#I just wish Kenpachi had even one panel??????????

[black--sun]

Has Ichigo ever wished his powers were different? I don’t mean in the context of replacing Zangetsu or feeling his abilities were inadequate, but in the context of being a teenager who discovered he has superpowers and can crack concrete with his fists and fly, did Ichigo ever wish he has a particular power or ability?

@jaegersol

Oh. OH boy.

This answer is pure speculation. I can only think of ONE TIME he ever said he wished he could do something he couldn’t do. And that doesn’t mean there isn’t something I’m not recalling, maybe someone can think of something else Idk. 

BUT

I don’t think there’s really anything he would change. His power is power so to speak. The ability to grow and have enough strength to accomplish whatever he’s set out to do. He never intended to be a catalyst for change in Seireitei. He never intended to be a catalyst for change in Hueco Mundo. And even though he obviously was, all he wanted to do was save his friends. That’s always been his goal and he says as much directly to Kenpachi. He says it’s not his job to save Karakura, it’s his job to save his friends.  And of course, ultimately, he saves both. But that wasn’t his intention.

Ichigo doesn’t understand his own impact. He simply does things.  And in that way, his powers suit him. He likes his abilities, so I’m not sure he would actively change them at all. But at the same time, he enjoys growing and furthering himself. There’s deep satisfaction in that. It’s an accomplishment, and like we said, growth is part of his power. SO. He’ll always be obtaining new abilities as long as he has a challenge to overcome. But that’s not really what you’re asking. You’re asking: If he could push a magic button and have another power, what would it be?

I think he envies the ability to heal.

So many people around him have the ability, but he doesn’t. And I have to clarify here, because it’s not necessarily healing he wants, it’s the ability to FIX things. And like I mentioned before, there’s only one time I recall Ichigo upset over an ability he didn’t have. It was after his fight with Grimmjow, when he insisted he didn’t win, and he couldn’t even help heal anyone.

Now, there’s always a lot to unpack after Ichigo loses or feels directly responsible for someone’s pain/hurt/injuries. But his predominant emotion when he makes faces like these: 

Is guilt over being useless/powerless. Kubo just flat tells us directly that he feels useless in these situations.

Isshin tells him to go curl up somewhere. I don’t think Isshin is trying to be cruel here, he’s trying to save lives and Ichigo is in the way. And we’re left with the impression that that’s what Ichigo usually does in these situations. Not because he couldn’t physically carry boxes or wheel patients (even his little sisters are doing that) but because he can’t handle it emotionally. 

He’s even got tears in his eyes if you look in the bottom left color panel above.

So that’s the answer. I think he would feel less useless in these situations if he had the ability to heal, even if it was just a minor ability. But it’s more complicated than that, because what he actually wants is the ability to fix things and that’s not limited to healing.

#jeagersol #answered #TSP Activity Check #long post #it's not that long but #headcanon #it would also be chill if he could get out of his body any time he wanted bUT #sorry for not trimming the pics #i was feeling lazy

[unohanadaydreams]

Okay I’m mentally prepared to ramble about the Hell Arc. No panels, just words.

The first blurb is definitely Ukitake speaking and I’d like to think it’s hiding some bitterness and regret, since he’s in hell, but you know I’m not gonna hold on to hope that it’s anything deep.

Orihime being resigned to laundry as well as just NOT knowing where her son is??? I’m sorry the same Orihime that can sense Ichigo like it’s her fucking job? But y’know uwu it’s okay to be a housewife and this is definitely Kubo showing off his depth of feminist theory and not shoving Orihime in the background bc wife clean and cook and nothing else ooga booga.

Kon as a babysitter is horrifying. The implication that they’ve kept him as a teddy bear for all these years is even more so. Like damn you can’t ask Urahara for ONE gigai after you saved the world, Ichigo? Hope youre paying him a living wage for helping you navigate the terrible twos. Tbh I think it would’ve been better to have a new sidekick and for Kon to be working for Urahara now.

Okay I do think the kid sending souls to Hell on accident is pretty funny. But also it’s definitely Kubo forgetting that Orihime is in the picture and Kazui is not Ichigo. He has more than Isshin; he has Orihime as his mom. He has someone who cares very much that he’s still in his bed and is someone he would talk to about uuuuh sending ppl through a portal. I know women are a different species and are incredibly hard to grasp because of that so it’s okay Kubo.

Ichika being taught by Ikkaku and to a lesser extent Yumichika is very good. Love that enough to gloss over my disappointment at Rukia not teaching her. I just know Byakuya is probably a lil bitter about it too. Rukongai rats 1 Noble clan 0

Booooo Kubo, get off the stage. Pointing out Orihime is at home doing laundry does not fix that she’s there. If she’s not gonna stop Kazui from doing whatever the fuck she might as well be eating bad ramen too.

MAYURI MY BELOVED. You’re so right, king, Urahara is a tasteless capitalist unlike you, who fully commits to the too-organic technological horrors the Seireitei deserves.

Did Kubo forget how to draw Rangiku? Why the fuck is her face so moe. Some of the women look pretty off in the face over all but with Rangiku it’s jarring. I know her face got more moe somewhere in tybw arc but jfc it’s worse here.

I find it hard to believe that Shunsui would stick to a tradition that demands all lieutenants be away and in the human world all at once but maybe he just doesn’t give a shit about anything nowadays. Depression is leading the Gotei 13 now.

It’s not a Bleach surprise attack unless a woman is grievously injured right off the bat.

That being said, I do enjoy the two new lieutenants. The hakama shorts are a Choice but they work somehow. Also a zanpakuto being on nails is fun.

Kira and Akon ❤️ I’m glad Kubo retconned the novels so Kira could make his entrance in a hoodie and black tabi. Hope he gets more depressing and bitter moments tho. Also Akon having so much panel space…..I’ll never recover.

Hell Szayel is so fucking horny which is astounding considering like everything he did was a sex joke in Hueco Mundo arc. His sex appeal has aged like fine wine. Also pure comedy that Ichigo can only ask who he is. If only Uryu were there 😔

So did they have ceremonies for Gin and Kaname because if not then???? Like I understand it’s impossible to make this gel 100% bc its not based on anything other than wanting characters to come back as cool demons and is actively working against previous canon but c’mon. They would’ve noticed before this when no ceremony for Gin and Kaname was held and their reishi haunted everyone via molasses rain drops.

That being said, I love love love the concept of characters coming up from Hell with not holes within them but outside them. They do not need to consume others to feel completion, they are consumed to the point of wanting to fill others. Don’t you recognize me? Don’t you see what you’ve done? Don’t you long to fill that hole inside of you, too? All it takes is dying to reach that nirvana of knowing who you are and what you feel in swirling completion. Even fallen, the fruit of knowledge is divine.

I want Ukitake to say he’s glad Shunsui lived to his face while looking so heartbroken that he didn’t get to live too. I want these two to cry across from one another with a flashback to their idyllic youth. I want it *grabby hands*

Sosuke Aizen has disappeared as in dead? Or are they counting ‘out of Seireitei’ as disappeared. Honestly 50/50 whether he’ll have a form of cameo. On one hand he’s incredibly popular, on the other hand Kubo was floundering with him during tybw so I can’t imagine he gives a shit to bring him back.

As far as new lore for hell butterflies goes, I guess we’ll see how interesting it gets but I highly doubt it’s going to get a lot of thought.

With the way Kazui is smiling, it makes me wonder if someone taught him about the shrine and sending souls to hell. Does he recognize the door? Is Kubo implying that Ukitake has had contact with Kazui? I mean, it would make a LOT of sense considering the fish he was riding, the ritual he knows. It would also make sense why the soul reaper badge was highlighted; Ukitake has been around in some capacity before officially being stomped to hell???

Definitely me thinking too much about it but also there’s no way Kazui just knows this shit without someone from Hell telling him about it even covertly.

This entire arc set up definitely seems like it’ll bring some worthwhile angst and maybe some moments for the more unexplored characters if characters like Akon getting screen time is any education.

Overall not hoping for anything other than good Hell designs and seeing characters do things.

If I don’t see Kenpachi with his beefy titties out I will be disappointed. That’s my bare minimum.

#Kazui is absolutely being led astray by someone in Hell #gonna guess Kubo is joining the ‘making parents criminally incompetent’ club #also MAYURI AND AKON MY BELOVEDS #I just wish Kenpachi had even one panel?????????? #he’s so….hes so ❤️ #bleach spoilers #bleach hell arc #okay spoilers tags added

[yume-tsuki]

Recuerdos Mundo  part 1-4 of 10 part1 Recuerdos Mundo part 2 The salt lake part 3 The voice  part 4 The long lost... new part 4 The long lost... Day??.??.????? I thought I would never ever meet another soul again in this death world. Since the day I arrived here day after day past and it wasn’t important where I was or when. There was no one to be found till this day. Who ever made me come here to this place where I always have to cry and I wished to leave when  I just think about  visiting. Here I found this three. When I showed myself first they were surprised but not for long. They brought me to their place made a fire and told me who they are. I never thought that Ichi or Ruki would ever have a child. I was so surprised that it caused me to tears. Of course they asked who I was and so I told them a little I could remember. I remembered that I  was always on Kenpachi Zaraki’s side and I remembered that I was the 11th Division Lieutenant. I remember a fight against an opponent who was even hard von Ken-chan but I barely remember the persons face even how I ended up here. I just remember the strong feelings I had that day. To protect the person I deeply loved to be with.   Then one day I woke up, covered in injuries, it was somewhere in this world. Somehow I healed, later I know that it was this air filled up with spiritual energy.  I started wandering around, finding ruins and this soul-hollow spirits. Days became months and years and on one point I ended up to believe to see one human being ones more.  I even lost the interest in the secrets of this world covered in ruins. The only thing what I knew was that my world, the world of the living and Hueco Mundo collapsed in the past for some reason. At least it was a calm time, there was no war, no fight anymore, just souls without a soul… The children were surprised and couldn’t believe that I lived here alone for so long. Then of course I asked the one question. Do you know a way back home? Sadly they didn’t but they remembered that Kasui used a black hole to came here in the first place.  I asked him if he could do it again. He said he tried but he didn’t know how to activate it, then he stopped for a moment. It was like someone talked to him and then he told that he maybe know how to return. For a single moment I was scared to hell, there was a feeling I hadn’t in years, like a long lost memory but then he opened a black hole and everything I had in mind was vanished. There was only one desire: Maybe I can go home now finally. -??????? Then Ichika asked me something they totally forgot  to ask. What’s your name? I looked at her face, puzzled from that question. My name?... what was my name? I can’t remember… They then told me something, something about Ken-chan who she likes to visit from time to time. He isn’t  very talkative but one day he told her a name Yachiru… Yachiru? Was this my name? It sounds so unfamiliar familiar…. But the tears that run over my cheeks told me it was true. How could I even forgot who I was? When did it start that I even lost my name? What a cruel peaceful world this could be. part 1-3 under the cut

Recuerdos Mundo Day ??.??.???? So much days had past since we arrived in this ‘other world’. We thought about a name and after realising what it was and a lot of talks we decidet to call it Recuerdos Mundo, the world of Memories. A world full of Reiryoku, it’s mostly made of it. We still don’t know why but, the ground, the trees even the air is filled up with it. The Hollow like creatures consume it, sadly we can’t use our powers becouse they would  swollow it right away. Ichika got the idea to collect the light of Reiryoku who floats through the sky. She noticed that they stuck often on branches of this death looking stone like trees , even we can consume them in this place and this is a nice way to eat or trick the creatures. First when she tried her Zanbakuto this giant bird, together with other creatures appeared. But instead of the others who wanted to eat us it protected us and now travels with us. It’s still fascinating that we can see our world through the camera of our mobile phones. It was such a surprise what Kazui made when we tried to call for help. Sadly we still havn’t found a clue to contact one of our parents. They must be full of sorrows about us, when they can’t even feel we are on earth… But the most fascinating thing and the true reason we called it Recuerdos Mundo was when we found buildings with things in it. When we send out some little energy pictues of the past appeared and showed us who this thing belonged to and themselfs story…Maybe we can find a way out of this world when we find the right item! Now it’s time to end for today, we rest at a old hotel, next day we saw  a white shimmering reflection on the horizont, well this our next goal. jornal end -Hiyoshin Hirako ______________________________________________________ Recuerdos Mundo part2 The Salt lake Day Whensoever it was a day without rain.. After a full day walk we arrived on the edge of an Salt lake, behind it we could see trees and hoping to find more informations about this world. But for today we rested on the edge, Hiyoshin build himself a flute made of an antler he found. Somehow it was gross but his music is great. It always calms me down when I’m listening to him. Also our spirit hollow bird seems to enjoy his music. We noticed that the Spirit Hollows mostly change into an easy ball form . Only to fight they change into a form who needs more energy. The best part is still that we don’t need food in this world! We just catch this flying energy orbs and swallow them. So more time to listen to the music. But we weren’t the only one making music on the salt lake at all! There was this strange surring noise like when you stamp on this special white beach sand of this Japanese city we went with our parents ones. It sounded like music and something in me wanted to find out who is making this music! Kazui and Hiyo where pretty worried and said I shouldn’t go…. Scaredy cats! Now I woke birdy up and we flew through the night sky. The night is so clear on this place, so much stars we never saw back in the city. There wasn’t a single soul out there till we saw a long track and followed it.  The sound came nearer and we saw a long red string. Birdy hated it but we landed, he hissed the whole way to the head of that giant snake, what it was. When it turns it’s purple head I saw this crazy eyes and wondered if fathers Zabimaru would have had such strange eyes if it wasn’t a bone snake. Somehow she was so calm and there wasn’t  a single moment I was afraid she would eat me. Then we finally traveled back on the head of the snake, oh man you should have seen this boys worried faces. They argue the whole snaky ride to the jungle with me about disappearing in the middle of the night in a strange world where whatever could have happened. I just laughed, not even my parents try to lecture me only uncle B. tries it sometimes but gave up on me. Both stubborn souls created an even more stubborn soul.  He says and turns away most of the time. Now then that’s enough jornal for now see you -Abbarai Ichika ____________________________________________ Day 33 I guess We crossed the desert and thought we arrived at a jungle  but it wasn’t just a jungle and it wasn’t just on a giant turtle like thing. We were standing o a rock when Ichika noticed a building on it’s back  nnd for the first time we saw that it wasn’t just the human world who collapsed , infront of us where the whole Seireitei on the back of that damn turtle! We decided to jump on it and searching through it. The most parts were destroyed  and everywhere trees , flowers and spirits.  Soon I lost track of the others, they were so quick and there was something else what came to my mind. A voice calling for me… yes, it sounds strange but it was for me not  for Ichika, not for Hiyoshin. Just me! I followed it till I arrived at a place I havn’t seen before. Maybe because the time I was at the soul society with dad wasn’t that often and only at aunty Rukia’s place. Dark walls changed into white or what was white one day. “It looks like a research lab!” I heared the voice of Hiyo . What scared me to death. Somehow it made me damn angry that they found me this fast. At last we entered a room, I was still hearing that voice >Come to me!  I waited for you so long my young friend!< Yes, I know it could be dangerous but I was so curious…   Then we saw it a bright flower floated in the sky, on it’s roots was a strange seat surrounded by light.   >Finally you are here!<  the voice came from that blooming thing but Hiyoshin and Ichika weren’t hearing it. “I wonder what this is?” Hyio was curious too but his attention soon was on the rest of the room. Screens on the walls and a lot of buttons at a panel.  Ichika’s attention was the less,  I wonder what she was thinking right now? She just looks around and seems like she already wanted to leave this place. Suddenly one of the screens start to work, but it wasn’t much to see just to listen… >>…What happened….<<…>>…what is that?….<<>>..the other world?…no wait it’s H……<< …>>they collapsing..<<…>Help!!<< ..Only a few pictures were to see, first the Seireitei , then in the sky a city suddenly white snow or sand. We were scared,yes, it still could happen, it could happen right now. “We have to find a way back, telling father and the others of this. Maybe we can stop it before it happens.” Hiyoshin said. “Maybe you two find something else in the other rooms!” I said, I wanted them to go so badly. Why?…. I wondered why does I wanted to be alone with this voice so desperately? … Then I was alone. >>Kazui I waited for so long<< “How can you know my name?” >> I know you since  the  moment I looked at your fathers eyes.<< “You know my father? Are you a Shinigami?” >> No<< “Who are you then?” >>Sadly I forgot my name << “I see. But you know mine. Why?” >>I’m here to give you something<< “Really?” >>Yes!<< >>Do you want it?<< “Y-yes.” I was so excited that I totally forgot that this situation could be dangerous… man I was only 12 how should I ever had known what could have happen? >>Then eat me!<< Does I was hypnoticed? Maybe… does I wanted to gain power? Maybe…  I only I knew I did it… When the flower was gone  I was still feeling normal but the others wondered where I went and came back. Of course they wondered where the flower went but I said I touched it and it became dust….they believed me and  told me about the stuff they found… -Kurosaki Kazui _________________________________________

#bleach #recuerdos mundo #bleach novel #like thingy #ichika abarai #kazui kurosaki #hiyoshin hirako #yachiru kusajishi #ichigo kurosaki #rukia kuchiki #orihime #renji #kuchiki #hirako #shinji #ichigo #hiyori #shiyori #sarugaki #shinigami #visored #aizen #gin #arrancar #hueco mundo #byakuya #hitsugaya #toshiro

[midnightactual]

Yoruichi and Co. & Kaien (Part 1)

It’s an established fact that Yoruichi grew up alongside Kisuke and Tessai in the Shihōin Manor when they were all kids. She and Kisuke entered the Onmitsukidō and Gotei 13 at roughly the same time. She became friends with Kūkaku sometime very early on as well. (This is unsurprising given the interactions of the Five Great Noble Clans: she visited the Kuchiki, thus meeting Byakuya, and Byakuya had a lot of interactions with Kaien, which you wouldn’t expect to occur on the job; you can infer she was around the Shiba a lot as well.) Kūkaku also clearly had a lot of interactions with Kisuke to trust him implicitly..

The exact nature of the history of those four would require its own post to speculate on. What we’re here to do today is to see how they were influenced by Kaien. For Kūkaku that’s obvious: he was her older brother. But I think it’s very clear that he had quite the effect on Yoruichi and Kisuke (and by proxy Tessai) as well... one that fundamentally shaped the plot going forward.

I’ve previously conjectured that the entirety of Bleach pre-timeskip, revolving around combating Aizen, was not so much the story of Aizen and Kisuke as it was the story of the maneuverings of the Hōgyoku. I stand by that. However, I would also suggest that if there was an opposite to Aizen in that time period, it wasn’t Kisuke...

... It was Kaien.

You could easily say that what the Urahara Shōten does, it does in the name of the example set by Kaien. They are, if anything, his disciples. And what they engage in with regard to Rukia and Ichigo (and other matters) only truly makes sense in my estimation when viewed from that perspective. In many ways, you might say that their efforts to build up Ichigo and Rukia are a direct effort to reconstitute Kaien.

A bold claim, but what evidence is there for this? Well, buckle up, because it’s a long ride...

Yoruichi & Kaien

In chapter 62, Yoruichi is starting to train Chad and Orihime. She says:

Cut to chapter 268, where Rukia is reflecting on Kaien during the Aaroniero fight:

Going back to Yoruichi in chapters 62 and 70:

I personally think that this congruence in philosophy is too exacting to be dismissed as mere coincidence, whether it’s the focusing on protecting or on ‘the heart’. While protecting might be the dogma of the Gotei 13, the emphasis on ‘the heart’ is Kaien’s alone. Where did Yoruichi get it from? Given she was good friends with Kūkaku, and the Princess and later Clan Head of the Shihōin, the obvious answer is... from Kaien, the Clan Head of the Shiba. Yoruichi has most likely adopted and internalized Kaien’s ethos. 

Doesn’t Kaien seem oddly practiced at this speech too, when he gives it to Rukia? Almost like he’s done it before... You can thus imagine a much younger and vulnerable Yoruichi getting more or less the same speech as Rukia did. (In my own personal headcanons, this would be part of what grounded Yoruichi against the influence of her father. I think it also fits neatly into @saranel​‘s thoughts on Yoruichi at one time having confidence issues, as she notes here and here, but that too should probably be its own post.) 

Okay, so let’s take it for granted that Yoruichi knew Kaien and was personally greatly influenced by him. What sort of knock-on effects does this have?

Ichigo & Kaien 1

Well, let’s go to Ichigo for a moment. We know that others see Kaien in Ichigo. Byakuya (and Rukia) do in chapter 56, in the fight in Karakura:

 Rukia does in chapter 117 on the Senzaikyū bridge : 

Immediately thereafter Jūshirō (and Byakuya) do too, also in chapter 117:

And, most concretely, Byakuya does in chapter 167, but we’ll come back to that later because it’s rather important for other reasons.

Yoruichi & Ichigo, Rukia, and Jūshirō

Instead, let’s focus on chapter 117 (and 118) for a moment. Who else shows up there right as everyone is suddenly thinking of Kaien? Yoruichi. And she is none too happy:

She is cold, calm, and on a mission, which is very unlike her demeanor throughout the rest of the Soul Society arc, whether it be before this (more on that in a bit) or later when she’s training Ichigo and fighting Soifon (where she is much more emotive). We see it come to an end once she’s successfully knocked Ichigo out:

She still looks resolved, but there’s a different kind of determination in her eyes... like she’s crossed a threshold. Until she hears Jūshirō. And then her expression becomes rather different again: almost wistful or sad? Why? Because, as Kaien told us earlier, and as Jūshirō told us himself in chapter 135:

@saranel, in her post PSA: Urahara Kisuke and Shihōin Yoruichi are NOT nice people, notes that:

Ichigo expressly told her he doesn’t want the help, but Yoruichi knows the fool is about to die a painful death, so she drugs him, violently incapacitates him and carries him away, despite his wishes. There were also a million different things Yoruichi could’ve done here, but as she herself explains to Ichigo later, none of the rest were real options, so damn his pride.

One of the (lesser) reasons I believe people never took offense to this scene, but did in Kisuke and Yoruichi’s case, is that Yoruichi has a mentor/student relationship with Ichigo.  And I get that, but let me remind you that calling each other out on their bullshit is a cornerstone of Kisuke and Yoruichi’s dynamic:

True friends don’t shy away from calling their friends out when they’re being idiots. And when they’re about to make massive, life-threatening mistakes, then you can damn well bet consent flies out the window. Especially when it comes to war; don’t forget that Kisuke and Yoruichi are soldiers.

Bold emphasis is mine. Yoruichi does on the Senzaikyū bridge to Ichigo what Rukia will later wish she’d done in Metastacia’s lair to Kaien: she saves him from his own pride. Rukia, previously in chapter 135, had declared to Jūshirō:

And as that post intones, Yoruichi doesn’t just advance the same argument as Rukia, she acts on it, as she goes on to explain in chapter 120:

Yoruichi’s look to Jūshirō on the Senzaikyū bridge signifies exactly two things, in my estimation: 1. “Your philosophy was wrong,” and 2. “I’m not letting another Shiba die for no good goddamn reason.” The fact that she seems to be calling him just “Ukitake,” and not “Ukitake-senpai,” or “Ukitake-san,” or “Jūshirō,” as well as the way she describes him to Ichigo, also seems significant to me: she does not hold him as especially close, or with all that much respect given his age and station, and their past history, presumably exactly because she still holds him somewhat responsible for Kaien’s death. We’ll come back to Jūshirō later, however.

Ichigo & Kaien 2

Would you believe me if I told you that Rukia, Byakuya, and Jūshirō weren’t the only people to recognize Ichigo’s similarities with Kaien? Let’s start with Yoruichi, since her narrative feeds directly into the points just addressed. But first we have to rewind a little. When the Ryoka are leaving for Soul Society, in chapter 70, just after her reminder about heart, Yoruichi gets a small monologue:

There’s a lot to unpack here. First, Yoruichi’s words of “Do not stop. Do not look back. Do not think of those you are leaving behind. Just... go forward. Those who can do that, follow me,” tell you that she is capable of doing exactly that, and that should be read as a guide for understanding her departure from the Urahara Shōten for a long time: she was on a mission to go forward in her own way (but that’s a topic for a different post).

Second, notice Ichigo is the one who first steps forward (quite far forward, although they all clearly move around and advance in his wake). This isn’t surprising, but notice that Yoruichi focuses in on and addresses him specifically. This won’t be the last time this happens. That he speaks for all of them makes him the leader, and unsurprisingly Yoruichi goes to him after his fight with Kenpachi to retrieve him in particular. He is already, as of this moment, special within her consideration.

So, to return to just before the events on the Senzaikyū bridge, in chapter 116:

Byakuya’s reiatsu flares when he uses his shikai on Ganju. Notice how pissed Yoruichi looks at it. But once Ichigo explains himself, her expression completely transforms. This is a look of recognition and it is, I think, Yoruichi seeing two things: 1. Seeing Kaien in Ichigo’s behavior, and 2. seeing herself in Ichigo’s behavior. This was exactly the logic she used when rescuing Kisuke and Tessai (and the future Vizard) a hundred years earlier. Ichigo is living up to her model, which we already established was founded on Kaien’s. The moment is short-lived as:

She runs after him and shows off one of the most frustrated and annoyed expressions she has in the manga, because she knows he’s running off to his doom and they’ll lose yet another Shiba for no good reason. This is why she shows up at the Senzaikyū bridge acting like a cold killer: because she’s on a mission to save his dumb ass after she’s truly recognized him as being Kaien-esque.

Kūkaku’s recognition of Ichigo is similar to that of Jūshirō, and occurs in chapter 78:

That we have a sudden close-up of her eye, and then a panel focused in on Ichigo even as she says “these kids,” tells you that she’s looking at him in particular. This isn’t a coincidence. The resemblance hasn’t escaped her, and she likely knew from the moment they’d entered that room.

Kisuke’s recognition of Ichigo is a little harder to pin down, given he knows exactly what’s going on with Isshin, but I think that we see it during the battle alongside Don Kanonji at the abandoned hospital, in chapters 30 and 31:

Ichigo and Don Kanonji are confronting the Hollow in front of the crowd that’s there to watch the filming, putting everyone in danger; Ichigo then hauls Don Kanonji (who’s refusing to retreat) into the hospital, drawing the Hollow away from everyone else and minimizing the number of people at risk. Kisuke isn’t surprised by this action, and seems to have entirely expected it... as though it reminds him of someone.

And finally, we come back to Byakuya in chapter 167:

Not only does Byakuya compare Ichigo to Kaien here, he seems to imply that Kaien has bested him in combat before. That Byakuya makes special note of the duties of the Four Great Noble Clans to provide an “example” for all Shinigami is probably itself a continuing dig at the Shiba, the demoted Fifth Great Noble Clan, who did not do such a thing, in his estimation (thus his animosity toward Ganju, a Shiba, on the Senzaikyū bridge).

But he also tells us that Ichigo, like Kaien, had made an enemy out of “the laws of Soul Society.” Do you know of any other member of the Four Great Noble Clans who not only didn’t uphold the law of Soul Society, but made an enemy of the laws themselves? I do: Yoruichi Shihōin! We see, yet again, the parallelism established not just between Ichigo & Kaien, and Yoruichi & Ichigo, but Yoruichi & Kaien as well.

Jūshirō & Kaien, Yoruichi, Ichigo, and Rukia

To return to Jūshirō, he will, fairly soon after the incident on the Senzaikyū bridge, confront Byakuya over Rukia’s execution date being moved up,in chapter 134. Byakuya will taunt him, leaving him fuming:

Do you think that Jūshirō’s remembrance of Kaien here is based purely upon having seen Ichigo? I don’t. I think it was partially if not largely based upon having seen what Yoruichi did with Ichigo. I think it was seeing Yoruichi’s example of, in Ichigo’s later words to Byakuya, “fight[ing] the law,” in Kaien’s image, which put this thought in his head. (Especially as, at this time, no one knew of Ichigo’s shared lineage with Kaien.)

And when Jūshirō decides to fight the law himself (along with Shunsui) after his request to Central 46 (being run by Aizen) is turned down, what does he somehow have in his possession in chapter 149?

A Shihōin artifact. Isn’t that curious? How do you suppose he got hold of such a thing? Do you imagine it just randomly happened to be in his possession? That’d be a very fortuitous coincidence. I don’t believe in it after everything else that’s been pointed out.

(This is an aside, but isn’t the timing of Jūshirō’s plan to use Fullbringers and Ginjō in particular kind of odd? It only happened some 20 or so years at most before the start of the series. He and the Gotei 13 has been around for at least 2,000 years, and this is the first time it occurred to him? Isn’t it suspicious... that it came so comparatively soon after Kaien’s death, and that the plan seems to have rather resembled that of Sōken Ishida?)

...

But I’ve hit the image limit, so read on for Part 2!

#Out Of Character #Bleach #Meta #Headcanons #Yoruichi Shihouin #[ this one is certainly okay to reblog ]

[amrita-gsk]

I also wanted to talk about a little about the other video they presented today:

Once again they started with Ichigo and Rukia. I truly feel happy whenever Rukia is on the spotlight and she's in the right where the MCs should be, at the beginning and front of everything!

Here we have the Ichigo vs. Grimmjow fight feat. TYBW's Gotei 13 and... RUKIA AGAIN! Yes!

Aaaand another colored Ichigo. I miss Ku/bo's art style from back then tbh I always liked how he used to make Ichigo's hair look like fire.

Main character's and moments(?) during the last arc. URYUU IS THERE!!!

The two head captains and Squad 0, it's a shame they were all over hyped only to not be that useful in the end. Nimaiya and what's-her-name only served to somewhat explain how the shinigami accessories/tools work, the onsen guy had to heal Byakuya, Renji, Rukia and Ichigo because apparently I-can-kill-you-but-heal-you-so-fast-you-come-back-to-life-Unohana-Retsu couldn't fully do it and it's not like any of Ichigo's friends had any healing abilities-- OH, wait. Yeah. Hikifune is just the transforming beauty because each arc needs its own (Yoruichi, Nelliel anyone?) aaaand I don't even care about Ichibei anymore. He was supposed to be broken and yet he was defeated almost as fast as Yamamoto just to be revived by the "power of the words" or some shit like that. What if Ichigo and co. never arrived at the Royal Palace? Would he have stayed dead then?

Byakuya's death... Which didn't happen in the end because according to Ku/bo he was pressured through twitter to not kill him? Just another fucking excuse. I freaking love Byakuya but his words toward Ichigo felt hollow after he was brought back.

Ukitake... Yeah, remember when we were told Ukitake wasn't going to die? And then he died for a stupid reason, like, he had the hand of God inside him and yet most of the time he was still sick and could only fight for a while. If he had some stupid over the top power because he had God's hand in him it would've somewhat make sense OR if he couldn't really fight because being its vessel was too much for him to shoulder, but no. Just release God's hand and never explain what happened to the OTHER hand or limbs at all and may Ukitake rest in peace.

OH and that Aizen panel from the final fight which wasn't even a fight!!! Priceless, Chair-sama saved the day.

Aaaand at last!!! The stuff that will carry and sell this whole circus of insanity, yandere Unohana, Urahara's infinite list of plans and plots and traps and blahblahblah... Kenpachi's bankai, Toushiro's special fanservice feature now 18+, double serving of fanservice with Rukia's astonishing and beautiful bankai and Renji's we-tricked-you-because-you're-an-idiot-so-here's-your-true-bankai form. Mayuri isn't worth mentioning.

Aaaand the cherry on top!!! Ichigo wielding Zangetsu's old form which was actually a fake Zangetsu but this is formed with the true Zangetsu which broke for this scene, which is also separated in two swords but they merged again and weren't Ukitake and Kyouraku the only shinigami in history to ever have double zanpakutō? What happened to that? Oh yes, Kyouraku had Nanao's. And Ukitake is dead. Okay. Yeah. Makes sense. NOT.

Sigh... The difference between this video and the other is that the other one was able to spark some joy and ignite the leftover love I have for Bleach because it showed panels back from when things made sense and it was awesome. These panels... some of them could be exciting by themselves but they mostly served to remind me why I ended up hating Ku/bo and what Ble/ach became. It's chaos. It's disorganized. Things are there just for the sake of hyping but not to contribute to the story itself. It makes me as sad as I am mad.

The only positive things I get from here is that as usual Rukia is treated as the main character and heroine she is, she's right at the front, she's with the characters that carried the series long enough for it to go for as long as it did and she will always be one of the best female characters in shonen history. Then I have the fact that I too love Ichigo and he deserves to be regarded as a hero, even though Ku/bo decided to throw that away for him in the end. Flaws and all Ichigo IS a hero and I guess I am weak too and I can at least feel happy that he's back in the spotlight again, although if it were up to me I'd never animate this arc so that his fans could remember him with pride. I would save him if I could.

The other positive thing I get is... I'm a mean person and I have no qualms in admitting it, so there's a part of me that is delighted by the fact that someone was purposely left out of these announcements. It's good to know the marketing team still knows what sells and well, I won't say I feel bad for her fans because I don't. It's what she and they deserve and shitty ending or not, it's clear they're not getting the recognition they've been craving all these years.

So Ble/ach is back to torment us and I just want to wish us all good luck and a not so bad ride through all of this. Stay strong my people, we've already survived the worse of it, this is just a motivating shitty flashback before finally stabbing this bastard in the heart once and for all.

#anti bleach anime #anti-bleach anime #anti tite kubo #anti-tite kubo #stay strong guys #this is not enough to put us down #and now we'll have a string of new content so that's a plus #Ichigo and Rukia are back with us now in fanart form #love y'all

[prayforthemantis]

The Hole, Deep and Dark

I probably wrote about this somewhere else, but I can’t find it and I want to elaborate on it here with pictures. So here we go. 

TW: Suicide and self harm discussion (it’s small, but it’s there).

I talked before about how Nnoitra had clearly gone out of his way to cover his Hollow hole from view when he really didn’t need to. The other Espada either didn’t bother or had their holes in places where it was easy to conceal. 

Nnoitra had to go out of his way to conceal his hole, though lacking the necessity to do so. Grimmjow, by contrast, seems to flaunt his to the world by wearing his jacket open with no shirt underneath.

The place Nnoitra’s Hollow hole resides seems to be the only place Nnoitra is sensitive about, even though he knows he doesn’t have to be. He dodges blows to that area twice.

First in his fight with Ichigo:

Nnoitra even admits he purposely avoided it, even though (as we later discover) he didn’t need to, and he knows it.

The second time was with the fight with Kenpachi. Nnoitra is pinned to the ground, and sees the blade coming straight for the left side of his head, where the hole is. He panics here. He doesn’t just need to stop a blade, he has to grab Kenpachi’s hand and wrench his head away just in time.

Kenpachi remarks on it, considering Nnoitra’s bluster about being unable to cut.

But Nnoitra couldn’t be cut - not in the place Kenpachi was aiming just then. Anywhere on his body, but not there. Nnoitra knows it. His silence and expression - shaded grey here, which generally appears to be shorthand for suggesting suppressed emotions - are dead giveaways. He knows the truth, refuses to say anything. He has no reason to hide it - not a practical one, anyway. What, did he seriously wear an eyepatch in the off-chance that when an opponent tries to skewer him through the head, as Kenpachi does, Nnoitra can get close enough to strike? 

I don’t think so. Especially when he could have applied that strategy when Ichigo aimed for the spot earlier, but didn’t. 

Nnoitra dismisses Kenpachi, saying that it’s ‘instinct’ to avoid an attack. And he could be right, at least for Kenpachi’s attack. When you’re pinned to the ground and a blade’s coming at your face, your first instinct is to move the fuck out the way, whether you have a hole there or not.

But going back to that moment with Ichigo - Nnoitra had plenty of time (in comparison) to react to Ichigo’s blade. There are two panels where we see the blade moving. From the moment Ichigo first dodged Nnoitra’s blade to his own counterattack, Nnoitra had plenty of time to react. He doesn’t move - doesn’t need to move - Ichigo’s blade will go through nothing! - and yet he still dodges.

Why? 

I think it boils down to Nnoitra’s attitude towards his present Hollow being as well as his human past. His attitude towards the emptiness that defines all Hollows.

When Nnoitra responds to Kenpachi’s failed killing blow with a strike of his own, the following caption appears:

The hole is the symbol of all of Nnoitra’s despair, as it is for all Hollows. He has lost his heart along with a significant chunk of his sanity and peace of mind. He curses his Hollow existence and wishes for nothing but a death on his own terms. He wants to be free from the pain, the cursed existence. He sees ‘no salvation’ for Hollows - and the only way out is death.

Many people, including myself, believe that Nnoitra ended his human life by suicide, very much because of the above. Nnoitra’s life, however, continued, and he no doubt feels like he’s been cursed to continue being in pain as a Hollow. 

I wonder if Nnoitra’s covering of his Hollow hole may relate to how those who have marks or signs of suicide attempts go to various lengths to conceal the evidence. It is such a sensitive, painful part of their history and struggles, and something they may not want prying eyes to see. This may not apply to everyone, everyone’s different, of course. 

Nnoitra loathes his Hollow existence and wants out. That much is very clear. If not for the eyepatch, he would have to look in the mirror and have everyone see the gaping black hole that is his pain and emptiness, something so private and personal that only he, Tesla and - to a much lesser degree - Neliel has been privy to.

It might also be worth noting that Nnoitra loses his eyepatch completely in his Resurreccion form. His hole, like the gaping maw of a Hollow - similar to the mouth that gobbled up Ichigo’s Chain of Fate for nourishment back in his training days, I think - is for all to see. 

Nnoitra becomes ever more emotionally unstable from this point on, I think. More violent, more desperate, even if initially he is smug and triumphant. It makes you wonder if the eyepatch was his way of retaining, hanging on to, what humanity he still has. He can present himself to the world as a man rather than a beastial Hollow - as Neliel would put it. Maybe he wanted to die that way too. This might have influenced his refusal to transform during his fight with Neliel.

His decision to release at all can be seen as a turning point, then. He laid his pain and desperation bare, after going to great lengths to avoid it. He did it so he could get the death he always wanted, whether his hole was hidden or not.

#nnoitra gilga #// pray ; analysis // #// not the last of these by a long shot wooo #bleach meta #meta #analysis #tesla lindocruz #neliel tu odelschwanck #tw suicide #tw: suicide #tw: self harm #tw self harm

[gunnerpalace]

Have you seen the vid 'Shonen Anime's Biggest Problem' by Reality Punch Studios? Bleach is briefly mentioned in it and the guy basically says that Kubo did a great job with the plot and characters during the Soul Society arc, but then later failed with all the other arcs after it. Thoughts?

I haven’t, but that’s pretty accurate. This is long, but fuck it, I want people to see it.

Karakura I: Great! Minor flaws, e.g., Ichigo leaving Rukia to fight Shrieker while he escorted Karin, rather than having the clearly less-than-combat effective Rukia do so, and learn about Ichigo; not covering a whole month of their time together (including Ichigo’s birthday); ultimately dispensing with Tatsuki’s importance to the plot; could have probably stood to be about twice as long to show more of Ichigo and Rukia’s early relationship and flesh out relations with the nakama more. 

Soul Society: Great! No real flaws until the end, e.g., you just killed off Central 46 and had a great upheaval in the power structure of the to-date main antagonists; this was the perfect time to have some exposition on them (e.g., who the other two Great Noble Houses are, what their role in Central 46/Soul Society is aside from being strong, etc.); good pacing, dramatic, memorable and contained fights, even for supporting characters (e.g., Uryuu vs. Mayuri, Renji vs. Byakuya).

Karakura II/Arrancar: Not so great! So, Ichigo’s just spent his summer break, what, moping over “the Hollow?” Why does everything in this series revolve around no one (Kisuke, Isshin, Juushirou, Yamamoto, etc.) telling Ichigo what the fuck is going on and just solving the problem? One of the only times I can remember an authority figure just saying “We’re here to do X because Y,” is Toushirou in this arc, so good for him? The fights against the Arrancar are when Bleach started to go bad with F I G H T S  N O B O D Y  C A R E S  A B O U T  ™ because they don’t involve the protagonists. Grimmjow was an effectively introduced villain even though he’s really just Kenpachi + Zangetsu (”Shirosaki”). The moments with him, Ichigo, and Rukia were good. The Visored were neat but were ultimately a waste. Most damningly of all, Orihime didn’t learn a goddamn thing from going to an alternate dimension and watching Ichigo almost die over and over to save Rukia.

Hueco Mundo/Fake Karakura+: Really bad! When FNCA became a real problem. Just all kinds of shit that didn’t matter and wasn’t satisfying. The entire premise of them being there was stupid, as was the entire structure of the war. Aizen’s grand scheme turned out to be a bunch of bullshit. Overall just a terrible inversion of the Soul Society arc featuring a bunch of poorly-realized villains that were way overhyped. (Also, the final demonstration of the worthlessness of the Visored!) Our protagonists had to be rescued for the plot to continue on stupidly. (This can work, e.g. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, but this isn’t the way to do it.) An unsatisfying conclusion that explained nothing about why what happened, had.

Lost Substitute Shinigami: Garbage. Okay, this arc has some great character-building for Ichigo and Rukia, and Xcution have memorable designs. I like Riruka. Ginjou, Giriko, and Tsukishima are really hateable villains. I like Ikumi. But. But. Fullbring is dumb and makes no sense, or needed to be introduced much earlier. The story of the substitute Shinigami is dumb and doesn’t fit well with what we know. The contrivances necessary to make Bleach work like a horror manga are ridiculous and just make the adults around Ichigo (e.g., Isshin, Ryuuken, Kisuke, Yoruichi, Shinji, et al.) look like fucking negligent assholes at the same time as Ikumi is telling Ichigo to trust adults. Also, the way the time skip was handled was that it wasn’t. It literally never gets addressed outside of about a dozen panels. It speaks to my heart but it wasn’t well-executed (hah!) at all.

Thousand-Year Blood War: Total shitshow where everything is on fire. The Sternritter were awful and utterly lacking in interest. (They’re all amoral psychopathic murderers, whoo!) FNCA go on forever, nobody does anything of importance, Ichigo and Rukia barely appear for large sections of it, and nothing sensible or satisfying happens except for an explanation of Ichigo’s powers that, while making a kind of sense, still doesn’t really explain anything. Don’t get me started on the ending, that requires War and Peace to fully deconstruct with how it doesn’t fit any of what came before.

If Kubo was just going to stop the manga, he should’ve stopped it after Soul Society arc. He couldn’t, because Aizen was still on the run, but if Aizen had been taken out there, it would’ve been okay. Open-ended, maybe an epilogue panel or page of Rukia putting on civilian clothes to see Ichigo again. Cool.

If he was going to stop after the Aizen saga, he should’ve done that. Again, an open ending. You could maybe have an epilogue of Ichigo thinking he sees Rukia out of the corner of his eyes over time. Whatever.

But no, this guy had a plan. Bleach is kinda like The X-Files, in that there’s a bunch of episodes, and then an overarching plot arc, except instead of being episodic, it’s archic; a bunch of small arcs under a larger one. The larger arc is that Soul Society, and existence itself, is fucked up. The smaller arcs are about what passes for “mundane” or “the usual” within this fucked up existence.

That alone probably answers your question, but I’m me, so I’m going to continue on to talk about what I want to talk about.

WHAT THE FUCK WAS BLEACH ACTUALLY ABOUT?

Let me explain my theory of what Bleach was supposed to be about, before Kubo got bogged down in thinking he was Tolkien II Turbo DBZ edition and got his series cancelled with his fuckery.

There’s this interesting video about how, in The Matrix, Neo isn’t “the One,” but rather, Smith is.

The Architect tells Neo that he’s the sixth “Anomaly” which resets the Matrix. Their arrival is expected and anticipated. Smith, unwittingly “created” by Neo, is what causes this particular iteration of the Matrix to end very differently than the previous five.

Okay, what the fuck does this have to do with Bleach?

Check it out: Ichigo (and Rukia) is (are) the One. That is to say: they’re Smith. The planned outcomes, the “Anomalies,” were Aizen and Yhwach.

They would go about their plans, get up to the Royal Realm, and then be summarily murdered by Zero Division and turned into the new Soul King, as a Soul King only lasts a certain amount of time and needs periodic replacement. (Check how old and busted the current one is.) This is why Zero Division gave zero fucks about whatever happened down below: it not only didn’t matter to their outcomes, it was necessary. (Kind of like Soul Society requires suffering to work properly.)

There’s evidence of this in Sajin and his grandfather. Their existence is never explained, but Clifford the Big Red Dog says “The world’s ‘bearer’ will simply change. We won’t change. No matter who holds the world. All we can do is lay low.” This is strikingly similar to The Merovingian and his motley crew of exiled programs from previous iterations of the Matrix: they are remnants of a bygone age, after successive resets.

What resets Soul Society (or possibly reality) is swapping Soul Kings.

Now what fucks everything up and makes this time different is the existence of Ichigo and Rukia. Ichigo is directly created by the fuckery of Aizen and Yhwach, much like Agent Smith was turned into Smith. The existence of Yhwach’s descendants, plus Aizen’s machinations, produces an unplanned-for feature. Something new. He’s easy to explain.

But Ichigo isn’t alone. He would’ve never gotten anywhere without Rukia. And Rukia is harder to explain.

Now Aizen says “The ‘true’ power of the Hougyoku is to read the minds of those around it and make manifest of what it finds there. […] You don’t understand? I’m saying that all of the ‘miracles’ that have occurred surrounding Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia, and Urahara Kisuke thus far were manifested by the Hougyoku’s will.“ He goes on to say "And then I, armed with a hypothesis about the Hougyoku’s abilities, sent Kuchiki Rukia in the direction of Kurosaki Ichigo. Of course, there are limits to its abilities. The Hougyoku manifests what’s in the minds of those around it. But this will not happen unless the subject inherently possesses the power to fulfill their desire. By that token, this could also be called the ‘power that guides people toward their desires.’ … But living creatures are strange, they are made in such a way that they can actualize only what their minuscule minds wish for.”

First, notice how utterly fucking pissed Isshin is. Nothing else makes him remotely this upset. Nothing to do with Grand Fisher or Yhwach makes him even fractionally this agitated.

Now, stop and think for a moment. Does what Aizen said actually make sense? The Hougyoku does what those around it want, but it can only do so through what they are capable of. He also says that the Hougyoku has begun to understand his will… only just prior to explaining all this. Why does Aizen think he was previously outside of the Hougyoku’s influence?

Kisuke’s incomplete Hougyoku was hanging out in Rukia for a long time; presumably, out of anyone, it understood her will best. Aizen sent Rukia to Ichigo? No. Rukia wanted to go to Ichigo, and Aizen was the means to facilitate that, which coincidentally accorded with his desires too. Aizen is confusing cause and effect here through his own hubris.

How did Rukia know of Ichigo? Well, you could say she was looking for someone like Kaien. But there are inevitably many people like Kaien in the world and it could’ve guided her to any one of them. It took her to the only person who could do something about the world, which Rukia saw as fundamentally unjust. But how would the Hougyoku know about Ichigo? From reading Aizen’s mind? Maybe, but can it understand things like genealogy and ghost genetic engineering? It’s much simpler to say that it saw their connection.

I’m not going to relitigate all the material in Bleach which asserts that Ichigo and Rukia are connected and fated to meet one another, like the Sand and the Rotator chapters. But it’s out there, and the Hougyoku knew, so it put them together and warped everything around it to make that happen; to execute Rukia’s will, not Aizen’s.

My feeling is that Rukia and Ichigo form a single unit for the purposes of reality-disruption. They are the Pair, rather than Smith’s the One. Surprise, this is why Kisuke leaves it to them when he thinks he’s gonna die. He’s like the Oracle. Or something, this analogy is getting a bit loose.

Also, Ichigo’s whole thing is power, and Rukia’s whole thing is control. You might say they’re like a power source and a regulator. Water and a water wheel. Sand and a rotator.

So, much like Smith, they were going to change the outcome of their iteration in a way that couldn’t have been foreseen.

Then Kubo got his series cancelled because he spent too long drawing Doctor Juggalo fighting a giant hand, and Sword Hobo fighting Imagination Boy and Thor, so none of that happened.

tl;dr Kubo’s inability to stop himself from fucking with unimportant characters and unimportant plots, i.e., getting bogged down in the minutiae, is exactly what killed Bleach, along with trying to be too clever by half with things like Hueco Mundo as inverted Soul Society. Dude lost the plot and couldn’t see his own damn forest for the trees.

#Asks #Bleach #IchiRuki

[wilwywaylan]

001 with HP ! 002 with Kensei/Sojun ! 003 with Yuki your OC !!

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:

Favorite character: Lupiiiiiiin ♥ The sweetest, nicest, adorablest puppy in the whole HP world ! (no seriously, he’s amazing. And as much as he doesn’t look the part at all, I still liked David Thewlis’ performance in the movie, he was charming~). But don’t trust him, he’s a badass one too !

Least Favorite character: Cho. Not in a “oh noes she didn’t love Harry back like he did what a bitch really” way, but more like a “she was derailed into a whiny girl, and as much as she had reasons to do so, I still wish she got a little badassery left” way.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Hmmm…. Sirius x Remus, Dumby x Grindelwald because fight me, Hermione x Krum because that was weirdly cute, Hagrid x Mme Maxime, Bill x Fleur.

Character I find most attractive: bookverse is hard to say. Movieverse, I had the most gigantic crush on Oliver Wood for the longest time *rawr”

Character I would marry: *keeps Charlie for herself because we would be ace together and go on adventures with dragons*

Character I would be best friends with: maybe Hermione because booksbooksbooksbooks

a random thought: how do you heat a castle like that ?

An unpopular opinion: Snape is a very interesting character. And as much as he’s a gigantic asshole, I still think he has lots of attenuating circumstances. Including some due to the Marauders. But still, asshole. But still.

my canon OTP: Dobby x clothes

Non-canon OTP: Charlie x Dragons :D

most badass character: I’m torn between McGonagall and Mrs Weasley. They are both awesome in their own ways, and I love how they don’t fuck around. Especially Mrs Weasley who got lots of flack for being a housewife and “weak”, and got the upper hand on Bellatrix. Good is not weak, children.

pairing I am not a fan of: Harry x Drago. Meeeeh.

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): see Cho above.

favourite friendship: I kinda ship them because they are dorks, but still, if Hermione x Ron, then Hermione and Krum, because they are cute.

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: Oh yes Professor McGonagall, adopt me and teach me the Ways of the Badass Cat *^*

002 | send me a ship and I will tell you:

when of if I started shipping it : maybe…. two years ago ? I don’t know, it was a random idea that somehow got roots and reasons, and….

my thoughts: come on, they are made for each other, and I’m sure they DID have some interactions off-panel ! And if they don’t, well I don’t care !

What makes me happy about them: they are adorable as only a pairing between a grumpy character and a soft, sun-shiny one can be. They are well balanced between sugar and spice, and

What makes me sad about them: …. they would have very little time together since Sojun dies somewhere after Turn Back the Pendulum, and if they dated before, Kensei wouldn’t even know about it.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: …. I’m the only shipper around XD

things I look for in fanfic: FANFICS !!!!

My kinks: a smile turning the grumpy one into mush, the softer one being manhandled by the grumpy one who’s still delicate with them, …~

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I kinda like Kensei x Rose, and Kensei x Shuuhei has potential too. But my favourite is Kensei x Shuuhei x Tôsen with Mashiro too, and everyone lives together as a big, weird, happy family.

My happily ever after for them: Sojun gets hollowified too and fights for his life, but Kisuke manages to help him and stops the illness from progressing. Then they have all the time they need to be cute together. After the war, Sojun comes with Kensei to Soul Society, he meets again with Byakuya, and lives the happy life of a captain partner.

003 | Give me a character & I will tell you

How I feel about this character: I LOVE MY LITTLE YUKI A LOT AND SHE’S SLOWLY BECOMING A FAVOURITE OF MINE BECAUSE SHE’S THE CUTEST LITTLE THING !!!!

All the people I ship romantically with this character: SO MANY !!!! From characters of Bleach, to the Miserables, to OCs of my partners…. Yuki is so shippable, you just need someone sensitive to the cuteness of a little Yuki !

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Yuki, Menthe and Shizuka are the bestest friends in the world, caring for each other and kicking ass together !

My unpopular opinion about this character: .... hard to say XD You don’t have to be a badass ass-kicking strong woman, sometimes you’re weak and unlucky and it happens too ?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: CANON IS MINE AND I’LL WIELD IT AS I WANT !!

my het ship: with Kenpachi, once he gets used to have a small, tiny, scrawny thing around that’s weaker than Yachiru and doesn’t fight. Then he can carry her around on his shoulder.

my fem/slash ship: Tomoyo-donoooooo !! She’s strong, she’s nice, she’s fun ! And she protects him : It’s perfect !!

my OTP: Tomoyo-dono IS Yuki’s OTP !

my OT3: Yuki x Akon x Hiyori. Because halp I want two persons and they are strong and they are already together and I’m a monster and everything and I’m going to hide under those labcoats for a while.

my cross over ship: with Bahorel of Les Misérables, because he’s a big teddy bear, and he can cuddle Yuki and protect her and reassures her and they’ll be happy ever after !

my kink: gentleness all around. And plaid shirts.

a head cannon fact: Yuki may have been raised in a very noble, very uptight family, but you’ll take her favourite trashy romance novels from her cold, dead hands.

my gender bend: there are boy!Yukis around too. They don’t differ that much from girl!Yukis, except that they usually have shorter hair. And even then, it’s not a given.

#yahtomingan #harry potter #muguruma kensei #kuchiki sojun #nakada yuki #my OCs #bleach #so many things to say

[superkisako]

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” - Sun Tzu, The Art of War ———————– Waxed and polished to a mirror sheen, the sleek black S-Class glided down the city streets of the Minato Mirai 21 district of Yokohama.  Easily navigating the maze-like streets, the car eventually turned off the road and plunged into an underground parking garage.  Within seconds, Hisoka pulled into a reserved parking spot near a set of glass double doors.  He shut off the engine, opened the back door for Kisako to exit, and followed her into the building. Kisako tugged on the cuff of her left sleeve and tried not to let her nerves show, with only some success.  Her shoes clicked across the lobby’s marble floor as she made her way to the front desk, an island of warm colors in an ocean of cold stone, metal and glass.  The receptionist barely glanced at her as she droned in a disinterested monotone. “Welcome to the Taikana Corporation, where we bring tomorrow to you today.  Do you have an appointment?” The receptionist was fortunately looking away as a pained expression crossed Kisako’s face.  Even if said with more enthusiasm, the slogan needed work. “Yes, I am to begin work here today.” “Name?” “Taikana Kisako.” Finally, a reaction.  The receptionist snapped her head upward in surprise, suddenly at attention. “Y-yes, Ms. Taikana.  We’ve been expecting you.  I will notify your secretary of your arrival immediately.” With a deep bow of apology, the woman picked up the phone, dialed a couple numbers, and informed the person on the other line of Kisako’s presence.  She then pasted on a smile and gestured to the nearby flotilla of seating.  “Please, make yourself comfortable.  Ms. Kurosawa will be down in just a minute.” Kisako slowly floated to one of the nearby sofas and lightly perched on the edge.  A secretary? That was unexpected.  She had no idea what was in store for her, but at least she apparently wasn’t getting sent to the mail room.  She cast an apprehensive glance at Hisoka, who was busy studying the building’s layout. A few minutes later, a young woman fairly bounded her way down the stairs toward her.  Her dark blue hair streamed behind her and her bright green eyes sparkled as she made a beeline for Kisako.  “Ms. Taikana!”  She quickly bowed in greeting, almost as if an afterthought.  “I am Chizuru Kurosawa, your secretary and assistant.  I’m so glad to finally meet you!  Your grandfather has told me all about you!” Kisako barely stopped herself from flinching, put on her best smile and returned the bow.  “I hope not everything.  Then we would have nothing to talk about.” Chizuru blushed.  “Of course, of course!  Do forgive me.  I tend to get a bit ahead of myself sometimes.  Please, follow me!  I’ll show you where you’ll be working.”  Chizuru paused and glanced at Hisoka, breaking her overly cheerful demeanor but for an instant.  She ventured, “Your… friend can join us as well.” The pair followed Chizuru’s brisk pace deeper into the building.  Chizuru pointed out various landmarks and recounted some choice gossip along the way, somehow never out of breath.  Eventually, the incessant chatter reached a lull. “You know, I knew a Major Kurosawa.” Kisako offered. “We crossed paths several times in Tokyo.  The last I heard, he was in this area.” “Is that so?” Chizuru called over her shoulder. “Well, there are a lot of us.” Kisako fell silent before she could betray any more and Chizuru happily picked up the thread once more.  In short order, they reached a set of glass doors.  Chizuru pushed her way in without ceremony and was greeted by a confused sea of men’s faces gathered around a table.  She waved Kisako in, who entered with some trepidation. For a brief moment, the men looked to Hisoka, who had entered in after her, assuming that he was the reason for this disturbance.  It was with no small amount of surprise, then, that Chizuru introduced Kisako to the Taikana Corporation’s task force dedicated to getting the electrical infrastructure back online. “The Chairman has requested her personally to assist you gentlemen as an equal partner in your work,” Chizuru announced. She then turned to Kisako and smiled. “I will be at my desk.  Call me if you need anything!”  With a wave, she breezed out of the room.  Every man around the table turned to the diminutive young woman, who looked as astonished as they. Kisako managed a shaky bow and an “I look forward to working with you” before the room broke out into bedlam. ———————– The knock came again, more insistent this time. “Dangit woman, let’s go!  The water’s getting cold!” “Just a minute!” Kisako called in response. “I’m almost ready!” But Kisako continued to stare at herself in the mirror, unmoving.  One hand lightly traced the contours of the scars slicing across her side.  Another scar slashed down her back to match the one on her chest. She took a slow breath.  “How did I let myself get talked into this,” she murmured. “As soon as I leave, he’s going to see.” Unbidden, the memories of that day bubbled to the forefront of her mind.  She recalled the desperation of the fight on the airship, and the chaos on the ground below. Then, Ken—no, Eiji fought with Satsuki. He fought bravely, but he was already fading.  Had she not intervened, he wouldn’t have lived. Kisako’s eyes slid shut at the thought, but she forced it aside.  It was too painful to contemplate.  He was here now, and waiting.  There was no escaping it now.  With a sigh of resignation, she wound the towel around herself, tucked it in place, and headed outside. “It’s about time!  What took you so long?”  Kenpachi’s exasperated expression quickly shifted to concern when he spied her scars. “And where did you get those?  I don’t remember them.” Kisako tried to hurry to the baths, but she felt his touch along her back.  Worry crept into his voice.  “Another one. What happened?”  His eyes narrowed.  “Who do I need to kill?” Kisako stopped and turned to him.  “You don’t need to worry about that.  You already have.”  Before the surprised Kenpachi could respond, she continued, “It’s a long story.  I’ll tell you when we get to the baths.” Kenpachi could only nod and follow her as they walked on. ———————– [[Incoming.]] Kisako immediately dropped her hands back down to the keyboard and switched to typing normally just as Chizuru entered without bothering to knock.  “Good morning, Taikana-san.  I hope everything is going well with the report on the Iwasaki account?” Kisako nodded.  “I’m just putting on the finishing touches.”  She paused to look up at the intruding secretary, but withheld comment upon seeing her.  The normally cheerful woman stood quietly, her gaze fixed to the floor.  “Was there something you needed?” Chizuru fidgeted, clearly ill at ease.  “The Chairman wishes to speak with you.  He said it’s important.” “Ah.”  Kisako finished the sentence she was working on, locked the computer, and rose from her seat.  “Best not to keep him waiting, then.  Did he say what he wanted?” Chizuru shook her head.  “No, ma’am, just that he wanted to see you in person immediately.” Kisako exited her office with Chizuru in tow. Hisoka joined the pair at the office door and accompanied them to the elevator.  The ride to the top floor was silent, save for the whirring of machinery and the anxious tapping of Chizuru’s feet. A few moments later, the doors slid open with a jarringly cheerful *ding!* Rich mahogany paneled the wide hallway before them and stretched down to the warm red carpeted floor.  Detailed portraits of illustrious family members stared down at Kisako.  Like every other time she had passed them, she couldn’t help but notice they were all men. Kisako and Chizuru finally reached the double doors at the end of the hallway.  Hisoka lightly knocked to announce their presence, answered by a cool, “Enter.”  The doors opened, and Kisako and Chizuru stepped inside. The office appeared to be decorated with the express purpose of intimidating visitors, and it worked beautifully.  Dark-stained oak walls and floors absorbed the light and scores of books lined the shelves along the wall.  The large desk centering the space was somehow both ornate and utilitarian. Perched on the leather-upholstered chair behind the desk was an impeccably dressed middle-aged man every bit as imposing as his office. His wire-framed glasses and closely cropped moustache and beard highlighted the sharp angles of his face.  His dark eyes impassively regarded the women as they entered.  “Thank you, Kurosawa-san.  You may go now.” Chizuru didn’t need to be told twice.  She bowed deeply and hurried from the room.  Now alone, Takeshi indicated one of the visibly smaller chairs gathered in front of the desk.  “Sit.  We have much to talk about.” Kisako obediently sat before her father and folded her hands on her lap.  “Now that I have stepped up as Chairman of the company and head of the family, much will be changing.  We will once more need to provide for the future of the company and of the family.” Takeshi looked down at Kisako for a long moment. “Your grandfather was overly fond of you, as you know.  He allowed you far too much liberty and responsibility than was wise, convinced that you were far more capable than we gave you credit for.  It is fortunate, then, that you turned out not to be such an embarrassing failure.” Takeshi rose from his seat and circled the desk to stand in front of Kisako.  She suddenly found the carpet very interesting.  “It is a fool who would let his pride hinder his fortune.  So, you shall begin working directly for me starting tomorrow as the vice-president in charge of research, development, and analytics.  Ueno-san has been informed that you will succeed him and he will retire once you have fully settled into the position.” Kisako nodded, her violet eyes still fixed on the carpet.  “Thank yo--- ” Takeshi continued, heedless of her words.  “In addition, should you show the appropriate talent and aptitude, you shall report to me each morning.  I shall instruct you on what you shall need to know about the company so that you might one day succeed me.” Kisako froze and looked up at her father.  He leveled a calculating stare at her.  “You are my only child, so I have little choice. Make no mistake, however, that I will not hesitate to correct you when you are out of line.” Kisako nodded mutely and Takeshi returned to his seat. Interlacing his fingers as he propped his elbows on the desk, he continued.  “As you will become more visible as a member of the family, more is expected of you.  Your mother informs me that you continue to meet with those… individuals you met at school.  You are to cease such associations, as they are known to be terrorists, military, and other such dangerous individuals.  They are not worth your time and attention, and such associations will only reflect poorly on you, your family, and the company.” Kisako shifted uneasily in her seat, but Takeshi didn’t seem to notice or care.  “However, I must also see to the continuance of the family.  That will be your mother’s concern instead of mine, but I expect you not to shirk your duties in that regard and to heed what she has to say.” Takeshi’s eyes narrowed slightly and he lowered his voice as if others might be listening.  “You shall be aware of your position at all times.  This includes no longer taking part in such nonsense as you have in the past and which your grandfather had encouraged.  You are a Taikana, not a Pandora.” Kisako pursed her lips and slowly nodded.  “Yes, father,” was her only reply. Apparently satisfied, Takeshi sat back in his chair and waved his hand dismissively.  “You may go. I want you to finish your report on the Iwasaki account before you present yourself to Ueno-san.” Kisako rose from the chair, her knees slightly weak, and fairly floated toward the door.  She was reaching for the door handle when Takeshi called her back.  “I have placed immense faith in you.  Do not make me regret it.” “Yes, father,” she weakly replied before vanishing through the door. ———————– “Now then, I would like to welcome Taikana Kisako, who will be on hand to answer a few questions.” Kisako gave a slight smile as she took the podium after the Taikana public relations specialist, Chisaki Ando.  Chisaki had just announced that the Taikana Corporation would now be directly working with the Speedwagon Foundation to develop new technologies.  These experimental designs would be installed at Yamaku, where the company had been sending funds for several years.  Kisako, as head of research, would be traveling to Yamaku to oversee the work done at the school. Kisako deftly fielded the questions regarding the particulars of the agreement and her work at Yamaku.  She also invited those present to join her on the maiden voyage of the new train which would run to Yamaku, one of the first fruits of the collaboration. Another reporter raised his hand.  “Taikana-san.  Can you clarify why the company is willing to make such a risky investment as a school for Pandora?  Would this not be placing technology in the hands of potentially dangerous people?” The reporters fell quiet as they turned to Kisako. She paused to look over the group assembled before her.  She sensed most were apprehensive about the idea, with some being suspicious or outright hostile to Pandora.  She smiled once more.  She heard the same question when she pitched the idea to the board. “The Pandora represent the ultimate of stress tests for any new technology.  It is nearly impossible to predict how they might interact with something, so we must plan for any eventuality.  If the technology we develop can survive the worst that a group of superpowered teenagers can throw at it, then it can handle what the rest of us can put it through. In addition, technology we safeguard for use by Pandora at Yamaku will be safeguarded for their use after they graduate, making it safer for the public at large.” A quiet murmur rippled through the reporters after she finished and the one who asked the question returned to his seat. The apprehension appeared to be easing in the room.  Kisako took a few more questions, mostly about the train powered by cold fusion, before concluding the press conference. “I might have to send Kodansha a thank you note for preparing me for the scrutiny.” Kisako thanked Chisaki for her help and then departed for home.  She had a train ride to prepare for and some friends to see.