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the thermostat is a sacred covenant

(it was shunsui)

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stripe #???

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Rewatched all of South Park recently

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The brainrot came back....

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a ghost

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My 2 favorite colors, bright neon green and hot pink

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i just think kubo wrote one of the best relationship dynamics in bleach history when he made shunsui and nanao uncle and niece, and showed us how even hundreds of years of agony on shunsui’s part still didn’t stop him from fulfilling his promise to his brother’s wife, the woman he loved but could not covet bc we do not covet our brother’s wife, and took care of his sadgirl niece, who always knew she was indebted to her rich uncle who really had no REASON to take care of her but did so bc he loved her mother and honored his brother, and yeah, i still think shunsui’s brother and his wife loved each other deeply but accepted that they were doomed. what choice did they have in the end? the love was gonna happen anyway. their baby was their only legacy, so they left her caretaking to the guy who’s been tryna commit slow suicide through steady alcoholism since he was thirteen.

and despite everything, they both survived, because that’s the power of love and keeping promises, babey. i hope nanao gets to marry shunsui off to lisa so she can fulfill her duties as noble caretaker. that motherfucker needs to learn to be happy, and i would like nanao to be free as well

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Wrapped in roses

𓇬 shunsui goes to the house of Ise, and meets baby Nanao for the first time 𓇬

🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷

‪‪❤︎‬ characters: Shunsui, Isuzu, & Nanao

< when I first read TYBW and watched the anime, I found the events surrounding Nanao's age and the timing of when Shunsui took the sword from Isuzu a bit confusing. so I decided to write my own take on it >

🔔 warnings: slight angst, mentions of death, fluff. word count: 1.3k

He was the first one there. Isuzu had given birth just the day before, and he’d promised that he would come see her as soon as she was feeling well enough to have visitors.

He'd been training when the messenger showed up, and he'd wasted no time; still dressed in his academy uniform, he made his way to the Ise estate.

Once he arrived, one of the attendants brought him to Isuzu's room; sliding open the shoji, they ushered him inside. The room was warm; the scent of sandalwood incense filled the air. She was sitting propped up on the futon, her pink kimono draped across her shoulders.

Her hair, which was normally tied back, hung loosely around her. In her arms, he could see the baby wrapped up in a rose-pink cloth.

Isuzu looked up, smiling softly. Her hand reached out towards him, beckoning him over.

“Come here, Shunsui,” she said, and suddenly his chest felt tight.

Everything around him faded away as he stood staring at the sight in front of him. It felt surreal, and he found himself frozen in place, unable to move.

I shouldn't be here... It shouldn’t be me...

His thoughts began to race, and a profound sense of sadness washed over him, strong enough that he fought the urge to drop to his knees.

The last image he had of his brother, sickly-pale and weak, flashed in his mind, and the feeling of despair twisted in his stomach. How was it fair? For him to be here while his brother lay cold and unmoving in his grave?

Isuzu tipped her head towards him; a knowing look crossed over her face, as if she could read his mind.

“It's okay, come see her,” she said; the gentle lilt in her voice grounded him, pulling him out of the dark thoughts that were swirling around in his mind.

He took a deep breath, willing his usual calm and composed self to return; he quietly padded over to the futon. Folding himself down at her side, he noticed that she was a little pale, and he reached out to touch the side of her face.

“Are you well?” He asked, concern evident on his face. She smiled again.

“Yes, yes. I am," she murmured, reaching up to take his hand in hers. In her arm, the baby stirred, a quiet whimper, and Isuzu shushed her softly, rocking her back and forth. Shunsui peered down at the infant curiously.

"Would you like to hold her?” Isuzu asked, and he looked up, his expression uncertain.

"I...I'm not sure...if I should..." he stuttered, feeling nervous. He looked down at his hands, rough and callused, his white kosodo still sweat-stained and marked from training. She followed his gaze and smiled with amusement.

"Nonsense, she is your niece. She won't mind," she said, clearly not taking no for an answer. Shunsui nodded.

"Just a second.” Quickly getting up, he rinsed his hands in the washbasin, and pulled off the kosodo, leaving him in his shitagi, which was cleaner. He sat back down beside her.

"Come now, sit closer. Hold your arms like mine," Isuzu instructed. He shuffled close, his arms forming a cradle like she showed him. Leaning over, she placed the baby in his hold.

"Keep her close to your chest, like that—good," she said, using her hands to guide him. She was light as a feather, almost weightless in his arms, as if he wasn't holding anything at all, and he had to stop himself from shaking.

"Now, support her head with your arm; there you go, well done," she praised, leaning back against the pillows. Shunsui sat, still as he could, and looked down at the baby, who was sleeping soundly. She was small and soft, with rosy pink cheeks, a swathe of short, dark hair, and a little rounded nose. He was completely awestruck.

"She looks like you," he whispered, and Isuzu smiled, reaching out to lightly stroke the baby's head.

"Her name is Nanao," she said.

"Nanao," he repeated softly, "as in 'seven string,' like the Guqin?"

"Yes. Shunzan and I chose it together, just before he died." She said, a bittersweet smile on her face. Shunsui looked up at her, a painful lump forming in his throat.

"Usually, you wait until Oshichiya to announce the name, but I wanted you to know."

He felt tears prick his eyes then, and she wrapped an arm around him, leaning in close, her head resting on his shoulder. They sat quietly for some time, a deep, shared grief shrouding them.

Eventually, a servant came in with an herbal tea for Isuzu and osekihan for the pair of them to share, keeping with tradition. Shortly after that, the midwife came in. She was a stern-looking woman, with grey hair and icy eyes. Her sharp gaze narrowed in on Shunsui—who was still holding Nanao so Isuzu could eat and finish her tea.

"You, out now. We have to change her bedding and cloth." Shunsui sat up straighter, startled by her intensity.

"Y-yes, ma'am," he said, moving to pass Nanao back to Isuzu. She laughed lightly, putting a hand on his arm.

"It'll just be a few minutes; you can wait outside. Take her with you, if you like," Isuzu offered.

"The baby should be staying in the confinement room!" The midwife muttered, glaring now. Isuzu laughed again, waving placidly at her.

"It's alright, you can take her," she said. Shunsui nodded. Slowly, he stood, and the midwife, with no small amount of reluctance, moved to open up the door to the engawa for him. Each step he took was cautious but determined, and soon enough they were comfortably seated outside.

Nanao's birth fell in the season of Shosho, which was the same season Shunsui's birthday fell on, coincidentally. Shosho signified the end of the rains and the beginning of summer. Marked by warm winds and lotus blossoms.

Today was such a day; it was sunny, larks sang overhead, and a warm breeze blew by, the heat of the day setting in. Nanao shifted in his arms then, with a quiet cry, and Shunsui began to rock her, just like he'd seen Isuzu do, humming softly.

He realized, very abstractly, that he could've chosen a more suitable tune for comforting a baby—it was one he frequently heard in the yūkaku district, and incidentally the only one he could think of, but Nanao was soothed all the same. She went quiet, tucking herself back against his chest. An overwhelming sense of love filled him, and he leaned down close to her.

"I'm here, little Nanao. I'll always protect you," he murmured.

…

In the following months, the birth of her daughter would trigger a renewed desperation in Isuzu to find a way to end the curse and spare Nanao from suffering the same terrible fate as she and so many members of the Ise family had before her.

She'd research tirelessly, searching through the Ise family records for the curse’s origin. Reading the painstaking accounts of each loss that had been taken from them. She'd go to monks, exorcists, and temples looking for answers to no avail.

It would only be a few short years later that she would ask Shunsui to take Shinken Hakkyoken. After years of finding dead end after dead end, she’d come to believe that the sword may be the source of the Ise curse. There was no other explanation, and she begged him to take it.

Shunsui would agree, despite his own hesitation and fears, taking the sword and willing Katen to help devise a plan to hide it. Kyōkotsu would be born, and the void behind her missing eye would hide the sword away for over a hundred years.

In that time, Isuzu would be executed, Nanao would be sent to live with another family, and Shunsui would graduate the academy with Jushiro, both becoming captains of Squad 8 and Squad 13, respectively.

Nanao too would eventually join the 13 court guards, joining squad eight and growing up to become the lieutenant, and after Yamamoto's death and Shunsui's promotion, co-lieutenant of Squad 1.

All the while, Shunsui would keep his promise and always watch over her.

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I call it like I see it

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Doodle

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#bleach #thisissopretyyy #kiraizuru

糸

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She's tuff as hell

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The fact that there are Bleach fans that still ship a niece with her uncle is just downright

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Rangiku, getting ready to leave: I gotta go.

Nanao: Aren’t you forgetting something?

Rangiku: [ hesitates, then leans forward and kisses Nanaos forehead before running out ]

Nanao: No! Pay your bill! Damn, who raised you?