#I’m only keeping like half of the sternritter | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

recurring-polynya · 3 years

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The shinigami buffoonery in the TYBW was unparalleled, and even though you know I love those idiot grim reapers with my whole chest, I general feel like they did not deserve the W on that one (the bit where they are told not to use their bankai and, like, five captains immediately use it???) However, my languishing-in-the-elementary-school-dropoff-line thought of the day is this: The Quincy really did snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by the very simple virtue of never making sure anyone is actually dead.

It’s pretty obvious to me, and makes sense in universe, that high-powered shinigami are really hard to kill. Shinigami have bodies, but they are mostly just there to make everyone feel better, they don’t function like our meathusks, filled with delicate systems of organs and...mucuses and stuff. Shinigami are an incomplete set of memories, bound together by a will to exist. If you wound a shinigami in a way that would definitely kill a human-- disemboweling them for example (a thing that definitely happened to Ichigo once), it will traumatize them for sure, but if they can make it through the initial wound trauma, their spirit (possibly their zanpakutou) will just start spackling their reishi back together. Consider, if you will, how much blood came out of Renji when he fought Byakuya.

I think Byakuya assumes he’s leaving Renji for dead here, given the whole speech about “your bankai has disappeared, you must be close to death” (and let us also consider-- Byakuya considers this to be the indicator that Renji is about to bite it, rather than the fact that most of Renji could be picked up with a mop at this point). Rikichi and Hanatarou come by, but you get the sense that they didn’t save Renji’s life, they just got him back into fighting shape. I’m not sure that if he had just lain there indefinitely, if he would have gotten well enough to get up, but I definitely feel like Renji is incapable of bleeding out. I think this is normally the sort of thing that separates a lieutenant from a captain (or at least a lieutenant with captain potential from, say Omaeda), but Renji is incredibly stubborn generally, and at this moment was incredibly driven to keep going in order to save Rukia.

To actually kill a shinigami, it seems like you have to either cut off or destroy their head, or cut them roughly in half. Even when Tousen gets stabbed through the brain, he is still able to chat a little bit before, um, exploding, for some reason, which is definitely not what would happen to a person who got stabbed through the brain. You can even cut a shinigami, like 65-35, and if the head is on the big half, they can probably survive that. This has happened to Hitsugaya, like 4 times, although I don’t remember which ones turned out to be illusions or in filler, or what, but I am pretty sure that there were at least twice. I mentioned earlier that a shinigami is a set of memories, but another way to think of that is that they are a self-concept. This is sort of a two-edged sword, in the sense that it is this identification with their physical corpus that can cause them to die if it gets hacked up too bad. Mayuri, who is able to think of himself as a big moving glob of reishi, might be nearly impossible to kill without literally, like, doing some sort of Quincy reishi absorption trick. He turned himself into a goo once. (Incidentally, I think Urahara is also very good at this, as evidenced by his bankai).

As far as I can think, the only shinigami we have ever seen succumb to their wounds is Gin, and this holds to my theory, too-- he’s spent over a century lying in wait to take Aizen down. He took his shot and it wasn’t enough. Then, Ichigo shows up, and Gin looks at him, says ‘I am no longer needed’ and dies.

So, back to the point!

The Quincy did a lot of property damage and killed a shit-ton of low-level shinigami. I’m sorry to them, but let’s face it, the low-level shinigami have never played... really... any significant role in Bleach. In terms of actually taking out people with enough power to be considered players:

Sasakibe is killed by a group of seven Quincy as a warning shot

Yhwach personally kills Yamamoto

Unohana lets herself get killed by Kenpachi because she very much wanted to be excluded from this narrative so he would get stronger (still not convinced this was necessary)

Nemu dies while fighting Pernida because she pushed herself past safe operational limits

Ukitake sacrifices himself to keep reality from collapsing

Yhwach and his best guys do manage to kill (temporarily) Squad 0 using a 1-time power-up that claimed the lives of most of the other Quincy forces. It is implied that it is not possible to kill Squad 0 permanently.

You might notice a pattern here, which is that the Quincy suck ass at killing shinigami. Furthermore, at one time or another, the Quincy KO’d a significant portion of the main cast: Kira, Byakuya, Renji, Rukia, Kenpachi, Hitsugaya, Matsumoto. Renji and Rukia interrupted Mask just as he finished taking down Kensei, Rose, Hisagi, Ikkaku and Yumichika, but Giselle gets ahold of Rose and Kensei later and zombifies them, which I am very distinctly not sure is a better strategy than just killing them (it certainly doesn’t pan out very successfully). There may have been some other of these fights that were interrupted, I am not going to re-read the whole TYBW arc for the purposes of this post. My point is, instead of spending one hundred billion Quincy dollars on developing bankai stealing abilities, I would have also given the Sternritter a PowerPoint presentation consisting of a single slide that just says “once they go down, make sure they’re dead.” Personally, I probably would have divided my forces into frontline fighters like Bazz and As Nodt and Bambi, and given them squads to follow along behind them, cutting off heads and incinerating bodies. Then again, Yhwach seemed to give exactly zero shits about personnel issues or strategy, generally.

Mostly, this war was a matter of Yhwach trying to do stuff and various shinigami preventing him from doing it. The TYBW arc is a mess and I am honestly not willing to put in the amount of effort to determine if there were actually any linchpin characters aside from, Ichigo, obviously, but I feel like if the Quincy had gone the extra 0.1% in that first invasion and actually finished off Byakuya, Rukia, Renji, and Kenpachi, they would have won the whole thing.

But they didn’t. lol.

#tybwa #soul society worldbuilding #tw: blood #I have huge body horror and blood issues but they hit haphazardly #and somehow the enormous quantity of blood that Renji has trouble keeping in his body is hilarious to me #sorry to be like this #anyway I def would have won the blood war someone should hire me

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windstormwielding · 3 years

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Drabble: New Orders

The wounded officer assumed the Sternritter who shot him would give chase to stop his attempted escape, but his heart dropped when he felt their attention shift to the reiatsu of nearby shinigami in his stead. It sank further when he then felt his kind’s presences getting wiped out as fast as he could blink while he flash-stepped from the scene, as more innocents have paid the price of their predecessors’ hubris in wiping out the Quincy in centuries past.

Grim thoughts supposed any target in a shihakushō would’ve done if it meant culling more of their number, and though ensured he was no longer being followed, cruel terror continued to overwhelm his being with the harrowing realization that he could’ve just as easily joined the fallen mere moments ago.

Still mid-stride, he felt the frosty reiatsu of the Bankai-less 10th Division Captain and the shinigami spiritual pressure of who he assumed to be his second-in-command cutting off that Quincy’s warpath. There was relief in that the Sternritter of fire definitely would not be pursuing him anymore, but how for long could Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto put up an actual fight against these honest-to-god monsters?

If there was any opportunity to seek respite and escape from the pending horror of his own mortality getting snuffed, now was the time to do it. With the last of his shunpō and feeling no Quincy spiritual pressure in the immediate vicinity, his hand still firmly pressed against his gut to quell bleeding over seared open wounds, the soul reaper left luck to fate as he spotted an open window six stories up.

He guided his flash steps up the smaller two-story building next to it, then launched himself from its roof through the open window he spotted. Unfortunately, it was then his strength gave out to the heat of his pierced liver and torso as he staggered mid-step at last. The silver-haired shinigami crashed shoulder-first onto the floor with a pained groan as momentum caused him to slide until his back harshly met the wood of a crate.

Despite the noise his intrusion made, there were no signs of nearby Quincy encroaching on his position to finish the job. Held breath turned strained yet relieved as the 13th Division’s 4th Seat found sanctuary amidst the chaos of the Wandenreich’s second invasion. Kōtarō Ryōhei finally had time to think.

He rolled onto his back with teeth grit as he tried to keep his thoughts off of his injury. The hand against his abdomen began to glow with the relieving light of Kaidō to mend the partially cauterized perforation through his body – though he’s no expert, Kōta was glad that he thought to take up the healing arts in hindsight, but lamented that this will be a slow recovery for him. It would be one thing if he ran into somebody from the 4th Division, with two wells of reiatsu to pull from to facilitate the healing process, but having to use his own energy alone to fix up his body will take him some time.

It would only amount to a patch job, but right now that was better than nothing. Once done, it should be enough to last him until he returns to the barracks... or where the barracks last stood.

His emerald gaze sharpened to scrutinize this unfamiliar room, walls a perfect marble white with hints of ice clinging to their surface. Head turned from one side to the other as he took note of old boxes and sealed barrels. Kōta reasoned he was in a storage room of some kind – supplies gathered from the Wandenreich empire’s thousand years of hiding in the Seireitei’s shadows, perhaps.

Before he could think on his surroundings more, Kōtarō found his thoughts drifting to his superiors. What he would do for their counsel right now...

Captain Ukitake was outside of the Seireitei when the Quincy got the drop on them all yet again. Ryōhei knew his Captain had begun his own ritual to prepare for the conflict, far outside of the Sekkiseki walls and deep into the Rukon districts, but that brought no comfort when it mattered most. There was no Captain at the helm to come to their defence thanks to the Sternritter’s surprise attack. Not even Kotsubaki and Kotetsu were around right now, shadowing Ukitake as they often do to best tend to his good health and safety.

Lieutenant Kuchiki was also indisposed. Suffering mortal wounds from the first invasion that already decimated the Gotei 13, Rukia’s frail form frightened him all the more when there was nothing more the 4th Division could do. She was taken to the Soul King Palace to make a full recovery not long ago, and Ukitake assured him she would be alright, but how long would it take for her to heal up and come back? Would he really die down here before he could reunite with her again? Was back at the 4th Division the last he would ever see his friend?

Without them, there was no one else left who could come to the 13th Division’s rescue. With no Captain, Lieutenant, or 3rd Seats standing by to lead and give out orders, there was no other guidance for him to lean on.

He was alone. Marooned. Without direction... and so were the rest of his men.

“...I’m still here.”

All it took to tether the storm of panic that overtook his composure earlier was those three little words of dawning realization. They may be gone, but the 4th Seat still remained as the highest-in-command officer of their Division within the Seireitei’s walls. Captain Ukitake, Rukia, Sentarō, and Kiyone – he’s still here for his superiors, to act in their stead until they return.

“I’m... still breathing... for fuck’s sake...!”

Pushing one foot after another to crawl against the ground, he fought against the body-wracking bouts of pain streaking up his nerves urging him to lie back down and relax, all while a streak of red followed his path. He’s still here to look after his juniors, who need some direction if they have any shot of surviving this war – that’s what he’s here for, isn’t he?

“I’m... still... ALIVE!”

With spiteful determination flooding his being, and a hand pressed against the floor for support, he shuffled back some more until he managed to sit upright against one of the crates. He’s still here to protect as many from his squadron as possible, to ensure they’re not abandoned and alone.

They needed orders. That much was clear. As he wracked in his mind to strategize, he figured there was one way to reach out to them in immediacy, but he could not think of a method to execute it.

What Kōtarō would do for some powder right about now. He didn’t even have it in him to open and inspect every odd container on the off-chance the Quincy stored something he could use here. Time was of the essence, but if not ink, then...

...the 4th Seat’s eyes trailed down to his crimson-stained hands.

“That’ll work,” he huffed, nodding to no one in particular. He can finish healing himself when he’s done. His colleagues and subordinates—whoever was still standing—need him.

“Black and white net.”

Arms shot up so that his sleeves may fall. Bloody palms then clapped together to share in makeshift red ink, and his arms became his canvas to draw lines and symbols along their length, as well as runes on the floor—careful not to draw where his life force had already been smeared.

“Twenty-two bridges... sixty-six crowns and belts.”

Beads of sweat dripped from his brow as his mind focused with renewed resolve to generate the white rectangle coming aglow before his eyes.

“Footprints, distant thunder... sharp peak, engulfing land, hidden in the night... sea of clouds, blue line.”

Though stilted, his hands moved like a conductor’s guiding baton, channeling his power into roots of spirit energy encroaching from the box of white light. His mind reached out to every one of his squad who he knew survived the first wave as he mentally reached out in the direction of the 13th Division grounds.

“Form a circle... and fly through the heavens."

Before their numbers could dwindle more and more, until there wouldn’t be a division left to save, he can still try and make a difference among those who remain.

“Bakudō #77... Tenteikūra.”

Relief flooded Kōtarō’s soul as he could now clearly sense the familiar auras of the handful of seated officers lingering in the area. Among the unseated, less than half their total number from before this sickening war started still stood.

Time to do his job.

–

Attention, officers of the 13th Division. This is your 4th Seat, Kōtarō Ryōhei, speaking.

Today... is no doubt the darkest time any of us have ever faced as shinigami. War has come to our doorstep with retribution and violence the likes of which we have never seen. The Quincy intend to wipe us all out, for our forefathers attempting to do the same to them a long time ago.

This battle, though we in the present never noticed the shadow of its approach... was a long time coming for all of us.

I... I know things look bleak right now. They have the advantage in information. They have the advantage in number. They have the advantage in military tactics, in home territory, and in sheer power. There... really is no easy way to say this, but we may very well be staring down our last days... not just as individuals, but as a collective. I won’t fault any of you for feeling helpless and outmatched, or having lost the will to fight, because for a minute there... I did too-

—

A harsh grunt cut him off as pain flared in his gut. It was tempting to bring a hand back down to resume self-treatment, but he could not end the transmission now. Not yet!

—

-but... our Captain—our Division—lives by a creed, in that there are two types of fights: fights where we protect honour, and fights where we protect life. We may not fight for the honour of the Gotei 13 or the division right now... hell, I don’t know if either will still exist when this battle is over, yet... we can still—and absolutely must—fight to protect life.

We have lost too many among us already. Close allies. Loved ones. Lifelong friends in the 13th and out. But though there is no bringing htem back from the dead... they still live on through you. Their hopes, their dreams, their memories... their hearts. You die here... then that’s it, they will all die for good, along with you. If the Quincy take that from you, then there really will be no Gotei 13 left to return to-!

—

Breathing turned laboured as he felt his mouth go dry. He needed to lie down and rest. No, he needed to be seen to. But that hardly mattered to him now. He couldn’t count on the 4th Division this minute. He had to stick to what he can do and see it through to the bitter end, if that is what it will come to!

—

So... it comes down to this, in what could be our final hour: the fight to protect life—your own... and that of the soul reaper standing next to you. Until further notice... until Captain Ukitake or Lieutenant Kuchiki return to issue new orders, then follow this one single command... by any means necessary: survive.

Whether you regroup, run fast, watch your surroundings, hide, or even strike them from behind... just survive. If all else fails... then stand your ground, give the Quincy hell, and make sure their job is not an easy one.

I... I will try my hardest to return to you all, but... in the event that... this is the last you hear from me... just know that...

—

“...it’s been a privilege... and an honour... for me to have served and fought alongside you all these many years. Ryōhei out.”

The moment connection terminated, his bloodied arms slackened, but he made sure his palm fell back over his wound to pick up where he left off. In his self-imposed strain, some of the work he already put in towards healing came undone, so it was back to doing it all again from scratch. Fantastic.

As his body slid so he may lie down fully once again, bleary sights looked up to the dimly lit ceiling in worry for the immediate future. Eyelids grew heavy, and the urge to sleep grew ever tempting, but Kōtarō feared that the time he closed his eyes again would be his last if he drifted off right away. He did not want to die yet. This war had only just begun in earnest, and he would be damned if he allowed himself to be done in by a single attack.

Once he finished patching himself up, rested, and got back on his feet, then it would be time to face the Quincy properly. For now, however...

“Captain Ukitake... I... hope I did the right thing.”

#{ rock you like a hurricane ☁ verse ☁ }#{ drabble tbt. }#{ cut for length }#{ ooc: ohhhh yeah I started writing this several months ago- }#{ =u=;;a so I uh... finished it up on a whim today- }#{ god this feels incredibly self-indulgent lmfao bUT HEY PUTTING IT OUT THERE AND YA CAN'T STOP ME }

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ariadnekurosaki · 4 years

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Beneath the Pale Moonlight

Prompt: IchiRuki Day 5, beneath the pale moonlight - a romantic getaway

Rating: G

Series: Deathberry Family

Read below, or on AO3.

Beneath the Pale Moonlight

Being in a long-distance relationship isn’t easy. Being in a long-distance relationship when the love of your life lives in another world is even harder. But they make it work, through sheer stubbornness and the shocking permissiveness of both Captain-Commander Kyouraku and Rukia’s older brother, Byakuya.

It’s temporary: Ichigo is in his first year of studies at university and the knowledge that he will move to Soul Society afterwards and be at Rukia’s side permanently burns hot in his mind. It drives him to plan for the maximum course load every semester, to study late into the night and type essays until his fingers ache. It drives him to plan out a course of study where he will graduate a full year early – and join Rukia that much sooner. His advisor doesn’t like it, but Ichigo has explained that he has family obligations that cannot be delayed.

But the separation in the meantime hurts, as he and Rukia go weeks at a time without seeing one another. Soul Society needs her: they are still removing rubble from the streets, still rebuilding entire divisions from the ashes. The Thirteenth Division is no different, with the death of Ukitake still raw and the unseated ranks decimated by the Sternritter.

Ukitake’s death is the reason that Ichigo is in Soul Society tonight, having used the official pass provided by Kyouraku. It’s the first anniversary of the man’s death, of his sacrifice. His death, Ichigo knows, passed largely unremarked amid the chaos of war. He also knows that Rukia has been working herself into the ground as acting captain ever since, sans lieutenant.

He barely has to wave in greeting to the guards outside of the division building before they step aside to let him pass; despite the time between their reunions, Ichigo is known here, and in fact one guard leans closer to murmur, “She’s still in her office, Kurosaki-sama.”

Sama. Ichigo is never sure how he feels about being addressed as Kurosaki-sama, though all of Soul Society credits him with killing Yhwach and saving them once more. He picks his way past rubble and the half-rebuilt barracks to the offices, which are intact. Well, mostly intact – there’s still a hole in the ceiling of Rukia’s office, he sees, with a bucket on the floor to catch rain.

The thoughts of the rebuild, of the continued devastation, leave him when Ichigo sees her. Rukia is working by lamplight, face pale and shadows deep beneath her eyes. Her hair is getting long; it’s past her shoulders, and longer than it was the day they first met. She looks up when he steps closer, reiryoku gentle against hers. “Ichigo. I didn’t expect you,” she murmurs, and sets her calligraphy brush down.

Ichigo smiles down at her gently and when she stands, he pulls her close, lips brushing hers chastely. “I know I’m a few weeks early. And I also know that you’re working yourself too hard and need to take a break,” he says quietly.

“Says the man who could carry luggage beneath his eyes,” Rukia jokes, but her voice is tired and she leans into him when he slides his arm around her.

“Yeah. S’why I’m taking us both away for a couple of days,” Ichigo explains.

“Fool. I don’t have time to go away, and neither do you. What about class?”

He just slides his hand up her back and rubs lightly, where he can feel the stress set into her muscles. “It’s the weekend, and I got an excused absence from my Monday class,” he explains. “I told Sentarou that I’m stealing you away until then.”

“You told my subordinate that you’re taking me away?” Rukia repeats and pulls back from him.

But Ichigo just keeps his hand on her back. “After he told me that you’ve been working until dawn all the time, yeah. Just for a couple of days, Rukia. You need the rest, and I know it’s…a difficult few days.” Her eyes are on his again, and he says, “Come on. I promise you’ll feel better afterwards.”

Finally, she sighs and offers him a nod. “Where are we going?” Rukia asks.

“The World of the Living. I found a quiet place that I think you’ll like,” Ichigo explains, and though he steps back from her, he holds out his hand for her to take.

“Right now?”

“Right now.” Then her hand slides into his, and Ichigo’s smile is soft as they flash-step to the Senkaimon and then pass through its gates into the World of the Living.

Ichigo has thought of everything, he’s pretty sure. He has a gigai ready for her courtesy Urahara, one dressed for the early-summer warmth in a fluttery pale blue dress. His car is parked just outside the shoten, and he ushers her into it, then sets off on the drive outside of Karakura and northwest. “It’s just a couple of hours’ drive,” he explains as they leave the city. “You can sleep if you want.”

Rukia hums under her breath and drifts off, leaving Ichigo to navigate the highway and then the rural roads to a small town nestled in the hills. It’s only mid-afternoon in the gensei, and Rukia wakes as he parks the car outside of a pretty, quaint ryokan at the edge of town. “Where are we?” she asks as she stretches.

“We’re not far from Karakura but it’s a lot less built up. There are hiking trails and campgrounds, and the river’s pretty,” Ichigo explains as he gets out of the car and comes around to her side to open the car door. As Rukia brushes the wrinkles from her dress Ichigo grabs a suitcase from the trunk. “I brought some of your things from my apartment,” he explains when Rukia looks meaningfully at the luggage.

“Thank you,” she murmurs, and follows Ichigo into the plaster-walled building. They take their shoes off and check in at reception before being led to their room, a pleasantly decorated space in the back corner of the building. When the proprietor has left them with the key and a tray of tea, Rukia turns in a circle around the room. The large bed is modern and made with a crisp-looking sapphire-hued duvet, while the pale wood nightstands hold simple, rectangular lamps. Through an open door she can see a bathing room and water closet, while the other is clearly a closet in which to hang their clothes. The floor beneath their feet is covered in tatami mats. “Where’d you find out about this place?”

“Hm, one of my professors mentioned it. I just wanted to bring you somewhere quiet,” Ichigo murmurs and sets the luggage down. He slides his arms around her and bends down to kiss her forehead. “I know today’s hard for you. I…have a plan for that after dinner if you’re up to it.”

She stiffens in his arms but leans her head against his chest. “You remembered.”

“Yeah,” he says. “It’s something that’s usually done during Bon, but I thought – since Soul Society is still so chaotic and hasn’t…”

She leans up and kisses him lightly. “Thank you, Ichigo,” she whispers.

Dinner in the ryokan’s dining room is quiet. Ichigo is the youngest guest there by over a decade, and Rukia’s gigai puts her in the same category, but no one remarks on it. There are only a few other guests despite the good weather: two elderly couples in traditional yukata and another couple in their thirties wearing more modern clothes. Even with just the eight of them, the meal that the ryokan’s staff serve is delicious. Afterwards, Ichigo retrieves a bag from their room and leads her outside, beneath the just-rising moon. The path to the river is well-lit, but Ichigo hands Rukia a flashlight just in case. They walk down to the water in silence, not touching but close to one another.

“I think this is a good spot,” Ichigo says when they reach a pretty, painted wooden footbridge over a narrow stretch of water. He kneels and opens the bag, revealing two white water lanterns fitted with votive candles. “We should each light one.” He pulls a book of matches from his pocket and offers them to her.

“What are these?” Rukia asks quietly.

“Water lanterns. Here in the World of the Living we release them into the water as a way of honoring and remembering the dead. I thought – we could remember Captain Ukitake together.” It sounds stupid to him as he says it; it’s just the two of them, nothing like the Bon Festival, and Rukia knew her captain so much better than he did.

But Rukia strikes a match and kneels to light the votive in the first lantern, then hands the matchbook to Ichigo. He repeats the process with his lantern, and gently lowers it into the water so that it can float slowly downstream. Rukia takes a deep breath and places her lantern in the water as well. They stand and watch the glowing lanterns float, their light reflecting in the water.

Ichigo wraps an arm around Rukia and they stand on the footbridge, beneath the pale moonlight, until the moon has moved across the sky and the lanterns are out of sight. Once or twice someone passes by them, but mostly they are alone, and after a while Ichigo feels Rukia’s shoulders begin to shake beneath his arm. He doesn’t say anything, though he can see the silvery tear tracks on her cheeks, just tucks her closer and lets her take all the time she needs.

“We should go back inside,” Rukia whispers finally, and self-consciously rubs at the tearstains on her cheeks. “It’s getting late.”

“Yeah,” Ichigo agrees and lets her out from beneath his arm. He rolls the bag up and shoves it into his back pocket. They walk back along the path, fingers twining together, and let themselves back into the ryokan. So late at night the building is quiet, and they take care not to disrupt the silence as they walk to their bedroom. They get ready for bed in silence, although Rukia casts him an appreciative look at the fact that he has packed pajamas for her. He half-expects her to keep her distance – they haven’t done that, yet, although they’ve shared a bed.

But when Ichigo turns off the lights and they climb into the luxurious bed together, Rukia tucks herself close to him. It isn’t sexual: he can still feel the occasional tremble in her body against his. So, he kisses her forehead and keeps his arms around her and his legs twined with hers until her breathing evens out. Then he finally closes his own eyes and lets the sound of the river through the open window lull him to sleep as well.

#ichiruki #irweek2020 #ichigo x rukia #bleach fanfiction #deathberry family

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levaer · 4 years

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THE BIG BLEACH HC MEME centering around politics, repost & fill out! For anyone who wanted to explore those aspects more, considering it played a big role in the story. Some things may be unknown to your Muse, just think in WHAT IF then & well, have fun and take your time!

BASICS

Name: Askin Nakk Le Vaar / / / Age: 1000+ / / / Gender: Cis male Race: Shinigami / Quincy / Hollow / Fullbringer / Visored / Human / Other Currently lives: Soul Society / Hueco Mundo / Silbern / Living World / Hell Exact Location: Half of his life is set in the Wandenreich. Post-war, his location varies. Group(s): Quincy / Sternritter / Schutzstaffel

QUESTIONS

- Would your muse consider themselves more: GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL ? - Would your muse consider their group more: GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL ? - How does your muse think others see them: GOOD / EVIL / NEUTRAL ? - How does your muse think others see their race: GOOD / EVIL / NEUTRAL ? - How does your muse think others see their group: GOOD / EVIL / NEUTRAL ?

- Is your muse considered a threat: YES / NO ? From whom?: No, because I hc that the Shinigami aren’t actually aware Askin survived; if they knew, however, there’s the possibility he’d be deemed a threat. - Is your muse powerful: YES / NO ? Could they be considered OP: YES / NO ? - Did your muse commit any crimes: YES / NO ? - Does your muse think they are doing mostly the right thing: YES / NO ? - Would society think the same: YES / NO / MIXED OPINIONS ?

- Does your muse think they are treated unfairly: YES / NO ? - Does your muse feel understood from others: YES / NO ? - Is it important for them what others think of them as a person: YES / NO ? - Would they welcome death: YES / NO ? - Will they ever find peace: YES / NO ?

01.0. Do they fully stand behind the group they are part of? YES / NO. Why is that? Explain: Askin likes to think he’s rootless, and that’s true for the most part, but he’s still a human being. He was rootless enough to drop everything he knew, his entire world, and embark on a journey with a blurry destination - but not enough not to feel a little bit of sense of belonging to the Wandenreich, which he has been serving for over a thousand years, and for the Quincy as a whole. They’re not all good or bad, they’re people; he’s not all good or bad, either. But they’re his people, a part of his, even if not aloud, acknowledges this.

02.0. Do they like as things are in Soul Society? YES / NO / INDIFFERENT. 02.1. Is there anything they would change? Explain here: Askin is not one to judge. He would not condemn the many for the sins of the few, but ... he would not forgive the few for the sins of the many, either. He’s not too informed about the specific dynamics of Soul Society, though he’s familiar with the violent foundation of it since he fought against the first generation of the Gotei, during the First Quincy War. Let’s say, he would not change anything in particular, but he would not mind if all got wiped away, either.

03.0. Would they ever actively try to bring change (in general)? YES / NO. 03.1. Is your muse more: passive / active ? Introverted / Extroverted ? 03.2. Does your muse care more about: others / themselves ? / / all of Askin’s life has been projected on someone else’s dream. Ultimately, he looks after himself, but he led a strongly collective life for so long, it kinda shaped him. 03.3. Do they trouble their mind over a lot of problems, others? YES / NO. 03.4. Do they mostly involve: the world / everyone / themselves / comrades / friends / family / elderly / kids / teenagers / home / workplace / strangers / souls / humans / quincy / shinigami / nobles / fullbringer / visored / hollows / espada / arrancar / (former) boss(es) / pets / animals / zanpakuto spirit / enemies / partner / lovers / soul king / god / other…(add more) 03.5. Name (up to) three which are the most on their mind (optional, adding names): Askin has a tendency not to hold onto anything. His own thoughts feel light as clouds to him as they cross his minds, and he’s definitely not the type to obsess over something or someone. After the war, Urahara Kisuke has been on his mind for a while; mostly, he wondered whether he had succeeded in taking him down. Grimmjow too; I think, especially for a Quincy, the feeling of a Hollow’s claws is not something easily forgotten.

04.0. Do they think frequently about politics? YES / NO / SOMETIMES. Why is that? Explain: More frequently than he would like to, actually. His social background demanded of him at least some basic knowledge of the feudal system, administration and interrelations with other Quincy families and with the central power of the Carolingian empire. That said, Askin never let himself got too involved, but growing up witnessing his lord father administering justice, taxes, law-making etc. kind of left an imprinting. He spent a thousand years serving as a soldier in an army where all the power was intensely centralized, so he did not have much to do with politics - that’s how the Wandenreich was, as Yhwach really wasn’t a politician, anyway. Post-war though, if he contributes to the reformation of a Quincy nation, he will have to get involved whether he likes it or not.

05.0. How do they feel in their current location: POSITIVE / NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL ? 05.1. Why is that?: Silbern gives him vertigo. He preferred the instability of the Lichtreich more, but still, he’s not one to complain. The world of the living is as colorful as he remembers, always shapeshifting, and it’s really nice to see the light blue sky again after being hidden in the shadows for so long.

06.0. Does your muse have any goal: YES / NO ? BIG / SMALL ? - 06.1. Does it involve anything world-changing: YES / NO ? - 06.2. If goal or not, any future plans? Share here: You know how Askin is, he goes where the wind takes him. He only ever committed once in his life and it wasn’t even to a dream of his own, it was Yhwach’s design, so it would be really unkind to ask him to think about the future haha. In my rebuild verse, any plans for his immediate future involve making himself useful to the new Quincy state. Best way to keep himself occupied.

07.0. Does your muse know about the Original Sin of Soul Society*: YES / NO ? * curious? Read about it here. 07.1. If they knew, would it change their views on Soul Society: YES / NO ? 07.2. More: POSITIVE / NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL ? / / I’m not sure Askin would care to the point of completely changing his opinion on Soul Society, since it’s already a pretty negative one. It would feel somewhat eerie to him, thinking that the victim of the original sin was Yhwach’s literal father, though.

08.0. Who is the worst person in their eyes?: Mayuri Kurotsuchi. 08.1. What should happen to them? Execution (quick / slow death) / Imprisonment / Stripped of their powers / Torture / Repay for their sins / Pay a Fine / Social Work / lose their loved ones / Exile / other… (add more). 08.2. Explanation: he’d kill Mayuri off quickly, as one gets rid of a thorn. It wouldn’t be a painless death, but it wouldn’t take too long; Askin is not a sadist by nature, and he would just want to make sure the bastard doesn’t take one more breath in the world.

09.0. Thoughts on: Quincy Massacre if they knew: POSITIVE / NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL ? 09.1. Would they be alright with such thing happening again: YES / NO / INDIFFERENT ? 09.2. Would they try to prevent it: YES / NO / DEPENDS ? 09.3. Explanation: I said this already, the Quincy genocide is a generational trauma for the Quincy, even those too young to be born at the time. Askin is unmoved by most things, but he witnessed with his own eyes those of his kind that were captured and killed and experimented on. It’s something you just don’t forget, and Askin doesn’t forget easily anyway. If such a thing were to happen again, and lbr there’s a possibility since the numbers of the Quincy are always carefully monitored, Askin would fight, despite his general dislike for overall idea.

10.0. Would they ever switch sides: YES / NO ? 10.1. If yes, What could bring them to do so?: - 10.2. Would they create a new one: YES / NO ? or join a current one? If so, which: Until his defeat, Askin’s allegiance is to Yhwach and betraying him / switching sides like some Sternritters did is off the table. After the war, however, he’s free of bonds, so if someone were to try and gain his loyalty, he’d consider it. He doesn’t fuck with Soul Society, though.

11.0. Does your muse follow a certain moral code*?: YES / NO / GRAY AREA ? * (ethics) A written, formal, and consistent set of rules prescribing righteous behavior, accepted by a person or by a group of people. 11.1. What does it involve?: it’s more of what’s in his character than a real set-up code, he’s not so chivalrous. He lives by the principle of letting people live their lives without prying and being chill, mostly. 11.2. What does it NOT involve?: Askin is not a sadist, although he can be a real bastard if he commits to it. He has no problem killing, no matter how gruesomely, but he’s not entirely comfortable with harming children. He’s also not a creep lol, he wouldn’t give someone unwanted attention.

YOUR MUSE’S VIEWS / OPINIONS ON THESE GROUPS ?

Central 46: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: the core of Soul Society executive functions, and by extension, the most fucked up.

Four Great Noble Clans: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: he’s not knowledgeable enough about the specifics of Soul Society politics to have an opinion on its nobility. Askin is nobility too, after all.

Royal Guards / Gotei 13: positive / negative / neutral . ━ because: they’re the ones primarily responsible for the genocide, the ones Askin fought against during the first and the second war, the ones who reinforce the violent supremacy of Shinigami and who openly oppose his people.

Fullbringer: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: doesn’t really know them, doesn’t care. A human with hollow-based abilities is somewhat of an abomination in the eyes of a Quincy, I believe, but Askin is an open-minded person.

Visored: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: Shinigami AND Hollows? Ew.

Espada: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: his only experience with an Espada in canon was Grimmjow, and it’s a tricky subject. He’s never come in contact with Aizen’s whole elite, so not much of an opinion could be formed.

Quincy: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: he’s a Quincy. It doesn’t matter how disconnected Askin might feel from his people, he devoted his entire life to the Quincy as a group, though indirectly. Askin has a cynical and disenchanted look on the world, he doesn’t buy into the romanticized concept of ‘Quincy pride’, but at the end of the day, he remains a Quincy. The millenary story of his people, their culture and powers are integral to Askin’s upbringing. He thinks he’s rootless, but he’ll never be able to uproot the Quincy in him.

YOUR MUSE’S VIEWS / OPINIONS ON THESE (IMPORTANT) PEOPLE ?

Aizen: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: he knows Aizen by reputation alone, as one of the Five Special War Powers; he’s been told the guy is a real asshole, but Askin doesn’t judge.

Yhwach: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: Yhwach is awe-inspiring. The sense of wonder he got Askin to feel, unmoved by the passing of centuries, is the closest thing to feeling really alive he ever experienced in his life. It’s not that Askin is loyal to Yhwach himself; he’s loyal to that deep-seated feeling of wonder, the thrill of diving into the sea without knowing what’s awaiting under the surface.

Mayuri: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: his gratuitous cruelty and the horrible things he did to Quincies viscerally nauseate Askin. And you know it takes a lot to upset him.

Kurosaki: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: he’s just a boy. Why is everyone obsessed with this boy?

Soul King: positive / negative / neutral. ━ because: Askin is, and always has been, quite divorced from religion. He knows the guy is literally God. He knows Pernida and Gerard are directly linked to him, parts of him, and that Yhwach is his son but ... that’s about it.

EXTRA(optional): add more characters which hold some meaning to your muse.

Grimmjow: This is largely self-indulgent, but being (almost) killed by Grimmjow was like catching an disease you have been vaccinated against. The illness is meeker, sort of slowed down, but you feel the clash with the vaccine within your veins, you feel it distinctively. For one who lives between life and death, the experience Grimmjow gave him, that of a frozen instant in which he’s both alive and dead, is something Askin will never forget. He will never forget the feeling.

CONGRATS, you managed till to the end, now tag your fellow bleach partners!

TAGGED BY: myself, @senboago and @tatarfora TAGGING: steal it.

#ch study.#this DRAINED me

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avid-anime-maniac-blog · 7 years

Note

Could I request one thing with Uryu please? Maybe something like he finds out hi s/o is also a Quincy?

Yes you can! I’m so sorry this took so long. Writers block hit me hard with this one! If it isn’t to your liking, please let me know and I’ll come up with something else!

***Spoiler Warning***

【

This war is the worst thing that could’ve happened to you.

When you first learned that there were Quincy other than yourself and your lover, Ishida, you were ecstatic. That was until they told you about their plans to destroy Soul Society. If you could have left right then and there, you would have, but Ywach had no intention of letting someone as valuable as you squirm your way out of his reach. If you wanted to leave, you would have to leave in a casket.

You were a strong individual, your status as (supposedly) one of the last Quincy alive only supported that fact. Almost everyone knew about your powers.

Well, except for the one person who probably cared most. Uryuu.

*He deserves to know,*you tried to tell yourself after your first anniversary. *You can’t keep this hidden forever.*And yet, you just couldn’t find a way to drop it into the conversation.

It would be extremely difficult– especially with Uryuu. You can’t just blurt it out. *“By the way, I’m a Quincy! Love you!!”*The shock that would flare up inside him would be overpowered by anger, surely.

The doors to Ywach’s chambers opened slowly, revealing His Majesty himself, followed by two others. Haswalsch of course, and…

You gasped. Uryuu!Uryuu’s calm, narrowed eyes grew larger as soon as he entered Ywach’s chambers, and yours did the same. Your eyes locked on each other the second the door started to close.

He’s here, dressed in the noble white uniform of the Quincy, same as you. But his is significantly more elegant than yours, what with the formal body-length cape and badges befitting of a general.

Your eyes lowered to stare uncertainly at the ground. As long as you avoid his stare, this can be put off until after the meeting.

Soon enough, everyone that needed to be present showed up and the meeting began. Ywach gave his speech, you listened, prayed that this would end soon and you could explain yourself to Uryuu, but much to your dismay, time dragged on and on; never seeming to stop. The same topics were touched on. The same exhilarating speech was given (though the more you heard it, the less excited you became), and the same people sat in the same spots as they did every summoning. With the exception of one: Uryuu.

He was placed at the King’s side, sitting tall and proud. You could hardly keep your eyes off him. He had the same issue. You were a Quincy the whole time you’d known each other, through everything you were dragged into, and you never once let it slip.

He does admit he admires your dedication for keeping this secret, but he couldn’t help being annoyed at you for doing so. This was important. To him and to you, but you refused to tell him for reasons unknown.

Before either of you knew it, the meeting ended and you were walking steadily down the corridor, trying to think up a mediocre explanation. Apologizing might be a good way to start. The only problem is, would he accept your apology? You wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t. All this time you’d been together you kept secrets, and Uryuu really was capable of holding a grudge. Luckily, you had some time to think seeing as Ywach kept Uryuu back with Haswalsch to continue making extra plans. Or, that’s what you thought at least.

“You’re a Quincy?” His voice, filled with disbelief, scared you half out of your skin. You weren’t expecting him to wriggle his way out of Ywach’s orders so quickly— much less catch up with you. You’d left over fifteen minutes ago. You shakily met eyes with him. “Yes,” You murmured. “I’m sorry for hiding it from you.”“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I should have told you sooner I know,” You muttered, forcing the fear in your eyes back. “You deserved to know. I just couldn’t find the right way to say it.” Anxiety kept building in your chest, growing thicker and thicker as it climbed into your throat. Knowing Uryuu, he’s probably ready to explode. You’ve been together for so long and yet you kept a very vital part of your identity hidden. You probably broke his trust, and now with this war, everything was so much more complicated.

A warm hand gripped your shoulder; gently prying your eyes away from the pristine white floors in the corridor. “Y/N,” Uryuu pried. “It took war between Soul Society and the Quincy to get you tell me what you are? Even after all we’ve been through?”

“I know! I’m sorry, Uryuu, I really am. This isn’t how I wanted you to find out.”You could see the hurt in his eyes. It pained your heart to see him look at you like that, but you didn’t blame him either. If your positions were reversed, you would probably do the same.

“I don’t blame you for being angry, Ishida-kun. Just please don’t let this come between us.”

Uryuu sighed. “I’m not angry, (Y/N), just in shock.” His brow furrowed against the frames of his glasses, making your heart twist inside of your chest. “To be completely honest with you, I’m glad. The fact that his majesty felt you were strong enough to become a Sternritter means that I can trust you to keep yourself safe and out of trouble. Knowing you, you’d find a way to avoid any confrontation at all.”

He finally turned to look at you and what you saw surprised your frayed nerves; spiking your heart rate. Uryuu… Was smiling at you. He sighed. “Next time, just don’t hide any secrets from me, okay?” A teary-eyed smile cracked your face as you nodded, pulling him in close by the neck. It felt good, finally having him know the truth. And though war really wasn’t the best time to feel like this, you couldn’t help but let your heart sing happy songs when his lips met your forehead.

You were going to survive this,and you would do so with Uryuu Ishida by your side.

】

『 Thank you for requesting!! 』

#request #ishida uryuu #bleach headcanons #bleach scenarios #he's my original bleach love #thank you

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windstormwielding · 4 years

Text

@catnippp said via Send 💭 + a topic and my muse will tell you what they think about it (accepting!):

💭+Quincies/Espada after the wars

“Goodness... where do I even begin with those?”

A mildly apprehensive Kōtarō couldn’t help but crane his head back a little, chin resting between thumb and curled index after he set down his cup of hot ginger tea. Eyes closed for a few moments so he could concentrate on his answer in relative silence… and with the additional comfort of guaranteed anonymity from the man with the bucket hat sitting across the low table, he was free to speak his mind without judgement or persecution.

When one of his men brought up the topic of Aizen a few days ago, his answer came with a straightforward explanation of his own distaste toward the turncoat with godly ambitions, a common opinion shared among many shinigami within the Gotei 13.

But the Espada and the Quincy, on the other hand… Just sharing his honest opinions on either group would take some time for him to elaborate freely, but both at once? That would take the 13th’s lieutenant a hot minute and a half to properly compile his thoughts.

Then again, there’s some benefit to speaking off the cuff—no second-guessing, just throwing out the first things that come to mind. Ten years still gave him plenty of time to think, even between restoration efforts within the Seireitei, and boy does he have a lot on his mind on these.

Might as well begin with the easy one?

“I guess I’ll start with the Espada. A group of already ultra-powerful Menos-class hollows whose transitions into Arrancar were heightened by the Hōgyoku… and were recruited or coerced into working under Aizen,” Kōta began. “As things currently stand now, I don’t have any particularly strong feelings on the Espada… I’ve said it once before already, but I really don’t think Arrancar are inherently evil. Heck, I’d even go so far as to say that even Hollows aren’t inherently evil, though they are definitely more frenzied by nature in order to feed—only ones who were truly evil as humans get sent to Hell upon death anyway. There’s good and bad among the Arrancar, just the same as us Shinigami, and I would be doing their reclaimed humanity a disservice if I still thought them no different from beasts. They’re people, and like people, all that matters is the kind of person each individual Arrancar chooses to be.”

With that train of thought, Kōtarō blinked to himself once he realized he had gone off on a tangent, then shook his head and downed some warm tea to renew his focus. With a satisfied hum, he resumed his discussion on the main topic of his monologue: the actual Espada, and not waxing philosophical on Arrancar wholesale.

"Anyway, I’m getting off-track, but my point is that I’m not going to condemn the surviving Espada for their past affiliations; once that war was over, the feeling I got was that they wanted to move on from Aizen just as much as we did. After the ex-Captain got them involved in his affairs, only to send them off to die by the hands of other Soul Reapers, they deserve at least that much from us. I won’t pretend I know the new Queen Tier Harribel personally, but she does have the A-OK from a friend (Nelliel) of a friend (Ichigo) of a friend (Captain Rukia) of mine. Overall impression is that she’s leaps and bounds ahead morally over the likes of Barragan Louisenbarn and Aizen himself, so that should count for something, right? My hope is that we can establish some kind of amicable relationship with her new order she’s trying to raise, although I’d imagine she would rather have us leave well enough alone—just so long as we’re not hostile toward one another…”

A wistful sigh followed as the Lieutenant’s thoughts drifted on wishful thinking. It would be nice if the Gotei 13 and the new Queen could found a diplomatic partnership of some kind, wouldn’t it? He personally felt an amicable alliance would only help to better strengthen each side, but even the new kingdom born within the realm of Hollows have little to no reason to trust the Seireitei as is. Then there’s the matter of Central 46, the governing body of the Soul Society, who’d surely have thoughts of their own on such an alliance, and none of them positive. What a shame.

Arms folded unto themselves for comfort as the lieutenant leaned back against the zaisu. His gaze stared off into nothing in particular as he looked up to the shop ceiling.

“...but that’s just how the system works, isn't it? We slay Hollows so they can be reborn into Souls, and so that we can keep preserving the balance between the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the world of the living lest it all comes to an unceremonious end. While I don’t think that ought to apply to fully sentient beings like Arrancar, in a way, I see us slaying Hollows as a mercy. It’s a kindness, really, to end the suffering that consumed them as souls, souls we couldn’t save on time… which is more than I can say compared to how my precursors treated the Quincy.”

And there it is. Kōtarō turned silent at his mention of the Quincy—the polar opposite to his kind, those who he directly and involuntarily fought against in the Quincy Blood War. The relationship between Hollows, plus Arrancar by extension, and Shinigami was a relatively simple one to break down into words. It was an easy regurgitation of hard facts internalized over his century-long career, splashed with his own personal impressions on those who stood at the apex of Hollowkind. Quincy, on the other hand… where could he even begin?

“…I only swing my zanpakutō to slay Hollows. Cutting down humans though—the very people I’m supposed to be keeping watch over and protecting—that’s not what I signed up for, but that’s exactly what I did during that war, isn't it? Even if it was in self-defence, those Soldaten were still humans with lives to live and families to come back to… it’s shameful, when I think about it.”

Gaze narrowed as grim visions of the war returned to the forefront of his mind, then shut firmly with a wince for an expression as Kōta fought those unpleasant memories back.

“A-anyway, right. The Quincy, a race of spiritually empowered humans who fight with reishi manipulation… though I’m guessing you’re asking specifically about my thoughts on the Vandenreich, aren’t you?” This earned the lieutenant a slow nod from his candy shop-owning inquirer. “Well, whereas the Espada were either coerced into joining Aizen, fought for the sake of fighting, or relished at the opportunity to kill Soul Reapers, the Quincy who rallied under Yhwach’s banner differ in that they all shared a justified, nigh-unified hatred towards us. Unlike Aizen and the Espada… the Quincy’s war was a direct consequence of the Gotei 13’s past actions—that much, I understand now. Yhwach only galvanized and weaponized what was already there because of my predecessors.”

The look on Lt. Ryōhei’s face came off as fatigued now—he had a long time to think about this particular subject, with many sleepless nights spent reading and discussing the matter with fellow reapers after the dust settled. “Even if genocide was attempted for the sake of preventing the collapse of all three realms, all in the name of balance again, it’s still genocide, right? Of course retribution was going to follow. Of course they’d want to wipe us out in turn, just as the Gotei 13 tried to do unto them between the first war and the attempted extermination over 200 years ago. Then the second war came, only for Yhwach to dispose of them just as easily once they served their purpose…”

The storm-haired man paused as his own words started to weigh him down. "I feel... awful for them, really. Time and again they’ve been persecuted through no real fault of their own. Quincy don’t exist—weren’t brought into this world—only to die by our hands. I refuse to accept that.” A brief pause, to top off his half-full cup with some fresh tea... only to realize the pot was empty. "Then for their loyalty, the reward many of the survivors wrought was abandonment by their own God-King. There’s no sugarcoating it: the Quincy deserve better. Compassion, aid, pity, whatever; they kept getting robbed at every turn, and then were robbed some more when they’ve had enough and bit back. I don’t care if negotiations in the past fell through—we need to sit down, try again, keep talking, and come up with something of a proper solution for both sides.”

His company noted how Kōtarō’s observations between the Espada and Quincy differed, given he’d only ever fought one of the two himself, and so he piped up with an interesting question. Forgiveness?

“Truth is… I do forgive them, Urahara-san. Really, I do. Impossible as it may seem, even after they’ve slaughtered thousands of our own? Including Yamamoto, Sasakibe, and… and even Ukitake? After everything they’ve done? I honestly forgive them. There’s no point in condemning the remaining Quincy for fighting under Yhwach’s banner once upon a time. What matters is how we survivors—us and them—choose to live our lives in the here and now. Those among the Sternritter who still swear fealty to Yhwach, it’s probably inevitable we’ll come to fight again. There, I can sleep comfortably knowing I’ll raise my blade to try and stop them from trying to pile on more needless sacrifices, and this time, I’ll be ready for them if that happens. Those who just want to live their lives in peace, on the other hand… I’d like to build up a proper rapport with them somehow, if it’s doable, you know?”

A laugh broke from the lieutenant, albeit a sardonic one, as he continued with that line of thought. “Though I’m sure they don’t want to risk making themselves visible to Gotei folk like myself, or would sooner put an arrow through my heart before I’d get the chance to say: ‘Hello, my kind tried to wipe yours out on three separate occasions! What say we forget all that and let bygones be bygones over a good sporting game of shogi?’” Kōtarō even swung his arms together to emphasize his delivering a punchline as though he were a standup comedian, but the wry smile on his face made it clear he wasn’t aiming for laughs.

Ah, his tea grew cold from neglect… and the cup was still half full.

Oh well, down the hatch.

As he drank the last of his tea, Kisuke chanced another question—if there were any Arrancar or Quincy Kōtarō would want to meet himself. An interesting proposition…

“Well… I did hear that Captain Kurotsuchi has a Privaron on standby who specializes in wind manipulation like me? I’d like to meet him sometime, if that’s the case—discuss our craft, see what we can learn from each other and what not.”

A name slipped from the man of science’s lips: Dordoni. The lieutenant of winds nodded and made a mental note of it; the next time he’s over by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, he’ll ask around.

“As for the Sternritter, at least among those I’ve read about… that’s an easy one. Sternritter T: Candice Catnipp, the Thunderbolt.”

Somehow, his name choice only seemed to amuse the man sitting opposite across the table. The combination of fan raised over his face, a tasteless joke, and a sly smirk got under Kōta's skin immediately.

“H-hey, hey, it’s nothing like THAT! I’m a man of storms and wind, she’s a woman of thunder and lightning—I vibe with her aesthetic is all I’m saying!” Kōta was quick to shoot up onto his knees and slam his hands on the table as he tried to defend himself (he couldn’t help but wonder what kind of crazy weather they could create together, lover of storms he is), but it was a fool’s errand that only spurred Urahara into further laughter at his expense. Oh well.

“SO, as you asked, I shared my thoughts on our former adversaries and then some. Say you keep your end of the bargain and we keep all of this between ourselves?” he huffed, shooting an unimpressed glare toward the man in green, who just set down a new batch of fresh tea for them both with a nod. At least that’s settled.

Kōtarō mulled things over as he sipped on ginger, as he found his mind going back to Ginjō and the words they exchanged then. He had believed in the greater good of the Soul Society for so long, but some of the atrocities his own kind committed had him stop and think sometimes. Even his late Captain set his foot down when he saw one injustice too many with Rukia’s execution 12 years prior, which only made Ryōhei prouder to serve the Thirteenth Division under Ukitake’s name.

The source of all that injustice… the endless suffering of Hollows, the attempted genocides onto the Quincy, the ongoing squalor Souls lived in after believing in the idea of a cozy afterlife…

“…sometimes, I can’t help but wonder,” Kōtarō found himself saying. "How much easier would it be for everyone if we didn’t have to worry about something as arbitrary, impersonal, and cruel as ‘balance’ in the first place?”

#catnippp #{ whispers in the wind ☁ replies ☁ }#{ a badge of honour ☁ verse ☁ }#{ cut for length }#{ kota vc: sometimes i wonder... are we the baddies? }#{ ooc: ziegler i hope you appreciate this JUMBO-SIZED CAN OF WORMS you just opened- }

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