#but at least there was rukia backstory

[irlkisukeurahara]

TERRIFIED FOR THIS FIGHT THEY BETTER DO MY BOY ÄS NÖDT JUSTICE

[bleachbleachbleach]

I wanna know what Ikkaku knows about Urahara:

[Bleach 087]

Like, do they... know each other? The visual suggests that someone in the scene knows Urahara was a captain, and it sure ain't Ichigo. So I feel like we're meant to understand that Ikkaku knows this.

Urahara's name also holds weight in terms of Ichigo's viability as an opponent, which suggests Ikkaku knows Urahara as someone other than some rando criminal, or just as a Mad Scientist type. It's Ichigo's movement that impresses Ikkaku, not his strategic craftiness.

I don't try that hard to keep the Gotei's 20th Century straight in my mind, but we do know that during TBTP Zaraki wasn't 11th Captain yet, and therefore Ikkaku may not have been in the Gotei at that point then, ether. (There's a whole dispersal of 11th backstory filler eps, which I've been assuming aren't in the manga in any form, but who knows, maybe some of this backstory info also holds true here, too. In the anime, Ikkaku and Yumichika follow Zaraki into the Gotei.)

In any case, apparently Ikkaku has a whole Seireitei family (see: TYBW), so maybe they were well-positioned for all the hot TBTP goss regardless of whether Ikkkau was enlisted at the time.

Or does everyone just know who Urahara is? Obviously, he's a poorly kept secret at least as far as his outpost goes; he's made a whole business out of it. But if Rukia knew he'd been a captain she doesn't harp on it.

And if there's something you can count on me for, it is knowledge of random-ass Hitsugaya panels:

[Bleach 237]

Hitsugaya says he doesn't know who Urahara is. Well, he's heard the rumors about Urahara, but says Urahara is someone whose true nature can't be ascertained. He probably does know what Urahara used to be a captain. He's heard that he's formidable, and probably isn't someone to let your guard down around. Which, really, is all the things we know Ikkaku knows about Urahara. Hitsugaya's just not willing to extrapolate further based on rumor alone. Maybe Ikkaku is.

But based on how Urahara's name influences the way Ikkaku chooses to fight Ichigo, I feel like Ikkaku is not operating solely on rumor, either. Someone's battle prowess/skill as a mentor doesn't seem like something he'd accept without firsthand knowledge, even if he's willing to roll with it for other stuff. So I feel like it's perfectly defensible to argue that even if Ikkaku wasn't actually in the Gotei while Urahara was in the picture, he still had an ~encounter (and probably not while Urahara was in his Innocent Shopkeeper era).

Maybe Ikkaku ran into Urahara in the woods when Urahara was off making an impression on Kuukaku [1][2]. Or Ikkaku's Seireitei family sic'd the Onmitsukidou on him while he was off playing hooky in Rukongai! Tons of fun possibilities!

Of course, this raises the time-honored question of what, if anything, anyone in the current Gotei knows about TBTP. Because it really seems like they know nothing, and didn't even know there was something to not know. But for a lot of them that might be an effect of their willingness to pretend they know nothing? So I feel like you could go in a lot of directions with that. Not to have blorbo disease again, but Hitsugaya seemed like he was learning Vizard Lore in real-time during the Winter War, so apparently it's not like, part of some kind of Area 51 folder you gain access to when you become a captain lol. YOU HAD TO BE THERE. (BUT ALSO SOMETIMES NOT EVEN THEN)

[derekscorner]

Quincy Ichigo Ideas

I mentioned once how much of a fun AU it would be to see Ichigo be a Quincy instead of a Substitute Soul Reaper. I do not say that in the sense that I would alter his backstory or even the main story all that much either.

I mean, Ichigo as we know him, training to rescue Rukia. In my mind, the best place to do this change is for Ichigo to emerge from Keisuke's Shattered Shaft training but with his quincy powers active instead.

I'd be curious to see how the stories and battles change this way. Of course, there are two major hitches in the story I do not know how to rectify with this premise.

Namely, I do not know how I would do the Final Getsuga or Zangetsu reforging moments.

As for how Ichigo would learn and develop powers in this story I actually no need to alter it. Old Man Zangetsu is the Yhwach that resides inside Ichigo and he's shown to be fully capable of using powers Ichigo shouldn't know due to lack of quincy training.

He could easily impart those skills. That may even make the reveal of the true Yhwach much later that much stronger for Ichigo himself.

Hollow Ichigo also still exists. You could easily do a Quincy Vizard Ichigo in this set up. Imagine how terrifying a Quincy with a Hollow mask would be.

Of course, given his mixed heritage I would still like to include the latent Fullbring and Reaper qualities. In fact, the reaper qualities could be used to make him a bit more unique than a typical quincy.

For example, my base power set up for a quincy Ichigo would be as follows;

Reaper Related Powers:

Spiritual body. Like a Soul Reaper Ichigo has a spiritual form. In fact, just like when he borrowed Rukia's powers, he can only use his powers when outside his body. (at first anyway)

Shunpo (flash step). Just like in canon Ichigo learns this prior to the Byakuya battle.

Hollow Purification. Due to his Soul Reaper heritage and, due to borrowing Rukia's powers for roughly two months, Ichigo's quincy arrows actually purify a hollow.

^ This fact in particular I would make a highlight and headache for the Soul Society because soul erasure was the Reaper's justification for the Quincy genocide two hundreds years prior to the story.

They quite literally do not know what to do with him but observe.

Quincy Related Powers:

Purification Arrows. When Ichigo emerges from the Shattered Shaft he discovers that he can make a crude bow and arrow. To Urahara's shock, they purify hollows just like a zanpakuto would.

Blut Vene. If the canon story showed us anything it's that Ichigo has a knack for Blut as he mother did. However, he can only use the defensive variant.

Spirit Swords. Usually quincy form weapons from reishi but I thought it'd be a fun idea if Urahara does this for him. He even makes it a fun hobby to make better swords that compliment Ichigo.

Getsuga Tensho (arrow). This version of Ichigo has the Getsuga ability but it manifests as a massive arrow. With the black variant bordering on being a Cero outright.

There are other powers you could possibly give him throughout the story but this is what I imagine he'd have at start. I also chose to give him swords produced by Urahara because it'd be a fun way to have variety.

Plus, canon Ichigo has a zanpakuto so it'd feel pointless to do this kind of thing if I gave him one as a quincy.

Hollow Related Powers

Hollow Mask. As in canon Ichigo gains his mask.

Black Getsuga. As seen in the Bleach Brave Soul images I'm using, Ichigo's arrows and overall power would take on the black & blue coloration.

This one changes the least in functionality. The major difference here is that Hollow Ichigo didn't manifest as a Zanpakuto, it did not become Zangetsu.

However, that hollow power is still in there and just like in canon the Vizards intervene to help him control it.

But this also means you can have more fun with it since Hollow Ichigo isn't working on the logic of a zanpakuto here. It'll lend Ichigo power if he earns it's approval but it's all the more willing to break free if he messes up.

I left this alone because I just enjoy Hollow Ichigo's appearances. I also think it'd be even more horrifying/amazing to see when hollow Ichigo takes on Ulquiorra only to start forming swords out of pure reishi.

Just imagine the shared shock of Ulquiorra and Uryu in that moment to see a hollow of all things using quincy powers.

That's it for now

That's all the ideas I've had for this AU so far. I focused more on powers than story because I would like to see how people react in the story similar to how it is now but with a quincy running around unburdened with a physical body and a hollow mask.

You may even add funny moments like Ichigo harassing Uryu for basics or just the general shock and confusion of both Ichigo and Urahara himself once he emerges from the Shattered Shaft as a quincy.

Ichigo has no idea of his heritage at that point and while Urahara does he wouldn't tell Ichigo nor would he comprehend why he'd emerge a quincy when his "foolproof training regiment" was meant to make Ichigo a soul reaper.

Small things like that and all. Bye now~

[recurring-polynya]

Idk if you’ve answered this question (sorry if you have) before, but how do you think Renji & Rukia first met ? What do you think their life was like originally before Soul Society ?

Pardon me if I'm reading this wrong, but...Rukia and Renji's first meeting is enshrined pretty thoroughly in canon? She rescued him from a water heist that was about to turn disastrous.

This is from Chapter 98/Episode 32: A Star and a Stray Dog, which is the first place you should be looking if you're interested in pre-canon Renruki lore.

As to the second part of your question...you mean before they died? What sort of lives did they have in the World of the Living?

I'm gonna pontificate, so I'll throw that under a cut

First off, I am fascinated with the fact that Kubo gives us nothing about what anyone's living life was like. On one hand, I would like to know everyone's pre-history, but on the other, I'm glad he didn't, like as a literary choice. The slate is supposed to be wiped clean. It doesn't matter. It's maddening, but also correct.

It's also one of those places that is just ✨fanfic free real estate✨ in terms of I think everyone should make up their own version for their blorbos, so of course I have them for Renji and Rukia. I have absolutely nothing to support these, they are just what I felt in my heart.

I have actually talked about Renji's beforedeath quite a bit, here and there in various fanfics, usual under the conceit that, particularly in their Inuzuri days, he would sometimes blurt out some half-remembered thing and then promptly forget it again. Here an excerpt from Chapter 3 of go places:

It’s an Alive Memory, Rukia is nearly certain. Most souls get them. All the boys did, from time to time. To Renji, it’s just brain dust. Whatever it is in Soul Society that makes people forget their lives also makes this memory detritus slippery to hold onto. Renji won’t think of this later, or attach any importance to this conversation. The funny thing is, after ten years of watching him stumble through these moments, Rukia probably has a better idea of what Renji’s life was like than he does. He lived on a farm of some sort. A small one, or at least his family grew a lot of their own food. He died of a fever. Nearly all of his Alive Memories involve his mother. Rukia is almost positive that Renji’s mother is the one who taught him to write. The sewing scissors were likely hers. In Rukia’s imagination, Renji’s mother is very tall and beautiful and kind. Rukia doesn’t need to use her imagination to know that Renji loved his mother very much.

Just to offer a little more detail--doing the math out, where Bleach starts in the early 00s, Rukia and Renji have been separated for 40 years and knew each other for 10 years before that, it would make a lot of sense for both of them to have died in WWII. However, I like to think that time is very wobbly, especially in the outer Rukon, so I like to make their deaths a little earlier-- specifically, I think that Renji died in the 1918 flu pandemic, which may have contributed to getting a plague spirit for a zanpakutou. That being said, my general vibe for his childhood is based on Kanta, the neighbor kid from My Neighbor Totoro, which takes place in the 50s. In any case, he had a pretty small and unremarkable life in rural Japan, aside from the fact that he was loved very much, which will never be unremarkable, no matter how common it may be.

I have written less about Rukia's beforedeath, mostly because she was too young when she died to have any phantom memories. [Note: I know there are some theories out there, based on some arcane clues that Kubo has dropped that Rukia may not actually be a normal soul and may be related to Hell. That's...fine. While I'm never going to say no to a storyline that centers Rukia, I really do hope that it comes to naught. Ichigo has enough Crazy Origin going on and I like the Rukia's backstory the way it is, so I'm just going to ignore all of that for the sake of this post]. Ahem! So, infant death is not anything surprising, or even really interesting, but what makes Rukia's kind of compelling is the fact that her much-older sister died at the same time. To me, this indicates either a natural disaster or a death-by-violence.

As I said above, there are infinity ways you can go with this, but to me, there were two important things I wanted to capture 1) given Renji's descriptions of Rukia having an inherent grace and nobility, and the idea that something about Hisana caught Byakuya's eye, I thought that maybe they should have been noble, and 2) I wanted them to live by the sea. I do not actually remember how I landed on this, but in the 1850s, a bunch of sea fortresses were constructed to protect Japan by attack from sea (see here for more detail). This was the tail end of the Edo period and I liked the idea that maybe Rukia came from an old samurai family, and her father was sent to oversee one of these coastal forts. Did they die in a bombardment? A bad storm? The Kanto earthquake? I never got that far. I'm not even sure if this is a realistic scenario, if they had civilians living there, etc, this was just a half-thought-out thing I came up with for a bonus chapter of a fanfic that someone requested once. The one other detail from that that I came up with and stand by is that I think there were more siblings in their family between Hisana and Rukia. I also like that this idea that makes Rukia somewhat older than Renji, even though the math is impossible and the points are made up anyway.

[kcuf-ad]

Aight bet- I’ll start off with some things I like you may already know XD

Well written female characters given equal amounts of flaws and development in both character and strength depending on the type of media to the male characters, that’s given for almost any show I like really

MONSTROUS CHARACTERs. I’m not taking about like oh cute petite anime girl/boy with like a tail or some horns I’m TALKING MADOKA MAGICA WITCHES THOS GIANT WEIRD THINGS IN EVANGELION. I WANT MONSTERS THAT LOOK LIKE THEIR AN EXSTENTIAL NIGHTMARE!! It’s so gender envy ngl ✨💕 wish that were me

FATHER DAUGHTER DUOS, BONNEY AND KUMA?! DID NOT CARE THAT MUCH EXCEPT TAHT BONNEY WAS RELATABLE IN HER LOBE FOR FOOD AND IMMATURE BEHAVIOR UNTIL I FOUND OUT THEIR FTAHER AND DAUGHTER BACKSTORY IN THE MANGA AND VIOLENTLY SOBBED

Also Father son duos are a treat for me, but I love father daughter duos more on a personal level (Haha daddy issues go brrr xDD)

SNAKE THEMED CHARACTERS! I know that you know I love snakes Fran XD

Symbolism in character design, the backgrounds, abilities names, I’m a sucker for shows and medias that have me over analyzing everything I could in terms of a character as a whole as well as their Morality, Psyche, biology, etc. just any character or moment I can just daydream about breaking down to their rawest moments and just analyze it til there’s nothing left for me to analyze over

The protagonist has flaws, and genuinely doesn’t win everytime (Yes even though I love Yusaku I mean this whole heartedly) XD

Angst bait and whump bait characters ig XD, I want to fall in love with a tragic character and immediately start hunting down angst and whump about them or just make my own ximssjsm

Also characters that I just wanna coddle and adopt XDDD

Bratty or cocky characters, that have utter fear of god instilled into them or absolutely gets knocked down their pedestal and it’s EMBARRASSINGLY AGONIZING FOR THEM, I’m not a sadist I swear :D

Theirs probs more but I can’t think rn and it’s already at ten I think that’s enough XDD

Oh~ This is such an interesting list, and I am actually pretty sure that Bleach has almost all of these.

Yeah, that is pretty much of a given. Orihime wants to protect her friends, but something happens to her powers and she feels horrible about it, she has real flaws that any girl would have.

Espadas, Just the Espadas. More specifically, Ulquiorra Cifer and his Ressureccion looks like a genuine devil in Bleach.

WE HAVE THAT! WE HAVE KENPACHI ZARAKI AND YACHIRU KUSAJISHI! And it is actually so cute, because this menacing beast of a man that loves to fight to death,

has a tiny little girl on his shoulder, 24/7. And when he is angry, he just doesn't even think about harming her at all, he just thinks about the people he is about to fight.

4. If you count Isshin and Ichigo, then yeah, we have that. They are a perfect duo. Legit hilarious and Isshin actually loves his son and will protect him.

5. Yup! Cyan Sung-Sun

6. Yeah it does have that with pretty much every character in this show, even the jokey characters like Asano Keigo. There are hundreds of videos just talking about these characters.

7. Ichigo gets his ass kicked like every arc, at least. Not to mention, the internal battle that he has with his inner demon, both literally and narratively. This guy has more layers than an onion.

8. Pick one. You want angsty antagonist? Coyote Starrk. Angsty protag? Ichigo. Angsty female character? Rukia Kuchiki. Angsty side character? Uryu Ishida. It is filled with angsty characters.

9. Rukia, Yachiru, Yuzu, Karin, Nel, Toshiro, Momo, pretty much, anyone that won't kill you, but knowing you, you will adopt all of them.

10. Renji FUCKING Abarai, this boy is the most hilarious boy on the planet and I love him for that.

Soooo~ Interested?

[stargalaxyshooter]

Since it's probably coming up in this cour?? Or maybe in the next, but I will always be salty with how dirty Kubo did Ukitake throughout the whole manga - but especially in tybw. Not really utilizing him the way you utilized Shunsui was one thing, but not even giving him a fight before you take him out was dirty 😭

And don't even get me started on how his death was - from what I remember - ultimately pointless, he was giving up his life for the soul king only for Ywach to absorb him anyways. Maybe that did sorta help, idk my memory of it is kinda foggy, but it forreal felt like a "oh damn this guys still a thing gotta give him this random thing to do and then kill him off".

I appreciate that because he's gone, there was a vacancy in the 13 division but Kubo could've given ukitake a battle in tybw and maybe have him either die from said battle or survive it & choose to retire afterwards due to the injuries he sustained from it (like his body was already frail, so maybe he pushed himself too far after using his bankai WHICH WE NEVER SAW). Which then leads to canon with rukia being captain.

There's sooooooo many sternritter's that are introduced and instead of giving some of them to other characters - or have them group together if you don't want too many individual fights - we instead get the same characters have multiple fights with diff opponents or have some of the sternritter's off screened.

For example, we get characters like Kenpachi or Hitsugaya who are given multiple fights in this arc (not necessarily complaining I do like them), while Rukia, who is the second most important character in this show gets one actual good fight where we finally see her bankai. And is then not really utilized after that. That's wild imagine if Sasuke, who is also a deuteragonist, was only given one fight in the 4th war and then fades into the background while naruto/others go fight madara. Side tangent, but I'm just pointing out how weirdly characters were used from the main cast to side characters.

And it's not like it's just Ukitake, kubo also seemed to not like the visored (vizard?) either. Goddamn were they heavily underutilized, got introduced in the story as being one of the major new factions + given a backstory that gave them a connection to both the seireitei & aizen but were ultimatley cast aside for no reason.

Even their inclusion in tybw was pathetic, had them taken out anytime they tried to do something like what was the point Kubo what do you have against these characters?? At least chose to either have them fade into the background after only serving their purpose during the arrancar saga or have some die a meaningful death. (Not that killing characters off when they "serve" no more purpose = good writing. It just would've been something to actually chew on than what we actually got)

Idk something other than that half assed shit, as someone who likes the visored it was painful to watch. There's so many frustrating things about Bleach when I think about it, you have all these cool characters/designs who have interesting personalities, purpose, backstory and then they never get to do anything other than serve as "characters who get offed or beaten up to make the ones who save them look good", which sucks.

Hopefully, in the second cour, or third, some of these things change? I don't expect Kubo to care about ukitake or the visored now but maybe some other side characters like hisagi or yumichika who can finally complete his character arc of never using his shikai in front of others, he was about to use it but got taken out by a zombie. Oh, and also! Ikakku, similarly to yumichika, he also didn't get to have his character arc come full circle. We never got to see him use his bankai again, it seemed he was about to but got taken out by the same zombie - so maybe next cour...? Fingers crossed 🤞 that at some point both him & yumichika can show their concealed powers without fear of one not being accepted and the other not being allowed in the squad anymore. Especially when we know that at the end of the manga, ikkaku replaces yachiru as lieutenant

[amostimprobabledream]

SMASH OR PASS ESPADA EDITION BIATCH (respectfully) ❤️

You're on!

Coyote Starrk

SMASH. Have you seen him? He's gorgeous! Also he's the number one Espada, so y'know. The power. Also I like his voice and he has a surprisingly sad backstory for a 'villain' character.

Barragan Luisenbarn

Him old and not in a hot dilf-y way. Pass.

Tier Halibel

Smash! She's gorgeous and dignified, and she's probably the least likely to accidentally (or purposefully) kill you.

Ulquiorra Cifer SMASH SMASH SMASH. C'MON FUCK ME, EMO BOY! Ugh. He's so rude and cold, and his character development is so good. Those pretty green eyes and the smooth voice. He's so fine.

Nnoitra Gilga

Pass. He's scary. I WILL say, though, I do think Nnoitra is a really well-written villain. He perfectly encapsulates what it means to be a Hollow, especially in his backstory with Nelliel and fight with Kenpachi. I do kind of hope Kubo brings him back for the Hell Arc like he did with Syazel.

Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez

LIGHT OF MY LIFE. FIRE OF MY LOINS. DO YOU KNOW HOW DOWN BAD I AM FOR THIS MAN? I literally started watching Bleach just for him. I was on a Naruto forum one day and somebody had a fanart of Grimmjow as their signature. I was like, "WHO is that fine man???" and the rest is history. I've loved him since like 2006 and he's the origins on my Junichi Suwabe fixation and one of my major villainfucker influences. Icon. Everything about him is so fucking cool, the god-tier design, the voice, the fights. Wow.

Anyways, Smash. <3

Zommari Leroux

Pass. His design is cool but then his fight with Byakuya immediately yeeted any cred he had out the window. Also he had barely enough screentime to leave any lasting impression. Szayel Aporro Granz

I can never spell this fucker's name. Anyway, Pass. Again, his character design isn't bad but the flamboyant evil nerd thing is off-putting to me. He kind of reminds me of one of those villain Pokemon team admins you fight midway through the game.

Aaroneiro Arrururie

Pass. The only time this man jar thing is hot is when he's wearing Kaein Shiba's face. And same with the Zommari issue, you never get a sense of who he is as a character because his screentime is so limited. (Another character's surname I had to google because I forgot it.) Also he lost to Rukia.

Yammy

Ew. Pass. -

Since the Espada are so hilariously divisive (half look like greek gods and the other are straight-up abominations), I'll include the ex-Espada for fun.

Luppi Atenor Pass. I'm sure the extremely androgynous look is someone's thing, but personally I like my male characters a bit more rugged. Also his personality was kind of lame and his fight with the lieutenants was nothing to write home about. Nelliel Oderschwank

PASS. I could write a literal essay on how much I dislike her, but in the interest of brevity I'll say this - her design is fantastic but that's all she's got going for her. The bitch has two personalities and both of them suck, hyperactive toddler or condescending and holier-than-thou.

Dordonii Soccacio Pass. He's so forgettable I had to google what his last name is. I don't think his design is bad but I don't really remember him except Ichigo whooped his ass and then he got drooled on by Nel.

Cirucci Sanderwicci

Smash! Goth chick solidarity ftw. It's a shame such an amazing design was given to a minor character because I love it, she's easily as pretty as Halibel but unfortunately since she had one fight and got stomped by Ishida I think the fandom forgets her. Also I like her name, it's that classic Kubo balance of being goofy but kinda cool.

Gantenbainne Mosqueda

Pass. It says something about how forgettable you are as a character when Kubo didn't even bring him back as a Mayuri zombie, instead Charlotte got revived just for being popular. (L for all Barragan's other fraccion.)

[turnbackthependulum]

Let's make things easier for all of us, shall we?

If you're new here, welcome. This is a blog full of shitposts about BLEACH, the masterpiece created by Tite Kubo. I do post/reblog actual quotes from the manga or scenes from the anime, but only like 0.1% of the time.

Below are the main categories you can use to find specific interactions between various characters. It probably won't lead you to find every single thing that's been posted in this blog (for example, Espada-Shinigami interactions, etc.) but you can at least get almost all the incorrect quotes via this hashtag -> #incorrect bleach

Quotes which I think the characters would highly likely say can be found here -> #things they'd totally say

Everything Karakura Town:

» Karakura Gang (includes Ichigo & his schoolmates, Ichigo's family, Rukia & Kon, Ikumi-san & her son, everyone associated with Urahara's Store, as well as the Visoreds & Fullbringers too) » Karakura High School students » The Kurosaki Family » Urahara Shop (specifically those in Urahara Shop, including Yoruichi, and yes RENJI too) » Visored » The Ishida Family » Fullbringers » Mayuri's Washing Machine Inspiration Backstory au » Zaraki's Squad in Karakura Town au » Grimmjow (g)raveyard party in Karakura Town au » Karakura High School English Lesson au

Everything Soul Society:

» Gotei 13 Captains only » Gotei 13 » Royal Guard/Squad 0 » 1st Division • 2nd Division • 3rd Division • 4th Division • 5th Division • 6th Division • 7th Division • 8th Division • 9th Division • 10th Division • 11th Division • 12th Division • 13th Division » Shinigami Women's Association » Shinigami Men's Association » Shin'ō Academy au » Turn Back the Pendulum arc au » Yamamoto's Past au » "Accidents happen, don't they?" - Shunsui Kyoraku au » Washing Machine isn't for humans, Kurotsuchi-taicho! au » Keigo cuts hair in Soul Society au » Mayuri discovers Spottyfy [Spotify] au

Everything Las Noches:

» Arrancar, in general » Espadas » Espadas trying to hack Aizen's personal computer series au » Featuring the 'troublemaker trio' - aka Nnoitra, Grimmjow & Szayelaporro

Everything Wandenreich:

» Sternritters

Lists of other AU that I've made up or taken inspiration from popular/known sources:

» Adventures of Renji, Rangiku, Toshiro, Ikkaku & Yumichika au (spinoff from "The Shinigami Have Come!" episode) » Gin, Rangiku & Toshiro live together under one roof au » Shinji's Cooking Show au » "I wasn't that drunk last night" series au » Nnoitra committed the "7 Deadly Sins" under an hour au » Isshin, Car & Reservations au » Overprotective papa Toshiro au » Puns for Fun! » "It's 3 AM go to bed" series au

[aurora-313]

In chapter 263 and even more explicitly in episode 154, Rukia compares Kaien's warmth with the warmth of the sunlight, which gave me major romantic vibes, that I mostly took them to mean relationship writing fumble. But after seeing Isshin comparing Masaki with the sun, and the obvious romantic way in which the scene on the porch is animated in 154 I'm not sure anymore that Rukia wasn't in love with Kaien. I don't know Japanese, but at least some translators, including the French edition ones, translated it in the romantic way.

We know that Rukia emulates and wants to be like her accomplished and dignified older brother Byakuya.

But she didn't wanted to be like her sensei Kaien, she wanted to be like HIS WIFE.

So I wanted your opinion on it.

Oh yeah, there was absolute envy of Kaien's wife.

In the Memories in the Rain flashback, Rukia's saddened expression when she says 'Kaien had a wife'? That's pure misery and the poor girl's in hard denial about it. Worse still, she's desperately trying to cover up for the crime of being in love with a married man by convincing herself she adores his wife.

While that may be true, if Miyako really was a factor to Rukia, there would've been a flashback of their interactions to emphasize that importance. The anime might've expanded it into a full backstory, but it the manga Miyako got three panels before we saw her corpse. Plus the animation studio changed Rukia's clear jealousy into a pleased smile like she was happy to be part of the family, not the manga's dejection that the man she's in love with was already spoken for.

I believe Rukia legitimately held a romantic love for him, but its also entirely possible that she mistook appreciation for love because Kaien was a steady port in a tumultuous storm of chaotic and changing life circumstances. In a strange foreign world, separated from the only family Rukia knew (Renji) for one that apparently didn't care for her outside her looks (Byakuya), Kaien took her in. Helped her find a place and more or less taught her how to fight.

Had things been different, had Kaien lived, I have no doubt Rukia would've grown out of that and appreciated him as a true friend and mentor.

In another life, where Kaien survived and Miyako didn't, there might've been a chance - but I doubt it.

Sorry to say Rukia; you still don't have a shot in my work. BB!Kaien has eyes for Lisa.

[kenpachisbrat]

Hello pretty, what about Bleach? ♥

Hello beautiful 😊❤️

Yesssss!

Warning might be some spoilers for the new season of bleach!

Favorite Male Character: KENPACHI (the lovw of my life)

Favorite female character: unohana or yoruichi

Least favorite: Mayuri.....he's just creepy

Favorite ship: definitely orihime and Ichigo, renji and rukia

Favorite friendship: Ichigo and renji absolutely love their friendship

Favorite quote: "Change Is Inevitable. Instead Of Resisting It, You’re Better Served Simply Going With The Flow." - shunsui

Worst death: definitely gins death and the head capitans

This moment made me so happy: really any part where kenpachi chases Ichigo asking him to fight

Saddest moment: rangiku and gin😭 (their backstory made me so sad.)

Favorite location: the seireitei

Ask game😊

[dcviated]

shipping questions :: have at it

@more-than-a-princess sent: 19, 25

19. is there a ship you used to dislike, but now you like?

Another broadly posed question that has my work-addled brain wracking and clacking. At least we're getting them out of the way quick with this meme?

Part of it comes down to me not often watching shows or series with shipping in mind. I don't often fall into the theorycrafting of it all, though there was of course a phase back in the mid 2010s when battle harem anime was all the rage. Ah. Good times.

Charl.otte Dunois still best girl.

If there's one thing I know it's that the couples that end up being are the ones I wouldn't have picked out of the 'possibilities'. See: the ending of Bleach. But I guess that one kind of grew on me as I thought about it? Ichigo and Orihime?

So yeah. There's an answer.

Still would have preferred Rukia.

25. did you ever play a breakup?

I have! But. Not on this blog. It's probably not too surprising that things haven't gone smoothly with Wylan very often, is it? A similar situation has happened like with Sonia in another thread. Except it happened past the 'benefits' phase and during the 'crushing' to the point... it could have been something?

PANIC.

My dear friend and I wrenched each other's hearts out writing about the falling out and, then, inevitably, the two of them coming back and giving it all a second chance. Only for things to fuck up again because oh a cruel ride that ship is and until only recently(ish) remained to be.

Thanks @dissimulxte

Outside of that I only have 'implied' breakups that have happened in the backstories of my muses. You don't run into too many people who are willing to play out a bad end (even with the promise of a good one coming)

[bleachbleachbleach]

Apparently Shino Madarame is ikkaku's younger sister according to one of the novels. Kinda makes me wonder where she's been all this time?

I've never read any of the novels, so bear with me in that I have no idea what details have been offered about her in truth. But man, I'd have difficulty buying into them being related by blood. Not that Kubo didn't leave Rukongai wide open for us to do with as we please! But given what we hear of it, it seems like usually kinship in Rukongai is made there, rather than brought over from other lives your soulstuff might have previously lived. Hisana and Rukia seem more anomaly than norm.

I guess we could make up a tragic backstory for Ikkaku where he too abandons or loses track of his baby sister in the hard-scrabble streets of Rukongai, which is probably a fairly regular occurrence there. But from the perspective of narrative I'm not sure that inherently adds interest--at least, it doesn't for me.

What we do know of Ikkaku, however, is that he's a teacher at heart. He's been a valuable mentor to Renji, and even fighting Ichigo during the Soul Society Arc--Ichigo being a target he was supposed to just obliterate, not train--he seems like he's enjoying helping Ichigo figure his shit out so that they can have an even better fight. And of course we have Ikkaku and Ichika, later on.

So, purely within the realm of headcanon:

It wouldn't surprise me if Soul Society didn't have some kind of system of wardship/patronage. Probably not for people in Rukongai (yet!! I'll take my 'Hinamori community outreach program' headcanon to my grave) because let's be real, despite the demographics of their current slate of officers, this hasn't yet occurred to the Gotei. But maybe for the randos who live in the Seireitei, who are "noble" largely by technicality, and don't have a lot of real social standing to their name. Why having "Madarame" as one's family name would be useful in this case, idk, but I 100% believe in the possibility of Soul Society having some arcane cultural presumption where it does.

Another option might be being noble noble but still needing to take a different name when you join the Gotei because your fam does not actually have super high regard for military service for XYZ reasons, and they don't want their name associated with it. So you need a new name.

You can make one up, like the Rukongai folk likely do when they enroll in the Academy, but I'll bet you that's easier in Rukongai than it is in the Seireitei. In the Seireitei they have koseki; there are histories; it is complicated-- So maybe it's easier (or has become a conventional loophole) to have someone volunteer their name to you.

Imagine Ikkaku, absolutely high on power, Oprah-ing it up for all comers and stamping documents with abandon. "YOU get a Madarame! And YOU get a Madarame!"*

*Nah, he'd make sure they were "worthy of the name" and he'd enjoy it. You can't tell me his prowess over the Karakura High Kendou Team doesn't have antecedents! Does he understand all the bureaucratic history that has led to the need for this? Absolutely not and he doesn't care to. But he knows what it means to take pride in something, and if a name is someone's magic feather, then feather up.

[kimium]

Since I had so much fun writing out my ships for Twisted Wonderland I figured I'm going to do the same with Bleach. Because I spent my weekend rereading the last arc. And I've been a fan of the series since day one and I've never talked about it???

So, uh... here we go. Spoilers for the entire series... sort of. I mean... only one of my ships is from the final arc.

Rest is under the cut

Ships that are my OTP/ "They're basically canon in my eyes"

Kyoraku/Ukitake: They have such strong "old gay uncle" energy together and I love it. They're 100% in love in my eyes.

Ikkaku/Yumichika: They're so obviously a couple that it hurts me. Their dynamic! Their trust! Their loyalty towards one another! Top Tier.

Ships that I Really Like (in order of "I strongly ship this" to "I love the possibilities of this dynamic")

Grimmjow/Ichigo: They have that "enemies to sort of allies to begrudgingly accepting one another to dumbasses in love". At least as far as I'm concerned.

Byakuya/Renji: I'm a big sucker for the stoic one who has a soft spot for certain people falling for the wild, loose, passionate one who is a dumbass. Also that one scene in the Soul Society arc where Renji is just waltzing around the Sixth Division wearing a sakura yukata?? Top Tier.

Ulquiorra/Orihime: Yeah, I know he kidnapped her but they have this "beast who suddenly understands human emotions a little because one (1) person decided they're not taking this BS".

Ishida/Chad: I like this because it's Ishida "I over think a lot of things" and Chad "I see things for what they really are". I like that dynamic and think it's cute.

Komamura/Tosen: LISTEN. The moment I found out (all those years ago) they became friends because Tosen doesn't see the barriers Komamura has believed/been told about his entire life, I was sold. That's such a beautiful start to a friendship and it definitely makes me sad that Tosen betrayed Soul Society.

Kensei/Shuhei: I'm just a big fan of "I looked up to you and respected you and now that you're back and I'm an adult my admiration has been exposed as a crush. HELP, what do I do???" vibe.

Ships that I think are fun (in order of "That Definitely happened at least Once" to "That's interesting")

Urahara/Yoruichi: I refuse to believe they didn't experiment with one another at least once. Whether there are actual romantic feelings is up to interpretation.

Yoruichi/Soi Fong: Basically the same idea as Urahara/Yoruichi except Soi Fong is Definitely in Love with Yoruichi. It's cute.

Aizen/Hirako: I've flip flopped on this ship a lot over the years. While I'm not always a fan of it what I AM a fan of is the possibility that Aizen figured out he had a Massive Gay Crush on Hirako and then proceeded to be Extremely Conflicted over it. I just love imagining Aizen with all his little schemes crying in his room because "Captain Hirako is my enemy but he's So Hot I want to Sleep with Him".

Bazz-B/Jugram "Jugo": Look, it's my obligatory "THEY WERE CHILDHOOD FRIENDS" ship. Makes what happens in the manga all the more heartbreaking for me.

Gin/Matsumoto: Another ship that I've flip flopped over the years. I do think there is potential, especially their backstory. I also like the tragic angle this ship can take. But even if I'm not shipping it I do think their interactions/friendship is fascinating.

Gin/Izuru: I'm a huge fan of Gin causing troubles for Izuru and Izuru trying to be responsible for his captain. Then, Gin teases him and Izuru is a Flustered Mess.

Ships that I think are Cute (in order of "That's just sweet" to "I see the appeal")

Hitsugaya/Momo: It's just another case of "they're childhood friends that have a soft, cute dynamic". It's harmless and wholesome in my eyes.

Orihime/Tatsuki: They're just very adorable together and I've always enjoyed their friendship.

Renji/Rukia: I know it's canon but I'm not the biggest fan of it. That being said, I do think they're very cute and their shared backstory makes this pairing cute.

Ships that are just Crack/Make me Laugh

Kenpachi/Byakuya: If I had a nickel every time those two were paired up in a fight against the enemy I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's strange that it's happened twice. Or however that quote goes. This ship is all about "prim, proper one" with "not prim and proper one". I think it's funny.

Szayelaporro/Renji: Their fight was Charged. That's all I'm saying about it.

But what about any OT3s?

Shuhei/Matsumoto/Izuru: I love their dynamic. It's funny and cute. Matsumoto 100% is in charge.

Ichigo/Rukia/Renji: I just think they're Neat and I like the energy they bring to the table.

Ichigo/Byakuya/Renji: Almost didn't add this but then I thought of the chaotic energy Byakuya would have with BOTH Ichigo and Renji and laughed. So this is at the end as an honourable mention.

[recurring-polynya]

Writing/Art Update 9.12.2023

Getting this over with so I can restart my word count clock. :P

So, the damage for the week was 1243, which doesn't sound great, but hear me out: it was a thing I have been putting off forever and it was really hard.

Maybe let's back up a little. Please forgive me for actually talking about my fanfic, but this is helpful for My Process. This is really long, so I am going to throw it under a cut.

As far as the rest of the update, I drew a renruki doodle this week, which is better than drawing nothing, like I usually do.

(also, I very much did a bunch of other things this week and also spent a lot of important time Having Unnecessary Anxiety about something else. I really only had two writing days, which also contextualizes this a fair amount)

This is about Ductwork, the next part of HiaM. The thing about HiaM is that the large tentpoles of it were determined by a great deal of daydreaming I did between 2016 and 2018, and then I started writing it down in 2019. Not Broken, Just Bent was a straight brain-dump. See You on the Other Side required a little modification, but also went pretty much to plan. The problem with Between Tides is that I had never bothered to think about a bunch of the actual details of the mystery they had to solve, and it turned out to be a lot of work (or at least, I thought so at the time). It also sort of destroyed the momentum I had going of writing very quickly (or it's possible that seven months into my fanfic renaissance, it was just a natural slow down). Call Me Back was where it went off the rails. It was supposed to be short, and I was supposed to finish it in 3 mo (it took 7, which now feels incredibly fast to me), but it turned into something else entirely. I was ruined at this point. Hearts, in its original embodiment, was supposed to be, like 10k words about a stupid party, and it obviously was something else. So, anyway, here I am. The point of the next story in the series was to do the telling of the story of how Renji messed up his arm, interwoven with the story of getting it fixed. Like, 20k tops, right? (It is currently at, like 23k and much closer to the start than the end)

I think the first mistake I made was back in 2019, I actually wrote out the story of how Renji broke his arm. (Never let yourself write out of order. I still maintain moonlighting around other parts of the timeline is what is responsible for my Failure to Complete this Story in a Timely Manner). My thoughts at the time was that I would mostly be able to integrate it, as-is, into the story that I am working on now, so it was basically just working ahead.

And that's where I am now.

The thing is, the story isn't very, um, integratable. My original vision for this was that it would be in the form of a story Rukia tells to Byakuya. If you've read the story, you know that wouldn't work, even a little, because it's not written in any sort of story-telling voice. I think I was hoping I could have Rukia start talking and then ::hit sepia-toned flashback effect:: and sliiiide into flashback space. I hate that though, because then you get literally the same ambiguous stuff from canon Bleach, where I am honestly not sure what Renji said out loud to Ichigo during the Big Renruki Backstory Flashback. A very distinctive part of the Renji-breaks-an-arm story is kissing and I did not want it to be even remotely implied that Rukia told Byakuya about the kissing. The other thing is that while the proximate cause of Renruki's trauma in this story is the Arm Breaking Incident, there's a second, prior incident, which is the Boar Incident. I'm trying to figure out how to construct a story that is really about these two past incidences, but it glued together by the current narrative and it is hard as Hell, why am I doing this??? (I am doing this, because if I can pull it off, I think it will be really cool). I also keep doing the thing where I wonder if maybe I need to stop it, it's too ambitious, it's ten pounds of crap in a five pound bag, I need to focus more on a writable story. If I can carve it down small enough, maybe I can just get through it, to something I'm more excited about writing (or maybe I could try to get excited about writing this??)

Anyway, what I did last week was to rewrite the first part of Renji-Breaks-an-Arm into a flashback that slots into the first chapter between the cold open and the next scene of the fanfic. This gives me 2899 contiguous words of Chapter One. The whole time I was doing the re-write, I kept asking myself how much I should actually be rewriting. On one hand, I feel like everyone who reads my stories has read Renji-Breaks-an-Arm, and I owe you all something new. On the other hand, as I was working on it, I kept wondering if I was replacing something good with something worse. On the third hand, I've never liked the beginning of Renji-Breaks-an-Arm. Anyway, I did it. It's mostly revamped, but I did keep a few lines. Is it perfect? Probably not. Will I rewrite it later? Will I replace it with the original version? I might. It's there, though, a load-bearing flashback, and I can go forward from here (maybe! that's what I get to figure out next!)

All of this is terrible, I hate using my brain, but hopefully this is part where it starts turning into a story. I do like it when a story comes out the other side. That part is nice. It's also possible all of this will turn into a mess and a failure, and then I'll have to start over, but you know. It won't be the first time. Also, at this point, I am deeply experienced in seeing a pile of horrible garbage somehow Come Together Eventually, so I'm trying to stay optimistic here.

Word count: I am now up to three working documents!! (not linearly independent) Main doc: 20,765 Misc flashback doc: 2,633 Clean, contiguous version: 2,899

Progress towards arbitrary 20k word goal I set for myself last spring: 15,698 (4,302 to go!!)

[hibiscusangel15]

2023 Fic Wrap Up

Total New Fics: 8

Total Word Count: 51,493

I wrote a lot more than I did in 2022, but I really think I could've done more if I worked out a better schedule even with my health issues. I've been slacking on my original stuff, too :T

Next year, I'm going to focus on finishing fics and series I've neglected. I also want to be able to work out a better writing schedule without stressing myself out too much.

This is more for me than anything lol. Sorted alphabetical order by fandom.

Baldur's Gate 3

Managed to sneak in one last fic before the end of the year. The BG3 brainrot will fester well into next year for sure, though.

Inkling

Summary: Leave it to a devil to cheat the outcome. The orthon unleashed a smattering of bombs—one last suicidal tirade to take them all down with him.

The swell of victory was short-lived. Astarion had been reckless. Stupid. Desperate.

But it was Lev who paid the price.

An alternate take on the post-Yurgir fight where Astarion attempts to comfort an injured Leviathala (OC). Spoilers for Act 2!

Part 1 of Firsts

Published: 12/30/23

Rating: Teen and Up

Pairing: Astarion/Named!Tav, Astarion/Original Female Character

Characters: Astarion, Original Female Character, Karlach, Lae'zel, Shadowheart

Additional Tags: Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Injury Recovery, Head Injury, Alternate Scene, Spoilers for Act 2 (Baldur's Gate 3), Named Tav (Baldur's Gate), Tiefling Tav (Baldur's Gate), Fighter Tav (Baldur's Gate)

Status: One-shot / Complete

Additional Thoughts: Listen, dangle a charming asshole in front of me and I'll bite. I actually didn't like him much at first, but his smooth-brained idiocy and the promise of a deeper backstory (based on other people's reactions to him) kept me pursuing him.

Then he screamed for my character when she went down, confessed his feelings the very next day, and it was over for me. I wrote this alternate scene within two days after finishing my playthrough lol.

Bleach

Honestly, fan events are the only threads keeping me to this fandom at all. Thank you for the IR, GIR, and Ishihime fandoms for your service. You're all amazing writers and artists.

Ad Infinitum

Summary: Plagued by a demonic voice constantly whispering in his ear, Kurosaki Ichigo always feels one step away from a total breakdown. His guardian angel having history with said demon isn't doing him any favors, either.

An Angel!AU for Day 1 of Ichiruki Month 2023.

Part 1 of Ichiruki Month 2023

Published: 09/01/23

Rating: Mature

Pairings: Kuchiki Rukia/Kurosaki Ichigo, Hollow Ichigo | Zangetsu/Kuchiki Rukia

Characters: Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia, Hollow Ichigo | Zangetsu

Additional Tags: Angel/Human Relationships, Demonic Possession, Past Relationship(s), Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Status: Multi-chapter / Incomplete (1/?)

Additional Thoughts: An angel/demon AU for Bleach has been rattling around my head for a couple years now. Seeing the "Wings" prompt for IR Month 2023 finally kicked me into gear to writing at least something for it.

I want to be able to update this fic at least monthly next year, but first, I think I'll focus on wrapping up my short GIR fics and the IR Big Bang fic first. I'll do my best.

Fighting Chance

Summary: Every moment of Grimmjow's life has been a fight. A fight to stay alive. To prove himself. To be King.

Peace had never ever occurred to him as possible, let alone peace with Shinigami. There's always a first time for everything. For Day 1 of GrimmIchiRuki Weekend 2023!

Published: 03/18/23

Rating: Teen and Up

Pairings: Grimmjow Jaegerjaques/Kuchiki Rukia/Kurosaki Ichigo, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia/Kurosaki Ichigo, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques/Kuchiki Rukia

Characters: Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia, Tia Harribel, Urahara Kisuke

Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, References to Depression, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Polyamory

Status: Multi-chapter / Incomplete (1/3)

Additional Thoughts: A lot of my GIR fics focus on Grimmjow as like the main main character, I've noticed. He's a lot of fun to write and weirdly relatable in some ways? I think I just revealed some things about myself I didn't mean to by always featuring his anger as the central theme oops lmao

Keep Cool

Summary: Ichigo laments over the unbearable humidity in the Soul Society. Rukia strutting around practically half-naked around their home is not doing him any favors, either.

For Day 4 of Ichiruki Month 2023!

Part 2 of Ichiruki Month 2023

Published: 09/15/23

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Kuchiki Rukia/Kurosaki Ichigo

Characters: Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia

Additional Tags: Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Established Relationship, Cock Tease, Sexual Roleplay, Temperature Play

Status: One-shot / Complete

Additional Thoughts: It was really hot and humid where I lived at the time of writing this, so...

Sweetness and Lightning

Summary: Food has a funny way of bringing people together. Especially with Inoue Orihime at the helm. For Day 1 of Ishihime Week 2023!

Published: 03/24/23

Rating: G / K+

Pairing: Inoue Orihime/Ishida Uryuu

Characters: Ishida Uryuu, Inoue Orihime

Additional Tags: Secret Crush, Cooking Lessons, Fluff, Not Beta Read

Status: One-shot / Complete (Need to edit)

Additional Thoughts: I had a couple other one-shot ideas I wanted to write for this event, but I ran out of time. Maybe next year!

I also feel bad for just releasing this fic without giving it my usual thorough edit lookover. That'll be one of the first things I'll focus on in January outside of the GIR fics.

Good Omens

Man, I didn't think I would be as obsessed for months on end as I was for Good Omens 2 until it came out. I'm still sad over the finale lol.

Ineffable

(Cover is art by my sister @/artsysapphy on Instagram)

Summary: Crowley and Aziraphale ponder the definition of love throughout the years.

Spoilers for the Season 2 finale!

Published: 09/30/23

Rating: G / K+

Pairing: Aziraphale/Crowley

Characters: Crowley, Aziraphale

Additional Tags: Introspection, Mutual Pining, Love Confessions, Good Omens Season 2 Spoilers, Angst

Status: One-shot / Complete

Additional thoughts: I had to write my feelings down about the Season 2 finale somewhere. This lone one-shot I wrote for my sister's birthday was the result.

I do plan to write a couple more one-shots based on the Stars' album In Our Bedroom, After the War when I have time, though.

Gorillaz

My years-long hyperfixation on the monkey band is starting to wane a little, but there's no way I'm giving up writing my stupid, self-indulgent series. I'll get back to writing the Falling Out the Sky series really soon!

All Out of Song

(Cover is a commission from @/herhumanist, one of my favorite artists!)

Summary: Letting everything fall apart is always easier than holding it together. Murdoc Niccals knows from experience.

Second chances haunt Murdoc's every waking moment, more so now that Gorillaz and his ex have returned to where it all started. Maybe keeping everyone together might be worth a shot this time around.

Sequel to Over the Dub.

Part 2 of Falling Out the Sky

Published: 03/10/23

(Latest chapter published: 10/13/23)

Rating: Explicit (Started off as Mature)

Pairing: Murdoc Niccals/Original Character(s), Murdoc Niccals/Original Female Character(s)

Characters: Murdoc Niccals, Noodle, Stuart "2D" Pot, Russel Hobbs, Original Characters, Other Character Tags to Be Added, Paula Cracker, Jamie Hewlett, Damon Albarn, DJ Danger Mouse

Additional Tags: Phase Two (Gorillaz), Canon Compliant, Past Relationship(s),Strained Friendships, Psychosis, Blood and Gore, Gun Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Angst, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Light Dom/sub, Rough Sex, Romance

Status: Multi-chapter / Incomplete (9/35)

Additional thoughts: Started off strong by following my biweekly schedule then it kinda fell apart after some health issues/work stuff. I think a monthly schedule will honestly work better for me for this fic so I don't put other stuff on the backburner all the time.

A lot of this fic is just Murdoc and Anna being angry so far, but there's also something really fun about just writing two bitter, messy people figuring their shit out and still loving each other anyway.

The Fool

Summary: Nineteen, no discernable life direction, stuck behind a counter as he watched everything pass him by. His mother didn’t outright call him a disappointment. And she wasn’t disappointed in him, not like other mums would be. Even so, he noticed her concern, the way she tried to push him to go to uni, to apply for this job or that. It was what mums did. His dad was too much like him to be anything but gently encouraging.

Getting a job at Uncle Norm’s Organ Emporium was the best way to keep her calm. A new start.

A peek into Stuart Pot's life pre-Gorillaz. Written for Day 3 of Gorillaztober 2023 on Twitter!

Part 1 of Major Arcana

Published: 10/06/23

Rating: G / K+

Characters: Stuart "2D" Pot, Rachel Pot, Uncle Norm (Gorillaz)

Additional Tags: Pre-Phase One (Gorillaz), Introspection, Stream of Consciousness, Autism Spectrum, Tarot, Background 2-D/Paula

Status: One-shot / Complete

Additional Thoughts: I honestly really like writing from 2-D's POV. There's something about how his thoughts flow that's really easy to fit into.

2024 Goals

Finish the two GrimmIchiRuki fics I left alone for too long (Lights Off and Fighting Chance) in January

Fully edit all released fics in January

Release at least five more one-shots per new fic series (Major Arcana and Firsts) throughout the year

Release monthly updates of my multi-chapter fics (All Out of Song and Ad Infinitum) starting in March

This is just my fic stuff, but I also want to write at least half of my original novel as well by the end of 2024. Here's hoping.

[mysterylover123]

Mysterylover watches Bleach episodes 48-49

mysterylover123

1. Battle of the WhiteHair Shinigami Soul Folks apparently. Let’s see how OP Grinning Dude is. 

2. I will take my obligatory (and probably annoying to fans) moment to be annoyed that Momo, the one who actually had a motive to want revenge against Grinning Guy, is now damselled so a dude friend of hers can avenge her instead. Because we can’t have a girl fighting this guy. Sigh.

3. Oh thank god a redhead girl (sadly not my girl Hime) shows up to save this guy. And Grinning Guy is like “Hell no I’ll fight this rando to the break of dawn but this redhead no freaking way”. My annoyance is assuaged. 

4. Oh Damn Rukia’s execution date is changed? Dammit guys ya’ll been dragging your feet so damn hard (Ganju I blame you for this).

5. I was right! Grinning Guy did get the hell outta dodge when the redhead showed up. He seems to know better than to mess with redhead ladies (which sadly means he’ll probably know to turn tail and beat it if Hime shows up.)

6. The way Rangiku is monologuing about Grinning Guy (Ichimaru) makes it sounds like there’s a history there. 

7. This uneasy feeling you’re having, Yoruichi, huh? Like...Rukia being executed soon and ya’ll wasting your time? Apparently it’s actually Renji. Is this when he and Ichigo become friends and bond over the awesomeness of Rukia. 

8. Yep that is what happens. I’m so smart (I’ve just read to many Shonen). And poor Rukia, she feels like she deserves to be executed? Poor girl. Oh, wait - Is this NEXT EP GONNA BE THE FULL RUKIA BACKSTORY EP?!

9. IT IS!!!!!! OK so everyone of the jerk soul reapers are like “ooh nepotism, that means she’s automatically bad”. And her captain is immediately endearing. Dammit why’s this nice guy gotta die.

10. Ah! Rukia and Kaien get along well and her sidekicks immediately start shipping them. These’re my kinda Shinigami. (Though she’s still got a boyfriend already. Go team RenRuki. man it feels good to already know I’m on the winning side).

11. Damn a gorgeous galnamed Miyako who is clearly Kaien’s love interest whose gonna be really mad when Ruki messes up in whatever way she does. And she’s actually his wife! And she’s Ruki’s idol? Dammit why isn’t this gal an MC?

12. DAMMIT WHAT?! MIYAKO INJURED? OK at least she’s not dead. HOLY SHIT SHE’S KILLING THEM ALL?!! OMG whaaa?!

13. And manages to throw off whatever’s possssing her to avoid killing Rukia. Holy shit this is freaking horror movie stuff. 

14. Oh god what is gonna happen to Kaien? That Ruki is gonna witness and be left traumatized forever? OMG my heart can’t take it.

15. I’m realizing that this bit of Rukia’s backstory is kinda like Ichigo’s. Parent figure devoured by a hollow, controlled by one. Paralells! 

16. “What good is pride to a man if he’s dead” THANK YOU RUKIA. Of course she’ll be told that’s wrong but dammit someone had to say it in at least one Shonen. (”either loosen your standards or stop pinning the fate of the world on death matches”)

17. Oh god he actually did take posession of rukia’s kindly boss?! Oh no oh shit oh shit that’s so horrifying Ruki’s gonna have to kill her own boss. And she went back to execute him anyway against orders. Cause she’s a bamf who takes care of business (though now she’s a traumatized BAMF.

18. AND HE COMES BACK FOR A MINUTE BEFORE DYING?!!?! (hey it’s the backstory from the Buffy season 2 finale). Holy shit this shit is sad. And of course she blames herself cause she’s in a shonen. Holy shit this self-loathing. SOMEONE MIGHT U THIS GIRL INTO SOME SELF PRESERVATION INSTINCTS RIGHT NOW!!!!!