His ability to empathize with his enemies-- his inability not to-- is what sets him apart from every other shounen protagonist.

Sometimes I see fanfic where someone else gets stabbed and given shinigami powers other than Ichigo and it's always worse. The only character I accept being swapped in for him is Orihime, and, frankly, that only works in a fanfiction, meta-narrative context, primarily because you need a much better depth of character to be a really good love interest, and I don't think Ichigo has what it takes. Orihime does, though! All of the forces in Bleach pull Ichigo toward the path of battle, but Orihime's stalwart pacifism and unwavering belief in him are the strings that tie him to the world, that keep him human.

I suppose you could swap out one of Ichigo's other school friends for some other member of the Six Hearts crew and probably have it still be okay, but I wouldn't, because their existing dynamic is perfect to me. Uryuu is Ichigo's Classic Shounen foil, but he legitimately challenges him constantly and forces him to think critically about what he's doing. Chad is so full of love and heart and birds land on him like a Disney princess. He is there to balance everyone else's manic energy, except that he's only marginally more thoughtful than the rest of them, so he does not interfere with the general air of stupidity. A lot of people wish Tatsuki had gotten powers. While I don't love the way she is sort of left hanging, I am not sure that she would improve the dynamic. Perhaps it's because she isn't given powers, but she always seems to represent fear to me, the sort of bad-side of attachments that prevents the sorts of leaps of faith the other characters are so inclined towards. The Six Hearts crew being made up of objectively smart people who make absolutely idiotic decisions based on their hearts is the crux of Bleach, and I think Tatsuki brings sort of a rational energy that really dampens the mood.

Rukia is Rukia. Rukia is The Character of All Time. Rukia is the catalyst that sets all else in motion. The other reason that I don't really like Bleach main character swaps is because the decision to illegally give all her powers to some kid she just met, using a maneuver that she probably read in the appendix of a textbook somewhere and involves stabbing him is not a thing most people would do. It is a thing Rukia would do. The way Rukia trains Ichigo and the things she expects from him and the things she expects from herself and from Soul Society are fundamental to the narrative. Rukia stays.

There are many people that would argue for swapping Renji out of the core cast, but I think, for the sake of Rukia's character, it is absolutely essential that there's another shinigami character along for the ride. Rukia is friends with the Karakura kids, but she is not one of them. She is not a teen. She is an undead adult who has deep ties to Soul Society and the Gotei. The culmination of her character arc all ties to Soul Society: becoming vice-captain and then captain, making bankai, earning her brother's acceptance, reconciling with her childhood friend/love interest. Several of the anime filler arcs have her living in Ichigo's closet again and hanging out with the kids, and I think her character suffers for that.

Anyway, thinking over other shinigami characters, there's no one I would pick over Renji. He fits right into the rest of the crew, both powers and personality-wise. He's cool and strong and good-looking, but he's also a simp for Rukia, and Rukia deserves that. Also, he's a high-ranking Gotei officer, which is often convenient for plot purposes. Most importantly, he is my chief blorbo and I love him, the end.

#six hearts beat as one

[m34gs]

Hi friend!!!

For the character ask game: Rangiku and Rukia???💙💙💙💙

Hi friend!! Thank you for the ask! (related to this post)

A bit long, so I will be putting it under a cut!

Rangiku

1: sexuality headcanon: I think Rangiku is bi. I also like to hc her as polyamorous.

2: otp: OT3, actually :) with both Shuhei and Kira! I just really like their dynamics together. I feel like each of them has a great chemistry one on one with the others, as well as in a group, so I imagine them as a triad polycule.

3: brotp: Orihime. I feel like they really bonded during Rangiku's time in the human world, especially as she stayed over at Orihime's! I think they would have had plenty of time to get to know each other and become very close friends. I also feel like Rangiku would adore Orihime's gentle and sweet nature, and want to protect her.

4: notp: Hitsugaya. I just don't like the ship, and that's ok. I prefer to see them as a familial sibling relationship.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: The "airhead" act is just that - an act. She's actually very smart and worries quite a lot about serious things. The act helps her in two ways: it makes enemies underestimate her which gives her an upper hand, and it helps lighten somber moods around her.

6: favorite line from this character: "That bad habit you had of always disappearing without telling me where you are going...still hasn't changed." I just feel this really sums up how much she does care about Gin, and how much she does notice despite her airheaded appearance/act.

7: one way in which I relate to this character: She can be very perceptive of the feelings of those she cares about, and worries about them a lot. I also worry about those close to me and try to be supportive of them.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: Anytime there's a close-up on her breasts, and anytime she tries to use her looks to get her out of something or gain something she wants. I don't know, I just don't like that part.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? "Sin-amon roll". Lol. :D

Rukia

1: sexuality headcanon: honestly, in my mind I most often hc Rukia as straight. That's just how I see her.

2: otp: Though I headcanon her as straight, I don't really have an OTP for Rukia...I am pretty flexible in who I ship her with. I like shipping her with Renji, I like shipping her with Ichigo, I like shipping her with Kaien, etc. It kind of depends on my mood and if I'm reading/writing a particular fic and what the other ships that are going on in the fic are. I find Rukia is pretty shipable.

3: brotp: Orihime. Again. Lol. I just think there's something about Orihime that allows her to form really good friendships. She is a very earnest, honest girl and she does her best to help those around her. I love it. I like to think they have movie nights and popcorn and go shopping together and talk about all sorts of things!

4: notp: Kon. I don't like them as a pairing; not when Kon's in Ichigo's body, not when he's in the stuffed lion, and I wouldn't like it even if Kon had his own body. I just really don't like it.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: Rukia is not good at flirting. I feel she would be far too literal to catch most flirting aimed at her, and I feel she would try way too hard to be casual when doing the flirting that she would come across the exact opposite. And I think that would only add to her charm. :)

6: favorite line from this character: I can't remember it exactly, but I think it's "I may appear young to you, but I have lived nearly 10 of your lifetimes", which she says to Ichigo when they first meet. I don't know, I just think it feels kinda badass and also is an indication of the wisdom she's gained over the years from her lived experiences.

7: one way in which I relate to this character: Rukia likes cute things! I like cute things! I think if she were real she would adore my cat and we could go shopping online for Squishables or some other really cute stuff!

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: When she's acting for Ichigo's family to get them to let her stay over. I just don't really like that scene.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? Cinnamon Roll. Definite Cinnamon Roll.

Hope you enjoyed these answers, friend! Thanks again for asking :D

#asks #friends #responses #backwardshirt #ask game #character ask game #rukia #rangiku #bleach

[darisu-chan]

burnin' up

Welcome to another IR Month!

Today, I bring you this one-shot which is the opposite of keeping cool. Just what we need for this summer day.

Hope you guys enjoy it!

You can also read it here.

Prompt: keep your cool

Summary:When it is hot out, the best solution is to go to the beach and swim to keep cool…right?

It is terribly hot this summer.

Not that other summers haven’t been as hot, or even hotter than this. But for some reason, Ichigo feels the heat way more this year. He can’t quite put his finger on it. He just knows it is too hot and nothing he has tried so far has been able to cool him down. And, look, he was born in summer. He is used to the flames, the scorching heat, the shinning sun on his back. He does prefer sunny days to the rain, it’s true. And yet, this year the heat has been excruciating. Ice cream, ice cubes, fans. Nothing has seemed to work. At this point, he’s not sure there is anything out there that will make the heat go away.

If he’s this bothered, just imagine Rukia.

She is miserable.

Honestly, Ichigo wouldn’t have expected it to be any different. She was born in the middle of winter, and her zanpakutō is a snow one, a literal Snow White. Of course Rukia has never done great in the summer. But especially not this one. Summers in Karakura can be a pain in the ass, but Ichigo reiterates this summer in particular has been the worst so far. So, Rukia’s been a mess. Red hot cheeks, sweat running down her neck, short skirts, lethargy. It is obvious how uncomfortable she is. And, well, Ichigo feels for her. He doesn’t do the greatest in winter, so he can sympathize with her current state. He wants to do something for her. She had taken a few weeks off to visit him after all, and Ichigo can’t help but blame himself for her current state. If she had stayed in the Soul Society, maybe she wouldn’t feel like this. But no. He can’t afford to think in this way. So, instead, he looks for solutions until he finds one.

The beach.

It is so obvious he wants to slap himself.

Of course they should go to the beach!

It would still be hot, sure, however the ocean water and the breeze are always cool. Thank you, Pacific Ocean for your cold water! Besides, it is the only place where wearing little clothing is socially acceptable. Not to mention the cold drinks, ice popsicles, and other such delicacies that are sold on the beach. And the fact that going on a trip is always a welcome change in the routine. Ichigo’s not sure Rukia has gone many times to the beach, least of all to enjoy herself without worrying about the fate of the world.

So, it is decided that they will go.

“The beach?” Rukia mutters out loud once he tells her the news.

“Yep. The beach.” He simply answers and he can’t help the grin that forms on his mouth.

“What spurred this decision?” She questions him, clearly confused.

“Oh, I know what spurred this decision!” Old goat chin interjects from behind him, but Ichigo ignores him.

“I think it’d be better to enjoy the beach than being stuck here in this heat.”

Rukia stops and thinks for a moment, remembering the terrible heat she’s felt with no respite. She immediately nods her head.

“Agreed.”

That Monday, they decide, will be the day they go to the beach. They believe it will be less crowded than on a weekend, but given it is summer after all, it is a give or take. So for three days they prepare for the event, getting everything they will need: towels, a picnic basket, water bottles, swimsuits, backpacks, flip flops, sunscreen, and the like. For a moment, Ichigo stops and wonders if Rukia even knows how to swim ─ she flicks his forehead while rolling her eyes, “Tawake! Of course I know how to swim!” ─ All the while, he ignores Karin’s snide remarks, Yuzu’s smiles and his father’s perverted comments.

The night before they leave, Isshin even sits him down on his room, with a serious look on his face, which makes all the hair in Ichigo’s body stand on end.

“Now, son, I understand this is your first trip with Rukia with just the two of you, alone. So there are some things that, as a man, you need to know.”

Ichigo’s face starts burning as he stands up and sprints away from his father. Oh, hell no! He is not about to receive the talk when he’s already twenty one! And, yes, he’s pretty much aware this will be the first time he’s going to be alone with Rukia for a few days ever since their relationship changed. But it’s not like he’s planning on doing anything perverted! His intentions are pure, damnit! Yet, a little voice in his head wonders if this trip will make things change once more. When it comes to Rukia, he never knows how things are going to go. It is highly probable they will keep their hands to themselves. However, there is a teeny tiny possibility that they will cross uncharted territory. And, not gonna lie, that frightens Ichigo. Not because he doesn’t want to. But he is scared about the repercussion such a change might bring to their relationship. They have just been able to navigate this thing between them, he doesn’t want anything to ruin it! Particularly not such an adult thing to do. So, he puts those thoughts aside and goes to sleep. He tries to think about waves, sand, fish, beach balls, and definitely not in a scathingly clothed Rukia.

The next morning, Ichigo wakes up feeling refreshed and with a new outlook. He decides he is just going to enjoy this experience, whatever happens, with no expectations. When he meets Rukia in the kitchen, she is positively beaming. She is wearing a baby blue dress with a bow in the front. On her head rests a straw hat with a matching blue ribbon and her feet sport white sandals. She looks radiant. Ichigo has to look away for a moment, less he be forever blinded by her brilliance.

“Ready?”

“Yes!” She exclaims and off they go.

The trip to the beach is quiet. His old man had lent them his van and Ichigo is trying to focus on driving carefully. Though both are technically speaking not alive, that doesn’t mean their physical bodies can’t get hurt. Besides, he doesn’t want Isshin complaining about scratches on his car. Meanwhile, Rukia can’t stop staring outside the passenger seat window. From the corner of his eye, he can see the way her eyes light up the whole way. It is endearing how she manages to find magic in the most mundane of things. The road, cars, random buildings and establishments they pass by, the people. It doesn’t matter how many times she’s visited the human world, things will always be new for Rukia. Ichigo even spies her taking a picture here and there. It makes him feel happy. Happy that he can give him this. More memories. More life.

They make it to the beach by noon.

As expected, there are a lot of tourists there, but not as many as one would have expected. Neither desolate nor filled to the brim. Just the right amount of people. Rukia’s eyes turn ocean blue the moment they land on the golden sands of the beach. She squeals with unbridled joy and is about to sprint to the water when Ichigo stops her.

“We still gotta check in on the hotel.”

He had rented them a room. Nothing too fancy, he is a college student after all. But just enough to be comfortable. Ichigo goes through the usual motions. Gets their card on the lobby, and walks through the floors until they find their room. It is medium-sized with blue walls covered with paintings featuring boats and mermaids. There is just one bathroom, a mini fridge, an old TV. As it had been stated, nothing too fancy. But here is where Ichigo faces his first real problem. There is just one bed. He starts sweating the moment he realizes this, and wonders if he hadn’t specified he wanted two individual beds when he had made the reservations. Instead, there is a single queen sized bed in the room. Rukia doesn’t seem to care as she walks around the room, and opens the balcony to stare at the ocean. Internally, Ichigo screams. He hopes she is not thinking he is sleazy and that he had planned all of this trip with one purpose only. He tries to calm himself. Rukia knows him. She must know he’s not that kind of guy. And it’s not like they have never shared a room or even a bed before, for that matter. It’s just this will be the first time they will be alone. Completely alone with no one to interrupt them. Hopefully, not even Hollows.

While he is having a mental breakdown, Rukia is enjoying the cool breeze coming from the balcony. She opens all the windows and dances around the room. She opens the closet and the drawers. She discovers hangers and a notepad there. Then, she goes into the bathroom and she’s pleased to find a bathtub. Later tonight, she plans on taking a bubble bath to de-stress. Once her exploring is over, Ichigo has calmed down. Rukia is all smiles, with not a hint of displeasure in her face. She either hasn’t noticed the bed or hasn’t cared to think about the implications of it right now. He is grateful for that.

“Do you wanna go to the beach now?” He asks in case the literal elephant in the room is addressed.

Rukia nods enthusiastically. “Yes!”

They go downstairs and walk towards the beach while Rukia asks him a million of questions. Ichigo tries to answer all of them as best as he can. They talk about the peculiar birds she sees ─ “Those are called seagulls.” ─, the people, about volleyball and other beach activities, about the food, and even about Ichigo’s experiences at the beach. Finally, they find a spot under two umbrellas, and they set their towels down.

“We should put on sunscreen.” He says.

Rukia nods and reaches to the hem of her dress. She pulls it up to remove it, revealing inch by inch of creamy white skin. Ichigo’s first thought is that she will need to reapply sunscreen every two hours at least or she’s definitely going to get sunburned. His next thought is, wow, that’s too much skin! By all means, Rukia’s bikini is an average bikini as far as swimsuits go. The top doesn’t reveal too much cleavage and the bottom part covers everything that it should cover. But, man, he has never seen that much of her skin! Alright, that’s not exactly true. Though it’s not like anybody needs to know that! Still, this is new.

Rukia’s bikini is a deep violet, which matches her eyes. It has white polka dots, and the design is visually pleasing. Ichigo wonders where she had even gotten it. Had Urahara given it to her? He hopes not or he is going to kill the man. But regardless of where she got it, he can appreciate what it does to her figure. The top frames her breasts nicely. They look round and soft in it. Ready to be admired. Though small, Rukia has her own curves that he now gets to marvel at with no barriers. Small waist, small but rounded hips. Toned legs. He really doesn’t dare look at her behind, because he does have an inkling of what is awaiting him there, and he isn’t sure he is going to survive the view.

Ichigo feels in flames. Like he is burning and, by the end of this experience, there will be nothing left of him but ashes and bones.

“Ichigo, can you put sunscreen on my back? I don’t think I can reach all the way.”

Yep.

He is going to self-combust any moment now.

In hindsight, maybe this was a terrible idea. Because although his original intentions were pure, his mind is taking him to other places. Places that perhaps should remain unexplored. And, it’s been about a year since they first kissed. Six months since their relationship fundamentally changed. He never thought there would come a time in which he would be able to say Rukia was his. He has always been hers, but now she is his. Forever, they believe. But even that sounds simpler than advancing to the next level. His soul is hers. All hers. And his body wants to be hers as well. However, Ichigo isn’t sure she wants to be his in that way. Not yet at least. And, fuck, he is a man now. A man with his own curiosity and needs. A man madly in love with her. Can he be blamed for finding her the most gorgeous woman he has ever met? Can he be admonished for wanting her all to himself? Still, he shouldn’t objectify her. Shouldn’t make her think he sees her as a walking piece of meat. Rukia is much more than that. She is his person. The other piece of his soul. Even if he finds her irresistible.

No, Ichigo.

This trip is to keep cool and have fun. So keep it in your pants.

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me?”

Rukia suddenly questions and breaks him out from his internal conflict.

“Uh… sure.” He stammers like a high school boy and his cheeks redden.

She turns to look at him coyly.

“Come on, I don’t bite.”

Ichigo is not so sure about that.

This is going to be a long, long trip.

#ichiruki #ichirukimonth #pro ichiruki #ichiruki fanfiction #my fanfiction

[bakubabes-tatakae]

Can I request a fluffy domestic imagine with renji abarai??

Always happy to write for my baby Renji. 🥺❤

You’re So Beautiful || Renji x Reader

Warnings: fluff, renji’s sexiness, SFW, he only slaps the readers ass once, I swear (if I don’t have Renji slapping some ass in his fics, I feel he’s not Renji)

Word Count: 1k

As you danced around the kitchen of your apartment you hadn’t expected there to be any eyes on you. Renji usually slept like a log when he spent the night, he had been spending a lot more time in the human world than he was in the soul society lately. He has been assigned to watch over the human world in Rukia’s absence. 

You had met Renji through your best friend, Ichigo Kurosaki. Sure, the two of them fought like brothers, and it could be annoying, but you couldn’t imagine your life without them. 

When Renji had come to the human world the last thing Ichigo had wanted to do was introduce the two of you. But Renji hadn’t given him that choice. 

Renji had heard a lot about you when Ichigo and his friends had come to the Soul Society in search of Rukia. Ichigo knew that the second you saw Renji you would be head over heels. Renji was exactly your type. 

When Renji had shown up it didn’t take long for you to beg Ichigo to introduce the two of you. Ichigo had been very reluctant to do so. He wasn’t Renji’s biggest fan and the last thing that he wanted is for his best friend in the world to be involved with that lunk. But Renji had other plans. He had laid his eyes on you once and had been pulled in in seconds. 

The way your h/c flowed in the wind, the smell of your perfume lingering as you left an area; a smell that he would forever cherish. The way the first time he had seen your smile it had lit up the entire area that he had been at that time. 

Ichigo hadn’t hidden his distaste when he had introduced the two of you. He knew very well that you would never let him get away with it tho. He knew what your elbows felt like in his chest and it wasn’t something that he never wanted to feel again. 

Renji’s deep voice broke you out of the trance that you were in as you were lost in your own world. “God, I can’t get over it. You’re just so beautiful.”

When you turned to see the crimson-haired man staring at you as he leaned in the doorway of the kitchen your eyes grew wide. You had been hoping to have breakfast done before he had come from the bedroom. “Renji!”

He chuckled as he walked forward, his pink and white kimono flowing as he walked toward you. “What are you doing out here?” The sight that he had run into had been nothing but joyful for him. The sight of you in nothing but your panties and t-shirt as you danced around the kitchen with a bowl of muffin mix did nothing but put that smile on his face that you had made a permanent fixture since he met you.

You placed the bowl on the counter quickly and laughed nervously. “I was really hoping that I could get this done before you woke up. Was it the music? Did I have it up to loud?”

“No, no… nothing like that.” He leaned against the island that stood before your counters. “I woke up cold and when I reached over to pull you toward me I noticed you were gone.”

You approached him, grabbing his arms and turning yourself around to lean into him. As his strong arms wrapped around your body and squeezed you sunk in as far as you could. “Renji,” You looked up toward him as you felt his gaze shift to you. “I have something to ask you.”

“Shoot darling, whatcha got for me?” He kissed your temple and rested his chin onto your shoulder. 

“If you’re going to be here as long as you say you are, why don’t you just come and stay with me?” He froze at your words, his breathing quickened and your mind went to the worse possible outcome. “Only if you want to tho, I don’t want to pressure you.” You tried desperately to ease the situation. “I just know how much you hate staying with Kisuke at the shop and-”

He stopped you but covering your mouth with his hand. “Calm down Y/n. You’re rambling.” He gripped your waist and turned you to face him. “I’ll do it. I’ve been waiting for you to ask me this since we started seeing each other. I didn’t want to suggest it in case you weren’t okay with it.”

You cupped his face in your hands. “Renji Abarai… I love you.”

His lips hit yours roughly as the passion behind his kiss grew with every passing second. He spoke against your lips. “I love you too, Y/n.” He wrapped his arms around your neck and pulled you into his chest. “I’ve been thinking about asking if I can stay in the human world permanently and just travel back and forth to the soul society as needed.” 

As he spoke those words you felt your brow furrow. Being a soul reaper was something Renji would never give up, you were shocked, to say the least. You had never thought you would hear him utter those words. “What about the sixth division? Won’t they want you back at some point?”

“I’ll go back whenever I’m called upon, but I have more pressing matters here.” He grasped your chin in his hand and placed his lips in front of yours, just barely grazing them. “But my intentions are to stay here in the human world and spend all my time with the woman that I’m in love with.”

You felt the pink tinge color your cheeks at his words. Your whole face turning warm to the touch. As his lips caressed yours again you couldn’t help but smile. “You’re too good to me, Renji.”

Renji grabbed your arm and spun you around, pushing you forward and planting a firm smack on your bare ass. “Now get breakfast going you sexy thing. I’m starving.”

Bleach Taglist 💕 @kurobo @siesel 

#renji abarai x reader #renji abarai #abarai renji x reader #abari renji #renji abari imagines #renji abarai fanfic #renji abarai fanfiction #renji abarai request #abarai renji imagines #abarai renji fanfic #abarai renji fanfiction #abarai renji request #bleach imagines #bleach x reader #bleach #bleach fanfic #bleach fanfiction #bleach request

[canariie]

For the BLEACH asks: 1, 2, 16, 17, 33, and 39

From the Bleach Asks List

1: Favourite male character

Okay it’s definitely Toushiro. He’s been my favourite anime character for years and I don’t think that will ever change haha. From his character goals, overall design and personality, he’s definitely number 1! :)

But, I think that’s for granted... so other characters I like are probably Byakuya and Renjii. I recently reread the series and I found that I really like Byakuya’s personality and look. He seems aloof on the front but actually is very passionate about his goals.

I initially didn’t have strong opinions of Renjii but after rereading the series, I’ve grown to appreciate his tenacity of a character. From literally rising up from the poorest districts to be a worthy character of merit. And then freely going against all the things he worked for when his close friend is in danger. I think it’s not appreciated enough (or at least I didn’t when I first read Bleach).

2: Favourite female character

Again, not really a surprise but Momo. I think I ended up also liking her more because I felt it was wrong how she was publicly viewed in certain parts of fandom. Something that isn’t appreciated is how much she’s grown after the betrayal (which she definitely does not get enough credit for). But also I think I liked her cause I really enjoyed her character design in contrast to Toshiro and as a FOIL character.

As that is for granted, another female character I like is Rukia. I was a fan of her character design and also when initially reading the series, it was a lot different than other shounen series’ 2nd female leads, which I enjoyed. Also her arc throughout the series is super compelling, especially parallel to Ichigo.

16: Favourite opening

Haha anything that had a cool shot of Toushiro xD

But in seriousness, I really like UVERworld’s Openings “D-Technolife” and “Velonica” the most. I'm a fan of J-Rock openings and those were the ones I would relisten to.

“Shojo S” is also nice cause Momo looks so pretty in her shot. Ah “Anima Rossa” is nice cause Toushiro looked cool in it too. (Obviously I’ve very biased haha)

Not an opening but for the Hell Verse Movie, I really liked T.M Revolution’s “Save the One, Save the All”! It had this beat and feeling of desperation I think reflected well in the movie!

17: Favourite ending

Honestly, Bleach has really good endings so it’s kind of hard to pick.

But “Baby It’s You” by June for sure! I love the old sound it brings and it’s so soulful! “Aoi Tori” I also really enjoy since it’s kind of pop-ballad like! Other mentions are “Life” by Yui (who is just a great vocalist) and “Hanabi” (for the shot of Momo and Nemu and I really like the lyrics!)

33: Something I’m looking forward to seeing

Obviously Toushiro and Momo again, along with Rangiku and Shinji, to be reanimated! More so Toushiro in his grown form, his zombie phase and Shinji and Momo interactions.

But the not so obvious, probably the Unohana back story and her fight with Zaraki. When I first read it, I was so shocked and that was probably the most suprising reveal in the arc for me. It made me realize, Wow, this is really the last Arc.

39: A theory I have

Not really a theory but I always wondered what happened when the shinigami “die”. Where do they go? I imagine that they get reincarnated back in the human world and the cycle repeats. If so, I think that’s super promising in playing with back stories and characters!

---

oh my goodness that was a lot haha. I hope you enjoyed the responses! Feel free to send more my way! Thank you Ray’s for sending these in :)

#bleach #canariie: asks #toshiro hitsugaya #momo hinamori #kenpachi zaraki #retsu unohana #byakuya kuchiki #renjii abarai #Rukia Kuchiki

[misc-headcanons]

Could ya do some headcanons on Rukia and Uraraka getting a classic Kabedon confession by a tall male crush?? (...i read a lot of romance and Shoujo Manga)

Ahh, the good ol' kabedon 👌

Rukia

Rukia would be confused the instant you stopped walking alongside her as you two were making your way out of Urahara's shop. Had you forgotten to buy something? When you turn to face her with an odd, nervous look on your face, she was even more confused. 

Just as she was about to ask you what was wrong (was a Hollow nearby, and she hadn't noticed?), you had decided to make your move and pin her against the outside wall of the shop. A part of her was worried that a Hollow or other enemy had taken over your body or something, but then...her thoughts drifted to some of the human television programs she'd watched at Ichigo's place when she first stayed in the Human World; sometimes humans, typically men, would put their arms on either side of someone they were attracted to and pin them as they were lying with their back to a wall. Was this...were you…

Her face turned bright red as she stared up at you. She'd wondered if you had any romantic feelings whenever you two were together, but she'd always dismissed it as her imagining things. But now you were confessing to her! And in such an intimate, Human fashion! The thought of it almost made her soul jump out of her Gigai with glee.

Before you had actually said the words "I like you," she actually jumped the gun and blurted out "I like you too!" The sudden reply (when you hadn't even said anything yet) took you off-guard a bit, and the two of you stared awkwardly at each other for a while. The sound of Urahara opening the door to the shop caused you two to jump in surprise.

"Hey, did you two forget some--Oh~"

Not wanting to have an audience (especially one that enjoyed teasing as much as Kisuke Urahara), Rukia slipped out from under you and took you by the arm while she started hurriedly walking in the direction to Orihime's place--her go-to place to temporarily "crash" while on her trips to the Human World. 

As you two walked, she looked straight at the ground and her cheeks were still bright pink. She'd finally speak up by quietly asking if you'd like to watch a movie with her tomorrow evening at Orihime's, or to go to the city for a more common place that couples go to. She fumbled her words a bit as she described you two as a "couple", and she looked up at you with a slightly shy half-smile.

Uraraka

The moment she felt someone sneak up on her, her reflexes would kick in and she'd put her self-defense training to good use--before you even managed to properly Kabedon her, she'd grabbed your wrist when you had moved to put her against the wall and flipped you over her head! When she saw that it was you on the ground and not an actual assailant, she'd immediately apologize and (with very red cheeks) try to help you up. She hadn't meant to cause any major damage to you, but you're definitely going to have a bruise or two on your back from how hard she'd slammed you onto the floor. 

Once you were back on your feet and leaning a bit against her for support, she asked what the heck you were trying to do when you'd taken her by surprise. When you say it was because you were trying to kabedon her, her eyes would widen to the size of saucers; if her face was red before, now she was practically glowing. She's so surprised that she accidentally forgets you're leaning against her and you fall once again. Ouch...who knew confessing to a crush could be this painful?

She's apologizing again as she helps you back up, and offers to carry you to Recovery Girl to make up for hurting you twice now. As you two make your way to the nurse's office, she's constantly stammering as she talks way-too-fast about anything that pops into her mind; she's so flustered about getting confessed to, and for her ruining the moment by flipping your ass and then dropping you again for good measure. If you finally do bring it up and ask for her reaction, she'd cover her face because she's so nervous; but after a few seconds to compose herself, she'd say that she likes you back and--once Recovery Girl healed you up--she'd love to go out with you some time.

#bnha #bleach #rukia #rukia kuchiki #uraraka #uraraka ochako #male s/o #mine

[hibiscusangel15]

Two Months

Happy @ichirukimonth 2020, everyone! Here’s the first of a series of fics I plan to write!

Summary: He’s only known her for two months. Why does her leaving feel like a betrayal? For Day 5 of Ichiruki Month 2020.

Rating: K+

Day 5 Prompt: Betrayal

Also crossposted to FFN and AO3!

How long does it take to form a habit?

Thirty days. One month.

It took even less than that for Ichigo to grow used to her steady presence in his closet. How odd that spending just another month with her made her absence feel like a loss.

It was ridiculous, of course. Two months was hardly enough time to form a bond, let alone get to really know a person.

And yet, he had come to know Rukia, hadn’t he? She had a strong sense of duty. She loved rabbits. Her drawings sucked ass.

He’d seen her smug. He’d seen her smile.

He made her cry.

All within the span of two months. All because of him. And because of him, she was going to die.

Rukia didn’t deserve such a fate. She’d thrown away everything that night they first met. All on a whim, too. That was what shook him most.

Saving lives to her was as easy as breathing. She saved his family’s lives. Inoue and Tatsuki’s lives. Chad’s life. Even Kon’s.

And his. So many times in a thousand different ways. In ways that put her own at risk.

She was so stupid. She always harped on and on about how reckless he was, but then she went and acted just as foolishly.

Ichigo turned to his now-empty closet. “Hypocrite.”

He wished he could hear what her snarky response would be. At least then it would trigger a petty argument or a wandering conversation. Anything but this awful stillness.

How long does it take to break a habit? Another month? Two?

Nighttime was too quiet without her.

Their late conversations had been sparse, at first. In the early days, Rukia would scold him over improper fighting stances or techniques, and he would ignore her out of pure spite. Ichigo wasn’t sure when exactly this shifted into something more casual. He did remember the topic that sparked it, though.

“What’s it like there?” he asked her one night. “In Soul Society, I mean.”

Rukia seemed startled by the question. Probably because he acted like he didn't care much about their work before. That didn't mean he didn't want to know more about her world.

"It's...peaceful.” She dragged the word out like some unruly dog. Like a practiced courtesy even she didn't believe in. “You never have to worry about hunger unless you have spirit energy. Thankfully, a lot of people don’t.”

“What happens if you do have spirit energy?”

“Then you become a Shinigami.”

“No, I don’t mean that. I mean, if most spirits don’t feel hunger, then they don’t feel the need to eat obviously. But if you even have the slightest bit of spirit energy, what are you supposed to do? I can’t imagine a world where the majority doesn’t need to eat needs farms or food production. Are you just gonna starve? Can you even starve if you’re dead?”

Rukia looked away. “You can. Your soul might even fade because of it.”

“So what’re you supposed to do then?”

“Weren’t you listening to me, idiot? You become a Shinigami.”

Ichigo sat up in his bed. “Yeah, but what if you don’t want to be a Shinigami? I mean, there’s gotta be other ways to help people with spirit energy in the Soul Society.”

“I didn’t think humans could be this naive.” There was a hint of a smile in her voice. “Surely even in the World of the Living, most resources are relegated to merchants and the wealthy.”

“I’m not naive,” he snapped. “You’re the one that acts like Shinigami are doing ghosts a favor by sending them off to Soul Society. That place sounds awful if you have spirit energy.”

“What else can I do? Most humans believe that the life after this one is peaceful. Who am I to take that away from them?” she asked. “Could you honestly tell me you’d say anything different?”

The headlights of a car washed over his ceiling, illuminating his room for just a split second. It was long enough to catch the weary frustration in her eyes, harsh and heavy and cold.

Her gaze became more of a challenge to hold. She was right. It hurt her to be right.

Ichigo’s eyes fell first. “No, I probably wouldn’t. It’s just….”

“Just what?”

“It’s just sad. I don’t know. I haven’t even been a Shinigami that long, but even I know it can be exhausting. Dropping everything to kill Hollows, running the risk of serious injury or death…. Not everybody’s gonna be cut out for the kinda work you guys do.”

“Yes, well. You make do.”

And just like that, she shut the topic down. He still had so many questions he wanted to ask.

“I guess,” he said instead. “Oh, and Rukia?”

“Hm?”

“Sorry.”

“For what?”

“For making you feel bad, I guess. I still have a lot to learn about this Shinigami thing.”

Rukia was quiet for a long time. Then she laughed, a soft, genuine sound that took him completely aback. It was the first time he’d ever heard her laugh that way.

A part of him wanted to hear it again. To see the gentle smile that accompanied it.

It wouldn’t be the last time he cursed the darkness between them.

“Fool,” she whispered. “You don’t need to apologize for something as trivial as that.”

His face grew warm. “Too bad. I just did.”

“Hm.” She shuffled for the closet door handle. “Good night, Ichigo.”

“Yeah, good night.”

The screen sliced through their space and wreathed the room in damnable silence.

                                                         * * *

Ichigo regretted not trying to make her laugh more that night. He regretted not doing a lot of things during those months with Rukia.

Once he finally had time to process everything that happened the night Renji and her brother took her away, all Ichigo felt was angry. Mostly at her.

It didn’t make sense for him to feel this way, he knew. She saved his life. His pathetic, worthless life.

She protected him one last time, and he couldn't even scrounge up enough decency to be grateful.

No, he couldn’t think that way. He would rescue her. He would protect her in the same ways that she was always protecting him.

He was right to be ungrateful. He was right to be angry.

Rukia gave up everything for him. She did so without hesitation. But Soul Society simply decided her years of service, her sacrifice, her life meant nothing.

And she had agreed with them. Kicked him away, yelled at him, threatened him, and agreed with the bastards that attacked her that she had no right to her own life.

It was a betrayal he was not willing to stand for.

So he would stand and fight. It didn’t matter who. It didn't matter how many. Anyone who got in his way was an enemy. Anyone who put Rukia through that hell wouldn’t get to decide her fate. Rukia herself could fight him on this if she wanted to. He wouldn't let her be resigned to her own death.

He already decided her opinion about all this didn’t matter. All that did matter was her safety. Her happiness. The chance to hear her laugh that wonderfully soft laugh again.

Ichigo would let that guy with the cane and weird hat train him if it meant a shot at recovering any of that.

Two months. In just two months, Rukia had changed his world.

Now he would do anything to change hers.

#ichirukimonth #ichirukimonth2020 #Ichiruki #OTP: Black Sun and White Moon #Kurosaki Ichigo #Kuchiki Rukia #Bleach #my fanfiction

[woodrokiro]

Hollowed (fic), Part Six

Fandom: Bleach

Pairing: IchiRuki

Summary: They call her a miracle, but he looks at her as if she’s normal. It scares her. Fantasy/Futuristic/Zombie kinda?AU. Read Parts One, Two, Three, Four, and Five.

As Ichigo approaches Rukia’s quarters, he can’t help but be on edge for what he might find.

What was it that Yamamoto said she’d be, after going to the medical facilities? ‘Frail,’ ‘tired?’ What, like she’s sick?

Ichigo doesn’t know a whole lot about medicine, but considering his dad often helped out Uryu’s father with medical visits within the village, he does know some. Sure, there are some herbal medicines that can make a person drowsy. The stronger pill-form antibiotics that he read about from the Old World haven’t been made available in years… Although, he admits to himself, this is the military compounds he’s talking about, who would have more access than anybody to rare medicinal goods. 

Still… He can’t imagine the girl he spoke with to be in such a weakened state that she’s incapable of making decisions. What sort of medications or treatments or whatever are they giving her?

He approaches the door to her rooms. And why do they keep giving them to her, even though it’s obviously not working? And why did she have to go to the medical facilities right then after the Hollow--

He opens the door and finds the girl in question completely nude. 

---

She doesn’t really notice him until she hears a strange wheeze-scream coming from outside the screen. 

She looks up from her book to take a glance at his beet-red face, the finger pointed accusingly at her. She lifts her eyebrows. “Good morning.”

“YOU’RE NAKED.”

“Well, I suppose I am--ah, no I’m not! I’ve got this bandage around my arm.” She points to her shoulder, the crisp white bandage tied tightly around it.  

“That doesn’t make a diff--!! What is wrong with you?!”

“Nothing’s wrong. I was in the middle of changing and got caught up in some reading.” 

“Yeah but you still knew I was coming??”

“Of course. But if you’re my personal guard protecting me at all times, this shouldn’t matter to you. I’ll be changing in front of you quite often.” 

“Do not gaslight me about this, like this is in any way normal--” 

 “If it really bothers you that much, you can turn around.” 

He pauses, opening and closing his mouth like a fish before spinning around wildly. “You know what, I--whatever. This place is so fucking bizarre. Can you just put something on?”

“Certainly.” She reaches over the other end of the table for the silk robe she discarded, slightly miffed.

No, she can’t say that she’s always up to date on social cues from the outside world; but she’s not that naive. She knows it’s not normal to be naked in front of anyone, let alone a person of the opposite sex. 

But it’s different here, she considers as she pulls her hands through the sleeves. She’s different. Most here have always viewed her as something Other: not Creature, and certainly not Human either. The medical grounds certainly find her fascinating, but she is Lady Rukia, the link to saving humanity. 

No one has ever quite seen her as Woman before. 

What a strange boy. 

She tightens the knot at her waist. “There. Are you satisfied, sir?”

He glances behind him, scoffing. “Yes. My sincerest apologies for reacting like any normal person would. And don’t call me ‘sir.’ Just call me Ichigo.”

“Ichigo. All right.” She crosses her arms.

She is looking a bit tired, he notes; there are creases under her eyes, a paleness to her already milk-white complexion--and the way she holds herself is almost like she has to will herself to stand. 

His mind jumps back to her bandaged shoulder, though… He doesn’t remember her being injured any point. So why does she have--

“Were your sisters all right yesterday? And your friends?”

He’s caught off guard, and scratches his head self-consciously. He would’ve thanked her from the start, if she had been clothed--but he’s still embarrassed that she brings it up before he does. 

“Oh, um. Yeah, they were. You were right, I guess: none of the ‘service’ or whatever were within its radius, and my friends posted in military were okay. Hey and--I just wanted to thank you for doing that. I know you technically weren’t supposed to release me, but I appreciate it all the same.”

“Of course. It wasn’t of much consequence to me, I hope it wasn’t to you.” She looks down at her table, picking at an invisible speck on the pristine table with a thoughtful look on her face. “Family is important.” 

“... Sure. Yeah.” He’s stumped on what to follow up with that before he suddenly remembers. “Oh, hey! By the way, I met your brother on the way here. He’s, uh…” He grits his teeth. Shit. 

She watches him struggle awhile to come up with a decent adjective, her eyes dancing with a shade of laughter. “Formal?” 

He lets out a scoff. “Yeah you can say that.”

“He can be, yes. But he’s actually very kind. He’s done a lot for me, more than I can ever thank him for.”

Ichigo doesn’t know about that--the thought of caging up his sisters like animals regardless of the reason makes him want to hurl--but before he can retort, a maid enters from from one of the doors in Rukia’s room. 

“There ya go, m’lady! Fresh sheets on the bed, and flowers from the garden on your nightstand too. The blooms haven’t been really good, Sentarou says--but I told him he better go back out there for your bouquet. ‘Only the best for Lady Rukia!’ I said, and he sped right out and brought back some really nice roses. He can be a real good gardener when he’s not lazy.” The blonde scrap of a girl turns to nod at Ichigo. “Heya there. New guard, huh? Keep that phrase in mind. ‘Only the best for Lady Rukia.’”

Ichigo’s too busy with a dropped jaw to even speak to the girl inside the room with Rukia.

“Thank you, Miss Kiyone. Give my thanks to Mr. Sentarou too, I’m sure the roses are lovely.”

“‘S no trouble at all!” The maid peeks over Rukia’s shoulder at an ornate tray of food on a cabinet that Ichigo didn’t even have the chance to notice. “Aww, milady, you haven’t even eaten yet! Ya not feeling well again?”

Rukia waves a hand away at the thought. “No, no. It looks wonderful, I’m just not hungry. Please, take it for yourself and your mother to enjoy.”

Kiyone puts her hands on her hips. “Now, milady. That’s the third time this week you’ve done this with your meal. I shoulda never told you ‘bout my mom. She’s not that sick, really, just has a cold. You can’t keep giving your food to us, at least take a few bites and then, if you so want we’ll take the rest--”

“No because then you can’t eat it at all.” Rukia says it so sharply that the girl jumps. Rukia stops, takes a breath and continues softer: “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just… I’m already giving you the food I won’t eat, it wouldn’t feel right if I gave you the picked over remains. Please. I’m happy to give them to you.”

Kiyone twists her mouth, but picks up the tray and with a curtseyed “thank you, Lady” clicks open the screen door and walks out the room, past Ichigo. 

The two remain in silence for a minute. Ichigo watches her rub her shoulder absent-mindedly.

“So… Can you explain to me what that’s all about?”

Rukia frowns. “What? I wasn’t hungry.” 

“Yeah, I gathered. I’m asking why you near screamed my head off yesterday with just touching the screen and yet here comes a little girl, no older than my sisters and she’s changing your sheets?”

“It-it’s complicated.” She huffs. “I don’t want anyone to come in here. I’d be happy to do the cleaning and tasks of my own rooms. Lord Yamamoto and Brother are adamant that I don’t ‘strain’ myself, so Kiyone is the only one that comes in, and I keep my distance from her just in case, and she goes to the medical facilities for check ups regularly, and--”

“What the fuck is it that you have?” Ichigo interrupts incredulously. “What? Is it infectious? Do I need to be worried--”

“No. No.” She rubs her eyes, and Ichigo realizes she must be really tired and stressed out but this is important, nobody in his group can afford to be sick right now. “Of course nobody knows the full scope of my… My condition, but I am near positive that Kiyone won’t be affected. Ever. If I thought there was any chance, I’d put my foot down.”

“But for now, you won’t because you like the service?”

“Do not mock me. I hate this as it is. But I have to pick my battles.” She glares at him, and Ichigo can’t help but notice for being a frail, tiny woman dressed in only a robe, in this moment she may as well be a giant. 

He thinks--not for the first time--about how he may have underestimated her. 

“With all that said, I do not feel comfortable with anyone on this side. It’s not personal, but that includes you.”

“And what about the times that I have to walk you out of here? Like that time you came out to see us when we first came here? What then?”

“In which case, there’s not much to be helped, but you and I will never go out alone. You will call forth at least three guards to assist you, although they will maintain a distance of at least six feet from me. Speaking of which,” she gets up, and the movement is so fluid and regal that Ichigo blinks. “I’d like to go for a walk. Ring the bell outside the hall and send a messenger for that assistance. Meanwhile, I’ll get dressed.”

 She is about to walk into what is apparently her bedroom when Ichigo finally calls out. 

“Are you all right to go out? I mean… If you’ve been sick. Do you really want to go out in all those heavy clothes, in your condition?”

She turns to look at him from the doorway, assessing him. “I’m all right, thank you,” she replies coolly and Ichigo sees the similarity between her and her brother clear as day. “The fresh air will do me good. And I won’t be in those ‘heavy clothes.’ Those are only for certain occasions. Besides,” she smiles dryly, “Sometimes I think those gowns are so I won’t blend in. Easier to keep track of the only girl in ornamental garb.” 

She shuts the door, and it may as well have been on Ichigo’s face.

#ichiruki #bleach #ichigo kurosaki #rukia kuchiki #hollowed #my stuff #aaah thanks to sera for looking over my chapters thus far! #i was nervous about this one

[everything-withered]

Ichiruki title games - Home

This whole business may be over, for now, but there's work to be done, and despite being useless throughout the entire ordeal, Rukia does need to recover.

Byakuya-niisama had asked it of her, practically begged, and even if she hadn't resolved years ago to honour her brother's wishes, this time is different: he had given her a choice, he had apologized, he had asked for the opportunity to do better.

And Rukia. She didn't know what to do with that. But he'd been earnest. And while he was never actually emotional, Byakuya-niisama had never lied to her before and he wasn't about to start now.

Inoue knew, of course. She'd been there helping heal the wounded. She would've told Ichigo.

But she didn't.

Whether out of respect for their privacy, or the possibility that she hadn't heard the exchange between siblings at all, it hardly matters when, as the humans prepare to depart, Ichigo says to her, "Let's go home."

He's got a small smirk of something satisfied, something assured. He seems more settled, comfortable in his skin. "If we leave now, we'll make it in time for the long weekend. We can go to that dumb Chappy store opening you were going on about." Her heart promptly lodges itself in her throat. It's ridiculous to feel so touched about something so inane after the near impossible feats he'd gone to to save her. To bring her home.

In his Shinigami robes with his butcher's knife of a blade strapped to his back, Rukia thinks by fate's grace, she'd chosen her substitute well. Ichigo was made for this. He'll do well, back there.

"I'm not going with you."

His expression freezes, and Rukia does too because. Because she didn't expect to regret it, didn't expect to want to go. For a breathless moment, time stops, and they stand across from one another: Ichigo backlit by the gates of the Living World, and Rukia, a lone figure in white amongst the black robes of a world far more familiar to her.

There's a symmetry in this somehow, a poetry. Her heart feels needlessly heavy.

Then, he smiles, reluctant and sad, and sighs, "Ah." Like he understands. Which is impossible because Rukia doesn't. For a fleeting moment, she considers taking the words back. Dragging him through the gates. Starting the groundwork for bargaining for the Chappy she wants.

Behind him, Inoue seems to peer over his shoulder, and then, it clicks. Ah.

He probably wants to get back to his life now that his imagined debt has been paid.

The thought makes her skin feel too tight, her movements too mechanical, even as the words come, easy as they've always been with him, "I won't say thank you."

His expression turns serious. "Good because I don't want it."

"You don't owe me," Rukia says a little too sharply.

And at that he steps closer, breaching the chasm that's always separated them but hadn't seemed all that tumultuous until he's really looking at her, and saying quietly, "That's not why."

"Ichigo..."

He licks his lips, gaze flickering around them in a way she knows means he's nervous before it settles back to her, and something fragile seems to glitter, catching on the brown of his eyes like a wink of gold. "Ask me to stay, and I will."

Her breath catches, sharp; surprised. "Ichigo!"

And just like that, he huffs out a breath, reaching back to rub at his neck and look away, grumbling, "Tch, I don't trust these assholes, and if you're hurt, I'm definitely not leaving you with them."

Rukia gapes, and over the sound of someone announcing that the gate is ready, Inoue leaves in a flutter and disappears beyond.

Ichigo doesn't even flinch, doesn't look away to watch Inoue go, and behind him, the setting sun matches the intensity of his eyes.

Oh, Rukia thinks. Oh.

#ichiruki #title games

[gunnerpalace]

Have you thought about the marrige of the OT3? Cause nothing really says that in your universe marriage is limited to just 2 people.

I absolutely and quite casually imagine them as eventually deciding to get married; in a lot of the follow-on WIPs to Grounded! that are set notably later, I have them idly referenced to each other in narration as “husband” or “wife,” as the case might be.

I think it would be easy to make having a polyamorous/non-monogamous relationship be a source of ongoing angst and tension in any of these AUs, or any AU involving YIR. (Although a serious, committed, and closed triad/ménage à trois isn't very complex by the standards of such things, it's still different enough that it could easily be viewed as highly unusual depending on context.) The thing is, I'm also not very engaged in exploring that aspect myself (though if someone else were to, I think that would be quite fascinating). I'm not particularly interested in framing a story around the sociopolitical ramifications of their love itself (although I am interested in the political ramifications of them coming together because of who they are as individuals), or seeing them struggle against societal expectations, although I freely acknowledge that could (and in many circumstances absolutely would) be an ongoing plot point. It is, I suppose, one layer too many and distracts from where I would like the focus of their story to be, at least when I’m writing it.

Doing some token research suggests that, as things are in reality, somewhere between 1/5 and 1/3 of the population engages in some form of such behavior at some point in their lifetimes. So, certainly in the BattleTech AU (being very distinctly set in the future) it could just be assumed that group marriages aren't uncommon. (This is a recurring thing in science-fiction anyway; the most recent major example I know of being James Holden in The Expanse, who is the only child of a "marriage co-op" of 8 adults—5 men, 3 women. The wiki for the series goes into some detail about how the concept works in-universe.)

So, my sense is that in the BattleTech AU group marriages are just a thing, if varied in nature, and that doesn’t mark out their relationship as unusual. What would is who they are—a Shihōin, a Kuchiki, and a Shiba getting together is bound to be a major political headache for absolutely everyone.

In the other AUs, I’m personally fine with just hand-waving it and saying that historical divergences led to more open attitudes regarding relationship configurations and the law followed suit accordingly. (And I guess in the QZGS AU it’s just different through authorial fiat.)

(An interesting point that’s been brought up by others is, if such things are fairly common, it would be interesting for there to be some other assemblages of characters in the background in similar such relationships that could perhaps be used as a model or at least a point of comparison in them deciding how to structure their own relationship. I have yet to really figure out who, or in what configurations. I think Grimmjow, Nelliel, and Harribel being a sort of “dark mirror” of them could be interesting, but I don’t think they would appear anytime soon [especially as I sort of imagine the Arrancar and Espada being associated with the Clans].)

So, yes, I think they’d get married. An interesting question then becomes how quickly they’d decide on that and how the proposals might happen. @duckiesteasmiles​ wrote this (which I have lightly edited) for the Modern AU, and allowed me to post it. I quite like its take on the idea of how it might go:

Some days were harder than others—everyone can understand that in some way. Waking up was a pain and leaving the arms that always seemed so welcoming and present was to be ripped away for the everyday grind. Rukia found herself curled up in a bath that was readily awaiting her when she came home. Yoruichi had taken her bags while Ichigo had pressed a kiss to her forehead. She knew very well that she should be grateful for the life she had been given. Every life had suffering. Every person cried. Every person found some parts of their lives unfair. Why should she be exempt from this? Surrounded by water one degree above lukewarm, she felt too vulnerable—too human. Her nails wanted to claw at her skin and her soul craved to find refuge. She allowed herself neither. With her face buried against her kneecaps, she heard the faint click of the door opening but did not move. She was too tired to fight off any comfort that would be given to her now; she wanted it more than anything, really. She just wanted to be home, all the time. But she could no longer utter the words, It's not fair. She felt slender fingertips gingerly parting strands of her hair and scratching behind one of her ears. There was no need to lift her head, no need to register who it was. Yoruichi sighed softly as her heart jumped into her throat and then sank into her stomach. This wasn't a pain that could be whisked away—only coaxed and cooed at until the demon Rukia was fighting wished to settle for another day. It was all she could do, but it would be enough. After a few moments of gentle caresses, cheek strokes and shoulder kisses, Rukia carefully shifted her face from her knees to Yoruichi's lap on the tub’s edge. The warmth of her face muddled with a small stream of tears that would fall every now and again, puddling against Yoruichi's skin before dripping back into the bathtub to become one with Rukia again. Little fingertips reached up just slightly and curled into the fabric of Yoruichi’s shirt. Yoruichi began to focus on this contact and rubbed a thumb against the back of Rukia’s hand. It was only a breath later that Rukia's ears perked up to an unfamiliar sound. She wanted to turn toward it, to see what it was, but found Yoruichi’s other hand against her hair, silently telling her to remain where she was. The soft humming was pleasant and caught Rukia off guard. It was surprisingly girly and melodic, not at all like the low purr that she had always imagined it would be. It was a tune somewhere between You Are My Sunshine and Somewhere Over the Rainbow. She dared not complain—but god, it was beautiful; Yoruichi was beautiful. Rukia’s muscles relaxed and she slumped against the edge of the bathtub, wanting to lean into the warmth of the other woman as a new wave of tears shook her breath and blurred her sight. Yoruichi complied and let Rukia nuzzle her face against her belly, not caring about the damp stain it would leave on her shirt. Between her hums and touches, she softly soothed Rukia, calmed her, adored her, and convinced her. “You're such a strong girl, dear one. You're so very strong. And every day you're able to get out of bed and do what you need to is another step closer to coming back to it; to coming back home. I know it isn't easy. I know you're trying your best, and sweetheart: that's all he and I can ever ask of you. If it gets too much, you're allowed to take some time. If it gets too overwhelming, you're allowed to cling. You've done nothing wrong; your thoughts aren't wrong; your pain isn't misplaced. I miss you too—so does Ichigo.” Yoruichi's throat felt tight and she too curled up around Rukia, burying her face into her hair. “It's not easy for any of us. I want to be home too. I want to be with you and him all the time. But you aren't ever alone, Rukia. You have us; you'll always have us. We're your partners. Whatever you need us to be, we'll be, without question. I know it's not fair. But you're only human. You can only do so much, and I'm so proud of how much you've grown. You're such a wonderful little bunny, darling; such a beautiful empress. I couldn't wish for you to be anything more.” Unbeknownst to them, another set of eyes watched over them, pained from a lurching heart. Ichigo gazed over his girls, both of them tired and clutching at one another like they were each other's life supports to keep afloat. He swore that he would do all his two hands were capable of to keep them safe; to keep them loved and cherished. It didn't matter how many extra hours he had to suffer with the world; didn't matter if he was away longer—if it was for his girls, he could do anything, anything at all. With each step towards them, his resolve grew stronger and more powerful. And by the time his arms caught hold of the two most precious things in his life, it was absolute. It was time to make them understand just where they belonged. If not in this moment, when? Once he had held them for long enough, he carefully found their left hands and looped a gold band around each of their ring fingers without a word. It wasn't needed.

I think it would probably always be Ichigo who brought the rings, though I’d be willing to hear counterarguments. Regardless, I like the idea that their proposals tend to be soft and quiet and intimate things, rather than flashy or dramatic (as they get enough of that in other ways). They don’t need to be grand gestures because by the time they happen, they all already know, and it’s just the final bit of physical proof of a truth long since established.

#Asks #YoruIchiRuki #OT3: Neapolitan Ice Cream #justletmebeokay #duckiesteasmiles

[shuhey-hisagi]

Could I get some headcanons on what Rangiku, Rukia, Renji, Shuhei, and Toshiro's favorite things to do are in the human world when they're not working(I hope that's not too many)?

I was way too excited writing this..

Favorite things to do in the human world

Rangiku Matsumoto:

- It’s a no brainer that she enjoys visiting shopping centers. She’ll drag along whatever poor sap was around her at the time so they can carry all her bags. How she has that much valid currency is a mystery, but she goes all out. She’s interested especially in new make-up and fashion trends.

- She’s all about doing things that make you happy and is a firm believer in the power of retail therapy. Rangiku might pick up several magazines with make up tutorials so that she can practice back at home when she’s bored. She actually becomes really good at make up and her favorite looks usually involve  brown/red eyeshadows and a bold lip. People at the mall confuse her for a social media influencer or model often.

- She’s not Rangiku if she doesn’t hit up the night clubs or bars. She’ll talk some of the girls into going with her. While at the place of business, she has an easy time talking men and women alike into buying her and her friends drinks. It’s a fun night, especially since she’s really outgoing and down to try new things.

- Since she goes to clubs often, she’s developed a taste in a particular sort of night club music genre, so she might ask Ichigo to help her find a certain song or similar songs. He’s less than pleased but tries his best anyways.

- SPA DAYS. After a long night of drinking and dancing, she most definitely will have booked a spa day. I’m talking facials, full body massages, that weird tropical music they play, a complementary jacuzzi for extra pizazz, all of it. She brings along whoever she feels might be having a bad week/needs to destress though. It’s sweet of her, because she acts like she just wants company, but is trying to use something that makes her feel a little better to help someone she loves.

Rukia Kuchiki:

- Rukia enjoys learning about modern ways of life. This involves watching a lot of cute shows on television or picture books. She appreciates animated shows a lot because it’s interesting to her how much work people put into creating such content. It takes her a while to get used to the subtle humor though.

- Definitely someone who would try to go see the tourist sights available and enjoys places like beaches or small hiking trails connected to parks.

- Would probably take Renji and/or Ichigo to an aquarium with her because that’s a whole uncovered field for her and she’s awestruck. She would find a tour guide or worker and badger them with questions the whole time that she’s there.

- She does like spending time with Orihime and her friends. It gives her a sense of belonging, and they are all really sweet and animated in their own ways. It’s a definite break from the strict atmosphere of the Soul Society. She especially enjoys going to the movies or amusement parks with them because she always experiences something new.

- I can see her trying out a yoga class with Renji and making an utter fool of herself. That’s something she’s never going to attempt again... 

- Would definitely be on the look out for anything that she believes her brother may appreciate. Though her sense of style is a little tasteless, she does like to hit up scarf shops or even craft stores that may have odd trinkets that she thinks Byakuya may find (secretly) endearing. Probably has a custom frame made for him.

- She also enjoys spending time with Ichigo. Harassing him has become one of her favorite pastimes and no matter how old he gets, she’s still able to rile him up. It never stops being funny.

Renji Abarai:

- Renji is a mess. He wants to try everything out. He’s passionate about new foods and accessory shops most.

- You can find him strolling through downtown observing a map and trying to find that new sunglasses shop Orihime mentioned. This dude totally gets talked into buying bootleg Ray-Bans or something. He doesn’t really care- brand names don’t mean anything in the Seireitei, so he can get away with sporting some cheesy glasses.

- Likes going out to try new foods with Rukia and the gang. He usually ends up ordering too much and has to get Rangiku to pick up the tag. She does with the threat that he has to pay her back, but she never owns up to it. She secretly doesn’t mind it. 

- At one point he became interested in motorcycles and Chad was trying to help him learn. That ended up as badly as you can imagine. 

- On the off chance that Byakuya is also in the world of the living, Renji tries to break his shell by bringing him to shopping centers or even suggesting a hike that has a nice view. 

- Though his experience at the Urahara shop was iffy, he does like to drop by every now and then with candy or other small gifts for Jinta and Ururu. He’ll never admit it, but he’s become extremely fond of the two and views them as his younger siblings. That being said, it doesn’t mean that the kids are any less lenient on him. He’s still the victim of relentless taunting. He’s learned to be patient with them and usually just gives them the reaction they want because he knows it makes them happy.

- Renji enjoys going to the jazz cafes that Shinji Hirako suggests. He’s grown fond of the music and when he needs some alone time, he can count on the atmosphere to mellow him out.

Shuhei Hisagi:

- There’s this one Shinigami Golden clip where when he was in the world of the living, he brought back Sajin Komamura a brush for his fur. That makes me think he’s usually on the lookout for items that are not available in the Soul Society that he thinks will benefit his comrades. He’s also always tempted to buy other things like sweets or snacks for people he thinks might enjoy them.

- Chad helps him learn how to play that guitar he found. His progress is slow considering he can’t meet up often, but he takes back books and probably has a laptop that he can watch tutorials on. (Chad got a new one so he downloaded videos on it for Shuhei).

- He likes to cook, so he enjoys going to the grocery stores and scoping out produce that he may be able to find back home as well and looks up recipes. He spends a lot of his time at used book stores. 

- Has definitely thought of getting another tattoo or piercing. Scratch that, he got an eyebrow piercing on his gigai and liked how it looks, so when he got back home he decided to get an actual one. Once it healed, he only ever wears jewelry in it occasionally. He’s thought of a nose piercing but is a little too nervous about a cartilage piercing.

- Ichigo was skating once and Shuhei thought it was cool and had Ichigo teach him how to skate. He’s actually a natural at the whole thing and enjoys evening skates through quiet streets. That is, until someone mistakes him for a rival gang member and he ends up being chased. Usually he tries to avoid conflict, but sometimes thugs just deserve getting their asses kicked.

- On that note, Orihime suggested he get rid of the face tattoos on his gigai if he wants to look a little less intimidating, but Shuhei refuses because they’re an important part of him. He does mind that people are intimidated by him, but he’s come to accept that he might not be the most conventional “human”. ( help im crying )

Toshiro Hitsugaya:

- Definitely visits all the grandmas who somehow hav managed to melt his icy demeanor. A few of them don’t get to see their relatives that often, so he makes it a point to stop by when he can. He’ll help around the house or eat the snacks the provide. They usually don’t mind if he takes a nap and often suggest he can take their spare bedroom, though he hasn’t done so yet. He’s tempted.

- Does his best to avoid any other soul reaper who may be in the world of the living. Once the mission is done, he just wants to relax. He’ll spend time at local parks, and sometimes, if Karin spots him, he’ll be talked into a game of soccer.

- Toshiro enjoys feeding stray cats and has done so so many times that even when he’s not in his gigai, the animals can sense him and follow him around. He claims it’s a nuisance but he’s truly happy about it.

- Like the others, he enjoys experiencing new foods. Shaved ice is one of his favorites, but when he found out about frozen yogurt, he was swayed. He’s definitely the type of person who stocks up on snacks from the convenience store then goes back to where he’s staying, locks himself in his room, and proceeds to devour everything and nap.

- I see Toshiro as someone who would enjoy learning new languages and learning about other cultures. He has made i his goal to learn as many languages as possible, and if he’s able to, he’d like to travel to more countries aside from Japan. He’s learning English. Sometimes Chad will teach him some conversational Spanish. He gets a smartphone so he can use apps like Duolingo when he’s in the world of the living, and definitely suggests that the Soul Society should make more technological progress so he can use said apps in a completely separate plane of existence

#bleach #bleach headcanon blog #chad bleach #byakuya kuchiki #toshiro hitsugaya #rangiku matsumoto #renji abarai #shuhei hisagi #rukia kuchiki

[recurring-polynya]

Once again, I am thinking about the dubious claim that people make from time to time that Renji would have gotten better character development in the TYBW arc if Byakuya had died. The thing is, though, that Renji did get excellent character development in this arc, particularly with respect to his relationship to Byakuya, it was just very subtle and I want to talk about it.

So, the first thing I want to point out is that the captain-lieutenant relationships is one of the major themes of the TYBW. A lot of this is sort of weird and awkward, but this is perfect, actually, because captain-lieutenant relationships are, for the most part, weird and clunky and awkward. Take for example, the part that I always make fun of, where the captains are told not to go to bankai, and Hitsugaya, Komamura, Byakuya and Soi Fon immediately go to bankai-- but they all do this on the assumption that they are luring their opponent into a trap to see how this works, and that their lieutenant will somehow ??defeat them anyway?? (well, except Soi Fon who seems to think she can one-shot her Quincy). There’s Sasakibe’s funeral, where we find out that Yamamoto cared far more for him than we ever imagined. Kyouraku returns Nanao’s zanpakutou to her and stands behind her as she defeats an opponent he can't. Iba carries Komamura’s body off of the battlefield as he loses the last of his humanity. Isane struggles to keep her head above her grief because that’s the burden Unohana left her with. Rose avenging Kira. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto fighting and (sort of) dying together. The Zaraki-Yachiru thing. The Mayuri-Nemu thing. Momo and Shinji actually got to have a relatively normal one, which they each deserved, but at least they got to have normal one together. Anyway, that could be an entire essay, but as usual, I only want to talk about Renji and Byakuya.

Renji’s introduction as a character happens in stages. Initially, he sort of appears to be Byakuya’s sidekick-- he's here to do the dirty work during Rukia’s arrest, while Byakuya stands by and calls the shots, but even early on, it’s clear that Renji’s a little hung up on Byakuya. He’s trying to impress him, and gets more embarrassed and self-conscious as things go progressively pear-shaped. When Byakuya finally enters the action, Renji’s thought bubbles reveal that he’s watched Byakuya for a long time, that he knows all his moves. When we get the Renji backstory reveal a few issues later, we learn that Renji’s goal is to defeat Byakuya, which he seems to feel is necessary to seeing Rukia again, even though there has never been any sort of causal link revealed between these two things. Don’t get me wrong, if Young Academy Renji had tried to continue to be friends with Rukia, I think Byakuya would have kicked him out on his ass, but it’s clear that a lot of Renji’s hang-ups are internal-- he doesn’t want to face Rukia again until he can stand against Byakuya. I think the origin of this is that he simply wants what’s best for Rukia, and he can’t stomach the idea of asking her to leave her rich, noble family for him, unless, of course, he’s somehow better than Byakuya in some dimension, and the only thing Renji’s ever considered himself good at is fighting.

Even more interesting is that he’s chosen to go about this by... studying the man’s every move and becoming his lieutenant. But for as much energy as Renji has put into learning Byakuya’s favorite combat moves, he doesn’t actually know anything about him as a person. He’s shocked when Rukia predicts that Byakuya won’t lift a finger to help her, and then horrified when this actually comes to pass. A few chapters later, as he’s running Hinamori through, Aizen comments that “Adoration is the state furthest from understanding.” I would probably classify Renji’s feelings towards Byakuya more as admiration or idolization, rather than adoration, but I think this statement is also very true of Renji and Byakuya’s relationship. Unlike poor Momo, Renji gets a little more time and opportunity to do something with this information. With a little Ichigo-forced soul searching, he realizes that he’s not going to come out the hero of this story no matter what, but if he doesn’t do something, Rukia’s not going to come out of this story at all, and even if he’s not really ready, he’s spent 40 years trying to figure out how to beat Kuchiki Byakuya, let’s hope all that was good for something.

The Byakuya-Renji fight has no direct impact on the events of the Soul Society Arc. It makes Byakuya show up to Rukia’s execution 5 minutes late and without his scarf. Renji gets healed, so it really doesn’t matter all that much to him, either. You could argue that they both wasted a bunch of energy (that they could have used to fight Aizen later) but it’s primarily a character-driven moment of them both drawing lines in the sand about where they stand, vis a vis Rukia. Byakuya wins this fight, and he wins it handily, but he’s wrong, as he comes to realize a few issues later, when Ichigo kicks his ass and tells him he’s a bad brother, a lesson that Byakuya will take to heart for the rest of the manga. Byakuya claims that the difference between Renji and himself is class, but the real difference between is the heart, and in the long run, Renji is the real victor of this fight.

The hospital scene is an interesting footnote to this. Byakuya defeated Renji, but Byakuya was the asshole and everyone knows it. There’s an expectation that perhaps Renji will quit or perhaps Renji will give him an earful and perhaps even Rukia will choose to leave the family, either to go to the Living World or to be with Renji (and Byakuya would deserve this), but instead, both Renji and Rukia give Byakuya another chance, which is not, I think, a place Renji ever expected to be.

Rukia and Byakuya building up a sibling relationship after this is fairly straightforward (although I’m sure it had its weird moments), but Byakuya and Renji now have this profoundly awkward relationship where Byakuya is obviously in charge, but he sort of depends on Renji as a personal compass because he’s shit at dealing with people and he doesn’t want to screw stuff up with Rukia again. Take for example, the part of the Hueco Mundo arc where Orihime is kidnapped and Rukia and Renji desert their posts to come help rescue her. Kubo takes to the panel-space to tell us that Byakuya has tacitly approved this. As a clan head and a captain, a person who is entrenched in the hierarchy of Soul Society, Byakuya couldn’t possibly go to Hueco Mundo-- but he can turn a blind eye while his sister and lieutenant scurry out through the Kuchiki family senkaimon. Renji, for his part, tried to go to Hueco Mundo through official channels and got shot down. We don’t know what Renji would have done if Byakuya had explicitly forbidden him from going, but it doesn’t matter-- Byakuya enabled Renji to follow his heart here, because Byakuya can’t. Rukia would have gone to Hueco Mundo regardless. She cares about Byakuya, but she doesn’t depend on him for validation the way Renji does.

I said this was going to be about the TYBW, so let’s get to that. Early in the arc, we’re shown several scenes where it’s clear that Byakuya respects and values Renji as a lieutenant, but he’s also pretty damn patronizing to him. Renji is the first one to engage As Nodt, and when Byakuya shows up, he acts surprised that Renji hasn’t taken him out yet, but then proceeds to take over the fight (real, “stand back, fives, an eleven has arrived” energy). After Byakuya then loses his bankai like a doofus, Renji wants to take point so that Byakuya can figure out As Nodt’s attack and Byakuya won’t let him... and then proceeds to get thrashed.

This has to be one of the most emotionally charged fights in Bleach. Byakuya is losing, and Renji jumps in, absolutely incensed that As Nodt would use Senbonzakura against Byakuya. Renji isn’t doing great, but he’s not doing terrible when Byakuya gets up and tries to help Renji, even though he’s a big bloody mess. As Nodt reacts by shredding Byakuya into chunks, and Renji just loses it, and if Mask de Masculine hadn’t shown up and kicked him halfway across the Seireitei, I daresay Renji would have killed himself trying to take down As Nodt.

This is where I usually make the point that if Byakuya had died to here, it would have broken Renji into little pieces, but that’s not today’s essay. Instead, everyone goes to the Royal Realm, and by virtue of the fact that Byakuya is injured worse than everyone else, Renji has to go forward without him or his approval.

In typical Renji fashion, the thing that motivates Renji here is not glory or heroism, but the desire to accompany Ichigo, the need to be with his friends in their times of trial. In fact his companionship here is absolutely essential-- at Hikifune’s, Ichigo expresses deep doubts that he’s doing the right thing, and Renji reminds himself that if he wants to protect others, he has to take care of himself first.

At Nimaiya’s however, Renji and Ichigo are split up because they must follow their own paths. The other extremely interesting thing that happens here is that Renji’s sword is reforged. Byakuya shattered one of Hihio Zabimaru’s joints the very first time Renji used them in combat. Renji brushed it off at the time, saying that he could get by without it. Even though Byakuya has long been his motivating force and his mentor, he’s also been held back by his connection to him. And at this point, it’s gone.

I really wish we got to see where Renji and Rukia meet up again, but we don’t. Unlike with Ichigo, though, Rukia doesn’t seem to need anything from Renji. They travel together, fight together as equals, wear matching outfits, like you do. Oh. Wait. After all this time, in the 493 chapters between Needless Emotions and Blue Stripes, Renji can finally see himself as an equal to Rukia. They get. bankai. Together.

I want to emphasize that it’s not really anything about Rukia herself that allowed Renji to make bankai, it’s the fact that he’s finally managed to move past the feeling that he’s not enough. Defeating Byakuya would not actually have solved this problem, and having Byakuya dying in front of him wouldn’t have either. Renji gets criticized for losing a lot of his fights, but that’s such a key to his character. He’s not always the strongest, he doesn’t always win, but he keeps fighting for what he cares about. He struggles with his need for approval, for external validation, but Renji is at his best when he doesn’t have time to think about that, when he’s just fighting by his friends’ sides against impossible odds, doing what he knows in his heart is right.

I think people tend to make a little more than is strictly necessary of the line where he tells Mask that he’s “a villain”, I think he’s most just making fun of Mask’s own self-aggrandizement. On another level, though, this is just Renji being at ease with himself. Byakuya typically enters a fight bloviating about the honor of Soul Society and “how dare you raise your sword against me, the 28th Head of the Kuchiki” and even Ikkaku had the whole deal about telling people your name before you kill them, but Renji is more like “you beat up my friends, so I’m gonna break your face,” like there’s no ego in it, just you’re there, and he’s there, and then you’re lying on the ground and he’s taking a nap somewhere. This is so different than the insecure, posturing young man he was at the start of this series and I love this growth for him.

Even after he eventually meets up with Byakuya again, something has changed about their dynamic. The group gets split up and rejoined two or three times, and Renji and Rukia always stay together while Byakuya ends up fighting alongside others, Hisagi and later Hitsugaya and Zaraki. This is cemented in their last scene together, where Rukia and Renji try to stay with Byakuya and he sends them off to fight with Ichigo by saying “your help is not needed here.” In some ways, it’s an echo of Byakuya sending them off to Hueco Mundo, but in other ways, it’s acknowledging that they are their own people, not just an extension of him.

Hitsugaya follows it up with this:

There’s more here than meets the eye, though-- Byakuya and Renji have maintained a pretty strict superior-subordinate relationship, because that’s the easiest way for them to make sense of the world, but the fact is, they do care about each other and are important to one another.

I know there would be a certain narrative satisfaction in seeing Renji make captain at the end-- he’s one of the hardest working people in Bleach, and it frankly seems weird to see Iba get the haori when he doesn’t. But Renji has never wanted to be a captain. Renji becoming captain would, in some ways, be a failure. He spends years pre-canon chasing rank and prestige because that’s what he thinks will make him worthy, and it didn’t. Instead, he found worth in being himself, in loving his friends and being there for them, in learning things from Byakuya and teaching him things in return. Renji doesn’t need to be Byakuya’s lieutenant anymore, he just does it because he likes it. It makes him happy. What better character development is there than that?

#renji abarai #byakuya kuchiki #tybwa #god i love to get up on a saturday and write essays about renji's character development #tldr: renji checks off all the gotei career milestones *except* making captain and then proceeds to lean in to his true calling: malewife #we stan legends only

[orenonahaichigoda]

I had a rough day, and came to a realisation. I will say a bit about my own experience, and then, after having to lay the groundwork of explaining 400 things about Japan because American schools and media think the whole world is the US, Western Europe, and places to blow up, making explaining necessary, will tie it to Ichigo, or at least how I portray him.

I'm Post Dankai Juniors, growing up in Japan. So's Kubo, actually. The boundaries of this Japanese generation are roughly '75 to '85, Yutori, the following generation that's always translated and localised as Millennial, pretty solidly set as beginning at '86. These things are always fuzzy because you can't vivisect living brains and find the part that likes char siu buns and the part that likes jazz fusion. I *majored* in Social Science. You'll have teachers who say "it is absolute that we date people who are similar to us because we're all actually narcists." (It *might* be because they're like our beloved family or community. Narcistic Personality is not universal) But it really just is fuzzy, and that teacher/book author is an idiot. Anyway, Yutori is always translated as Millennial. I don't know the end boundary. Post Dankai Juniors covers almost totally a debated throe for Germanic nations (I know Britain, Germany, and Nederland use the same generations as America, and their languages are Germanic) because of how fuzzy it all is, though.

Anyway, so since coming to the US, my interactions with other Asians, again, how is this defined when China, Mongolia, Japan all border Russia and West Asia includes Jordan and Saudi Arabia, South Asia is India's area, Southeast Asia is Laos, Thailand's area, I mean, find the Arabic kanji. I don't think Thailand even uses soy sauce. What the heck IS Asia, really? (Or "Middle East" when half of that's Africa and the other half shares plate with Europe? )

Anyway, my experience with Asians that are Boomer ages tends to be people who immigrated as adults, who more identity with a generation like "Dankai" or "Sirake." My experiences with Latinos older than me... I've never actually asked if the generational labels are even the same.

The thing about that is that when the name is the same, it means enough cultural traits are shared.

My biggest experience with people who grew up under the term "Boomer" are Black and white.

I've noticed a unifying trait.

If they're something oppressed (Black, gay), their attitude tends to be"it is mandatory to stand up for *my* demograph...but kicking the person behind me on the ladder in the teeth is wholesome, pure, and fun."

Outing me to large groups and saying I "speak Asian" seem to be the most common two. Calling me "Chinese" long after I've cleared this up for them is a close third.

I mean, don't get me wrong--my experience with Italian Americans past GI generation has been that now acquiring the "white" label, just like biphobic/aphobic/transphobic cisgays, they're more often staunch priveledge defenders than cishet people of Anglo descent! And it's just as true for X and Y as it is for Boomer (for the latter, one need only look at NYC destroyer and trump defender Giuliani) I actually don't really identify with my Italian side at all because I was kinda locked out of making any meaningful connection.

But back to my point that even in so-leftist-it's-almost-not-America Bay Area, Boomers are still like this!

The kind of stuff that flows out a X/Y TERF's mouth, or the mouth of an X/Y person with a Confederate flag on his wall, American-raised Boomers say with ease regardless of their alignment! It's banananas.

(Please note that I also just have not met a whole lot of Native Americans, period, nor enough people significantly older than me from any one place in Africa, that was an omission of lacking data, not intended as erasure)

How I tie it to Ichigo--

So Kubo avoids specifying birth years for anyone.

When I see something like this, I generally assume date of publication, as do most people in most fandoms (which of course gets screwy when you have something endlessly rebooted like Superman or Batman or something eternally unchanging like Detective Conan)

Anyway, the first Bleach something published was the comic in '01.

I generally assume it was supposed to be the start of a new school year, as Ichigo doesn't know many of his classmates until at least the first test scores come out. So it's probably April or something.

If Ichigo was 15 then, he'd also be Post Dankai Juniors, just barely. If Ichigo TURNED 15 shortly after, during his adventure, he'd be undebatably Millennial.

Now, there is still something up with Dankai and Sirake. PM Abe is the latter, b. 1954. A lot of his age-peers are behind him. This is the guy who supports remilitarisation and was caught funding a private militarist/fascist high(?) school that teaches that people from countries Japan conquered during its brief phase of trying to beat colonial Europe are less than dogs.

Now, I left there as a teen. Clinton was US president. Scandals still got people kicked out of public office in Japan. I hadn't figured or come out yet. Sure, I got bullied for being mixed, but kids will pick if you like different singers than the "cool" ones. They'll pick based on what's in your lunch. That data is sausage.

I'm not 100% sure what Ichigo would face day-to-day sociopolitically as he grew up/aged. I haven't had living family since'95 there, and friendships don't get deep enough to ever last distance until at least high school. For me, adulthood.

But I've kept/caught up enough (you try keeping up in the South before the internet was more than ten University sites!) that I know he'd face fascists (c'mon, the guy takes on a martial law government to save a new friend--that's anarchist, he just doesn't seem anarchist in his own world. He only fights humans in defence) I'm not sure how he'd feel about the JSDF, but he only fought the sinigami's war out of feeling like it was his responsibility because the adults around him kinda made it so. I super don't see him being for *starting* wars. In a human war, I see him actually being like Sugihara Chiune, a historical figure who died when I was a kid who I majorly admire. He worked at a Japanese embassy in Nazi territory, and when the embassy was evacuated,he continued throwing passports to Jewish people to go to Japan from the train he was departing on,and is hidden from Americans in the same spirit that Martin Luther King is...pulled the teeth out of. (PS, speaking of,go Google Steven Kiyosi Kuromiya)

Also, Ichigo's whole schtick is defending those worse off than him. He's not someone I see defending Yamato Japanese priveledge. Heck, I could see him joining Uchinanchu efforts to get Parliament and the US base to leave them alone. I can easily see him sticking up for a Filipino domestic worker he met thirty seconds ago.

To this end, I think regardless of what he is, he'd have a large rub with Japan's equivalents of Boomers.

Not to mention that Abe supporters tend to be very sexist and queerphobic, which isn't even homegrown but imported from Américanisation. I mean, there were female warriors--assasins, which is what Yoruichi and Soi-Fon are styled after, and go look at some Ukiyoe, like Utagawa Kitamaro. Quite a few artists in the 200-ish years of the Edo period depicted life in the queer districts. I've also had people posit that Noh might've been a welcoming draw for trans people the same way drag was all over the US in the twentieth century and still is in rural areas, where there's less cisgay gatekeeping. But this isn't something I can reasonably research without access to plenty of older and not well known dusty documents, and lots of time, and I live in the US many years now. And do you know how much round trip airfare alone is!? Also, the language changed so much and I can't read anything before Meiji without dropping words. Rukia, Byakuya, Yoruichi all have made for TV old-sounding Japanese like period dramas. Actual 18th Century Japanese would be unintelligible to the unspecialised.

So this stuff isn't really native, but Abe and a lot of people his age support all these -isms.

I super don't see Ichigo being happy about this.

(I also feel like Issin's old enough to remember before these -isms, but that's my own thing. In my project, he was in those districts, but that's me)

At the same time, I'm still writing this through my own lens. Also, not still being there, I just don't have enough data on Yutori in adulthood, or the grown Yutori lens. Honestly, even most other immigrants I meet are older than that. Or older than that and their adorable three year old children. So I have no clue.

In the early 2000s, I got myself from the South to CA and began to reconnect, but began to is the key phrase. I can tell you right now that Abe is as much of a second phase of Nakasone as trump is of Nakasone's buddy Regean. But what shifted when, I can't say. I'm not entirely sure how Koizumi ran the ship, as it were. I know some things, but not enough to say.

But whenever things shifted however, and whichever year Ichigo was born, I just cannot imagine him being any more on board with current events than really anyone in my area not born between 1946-1964 and raised in America.

I feel like he'd probably be too tired or self-effacing to fight for himself, but he'd take on, loud and proud, any bigotry against *others.*

I...also can't really say I'm much different, except my joints are held together by the power of wishes, so I'm more like "get the victim to safety" than "give the attacker plenty of regret." So, I can only do anything in limited ways.

Ichigo is also entirely fuelled by the power of love. Lost his ability to protect and feels like his sinigami friends ditched him? Mondo depressed, however much he wants no one to notice--which most do a great job of ignoring! Everyone in his world turned against him for a guy who has attacked people close to him? Terrified, and murder can now be an answer. (Fullbring Arc)

I was going somewhere with that. I've forgotten, but I'll leave it.

But anyway, I feel like he really only comes close to fighting for himself when others are taken away from him in a way that's also wronging them.

So yeah, I super don't see him happy with current events or Sirake gen.

I'm not sure how much I see him fighting for himself as mixed panromantic grey-ace. I mean, we know he fights people who are about to punch his face in for his looks, but what else can you reasonably do at that point? Get your head bashed in? I'm not sure how much I see him fighting hateful words pointed at him versus resigning himself to "people are the worst." I mean, when he talks about being picked on, he kinda seems resigned, or at least like it's a fact, like shoes being for outside or something.

I guess I tied it to Ichigo a lot better than I thought!

But also, the struggle against people born just after the war is not just you, and not just America. It's a major problem.

And it's likely that Ichigo would agree.

#out of body #musings #baby boomers #generation x #millennials #Japanese generations #Japanese politics #queerphobia #colonialism #moritomo gakuen scandal #sugihara chiune #japanese history #yoruichi shihouin #edo period

[darisu-chan]

whatever our souls are made of (his and mine are the same), pt. 9

Hi!

Today I have another one-shot just for you.

Hope you guys like it!

You can also read it here.

See you!

as long as i have you

Prompt: us against the world

 Summary: Even if no one else understands their relationship, it’s alright as long as they have each other

Things have been tense since Rukia and he have been hanging out with his humans friends again.

 Ichigo can tell she wants to tell them off, but doesn’t.

 She’s prudent like that.

 Meanwhile, all of them except for Ishida seem a bit put off by Rukia’s presence.

 Ichigo doesn’t get it.

 Especially when it comes to Inoue and Chad.

 He thought they considered Rukia their friend as well.

 But it appears as they don’t.

 He has to wonder if they link her to the Shinigami and to all the battles they had to fight in.

 Not that it is Rukia’s fault.

 It’s not his fault either.

 He never asked them to come and join him.

 They did so willingly.

 Although, maybe the last war had been too draining for Inoue and Chad.

 Perhaps they wanted to forget everything and Rukia’s presence complicated things.

 Still, they had absolutely no reason to treat her like she was a bother.

 Or like they disapproved of their relationship.

 Ishida, who has always known how to read the room, does all he can to strike up conversation with Rukia and not let her feel excluded.

 But it doesn’t work.

 Not really.

 Because Ishida is often left behind as well.

 Probably for the same reasons Rukia is.

 Ichigo is not.

 Not when he is by himself.

 But he sometimes feels as if he can’t relate with his friends anymore.

 Like they are from completely different worlds.

 He had heard about things like this happening before.

 Of growing out of your childhood friends.

 Yet he hadn’t realized it would feel this lonely.

 His sentiment rings a little true, though.

 He has never been normal.

 From his birth, Ichigo has been able to see spirits and that has made him different to everyone else.

 And even if that hadn’t been the case, his hair color had often alienated him when growing up.

 But with Tatsuki, Chad, Keigo, Mizuiro, Inoue and even Ishida he had felt accepted in some way.

 Like a normal teen, minus all the world saving and whatnot.

 And he had felt bad.

 Lying to them.

 In particular to Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro, who had never been a part of his adventures.

 Even if it had been for their own good.

 However, eventually Ichigo had realized he didn’t want to be normal.

 After seventeen months without powers, he had known who he wanted to be.

 And that wasn’t a human being.

 He would have never imagined this would isolate him from his friends.

 Or that they would try hard to isolate Rukia.

 Rukia, who had never hurt them or done anything to be disliked.

 And, gods, Rukia is on a whole different level than they are.

 She just gets him.

 Period.

 Although she’s not a human and there are many things about his world she doesn’t yet understand, she knows how to read him.

 Whether it’s because of their shared trauma, similar personalities, or hell, even destiny, at the end of the day it is Rukia who makes him feel understood.

 And it’s not something that Ichigo can explain.

 Not something his friends could ever fathom.

 Meeting Rukia was earth shattering.

 His bond with her just is the way it is.

 So it hurts when the people he trusted most don’t see her that way.

 Ishida sort of gets it.

 In a “I’m not sure what is going on here but I support you” kinda way.

 He is fond of Rukia.

 Considers her a friend.

 And he knows how important she is to Ichigo.

 That is enough for him.

 He just wishes the others were like his cousin.

 Keigo doesn’t get it.

 Or thinks he does in a more simplistic manner.

 To his credit, he tries.

 He likes Rukia well enough.

 But he doesn’t understand how deep their bond goes.

 Chad is probably aware there is more going on.

 Yet, as of late, he has put this barrier that Ichigo cannot break.

 It is as if his best friend is telling him he doesn’t approve of Rukia.

 Ichigo can’t really understand why.

 It is the same thing with Inoue.

 It is as if she thought Rukia was going to vanish from their lives forever.

 It seems she wants to keep her at arm’s length.

 And the others follow her example.

 Tatsuki and Mizuiro, for their part, haven’t grasped the idea of him and Rukia sharing their lives and being together.

 Not that Ichigo can blame them.

 It’s just annoying how they do what Inoue and Chad want and purposely ignore her.

 It’s not only annoying but insulting at this point.

 So much so he doesn’t want to hang out with them anymore.

 Not even when they had supposedly made up.

 So one day, he suggests that they simply shouldn’t show up at one of their get-togethers.

 “Why?” Rukia questions him.

 “Because they keep ignoring you.” Ichigo answers her honestly.

 “But they’re you’re friends.” She retorts.

 But you’re more important. He wants to say but doesn’t.

 Rukia must read it on his face anyway, because she shakes her head, sighs, and then says, “I’m not bothered by them. I don’t care what they think. I’m just worried about you. I want you to keep your friends.”

 He wants so too.

 Friends who actually care about him.

 That won’t make a fuss because Rukia is not really human.

 And his own friends aren’t that.

 He thinks they might find that acceptance in the Soul Society.

 But he quickly learns it isn’t as easy as that.

 The Kuchiki elders don’t approve and much less after Ichigo insulted them at dinner.

 They deserved it, though.

 Assholes.

 But it’s not only them or the other noble clans who talk smack behind their backs.

 Other Shinigami aren’t approving either.

 Thankfully, it’s none of their friends.

 Even Renji has nothing to say against them.

 They’ve got Byakuya’s full support.

 But there are other Shinigami, some from the 13th division too, that look at them with disapproval.

 As if they believe it simply isn’t right for a human and a Shinigami to spend time together, not even when that human isn’t fully human either.

 It’s grating.

 Hell, it’s tiring.

 Cause everywhere they go, someone has to say something about it.

 They’re lucky that their families get it and encourage them.

 Yuzu and Karin adore Rukia and look up to her like an older sister.

 Isshin already considers her his daughter.

 And Byakuya has fully embraced him as a Shinigami, ally, and, say, even a friend.

 But outside of their very small circle, it seems like everyone’s against them.

 Ichigo just doesn’t understand why.

 They’re not hurting anyone.

 They’re just not normal.

 And their bizarre bond is hard to accept for some people.

 Ichigo doesn’t want that.

 He wants to give Rukia all the love and acceptance she deserves.

 Which others won’t give her, so long as they’re together.

 He expresses as much one day when everything feels as it is too much.

 “So?” She replies, seemingly uncaring.

 “So, doesn’t it bother you?”

 Rukia grows quiet and then shrugs. “Kinda. But I’ve already decided this is worth whatever is thrown at us.”

 She’s right.

 Of course she’s right.

 “So it doesn’t bother you you’re stuck with me forever?”

 “Nah. I made my peace with you being an idiot already. Besides, you need me to keep you in line.”

 “More like you need me to reach high things for you.”

 “Well, that too.”

 They share a laugh and it all seems better.

 Brighter.

 And Ichigo guesses things won’t change anytime soon.

 There will always be those who oppose them.

 But he doesn’t have the energy to care anymore.

 Because, even if no one else understands their relationship, it’s alright as long as they have each other.

 “It’s you and me against the world, then.”

 “Always.”

 “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

#ichiruki #ichirukimonth #ichirukimonth2020 #pro ichiruki #ichiruki fanfiction #my fanfiction

[chire-senbonimagines]

Can I request a continuation to the Byakuya and Grimm comatose S/O ask? Specifically on how they’d react (outwardly and inwardly) to their S/O finally coming out of it 💕

Ok I got carried away on this (I love angst but I love me a happy ending lol) so these are long but I suuuuper enjoyed writing them! For a refresher the original ask this is referring to is here.

Kuchiki ByakuyaHe comes and visits his s/o every day. Not always at the same time because of his schedule but he’s been told that talking to you might help. So everyday after work, no matter how tired or how much clan work he has at home, he comes to 4th division and tells you about his day.

No-one ever interrupts because it’s an incredibly private conversation. He tells you about the amusing things Renji does that he thinks Byakuya doesn’t notice, he tells you about Rukia’s training. He mostly talks about everyone else in relation to his day with just the occassional thing about himself missed in.

About how much he misses you, if he dreamed about you last night, how he wishes he could’ve stopped this from happening….

He always changes the subject on himself when he can feel his emotions sliding away from his iron grip.

Byakuya can’t bring himself to watch you as he speaks so he probably doesn’t notice the twitch of your fingers until he hears the rustling of the sheets covering you. His head jerks with such force and speed that it’d be funny to anyone watching.

Byakuya immediately takes your hand, cradling it in both of his and calling your name softly. He strokes your hair back from your face - all but holding his breath until the moment your eyes open. He’s stunned for a moment - the look obvious on his face as you slowly come back to the world as if from a long sleep.

He calls for someone from 4th division so sharply and so loudly that it’s almost uncharacteristic of him. He hovers just inside the door, itching to be by your side as much as the rational part of him tells him to stay back and let 4th do their work.

When the last 4th division member finally files out, having told s/o what her body is able and not able to do right now he comes and sits beside you again. He immediately takes your hand, knowing that you must be feeling sad or guilty or disorientated and a great many other things but it’s important to him that you know first and foremost how glad he is to have you back.

Grimmjow JaegerjaquesGrimmjow has honestly been a complete mess and Hueco Mundo (and probably Ichigo) have taken the brunt of this. But his heart hasn’t really been in it. He’s not really been trying to defeat Ichigo - he just needed a way to vent his frustrations. After all, what’s the point in finally defeating Ichigo if you’re not there to see it or celebrate with him.

He’s been roaming around Hueco Mundo a lot, disappearing without a trace for weeks at a time before popping up again. But Urahara did give him this weird phone thing in case you wake up but it sits mostly forgotten in an inside pocket of his clothes.

The day it starts buzzing he immediately thinks there’s something wrong with him. He’s completely forgotten about the thing despite being consumed with thoughts of you and frustration and anger. He wasn’t any help to stop you going into a coma, he knows that no amount of beating shit up will bring you any closer to waking and yet that’s all he can do.

Pressing his hand to his chest and the buzzing reminds him of the small device  and he pulls it out, thinking it’s probably Urahara just messing with him. He flips the phone open and tuts as he presses it to the face. “The hell you want, bastard?”

There’s a pause and he wonders if he imagined the thing vibrating before he hears you say your name. Your voice sounds weak from disuse but it kickstarts that protectiveness in him and he opens a garganta right where he’s stood in Hueco Mundo.

He can’t get directly into the shop that way (because Urahara’s a crafty bastard) but he steps out into the Human World as close as he can get before he’s moving as fast to Urahara’s shop as he can and barrelling in to push anyone, everyone and anything out of the way before he gets to you.

Grimmjow stops frozen in the doorway, watching you smile up at him and carefully reach for him. “Urahara-san says…”

You don’t even get the rest out before he slams the door shut and pounces, pulling you into his arms. It hurts a little - your body not used to moving for a long time now and he all but crushes you against him.

He doesn’t cry but he’s definitely angrily muttering about you being an idiot and what the hell did you do that for and as soon as you’re better he’s going to fuck the stupid right out of you. Lies, he’s probably actually going to be kind of careful - but right now all he can feel is this weird feeling washing over him, his shoulders relaxing as he holds you and he can feel you hold him back.

He doesn’t know it but it’s called relief.

#Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez #Kuchiki Byakuya #bleach headcanons #long post