A two part analysis about Ichigo's fake emotional dependency and how beautifully Kub0 resolved it
I wrote this meta to criticize an aspect of IR relationship that is hardly considered a matter of concern.
It's the " Ichigo being a lost puppy without Rukia" trope
If you don't find any problem with it, then please ignore this post because it will be a waste of your time
Introduction
What I love the most in ichiruki is their trust for each other and how they both inspire joy, hope and courage for each other mutually .
The lost puppy trope contradicts this notion in one way or another since it doesn't put their importance for the other in an equal footing.
That's why I started pondering how this unpleasant frame of mind was established
Is it true that Ichigo's lost without Rukia ?
If anything the last arc proves he wasn't.
so what does that leave ?
does that mean that she's no longer important to him ? Or was this mindset fictious in the first place ?
This is just a personal interpretation. I'm not claiming I can read Kub0's mind (I wish I could)
First of all, I'll start with the chapter that prompted that idea in the first place
It's strange how the world keeps rotating without you
"It's a strange feeling.
Nothing seems out of place.
Even without Rukia, our world still keeps turning.
That's right.Rukia was originally from Soul Society (there). From the very start, there was never really a place where she belonged here
............if that's the case, what should I do?"
Kurosaki Ichigo, chapter 58
After Rukia was abducted, Ichigo was confused about how the world could continue to operate normally when she wasn't around.
In fact, while everyone was dealing with his life normally, he couldn't
It's a strange feeling.
Nothing seems out of place.
Even without Rukia, our world still keeps turning.
What Ichigo failed to understand was that there was no reason why the world wouldn't rotate normally without one person.
He was the problem here
The reason he felt that way was simply because he was extremely saddened that Rukia was not by his side
The feeling he felt was so immense and so new to him that he couldn't associate it with any other thing he felt before.
Since he was oblivious to the depth of his feelings at that time, he couldn't fathom the reason behind all his melancholia.
Someone as clueless as him could just deduce from all this that he should just bring her back to Karakura so that the world "can function properly again".
And that's it. End of the drama
However, as I explained here, Ichigo can't be selfish when it comes to Rukia.
That's right.
Rukia was originally from Soul Society (there).
From the very start, there was never really a place where she belonged here
He respects her individuality too much to do that.
He refused to let himself selfishly decide a fate for her (after saving her that is) just because the world felt odd without her
But at the same time, he wanted to understand why he felt that Rukia belonged here in this world when she was originally from another place
(spoiler alert he will realise it after 400 chapters)
............if that's the case, what should I do?"
Orhime unintentionally made him realise that the most important thing for now was not to ponder how the world could rotate without her but refocusing his attention on keeping Rukia alive and safe
And if Ichigo was sure of one thing, it was that the safest place for Rukia to be was by his side ( since he assumed everyone in SS wanted her dead)
He deduced that the reason he felt Rukia belonged here (with him) was because he was prioritising her safety (*)
Before he could give any closure to his confusion, Ichigo changed his train of thoughts and set his mind on one goal: after saving her, he would bring Rukia back to safety (by his side)
That's it. He just wants her to be safe with him... that's why he felt she belonged here no other reason
However, at the end, Rukia decided to stay in SS
.....
....
...
Rukia being separated from Ichigo at the end of the SS arc is one of the best decisions Kub0 has ever made.
First of all, it made Ichigo aware why he wanted to save Rukia. Her being denied of hope is what triggered him to do his best for her.
And I'm pretty sure that blockhead would never understand that if Rukia were to return home with him.
Secondly, Rukia knew Ichigo wanted her to go back with him and was expecting to be saddened by this news.
By witnessing how he accepted her decision without any questioning, Rukia was made aware about how unconditional Ichigo's feelings are.
Last but not least, it forced Ichigo to slowly realise what the whole thing about the world couldn't rotate without Rukia actually meant
Again I'll emphasize slooooowly.
At first, he got it wrong again
At the beginning of the arrancar arc, when Ichigo didn't think he could win against his hollow, once Rukia expressed her admiration towards him, he became self confident again.
Rukia's trust and opinion meant much more to him than his own impression of himself
Rukia's presence inspired him to be hopeful and courageous. From then, Ichigo deluded himself into thinking that what he felt at that time meant simply that Rukia was his anchor
That isn't of course totally false since Morita agreed on that but it's also can't summarized the depth of his feelings for her
However, by assuming that Rukia was so pivotal in his mental health, he was both belittling himself and her since she does have a life outside their relationship.
In short, he didn't learn jack shit
and his way of coping with his obliviousness was becoming a bit counterproductive as shown in this infamous poem
I can't go on in a world without you
This poem is very similar to his thoughts when Rukia was abducted but this one is a bit self conscious ( at last !!!!!)
This time, Ichigo understood that the reason he felt the world couldn't rotate properly was stemed from him.
He was the one who couldn't keep up with its speed when Rukia isn't by his side
This can be cute in some ways but as I said, this isn't the aim of my meta
Just like when Rukia was abducted, he was finding excuses to explain feelings he never experienced before
Now, Ichigo could only justify his emotions for Rukia with the fact that he can't function properly without her, plain simple.
Even, other translations claim the original japanese text could even mean that he was rather unwilling to even try
And that goes well with my personal theory which is pretty much the heart of this analysis
Ichigo wasn't dependent on Rukia by need but by choice
His low self esteem and insecurity weren't the only reason why he felt worthless when she wasn't by his side.
I think Ichigo unconsciously wanted to be dependent on Rukia because he wanted her to feel as if he needed her :
He wanted her to have a reason to stay by his side because he was afraid of losing her.
(the same reason orhime wants to be dependent on Ichigo and that's for another topic)
However, he never seriously acted on this seemingly selfish thought because as I said Ichigo can't help but be selfless when it comes to Rukia
But he doesn't want to lose her either.
I know I already linked this post but I explain here in depth my own perception of the duality of his feelings
And when he lost his powers, he lost Rukia too.
Part 2
...
(*) This is how I understood that scene, the anime team, on the other hand, had a different interpretation but in my humble opinion, it's out of character for dumbass Ichigo to be this self aware at this stage of the manga
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I personally like Thunder's prosthetic. Explained it to my friend (who does use a mobility device, a cane and wheelchair, and listens to me rant and infodump about BB) and they agreed, it's important to know that not every person needs what someone wants to give them. It's another example of "bad ableist person does a thing that hurts a disabled person because they are bad and ableist".
Clear Sky got Jagged Peak killed and would have killed Sunlit Frost! He would absolutely force his disabled son to be "normal" and present it like a privilege. "I wouldn't do this for anyone else, it's special, why don't you want to be helped?"
Thunder Storm should toss it in Clear Sky's face. (I would say toss it into the river but we do not pollute waterways in this house)
Thank you for telling me this, and tell your friend I'm thanking them too! If they have anything else to add please forward what they have to say
Since BB!DOTC tackles some of the heaviest topics in the entire series because its canon equivalent is so dark, I think very carefully about what I do here and how I show it. I take feedback on its sensitive aspects very seriously. If I'm understanding the criticism properly, it's that I should avoid stigmatizing prosthetics by making sure Thunder Storm's not the only one with it-- which he's not! And I'll add even more.
I don't want to avoid something only because it's uncomfortable if the topic is important, and my portrayal is respectful. Ableism IS uncomfortable! There are some situations where a prosthetic is not wanted! I think the rejection of this particular one is both a good opportunity to show a type of ableism and ALSO is very fitting for the characters.
In BB!Clear Sky's mind, the villain, he's fixing an old mistake. He can't admit that he got Jagged Peak killed or take REAL accountability for it (though he will, occasionally, apologize insincerely), but deep in his bones, he knows what he did was cruel. He'll never tell anyone this because he doesn't really cognate it himself, but Thunder Storm NEEDS to take his gift.
If Thunder doesn't take it, it blows a hole in his newest story. You see, throwing Jagged Peak out was All That Could Have Been Done back then. It was a Tragedy and he simply Made A Hard Choice. He regrets it very much, But You Have To Understand.
But now? Now? Well, behold. Look at what he's accomplished since the tragic death of his little brother. His cats are well-fed, cared for, and stable enough to make such incredible advancements. If only Jagged Peak had been able to hold on longer, if only he could be here now, I could fix him.
Just like I can (MAKE YOU JUST LIKE ME) fix you.
"Everything I've ever done is for Jagged Peak. For Fluttering Wing. For you." Thunder Sky is SPECIAL, but if he rejects any gift, tries to turn down the "privileges" offered to him, in an instant that becomes ungratefulness and arrogance. He both forces him to be special, and then leverages it against him if it's rejected. "Spoiled brat, doesn't appreciate what I've worked so hard to give him."
It all goes back to him and his own guilt. He can NEVER be wrong. He can't accept his family doesn't have to be "normal" or reflect his own ability. He won't see himself as a bully, let alone a murderer. It was never about his son's comfort or finding out what Thunder Storm wants or needs, it was about his own ego.
...All that said I'm still taking feedback if there's anything else I should keep in mind, or if anyone has a counter point, especially if you also have experience here.
(In the interest of having a link trail for posterity, here's the critique/call for feedback this is in response to)
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Dany's reaction at Viserys's death and later on her guilt over it is perfectly understandable and is one of more tragic parts of her story. As someone who believes in her show ending, I despise that particular scene is taken as her foreshadowing for madness. She was an abuse victim and anyway she reacted was valid. And I don't even think she will ever truly go mad because I believe targaryen madness is extreme obsession with any particular thing (be it dragons or power or prophecy or supremacy or incest) so that all targaryens (even 'normal' ones like aemon, rhaegar, jaehaerys) have this tendency and it can go on to become full on lunacy if not curbed.
Yeah, like what Viserys represents is Dany's ability to completely recast her own memories, a way of showing memory is very fallible (i've mentioned that a lot with Ned, Bran, Theon, Sansa, and Dany is a big example of that as well) wherein she really recasts herself as having so much more agency while she's Drogo's wife than she actually had (something we see echoed in a lot of the wives of very domineering husbands see also: alysanne and jaehaerys, or the annoying way barth talks about alyssa velaryon). I think dany (and the audience) really put the blame for this on her when in reality like......genuinely what was she supposed to do here. Viserys violates a very deeply held social and religious custom of the Dothraki by baring steel in Vaes Dothrak, and Dany is one (1) person with not a lot of influence, no martial training, and no dragons. Beyond that, he has physically assaulted her while she's pregnant once already and now he's holding a deadly weapon to her face. Like. What was she supposed to do to stop this even if she wanted. What on earth could she have done, really. "Please kill him in a slightly more humane way" Drogo is not fucking listening to that and like, it's not to say that the way Viserys dies isn't violent as fuck but like...the alternative is like, dragging him out of Vaes Dothrak to cut off his head, which may technically hurt less but is probably much more traumatic on the whole, or just straight beating/strangling him to death which is also like, incredibly violent and will take much longer anyway. So it's sort of like, well even if she wanted to save him she has no ability to do so!
And beyond that, imo, it's the same as Cersei killing Robert or Arya killing the boy in the stables. Do I worry about the way becoming an out and out murderer will affect them psychologically? Yes, because regardless of why you're killing someone, taking another person's life has a massive affect on your mental and emotional state for a reason. But do I blame either one for this action? No not even a little. Arya is panicked, she knows it's likely if she's caught at best she's a hostage, but who even knows what's going to happen if she gets caught because she's not totally sure what's happening right now. She panics, she kills the boy mostly accidentally, she runs off. That's clear cut self defense right there. And as for Cersei, again, what the fuck is she supposed to do. Her husband is beating and raping her and she has no recourse for this because it's not a crime for a husband in general to beat and rape his wife, and it's certainly not a crime for the King to do it. Her father will not help her because he does not care. If she lets Jaime kill Robert, they are completely fucked. Yeah, hell yeah she kills him, she doesn't have another option if she wants his abuse of her to stop.
It's the same here. Yeah, I think Viserys being murdered in Dany's name has a massive and terrible affect on her psychologically because it's another nail in the coffin of "safety and strength = violence and cruelty" conflation in her mind, and this is her last tie to home, it's her last tie to her family, to her house, to her mother, to Westeros, and that "last dragon" sequence that follows I think is her psychologically accepting that like, To Be The Last Dragon, To Be Any Dragon means you must accept violence and cruelty as your first and main tool to protect yourself (and violence and cruelty can certainly be useful tools but they should not be your only ones. but how could she ever know this when every mentor she's ever had has shown her that the only effective tools are to be cruel before someone else can be cruel to you). But Viserys' death is not her fault, it's not anything she could have stopped, and it doesn't inherently doom her because she is purposefully detaching her emotions from this moments and dissociating over the fact that her last known living relative was just brutally murdered by her husband in her name in front of her, and then her husband promises her what she has always wanted which is a home and a protector and an advocate.
The person responsible for Viserys' death is first and foremost Viserys himself for being a complete idiot and secondly Drogo's fault. Dany cannot stop it, she has nothing to do with it, and she shouldn't be blamed for feeling some sort of relief that a man who regularly physically, sexually, and psychologically abuses her is dead. Who gives a shit man, she literally murders her slave several chapter later.
And as for the Targaryen madness, it's like......idk why it's just so hard to grasp for so many people (this isn't a dig at you, specifically anon, obviously) that mental illnesses often run in a family, incest often makes this worse because you're not introducing anything new to the gene pool, and trauma of any sort can set off severe mental illness issues in just about anyone. As I said before, I think Dany's problem (very similar to Rhaenyra which is why I again find it mind boggling that people will be like "nyra is a tyrant but dany is a hero" when these women have the exact same issue) is that she has consistently conflated cruelty with strength in her mind. She has very little control of her temper, and often rationalizes her actions and the actions of the people around her as being necessary despite there being a lot of other, better options available. She doesn't think long term as much as she should. She has access to a "weapon" of sorts that can do an extreme amount of damage in a very small amount of time, with the added problem that she has an emotional and magical link to that weapon. The dragons only seem partially sentient and that "part" that is sentient is like a manifestation of their dragon rider's id.
That's just so much cooking in her mind, psychologically, and she's kind of born already screwed because her family has a history of mental illness. And tbc I don't think this means that like, mentally ill people should be shut out and barred from society because um, that means MY ass would not be allowed out but it does mean that in a world where certain people are granted certain massive privileges like access to an army or fantasy nuclear launch codes, and there's no check to that power, and there's no safety net, and everyone is using you and your dysfunction for their own gain, the worst parts of your psyche can be enabled until there's a snowball effect of violence. this isn't even like, something just this series; look at the large amounts of disabled and mentally unstable monarchs we've had in history, ask any millennial on lexapro with divorced parents how they feel about their mom's drinking or their dad's bipolar disorder, and you'll get the idea that without support, in a society that enables our worst behavior, someone with a family history of illness can find themselves in a really fucked up situation and that's just like, the tragedy of being alive.
Dany, Theon, Cersei, Ned, Tyrion, Aerys, Aegon II III and IV, on and on, they are of course responsible for the harm they cause, and they are all really screwed from the start and that's tragic, but it's not inevitable that they fail or lose their minds so much as it's an indictment of the way we treat each other as a species.
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This is a mini critic about a trope I hate in IR fanworks
I hate when Rukia is written as someone who would decide what is best for Ichigo without consulting him
For instance
Scenario 1 :
Rukia found xxxx is in love with Ichigo so she just withdraws from his life or she pushes xxxx to be his gf without asking him first
Scenario 2
In an established IR, Rukia is convinced that she would cause misery to Ichigo and she's unworthy of his love so she breaks up with him
Writing inaccurate character insight is totally fine. However, when fans are deluding themselves thinking they are writing canon compliant content, that's when I draw a line
Scenario 1 :
I read so many well written fanfictions about this kind of scenes to the point I started doubting my comprehension of canon IR.
The reason why this can never be in character is simple
Not only Ichigo is her first true friend but he's also her best friend.
Rukia trusting anyone's judgement over Ichigo's doesn't make sense in any manner
Besides, I can agree that she had low self esteem in the first 2 arcs but even so, Rukia had never ever denied Ichigo's individuality.
The only time she somehow did was during her abduction. she was sure B and R would kill him, she decided to sacrifice herself without telling him and she was right since she did save his life.
Scenario 2
Rukia knows how much she means to him and how much he care for her
Whatever Ichigo thinks of her and whatever she represents for him, Rukia can't help but trust that completely.
That's what she meant by her statement that Ichigo changed her in ch 476
Ichigo's feelings for her makes feel loved and makes her feel worthy of being loved
Reducing all Rukia's character development to nil to fit angsty cringe scenario makes me feel confused .
Like... why do you even like IR in the first place if you want her to go back to her gloomy self before she met Ichigo ?
Because believe it or not only a spineless coward would decide to break up with someone because she is afraid of facing the consequence of her actions
and I'm certain that Rukia is not that kind of person since if she were, I would never love IR in the first place.
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