#finally talk one of them dies and guess which one that is. no. unohana is absolutely constipated when it comes to communication

[uraharasandals]

Oh forgive me! I couldn't open your rules on Tumblr so I went to chrome to open them. So this is sfw headcanon about them (OG gotei 13) having a crush on their childhood friend..

That’s absolutely fine, no worries!! My rules should’ve been in the post I’ve pinned to the top of my feed though, did it not appear? :)

Again, a disclaimer that however these characters appear in the content I make is purely how I perceive them, and not how Kubo wrote them. There’s not enough information canonically to fully flesh them out, but hopefully this is good enough!

Also I omitted Kumoi and Zenjou because I honestly got completely stumped when it came to those two, so apologies for that. If you want theirs to be written out, feel free to send in another request!

(And yes, this ended up being wayyyy too long)

ORIGINAL GOTEI 13 HAVING A CRUSH ON THEIR CHILDHOOD FRIEND

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni

Yamamoto is a man of strong and unwavering intentions -- if he has a crush on his childhood friend, it’s likely that such feelings came from a deep place within his heart, and that these feelings are solidified after a long period of contemplation. Whether he acts upon them is another matter, but when he admits those feelings even to himself, know that they come from a place of long and detailed contemplation.

It depends which period of his life he’s currently living. If Yamamoto was living in a (relatively) peaceful time, before the war where he was teaching in the academy he set up, certainly he would be encouraged to act upon those feelings. However, if it was during wartime or immediately post-war, Yamamoto would push them aside. It’s not that he wants to wait for the right timing or feels that you don’t deserve such an important announcement in the wake of such destruction, but rather his mind is occupied by other matters. When it comes to killing the Quincy and manifesting a romantic relationship, the choice is simple. 

Nonetheless, I think he would definitely sit you down and tell you about them over a cup of tea. Yamamoto doesn’t pressure you to giving him an answer, nor into a relationship - but he definitely wants to maintain your friendship. Rather, he would walk into that confession having faith in your friendship, because he ultimately values the strength of your bond and the connection you share over any potential romantic love between you two.

Shihouin Chika

With this man, you’ll need to wrestle an answer out of him before he tells you upfront what exactly he wants to tell you. Spending so much time in proximity with Chika means that you can tell any irregularities in his behaviour, even if he acts like nothing is wrong, so you’ll need to wheedle him because he doesn’t and won’t tell you first. 

But when confronted with it, Chika won’t dance around the topic. He’ll just tell you upfront about his feelings, just like that. Though he acts like he doesn’t care, Chika definitely does. He cares a lot about your response, about your feelings, and your friendship. Childhood friendships are precious to him, especially if you’re someone he actually gets along well with because in nobility circles, true friends are hard to come across. 

A romantic relationship with Chika would hardly deviate from your friendship with him, largely because I don’t think an intimate relationship would change much regardless, except there would be more romantic physical intimacy. In the period of time after you gave him your response, you would probably be very confused because Chika doesn’t seem to be much affected by your acceptance/rejection. It’ll come clearer afterwards - if you accepted his feelings, he would start becoming more physically affectionate (e.g. brushing your cheek with a kiss, which is something he doesn’t do as friends). If you rejected him, you’d realise him withdrawing for a while before resuming the sense of closeness from before. Chika’s not very good with putting his feelings in words (he rehearsed before confessing to you, but even then it was very blunt), so he shows his emotions through actions and behaviour. 

Izuhara Kinroku

I don’t think this man would particularly be interested in keeping up relationships with his childhood friends, so if you managed to arouse interest in him, then you should be proud of yourself, because that’s no small feat. I imagine you would’ve been lingering in the back of his mind for a while, perhaps a memory from the distant past that floats up occasionally. Maybe he catches sight of something and is reminded of you, and a sense of fondness spreads within his chest. 

At any rate, when you’re united -- highly likely after the war, I’d imagine -- he doesn’t say anything. Not that Kinroku was ever a man of much words, but unspoken understanding has always been your chosen language. He treats you with a sense of tenderness - not afraid that you’re easily broken, exactly, but as children, relationships are tinged with a sense of gentleness that is now a stranger to him, whose life was forged on sentiments of harshness and the principle of ‘life or death’ -- and it’s clear that the reunion is rather awkward. 

Is it a crush or is it merely affection for you in a world where he feels apathy for everyone else? Hard to say. Kinroku certainly spends more time with you, talking to you more than he ever has (or at least, any of the other Captains had ever seen), taking walks, all the mundane moments he can steal away from his Division. Even if he realises he has romantic feelings for you, I don’t think he’d admit or make them into a reality. Largely because he doesn’t view them as a necessity to his life, nor does he want to infuse major lifechanging change into his routine. Also probably because he has never experienced romantic feelings for anyone before, or at least to the extent that it’s strong enough for him to act upon them. So he shows his affection by spending more time with you - that, I think, speaks more than enough.

Shijima Chigiri

Chigiri is an enigma both inside and outside. He acts indifferent most of the time, and it's hard to really tell what he's thinking. That said, if you spend enough time with him, you can notice the little hints he let slip. A hint of a smile on his lips when he’s looking at you, handing over a tissue when you’re sniffling, buying the tea leaves you’ve been eyeing for a long time. Small gestures build up to his intentions.

He won’t tell you how he feels. That’s not how Chigiri works, and it’s unlikely you’ll ever realise unless you pay attention. But as his childhood friend, you’ve seen the side of him that was more…open, before he decided to subdue his emotions. There are telltale signs of his feelings, and you also have ways of drawing them out if you want to — he acts more relaxed around you, and the trust from the past starts to resurface. For a few moments, he lets his guard down and actually shows how much he likes you.

For some reason, I imagine him as a nature guy?? As in he’s the type to pick flowers and gift them to you? Insane, I know. Chigiri buried that part of him when he becomes an assassin, and he doesn’t really see it as necessary after he becomes part of the Gotei 13, but with you, that vulnerable side comes out again. Any Squad member or fellow Captain of the Gotei 13 would raise an eyebrow at the 4th Captain carrying flowers of all things, so he has someone leave it at your desk or doorstep. He won’t admit to sending it, but the calligraphy is clearly his, and the message on the piece of paper is enough to give you a small smile.

Obana Danjirou 

Ah, we finally have an honest and straightforward guy. Danjirou doesn’t see the point of dancing around the point of anything — he prefers to be upfront about his feelings about everything, and that’s no exception…except when it comes to romantic feelings.

He doesn’t splutter or lose his composure, exactly. Danjirou just feels a little…embarrassed, I guess? It’s definitely not his first venture with love, but somehow confessing to his childhood crush feels a little strange. You’re one of the few people who knew him before he started killing people for a living, and all his embarrassing stories when he’s a kid and all that, so he knows he can’t put up a front when it comes to you, because you can just see right through it.

He invites you out to a dinner — a nice Japanese restaurant with the food prepared with fine ingredients. Not too expensive, because he doesn’t want it to be too formal (and that’s not how he does things, anyways), and he tells you what has been hanging on the tip of his tongue for the past few weeks. Again, not overtly serious, but genuine enough that you know that he’s not joking around. Danjirou walks you back home afterwards and everything - he doesn’t wait around for an answer and doesn’t demand one, but secretly he hopes you’d say yes. 

Saitou Furoufushi 

Furoufushi’s first priority in life is not romance, and it’ll never be. I don’t think she’d recognise the feelings as romance anyways -- if she has an affection scale, the highest is probably best friend. I don’t think she’s aromantic necessarily -- I believe she’s capable of falling in love if and when that happens, but for now having a close intimate friend is enough for her.

There won’t be much difference in how you’ll be treated physically and even verbally. Maybe you’ll get called your nickname, but that’s how you were referred to all the time anyways, since you were childhood friends. To the external onlooker, you two tumble around like puppies, playfighting and wrestling, all the schtick.

Honestly, I don’t think Furoufushi’s attitude towards you would change much. Again, since she’s not the character who’s too overtly into romantic love, I imagine it’ll just be the same. I don’t think even you would notice. Maybe she wants to spend more time with you, but that’s about the most obvious change you’ll notice. 

Shigyou Nobutsuna 

Nobutsuna...is a hard man to read. His live revolves around few things -- eating, sleeping, killing, etc. Inter-personal relationships with others aren’t on the top of his priority list either, but he does make time for those he cherishes. 

And that includes you, of course. As his childhood friend, you’re already closer to him than most people are, largely because outside of his Gotei 13 duties and everything else he has to do, Nobutsuna doesn’t really have the patience nor energy to ‘get to know’ other people or be close to them. You’re already ahead in the intimacy game, and you know it.

I imagine the only significant change that occurs is again, spending more time together. And maybe physical intimacy. He doesn’t seem like the type who is too eager on that front (not that many people would dare to approach him either, with his appearance), so if he initiates that, you know you’re special. But not anything too much, or obvious. Maybe catching your wrist when you stumble, or leaning against you when he’s tired. He’ll even come to you for small favours. Like bandaging his wounds or something. 

Katori Batsu’unsai 

One would assume that Batsu’unsai is the type to wear her heart on her sleeve. And maybe we’re right - who knows? I certainly imagine her to be that way - a small smile for everyone, a little flustered at times but completely ruthless on the battlefield. 

She doesn’t start out that way, though. Kindness has to be learnt in the chaotic mess of a world that Soul Society was, and you’ve seen the side of her that she tries to keep buried. When you start showing up, she lets her guard down, just a little, around you. 

Batsu’unsai would be the type of woman to be upfront about her feelings, contrary to how her appearance would suggest. She doesn’t shy away from having romantic feelings for a special someone, and she doesn’t dance around the topic. Doesn’t mean she’d be blunt about it, but that she’ll just be more straightforward about it. You can tell the shift in her mood when it happens - and unlike many others, she won’t be excessively afraid of turning a long friendship into a romantic relationship, because she has enough trust in the bond you two share. 

Outokawa Furuoki

Furuoki has a constant stream of admirers from everywhere, and he knows this. Hence why he’s less enthusiastic about starting a relationship, less so with someone he hardly knows. Luckily for you, you two have been friends since a young age. 

In my previous headcanons, I imagine him as a ronin of sorts -- fallen nobility who had to fight to defend himself from outsiders. If you two are childhood friends, it’s likely you two came from the same background, which makes it better because you have a better understanding of the turmoil he’d been through. There’s hardly anyone in his life left that he really whole-heartedly trusts, but if there’s one person, it’d be you.

You two spend a lot of time alone regardless of whether he was actually harbouring romantic feelings for you - having tea together, taking hikes in nature if you’re an outdoor person, or just taking casual walks together in Seireitei if you’re not. The level of intimacy you share is so obvious and so taken for granted (i.e. it’s natural for you to be together) anyways that when the relationship turns romantic, it doesn’t come as a surprise for either of you two. 

Unohana Yachiru

Another one that I imagine you two to be reunited after the war instead of having spent time together from childhood to adulthood. This can be for various reasons - maybe you were scared and distanced yourself from your friend-turned-murderess. Maybe she ran away from where you grew up to take up the art of the sword. Whatever the reason, when you two finally found each other after the war, there’s an obvious sense of familiarity but awkwardness at the same time - it feels like coming to a home that you no longer recognise.

It takes time to reforge and rekindle your relationship. Contrary to your expectations and the rumours, Yachiru doesn’t act as bloodthirsty as you’d thought (or at least, in front of you). And to her, you’re no longer the naive individual from that many years ago.

And it takes even longer for her to admit she has a crush on you. She’ll probably never tell you, due to whatever reasons she tells herself. You’ll have to figure it out yourself, but even then, you’ll never get an answer. Perhaps you two automatically gravitate towards one another, and end up sharing an intimate relationship that way. Who knows? 

Sakahone Shizou

I imagine y’all would’ve been married already. Like come on, this man looks like he’s on the verge of death. If y’all are still going on with the slow-burn game, you don’t have much time. If he hasn’t gotten a grip and confessed, you’re probably already married to someone else. 

[pinkhairedlily]

The Spring He Came Back

Chapter 9 of The Spring He Came Back | 9 of 12

Hitsugaya did not reply to her question about which flowers he needed. Hinamori took the hint that he wasn’t there to buy so what was he here for?

“Are you busy? Can you show me around?”

She wanted to shout in response, Why should I have to?

“I don’t think it’s rational that you can waltz right in here and then ask me to give up a day’s business to be your tour guide,” she replied, trying to be nonchalant. He could have asked Rangiku or any of the three Rs to accompany him so why her? Did he have a score to settle with her? Was this an added punishment? Or was this his way of reconciliation? Was she reading into his actions too much? She eventually sighed. “I guess the youngest Physics prodigy could be an exemption.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he quipped, adjusting his glasses on his nose, a new quirk Hinamori quickly caught on. She was crazy to think everything will remain the same. It will never be.

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

They walked together in fragile, awkward silence, held together by the noise of the crowds. She showed him the recent sights in town, reacquainting the stranger with the streets he once frequented before. Eventually, they arrived in front of the library. It was the library where Hitsugaya first discovered his dreams, and it was also the library which was part of Hinamori’s downfall.

“It’s still here, huh?” Hitsugaya shifted his stance ever so slightly.

She overcame her shame and her fear and walked through the library’s doors again three years ago. She was reinstated as its most dedicated visitor and reader but not for reasons in the past. Shunned by the gates of formal education, she relied on herself to learn. That was the only way. Though the haunting feelings lingered, she no longer felt guilt and pain, only regret for her younger, naïve self who did not know better. Teenage shrieks broke through her reverie.

“Dr. Hitsugaya!” “He’s here! He’s the real deal!” “I can’t believe you came back to your hometown. Will you do consultations here?” “Can you sign my copy of your book, Professor?”

Hinamori took a few steps back, wavering from the physical manifestation of Hitsugaya’s newfound popularity. He calmly provided their requests with a charm she never thought he had. It was like he put on a persona so far from the glaring, moody Hitsugaya. When the little commotion died down, they found themselves again in company of the fragile, awkward silence. She was wondering if he wanted to go here to spite her.

“Can we go somewhere else?” he asked. She wondered if he noticed her discomfort.

“Which place do you have in mind?”

They rented bicycles, and she followed his lead. He stopped in front of the science museum which was crowded with onlookers, tourists, and students on field trips. The foot traffic was so bad they stayed on the side walk. “It’s not here anymore.”

He was talking about the daffodil meadow, their yellow meadow of happiness. But she wasn’t ready to talk yet. “Are you back for good?”

Hitsugaya kept adjusting his glasses. “I’m not sure, but I’ll be here for a week. Do you want to go inside?”

It was evident they were tiptoeing and dancing at the brink of each other’s thoughts. It was nearing six in the evening when the two of them stepped out of the museum.

“Um, I’m gonna have dinner with the Byakuya and Unohana. Is it okay if we part here?” She expected too much from this reunion. Of course, their friendship will never survive a decade of disconnection and distrust. Well, at the very least, he was apologetic.

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

Hinamori was washing dishes when she heard spaced out knocks on their door. “Baba, please let me get that for you.” She hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron and rushed out the kitchen, only to find her grandmother chuckling with tears with their evening visitor. “Shirou?”

He covered his face with his hands, blushing in embarrassment. “I forgot to book a hotel.” He wrapped his arms around Baba and hugged her again, the older woman sniffling in return. “I missed you Baba. I hope I’m not an inconvenience.”

“You silly, silly kid. This was your second home, remember? Help me to my room please.” Baba leaned on him for support. Hitsugaya and Hinamori caught each other’s glances, the former asking a silent request for understanding and the latter smiling in response.

When Baba was finally asleep, they opened the sliding door to the patio and watched the spring sky burst into sprinkles of tiny lights. Hinamori offered him a cup of coffee, wondering if it was still the same brew he liked. Their fingers touched on contact, and Hinamori almost flinched as she quickly moved away her hand.

“The hill,” Hitsugaya started. “It’s not there anymore too. I’m sorry we cannot sneak out like before.”

Hinamori almost blushed, but there probably wasn’t any meaning to those words. “It’s all right. I can’t leave Baba anyway.”

That last sentence probably took Hitsugaya back to that night when he got angry and disappointed with Hinamori. It was a matter still unresolved, and she was unsure when was the right time to stop skirting about their past so they hanged around until the coffee ran out.

“I should sleep.” Hitsugaya was standing up when Hinamori caught his sleeve. She didn’t meet his eyes, but she gestured towards the sky now lit up with a meteor shower.

Hoping he was still distracted by the array of lights, she mustered up what little courage she had. “Do you despise me?” She kept her gaze on the night sky, its velvet darkness replacing the fading race of the stars. Her peripheral vision registered pain flickering on his face. He left in the middle of winter, when nightmares were the strongest and ghosts were the loudest. She drowned in guilt and self-pity for a long time until she decided to take back her spring.

Hitsugaya sighed in exasperation and ruffled his long hair. “Momo, I-“ He sighed again, probably phrasing the words in his head on how to deliver this to her in the best way possible. It was the academia’s training, so far from the younger version of him when he used to say anything. “I’m sorry for leaving that way. I needed to.”

“Do I disgust you?” This dull pain was the friend that always followed her at a safe distance, but now it stared her right in the face.

He knelt beside her and gently touched the locks of her short hair. When she turned to look at him, he cupped her face and held her gaze. “You’ll never disgust me, Momo. The me that time will never be the one you would have needed. You were angry at me as well, and I thought you needed to heal on your own terms without me trying to break through your walls.”

“Our friends told me everything. I knew it wasn’t you who ratted me out.” Her hands went to his hands and reacquainted herself with his warmth. Ten winters’ worth of tears and worry brimmed to the surface. “But it’s true. I hated you, the academy, and then, myself. It was a long struggle for me to realize that all the blame stemmed from Aizen, and we all got played. It was him that was the root of all my anger and all my sadness. I was riddled with guilt and fear because I have never truly explained myself to you.”

“You should know I have never thought of you that way. Because you are a good person, and Aizen took advantage of that.”

Hinamori allowed herself to sob in Hitsugaya’s arms. The gates of relief opened and for the first time in ten years, she allowed herself to say Aizen’s name without getting the strong urge to end her life. Probably because she moved on, probably because Hitsugaya came back, probably because it was all in the past. “I just wish you wrote a letter or two, you know. I was worried what you thought of me.”

“I was worried you might not have me.” Understanding what he implied, Hinamori removed herself from his embrace and took off his glasses. They were not graded lenses. She also combed her fingers through his hair, arranging the strands to look more like the younger Hitsugaya she knew and less than the other person.

“I ran like crazy on the train platform.”

“And I almost got off when I saw your face.” He laughed. “But the ticket was so expensive.”

Hinamori hit his arm lightly. “I’m not joking, Shirou-chan. Was it because we were friends? Did they think you also plagiarized your works?”

He sat cross-legged across her and took her hands in his. She was familiar with the rugged terrain of his palms, but hers had become smaller in size and his fingers engulfed her fists in their space. All of a sudden, she felt shy. “The board also found out about our secret room so my mentors advised me to cease all communications. I cannot put you through all that pain again. You did not deserve it. It was better for us that way, wasn’t it?”

“You left for me?”

“If I stayed, the trials would have been endless. Rangiku, Renji, and Rukia would have also been put under the spotlight. Your communication was also tracked by the board so I didn’t write to add to your burden. Besides, it was not hard to find universities outside Soul Society. I’m sorry I was not able to tell you all that.”

She surmised he also had something to do with Aizen’s complete exodus from the academe, the reason why her ban got lifted, and why she was able to remain close friends with three Rs. Even from afar, he was protecting her. She wondered whether the current him would have the present her. She became conscious of her hands still held by his, but she did not remove them despite the intense warmth flooding her cheeks.

“So um…why were you looking for flowers earlier?” Wow, nice change of topic, Momo.

His fingers were mindlessly drifting over her fists, gently tracing the lines, as if he was memorizing them again. He must not have been aware of it. “You know how Rangiku is always at a bar so I guessed and found her there. She gave me the address of a flower shop and told me to get flowers. As if she could read the question on my face. I was looking for you, Momo.”

Realizing what he was doing, he carefully let go of her hands and turned to the side to hide the flush that crept to his cheeks.

“Wow, straightforward Shirou.” Hinamori tried to laugh it off. “Why don’t you tell me your stories?”

“Eh? You might sleep on me.”

“I can always brew coffee and tea. And what do you mean sleep? You were always the sleepyhead between us!”

“Says the one who always slept in the secret room. Was my lap that soft?”

“That was different! Well, it was comfortable.”

“Oh, are you insinuating something else? Hinamori, you bad girl.” He teased her. ”On the other hand, were you insulting me? My lap is not that soft anymore. I exercised to get strong thighs.”

“You are the one insinuating something. My God, you must have a lot of girls fallen in love with you.”

“It sucked having to reject them though. I felt so conflicted.”

“You’re really bragging right now? Insufferable.” Would it be weird to ask him if he has anyone? Not that it mattered to her, she was just curious.

Hitsugaya relented to her request, and they spent the night exchanging stories of their personal journeys. It didn’t escape Hinamori’s notice that he purposely avoided talking about these girls and went on and on about his experiments and his encounters with boomers. Her stories didn’t obviously hold a candle to his achievements, but he listened just as intently when she shared how she built her flower shop business from the ground. She promised he would have his share at the year-end since he was her first major investor, but he waved the proposal away.

Baba found them huddled together outside at the break of dawn, a large fleece blanket covering the both of them, Hinamori’s head comfortably resting on Hitsugaya’s shoulder. She smiled, finally smelling the arrival of spring after a harsh winter.

NEXT CHAPTER | 10 OF 12 | GRAB IT BEFORE IT PASSES

[amrita-gsk]

I also wanted to talk about a little about the other video they presented today:

Once again they started with Ichigo and Rukia. I truly feel happy whenever Rukia is on the spotlight and she's in the right where the MCs should be, at the beginning and front of everything!

Here we have the Ichigo vs. Grimmjow fight feat. TYBW's Gotei 13 and... RUKIA AGAIN! Yes!

Aaaand another colored Ichigo. I miss Ku/bo's art style from back then tbh I always liked how he used to make Ichigo's hair look like fire.

Main character's and moments(?) during the last arc. URYUU IS THERE!!!

The two head captains and Squad 0, it's a shame they were all over hyped only to not be that useful in the end. Nimaiya and what's-her-name only served to somewhat explain how the shinigami accessories/tools work, the onsen guy had to heal Byakuya, Renji, Rukia and Ichigo because apparently I-can-kill-you-but-heal-you-so-fast-you-come-back-to-life-Unohana-Retsu couldn't fully do it and it's not like any of Ichigo's friends had any healing abilities-- OH, wait. Yeah. Hikifune is just the transforming beauty because each arc needs its own (Yoruichi, Nelliel anyone?) aaaand I don't even care about Ichibei anymore. He was supposed to be broken and yet he was defeated almost as fast as Yamamoto just to be revived by the "power of the words" or some shit like that. What if Ichigo and co. never arrived at the Royal Palace? Would he have stayed dead then?

Byakuya's death... Which didn't happen in the end because according to Ku/bo he was pressured through twitter to not kill him? Just another fucking excuse. I freaking love Byakuya but his words toward Ichigo felt hollow after he was brought back.

Ukitake... Yeah, remember when we were told Ukitake wasn't going to die? And then he died for a stupid reason, like, he had the hand of God inside him and yet most of the time he was still sick and could only fight for a while. If he had some stupid over the top power because he had God's hand in him it would've somewhat make sense OR if he couldn't really fight because being its vessel was too much for him to shoulder, but no. Just release God's hand and never explain what happened to the OTHER hand or limbs at all and may Ukitake rest in peace.

OH and that Aizen panel from the final fight which wasn't even a fight!!! Priceless, Chair-sama saved the day.

Aaaand at last!!! The stuff that will carry and sell this whole circus of insanity, yandere Unohana, Urahara's infinite list of plans and plots and traps and blahblahblah... Kenpachi's bankai, Toushiro's special fanservice feature now 18+, double serving of fanservice with Rukia's astonishing and beautiful bankai and Renji's we-tricked-you-because-you're-an-idiot-so-here's-your-true-bankai form. Mayuri isn't worth mentioning.

Aaaand the cherry on top!!! Ichigo wielding Zangetsu's old form which was actually a fake Zangetsu but this is formed with the true Zangetsu which broke for this scene, which is also separated in two swords but they merged again and weren't Ukitake and Kyouraku the only shinigami in history to ever have double zanpakutō? What happened to that? Oh yes, Kyouraku had Nanao's. And Ukitake is dead. Okay. Yeah. Makes sense. NOT.

Sigh... The difference between this video and the other is that the other one was able to spark some joy and ignite the leftover love I have for Bleach because it showed panels back from when things made sense and it was awesome. These panels... some of them could be exciting by themselves but they mostly served to remind me why I ended up hating Ku/bo and what Ble/ach became. It's chaos. It's disorganized. Things are there just for the sake of hyping but not to contribute to the story itself. It makes me as sad as I am mad.

The only positive things I get from here is that as usual Rukia is treated as the main character and heroine she is, she's right at the front, she's with the characters that carried the series long enough for it to go for as long as it did and she will always be one of the best female characters in shonen history. Then I have the fact that I too love Ichigo and he deserves to be regarded as a hero, even though Ku/bo decided to throw that away for him in the end. Flaws and all Ichigo IS a hero and I guess I am weak too and I can at least feel happy that he's back in the spotlight again, although if it were up to me I'd never animate this arc so that his fans could remember him with pride. I would save him if I could.

The other positive thing I get is... I'm a mean person and I have no qualms in admitting it, so there's a part of me that is delighted by the fact that someone was purposely left out of these announcements. It's good to know the marketing team still knows what sells and well, I won't say I feel bad for her fans because I don't. It's what she and they deserve and shitty ending or not, it's clear they're not getting the recognition they've been craving all these years.

So Ble/ach is back to torment us and I just want to wish us all good luck and a not so bad ride through all of this. Stay strong my people, we've already survived the worse of it, this is just a motivating shitty flashback before finally stabbing this bastard in the heart once and for all.

[cero-blast]

Ramblings now that I finally finished the manga

The pace at which people read the last arc definitely influenced their opinion on it. I was late to the party so I could binge Bleach all at once, but I’ve followed weekly series before and I know there’s a lot more tension, speculation and anticipation building up if you have to wait for each chapter. That being said, consuming the manga like this, I really didn’t take much issue with the ending. The final battle could have been drawn out for 2-3 more chapters and a lot of questions remained unanswered, but that’s about it. It was nothing to be upset over. I concluded that the controversy around it was halfway because of shipping and halfway a self-fueling state of upset because people like being angry in general.

Ishida’s last intervention saving the day was a bit deus ex machina, but admittedly, if he hadn’t done that he would have been left with a lot of baggage and ‘unpaid debt’ towards the Ichigo-gang. The exaggerated importance he gave to his being a quincy (tying back to the first arcs) needed to be addressed, especially in a situation where they were the enemies.

Talking to a great extent about the Vandenreich would be like kicking a hornet’s nest, throwing it against the wall and stomping on it. People who like them are rabid about it. People who dislike them are rabid about it. I, myself, am just too tired to instigate conflict right now.

I wish there was more elaboration on Yhwach/Juha Bach’s backstory (as well as how on Earth his name is pronounced and how those two spellings exist simultaneously...). I found his powers and existence really interesting and I would have liked to see how he gradually regained his body and intellect. (It sort of reminded me of Dororo if I’m honest.)

This is probably self-indulgent of me but I love what they did with Aizen. It made perfect sense and underlined how he was ultimately on an ego trip and not against Soul Society in particular. I found it kind of funny how he was the one who delivered the closing motivational speech but it had something satisfying about it how, in the end, SS and Aizen could at least agree on the playing field of their conflicts, as in that fear of death needs to exist for there to be courage. It also wasn’t really presented as a redemption arc (which would have ruined it); Aizen straight up told them he’s doing it for his own sake and then got sealed again. The scene where he got stabbed instead of Ichigo? Fantastic.

More on the fear of death thing; it was interesting how this topic vaguely referenced things other characters have said. I thought of Shuuhei specifically, and how in his opinion anyone who wields a zanpakuto should feel some amount of fear, otherwise they’re unfit for it. I don’t know what to make of the ambiguity around him having/not having a bankai in the ending, perhaps he really did achieve it because they continued to live in a world where fear existed. It’s also telling how Äs Nödt was a Sternritter despite Yhwach’s plans with the world. I don’t think any of them really knew what his goals entailed, nor did Yhwach care about them to any extent beyond them being soldiers.

Why do people keep saying Orihime didn’t contribute anything? She clearly did in the final fight. I lean more towards the view that a lot more could have been done with her as a character, but it’s not like she did nothing at all. She fixed Zangetsu along with Tsukishima and that was pretty important considering it’s what Ichigo delivered the final blow with. It’s the only weapon he can use, he doesn’t know kido or have a monstrous enough physical strength to do anything to Yhwach (even Kenpachi didn’t...) — getting Zangetsu fixed was indispensable. I’ll say this again; I’m a bit tired of these complaints talking about Orihime not having combat skills. I’d understand if she was the type of character who actively got in the way out of incompetence, but she genuinely didn’t the vast majority of time. With a stretch you could say that about the Hueco Mundo arc, but her other option besides getting kidnapped was *people more battle-suited than her getting killed*. As for why they went to rescue her, it’s because she was the Ichigo-gang’s friend and they cared about her. If you’re gonna have a heroic protector character, he’s going to want to save his friends. It’s a prerequisite. You can’t have one but not the other. I swear I’ll stop it with this rant but I’m reaching my limit.

The final arc went through too many bankais too quickly. And I’m 100% convinced it’s a fanservice thing because, for some reason, everyone is maniacally obsessed with seeing every character’s bankai as if them not having it makes them somehow lacking. I don’t want to put the blame on either Kubo or the fans and it didn’t bother me *that* much but it wasn’t really needed — besides the fact that there wasn’t enough time to display all of these bankais’ full abilities and now we’re left with a vague idea of how they work. I’m conflicted about Kenpachi because I liked the reasoning behind his fight with Unohana, but at the same time it was nice to have a captain who got on just fine without using even a shikai. I would have preferred Yachiru to be just a random kid he adopted, too. (Though that’s effectively what she was to him considering he didn’t know who she was when they met, so whatever.)

Strangely, Renji and Rukia having a kid was way weirder than Ichigo and Orihime having a kid. Renruki are entertaining and useful at many things but I’m not sure parenting would be one. They feel... too youthful? Something like that? Rukia is a captain now (which I really appreciated) so maybe she had some change in attitude, I don’t know. I’m not calling her childish, just not very mother-like.

I’ll get the ship discourse out of the way. I still have no opinion on this. Yeah, Ichigo didn’t have any romantic development with Orihime, but neither did he with Rukia... It might be just me but he didn’t seem interested in anyone on a romantic level throughout the entire series, all he did was try to protect everyone equally. I guess it’s not unrealistic that even people whose main focus in life isn’t romance would eventually end up with someone, what I’m saying is that who the person would be seemed completely unpredictable.

A surprising amount of characters got a good deal out of the endgame and it’s sort of a relief, but it also surprises me sometimes. It’s an odd thing that hit me; thinking back to the pendulum arc I would have been sure that either Aizen or Shinji would die at one point, but they’re both still alive. None of the vizards died. Urahara didn’t die. Shunsui didn’t die. Ginjo and Tsukishima are doing just fine. Grimmjow and Nel are alive. The squad 11 higher ups are alive. Okay, a lot of people *did* die, but with the mess in the last arc I would have expected for the cast to be decimated. I need to highlight that *Aizen is alive*. That’s probably the weirdest part to me.

In the end, I have no idea what everyone is so upset about. I expected something way more nonsensical, outrageous and catastrophic to happen judging from the fan reactions but it was a pretty normal ending. I didn’t finish the manga thinking “Ah yes, this is genius, the most impactful and well-delivered ending I’ve ever read!” But it was... alright? I’m jaded because I’ve seen way, way worse than this. This fandom is spoiled.