#going absolutely feral for rukia and renji in this

[recurring-polynya]

10. A character/ship I didn't enjoy/think about as much before you wrote about them

I mean it's all of them, the whole Renji Rukia Byakuya dynamic. I did enjoy Rukia before but you dug into a bunch of aspects of her and why she's such a contradictory person who is capable of such grace and also being a massive goober and how both parts of that are inherently Rukia.

I liked Renji okay but I absolutely love the tenderness you bring out when you write him in situations that aren't shit's fucked gotta fight!! Incredibly invested in him being the guy who tackles paperwork and filing the same way he tackles a battle, by getting his ass kicked repeatedly until he wins.

Byakuya I am afraid to say I actively made faces at and then you wrote his internal processes and I was like oh that makes sense my brain is also like this so of course he falls back on The Right And Proper Way To Do Things because he does not have the knack for social situations other people do but there are rules to follow except nobody else follows rules as much as you do so you look super uptight and cold and doing otherwise is so hard but the feelings you can get from extending yourself a little bit are worth it.

I dropped off reading Bleach ages ago actively but I liked your writing so much I tried reading it again. It's a really brisk and fun read whenever they're doing downtime stuff but the fight scenes are so long! I love it when you do fight scenes, though, because you explain what people are doing with their spirit venting and tactics and such in a way I find easy to parse. The Momo v Rukia all rounder ruled so much! Every time you write Momo I go "man Momo is so cool I wish there were more Momo fight scenes in canon". I've been trying to write fanfiction for her but writing is hard! I respect you a ton for the volume you put out and the effort you have put into refining your craft.

(Fanfic Asks for the Asker)

I tend to assume the only way anyone ever finds my fanfic is by deliberately going to ao3 and searching the Renruki tag, so it always takes me utterly unawares whenever people say I have improved their opinion of them for the better.

Byakuya, I get, tho. I get comments constantly on how much people like the way I like Byakuya, which is slightly mystifying because I make faces at him all the time, too. I actually think that's the secret to writing Byakuya. I have read fanfic by people who like him too much and they have all these explanations for how he was tortured by the decisions he has had to make and how he truly is so noble and caring. I, on the other hand, never apologize for Byakuya. I try to explain what he was thinking, but he's still frequently insufferable and makes people (mostly Renji's) lives harder than they need to be. His entire role in my fanfics, though, is proving that difficult people are still worthy of love. I have to (grudgingly) love Byakuya because Renji and Rukia love Byakuya. This has, in turn, caused me to occasionally be kinder to myself, which sucks ass, but what can you do???

Sometimes I think that I don't write Renji very well because I love him too much. I mean, people seem to like the way I write Renji, but he's sort of...drifted...away from his canon characterization. Oh, well. Rukia, I love about the proper amount.

Thank you for liking my fight scenes, because I do not feel confident at all when I write them!! I have trouble parsing fights, too, so I try to contextualize more than choreograph. I know more about jet engines than sword fighting, which is why I include a lot of reiatsu dynamics. I also always want to write about tiny characters like Rukia and Momo schooling big meatheads, which the more reiatsu-based mechanics allow for.

I think Kubo cannot allow Momo to fight in canon because she is absolutely feral and cannot be contained. We get little glimpses of it sometimes:

the flashback where she runs back to save Hisagi after considering the matter for 0 seconds and Renji and Kira have to chase after her, spewing apologies for defying orders

the time she tried to throw hands with Byakuya for being mean to Renji

the time she attacked Kira and two other vice-captains had to hold her back, but only one to hold Kira

the time she caught all of the Tres Bestia in a kidou trap and then called them buffoons.

She deserved a signature fight in the TYBW, but since she didn't get one, I will just keep writing fanfic where she gets to kick ass and live her best life.

#fanfic asks for the asker #this is part 2 of 3 because alopex is alopExtra #i am usually very nice to momo but now i feel very bad because i gave her an illness in my latest fanfic for the sake of renji's love life #she doesn't mind tho he needs all the help he can get #also tosh is going to buy her every fancy soup he can find for cash money

[godkilller]

@magical-girl-coral​

Crack HC: when the nobles were being prissy about the renruki wedding (*gasp* a noblewoman marrying a commoner!) Byakuya decided to get even by going straight to Gin's house, handing him the wedding invitation, said to him to be "his best worst self" and then walked away without a word. Gin had asked Rangiku to slap him just in case he was dreaming.

          out of character.  While I agree that Gin is a horrible person and would indeed light up if given direct permission to ruin someone’s day, he has limits: poor Rukia’s been through enough, so he won’t be doing anything terrible towards her. Her husband-to-be, however... ah, well, what’s the opposite of a Best Man ?  Gin will be the Worst Man for Renji. He will make everything entirely awful for the redhead all while not directly influencing, ruining, or otherwise messing with Rukia’s side of this special day. Rukia doesn’t need more trauma from him.

          Rangiku wants Gin to be nice and actually try to be likeable because she’d like to, eventually, be able to have a normal social life again without the elephant in the room being her absolute gremlin of a love interest who’s still too feral. So Gin will behave. MOSTLY. Call it a gradual domestication. But Gin will never be fully tamed, of course, so Renji better fucking watch out — you and your receding hairline are on thin fucking ice and as far as everything goes... your captain’s given this chaos his blessing, you’re marrying his sister after all, and you’re free game.

#[ out of character ] masquerade; hide your face #i love the chaotic energy of this so i agree -- on the condition that rukia is spared. #the poor girl. #[ verse: redemption ] i am healing by mistake; rome is also built on ruins

[rukia-kuchiki-divided]

Kiss Drabble - Renruki - requested by @k-rukias

✿ for a playful turned possessive kiss

It took a lot of pleading to convince Renji to leave his office early to spar with Rukia. She had her lieutenants exam coming up soon and it was absolutely necessary that she train harder against a more power type of opponent and Renji was one of the best. Her kendo needed more work and he was very good at fighting strategy when it came to swords. Captain Ukitake had allowed Rukai to use the training grounds to practice and it was almost time for him to meet her and she was pacing anxiously. 

When she finally caught sight of his red hair, Rukia let out a sigh of relief that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Way to keep me waiting, baka!’ She walked up toward him, her eyebrow twitching slightly. 

Renji rolled his eyes at her, already having expected this attitude. “I’m here right on time so don’t start with me. Do ya want the training or not?” He moved toward one end of the training field, already unsheathing his zanpakuto and releasing his shikai. 

“Yes of course I do!” She matched him, moving to the opposite side and released her own sword. “Don’t go easy on me.” 

Renji’s lips curled upward into an almost feral smirk. “Oh, don’t ya worry about that, Rukia. Better focus on blocking my blade.” Rukia matched with her own smirk. “Good. Then let’s go!” 

~

The sun was already starting to set by the time they stopped, panting as their faces were inches apart as their swords locked again. It was a moment before Renji finally stood up straight, sealing his zanpakuto and sheathing it. “I think we’re done for today. Ya have improved a lot since we last sparred. Yer gonna do fine on the test.” 

Rukia nodded at him, sheathing her sword as well. “Thanks... That means a lot coming from you.” They walked side by side back toward her squad’s offices. Rukia watched as a few children ran by in front of the office, walking fast on an errand no doubt. It was oddly reminiscent of a scene from their own past and Rukia became a bit nostalgic. “Say Renji... do you remember when we would spar as kids?” 

The red head chuckled, mussing Rukia’s hair affectionately. “I remember when I used ta get my ass kicked by you almost every time. I never understood how someone so small could punch so hard.” 

Violet eyes danced with mirth as she chuckled at the memory. “Yeah, I was and still am pretty good, aren’t I?” She tilted her head for a moment. “I think I remember when we were teenagers I think I pinned you down so hard, you thought you were dazed.” 

Renji snorted at her words. “I wasn’t dazed because of ya pinning me... if ya remember correctly, you kissed me while I was pinned.” He was blushing slightly but hoping it was covered by the fading light. 

Her brow furrowed as Rukia tried to remember. “Is that right? I can barely remember that part of it.” 

“Well how about I remind ya?” Renji replied nonchalantly, leaning down and kissing the corner of her mouth in a playful manner. “It was something like that.” 

A soft blush now painted the raven haired shinigami’s face as she touched her mouth lightly. “Ah... I think I remember now.” Renji was still leaning down toward her so she pulled him closer to her, closing the gap between them with a soft kiss for only a few seconds. “I thought it went something more like that.” She teased, her violet eyes sparkling. 

It was Renji’s turn to look shocked before his face softened. “Well what if now that we’re adults, we do it somethin’ like this...” He pressed his lips to hers again, moving them gently but with more passion. His long arms wrapped around her back, pulling her toward him somewhat possessively as he kissed her. Rukia was surprised but quickly melted into the kiss as well, her hands moving to tangle themselves in his red hair. 

#rukiakuchikidivided #k-rukias #renruki #kiss meme #drabble #~under readmore for length

[blameitonthebleach]

Captains and vice captain reaction to their fem s/o weary sexy cat or nurse because of playing truth or dare with bleach girls

Hi. I have nothing to say for myself. I love you all. I chose to do the lieutenants because I haven’t done that yet, and this would have been an incredibly long post otherwise. I might make a part 2 for the captains, though.

Lieutenants:

Nanao Ise

–Nanao, the poor dear. She’s very proper, as you know. Her face, neck, and ears will all be red before you can blink. She’d probably splutter something along the lines of “W-What is this? What are you wearing!?” Have mercy.

–Truth be told, it’s not that she finds you unappealing, she’s just in complete shock. Dress-up also isn’t among her interests, necessarily. If you took the dare gladly, anticipating something fun, you’ll have to convince her. If not, it’s okay to tell her the truth. You’ll probably get something out of it, if you know what I mean. ;)

–She will also likely scold you for playing along, because “dares aren’t mandatory.”

Marechiyo Omaeda

–To be honest with you, he’s all for it. He might be a little too eager, actually, but he means well. He’d very much enjoyed if you sat on his lap, especially if you went cat costume.

–His cheeks would flush and he’d have a shit-eating grin on his face. “Man, is it my birthday?” Good luck with this one.

Izuru Kira

–It’s a safe bet to say that he won’t know what to do with himself. He’d prefer nurse over cat, and considering he’s the one usually tending to people’s wounds, it would be a nice change of pace to be “looked after.”

–Pamper him a little and he’ll just be a puddle of goo. Seriously. He can’t talk.

Isane Kotetsu

–Isane, while an anxious sweetheart, is also rather adventurous. She’d be surprised, but ultimately thrilled seeing you dressed up for her–dare or not. Similarly to Izuru, nurse might be the way to go here. She’s always so busy taking care of others that being on the receiving end of your attention and affection would delight her.

–However, she’s also sympathetic to your embarrassment, should that be the case. She would give you a gentle smile and tell you just to do what makes you comfortable. We love a caring girlfriend.

Momo Hinamori

–More than anything, Momo is confused. Maybe a little bashful, but definitely more confused. It’s not that she’s put off or anything, but she has a lot of question. 

– “Not that I’m not interested, but, um…why?” 

–Once she understands, she will giggle. It’s obvious that she finds you attractive, and now that she’s in the loop, she’s more receptive to whatever advances you may make. 

Renji Abarai

–This stupid idiot is absolutely howling on the inside. Nurse or cat, it doesn’t matter. He’s so turned on by you that he has to take a moment to process. Renji.exe has stopped working.

– “I don’t know what this is about, ___, but I’m not complaining. C’mere.”

–After the initial process time and his inability to quit staring, he will have his hands all over you in a matter of seconds. I wouldn’t count on sleeping…

Tetsuzaemon Iba

–Sexy nurse? Is he dreaming? Bet he’s already come up with a hundred ways to ravish you in his head before he’s even uttered a word to you. Macho man that he is, seeing you in all your feminine glory is world-shattering.

–He might even take off his sunglasses for you~

Shuhei Hisagi

–I don’t think I need to tell you this, but you know he has a penchant for nosebleeds, right? There will be a solid 5 minutes minimum of damage control. Poor baby will be embarrassed while he holds his nose, but his eyes will be glued to you. The desire is there–he just has to stop bleeding.

– “I-I–___. Wow. Okay.”–Definitely go for cat, by the way. More primal, more feral, more risque. Please picture him sitting, you standing, and him grabbing you by the hips reverently. You’re welcome.

Mashiro Kuna

–You’re in for a ride, honey. Dating Mashiro, you have to be prepared for supreme embarrassment. 

– “Oooh~? What a cute kitty!”–Needless to say, she loves it. RIP.

Rangiku Matsumoto

–Look, she’s probably the one who dared you to do in the first place. Initially it would have started out at her merciless teasing, but she actually quite likes the cat getup she found for you. 

– “My, my, ___. Don’t you look cute all dressed up for me?”

–She’ll enjoy it far more than you anticipated. Let it happen, just be prepared for the dirty talking.

Nemu Kurotsuchi

–Nemu doesn’t understand. She’s perhaps vaguely aware that dressing up is something that some couples find fun, enticing even, but if you’re looking for a good reaction, you’re out of luck. 

– “Do you need medical treatment? It seems like there must be something wrong with your head.”

Rukia Kuchiki

–Rukia would much prefer cat, considering her love for cute things. Actually if we’re being honest, she’d love if it were a sexy rabbit costume, but cat is a good second. Still, she’s surprised. A dare? Why wasn’t she involved?

– “Idiot. What are you doing?”

–She means that as lovingly as she can, but she’s definitely still amused. She’ll want pictures. 

#blameitonthebleach #bleach headcanons #bleach imagines #nanao ise #marechiyo omaeda #izuru kira #isane kotetsu #momo hinamori #renji abarai #tetsuzaemon iba #shuhei hisagi #mashiro kuna #rangiku matsumoto #nemu kurotsuchi #rukia kuchiki

[cheshiresense]

UraIchi + rage

Generally speaking, Kisuke does not interfere in Ichigo’s battles. He gathers information for him, names and abilities of their enemies, all the tools he might need as he and whichever friends are with him at the time hare off after the latest villain who’s taking their - reasonable or unreasonable - frustrations out on Soul Society, and Kisuke remains a phone call or message or occasional meet-up away throughout the entire crisis, ready to lend a hand should Ichigo need it. But for the most part, he leaves the final standoffs and ultimate showdowns to Ichigo, partly because Ichigo’s always proven capable of coming out on top, and partly because someone needs to watch Ichigo’s back from the shadows, and Kisuke’s never been the full-frontal attack type anyway.

But once in a while, when necessary, Kisuke does take to the battlefield. Aizen was one, because even Kisuke’s conscience wouldn’t allow him to let Ichigo face off against that madman alone. The Quincy were another, strong enough an enemy that it had to be all hands on deck, and even then, Kisuke barely made it out alive from that war.

He intervenes when Ichigo needs him to do more than pull the right strings, and that’s what’s happening now. It’s not actually even a particularly strong opponent, just a rather bothersome one - a group of rogue Shinigami who’ve merged with a type of Hollow not unlike the once-Ninth Espada and the Reigai, enabling them to wear the faces of anyone they’ve laid eyes on, copying everything from clothes to Zanpakutou, down to a matching reiatsu signature. It’s what threw Seireitei into a state of panic earlier, when one rogue strode into the First Division and almost stabbed Kyouraku through the chest while looking like Ise Nanao, who was - thankfully - found later, knocked out in a supply closet. Apparently, the rogue Shinigami can’t continue copying someone if that someone’s dead, so there’s at least that small mercy even if there were a few hours there when nobody knew what was going on, with friends turning traitors all over the place, and then another few hours when nobody knew whom they could trust.

Yoruichi was the one who sent word down, that Seireitei was once again in a state of mass chaos, along with a summary of what was going on and a request (demand) for him to call Ichigo because they needed a fresh face that the enemy hadn’t seen yet. Kisuke called Ichigo, who certainly wasn’t very happy about being pulled out of class, but the great thing about college was that nobody took attendance, and after wringing a promise out of Ishida - who absolutely refused to miss more school and told Ichigo in no uncertain terms that the Shinigami could all just go and die for all he cared if they couldn’t even handle their own damn problems - to take notes for him, Ichigo had Garganta’d his way home, listened irritably to Kisuke’s succinct explanation about Soul Society’s latest clusterfuck, grabbed the scarf headpiece Kisuke offered him (Ichigo doesn’t ask where it came from so Kisuke doesn’t tell him it’s part of his old Onmitsukidou uniform), and stomped off for Seireitei, muttering darkly under his breath the entire time.

Kisuke didn’t blame him. The invasion just two weeks ago lasted a week and subsequently made Ichigo - and all his human friends - miss all their midterms, and Kisuke’s pretty certain it was only because Ishida Senior managed to procure genuine-looking doctor’s notes for them that nobody ended up at the Fourth from exposure to just how pissed off even sweet Inoue-san was.

And now, three hours later, here they all are, gathered in the skies above Seireitei, having finally whittled the rogues down to one. The remaining woman is shape-shifting desperately between captains even as she babbles something about the fall of Shinigami and their deserved end due to their prejudice, etc, etc, etc. In terms of skill, she’s not even that strong. Sui-Feng’s already gearing up to take her out as they move in from all directions to surround her.

Kisuke’s only here because a bit of dissection into a piece of the Hollow that Ichigo managed to hack off and stuff into a jar for him earlier told him that it wasn’t just someone’s current DNA it could copy-- it also skimmed that person’s past appearances, and Kisuke arrived just in time to prevent a broken and bleeding post-Hollowfication Shinji of a hundred years ago from dealing a frozen, horrified Hiyori a critical blow. The real Shinji appeared a moment later, took one look around, and beheaded his lookalike before they could even change back to their actual appearance.

From there, everybody was warned about what to look for, Ichigo managed to defeat three more on his own in addition to the two that were walking around as Rukia and Renji but apparently not well enough because a few minutes of observation was enough for Ichigo to decide they were fakes, and the Shinigami finally pulled themselves together enough to kill six more, leaving one woman still standing. She played a decent game of hide-and-seek, even Kisuke could admit, but surrounded as she is now, there’s definitely no way out for her.

Except-

She shuts up, abruptly, and she stops shapeshifting, swinging around to face Ichigo instead, who’s tugged down the cloth that was used to cover half his face now that it’s no longer necessary. She looks fit to foam at the mouth as she points and shrieks, “You! You’re not even a Shinigami! You’re a hybrid like us but you’re helping them! Traitor!”

The woman must not know that half the upper echelon technically consists of hybrids these days, but she’s apparently done just enough research to recognize who Ichigo is despite never having seen his face until now.

They all tense up in preparation for the woman shifting into Ichigo, because even if the copies aren’t as strong as the original, no one - with the possible exception of Kenpachi - wants to fight a madwoman with Ichigo’s unique set of powers.

Ichigo seems to be of the same mind, and he’s already lunging for the woman even as her image blurs and contorts white before reforming into-

Kisuke lurches forward, an unsightly motion that he barely notices as he recognizes the light blond hair and striped green hat, a perfect copy down to the wooden sandals and even the Zanpakutou in its sealed shikomizue form, a mirror of the one Kisuke is holding in his own hand.

But it’s not Kisuke’s current appearance she turns into. Instead, as the woman wearing his face lifts her head to reveal blood-streaked cheeks, liquid crimson spilling from dead and empty eye sockets, it’s Kisuke right after Askin’s Gift Ring attack reduced his sight to pain and darkness, before Benihime restructured them, and certainly before Inoue managed to heal the worst of the consequent scarring in the aftermath of the Quincy War.

“Ichigo-!” Kisuke tries to warn, not quite a shout, but alarmed enough that the exclamation is certainly several decibels louder than his usual volume. But he isn’t even sure what he could say, and the second Ichigo catches a glimpse of the-woman-turned-Kisuke’s bloody face, he jerks like he’s tripped over something, a flinch ripples across his face like he’s been struck, and the way his wrist twitches to the side, making Zangetsu swerve around his target instead is entirely instinctual, but that single moment of distraction is enough for the rogue to bury her sword - Kisuke’s sword - into Ichigo’s gut.

There’s a moment of stunned silence. Kisuke is no different in that he too stares, for a moment that feels like it lasts an eternity, at the blood that darkens Ichigo’s uniform even further, at the shock on Ichigo’s face, at the wide, crazed grin on Kisuke’s own stolen face.

Then, the woman’s form warps back to her own, Kisuke’s figure falling away as she pulls back, laughing triumphantly as she yanks her sword out, mouth opening to say something.

She doesn’t get the chance.

A blink. A beat. Nobody sees him move. Yoruichi didn’t boot him out of Onmitsukidou because his skills were getting rusty or because somebody else was better qualified in terms of strength. It’s at least half the reason Sui-Feng still despises him today.

Benihime - unsheathed with sparks of bloodlust red already dancing along its edge - shatters the woman’s spine from behind and skewers her heart in the same thrust. She chokes on a scream, jerking like an insect mounted alive before slowly sliding off Kisuke’s blade, leaving a smear of wet crimson behind as she begins to fall.

(She gets one last glimpse of the world before she starts falling, before she dies, and she wishes she didn’t, because when she looks back over her shoulder, even with agony hazing out her vision, the potent rage in her killer’s flat grey gaze is the most terrifying thing she’s ever seen. His reiatsu is a drowning thing, clogging her lungs and closing around her throat, and the blackness that takes her before she even hits the ground is almost a relief.)

(Kisuke doesn’t know what he looks like in that moment, eyes flashing the kind of wrath that could burn civilizations to the ground, his reiatsu a maelstrom of feral savagery, usually so well hidden behind the calm light-hearted formalities and jokes that most people these days associate him with.

He used to look like that for her, Yoruichi recalls, only a touch wistfully.)

Kisuke dismisses her the moment she’s no longer a concern. A blink, a beat, and he’s at Ichigo’s side just as the younger man coughs, blood bubbling over his bottom lip, barely hanging onto Zangetsu even as he slumps into Kisuke’s chest.

“I have you,” Kisuke assures, tucking Benihime under one arm and taking Zangetsu off Ichigo as well before wrapping his other arm around Ichigo even as his hands light up with the green of healing Kidou, one pressed to Ichigo’s front, the other to his back where the sword ran clean through.

“Fuck, that was stupid,” Ichigo mutters, coughing again, and he succumbs easily enough to Kisuke’s manhandling as he gently shunpos both of them back onto flat ground.

“Quite,” Kisuke agrees and gets a half-hearted elbow to the ribs in return, which almost makes him breathe a sigh of relief. The damage isn’t too bad, as it turns out-- it missed the most important organs, and without Inoue, there’s going to be a scar, but Ichigo will be walking again by tomorrow.

Kotetsu Isane lands a few feet away, her hoari fluttering in the wind, and hesitantly suggests taking Ichigo to the Fourth.

They get weaker with every generation, Kisuke can’t help but think. Unohana wouldn’t have suggested anything; she would’ve phrased it politely, but even an Eleventh Division member would’ve known it was anything but.

Even now, Aizen’s influence remains.

“Nah, I’m fine,” It’s Ichigo who says, waving a hand in the air. “Kisuke’s good at healing, and after, I can just crash back at home. You’d be better off checking on any other Shinigami who were injured.”

Kotetsu agrees and takes off, and Kisuke doesn’t have to look at her to know she’s relieved she doesn’t have to get any closer to him.

He thinks… he probably shouldn’t have lost his temper like that. He hasn’t in a very long time. But of course, if anybody could pull it from him, it would be Ichigo.

“Oi,” This time it’s Shinji, landing carelessly on Ichigo’s other side and not even blinking when Kisuke glances at him. The captain just snaps open a Garganta and gestures through. “I’ll take ya both back ta the shop.”

Kisuke doesn’t let up on the healing but he does stare at Shinji for a moment before dropping his gaze to the wound in Ichigo’s abdomen again. “Anything to get out of the cleanup, Shinji-san?”

“Ya caught me,” Shinji agrees shamelessly. “Now let’s go. Don’t drop the princess now.”

“Who’re you calling a- hey!”

Kisuke sweeps him up into a princess-carry, ignoring Ichigo’s protests. He can hardly sling the younger man onto his back in the state he’s in.

Shinji snickers as he paves the way between worlds with a glittering path of his reiatsu beneath their feet, and there’s a knowing look in his eyes that almost seems to approve, of all things.

Kisuke pays him no mind. Ichigo is alive, and healing. For now, that’s all that matters.

#bleach #uraichi #urahara kisuke #kurosaki ichigo #hirako shinji #myscrap

[unohanadaydreams]

Okay I’m gonna retry this liveblog that my drafts erased last week.

First of all, delicious parallel to when Renji was told to run with Rukia. Secondly, Renji is such a softy. Look at his face. He wants Jinta and Ururu out of danger as soon as possible. He will always care too much about the people soul society claims are acceptable collateral.

I just like how they all had their seals on their tits so they could dramatically pull their uniform aside. Also, we already knew that Ichigo’s lack of control over his spiritual pressure wrought havoc but this really cements how easy it would be for someone with bad intentions to starting making powered humans by proximity alone.

Ichigo wasn’t even vice captain level when he got to soul society and like half his classroom can see spirits now. Someone with an actionable plan and lt to cpt power could feasibly play cat and mouse with the shinigami sent to catch them while they power and radicalize humans against soul society. Another reason fullbringer arc was like so fucking close to being a banger. Tatsuki would’ve become a fullbringer in .5 fucking seconds.

This moment fucks enough that I can sort of forgive her being relegated to like being stepped on the entire time.

I don’t go here, but I think this panel single handedly explains why people ship them.

Ah, the glory of teen angst. Like, when will you ever be able to protect everyone, always, Ichigo? When will it ever be enough? When will your mother just be dead and not dead because of you? When will your friends be hurt because of the enemy and not because of your inability to beat all the enemies?

Renji is right; the only way to continue to protect and fight and win is to be alive. You’re alive and that’s the only way you have a chance to get stronger and win next time.

But Ichigo doesn’t want to hear anything that lets him off the hook he’s hung himself on.

No thoughts, just Grimmjow is seggsy.

My absolute FAVORITE part of this but is that Keigo is trying to pass them off as completely random men that he found on his way home. While they are wearing the exact same fucking uniform as him, which I’m sure he just totally forgot about because his mind is goo and he probably thinks they’re still in shinigami uniform xhsjwmdjkss

Also Mizuho is the representation we deserve. Feral attraction just runs in that family.

EVERY scene Kisuke has with Ururu is the softest, most fatherly shit and it is SO good. Like, Urahara is obviously more disconnected from the Vizards than he’d like to be and it’s implied that Yoruichi just sort of grifts when she shows up in the beginning. And Urahara genuinely misses being surrounded by people he can guide, like Hiyori and Mayuri, who Jinta and Ururu somewhat riff off of. Ururu is just a lot less obvious or frequent in her jabs.

This panel is so good. Ichigo full of self loathing and feelings of inadequacy and Orihime seeing that and feeling the very same, leading down to the word that describes what these feelings are in the grand scheme of what they’re going through: trifling.

They’re teenagers convinced there is a perfect strength they can attain, frustrated they can’t attain it, and soured at themselves for being so self centered as to be consumed by those feelings when Rukia and others are so wounded.

They, themselves, believe it is a trifle to hold these feelings and yet they can’t let go of them. Even as Rukia lays there unconscious, they can only reflect on how pathetic they are for not being better. More perfect.

Like, the powers that be dodge this theme of self loathing by making the battle against Yhwach seem like it’s the final hurdle and they’ve done it! They’re finally just THAT strong and nothing will ever challenge them this way again and they will never have to grapple with not being able to protect their loved ones against enemies again.

Which is honestly something I fucking hate—one big battle solving emotional problems. Especially when Ichigo is put in the exact same position post-Yhwach as he was post Aizen, albeit with a bit more hope since his powers gradually come back naturally.

Above all though, I love how well this arc sets up that Orihime really does not think highly of herself, especially compared to someone like Ichigo. If even Ichigo is doubting himself, where does that leave her? What does that make her worth when she can’t even keep up morale, let alone even come close to the power her friends hold in battle.

She latches on to Rukia to be jealous of, since she seems so self assured, but she realizes in part thanks to Rangiku that no. She just doesn’t like herself. It’s all about her. It always will be. Why can’t she just be better?

Another really good panel, this time exemplifying how much Tosen mixes his personal feelings into his version of justice.

It’s morally good to chop Grimmjow’s arm off and not just because Tosen hates base creatures like him! But because Grimmjow wanted to spill blood (that will eventually be spilled anyway but no no no, it’s FOR THE CAUSE.)

Grimmjow wants the Arrancar to come out on top. Tosen wants the system and the man that killed his dearest friend to turn to ash. And to kill or maim everyone that reminds Tosen of that man along the way.

Like, where was this energy for Ulquiorra and Yammy soul sucking hundreds of souls in one go for the funsies? 🤔 Almost like Grimmjow specifically reminds him of someone.....

#bleach live blog for the shinigami soul #manga live blogging #so many thoughts in my walnut head for this manga I stg

[recurring-polynya]

So I actually finally watched Memories of Nobody. I actually saw it years and years ago, in a theater, for some reason, back in 2008. I had vague memories of being disappointed by it at the time, but we actually enjoyed it on rewatch quite a bit. Some thoughts:

According to my husband, who found it on some shady streaming site, this film takes place “between the Bount arc and the Advance Team arc” which is the 2nd most ass-pulled place to cram some filler, second only the Amagai arc, which takes place in the middle of the Hueco Mundo arc.

Ichigo spends most of the film wearing what I believe are zip-at-the-knee cargo pants, a king

Iba and Ikkaku are 🎶drinking at work🎶

Hitsugaya is so tired.

There’s a scene where Urahara explains a bunch of metaphysics while Tessai sits behind him flipping through a book of (presumably his own?) sketches, exactly like that scene in the Advance Team Arc where Renji and Rukia do this. Notably, Ichigo does not pick on Tessai’s drawing, not even once.

I guess Urahara has some way of extracting Kon’s memories and playing them, like on a tv? W H A T.

ngl the world-building in this movie kinda slaps???

I am obsessed with the fact that it’s not The Valley of Screams, it’s “a valley of screams” and it’s they make is sound like a thing that just happens (although they later back off on that and claim that there must be someone nefarious behind it)

Did I made a “what if we kissed in the valley of screams? j/k... unless...?” joke? You know I did.

There’s a scene where everyone comes to arrest Senna and it’s so ham-fisted and dumb. They sent, like, 3 captains, 2 vice-captains, some ninja, and Rukia and let Renji shout at Ichigo at the top of his lungs. Literally, all they had to do was send Rukia to say “hey, it turns out Senna is the memory crystal we should take her to Soul Society to keep her safe” and Ichigo would have been totally on board. Anyway, this is the dumbest thing that happens is movie, so let’s just move past it.

The Reigai arc sure did rip some beats off this movie

Rukia forces her way into a captains’ meeting while two guards with detaining sticks try to hold her back, this fucking rules. Yamamoto screams at her. Byakuya does not even change facial expressions.

Hey, is this, like a grifting thing? At any given time, you’ve got (1) older, distinguished Kuchiki who never reacts to anything and (1) young, feral Kuchiki who raises ruckuses? And the Kuchiki can use the hothead to start shit and cause trouble while the older one just shakes their head in vague disapproval?

Anyway, someone gave Yamamoto a kidou cannon and he is going to fire it at that valley of screams, ain’t no one gonna stop him now.

It is explicitly stated that firing the kidou cannon will destroy a significant portion of both Soul Society and the Living World but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So you know that animated gif where Renji and Rukia do a sick backflip off a bridge? No one told me they were backflipping into the valley of screams.

My precious husband says “that would make a good animated gif”. “I got you, babe,” I say.

Okay, literally half the Gotei leadership ignores Yamamoto’s orders and goes to the valley of screams.

One thing I do not like about filler/movies is that they are so afraid to do anything new that they just copy the beats of the canon material, which sort of, I dunno, cheapens it. Like, this movie evokes both Rukia and Renji deserting to save Orihime in Hueco Mundo and the captains doing their own shit at the end of the Soul Society arc, and the overall effect is that no one has any respect for Yamamoto, which I don’t think was the point they were trying to make.

They should have let Orihime go to the valley of screams, but she probably would have fixed the problem in 2 seconds

The group of people who go to the valley of screams is perplexing. Mr. P suggested that the reason Soi Fon is here is because she had previously promised to do something with Omaeda (maybe it’s his birthday??) and  was like “oh, shit, sorry man, valley of screams situation came up, catch you next time (i def will not)”

Yoruichi is not in this film. I am assuming she is off being a groupie for the Red Hot Chili Peppers or something.

Hisagi was here for maybe three frames and then did nothing. At least Kira got to release his sword.

Komamura is not here, but he is sort of a Yamamoto simp. We don’t see him hanging out with Ukitake and Kyouraku back at the kidou cannon, tho. Wait. Oh, no. That kidou cannon has gotta be pretty loud. Komamura probably had to go home and put on his thundershirt and hide under the bed.

Soi Fon’s shikai worked??????

RENJI USED ZABIMARU TO CATAPULT ICHIGO OVER SOME ENEMIES TO GO FIGHT THE BOSS!!!! MY HEART!!!!! 🐍💀💪🎇💯😍

I made a bunch of jokes about things Byakuya might be doing (napping, most likely), but then he showed up late and interrupted Rukia’s fight to announce “It is an honor to be slain by my bankai.” Dude, c’mon.

I kinda want to know more about this clan that got done dirty 700 years ago and learned to live in the Dangai like Westley and Buttercup living in the Fire Swamp??

If I had to wander the Dangai, instead of trying to implode the valley of screams and destroy all planes of existence, I would have just made a valley of screams and fixed it up real nice and lived there and not bothered anyone, but that’s just me

Yamamoto has fired the kidou cannon

RIP to Ganryu, you had kind of a cool design, dude, I’m sorry your plan was bad and also that you didn’t get any Vintage Soul Society Flashbacks

I am absolutely perplexed by the end of this film. Despite saving Senna, and being hit with the kidou cannon, the valley of screams is still imploding. Senna stops existing, Ichigo is sad, everyone is saved, it ends with Ichigo seeing a girl who looks like Senna because ???

Who cares! It’s time for Sen no Yoru wo Koete!!!!

Great movie, A+++

#memories of nobody #bleach movies

[recurring-polynya]

Renruki for the OTP!

4, 9 , 22, 31, 35, 44,

4. When they can’t sleep, what do they do?

When she’s still living at Kuchiki Manor, Rukia likes to walk around the gardens in her pajamas in the middle of the night and talk to the koi. Byakuya does this, too, and they have passed many an insomnia night together. Once she’s married, if she can’t sleep, Rukia will get up and go do something-- make a cup of tea or draw or catch up on paperwork, and she’ll almost always wonder if Byakuya’s out talking to the fishes.

Prior to their marriage, when Renji can’t sleep, he likes to stare at the ceiling and stew in his past failures. Once they’re together, he almost never has trouble sleeping, but if he does, he’ll just snuggle Rukia until he drifts off again.

9. Who accidentally pushes a door instead of pulling?

Rukia has never, in her entire existence, pushed a door that said “PULL” on it. How could you even think this? How dare you think this.

Renji pushed on a pull-door one time 45 years ago and Rukia has never let him live it down for even a second.

22. Who texts more often?

They text each other in roughly equal measures, but Renji texts more, overall.

Renji is friends with a good 90%+ of the Seireitei, and even though he’s not really a gossip, he is sort of a nexus of gossip. He is on 16 different group chats and his DMs are the true forbidden archives of everything that happens in Soul Society. Aizen may have tracked the growth of Ichigo’s potential for 15 years, but he doesn’t know the full details of the time Shinji may or may not have caught Yoruichi hooking up with Soi Fon at one of Byakuya’s flower-viewing parties (an incident which had to be pieced together in postmortem by at least seven different lieutenants)

Also, Renji tries to use some semblance of grammar when he texts, but Rukia is absolutely feral in terms of sending things like “y u do this 2 me?”

Both of them are embarrassingly heavy emoji users.

31. Who has bigger cravings? What are they?

They both grew up in food insecurity, but have sort of come out of it with opposite outlooks. Renji eats on opportunity. He doesn’t really get cravings for particular things, but he’ll eat almost anything, including horrifying combinations of things. If a diner has a menu item called Garbage (anything), he will order it immediately. He is absolutely a pineapple on pizza guy. He thinks Orihime is a culinary genius. He’s somewhat thrifty by nature when it comes to eating--he’ll go out to be social, but he’s more likely to eat in, or get in a good meal at the mess hall. Over the years, he has spent a lot of time at other people’s family gatherings, and grandmothers instinctively love to feed him things.

Rukia also has a very generous palate, but there are particular things she really loves, and the one nice thing about being a Kuchiki is that she’s not shy about Treating Herself when she wants something. She loves to eat out, and since Byakuya is very Judgy about food choices, she especially loves going out for greasy junk food with Renji. The primary thing she craves is atomically spicy stuff. Poor Renji doesn’t handle spice very well, but he’s always good to come along to hype her up and take pictures of her conquests and to help her get home when she overdoes it and has tears and snot running out of her face. She will also declare that she needs dessert sometimes, and they’ll go get ice cream or some other extremely indulgent sweet, which Renji loves, even if he would never do it just for himself.

35. What do they smell when they smell amortentia?

I had to look up what this was, and apparently, it’s the love potion in Harry Potter, which smells like whatever you find most attractive, according to the HP wiki.

To Renji, it would smell like the promise of snow on a winter day, pine, wintergreen, and a jasmine perfume Rukia wore exactly once to a fancy party. It smells like a Kuchiki Rukia moodboard, and absolutely nothing like the actual Kuchiki Rukia, who smells mostly like soap, pickles, Captain Ukitake’s eucalyptus cough medicine, and cherry-flavored Chappy-brand chapstick.

To Rukia, it smells like a not-as-bad-as-it-sounds blend of gym sweat, hair tonic, soy sauce, ink, and camellias. It smells exactly like Renji actually smells. 

44. What are their nicknames for each other?

A long-standing feature of my fanfic is that Renji calls Rukia “Ru”, but only when it’s just the two of them, and he’s feeling particularly mushy toward her. It was something he started doing in their latter days in Inuzuri as his way of telling her he loved her. Astute readers may have noticed that I have had her called him “Ren” exactly once, in one of the later chapters of Between Tides.

Everyone knows this already, but their texting handles for each other are 🐒🐍🕶️ and ❄️🐰

otp meme

#otp meme #renruki #sixteen years ago my husband ordered the 'nuclear waste burger' at a diner in richmond and i still think about that thing frequently #i almost never describe how people smell or what people's reiatsu feels like and now you know why

[recurring-polynya]

So you ever try to wrap your brain around Yachiru being Kenpachi's zanpakutō? It seems to violate all known (manga-canon) mechanics.

So, to be honest, that particular plot twist hit the note in my head that says “Yes, this is pleasing and not entirely unexpected to me!” I think it’s the fact that the idea of his zanpakutou being embodied this whole time made more sense than ::gestures vaguely at all of Yachiru:: this.

I don’t exactly remember, but I think I may have been spoiled on this one--I got spoiled on a lot of the Bleach endgame, and that always affects the way a plot twist lands, so please take my opinion with that grain of salt.

I think there were a lot of hints along the way-- that although Yachiru is very, very strong and somewhat bloodthirsty herself, she always seems more interested in seeing Zaraki gets the fights that he wants, and watching them raptly, deeply invested in his happiness. She doesn’t actually act like a child, she acts like someone would expect a child to act-- mischievous and silly, but she does not grow and explore or, most importantly, assert her personhood, the way a real person does. She never seeks to grow stronger, or to fight for herself. She wears the lieutenant’s badge and goes to the meetings, which she neither complains about, nor takes any interest in. A real child would either not put up with this shit, or seek to be taken seriously in this role (try to imagine young Byakuya, for example, being named a lieutenant). Most importantly: She is constantly trying to give him directions and they end up lost every time. We thought it was a running gag, but it was a metaphor.

It also seems to me that the other child characters in Bleach grow and age at times when their powers are developing. We see Rukia, Renji, Gin, Rangiku, and Shuuhei as powerless children, and then they age to teens when their powers develop. Toshirou is definitely seen as a smaller child in his Rukongai flashbacks, and it’s implied that he is currently at in impasse with his powers, having difficulty with the upper levels of his bankai. Even so, though his body is stuck in an adolescent state, he has the faculties and personality of an adult. Yachiru, if I am figuring things correctly, is older than Rukia and Renji. It seems like she must be an enormous outlier in the Bleach universe, and it’s frankly weird that, say, Yamamoto wouldn’t take a greater interest in her (unless he knows exactly what she is, and I suspect that both he and Unohana both do).

Unless I’ve missed something, we hardly know anything about zanpakutou-spirit dynamics within the Bleach manga canon. As far as I know, we only ever see two-- Zangetsu and Zabimaru. I think it’s safe to say that Zangetsu already violates all known normal mechanics. I also want to point out that I was a lot more pissed when Zangetsu turned out to be Yhwach (or whatever that was, please no one explain it to me I don’t want to think about it). It was telescoped well enough, but it poisoned a character who had always been there for Ichigo as a mentor and source of strength and it gave me the same yucky feeling as when they killed off Han Solo-- I do not like this. This does not feel right or enhance the story.

We don’t get a whole lot of Zabimaru either-- they can manifest on their own, and do so in order to bother Renji. They seem to be a fairly simplistic being-- they want to fight and be strong and are impatient with Renji’s (very reasonable) desire to take a minute to think things out.

Nobody asked, but I feel like it might be helpful if I unleashed my personal headcanon on Where Zanpakutou Come From. In the Zanpakutou Spirits Arc, the episodes are prefaced with a voiceover that says that zanpakutou are born and die with their shinigami, and I am sorry, anime filler arc, I reject this. One of my favorite Bleach phrases, which seems like it should it could have come from some angsty hurt-comfort fanfic, is “There are no ghosts in Soul Society.” (it actually came from a filler arc episode where Ikkaku, Nanao and Hanatarou get lost in the sewer). But I think there are! When shinigami are killed and reborn in the Living World, presumably, it is as a normal human with no powers. I like to think that some essence of their power and their zanpakutou are left behind, free-floating, nameless, formless, but with some distillation of the principles that guided their shinigami’s life. This ur-zanpakutou attaches itself to a young, spiritually strong person, and becomes intertwined with their soul. They develop a form based on the thoughts and memories and hopes and fears of their shinigami, and their names and specific powers are born of the union of zanpakutou and shinigami. Noble souls often get zanpakutou passed down from previous generations, who take the form of a grandparent, or form that their grandparents zanpakutou had. For kids from the Rukon, I think that most zanpakutou spirits takes the form of a barely remembered mother from the Living World, or a particularly frightening woodcut from a favorite storybook. As an aside, this theory also explains why almost every Rukongonian shinigami we see died as a child-- it’s easier for a free floating zanpakutou spirit to bond with a child’s developing psyche. It’s also a reminder of one more way that Zaraki himself is an outlier.

Zaraki is a really messed-up guy, I think we’re all on the same page there. Like, he just really needs a shit-ton of therapy, I can’t even start. He was a feral murder-child, and I think he saw Unohana as a mother-figure who rejected him. Unlike Ichigo, who needs a wise, experienced mentor to guide him through his warrior journey, Zaraki needs validation that he is a Normal Guy with Normal Murder Thoughts and Feelings, so his subconscious shapes his zanpakutou into another feral murder-child to love him and be his family. Zaraki doesn’t know how little girls act-- pink hair seems good? Stuffy people hate kids, right? It makes perfect sense that Yachiru would go fuck around with Byakuya. Zaraki finds all of Yachiru’s antics hilarious-- the names she makes up for people, the way she climbs all over Ichigo, her general proclivity for going ham. Zaraki is an incredibly simplistic person. My favorite Zaraki parts of Bleach are where you think he is about to get real deep and have some sort of insight, and it turns out to be “I’m gonna stab you, but I’m gonna use both hands” or this entire problem-solving process I’ve pasted in below, which ends in him finding Tousen by letting Tousen stab him. He’s just stupid, bless his heart, and having a murder gremlin for a guiding light just... tracks?

The weirdest thing about Yachiru is that she has her own zanpakutou. I spent about 10 minutes thinking about it, though, and decided that she’s just a recursion, and that the weird feeling I get thinking about her is exactly the way I feel about writing a function that calls itself, and I find that little paradoxical frisson to be kinda cool, actually. The second weirdest thing about Yachiru is that there does not seem to be any connection, thematically, between Yachiru and Nozarashi. After he finally learns his sword’s name, I would have liked to see Zaraki have a trip to his inner world (like Ichigo does, in the midst of battle) where he meets an adult spirit who has qualities of both Yachirus (which he absolutely does not recognize) and that there is some interesting explanation of Nozarashi’s special abilities. To be honest, I couldn’t even remember what they were. Kenpachi has always been one of the strongest Bleach characters and so much about him is just iconic, and then his bankai was just completely bland and unmemorable, with no symbolism whatsoever. Lame.

#kenpachi zaraki #yachiru kusajishi #yachiru unohana #zanpakutou spirits #bleach headcanons #feel free to reblog with your point-by-point complaints about where yachiru violates canon tho #they are probably better thought out than this answer #which is basically just 'i vibed with it'

[recurring-polynya]

Not sure if you've answered this before, but, what do you think happens to Ichigo after his human self dies (e.g old age)? Does his shinigami soul automatically become part of the Gotei 13? How about the rest of the Karakura crew when they die?

So, to preface, I am absolutely the first person to admit that I did not understand most of what happened at the end of the TYBWA and I do not actually know what is the state of Ichigo’s powers at the end of Bleach (nor do I really care, please don’t anyone try to explain it to me). I don’t think that’s the spirit of this question, anyway, so I am just going to treat it as “how do various powers transfer after death?” and synthesize my way up to Ichigo.

Let’s start with the easiest ones, Fullbringers: We see, in the manga, that Ginjo and Tsukishima are dead and in Soul Society, and at least Tsukishima seems to have his Fullbringer powers, pretty much unchanged. The thing that’s weird to me about this is that Fullbringers need their focus object to get their powers to work, and I would think that would need it physically, but apparently not. The more I think about it, the more I think that Fullbringers are basically living Soul Reapers that have to go through some hoops to get their powers to work in the World of the Living. Perhaps, their focus objects are actually sort of proto-zanpakutou, and when they die, the object has enough of a “soul” that it can cross over as well.

To that end, I suspect that a) a Fullbringer that had never realized their powers while alive could probably become a Soul Reaper, no problem, and b) with enough effort, a Fullbringer could refocus their powers into a zanpakutou and become a Soul Reaper (or just keep them as is, if they prefer). This seems consistent with the fact that Ichigo’s Fullbring powers seemed like crummy workaround to accessing his shinigami powers. As I was writing this, I also realized I couldn’t remember if Ichigo still had his Fullbring powers, or if he just didn’t bother with them anymore. Do I even pay attention to the parts of Bleach that aren’t Rukia and Renji making eyes at each other? (no) Anyway, remember when Ichigo had a BreatheRight strip? I might be kind into that whole look.

I can actually see Chad going to Shin’ou and learning all the theory because I think he would really be into meeting his zanpakutou spirit and visiting his inner world. I don’t think he would join the Gotei, though. I could definitely see him either opening up a burrito stand in the middle of the Seireitei and helping shinigami work through their personal problems and lowkey advocating for social justice reforms, or wandering the Rukon with his ex-parakeet pal, helping people. I can actually see Orihime becoming a shinigami, but only if she got in a squad where she could follow her own moral code and do what’s right. People get all hopped up on Ichigo being Rukia’s vice-captain, but can you imagine a Rukia - Orihime squad? They would be absolutely feral. I want this more than I can say. I can also definitely see Orihime flipping double birds at the Gotei, and wandering the Rukon with Chad.

The most interesting aspect of this question is Quincy. Quincy can’t possibly keep their powers when they die, can they? I feel like if they could, dead Quincy would have ripped the Seireitei apart, reishi brick by reishi brick, ages ago. Then, I got thinking-- are the Quincy in the Wandenreich alive or dead? I always thought they were alive, but... that doesn’t exactly make any sense? How do they live in Soul Society then, or the shadows of Soul Society, or whatever? How did they get there? The entire storyline makes a lot more sense if you assume that the Quincy keep their powers when they die, and they secretly banded together and escaped into this shadow dimension, waiting to get their revenge en masse. This didn’t feel right to me, there’s something about Quincy powers that feel fundamentally worldly to me, so I went digging into the Quincy Archer Hates You! chapters, and here’s a part I found where Urahara talks about it:

Hrmmm. It sounds like Quincy powers are basically a different flavor of shinigami powers. The other thing I noticed is that multiple times in this chapter, there are references to the Quincy being “eradicated.” Obviously, I am working from a translation here, but that sounds stronger than just “killed,” and I feel like the shinigami may have double killed the Quincy-- killed their mortal bodies and then killed them again as souls, so they would be shunted back into the resurrection cycle. My impression has always been that when a human dies, they lose most of their memories, but they keep their form and their name. When a soul dies in Soul Society, they get mangled a little when they are reborn, possibly mixed up with some other souls, and get a new body and a new name and lose any powers they had as a soul. In other words, I’ve gone back and forth a bit, but I think Quincy powers stay. I think that when Uryuu dies, certain parties are going to want to kill or dissect him immediately, but he’s got friends in high places. I think, in theory, a Quincy could learn shinigami techiniques, but Uryuu would never. I’m not sure he’d even want to stay in Soul Society, I feel like he would wander around until he found someone to kill him so he could just get resurrected again. He might stay for Chad and Orihime, though. I would love to see Shutara adopt him as a special apprentice, though. Wow. Wow, that’s a good idea. Fashion design, check. Fucks around with Mayuri, check. Only has to interact with other people, like, once every 500 years, check. God, I can just see them sitting around drinking cab sav, listening to Radiohead and practicing their resting bitch face. Sometimes, I am a genius.

Now for the big one, Ichigo: When Ichigo dies, the Hollow stays, that’s how Ichigo got it from Masaki in the first place, no? So, it would presumably go into either Kazui or Karin. Or has his Hollow become more entwined with him, through his Vizard training. Geez, I dunno.

There’s still one part I haven’t addressed: Ichigo’s shinigami part. What even is Ichigo’s shinigami part? The thing is, when you’re reading the manga in order, he becomes a shinigami, you don’t know about his dad yet, you don’t know anything else, and it’s like, whoa, wild! But is it, though?

Imagine, if you will, Urahara goes back in time to say, 1920 or so, and locates Abarai Renji, Living Boy, Age 5. Since Urahara is from the future he knows Renji’s soul has the potential to be a shinigami. Urahara knocks Renji’s soul out of his body, hacks off his soul chain, and throws him in a pit until Renji generates a spontaneous zanpakutou. Would this work? I think it might, actually. Oetsu makes sort of a big deal about the fact that Ichigo is the only shinigami to use a zanpakutou that didn’t come from an asauchi, but is this because Ichigo is special or is it because Urahara’s technique is special? Or maybe a little of both-- that some weird cocktail of Ichigo’s other powers made it possible for him to produce a spontaneous zanpakutou, whereas our theoretical Renji would fail the trial of the shattered shaft and turn into a Hollow instead? For the purposes of this question, though, I think that Ichigo’s shinigami part is just shinigami potential, that if that is the only power he had, and he had died at age 10, he could have become a shinigami. Urahara only put him through that bullshit because, knowing Ichigo’s parentage, Urahara had a pretty high confidence that it would work.

Relatedly, I think the other Karakura kids with high spiritual energy (Tatsuki, Keigo, etc) have the potential to become shinigami when they die.

So, my answer is I think Ichigo still has all his Soul Reaper powers when he dies. I think he lost his Quincy powers at the end of the TYBWA, but if he didn’t (or if Ryuuken makes him run around an obstacle course and then nails him with a spirit arrow 19 mm to the right of his heart’s sinoatrial node) then he can take those with him, too. I don’t think he has to join the Gotei if he doesn’t want to, I suspect the Shiba would be happy to have him, or surely Rukia and Renji would let him crash on their couch indefinitely. I am sure he would be immediately labeled a major potential danger to Soul Society, and if Yamamoto were still in charge, he would probably either just have him killed or throw him in the Muken if he refused to join up. Kyouraku is subtler, though, and I think he would take care to make sure Ichigo stayed happy. Whether or not Ichigo joins the Gotei, you know he would turn up whenever there was a danger to the Soul Society, it’s How He Is.

If Ichigo wanted to join the Gotei, I think there are a number squads that would take him as-is (11 for sure), but it would definitely be in his best interests to go to the Academy. The hilarious thing about Ichigo is that he doesn’t know anything. Most obviously, kidou, but I don’t think he knows much hakuda either, and he only spent about 5 minutes learning beginner’s shunpo, I’m sure he’s capable of learning some of those Fancy Lad techniques Byakuya uses. I’m not sure my boy actually knows any actual sword technique, I feel like Renji would take him pieces if they had to stick to practice swords. Also, I feel like there is a some theoretical strategy to Hollow hunting, and maybe some metaphysics and like, the civics and history of Soul Society. Rukia never seems to know any of this stuff, probably because she dropped out after one semester.

I hope that answered your question! Thank you for having any faith at all in my knowledge of the subject, I did my best, but mostly I realized that I have no idea.

#bleach meta #ichigo kurosaki #uryuu ishida #chad yasutora #orihime inoue #soul society metaphysics #bleach headcanons

[recurring-polynya]

Bleach Sword Beasts Arc Recap: Episode 256

I would not go so far as to claim that Bleach 256: Byakuya's Anger, Collapse of the Kuchiki Family is good, but it is dear to my heart, so I’m gonna review it. Also ~I can do screenshots agaaaaaain!~

Spoiler: At no point in this episode would I describe Byakuya as “angry”, and the Kuchiki family definitely does not collapse. Let’s carry on.

We open with a party for Squad 6 at Byakuya’s pad, with Renji and Rukia standing around, talking about what a mensch Byakuya is while Rukia stuffs her face with dango. This is my content. Then Renji’s squadmates haul him off because they are too nervous to talk to Byakuya by themselves. I screamed. I would watch a thousand hours of this.

As you might expect, Squad Six parties suck without Renji, so Rukia wanders off, complaining about how he left her in the lurch, when she hears a scream, and finds that the kitchen (?) is being attacked by some strange monsters.

In my continuing commitment to Squad 6/Kuchiki Manor minutia, we get to see some servants outfits! (attn: @kaickos​ ) Byakuya sure loves purple.

Rukia tries to fight the monsters, and realizes she’s not carrying her sword. Fortunately, Sode no Shirayuki and Senbonzakura show up to help out. Despite addressing each other formally, Sode no Shirayukia and Senbonzakura definitely exude a very strong have-made-out-at-a-boring-Kuchiki-party vibe. They immediately start trolling the hell out of Rukia until Byakuya shows up and narrows his eyes disapprovingly at them.

We skip to Squad 12, where Kurotsutchi explains the plot of the this arc: Apparently, while Muramasa was running around freeing zanpakutou, a lot of shitty Soul Reapers got killed by their own zanpakutou, who are now running around feral. Also, even if their shinigami was low-level, the so-called Sword Beasts have their full power capacity, i.e., as if they had achieved bankai. Sure. Whatever.

All I care about is the Squad 12 couch situation, which is dank. I feel like I’m gonna catch a disease just looking at these things. And jeez, the lighting. It’s important to note that Byakuya lets Rukia do all the talking in this scene. At first, I thought he might be sleeping with his eyes open again, but then my husband pointed out he was probably just holding his breath.

Enough of that! The Kuchiki sibs and their swords are strolling around town, the zanpakutou making big plans to kick names and take ass, while Byakuya searches for any excuse to be removed from this narrative.

If you read my fanfiction, you will know that I have a running gag of sorts where Renji is constantly shouting “Hey, Captain!” which Byakuya views as some sort of microagression (Renji never notices), and I stg, it happens at 9:16 of this episode: Renji jogs up yelling “TaiCHOOOOUUU!” in an extremely Renji way, and my heart literally exploded. Anyway, I’m pretty sure Byakuya secretly texted Renji like “plz show up with some sort of work excuse i cannot even with these two” and Renji delivered. Squad 6 ollies out, leaving Rukia to babysit these two drama queen zanpakutou.

You may think I am exaggerating, but Senbonzakura immediately suggests that they destroy some barracks to get the Sword Beasts’ attention. This plan is so stupid that Sode no Shirayuki’s suggestion that “maybe the Sword Beasts like parties” makes sense in comparison.

Ain’t no party like a Squad 10 party, because a Squad 10 party has comically oversized sake saucers. Are these some sort of real thing, or are they like when goofy TexMex places serve margaritas in hubcaps?

Captain Hitsugaya is McPissed about all of this. Rukia absolutely knows she got duped here, and makes some shame-faced excuses. Hitsugaya notes that he “received orders to let them do this” and I... have so many questions. Did Rukia have to submit a “party request”? Who approved this? Yamamoto??? I mean, if this were post-TYBWA, I can 100% see Kyouraku ordering Hitsugaya to throw a kegger.

Unsurprisingly, the plan does not work, and Senbonzakura gets black-out drunk. Rukia apologizes to Hitsugaya, who is like “it’s fine, my squad is all drunkards anyway.”

Sode no Shirayuki is extremely sorry at this point, because she sincerely thought this plan would work. So, just in case anyone out there thought Sode no Shirayuki has more brain cells than Zabimaru, you were wrong.

Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki have a nice talk about how Sode no Shirayuki feels like without Rukia, she is has no heart, she is just a weapon. She’s still feeling some residual guilt over the whole Muramasa incident. Rukia reassures her, over a moving montage of all their good times together stabbing shit. This idea is really interesting to me, actually-- that the shinigami provide their zanpakutou with purpose and direction, in return for the power they receive. I’ve sort of headcanoned this for a long time-- that zanpakutou are inherently selfish, caring mostly about the well-bearing of their shinigami, and must be driven by the shinigami toward accomplishing things. This was the whole reason Zangetsu didn’t want to give Ichigo the Final Getsuga when he was trying to defeat Aizen.

Anyhoo, Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki the Sword Beast shows up, and of course Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki defeat it with the power of friendship.

At the end of the episode, Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki debrief Kyouraku and Ukitake while Ukitake’s zanpakutou run around screaming in the background and I cannot emphasize enough how married these two fine gentlemen are.

That’s the end of the episode. I wonder if Rukia ever told Byakuya that his zanpakutou got blasted at a Squad 10 kegger.

#sword beasts arc #bleach filler #mamma mia here we go again #this episode slapped #i deeply appreciate byakuya's commitment to doing absolutely nothing

[recurring-polynya]

Bleach 136 and 137 were created in a lab to make me, personally, angry.

So, as we go through these filler stories, you may notice that each member of the Advance Team gets one. Rangiku’s sucked, but at least it was long. Toshirou beat some adolescents at soccer, Ikkaku beat some teens at kendo, Yumichika poisons Renji and Chad. There was even a Kon ep, which is more than Kon deserves. Later on, Rukia will get it on with some feral dude she meets in Hueco Mundo. So what does Renji get? THIS GARBAGE.

The problem is that these two episodes constantly skirt greatness and take a hard left every time. Let’s just jump in.

We open up with some 3rd string Arrancar, Patras, who is just totally pissed about how he didn’t vote for Aizen. He literally complains about how he misses the good ol’ days when he got to eat souls and crush Soul Reapers and immediately, I am here for this dude. He steals the Hogyoku and his sidekicks just beat the crap out of Ulquiorra. Yes. Yes. Look at Ulquiorra’s surprised Pikachu face! Eat it, sad boi!

Cut to the ol’ Urahara Shoten, where Urahara and Tessai are about to go shopping (for days, apparently?) and they are taking Chad with them. Everything about this seems like a huge lie and they are actually planning to take Chad to a Turkish bath.

We don’t get to see that, instead we get the Shoten kids trolling Renji. At one point, Jinta tries to fight him. I honestly would have enjoyed that. On the bright side, Renji is wearing the Red Pineapple shirt, which I unironically love. Where did he get it? I want to imagine that he and Rukia went thifting and she found it and they both lost their minds over it. It seems like the sort of thing you would only find in a thrift store, or maybe like the lost-and-found of an ice rink.

Anyway, they get the Arrancar alert, everyone mentions how happy they are that the process for gentai kaijou has been simplified (I told you they mention it a million times!). We also get an appearance from Renji’s lavender spirit phone, which we last saw in the Bount Arc. Look at this majestic thing:

It turns out that Patras and the Heartbreakers are just here because they are trying to find someone who knows how to use the Hogyoku. The sidekicks end up fighting Hitsugaya and everyone, but Patras gets directions from Kon and heads straight over to the Urahara Shoten. Renji never got very far, so he comes back to fight him.

Let’s get this clear: Patras has the Hogyoku and he wants Urahara to show him how to use it. This seems... fine? I would be like, “Ah, very nice, you want to come in and have some tea until he gets back?” Unfortunately, this is the part of the episode that I hate because Renji is an utter buffoon.

For the next episode and a half, Renji is just completely incompetent. He has the most inane dialogue you’ve ever heard and he just gets the crap beat out of him by this clown in a daring midriff. They always do this to Renji so that the Mod Souls can “help him out.”

I want to make this absolutely clear: Kuroda always turns into Renji. He doesn’t have Renji’s reiatsu, though, so it’s really obvious to everyone who the real Renji is. This is not me headcanoning, Patras points this out. Renji tells Kuroda that he thinks all this is “creepy”. It is, in fact. Oh, and if this wasn’t bad enough, Ririn makes an illusion of 1,000 Renjis. I hate this so much, it’s so terrible.

Getting back to that dialogue thing, here is an actual exchange they have:

Renji: OK, get up. Unless you’re already dead.

Patras: This is a very interesting shop you have here.

Renji: I’m glad you like it.

I am overcome. Here are some good things that happen:

1) There is a great deal of Hihiou Zabimaru. They coilin’. They screechin’. Renji has apparently been working on his rhythmic gymnastics.

2) Renji destroys Urahara’s van. I have been making fun of that van for six seasons now. PCHEW!!!

3) Gentai kaijou!!!!

3) Even though he’s a moron, I still love him.

Anyway, the Mod Souls figure out the secret of Patras’ attack and stop him from doing it while Renji hits him with his cero attack Hikotsu Taihou.

Then Urahara shows up and explains that Patras was an idiot, it wasn’t the real hogyoku, Aizen played him. Also, Patras never actually beat up Ulquiorra, that was an Aizen illusion also. (Let us pause to think about how much fun Aizen had lovingly crafting an illusion of Ulquiorra getting utterly whupped). How does Urahara know this? I guess he ran into Ulquiorra down at the Pit, and U spilled the tea? At this point, everyone involved is tired of this.

They threw in this because the filler arcs are always trying to make Chad/Noba happen:

I’m just mad because they could have made an episode about Renji really kicking some ass and instead they just made him dumb and incompetent so the Mod Souls have something to do and this is not the first nor last time.

LOOK. If they had put me in charge of Bleach Filler, here is the Renji episode I would have written: It turns out that Tessai’s license is revoked for [CLASSIFIED] and Urahara is Too Gay to Drive, which is why no one ever drives that van, so they make Renji go to driving school so that that he can deliver Jinta and Ururu to their clarinet lessons. It could still be full of Renji buffoonery, except that he would be running over traffic cones and doing donuts in the van. There would be a scene where he has to attend a parent teacher conference for Jinta and it would be shot-for-shot that part of Overboard where Goldie Hawn yells at the kid’s teacher. A Menos would show up in the last five minutes. The van would still get blown up.

Anyway, RIP Patras, You Had a Good Point, I’m sorry you were stupid and sucked.

Advance Team Filler Masterpost

#bleach filler #advance team arc #renji abarai #incompetence #utter buffoonery #rip urahara van