theseathatsparkles - Tumblr blog

[theseathatsparkles]

I'm actively posting on fanfiction dot net, if you're here for my writing!

EDIT 6-10-21

Starting tomorrow, I'll probably take a hiatus from Tumblr. I'll still be active on Reddit and on fanfiction dot net (my username is theseathatsparkles)

hey, clowns. figured I'd say that I have a reddit account, which I post meta and other trash on. i'm more active there than here. check it out!

[theseathatsparkles]

in which Shinji and Aizen body swap

another thing from my Reddit. If you like my clownery, head over there! I'm not gonna be active much on Tumblr starting tomorrow.

based on this post by @yaponsko2, goddess of bleach content

Aizen-in-Shinji's-body wakes up at five in the morning, like he does every day. He looks in the mirror, pauses for a moment, and keeps going about his morning routine. Adjusts it a little, so he can compensate for the ridiculous amount of time it takes to brush out Shinji's hair. Shinji's haori is in a crumpled pile near the dresser; Aizen picks it up, shakes it to get the dust off, and pulls it on. Goes to Shinji's office, sits down, and starts signing papers.

Shinji wakes up later, with the sun. He rolls over, runs a hand through his hair. A few moments later, he's screaming.

("Hiyori! Goddamnit, you stupid bitch, you cut my hair!"

Needless to say, when Aizen's neighbors hear him screaming and cursing hours after he usually goes in to work, there's general shock. Somebody faints.)

There's a mirror in Aizen's bathroom, and Shinji makes a beeline for it. Screams again.

It's another thirty minutes before Shinji makes it out of Aizen's apartments. (He actually has to go back once he leaves; he'd forgotten that Aizen wore glasses.)

He gets to the Fifth Division Headquarters, heads straight for his lieutenant's office. Sure enough, there sits his body, hunched over a stack of papers. Aizen-in-Shinji's-body looks up, smiles. It's disconcerting, seeing Aizen's smile on Shinji's face.

"Hello, taicho," he says. "I've set aside everything addressed to you," and he motions towards a corner of his desk with what looks to be a novel's worth of things to sign in a neat pile. "We're a bit behind schedule."

***

The rest of the day goes something like this:

Hiyori screams at 'Shinji', who smiles and greets her politely. She flips her shit.

At some point, Shinji steals his haori from Aizen. Upon seeing 'Aizen' walking around in Captain's robes, Gin flips his shit.

People are flabbergasted to see 'Shinji' doing actual work

Shinji takes off his glasses around noon. Even if he can't see, they're annoying. Aizen just basks in 'his' 20/20 vision.

The poor shinigami that don't know what's going on are very confused when 'Aizen' starts snapping at them, and...since when does Aizen have teeth like that? They thought only Hirako-taicho had those teeth.

Shinji learns the hard way that Aizen's body is addicted to the caffeine in tea.

Sending Hell Butterflies to either of them is a mess. Telling one to send a message to 'Aizen-fukutaicho' means Shinji gets long-winded messages from Urahara during his lunch break. Sending a message to 'Hirako-taicho' means Aizen learns things he didn't want to know about Shinji's admiration for Yamamoto's silky hair.

Shinji goes out drinking that night, finds out that Aizen's body is a lightweight, and tells everyone that he suspects Aizen is a communist seeking to overthrow the Gotei Thirteen and replace it with a people's government. The only person who listens for more than fifteen seconds without laughing is, oddly enough, the lieutenant of the First.

Aizen hides trackers in all of Shinji's things, as well as listening devices in his room. He falls asleep in Shinji's bed with the feeling that comes with a job well done.

They wake up the next morning in their real bodies. It take Shinji all of seventeen seconds to notice that Aizen'd cut off an inch of his hair.

(The screaming doesn't come as a surprise to anyone. Not anymore.)

[theseathatsparkles]

;;writing prompt

I swear to god I will make this happen I swear

Aizen and Hirako somehow got body swapped…chaos ensues in Soul Society

[theseathatsparkles]

update - moving to ffnet

Hello, minions! I have exciting news. I now have a fanfiction account. The updates for Faraway are there, as well as some other misc. fics. As of right now, I won’t be updating nearly as often on this account, because frankly it’s a pain in the butt. 

You can find my ffnet account here! Send me a message please, I love talking! 

If anyone wants to work on a project or something/cowrite something with me, hit me up. That sounds fun!

@fish-talk  @xiaobejgli-petra-replyblog (I think you’re on my faraway taglist w/ a changed username xD)

[theseathatsparkles]

!!IMPORTANT!!

hey all, I’m taking a break from Tumblr for a while. Not sure when I’ll be back. You can DM me for my email if ya want it, and also find me on sufficient velocity under the same username.

thanks for understanding!! <3

[theseathatsparkles]

a rock, and other unfortunate events (pt. 1)

A BNHA fit for once!!

Man, I’m on a posting roll.

This is an old fic I found in my google drive, and I mentioned it in my first idea buffet. I’m not sure if it’s gonna ever be finished, but I though someone might like to see it. Endgame tododeku, though it’s not mentioned here. I wanted to explore Tsukauchi’s character a bit.

I actually do like this, I just don’t have any inspo.

***

“Alright,” says Naomasa, folding his hands on the table. “Todoroki-san, would you like a drink before we start?”

Todoroki shakes his head, and Naomasa’s Quirk pings in the back of his head - lie. Naomasa bites back a sigh. He can’t blame Todoroki for being wary, but really, this is a police station. Everyone here is on the Heroes’ side.

“Tsukauchi-san,” Todoroki says after a moment’s pause, and Naomasa tilts his head to show that he’s listening. “My father...Endeavor. Does he know…”

Naomasa blinks. “Know that you’re here?” He fills in, and Todoroki nods. “No, not yet. Since this isn’t an official investigation or interrogation, he doesn’t need to know unless we find that you have suspicious information.” He smiles a little, trying to get Todoroki to relax, but if anything, the boy just looks more tense.

“Okay,” Todoroki says after another pause. “What do you need to know?

Naomasa shrugs, leaning forward and steepling his fingers. “Why don’t you tell me everything you remember? Starting from the beginning, of course.”

Todoroki nods, reaching up to brush some of his hair behind his ear. “Well. I’m sure you already know this, but Aizawa-sensei told us - 1-A, I mean - that we would be going into the forest to work on rescue.” The corners of Todoroki’s mouth twitch up - not quite a smile, but close. “After all, the first time we tried to do rescue training, it...didn’t go well.”

Ah, yes. The League’s attack on Thirteen’s USJ.

“Go on,” says Naomasa, making a note on his clipboard. His Quirk hasn’t registered anything as false yet, so there’s nothing he has to write down, but it doesn’t hurt to record some of Todoroki’s statements, even if the recorder under the desk will do that anyways.

“Well,” Todoroki says, eyes narrowing. “Aizawa-sensei invited his...friends.”

Naomasa blinks. “Friends?”

Todoroki nods, looking thoroughly fed up. “Their words, not Aizawa-sensei’s.”

***

“Friends,” says Shinso slowly, voicing everyone’s question. “You have...friends.”

Aizawa-sensei gives Shinso a look that would make a lesser man wilt, but Shoto knows that Shinso is not a cowardly man. (Shinso is an idiot, yes, almost as reckless as Midoriya, but Shinso is no coward.)

“Yep,” says one of the Wild, Wild Pussycats - the one with the blond hair, Shoto can’t remember her Pro name. “Eraser and us go waaaay back!”

Aizawa-sensei’s eyes glow red for a second, his hair settling around his capture weapon. “We are not friends,” he grinds out, obviously ignoring the sad looks the blue-haired one sends him. “We went to school together. They graduated the year before I did. They’re Midnight’s friends. Not mine.”

“Awwww,” says the blue-haired one. “C’mon, we’re Nemuri’s friends, and you’re Nemuri’s friend, so that makes you our friend by default!” She nudges one of the other Pussycats, the one with the short hair. “Aren’t we all best friends, Mandy?”

“Sure,” says the short-haired one, looking faintly amused. “Anyways,” she turns, addressing Shoto and the rest of the class, “you’ll be splitting into four groups. Each one of us,” she turns and motions at the other three Pussycats, “will be with assigned to a group. We’ll be hiding, in a situation that a civilian couldn’t get out of themselves. Your group will have to work together to find us.”

Shoto raises his eyebrows. This sounds suspiciously like the race All Might had made the class run after the first year internships. Hopefully, the tape boy - Sero - won’t have as obvious as an advantage. (Or at least let him be in a different group than Shoto; Shoto needs to concentrate, and any members of the self-proclaimed bakusquad will probably hinder Shoto’s concentration.)

“Our first group will be Sero Hanta, Ashido Mina, Todoroki Shoto, Tokoyami Fumikage, and Kaminari Denki,” continues the one with the short hair, and Shoto sighs.

Just his luck.

***

“Wait,” says Naomasa, holding his hand up to stop Todoroki. “Can you say those names again?”

Todoroki nods. “Tokoyami, me, Ashido, Kaminari, and Sero. They’re all in my class.”

“Okay. And what’s the ‘bakusquad’?” Naomasa might be mispronouncing this, but it’s obviously a made-up term, so Naomasa doesn’t think Todoroki will be too upset.

Todoroki doesn’t quite smile, but the corners of his mouth twitch up. “They’re a group of kids in my class who all hang out together. It’s…” Todoroki pauses, obviously thinking. “Ashido Mina, Kirishima Eijiro, Kaminari Denki…” Another pause. “Sero Hanta, and...Bakugo Katsuki.”

Naomasa notes these names down on his paper. “Bakugo Katsuki. He has the explosive Quirk?” It’s not really a question - Naomasa knows exactly who Bakugo is. Still, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

“Yes,” says Todoroki shortly, cooler than before - ah, that’s right, Todoroki doesn’t like Bakugo very much. Naomasa can’t really blame Todoroki; the Sports Festival had pitted the two of them against each other, and hadn’t really given Todoroki the best impression of Bakugo. “It’s Bakugo and his friends. They’re usually considered the most chaotic kids in the class.”

***

Logically, with four groups and six members of the bakusquad, there was no way the entire squad could be seperated. Shoto knows that.

On the other hand, Shoto really doesn’t want to be in a group with three of the bakusquad’s most chaotic members.

reblogs + comments appreciated! lemme know what you think, it inspires me to write :D

[theseathatsparkles]

idea buffet 001

I wanted a place to put down the fic ideas I get but don’t always follow through on. So here we go. I’ll be putting ideas and prompts under the #ideabuffet tag on this blog. 

Feel free to use these (with credit), and if you want me to write something lemme know in my ask box!

Bleach

1. Swiss Army Nemu - why does she have a drill arm, anyways?

2. Shinji listening to Jazz - no context just jazz

3. A series of interactions between Mayuri and Akon that I really need to work on - because they’ve gotta have some more backstory than what we’ve seen

4. Byakuya fights Nnoitra instead of Zommari

5. The one where Momo’s character gets an overhaul - maybe she takes Tosen’s place at Aizen’s side? Maybe she takes Gin’s? All I know is that I wanna write her as the bamf lady she really is.

6. The one where Aizen, Gin, and Tosen travel back in time to stop their past selves from ruining everything

7. Ukitake and Kyoraku scheme - in which they decided to get Byakuya and Renji together (I actually do have some content for this written lmao)

8. Starrk is a god - yeah. I read a fic on Ao3 about Starrk being the god of Hueco Mundo (I’ll link it if I find it) and was intrigued

9. Aizen is released from Muken at the end of his sentence. Almost everyone he knows is dead, and he’s basically a god at this point - I don't want to make this into another time travel story but. It’s got potential.

Marvel/MCU

10. yet another cliche fic in which Loki and Peter bond

11. (post-Avengers, pre-Dark World) Loki tries to launch a coup, and the Allfather orders Thor to take him to the human world as punishment. Thor takes him to the Avengers tower.

BNHA

12. Deku has AFO - not much context. I have a bit of this written but don't know where I’m going with it

13. Deku gets zapped by a Quirk. A Quirk activated by a rock. - what can I say, my friend requested this crackfic like a year ago

14. Deku joins the LoV...post-USJ - I also have some of this written/planned

Yuri on Ice

15. Viktor is dead. He's not gonna let that stop him from coaching the sexy Japanese skater, though - Viktor dies after Sochi and becomes a ghost

[theseathatsparkles]

On Bugs

so for creative writing class we were told to imitate Amy Dillard’s writing style. This is the essay on bugs that I ended up making. Not Bleach, I know, but I thought someone might enjoy it. 

This took so long to write oh my god ;-;

also, I am fully aware that not all insects are bugs, and that spiders aren’t either of the two, but. bug is much more fun to say.

Word count - 1500 on the dot

@despairforme THE BUG ESSAY. IT’S HERE. @onenicebugperday you inspired me to write a four page essay about bugs i hope you’re happy

When I was in third grade, I dropped a dandelion down the back of my classmate’s shirt. She was upset, having thought the rather inconspicuous dandelion was a daddy long-legs spider. She’d screamed, slapped me on the chest in an attempt to escape her arachnid harasser, and had decided to wage war against me for the rest of our time together in school.

I never was afraid of spiders the way she was. Spiders and snakes and all sorts of bugs, so long as I could be assured they weren't poisonous, had always held a special place in my heart - and, more often than not, my hand. Growing up in woody, wet Germany gave me a healthy dosage of ladybugs, crickets, and snails at a young age, and I never looked at a bug with anything other than fascination. 

It’s the middle of winter, now. There aren’t many bugs around. Forty-two little silhouettes in the light above my desk, but none of them move, empty exoskeletons like shells. They’re probably dry, and if I touched one I’m sure it would crumble under my fingers. There seem to be more of them every time I look up; it’s the middle of winter, so the warmth of the indoors must be especially tantalizing. Right now, there isn’t any wind outside, but the world seems to be painted in shades of grey. Even looking outside makes you feel cold, and the drifts of iced-over snow outside of the window just emphasize this.

I have mixed feelings about winter. I love the snow, love having an excuse to stay inside wrapped in blankets on the days I don’t have school. I love that there aren’t mosquitoes to follow me around - I must taste good to them, since they always seem to swarm me. But the lack of the bugs I do like - spiders, caterpillars, grasshoppers, even the jeweled dragonflies that swarm our canoes in summer - makes winter feel especially harsh. 

When I’m feeling more grey than usual, I turn to the internet to soothe me. My computer has a tab open - one nice bug per day. The third picture that appears on image search is a gorgeous skeleton leaf moth, the row under that containing a domino cuckoo bee. I smile, looking at the pictures.  A photo of a hissing cockroach wearing a tiny paper party hat jumps out at me, curled around a leaf. I click on the picture, save it to my gmail by emailing it to myself. I’ll take some time to admire them later.

The bigger the bug the better, of course. Small bugs are hard to track, and the idea of one getting somewhere without me knowing about it gives me chills. That’s probably why I hate ants; they swarm up your legs and into your shoes and socks and it takes far too long to extract them all, and you feel phantom itches on your body for the next day or so. 

The fear of ants is called myrmecophobia, and often goes hand-in-hand with entomophobia - the fear of insects. When I was young - still in Elementary school, at a time before my decision to quit soccer - I’d practice with my mom in the field a bit southeast of the elementary school tucked at the base of the mountain pass. The playground had been north of us. I always wanted to go back to the playground. The whole complex had been a good half hour’s drive from my house, so we didn’t go there often, but it had an excellent jungle gym and some new swings. It got hot easily, out there under the sun; if I didn’t bring water, the ninety-degree weather would feel twenty degrees hotter, the sort of heat that makes you lightheaded and grumpy. 

But my mom had told me to play soccer, and she wasn’t the sort of person who you could say no to easily. I tried, of course, in futile attempts that would end with me in tears and my mom seething, but always ended up on that field, kicking the ball back and forth as my mom chastised me for skipping to the goal. Skipping, apparently, was slower than running.

 I’d hated soccer. 

It was one of those days that solidified my fear of ants. Wyoming doesn’t have fire ants or most other nasty biting bugs, so I was never in real danger, but that didn’t stop the whole experience from being traumatic. My mom, of course, had laughed about it later; it seems to be a habit of adults to take the irrational fears of children lightly. The ants crawling up my leg had probably been just as afraid of me as I was of them, but knowing that didn’t help any. Adults will tell you that the shark that bit off your arm was just as afraid of you as you were of it, but that doesn’t change the fact that your arm’s gone. 

I’d been unlucky enough to step right in an ant nest, the sort that stays hidden by the short grass until something, or someone, disturbs it. It hadn’t looked different from the regular ground from my five feet, but the moment I felt a tickle on my leg, I knew. 

I’d screamed. I think anyone would have screamed when confronted with one of their worst fears, so I never was ashamed of my reaction, even if I’d hated the exasperation and faint amusement on my mom’s face. The ants had come right off, lady fortune smiling on me that day, and I hadn’t found any tiny ant corpses in my shoes when I took them off that afternoon - a rarity; ants always seem to turn up in unexpected places post-encounter. I’d been paranoid, though, and had hopped around on one foot until I was a safe distance from the nest before shoving my hands down my socks to search for any lone ants. There were none.

I refused to resume play until I was positive there were no ants on me, of course. Even when we started the game again I was wary, taking light steps and watching the ground like a hawk for any sign of another insect. It had taken the fun out of the game pretty quickly, and we went home soon after.

The internet goes out for a moment, and the photo of the mantis I’m looking at shifts to a grey screen. I frown, take a second to stand up and stretch. My legs and shoulders are especially sore. By the time I sit down again, my picture has loaded again, and I scroll to the left to see a swallowtail butterfly looking out of the screen at me. They have yellow fur around their eyes and antennae, and look vaguely curious. This picture also goes to my saved folder to look at later, and I keep scrolling.

When I was in second grade, we studied bugs in science class. Not extensively; there’s only so much work you can get done as a scatterbrained second grader, and bugs weren’t on the top of my list of priorities. But we studied them, and after a few weeks our teacher imported seven Madagascar hissing cockroaches to be our class pets.

Nobody in my class was afraid of them; I think we were too young to be afraid of something as hideously cute as those little insects. They remind me of pugs now, disgusting in the sort of way that makes you want to coo over them. We’d kept them in a little glass terrarium in the back of the classroom, and took them out during lunch break and sometimes to sketch them during art. Our teacher had told us how to tell the males and females apart, but the information had gone straight in ear and out the other, like water through a sieve. There are two things I can remember about them now: first, that they would shed their skins sometimes and we’d have to clean out their terrarium; second, that if you poked their heads, they’d hiss.

The second thing was the most important to my little second-grade brain. My classmates and I took great satisfaction in poking the cockroaches and watching them puff up and make little hissing sounds like air coming out of a tire. They’d always make their funny wheezing sound, and we’d sit there for minutes on end - the longest amount of time our young minds could stay on track for - and tap them, giggling uncontrollably as they got progressively more frustrated.

I like bugs. I’m no entomologist, I would never spend my days in the wild watching them through magnifying glasses. But I still like them. Their colors remind me of spring and summer, and I love their size - perfect to pick up and put on a fingertip. They’re much more simple than people, never worried about money or jobs or politics. They have no worries, no fears.

I would love to be a bug.

[theseathatsparkles]

I’m gonna pick some of these for Byakuya’s birthday...=D 

Thinking about R, H, or D

we’ve all heard of the NSFW alphabet, but what about a SOULMATE AU ALPHABET??

a...ging stops at 18 until you find your soulmate so the two of you can grow old together.

b...ody art (doodles that a person draws on themselves appear on their soulmate’s skin).

c...olors (aka the standard soulmate au where the world is black and white until you meet your soulmate and see colors).

d...amage done to a person also translates into their soulmate’s body (cuts, bruises and all).

e...sp (soulmates can sense one another’s presence and feel each other’s exact emotions even when miles away).

f...irst words/thoughts your soulmate says/thinks when seeing you are written on your skin.

g...uardian (it is said that the person who saves you from a near-death experience is your soulmate—drowning, car crash, etc.)

h...eartbeats (the soulmates share the same heartbeat—when one feels panicked, shocked, etc, the other can feel it too).

i...dentifier (a word or symbol which is imputed to your soulmate is somewhere on your body).

j...uxtaposition (your soulmate is the exact opposite of you, yet you find yourselves complementing one another).

k...eys and locks are randomly dispersed to soulmates on chains when they are born. when in proximity, the lock and key will act as magnets and bring the two soulmates closer together until the key is placed in the lock and a gratifying click is heard, unlocking the chain.

l...ast words your soulmate says are written on your skin, so you do not know it is them until they are gone.

m...arks or stains of the color black are somewhere on your body (palm of your hand, knuckles, knee) until you and your soulmate finally make physical contact. once the mark is touched, it fades to be consistent with the person’s skin color.

n...urse (the touch of a soulmate can heal you from affliction and vice versa).

o...pportune outfit (soulmates will eternally color coordinate, even if they have not met one another yet, and often times have similar patterns in their clothing).

p...assionflower (a type of flower soulmates have planted somewhere beneath their skin. Upon meeting their soulmate it will sprout through the skinand fully blossom as they reach the furthest point of their relationship. when a soulmate passes, the flower blooming from the other person does also).

q...uizzes revolving around one’s personal aspects, skills and ambitions are given to every person once they turn 18, and the results read who your soulmate is based off of your collective answers.

r...ed string bonds two soulmates together for a lifetime and all come in varying lengths—imagine the trouble of only being able to walk certain distances or having to sleep on the edge of your bed.

s...ongbird (any songs a person sings will get stuck in their soulmate’s head for the duration they decide to sing it).

t...imers are set on the wrist of every person once they are a certain age, slowly counting down until the day they meet their soulmate.

u...ndying (you and your soulmate must meet in order to end life—die—together. as long as you have not met them, you will continue aging yet remain immortal).

v...eiled (you and your soulmate must walk through life blind until running into one another by fate and finally gaining sight—those with no soulmate act as guides and help those in search of theirs).

w...riter’s choice (author can pick any au from the list to write).

x...FREE SPACE, the person who sent the prompt has the choice to make up an au or choose one from the list!

y...ellow fellow (colors of your vision changes depending on your soulmates mood. yellow is optimistic, green is envious, blue is upset, etc. and natural colors become present once the soulmates meet).

z...zz (in which soulmates first meet each other and share memories in their dreams before meeting each other in person—sometimes difficult to accomplish as dreams are hard to remember).

any writers on tumblr feel free to reblog so followers can send a certain letter to your inbox :) or just for ideas!

[theseathatsparkles]

Faraway - character notes!

Basically, who in Byakuya’s future is dead. I have this at the bottom of the doc I’m writing in, cuz I keep forgetting who killed whom.

Faraway ‘verse spoilers!! Obviously, lots of liberties with canon. Enjoy!

Yamamoto - dead, by Aizen Soi Fon - dead, by Yoruichi (a la Aizen's illusions) Kira - dead, by Aizen Isane - dead, by Harribel Unohana - dead, by Aizen Momo - dead, by Hitsugaya Renji - dead, by Yammy Byakuya - alive Nanao - missing Shunsui - dead, by Starrk Rangiku - dead, by Tosen Toshiro - dead, by Harribel Yachiru - dead, by Nnoitra Ikkaku - dead, by Nnoitra Yumichika - missing Zaraki - missing Akon - dead, by Yammy Nemu - dead, by Szayelapporo Mayuri - dead, by Barragan Rukia - dead, by Aaroniero Ukitake - dead, by Wonderweiss

Visored - dead, by Aizen

Kisuke - alive Yoruichi - dead, by a suicidal run against Aizen Tessai - missing

Ichigo - dead, by Aizen Orihime - dead, by Yammy Ishida - dead, by Yammy Chad - dead, by Tesla Karakura gang - dead, mostly as collaterol damage

Gin - dead, by Aizen Aizen - alive Tosen - alive Starrk-and-Lillinette - alive Barragan - dead, by Mayuri Harribel - alive Ulquiorra - dead, by Ichigo Nnoitra - alive Grimmjow - dead, by Zaraki Zommari - dead, by Byakuya Szayelapporo - dead, by Mayuri Aaroniero - dead, by Byakuya Yammy - alive

Nel - missing Tesla - alive Loly & Menoly - missing Harribel's Fraccion - dead, by Toshiro

[theseathatsparkles]

faraway (pt.3) (feat. time traveling byakuya)

Part One     Part Two

@fish-talk​ @let-us-color-in-this-gray-world

I live! Hi! Here’s part 3. No luck on cross-posting...I do have a ffnet, though nothing’s posted there. Same username!

This...isn’t really edited. Call out mistakes as you see fit.

If ya want me to tag you in future updates let me know!

Kisuke is thinking.

This, of course, is nothing new; Kisuke is always thinking, sometimes so engrossed in his thoughts that he forgets about the outside world. What makes this particular occasion unusual is the fact that Kisuke has been thinking for hours now, and hasn't been able to come up with any reasonable conclusion about the evidence provided.

The scientist in Kisuke wants to make a hypothesis, wants to nudge Kurosaki in a direction that will get Kisuke results. The part of Kisuke that's never been able to stand seeing those in his care hurt or upset wants to track down Kuchiki Byakuya and scream at him.

Kisuke sighs, and collapses unceremoniously on his futon, Yoruichi watching him with wary yellow eyes. She's in her cat form, sitting small and inconspicuous in the corner. Tessai is with Kurosaki, tending to the wounds Byakuya had left. The wounds, which are causing this whole mess in the first place.

Looking back, Byakuya had been acting odd during his entire encounter with Kurosaki and Kuchiki. From the vacant, haunted look in his eyes to his sudden decision to leave Kurosaki alive, Kisuke should have known that there was something wrong with Byakuya. 

Only some serious sort of knock to the head - or manipulation by Aizen, more likely - could have driven Byakuya to carve the word ALLY into Kurosaki's chest.

***

Byakuya's senkaimon opens inside the Kuchiki Manor courtyard. In the original timeline, he'd taken Rukia straight to Central 46, but now Byakuya knows that he really ought to comfort his baby sister. Besides, Byakuya's home is warded to the Soul King's Realm and back, and not even Aizen's camera-flies would be able to spy on him right now.

"Alright," he says, slumping a little at the relief of not having to worry about being watched by Aizen. "Rukia, we have a little while before you're expected. I'd like to...to talk with you, if you don't mind." He smiles thinly and turns to Renji. "You're welcome too, of course, but anything you hear should stay within these walls."

Rukia opens her mouth, and closes it again. She doesn't seem to be comprehending any of what Byakuya says, though Byakuya had expected this. His little sister is terrified, he can see it in her eyes, and he doesn't want to push her too hard. 

He doesn't have any qualms about pushing Renji, though. Renji can take anything Byakuya throws at him and more.

***

"A change of heart," says Renji incredulously, giving Byakuya a look. Byakuya distantly notes that Renji isn't really taking this well at all. "And now you want to...what, go against the Central 46 and literally all of Soul Society?" 

The Central 46 are dead, is what Byakuya wants to say, but he settles with shrugging a shoulder. "I made Hisana a promise. And I'm not going against the 46," he says, hoping Renji will leave the conversation at that. "But that isn't the point, Renji. There's a traitor in Soul Society."

Renji, looking studiously determined to ignore Byakuya's use of his given name, sighs and leans back on the couch Byakuya had ordered a pair of servants to prepare. "Kuchiki-taicho," he says, looking pained. "You're acting unlike yourself. Would you like for me to send for Unohana-taicho?"

Byakuya clenches his fists, fingernails digging into the palm of his hand. The sudden, stinging pain is grounding, and he takes a deep breath. He keeps forgetting that this isn't his Renji, that this Renji still views Byakuya as nothing more than an obstacle between him and power. This Renji would have no reason to trust him. This Renji has never seen Byakuya cry, still views Byakuya as an emotionless statue, and the vulnerability Byakuya is showing must be incredibly unnerving. 

Still, the idea of seeing Unohana is...tempting. He knows he can trust her; Unohana is no traitor, and she was the one to discover Aizen's deceit in the original timeline. She's smart, too. Smart enough that she would believe him. It's tempting, incredibly tempting. But Byakuya knows that telling Unohana could change the timeline more than he can afford. Byakuya's knowledge of the future will become less and less valuable the more he changes things, and he needs for everything to remain at least close to the original events.

Until the day of Rukia's execution, that is. That is the best time for Byakuya to take action - he's reasonably sure he can take on Aizen, so long as Aizen doesn't have the hogyoku and Byakuya has the might of Kyoraku and Ukitake backing him. And Gin, too - Ichimaru had died in the first timeline, even before Rukia had. A traitor to Aizen's cause, Ichimaru had revealed the secret of his Bankai, only to die by Aizen's own blade. Byakuya knows it wouldn't take much to convince Ichimaru to turn on Aizen earlier than planned. Tosen Kaname had been truly dedicated to the cause, but Byakuya had killed him before, and would kill him again.

Byakuya sighs, looks at Renji. "Don't get Unohana-taicho," he says softly, reaching up to adjust the weight of his kenseikan. "I apologize for worrying you, Abari-fukutaicho." He needs Renji on his side for this. "I have been...out of sorts since my sister's arrest."

Somehow, this manages to convince Renji. "So you don't think she broke the law?"

"She did break the law," says Byakuya, and Renji's face spasms. "But I believe that the measures Central is taking is far too drastic. 'The punishment must fit the crime', as people say."

Renji blinks, opens his mouth, closes it again. "I'm..." He trails off uncertainly, eyes not meeting Byakuya's. "Taicho, as your fukutaicho, it is my job to support and stand behind you. I will do what you think is right."

Byakuya...doesn't quite think that's what Renji was originally going to say, but he's still able to parse the meaning behind the reconstructed sentence: I'm here for you. It's a nice feeling; even if this Renji isn't his in the way he was before Byakuya traveled back in time (and it still almost hurts Byakuya's head to think that), it's still Renji, and Renji's support had always meant the world.)

"Then we must plan," says Byakuya, after a pause to think through his response. He wants to say 'I understand' and 'thank you', but that's too far out of character for his past self. "I would like to meditate. Tomorrow, we will deliver Rukia to Central 46. For now, I believe the Kuchiki compound is capable of holding her."

Renji cracks a smile, and Byakuya has to fight back the grin that tugs at his lips in return. 

(It helps that he's pretty sure smiling in this body would give him some sort of facial cramp; Byakuya doesn't think his previous self had smiled in...over seventy years, now.)

"I'll leave ya to it, Taicho," Renji says, and Byakuya bites the inside of his cheek when he hears Renji's accent surface. That's...new. Both Renji and Rukia had always taken steps to ensure that they spoke at least relatively properly in Byakuya's presence before, and Byakuya's shook by how quickly Renji opens up. 

Then again, Byakuya hasn't truly become Renji's enemy yet. He hasn't sentenced Rukia to death. It's no wonder that Renji's walls are crumbling so much faster than they'd originally.

Byakuya sighs, turns away. Distantly, he hears Renji leave the room, and Byakuya's left with only his thoughts to distract him.

***

And that is a wrap! Next up: Byakuya and Senbonzakura have a talk. I’ll be posting some more faraway verse info too, so keep an eye out for that! =D 

[theseathatsparkles]

faraway (pt.2) (feat. time traveling byakuya)

part one

edit: man i said “byakuya” a lot in this. take a shot every time his name comes up lmao

this might end up on ffn.net or ao3 eventually if i ever get around to it...tumblr isn’t exactly designed for posting fanfiction lmao

It takes longer than Byakuya would have liked to calm everyone down, which is mostly due to Kurosaki's utter refusal to listen to anyone but Rukia, who's shaking and pale and not in a position to do any explaining. 

Byakuya can sense Kisuke's reiatsu, despite the fact that Kisuke's obviously trying to hide it. No one else would notice the faint strand of power coming from a rooftop, but Byakuya lived with Kisuke for almost four years, and Kisuke's reiatsu is as familiar to him as his own.

There's a flicker of power at the edge of Byakuya's senses, and he raises his reiatsu up as high as it will go with the limiter on just as Kurosaki makes a move for his sword. If Byakuya feels a bit of vindicative glee at the look of startled horror on Kurosaki's face as he's forced to the ground, well, that's nobody else's business. Byakuya is trying to think, and Kurosaki's petty little attempts at starting a fight are wearing on Byakuya's nerves-

Kisuke's reiatsu flickers with surprise, bringing Byakuya back to his senses. That's right, he has to be careful. He can't show that he knows Aizen's plans, and he can't...

...oh, kami above. Byakuya can't even go to Kisuke.

The realization hits Byakuya like a physical blow to the chest.

Rukia had been one of the first to die in the war against Aizen, and it had been Kisuke that had sparred with Byakuya afterwards until neither of them could breath and Byakuya could forget the stabbing pain of grief for a moment. Renji's death had left Byakuya feeling like a hollow shell, and Kisuke had been the one to force-feed him meals when he wanted to give up. After Kurosaki's death, Kisuke and Byakuya had been the last two shinigami fighting against Aizen. Kisuke wasn't quite a father figure for Byakuya, but he was certainly Byakuya's best friend.

Even if Byakuya hates admitting it, he'd relied on Kisuke, and the idea of not having him as a support makes Byakuya's heart ache.

"Alright." he says slowly. Kisuke had always been the planner, and Byakuya feels incredibly out of place trying to come up with something on the fly. "Renji," and Renji's name tastes like ash on Byakuya's tongue, "Central 46..." is dead "...are expecting us to return with Rukia - the criminal. There's no need to sully Zabimaru with the human."

Renji makes a furious sound in the back of his throat, but doesn't argue. "Rukia, get up," he says shortly, and Byakuya clamps down on his frustration. Doesn't Renji understand that Rukia isn't to blame...? Byakuya sighs. Of course Renji doesn't know that. Renji is still frustrated right now, at himself and at Byakuya and at Rukia and at Kurosaki and at everyone. Originally, it had taken Kurosaki defeating Renji in battle to show him who the real enemy was. This time, Byakuya hopes to skip that step, because he remembers exactly how much self-loathing Renji had carried after he'd almost let Rukia be executed.

(Byakuya is self-destructive enough for the both of them.)

Byakuya shakes his head. He can't afford to be lost in his thoughts now, he has to plan. Kisuke had later confided in Byakuya as to how Kurosaki had regained his powers after Byakuya had severed them. Byakuya doesn't think Kurosaki will be strong enough to invade Soul Society with Rukia's powers, so he has to injure Kurosaki again, but he needs Kurosaki to be more powerful than he was last time.

Just like that, Byakuya makes up his mind.

He steps forward and slips into shunpo, careful not to move too fast; Yoruichi had taught Byakuya plenty of tips for shunpo before she'd died, and Byakuya can't show Aizen exactly how powerful he is just yet. Aizen has to remain complacent, confident in his belief that his plans are still moving forward.

And yet, even as Byakuya limits himself to the very base levels of his power, Kurosaki doesn't see him coming. Kurosaki doesn't dodge. Byakuya remembers Kurosaki fighting Aizen, fighting someone who was for all intents and purposes a kami, and can't even begin to connect his Kurosaki with the boy standing in front of him.

Faster than Kurosaki would be able to see, Byakuya draws Senbonzakura and slashes, easily tearing cloth and leaving thin bloody trails across the skin on Kurosaki's chest.

He moves Senbonzakura again, too fast for Kurosaki to react. Slicing through Kurosaki's soul sleep is just a matter of flicking his wrist, and he can feel the faint flicker of Rukia's reiatsu that was tangled with Kurosaki's power vanish. 

Senbonzakura flashes again, and Byakuya steps back, watching dispassionately as Kurosaki falls to the ground. He isn't as badly injured this time, so Kisuke should have more time to spend on training Kurosaki. Byakuya can do nothing but hope that this will be enough.

"Kuchiki-taicho," says Renji with something not unlike horror, and Byakuya remembers where - or rather, when - he is. For Renji, Byakuya's actions look like senseless violence against someone who had already been defeated, and even a former Eleventh wouldn't forgive that easily. "Is he...?"

Byakuya looks down at Rukia, who is horribly pale and shivering. "He is not dead," Byakuya says to her eventually, even if Renji had been the one to ask the question. "And for now, he will survive. He does not currently have his spiritual powers anymore, but he will likely recover."

(Kurosaki will recover without a doubt, if Byakuya is reading the determination in Kisuke's reiatsu correctly.)

Rukia looks...relieved, and more than a little confused, but she nods and finds the strength to stand up. Byakuya almost moves to support her, but then remembers that at this point there doesn't seem to be any love between them. It hurts Byakuya with an almost physical pain to leave his little sister to struggle to her feet, and he has to bite his lip and look away.

"Alright," he says, mostly just to fill the tense silence. "Rukia, Renji. With me." He winces as soon as the words are out of his mouth; the previous version of him never would have used Renji's name so casually, and he even says Rukia's name with uncharacteristic fondness. "Our work here is done."

He sends his reiatsu out, calling for a senkaimon. The longer they remain in the human world, the longer until Kurosaki can be healed.

And, of course, the longer until Kisuke sees Byakuya's message.

[theseathatsparkles]

faraway (pt.1) (feat. time traveling byakuya)

mmm ive been sitting on this for so long and i finally decided to just post what i have edited. i’ll definitely post more eventually, but i just got a dog so production might be slow. 

so anyways, have some time traveling byakuya

faraway

noun 1. very distant, remote; 2. abstracted; dreamy

***

Kyoka Suigetsu rips through Kurosaki's chest, and Byakuya knows the war is over.

***

"A senkaimon," says Byakuya. His voice is hoarse and it cracks halfway through the statement, but Kisuke is polite enough not to say anything. The pink scars marring Byakuya's throat really aren't his business. "Why?"

Kisuke smiles, but both he and Byakuya know the grin is as fake as the cheery tone Kisuke plasters over his voice. "I've found a way back to Soul Society," he says, and it isn't entirely a lie. He can't tell Byakuya the full truth, though; Byakuya will insist that it's Kisuke who goes through the senkaimon, and Kisuke can't waste precious time arguing. Aizen's coming, Kisuke can feel it, and Byakuya needs to be gone. "It's only stable for one person at a time, but I'll follow you once you're through."

Byakuya's silver eyes widen with incredulous delight, and Kisuke can't help but feel a little bad for the deception. "How did you do it? Aizen blocked off all the -"

"Don't worry about it," says Kisuke dismissively. "It has to do with physics and space-time and technology for gargantas and really, it isn't a problem right now. Just take Senbonzakura and go."

Luckily, Byakuya isn't quite smart enough to question the vague answer, and he's halfway into the senkaimon before he stops and turns around. "You'll follow me, right?" He asks softly, and Kisuke is suddenly and horribly reminded of how young Byakuya is. Hardly three hundred years old; still practically a child.

"Of course," says Kisuke. This time, his words are entirely a lie.

***

The moment Byakuya steps into the senkaimon, he knows that Kisuke lied to him. This senkaimon feels nothing like the familiar portals to Soul Society that Byakuya is used to; isntead, his vision is filled with colors and sounds, blurry scenes that Byakuya can't quite make out. He can feel the senkaimon pulling at his reiatsu, and the gaping scars along his neck that making talking so difficult burn.

Black spots appear at the edges of Byakuya's vision, and he mentally curses Kisuke. Of course the story about getting back to Soul Society was a lie. Byakuya knows that Aizen had used the hogyoku to make travel between Soul Society, the World of the Living, and Hueco Mundo impossible for anyone without Aizen's express permission. And yet Byakuya had been so desperate for a way back to his home that he'd believed Kisuke's obvious lie.

If anything, he'd...

Byakuya's world goes black, and for a long time, he doesn't think anything at all.

***

Byakuya doesn't quite wake up so much as he jolts into sudden alertness. Senbonzakura hums at his side, and Byakuya feels a sudden wave of panic hit him from the bond he has with his zanpakuto. He sends calming thoughts at Senbonzakura until the rush of emotion recedes, and Byakuya promises to meditate and talk to his sword when he has the chance.

After this lightning-quick pause, Byakuya looks up to find out where the senkaimon had taken him, and is confronted with an impossible scene.

Renji, red hair pulled back into a familiar ponytail, skin flushed with blood and adrenaline, stands over Kurosaki, who is very much alive. A few metres away, Rukia lies on the ground, eyes watery and expression desperate. Blood drips from Kurosaki's nose, and a faint sheen of sweat shines on Renji's forehead.

Byakuya's eyes widen, and he makes a very undignified, un-Kuchiki noise. This is impossible. He knows this because Byakuya has had nightmares about this before, nightmares about the scene in front of him. This is where everything started to go wrong. This can't be happening, and...

...and Kisuke had said something about space-time before Byakuya had stepped into the modified senkaimon. Had said that he'd found a way back into Soul Society.

The part of Byakuya's brain that still believes in things being rational immediately dismisses the idea slowly forming in Byakuya's mind. The part of his brain that has seen Kisuke work before and knows exactly how smart the ex-captain is tells the rational part of his brain to shut up.

"Goddamn genius," he mutters, and isn't entirely surprised when the words come out smooth and undamaged, when his throat doesn't ache with the effort of talking. Byakuya brings up a hand against his neck, and the skin there is clean and unblemished. Urahara Kisuke is a goddamn genius, and if anyone could send Byakuya back in time, it would be him.

Byakuya opens his mouth to say something, anything, to tell Rukia he's sorry he let her die and that there was never a day where he didn't think of Renji. He wants to tell Kurosaki how to survive, how to defeat Aizen...

Aizen, who is most certainly watching the scene playing out. No, Byakuya can't say anything just yet. Tipping Aizen off to his knowledge would be a suicidal move. A move he can't afford to make.

"Fukutaicho," Byakuya says, careful to keep his voice steady. Kurosaki should be recovering right about now, and Byakuya doesn't want to see Renji hurt. He ignores Renji's blink at the use of the title and no name; Byakuya doesn't think he can say Renji's name without breaking down and telling him how much Byakuya loves him. "Do not waste your time on the Ryoka boy." It's too easy to fall into the role of the Head of the Kuchiki Clan, and Byakuya hates it.

Renji sighs, but pulls Zabimaru away from Kurosaki's throat. Kurosaki looks furious at the slight, even as his blood drips on the ground.

"Taicho, he stole Rukia's powers," Renji says, and really, Byakuya almost wants to laugh. Renji shouldn't be worried about this. Renji should be worried about the megalomaniac who has already murdered the 46.

"I am quite aware," Byakuya responds, tone crisp in the way it only is when he's trying to hide his emotions. "Central 46 made it quite clear what her crimes are. However, wasting your energy on a human is not befitting of your station."

Giving Kurosaki a dirty look, Renji finally steps back. He's angry, that much is obvious, but Byakuya refuses to feel bad. As much as Byakuya loves Renji, there are things more important than Renji's hurt feelings right now.

Things like keeping everyone Byakuya loves alive.

[theseathatsparkles]

so i made another thing

thanks to @murderlight and the anon who brought this up on murder’s blog in the first place

i have three braincells and 2.429 are devoted to urahara embarrassing ichigo, the last 0.571 percent of a braincell is devoted to my new obsession with literally all of murder’s fics

also, urahara getting therapy through tormenting ichigo will forever be a mood

ficlet under the cut!!

based on murderlight’s cat dandy. sort of. a continuation of this

Urahara Kisuke likes to think that he is prepared for everything.

Urahara Kisuke had not been prepared for...this.

"How do you raise a Hollow," asks Ichigo, ignoring the tiny, blue-haired kid sitting on his shoulders and gnawing - gnawing! - at his head.

Kisuke snaps his fan open and taps it against his chin. If his guess is correct, and it most likely is, that means Grimmjow has regressed the same way Nellial had. This opens up a whole new world of opportunities. Perhaps this can result in a stronger, less dysfunctional relationship with Hueco Mundo - and, of course, perhaps Kisuke will get his ten thousand yen from Yoruichi if Grimmjow manages to end up liking Ichigo.

Not that he's been betting or anything. Certainly not. He'd never do something like bet on Kurosaki-san's love life and potential humiliation.

"Maa, Kurosaki-san," he says slowly, drawing out the syllables. "Is there something you haven't told me?"

Ichigo's face flushes to be about the same color as his hair. "No!" He cries, yanking the tiny Grimmjow off of his head and practically dropping the poor boy on the floor. "Oh my god, no! I just want answers, okay?"

Kisuke laughs and claps his hands together. "I won't even ask where Grimmjow senior is," he says. "Possibly...recovering?"

Now, Kisuke knows - or at least he's pretty sure - that male Hollows cannot reproduce. (Can female Hollows reproduce? That's worth an experiment...) This unimportant fact won't stop him from teasing Ichigo, though.

Nothing can stop Kisuke from teasing Ichigo.

***

Ichigo knows he made a huge mistake in bringing Grimmjow to Urahara. The sort of huge mistake that ends in complete and utter social humiliation. The sort of huge mistake that makes the poor victim regret all of their life choices.

Somehow, Urahara had managed to contact everyone Ichigo knows, and somehow Urahara had convinced them that Grimmjow was Ichigo's child.

When Ichigo had arrived at school the day after The Mistake, he'd walked into the classroom to complete silence. Because not only had Urahara found a way to tell Ichigo's friends, but somehow even the kids that weren't spiritually aware knew. And god, their reactions are imprinted in Ichigo's head. He thinks he might be traumatized. Is that something that can happen? Trauma from humiliation at school? Because Ichigo's feeling it.

Inoue had stared at Ichigo with wide eyes before smiling suddenly and coming up to congratulate him, Ishida had the gall to scoff, and Chad had given Ichigo a Look.

Ichigo's honestly considering taking Grimmjow and moving to Hueco Mundo. Nel would let them stay in her quarters, right...?

***

Kisuke smiles cheerily as Isshin yells at Ichigo, Grimmjow chews on a delighted Inoue, and Ishida resolutely downs sake in the corner.

His plan had worked.

"You're a monster," says Yoruichi happily, looking delighted by the chaos. "An absolute monster."

When once upon a time this would have made Kisuke's heart pang, now all he feels is malicious joy at the feeling of an idea falling together.

"Don't worry, Yoruichi-san," he says, smile growing as Tiny Grimmjow walks over to Ichigo and wraps his chubby fingers around Ichigo’s pinkie. "Ichigo hasn't seen anything yet.” He pauses for dramatic effect. “And you owe me money.”

“Damnit!”

[theseathatsparkles]

(i just reblogged this with the wrong account lmao. i deleted that version but if anyone sees my blankensee account posting something like this it’s because im just dumb.)

The first thing Ichigo does when he walks into Goat-Face's house is dump Grimmjow in a heap on the ground.

Grimmjow responds by letting out an earsplitting shriek of wordless rage, and bites Ichigo on the ankle with his tiny, needle-sharp baby teeth. It sort of hurts, but Nel has a phone that Ichigo thinks might belong to Ishida out and is videoing the entire fiasco, and Ichigo focuses on this instead of the stinging pain in his foot.

"He's so cute," Nel gushes, a phrase she's been repeating variations of for the last hour. Which, yeah. Ichigo doesn't blame her; tiny Grimmjow is quite possibly the most adorable thing Ichigo's ever seen, including tiny Nel. Ichigo thinks it might be the utter disgust in tiny Grimmjow's huge eyes that's winning him over. "Look at him! Look at his little teeth!"

"His little teeth are in me," Ichigo retorts, shaking his leg in an attempt to dislodge the not-really-unwanted passenger. Grimmjow makes a sound suspiciously like a growl, but unclamps his teeth from Ichigo, makes his way over to Nel, and wraps his chubby arms around her knee in some sort of hug.

Ichigo frowns. Tiny Grimmjow seems to like Nel more than Ichigo - maybe some sort of Hollow soliditary thing? - and that is not something Ichigo is willing to accept. He sits down and looks at Grimmjow, who is half groping Nel and half trying to climb her like a a ladder. He's an absolutely precious little gremlin, and Ichigo loves him already.

Now all Ichigo has to do is win Grimmjow over, and honestly, how hard could that be?

I reread cat dandy (amazing! Cry every time) last night and I had the sudden thought, what if instead of regressing Grimmjow had become an amnesiac toddler like nel did. I cannot imagine what a hellion toddler Grimmjow would have been

definitely a little rascal type!! so cute to imagine though, especially if ichigo had made his way to that courtyard after the battle and found him like that 🥰

[theseathatsparkles]

question and answer

yo so i somehow fell in the AiGin pit because it has lots of potential for angst and i...absolutely thrive on angst. so here, have this. background ginran with lots of aigin at the forefront.

very short, like 150 words. i dunno i have the attention span of a fly

Sometimes, Gin regrets leaving Soul Society.

Sometimes he thinks about Ran's hair and smile, or the look on Kira's face when he's happy. Sometimes the guilt and loss eats away at Gin until there's a physical weight on his chest.

Other times, Gin looks at Aizen-sama and regrets nothing. This is the path of power, the path that will keep Ran alive and Aizen-sama happy. On these days Gin seeks Aizen-sama out and kisses him until neither of them can breath, until Gin's nails rake down Aizen-sama's back and he lays panting on Aizen-sama's sheets.

For a long moment on these days he'll think that maybe this makes him happy. Then he remembers what Aizen-sama did to his fukutaicho and he wants to cry, and Aizen-sama runs his hands through Gin's hair in a reassuring motion that makes Gin sick.

It's times like these that Gin has to remind himself that Aizen-sama is incapable of liking anyone, let alone loving them, because as much as Gin hates it - it's at time like these when Gin feels like maybe Aizen does care.

These are dangerous thoughts, and Gin has to be careful with them. He cannot afford to like Aizen-sama, not when Ran's life is on the line. Aizen-sama is a monster among monsters, horrible enough that even Szayelapporo and Barragan bow down to him.

Without Gin's hate for Aizen-sama, there is only a warm feeling that could maybe be affection, and Gin detests this feeling with all his heart.

***

"Do you love me?"

Aizen-sama's smile is like a knife. "No."

Gin sighs, lowers Shinso from where he points at Aizen-sama's throat. "Good," he says, and kisses Aizen-sama again.

[theseathatsparkles]

game

another lil project i thought sounded fun. I personally find GIn to be an incredibly enticing character, and writing from his point of view was really enjoyable. To some degree, he finds manipulating people as enjoyable as Aizen does, and to some degree I think this was carrying over to Gin's relationship with Matsumoto. 

Gin and Aizen centric, very minor GinRan, a little under 1k words

Aizen's war is a game.

Gin likes games, which is the only thing that keeps him from stabbing the pompous bastard in the back with Shinso. And this game is fun, too. Gin and Aizen as the two players, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra and Urahara and the Kuchiki siblings and even Kurosaki the game pieces. It's like chess, really. A version of chess where Aizen doesn't even know who his opponent is.

Aizen is smart, Gin will give him that. But Gin has spent his entire life lying, and even Aizen can't tell that Gin is not truly his ally. That is Gin's game.

***

Gin steps inside of Aizen's horribly lavish private quarters, keeping his smile plastered on his face. Aizen looks up from his chess board, a Western version that Gin has quickly grown to love. The King, the most important piece, being the weakest? Well - Gin finds that to be a bit of a prophecy.

"Ah, Gin," says Aizen, hair slicked away from his face. Gin finds the hairstyle to look rather stupid, but that isn't his place to say. "Welcome."

Careful to keep his eyes narrow enough that Aizen can't see the hatred in them, Gin steps across the room with quick, graceful movements, kneeling on the ground across from Aizen. "Nice of ya ta set up," he says cheerily. "Your move first?" It's a stupid question, one that Gin just asks to keep up appearances. Aizen will always let Gin go first in some mockery of courtesy.

"No, no," says Aizen, sitting cross-legged with his hands folded in his lap. His smile is familiar, the sort of look he used when he was still the good 'ol Aizen-taicho, but the cool detachment in his brown eyes sort of ruins the benevolent effect. "It would be impolite of me to take the first turn, Gin."

Gin's smile stays put on his face, and he reaches forward to move forward a Knight. "You're too kind, Aizen-sama," he says, even as Shinso thrums his displeasure at the polite honorific. "Gotta say, m'thinkin' this is the time that I beat ya."

Aizen's eyebrows raise. "Truly?" He scoots a Pawn to the next square, in true Aizen fashion. He'd always liked using his Pawns to their fullest potential. (Gin hides a chuckle; chess certainly has its parallels and uses.) "You have not beat me yet, Gin. Do not hold yourself above your station."

It's an obvious threat, and Gin's smile turns to a pout. "Aizen-sama, d'ya not trust me?" His face twists back into a grin. "An' after all I've done for ya..." Gin tips his head to the side, watching Aizen through narrowed eyes. It's hard to tell if Aizen is truly suspicious of Gin; Aizen likes to lord his power over his subordinates, and this might be yet another power play. On the other hand, it wouldn't do to underestimate this challenge. "I'm hurt, Aizen-sama. Truly hurt."

Rolling his eyes, Aizen taps the tips of his fingers together. "I trust you more than I trust anyone else," he says simply. "There's no need for dramatics."

Trust Gin more than anyone else, eh? Gin snorts. Oh, Aizen's a manipulative bastard.

"But drama just makes everythin' so much more fun!" Gin says cheerily, moving a Pawn forward two spaces. "Ya wouldn' want me ta be bored, ey?"

"I suppose not," Aizen concedes, but there's a warning hidden in his dark eyes. Gin happily ignores it. "There," he adds, sliding a Bishop into the empty space where his Pawn had resided. "Your turn."

Gin taps his fingers against his chin. "Oooh, my turn? Finally, Aizen-sama. Took ya long enough." Contrasting with his words, he doesn't move, smiling down at the chess board. Gin knows all of Aizen's ticks and pet peeves, and if he makes it a habit to piss off Aizen, well, that's nobody else's business. "Hm. I could move...there." He scoots a Pawn forward, but doesn't take his fingers off of it. "Or...maybe not, eh?" The Pawn slides back into its spot, and Gin pushes forward the Pawn directly next to it. "Let's do that, shall we?"

"A good move," says Aizen, sounding rather detached and uninterested. He picks up a Knight and sets it a square beside his Pawn. "Ah, Gin, while I'm thinking about it - there's news from Soul Society. Our friend Szayelapporo picked up on some interesting reiatsu signatures coming from Karakura."

The 'while I'm thinking about it' is completely unnecessary; Gin knows that Aizen must have been waiting for the right moment to bring this up since the game had started. And the nice cliffhanger on the end is, of course, a small bit of revenge for Gin's stalling on his turn.

Gin decides to humor Aizen, though. "News? What sorta news is comin' through?"

Aizen's eyes narrow almost imperceptibly, and Gin gets ready to school his reaction. Whatever news is coming, Aizen's prepared to test Gin's loyalty with it.

No matter, though. Gin is, after all, a liar.

"Your friend Matsumoto has arrived in Karakura with her Hitsugaya-taicho, Abari, and Kuchiki-chan."

Gin's face doesn't even twitch, even as he feels a wave of sudden bloodlust hit him. Of course the bastard would keep using Ran. Shinso thrums with fury matching Gin's, and his fingers ache to draw his zanpakuto and make Aizen sorry.

Not yet, though. It's not time to make Aizen pay yet.

"Aww, the lovely Ran-chan?" Gin's smile now shows a few teeth, and he knows that he looks rather fearsome with his pointed canines. "How sweet of her! I hope she isn' doin' too terribly bad, what with me leavin' 'er and all that." He has to clamp down on his accent, knowing it's an easy way to notice his anger. "Poor girl probably cried herself to sleep, huh?"

Aizen raises his eyebrows. "From what Szayelapporo said, she doesn't seem to be too...distraught."

That hurts even more than the idea of Ran crying over Gin, but Gin just keeps his sharp smile on his face. It's for the best if Ran isn't too upset, even if the thought makes Gin want to stab something.

"Eh." Gin shrugs, sliding his Rook a square to the side. "That sucks. I was hopin' I'd see some tears or somethin'. Gotta be entertaining or it ain't fun."

"Touche," says Aizen, and his eyes are lit with amusement now. "Ahhh, Hinamori-chan was lovely when she cried."

It's Gin's turn to raise an eyebrow now. "The Momo girl, your fukutaicho? She had a nice smile." Gin opens his eyes and flutters his eyelashes in a mimic of Hinamori's old grin. "Pity she's all broken, now. Didn' take your leavin' too well."

"I suppose not," Aizen agrees, moving a different Pawn. It leaves an opening by his Queen, but Gin knows better to go after that; Aizen likes his traps. Maybe if Gin can draw out Aizen's other Bishop he can slip past...but no, Aizen's Pawn sits there in wait. "Part of the game, though. She was too dependent, and she was fun to manipulate. Easy, though."

(Gin doesn't say anything, too busy responding to Shinso's furious Aizen-directed death threats to reply to Aizen himself.)

"Still," Aizen continues, too busy enjoying the sound of his voice to notice Gin, "in hindsight perhaps I should have cut my ties with her better. While I'm sure she still loves me, if her Hitsugaya-taicho manages to help her then she'll be a formidable force."

"Hell hath no fury," says Gin, coming to a decision. If he frees his Bishop, he can make a trap with a Pawn to take Aizen's Knight. "She's pretty well infatuated with ya, though. Your groomin' worked pretty well."

Aizen nods, resting his finger against the top of a Pawn in contemplation. "That, Gin, is the mark of a genius: being able to change people's perception with just a few words. Having power over a mind is to have almost infinite power," and his other hand settles on Kyoka Suigetu's hilt. "You and I are powerful because of that."

Gin giggles, and the sound visibly disturbs Aizen, micro-expressions flashing around his eyes. "Ya flatter me, Aizen-sama. Truly ya do."

Aizen's Pawn scoots forward, and Gin moves his Pawn in answer. "Manipulation," he says, running a hand through his brown hair. "The most beautiful form of combat."

Gin nods, unable to deny his agreement even as he fantasizes about Aizen's lifeless body. "To power," he says, lifting up his King as though toasting a glass of sake. "May we all get what we deserve."

"Indeed," says Aizen, not commenting on Gin's final words, and Gin's smile turns real.

Aizen's dream is a game, a game with people as the game pieces. And every game can be cheated at.

gin won the chess game by default when grimmjow blew up a third of hueco mundo while fighting nnoitra and aizen ran of to try to stop them from destroying anything else