#tl;dr: gin's strongest moments in the series would have been the cusp of the betrayal of the gotei 13 and into the Winter War itself.

[godkilller]

anonymous asked:  Going off of your hc about Gin being obscenely strong, do you think that he's been that strong through most of the series (if not the entire time)? Having to reign in his powers to always be less than Aizen's, but strong enough to earn his place as his second, just waiting with all that power at his fingers. Aizen gained power through transformations, Gin had to home grow his.

//   unprompted ask.   thank you !

          I’m always excited to get these sorts of questions----especially considering you’ve now officially enabled me to continue my lifelong rant of how underrated and underestimated Gin is. To answer your question, however, I’ll have to break some things down. This might get a lil messy so bear with me!

          Gin has always acted, in canon and especially in my experience writing conflicts, fights, throughout my time musing him... as dramatically weaker than he really is. It’s one of his most basic psychological tactics: in canon, Gin has countless times behaved as though he truly is incapable as a way to gaslight and altogether hide his true potential from being known, he lies about even sensing if an opponent has died or not to his fellow captains, utterly and willingly downplaying his power. Deliberately placing himself in a position for belittlement and for others to promptly underestimate him.

          In several instances throughout the series, Gin downplays his capabilities. He talks it off as luck, or maybe he’s just winging it all---- ” oh, oops, those Ryoka I didn’t even aim at survived ? ”  “ Ichigo dodged my Bankai that I’ve been slashing around wildly for no reason when I wasn’t even aiming for him ? ”  “ Ah, a fluke only your mask got cut ” or “ oops, Hinamori’s that way too since ya happened to dodge ! ” because Gin never wants anyone to ever know the extent of his knowledge, cunning abilities, and full power. Gin spent so much time throughout his debut convincing the audience, the other characters around him, that he was simply too playful or even downright stupid to truly be a threat. Whilst yes, his intimidating aura contradicted him----when put up against his “ oopsie I non-fatally stabbed Byakuya instead of killin’ Rukia ! ”  his vibes of a threat clash, leaving his opponents confused and on edge on whether or not Gin is just toying with them, or if they’re actually, in fact, battling him on semi-equal grounds. They’ll never know.

          Mayuri calls Gin out during the Rescue Rukia / SS Invasion arc’s first shown captain’s meeting. He says something along the lines of “ we all know you’re capable ” ( of sensing the livelihood of a target, etc. etc. ) which leads me to believe that while yes, Gin hid his strengths, he also was required as a captain to prove his worthiness of the title----and to walk amongst them as an equal. Therefore, yes, because the series begins with Gin being within the Gotei 13 as a captain, I do believe he has been that strong during the majority of Bleach.

          Gin’s rise to captaincy sparked his ascension to standing, at last, somewhat equal to where Aizen now stood. Aizen had not yet even begun to experiment on himself and his way to breach the limitations of a Shinigami at the time. Gin had decades as a captain to therefore bridge the gap to be as close as possible, achievable, for himself and Aizen. Between their betrayal and the chapter preceding the conclusion of the Winter War ? Gin had reached his highest potential in order to combat the transcendence Aizen plotted for years to achieve. Much like with the parallel of Ulquiorra hiding his Second Release state from Aizen, Gin sought to keep all murmurs of his Bankai’s true speed and poison, the cell-destroying ace, a secret. Keeping himself at a level of worthiness and respect, fear, precautions, by Aizen himself but without earning the threat of Aizen deeming him too dangerous and thusly drawing first, negating Gin’s chance to grasp Kyoka Suigetsu entirely in his self-preservation ? Well, let’s just say Gin banked a lot on Aizen valuing his deadly presence as a way to continuously challenge him----as well as the unknown fact that Aizen likely wanted to wait, not strike at Gin despite his growing threat, until the Hogyoku was fully absorbed for him to dance with death. This waiting game, finding that sweet spot in which Aizen’s arrogance finally eroded his caution ? The main reason why Gin, unfortunately, waited too long. The rest’s history.

          Gin was never  “ more ”  than Aizen, his power was not so vast----he brandished it, instead, into a fine blade. The way they wield their powers differ greatly; Aizen’s is oppressive and overwhelming, whilst Gin’s is a creeping dread. Both are capable of each other’s methods, though prefer their own------Gin may have never opted for Hollowification, for leaning on any other sword other than his own, but it’s bold to assume he didn’t, too, transform himself in seeking power. “ You’re turning into a snake ”  very much can be asserting that, indeed, Gin kept his powers solely as his own, but it can easily be argued that he lost himself all the same as Tousen, Aizen even, in doing so.

          No one achieves such power without cost, Gin’s just wasn’t outright shown throughout the series----he had suffered that loss for power mostly off-screen, slowly, until at last Rangiku was sobbing amongst that pile of rubble.