#crysuzumushi

[soulless-bleach]

Kaname Tosen and epaulette sharks

Fun shark fact🦈 epaulette sharks like to “walk” on the ocean floor! It’s very cute ✨

This is dedicated to tumblrs resident kaname fan @crysuzumushi 💚

[bleachbleachbleach]

The post was getting very long, so I started a new thread, but this comes from this meme post here. Thank you for the tag, @dreaming-about-seireitei!

I'll no-pressure tag @withoutteamalice, @inkyperson, @crysuzumushi, and @mikansei, using the very scientific metric, "the last 4 people who left narrative tags on one of our posts/reblogs." Also anyone else who wants to!!!! (Please feel free to tag us so I can read your lists!)

list 5 things you can talk about for hours without preparing any material:

I’m bad at these kinds of memes because I know they’re hypothetical, but then my brain is like, “Well, I would not do that.” XP I wouldn’t talk for hours about something unless I were completely convinced my conversation partner was 1) equally interested in the thing, and, specifically, 2) open to being engaged for that duration. I don’t want to be too much and burn them out on me and then not get to be friends with them anymore. 😖

But five things I would really love to be in dialogue with people about for hours, Bleach edition:

The maps and calendars of Soul Society — Especially the potential for maps that engage with space-time in interesting ways, and don’t fit the form of what most people on Earth envision as a ‘typical’ map.

Any kind of municipal/regional service in Soul Society (mail, foodways, billing, professional services) — Stuff that would show up in the Encyclopedia Soulttanica, essentially.

Ecology/evolution in Soul Society — Both in terms of biome/weather/flora/fauna and also in terms of how shinigami came to be. I’ve been back to thinking recently about shinigami having had a very different form prior to modern human development. But have also been wondering about the possibility that Soul Society (not just the Yamamoto-created society, but the place in general) potentially being a much younger universe than ours, and despite the “longevity” of shinigami as individual units, their world actually being much younger than life on Earth. And also like, if it is a true reflection/shadow of the Living World, is their ecology complex enough to weather sharp changes? Or is it more prone to ecological collapse because it lacks the ecological complexity to support different epochs of life? (Re: the existential threat of Yhwach.)

Regional foods/holidays/accents in Soul Society — Possibly in contrast to the musings above, but (mostly) Rukongai culture as NOT just a reflection of what exists in the living world, and life not just being a waiting game, but the possibility of rich life/culture/time worth having in Rukongai.

My fanfic, your fanfic. — I miss having writerly community. It’s rare and difficult to come by in any fandom, in any era, but I feel like the parallel play aspect of fandom has only increased, and that’s a huge bummer to me!

[snurtle]

I love them your honor

[drawtag]

star/scar.

commission piece for @crysuzumushi​. thank you so much for your support! this was an absolute treat to draw: post-canon design with a scar from kazeshini; and of course i went a little overboard with the jewelry. but y’know, he deserves it!

commission info  and  more artwork  by me  in  the  source.

[recurring-polynya]

What if Kaname Touken had lived?

Tousen is one of those characters that I have come to care about because of cool people on this website who love him a lot (yes, I am looking at you, @crysuzumushi). He’s not in my regular circle of blorbos, so I don’t have many opportunities to write him, but his ratio of fanworks-to-coolness is still far lower than it should be, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to give it a shot.

Did Polynya stay between 500 and 1000 words?: 1290. It’s the closest I’ve gotten so far???

| ao3 | ff.net |

🦗     💀     🦈

“Are you awake, Tousen Kaname?”

For some reason, Kaname had retained the power of sight, but there was not much worth looking at in the white, featureless room he had awoken to find himself in. He sometimes examined his own hands, the long graceful fingers, tipped with sharp, black claws. He supposed that perhaps he ought to feel some sort of revulsion at his transformation, but having no visual point of reference, he simply found them rather elegant.

His reiatsu sense had been greatly muffled since he awoke, possibly due to something in the walls, or perhaps the heavy metal cuffs that encircled his ankles, wrists and neck.

In any case, it was shocking to hear a voice, surprising for one of his senses to suddenly work in exactly the way he expected.

“I am,” he replied, sitting up the white bench cantilevered out from the wall that served as his pallet.

With a soft swish, the white door to his cell opened, and Kaname beheld Tier Harribel for the first time. She wore a high-necked outfit that enveloped the lower half of her face; her tousled blonde hair hid the rest. Kaname remembered the sheepishness in Sajin’s voice the first time admitted that he concealed his face in public. No one had ever bothered to mention to Kaname that Harribel did the same. Perhaps all the Espada did. Perhaps it was ubiquitous and therefore did not merit remark. Perhaps they felt naked upon discarding their masks and felt the need to replace them with artificial ones.

“Perhaps you are surprised to see me alive,” Harribel said slowly.

“Only slightly more than finding myself so,” Kaname replied mildly. “I am more surprised you have the freedom of this place, but I have heard that the Nest of Maggots is so secure that it is common practice to allow the prisoners to roam unchained.”

“Is that where you think we are?” Harribel asked, a smile audible in her voice. Kaname had probably never heard her utter more than a dozen words, total, and he had certainly never heard such amusement in them.

“Are we not prisoners?” Kaname frowned.

Harribel crossed her arms over her chest. “I am the Queen of Hueco Mundo. You are, for the moment, in my custody. Whether you remain a prisoner is yet to be determined.”

“I don’t understand. I…I assumed that Aizen’s plan had failed.”

“It did. Aizen is a prisoner of the Soul Society. Ichimaru was killed…by Aizen, is my understanding.” She paused. “A truce was drawn in the dust and ashes of the battle. My understanding is that, if it had been brought before the Council of 46, they might have let their more imperialist impulses take over. That they might use this as an opportunity to expand shinigami influence to Hueco Mundo. Fortunately, your senior captains understand how disastrous that would be, so as long as I keep Hueco Mundo in line, they will not come knocking on my doorstep.”

Kaname could hardly believe it. Aizen, captured, he could believe, although it seemed less likely than either a victory or dying in the attempt. Gin…it seemed odd to feel grief for a man who had never once taken his own mortality seriously. Gin was snake, a slitherer-outer. Of the three of them, he should have been the one to survive. Kaname could feel only numbness. He had known Gin since he was a child.

It was one thing to believe two impossible things before breakfast, but Kaname drew the line at a third. “Yamamoto agreed to this?”

“The Captain-General was gravely injured. The man called Kyouraku managed the negotiations.”

Kaname’s lip curled in distaste.

“You disagree, eh? That’s too bad.” She cleared her throat primly. “My understanding is that Yamamoto never would have agreed to let me take you. As far as he, and the rest of Soul Society are concerned, you are dead, by the way.”

Kaname curled his hands into fists. “Then I am denied even what passes for justice in Soul Society. I have been given over to whatever revenge you would cast upon me?”

Harribel tilted her head to one side. “Justice,” she said, “as some sort of philosophical ideal is a shinigami concept. To a Hollow, justice is purely personal. Every grudge, every grievance, is the most unbearable of injustices to us, like knives in our flesh. Being judged by some committee of impartial strangers is just revenge with a layer of grotesque theater slathered on top. You would find that preferable?”

Kaname set his jaw. “Cruelty is in your nature, I do not hold it against you. But the shinigami are hypocrites! They hold themselves the great balancers of the universe, and yet would rather throw me to their worst enemies than run the risk of having their own perfidies be brought to light, should I see trial.”

Harribel gave a wry bark of laughter. “How dramatic you are! The human girl you kidnapped and threatened is the one who healed your broken body. The friend you insulted and the lieutenant you rejected are the ones who begged for mercy for you. I, whose home you invaded, offer you sanctuary, and all you can do is weep and gnash over your cruel treatment. Truly, you do belong here.”

“Sanctuary…?” Kaname echoed.

“There are five bindings on you. They are shinigami bindings that bind your shinigami powers. I have the ability to remove three of them. I have kept you here while the last of your injuries healed. If you will swear your loyalty to me, I will remove one of the bindings and extend my protection to you as long as you choose to stay in Las Noches.”

“And if I do not?”

“Then you are free to go forth into the desert, with neither zanpakutou nor Resurrección. To be fair, I do not think you would even make it past the gates. Grimmjow has been asking me every morning at breakfast if he can rip your arms off yet. I have been telling him he needs to wait until you make your decision.”

“That is not much of a choice.”

Harribel’s eyes gleamed. “That is how we all came into Hueco Mundo, Tousen. I am offering you an opportunity, because I think you can be of use to me. If that turns out to be true, in time, I may become amenable to removing the other bindings.”

“Three of them.”

“Kidou is a shinigami art,” Harribel mused. “But if a Vizard can fire a cero, perhaps an Arrancar might learn to cast a spell, even undo a shinigami binding. I am very interested in this possibility. That is one way you might make yourself useful.”

“Just because I went against my own people once does not mean I wish to throw in with their enemies,” Kaname growled.

Harribel stared at him for a moment, and then gave off that odd, barking laugh again. “Your people, Tousen? Have you not listened to a thing I said? Do you really not know why I agreed to take you in?”

Kaname said nothing as Harribel stepped closer to him and leaned down to look him in the face.

“Hueco Mundo is a miserable, desolate wasteland, but it is also a welcoming home to all those who have gnawed their own hearts to bits. I do not know what force drove Ichimaru Gin to follow Aizen, but he stayed true to it. He could not have become an Arrancar, even if he wished to. But you…your hatred ate you from the inside out. All of the Espada recognized you for what you were. Of course you have a home in Hueco Mundo…you are as welcome here as every other Hollow.”

[littleeyesofpallas]

I saw @crysuzumushi asking about the TBtP flashback's squad 9 jackets, and the kanji on them, and I gave a brief answer (although @bleachbleachbleach beat me to the punch *shakes vindictive fist*) but I figured I'd post a little more at length about this here, because it's a cool detail... Although I think I've covered most of this in some old Bleach post from a while back...

六車九番隊

Muguruma[六車] is obviously just Kensei's surname, but it's made up of the kanji for Mu[六]:"Six" and Kuruma[車]:"Car" which is technically an old pre-automobile ideogram of a wagon, but was adapted to be the word for "car"/"automobile" upon their invention and introduction into China and Japan.

[九] is just the number "Nine" and then [番] denotes a number in a series,

and [隊] is of course the same kanji used in Gotei 13[護廷十三隊]: "Safeguard, Imperial Court, 13, Squad(s)"

So it just reads "Muguruma(6 Car) No.9 Squad." It's also the decidedly less sexy explanation for his "69" tattoo.

But what's actually more important than the words themselves is the style evoked here. This is pretty clearly, for those who would recognize it, a Bousozoku[暴走族] aesthetic.

The term is made up of [暴]:"Violent"/"Wild"/"Crude" and as a consequence can also directly refer to "delinquency," [走]: "running"/"racing," and [族]: an archaic word for "tribe" and consequently a colloquial term for a "gang." I often see this translated into English as "Run Wild Tribe" or "Violent Running Tribe" which are both technically accurate, but I feel they miss some of the nuance.

The specific tie between bousouzoku and the 1980s comes from the Japanese car boom. As Japan rocketed onto the world stage as an automotive manufacturer, cheap car and motorcycle parts became available right along with a growing call for automotive industry labor, as well as increasingly poor work conditions and fast rotation of layoffs. This meant a lot of factory towns became hotbeds for these kinds of biker gangs.

And I should note, they're often called "biker" gangs, but technically they often included cars as well. The only point was that they were loud and disruptive, often elaborately decorating their cars and bikes to be as garish and noise making as possible. This also includes removing mufflers as a pretty standard practice, and if you've ever heard an unmuffled exhaust pipe running then imagine a dozen or more of those coming down your street in the middle of the evening.

You used to see a lot more of this in anime during that time, and subsequently lingering into the 90s, but they started to fade from pop culture in the 00s. Similar to the classic banchou, yankii, and tsupari character types, they actually persisted in anime for quite a while after they'd more or less vanished from the real world. But in a lot of ways those romantic popculture images also served to influence the real world in return.

Keeping in mind that, because of the monolithic role of the yakuza in Japan's organized crime scene, bousouzoku have always been very distinctly a youth culture phenomena; effectively any biker who implicitly ages out of the biker scene either has to develop a normal life with a real job, or throws in with more serious organized crime.

Anyway, the jackets in particular evoke a distinctive style of old 80s Japanese biker gangs that tended to involve a jumpsuit (repurposed from factory labor) combat boots, and often the long tail jackets with text embroidered. The long white coat somehow became kind of the classic look, but there wasn't any specific meaning to it; plenty were black, or blue, or even bright colors like orange, red, or purple.

Anyway... the point I'm getting at with all this random context is that when Kubo made the very deliberate choice to put those jackets on the 9th Squad's seated officers in the flashback it was to indicate pretty explicitly that Muguruma runs his squad like a biker gang. (This bousouzoku motif is in turn why his hollow form looks so mechanical, with slats like vents or a set of tail lights for face, and big pipes or pistons sticking out of his back and arms)

[kuinliekkienroihu]

I (crysuzumushi, haha) am working on answering your ask game prompts, you picked two of my very favorites, thank you! I'm gonna ask you to do Kaname too! And Byakuya.

Okay, thanks for the ask!! Sorry it took so long to answer, i wrote a novel. Also sorry for all the spelling and grammar mistakes, English isn’t my first language

Kaname:

1. Favorite thing about them

How he always seeks to act according to his sense of justice. Also he's one of the best written characters in the entire series. He's very complex, which makes him feel kinda like an actual person with understandable actions caused by his past. There are a lot more things, but i'm not good at putting things to words so yeah.

2. Least favorite thing about them

How underutilized he was as a character. I'm really glad there's more of him in cfyow, even though i've only read the first part

3. Favorite line

" I follow the path least soaked in blood. The path I walk is justice."

4. BrOTP

I have many, mostly Shuhei, Aizen, Gin and Sajin

5. OTP

-

6. NOTP

hmm, i don't like him and Aizen romantically at all, same goes for Sajin

7. Random headcanon

He has a plant garden in Las Noches in which he grows, among many other things, the ingredients for Aizen's tea, which is Kaname's secret special mix of herbs. Aizen really misses the tea Kaname made for him.

8. Unpopular opinion

He did nothing wrong, or rather, all he did was (more or less) justified

9. Song i associate with them

-

10. Favorite picture of them

This is my favorite too

Byakuya:

1. Favorite thing about them

Yes. I love every single thing about him. Even the things others would consider as flaws are perfect. I really like how calm and collected he is regardless of the situation, he's intelligent and calculating.

A very well written character with, in my opinion, the best character development. Especially his relationship with Rukia from ignoring her out of pain (since she looks almost identical to Hisana), protecting her to keep a promise, letting her be executed to keep another promise to genuinely caring about her and saving her life in many occasions, clearly regretting what he did to her and trying to compensate for his actions.

Kubo wrote his development extremely well, in the end of the series he's objectively a better person than in the beginning, but his personality didn't change much. He's still the same overly serious, stuck up asshole we know and I love him for it.

Another thing I love the most about him is the fact that he's another walking contradiction. But somehow, these contradictions make a paradox or a perfect harmony without cancelling each other. Kubo did an amazing job making him have many layers in his character. There's this line from a book (had to look it up, the book is called "the chrysanthemum and the sword") that the author used to describe Japanese people, I think I read that in someone's ig story and it got stuck in my head since it reminded me of Byakuya so much, and in my honest opinion, describes him rather thoroughly, especially second, third and fourth ones. His zanpakuto, which is one of the infinite reasons I love him, being fully portrayed by the second one "both militaristic and aesthetic" being combined into the beautiful but deadly weapon Senbonzakura is.

"both aggressive and unaggressive, both militaristic and aesthetic, both insolent and polite, rigid and adaptable, submissive and resentful of being pushed around, loyal and treacherous, brave and timid, conservative and hospitable to new ways"

When you think about it, he has the most fitting zanpakuto for his personality compared to the other shinigami and the way he uses it is one of the tiny details which make him, him.

His spot as a captain and the head of the Kuchiki clan is in my opinion fully earned (rest of the nobles (except Yoruichi) can go fuck themselves) (sorry Tara, ignore this please lol). He is hardworking and precise, almost workaholic, has trained hard from a very young age and puts duty above everything. But he still has a hidden "work mode: off" -side which we see occasionally as cracking a dry joke or the wakame taishi fuckery in general. Latter being, in my honest thoughts, hilarious and adorable.

There is a lot more but i literally can't list everything. This is already a hell of an essay.

2. Least favorite thing about them.

My answer is probably as you can expect: none.

There is one thing i don't really like, but it's about the writing.

!!TYBW SPOILERS!!

In the beginning of the arc i think that immediately releasing bankai, especially when he knew it was gonna be sealed, was out of character and i would have been very upset if he stayed dead, since the action which resulted in that was not something he would do.

3. Favorite line

“If it’s for the sake of my pride there’s nothing I won’t destroy.”

I know it’s from a filler but this line just sums his whole character, personality and motivations up so well.

4. BrOTP

I have so many, i want him to have friends lol. But to point out the most significant ones i'd say Rukia, Renji, Kenpachi, Toshiro and Ichigo

5. OTP

The only one i really ship him with is Nanao. Hisana is kind of “it’s canon and i’m fine with it.” I haven’t seen enough of her to form an opinion about the ship, but it’s obvious how much Bya loved her and it’s so sweet.

6. NOTP

Okay, i have never mentioned this before since i know many of my followers/mutuals ship them. Renji. The only ship I. Can't. Stand.

Like, platonically? Yes, they're bros. But romantically or especially sexually? No. Fuck no.

I don't care if you ship them, good for you, but please tag the stuff so it gets filtered.

7. Random headcanon

He sleeptalks a lot. And it's not mumbling, he talks the same way as when he's awake but it's absolute nonsense.

Byakuya, asleep: Do not eat the drawer.

Hisana, awake: *watches him in utter confusion*

Byakuya, still asleep: Give him a pink tricycle.

Hisana: To whom?

Byakuya: Head captain Yamamoto

Hisana: *trying not to laugh*

Another hc that i have is that he is a closet metalhead and likes especially power- and symphonic metal (this might sound very weird if you know nothing about this kind of music lol)

8. Unpopular opinion

His actions in the soul society arc were understandable. He was put between the bark and the tree (i hope you get what i mean) and had to choose from just letting things happen and going against central 46 and all of soul society (or at least that’s what he thought). Also the line he said to Ukitake, which is still easily in top5 most asshole things he has said/done, in my opinion shows what he thought of Rukia’s execution and why he didn’t do anything to prevent it. “Once you’ve let one of your people die.. ...two or three more make no difference.” Both of his parents are dead, Hisana is dead, Ginrei is most likely dead and he thought for 100 years that Yoruichi was dead too. I think Byakuya thought losing one more person he cares about couldn’t hurt more than it already has and therefore didn’t think it was worth breaking the promise he made in his parents’ grave and trying to save her. And that fucking breaks my heart.

9. Song I associate with them

I have a 6h long playlist which I’m not gonna post. Can’t choose just one lol.

10. Favorite picture of them

*digs through nearly infinite pinterest board, tumblr and phone’s gallery*

This is (one of) my favorite manga panel(s) of him. I love how calm but powerful he looks. The lines representing the heavy spiritual pressure. Like an inescapable doom approaching (which indeed was the case). And for some reason i love it. 

My favorite fanart, which i obviously can’t post since you can’t post others art so here’s the link: https://www.deviantart.com/keelerleah/art/Bleach-Byakuya-Looking-Back-127254804

and then one which I think is official art or at least an edit of it, if I’m wrong please lmk

[bleachbleachbleach]

Songs 3 and 4 for my favorite divisions. Also sorry about being super late about this

From the ask game here!

You were not late with the ask, but I was definitely late with my response 😔 (despite my best laid plans to not leave the house today so I could just do #tumblrthings, life intervened instead.) I've been listening to these 2 songs on repeat ever since I got your ask though, so that's a plus!

3: the 1, Taylor Swift

This is an extremely romanticized version of her, but (filler/omake version of) Soi Fon pining after Yoruichi 🥲

I have this dream you're doing cool shit Having adventures on your own You meet some woman on the internet and take her home…

But we were something, don't you think so? Roaring 20s, tossing pennies in the pool And if my wishes came true It would've been you

In my defense, I have none For never leaving well enough alone But it would've been fun If you would've been the one

I, I, I persist and resist the temptation to ask you If one thing had been different Would everything be different today?

We were something, don't you think so? Rosé flowing with your chosen family And it would've been sweet If it could've been me

I actually really liked how the anime expanded on Soi Fon’s past with Yoruichi, because it really made it evident just how hurt Soi Fon was by being left behind in Soul Society. And subsequently why it’s been so difficult to get over her. But the way the song keeps asking, "what if it had been me?" just really seems to fit Soi Fon very well.

4: Use Me, The Goo Goo Dolls

Aaahhhh! I’m so glad you asked for this one, because this song was actually shared with me by @crysuzumushi, on one of their Bleach blorbo playlists. Now it is one of my top blorbo songs, and hopefully it will also be one of your soon!

It doesn't really matter If I only fill the space Of someone you've not forgotten Of someone who's gone away Yeah, you lead me to your doorstep But you keep me locked outside

Baby it's alright You can use me anytime Baby it's alright Use me anytime

A song about a toxic relationship?? I immediately start thinking about our Traitor Trio and their VCs. I love thinking about this song in the context of Ichimaru/Kira and Tousen/Hisagi, and today I’m feeling inclined towards Tousen and Hisagi. Their relationship has a lot of nuances to it that I don’t fully understand, and I don’t think all of it was unhealthy. But Hisagi putting Tousen up on a pedestal (from the first line of the song) is definitely something that happened. And due to his deep insecurities, Hisagi is definitely guilty of allowing himself to be used by others 🥲 Oh boy, now I’m deep in my Hisagi feels, so I’ll just leave it at that!

[bleachbleachbleach]

I NEED to know where the detective thriller comments on your last reblog put Kaname and Nemu the curiosity is intense 🤣❤ I think Nemu should be in tech/science too because equally mad scientist Nemu is my favorite. And Kaname...Aizen's best friend/partner? Or another detective who turns out to be covering for him? I just don't know! So many possibilities

Waaaaait can he be an investigative journalist with Hisagi????

reblog in question

OMG I really just took that story in the tags and ran with it, didn't I? XD Thank you so much for this ask. I would've continued talking in the tags but I felt like I was getting too carried away. I wanna say I loooooooveee the idea of investigative journalism Hisagi!!! It gives me many ideas ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Here's my detective thriller AU cast:

Detective Kyouraku Shunsui: Grizzled police detective, partners with Ukitake. Has seen a lot of shit over the course of his career, which has left him with a dark sense of humor and a drinking problem.

Detective Ukitake Juushirou: Long-suffering police detective, partners with Kyouraku. His career has also left him with some troubles, namely chronic insomnia. His health problems leave him physically frail sometimes, but his mind continues to be as sharp as ever. Despite it all, he still manages to be the "hopeful" one in the duo.

Medical Examiner Kurotsuchi Mayuri: I'm of the belief that the best medical examiners are the ones that are slightly quirky (Woody from Psych is the best!). Mayuri is very very good at his job, but his fascination with death can be off-putting (to say the least). The more gruesome the method of death, the more excited Mayuri is when he delivers his findings.

CSU Forensics Technician Akon: Very competent; the tech person who is somehow always at the police station, so you can drop by to give him the latest set of evidence. A chain-smoker. If you ask him to enhance the image, he will be very happy to do so. He can also do some complex typing on a computer, which will quickly bring up any kind of triangulation analysis or quickly hack a partially destroyed hard drive.

CSU Forensics Field Technician Kurotsuchi Nemu: Nemu is the field tech who goes out to collect evidence and take photos of crime scenes. She is extremely thorough and handy with a camera. Might say "butter" to the dead victims while taking their pictures, as her idea of "humor."

Suspect Aizen Sousuke: The prominent society member who can do no wrong, in the eyes of the public. I don't know what his job is (maybe property investor, politician, lawyer, or hedge fund manager?), but he also somehow has time to run a number of local charities and attends high brow events like the opera and ballet. He is somehow connected to the murder mystery. At first it seems like he might just be coincidentally involved (maybe the murder happened at one of his buildings), but the deeper the investigation goes, an increasingly complex web of connections is revealed.

Editor in Chief Tousen Kaname: A seeker of truth and justice. During his tenure, Tousen has managed to take the Seireitei Bulletin from a small time entertainment rag to a well-regarded publication that prints hard hitting investigative journalism. He is respected not only by his staff (especially Hisagi) but also by the police and prosecutor's office because of his ability to blow a case wide open. It's not revealed until later that he has some sort of connection with Aizen... Tousen may be hampering the investigation in some way, if not doing something more insidious altogether!

Investigative Journalist Hisagi Shuuhei: A journalist at the Seireitei Bulletin, Hisagi takes his job very seriously. He greatly admires Tousen, whom he considers a mentor, and does his best to be half as good as him someday. Hisagi isn't afraid to take risks and will doggedly chase down any leads, no matter how seemingly inconsequential. It's during one of these wild-goose chases that Hisagi uncovers Tousen's connection with Aizen... which he must come to terms with, while also trying to get to the bottom of the mystery.

This ended up being way longer than I thought it was going to be (lol) but I couldn't stop myself (clearly). This was so much fun though!! Thank you for the ask!

[bleachbleachbleach]

Well now I am also having a moment because I had somehow forgotten that the burnt orange is 9th's color and not just Kaname's 😂 (although I definitely remember looking it up).

His Soul Society arc gloves are very similar to Kensei's too, I had a moment about that a while back, I just really like the aesthetic tie ins between the two of them.

I almost made the tie orange! It felt weird not to give him something orange, he definitely owns a tie that color. And a pocket square!!!!!! I didn't think about that! I love it

oh NO I forgot about the gloves too! Ahhhhhh, more feels.

Also, I just remembered that the Stay Beautiful ED exists:

NEWSROOM HISAGI with sleeve protectors!!

Editor in Chief Tousen?? With property developer Aizen?? Pageboy Wonderweiss? And maybe Ichimaru works in radio??

It appears I am not as creative as I thought, because all this AU already exists, and I am merely parroting it.

[bleachbleachbleach]

Hey hey sorry for sending you another ask so soon but I remembered that Mashiro's visored outfit has burnt orange highlights too 😏

We need to get Shuhei something orange!

(On an unrelated note my shirt today is orange, although not as nice of one ;))

OH NO HOW COME I NEVER PUT THIS TOGETHER. All their matching D: And the fact that they still have these symbols of their ties to 9th, even long after leaving. My hearrrrttt </3

Which leaves me wondering why Hisagi is the odd man out, in terms of orange accessories? I mean, he clearly doesn't mind accessorizing. Is it just because he literally tattooed his loyalty to 9th on his face? This boy. XD

I propose that Hisagi gets them all matching chokers that explode. They need to be like those tattoo chokers that were popular in the 90s.

[bleachbleachbleach]

9 for you too :P

And how about 17 and 28?

❤😊

Ask game here!

Based off these numbers, it makes it seem like all I listen to is Eric Nam. XD But I swear I listen to lots of other stuff? It's so weird, because the majority of my playlist is actually rock, and yet somehow all these asks are choosing ...not rock.

9– Lose You by Eric Nam

I'm in California, you, you out in Georgia But we both in the same room Staring at perfection, I'm about to wreck it It's just something I gotta do

I think I wanna lose you Just to find my way back to you I think I wanna break up Just to make it all up to you I don't wanna let go, let go But I gotta let go, let go I think I wanna lose you Just to find my way back to you

Oof, if this isn't Yumichika and his relationship with his zanpakutou. ToT He has such a love/hate relationship with it. I think he desperately loves it, but is constantly pushing it away, only for it to draw him back closer. Some part of him does think it's perfection, they're just... on different pages. Hopefully someday he'll be able to find his way back to his zanpakutou's true form!

17– Don’t Call Me by Eric Nam

So the reason why it took me so long to answer this ask is because I had to listen to this song for about an hour and a half on repeat, trying to figure out who/what this song could possibly apply to. At first, I just took it at face value as a breakup/love song. It's about a person who is maybe kind of an asshole telling their ex to get over them. But then the more I listened to it, I realized that it's actually the singer who isn't over their ex. And this person is deluding themselves into thinking their ex isn't over them in order to make themselves feel better. I am perhaps a bit biased, but I don't think any of the shinigami would do something like this? Are any of them conceited enough? (I mean, perhaps I just don't have a nuanced enough view of them).

3 a.m., you're in bed and you're lonely And you're wishing that I'd fill the space in your room You should know that it's hard on me baby So there's one thing, one thing that you shouldn't do

Don't call me Don't, don't call me Don't, don't call me

Why make it harder than it already is? It's beyond me, yeah You're like my shadow, everywhere that I go you still find me

I can't sleep at all, with my phone blown up 'Cause your voice still rings in my head I know you're hung up on me baby But please stop trying

Doesn't this sound like someone desperately trying to convince themselves that they're the ones who are over it, rather than the other way around? Anyway, coming in with a wild take, that surprised even me.

Jugram and Bazz B.

Bazz B is the one who feels left behind by Jugram, and he's trying to make himself feel better that his one and only friend/lover hasn't moved on. But of course, he sees Jugram often in the Quincy compound (I think that's where they live?), and can't get over what he's lost. Look, I read TYBW in a crazed haze, and barely know what happened in that entire arc. So this could entirely just be something all in my head, but I remember something about an old friendship??

28 — Talia by King Princess

I love love love this song, so I'm happy it got picked! It always puts me in such a Mood™️, and it's impossible for me not to listen to it at least twice in a row.

Hey, my love I buried you a month or two ago I keep thinking that you're standing on my floor That you're waiting there for me Hey, my love You've walked out a hundred times out of us Supposed to know this time that you wouldn't call That you wouldn't come home

Forgive me for being too on the nose, but if this isn't Soi Fon in the aftermath of Yoruichi leaving. It probably wasn't unheard of for Yoruichi to be gone for days (or even a few weeks) if she was on a special mission. But this one time, she just... never came back. Given that Yoruichi is a noble, the actual circumstances of her defection disappearance were probably kept under wraps, so a (sham) funeral was held. And poor Soi Fon was left behind, wondering what happened. :(

[bleachbleachbleach]

I am very delayed in reporting this, but a few weeks ago something exciting in bleachbleachbleach history happened!

I went to go visit @whipplefilter, since she lives far away from me. Notably, we had big plans to work on B3 stuff, but we did not LOL. Instead we watched a bunch of movies and ate lots of food (the important stuff).

HOWEVER, we did meet up with @crysuzumushi and it was so so so wonderful. Not only is crysuzumushi super cool, they were very personable and made up for our awkwardness in spades. We walked around and nerded out over Bleach, and it was such a great time. I made Bleach hats for everyone, and despite it being unseasonably warm, everyone humored me and wore them around. We took a photo together, and it is one of my favorite memories of the entire trip.

The night was topped off by all of us watching Rock Musical Bleach Bankai 003 together, and WHAT AN EXPERIENCE. Seriously, if you've ever thought that you could not watch the musical by yourself, grab a friend to watch it with! We did so much yelling and laughing and I don't think I can ever experience the Bleach musicals any other way again. It was so sad when it ended, because I wanted the night to last forever.

I really did not expect in this year of 2022 to be on this dead website Tumblr, much less making new friends from a long concluded series Bleach. But I already cannot wait to meet more mutuals and make more friends! 🥰

[bleachbleachbleach]

Top 5 Zanpakutou

@crysuzumushi wanted to know about my top 5 Zanpakutou (I will tag @ippoddity​ to answer if she has time, but she’s busy this week!). I actually have a post in drafts talking about my fave Zanpakutou filler arc manifestations that I started in like... May, and never actually wrote. But! For actual Zanpakutou... hm! That’s a good question. I feel like it’s one I’ll just list five for and then realize I’ve forgotten about the 95 other, better answers.

Based on the ways their powers manifest (and this is where I show my brain weakness where I only remember things about my faves and I’ve completely forgotten other people with much cooler swords), I really like the weirdo swords.

Like, Kyouka Suigetsu? Holy shit, man. And how can you go wrong with illusions and water motifs? Sometimes I think about like, how do you train something like that? Or even discover the nature of such a power? But of course the answer is that it takes a certain type of person--a certain type of soul. And there’s only one person Kyouka Suigetsu could ever belong to.

Ruri’iro kujaku? Potentially terrifying. I love it. I also want to say Benihime, specifically for bankai (and the grotesque process of having forced its achivement), but my non-existent memory of 80% of TYBW won’t allow me to speak on that too much.

Hyourinmaru is not a weirdo sword, but he goes here, anyway, because he’s the only one I’ve really thought about as an entity (vs. an ability or an aesthetic). I have too many Hyourinmaru thoughts for this post, so I’ll have to remember to do them separately, but I think he probably is a weirdo sword. I think Hitsugaya goes out of his way to be as straightforward as possible, and then fails to be, and I think Hyourinmaru is like that, too. Since this post has mostly been about abilities, an example is like--Hyourinmaru’s powers seem fairly straightforward in that it’s ice, and then in bankai it’s more ice. It’s extremely visual. Like, what is Hyourinmaru? Welp, a dragon. Look, wings! There’s even giant timer flowers that exist... outside his user’s field of vision. (Hitsugaya can definitely feel them regardless of whether he can see them, but he fact remains that they are!! giant!!) Hyourinmaru’s powers feel straightforward and almost ponderous, because I swear half the time Hitsugaya prefaces his explanations of various attacks with “this takes a long time to set up, but...” 

But then, a lot of it isn’t really that straightforward. The ice double that Hitsugaya uses against Halibel bleeds, which... that’s fuckin’ weird. Ice that bleeds. Like, ‘Mayuri would be into it’ weird. (And I can’t help but wonder if he was inspired by Aizen’s KO in Soul Society arc, or Urahara with his inflatable gigai in the Advance team arc.) Which gets you to thinking about the ways ice-as-weapon is distinct from, say, some other sharp thing used as a projectile, and all of it’s a little weird. Ice is dangerous to a body because of what it can do to cell walls, to homeostatic processes. To have the heat skimmed from your skin is fatal more often than an encounter with an icicle, even if it’s the icicle you’re looking at.

Also, I love the like, 4-second scene at the start of the Zanpakutou Rebellion arc where Hitsugaya holds his hand out and treats Hyourinmaru like a horse. (Or I guess, he treats him like a dragon. If Hitsugaya ever encountered any horses, he’d probably treat those like dragons, too.) I think it’s adorable and I hope Hyourinmaru gets fed apples.

I also love Sode no Shirayuki, because I like the idea of a series of dances, and I think her bankai is fascinating (and, as Byakuya says, beautiful). Rukia’s recitation of her various shikai forms is also basically ASMR fodder to me.

Similarly, I love Komamura’s zanpakutou, but specifically because of the way he says the name of his bankai. Say it with me now: Kokujou Tengen Myoooooooooo!!! Make that my ringtone, please. 

I also feel like Zabimaru deserves a shoutout, because he’s one of the few we’ve seen manifested in manga canon, and I really love his scene with Renji in the Soul Society arc. And also because movie!Renji has an insatiable need for people to RIDE THE SNEK, and what is better than the Zabimaru Express? Nothing is better than the Zabimaru express.

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Fuck, I forgot about Senbonzakura!!! Welp, this is already too long, but Senbonzakura. A+ sword. Great times. Sharp edges. Beautiful fragrance. Would purchase again.

[bleachbleachbleach]

Bleach Characters as Math Equations

I was joking around with @crysuzumushi about different characters and their fighting strategies when my brain thought "you know what would be the absolute worst way of explaining this?" and then I had to follow through.

Disclaimer: I am not a math-y person and last time I took algebra was freshman year of high school. And laawwwwd that was a long time ago. Also these representations only really hold true for maybe the first half of the series. Or even just the Soul Society arc lol.

Abarai Renji

Linear growth: Not the fastest growth, but a steady increase, with no limit. At least through the Soul Society arc, Renji often seems to start off with taunts, then he draws his zanpakutou, then he releases his sword. And only later does he achieve bankai, although the bankai is not fully developed. He keeps making positive strides following a clear trajectory!

Kuchiki Byakuya

Exponential growth: Not the quickest start, but once he gets going, the growth is incredibly fast and has no limit. At least at first, Byakuya stands back and lets Renji do the work for him. Then, when he finally confronts Ichigo, he merely decides to take out his soul chain/soul sleep. Only later does Byakuya reveal his full bankai powers, and then somehow he just continues leveling up from there.

Komamura Sajin

Logarithmic growth: LOL this is "Straight to Bankai" Komamura. Logarithmic growth is extremely fast at first, but then growth tapers off. Any hint of a fight? STRAIGHT TO BANKAI. But once he pulls that out, where does he go from there? Not anywhere fast, that's for sure (which is probably why he keeps getting pwned).

Tousen Kaname

Sine wave: Tousen is one of those guys who seems to vacillate wildly between "I'm gonna cut your arm off with almost no provocation" to "I take the path of least bloodshed" and there's almost no in between.

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In case you wanted to see the resulting mess:

I stg THE THINGS I DO FOR BLEACH.

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Bonus: Hirako "what the fuck is going on here" Shinji

[bleachbleachbleach]

Minimalist Art Challenge | Hitsugaya Toushirou

“Grandmother”

“UnDivided”

“Hyouten Hyakkasou”

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Last month I sent @crysuzumushi​ the prompt “minimalism” + “Hitsugaya” for an art meme, and after the fact I realized I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. So I thought about how I might fill such a prompt. I had a BLAST with these and am super proud of them!! My ice Hyourinmaru is also part of this series, but he had the misfortune of being photographed vertically, so does not appear in this triptych. 

BTS photo: