#I mean once grimmjow stops trying to kill him

[kingofanemptyworld]

the other thing I really love about grimmichi as a ship is that you cannot separate Grimmjow from Ichigo no matter who you actually like him with romantically (if anyone). it’d be one thing if he came back in TYBW and either snubbed Ichigo or had moved on but no he is very much still gunning for a rematch. it’s been like 2 years. maybe not a lot of time for a hollow but I mean. c’mon. I’ll never be over Grimmjow trying to butt into the call with Urahara because he heard Ichigo’s voice on the other end. man was desperate for attention you can’t convince me otherwise

[rambling-idi0t]

Can you write some cute personal headcanons you have for the espadas excluding yammy and barragan

Of course i can! Thank you for requesting! I hope you enjoy!

Personal espada hcs (without yammy and barragan)

Starrk:

He talks in his sleep, the things he mainly talks about are lilynette, how tired he is and his loneliness. Lilynette sometimes teases his about this (except for when his rambling is sad)

He steals pillows and blankets from the world of the living. He just finds them so soft so he takes them

He enjoys hot cocoa, he tried it once in the human realm out of curiosity and loved it

Harribel:

She knows who to sew and teaches her fraccion how to as well. She once sewed a blanket for starrk who was extremely grateful

Shes cares a lot about the safety of her fraccion and would do anything to protect them and I mean anything

Shes nice to other fraccion as well, this has lead to her being extremely popular within the fraccion and most of them saying that if they weren't serving their current espada they'd go to her except for tesla who's scared nnoitra might kill him if he says that

Ulquiorra:

Despite his monotone appearance and personality he's actually really ticklish, grimmjow found this out after accidently poking him in the side and ulquiorra threatened him to keep quiet grimmjow told nnoitra and yammy

He actually doesn't enjoy aizens tea, its too strong for him but he pretends it doesn't bother him everyone knows

He's actually somewhat nice to wonderweiss, he'll let him follow him for around 15 minutes before getting annoyed and telling wonderweiss to go away

Nnoitra:

Actually doesn't treat tesla that bad, he cares for his fraccion but he won't ever tell him that or make it obvious

He once found a stray cat in the human realm and took it back to hueco mundo, it took 5 minutes for him to kill it out of annoyance it was supposed to annoy grimmjow but he couldn't find him and got bored of searching

Actually likes aizens tea, he wont ever admit it tho and if you even suggest that he does then he'll kill you

Grimmjow:

Treats his fraccion like brothers who annoy him, especially di roy who he treats exactly like an annoying little brother

Feels a little bad for the granz brothers hating each other, this is only because he thinks its making yylfordt weak

Goes to the human world just to chill, he actually kind of likes it there and ever since he discovered bars and wrestling it was hard to get him back to hueco mundo

Zommari:

The only espada who actually tries to talk to and befriend aaroniero, he's tried to get the 9th espada to mediate with him but it always ends in rejection, he wont stop trying tho

Went to the human world and had a custom made poster of aizen with the quote 'do it for lord aizen'

Is nice to szayelaporro's fraccion, he knows how the mad scientist treats them and he pities them

Szayelaporro:

Doesn't hate his brother as much as he says he does, he does it as to not look weak in front of others

Like ulquiorra he also doesn't like aizens tea but instead of pretending to like it he brings his own special ingredient to put in it nobody knows what it is

Gets along with gin well, the two tend to talk about random stuff it's mostly gin asking questions about arrancars and Szayelaporro jokes about how gin must be making some kind of arrancar encyclopedia

He has an outfit for every occasion

Aaroniero:

Has secretly always wanted a fraccion but is too scared to actually get one

He's scared of wonderweiss but at the same time he doesn't completely hate him, he'll let the odd arrancar hang around him for a bit

Actually enjoys espada meetings since its the only time this many arrancars are near him without being outwardly disgusted by him

[unohanadaydreams]

I'm sick as shit and in the middle of a move. I would let Mayuri give me weird medicine at this point regardless of chances. I want Grimmjow to be real and spooning me while he grumbles into my ear about me being a dumb weak human.😭

This is so old so I hope you recovered well, but literally Mayuri would give you SUCH weird medicine. Also, would be applied in weird ways.

For instance, if you're sick with a virus, I think Mayuri would put you on a metal bed and like sonogram (of course a wildly high tech one that can show cell movement) w/commentary of his super-heated anti-viral cells beating the virus at it's job and hijacking every cell with viral genetic material until you are unpleasantly warm and able to feel your blood rushing and heart pumping too fast.

He even helpfully explains that unchecked, this anti-viral could elevate your temperature to unnatural degrees and melt you from the inside! But because he's so generous, he's programmed them to cease multiplication after a certain point. If you'd gone to the 4th like originally planned, they would have put you on bed rest and suggested plenty of liquids. Don't you feel silly for even considering it?

Of course the entire session has also been used as a learning opportunity for Nemuri and your heart almost stops when she wonders out loud what someone melting from the inside would look like. There's an horrible moment where you and Mayuri meet eyes and you think you'll be made an example.

But it passes and Mayuri pulls up an old video, because of course he's already made an example of someone ELSE. Don't be so silly as to think this is his first time using this anti-viral! And stop lying on the bed like you're still sick--the virus has already been removed, after all.

You don't usually stick around when you see Akon on a smoking break outside, but this time when you leave R&D, you do ask for a cigarette (that can hardly be called a real cigarette thanks to its inherent lack of nicotine, or in fact any addictive qualities beyond the ritual).

@

And as far as Grimmjow!! I think he would super insistent on the bed rest. With zero contact from anyone (besides him, of course). In Hueco Mundo sickness is something to be hidden at all costs, lest you be seen as vulnerable.

I can see him tucking you both away in the bathroom of your little apartment, one of the corners piled with non-perishables and a little mug warmer in a plastic baggie, so it doesn't get wet.

Much to your annoyance, he's really insistent on leaving the apartment dark and not leaving this one room. It's blessed lack of windows and sturdy nature seems to mean a lot to him. With you sick, the precaution is needed. He's an Arrancar, after all. He knows how simple it is to kill of the weak. And your fever is so high that you're shivering in his arms and mumbling incoherently. The tub is large enough for the both of you but not so huge that you can leave his arms. So, it's perfect.

You've probably never seen him this paranoid. And his usual brusque annoyance feels very superficial because of all the care he's putting into protecting you.

He calls you a dumb, weak human and insists if something happened to you, he'd have to answer to Urahara again and he'd rather fuck off back to Hueco Mundo then work there once more. Sure it wasn't too bad. Just annoying. He hates annoying things. Congratulations on being less annoying than Kisuke Urahara (not like it's hard).

But he keeps hold of you the whole time. And spoon feeds you soup. And tea. And reluctantly stands outside of the bathroom when you need to use the toilet, but only because you started to cry, your frustration hitting hard when you're brain's fried from trying to fight off fever & virus alike. It was really pathetic and he doesn't need to put up with that crap. But he still comes back the moment you knock on the door to let him know you're done. (Of course he has no qualms going to the bathroom in front of you, which may or may not bug you. Either way, he cares absolutely 0%. He's not leaving unless he has to.)

There is so much forehead rubbing and back scratches and he even washes you with such care that you cry when you thank him and he has to busy himself with opening a can of soup to keep from looking like a love-sick dope.

[ulquiorrapleasecallmetrash]

Omg omg are you still doing the fluff prompt list??? If so can I request grimmjow dialogue 6. And kiss 3. Please?? I love ur writing darling <33

Show me Affection (Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez x GN! Reader)

∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘

"I can't stop thinking about you. No matter how hard I try, you're always on my mind"

Kiss 3: Small peck, pause, then a passionate kiss

∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘

Fandom: Bleach

Genre: Fluff

Rated: G

Warnings: None!

Summary: Grimmjow always has trouble properly showing affection so you tell him how to do it the human way!

Admin Harmony: Of course, Here you goooo! I hope you enjoy this! and thank you soooo much for the compliment dear!(❁´◡`❁)

∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘

Grimmjow had ways to show you how much he cares about you. Sure, he would never directly say it but at least you were better off than Ulquiorra's s/o. You had to admit though, it was pretty frustrating from time to time when he gets too overly rough with you.

"Ouch! That hurts! Don't hug me so tight!"

"Why are humans so fragile? It was a hug!"

"Yeah one that could crush my spine!"

Grimmjow rolled his eyes, grumbling some kind of nonsense before crossing his arms out of frustration.

"How else am I supposed to express that I tolerate you a lot!"

You begin to snicker at his wording, he never could remember the easiest word to say.

"You mean to tell me how much you love me?" Grimmjow simply shrugged, "Yeah that."

Now it was your turn to roll your eyes at him.

"It's a pretty simple word to say and remember." You took your pointer finger, poking him in the chest, "Besides would it kill you to say something romantic every once in a while? Do you want to be boring and drab just like Ulquiorra?" Grimmjow snarled at the name, if he had cat ears they would have folded them back in irritation. "Don't say his name! You know I despise that bat!"

"Aw, my bad." You say in a goofy voice, causing Grimmjow to pinch your cheek hard, causing you to yipe. That's when Grimmjow snickered before saying very sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, You humans are always so soft I forget your kind thrives on this kind of stuff, so instead how about I say "I can't stop thinking about you. No matter how hard I try, you're always on my mind." He said the last part in an overly dramatic and sarcastic tone.

"How's that?"

You begin to laugh, despite it being dramatic and weird to witness you couldn't help but smile at him.

"Better but instead you need to kiss me after that statement." He rolled his eyes at you, before grumbling in annoyance.

"Fine, I'll start again." He cleared his throat before speaking again. "I can't stop thinking about you." He stared into your eyes, gently taking your hand into his before finishing, " No matter how hard I try, you're always on my mind." To top it off, he leaned into you to give you a peck on the lips, pausing a few seconds to watch your stare in awe before kissing you passionately on the lips. You moaned out in approval, wrapping your arms around your neck to deepen the kiss, enjoying every moment of it. He then abruptly ended the kiss, staring right into your lust-filled eyes.

"How was that? Am I still a boring wet blanket like that irritating bat?"

You put on a fake thinking face before saying, "Hmm I think you're best at expressing your love with physical touch instead. Because the kiss was the best part of it." You gave him a smile, causing Grimmjow to grin back at you. "No shit, how about I practice properly hugging you again?"

You took several steps back from him before saying, " I'm good, that's enough showing affection for today."

∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘ ∘°❉°∘

[betweenbeatriceandbaudelaire]

So i’ve been blocked by op but I still wanted to get my reply out there about how « orihime was afraid of ichigo » and how « there can’t be love with fear » because once again I am astonished at the way the ichiruki fandom thinks.

I mean the situation is the following :

Girl is in love with boy.

Girl has a trauma about her brother turning into a hollow and trying to kill her.

Girl sees boy she loves turn into a hollow.

Girl fears FOR boy that he lost himself to his hollow the way his brother did.

Girl is reminded that boy is fighting for her.

Girl gets over her fears despite her trauma and makes boy understand she supports him no matter what.

Boy wins fight.

Boy and girl have shared a trial and come through and are now closer and more intimate because of it.

I mean it’s CLASSIC STORYTELLING. The protagonist have got to have conflict and resolve those conflict in order for it to be a story!

Like that one tweet said « Every story cannot be a 15k+ cofee shop AU »

Conflict is good. Conflict is what makes the story what it is. If the characters are always of the same mind there are not characters they are caricatures.

You cannot chose to take the conflict and ignore the conflict resolution when analyzing a story. You CANNOT chose to point that orihime was afraid of ichigo’s hollow form and ignore that orihime overcame her fears and that ichigo won the fight because she encouraged him to.

Without orihime fearing ichigo, ichigo would not have his ass handed to him by grimmjow which would have make for a lame ass fight.

Without orihime encouraging ichigo he would not have gotten the final powerup needed to beat grimmjow

Ichigo would not have felt apprehension, nor pain nor doubt nor relief nor love during this fight . He would just have clashed swords.

Without Ichigo being affected by this reaction of orihime there would be no story.

So instead of stopping at « oh my god orihime is afraid of ichigo what a terrible person » why don’t you push it a little further.

Ask yourself why she’s afraid. Ask yourself why ichigo is SO AFFECTED by her reaction.

Analyze the whole scene. And maybe then you won’t bitch so much about how « ichihime makes no sense »

[m3kuroshirt]

Bee Safe

Inspired by this prompt list

Words: 1244

Warnings: bees

“So, we’re doing…what,” Grimmjow asked, hands shoved deep into his jean pockets. Ichigo sighed, long and loud. Somehow, he didn’t think things were actually going to go smoothly. Grimmjow could be combative about…well, everything.

“It’s just to get you out of Urahara’s for a little bit. See some of the human world.” Ichigo was basically avoiding the real question, but that was a problem for later. Well, it was a problem for now, but denial could be his friend every once and a while.

“I don’t want to see some of the human world,” the blue haired man growled back, turning his head around slightly and glaring. He was walking ahead of Ichigo, and more than once, Ichigo had to grab the back of his jacket and steer him in the correct direction. Grimmjow cursed at him every time.

“Okay, so you wanna go back and be subjected to…whatever Urahara and Tessai were doing?”

Grimmjow didn’t answer, only turned his glaring face around to scowl at the human world around him. Ichigo counted that as a win. The arrancar was in his gigai—usual and required for going out and about in the world—dressed in dark wash skinny jeans that maybe accentuated the curve of his calves and thighs too much. A plain gray t-shirt lay under his old black leather jacket; it wasn’t a cold day, and Ichigo suspected he wore the jacket simply because he liked how it looked. And it looked good on him. Too good, if you asked him, but that was the second problem for future Ichigo.

  The third problem didn’t arise until much later.

  “Which one of you fixed this,” Grimmjow asked as he manhandled the sandwich in his hands. Ichigo scowled at him, between bites.

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you make this, or the one who can actually can cook?”

Ichigo almost threw his sandwich at him, the lovingly crafted wanpaku style sandwich…that he tried to help make with Yuzu. She ended up getting fed up with him not doing it correctly and shooed him out of the kitchen, muttering nonsense like it’s all about the cross-section and you’re using the wrong bread Ichi-nii.

Grimmjow snorted and rolled his eyes, shoving the last bit of his meal into his mouth, before reclining on the soft blanket spread out beneath him. “Figured as much.”

“Hey, I helped!”

Ichigo glared, indignant, at the menace closing his eyes on the blanket, though his hand was outstretched on his right, groping around on the grass for…something.

“When you say ‘help’ all you mean is ‘get in the way’.”

“I’m going to smother you.”

Grimmjow snorted again, not even bothering opening his eyes at the threat. Ichigo couldn’t kill him if his life depended on it, the soft-hearted fool.

Ichigo heard Grimmjow make some kind of noise, before something whizzed past his head, hearing it hit something behind him with a thunk.

Did he just throw a rock at me?

“You juvenile,” Ichigo said readying himself to pounce on the other man. Grimmjow only snickered, one eye opening to look at Ichigo.

“Die mad about it, Kurosaki.”

“You first!”

Ichigo half-jumped, half-rolled over to where Grimmjow lay, aiming for the arrancar’s shoulder, but he was too slow. Grimmjow rolled barely out of his reach, before rolling back, trapping his arm under his warm body, leaving Ichigo with only one hand and half his irritation. Using his free hand, he tried to pry away Grimmjow’s face, which was close, mouth open, showing sharp teeth—sharp for a gigai, anyway—from biting into the shoulder of his trapped arm.

A leg kicked at his own, scraping down the side of his jeans, maybe two or three shades lighter than Grimmjows own, and hitting right at his shin like a little shit. One of the arrancar’s hands shot out to try and grab Ichigo in a headlock, which he was able to knock away, the other fisted in Ichigo’s shirt, balling it up around his navel. Ichigo tried to kick him away, but stopped.

There was a weird sound close to them. It almost sounded like…buzzing? Turning his head behind him as much as he could, Ichigo spotted it.

The swarm.

“The fuck is tha’ sound,” Grimmjow asked, not able to see the source, even while Ichigo’s hand was mashed against one side of his face, his voice only slightly distorted.

Ichigo felt himself pale as the buzzing got louder, approaching their spot quickly. The rock Grimmjow had thrown earlier must’ve hit their nest, or whatever, and angered them.

“Bees,” he said, voice a little panicked, breathy, trying to untangle himself from Grimmjow’s gangly limbs unsuccessfully.

“The fuck is a bee?”

As soon as the question left his mouth, a single bee landed on Grimmjow’s forehead.

Ichigo inhaled, nostrils flared, eyes wide. Grimmjow frowned, and tried to look up where he felt a small little tickling sensation. Then—

“Fuck!” Grimmjow shouted, his hand flying towards his own face, jumping and writhing around, his forehead knocking against Ichigos.

“What the fu—”

“Get up, we need to leave!”

“Little bastard attacked me! I’ll kill—”

“No you won’t, now come on.”

It became obvious quickly the arrancar’s fight or flight response was just…fight. Ichigo desperately tried to get out from under Grimmjow who was, politely put, a mess. Hands clawing out and snarling at the swarm that descended upon them, yelling profanities as they continued to sting exposed skin of the gigai. Blankly, as Ichigo felt one sting his own arm, he wondered if gigai skin was allergic to them, and if Urahara had put in that little measure against it.

  …

  And that’s how they wound up back at Urahara’s not a half hour after they’d left, red welts littering the expanse of their exposed skin, Grimmjow still half out of his mind, eyes wild and watching everywhere, waiting for the next strike from his newfound arial enemies.

“My goodness, what happened to you two,” Urahara asked behind his fan of sin, his voice holding an obvious grin as the two men walked inside the shoten, red, welted, and worse for wear.

“Bees,” Ichigo grit out, yanking Grimmjow into the shop. He’d gotten carried away and clawed across Ichigo’s face. Thankfully, he didn’t actually have claws in his gigai, but it still hurt like a bitch; long, red scratches in a diagonal line across his face.

“I guess I should’ve told you two to…bee safe,” Urahara said with a cackle, obviously impressed with his shitty little self.

At that moment, Ichigo wished he’d found the queen, just to plant her on the bastard’s clothes. Flicking his gaze over to Grimmjow, he saw the first sting on his forehead was red and welted, but otherwise it didn’t look like he was suffering from any kind of severe allergic reaction. Could hollows be allergic to bee stings? It would have to have a pretty hard stinger to pierce through the hierro.

Which got Ichigo thinking about hollow bees—yet another problem for another time.

“Unfortunately, I am quite busy,” Urahara said, not looking busy in the slightest, and knocking Ichigo out of his bee thoughts, “so I will leave your healing in Tessai’s capable hands.”

Tessai, as if on cue, opened the door, a box of something—medicine, probably—in each of his hands. Beside him Grimmjow tensed. I guess his flight response is triggered by him only.

“I’d rather fight the bees again.”  

[gunnerpalace]

It is Time to Kill The Common Understanding of the Dome of Las Noches Fight Once and for All

I’ve been thinking about @starrdustcrusader​‘s post making fun of BBS’s interpretation of Full Hollow Ichigo, and while it is very good and covers a lot, I felt that I had something further to add. Please go read that post first so you are on the same page.

I also invite you to go read chapter 350, The Lust 4, and the next few chapters as well.

Now, like I said, the post in question does a very good job of pointing out what’s happening here: Full Hollow Ichigo has less than zero concern for Uryuu or Orihime. He is not interested in protecting them whatsoever. Indeed, he directly attempts to kill Uryuu, with that attack being very likely to kill Orihime as well. It is only stopped by Ulquiorra’s intervention.

And why did Ichigo attack Uryuu? Because he was a threat.

When you are doing dispassionate threat analysis, whether that be tactical or strategic, when you are thinking with an essentially military mindset, motive stops really mattering, because it cannot be taken for granted. What matters is capability. What someone says their intentions are, or what their intentions seem to be, often matter less from this perspective than what they can do, or are doing.

What is Uryuu doing in this fight? He is interfering with Full Hollow Ichigo killing Ulquiorra. And that is Full Hollow Ichigo's only goal. Thus, Uryuu is an enemy and is also to be killed.

And so is Orihime (if “merely” as collateral damage).

It's that simple. This is again pointed out in the original post. In the same way that Ulquiorra earlier said to Ichigo that, "Killing you is synonymous with protecting Las Noches," killing Uryuu and Orihime at this point is synonymous with “protecting,” because they are in the way and are actively impeding the mission. (”Protecting” what? We’ll come back to that.)

I haven’t said anything new yet, now have I? So let’s get to that.

Here is Orihime demonstrating several flavors of hubris, and also completing failing to do anything to save Uryuu from his imminent demise. What do I mean? Well, let’s take apart her statements:

“Because I said that, Kurosaki-kun is trying to help me.” This is an assumption on her part, and it is wrong.

“I trained because I didn’t want to be a burden to him.” Mind you, she also says this in both the Xcution and TYBW arcs, and is a burden and fails in both as well (the infamous ”Why am I crying?” and “Her shield didn’t work” moments). This should have been a learning moment for her and it was not.

“I came here because I wanted to protect him.” There are other meta posts that detail the selfishness of Orihime’s actions in Hueco Mundo and in general. I would also like to point out that this was also her exact same logic in going to Soul Society. She didn’t learn anything from that experience either.

“So why? Why at the very end did I depend on him?” A great question. One that she never truthfully owns up to, given (2). But there was a reason Kisuke told her to stay out of the war. You may recall Rukia's statement to Orihime in chapter 228, Don't Look Back, that "In a battle, the ones who get in the way are not the ones that lack power, but the ones that lack resolve." She went on to say "Of all the battles in Soul Society, no one was a burden to anyone else. Not Ichigo, nor Sado, nor Ishida, and neither were you, Inoue. If any of you were less than who you are, I wouldn't be where I am today." This was very charitable of Rukia, because Orihime's contribution to her rescue was negligible and was, to reiterate, not why she was even there. Furthermore, Orihime didn't listen to her here either: she is once again demonstrating a lack of resolve, as she will continue to.

So Orihime doesn’t learn. Great. But maybe you’re thinking about (1). What do I mean she was wrong? I mean, doesn’t the manga confirm she’s right?

This is the crux of that argument. And this is also one of the cruxes of IchiHime as a whole. The thing is... it’s complete and utter bullshit.

This is the exact same scene in the original Japanese:

Now, I don’t speak or read Japanese very well at all. I’m still a novice at it. What I can do, however, is use optical character recognition and translation tools.

(よ)呼んでる - Yonderu - Calling

(よ)呼んでるんだ - Yonderunda - They’re calling

(き) 聞 こえる -  Kikoeru - I can hear

(た)立てよ - Tateyo - Stand up

(た)立 て - Tate - Stand

(おれ)俺が - Ore ga - I will

(おれ)俺が - Ore ga - I will

俺が護る - Ore ga mamoru - I will protect

(The parentheticals are furigana used as a pronunciation guide.)

Now do you see a single instance of “her” or “she” in this dialogue, particularly when it comes to the final line of “I will protect”? No, you don’t. Because it’s not there. It was never there until a biased translator inserted it into the dialogue. I’m not alone in this analysis, by the way.

Quite some time ago, @kodoku-no-maria​​ did a wonderful analysis about Ichigo’s instincts (”Mistranslations that Created the IH Fandom”) that also covered this (using anime quotes instead) and came to a similar conclusion. It’s a great post and you should read it. 

This isn’t the post she mentions in hers, but there is one done specifically of the manga by a deactivated account. You should read this post too. (This also notes other things, such as how Orihime says “Help, Kurosaki-kun!” and not “Help me, Kurosaki-kun!” so we can take it that the Mangastream / Mangareader English translation is just generally dodgy all around at this point. Which may well impact the points I made above about Orihime’s character; but I think given the events of the Xcution and TYBW arcs that it is evident she did not in fact learn anything, so I will stand by the basic thrust of them.)

Okay, so I’ve marshaled my evidence on the battle and provided corroborating analysis. (I have also reblogged all three of these posts because they’re good, although the links are to the original sources or as close to them as I could get.) 

Ichigo didn’t turn into Full Hollow Ichigo because of Orihime. She had nothing to really do with it. Great. So what?

Well, let’s now move on to my theory.

Now, you might be thinking that it is fairly obvious that all of those lines are Ichigo’s inner monologue. But I don’t think it’s so obvious. In fact, I would suggest to you that it is actually a dialogue.

On the second page, with the third panel, it suddenly zooms in to the wound in Ichigo’s torso. This notably later becomes Full Hollow Ichigo’s Hollow hole. You notice here the dialogue changes, from commands (e.g., “Stand”) to personal pronouns (e.g., “I”).

I would submit to you that the first three lines are Ichigo’s. But I don’t think the last five are. I think they belong to two other entities. Especially the last three. First, let me steal two of Maria’s highlighted panels to make a point:

So who is talking? It’s simple:

Do you really think it’s a coincidence that Zangetsu (Hollow Zangetsu) shows up wearing the exact same outfit as ‘Full Hollow Ichigo’ after Tensa Zangetsu gives a speech about how:

I don’t think so. Ichigo "fell into despair and halted [his] progress" and Zangetsu, as 'Full Hollow Ichigo' is "the "source of [his] despair." (This is the same despair that Rukia noticed when Ichigo came down from the top of the dome to confront Yammy.) As has been previously pointed out in the linked posts, we see this despair on the dome after Ulquiorra’s defeat in Ichigo’s attitude. Starrdust covered these, but let’s go over them again:

He’s doesn’t seem all that shocked or concerned here, to be honest.

He’s a lot more shocked at what he did to Uryuu.

But the thing that really gets him is that he’s gone and killed Ulquiorra. That’s his despair.

This is the first time he’s out and out killed somebody. (And yeah, Ulquiorra is dead because he had his bits vaporized with a cero, not purified.)

He finally has to learn this isn’t all fun and games, that you can’t turn everyone to your side and redeem them and be friends with them afterward, as he did with Ikkaku, Renji, Kenpachi, Byakuya, and even to an extent Dordoni and Grimmjow. This is exactly what Dordoni was warning him about. This is the lesson he will be forced to learn again after weakening Aizen long enough for Kisuke’s kidou to work on him.

And it is why later, his determination to “save everyone��� in the Xcution arc by cutting Ginjou down and killing him (even if he turns into a Plus as revealed in TYBW, undermining the whole symbolic importance of the act) is a big deal for his character development, and one of the few redeeming aspects of that arc: it shows that Ichigo learned a lesson from this fight: sometimes to protect you have to kill.

And who taught him that lesson? Zangetsu.

Who was speaking in the 4th and 5th lines in that transformation sequence? My bet is “Zangetsu” (Quincy Zangetsu) or Tensa Zangetsu. And who was speaking in the 6th, 7th, and 8th lines? Zangetsu.

What was Zangetsu protecting? Ichigo. That’s his instinct. That’s all he cares about protecting, just like Tensa Zangetsu. He sure the fuck wasn’t protecting Orihime or Uryuu. And the mask of ‘Full Hollow Ichigo’ is there to protect those instincts. And the mindless rage of ‘Full Hollow Ichigo’ is Zangetsu’s rage at Ulquiorra for trying to kill Ichigo.

We of course know from much later, in TYBW, that zanpakutou spirits aren’t some separate entity from the wielder, but are the wielder (hence why we go from “The Blade and Me” to “The Blade IS Me”) which Ichigo will affirm in the reforging of his into the “two Zangetsus.” So this can ultimately be read as self-preservation instinct. These are the aspects of Ichigo that were willing to do what he himself consciously wouldn’t in order to stay alive.

(Also, Uryuu was an idiot and wrong to stop Zangetsu as Ulquiorra still clearly constituted a threat, so he frankly got what he deserved, if a bit harshly.)

In summary, not only did the fight above the dome in Las Noches not have anything to do with protecting Orihime, but it was entirely about Ichigo’s character development and relations with the personifications of his powers, and everyone has been reading it completely fucking wrong for years and years.

If you don’t know, now you know.

[hesesols]

The Good Life

 “Stop seducing me in front of my daughter!”

Day 1 of IR month 2020

Prompt: Once Upon A Dream

Word count: 2.5K

x

"You're pathetic!"

Grimmjow grouses from his perch among the low-lying branches of the cherry blossom tree. The erratic movement causes a shower of pink petals to descend. Carried by the wind, the rainfall of petals flutters and trails along the faces of both father and daughter before succumbing to the pull of gravity, kissing the earth and becoming one with the world again- heralding the beginning of spring with their fall from grace.

The circle of life is full of stolen moments, enshrined in the poetry of flowers and their decay; each one unique, each one fleeting, tender and surreal- no two ever the same for man or time.

Violet eyes widen at the sight of them.

Clapping her hands excitedly, his youngest tugs at him, pointing out the bright colours to him, making funny little noises as she jabbers gibberish. Her enthusiasm is infectious but Ichigo is frowning as he dusts off the pesky things.

He should have never let Rukia talk him into planting them in the gardens, now every spring is just a personal reminder of how big brother is always watching. Byakuya has eyes everywhere, even at his own backyard. That has certainly proven to put a damper on the mood when he's trying to have a few moments of uninterrupted bliss with his wife.

"Hmph."

His non-committal grunt deepens Grimmjow's scowl. Feline grace marks his leap as he jumps off the tree and lands perfectly next to Ichigo.

"Don't just sit there on your fat ass and hmph, you lazy fuck! Get up and fight me! I swear you get lazier every fucking time I see you."

Ichigo snarls, hastily covering his daughter's ears as he glares.

"Oi! Language, asshole!"

Fatherhood mellowed him out pretty nicely but that doesn't mean he isn't a hot minute away from throwing hands with that blue-haired freak if it comes to that. Especially if his little girl's first word turned out to be a swear word because of someone's potty mouth.

"You do this every month," Ichigo rolls his eyes, shifting his hold on his daughter when she starts wriggling on his lap, "Give it up already, Grimmjow! I'm not going to fight you! Come back next month, maybe you'll get lucky."

"C'mon!"

Grimmjow swears that he's not fraternizing with the enemy here. Lines and loyalties are clearly drawn between Shinigamis and Arrancars. He simply laments the fall of a fellow warrior. How the mighty have fallen!

When and how exactly did the saviour of the three realms get reduced into this?

This... blob of passivity and stagnancy?

He eyes the baby- cherubic, rosy cheeks, bright eyes; the root of all evil, the devil dressed in a bunny onesie- with something akin to apprehension in his gaze and feels a shudder running down his spine; to think that a hero will willingly bend the knee and let himself grow weak for this insufferable… creature that does nothing but sleep, eat and poo all day.

It gurgles at him, makes an attempt to grab at him with her grubby hands and he flinches, hissing as he backs away instinctively.

Truly children and babies, especially babies, are the worst!

He briefly contemplates if he will get away with it if he snatches the creature away from her father's hands and runs for the hills the minute he did. That should teach the punk a lesson! It could work in theory, he muses- a Garganta with one hand, hell spawn in the other. Diabolical plan in the works, his lips curled into a smirk as he creeps forward. He'd like to think that he almost got away with it too if he hadn't made the rookie mistake of looking into Ichigo's eyes.

If looks could kill, Ichigo's glare would have been sharp enough to cut him down a million times over.

"Don't even think about it!"

A father's instinct to protect run deep and being parent to a pair of rambunctious pre-schoolers means that hardly anything surprises him anymore. Nothing- especially not a sneak attack aimed at his youngest- gets by him. His grip tightens as he cradles the tiny body against him. Grimmjow is a dead man if he takes another step forward.

Of course not everyone appreciates his efforts. Hisaki, for one- the literal baby of the family and already a full-fledged Kurosaki when it comes to getting things done her way- is not amused by the tight hold. She squirms, pouts and makes an angry face at her father while she makes persistent attempts to lunge at the other man.

"Urhhh-urhh…”

Baby talk is hardly the most eloquent of speeches but Ichigo tries. Her pinched face as she gestures wildly and wills him to let her loose is entirely too precious to be ignored. The doting father follows her line of vision and snorts when he notices her fixated stare at Grimmjow's colourful hair. Okay, so maybe Rukia was on to something when she said that Kurosakis are born with little to no sense to recognize danger and run from it.

He laughs, kissing Hisaki's cute button nose.

Maybe when she's older. Right now, he doesn't even trust Renji with her and that man's got years of experience in dealing with children compared to the almost-feral Arrancar in front of him.

Gently, he bunny kisses her chubby cheeks, blowing raspberries against them until her attention shifts and he becomes the focus of those big violet eyes again. She giggles- delightful little sounds that melts his heart down and has him smitten all over again since the day he first held her.

Bloodlines don't lie and she is perfect- a blend of Rukia and him sieved and condensed into this little bundle of joy. Don't get him wrong, he loves all his children equally but fathers are allowed certain liberties in playing favourites, especially when it comes to their baby daughters.

He runs a hand through her hair- soft, orange tufts that smell like baby shampoo dipped in an assortment of syrupy goodness, honeyed, sweet; heaven on earth- but that face, that pointy little chin and those unworldly eyes that gleam in the dying day; that's all Rukia.

His baby girl is going to be a heartbreaker someday, just like her mother and Ichigo is both a little excited and worried at the prospect. Someday, he thinks; the line of boys queuing up for her love and affection is going to be long enough to go round Seireitei and he needs to be prepared- will have to keep his blade sharp and ready if only for better crowd control.

As if to ease his troubled thoughts, his daughter yawns and snuggles her tired little head against him. Well- he adjusts his hold, wrapping both hands around her. He is getting ahead of himself there. For now, this is already enough excitement for the one-year-old and clearly past her naptime.

He eyes his long-time rival- deeply scowling with no signs of leaving any time soon.

"You're never going to leave until I say yes, aren't you?"

"Damn straight!"

"Fine! Just let me put her to bed first."

He slips in through the back door, wanders inside the house with his bare feet.

The pictures on the wall, silly little knick-knacks from the Living World decorating the shelves- the story of a life he built together with Rukia. A mishmash of new and old; the past and present- still them but better, fuller, happier with each other- of them on their honeymoon, of them at the Ishida's wedding, of them with Chad as he opened his veterinary clinic, the happy little family at the birth of each child, of his eldest's hatsu-zekku, and the most recent picture taken with their extended family- Shibas, Kurosakis, Kuchikis brought together to celebrate Hisaki's first hinamasturi.

Pockets of happiness preserved in stillness. Each one infinitely more precious than ever; chronicles of their evolving journey through life together. The sheer joy, the softness in their eyes; he can't help but mirror and smile back.

"Let me guess? He won't leave until you fight him?"

He looks up from the smiling faces frozen in time to see his reason for being. Sunshine filters through the open window from the kitchen and his breath catches. He sees her gilded and golden, crowned by the halo of the setting sun.

He heaves an exaggerated sigh as he presses his sleeping daughter to her.

"I can't catch a break! I'm supposed to be on paternity leave."

Paternity leave is supposed to be time spent with family, with his wife, especially his wife. Instead he spends it fending off old frenemies, being reminded of his brother-in-law's presence every five minutes while Rukia tackles her paperwork indoors. She only returned to active duty a few weeks ago and it has been a constant nightmare since then to catch up on the backlog of paperwork.

According to the newly minted Captain and mother of three, he's a distraction to her work progress, and can't be trusted not to mislay official documents in a bid to lure her to back to bed for the pursuit of sleep and other carnal activities, so to the gardens it is.

Ichigo doesn't bother denying it. He's simply saying that Captain Kurosaki-Kuchiki needs to do a better job of saying no, of actually pushing him away rather than deepening the kiss or groping at his ass every time he comes on to her.

It does, as the presence of three growing children attests, take two to tango.

Rukia rolls her eyes, "Most paternity leaves don't last a full year."

Ichigo shrugs unapologetically.

"Anyone who's got a problem with that can take it up with the Soutaichou himself. Kyoraku signed the papers- official seal and everything. I'm on paternity leave until further notice. Even Byakuya agrees."

It was nothing less than a miracle. He and Byakuya never agree on anything.

Rukia snorts, pokes at his sides as she teases, "Well, a little sparring might be good for you. You're starting to look a little soft and round around the edges there."

"Oh I'll show you 'soft'!"

With a playful growl, he pounces- grabbing her by the waist as he nuzzles against her soft hair, breathing her in- desperate and reverent, until the world melts away and all that's left is Rukia, sunshine, warmth and home. A hand rises to touch her face, his thumb tracing the fullness of her lips. There's the woman he fell in love with all those years ago. Proud, spirited; still breathtakingly beautiful but now a fuller figure to hold onto at night, a few more laugh lines dotting her familiar face, and maybe- just maybe, a little softer in the exasperated looks she shoots him whenever he annoys her; but still a fighter in every sense of the word.

She fights for him, for them and their little family, and he is so hopelessly in love with her- the undisputed queen of his heart.

"I'll be back by dinner."

"Come back before then."

Rukia pulls him down for a kiss. It is needy, sensual; a familiar ache that tiptoes a fine line between her wants and his needs. Passion flares and there is fire in her touch as she runs her fingers up and down the length of his bare arm- playful, teasing. There's a teenager lying somewhere in him still- eternally seventeen and reeving to go once she gives the signal.

He remembers long hot summer nights, naked bodies coiling in the dark; violet hazes that streak and colour his world when he gives in. Rukia's touch is magnetic and he is drawn irresistibly to the pull.

"The boys can stay a little longer with Nii-sama and Kukaaku-san today and Hisa sleeps like the dead once she's out," she whispers dark and tempting. Teeth nipping at his lips for good measure as she pulls away. He's all putty and labile in her hands and she knows it.

"We can have the whole house to ourselves."

He almost whimpers. The things she does to him-

He groans, forcing himself to look away from her sultry bedroom eyes. It's been too long.

"Stop seducing me in front of my daughter!"

Rukia laughs, tenderly brushing the stray wispy hair away from Hisaki's face. "You mean our daughter."

Swaddled in her mother's arm, his youngest looks even tinier than usual; her face small enough to fit into one of his palm and a little drool escapes the corner of her mouth as she fusses, tiny little digits flexing then bunching at her mother. His lips curve, wondering what she's dreaming about and if she can comprehend just how happy she makes him just by existing.

They were in his arms before he even knew it. His heart so full that it seems to burst at the seams with the love he has for his little family, smiling so wide that his cheeks hurt.

There is nothing that he wouldn't do for her, for them.

"I'll be back."

Fingers brush at his cheek. Rukia's eyes are soft and smiling as she watches him leave.

Knowing what he knows now, Ichigo will be the first to admit that there's still a whole lot out there that he doesn't know but this much is true: life is a mystery and anything can happen in the blink of an eye, so when good things happen you don't question it.

You don't look a gift horse in the mouth, or scorn at your good fortunes like a little shit and ask why. No, you count your blessings, grab hold of them and run- praying in vain that you'll somehow outrun time itself and the fates never catch a glimpse of your happiness long enough to be envious of it.

Somehow, somewhere; he was at the right place, asked the right questions at the right time and Rukia said yes to all the important ones.

Life begins anew and he hasn't looked back since.

All is well.

Tags not showing up properly. Please consider heading over to FF or ao3 for full version and author’s note. Read, review, comment, reblog etc to send love my way~~~

[arrancarscenarios]

Imagine Grimmjow or one of his Fraccións having just this tiny sweetheart s/o who seems like they could never harm a fly and tears up anytime they accidentally hurt someone. Then imagine their reaction when the s/o comes back from somewhere covered in blood and bruises and when asked the s/o shyly says: “I kinda got into a little bit of a fight and I might’ve taken it a bit too far. I think the person’s going to recover though! Hopefully...”

I do be vibing

D-ROY

D-Roy Linker.exe has stopped working and is currently attempting to reboot. It takes him a minute to actually comprehend what’s just happened, because his brain just does the Hollow equivalent of the blue screen of death. He kind of just stares at his S/O, before asking them if they need him to do anything. He’s used to being the ‘weak one’, but between him and a human S/O, he expected to be stronger than them and fully assumed he was the scrappy one. This, uh… puts things into perspective a little. At least he won’t have to worry about them should shit ever get real. He might freak out a bit once he gets all of this new information processed.

EDRAD

… Uh. Wait. What? What??? At first he just lets out a long sigh, trying not to panic at seeing his S/O covered in a ton of fucking blood, once they explain what happened. It’s not that he’s happy they nearly killed someone when they’re usually so gentle, but he is happy that he now knows he doesn’t need to fear for their life if they get into a fight. That said, he makes sure to tell them as he patches them up however he can, that he doesn’t want them getting hurt. Though he doesn’t know what made them fight this time, he’d rather not have it happen again. His S/O is important to him, and he’s one of the few Arrancars who might verbally admit that.

GRIMMJOW

Well, damn! He almost didn’t think they had it in them, by this point! For the most part, their soft nature doesn’t so much irritate him as makes him worry that they’re in danger because they’re surrounded by inhuman monsters in Hueco Mundo. It’s sort of unsettling to see them covered in blood and bruises looking like they’ve gone a few rounds with someone, but all things considered, it eases his mind a little bit. They can take care of themselves, even if he wants to protect them. It means he doesn’t need to get all stressed whenever he’s not with them. He fixes them up as best he can, gives them a kiss, and jokingly calls them an honorary Hollow.

NAKEEM

That’s… honestly a little terrifying, if he’s being honest. He does his best to stay calm and just treat their injuries in any way he knows how, but he’s rather unsettled. To know that his small, sweet S/O who (like him, mind you) doesn’t enjoy fighting could have wounded someone so badly strikes him as, unfortunately, very pragmatic and scary. What happened that led to this? It scares him mainly because, despite their obvious strength, they’re still a soft, squishy human. Despite not saying too much, he does ask them to please, please be careful next time. He cares about them and needs them in one piece, even if he can’t quite bring himself to verbalize it.

SHAWLONG

What the hell were they thinking? On the one hand, he’s honestly heavily relieved that his S/O can handle fighting their own battles. This makes the two of them on slightly more equal footing despite the obvious giant power gap. On the other hand, however, that their showing up with blood and bruises nearly gives him the Hollow equivalent of a heart attack. They can’t scare him like that! They are a small, frail human, and he just… doesn’t want anything bad happening to them. It’s frustrating. At the end of the day, the relief wins over, and he simply settles on reminding them not to take on more than they can handle as he helps them clean themselves up.

YYLFORDT

The fuck… it looks like they’ve just spent a night with his brother!! For half a second he panics, hard, before their words get processed. And then he just — he laughs. As far as he’s concerned, it’s about fucking time his S/O showed some sign of self-preservation! It’s not like any Hollow instinct or anything, but he’ll take it. Now that he knows they can probably protect themselves, at least in the world of the living, this awful ache of worry coiled in his stomach whenever he thinks they might be in trouble can just stop, right? They know where Szayel’s lab is so he can patch them up, though Yylfordt will walk them down if it seems like they need someone to lean on. He also teases them about this for, like… ever.

[therainroguefanfiction]

⁂ Capturing Memories (Coyote Starrk)

Genre: Angst, Romance, Comedy ☁

Word Count: 7,363 ☁

Pairing: Reader x Starrk ☁

World: Anime, Bleach ☁

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

When the Aizen Army incident first began, you didn’t think much of it. You didn’t think about the Espada – who they were or where they came from. You just knew that you had to stop them. To you, at that time, they were mere enemies that had to be stopped. You never once stopped to think of the reason behind why they were following Aizen. To be honest, it didn’t really matter to you. You had never cared about your enemies before, so why bother doing it now? It was foolish. Of course, for those who already knew Aizen, Gin, and Tousen, it was difficult for them, but no one was familiar with the Espada. And you were no exception.

You stood atop one of the buildings in Karakura Town, staying alert for any Espada level hollows that decided to appear. While everyone else was busy, this was your job and the reason for you being appointed this job was simple; you were more sensitive to Reiatsu than the others, and you were able to feel it farther away and pick it up a lot quicker than the others could. It was a really handy skill that you were thankful to be born with.

That being said, you caught wind of a spiritual pressure that did not belong to a soul reaper or a human. You knew that it was an Espada, but it was very faint. Whoever it was, they were damn good at hiding their reiatsu, but you could still track it.

Jumping from building to building, you found yourself outside of town in a fairly large forest. The reiatsu was coming from deep within and you knew it was risky to be going in alone, but if you wasted time contacting the others, you might lose it. If worse came to worse, the others would feel your reiatsu when you began fighting. Your job was to stop him from getting away, and that’s exactly what you planned to do.

When you got to the clearing, you hid behind a tree to see if it was anyone you had seen before. Ulquiorra, Yammy, and Grimmjow were the only ones that you had met, and this new Espada was not one of them. He was tall and skinny, with dark brown hair that fell to his shoulders in small waves. He wore the typical Espada uniform, but it was tailored to the way he liked it, as all of them were. He seemed too relaxed to be in enemy territory, though. He was laying back against a tree, his arms behind his head and eyes closed. He didn’t seem too threatening. Then again, neither did Yachiru, and everyone knew how terrifying her power could be.

“How long do you plan to hide, soul reaper?” He asked without opening his eyes.

You scowled at him, coming from around the tree and into the clearing. As you got closer, you noticed a little girl with him, sitting against the tree to his left. She was short, maybe Hitsugaya’s height, with blonde hair. One of her eyes was covered by her mask, but the other was pink in color. “Who are you? And why are you in the world of the living? Did Aizen send you?”

At first, neither of them said anything, and you thought they might not answer, but after a few silent moments passed by, the male opened his eyes – revealing them to be a beautiful shade of blue – and stared at you lazily like he had no interest in the conversation.

“Aizen-sama sent us here.”

“To do what?”

The girl leaned forward, narrowing her eye at the male beside her. “He sent us here for recon, but Starrk is too lazy!”

“It’s a troublesome job.” The male yawned, closing his eyes again. “He should have sent someone else.”

“But he sent us!” She scowled before looking up at you, her expression anything but friendly. “You lookin’ for a fight?”

“Lilinette,” the male scolded, opening his eyes again to send her a pointed look. “Don’t make me fight a pointless fight.”

“Stop being lazy!” She yelled, jumping up and pointing an accusing finger at him.

As the two argued, you couldn’t help but stare at the male Espada. He seemed… different from the others you had met. You really couldn’t explain it, but there was an air around him… you couldn’t place what it was, though. There was no doubt that he was powerful, but there was something else. It was… it was…

“Loneliness,” you muttered to yourself.

He heard me, though, turning his eyes back to me. “What?”

“Um…” Had you dug your own grave? Probably. Did you continue digging? Of course. “You seem… lonely.” you furrowed your brow as you analyzed him. You could feel it in your gut. This guy was different, in a good way. He wasn’t emotionless, like Ulquiorra, or stupid like Yammy. And he wasn’t blood-thirsty like Grimmjow. To be honest, it seemed like he wanted no part in this. So why would he be following Aizen? It made no sense.

Something flickered through his eyes, but it was gone as fast as it came. Lilinette snapped her attention to you, huffing and walking over. She stopped right in front of you, her eye filled with anger. “What do you know about him, huh?! You don’t know anything, so don’t act like you do!”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” you muttered, staring down at her; she reached just above your stomach. “That’s just… that’s what it feels like when I look at ’em…”

“Then maybe you should stop lookin’ at him!”

“Lilinette.” He sighed, resting a gloved hand to his forehead. “Stop it.”

“But they – !”

“Enough, Lilinette.” His voice was stern, but his eyes betrayed him. They looked just as lonely as his aura had indicated, and they were holding pain.

You felt bad for him and you wanted to know more. You knew you were getting in over your head, but you wanted to know more about him, you had to know more. “Um…” the pair looked at you and you smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of your head. “Can I have your names?” You had heard them say their names, but you wanted to hear it from them and get their full name.

“What for?” Lilinette snapped, crossing her arms and glaring at you.

“Curiosity.”

“Curiosity killed the cat.” She stuck her tongue out at you childishly, as if she had just won the fight you weren’t even having.

You grinned. “Good thing I’m not a cat, huh?”

Her eye twitched, a tic mark appearing on her head. “Yeah – ! Well – !” You laughed as she sighed in defeat, hanging her head. “Fine! You win! My name’s Lilinette Gingerback,”

“Y/N, nice to meet you, Lilinette.”

She humph-ed, looking over at Stark expectantly, but he wasn’t paying attention. A big red tic mark appeared on the back of her head and she walked over, kicking him hard in between the legs.

He fell forward, clutching his private area with a strangled groan. “I told you… to stop… doing that…!”

She simply humph-ed in return, turning her back to him. “You should have been listening! What if they would have killed me while you were daydreaming, huh?!”

You winced, slowly approaching the fallen Espada and resting a hand on his shoulder. “You gonna be alright? She looked like she got you pretty good…”

“I always do!” She grinned proudly.

“That’s not something to be proud of,” you muttered under your breath, kneeling down next to him.

After a couple more minutes, he fell back onto the grass, his blue eyes closed and his arm covering them even though he was under the shade of the tree. “Coyote Starrk.”

“What?” you blinked at him.

“His name, idiot, his name!”

“Oh… right,”

Stark looked over at you, moving his arm up to his forehead. “Do you plan to kill us? Or take us to Soul Society?”

You stared at the lush green grass below you, watching as it rustled in the wind. When you had first arrived at the clearing, it was your full intention to bring him to Soul Society or kill him if he resisted. But now… you just didn’t know. If you let him go, would that count as a betrayal to Soul Society? ‘I mean, it’s not like I’m letting Aizen go. This guy seemed harmless enough, and he hasn’t done anything wrong to my knowledge. It wouldn’t hurt… right?’

“Well?!” Lilinette screamed, the sound louder since she had moved closer in what you assumed to be anticipation. She obviously wasn’t a very patient Espada. Wait… was she even an Espada?

You let out a sigh, turning your gaze up to the baby blue sky, trying to ignore the bickering of your heart and mind. “No,”

“Eh?” She blinked, a look of both confusion and surprise on her face.

“I won’t try to kill you. And I have no intention of trying to take you in.” You closed your eyes, the decision made. Your heart was cheering, while your mind simply sighed in defeat. It was always like this. They’d battle, but only one could win. They never agreed on anything, so you couldn’t have it both ways. It was one or the other, and both were fully capable of screwing you over.

“Seriously?” She blinked again. “Then why are you here?”

“That was my intention… at first.”

“What changed it?”

“I wish I could answer that,” you muttered, scowling at the ground. Even you didn’t understand it.

“Well, since you’re here, you can make yourself useful!” She pointed her finger at you, a grin on your lips. You merely blinked, wondering just what she meant by that.

“Lilinette,” Starrk called in a warning tone, but he was ignored by the smaller hollow.

“Since we’re here, I wanna try some human food! Go get me some!”

Your eye twitched. ‘This kid was sure demanding, wasn’t she? Wait a second…’ “Since when can Hollows eat human food?” you raised a brow, cocking your head to the side.

“We can still eat stuff like that.” She sent you an offended look, re-crossing her arms. “We just choose not to. Gin-sama has always offered us food, but it didn’t look right,”

You smiled wearily, scratching your cheek as you looked away from her. You remembered Gin’s cooking all too well from before he betrayed the Soul Society. He would always try to cook for you and Matsumoto, but the food he made was far from edible. You always had a routine for that situation, something the two of you called Dash and Break. While Matsumoto distracted the silver-haired male, you’d grab the food and sneak out, feeding it to the wonderful plants. And Gin always wondered why they died…

You shook your head, trying to rid yourself of the memory. ‘Stupid Gin. He hurt so many people when he left.’ You failed to notice Starrk staring intently at you, but you didn’t miss his voice. That voice of his could cut through even the deepest of your thoughts.

“Don’t bother her if she doesn’t want to go, Lilinette.”

“But I want to try real human food!”

“Why bother?” He sighed, closing his eyes. “You probably won’t get it again. It’s too troublesome,”

“They don’t mind, right N/N?”

“N/N?” your eyebrow twitched. The hell had she managed to come up with the exact same nickname that Ikkaku used just to annoy you?

“And don’t go giving people nicknames without their permission.” He scolded again. Honestly, he was acting more like her parent.

“You’re so mean, Starrk! Don’t do this, don’t do that! That’s all you ever say!” She cried, fists clenched at her sides.

With a sigh, you stood up and readjusted your zanpakuto at your side. “What do you want?”

She blinked up at you before registering what you meant. “You mean you’re going?!”

You shrugged, looking away. “Got nothin’ better to do. Though I’m supposed to be patrolling…”

“Great! I don’t know the difference, so just get me whatever, kay?!”

You sighed again, shaking your head and walking away. You could faintly make out Starrk scolding her again, but you didn’t catch what about. A smile made its way onto your lips. You had only known those two for, hell, less than thirty minutes, and already you felt close to them. This was a dangerous feeling, you knew it was, but you couldn’t bear the thought of giving up Starrk. You felt drawn to him, as cliche as that was. But that’s what love is, right? One big cliche.

Hold it…

You froze in the middle of the street, feeling a sense of dread wash over your mind. ‘Did I… just say love?? I haven’t even known him for an hour and I’m talking about love. What the hell is wrong with me?!’

You shook your head frantically, kneeling down and clutching your hair between your fingers. You had never been much of an expert when it came to affairs of the heart, more specifically love. You had never thought much of it and often scoffed at the idea of being in love with someone. And love at first sight? That was about as bad as werewolves and imprinting. ‘I mean, seriously, how hard is it to believe that you can fall in love with a single look? This isn’t a fairy tale!’

“Ugghh! What have I gotten myself into?”

“I don’t know, but it must be pretty bad if you’re talking to yourself.”

You let out a small yelp, jumping up and taking on a strange stance, similar to the one Renji had performed when his Zabimaru turned into a broom. Matsumoto stood there, her head cocked to the side and a curious look on her face. “R-Rangiku!”

She blinked. “Are you okay, Y/N-chan?”

“Y-Yeah. I-I’m fine.” you cleared your throat awkwardly, looking away and fixing your clothes.

Matsumoto stared at you for a minute before a knowing look crossed her face, her lips curled up into a grin. “Y/N-chan is having boy problems~!” She sang. “I can’t believe little Y/N is having a problem with a boy! You’re finally growing up!”

Your eye twitched, a tic mark appearing just below your eye. So what if you never went hunting for guys? You were far more focused on yourself than trying to find a man.

“So tell me, who is it?”

“No one! I’m not having a boy problem!” you cried, but the dust of red on your cheeks gave away the lie, despite how hard you tried to conceal it. Matsumoto had radar for these kinds of things.

“Renji?”

“No way!”

“Ichigo?”

“Matsumoto…”

“Ooo, is it Hitsugaya-taichou?!”

“Never!”

“That’s cold, Y/N-chan~” She whined, a pout on her lips.

“Matsumoto!” you groaned, walking away from her. “I’m telling you, it’s not a guy!”

“Someone I don’t know, then.” She confirmed, following after you with a hand to her chin. She clearly wasn’t letting this go, like she ever did to begin with. “I’ve never seen you hang out with anyone I don’t know. Someone at school? A new friend, maybe?” She grinned in a cat like manner. “Ohh~? Love at first sight, perhaps~?”

“Love at first sight does not exist! It’s just bullcrap that people made up to explain lust for someone’s body!” Freeze. ‘Did that mean I was lusting for him? Had I mistaken this feeling for love, when really it was just my hormones going to work? Ugh!’ You were over-thinking this way too much. You shook your head again and continued walking, ignoring the questioning look from Matsumoto.

She followed after you silently at first, her hands behind her back as she leaned her body only slightly backward as she walked. Her eyes stayed trained on you as if searching for any little indication to solve the mystery, but you gave her none. What would happen if she found out who it was? What it was? Would she call you a traitor? Report you to her captain and then Soul Society?

She must have seen the worried look because she caught up to you, her hand lying gently on your shoulder, her voice matching. “You can tell me. I promise it’ll stay between us,”

“If… If something is forbidden -” you paused, swallowing hard. ” – does that mean it’s wrong?”

“Hmm?” She put an index finger to her chin, looking up at the sky. “That’s a good question. Depends on what it is, I guess.”

“Love?”

She blinked, staring at you for a minute. Things seemed to click in her head and she sent you a soft, knowing smile. “You fell for the enemy, didn’t you?” You stayed silent. How could you possibly admit that? It sounded so wrong out in the open like you had just murdered a million people. “Who is it?”

“His name is Starfk,” you answered softly, staring up at the darkening sky as you remembered the male. “He’s an Espada, part of Aizen’s Army.” you paused. “Does that make me a horrible person? I mean, maybe it’s in my head. I don’t even know the guy!”

Matsumoto smiled, wrapping her arms tight around your shoulders from the side and resting her cheek against your own, much like a mother would do to a child. You had always believed that Matsumoto would make a good mother. Aside from the drinking, anyway. “It’s not in your head. Your eyes are screaming your feelings. I can tell, your heart has already linked with his. It’s too late to pull out now.” She tightened her grip and lowered her voice, just above a whisper. “It doesn’t make you a horrible person, Y/N-chan. We can’t help who we fall in love with. I, too, am in love with the enemy.”

“That doesn’t count, Matsu!” you complained with a frown. “You fell for him before he was a traitor!”

“Not quite,” She shook her head with a sad chuckle. “He was a traitor from the very beginning. I just didn’t realize it.”

“We were all fooled.”

She nodded, releasing you and slapping your shoulder hard. “I say go for it!”

You scowled, rubbing your stinging shoulder. Was that really necessary? For her, you guessed it was.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

When you returned with the bag of store-bought food, you found the two hollows in the same place as before. You had vaguely wondered on the way back if they would even be there when you returned, figuring they used the food as an excuse to get away without a problem, but you were happy to find that they were still there. The thought that maybe they trusted you also made you feel happy.

But it may not even be that. They may just be that confident that they can kill you which, depending on what number Starrk is, he probably could.

When you entered the clearing, Lilinette’s head snapped up before her eye narrowed and she stalked over to you, resting her hands on her hips. “It took you long enough! I was beginning to think you ditched us!”

“Sorry. I ran into a friend on the way and we got to talking.” you held the bag out to her and she ripped it from your hands, returning to Starrk’s side before taking every item out and inspecting it with a sparkling eye. “It’s not much, just some junk food from the convenience store,”

Lilinette had settled for a bag of potato chips, but she seemed to be struggling to open it. Finally, she got so angry she ripped the bag into bits, scattering the salty treat all over herself, the laying Starrk, and the grass. Starrk opened his eyes to glare at her but, like earlier, she simply ignored him, reaching out to grab a chip that had landed on his stomach. She popped it into her mouth and began to chew. When she swallowed, her eye lit up again and she reached for more. “You have to try these, Starrk!”

He grunted in response, not making any movement indicating that he planned to do that.

Lilinette scowled at this. “We probably won’t get another chance! You said so yourself! So try it!”

You watched as the pair argued back and forth. It was amazing, seeing the way they reacted to one another. It was like they were brother and sister, the bond between them was clear as day. You bit your lip to stop from laughing when Lilinette tried to force him to eat the chips, at which they started to argue again. While Lilinette’s retorts were heated and annoyed, Starrk’s were half-hearted. It was amazing that the two could get along so well, but that was close to the same thing as Ichigo and Renji. They were always in each other’s face, but they had the other’s back when push came to shove.

“How long are you going to stand there?” Starrk asked, his eyes trained on you as he held the smaller girl back with one hand on her forehead. She struggled to get closer, but with his long reach and power, she failed with each attempt. “Sit,”

You smiled softly, avoiding his gaze while you took a seat on the other side of his body, facing him just as Lilinette had before she started to argue with him.

“Fine!” Lilinette scowled, sitting across from you with her arms crossed. “You better not change your mind, because I’m not sharing!”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” He mumbled, laying back down. He had to have been the laziest Espada ever.

Paying attention to Starrk, you failed to notice what Lilinette had picked up next. She shook it before setting it next to her ear. “What’s this?”

You glanced over, eyes growing wide. “Lilinette, wait – !”

But it was too late. She uncapped the bottle and it exploded in her face, covering her in the sticky substance. She blinked in surprise, a tic mark appearing on the back of her head. She growled, throwing the bottle across the clearing.

With a sigh, you removed your white button-up shirt and draped it over her head, using the sides to wipe her face off. “Honestly,” you whispered, ignoring her protests. You got the feeling that Starrk was watching you but you ignored it.

You felt a very familiar spiritual pressure and your body stiffened like a block of ice. It’d be bad if you were found with these two, but it’d probably end worse off for them.

Stark must have sensed it, too, because he stood up abruptly. “It’s time to leave, Lilinette.”

“But – !” she whined in complaint but Stark wouldn’t hear it.

“Let’s go.”

She pouted but stood and followed him. Before they could leave the clearing, you called out his name, making him turn and stare at you, his expression still blank. “Umm… will I get to see you both again?” you cursed yourself for almost slipping and asking solely about him. As much as you liked Lilinette, you couldn’t help yourself from wanting to spend one on one time with him.

He didn’t say anything, but he seemed thoughtful. Finally, he spoke the words you didn’t want to hear. “We will, on the battlefield as enemies.”

And then they disappeared.

You had already known that, but hearing those words from him… it made your heart ache in a way you didn’t know it could. You really hated this. How could someone make you feel so out of sync after less than an hour of knowing him? Well, you guessed by now it had been a little over an hour.

Caught up in your thoughts, you didn’t notice that the familiar reiatsu had finally reached you. At least not until he placed a hand on your shoulder to get your attention. Of course, he had to lean up on his tiptoes to reach that high.

“What are you doing way out here?” Toushirou questioned, glancing around at the surroundings. “You’re supposed to be on watch.”

“I, errr… I took a break, yeah, that’s it! I took a break!” you forced a grin, holding up a bag of gummy worms. You could tell by looking into his aqua-colored eyes that he didn’t believe you, that he could see through the mask you had forced up upon his arrival, and that he knew you were hiding something from him. But he didn’t question it or push it. He simply ordered you back to Urahara’s shop, lecturing you the whole way about abandoning your post without a word.

You couldn’t focus on his words, though. Your mind had strayed back to Starrk. You wanted to see him again, but you knew he was right. The only time you’d cross paths again would be on the battlefield, as enemies, trying to take one another’s life.

Life could be so cruel sometimes.

“Y/N!” Toushirou hollered, several tic marks appearing on his head as he glared at you.

“Y-Yes?” you swallowed, hard. He may have been small and downright adorable, but he was sca~ry when he got angry. And boy did he look angry.

“Did you hear a single word I said?” He questioned, his voice labored as he tried to keep calm. Keyword: tried.

“Ehehe… no?”

“Y/N!!”

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

It had been a while since the day you met Starrk and you knew you had been acting like a depressed nut job. You always thought it was so stupid when people acted like that, just to blame love for it. You thought it was stupid and sickening, yet here you were, acting the same way you swore you never would.

But you couldn’t help it. You tried your best to forget about him, but he plagued your mind day and night. You thought about him, you dreamed about him. It was horrible. You knew that the others were worried, but what could you do? You weren’t even fully prepared to accept being in love with him, it was just too ridiculous to believe. You were honestly so tired of it that you were tempted to ask Urahara for help. But, what could he do?

Sure, he was a freaking genius that seemed to know everything, but could he really fix matters of the heart? You were pretty damn sure there was no cure for love-sickness…

You sighed, your head flat on the cold wood surface of the desk as you stared at the window. The sky was a bright, baby blue with just a few fluffy white clouds scattered about. It was the exact same as that day and it filled you with a new sense of longing.

‘Damn bastard. The hell did I have to fall for you for?’ And he probably had no clue. You doubt he’d feel the same, anyway. You were just a mere human and how could an all-powerful hollow, Espada or otherwise, ever fall for a mere human? Even if that human was on the same length as a Shinigami. But that was besides the point. It was a matter of principle and pride!

“Y/N-chan?”

You twitched at that voice. You knew that voice. You hated that voice. Don’t get me wrong. you didn’t hate Orihime, per se, you just… strongly dislike her. But it’s nothing personal, you just really can’t stand damsels in distress, and she’s kind of… well, she always needs saving. It pissed you off. She gives all women a bad name and makes them seem weak! Still, you didn’t want to be an ass to her, knowing how Ichigo and the others cared about her. “Yes?”

“Are you okay?” She asked, softly.

You didn’t bother looking at her. ‘Where does she get off being worried about me? We’re not even friends,’ “Fine,”

“Really? Because the fact that you’ve sighed about a hundred times since you entered the room and class hasn’t even started yet says different.” Tatsuki commented.

Of course, your lie wasn’t very believable, but she didn’t have to shoot it down like that.  “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Ugh, you’re so hopeless! Let’s go, Orihime!”

“But – ”

“They’ll be fine!”

You scoffed, glad that they had finally left you alone. You tried to close your eyes, hoping to get some sleep which you had been deprived of since that day, but it didn’t work. Every time you closed your eyes, you thought of him and his stupid beautiful blue eyes. ‘Asshole,’ “Damn it!” you slammed your forehead against the wood, harder than you meant to. This resulted in you springing back in your seat, clutching your forehead and muttering, “ow!” under your breath.

“Idiot. The hell was that for?” Ichigo asked as he took his seat in front of you.

“You’re right,” you muttered.

His body tensed as he froze, slowly turning around to look at you with wide, fearful eyes. “Did you just… agree with me?” He twitched, springing up and grabbing your shoulders. “You never agree with me! Is the world ending?! Are you sick?! How long do you have to live?!”

You cocked your head to the side, staring at him like he was an idiot. Which he was, but that’s beside the point. “Ichigo?”

“Yes?!”

“Are you on crack?”

“What – Ow!!”

You glanced at Rukia, who had just kicked Ichigo in the back, thus sending him flying into the wall of the classroom, and smiled. “Thank you, Rukia~”

“Sure thing,” She grinned with pride, sitting at the desk beside Ichigo’s. “But, it is a bit weird. You’ve been acting strangely for a while now,”

“Ever since they came back with Toushirou,” Ichigo commented, rubbing his back and throwing a glare at the short shinigami before retaking his seat.

“That’s Captain Hitsugaya.”

“Oh, hey Toushirou.”

A tic mark appeared on the small captain’s head at the blatant disrespect, but before he could act on that annoyance, his lieutenant stepped forward, instantly gaining the attention of every male in the classroom.

“Y/N-chan is in love~” She cooed, winking at you.

Each and every one of them turned to look at you, bearing mixed expressions. You groaned, sinking down in your seat, feeling your cheeks getting hot. “I am not!”

“You are too!”

“Matsumoto,” Toushirou scolded before taking his seat. “Don’t force people into believing they feel something they don’t.”

“But, Taichou~!” She whined with a pout. “Y/N does feel it! They’re just in denial!”

“Denial?” Yumichika ran a hand through his hair. “Such an ugly thing.”

“Like you?” you muttered under your breath, but he heard you.

A tic mark appeared and he glared at you. “How dare you! And stop laughing, Ikkaku!”

Ikkaku had fallen against the wall, his arms wrapped tight around his stomach as his obnoxious laughter filled the classroom. It was contagious, apparently, because the rest of us soon joined him, other than Toushirou – whom you’ve never seen laugh – and Yumichika – who was the reason for the laughter.

It felt nice to laugh without a care in the world, but you should have known it wouldn’t last. You felt a small reiatsu, one you knew very well. It was faint and only lasted a second, but you knew it was there. And for some reason, you felt as if it were meant for you, meant to get your attention. You jumped up from your seat, ignoring the looks and calls of your friends, rushing past the teacher as she entered the room. You ignored her yells as you ran down the hall.

He was here. Starrk was here in the world of the living. Did that mean the battle was beginning? Did he have a reason for being here? You pushed your legs harder, using Shunpo to get you there as quickly as your power would allow. By the time you reached the clearing, you were out of breath and had to hunch over to regain your normal breathing pattern.

“Did you breathe at all on the way here?”

“Lilinette!” Your eyes caught hers and she grinned, clearly amused by your current state.

“Did you miss us that much?” She questioned, folding her arms over her chest and grinning smugly.

“Yeah, I did.” Why deny it? You wouldn’t admit to missing Starrk more than her, though. Your eyes looked farther across the clearing where Starrk stood, leaning against the tree with an expression that clearly said he didn’t want to be there. Your smile faltered and you quickly looked back to Lilinette. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s an easy one! See, Starrk – ”

“Lilinette!” Starrk yelled, cutting her off.

You blinked in surprise at him, that being the first time he had raised his voice. The last time they were here, no matter what she did or how much she annoyed him, he never once raised his voice, but this time was obviously different. What did Lilinette have to say that you weren’t supposed to hear? Orders from Aizen?

She pouted at him. “Fine, geez.”

You raised your eyebrow as silence fell over you. You were beginning to regret coming here. Starrk obviously wasn’t happy about it, and you knew Ichigo and the others were probably worried about the sudden exit you had taken. Maybe if you just slowly back away, you can leave without them noticing. You managed to make it one step before Lilinette caught on, turning her glare on you.

“Oh, no! You’re not going anywhere!”

“If they want to leave, let them.”

You winced. Maybe he didn’t mean anything by it, but then… why did it hurt so bad? You decided now was as good a time as any to use your wonderful lying skills that have gotten you out of quite a bit of trouble in the past. “Sorry, Lilinette. I really shouldn’t have come here, anyway. I was watching over a friend’s little sister and kinda left on short notice. I need to get back and make sure they’re okay. It was nice seeing you again, though.”

Without giving her a chance to respond, you turned on your heal and shunpo-ed away.

“Wait!” she cried, but it was lost amongst the wind rushing in your ears and the pounding of your heart in your chest.

You felt like you couldn’t breathe. You thought that, maybe, if you went to see him you’d feel better than you had this past couple of weeks. But that didn’t seem to be the case. You think it did more harm than good. ‘Thanks again, heart, you’ve screwed me over once more!’

What were you supposed to do now? You couldn’t return to school, not like this. It’d raise even more questions that you didn’t want to answer. Couldn’t go home, since you lived with Urahara. Couldn’t go to Ichigo’s because his dad would bug the hell out of you ’til you told him what’s bothering you. There was only one place you could go; the park.

As expected, the park was nearly deserted, just a few younger kids there with their parents. You followed the path, setting yourself down on a bench in the middle of the long walkway and under the shade of a tree, where no one was around to mess with you. You slid down, your head inclined towards the sky as your arm fell over your eyes.

You realized you brought this on yourself. It was stupid of you to believe that he would have wanted to see you. You were just a human, just trash, as Ulquiorra liked to say. Definitely not worth the time of a Hollow. And besides, you found it hard to believe that a Hollow could love, anyway. But… they felt other emotions, right? Well, except Ulquiorra. You found it hard to believe that he felt anything. The Espadas were different though.

They didn’t just take on human form, but they took on human emotion, too, even if they didn’t realize or understand it.

“Ahhh, but it doesn’t matter,” you sighed.

“What doesn’t matter?”

Your body tensed, ‘For the love of god, please tell me I imagined that’. Carefully removing your arm, you looked at the figure standing in front of you, his face as blank as it usually was. This was just not your day. Mentally slapping yourself, you re-covered your eyes with your arm and tried not to make a big deal out of it. “It’s nothing,”

“Weren’t you supposed to go babysit?” He questioned; you could feel him watching you carefully.

You almost twitched, ‘Damn lies. Do they always have to catch up to me?’ “They’re uh… running around playing, or something…”

He raised a brow. “Is there a reason for that lie?”

This time you did twitch. “You knew from the beginning, didn’t you?”

“Yes,”

“Figures,” you paused. “Where’s Lilinette?”

“Back in the forest. She sent me after you.”

‘Of course, he wouldn’t have come of his own free will, idiot.’ “Oh… right.”

Silence fell over you and you closed your eyes again, willing him to leave. You didn’t hear anything from him and assumed he had left. But, being the curious person you were, you had to check and make sure. When you removed your arm and opened your eyes, you were relieved that he wasn’t standing in front of you anymore, but when you glanced to the side, he was sitting on the bench next to you.

You jumped in surprise, nearly falling off the bench. The hell did Espada move around like cats? He glanced at you, amusement clear in his blue eyes. Still, his expression did not change. You were beginning to believe that Ulquiorra had competition.

The silence remained but you found one question, in particular, floating on your tongue. It came out before you could stop it. “I thought you said we’d see each other next on the battlefield?”

“I did,”

“You here because of Aizen again?”

“No. He doesn’t know we’re here.”

You raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit worried. Sure, he was strong, but was he strong enough to stand up to Aizen? “You sure that’s – ”

“It’s fine,” He shrugged, running a gloved hand through his hair.

“Alright then,” you muttered. “Why are you here, though?”

“If you were a cat, you’d have lost about six of your lives already, you know?” He questioned, clearly avoiding the question. Why didn’t he want you to know why he was here? It didn’t have anything to do with Aizen, right? Did he have plans of his own?

“Funny. Wanna tell me why you’re avoiding that question?”

“Seven lives,”

“Starrk,” you scowled at him, falling back against the bench. Were all Espada this difficult? Wait, you already knew the answer to that.

Starrk didn’t respond. He just closed his eyes and rested his cheek on his fist. With a sigh, you moved your gaze to the sky. Birds chirped above you as they made their way through the sky, bouncing from tree to tree as they chased each other. The wind blew your hair and rustled the bright green leaves on the trees. A few children could be heard in the distance, laughing as they played with their parents and friends. It was a beautiful day, one that should be enjoyed. The kind of day that you don’t expect anything to go wrong on. The sun was hidden behind a soft gray cloud and the day was cool. Not cold, but not hot, either. It was perfect.

But you couldn’t bring yourself to fully admire it. Your thoughts were too focused on the male sitting beside you.

Starrk stood up suddenly, startling you from your thoughts. He moved to stand directly in front of you, his eyes locked on your own. You couldn’t look away, even if you wanted to. Which you didn’t. “You still want to know why we came back?”

“Of course,”

“Because of you,”

“Me?” you blinked, pointing your index finger at yourself.

He nodded, moving his gaze to the sky above. “Since I can remember, I’ve always been alone. Because of how strong I was, no other hollow could stand to be around me. They always died because they weren’t strong enough to handle my power. I’m not sure when it happened, but because of that loneliness, my soul was split into two.”

“And Lilinette is the second half?” you guessed.

He nodded again. “I’m not even sure which of us was the original. But we were together to stop the loneliness that we felt. I still feel it, but it’s not as strong as it used to be, thanks to Lilinette. I joined Aizen because he made me believe that I could be around people without them dying. They were strong enough to be around me, but I was still lonely.” His eyes closed for a minute before reopening, this time locked with your own, his voice barely above a whisper. “You take that away, completely. I don’t feel lonely around you, and neither does Lilinette.”

You had no clue what to say. You had never been in a position like that before. Whenever Matsumoto would question you about it, you’d always reply, ‘I’ll cross that bridge when and if I come to it’, and now that you were at that bridge, you had no idea how to get across. You looked away from him, tugging at the collar of your shirt as your face started to heat up. You cursed yourself for that. ‘Like a blushing school kid, I swear,’

“You’re strong,” He stated.

You knew what he meant. You were strong enough to be around him without having to worry about his power destroying you. Did that mean he wanted to stay? “Starrk?”

“Hm?”

“Do you know what love is?”

His brow shot up in confusion. “No,”

You stood up, unable to believe what you were about to do. You got closer to him, staring into his eyes. “Then let me show you,” you grabbed the back of his head, forcing his lips down onto your own. You wanted to convey everything you felt and Matsumoto always told you that the best way to do that was through a kiss. She always said that when you kiss someone, that person can feel everything you felt, and you were hoping she was right.

Starrk relaxed, his hands gripping your waist and pulling you closer to his body. You felt it. That level of happiness that people say you can only feel when you’re in love. You could feel it so clearly and, suddenly, all that crap about love didn’t seem so stupid anymore.

You pulled back, smiling up at him. “I love you Starrk and I… I don’t ever want to be apart from you.”

His lips twitched up into a smile and his grip tightened. “You won’t have to be,”

“You’re not alone anymore.” you murmured, kissing him again. He responded instantly, his grip tightening. “Will you stay with me?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Finally! I told you they’d want you, Starrk!” The two of you pulled apart to look at the grinning blonde, who looked extremely proud of herself. “You should be thanking me! If I hadn’t pushed him into coming here, there’s no way he would of!”

You laughed, placing your hand on top of her head. “And how would you like me to repay you?”

She grinned. “I want more human food! The same as last time!”

You smiled as Starrk came up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder.

Matsumoto had been right about everything. You were happy and you knew these memories would last you a lifetime.

~Fin~

“Wait, wait, wait.” you pushed the Fin sign out of the way before returning to Starrk’s side. “I have another question.”

“Of course you do.” He grinned softly. “Eight lives.”

“What number are you?”

“You don’t know?” He blinked. You shook your head and he sighed, removing the white glove from his left hand to reveal a big, bold 1 in black. “I’m the Primera,”

“Holy shit. Never would have guessed that one.”

“See? Even Y/N thinks you don’t act very Primera-like!”

“Oi, I never said that!”

“But that’s what you meant!”

“No, it’s not!”

Starrk sighed as he watched the two of you, a smile tugging at his lips. He really wasn’t alone anymore.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

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[solitariusdeluna]

Opinion time: Whether or not Coyote Starrk is deserving of his rank as the PRIMERA

Spoiler alert: he’s completely deserving. 

As the title of suggests, this is going to be a very very very long part rant part facts piece about why Coyote Starrk deserves to be the Primera Espada, contrary to what sp many in the fandom think. Brace yourselves, fam. 

So it’s no real surprise that way too many people have taken it upon themselves to question if he was ever worthy of being the first Espada and that’s simply because he’s super underrated and hardly got any screen time except when he duked it out with Kyoraku. 

Let’s begin with the guy himself. I mean he’s not your regular baddie now, is he? And that makes him rather original in the bleach universe tbh. For a “villain” and given his stature, he’s not all that antagonistic. Like at all. Not even a tiny bit. Out of all the characters in bleach, he’s practically the only guy who actively doesn’t give a sh*t or even care about the HUGE battle that he was taking part in. 

And it’s because of that very sentiment that people often mistake him as being lazy and just wanting to get it over with so he can go nap since well, that’s like the only other scene that we saw him in. By design, he’s also quite the understated character and given his position as the first Espada, he’s meant to come off as the underdog. 

Especially when you consider that Barragan is the second Espada. Okay, and we all know that Barragan is supposed to be that ALL POWERFUL RULER OF HUECO MUNDO! We’re supposed to think that Barragan is supposed to be number one then and when it turns out that Starrk actually is, it’s supposed to subvert your expectations as to what makes a powerful character within this army. 

But going back to his design, even if it looks less flashy than most, I think he has the best design among many in the series. He’s definitely quite the looker, i mean look at those cheekbones! And that wavy brown hair and his striking grey-blue eyes and his tall stature. He’s not flashy but he’s definitely handsome. 

He’s also the forgotten Espada, unfortunately. Because despite his position as being numero uno. He really doesn’t show up quite a lot in the Arrancar arc and his fight with Shunsui actually doesn’t take that long either. Not only that, he doesn’t get a volume cover, and he’s also one of the only Espada, it’s only him and Aaroniero that don’t face a single bad guy in the story. 

And this is just one of the few reasons that people seem to think that maybe Starrk didn’t really deserve his position at the top. When compared to Espada like Barragan and Ulquiorra who have very extravagant attacks and abilities, Starrk in comparison comes across as a wee bit plain. 

So when think cero attacks, they’re so over the top and cool, right? But even though Starrk can practically wield his ceros in manner that none of the other Espada or arrancar can, no one seems to notice. I mean he just has to stand there and it just happens, all on its own. No pick up your finger and point like pew pew pew the way Ulquiorra does, or just rage shoot it out of his entire hand as though he’s shoving someone into oblivion the way Grimmjow does. 

As noted by Shunsui, unlike other Arrancar, he can apparently fire a Cero without a "fighting pose", meaning he can fire it without any warning from body gestures. Starrk can do it without any gestures. He can fire it from various points on his body such as his chin or chest and he also charge and fire it rather quickly without any warning, leaving even less time for his target to react. 

Starrk’s got guns. Big guns. and they’re pretty badass too especially when you consider the details on the sides and all. But when you compare them to a skeleton with a crown that can dissolve you to the bone, well... it can pretty much be hard to justify why starrk is numero uno while barragan is number two. 

Now yeah we all heard the age old argument that all over the fandom that Barragan is actually meant to be number one and is only number two because Aizen put him there to insult him and wanted to deflate his big fat ego plenty. I can see that and it might make some sense but it totally and completely isn’t doing Starrk as a character and a fighter any justice.

Now in spite of his relatively short amount of panel and screen time and given that his abilities are not as impressive as some of the other Espada and by impressive you know i mean showy as heck, I’m gonna lay the facts why Starrk is deserving of his rank at the top of the Espada ranks even if he was not the most memorable character ARGUABLY. 

Point#1 Let’s talk reiatsu:

Going off the main canon reason we have to go off the ranking of the Espada is that they are ranked by their reiatsu. Starrk has an abnormally large amount of it compared to almost every other character in the series. His reiatsu was so vast that it killed mountains amounts of hollows and that’s even after he split his power into, an entirely second person, Lilynette. And unlike every single other arrancar and that goes for mister surprise bullshit twist zero espada yammy, Starrk’s zanpaktou is not his power. That was more of a prop for him as wiki states; Sheathing his sword, Starrk, calling Lilynette over, reveals he and Lilynette are one: while other Hollows split their power into their sword and body, they split into two bodies instead, and once they are one again, their full power will be released. 

Now whether it was starrk or lilynette that was the original body -- which is going to be a case of the chicken or the egg type of deal tbh. but my headcanon in this regard would be that their hollow being was a huge collection of souls amassed over time and it existed for ages upon ages. but then starrk and lilynette’s souls seemed to be the strongest out of the whole bunch so basically that’s why it’s them who’s the representative power of that original hollow they were a part of and now with starrk being the stronger one of the two since he’s the older one. 

But getting back to Starrk’s zanpaktou, lilynette is his source of power and basically his zanpaktou. While every other arrancar turned their power into a blade. According to bleach lore, the size of a person’s zanpaktou is relative to their reiatsu. Going off of that, starrk has managed to condense his reiatsu into the smallest form that it could be and that is that of a human child. But also again the two them combined even after being split up, are enough to kill mountains of hollow. That’s how powerful they are. 

special note: when starrk decided to follow aizen, he did it out of his reasoning that, hey i know this guy isn’t going to die because our killer power so yeah, why not? let’s do this. 

Anyhoo, since their reiatsu is absolutely and utterly crushing for any hollow that comes within their proximity. hollows that aren’t particularly powerful but still okay. still. no one else can do that so suck on that, haters! Not even this guy:

the self proclaimed and all powerful king of hueco mundo aka barragan louisenbairn. who just so happened to be sat in a court of hollows, like a whole bunch of them. and yet, none of them were getting killed. none of them. not with his reiatsu alone. so. yeah. 

moving on.

Point#2 Starrk’s battles:

So this is where the real meat of the argument of why he’s deserving of being the primera espada comes in. Putting aside the fact that starrk wasn’t the least bit interested in the whole battle thing and didn’t have the blood lust or duty bound attitude like the rest of the espada -- and that’s because he’s pretty much indifferent to things in the first place. We know that he’s unmotivated which comes across as very lazy to most people aka that whole omg starrk is a fucking lazy bitch thing that most of the people in the fandom go on about...

He’s not lazy. He’s unmotivated. There is a difference. It comes with his nature of being very apathetic and uncaring. I personally like to think that he doesn’t care to exert energy into things that don’t really matter.  But I digress. 

At the start of his fight, starrk is very clearly not even trying and he says so himself a bunch of times. Even though kyoraku was trying to pretty much kill him and get this thing over with, starrk not once retaliates in kind. Which makes this INCREDIBLY UNUSUAL for a bleach fight and villain. And a top tier bleach villain at that, and that’s what makes him interesting. He’s not your regular sort of villain. If one can even call him that really. 

Anyhoo, let’s stop and actually consider the caliber of opponent that starrk is up against. It’s one of the oldest captains of the gotei 13 and a disciple of old man yama-jii himself. So that’s something in itself, okay? 

Let’s take a quick detour though:

And bring back barragan into the picture, mostly because he’s the one who’s supposedly meant to be the primera espada right? (psst, wrong. like really.) Barragan is all about the pizzazz and show and bling bling. I mean look at him, he’s pretty much decked out in the best gold complete with a little crown on his head too. 

Barragan is powerful, there’s no denying that. And he knows it. That’s the contrast between Starrk and him though. He knows his power and his unrelenting about his use of it. Because he wants people to know that he’s strong unlike starrk who just doesn’t give a flying monkey’s arse. And when barragan activates his release form we get a tremendously awesome and stunning display of power in the way in which he manages to reduce Soifon’s hand into nothing but it’s bare bone. That was frightening and it was one of those moments that was meant to stay with you as a observer. Because it oozes the sentiment that, this guy should not be trifled with. 

The difference is however, unlike starrk, barragan is not consistent. Barragan’s fight goes downhill right after that kickass moment of him dissolving soifon’s hand muscles away. and that was the best part of that fight.

detour over. 

Okay, now back to starrk (the one and only and deserving primera).

Starrk in his battle with Kyoraku manages to stay consistent. Something that Barragan failed to do. Barragan is just not on the same level as starrk for a number of reasons.

1. Starrk has a personality that is just not seen among all the other arrancars. He’s cool. He’s calm. And he’s collected. But he’s also incredibly intelligent and ridiculously observant, on a level that we just don’t even see in the series. He was quick enough to observe that Kyoraku was actually ambidextrous despite his trying to hide that as best as he can. He was also able to figure out that Ukitake’s zanpaktou was able to do after seeing it three times in action. 

2. He is strategic. That’s exactly why he was able to figure out how to best beat Rose and Love WHO BY THE WAY WERE ALSO CAPTAIN LEVEL OPPONENTS SO STARRK FOUGHT NOT ONE BUT FOUR CAPTAINS -- Again, suck on that, haters! Ahem, anyhoo. A battle is won not only by force and power but also by strategy. But also in one’s ability to keep a cool head and be quick enough to able to adapt to the situations as they arise. Which starrk was able to do throughout his encounters with those four different captains. 

3. He is not an Urahara/Askin type of character, those guys are more known for being able to continually use their wits and are something of deus ex machina in their own right in that regard. The type of characters who you know are really really powerful but are downplaying it or hiding it so much. 

4. From the start of his battle with kyoraku to the time ukitake (the other discipline of yama-jii and old timer captain of the gotei 13)  turns up, Starrk didn’t take a single hit. He doesn’t get hit, once. And that is just badass, especially given the fact that he was going up against ukitake, kyoraku, rose and love. In his resurreccion, starrk was able to keep a level head and access the situation all while dodging every single attack he was thrown with. And despite kyoraku’s tendency to fight dirty and sneaky. Still, starrk managed to dodge, everything. Starrk’s ability to control the battlefield with his ceros and simultaneously dodge everything these two old and very high level captain class characters throw at him is pretty much nothing short of impressive if you ask me. But wait, there’s more. 

5. Once ukitake and kyoraku are taken out of the fight, starrk goes up against Love and Rose. You know, the hollowified and presumably strengthened tremendously because of that fact captain level guys that were exiled to live in the world of the living. So that’s back to the point I made early which is pretty badass in its own right and NO ONE ELSE HAD TO DEAL WITH MIGHT I ADD! He was dealt with the TOUGHEST fighters around. Clearly. But you know what was cool? Starrk was literally toying with them, the entire time. He did take a hit because of Love when barragan died but it was like him just laying there and being something of a comedic moment and he wasn’t the least bit hurt. He wasn’t even being serious the entire time and then his awesome bomber wolves wiped them out -- even though it’s still highly doubtful he was fully into the fight even then but. that was that. 

Speaking of those awesome bomber wolves;

His resurreccion’s other special ability aside those mad cero shooting skills and he summons his army of spirit wolves and that was his moment to shine pretty much. These wolves decimated Rose and Love with ease and starrk didn’t even have to move from his spot. not once. 

Now if we go back to barragan though, he was pretty much freaking out and got half his skull clearly wiped out of his head when he got hit and he was pretty much losing his mind. But that’s because of his personality and that pompous being he is that ended up holding him back. Compared to starrk who remained in control and completely so, the entire time he fought with all these strong opponents. 

BUT CONVERSELY;

Okay, so he held his own against four captains but then he didn’t fight a bankai and ended up losing to a shikai. When we take that into consideration, well, yeah. that does sound really bad. not gonna lie. Being the first espada in Aizen’s army killed by a shikai.

Except, we have to take into account with everything that was mentioned thus far, Starrk was winning the fight with ease. He was in control of the entire battle from start to finish, hardly took any damage even though he went through kyoraku, ukitake, love and rose. He was always on top of his game throughout and he wasn’t even into the whole fighting thing okay. that’s the main point here. 

He was crushing it. Starrk was winning it. Especially after he wiped out Rose and Love. Until Kyoraku emerged from the shadows and took a stab at him. It was in this battle that we learned more about Kyoraku’s personality when in battle and we find out that he’s pretty much not afraid to be sneaky and low-ball his opponents. And that’s because according to me, he’s pretty much got that mindset that “all is fair in love and war, baby.” 

Kyoraku’s unapologetic and that’s pretty awesome of him. Plus, given that he was up against starrk and he noticed how things were going, he decided to up things and go all out without using his bankai. Which he was actually considering by the way, but Ukitake was all no, man. don’t you dare at him so he didn’t. But this was why Kyoraku decided to literally...

...stab starrk in the back. 

And just end this once and for all. And there was no way starrk could have gotten out of that scenario because it played perfectly into kyoraku’s hands. And even Rose and Love didn’t expect it, because in the world of bleach, it’s just not etiquette to come crashing into someone else’s fight -- which was exactly what Kyoraku does. 

Love and Rose were just superbly outmatched and kyoraku saw an opportunity and he just goes ahead and stabs starrk in the back. And it was that stab that finished it. Game over. 

It takes starrk right out of the game. Because from that moment onwards, starrk’s head just wasn’t in the fight anymore. It was so dirty and he didn’t like and he was supposed to be the bad guy. 

Tut tut, kyoraku. 

Anyhoo, Starrk didn’t want to be there. He didn’t want to fight. He gets a little bit into it and takes out Love and Rose. But when Shunsui stabs him in the back and rattles him. It caused Lilynette to step up and sacrifice herself for his sake but from then on it was just what was the end all for him at that point. He was thrown into an emotional tailspin that shook him to his core, ended his reasoning and that entirety of calmness he had throughout his battle. 

That was seriously heartbreaking to watch too. He lost the other half of his soul and one can only imagine the type of pain that brings about. It weakened his resolve and when your opponent’s resolve to fight is weak, well then, of course you’ll be the victor and that was exactly what happened. 

Shunsui won. But he won dirty. 

But if you consider that he went up against two of the oldest and high level captains and two hollow strengthened captains and still held his own until he was dealt that unfortunate blow, starrk is pretty damn well deserving of his rank as the primera espada. He is not the primera because barragan was slighted by aizen. He’s the primera because he held his own pretty darn well despite not feeling it at all.

 And that’s the end of that, friends. Show respect for starrk. He’s the primera and he deserves it. 

#PROTECTSTARRK2020

[tinyanimelover]

Red Flags

Part Seven

(Part One)

"Suzo?" Y/n called, trying to pull him from his thoughts, after a few times of saying his name, he finally responded. "Hm? What is it?" Suzo sprung to action "Need some water? Does your back hurt? I can het another pillow if you want, do you need another one? Are you hungry?". "For fucks sake, ask one at a time" Grimmjow deadpanned "She's been trying to get your attention for awhile now, don't throw so many questions and not even let her answer". "S-sorry" Suzo let out, attempting a smile but failing miserably "What did you need, Y/n?". "Nothing" she smiled "You just seemed lost in thought, so I wanted to make sure you were okay...". "I'm fine" he smiled sadly, "I'm gonna go get a coffee. Want anything Grimmjow?". "Nah, I'm good. I gotta leave soon for work" the male spoke as he leaned back into the chair. "Alright. I'll be quick" Suzo said as he left. "You're turn" Grimmjow said as he nodded toward the pile of cards on the bed "I think you'll actually win this time". "You cheated all the other times.." She deadpanned "How's that winning..". He smirked "Not cheated, I just knew what you were gonna do. I played this a lot as a kid". "Yeah, yeah" she smiled, placing a card down "..Grimmjow, can I ask a favor?". "If it's to sneak you out of here, you're on your own" he said calmly, placing a card down "I don't feel like being yelled at by your brother and the doctor and the spending a few nights in jail". "..what?" She deadpanned "I'm old enough to sign myself out if I wanted to...what kind of imagination do you have..". He smirked, "I can tell you all about it if you want, but then you'd be embarrassed after". "A-anyways, it's not that...could you talk to Suzo? When you have time course" she asked with a sad smile "I don't know what happened but he's been out of it for a few days now..and he it doesn't look like he'll tell tell me what's wrong even if I ask..so maybe he'll tell you!". "You think so?" Grimmjow asked with a raised eyebrow "Maybe he's just worried about you". She shook her head, "No..its something more than that I think..if you cant, its okay. I'll get it out of him when he comes back". "I'll talk to him if it'll make you feel better" he sighed, ruffling his hair a bit "I'm not one for those kinds of talks...I'm sure he just needs some guy time and he'll start talking..". "Guy..time?" She repeated "Like hanging out with friends? He..doesn't have any..Suzo's friend is his work life". Grimmjow deadpanned "You two are the same huh...fine, I'll take him out then". Why was he doing this much for her anyways? He glanced back over at her sullen expression, she was really worried about her brother. Shouldn't she be more worried about herself? She was the one in the hospital not Suzo. "Stop with that sad look" he sighed as he got up "I'll find out what's wrong with him, so don't worry so much". "Thank you Grimmjow" she smiled, feeling a bit better "I'm sorry for asking you...but thank you". He nodded, "Yeah, yeah..I gotta get to work now. I might stop by after if you're still up". "Okay, drive safe" she hummed happily. The locked eyes for a split moment before he panicked and took off without another word.

"You asked me to meet you somewhere...but why are we here of all places" Suzo deadpanned as they stood in front of a strip club. "What? Where the fuck else would two guys go to hang out?" Grimmjow smirked "Nowhere else other than the greatest place ever made! Here, I can buy all the woman I want and don't gotta worry about any strings attached". That's right, how do you get a woman out of your head? Look at other women! Or that was the logic for Grimmjow at least. "How...disgraceful" Suzo sighed "Don't you have any respect for women?"."Huh?" He let out, confused. "If you wanted to hang out, I prefer tea houses..or any normal restaurant would've been fine" Suzo explained "C'mon, I know where we can go". As Suzo led the man to a nearby park, Grimmjow allowed a disappointed look slip onto his face "...the..park?...dude, you're such an old man...". "I prefer a peaceful scenery" Suzo chuckled as they both sat on a bench, a tree hung over them "Anyways, why the sudden want to hang out?". "Hm? Well..." Grimmjow trailed off as he wasn't sure if he should be straight forward and reveal Y/n had asked him to speak to him, so he opted for another answer "I've been hanging around your sister for a few days now, but I've been thinking..what does she have? If..you don't mind telling me". "She hasn't told you? Or..you just didn't want to ask her, right" Suzo smiled sadly as he looked away "..my sister was born with bad lungs...when she was a little younger it almost killed her but our father gave her his lung. He..didn't survive the surgery but she did and her body seemed to accept the new lung...until recently. Her body rejecting the lung now..". "Her lungs.." Grimmjow said softy as he looked away, the would explain the constant beeping on the monitor, something about oxygen levels he heard the nurse say once "..then why don't you give her yours?". "Believe me, I would've done so long ago if it meant she could be free from the suffering she's in right now..." Suzo sighed "...but I'm not a match, so I can't donate for her...between you and me...because we have no other family and there's no way she can be moved up on the waiting list...the doctor told me I should start preparing...". His eyes widened, looking over at the male "Prepare..? The fuck does he mean by that?! And what the fuck is a waiting list?". "She'll die before she ever moves up on the list..the list for people who need organ transplants" he explained sadly, "So the most I can do for her now, according to the doctor...is make sure she's comfortable...". "...this is why you've been out of it, huh?" Grimmjow sighed deeply "You've been keeping this to yourself...she has a right to know, you can't just leave her in the dark like this". "I know...but how..do I tell her that...she's got less than a few months at most to live?...how do I tell her that her own brother can't save her?...that she's going to die without ever really living her life!". Grimmjow pursed his lips, fiddling with his hands as he lowered his eyes to the pavement "...sorry man...". "...it's not your fault" Suzo let out as he wiped the tears from his eyes "I just...I'm tired..of not being able to do anything for her..I can't help but blow up like this at times.....I promised her I'd do whatever it took to save her, so to be told that there's nothing I can do.....that's why I'm glad that you've gotten so close to her, Grimmjow. I wanted her to have at least one person aside from me who could keep her company..to the end...". "Like that's fucking fair" Grimmjow grunted as he leaned back into the bench "You're asking me to watch her die basically...the fuck makes you think I want to see her die?". Suzo nodded slowly, "Yeah..its unfair of me to ask you to be at her side...but..I don't want her to be alone when the time comes...then I'll never be able to forgive myself..so..please, I know its selfish..but if I can't be there..will you be able to?". Grimmjow looked up at the starry night sky, the moonlight shining down on them. Any other girl, he would've say fuck no, but Y/n was different. Being able to hang out with her these past few days, he was now able to accept that he'd fallen for her somehow. This news hurt him more than he'd like to admit. Why..did he have to fall for her, of all people? He was going to be left all alone and heartbroken by the end of it. So why? He couldn't help it, he looked forward to her voice and smile every morning before work, the way she'd laugh, the way she'd speak softly. Everything about her had already reeled him in. He was fucked. ".....for her...yeah, I'll fucking be there" Grimmjow let out. He smiled as he lifted his head, "Thank you Grimmjow...but please refrain from cursing around her, I don't need her vocabulary to be...so colorful". Grimmjow chuckled, "You should've heard her when the nurses tried to get her to stop playing cards with me and take a nap".

[fractempyreal]

@destructivour​ echoed:   ' i`m . . . sorry. '

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒  𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃  𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓  𝐓𝐎  𝐇𝐈𝐌 ,  𝐌𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐃  𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 ,        despite   knowing   that   the   person   they’re   coming   from    .      Consciousness   lapping   at   the   edges   of   his   humanity    (    still   moored   at   the   shores   of   denial    ) ,      colors   still   flickering   behind   his   eyelids   in   mottled   GREENS    &    REDS    .      Muscles   hardly   seem   to   respond   to   his   command   ,      barely   even   a   TWITCH   of   his   fingers   before   white - hot   pain   overtakes   the   little   amount   of   SENSES   he   possesses   aside   from   the   n u m b n e s s   that’s   settled   in   his   body    (    as   a   means   to   prevent   him   from   merely   BLACKING   OUT   again   from   the   pain   )    .       𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓  𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 ?  𝐇𝐄  𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒 . . .  𝐇𝐄  𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒 . . .         a   pleaded   mercy    ,      the   straining   of   breath   as   windpipes   were   being   CRUSHED   within   an   iron   grip    .      He   recalls   the   fury     &     terrifying   RAGE   of   a   beast   that   sought   to   end   his   life    (    the   transformation   of   a   desolate   gaze   to   that   of   seething   rancor   enough   to   make   blood   in   his   veins   run   cold    ) .      Attemping   to   inhale   ,      he   instead   JERKS   at   the   stabbing   sharpness   in   his   chest   that   prompts   lips   to   part   in   a   silent   c r y   as   head   falls   back   on   the   cushion   beneath   his   head    .      That   hadn’t   been   there   before   ,      he   recalls    ,      it   had   been   the   cold   CONCRETE   that   the   back   of   his   skull   had   collided   with    ,      not   plush   fabrics    .      Beyond   the   murkiness   of   his   surroundings   ,      it   begins   to   dawn   on   him   that   someone   had   done   what   they   could   to   provide   him   physical   c o m f o r t   .      Not   only   that   ,      but   where   he   remembers   to   have   been   GOUGES   within   his   skin    &    near   rendering   of   flesh   from   bone   are   now   all   bandaged   .      The   bindings   softly   rustling   upon   his   movement   ,      one   emerald   eye   PEEKING   from   beneath   a   half - closed   lid   at   the   wrappings   .      A   pristine   white   ,      stained   a   soft   pink   .      It’s   a   color   he   didn’t   expect   when   he   remembers   only   vibrant   crimson   thickly   sticking   to   his   skin   with   every   agonizing   movement   he   made   .      He   doesn’t    think   to   see   the   one   that   had   rendered   him   to   such   a   state   standing   over   him   as   if   to   protect   him   ,      when   he   had   in   fact   been   the   cause   . 𝐇𝐈𝐒  𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐓   𝐒𝐄𝐈𝐙𝐄𝐒   𝐔𝐏   𝐓𝐇𝐄   𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓   𝐆𝐀𝐙𝐄   𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒   𝐎𝐍   𝐇𝐈𝐌 ,        chest   clenching   as   he   feels   that   familiar   ,      disgusting   sense   of   FEAR   clutch   into   his   heart   with   unforgiving   t a l o n s   ruthlessly   sinking   in   .      Fingers   grasp   the   fabric   he’s   laying   on   ,      body   jerking   aside   as   he   makes   to   try    &    get   away   from   the   thing   that   had   nearly   succeeded   in   killing   him   .      Unfortunately   there   is   only    the   pain   that   overwhelms    &    sears   every    muscle    within    his   body   ,      making   them    sieze   up    with   WHITE - HOT   AGONY   .      He   releases   a   breathless   gasp   ,      momentarily    writhing    upon    the    bed    he’s    in    (    though    feeling   a    hand   rest   on   his   shoulder   in   usherance   for   him   to   lie   down   once   again    )   .      He   complies    to   the   c o m f o r t i n g    touch    .

𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓  𝐃𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐒  𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓  𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐂𝐀𝐆𝐄 ,  𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒  𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐒𝐇𝐔𝐓        as    he   leans    back   again   ,      propped   up   against   the   clump   of   pillows   behind   him   .      I’m   sorry   ,      he   claims   .      The   worlds   coming   more    as   a   PLEA   than   anything   else   .      A   desire   to   attone   for   wrongdoings   ,      for   the   BROKEN   BONES     &     the   shattered   heart   .      Had   he   been   a   fool   to   tell   him   the   truth   in   the   first   place   ?      Without   knowing   how   it   was   that   he   was   going   to   react   upon   being   told    (    he   almost   can’t   even   blame   him   for   not   even   believing   ,      for   who   would   believe   that   he   was   but   a   SHELL   of   the   man   Grimmjow   once   loved   )    ?      Jaw   clenches   ,      head   tilting   back   without   providing   him   a   proper   r e s p o n s e   .      What   could   he   say   ?      He   never   thought    that   fear   would   BLOOM   in   the   face   of   which   he   adored   .      He   thought   those   lies   were   put   behind   them    ,      only   for   them   to   become   a   hellish   reality   that   he   had   never   hoped   to   see   .      Now   there   only   lies   the   question   of   WHY   ?      What    had    stopped   him    short    of   delivering   that   final   blow   ?      What   is   it   that   brought   about   a   change   of   heart   that   compelled   him   to   turn   around    &    instead   SAVE   HIM   rather   than   leave   him   to   bleed   out    &    die    ?      There’s   so   many   questions   milling   about   his   mind   by   that   point   ,      trying    to    rationalize   his   decisions    ,    before   releasing   a   low   groan     &     sinking   further   into   the   plush   pillows   .      Tongue   pressing   to   the   roof   of   his   mouth   in   silent   c o n t e m p l a t i o n   before   the   soft   words   leave   him    (    not   out   of   rage   ,      but   rather   a   temporary   plea   )    .                       ❛     ----------------------------   I   would   like   to    be   left   alone   for   a   bit   .    ❜ 𝐍𝐎  𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍  𝐎𝐅  𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐃  𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 ;        releasing   a   reserved   sigh   &   STILL   NOT   TURNING   HIS   GAZE   TOWARDS   HIM   .      Fear   still   claims   his   heart   even   upon    utterance   ,      tensing   for   belief   that   rage   would   BOIL   OVER   once   again    &    lead   to   an   even   worse   state   than   what   he’s   in   now   (   death   would   perhaps   be   more   preferable   than   what   Grimmjow   could   have   in   store   for   him    )   .      Instead   ,      the   silence   is   near   deafening   as   he   fixes   his   gaze   towards   the   far   wall   ,      adorned   with   odd   trinkets    &    what   looks   like   BLEACHED   FRAGMENTS   OF   BONE   .      Lips   pursing   ,      swallowing   dryly   as   he   closes   his   eyes   in   hopes   to   sink   into    some   dark   PIT    &    hopefully   never   wake   again    .      It   would   be   less   agonizing   than   whatever   lies   in   store   for   him   in   the   FUTURE   .                          ❛    ------      I   just   need   time   to   myself   so   I   can   think   .    ❜

[ljungfrun]

Bleach, From Pilot to Ch. 423: Things I Forgot Or Were Excluded From The Anime

Turns out I had forgotten a lot of things tho they might not seem that important. Anyway, the list is long so I’ll keep it under the cut. It’s a bit messy but I was just writing it as I was reading and then I somehow expected myself to remember what I was talking about. Posting it for anybody else who could use the reminder.

Please keep in mind that I’m pretty sure the translation I was reading wasn’t a 100% correct but I couldn’t be bothered to find a better one. Seems like it improved later on but I’d still take it with a grain of salt. (Like I’m pretty sure this translator couldn’t read hiragana properly, and some names were really messed up.)

- I did not know there was a pilot chapter so yeah... that entire thing I guess. - Orihime being that open about her crush from the beginning - Orihime’s parents being such cruel people - Orihime’s hairpins being a gift from Sora - The backstory of the mod souls - Chad’s crazy about cute things - Keigo is from Naruki City, not Karakura - Mizuiro being really popular with girls - Renji and Byakuya with weird hoods, idk if that was part of the anime and so far there’s been a part from the anime that wasn’t in the manga (The part with Ichigo seeing Rukia fight a hollow in town before she comes into his room) - Orihime is bad with electronics - Ishida is poor - Tatsuki told Orihime that she is probably at the level of a black belt in karate (I don’t know if she was honest about that but she said it) - Orihime is really dang smart - I forgot Nemu was technically Mayuri’s daughter -Also Mayuri is awful, he belongs in worst dad club with Isshin (I also didn’t remember Isshin being SUCH a creep but I guess I forgot to write that earlier. Or I just decided not to since reviewing this list afterwards I realize I left some other creepy things out.) - Mayuri can turn into liquid - Zanpakutou Materializing Dolls, and other artefacts. So many artefacts. Never to be mentioned or used ever again. - Kira feeling super guilty over raising a sword at Hinamori. - Orihime just chilling with Yachiru, Ikkaku, and Yumichika after the was separated from Uryuu. Oh and Zaraki’s there too. - Hisagi having been accepted as a shinigami before he passed the exams, expected to become a seated officer - Rukia idolised Kaien’s wife - That Komamura was that loyal to Yamamoto - I remember Kenpachi fighting Komamura and Tousen, not picking a fight with Komamura, Tousen, Iba, and Hisagi. Neither did I remember Ikkaku and Yumichika joining in, it’s just entirely gone from my memory - Byakuya’s scarf is a really expensive heirloom. - Byakuya was really cold in the beginning, supposedly not caring about his subordinates (idk if he really changed later on but this stood out to me in the moment. Also speaking of Byakuya, I think he seemed older to me when watching the anime because of the voice.) - Really I had forgotten a lot about the animosity between Byakuya and Renji - Rukia doesn’t refer to Gin as “Captain Ichimaru” and he doesn’t mind since they’ve “known eachother for so long”. Apparently she’s deathly afraid of him. - Kaname got his zanpakutou from the grave of the lady he liked? I’ve always wondered how people get their zanpakutous anyway ‘cause I don’t think Zaraki had any training and I’m pretty sure it’s the same sword he had when he met Yachiru, yet Zangetsu comments on how the sword is crying. (I’m also curious about if people could potentially wield other zanpakutous, which I think is a thing in the quincy arc but I’m talking like... normal people. I think it’d be neat since there’s already two people that have just... picked up a zanpakutou before they even became shinigamis.) - Rikichi! He’s such a big fan of Renji! He got Hanatarou out of jail just to help Renji. He didn’t only get him a new uniform but also a hair tie and a bandana. I’m a little sad that he never seems to show up ever again? (At least I don’t remember him being in the quincy arc but that’ll have to be it’s own list I guess) - Ukitake and Kyouraku stopping and destroying Soukyoku - Kiyone calling Isane sister. - Soifon getting ready to take out Kiyone and the other vice-captain. - Kyouraku being praised for being the best at seeing the true character of anyone he meets, and Ukitake always being the centre of a crowd although (frail, but affable and kind) - Yamamoto thinking of Ukitake and Kyouraku as sons - Katen Kyoukotsu and Sogyo no Kotowari are the only zanpakutous that exist in pairs (allegedly) (I don’t remember why I wrote allegedly but I had some thought behind it......) - Soi Fong’s name was Shaolin Fong until she inherited her grandmother’s code name. - Soi Fong not being angry with Yoruichi because she ran away, but because she didn’t take her with her - Iba having been part of the 11th division, but becoming Komamura’s vice-captain (supposedly for his mom) - Iba wanting to get a chance to fight Ichigo - Byakuya only showing Senkei Senbonzakura Kageyoshi to people he wants to kill personally, Ichigo being the second person. I can’t recall if the first person was ever revealed? - Kira going along with the scheme and leading away Hitsugaya and Matsumoto from the Central 46 chambers. He was told they wouldn’t do anything to Hinamori - Hinamori joined the Gotei 13 because she admired Aizen, which would imply she met him before the soul burial training accident, but idk if that’s a translation mistake - Unohana confronting Aizen in the Central 46 chambers and calling him a treacherous reprobate - How Kyoka Suigetsu works. I forgot that for it to work on someone they need to see the release, and that after that the person who saw it will be completely hypnotised every time he releases it from then on. - Aizen was certain that he could use all three of Kira, Hinamori, and Renji back when they first met, but Renji was problematic so he was sent on to squad 11 while Kira and Hinamori were made Aizen and Gin’s vice-captains - Ichigo and Renji trying to fight Aizen together - Ichigo being a fucking monster! Who stays conscious after having their stomach cut open like that? In the anime it was just a really bad slash but since the manga is a but more graphic I’m only now like “oh wow that is really fucking bad” - There were names for the four basic types of combat for shinigamis. Zanjutsu(sword skills), Hakuda(hand-to-hand combat), Hohou(foot work), and Kidou. - Hollowfication is brought up this early, but I guess it makes sense because he’s explaining the Hougyoku. - Urahara, not Aizen, hid the Hougyoku inside Rukia. - Urahara was exiled for creating an intractable gigai? I don’t think so Aizen, but okay. Also he was trying to turn Rukia into a human soul. Hm. - Komamura coming in to destroy Aizen mid-monologue. Thank you. (After reading Ichigo’s last fight with Aizen I am so tired of him talking aaahhhhh!) - All the gate guardians except for Jidanbou are traitors, Kuukaku shows up with Jidanbou (was this in the anime???) - I remember Ichigo hanging out with squad 11 after the whole Aizen thing, but I did not remember Iba being there too which is nice. They didn’t get to spar tho. - Matsumoto and Kira getting drunk and venting about Gin, though it’s portrayed pretty comically. Matsumoto proceeds to invite pretty much anyone who passes by, except for Kyouraku. - Ryuuken is part of the shitty dad club. - Shinigami Isshin was revealed pretty much right after Shinji, I didn’t remember it being so early. - Also I didn’t remember the protection charm either but hey it worked. - Did- Did Orihime really only get to use Tsubaki ONCE?? - Also that entire fight with Yammy and Ulquiorra is just so much bloodier than in the anime - That moment when Ichigo tells Chad to leave D.Roy to him and Chad runs away, that hurt, ow my heart - Keigo being there to watch Ikkaku fight Eduardo. Also Keigo having a chat with Yumichika. - Ikkaku losing his molars in the fight with Eduardo is. - Yumichika going “oh and btw, make preparations for Ikkaku’s funeral” - Flashback about Ikkaku fighting Zaraki in the past. - Ikkaku being determined to fight and die under Kenpachi’s command. - Ururu kicking Ilfordt in the face- I mean Ururu going in to exterminate Ilfordt. - References to Toshirou’s bankai being incomplete. - Shawlong being the first arrancar to be created. (Allegedly? Supposedly? Succesfully? It depends on a lot, it’s a bit of an assumption.) - The power limit that is placed on captains and vice-captains when they go to the world of the living is symbolised by the division’s symbol. Oh and it takes away 80% of their power. Motherfucking damn bitch Ikkaku. Also good job Rukia. (I don’t remember what these last two sentences are refering to tbh) - Tatsuki watching the fight (I’m assuming the first) between Ichigo and Grimmjow, or at least part of it. - I guess I forgot to mention this earlier but Orihime being jealous of Rukia and her relationship with Ichigo - Tousen really not liking Grimmjow because he causes discord - Ichigo trying the beat the answers out of the Vaizards. - Goddamn Ichigo has a lot of attitude. - Urahara telling Orihime that she would be a burden in battle and Rukia talking to her afterwards. Orihime and Rukia need more talks. - Orihime getting kidnapped by Hiyori. - Hachi having similar abilities as Orihime. - Hachi also suggesting against Orihime fighting the war. - Orihime being so determined to fight. Goddamn I wish Tsubaki wasn’t her only way of doing damage. Give her one of those funky artefacts for fuck’s sake. - Yumichika not getting along with “Fujikujaku”. - The trees in Hueco Mundo are made of something quartz-like - Ulquiorra complimenting Orihime on her looks (Tbh I’ve forgotten about this scene again but I don’t think I intended to lie to my future self so I’m assuming it might’ve been something vague) - Orihime planning to reject the Hougyouku with her powers to destroy it, why don’t I see more about that?? - Wonderweiss being fond of Tousen. - Szayel sending out the execution squad after Dordoni - Only Grimmjow ever uses Gran Rey Cero (Idk if I ever really thought otherwise but it’s on the list so I guess it’s a confirmation I wanted to make) - Tesla threatening to destroy the Shun Shun Rikka - Nnoitra using Nel as a shield when Ichigo attacks at one point - Nnoitra and Neliel didn’t even fight after he tore off Dondochakka and Pesche’s masks in the flashback wtf. Now that I think of it, I’ve never seen manga screenshots of that part so I guess it’s only in the anime. Well that’s disappointing. Then what did Szayel even do? (Still sad they don’t fight more in the manga, bluh. Also I’m still not sure what Szayel actually did.) - Nnoitra thinking it a shame that they (him and Neliel I think) won’t get to fight again. - Mayuri observing Uryuu through bacteria, and Uryuu calling him out for violating human rights - Szayel rebirthing himself from Nemu, wtf. I’m not sure if that was in the anime. (Okay it was, she just didn’t get straight-up pregnant) - I also forgot about Szayel taking over Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou - The Jesus Szayel and Baphomet Mayuri chapter pages were new to me - Mayuri to Nemu: “Good job, keep suffocating Uryuu with your tiddies. If he dies, he dies.” - Nnoitra, after releasing Santa Teresa: “Kinda sexy, isn’t it?” (I don’t trust this translation a 100% but what was written was “I look sexy, right?”) - And Zaraki responding with “your reiatsu is making me hard…” - The Living World as seen through the Garganta in Las Noches is upside-down - Hikifune and the Royal Guard being mentioned during Turn Back The Pendulum - Hiyori looking up to Hikifune as a mother - Urahara being Commander of the Detention Unit in the 2nd Division, and the unit keeping people who wanted to withdraw from the Gotei 13, not just criminals. - Urahara making Mayuri his Vice Captain in the research institute - Barragan’s fraccions having packed together his throne and brought it with them - I can’t believe Charlotte’s magical girl scene was only in the anime but I suppose it makes sense - Hisagi’s fight with Findor  was also shorter in the manga which is… kind of a shame? Idk it was pretty well made in the anime, but I guess it’s because they were just coming back from a break and all. - Hisagi and Kira stopping Yumichika from rushing in after Ikkaku was beaten, Komamura stepping in to take care of the arrancar… whose name I’ve already forgotten once again. - Iba calling Ikkaku out for not using his bankai and punching him in the face. Good. I like Ikkaku but the pillar did get destroyed because of him so it was a pretty bad move. - Hinamori making a kidou net - Kira used to be in the 4th division, did I already write that? - The Gran Rey Cero being forbidden to use inside of Las Noches but leave it to Grimmjow not to care about any of that - Kyouka Suigetsu’s ability can be cancelled by grabbing the blade. - They sent Aizen to Avici, or I guess a prison named after Avici - Yamamoto scolding Byakuya, Shunsui, and Kenpachi for losing their captain’s haori and they proceed to insult it - They actually mention Mayuri going back to Hueco Mundo

[moonasheschevalier]

Rereading some Arrancars arc chapters again, yes.

Things to analyze: Ulquiorra didn’t start the fighting with Ichigo. Ichigo did.

He tried to aggro Ichigo tho, twicely. And he started by saying that Rukia’s dead. Knowing that Ulquiorra is good on observing/ making strategy/planning etc, seems like he mentioned what could knock off Ichigo from the balance in the first place - Rukia’s life in danger.

Then Ulquiorra just says that he was the one who brought Ori to HM. Then Ichigo attacks.

Sometimes it just seems like Ulquiorra just enjoys to piss off his enemies, eh?

What kills me and any desire to ship IH whenever I reread this chapter is that:

Even Ulquiorra is surprised that a person, Orihime entrusted her hopes to, doubted Orihime.

I’ve been asking myself: why Ichigo, who never shows any feelings greater than  love for his friends to Ori, was so pissed off by the fact that Ulquiorra brought Orihime to HM? I’m not stating anything in this case, but... maybe the real reason for Ichigo starting the fight was the guilt? That he doubted his friend.  Cuz that all seems really strange. Ichigo has such a faith in his friends, but seems like, he, what, accepts somehow the fact, that he may not know Hime that much to be sure in her motives?  I also remember Kubo’s answer QA for JET Artbook when he mentioned that Orihime was supposed to have horns and tails. Probably she could be a Hollow/Arrancar. And that concept - Arrancar Hime going to HM on her own - seems more likely, more suitable for the idea that Ichigo doesn’t know her and may have his doubts. But still, despite Ori knows a lot about Ichigo, Ichigo knows quite little about Hime and so he doubts his friend. Remember Fade To Black? Yup, I do. While Ulquiorra observed and analyzed things about Orihime better than Ichigo ever did. He analyzed her love for her friends, Ichigo, her chahacter like... in a month in total. While Ichigo knows her for years and yet knows nothing. 

Of course, knowing and understanding are different things.    Another question that kept bothering me: Rukia’s dying there while Ichigo fights Ulquiorra. So saving Orihime, by logic, should be the next mission, while saving Rukia - the primary.  We all know that they didn’t expect any help from SS back then. Getting a healer to Rukia (and Chad) was, actually, also important.  That does look like a guilt, not personal hate:

Also, Ulquiorra’s aggroing Ichigo looks like Ul’s interest in trying to understand why Orihime puts her hopes on Ichigo so much. Why he’s so important to her.

Ulquiorra, please note, just deflect’s Ichigo’s attack, still doesn’t attack. Ichigo attacks again.

The way anti demonize/evilize Ulquiorra always amuses to me. When Ulquiorra realises that Ichigo isn’t worthy the effort he says that:

”Surrender” (I wonder, is it what Ul says in japanese? He might saying “muda” or something like it, idk) Seems like Ulquiorra lost any interest in Ichigo and was ready to just let him go and get going back to Orihime. (Yes, he went right to her room after that fight) Yet Ichigo attacks again.

Oh, the irony. “Who would surrender to you“. Orihime did to not endager her friends, Ichigo included. Also, people, please stop blaming 15-16yo girl for not sacraficing herself right on the spot; actually Ulquiorra and Aizen predicted that move:

Really, thank goodness Orihime didn’t see/hear that fight.

After that Ulquiorra strikes Ichigo. Now I wonder, probably Grimmjow was right when he said that Ichigo enjoys fighting. Because the main goal here was saving Ori, wasn’t it?

But Ulquiorra doesn’t kill Ichigo:

He gave Ichigo 2 chances to get away.

I remember when some anti said that Ulquiorra killed Ichigo two times. 

No. He killed Ichigo once, but before that he gave Ichigo a chance to go away.

Ichigo is a quincy/shinigami/VL, he coud’ve survived this one. He’s that OP.

I’m not saying Ulquiorra’s is a merciful/kind or whatever, but that’s a proof that he wasn’t some sadistic maniac who wanted Ichigo killed. He lost any interest in Ichigo, Ichigo wasn’t worthy Ulquiorra’s (and, what, I bet, he tried to prove, Orihime’s) expectations anymore:

I remind you: Ichigo is Shinigami/Quincy/VL, he’s got the strength to survive. Zangetsu woudn’t let him die. Orihime neglects the reality but she didn’t rise somebody from the dead, to heal Ichigo she needed him to be still alive. Otherwise she could’ve become a God(dess) not just intervene into God’s domain. Unfortunately Kubo and Co never let her become more than just heavy wound healer.    And the last point (for now): why evilizing Ulquiorra is futile:

(also what I really like that even after what Hime’s seen she wasn’t afraid of Ulquiorra)

IIchigo is healed up, he’s alive. Ulquiorra sees that. Does Ulquiorra want to kill Ichigo? No. He doesn’t give a damn about it. He already won when Ichigo tried to fight him. He came for Orihime, that’s it. Ah, yes, this one. Now this is the moment where I can bet that Ulquiorra: - never was afraid to fight Grimmjow - never was afraid to fight to the death

Their fight, however, could’ve put Orihime’s in danger. And that Ulquiorra understood perfectly. Whenever you see Ulquihime//Ulquiorra’s redemption in the end it’s impossible to see it without Ichigo’s influence. First of all, Ichigo didn’t want to fight Ulquiorra without some serious reason. Ichigo fought him and lost, and I bet, he understood that Ulquiorra wasn’t some sadist who needed to be killed no matter what:  

And when I say that Ulquiorra gained that humanity thanks to Orihime and Ichigo - I mean it. Ichigo was about to kill not Ulquiorra in the end, but Ishida.

Then you see how Ulquiorra’s saves Ishida from Ichigo’s cero. 

By stopping Ichigo, not killing him.

I wonder did Ulquiorra stop Ichigo because Ishida tried to safe both Ichigo (his humanity) and Ulquiorra? Maybe he tried to save only Orihime, but still. That’s the angle I never have looked from on it. 

I think there was something for Ishida too in Ulquiorra, some gratitude, perhaps, or the will to repay the debt, idk. And that fits cuz Ulquiorra says:

“All of you“. He’s a nihilist who never had anything he could’ve lose.

Untill the day Orihime changed his world. 

Untill the day she was in danger.

Then he understood, I bet, the fear, when he could’ve lost something/someone he cared about. So, yeah, neither Ishida, Orihime or Ichigo never hated Ulquiorra and Ulquiorra himself acknowledged all of them.  There never was any stockholm syndrome when we speak about UlquiHime. She saw the changes in him. Quite The opposite: they knew each other for a couple of days. Ulquiorra isn’t a sadist/maniac/psycho etc. He gave Ichigo a chance (even 2) to get away, and he didn’t attack Ichigo first. Ichigo wasn’t careful, thought he could’ve stood against Ulquiorra. That was a war Aizen unleashed in the first place.

Ulquiorra’s a hollow, many human souls’ve been eaten alive over and over again to get into one. His life’s not a fairy tail and it was never supposed to be. Hollow/Arrancar’s life is a nightmire. His life was always a fighting. And yet he still was ready to let Ichigo go, he saved humans he couldn’t understand and despised in the beginning. 

[hobgayblin]

oh I forgot to post my barikke/grimmjow fic exerpts (bc I’m too lazy to write real fics

There’s 2 of them, the 1st is Barikke being mean and the 2nd one is kinda nsf/w but not really I just thought of a funny nsf/w phrase and had to write abt it

[hubbhb I dont wanna write lead up to this. bitches talking and vibing or some shit who knows. Grimmjow climbed up onto a ledge and layed there bc he is a cat]

Grimmjow rolled over onto his stomach to properly look at the tall pink-haired man in front of him. His eyes inspected the man, wandering up and down the man’s body as he continued to spout off some nonsense he hadn’t actually been paying attention to. Not a damn scratch on him. His clothes were still torn up, but there was no trace of any wounds otherwise. Grimmjow could barely recall if he’d seen any wounds in the first place. It made him the perfect training dummy, at least; didn’t need to worry about tearing him to shreds when he almost immediately healed any scratch. His eyes flicked back up to Barikke’s face once he realized he’d stopped talking. The arrancar had a wide smile on his perpetually tired looking face. One of Grimmjow’s hands came up to prop up his head a bit more, bringing himself to eye level with the other man. The two locked eyes for a moment before the silence was broken.

"It's dangerous for such low-ranking arrancar to be wandering around here all alone y'know," Grimmjow's head tilted to one side questioningly as he continued, "If you’re not accompanying someone... It'd be a shame for you to become some kind of experiment fodder."

"Oh-ho-ho how sweet. You’re worrying about me?" Barikke mused, bringing the back of his hand up to his chin and giving a mischievous smile. “And I’m not alone now am I? You’re right here with me.” The smile faded from that of a troublemaker to a more sweet, genuine grin.

Grimmjow's face contorted in annoyance at the comment, but quickly relaxed into his more neutral everyday scowl. The espada pushed himself up from his lounging position, and dragged his legs up and over the edge of his perch. His arms flew up over his head to stretch before slouching forward and resting an elbow on his knee, chin once again being placed in his hand. His eyes narrowed at Barikke, whose eyes were very clearly following his chest as he stretched, and were still locked on to their target. Using his other hand, Grimmjow snapped his fingers a few times next to his face.

"Hey, hey, I'm up here now dumbass." Another brief look of annoyance crossed his face as he now looked down at the other man. Barikke obliged by looking up to lock eyes with him, a lazy grin stretching across his face. Grimmjow paused, in thought for a brief moment, before speaking again.

"I’m just worried about losing one of the only bitches around here that's worth sparring with."

"Do you now--"

"That's why," Grimmjow raised his voice to stop the other man from continuing whatever inane shit he was about to say this time, "I have a proposal for you."

Immediately, Barikke's eyes lit up with bastardous intent, but as soon as he opened up his mouth he was cut off again.

"What I'm proposing," Grimmjow loudly started again, eyes narrowed at the pink-haired bastard, "is that you become one of my fracción. No one’s gonna touch you if you’re workin’ under me"

Grimmjow's head listed to the side again, and a smirk spread across his face as he gave his suggestion. He was met with several moments of silence, and Barikke's face returned to its regular blank expression. The smirk faded as the silence continued; the two just stayed there, eyes locked, in silence, for seemingly forever. Grimmjow's eye twitched as Barikke continued to stare at him, stone faced and uncharacteristically quiet. He tried to break the silence, but almost as soon as his mouth opened there was a hand squeezing his jaw and dragging his face down closer to the arrancar's.

"What the fu--" This time it was Grimmjow who was cut off, but by a quiet, almost whispered voice.

"I'm not here to serve anyone, Jaegerjaquez." An insidious and cold tone had replaced Barikke's usually joyful, lilted voice. Grimmjow twitched at the use of his name; Barikke called him that frequently, but always lightheartedly, or accompanying a joke.

"I'm trying to help you here," Grimmjow spat out, "you should be fucking grateful."

Barikke's grip tightened, prompting a strained growl from the espada. A large hand latched onto Barikke's wrist in an attempt to pull the hand away. The grip only tightened further, Barikke's short claws now digging into Grimmjow's skin. He dragged the other man's face even closer, until he was only a couple inches away from his own.

"Grateful?" Barikke's voice took a more sickly sweet tone now, though the insidiousness was heavily weaved in. "You should be grateful you're so cute," Barikke playfully wiggled Grimmjow's trapped face back and forth slightly, "otherwise I would have killed you and taken your place by now, kitten"

With that, Barikke flicked his wrist and flung Grimmjow backwards. The espada quickly caught himself and snapped back to a sitting position. He rubbed his cheek with one hand, face red with both the squeeze marks, and unbridled rage.

[and then they fight or s/t i dont wanna write it rn]  

------------------------------------

“Hey Breakfast!” The small arrancar waved over at the two others as he passed by.

“Helloooo Phelinx!” Barikke waved his fingers at the other man and gave a small smile. Grimmjow didn’t acknowledge the other arrancar, but his eyes followed him until he walked out of sight. Once Phelinx was gone, Grimmjow’s eyes snapped over to the other arrancar, and a sly smirk spread across his face. Barikke’s gaze met his as he cocked his head to the side.

“Can I help you?” 

“Breakfast?” Grimmjow cooed mockingly as he took a step in front of the tall man. Barikke opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a surprised yelp as rough hands grabbed onto his hips and slammed him into the espada. A light blush and a look of slight annoyance came across Barikke’s face as he felt the grip tighten and saw Grimmjow’s grinning face crane up to get closer to his.

“That mean I can eat you?” Grimmjow’s grin widened as he licked his lips and tried to bring the other man even closer, despite already being pressed against each other. The blush on Barikke’s face grew slightly, before he took a deep breath to collect himself. He pressed his hands together in front of himself as if he were praying, and released his breath. Then, his face suddenly dropped back to its regular blank state, and he tilted his wrists to point his hands at Grimmjow.

“You better be talking about my pussy, or I’m going to grab you by the legs and swing you around like a wild chimpanzee.”