#isshin two heavens as one

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Isshin, Two Heavens as One

Artist: Yamada Rokkaku TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[sovenasark]

Two recent alters. I knew I had to do a borderless alter of Cloak of the Bat as soon as I saw it, I just loved the art so much.

[mylittleheathen]

My first mtg deck, a modified mardu precon.

[gallusrostromegalus]

For An Elephant is Warm and Mushy, what's the deal with Ichigo and Isshin? Cause I hate Isshin, but I want to know what your take is on it. (Sorry if you've already addressed this.)

I think my thoughts on Isshin in AEIWAM are best summed up as such:

To elaborate: I think that, if he had been a father under normal circumstances, Isshin would have been a perfectly competent and even a good father.

...But he's not parenting under Normal Circumstances.

He's parenting as widower (alone) with three psychic (no how-to guides on this!) and traumatized (Especially Ichigo) children, while processing his own trauma (Again, Widower), while in a HIGHLY demanding and stressful career (Emergency care specialist/Surgeon), while technically on the run from the law (he's still wanted for being a deserter), while also in Apex Predator Central (Karkura is CHOCK A FUCKING BLOCK fulla hollows).

And BY GOD, the man is trying! AEIWAM! Isshin does his best to keep his children informed of the dangers of their world while not also risking them breaking his witness protection scheme. He works extremely hard and his best to keep them fed, housed, safe, educated and loved, and he LOVES them SO MUCH. Isshin is NEVER shy always genuine with affection towards his children! Hell, he even reaches out to who he can (Urahara, Ryukken, his neighbors, the kid's teachers) for help because he knows he's in over his head and needs help and that's a hard damn thing for a parent to do, but...

...It's not enough.

He still lies to his children. For perfectly sane and understandable reasons, but he still lies to them. He still doesn't understand his children- He gives them all the love he can, as best he knows how, but Ichigo especially speaks an entirely different love language. He's still not there for his children. Balancing three kids is ROUGH when you're a single parent and I'm afraid Isshin has some old-fashioned notions about gender that cause him to prioritize the twins over Ichigo. And worse, he's not there when Ichigo, and later the twins, start being in mortal danger from the fallout of his connection to Soul Society.

He grit his teeth and moved heaven and earth to rise to the occasion and still managed to fall well short of it.

A+ for Effort

D- for The Actual Results

So. Why DOES Isshin keep failing at healthy communication? Why DOES he make bizarre choices? Why DOES he suck at being a father?

As I was writing I realized the answer is that he was in the right time and place to accidentally learn some VERY bad habits from his friends and colleagues during his heavy involvement in the Soi Fon-Yoruichi Debacle.

This is already a very long post, so the explanation is under the cut:

To be clear: It's not their fault.

It's one of those awful "Its nobody's fault specifically, but the way human minds work means that this sort of conflict and bad behavior was inevitable" situations. The tragedy of being discrete beings.

The crux of Soi Fon and Yoruichi's relationship was that two people who had previously only moderate issues met another person whose own issues massively exacerbated their own in a continuously escalating cycle.

AEIWAM! Soi Fon is the SOLE surviving child of the Fon Clan. He five older brothers were all killed in service to the second division and the Shihon clan. Possibly under Yoruichi's direction, if I understand the timelines right. She was also raised from a very young age to ignore her own needs as a person, use violence as a Solution to her problems, largely starved of affection, and to hero-worship Yoruichi. Girl was already messed up when she walked into the Second division.

AEIWAM! Yoruichi is ALSO a sole surviving clan heir (Yushiro is conceived as a direct result to her vanishing in TBTP) and ALSO taught to use violence as a first solution, but instead of a self-sacrificing mindset, Yoruichi was raised to believe that other people sacrificing themselves for her was normal, good and even virtuous on their part. She was also sort of doted on by her parents, who were thrilled that their last-chance heir was shaping up so well (So far as they knew).

You can see how this was always going to go badly.

Soi fon is desperate to please. Yoruichi thinks this is perfectly normal and desirable behavior, and so she rewards it with copious affection, because Soi Fon responds to that well. Soi fon, receiving her first hit of positive reinforcement in her whole life, promptly falls head over heels for Yoruichi, and works even harder for her. Yoruichi, thrilled to have someone so capable, continues to reward this behavior. The cycle continues, and escalates.

Eventually, the two of them are operating in completely different worlds. So far as Soi Fon can tell, She and Yoruichi are in a Grand Romance, like a knight and her princess in the fairytale stories she used to comfort herself with as a little girl. She assumes this is a normal relationship between lieutenant and captain. So far as Yoruichi can tell, She and Soi Fon are in a Perfectly Normal And Platonic Working Relationship, because this is how every 2nd Division Lieutenant has fawned over their Shihon captain since the division's inception, and she assumes this is perfectly normal.

At some point, Soi Fon realizes that their relationship is really one-sided and she's giving 110% for maybe 4% on Yoruichi's behalf, but she's invested so much and every authority figure in her life is telling her that this is Right and Correct, that she actively chooses the fantasy over reality to cope with her circumstances. At some point, Yoruichi realizes that she's wildly taking advantage of Soi Fon's romantic feelings that she... well. She likes the girl well enough, but not romantically. But She relies so much on Soi Fon to run the 2nd Division and every authority figure in her life is telling her that this is Right and Correct that she actively chooses to play into Soi Fon's fantasy to preserve this very beneficial (for her) status Quo.

...Enter Kisuke Urahara.

Urahara has no horse in this particular race- in fact, he doesn't even know there's a race going on. He's deeply enamored of this ABSOLUTE BABE that's into his schlubby little ass, who's cool and funny and involved in the same insane workplace he is, and when Yoruichi sometimes complains to him about how crazy her lieutenant is, his only frame of reference is... Mayuri. He thinks this is normal, and the romantic relationship between him and Yoruichi continues to grow. She's his unexpected 11 out of 10, he's her fun dirty little secret. It's kinda tawdry, but it is honest.

Then TBTP happens. Kisuke and Yoruichi sorta accidentally frame themselves for treason, then someone (Aizen) very on purpose frames them for treason.

And so far as Soi Fon knows, the woman she loved, the woman she devoted her life to, the woman who (allegedly) loved her back- has lied to and discarded her.

It hurts. It hurts A Lot.

...Enter Isshin Shiba.

In AEIWAM, Isshin becomes a captain the same week TBTP happens, though he's on the other side of the rukongai when that shit goes down, so he shows up to his first captain's meeting with more than half the captains being brand new to their jobs, not totally sure what he or anyone else is doing-

-And there's Soi Fon. Alone and Miserable.

Isshin is an older brother to a younger sister (who never gets a name in canon) and an uncle to her three children, but they all live way out in the middle of nowhere so he hardly ever sees them and seeing Soi Fon at the meeting, exhausted and distraught (And maybe a little bit hungover) activates every single Big Brother And Uncle instinct he's been looking to inflict on someone.

It's VERY easy for him to hear Soi Fon's side of the story, conveniently ignore the part where she actively chose to believe in a romantic relationship she knew didn't actually exist, and cast Yoruichi as The Bad Guy Who Took Advantage Of My Poor Substitute Little Sister.

Soi Fon, who had *almost* been on the verge of being realistic about the breakup, leans into his version of the story, because, again, she's massively starved for affection and Isshin is giving her the type of love her now-dead brothers used to. So Isshin learns Bad Gender Habits here, and Bad Listening Habits, and Bad "Casting People Into Roles Instead Of Treating Them Like People" Habits, and gets rewarded for them with Soi Fon's attention and sisterly affection.

This is also probably where his decision-making skills start to decline- Soi Fon is a Trusted Colleague of his, and he goes to her for advice on Tricky Political Things, because that's what 2nd division DOES. Unfortunately, Soi Fon lives in Information Opsec Paranoia Spy Shit Hell, and gives her advice out accordingly. He starts favoring not giving out details unless he thinks it's REALLY necessary, and using bad-faith decision making. Even More unfortunately, the Gotei-13 is a hot mess of an organization and these habits serve him well.

...Enter Masaki Ishida, and shortly thereafter, Exit Isshin Shiba until he appears in the Human world as Dr. Isshin Kurosaki, and his wife, Masaki Kurosaki.

It's during the "I met a woman who is *technically* an enemy of the state, but she was so cool I fell so hard in love I decided to do a desertion and light treason" mess, Isshin becomes properly acquainted with Urahara and Yoruichi, and eventually, he hears Yoruichi's side of the story. He reverses course, now Soi Fon is the Crazy Ex, and Yoruichi was just doing what was necessary to survive in their demented military-industrial-spy-governement workplace.

Yoruichi doubles down on his "Shut the FUCK up or Yamamoto or worse is gonna come and kill us, and everyone we love" paranoia, because she's also on the run, and when he comes to her for advice on "So apparently the hollows are WAY stronger than I thought, they KILLED MY WIFE, how am I supposed to keep my kids safe?" She advocates teaching them how to recognize and hide from hollows rather than proper self-defense or the truth, because her first fear still is retribution from Soul Society. It's not insane of her- Yamamoto has a very literally fiery temper and can hold grudges for millennia.

So Isshin Tries. But he's also very burdened by paranoid neurotic behavior he doesn't even know he has, and dodgy-if-not-totally-insane advice from his friends.

And that's what I think of Isshin Kurosaki :)

[electronicwitchcollection]

🖤🌸holy shit it had been a long time- I TOOK A BREAK FROM TUMBLR BUT IM BACK NOW WITH MORE BRAINROT. I wanted to ask u. What do you think of Gin being a lightweight? And Shunsui and Jushiro drinking with him, shocked ? 😂

Hello my friend! I’m glad you’re back!

As always you bring such fun topics to talk about 🖤

So I absolutely believe Gin cannot handle his alcohol, for a few reasons!

The first being, he never got the typical childhood. He went to the academy as a young boy, and excelled through it quickly. He never had any of those teenage parties where they experimented with alcohol and their limits. He didn’t go through school with peers his own age, therefore didn’t have any “friends” his age to go through those experiences with when he reached that age. He never grew a tolerance for it, and never learned his limits.

The people he spent the most time with while transitioning to a child to an adult would’ve been Aizen and Tousen. Both of which aren’t big drinkers themselves. Aizen would maybe indulge in an expensive glass of wine with dinner every so often, but that is all. Tousen I can’t see Finding any enjoyment in drinking, and chooses to abstain.

I would also like to factor in Gin’s physique. He’s so skinny, I’m convinced he hasn’t seen a good hot meal for quite some time. And we all Know the downfall of drinking on an empty stomach 🙃

The biggest and most important factor, is Gin had chosen from an early age that he would be the one to bring Aizen down, working as a secret double agent to ensure Aizen fails in his quest to ascend the heavens. Gin is smart and calculated, he knows full well that “loose lips sinks ships” and would take precautions to ensure Aizen never finds out about his plan to take him down.

He can’t afford to have his inhibitions lowered, must always keep up the facade to ensure he reaches his goals.

However

He was woefully unprepared for how persistent Kyoraku is 😂

We all know just how desperate that man is to have a drinking buddy who can keep up with him. Sure, he has Jushiro who will happily keep him company as he slowly drinks himself to the edge of sanity.. but it can get tiring being the only one drinking while your friend smiles on patiently. Not to mention the times Jushiro is too unwell or simply to busy to join him.

I think he has had a good few drinking partners over the years… Yourichi, Shinji, Isshin. Unfortunately they’ve all left him to drink alone once more. Kenpachi is good in a pinch, the man can hold his liquor ! but trying to get any decent conversation out of him… you’d have better luck trying to get water not to be wet. 😂

I believe Kyoraku would corner Gin one day, and before he knew what was happening he was sat opposite the two older captains wondering how the hell this happened. Without thinking of any believable reason why he had to go, Gin would try and wait Kyoraku out. The man had a reputation. Surly he’d be slumped over falling asleep soon, where he could easily leave him to the practiced hands of Jushiro, who had more patience than any one man should.

He failed to recognise two things. The first being, Kyoraku can drink an obscure amount of alcohol before he got into that state. The second being Gins near non existent tolerance would be no match for the high percentage alcohol Kyoraku favoured.

The first drink went down fine, a little fuzzy around the edges, but manageable. He could still walk home perfectly capable of hiding his true intentions. He could engage in conversation while keeping all of his secrets deeply guarded.

The second was a little more worrisome. His real laugh came out unexpectedly at one of Kyorakus filthy jokes. Muscles relaxed and the room suddenly feeling a little bit warm. But he was fine, right? A little tipsy, but still in somewhat control of his actions. The room tilted if he moved to fast and he couldn’t quite get the smile off his face

It’s the third that tips him over. His normally pale complexion is flushed red, one eye is tightly closed while the other tries to focus hard enough to stop the world from spinning around him. His words are slurred and heavy, sounding fine to his own ears yet almost indistinguishable to everyone else. When the hiccups start, so did the giggling.

Kyoraku and Ukitake would share a disbelieving look at the absolute state this man had gotten in after only three drinks… even Ukitake could handle more than that..

Kyoraku would pout at the disappointing loss of yet another drinking buddy prospect. Though he did quite enjoy watching Gin sway and stumble his way into nearly every wall, tree and person they passed on the way to his home as Ukitake frantically tried to steer him in the right way.

[midnightactual]

so Yoruichi isn’t happy with Aizen. but there’s a more interesting matter here: why is Aizen surprised and more importantly stammering at her appearance here? let’s consult a summary of SAFWY Volume II:

AIZEN and AZASHIRO are having a conversation. AZASHIRO asks AIZEN why he confined Inoue Orihime in Hueco Mundo. AIZEN doesn’t give a straight answer. AIZEN says AZASHIRO should ask about who he really wants to know: Kenpachi ZARAKI. AZASHIRO admits that he was surprised to hear that ZARAKI won against an Espada even though he had lost against a bankai-less Ichigo KUROSAKI. Byakuya KUCHIKI’s victory was no surprise. KUCHIKI had trained day and night after his defeat. But ZARAKI hadn’t. So, why had he won? AIZEN comments that isolating ZARAKI in Hueco Mundo was one of the positive effects of kidnapping Inoue. He figured that, if Kurosaki entered Hueco Mundo, Soul Society would also quicken its procedure to send captains to Hueco Mundo. And they did. Just as planned. AIZEN thought that YAMAMOTO and ZARAKI could pose the biggest hindrance to his plans. He wanted to avoid fighting ZARAKI until after he had awakened the hôgyoku and gained his immortal body. He let Ichigo grow stronger, giving him opponents to fight who were close to him in power. He had deemed the jump from fighting Renji ABARAI to fighting Byakuya KUCHIKI too large. That’s why had let him fight ZARAKI. He had set up various little tricks to make sure they’d run into each other. AZASHIRO must’ve "seen" that. AIZEN says that, although AZASHIRO may see everything, he only looks at the superficial results. That’s why he’ll lose. He’ll lose to the name "Kenpachi".

some things to note from this:

my statement in Bleach Zenkai that pretty much all of the Aizen Saga was a bet between Kisuke and Aizen about whether Aizen could beat a fully maxed out Ichigo is straight-up canonical

my inference that Aizen had to deploy a series of tactics to have a chance of overcoming the Gotei 13 to win is also straight-up canonical: he had to isolate Kenpachi in Hueco Mundo, use Kyōka Suigetsu to defeat the halved Gotei forces, use Wonderweiss to seal Yamamoto, and merge with the Hōgyoku to overcome Yoruichi, Kisuke, and Isshin. if any one of these links in his plan had failed, he would have been in danger of being overwhelmed

Aizen says elsewhere to Azashiro, “My defeat? If I look back on how disordered my heart was back then, I can say that defeat was a meaningful experience. You should experience it once.” how disordered his heart was? what if Aizen’s goal was to try and transcend... to see if it provoked the appearance of an even more transcendent being? like how the Soul King appeared to defeat the First Menos! if it didn’t then he was the most transcendent and that was that. but if it did then the “unbearable vacancy of heaven’s throne” would still end. he witnesses this but seeing that Ichigo had overmatched him filled him with jealousy and rage instead of acceptance. is this the disordering of his heart? was that his true goal? is this why he delays Yhwach and peptalks Ichigo in TYBW and persuades Azashiro to stop in SAFWY? has he become a bodhisattva?

but none of these are the most interesting thing to me. what I find most interesting is that if Aizen was concerned about Kenpachi and you give credence to my writings here that Yoruichi is a figure who approached the same point as Kenpachi from a different angle (technique vs. power) and the two are routinely paralleled (both tearing off their arms in TYBW, both only being halted by extreme environmental hazards of space/environmental poisoning by Gremmy/Askin, so on) then...

Aizen is surprised because Yoruichi is there so early after his transformation

and Aizen is stammering because he’s concerned she might break this link in his plan

he has a moment of fear

and if Aizen isn’t initially confident that he can beat her even after fusing with the Hōgyoku then that absolutely explains why he didn’t try to stop her from rescuing Kisuke, Tessai, and the Vizard, because he knew he couldn’t do it as I have previously suggested

NOT EVEN YOU

[nowen422]

Nowen talkin bout bleach

Bleach TYBW E 21: Ichigo Clowning on the Ladies

Apologies for the lateness of this, I didn’t get to watch the episode until 2:30 today cause some stuff happened. Still, it was a great episode that checked a lot of boxes  for the series so far. It was a good transition from a very big and major fight sequence within the story. It’s served as a very good demonstration on how powerful the protagonist has become. And it serves as a good introduction into the next part of the story. Which will start to get a little screwy. I don’t wanna make any major predictions, but I think the second core is going to end with a really big death. If you’ve read the manga, you know what’s coming. If you haven’t, I will say that it has been hinted at very heavily so far. But beyond that, I only have two questions. One, are they going to do that scene where Yoruichi shows up in a certain way? (I hope not) And two, WHEN WILL Ichibe BLINK FOR GOD’S SAKE!?!!?!

Shinigami death count: 16

Quincy death count: 14

Number of fiveways (four v1 fights) Ichigo has been in: 3 (2 canon and 1 non canon, our boy gets around)

Spoilers below

Things I liked:

I’m going to get this out-of-the-way first, if anyone has been reading these posts, y’all know I don’t like the Bambi‘s. They feel very forced in a lot of ways, but this episode I feel justifies them much better than the source material. I know that bleach has a long history of having wacky characters in the middle of a serious setting, and these ladies are no exception to the rule. But for some reason, the characters never appealed to me. They have interesting abilities, interesting looks, but overall nothing to write home about. This episode really made me start to feel interested in them as characters. It even gave me a favorite (Liltotto). I’ll talk more about the things that I like from them further in, but I wanted to put here that this episode made me actually care about characters that I haven’t really ever liked. Kudos.

After seeing them in most of the episodes throughout the core, we finally get to see the Bambi’s abilities and they look awesome. They especially did a good job with Liltotto’s glutton, the way her jaws stretched was very unsettling. And I didn’t expect Candice’s lightning to be blue but still neat.

When Ichigo descends from on high, everyone immediately looks up to the heavens as he drops in. This boy is really taking the Messiah metaphor very far. 

New version of number one! It’s awesome and if anyone put it on YouTube, I’m definitely going to put it on a playlist

We get another use of Sklaveri in the series! I think it really answers the question of what the ability was supposed to do. From what I am guessing, based on looks, it absorbs a massive amount of reishi so the user can power up their holy form. The only reason Quilge looked the way he did was because he absorbed reishi from something that was toxic to himself. Overall a great way to answer questions that I’m sure people had for years of why didn’t the Quincies do this during the series and only do it once.

When we get to see Ichigo’s outfit, I had already had this thought before, but my eyes were drawn to that white skirt around his waist, in a way it’s similar to the shoulder cape that his dad has when Isshin fights Aizen. It’s an almost Captain style coat. Which if I’m going to be honest is a major flex. Senjumaru throwing a shade from up high.

It’s silly, but I do like the magical girl style transformations.

I think the hyper violence against Gisele really works to show “this lady is not OK.” End it really drives home the zombie influence with her.  I can’t wait to see how they handle the rest of her abilities later on.

Renji!

I don’t think we got to see all the sternritter wing styles, and the fact that we get to see so many is really fun.

Chad! Love his outfit!!

 Orihime and Chad showing up right at that minute to see Uryu rising up with his new boss, he’s going to make for a very interesting conversation piece next episode. I think that was excellently done. 

Things I didn’t like:

I hate to say this, but I will say that Kenpachi’s voice actor is doing the best he can with the style of Kenpachi’s voice. There’s only so much you can do with a very guttural tone. But considering the emotional deliveries that we’ve seen so far, I kind of feel that the line about Yachiru was a little lackluster. I may be completely misinterpreting it though.

 I didn’t expect Giselle’s ability to be explain so quickly, especially considering the foreshadowing they did with Bambietta and Toshiro. But it makes sense considering they had to show things off for these guys to be scary for the audience.

They changed Ichiko’s line a little bit. In the original material he said “I’m here to save you” But here it says “I’m here to help you“. I’m sure I just read a different translation, but it’s a little strange.

The dramatic reveal ofYwach’s plan of hijacking the staircase Ichigo used to get down to the soul society kind of felt like an after note. It’s setting the stage for the next part, but overall if they ended on just the beam going up, I feel that would have done a bit more. But then again, they have a lot of chapters to cover, so yeah, do what you Gotta do. 

That cannot be it for Ichigo and Uryu’s big dramatic bro confrontation. They have to at least fight at some point during the next few episodes. 

I have never really understood Orihime’s outfit in the final arc. Chad, I can kind of understand because of the way his powers work (he’s proud of his skin, so he uses that to activate his fullbring). But it feels very fanservicey animated right now. Her abilities look good, especially considering we haven’t seen them since the first episode and second episode really, but I still don’t like the outfit. And this last thing isn’t really a complaint just an observation, she gets a lot of battle skirts to wear in the series. Granted, it’s only like two, but it’s a little strange that it’s happened twice. 

And with that, we have the bad guys, taking an elevator to heaven, the biggest gun taken somewhat out of the fight, and one friendship that is in dire need of a couples counseling session. Here’s hoping that in the next episode the royal guard actually does their job. Chances are they won’t though.

[polrification]

running the names of every schools in the Raiden Gokaden through a dictionary and I am getting some interesting results (Granted the other two I am just taking from the wiki and do not know where to find mentions of these names)

天目流 (Amenoma Art) translates literally means something like “Heaven’s Eye Art” (I find that interesting since Visions are called ‘ 神之眼 ‘ (which literally mean Eye of God) in the chinese text)

一心流 (Isshin Art) directly translates into something along the lines of “One Heart Art” (What is ALSO Interesting is how This Isshin and the Isshin in Musou Isshin carry the same characters (一心流  &  夢想の一心) but that is a very different can of worms)

経津伝 (Futsu Method) from what I could find this one seems more based on a shinto god of warriors of sorts (Also kind of curious as to why they used 伝  (Which means tradition; method) instead of 流  like with the Amenoma Art and Isshin

百目 (Hyakume) literally means “100 Eyes” (not sure what there is to get out of this one, other than maybe a correlation to the statue of the omnipresent god)

千手 (Senju) means “Thousand Hands” This one is in my opinion the most vague since there isn’t much correlation to this one and the information we have so far

I’m still on the crack-brainrot-juice combo the ashikai video sent me in so yes this is slightly inspired by their crack theory in said video but still I find it very thematically hilarious if the Raiden Gokaden do represent something of Scaramouche and that he took down the supposed heart (coughcough gnosis) and left the eye of heaven (coughcough vision)

[machinedramon]

I've been sitting on isshin, two heavens as one and wanting to make a samurai deck since kamigawa neon dynasty came out, idly wondering every so often how I should go about it and I finally realized I've been overthinking this.

obviously I just need to throw all my eggs in one isshin-shaped basket and put so much exalted in there that swinging with him sunders the planet cleanly in half

[whynotsableye]

Help me pick my next Commander Deck. Names of the Commander and the Vibes down below

Nekusar, the Mindrazer- go ahead and draw cards, I dare you

Ink-Treader Nephilim- spread the spells, comrade spell slinger

Isshin, two heavens as one- forward into battle, samurai on the attack

Mirrym, sentinel wym- we heard you like dragons so we put dragons in your dragons so you can have dragons when you cast dragons

Krenko, Mob Boss- goblins? That’s a few, oh that’s a lot, how do you have that many goblins what the fuck?

Rograk, Son of Rohgahh + Ardenn, Intrepid Archeologist- funny little Goblin really mad, make funny little Goblin really big

Muldrotha, the Gravetide- you thought that was gone? Fool the grave is an extension of life in my domain

Chatterfang, Squirrel General- SQUIRRELS!!!

Magus Lucea Kane- make so much mana, double up on X-cost spells

Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph- death by a thousand cuts 1 damage becomes 3

[jaebird88]

All thirteen of my EDH decks as of time of writing this post.

Baba Lysaga

Eruth, Tormented Prophet

Evra, Halcyon Witness

Isshin, Two Heavens as One

Jodah, Archmage Eternal

Lathliss, Dragon Queen

Liesa, Shroud of Dusk

Mazzy, Truesword Paladin

Radha, Heart of Keld

Jared Carthalion

Rhys the Redeemed

The Archimandrite

Volo, Guide to Monsters

[mtgdays]

Against the Odds: Exalted Isshin Conscription (Modern)

Against the Odds: Exalted Isshin Conscription (Modern)

What are the odds of winning with Painharmonicon—Isshin, Two Heavens as One—in Modern, backed by a ton of exalted triggers and some sneaky finishers from Magic’s past? Let’s find out! Source: MTG GOLD FISH

[8bitsupervillain]

I want to make an Isshin deck. Either standard or commander, or both. I want to have a proxy made that turns Isshin, Two Heavens as One into Isshin, Sword Saint from Sekiro. Cause that just seems really obvious to me.

I'm tremendously upset at how poorly my Jund deck has been performing. Riveteers or whatever that shard is called in Capenna. Jund.

[gildedmuse]

Shadow The Snow

An... All Heart Au? A ZoLaw AU

It would be like... If Zoro wasn't kidnapped and sold into slavery (that's the only real All Heart reference, promise) if instead of mourning the death of his friend and rival by vowing to let his name spread to the heavens, Roronoa Zoro's whole story takes a hard turn when some beautiful older stranger comes along from a distant island to speak with the head of the Shimotsuki family. Almost the very next morning, the Isshin Dojo is sold to this mysterious oiran who raised The House Of The New Moon in its place. Koushirou takes Kuina and sets sails for Wano while all the other students are sent back to their families or guardians and Zoro... Well, Zoro simply refuses to leave. Hey, it was his dojo first! (So what if everyone else is gone? Kuina was the only one ever worth fighting, anyway.)

Luckily for him, the Mistress takes one look at this crazy sword wielding child that comes with her new property and decides, eh, sure. He can stay. Not for free, of course. In exchange for doing household chores and whatever small jobs she may require, Zoro is given room and board and allowed to keep his small training course out in the back, hidden from view of the central property.

She even brings him along after deciding the East is not as "civilized" as they had heard - and don't really take to this whole prostitution house on their small island, Wano descendants or not - so head to the North. East or North make no difference to Zoro. (The only reason he has already run off to find Kuina is because first he has to perfect his three sword style, and once it's flawless he will find his old rival and they will start their own dojo. One that teaches both girls and boys so long as they can master the legendary new style of Santoryu!)

She does, however, have very strict rules regarding children being involved in anything "unsavory" (and besides, just look at him... Well, at least he's got determination), and none of her oirans dare go against her, not after one or two is caught trying to make "playfully hints." Customers who cross her are even less fortunate.

Those kinds of bans always fail when up against the simple curiosity of a child. So with Zoro it is entirely effective. Even as he got older and closer to the age of some of the trainees, Zoro never bothered himself with what they all giggled about and whispered behind fans and into each other's ears.

(What's so great about being stuck all day with pretentious rich jerk forced to have "polite, refined conversation" that follows a bunch of made up, stuffy rules. ESPECIALLY if you had to do it while stuck in too many layers of some a sticky, hot kimono, painted in itchy looking make up, with an overly complicated and uncomfortable hair style that always somehow ended up ruined by the end, anyway, so you had to do the whole mess over again. All that fuss just to hear some boring guy go on about boring stuff and pretend to be interested in his stupid life and opinions?)

Then, as the months and years pass, suddenly the strange little sword boy is no longer so "unfortunate" looking or even "ugly cute" but, well... And suddenly, customers aren't so quick to dismiss or ignore the errand boy. By the time his sixteenth birthday rolls around, Zoro garners all sorts of attention from patrons that:

Older Oirans (and the house master) greatly disapprove of since they were brought up to see Zoro as both a child and very much removed from that part of their world

Younger Oirans are starting to get bitchy and jealous about, after all Zoro doesn't have any training, he doesn't "work" there (not like they do!), he doesn't even try with the clients, why should he get attention that is rightfully theirs!

And the most sensible thing to do seems obvious; give the boy some cash, some clothes, a few meals and set him on his way.

(Tch, old man, he doesn't care you think he's cute, no amount of money could make him pretend it was somehow "pleasurable" or "exciting" to sit around having a tea party when he could be out showing the world Santoryu!)

Well, sixteen really is old enough to go out on his own, he might as well start making a new for himself among the pirates and kenshi and sort like he's always talking about. Good luck, no hard feelings. It's not as isn't like Zoro really considered them family or the house a home, it was just a place to stay while he prefected his Santoryu, even if by the end he was fond enough of a handful of them. It's the way you might be fond of neighbors, not crew.

He was all too glad to take what little possessions he had and start out towards Wano! A place he'd thought of so often he didn't need a map or a compass, the way there pulled at his blood and his will would guide him over the ocean and to it's shores!

Six Months Later...

In little over half a year, Zoro manages to travel from Lower North Blue, not even a days journey shy of the Red Line, to somewhere in Upper North Blue, freezing outside in just his old coat (he won't admit it but even after five years of living up North, Zoro still can't stand the cold) and worn out boots. Some jerks is trying to hassle him, get him to part with one of his swords (what's the kid need three for, anyway? Better go have some berries for food or a place to stay, surely? Little good an extra sword does a frozen corpse) for way less than it's worth which is so insulting Zoro seriously considers threatening to slice the guy up. If only he could feel his fingers so he could get them around the handle, or his teeth to stop chattering enough to show precisely why he needed the third one.

He definitely isn't going to die here, before he's even set foot on the Grand Line and towards Wano, that's for sure. But it would be nice to eat something this week, or maybe just build a small fire? Things we're easier when he could turn in bounties, but up here in the winter everyone is so bundled up it's hard to see their faces, and besides, there seem to be Marines on every stupid island. Always taking his marks!

Then, through the doorway, framed by the ice and snow and howl of the storm, a tall, dark figure. The young man ambled in with a confident, uneasy gait that seem to hush the wind at his heels. He steps up beside Zoro and this aura of Absoluteness just envelopes him.

The young man swiped a thumb across Zoro's cheek, strangling him with the touch. It's not the coolness of his skin, that's too be expected, but there's something electric in it that zaps some part of Zoro back to life. When he looks down at the strangers hand he notices the thread of crimson looping around his long, tattooed finger.

Zoro swipes the back of his hand over his face. Huh, he hadn't even realized his cheek had been bleeding. He hadn't been able to feel it in so long.

"Give the kid some food." Not a request, and the stranger doesn't toss any berries the man 's way. Just commands it. And before the terrified merchant can even mutter something about him being a shop keeper not some marine charity ship, the young man adds, "Then I suppose we'll have to call for one of those instead. The room behind this stall should be more than big enough for the three of us to wait until they arrive to come retrieve the boy, don't you think?"

Zoro can barely start to protest when the guy goes so white he nearly vanishes into the snow. The next thing Zoro knows his arms are full of food. Not just food, but a new pair of boots, a hat and some gloves, a pair of snow goggles, two extra blankets, some matches, and a flask of sake. Zoro is stumbling away under the weight of his new everything, muttering a very confused but sincere "Thank you".

"Damned kid is just some whore outsider, deserves whatever he gets out there."

Zoro doesn't stop, use to people hurling insults as though not being from the North somehow means he can't hear them. But he feels long fingers curling just around his hip, securing Zoro in their grasp as the young man leading him out the door. "Yet still smart enough to see through you," the stranger returns without bothering to glance backward at the man.

Zoro is somehow still surprised when, after they're out of the shop and a few feet down the street - assuming there is still a street under all the snow - the strangely electric yet solid presence of that hand on his back suddenly fizzles out and vanishes.

"Don't go asking for help, you'll only end up needing more of it." The young man's voice is dark and seems to arch out from him, falling over Zoro and blocking out all other sound. He followed on instinct, too lost in the moment to have thought to put those damn goggles on before he stepped outside! Ice slashed through the air and broke through the dark making the whole world look blinding white. The only thing he could make out for certain was the darkness of the man's aura, which turned out to be his coat billowing out behind him. The twists and flurries of the storm turning the heavy fabric into a dynamic, living being that seem to shift and reshape itself in front of Zoro's eyes, a sort of shadow with mass.

But it's Zoro who follows behind, right at the man's heels, presses in until he can feel the fabric whip past his cheek, and falls into the footsteps the man leaves behind in the snow every two or three steps.

[kurosakikai]

. xx4 . Truth Hurts

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Kisuke wasn’t sure what he was expecting, when Ichigo had invited him to visit.

He did not expect to see Ichigo, up to his elbows in work, sleeves rolled up, fingers gently taking shrapnel out of someone’s arm. He also didn’t expect to see Yuzu-chan there, also helping her brother with tweezers.

“My goodness,” he says, and Ichigo flicks a glance up, nods at him. “Ichigo, what happened?”

“Accident,” Ichigo says bluntly. “You just missed Ishida - he took the worst hit and drove them to the hospital.” Kisuke nods understandingly. “You’ll have to give me half an hour - if you want to aid me, I won’t say no.”

Kisuke thinks about it. Knowing Ichigo, he knew how highly Ichigo regarded his clinic, and the offer was not made lightly.

“Let me put up my coat and hat. Do you happen to have spare socks and sneakers?” He asks, and Ichigo flashes him a relieved smile.

“Got a uniform for you, two doors down, has your name on it.”

Maaa. He wasn’t the only one who knew Ichigo well, it seemed, and he dutifully gets changed, helping out Ichigo as he takes care of his patients.

Thankfully, he’d come prepared with lollipops.

It’s a good two hours before they’re able to clean up, and Ichigo shoos him out so he can sanitize the place, Kisuke amiably cleaning up in the bathroom and getting changed back into his usual things, leaving them in the sanitation bin for Ichigo to ensure they were cleaned to the clinic’s stringent standards.

“Bit more than half an hour,” he teases, and Ichigo shrugs, not in the least embarrassed, using a soft cloth to polish his glasses as he gives Kisuke an arch look.

“Are you expecting me to apologize?” Ichigo says dryly, and Kisuke snorts.

“Heavens no. I’m simply saying, your timekeeping skills could be better, don’t you agree?” He chuckles, and after a moment, Ichigo gives an amused smile, content to accept the teasing.

“I suppose. Come along, I’ve got some new tea Yuzu brought. If I remember correctly, you do like spicy teas, right?” He asks, and Kisuke beams.

“I do! Such good memory,” he compliments, and Ichigo laughs. He sobers however, once the tea has been poured, and Kisuke is properly seated.

“I want your word that not one breath of this gets to Rukia.”

My, my. Straight to the point. Kisuke blinks, but the flat look Ichigo levels at the shopkeep makes him sigh, and nod despite his misgivings.

“I became the Godslayer a little before Kai was born,” Ichigo recalls quietly, fingers folded around his cup, his expression shuttered and flat. “I didn’t know, at the time, what my connection to him would become, that I would want to protect him so fiercely. I loved him, of course I did he was going to be my child, how could I do anything less?” Kisuke nods along - this fits Ichigo’s overprotective personality, he would agree with that.

“And then I saw him. Zangetsu had already affirmed his love for my little one, both halves, when they were separate spirits, but when I walked into that room...” His eyes go distant, and a soft smile curls his lips up. “Zangetsu loved my little boy on the spot, cooed over him and demanded to be allowed to keep him safe. He went so far as to beg me to put his sealed blade by Kai’s bedside before he was even old enough to crawl. I was fine with it, but Rukia… she lost it, at first. We had an argument, that leaving even a part hollow weapon nearby would hurt my son.” Ichigo gives a sarcastic smirk, and Kisuke winces.

“In the end, what happened?” He says tentatively, and Ichigo spreads his palms out.

“I won. In the end, I managed to get Orihime as godmother too, though Rukia fought for Kukaku.”

Having seen Kai as he was, and knowing how much Kukaku idolized her parent/big brother Kaien, Kisuke can’t hold back another grimace.

“I take it that ended well,” he says, takes a sip of his tea and shakes his head.

“The first of many arguments. Especially in regards to Kai’s… resemblance. I get it, I do,” Ichigo admits. “They look strikingly alike, and my son came to her after she’d nearly died in childbirth. I get that she was in shock. But naming him Kai only exacerbated the complication of his looks, and it’s not helped by the fact that she lets people call my son by a dead man’s name.” Ichigo’s chest heaves a bit, fury lining his expression. His expression becomes resigned as he admits, “There are some who try their best to not hold his legacy over Kai’s head, but...” His forced smile crumples.

“Who?” He asks gently, fingers wrapping around Ichigo’s hand.

“Isshin.”

… That’s even worse than I could have guessed.

And yet, that was possibly the only answer he should have thought of. Isshin had never mourned Kaien in the way Rukia and Kukaku or Ganju had. And the reason why was because he’d never known Kaien was dead.

Not until he’d taught Ichigo, but given Isshin’s… ah… preoccupation, he may not have learned about it even then. They’d been infrequently in contact once he and Masaki had married, and Kisuke, still raw and in pain, had been unable to speak to Isshin in person.

“What did he do?”

“What do you think he did?” Ichigo’s voice is a searing cut of bitterness and anger. “Kai was four. I thought I could trust him. I fucking trusted him with my son.” Kisuke grips Ichigo’s hand tighter, and is gratified that he can at least react to that, fingers tightening around Kisuke’s.

“My son cried when he saw me, said he was sorry, he was a good boy he promised.” The loathing cuts deep into Ichigo’s words. “He fucking begged me to never make him go back to Isshin again.” Ichigo’s eyes glow a faint amber, his Hollow possessiveness to the front. “I took him to Yuzu’s, promised him that I would be back, and when I went to confront Isshin, he wasn’t the slightest bit sorry about what he’d nearly done to my son. I was not going to let him raise another me.”

Oh. Oh dear. Hazy wisps of red smoke plume from his lips, and Ichigo closes his eyes, strangling back sheer, unadulterated rage by his fingertips. “The worst of it...” Ichigo takes a deep breath.

“The worst of it was that Rukia didn’t see a damn thing wrong with it at first.”

The other shoe hits with the force of a sledgehammer to his temple.

He should have expected this. He knew of Rukia’s upbringing, knew how she treated Ichigo at times, and yet.

And fucking yet.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmurs, reaches out to cup a cheek in his hand, Ichigo leaning against it like a cat. “I had no idea.” Ichigo gives him an understanding look and leans back.

“I guessed as much,” Ichigo says, voice dry. “Thank you, by the way. Kai mentioned your conversation with him.”

“Oh?” Ichigo gives a little laugh at his wary tone.

“Told me all about how you called him Kaien once - and then didn’t do it again, even after he tested you and gave you permission.”

… That was a test? It had completely flown over Kisuke’s head, he would admit. Ichigo’s lips curl up into a slight smile.

“My son is well aware of his legacy, even if he doesn’t know why he’s forced to bear it. He overheard his mother and I arguing too often to not know.” Ichigo’s eyes turn briefly distant. “The others… they try. Rukia and I… we were good together once, but honestly, at this point, it’s been more of a mistake to stay with her than it’s been to divorce her.”

Ouch.

“We fell in love, and - god, I tried, I fucking tried - to stay in love with her, and she tried so hard too, to be with me. Any other child, any other parent, and Kai would have been a happy son, a well-loved one.” Ichigo’s head hits the table. “I want my son to feel loved for being himself.”

Kisuke hesitates.

“The others?” He asks, and Ichigo doesn’t look up.

“We’re all together in this. Hime, Ishida, Chad… we’re friends. We protected each other, even when we didn’t have Soul Society to rely on. If worst comes to worst, Kai and I will close the clinic and stick with Chad for a while, or I’ll take Kai to Tokyo, lose ourselves there. Come hell or high water, where one of us goes, the rest will follow. No matter what.”

A gleam of a catlike smile curls Ichigo’s lips. “You can come with us, if you want.”

Kisuke wasn’t sure how to feel, but there was a warm, faint glow under his breastbone that had nothing - and everything - to do with how Ichigo smiled at him.

[midnightactual]

TELL ME MORE ABOUT WHAT IT DOES! The original concept post for Kurayami (which is mostly repeated on her Battle page) gave detail on its functions:

Bankai: Kurayami Kara Umareta Daikokutennyo (暗闇から生まれた大黒天女, She of the Great Blackness of the Heavens Born from Absolute Darkness): Kurayami takes on the form of a great war/death scythe which is taller than Yoruichi herself is (at approximately two meters long). The snaith of the scythe is straight. The blade of the scythe is normally in a standard perpendicular configuration resembling a death scythe, although it can be hinged and snapped outward such that it’s inline with the snaith as a war scythe would be. In its bankai state, all of Kurayami’s concealing properties extend to Yoruichi herself: unless she consciously disables the effects she is completely imperceptible to any and all senses until she attacks and penetrates or cuts a target, at which point she will visually appear while in contact. These effects can be disabled at will. As with the shikai form of Kurayami itself, Yoruichi is not intangible in this form and still moves and can be injured as usual. Its only other notable property is that it is exceptionally sharp.

Kurayami Kara Umareta Daikokutennyo (henceforth simply Kurayami) is nominally a combination of a first strike weapon and support item within a single bankai. It principally exists to achieve one-hit kill ambushes or surprise massacres.

WHY IS IT SHAPED THAT WAY? The main thing to know about agricultural scythes, on which death scythes are based, is that they’re bad weapons. (See here or here for more.) They’re angled to cut grass and grains, and their blades are quite thin and made to do the same. You need a much heavier blade for use against people, and you want a straight snaith (haft/pole). Even then, a “weaponized” death scythe is still pretty hard to use. This is why war scythes exist.

Having said all that, a zanpakutō doesn’t quite share a normal weapon’s physical constraints. Isshin notes in chapter 187 that Taichō-class Shinigami deliberately keep their weapons at a certain size or else, “They’d have to swing swords as big as buildings.” This suggests that scale and mass are flexible and depend on reiatsu emission, but it’s known (as given on the Bleach Wiki’s page on them) that, “No matter what form (or size) a zanpakutō takes, it is always virtually effortless for its owner to wield because it is a part of its owner's soul.” In other words: zanpakutō are never really bulky, heavy, or slow for their wielders. Likewise, their durability depends on the wielder’s reiatsu, much like that of the wielder themselves does. (Recall Kenpachi challenging Ichigo to cut him in chapter 105.)

Thus, although Kurayami is somewhat large relative to Yoruichi, it doesn’t suffer from the problems a real weapon of its size would, nor is balance a major factor in its use (although it is shaped to be relatively balanced in war scythe mode). Likewise, the durability of its hinge is a non-issue, as it essentially works by magic on command (much like Ikkaku’s shikai, Hōzukimaru, but sans any verbal commands).

Kurayami’s blade is heavier and slightly larger than a typical scythe’s to take on humanoid combatants, and features a reverse edge which allows it to cut when snapping open to war spear mode and can also be used like a naginata. It can stab directly forward in the same mode with an armor-piercing tip, while also still retaining the capability to make pick-like stabs in death scythe mode. The large, flat sides of the blade can be used to slap opponents about, and the hexagonal heads of the rotator can be used like hammer faces. The pommel is made to function sort of like a kanabō, enabling either bludgeoning or jabbing. The entire weapon can also be used like a bō staff. The ergonomic grips along the snaith suggest mainly employing the scythe, but it can be rotated around in the hands without issue.

WHY DOESN’T YORUICHI USE IT? There are many, many reasons why Yoruichi doesn’t normally employ her bankai:

Although Kurayami isn’t unwieldly for typical reasons, it isn’t always intuitive to use. First: Yoruichi has learned several different styles of sword combat, but scythes aren’t common weapons and applying sword techniques to one isn’t very straightforward. Second: the large number of attack modes and options which Kurayami presents means that using it effectively outside of its intended role requires both high speed and intense focus, making it mentally and physically tiring for a different reason than usual. Third: although Yoruichi can easily wield Kurayami one-handed, truly effective use of it requires both hands and means she’s committed to its employment for the duration of however long it’s out.

Kurayami’s killing essence is ruthless surprise attacks: it exists to kill the enemy without hesitation or mercy through decapitation or dismemberment before they even know they’re under attack, leaving body parts and piles of meat where foes once stood. It’s an execution weapon. Its nonlethal use would still recommend targeting the Saketsu and Hakusui of enemies to depower them permanently, or dismembering them. Yoruichi is fundamentally opposed to this style of combat and not only finds it distasteful in a moral and ethical sense, but also tactically inflexible. She would have to use Kurayami “creatively”, which comes with the aforementioned issues.

Yoruichi also dislikes the stealth element. She generally disdains killing, but historically she was a social killer: she chatted up targets, got close to them, and killed them up close and personal, usually while looking them right in the eyes—if someone is actually worth killing, it’s usually worth seeing it through to their end rather than doing it impersonally. Although Kurayami’s stealth abilities make it possible to stalk and observe targets before dispatching them, it still feels wrong to her. Much like it takes two to tango, it takes two to really commit murder.

Even though Kurayami presents a large number of unconventional approaches, meeting an opponent’s weapon with one’s own is still more predictable than facing them unarmed. The use of Hakuda isn’t quite so perceptible and immediately grasped, lacking as it does a material form, and that thus makes it more dangerous in many ways.

The number of opponents whom Yoruichi would need to use Kurayami against in order to compete is vanishingly small; it’s normally complete overkill.

While Kurayami is a scythe, the naginata-like reverse blade makes for an obvious comparison with that type of weapon when it’s in war scythe mode. Being not just a noble woman, but the first woman to lead the Shihōin Clan, Yoruichi doesn’t like the reputation that naginata have within Soul Society, which is much the same as in Japan; she found the idea that she was stuck with something like a once prestigious weapon which had since become “a woman’s weapon” to be demeaning. Per the Wikipedia article:

During the Genpei War (1180–1185), in which the Taira clan was pitted against the Minamoto clan, the naginata rose to a position of particularly high esteem, being regarded as an extremely effective weapon by warriors. Cavalry battles had become more important by this time, and the naginata proved excellent at dismounting cavalry and disabling riders. The widespread adoption of the naginata as a battlefield weapon forced the introduction of greaves as a part of Japanese armor.

[...]

In the peaceful Edo Period, weapons’ value as battlefield weapons became diminished and their value for martial arts and self-defense rose. The naginata was accepted as a status symbol and self-defense weapon for women of nobility, resulting in the image that "the naginata is the main weapon used by women". A naginata was commonly a dowry of women of the nobility. But historical recordings describing the practice of martial arts by women are rare and uncertain.

In the Meiji era, it gained popularity along sword martial arts. From the Taisho era to the post-War era, the naginata became popular as a martial art for women, mainly due to the influence of government policies. Due to this influence, the image that “spears are women’s weapons” was formed.

To summarize: Yoruichi holds an attitude toward Kurayami which is reminiscent, to a certain extent, of a mixture between the feelings Soifon holds toward her bankai, Jakuhō Raikōben, and the way in which Shūhei traditionally regarded Kazeshini in general. Another point of comparison would be the Raiju Senkei form of her own Shunkō. She dislikes it.

HOW WOULD YORUICHI ACTUALLY EMPLOY IT? Were Yoruichi forced to employ Kurayami in combat (and her threshold for considering that has lowered substantially following her fight against Askin), and were she using it as intended, she would combine it with her high speed flash steps and Shunkō to become nigh unstoppable and undetectable in the pursuit of either a single-target elimination (like a Vindicare Assassin) or to become a veritable terror weapon of mass destruction (like an Eversor Assassin).

Were she not using it as intended, her focus would be on utilizing Kurayami to create as unpredictable a fighting style as possible and tailoring her damage to her opponent.

The death scythe mode allows for spinning, twirling, and arcing attacks that can hit foes from unpredictable angles, easily remove limbs, or strike weak points from unanticipated directions. The pommel and striking surfaces are most readily employed in this form as weapons as well.

The speed of the action through which Kurayami changes from death scythe mode to war scythe mode, although not the fastest motion of any zanpakutō, is still a notable fraction of the record-holder (that honor still going to Gin’s Kamishini no Yari). It opens with enough force to destroy a city block were all its kinetic energy imparted: it can effortlessly lop limbs from all but the very strongest opponents, and were it not so sharp, would cause weaker ones to explode. The sword pressure from it opening can act as a ranged weapon by itself, much like how Ginjō believed Ichigo was using Getsuga Tenshō on him after the latter regained his powers.

The war scythe mode also encourages spins and twirls, although of a different nature with more side-to-side motions rather than entrapping angles. It also suggests varying which side of the blade is being attacked with, and can also encourage a more defensive posture with quick, spear-like stabs. The more thoroughly balanced nature of the weapon in this form also recommends using it like a staff, and also for mobility unto itself, such as pole-vaulting into kicks and the like.

Fluidly changing between different modes, styles, and techniques would permit Yoruichi to employ Kurayami in a dizzying if eventually mentally draining fashion against almost all conceivable opponents. However, refining her knowledge of weapon techniques and applying them to Kurayami’s form is still something she has yet to fully commit to or hone in actual practice. She's reticent to do so, as it would likely require sparring with another Taichō-class Shinigami also using a bankai which didn't have notable auxiliary effects to really put in the work.