#The world needs more Espada content...

[effervescent-experience]

On the TikTok Ban

Hello, everyone. This is not my usual content. However, as a leftist and someone who has been on the app for a while, I feel that I should address the potential TikTok ban on January 19th and why it doesn’t sit right with me at all. 

I believe that the ban is bad. This is somewhat of a polarizing statement, but I genuinely think that banning TikTok would be unconstitutional because it would undermine American users’ First Amendment rights by preventing freedom of speech and expression. The ban would eliminate a significant facet of popular culture, limit how people can make money to provide for themselves and their families, and prevent citizens from accessing a major news source (I’m not saying you should get all of your news from TikTok, but it does help to bring surface level awareness about issues so people can go out and learn more about them). Doing this on speculation is wrong and will significantly prevent communication and the exchange of information that has become vital in society. 

Speculation and National Security Threats: 

The concern about TikTok comes from its owner, ByteDance, headquartered in Beijing and is therefore legally obligated to “turn over data to Chinese authorities on request.” This would mean that sensitive information about American users could be directly accessed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which could lead to the spread of deliberate misinformation and more sophisticated foreign monitoring of online activity (Espada and Popli par. 3-5). 

To this, I would respond that there is already extreme amounts of misinformation on TikTok within U.S. borders - sensationalist content without actual evidence is an issue. Especially around elections, natural disasters, or events that may trigger an emotional response, there seems to be an uptick in misinformation and disinformation, as people create false news and others repeat what they see because they believe it to be true. Recently, we have seen this with the fires in California and all of the AI videos. This aligns with my point because any foreign misinformation, political propaganda, or sensationalist content would likely be more extreme than but still comparable to the lies already spread on the app for the sake of garnering more views. I cannot deny that political propaganda is dangerous, nor can I deny that the idea of being monitored is extremely frightening, but skeptics and well-informed audiences will do the work to fact-check such content. 

The Spread of Information: 

Because I am not an influencer, my biggest personal gripe with banning TikTok is that it would prevent easy and immediate access to all types of information. Like the internet, TikTok is an incredibly vast information collection about nearly every topic. Look up anything, and you will quickly find infodumps, tutorials, and a large crowd of people who can answer your questions. I was working on an embroidery project yesterday and needed to know how to do a particular stitch. Within thirty seconds, I had my answer and could return to work, saving much more time than if I had gone to Google or this website to ask the same question. 

It’s much more serious than arts and crafts questions, however. On TikTok, people can better understand important events that people in their “real lives” are not offering explanations for. At least for me, this allows for a much more complete account of the event from numerous perspectives, many of which are likely different than my own. Instead of knowing about the event but only understanding how it impacts me, I can form my opinion with reliable firsthand accounts from others and consider how it impacts everyone, not just myself. As a global community, this is invaluable; understanding each other prevents stigma and the pushing of only one narrative. Banning TikTok would eliminate this, leading to a much less knowledgeable audience and self-centered takes on world events. 

Influencers and Creative Spaces: 

This is also an extremely concerning facet of the potential TikTok ban for me. Although I am not an influencer, I understand that thousands of people make their living from TikTok and have no other form of income. I support this fully and think it’s great that people can live comfortably by doing what they love. This is why it’s exceptionally alarming to me to think that if TikTok is banned, these people will be wholly cut off from their careers. Digitally or not, that is not fair to do to someone, though society does not care about that. Twitter user (I am not calling it X because fuck Elon Musk) Spirituali_tea wrote, “So who’s gonna tell the Biden administration that some of us have built our literal careers on TikTok, and if it gets banned, we will actually have nothing?”.

TikTok also serves as a source of income for displaced families, people rebuilding after natural disasters, medical bills, and everyday necessities. For those who say that these creators should “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” and get a “real job,” some people simply cannot because they are disabled, homeless, or otherwise displaced or marginalized. It is unfair that we should be so limited in a society so diverse. People rely on this app; if it is taken away, they will be left with nothing. I’ll repeat it: that’s just not right. 

Additionally, people in creative spaces use the app to promote themselves, bring awareness to their content, and make money. Without it, small businesses and creators will likely get less exposure, meaning some people can no longer do what they love. Artists will likely lose the fanbases they’ve built and a source of income. TikToker la.fumettisa shared a video with the caption, “heartbroken over the imminent TikTok ban, loss of community and income for my small business,” and Tiktoker dollrust0 wrote, “I know it’s just a TikTok ban, but it’s hard not to be sentimental about losing what has essentially been my digital diary for years. I felt seen.” TikTok is an essential platform for artists, creative types, and people who, like dollrust0, want to feel seen.

As someone who loves to write and make things but has chosen not to do it professionally, I find this fucked up to the highest degree. Society encourages art yet takes every opportunity to limit it when done professionally. How will artists bring attention to what they do? How many beautiful, amazingly talented people will we miss out on if the ban goes through? I love engaging with people on TikTok, and as a small creator on other platforms, the thought of losing everyone I have met or interacted with makes me unbelievably sad. 

The Potential Power Struggle and Precedent:

Because the legislation around the bill dictates that the app can stay un-banned if it is bought by someone else within a year, there is a potential that someone who has bought other platforms or shown interest in it could buy TikTok, allowing them to control the flow of information in the United States and narrative pushed out to the masses regarding political events, natural disasters, and controversial topics. Like misinformation, there is extreme danger in only one narrative being told. It prevents the varied perspectives I mentioned earlier and allows the people in charge to guide the opinions of American TikTok users (170 million people, by the way) to garner support for their ideals. This is where a ban such as this becomes dangerous and sets a precedent for censorship in that it allows the government to interfere with the speech and writing created by the people.

In a conversation with NBC News, “cyber-diplomat” Chris Painter, who has worked with the Obama administration, says, “If the U.S. was certainly trying to shut down a social media platform or something because they didn’t like what was being said on it, absolutely our moral authority would disappear…it sends the message that this is acceptable…obviously that deserves an outcry (Collier par. 14-16).” The proposed ban directly infringes on the American right to freedom of speech and the press, whether the Supreme Court rules it to be this way or not. If the ban goes through, we will see this again, potentially sooner than we would like. If it can be bought, it is under threat. 

Conclusion:

Again, I must assert that the looming ban on TikTok is terrible for various reasons. I am wholeheartedly against it for the threat it poses to Free Speech and its similarities to authoritarian control tactics seen with fascist governments. TikTok is about more than dancing or brain rot. It is vital to spreading information and interconnection between people worldwide, bringing people together around common interests. People use it to make their lives easier and, in some cases, possible. For the government to make such an issue of one app based on speculation when the threat of large-scale war is immense, California is burning, climate change is worsening, gun violence is rampant, and people are dying because they don’t have the basic resources they need to live is, quite frankly, extremely scary.

It is incredibly disheartening to think that our leaders care more about a “silly dancing app” (TikTok user not_tgg) than all of the loss and devastation in the world. Writing does not seem nearly enough to compensate for what is at risk, but we must be aware of what is happening. I’ll leave you with a quote from whistleblower Edward Snowden: “Your rights matter because you never know when you’re going to need them.”

References: 

Collier, Kevin. "A TikTok Ban Could Embolden Authoritarian Censorship, Experts Warn." NBC News, 17 Mar. 2024. NBC News, www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/tiktok-ban-embolden-authoritarian-censorship-experts-warn-rcna143476. Accessed 12 Jan. 2025.

Espada, Mariah, and Nik Popli. "Why the U.S. and Other Countries Want to Ban or Restrict TikTok." TIME. TIME, time.com/6263851/why-us-wants-to-ban-tiktok/. Accessed 12 Jan. 2025.

I have fact-checked all of the information in here to the best of my abilities and would never deliberately spread misinformation, but please correct me if I missed or should add anything. Feel free to reply, but please be polite, even if we share different opinions.

[whitefoxfiction]

☾༓ I will preface this list by saying my list of characters that I am comfortable may change as time goes on. I am very new to this, so I still need to polish my characterizations, and that will be harder for some characters than others!

Content Types

☾༓ I want to try my hand at a variety of content types including headcanons, imagines, one-shots, shorts, WIP snips, and occasional arts & crafts. ☾༓ I will write both SFW and NSFW content (no crossovers). I do not shy away from dark themes, but everything will be well tagged! You are responsible for minding the tags!! Please see the Rules here!

☾༓ Assume !reader will be afab!reader if nothing is specified. Character x Character pairings are okay to request, with some caveats (see Ships section below). By nature, char x reader and anything AU-related is probably going to be a little OOC at points, but I plan to try keeping canon characters in-character as much as possible. Certain characters (Ulquiorra, Aizen and Mayuri for example) are not nice, fluffy characters canonnically, so if that’s what you want, please specify that in your request! ☾༓ I will try to pick a tone appropriate to the piece. Keep in mind there is a difference between romance and erotica. For NSFW items, let me know if you have a preference between a style that is more euphemistic and one that is more raunchy. I default to writing in 3rd person perspective.

☾༓ I have longer stories floating around my head that I want to write at some point. Anything I write with multiple chapters will be posted on my Archive of Our Own.

☾༓ Lastly, I am a self-indulgent fan first and foremost. This blog is meant to be fun, and if it’s not fun for me, I won’t write it.

Characters

☾༓ I am most comfortable writing for the Shinigami/ Vizards as a rule, with the Espada/Arrancar coming in second. The ones I feel would come easiest to me are (in no particular order): Izuru Kira, Akon, Ikakku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, Kisuke Urahara, Shunsui Kyōraku, Renji Abarai, Rangiku Matsumoto, Shinji Hirako, Rose Ōtoribashi, Kensei Muguruma, Lisa Yadomaru, Grimmjow, Stark, Tres Bestias (Halibel’s fraccion), Nelliel, Szayel, and that jerk, Aizen. ☾༓ That being said, I will make an attempt to try writing for just about any of the Shinigami and consider the other Espada/ Arrancar on a case-by-case basis, but they aren’t a hard no. I will also take requests for the World of the Living gang (nsfw for Isshin, Ryūken, Tessai, Yoruichi, Urahara and Post TYBW humans. See exceptions below). ☾༓ At this time, I have no interest in writing for the other Fullbringers or any Quincy characters or characters having no dialogue in the manga. ☾༓ I do not take requests for NSFW for the following: Shinigami - Yamamoto, Chōjiro Sasakibe, Okikiba, Ōmaeda, Hanatarō, Rikichi, Komamura, Hitsugaya, Ryūnosuke, Shino, Hiyosu or any of the unnamed 12th division freaks. Arrancar/Espada – Zommari, Aaroniero, Yammy, Barriagan, none of the privarón Espada, Luppi, Wonderweiss, Rudbornn, Lillinette, none of Szayel’s fracción, none of Grimmjow’s fracción, neither of Nel’s fracción, Nirgge, or Choe Neng Poww. None of the Fullbringers at this time. World of the Living – Jinta, Ururu, Yuzu, Karin (even aged up). Any of the humans pre-TYBW (and probably not then unless it’s a super interesting ask.

Ships

☾༓ I will consider ‘ship requests. Taking a ‘ship request doesn’t mean I think it has any merit in canon, nor does it mean I personally like the ‘ship much. It just means I’m fulfilling a request. ☾༓ I have some ‘ships I really don’t want to write. I won’t write IchiRuki simply because the history of IchiRuki vs IchiHime wars in fandom. Yes, it’s a small minority of people that cause drama, but I’m still reluctant to even go there. ☾༓ Feel free to ask about crack or rare pair ‘ships and I will consider on a case-by-case basis if it’s meant to be mostly for SFW comedy purposes.

☾༓ I am unapologetically pro OC x canon 'ship or self-ship as a legitimate way to enjoy fandom. It's not cringe, just a prederence. I will tag any OC content so those who dislike it can skip it. ☾༓ I have a small army of OCs that I adore and am putting a LOT of work into. I have a mostly-formed, plot-heavy, half-crack epic fic in mind that will not leave me alone. It’s a cringe fest of a post-tybw continuation/divergence where I shamelessly indulge in shipping an OCs with like 15 or so characters. I reserve the right to pester you all with them from time to time. 😂

[keikakudori]

pardon me while i feel a need to clarify a couple things here where aizen and his espada are concerned --

namely, how he views them.

truth be told, aizen’s had years and years to work with his espada, gathering them, making arrancar, and more. i am one to very much look at canon and disagree because the timeline doesn’t tend to make sense and i feel that aizen would have been working to make the arrancar and espada well before what the canon gives us, if through experimentation. we know he had a hogyoku of his own over a hundred years ago, as proven when gin was a child and saw him feeding that portion of rangiku’s soul to his own ( and i can’t wait for the day he gets to learn that -- ) so i thusly believe that he was trying for a long time before what the canon told us to craft arrancar.

while aizen is not indifferent to his espada, his level of personal involvement with them is very certainly curated. he does not fear them -- none of them -- in the least. each of them has differing strengths and he is aware of each of them. not only that, but aizen recruited each of his espada personally. he took time to study them, understand them, and thusly did he in kind know how to approach them. we’ve seen him, as per canon, take interest in two of them personally -- that being starrk and hallibel -- and i do not doubt he did the same for all the rest. which is my headcanon and i’m sticking with it. 

aizen DOES have favorites amongst the espada, though. that’s not anything he’s shy about displaying.

he considers nnoitra and grimmjow the problem children. starrk, hallibel, and ulquiorra are his favorites amongst all tend. barragan he knows bears a grudge towards him, szayel is content to obey so long as he can carry out his experiments, while aaroniero, zommari, and yammy are free to do as they please. and for all that the power structure and hierarchy can change, as proven with luppi briefly replacing grimmjow, aizen does not view the espada as a pack. he considers them simply tools. tools he might bear fondness for, but tools nonetheless. in the wake of nnoitra displacing nelliel and forcing aizen to find a replacement for her, he chose to instate a very simple rule: you are not allowed to kill one another.

the reason why grimmjow was not punished for killing luppi was because, more or less, aizen preferred grimmjow’s power to luppi’s and he was not shy about being critical of the fact that he had thought luppi would be stronger than he presented in the wake of their diversion where orihime was taken by ulquiorra.

while the espada are free to feel for him as they please ( hatred, fear, lust, desire for his attention, more -- ) there is a disconnection between between aizen and the espada. he understands that there is a desire to earn his attention from some members and he can be quite indulgent of it -- or it can truly irritate him. choosing to be stubborn about bad behavior does  not impress him in truth, though he can see it as a useful thing if only in the nature of this gives me something to control you with. but aizen’s never indifferent to his espada. he knows very well what makes each of them tick and to think he doesn’t understand that or play into that personality is simply not how he is. aizen knows what he’s doing and he knows, too, how to do it.

he is not a man to discard any investment lightly, particularly with the espada. in particular, take a look at grimmjow; aizen used kaname as a means for his displeasure ( which gin chided aizen upon and thus, the next time that grimmjow chose to act out of line? aizen took a hand directly with him in response. ) but he did not reduce grimmjow to a privaron though he could technically have been considered one momentarily. the cause of this was grimmjow disobeying him directly by going to the living world with his fraccion and, in turn, thus being responsible for their deaths; while fairly indifferent to the loss of five arrancar ( they were only gillians, after all. ), the fact remains that grimmjow went out of his way to misbehave and was thusly punished for it.

in other words, grimmjow brought the consequences upon himself with his own behavior. while aizen does not mind if someone is boisterous or loud ( such as yammy; he actually doesn’t mind yammy’s loudness one bit, surprisingly, if only because yammy does tend to remain deferential in their dealings with one another ), he despises disrespect. and if someone remains willfully disrespectful even in the wake of being punished for their actions, then aizen’s response will continue to escalate and thusly will he finally take a direct hand. out of all of the espada, grimmjow is the most rebellious one in aizen’s eyes and thusly does he tend to bring the weight of his displeasure down upon him more than anyone else. even nnoitra isn’t treated the way grimmjow is.

but aizen is not indifferent to his espada nor of their behavior with him; he understands each of his fine beasts very well. he doesn’t seek to tame them -- but he is willing to use them without hesitation.

[arrancxr]

Hey! ❤️ Would the espadas tend to brag about having a s/o or being well taken care of ? Like would they show off their new belongings or even their s/o? 😘

Hewwo!! :D

. . . 

Starrk:

-He doesn’t feel any need to brag. Just having your company is plenty. So long as he can snuggle up to you and sleep peacefully, there’s not a thing he needs to show off. However, Lilynette has different ideas, and yes, she will drag you around and show everyone the wonderful human that loves them. 

Halibel:

-She’s proud of you, of course, but sees no need to show off. She’s content with having you around, and doesn’t see a point in bragging to others. What you do for her is already plenty. However, if asked, she’ll show more emotion describing your kindness to her than she does about almost anything else. 

Ulquiorra:

-Nope. Not at all. He always kind of teeters on ashamed of having a human so close to him in the first place, so showing off anything to do with that is out. He’s uncomfortable with the idea of relying on you for anything, so he doesn’t speak of your relationship unless it’s absolutely necessary. 

Nnoitra:

-The idea of having a partner is kind of uncomfortable to him, to begin with, so he doesn’t brag. It still feels humiliating to have a human tailing after him all the time, meaning that he usually keeps his mouth shut. Bragging about how much attention and care he gets just feels sort of pathetic in his mind. 

Grimmjow:

-Yep. He’s absolutely thrilled to have a human who’s so good to him-- especially because Hollows don’t normally get the kind of things that you do for him. He’s willing to brag about you at any given opportunity... even if he does tend to skew things in a way that makes him feel less vulnerable. 

Szayel:

-But of course! You’re good enough that he chose you, so you’re obviously worth showing off to the world and bragging constantly about how well he selected his human to keep him company. He doesn’t mention it, however, but Szayel is also weirdly proud of how well you take care of him. 

Aaroniero:

-He doesn’t really have anyone to brag to, but yes, he absolutely would if given the opportunity. It’s kind of humiliating that you do so much to take care of him, but at the same time, it’s special. Other Hollows don’t get food, warm places to sleep, and nice things, and he has a sense of pride about that. 

[the8thsphynx]

*Insert Seinfeld Slap Bass*

Prologue | Chapter 1 |

Characters: Grimmjow Jaegerjquez, Kugo Ginjo, Kukaku Shiba, Kisuke Urahara, Ichigo Kurosaki, Shukuro Tsukishima Pairings: Grimmjow/Ginjo, Kisuke/Yoruichi Genre: Comedy, Romance, Family, Government Espionage Warnings: Mature language, s3xual humor, fighting/violence, alcohol, mentions of death, rap battles with government officials

Chapter 1:

‘Shaking a Bag of Catfood Outside of the Shiba Residence’

The air on the outskirts of the Rukon District always had a lighter feel to it. Kukaku had seldom stepped away from her fireworks shop to enter the inner districts by the Seireitei ever since her brother’s passing, but even so she would occasionally indulge herself by standing outside of the Shiba manor to take in the sight of the mountain-like structure in the distance. The wind blew gently through the field of grass and Kukaku cursed herself for not wearing her prosthetic arm today to help protect her smoking pipe.

Through the whistling of the wind, she heard the front doors of the manor clatter open and someone approach her. By the familiar light jingling of a silver chain, she identified her visitor without even turning her head.

“I’m taking it by how soon you’re back, you couldn’t fix it?” she remarked with a puff of tobacco smoke.

The voice that replied was deep and male, “Don’t know what to tell you. I said I’m not familiar with pyrotechnic equipment since I worked with cars.”

Kukaku waved dismissively at him with her right stump, “Bah, I already told you not to try and explain that modern living world stuff to me. If you can’t fix my launcher then I guess I gotta pay someone to look at it. Anyways, did you let the cat in, yet?”

There was a pause from her visitor, followed by a shallow and sharp breath. Removing her kiseru from her mouth and flicking the ashes into the wind, Kukaku turned to face him and raised one eyebrow.

“You didn’t hear me or something, Ginjo?” she said with smoke coming from between her teeth, “I like that cat. I like his regular visits. Almost as nice to have come by as Yoruichi. Has he come by yet and have you let him in?”

Kugo Ginjo tossed a rag blotched with black stains over his shoulder and looked away from Kukaku, “Yeah, and I told you he’s irritating as hell.”

The head of the Shiba clan stuck her pipe between her teeth and wrinkled her nose, “Gotcha. Hang on before I go through with your request, lemme find the slip of paper that says you pay the rent to have an opinion over me.”

The chutzpah in Kugo fractured and by the twitch of his eye and clench of his jaw he knew he was backed into a verbal wall. He fixed the collar of the haori that the Shibas had lent him as he bit his tongue to avoid saying something he shouldn’t to the head of the household.

Unfortunately, with being ‘dead’, that meant he had come to the Soul Society with the clothes he had died in and nothing else. When Kukaku took him and his other two companions in, she offered him clothes that resembled a Meiji-era style, but unfortunately for Kugo this was the closest to ‘modern’ the styles got outside of very expensive custom-made clothing orders. This particular outfit was a fern green kimono with a scale pattern and a dark grey haori. Not that Kugo had any room to complain to begin with, but at least this one was bearable to wear.

As he opened his mouth to respond to her, the front door clattered open again and two men nearly double his size in twin uniforms disregarded his presence completely and bellowed to Kukaku like two henchmen to a yakuza boss.

“MY LADY, WE HAVE FOUND THE CAT IN THE EQUIPMENT STORAGE ROOM TODAY,” they thundered, “SHALL WE BRING HIM TO THE PARLOUR, MA’AM?”

Kukaku flickered her slate grey eyes from the giant men to Kugo and gave a wink, silently flaunting her intuition for the ‘cat’ having just arrived. She flicked the ashes in her kiseru into the wind again and began moving back inside of the Shiba manor, on the way smacking Kugo’s arm with the back of her hand.

“Storage room?” she mused, then waved her hand, “Nah, I’ll meet him there. Probably was looking for this guy, anyways. Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko, set things up for us in the parlour and we’ll be up shortly. Come along and help me greet our guest with me, Ginjo.”

One of the guards held out an open box with a fitted silk interior to Kukau and the other a small ceramic bowl with a wooden lid. To the ceramic pot Kukaku dumbed the rest of her ashes from the pipe and then carefully placed her kiseru in the silk-lined box. After closing the containers, the two giant men bowed to her and then went off back inside of the manor with shockingly light footsteps for their stature. 

Kugo grimaced and followed behind her down a flight of stairs, “...Hey, at least he didn’t end up outside like the first few times.”

The Shiba residence was certainly a fascinating structure; from the outside it looked like little more than a shack aside from Kukaku’s gaudy, ever-changing outdoor decorations and the massive sealed ‘chimney’. Directly inside, however, there was a staircase that lead to a labyrinth of lower levels, lit by a strange light-emitting herb that the Shibas planted inside of the walls and left open with shelf-like holes in the ceilings.

She lead Kugo to a specific sliding door on left hand side in the middle of the hall. The rest of the doors were normal, everyday-average sliding doors, but this one had a window beside it with a panel in place that said ‘CLEAR’ likewise with an opposite side that would say ‘WORK IN PROGRESS’. This was where Kukaku and her pyrotechnics team would construct, prepare, and store every manner of launchers, mounts, or casings for fireworks that were ordered. Despite the sign currently displaying ‘CLEAR’, Kukaku still knocked.

“Heeeyyyy, Grimmjow!”she called as she began pushing the door open, “You in here? We’re coming in!”

Being perfectly content with his distance from the room, Kugo had remained behind Kukaku with his gaze fixed into a half-annoyed glare looking away from the storage room door. It wasn’t that he outright hated Grimmjow, it was just… well…

The sound of the wooden door clattering open was enough to cover the sound and of course neither of the two were paying attention to their surroundings, so a black figure was able to successfully swing down from a hole in the ceiling where the light-emitting herbs were.

“VIBE CHECK.”

Perhaps it was his keen intuition or his reflexes honed from nearly two decades of combat, but Kugo was just barely able to catch an assailant’s foot before it came in contact with his head. In the space contained in a half-second, Kugo turned from confusion to burning irritation. Gritting his teeth, he yanked his attacker’s leg towards him, throwing them off-balance and sending them to the ground. Without missing a beat, Kugo used his free arm to come down with his forearm full-force on the attacker’s neck; they were just as fast as he was, though, and threw one arm up to brace the blow as they were slammed intot he ground with a residing ‘THUD’.

Kukaku was frozen for a moment at hearing the attack behind her, but then turned on her heels and snapped at the two, “GOD DAMMIT, I SAID NONE OF THAT IN THE HOUSE.”

Kugo didn’t look up at her, instead keeping an unamused scowl at the being below him. Bright blue eyes like lightning stared back at him and were paired with a grin more animal-like than human.

“Heheheh. You’re gettin’ slower,” a gravelly voice chuckled, “Careful, all you need is one misstep and you die, Ginjo.”

The fullbringer grit his teeth, “You’re a little late for that, Grimmjow.”

Kukaku slapped her one hand against the wall, making a noise loud enough that the two men separated begrudgingly and stood on their feet. The humanoid being that stood before Kugo was very clearly not human; not persay for his wild blue hair or the jawbone mask on his cheek, but for the air about him… a look in his cobalt eyes that gave the sensation that you weren’t talking with another person so much as facing a wild animal. What was it that Tsukishima told Kugo this feeling was…? Ah, right, the ‘uncanny valley’; a survival instinct in humans to recognize something that looks like a human but isn’t.

Kugo knew the origins of Grimmjow and what he was classified as, though, as thanks to Tsukishima-- his former mentee and current fellow guest of the Shibas--having used his complicated ability to see into others’ pasts to learn about Hollows, arrancars, and the Espada from others who had encountered him. Of course he couldn’t register Grimmjow as a person, for the pure fact that Grimmjow was the end of a long chain of congregation, mutation, and evolution of thousands of Hollows-- dead and forsaken or vengeful souls that became one person with their own unique personalities, typically with a lack of human emotion or empathy. It wasn’t as though Kugo was completely disgusted in such an existence, though; after all, a Hollow was the only reason that he was born with his own particular powers.

“Did you bring me my delivery, Grimms?” Kukaku piped up, holding out her one arm and beckoning for the blue haired man.

Grimmjow kept his eyes locked on Kugo and wore a flat expression while  fixing his short jacket and collar. Still maintaining eye contact, he reached inside of his black zip-up shirt and retrieved a white envelope packed full and thick.

“Right here for ya,” Grimmjow responded, “And you can uphold your end of this deal, right, Shiba woman?”

Kugo blinked at the arrancar and then turned to shoot Kukaku a questioning glare. He was no stranger to deals of a certain nature happening regularly outside of the club or even down the street from where he lived, and typically he didn’t care, but… was this really what was happening between Grimmjow and Kukaku? She didn’t seem like that kind of person.

...However, she seemed to ignore Kugo completely as she grinned back at Grimmjow and rested her hand on her hip.

“That’s a good man,” she nodded, “Knew I could count on ya to deliver for me. Alright, now before we talk this out let me get you upstairs and settled into the parlour. It ain’t right for me as lady of the Shiba clan to not treat a business partner with hospitality. You hungry, Grimmjow?”

Kukaku didn’t wait for a response before turning around and heading back down the hallway. The arrancar gave Kugo another glance, warranting another small scowl from Kugo which caused Grimmjow to smirk. Folding his arms behind his head and locking his fingers in place, Grimmjow meandered down the hall in the same direction as Kukaku.

He scoffed, “I told ya I don’t need to eat human food unless I’m in a gigai. Although… if you’re offering to feed me regardless, you ain’t gonna like what I tell you I can eat.”

Kukaku waved her hand, “Forget it, then. It’s other Hollows, right? At least that’s what I heard from Tsukishima. That’s not really an easily accessible game for people like us for a plethora of reasons but I mean hell, who knows? If I’m satisfied with my delivery I might just have to send Ginjo out to grab me a few of those little bastards for you. What’s a former Soul Reaper for if not odd jobs like that?”

Kugo begrudgingly found his way behind them and felt his eye twitch slightly again, “Excuse me, so now I’m just your live-in Hollow exterminator…?”

“Hollow catcher,” Kukaku corrected.

Grimmjow curled his lips and made a noise in his throat, “Ugh, as if I’m such a poor hunter on my own that I need an already half-assed fighter to catch a meal for me. No offense, Shiba, but if you’re gonna make this guy do anything for me I’d rather you get a--”

A stub of an arm was pointed back at the arrancar, “Business in the parlour. I’ll listen to you fully, but if I’m trying to maintain a system here I can’t go about making deals in my storage rooms.”

Kugo felt a familiar muscle in his left shoulder tense up as it normally did with stress. As he reached up to try and give himself some relief to it, he debated if he should make another remark to Grimmjow and Kukaku that he wasn’t just some chore boy or exchangeable item… then again, with how weird and wild these two were, his words would fall on deaf ears, anyways.

--------

A/N: This chapter took longer to come out than I intended simply because in the time frame I wanted to finish the last five paragraphs I ended up getting a looottt of work piled on me, but fortunately it’s up now! Next chapter will hopefully be only a few days behind it!

[godkilller]

          out of character.  I know in the past week or two I’ve posted a lot about fight threads / writing action, which is awesome and one of my favorite things to do with Gin, but I also feel like I’ve never mentioned the flip side; NOT picking a fight. Though he may seem to always be trying to rile others with his piece-of-shit attitude and approach, Gin’s not down to fight 24/7, especially with these particular characters.

PEOPLE GIN WOULD ABSOLUTELY AVOID FIGHTING:

  - Matsumoto Rangiku           A given. Unfortunately, Gin wouldn’t avoid the fight due to any fears or intimidation; he knows Rangiku’s strengths and weaknesses intimately and would feel confident in defeating her unhindered if he must. But he abhors the concept of meeting her in an actual fight as enemies, faced with the very real issue that he’ll inevitably have to use his power against her. This is something Gin loathes, it pulls him completely out of his typical mindset of avoiding her to a quite literal confrontation of his childish hypocrisy; fighting her, as her enemy... how in the fucking world is this protecting her? Was this what he wanted when he was a child all those years ago? How far has he fallen that he’s somehow twisted himself into believing that vengeance against Aizen is somehow worth doing this to her? No, Gin would much rather incapacitate her and avoid that internal conflict at all costs. 

  - Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni           Gin’s not keen on being scolded while also burnt to a crisp, despite feeling relatively comfortable about facing off against a man who is entirely likely to prolong the drawing of their own blade; better of a chance to snipe him before Ryujin Jakka makes an entrance... right? No... realistically, even if he got a killshot on the old man from the safest distance courtesy of his own Bankai, Gin feels that Yamamoto would still somehow find a way to wipe the floor with him. That’s his luck. Even though he was prepared to ‘help’ Aizen fight Yamamoto in Karakura Town, Gin preferred to simply watch... and quietly cheer for Yamamoto, despite knowing he wouldn’t win. If Yamamoto somehow did win, Gin would much rather hightail it than hang around and see what fate awaited him at the elder’s mercy.

  - Unohana Retsu           There’s a distinction in her aura, the way she carries herself akin to a predator lying in wait, that Gin’s relatively familiar / experienced with ... so he’s not fucking around with that. Aizen himself was sure to avoid anything dire involving her during their traitorous plots, so Gin’s content to follow in his example. He also sees no scenario in which he’d ever be faced with her wrath, regardless, since the Gotei 13 seem to be hellbent on keeping her out of conflicts. Gin doesn’t know what her history is, but from the indications Aizen gave him and the lengths he went to trick specifically her with his illusions, it’s not much fun. Best to not poke that beast. He’ll sooner play inept, incapable, than ever raise his sword at her.

  - Zaraki Kenpachi           Tousen had the pleasure of dealing with his absolute reckless and relentless mass of energy a while back. While there are age-old myths and stories surrounding speed vs. strength, Gin would rather not put himself into the spotlight by challenging someone that doesn’t even fight for anything other than the pure exhilaration of it all -- so really, what would be the point? They have no qualms with one another, anyway. If Kenpachi ran at Gin, Gin would simply give him the most boring and un-enticing avoidant fight of his life. Eventually he’d move along. Better than awakening that second wind of his; Shinso’s aim is staying relatively non-lethal as a precaution. Gin’s not too ashamed to Sentan Hakuja his way out of that mess.

PEOPLE GIN WOULD NOT ENJOY FIGHTING, BUT WOULD IF PUSHED:

  - Kurotsuchi Mayuri           It’s no secret that Mayuri is absolutely detestable when it comes to battle. Gin knows that even though Kamishini No Yari’s poison is a perfectly sealed secret as well as a non-negatable cell destroying attack, Mayuri’s the type to probably have some sort of annoying counter for it. Does he even have any organs for Gin to stab? Probably not. And Gin’s not interested in getting himself drugged by somehow puncturing some sack of gas replacing Mayuri’s left lung that’ll discreetly coat his blade and waft into his nose or some shit. No thanks. Why did Urahara release this disgusting maniac back out into the wild? Someone please put him back. Gin can really only guess at how to beat him if faced with the task: perhaps lopping off the captain’s head would do the trick? At the very least Gin wouldn’t have to listen to him rambling in that whiny voice at 5x slowed speeds whilst battling some kind of bad trip.

  - Ukitake Jūshirō           Not quite pity, but maybe something close to it; Gin would really prefer to talk things out with Ukitake. This man’s a kind soul, and far too non-violent for Gin to ever justify attacking in a malicious manner  ( that being said, Gin knows to aim for his lungs, they’re weak and once he succumbs to one of his fits, he’s down for the count )  ... it’s not something the traitor is particularly proud of, nor is he eager to seek violence against someone who has done their best to be a fatherly figure to the younger members of the Gotei 13. There’s sentiment, yet Gin can remove himself from that whisper of care if he must. At the very least, Shinso’s aim will be one of mercy; to make things end as quickly as possible for the older man.

  - Kira Izuru           Gin’s previous lieutenant of the Third Division has gone through enough, he’s not about to traumatize the boy further by facing him in battle. He’s not one to baby an individual, and Izuru’s not one to need babying, so if his ex-subordinate decides he’s ready to try and take down his betrayer, Gin will honor that request. Wabisuke’s unique ability calls for a battle to end swiftly, and with minimal to no strikes landing against the curved blade. Gin figures he can aim for his lieutenant’s arms, or hands in particular, and make it impossible or at the very least a great hindrance to swing his sword whilst those areas are injured. Nothing fatal or permanent, of course, there’s plenty of damage for Izuru to sort out as is. Gin’ll rip that band-aid off if he has to, he’ll even say sorry once his subordinate falls into that defeated and forlorn state.

  - Any of the Espada           The Espada are creations, pawns, willed into power by Aizen’s manipulative ways. Gin’s made sure to not seek out any particular attachment to beings who so devotedly outcry their loyalty to Aizen, whom he loathes. What could they possibly have in common with one another that could justify Gin giving a single damn? Nah, he’ll reluctantly deal with any of these powerhouses if need be... but they’re just so bothersome! Luckily, both Tousen and Gin are well-acquainted with their individual weaknesses, as well as various go-to methods in how to best subjugate them -- having been tasked with enforcing and maintaining control of Aizen’s Arrancar army. Gin doesn’t particularly fear or feel intimidated by any specific Espada, though battle against them seems tiresome and a great big ordeal that could be made significantly smaller if they just sat quiet and obeyed. Gin’s preference would be to kill these beasts before they can venture into their released states, lop their heads off or skewer their masks for ultimate imbalance, but otherwise he’ll simply chat them out of trying him.

PEOPLE GIN WOULD RATHER TALK HIS WAY OUT OF FIGHTING AGAINST

  - Your OC           Gin prefers harboring knowledge on his opponent before ever considering to draw his sword on them; he likes knowing more about them than they do about him. More often than not, Gin doesn’t know your OC, and is typically indifferent, nor is he generally challenged or threatened by an OC. He’ll carry on teasing and taunting them, though, to better get a read on their temperament, their perceived weaknesses, their own hubris revealed if Gin pokes and prods enough with his banter. There’s rarely a circumstance in which the ex-captain becomes bloodthirsty, especially against a character he hardly knows. Sleep soundly at night now knowing that Gin is less likely to hunt down your OC to murder them. Exceptions being characters who know personal information not feasible for them to know; like Gin’s desire to kill Aizen, or Gin’s connection / feelings for Rangiku. These are red flags to me, the mun, that there is godmodding happening. Realistically, I’ll just drop the thread / fade out, but if the stars align? Gin will kill your character for the breach in his secrecy. Don’t do it!

          If your character’s name is not on this list, assume Gin has no qualms fighting them, or is otherwise indifferent towards them. Gin isn’t necessarily EAGER to fight anyone, and would much rather observe from a safe distance, knowing Shinso could easily cut down an enemy he deemed to be too threatening to deal with himself -- he’s one to indulge the classic of surprise attacks, not in a properly announced manner indicating he’s entered the fight. Gin will graciously offer most characters an out if they find themselves a little too headstrong in attempting to fight him, but eventually he’ll deem the situation worthy of being properly dealt with.

[fornicaras]

In all honesty, Szayelaporro was quite content in being the Octava espada, he had no desire to grasp for power and influence. Indeed, he viewed such things as something that a lesser being would pursue. He does not have a favorable view of those who continuously pursue power as miserable attempt to prove their own superiority, very often by posturing and throwing around their weight. Those would lose their bearings first, and those ended up being killed first. They’d do anything for power, and that was something easily exploited.  That is what made people like Nnoitra such easy pawns, that constant need to be stronger is something primal; and something easy to manipulate.

His position as Octava espada also leads him to be underestimated. Not that he minds all that much, it was part of how he would hunt when he was a Hollow. So he has become accustomed to being looked down upon. Szayelaporro is disarming, and more often than not, people find themselves caught off guard when faced with what he is capable of.

That is not to say that Szayelaporro isn’t ambitious. Quite the contrary, he is quite ambitious, his determination and resolve are a thing of legend. Add a large amount of pride and arrogance there, and you have an accurate depiction of what Szayelaporro is like. But what he seeks is not power, he doesn’t care about raw power and position. What he seeks is perfection, to be the very best that he can be, the delusion he has chased after for so many years. Which he had believed to have attained when he was an espada— a mistake on his part. One he still chastises himself over till this day.

It was his defeat at the hands of Mayuri that allowed him to see this— to realize that he could be so much more. What he sought was stagnation, an ultimate end where nothing would improve; and thus, he could never be better. It was the very first time that Szayelaporro longed to prove he was better than someone. After Szayelaporro was past the initial shock and confusion of it all, it was that anger and spite towards Mayuri that drove him to climb to new heights; to want to claw his way up and drag him down from his lofty pedestal.

Slowly, his motivation changed, as he began to develop as a person. As he began to understand the world around him, a reality that he had ignored in order to fool himself into believing he was a perfect being. It was then he realized he had much to learn, before he even considered to call himself perfect.

And learn he would.

[zommari-suggestions]

...

I... Can explain....

Yesterday, I made a few.... Interesting and uncharacteristic posts... I would really like to apologize for them as they were very improper and I would like to explain a bit more of what lead me to making them.

As you all know, I DO NOT drink! I am not an alcoholic and while I will enjoy alcohol occasinally, I would NEVER overdrink as I am a person who values moderacy and balance, as evident by my zodiac sign (Libra)

Yesterday however, an incident occurred which, while inexcusable, was definitely explainable; I found in a cabinet in my palace, a (1)(ONE)(sole) bottle of alcohol beverage. It was NOT my intention to drink, however I was afraid that is would spoil, so I took it upon myself to finish it. After I did, I discovered more bottles of similar drinks which were most definitely NOT mine and which I have no idea how they ended up in my room. It seemed that they would go bad and I considered, being a very balanced person, that drinking further would not hurt me as I have the internal balance to support it. Offering such liquids to other Hollows would simply render them severely intoxicated, a responsibility I could not bare.

It seems, however, that even for me, the achohol intake was too large and that lead me to saying certain things and making decisions which, as of now, deeply regret. The content, the essence of what I said, is and will remain true, as a testament of my genuinity as a person, but the manner in which those things were said was inappropriate.

I was feeling rather famished as well so I made the, in retrospect, idiotic decision to travel to the human world and see if I could find some humans to eat. I feel like I need to clarify here that I will only eat humans who seem like they are in a bad place and NOT anyone, as some have claimed, in an attempt to slander me and call me a hypocrite.

In the human world my inebriated self encountered... Unforseeable circumstances...

Apparently, the "disease" that was mentioned by someone here is real and is something humans are currently dealing with. Also, it appears there has been a "quarantine" to prevent said disease from spreading. The authorities (not Soul Reapers) operating there saw me as an apparent threat to public safety (apparently being intoxicated in a "public area" is a crime) as well as a danger to public health (as I was "not respecting" the "protective" measure taken against the "virus") and attempted to apprehend me. I tried to explain to them CALMY that I am a HOLLOW and I mearly wanted to eat, but they would not understand me. They asked for my name and identification, of which I had none OBVIOUSLY and when I told them so they ARRESTED ME!!!!!

Personally I find the situation unacceptable so I decided to act on my own accord and demonstrate my powers, which lead to... The tragic deaths of innocent bystanders who had nothing to do with the situation.

I feel immense guilt for everything that transpired, because of the terrible example I set for others as well as killing humans who I had no intent of eating and will subsequently be wasted.

I feel like the insident has taught me a lot about me, the world I am surounded by as well as the human world and I believe there is always something positive to be found in any bad place. As such, I have decided to feed the diseased humans to the Hollows of Hueco Mundo and make sure no alcoholic beverages in my vicinity will near going bad again

Thank you, my friends, for listening and understanding, and I hope we can move on AND FORGET THIS INCIDENT EVER HAPPENED and use this incident as a learning experience

Thank you,

Zommari Rureaux, 7th Espada

[rigel126]

Lance the Winter Mage

A Shance one-shot for Shance Secret Santa 2018 (unused pinch-hitter fic)

You can also read it on my AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17316854

A belated Xmas prezzie for my fellow Shance hoes @keirdark and @rigb0ner

Check out my other fics on Tumblr here on my Master List.

*

Lance the Winter Mage

by Rigel126

It was the Tenth of December, and a sheet of snow fell gently over the kingdom of Altea. Lance, the Winter Mage, had closed his tower and ventured out to a quiet spot deep in the West Forest as was his habit on the days of the full moon. He was heavily bundled in fur coats, and grumbled bitterly into his muffler, “By God, was I a fool to specialize in ice magic. Of course the Mages’ Senate would send me to the coldest town in the land! Quiznak!”

A strong gust picked up and Lance pulled his overcoat more tightly to his body. “Brr! I’m too gay for this crap! Ugh!”

A noise came from the left, off the pathway. Lance turned his head to scan the trees. He could not see anything, but he felt the unmistakeable resonance of magic being used. Sensing something amiss, Lance dashed into the tree-line, his right hand clenching around the stock of a magically conjured crossbow made of pure ice.

The noises grew louder, and Lance heard people shouting and chains rattling violently. Lance burst out into a clearing and found a pack of poachers in Galran attire attempting to restrain a full-grown, fully-transformed werewolf with a chain snare, long pikes and low-level fire spells. The mixed stench of blood-iron and burnt fur was stomach-churning, and red stained the snow on the ground like macabre winter flowers.

“What do you think you’re doing?” roared Lance, firing his crossbow skywards: the bolt transformed into a flare that exploded high above them, an emergency signal that would summon the Altean Rangers. “Werewolf-hunting is forbidden in Altea without a Senate De- whoa!” Lance dodged a fireball that flew past his head and set a tree on fire.

“Kill that bastard!” shouted the Galran fire mage. Of the six poachers holding down the werewolf, three rushed at Lance, brandishing their weapons.

“Now you’ve done it,” growled Lance, his blue eyes glowing brightly with magic-infused rage.

*

The first Rangers to arrive on the scene were Coran and Keith, and they found Lance in the middle of a circle made from seven towers of ice, littered with broken weapons, blood and a torn metal snare. Lance was on his knees, gently stroking the head of a black-and-white-haired werewolf who was covered in blood, to the astonishment of the Rangers.

“What happened here, Lance? Are you alright?” asked Coran, prudently keeping his distance when he saw Lance’s eyes glowing.

Lance turned his face to Coran, but his shining blue eyes were unfocused like those of a blind man. “Ah, Coran, you’re here. I thought you wouldn’t come.”

“I apologize for being a tad bit late, but we of the Ranger always come when we are needed to defend the peace of the realm.” Coran grabbed Keith’s arm firmly before he could do anything that might provoke Lance while the Winter Mage was in one of his ‘episodes’.

“Excuses, excuses,” retorted Lance airily. “But since you’re here, then all is well.” Lance closed his eyes and tilted his head back, breathed in and let out a long, throaty sigh before sinking onto his back in the blood-stained snow. When he opened his eyes, they looked normal again. Human.

“Sorry about that, Coran, Keith.” Lance turned his head and nodded weakly at the two Rangers, who visibly relaxed and came closer. “I need your help to arrest these criminals.”

With a snap of his fingers, the seven towers of ice crumbled, revealing the Galran poachers and their third-rate mage-for-hire; they all fell on the ground, shivering violently and incapacitated by the biting cold.

“Their offenses include hunting without a permit, inhumane treatment of a Special Rights Beastman, resisting arrest, and especially, attempting to harm the Winter Mage of Altea, the fabulously stylish Lance McClain de la Espada IV!” Lance announced and then burst into tired laughter.

*

Christmas Eve was the busiest time of the year at Lance’s wizard tower. The queue was some thirty yards long with the denizens of Altea clamouring for charms and potions for the festive season.

In the back room where Lance had his laboratory, the Winter Mage himself was in a mad frenzy preparing his wares. Objects flew through the air, propelled by magic, while miniature ice golems manipulated long ladles to stir the contents of eight cauldrons lined against the walls.

“Lance, we’re running low on Sobering Potions and Cold Wards out here!” Pidge stuck his head into Lance’s laboratory and hollered.

Lance stuck his finger into one bubbling cauldron and tasted it. “Tell ‘em that the Sobering Potion is being bottled right now.” He swished his finger at the ice golem stirring the cauldron; the golem leaped off its stool and began dragging a wooden pellet filled with empty glass vials to be filled with the newly-brewed Sobering Potion.

“Shiro, did you finish checking the Cold Wards?”

Shiro, the black-and-white-haired werewolf who Lance rescued two weeks ago, looked up from his work. “Almost done,” he grunted.

“Then will you be a dear and bring the ones you’ve checked out to the front? I don’t want Pidge to be lynched by a bunch of angry housewives.”

Shiro was about to comply when he suddenly let out a vicious growl. There was the evident sound of an Arusian squeak.

Lance sighed. “No outsiders allowed in… oh!”

“Y-your Magnificence.” The tiny Arusian handmaiden gave Lance a nervous curtsey while keeping a watchful eye on Shiro, who towered over her with bared fangs.

“It’s alright, Shiro.” Lance waved at Shiro to calm him down.

“Princess Allura sent me to collect her order.”

“Ah, yes. Take those wards to Pidge, Shiro, and then I’ll need you to help me with some heavy lifting.”

Shiro huffed in quiet annoyance before hauling a crate out while the Arusian handmaiden scampered out of the way before Shiro could trample on her.

Lance worked into the night, long after he closed his shop and sent Pidge and Hunk home, checking his inventory of magical ingredients and balancing his accounts ledgers.

“Lance,” growled Shiro, all stretched out on his cot. Even in his humanoid form, Shiro still had wolf ears at the top of his head, and his long tail bushy tail swished across his muscular thigh.

No response from Lance.

“La-nce,” Shiro whined.

“Go to sleep, Shiro,” said Lance idly, scratching his quill across his ledger.

Shiro started whimpering and whining like a puppy.

Lance’s quill snapped in his fingers, splattering dots of ink on the page. “Quiznak, will you stop that?!”

When he looked up to glare at Shiro, the big, hulking werewolf was looking at Lance with big, sad, puppy eyes. It defied logic how a ferocious werewolf could make himself look so… adorable. The thought of it made Lance’s head hurt and his squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

Lance let out a surprised ‘oof’ when Shiro came and sat on his lap uninvited, like a big untrained dog, and just slumped bodily against Lance.

“Get off me, you dumb mutt!” Lance half-scolded, half-gasped, wriggling under Shiro, but Shiro was just too heavy. “I can’t breathe!”

“Lance,” Shiro said, happily ignoring Lance’s protests while he nuzzled the wizard’s neck to breathe in his scent. “I missed this. Missed you.”

“What are you talking about, you doofus?” grumbled Lance, blushing red. “We were together all day in my tower, weren’t we?”

“But I couldn’t touch you. Couldn’t smell you.”

Lance’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me? Are you saying I, the magnificent Lance McClain de la Espada IV, world-renowned Winter Mage, smell?”

“Mmhm! Like spring water, milk soap and family.” Shiro was oblivious to Lance’s sarcasm and proceeded to happily scent-mark Lance by rubbing his stubbly cheek along Lance’s lower jaw.

Lance’s face was so hot he could combust like the sun. “Alright, alright. Get off me already so that I can go to sleep.”

“Okay! Sleep!” Lance could barely walk to bed with the way that Shiro clung to him, unwilling to be physically separated. It was annoying, but Lance would be lying if he said that he didn’t not find it a tiny bit endearing. Especially since Shiro in his humanoid form was brawny and handsome the way Lance liked his male companions to be.

No, Lance, you can’t! Lance chastised himself internally when his legs finally gave out and Shiro hauled him over to bed like a sack of potatoes. Shiro’s behaviour is so innocent and childlike, he’s almost like a child. I can’t make a move on-

Lance’s internal struggle died when Shiro plopped Lance on the bed and pounced on him. Shiro giggled and sniffed and nuzzled Lance a bit before spooning Lance against him, Shiro’s nose buried in the wizard’s brown hair.

“Good night, Lance.” Shiro yawned and quickly fell silent and still, save for his soft snoring.

Squirming a bit in Shiro’s warm and muscular embrace, Lance wondered if the gods had granted him a boon or were playing a cruel trick on him. Either way, Lance was not going to be able to sleep well that night.

Merry quiznaking Christmas to me, thought Lance.

END

[bleachbigbang]

Bing #5 - Jan. 18, 2019

This is the fifth Bing of the Bleach Big Bang. A small optional challenge open for everyone, even if you aren’t participating in the Bang!

Rules: found here and here for mobile

Theme: Book / Movie AU

Due Dates: February 01, 2019

Artists: 15 minute sketch minimum

Writers: 1k word count minimum

Bleach related pieces only

NSFW is permitted but given the new Tumblr Guidelines we will only be able to accept and reblog links to adult-content fanart and fanfiction

For inspiration, consider: Recall now one of your favorite books. The last book you read that you simply couldn’t put down because you were too enthralled. Think of a movie that left you craving more. A movie you’ve watched at least half a dozen times. Delve into crossovers you never knew you needed and let worlds collide. Spin an AU of untold wonders. Ever wonder how Soi Fon would fare against James Bond or John Wick? What if Ichigo got to live in his precious Shakespeare’s wonderful creations? Maybe the Espada could be the next breakfast club? Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings in the afterlife? 

[grimmjowjaegerjaquez]

Bhhh uh have the continuation of Nuada's lore, aka 

"The Dangers of Letting Your Love Blind You From The Fact That Sometimes The Emotionless Bastard That Doesn't Care For Anybody ALSO Doesn't Care About You":

Ever since swearing his loyalty (and misplaced feelings of love and admiration) to Ulquiorra, declaring his willingness to lay down his life for him, Nuada had believed that the sentiment was completely mutual. As lost and alone and glad for a sole companion as the former prince was, he could only assume that Ulquiorra felt entirely the same. He took great pride in always being at his side.

Time and again, Nuada felt obligated to defend the espada's honor, to speak for him, to fight on his behalf and in his stead. It was his belief that Ulquiorra need not waste his time on such weaklings daring to challenge him. Just leave it all to his dearest friend to take care of. Eventually though, Ulquiorra grew tired of this.

One day he pulled the former prince aside to reveal to him what he truly felt, and it was not grateful and honored in the slightest. He told him that he was always in his way, always interfering and speaking over him, making him look a coward for hiding behind a lesser Arrancar. His loyalty? His companionship? His love? Meaningless things that he had never wanted in the first place. And as a last order, Ulquiorra reassigned him to a station far on the other side of the desert, away from the castle, where he could never interfere with him again.

Nuada was stunned; hurt, and betrayed. He was crushed to discover that his only true friendship had been so completely one-sided that at first, he almost didn't believe it. But the espada never spoke to him again. So, Nuada, overcome with anguish and bitterness, cast away his own sword, vowing that if he wouldn't allow him to fight for him, then he would fight for no one. He was content to leave his blade to be swallowed up by the sands of a world that felt so much emptier now. And he would not return home to Las Noches for several more years.

He was more or less in a Second Exile, and only returned back after months of being plagued by horrible prophetic nightmares of so many of his former colleagues being killed and defeated.

I didn't mention this earlier because I forgot, but Nuada takes no pleasure in that power and preferred keeping it a secret after Barragan banished him. Not that he expected anyone to believe him even if he did reveal that power to them; so many of the Arrancar were just as arrogant and stuck up their own ass as his former king. It wouldn't be until he was shown the death of Ulquiorra that he even tried to come back. And of course, he didn't at all make it back fast enough. By the time he returned to the rubble and ruin of Las Noches, he was already gone.

The rest of Nuada's story revolves around him grieving and struggling to come to terms with the fact that Ulquiorra just... was not who he thought he was. He built up so grand an image and idea of him that he failed to see him for who he truly was, and appreciate him for that. Ulquiorra's impassive demeanor allowed him to put whatever meaning Nuada wished to see, and he never once realized that it was never actually there.

Then begins the journey of answering one final question: does Nuada continue to wander aimlessly, never again fighting or standing for anything? Or will he pick up his sword again and fight for a newer, much worthier cause that'll actually be glad to have him?

Spoiler: It’s the latter. He just has to go find his sword first.

[junker-town]

Lamar Jackson is the biggest winner so far in Week 1

Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images

Jackson was “not bad for a running back.” He wasn’t the only young QB to impress Sunday.

After four weeks of a football-adjacent preseason product, games count again. And though the 2019 NFL season may have started with a low-scoring rock battle between the Bears and Packers, the first Sunday of the year provided the fireworks Thursday lacked.

The Ravens rolled up 59 points while looking like the kind of team who can repeat as AFC North champs. Marcus Mariota forged a three-touchdown performance while rolling over a disheveled Browns team.

And the Dolphins, uh, avoided major injury? Only lost by 49? Saw an opportunity to throw Josh Rosen into another impossible situation and seized it?

Jim Nantz couldn't get through a sentence telling people to watch a Dolphins game without laughing. things are great in Miami

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 8, 2019

Anyhow, Week 1 of the 2019 season has 13 winners on the scoreboard so far, but victory was graced even on players who may have started their year 0-1. So who are the biggest winners of opening week?

It wasn’t ...

Not considered: HBO, who packed up its cameras 10 days too early

Antonio Brown was a wellspring of content for HBO’s Hard Knocks, covering everything from frostbite (in August!) to helmet grievances as the premium cable channel set its sights on the league’s least stable franchise. This provided the requisite drama on which the show feeds, but it was just an appetizer leading up to the main course Brown served as Week 1 loomed.

Brown was fined somewhere in the vicinity of $50,000 for missing team activities not long after the HBO cameras had already left. That means they missed the altercation between the wideout and Raiders general manager Mike Mayock, which definitely involved some curse words and may have resulted in some threats. This led to a tearful apology, some social media awkwardness, and a potential crime in the state of California for Brown, who may have recorded a phone call from head coach Jon Gruden without his consent.

One day later, Brown was slapped with a $200,000 fine from Oakland, who also voided the guarantees in his contract. He asked for his release, was granted it, and approximately one hour later signed a one-year deal with the Patriots.

This was sports’ most compelling soap opera of the summer, and HBO missed it by fewer than two weeks. Brutal.

Now, on to the actual winners of the first week of the NFL’s 2019 season:

11. John Ross, who might finally shed this whole “bust” label

When the Bengals drafted Ross with the ninth pick in 2017, they envisioned him feasting off man coverage and stretching the field with his blistering speed alongside A.J. Green. Instead, they got 21 catches and a 35 percent catch rate over two seasons. Things got so bad Ross wound up dangled as trade bait, only for no realistic suitors to spark a bidding war over the budding deep threat.

It turns out keeping Ross in orange may have been just what Cincinnati needed. The third-year pro had the most productive day of his career, hauling in seven catches for 158 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His previous highs were three and 52 yards.

But despite some gaudy numbers, it wasn’t all positives for the former combine hero. Ross only caught 58 percent of his targets. His 55-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter was more a function of the Seahawks’ mistakes than any actual mastery on his part:

I’m not mad this is extremely funny to me pic.twitter.com/m9K6tWJf2W

— Brian Floyd (@BrianMFloyd) September 8, 2019

Still, it’s an encouraging leap for a player even the Bengals seemed ready to write off back in the springtime.

10. The scattered remnants of the Legion of Boom defense

While Seattle’s current defensive backs were left flailing at poorly thrown Andy Dalton passes, former Seahawks were thriving across the league. Richard Sherman had a pick-six for the 49ers. Earl Thomas’ Baltimore debut saw him intercept Ryan Fitzpatrick. Frank Clark was responsible for the only interception in the Chiefs-Jaguars tilt.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks who remained in the Pacific Northwest gave up 418 passing yards to an A.J. Green-less Bengals team.

9. Sammy Watkins, who is very much back

Watkins entered 2019 as the Chiefs’ most expensive player, but he hadn’t yet played up to his $19.2 million cap hit. The former No. 4 overall pick has flown under the radar in recent years, making only 79 catches the past two seasons while taking a backseat to other wideouts in Los Angeles and Kansas City.

So maybe that explains why the Jaguars’ typically smothering defense seemed to forget he was on the field in Week 1.

That was BIG from @sammywatkins #KCvsJAX : KCTV5 pic.twitter.com/NomU1fIEDy

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 8, 2019

Watkins rolled up 151 receiving yards and two touchdowns in one quarter, torching Jacksonville in a game where the Chiefs led for nearly 59 minutes of game clock. He finished his afternoon with nine receptions on 11 targets while averaging 22 yards per catch. It was the most productive performance of his career, and it came on a day when a shallow KC receiving corps was further depleted by the absence of Tyreek Hill, who left the game in the first half.

With Hill potentially missing “a few weeks” with a complicated shoulder injury, this unit is Watkins’ to carry for the near future. On Sunday, he proved he’s worthy of that mantle.

8. Malik Hooker, who may not be human

Malik Hooker came into 2019 looking like a prime candidate to be a breakout player in the Colts’ secondary. It took only three-plus quarters for him to show the world why.

BALL. HAWK. #INDvsLAC pic.twitter.com/RFa9BYDdRA

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 8, 2019

This was wizardry. The man turned this freeze frame:

into an interception. Hooker might be a Spider-man.

7. Kyler Murray, who was mostly awful and then worthy of his No. 1 pick

Kyler Murray in quarters 1-3 of his NFL debut:

10 of 27, 70 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception, 30.0 passer rating

Kyler Murray in the fourth quarter and overtime:

19 of 27, 238 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions, 122.2 passer rating

And, just like that, he turned the Lions’ win probability into a cosplay replication of the Krusty Show’s ratings when Itchy & Scratchy segments aired.

Arizona overcame a 24-6 deficit to push Murray’s debut to overtime, and while the Cardinals didn’t win they still made Detroit look stupid in a 27-27 tie. And a big part of that stupidity can start with the Lions’ sudden inability to stop the rookie quarterback across the line from them.

6. Vernon Davis, who turned back the clock in honor of his grandfather

Eagles fans had a very Philadelphia start to their 2019 season. It took them less than five minutes to boo their own team at home.

They had good reason to be frustrated. Despite being a seven-point favorite, the Eagles fell into a 17-0 first half hole as a theoretically scary defense was shredded into ribbons by Case Keenum. The journeyman quarterback brought back his Pro Bowl 2017 form, briefly looking like the man Denver paid $36 million for in 2018 rather than the man it later traded to Washington for a sixth-round pick.

Keenum ran his gamut of weapons, but his biggest highlight came on a 48-yard strike to Vernon Davis. The 14th-year veteran looked every bit the athletic specimen he was when the 49ers selected him with the sixth overall pick in 2006.

Here’s Vernon Davis' emotional touchdown as he mourns the loss of his grandfather, via @thecheckdown. pic.twitter.com/esSKmUSwdc

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 8, 2019

It was an especially powerful moment for Davis, who lost the grandfather who raised him Saturday night. With Keenum outperforming expectations in his Washington debut (380 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs), Davis could have a comeback year in 2019 — and he can do it in tribute to one of the biggest role models of his life.

5. Dak Prescott’s financial advisor, who is about to get some spending money

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones opened up his checkbook this summer. He doled out lucrative extensions to La’el Collins and Jaylon Smith before making Ezekiel Elliott the NFL’s richest tailback after some months of ultimately useless posturing and gamesmanship.

That all cost him about $208 million in contracts, and he’s not done yet. Quarterback Dak Prescott is currently in the final year of his rookie deal, and he’s one of the league’s biggest bargains with a mere $2.1 million salary. He’s set for a huge raise — and he made a major case to be the league’s next highest-paid passer by picking apart the Giants with surgical precision Sunday.

Dak is just ‍ under pressure. absolutely gorgeous dime to Michael Gallup pic.twitter.com/z5GH4RrSlP

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 8, 2019

Prescott threw for 405 yards, four touchdowns, and a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a 35-17 rout. This all-star performance — only the second perfect QB rating for a full game in Cowboys history — wasn’t lost on Jones.

#Cowboys owner Jerry Jones expressed confidence that a deal for Dak Prescott is “imminent.” After a performance like that, with so much money and everything else on the line, it’s fair to ask what he’s waiting for. The price is only going up.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 9, 2019

His mastery also pumped up another player waiting on a payday. Amari Cooper, also in the final year of his rookie contract, constantly dusted opposing cornerbacks off the line en route to a six-catch, 106-yard, one touchdown day.

4. The Packers’ newfound big spending philosophy

General manager Brian Gutekunst knew he needed to swing hard in 2019. His star QB, Aaron Rodgers, will turn 36 years old this season. Green Bay had spent the past two seasons of his waning prime watching the playoffs from home.

So Gutekunst did a very un-Packers thing in his second offseason in Wisconsin; he bet big on free agency. The budding GM dropped more than $150 million in contracts to bring defenders Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, and Adrian Amos north. The logic was to upgrade a unit that had topped out at mediocre in years’ past, leaving the team an avenue to win games when Rodgers can’t push the offense to a shootout win.

On Thursday, the plan worked to perfection. Rodgers threw only a single touchdown pass for a team that scored only 10 points against the reigning NFC North champions — but Green Bay still managed to escape Chicago with a win. That’s thanks to Gutekunst’s prized signings. Amos picked off Mitchell Trubisky in the end zone to snuff out a potential game-tying drive. The Smiths (not the sad band) brought the pressure that turned the Bears’ two-minute drill into a four-and-out. Without Gutekunst’s spending, the Pack are probably 0-1 today.

3. Cameron Wake, who helped derail the Browns’ hype train

Cleveland came into 2019 seeking its first season-opening win since 2004. That search will continue in 2020, and just like the answer to “who brought Stanley Kowalski into the world,” it was all Tennessee’s fault.

The Browns may have been their own worst enemy on Sunday after rolling up 182 penalty yards, but Wake was a close second. The veteran pass rusher was lured from Miami on a pricy three-year, $23 million contract that raised several questions in the Music City. Would a 37-year-old coming off his least productive season since 2009 be worthy of the team’s 10th-highest salary?

For one week, at least, he was. Tennessee bullied Cleveland in the trenches thanks in no small part to Wake’s pocket crumpling tendencies along the edge. He was a persistent thorn in Baker Mayfield’s side, blowing past a tattered offensive line en route to 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, and four quarterback hits. The former CFL star’s brightest moment gave the NFL its first safety of the fall.

FIRST SAFETY OF THE YEAR pic.twitter.com/wufOF0bQkE

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 8, 2019

2. Gardner Minshew, the rookie QB we all expected to ball out in Week 1

The former Washington State star was thrown into the fire in Jacksonville’s season opener, replacing Nick Foles after the veteran left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. This seemed like it would destroy the Jags. Instead, it may have made them stronger.

That’s because Gardner Minshew, the 178th selection of the 2019 NFL Draft, found a way to improve on the template Foles left behind. The rookie completed his first 13 passes en route to the best start any first-year passer’s had since 1991. He finished his day with 22 completions in 25 attempts for 275 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and an interception.

Gardner Minshew is TEARING UP the Chiefs defense. He just tossed his first NFL touchdown pass and is 17-18 for 215 yards. pic.twitter.com/jVqPUFd4Fq

— Seattle Times Sports (@SeaTimesSports) September 8, 2019

This was a massive departure from an underwhelming preseason performance. Minshew struggled in exhibition play; his 11.0 yards per pass against Kansas City more than doubled his average over four preseason appearances (4.9). On Sunday, he teamed with D.J. Chark and Chris Conley to keep the Jags afloat in an eventual 40-26 loss.

Foles is going to miss extended time thanks to the broken clavicle that ushered him off the field in Week 1. The Jaguars will have to add another quarterback to the active roster, but they won’t need to find a new starter just yet. Minshew showed more than enough in his debut to earn his spot on the roster for next week’s game against the Texans.

1. Lamar Jackson, who is absolutely a quarterback

Jackson’s breakthrough rookie season was predicated on his ability to make plays with his legs. His season opener saw him shred a rebuilding Dolphins team through the air.

83-YARD TOUCHDOWN.@lj_era8 ➡️ @Primetime_jet. pic.twitter.com/9ax0x9FuUd

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 8, 2019

Jackson took advantage of the oodles of time a depleted Miami pass rush allowed him, standing in the pocket to deliver a litany of pinpoint deep balls. The biggest beneficiary of this upgraded aerial attack was rookie wideout Marquise Brown, who started his NFL career with three catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns ... in the first quarter of his first game.

The second-year QB completed his first nine passes against the Dolphins, notching 210 passing yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone. Jackson, who ran the ball 17 times per start to close out the regular season as a rookie, threw for 324 yards and ran for only six while recording a perfect passer rating. As Jackson noted in his postgame press conference, that’s pretty good for a guy pundits saw as a running back or wideout rather than an NFL quarterback.

"NOT BAD FOR A RUNNING BACK." - @lj_era8 pic.twitter.com/GjdOeR5xWa

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 8, 2019

And though it happened against a Dolphins team that should be relegated to the Arena League, it’s still a major development for a quarterback who still has his share of doubters, even after leading Baltimore to the playoffs last season.

Given his Week 1 passing proficiency and the Browns’ early struggles against the Titans, we may have a new favorite in the AFC North.

[superkrispypeanutstudentstu-blog]

Oporto, Portugal

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