#is that a ship? nel/grimmjow/ichigo?

[kingofanemptyworld]

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

[exo-raskreia]

I'm curious now - why / what do you like about Inoue and Renji ?

Well...

I liked Ori from the start. She was cute, bubbly, & pretty with a likable personality & potential to be a cool character, what with her powers & dreams.

I started shipping her with Ishida in the SS arc, as their interactions were cute. They actually had a good bond, he protected her & she ended up trying to protect him in her own way in the Fullbring arc & was concerned for him in TYBW.

Then in the HM arc, I also started shipping her with Ulquiorra, whom she had amazing chemistry with. Unlike everyone else who mostly babied her (& was mostly indifferent like Ichigo 💀), he challenged her, found her fascinating & believed her to be a strong woman. She finally showed some of her mental strength & further potential to do something important to the overall story; she kept saying she wanted to become stronger, right? I was hoping this would finally be it, that we would finally see her become the character she could be (when she had saved Tatsuki, i was like, "Ok, we're getting somewhere. Hope we see more of this." I was waiting for it...)

However, that turned out to not be so. 😮‍💨 It was also in the HM arc where I started to truly find her exasperating as well. This is the arc that should've solidified that IH do NOT work together. Some of her worst moments happened here & the prelude to it. Her rather cringey confession to, & attempted kiss on an unconscious Ichigo, choosing to say goodbye to him (whom she barely knew) instead of her best friend Tatsuki, her lack of backbone against Loly & Menoly & then healing them to top it off (absolute insanity, I could not believe her. Who the hell cares what Grimmjow did to them? Have some respect for yourself, girl!), fearing Ichigo while he fought Grimmjow for Rukia & having little Nel have to push her to snap out of it... and then her worst moment: her breakdown at the dome when she begged an unconscious Ichigo to save her.

My God, this was the first time I found her unbelievably annoying & couldn't believe her. This should've been the moment as the secondary heroine of the series, where she should've stood up in the face of danger. A moment where any female character worth her salt would've shown her resilience. Rukia, even when powerless, had shown us this. Ichigo's sisters showed us as well in the first chapter. (Ppl sure love to compare Ori to Hinata from Naruto, but one of their MAIN differences is that my girl Hinata did what NO ONE ELSE did—not even the main heroine—& threw herself in the face of danger to help Naruto against Pain, despite how much stronger her foe was, confessed to a conscious Naruto, & her sacrifice led Naruto to gain 6 Fox Tails to defeat Pain—and mind u, Naruto subconsciously led the fight away from her 👀. The first person he thought of when he regained consciousness was her & he cried in relief that he didn't harm her nor others. What she did meant a lot to him).

But alas... Ori disappointed me greatly here. I insist, what happened at the dome should've solidified for everyone that IH do NOT work together. Ichigo's Hollow was protecting Ichigo, not anyone else (face-planted Ori & stabbed Ishida who was trying to protect her. He would've killed them had it not been for Ulquiorra). It wasn't an IH moment; anyone who thinks that severely lacks reading comprehension. Ichigo felt sickened by what he did, not feeling like a victor at all (and it wasn't until he talked to Rukia again a bit later that he felt a bit better).

(Imagine if Ori had stood up against Ulquiorra, arms spread out to protect Ichigo, & he stopped before her in shock & might've told her to move but she resisted, then he questioned her & they started talking & she pleaded for him to stop this & Ulquiorra became more curious &— Like, would he have genuinely hurt her, tho? He ended up protecting her from Vasto Lorde Ichigo, whom she feared, while she showed NO fear of Ulquiorra in their farewell scene... )

Honestly, Ori's best moments in this arc, her only good moments, were with Ulquiorra. He should've lived & I stand by it. While I like IshiHime & wish they had ended up together, had Ulquiorra returned, I would've given a solemn salute to Ishida & eagerly boarded the UlquiHime train. Unlike with IshiHime, I actually engage with UH fan content so... 🙃

Unfortunately, Ori only got worse from here. Her ongoing silly crush on Ichigo was even more exasperating; I was hoping she'd have finally gotten over him after the dome (heck, I'd been hoping she'd get over him since the SS arc). She did not do anything amazing here, only regressed, & same in TYBW. Kub0 just didn't seem to care to develop her, despite her potential with her powers & early personality. She will forever be one of the characters with the most wasted potential to me.

Ori was just too pitiful around Ichigo. She was not at her best around him. And Ichigo was certainly not at his best around her. Because of that horrendous ending that only solidified Ori's lack of character development & bad writing, I'm not interested in engaging with her solo content. Only UH & sometimes IshH content 🤷‍♀️. I understand the criticisms towards her character & agree with several, tho some ppl do take it a little too far imo. I also have a post here where I similarly rant about her character a bit. There is also an amazing analysis & theory of her role in the story here & my added opinion.

About Renji (sorry I ranted about Ori, lol), I didn't like him at first, as he was introduced as an unlikable villain who was trying to obstruct Ichigo from saving Rukia. He changed for the better after he got humbled by Ichigo & became a good friend & ally (& also showed support for IR 🫢). So, I like him because of that. I'm not a fan of him & stuff, tho. I dislike RR, tho not as much as IH; it's mostly just "meh" to me.

So yeah, sorry for the long rant. Hope this answers your question!

[rainingskyguy]

it’s hard to be original for characters asks…

ulquiorra? if you’d please

Oh man, I love him, I used to be obsessed with him

How I feel about this character

I adore him, his aesthetic is so cool, love his color palette, and he's so fucking tragic in the best ways.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Orihime, Ichigo, uhhh Grimmjow but in very specific scenarios

My non-romantic OTP for this character

The Top Espadas + Nel + Ichigo

My unpopular opinion about this character

IDK If unpopular but I do wish his relationship with his own Hollow nature of Emptiness, his desire to serve, and finding some humanity through Orihime were explored more.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

,,,,

Well, I'm sure at this point you can already guess.

UNTHANOS HIM

Thanks for playing!

ASK GAME

[foraltruism]

Ship Bias ( for Ichigo )

Orihime Inoue

Nel Tu (adult form obviously)

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez

Uryuu Ishida

Ulquiorria Cipher

[bootlickerhawks]

bleach!

the first character i ever fell in love with:

Ichigo! The second I heard Johhny Yong Bosch's voice he became my fav ;w;

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not:

I still like him but Toshiro used to be my all time favorite anime character and now I realize that he's kinda overhyped lol

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not:

Ishi/hime. It's a good ship but I prefer them platonically now

my ultimate favorite character™:

Chair-sama! 😤

prettiest character:

Yoruichi and Soi Fon! 😍

my most hated character:

I can't think of a single character that I really hate but I'd say Yamamoto and Yhwach (cuz his writing sucks :/)

my OTP:

Bleach was one of the few fandoms where I wasn't invested at all in shipping but I do like ichiruki, ulquihime, tatsuhime, ginran and urayoru.

my NOTP:

ich*hime

favorite episode:

This one is going to sound weird but I adore the kendo and soccer filler episodes (episodes 132 and 133)

saddest death:

Ulquiorra... Still haunts me to this day ;A;

favorite season:

I'm a basic bitch I love the Soul Society arc lol. tho the Hueco Mundo arc comes in close second

least favorite season:

Out of all the filler arcs the worst by far is the one with the annoying blonde princess >:/

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate:

Hinamori? I don't hate her, I'm just painfully indifferent to her

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave:

🪑sama

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave:

Rukia sweetie, I'm sorry you keep getting overshadowed by Byakuya ;w;

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship:

Urayoru's dynamic in the final arc was kinda icky but other than that I don't think I have one?

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship:

Hiyori/Toshiro! yeah you read that right! Nel and Grimmjow also have a fun dynamic I wish we'd seen more of it

[roseunspindle]

Catching up on Bleach, and shipping poor Ichigo with everyone, as you do.

Here are some of them, let me know if anyone knows of fanfics for these. XD

IchigoxYoruichixGrimmjow

inspired by this  fanart;

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/22377329387222658/

Ichigo x Aizen X Byakuya 

Though only in the realm of this fic, where Aizen has gotten over his megalomania.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14837390

Ichigo x Byakuya x Renji is nice too.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/5277724551594601/

Ichigo x Kenpachi is dreamy (and hilarious) too. I mean, imagine also in a mpreg or wish baby universe their kid. XD

Ichigo x Orihime x Nel

They’d be super cute.

Ichihime is of course, awesome.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/158611218107105959/

As is Ichiruki

Though I die for IchiRukiHime

https://archiveofourown.org/series/9780 (great litle fic series)

Or go full bore and have ichigo x rukia x orihime x renji (becasue why not?)

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/28569778866640398/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/136867276164824963/

Ichigo x Kisuke x Hirako

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/11751649013102119/

Ichigo/Keigo needs more love.

In re-reading the earlier volumes, I remember how much I like a lot of Ichigo’s other classmates. So IchigoxMahana

Ichigo x Uryu x Orihime - adorable to the max XD - https://www.zerochan.net/1050886

Ichigo x Orihime x Chad x Uryu - og squad love

Ichigo x Orihime x Chad x Uryu x Rukia - more og squad that is also og squad but not the other og squad....

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/257901516131080291/

[aoflameandco]

GrimmNell: from the crack-ship to the “calming influence”

Well, why do I ship GrimmNell? If someone asked me this question 10 years ago I would simply say - well, they both are hot and look aesthetically pleasant together. A valid argument, isn't it? But like every shipper deep inside I was craving for more - trying to find any crumbs to cross “just a crack-ship” territory. It wasn't easy. It still isn't actually - even though the last years of Bleach era blessed us with some interesting interactions. That's why I decided to write this meta - let's see what changed and highlight the best of GrimmNell's dynamic. 

Manga

Arrancar Arc

Like I said - being a GrimmNell shipper before 2015 was pretty rough. They literally had only one small interaction and oh well... Grimmjow was a typical Grimmjow and Nel was in her child-form. But bold of you to assume that this short manga moment wasn't overanalyzed either. 

So yeah, let’s start with a bare minimum - Grimmjow didn't kick Nel. I wish I could say that stomping on a kid is too petty for a mighty Espada, but cough Nnoitora exists. 

Even though Nel lost her memory, she recognized Grimmjow immediately. Was he so famous in the Hueco Mundo's deserts? Did Peshe and Dondochakka warn her about him? Or maybe Grimmjow's face alone was enough to trigger Nel's memories? In any case - this panel born many theories and headcanons about their possible previous interactions.

However, it's hard to say that Grimmjow was super nice to her. Nel kept blaming herself and her loud cry over Ichigo's body made Grimm lose his temper, to be fair it sounded really annoying in the anime. Threatening mod was activated.

Funnily enough, the next thing Grimmjow did - was basically comforting her. In a very Grimmjow-way though. He confirmed that Ichigo (the object of Nel's lamentation) will be fine, there's no need to struggle and she just has to wait in silence. Considering that Grimmjow was in hurry and very frustrated (his convos with Ichigo and Orihime are full of “urusai”), he solved the deal with Nel rather nicely. Once again - no violence included, despite his harsh words, he never hurt her.

Was it enough to sail the ship? Of course not... Yeah, they got some parallels in manga (like- getting a scar from Nnoitora's sneak attack) and were left in Hueco Mundo without a proper conclusion (at least barely anyone believed that they died off-screen). Even though “let’s ship the last Espadas alive” argument was strong - GrimmNell still lacked the proper interactions. The fans had no choice but headcanon their dynamic based on one scene and well - remember the submissive Nelliel around the bad boy Grimmjow? Ah, so good to be so wrong.

TYBW

GrimmNell comeback was a real feast for the shippers. Both characters appeared again, Nel was in her adult form, she and Grimmjow were staying side by side and they talked! Finally, manga gave a decent hint on their dynamic and it didn't disappoint.

Firstly, GrimmNell demonstrated a great comedy duo's potential. Grimmjow's cool re-introduction was cut by a happy Nel who jumped on Ichigo immediately. The battle tension dropped and Grimmjow hurried up to call her out for messing with his vendetta. The first nod to the established dynamic between them - he was using her name instead of calling her “woman”, “brat” or whatever.

And suddenly the atmosphere changed. Nelliel returned to her Espada-self. To be precise, to her self-proclaimed mission - to keep Grimmjow in check (more about it in the novel's analysis). It's obvious, that she isn't afraid of him and directly says who is the boss here.

Grimmjow isn't a type who likes to be bossed around though. Remember, he is the king; he already had a hard time following all Aizen's demands. However, he just smirked at Nel's remarks, giving her a valid argument. Looks like she is a solid opponent in his book and their fight over the dominance is a quite exciting challenge for him.

The tone of their confrontation wasn't antagonistic though. Even though Nel wanted to stay in control, even though Grimmjow reminded her that he got teeth to bite her back, their interactions didn't cross a bitter line. The very next (and sadly last) moment they shared proved that they don't hold any grudges against each other: Nelliel quickly understood what's going on inside his head and tried to warn him, expressing a genuine concern. Meanwhile the independent arrancar cared enough to look back at her establishing his decision.

The last manga arc once again left the arrancar duo without a clear ending. They didn't even get their own full-fledged fights hopefully the coming anime will fix it. All we knew - Grimmjow was about to bite the dust, but Nel was here to save the day. Both followed Urahara's keikaku, that's why their chances to survive were high enough. However, the epilogue didn't even mention them, leaving their fans rather worried. Good thing - just one year later the first volume of the CFYOW novel was released - and the new era of GrimmNell's renaissance began.

Novel

But the novels weren’t written by Kubo himself! Did they even count as a canon evidence? - A valid question. So, Kubo-sensei, answer this one, please! 

Yeah, even though the portrayal was left up to the writers, I highly doubt they would really contradict Kubo’s characters writing. But to be sure - let's summarize the GrimmNell manga crumbs to compare them with their novel's development.

Nelliel thinks that Grimmjow is her responsibility and tries her best to keep him in check.

Even though Grimmjow isn't a fan of gatekeeping, he doesn't ignore Nel and elaborates his decisions for her.

Nelliel’s concern is not just about damage Grimmjow is able to cause. She also cares about him personally.

Starting with the first point, oh well, that's the bone of their novel's dynamic. 

Sorry for a mix of two translations - credits to VIZ for the official one and to MissStormCaller for the fan one

Stopping Grimmjow from doing anything reckless - is Nelliel's holy mission at this point. Nobody asked her to, but even when the war was over - she continued to keep an eye on him. Besides, Nel never doubted that she is capable to stop the Sexta. Compared to Halibel, who is very careful around Grimmjow and thinks that a fight with him would cost her too much - Nelliel's direct approach is hard to miss. “Dragging him back to Hueco Mundo” is something she sees as a not big deal. So it's up to you to decide - if Nel is just too confident in her power or she has her own reasons to believe that Grimmjow wouldn't "sink his fangs" into her body.

The brute force isn't Nel's favorite weapon though. She only hit Grimmjow with a mini-bala once (at this point «Nel is here to ruin Grimm's menacing aura» became Bleach's running joke), just to catch his attention. She doesn’t mention the Espada’s numbers hierarchy as well. Instead, Nelliel tries to convince Grimmjow, to prove why his actions aren't right.

As you see - Nel is smart, she is talking his language and actually uses Grimmjow's code of honor against him. He refused to fight Ichigo when the shinigami was wounded. The victory doesn't taste good if his opponent has a solid excuse to lose. The cold shower from Nel works, but Grimmjow doesn't give up easily. Actually he kinda calls her out as well.

Back in the past Nelliel almost lost everything, because she didn't foresee such a cruel betrayal from Nnoitora. Unlike her, Grimmjow doesn't trust easily and expects the worst outcome. Nel's pacifism is something he barely understands. But if she choose to stay naive, he is here to fix it. Actually, moments like these show that Grimm draws his sword not just for fun, he is pretty protective of their group even though he hides it behind his rude words. 

Despite their different life positions, Grimmjow joined Nel in her quest to save Halibel. He didn't show much respect to Tier, but he didn't leave Nelliel with her alone either. The Sexta hates to stay indebted to anyone - so his cooperation could be a way to pay Nel back for saving his life.

Both of them perfectly remember Askin's episode and Nelliel doesn't miss an opportunity to mention the case as a solid proof that it's better to listen to her. Even though Grimmjow clearly isn’t happy, that someone is here to remind him of his failures - it works again and cools him down.

As you might have noticed - Nel acts like Grimmjow's voice of reason, shouting down his killing instincts. Half a year passed and she is already better at it - instead of forcing him to do something, she tries to find a key to his behavior. The novel establishes that Nelliel really put some efforts to get his way of thinking. Her opinion about him is slowly changing as well - if at first Grimmjow was an unpredictable subject to her, later she noticed some patterns (like his love for a fair fight) and was pleasantly surprised that he is able to overcome his thirst for blood, at least for Hueco Mundo's sake. Still not all the things about him are clear to her. Funny, how Halibel tries to explain how Grimm's pride works, while Nel just blames his change of mood. Her naiveté strikes again - and yet Halibel always entrusts the wild Arrancar to her care without a fear.

Maybe Nel's direct nature really helps the case. She doesn't pretend, she isn't afraid to bruise Grimmjow's ego. He isn't a ticking timebomb she guards; Nelliel’s concern about his wounds proves that a genuine bond was already formed. Feeling pretty comfortable around him, she breaks his solitude to offer some help. Grimmjow plays a tough guy as an answer, but doesn't mind her company.

Not to mention, that they communicate rather peacefully, when their opinions don't clash. Even though Grimmjow prefers to keep his distance, he is in sync with Nel most of the time, jokes around her and never ignores her presence in general.

Actually, the novel even hints that Grimmjow takes a certain interest in her. Nelliel dares to boss him around and yet the proud arrancar tolerates her. More to say - her Reiatsu is the first one to pop up in his mind, just after he established that his memory has some strict limits.

Well, okay, Nelliel was always eager to follow him to interfere in his business; maybe that's why her Reiatsu became unforgettable. But when she finally gave him a break, too busy chatting with Aura, Grimmjow suddenly felt bored, “stumped”. Yeah, no opponents to fight is a big deal for him, the key to his foul mood and yet instead of doing something destructive he preferred to stay and watch Nel being nice to someone else. Of course, he denied Halibel's offer to get close, to join the wholesome party, but his interest alone speaks volumes.

Finally - the "heavy artillery". Grimmjow witnessed many times how Nelliel is all over Ichigo, how protective she is of him. The Sexta seemed to ignore it, only complaining that Nel interrupts his beef with Kurosaki. But when Lil directly asked Grimm if Nelliel is Ichigo's girlfriend, she got a very rigid response. Of course we can assume that Grimmjow was fighting for his OTP aka IchiHime, but let's be serious - the idea of polygamy isn't new to the Arrancars. Why would someone as cynical as Grimmjow care that Kurosaki got more than one girl? Why even bother to answer such a romantic question to begin with? And yet for some reasons it was important for him to destroy IchiNell. The way he compared Nelliel and Orihime is also interesting. Nel can be happy-go-lucky as well, especially when she crushes Itsugo in her hugs. But she is very different with Grimm. Confident, calm, stubborn, sometimes sassy, sometimes caring - looks like Grimmjow prefers to see her that way.

In the end, the novels didn't make GrimmNell canon or anything, but they added more meat on the skeleton Kubo built and left some interesting teasing. We see that the bond between Nel and Grimmjow keeps developing; half a year was enough for them to get much closer than they were in the final arc. The relationship is still rocky though: however, in the novels their banter is much tamer compared to the game version. Wanna see the killing tension? Well, let’s check the Brave Souls as a bonus!

Game 

Of course we must keep in mind that the Bleach games are rather canon-ish than canon, so it’s better to take any interactions with a grain of salt. After all, the “The Alternate Rebirth” story was only supervised by Narita (the novel’s writer). So, even if the connection with the CFYOW’s plot is obvious, many details like the cool Beyond Resurrection forms and the dead Espada’s comeback remained as “what if” scenario. However, some things always stay the same - Nelliel's concern about Grimmjow is one of them.

Feeling a suspicious danger Nelliel immediately activated her protective boss mod. But giving Grimmjow a direct order never worked smoothly.

Grimm's anger had no effect on her though, Nelliel still dragged him away from their enemy. His outburst just made her change the tactic, using the voice of reason this time. She still refused to leave his side.

Despite all the threats, the Sexta just run away instead of picking a fight with her. But bold of him was to assume that he can escape Nel's care.

No matter how much Grimmjow pushes her away, Nelliel is desperate to keep him safe. But her way to say that she cares about him obviosly just triggered him more - from his point of view Nel is doubting his strength.

As you see, here their dynamic kinda lacks the understanding they reached in the novel. As if the time had reversed and the lessons they learned (from Nnoitora or Askin) vanished from their memory. Nel is too pushy and Grimm is too hot-tempered, both too stubborn to step down. 

However, the “Brave Souls” also blessed us with another big crumb - Nelliel's TYBW profile establishes that she has a calming influence on Grimmjow. So yeah, even though in the “The Alternate Rebirth” story the Sexta still barely listens to her - it’s nice to see an extra confirmation for something what was very visible in the novels.

Besides, it's important to mention how the advertising company presented GrimmNell as a paired set. Mr and Ms Arrancar, right, Hikone? The story gives a big focus to their interactions. After all, even when they have disagreements in the end they still team up to fight side by side. them saying Beyond Resurreccion together in the trailer gives me chills

What's left to say? In many ways Grimmjow and Nelliel are polar opposites. Destruction and Lamentation. The one who is eager to fight and the one who wants to keep peace. It's surely not easy for them to cooperate, however they were able to form a quite interesting bond.

Even though Nelliel “is keeping Grimmjow in check”, it's not like she puts a collar around his neck. He wouldn't let anyone steal his freedom again. Grimmjow still argues and yet they discuss things and these conversations make him slowly reconsider his views. The Sexta might act like a lone wolf, but he is clearly getting used to Nel's company.

Nel herself learns too - she always took an interest in dangerous individuals, giving herself a duty to watch over them, to guide them. But this time she considers the other's perspective and is more honest, so Grimmjow can understand - she doesn't look down upon him - even when they disagree - she cares about his well being.  

Their progress really warms my heart. Look how far the aesthetic crack-ship has gone! Hopefully, it's not the ceiling and we'll see more of them if Kubo will continue the Hell arc.

Thank you for reading till the end! If I missed something, pls, don't be shy and tell me! I would gladly read more GrimmNell thoughts bс I'm starving haha

[ichinoue]

It’s really sad. I just came from Twitter and I didn’t think IR were that dense but they are, even when people who don’t ship and just strictly love Bleach tell IR that they are wrong and misinterpreting things they just become so irate. I literally had a 30 min discussion to this particular person that Ichigo went to HM for ORIHIME and then another 10 minute discussion that Ichigo has always made a priority orihime, especially when Ulquiorra told Ichigo that Rukia had died, which yes he was going to save, but once Ulquiorra said he was that he was the one that brought orihime to HM and that is when Ichigo switched gears and went ballistic and they Will literally tell you he was upset because of Rukia and I-I just can’t. It’s black and white. Never in my life 😭

Oh, they cling to the Ulquiorra thing so hard. Even though Ichigo didn't snap until Orihime was brought up, which was immediately followed in consecutive panels with Ichigo lashing out and Ulquiorra saying "now do you have a reason to fight me?" (apparently he does now that Orihime was mentioned lmao). And then you have Nel confirming during the Grimmjow battle, "Ichigo dove towards Ulquiorra after hearing him say your name."

He went ballistic because of Orihime. That's backed up from all angles, it isn't even debatable. But IR shippers read the manga with their ass, and will tell you that both Ulquiorra and Nel were mistaken and incorrect when they implied (and straight up confirmed in Nel's case) that Ichigo flipped his lid on Ulquiorra because of Orihime.

This argument was always so dumb anyway though because it's not as if Ichigo was "abandoning" Orihime's rescue mission for Rukia--it's just that he could detect Rukia's spiritual pressure fade out almost completely (whereas Orihime's was still fine) so he was going to go save the one in immediate danger in that moment, and then get back to the rescue mission at hand. Do they really think he was just going to rescue Rukia and then leave HM without saving Orihime, too? lmao

Also, they love to use this argument that Ichigo was "abandoning" Orihime for Rukia but somehow they always seem to forget that, under their logic, Ichigo also chose to abandon Rukia's rescue in SS--Twice! Once to pick a stupid fight with Ganju (in which Yoruichi literally has to remind Ichigo that Rukia is more important because apparently he forgot lmao), and then to go rescue Chad. I made a post on that here.

[mysterylover123]

Mysterylover Reads Bleach Chapter 284-285 "NEL IS BACK YA'LL!!!

Merry Christmas Bleach fans! I'm back

Shonen villains LOVE that don't they. Sure dude. And Frieza blew up Namek in five minutes. Real time I swear.

Is it me or does this guy look like Grimmjow? It's harder to tell who's who in the manga.

OOH this villain has Minion Respect. I still don't have a name for him or his crew so I'll continue referring to them as New Villain Dudes.

Ooh some more IchiUryuu feels. Uryu giving the audience flirty eyes while showing off how much respect he has for Ichigo now is FAB.

Orihime seems to be shipping them too which I take as confirmation for their supremacy.

I LOVE ALL THESESE DOM FIC SHENANINGANS.

I guess I should know who this guy is they're talking about. Dammit I'm so bad with names.

More IchiUryuu feels continue. Ichi runs around brooding about his bf.

OMG OMG OMG NO FREAKING WAY!!!!

NEL!!! BABY NEL! SHE'S BACK OMG I NEVER THOUGHT WE'D SEE HER AGAIN!

Yes yes plot stuff but NEL IS BACK GUYS OMG!

[m34gs]

!!!

Aaahhh it's me again!!!! Idea! Idea!!

Karaoke!!

Urahara drags everyone to a Karaoke bar because of who he is as a person.  What would everyone sing? Who is everyone there?? What are their voice types?? What chaos ensues??

Ahhhh!!!!

💙🧡💙🧡

Hope you're having a good one!!!

GASP! KARAOKE!!!! Hi friend, I love this idea so so much! Karaoke is one of my favourite things!!!!! That being said, I can ramble on music and song choices for forever, and so be prepared. This is gonna be a long one :D

Ok, so Kisuke dragged them out there. Who is 'them'? Oh the usual crew: Ichigo, Yoruichi, Grimmjow, Orihime (she went willingly), Chad, Uryu, Renji, Rukia (again she went willingly), and Nel joins this time too!

As for songs...well here's what I think:

Rukia and Orihime are the ones that are totally enthusiastic about this whole outing. They are very excited to be there. And Nel is excited too, even if she doesn't get all of it. That doesn't stop her from joining in with the other two just as energetically! I think the girls would sing together at least a few songs, and they would be songs like Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen, Hips Don't Lie by Shakira, CAPSULE by Hikari no Disco (link here, if you haven't heard this one before, it's cute and has a fun tune!), and other fun tunes that fit that kind of vibe. Nel doesn't necessarily know all the words, but she bops along with them and dances enthusiastically around. Maybe at the start they try some harmonies (building off your idea that Rukia is an alto and Orihime sings soprano, because I absolutely love that) but by the end of it, they are just having fun and singing as happily as they can, not even really caring what they sound like because they are too caught up in enjoying themselves (which is how karaoke is meant to be!) Nel is very off-key and off-beat, but no one cares because she is happy and it's pretty hard for anyone to want to criticize someone who looks so happy to just be there.

Kisuke doesn't go up to sing. But he does drunkenly sing along to every song the girls sing while remaining in his seat curled up next to Yoruichi.

Then, it's Yoruichi's turn. And yeah, she's gonna sing. This woman has confidence, as well as skill she has cultivated over the many years. I like to imagine her voice is also low, chesty, warm and soothing like the smell of cinnamon or the taste of hot tea sweetened with just the slightest touch of honey, or the feel of a warm and strong hug. She knows what songs suit her, too. She's gonna go for the ballads, but not just any ballad. She goes for jazz. Yoruichi sings Summertime, and if you want to know how I imagine her singing to be, just listen to Ella Fitzgerald sing it here! (Ella Fitzgerald is an absolute queen, her voice is so amazing and she is so beautiful!) Kisuke just falls more and more in love with Yoruichi as she sings. This is the only song he's quiet for. (Ichigo goes "oh now he's quiet" and Kisuke hucks a shoe at him and tells him to shut up).

Poor Renji gets dragged up there by Rukia to sing with the girls even though he knows none of the songs. (Rukia only knows them all because her and Orihime have sleep overs and listen to music while painting each other's nails and catching up on everything that's been going on). He is highly embarrassed and flees back to his seat as soon as he can. Then he just sits there all night, face as red as his hair.

Uryu has much the same fate as Renji, but he was dragged up there by Orihime (I think this is a cute ship tbh). He stumbles through one song and dance with the girls, and then manages to escape.

Chad is incredibly quiet, and he doesn't go up to sing for a long time. It takes all of the girls persuading him (and maybe a few drinks? I'm putting this during a time when they're all old enough to drink alcohol). But when he does, his voice is smooth, bass, beautiful, like the thunder rolling across the sky during a storm, and kind of surprises everyone (except Ichigo who knows only because he and Chad sometimes would sing along to their favourite songs on the radio together while hanging out). But Chad is not just a gentle soul. Oh no. He has power to his voice. So he starts off with Sound of Silence by Disturbed (link here for those who are unfamiliar with this version, it's my favourite version of the song).

Unfortunately for Ichigo, the fact he has spent time singing with Chad previously means that Chad knows Ichigo can sing. And Chad is not as innocent as everyone thinks. If he has to suffer, so does Ichigo. So he totally makes the off-hand comment that Ichigo should sing next, because his voice is really good. And now our poor Ichigo has everyone hounding him and Rukia drags him up there and Renji is shouting that he needs to because Rukia already forced him, so it's only fair! And so Ichigo is forced up there. Chad picks the song because he knows Ichigo won't. And he knows exactly which song he's gonna choose and as soon as he hears the intro, Ichigo glares at Chad because what the hell Chad you can't just choose the song Ichigo says reminds him of Grimmjow that is just not fair. Which song, you ask? Criminal, by Britney Spears. :D Ichigo sings it and the entire time he is literally glaring at Chad. And Grimmjow is now confused because is Ichigo singing it to Chad? But why is he angry at Chad then? And why does Grimmjow not like the idea of him singing that song specifically for someone? He has many emotions. He is grumpy and doesn't know what to do for the rest of the song. But he relaxes a bit when Ichigo comes and sits next to him and not Chad. He grins smugly at Chad, but Chad just...smiles knowingly back at him? And now he is More Confused. He would go up there and sing a song for Ichigo, as a fuck-you to Chad (definitely not as showing off to Ichigo, not at all), but he doesn't know what song to choose, how karaoke works, and he is still shy about singing in front of other people. So when he goes home that night, he goes through all the music he has learned about and searches for songs to sing to Ichigo (he's not even sure why but he just knows that he needs to be prepared next time so that he can show Chad he isn't special just because Ichigo was looking at him specifically for an entire song). He will be prepared for the next karaoke session.

These are my thoughts! Thank you so much for the ask! Do you have any ideas to add? Does anyone else join them? Are they in a private karaoke booth or are they at the open stage in a large bar? Do you have any other songs that you think would work really well in the scenario?

Hope you have a lovely day, friend!!!

[m3kuroshirt]

House of Assassins Part Five

Links to Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

Word count: 2632

Warnings: coarse language, family disagreements/fighting

The darkness was warm…heavy…firm. Ichigo didn’t want to leave it. But even as he struggled to stay in the comfort of the shadowy realm of sleep, his eyelids fluttered open, beckoned by the day light. With a low groan, Ichigo tried to move. He was unsuccessful. Something was stopping him, wrapped around him, holding him down. His eyes widened and he tensed, completely awake and alert now, ready to face whatever threat he needed to. Scenarios whirled through his head: how to get untied, how to get out from under a crushing weight, who was after him? Was it Aizen??? Did he find out about the assassination plan already?!

Ichigo’s eyes locked on what, or rather, who, was weighing him down. Blue hair was the first thing he saw, short locks splayed across his own chest. A strong jawline. Broad shoulders, with biceps emphasized by the lack of sleeves from the tank top their owner wore. Ichigo blinked once, twice. Then his face erupted in warmth, blood rushing to his cheeks. Grimmjow is on top of me?! When?! How???? Is this a dream????? Ichigo swallowed nervously and shifted. The arms around him loosened and a low grumble came from his companion as he slowly blinked awake. Ichigo just watched with wide eyes. Grimmjow pulled back a bit, his weight shifting uncomfortably onto Ichigo’s midsection, making Ichigo grunt. Grimmjow paused and looked Ichigo up and down, seemingly unsurprised by their position.

“Sleep well?” he asked. Ichigo felt his cheeks flush more. An odd look came across Grimmjow’s face; one that could be described as someone analyzing the pieces of a puzzle.

“M…more or less,” Ichigo managed to get out, shifting uncomfortably. He was acutely aware of every inch of his body that was in contact with Grimmjow’s. And while he didn’t hate the sensation, he wasn’t sure how his friend would react to his feelings. He swallowed. “Um…why…why are you on top of me?” he mumbled. Grimmjow tilted his head.

“Oh. Yeah.” He looked a bit embarrassed now, as he crawled off of Ichigo completely. Ichigo drew his legs up to his chest and the two of them sat on the couch, facing each other. “I was helping you to the couch last night, but when we got here you grabbed onto me and wouldn’t let go. So…I ended up sleeping here. With you.”

Ichigo groaned and closed his eyes. He rested his forehead on his knees. “I’m so sorry,” he replied. He could feel the blush spreading down his neck. He prayed Grimmjow only thought it was from acting out in his sleep and not the fact that he secretly enjoyed having the other man on top of him.

“Don’t worry about it,” Grimmjow replied. “It’s not like you did it on purpose.” Ichigo looked up at him a little glumly but nodded along. Grimmjow shifted awkwardly, eyes shifting toward the kitchen, then back to Ichigo. “Uh. Breakfast?” As if on cue, Ichigo’s stomach growled. He hunched in on himself even more.

“Please,” he agreed. Grimmjow nodded and stood. He walked straight to the kitchen without looking back. Ichigo slowly slid off the couch and followed after him. The mugs from the night before were still out on the table. Grimmjow grabbed them as he passed and casually put them in the dishwasher. He walked over to the fridge.

“What do you wanna eat?” Grimmjow asked over his shoulder. Ichigo shrugged, then realized the other man couldn’t see him.

“Uh, whatever is fine,” Ichigo mumbled. Grimmjow did look at him then, eyebrow raised and expression slightly exasperated. “Ok…uh, eggs?” Ichigo amended.

“Ok.” Grimmjow turned back to the fridge and grabbed a carton of eggs. He started bustling around the kitchen, grabbing a frying pan, various seasonings, and some butter. Ichigo stood awkwardly in the kitchen entrance and just watched. He enjoyed seeing the way Grimmjow’s body moved, confident and strong. The tank top allowed a nice view of his arms and shoulders, and Ichigo couldn’t help remembering that those very arms had been wrapped around him this morning. His blue hair was messy and tangled, and Ichigo flexed his hands, resisting the urge to walk over and comb his fingers through it. It looked soft.

“Good morning!” A soft, sing-song voice called. Ichigo jolted and looked behind him to see a pretty girl with long green hair.

“Oh…hi Nel,” he answered. “Uh. Good morning.” Nel smiled brightly at him.

“It’s nice to see you, Ichigo! I missed you,” she declared, not even questioning why he was there so early. Ichigo was not quite sure what to think of that. He gave her an awkward smile, while Grimmjow huffed.

“We live next door to him, you can literally go and see him any time. The hell do you mean you ‘missed him’,” he muttered. Nel just smiled wider, though her brother couldn’t see, and stepped past Ichigo into the kitchen.

“Ehhhh, Grimmy, are you making us eggs this morning?” she asked as she bumped shoulders with him. Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at her.

“I’m making Ichigo and myself eggs. You are on your own,” he retorted. Nel pouted at him. Grimmjow met her gaze and the two of them stared for a long moment. Finally, Grimmjow sighed and cracked another egg into the pan. “Fine. Whatever. You’re making lunch, then,” he grumbled. Nel cheered and threw her arms around Grimmjow in a hug. Ichigo couldn’t help but smile at the exchange. Then, seemingly satisfied that she’d gotten what she wanted from her brother, Nel whirled around and strode over to Ichigo. She grabbed his hands and led him to the table.

“Come on, Ichi! While Grimmy makes breakfast we can talk! It feels like we haven’t talked in foreeeeveeeer!” Nel all but shoved Ichigo into a chair, and then perched herself in the one directly opposite him. “How have you been? Still busy? How are Rukia and Orihime? Do you know if they’re free anytime soon? I want to go shopping! You would have to come, too, and we could bring Grimmy and make it a day for the group of us! Oh, and there’s a cute little cupcake place I found, that I really, really want to try, but Grimmy won’t go with me, but he’d probably go if you came and…” Ichigo just blinked and nodded along as Nel babbled on and on. He couldn’t quite keep up with every leap her train of thought seemed to make, but he did his best. Her enthusiasm and bright attitude made him feel more at ease, and he really did enjoy spending time around her.

It seemed to be in no time at all that Grimmjow placed the eggs on the table, along with a plate full of toast. Ichigo didn’t even know when he’d prepared that, too caught up in listening to Nel to even realize what the other man was cooking. He ate gratefully and assisted with clean up afterward. Nel gave him a very enthusiastic hug as he left and Ichigo patted her shoulders awkwardly. He did a half wave to Grimmjow, who only grunted and nodded. Then, Ichigo was on his way over to his own home. He braced himself at the door before opening it and stepping inside, tensing at the thought of the comments he knew would be coming his way.

He expected teasing. Jibes. Smirks and grins. Suggestive comments, even.

What Ichigo did not expect was chaos.

“Listen here, if I find out you did anything. Anything to him. If one single hair on his head is out of line, I will fucking end you. Do you hear me, Shunsui?!” Kisuke’s voice was the first thing he heard. It was odd, though, strained and erratic, almost panicky. Ichigo blinked. What’s going on? Who is he talking about? What happened? He wondered. He wandered to the kitchen cautiously.

A map was spread out on the table, held down by various make-shift paperweights; a shoe, a few books, and a…knife? What? Ichigo frowned. Around the map stood Rukia and Yoruichi. “Retsu said there’s a store here and here under Hueco Mundo Pharmaceuticals,” Yoruichi was saying as she pointed to two different places. “And then they have a warehouse where they deal with shipping here.” She pointed to another location. Rukia nodded.

“My brother said he can loan us a few bodyguards…we can have them help as drivers so we can split up and take all the places at once,” she stated matter-of-factly. Yoruichi purse her lips.

“Does he really want his name attached to this? When we go in, it won’t be a quiet operation,” she pointed out. Rukia gave her a firm look.

“This is more important. To me, and to him,” she replied. Ichigo opened his mouth to ask what was going on but was interrupted by a loud thud.

The door to the basement banged open and Jinta entered the kitchen with a large box marked ‘Dangerous: Explosives’. “I’ve got enough here to blow all of the town away,” he announced. “Tell me who needs ‘em.” Ururu followed from behind him, carrying another box, this one unmarked.

She said something, but Ichigo lost it in the sudden outburst from Kisuke.

“I don’t care what time you said he was there! You’re the last one who fucking saw him. That means that as far as I know, you’re next on the list if he’s not with that bastard!” he shouted. Footsteps pounded on the stairs and Ichigo barely turned in time to see Renji race down them, dressed completely in work gear, hair yanked back in a ponytail. He was followed by Chad, who was wolfing down some food as he ran into the kitchen.

“Chad and I are ready!” Renji announced. “’Hime! Where are the first aid kits!” Orihime was in a corner with Tessai, three first aid kits open in front of them on the counter.

“Here! Almost finished, we’re just making sure they’re all fully stocked!” she called, her usual bright tone now direct and sharp. Ururu carried her box over to her, and Orihime said something, but it was lost as more commotion arose.

“I’m ready to go, and I’m not waiting,” Uryuu announced as he ran down the stairs. He took a brief glance at the map on the table. “I’ll be at the warehouse. There’s an apartment complex right next to it; it’s a prime spot to set up my equipment.”

“The first aid kit!” Rukia protested. Uryuu turned away from her.

“I’ve got my own personal one,” he shouted over his shoulder. He almost smacked right into Ichigo as he turned around, and he flinched and stepped around him. “Move out of the way, Ichigo! We need to go find Ichigo!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, there was a pause. Silence descended on the household. Ichigo blinked. He glanced at each member of his household, before looking back at Uryuu.

“Find…me? I’m right here?” he stated finally. Everyone stared at him. Ichigo shifted nervously from foot to foot. “Uh. Is…is everything ok?” No one answered.

“Crisis averted,” Kisuke muttered into the phone, presumably to Shunsui, before he hung up. He pocketed his phone and walked over to Ichigo. He stopped right in front of him and crossed his arms. “So. Where were you?”

Ichigo swallowed. He glanced around at everyone nervously, before answering. “Uh. I was…next door…” Kisuke raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t wearing his hat and his hair looked a complete mess, as if he’d been running his hands through it and tugging at it.

“Next door. This whole time?”

Ichigo shrugged. “Um. Yeah? Since Shunsui dropped me off last night. Grimmjow was up and he…invited me over?”

Yoruichi frowned, hands on her hips. “And you didn’t think to send someone a message? Or at least answer your phone this morning?! We called you at least six times!”

“Wait, so you’re saying that while we were all worried you were fucking found out already and kidnapped by that fucking pharmacy, you were just over there getting laid?!” Renji demanded. Ichigo felt his cheeks heat up.

“What does ‘getting laid’ mean?” Jinta asked. Ichigo’s face reddened even more.

“No one answer that,” he snapped. Rukia glared at him.

“Oh no, you don’t get to make any rules right now,” she told him. Renji opened his mouth, but Rukia turned to him. “And you! You won’t answer Jinta right now, because I said so.” Renji shut his mouth.

“You should have answered your phone,” Chad stated, seemingly the calmest one in the household. Ichigo shook his head.

“It didn’t ring? I would have woken up if it did,” he replied as he fished his phone out of his pocket. “See…” his voice trailed off as he tried, unsuccessfully, to turn it on. “Oh. I…I guess it died.”

“Well, we can’t fault you for that,” Orihime tried to smooth the situation over, but Renji interrupted her. He shoved past Kisuke, grabbed Ichigo by the shoulder and shoved him against the wall. Uryuu protested, but Renji ignored him, focused entirely on Ichigo.

“Are you stupid? Do you just regularly go out on jobs without your phone fully charged? And why the hell would you not come home?! It’s right next door! It’s not like it’s that hard!” he shouted. Ichigo glared at him and shoved him off of himself. He stepped forward, bracing himself, muscles tensed and ready to fight.

“Am I stupid?! Me?! What about you all?!!! You were ready to go in, guns blazing, to destroy our cover, completely wreck our credibility, ruin the entire business we have going, because I was a little late in coming home?!” Ichigo snapped.

“As if you wouldn’t do the exact same thing!” Rukia shot back. She strode over to stand beside Renji, arms crossed.

Ichigo tensed his jaw. “That’s…different…”

“How, exactly?” Uryuu demanded now. Ichigo was starting to feel cornered. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and his eyes darted around, scanning for an exit route.

“I think we all need to calm down,” Yoruichi began. Next to her, Ururu was trembling. She placed a calm hand on the girl’s shoulder and stepped in front of her. “We should talk…”

Uryu ignored her and prompted Ichigo again. “How is it different?”

Ichigo was beyond listening. “Just! Shut up! It’s just different!”

“You can’t keep treating your life like it’s disposable!” Renji shouted at him. He took a step forward into Ichigo’s space again. Ichigo leaned forward and hollered back.

“Shut up! I’m fine!”

A hand slammed against Ichigo’s chest, and one against Renji’s, shoving them both backward two steps and effectively separating them. Between them now stood Yoruichi, eyes blazing.

“I said, calm the fuck down,” she ordered. Her voice was not a decibel above her normal volume, yet the silence that took over the household let her voice carry as if she was in the center of the colosseum. A few seconds passed. No one dared move a muscle. Yoruichi turned her gaze to Ichigo. “Ichigo: go upstairs and take a shower, cool off, then come back to the kitchen. We have some talking to do. I did not like what I was hearing just now.” She turned to Renji. “Renji, go have a glass of water or something. Get your hot head under control. Charging and aggression will get us nowhere.” Renji glared for a moment longer, before turning on his heel and heading to the cupboards. Ichigo thought about defying. He really did. But one look at Yoruichi’s fiery golden eyes told him that wasn’t even an option. With a huff, he stepped back and made his way upstairs. He didn’t look at anyone as he passed by, eyes firmly on his feet, face still heated in anger.

[plunnies-n-shit]

Below the Stars, Above the Earth

Captain Jaegerjaquez enters the helm of his supposed-to-be-empty Pantera to find someone already there. 

The mop of orange hair is distinctive but not familiar. The uniform is the opposite. When he turns around, his smile makes Grimmjow's skin crawl. 

"Captain Jaegerjaquez. I am SPECTRE Zangetsu, one of four others assigned to your care for this assignment. Thank you for having us."

Grimmjow sighs and does an idle scan of the room. Nothing has been touched except the door controls. Permission came from above, on a need to know basis. 

"How'd you get in here?" It's Grimmjow's ship. Grimmjow damn well needs to know.

"The General assigned us to your care," Zangetsu says, perfectly polite. "Access was granted on the assumption that you and your crew returned from shore leave... 3 hours 6 minutes and 28 seconds ago."

Grimmjow isn't so undisciplined as to growl, but it's a near thing. The General. Great. So he can't just send these Blackops goons off to get fucked or die, because the General is expecting them to come back. Not necessarily in one piece, but... 

"Fine. Crew quarters are on the second floor. Make yourselves comfortable."

Zangetsu tips his head ever slightly to one side. "They already have. The General instructed me to deliver the mission details to you personally, as you have been ignoring his numerous pages and emails.

Grimmjow waves a dismissive hand as he plops himself in the Captain's seat. "Yeah yeah, just gimme the coordinates, I can get the rest on the way." 

Nel signed on, probably with Edrad with her-- Edrad forgets all the time, Grimmjow is used to correcting the logs. Nakeem and Yylfordt, probably already heading to engineering. There's Di Roy. Shawlong....

"Captain Jaegerjaquez, please, this is an S-plus Class mission, the General would not assign us to your ship if our support was not necessary."

Ah, there's Shawlong, late as always. 

"Captain Jaegerjaquez--"

All they're missing is Nnoitra, but if he doesn't show up in the next ten minutes, well. Grimmjow's been meaning to drop his sorry ass from the roster anyways.

"Captain Jaegerjaquez."

Grimmjow makes a short, startled sound as his chair is spun around too fast, leaving him face to face with a black-glowing, very irritated Zangetsu. One knee comes down heavy in the slim space between Grimmjow's hip and the armrest, and the chair creaks loudly as Zangetsu leans even further forward. As though he couldn't just pin Grimmjow in place with his biotics. Nah, Grimmjow thinks. That wouldn't be dramatic enough. 

"Don't waste my time, Captain," Zangetsu snarls, and, really, it isn't a deterrent, he's fucking hot when he's pissed.

Blue clashes against black, and it tastes like a thunderstorm under Grimmjow's tongue. Nel, and she's got her gun drawn-- slag, not thermal, she's a biotic herself and she's not stupid. 

"Step away from the Captain," she warns. 

But Zangetsu doesn't look away. And neither does Grimmjow. 

"Stand down, Specialist," Grimmjow says, and doesn't bother containing his Cheshire grin. "Me and Mr. SPECTRE here were just getting friendly. He and his friends are gonna make this trip much more interesting."

OR

Grimmjow's Pantera is assigned to track down a rogue sentient AI, and the council sends along a team of blackops SPECTREs for assistance and containment. Grimmjow and the SPECTRE Commander get along.... A little too well.

OR

Grimmjow is a SPECTRE, and N7, but hes one of the public ones. The kind that shows up to events and gives speeches about heroism and gets paraded around, all that jazz. Not that he doesnt deserve his rank, but. Hes impossible to contain.

and the Council maybe mildly wants to wipe their hands of him

Ichigo (/Uryu/Chad/Orihime) is the kind of SPECTRE that doesnt exist. No record, no past, no future. Highly skilled, sent out as part of a unit when the Council needs something contained and covered up.

and the Council is maybe mildly worried that this unit is starting to go rogue

[berrymascarpone]

The my newest fic, straight off the crack fic press!

Title: If You’ve Never Heard a Love Song, Don’t Try to Sing Off-Key

Ships: GrimmIchi main ship, with a side GrimmNel friends with benefits

Warnings: mild sexual content

Summary:

Nel and Grimmjow have a thing, but if she were honest, her first impulse answer to the question: Does Ichigo want to fuck Grimmjow? is a resounding fuck yes. She’s seen the way they fight, like two magnets drawn together, like planets caught in each other’s gravity. And also like they’re two seconds from jumping each other’s bones.

And now that she knows that Grimmjow would totally hit that, she really has no choice but to help him out.

A.k.a Nel tries to play matchmaker for Ichigo and Grimmjow. With her body.

Link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/36891412/chapters/92039431

[recurring-polynya]

What are your thoughts on Bazz-B? He and Renji seemed to have developed a good rapport and I feel that they would’ve been good frenemies had be survived. I can imagine them exchanging fashion tips which would have interesting results!

I imagine that in another universe, they could have been friends, but I feel like the fact that Bazz grievously injured/ambiguously killed one of Renji’s best friends would put a big damper on that.

I really, really, really do not like the Sternritters. I don’t even like them as villains. Out of them, Bazz is probably the least objectionable, but I still don’t like him.

Here are a few thoughts on why, but I’m gonna put them under a cut, because that’s my policy when I say critical things about characters. If you like the Sternritters, I’m glad for you and please feel free to skip the rest of this post!

One of the major themes of Bleach has always been about moral ambiguity, that people are rarely pure heroes or villains. In the earliest episodes, Rukia warns Ichigo to kill Hollows from behind, to never try to glimpse the person they once were, advice that Ichigo roundly rejects as he’s constant turns enemies into friends/allies. This works really well at the beginning of the series and... less well each time we got through this.

My understanding is that Kubo’s original plan for Bleach ended after the Soul Society Arc, and that makes sense to me, because it seems so well plotted out to me, and then the subsequent arcs just seems to try to be recapturing the magic. The thing that is coolest to me about this arc is that the shinigami characters have real depth, and that our initial impressions of them are insufficient. The Gotei is going through an existential crisis, where an injustice (Rukia’s execution) is being prosecuted, and in addition, Aizen has laid a groundwork of mistrust and misinformation. You have characters like Renji, Kira, and Hinamori, who are torn between their orders and deep personal feelings. You have bystanders like Hisagi and Komamura, who don’t really have skin in the game, but feel a sense of unease about the way things are going. You have characters who seem sympathetic-- when Aizen comforts Hinamori that Renji won’t be fired, and the fact that Tousen seems to be someone who would be on the side of justice if only he had the full story, that turn out to be disingenuous. Then you have characters like Kenpachi, who, at least in the second half of the arc, is on Ichigo’s side, but not really for any noble reason, just because he likes Ichigo and also he wants an excuse to fight other captains. There’s Kurotsuchi, who is nominally on the side of the good guys, but is not, in fact, a good person. By the end of the arc, I feel like Kubo has done a really good job of presenting a diverse group of people who live in a flawed system and who were played by someone who took advantage of that. I have no objection at all to the idea that Ichigo considers many of the shinigami his friends afterward, including a very strong friendship with Renji, who is presented as a villain initially.

The Arrancar arc, is more of a mixed bag for me. I still think it mostly works. Arrancar are not humans. They follow Aizen, but in some ways, they are also his victims-- post-Arc, I don’t find myself begrudging any of the surviving Espada for having gone along with him. They are Hollows, and they come from a life of violence and anger and brutality. They have risen above that, which means different things to the various Espada. Harribel, Starkk and Nel are all sympathetic, even tragic characters. Nnoitra and Szyalapollo are monstrous, but in the way that terrible humans are monstrous. Grimmjow is an interesting character, because he falls somewhere in the middle.

I read a fair amount of GrimmIchi fic, because a) it often features Renruki as a side ship and b) there are a lot of really, really talented GrimmIchi writers, but I do not love the ship for it’s own sake, and it’s mainly for one reason: Grimmjow purposely hurt Ichigo’s friends in front of him, and I do not think that’s a thing Ichigo would take lightly. Now, one of the things that make GrimmIchi writers so good is that they are often willing to do the heavy lifting of examining Grimmjow’s brutality, and way Ichigo views the Hollow within himself (for some people, this is even one of the attractions of the pairing). We get a lot of canon scenes with Grimmjow in various situations-- when he backtalks Aizen, when he “rescues” Orihime from Loly and Menoly, when he tries to get her to heal Ichigo just so he can fight him again, when we see him willing to fight his fellow Espada. He’s a meaty character and there’s a lot to dig into. I would still, someday, like to see Ichigo say, “Hey Grimmjow, y’know, you badly hurt my friend Rukia and it messed me up a bunch and I am having trouble getting over it,” and for Grimmjow to have to deal with that. (Polynya, you say, didn’t Rukia kill one of Grimmjow’s Fraccion like 5 minutes earlier? Yes, she did, and whether Grimmjow would respond with “yeah, well, Rukia killed my friend and it hurt my feelings too!” vs. “yeah, well, Rukia killed my friend and you don’t see me crying about it!” are both really interesting ways you could take this)

ANYWAY, getting back to the Quincy. From our earliest introduction to Uryuu in the series, we know that Quincy ought to have a legitimate beef with Soul Society. For starters, there is their underlying philosophical difference: Quincy don’t think that the shinigami do enough to protect the Living World, and they have taken matters into their own hands. They want to see Hollows annihilated, rather than purified. Then, on top of that, the shinigami eradicated their people, and treated them like lab rats. You could spin a lot of gold out of this, but instead, we got the Thousand Year Blood War Arc.

The Quincy are, basically humans with powers, and yet they are extremely bloodthirsty and cruel. We see Bambietta killing people to blow off steam, they take glee in killing lesser opponents (both Hollow and shinigami), As Nodt tortures Byakuya rather than just killing him cleanly, Giselle takes over Bambietta’s body in a horrifying way. Yhwach chastises Yamamoto for having “gone soft”, and says “you used to be cooler when you were a murderer.” The Vandenreich isn’t about justice or improving the system, it’s just about revenge and power and proving racial superiority. Are y’all ready for the hottest take I have ever had? Here it is: The Bount Arc, which is bad and should feel bad, provided a more well-characterized and relatable set of villains than the Thousand Year Blood War Arc.

I mentioned earlier that out of all the Sternritter, Bazz is the best of a bad lot. He gets some good flashbacks and his story evokes both Renji and Rukia’s childhood relationship as well as Gin and Rangiku’s. He's shown hating Yhwach in his youth, but then it’s never really followed up on. Nothing about this works to make me like Bazz, though, it just makes me feel like Yhwach is terrible, a person who ruins lives in both big and small ways.

I honestly hate the scenes where Bazz and Renji banter. Up until this point of the story arc, we have been slammed over and over with how much worse the Quincy are than previous villains. They cause massive destruction, they maim and kill beloved characters. Then, halfway through the arc, Kubo suddenly tries to start walking this back. Byakuya and Kenpachi were supposed to never fight again, but, uhhhh, Byakuya got healed in the Royal Realm and Kenpachi... got better? Look, we fixed Kira! Mayuri brings everyone back as zombies, that’s cool? Let’s have some banter, ha ha, the Quincy are fun! I don’t want to blame Kubo on this because he wasn’t feeling well and also, all of this smacks of editorial pressure, but it doesn’t sit well with me. It seems out of character to me for Renji to joke with someone who has hurt his friends and destroyed his home, and I sometimes justify it in my mind by saying that Renji probably doesn’t know that Bazz was the one who hurt Kira, but in some ways that makes things worse.

To be honest, a much better way to humanize the Quincy would have been to do so through Uryuu. One of the huge flaws of this arc is that there is so little focus on him, the character who ought to tie all this together. Uryuu has been harping for years that shinigami are his enemy and that he’s proud of his heritage. This is literally exactly what he has always says he wanted, and the fact that I, the reader, never believed for a microsecond that his loyalties were divided speaks to how awful the Quincy must be. How did Yhwach first approach Uryuu? It would have been cool to be introduced to the Vandenreich via the narrative device of Uryuu’s introduction. Was anyone nice to him? Do the Quincy have any redeeming value? What if there had been a scene where Bazz-B is goofing around, maybe training with someone, and Uryuu says to himself, “He reminds me of Renji and I hate all of the feelings that are currently in my body”? That would make a cool fanfic, actually, and anyone who wants can have that idea because I will never, ever write fanfic about the Sternritter.

Finally, on a note about fashion, the Sternritter uniforms (along with all their other symbolism) skirts way too close to “Nazi” for my tastes, and one more thing I hate about them is that they have retroactively ruined Uryuu’s aesthetic for me.

[cc-bleach-blazing-souls]

Wishlist [Bleach]

Wanted / Wishlist [Bleach]

// updated: SAT 20 April 2024

Muse Ships: romantic ships wanted, can become OTPs - ones with a strikethrough means if I found or am already interacting with the muse. I am still open to shipping (especially when approached first), just it will be further canon diverged, even better if your canon muse is diverged already! Interactions: interactions wanted, can become BroTPs Plot Ideas and AUs: a list of ideas/plots/AUs we could RP out - Muses can crossover with my other muses here and on my other RP blogs, as in threads/headcanons from their verse can be referenced.

Ichigo Kurosaki | @cc-ichigo-kurosaki Ships: Rukia, Orihime, Nel, Senna Interactions: Chad, Uryu, Renji, Byakuya, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Kisuke, Yoruichi, Ginjo Plot Ideas and AUs: 1. Ichigo becomes the Vice Captain of the (13th) division Rukia is captain of. Random Headcanon: Ichigo and Uryu later go to med school together

Renji Abarai Ships: Rukia, ? Interactions: Ichigo, Chad, Uryu, Byakuya, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Kisuke, Yoruichi Plot Ideas and AUs: 1. Renji becomes a captain (to replace one that deserted) Random Headcanon: Renji stress eats pineapples when his head is called one

Uryu Ishida Ships: Orihime, Nemu, Nel, Quincy canon/OC Interactions: Ichigo, Chad, Kisuke, Yoruichi, Ryuken Plot Ideas and AUs: 1. Uryu (first) goes by himself to rescue Orihime in Hueco Mundo Random Headcanon: He tends to (always) show up to criticise Ichigo’s (delinquent) behaviour

Toshiro Hitsugaya Ships: Momo, ? Interactions: Rangiku, Gin, Ukitake, other Gotei 13, ice power OCs Plot Ideas and AUs: 1. ? Random Headcanon: He can sense when paperwork is being neglected

Kisuke Urahara Ships: Yoruichi, ? Interactions: Ichigo, Renji, Aizen, Shinji Plot Ideas and AUs: 1. Urahara and Aizen swap ambitions/motives/sides Random Headcanon: Has a habit of conning people into working for him

Kenpachi Ships: N/A Interactions: Ichigo, Ikkaku, Yachiru Plot Ideas and AUs: 1. ? Random Headcanon: Tries to fight Ichigo whenever he’s in Soul Society

Gin Ichimaru Ships: Rangiku, ? Interactions: Toshiro, Kira, Aizen Plot Ideas and AUs: 1. Gin survives but leaves Soul Society and relocates in the Human World Random Headcanon: Tells everyone he’s a snake, but has a fox theme.

Sosuke Aizen Ships: ? Interactions: Gin, Tousen, Ichigo, Kisuke Plot Ideas and AUs: 1. Aizen’s cover up lies are actually fact - aka Aizen the good guy! Random Headcanon: He has cast his hypnosis on this blog and Discord!

Shinji Hirako Ships: Hiyori Interactions: Momo, other Visored Plot Ideas and AUs: 1. ? Random Headcanon: likes to prank people (with his zanpakuto)

Grimmjow Ships: Nel, ? Interactions: Ichigo, Ulquiorra Plot Ideas and AUs: 1. ? Random Headcanon: Still hunts Ichigo down so they can have their rematch.

Ulquiorra Interactions: Orihime, Grimmjow Plot Ideas and AUs: 1. A hollow eaten is Orihime’s brother, Sora, becoming the main personality . Random Headcanon: He reforms after learning about the ‘heart’ from Orihime

? Ships: ? Interactions: ? Plot Ideas and AUs: 1. ? Random Headcanon: ?

[asakurahaos]

White collar and Bleach for the series ask meme thing

WHITE COLLAR

Favourite character: Neal. And El. I literally can't choose, they're both perfect and I love them sm 😭

Second favourite character: ↑ constantly changing between these two. I also really like Clinton, so he can be nr. 2 and Neal and El can share the nr. 1 spot?

Least favourite character: the lies and lack of fucking communication between Peter and Neal. I know it's not a character, but how often it's there it might as well be

Who I'm most like: Peter? Maybe? Bc we both complain abt breaking rules and then breaking them anyways, suck at flirting and are in love with El and Neal? Lol

OTP: Peter/Neal/Elizabeth. Idk how to ship them if not all together. Do they have a ship name?

NOTP: Neal/Rebecca

Favourite moment: When Neal pretended to be El's husband and they were just so. Giggly and cute and slipped so easily into the roles? sksjdjsjf 😭😭

Rating out of 10: ONE. TOO MANY SECRETS. FUCKING COMMUNICATE YOU'RE GROWN MEN.

Jk, jk I love it, 10/10. I really enjoyed it and I wish it continues at some point

BLEACH

Favourite character: GRIMMJOW. MY PRETTY MURDERCAT.

Second favourite character: Orihime 💕

Least favourite character: Nnoitra, Luppi and Ginjo

Who I'm most like: I'd like to say Nel, cause dude. Goals. Like she's strong af, she only fights to protect, she can be both very serious and (chaotically) playful and loving, and uhh she's hot? Who wouldn't like to be her?

(I'd also like to think I'm like Unohana, bc quiet medic that's the first kenpachi? Brooo)

OTP: GrimmIchiHime (I have a thing for ot3s in case you haven't noticed lol)

NOTP: I used to actually kinda like IchiRuki before I quit Bleach in like 2013ish, but then I returned in 2017 and a large part of the IR shippers was so disgustingly anti IchiHime and anti Orihime (and anyone into that) that I just. Couldn't look at IR the same way. I'm not kidding, some of the most mysoginistic things I've EVER read were by IR shippers about Orihime

Favourite moment: oh boy there's so manyyyy.. but if I had to choose, there's this one short moment where Uryuu, Chad and Ichigo are sitting in Ichigo's room and Orihime comes in from her part time job bringing pastries, and Ichigo's like, all grumbly, 'pffft who even wants to eat stale pastries', and Orihime basically goes 'no pastries for grumpy/complaining ppl ☺️' while Uryu's on the side saying 'why are you complaining dumbass, you're the one that always ends up eating most 😑'

I found that really cute and fluffy, bc seeing the 4 of them hanging out and teasing each other like regular teenagers? Perfection 😭

Rating out of 10: if we're talking objectively then I'd say, 8 overall. If were talking subjectively? 100000/10