#hes very hollow he doesnt react to much doesnt seem to have any kinds of preferences

[waywardsalt]

still kinda. idk grates on my nerves? that in botw and totk (ESPECIALLY totk) nearly every other character revolves around in some form or otherwise plays off of link without link. being a character

[justice4sasuke]

again, i dont think that that common thread of thought in regards to ichigo and bleach is a fair assessment/a fairly surface level read of events. protecting people is certainly an important aspect of ichigos identity and character mind you, but in practical application hes more of a yusuke urameshi type of character then a more traditional cut that characters like luffy or naruto pull from. -

archer3-13

- that is the emotional journey is more important then the physical journey. not to say kubo doesnt fuck it up in a lot of ways, but to say ichigo is just some dull guy with a protection complex papers over the very much a complex part of that statement that drives a lot of ichigos internal conflict. his natural desire to help and protect others coming into conflict with self preservation and his-

archer3-13

-own delinquent tendencies and general disinterest in pushing himself to the extreme. its why hollow ichigo is fairly important in that regard as a reflection of ichigos literal internal struggle with power and using it responsibly coming at odds with taking the easy way out

archer3-13

sorry, im not tryin to spam you here and i had a lot more to say on the subject then i thought i did, but to summarize as much as kubo fucks up especially once aizens out of the picture, there is a pretty consistent throughline for ichigo as a character that struggles with a lot of internal divisions especially in regards to how to use the power hes been given and resolving conflicting aspects-

archer3-13

-within himself. and as much as it often feels like it copys from yuyuhakusho, i can appreciate that kubo wanted to try his hand at it.

Not to keep going on about Bleach on the Naruto blog I just...if Ichigo's journey is an emotional one I'm REALLY not seeing it. What's the difference emotionally between Ichigo at the beginning and ending of each arc. Ichigo seems to only react to the events that happen to him rather than mature or regress as a person.

If we want to bring up Luffy his journey is mostly physical maybe, but there is emotionality there too. I think maybe it can get missed because Oda makes a point to not give Luffy thoughts ever, but he is maturing emotionally throughout the series and becoming more of a Captain. I mean the point of Sabaody through Marineford is basically to destroy Luffy emotionally because he's a small fish in a big pond and you're going to need more than gumption to make it through. (one day I'll do a thing where I compare Naruto saying he can't be hokage vs when Luffy says he can't be Pirate King bc woof)

Ichigo...once again not seeing the internal struggle. Like I think about how Ichigo doesn't want to do the Soul Reaper duties then he sees a kid in front of him about to get killed by a Hollow and Rukia tells him not to help because he said he didn't want to do it. Then he helps the kid and says he can't just let a kid die and I guess I owe you and I'm a cool guy who repays his debts so I'll help you. And that moment came off to me more like he won't tell Rukia she's right. And I also get the thing where Ichigo tries to act cooler than he is, but it's not well conveyed other than a couple early throwaway lines. And if the hollow is supposed to be like him fighting himself it's kind of ruined by the Trying Too Hard To Be/Look Cool thing shounen does (nine-tailed fox, hollow, anything the we used to make AMVs set to Animal I've Become to) and the hollow coming out during training arcs when I think we should all agree as a society training arcs suck and in the middle of a fight which ruins the pacing just ruins any nuance that might have for me. I'm up way past my bedtime and I need to sleep since I have work so this might not make sense idk. I'd probably have to actually make a Bleach blog to properly convey all my thoughts about how Ichigo is dull and I don't get the point.

[luvbug724]

hiii ive been thinking abt neil running post-tkm whatre ur thoughts on that 🤨 i feel its not Too common but it comes up often enough in fandom and is always triggered in neil by something so he runs and either comes back or doesnt but i cant rlly see that happening? also similarly do u think neil would have some troubles w accepting permanence in his life? i was thinking hed def have some habits he wouldnt need anymore but w main threats gone + a life he wants to keep it wldnt be a huge issue..

WAIT my last ask when i say like permanence ex: neil panicking abt captaincy in tkm do u think hed have similar experiences later on w similar aspects of living in one place? (and this maybe triggering the need to run in turn)

holy cow first of all i got so excited when i got this ask you don’t even know. this has definitely been something that��s been sitting in the back of my mind but it was never something that bothered me enough to share online. SECOND of all, i mean absolutely no disrespect to anybody who might disagree with me on this or has written neil in this scenario-- it’s all fiction we’re all having fun here and my characterization may differ from yours and that’s fine! even if i might not be a fan of the concept i still read and support fics that include it if i like the writing :) this got very long and some people probably won’t be interested in reading it, so my response is under the cut :’)

but as for your question, anon, i completely agree with you. when i got this notification the first scene my mind went to was chapter nine of tkm right after wymack offers neil the vice captaincy. this was, probably, one of the worst sequences of events that could have possibly happened to neil: some of his most fundamental lies are exposed to his team, he’s confronted with his past, he has to reveal some truths that he never planned on saying, and now here’s his coach insisting on a future he so desperately wants but doesn’t think he’ll live long enough to have. neil should have already had a new name in a new country three months ago and instead he’s at palmetto state in the public eye right for the moriyamas and wesninskis to watch. 

and what does he do?

He didn't remember pulling it from his pocket or making the decision to dial out. He lowered it and tapped a button, thinking maybe he'd imagined things, but Andrew's name was on his display and the timer put the call at almost a minute already.

Neil put the phone back to his ear, but he couldn't find the words for the wretched feeling that was tearing away at him. In three months championships would be over. In four months he'd be dead. In five months the Foxes would be right back here for summer practices with six new faces. Neil could count his life on one hand now. On the other hand was the future he couldn't have: vice-captain, captain, Court. Neil had no right to mourn these missed chances. He'd gotten more than he deserved this year; it was selfish to ask for more.

He should be grateful for what he had, and gladder still that his death would mean something. He was going to drag his father and the Moriyamas down with him when he went, and they'd never recover from the things he said. It was justice when he'd never thought he'd get any and revenge for his mother's death. He thought he'd come to terms with it but that hollow ache was back in his chest where it had no right to be. Neil felt like he was drowning.

Neil found his voice at last, but the best he had was, "Come and get me from the stadium.”

andrew grounds him, comes for him, and makes sure that neil can’t run. but this was just one very extreme situation, so here’s how i think his future may play out: no matter how much neil wants to go, he needs to stay even more. and, unlike the above situation, neil now has explicit permission (a command, even) to stay with the foxes, to stay with his family. i think he will be fine for a long while until there comes a moment where he realizes that he’s here to stay and he has a home and he has the foxes and he has andrew and it’s honestly a toss up as to how he would react. the first option would be that it’s overwhelming in a very, very good way and nothing much changes. the second option (which seems way more in character for neil) is instead: he panics, and he needs something to keep him tethered to psu. he might seek out andrew like he did in canon or he might try to hide it to not worry him, but i’d place my bets on somewhere in the middle where he makes sure andrew knows whats going on but tries to downplay its importance. 

anyways, i wrote all this before i even checked with nora’s ec to see if she’s said anything in a similar context and she DID and and it was pretty much compliant with my ideas which i am very happy about:

“He’s more likely to walk away or tell Neil to get over it or look right past whatever existential/psychological crisis Neil is having. Neil’s grumpiness after a loss are brushed aside unimportant, and his aggravation over uncooperative teammates is nothing to pity him for. 

But once in a long while Neil will hit a ledge he has to be pulled back from, and that’s what Andrew does. Like in Baltimore, when Neil is trying to say Do you want me to go, and Andrew catches hold and tells him Stay. This is how Andrew comforts: by being a stabilizing force, an anchor to keep Neil at home, a place to rest his weight and his secrets. Honestly, that’s what Neil needs.” (Andrew comforting Neil)

“Impatience kind of worked in Baltimore, but I guess it’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of ordeal. Forced eye contact and Look at me and a ruder calm down right now. ((Thanks Andrew, really sympathetic of you)) Andrew gives Neil the weight to connect him to the real world: a hand on the back of his neck or fingers hooked in the collar of his shirt to drag Neil home to him.” (Andrew re: Neil’s panic attacks)

now, as for neil adjusting to just a plain stationary life, i think he’d adjust relatively easily. his entire life was fitting in which i don’t think he’d have a big problem with, but the new element of how he’s not pretending anymore, he’s just neil josten, might throw him off a little bit. there’s likely going to be some habits he picked up that he can’t shake and some associations (alcohol isn’t for fun, it’s an anesthetic is one that comes to mind) that he never quite gets rid of but despite how much might get thrown at him, after everything he survived freshman year it’d take a fucking lot to push him to his breaking point.