#...Zommari might be interesting

[swan2swan]

I don't know how Round 2 of the Pernida battle is going to go, but it does look like Barragan and Starrk might be able to defeat his first phase in a combined battle, if not alone (assuming they're not on Pernida's turf where they can't fly and need a foothold).

Mayuri firing off exploding souls was able to tear Pernida apart, so there's no reason to suspect that Starrk's wolves wouldn't do the same.

And I don't know how Pernida would be able to attack Barragan with his nerve attacks; his nerves would rot before touching him, and even if he could launch enough, they wouldn't be able to contact Barragan long enough to take him over.

I'm obviously not giving either of them a victory over a Staffel member, because these guys are the Final Bosses, but they should be fast enough, clever enough, and hacked enough to survive the first round.

What happens next, on the other hand...

[ddrqoyote]

I'm in the Winter War(?) arc of Now You Feel Like Number None and I love how Aizen and the three most loyal Espada he let have powerups all cut themselves off from everyone for different reasons.

Szayel's terrified of everyone around him. He'd only feel safe if the entire world could never hurt him, but since that's impossible he holes up in his lab where he controls everything and pretends that's the entire world instead. The fact that he bets getting everything he ever wanted on people hurting him because that's the most certain thing he can think of... AAGH. The PATHOS.

And yet he's desperate to have someone he can trust because he not only falls for Nemo's fake friendship (she convinces a lot of people she's no threat but I don't remember her tricking anyone else into thinking she's a FRIEND), he takes it to True Companion status in his mind. I'd feel horrible for him if he hadn't tortured all those people.

Zommari wants to have all the answers without having to live. His ideal life is sitting up in the sky giving people advice like a cosmic choose your own adventure game. He wants to be wise so badly he tries to skip to the part where he is, so he plays priest and therapist even though, as Luppi points out, he hasn't been human any longer than the rest of them. He doesn't know himself (he's stunned how much he loves fighting), he reads Aizen as a saint and a guide when he might be the least enlightened man in Hueco Mundo.

His goal is noble, but he doesn't have the tools to accomplish it and can't admit that to himself, so he'll never get anywhere. He loves everyone in Las Noches and he has no friends.

And I think we all know what Ulquiorra's about since he's the only one of these three who was fleshed out in canon. He's mostly the same, so afraid of his own feelings he pretends he doesn't have any. Of course, here he has an inferior-turned-rival to hate and a Fraccion, which makes it more interesting for his relatively short screentime. I haven't actually finished his story yet so maybe I'll update this.

And of course, Aizen. Aizen's the same nothing on the inside he is in canon, but this time it's actually set up before the very end of his arc, and the book format means we get to see more of what he's thinking. At least, what he THINKS he's thinking, since he's not emotionally literate enough to know how he's really feeling without someone to tell him. I enjoy how he kinda has a point about the Arrancar being ungrateful and using the humanity he gave them as the reason to fight him, but how he's also completely incapable of wondering if he did anything wrong.

Again, haven't finished his arc, but the part where Harribel symbolically welcomes him to the Espada for his Hollow-like heart is AMAZING, and unlike canon where he gets beat like an hour after he steps out to fight, here he'll have enough time to actually process what he gave up for power. I'm interested to see how that goes.

[arrancxr]

Hi if your okay with it can you do what the Espadas think of Szayelaporro similar to the Aaroniero one please :)

Starrk + Lilynette

Szayel is always polite enough to the two of them, but there's no doubt it's an act. Lilynette finds him irritating and annoyingly complicated about everything, and Starrk would just as soon not interact with an experiment-happy mad scientist who definitely has an eye on their rank. They're both aware that Szayel does highly unpleasant things to other Arrancar whenever he gets the chance... and he's just plain creepy, beyond that.

Barragan

Weak creature that he is, it's no wonder Szayel is forced to rely on his tricks to get anywhere. As he is toward most of his unwilling allies, Barragan does not hold a good opinion of Szayel. He views him as an utter coward with very little to back up his ambitious schemes— and his tendency to kiss up to Aizen doesn't help that. Beyond that, pursuing the nonsense he calls "science" goes against Hollow nature, and Barragan is just as disgusted with that.

Halibel

While she'll admit that Szayel is remarkably intelligent and skilled at what he's devoted himself to, his morals (or lack thereof) are downright repulsive. No matter how useful Szayel may be, she can't overlook his power-hungry habits and propensity for backstabbing whenever he can benefit from it. As most Arrancar with common sense do, whether he's a threat to her or not, she tries to steer clear of the Eighth and his territory altogether.

Ulquiorra

No interest. Szayel serves his purpose well enough, but his entire personality is off-putting enough that Ulquiorra would just as soon not have to deal with him. He's well aware of Szayel's particular brand of tricks, and the more attempted power grabs he knows about, the more disgusted he is with the Eighth. Ulquiorra also finds himself frustrated with Szayel's willingness to learn; it contradicts his own narrow worldview, and he can't tolerate that.

Nnoitra

Szayel is someone who's entirely self-motivated. Despite all of his manipulation tactics, his intentions are pretty transparent to anyone who know how to look. While Szayel's dramatics get on his nerves, Nnoitra finds him tolerable— enough, at least, to work with him when the situation calls for it. As grating as he is to be around, they're both on the same page when it comes to a lack of morals and honor. Nnoitra knows what he's getting, at least.

Grimmjow

He's good at what he does, and that's about the extent of it. Grimmjow isn't a fan of Szayel's underhanded approaches to gaining power, and the fact that he relies on cheap tricks and dirty tactics to win his fights doesn't help that opinion. He might be a bit more tolerable because of his connection to Yylfordt— but considering that Yylfordt himself hates his brother's guts, Grimmjow sees no reason to put up with him.

Zommari

As the one holding the rank right above Szayel's, Zommari is aware that he's most likely a target for something unpleasant. Szayel hasn't tried anything yet, that he knows of, but it feels like a matter of time before some kind of incident occurs. He doesn't have any particularly strong feelings about the Eighth outside of that, though, and would be most content to just... not have to deal with what feels like a disaster waiting to happen.

Aaroniero

He's fairly certain that Szayel would have him in a specimen jar if at all given the opportunity. That's the primary reason why he does not appreciate the scientist's company— that, and the fact that Szayel is far from subtle about treating him like a biological curiosity, even when threats aren't included. While Aaroniero respects Szayel's intelligence and skill with crafty schemes, he knows better than to place any trust in a fellow backstabber.

Yammy

With Yammy's lack of general thinking ahead, there have probably been at least a few instances of him eating something Szayel gave him, and very much regretting it. Aside from that sort of conflict, Szayel is just plain incompatible with Yammy's worldview; he's physically weak, relying only on strategy and tricks to win his fights and get ahead. Yammy dislikes him for that alone, and as such, dismisses Szayel almost entirely from his concern.

[recurring-polynya]

I feel dumb for asking, but what exactly were the specific fears Rukia was seeing in regards to Ichigo, byakuya and Orihime.

Here’s the panel in question:

All of these are scenes from earlier in canon. Unlike the scene in Byakuya’s fight with As Nodt, where it’s very clear that what he fears is Rukia dying, it’s a little vague exactly what these fears are meant to represent, but here are some of my best guesses:

On the upper left is a scrap of Rukia kneeling by Byakuya’s side after he took Gin’s sword for her (the panels under the lefthand speech bubble are just more of this scene); just over Rukia’s left shoulder is the bit where, controlled by Zommari, she’s holding her sword to her own throat. The larger shot of Byakuya is also from the Zommari fight (I am only mildly ashamed to say that I recognized it from the blood spatter on his scarf, but it appears in Ch 302 right next to the other one, so I likely would have figured it out anyway). I think this one is pretty straightforward: Byakuya is a strong guy. He’s incredibly skilled and he doesn’t take chances. He has one weak spot, though, and it’s Rukia. She’s afraid of him dying for her sake, perhaps with a side of fear of failing him, generally.

The Orihime panels are the bit from the Advance Team Arc where Urahara tells Orihime to stay out of the coming battle, and Rukia reassures her and decides to take her to Soul Society to train. I can come up with two possible explanations for this: 1) Rukia fears that Orihime doesn’t believe her, will never feel like she is enough, that Rukia can never impress upon her how much she values Orihime as a friend and a comrade. 2) The alternative is simply that Rukia took Orihime to train in Soul Society, an act that directly resulted in Orihime’s kidnapping. It’s possible the fear here is just... having put Orihime in danger.

I apologize, but I can’t place the Ichigo panel in the upper right, and it’s just too generic, I refuse to dig through the manga, trying to find it (although since the others are vintage Hueco Mundo arc, that’s where I would start, I guess?) The bottom right is obviously the Fullbringer Arc. The dialogue that goes with this panel is Rukia saying “I was able to give you Soul Reaper powers once again!” so the most obvious fear is that she wouldn’t be able to, and Ichigo would remain powerless. A runner up is the fear that Ichigo would reject Soul Society (and Rukia personally), after finding out that he was being monitored and about Ginjo. 

There are two more, sort of below Rukia’s feet, Ichigo on the left and Rukia on the right that I still can’t manage to place. Based on the way the rest of this montage was made up, I would guess that these two panels are adjacent to each other. I checked half a dozen places where I thought they might be, and they were all close-but-no-cigar. If someone else’s Ichigo-recognition-subroutine is better than mine, I’d love to hear it.

HOLD THE PHONE, I just recognized the Ichigo panel by the bandage on his face. It’s from Ch 196, near the start of the Advance Team Arc, where Rukia jerks Ichigo out of his classroom and makes him fight a Hollow to shake him out of the funk he’s in. Again, I guess the fear here is that she wouldn’t be able to do that-- that actually kind of ties things together, actually, if she’s afraid of not being able to cheer both Ichigo and Orihime when they’re down, afraid of not being able to encourage Ichigo toward being the person she knows he can be.

I actually think it’s super interesting that, at least for the Orihime and Ichigo moments, these are times when Rukia comes off as ultra-confident, but I like the idea that she actually felt great doubt in herself, but pushed past it with the power of bravado.

I said in an earlier post that I hoped they would expand this scene and possibly show us what her greatest fear is, but I would also like it a lot if they padded this bit out some, too.

Update: A kind Anon id’d the last couple of panels for me, so check out this post.

[aizensamasuggestions]

You know what, I’ve chosen to reveal my true identity. I’d like to hear you call me by my name. Anyways onto the question:

Who would win in a fight, Byakuya or Kenpachi? And why. (Avoid manga spoilers please I haven’t gotten that far)

You pose a very interesting question, ace-thorn. I'm uncertain that I'm the best person to answer it for you, given my general distaste for melee weapons and straight-forward warfare, but I can give you my 'hot take,' as Kurosaki Ichigo might say.

Since you've spoken to me about Hirako Shinji, I will presume that you are privy to events up to my so-called 'defeat' at the Battle for Fake Karakura Town and reference nothing beyond that.

Kuchiki Byakuya and Kenpachi Zaraki already seem to have a rather unhealthy desire to cross swords with each other, so we can extrapolate some things from their little tete-a-tete in Heuco Mundo.

First, unlike any of his other battles, namely in those against his own lieutenant, Abarai Renji, my Espada, Zommari, and the ryoka boy, Kurosaki Ichigo, Captain Kuchiki refrains from using his greatest advantage on the field of battle when facing off against the Kenpachi...

Kido.

He could, in a moment, end it all, if he were willing to drop one of his favorites, Rikujōkōrō, and simply pin down the Kenpachi in a 'six rods prison of light,' immobilize him, and then strike.

One presumes the captain has even higher level spells at his command, though whether or not he has sufficient spiritual pressure or concentration to cast while in the heat of battle, only Kuchiki himself knows. But, none of that matters, because he handicaps himself by refusing to use it against Zaraki.

I would normally suspect that the good captain's reticence to use Kido comes from a misplaced sense of chivalry, since the Kenpachi eschew all Kido. However, his actions are lie to that idea. Renji has a laughable control of Kido, despite being Academy trained, and Kuchiki not only tied Renji down like an animal with Kido, but then struck with the full force of his bankai while Renji was helpless to defend himself. Likewise, Kurosaki got hit in extreme close quarters with a Byakurai, white lightning strike, in his battle with Kuchiki, so it's obviously not a kindness towards those without his skills that holds him back.

It's about pride.

Kenpachi has made no secret that he thinks that those who stoop to the use of magic during battle are 'unmanly.' For reasons known only to himself, Kuchiki Byakuya, the twenty-eight head of the True First Kuchiki clan, wants to impress a unknown, nameless man from a place in the Rukongai so far out that it is last named district, after which there is only emptiness and the ethereal, endless desert between the worlds.

Given this handicap, my prediction is that Kuchiki will lose.

My money also says Kuchiki will not quit until he is dead. He'll die standing, too, because his pride will also not allow him to be prone, even in death, at the feet of anyone so lowborn.

Kenpachi Zaraki is an unstoppable force. Also, if I may be so bold, I do believe his intelligence is often underestimated. From what Kaname told me about his fight with Zaraki, there is much more cleverness to this brute than you might first imagine.

There's a reason I left Hueco Mundo when he arrived.

[keikakudori]

pardon me while i feel a need to clarify a couple things here where aizen and his espada are concerned --

namely, how he views them.

truth be told, aizen’s had years and years to work with his espada, gathering them, making arrancar, and more. i am one to very much look at canon and disagree because the timeline doesn’t tend to make sense and i feel that aizen would have been working to make the arrancar and espada well before what the canon gives us, if through experimentation. we know he had a hogyoku of his own over a hundred years ago, as proven when gin was a child and saw him feeding that portion of rangiku’s soul to his own ( and i can’t wait for the day he gets to learn that -- ) so i thusly believe that he was trying for a long time before what the canon told us to craft arrancar.

while aizen is not indifferent to his espada, his level of personal involvement with them is very certainly curated. he does not fear them -- none of them -- in the least. each of them has differing strengths and he is aware of each of them. not only that, but aizen recruited each of his espada personally. he took time to study them, understand them, and thusly did he in kind know how to approach them. we’ve seen him, as per canon, take interest in two of them personally -- that being starrk and hallibel -- and i do not doubt he did the same for all the rest. which is my headcanon and i’m sticking with it. 

aizen DOES have favorites amongst the espada, though. that’s not anything he’s shy about displaying.

he considers nnoitra and grimmjow the problem children. starrk, hallibel, and ulquiorra are his favorites amongst all tend. barragan he knows bears a grudge towards him, szayel is content to obey so long as he can carry out his experiments, while aaroniero, zommari, and yammy are free to do as they please. and for all that the power structure and hierarchy can change, as proven with luppi briefly replacing grimmjow, aizen does not view the espada as a pack. he considers them simply tools. tools he might bear fondness for, but tools nonetheless. in the wake of nnoitra displacing nelliel and forcing aizen to find a replacement for her, he chose to instate a very simple rule: you are not allowed to kill one another.

the reason why grimmjow was not punished for killing luppi was because, more or less, aizen preferred grimmjow’s power to luppi’s and he was not shy about being critical of the fact that he had thought luppi would be stronger than he presented in the wake of their diversion where orihime was taken by ulquiorra.

while the espada are free to feel for him as they please ( hatred, fear, lust, desire for his attention, more -- ) there is a disconnection between between aizen and the espada. he understands that there is a desire to earn his attention from some members and he can be quite indulgent of it -- or it can truly irritate him. choosing to be stubborn about bad behavior does  not impress him in truth, though he can see it as a useful thing if only in the nature of this gives me something to control you with. but aizen’s never indifferent to his espada. he knows very well what makes each of them tick and to think he doesn’t understand that or play into that personality is simply not how he is. aizen knows what he’s doing and he knows, too, how to do it.

he is not a man to discard any investment lightly, particularly with the espada. in particular, take a look at grimmjow; aizen used kaname as a means for his displeasure ( which gin chided aizen upon and thus, the next time that grimmjow chose to act out of line? aizen took a hand directly with him in response. ) but he did not reduce grimmjow to a privaron though he could technically have been considered one momentarily. the cause of this was grimmjow disobeying him directly by going to the living world with his fraccion and, in turn, thus being responsible for their deaths; while fairly indifferent to the loss of five arrancar ( they were only gillians, after all. ), the fact remains that grimmjow went out of his way to misbehave and was thusly punished for it.

in other words, grimmjow brought the consequences upon himself with his own behavior. while aizen does not mind if someone is boisterous or loud ( such as yammy; he actually doesn’t mind yammy’s loudness one bit, surprisingly, if only because yammy does tend to remain deferential in their dealings with one another ), he despises disrespect. and if someone remains willfully disrespectful even in the wake of being punished for their actions, then aizen’s response will continue to escalate and thusly will he finally take a direct hand. out of all of the espada, grimmjow is the most rebellious one in aizen’s eyes and thusly does he tend to bring the weight of his displeasure down upon him more than anyone else. even nnoitra isn’t treated the way grimmjow is.

but aizen is not indifferent to his espada nor of their behavior with him; he understands each of his fine beasts very well. he doesn’t seek to tame them -- but he is willing to use them without hesitation.

[bleachbleachbleach]

~nostalgia time~

Thinking about TBTP renewed my interest in trying to figure out what any of my thoughts and feelings were from my first go-round with Bleach, because my memory of most of my FEELINGS are non-existent. And honestly not well-documented, because the part of my fandom activity I thought was worth posting back then was fanfic, and well, I didn’t write anything for Bleach. So it’s basically like Bleach/me was never an OTP that existed. 

But, having decided that going through three years of LiveJournal posts was something that was worth my...time... this evening, I did find some things.

Not very many things, and not really what I was looking for. Which I’m now angery at my past self about, because I found a TWENTY-EIGHT POST TREATISE with three parts organized into subsections for my fave character in the fandom I was writing for at the time. I’d kill for that level of vintage Bleach content now!!! wtf self!!!! tf, the only things I wrote about my Bleach fave then/Bleach fave now is “I hope he dies” and “he was mentioned!”

Let this be my reminder to be completely obnoxious about recording every minute trivial Bleach thought I have on this Tumblr, so that in 14 years future-me can have a fossil record.

Regardless... here is everything I learned about me/Bleach, 2008-2009:

2008, simping for Ruka:

Apparently I nearly stopped watching Bleach after episode 31 because there was not enough Rukia and the only thing I wanted in the entire world was Rukia/Renji/Byakuya dynamics

2008!me @ Fake Karakura: 

“Why would bringing Karakura to Soul Society be helpful? Ichigo-ikkou basically just waltzed in a few months ago.”

me losing my absolute goddamn mind when Hinamori shows up (I wrote this post in Japanese for some reason?? why???)

“I hope Hitsugaya dies, because if anything else happens it will probably be worse.”

this extremely excellent fan art:

2009, still simping for Rukia:

“Rukia: *exists* // Me: Bleach is worth reading”

“My OT3 is fighting a loofah.” (I have no idea what this means or who the OT3 is, but given the timeframe and what manga chapters were coming out, I assume the loofah is an Arrancar and this is Rukia and... Renji? Byakuya? Ishida? ...Hanatarou?? Is Zommari the loofah????)

2009, attending the church of “low standards, easily satisfied”

“HITSUGAYA WAS IN THIS CHAPTER (well, he was mentioned verbally)”

And I found out that in three entire years of reading Bleach and recording this on LiveJournal, the only extended thoughts I offered about Bleach were about Ulquiorra and Ichigo.

Apparently had lots of thoughts about this in 2009. Apparently was also very into italics for emphasis:

His conversation splinters with Ichigo are testament to this--he no longer asks why Ichigo does the things he does, he automatically attributes it to his having a heart. And while it's possible Ulquiorra resents him for that, I think it's more a morbid, insatiable curiosity as to what those new angles entail, represent. If he resents anything it is the idea that he is missing something, simply by virtue of being what he is (as evidenced by, as Grimmjow puts it, his tendency to impale his victims where is own Hollow hole is located).

Ichigo vs. Ulquiorra reminded me why I value Ichigo as a character.

He was absolutely terrified. To be facing Ulquiorra again was a nightmare for him. I loved that KT was able to convey this by having Ichigo 'talk himself up' into fighting stance, curb his fear by recognizing the various advantages of his opponent, quietly accepting them and determining that they will not matter. He can do this. It was reminiscent of his training with Urahara immediately preceding the Soul Society Arc, where Urahara told him that he cannot fight because he does not want to be hurt, or to have others hurt. He cannot fight because he can't be hurt, or let others be hurt.

He fights because he will not let himself or others be hurt. And that is what he must remember now. The fear must die before the enemy will. Or it must be tempered to a point so that it might become his weapon--Ichigo's Hollow form, for instance. In this sense, Ichigo attempts to become Ulquiorra in order to fight Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra resents this, and retreats back into the very same.

And whatever Ulquiorra did to Ichigo at the end, Orihime is likely capable of reversing it, if given the chance. (Ulquiorra's big mistake here--he let her watch. For someone who cannot stand to see her friends hurt, Orihime has a very powerful gift indeed.)

But I would like to see what Ichigo would become, if he died. He is no longer a human, nor even a shinigami, at this point--nor entirely a Hollow. Where would he go?

Perhaps it's the triumvirate that Ulquiorra resents more than anything; because at least he was able to relate Orihime's heart back to her humanity (and by his reasoning, her weakness). Ichigo, he doesn't understand--Ichigo, he thinks, should not exist. So he purges Ichigo's existence by eliminating him from his schema completely.

[bleachinyourheart]

Espada Headcanons

So, I thought I'd do a HC for the Espada getting unwanted attention from another person. Let's see how they react, when they just want the attention from their S/O.

Starrk: He'd just walk away, too lazy to even try to talk them out of it. However, if the person gets persistent, Lilynette will kick the perpetrator into next week, telling them to back off, with Starrk adding he's already with the only one who can close his Hollow hole.

Barrigan: He's usually calm and collected, and will wave the person off, and ignore them. However, if he's in a bad mood he'll just use his power to be rid of them. (Sorry its short).

Halibel: With her calm demeanor, she'll tell the attention seeker that she's not interested, and just walk away to find her s/o. Apache may step in if things get too annoying as well as the other girls, threatening the person to leave Halibel and her s/o alone.

Ulquiorra: Does this guy show anything at all? Nope. All he'll do is kill the person and walk away. Simple, he's not a man of many words. All he wants is his s/o and no-one else. I mean come on, he's loyal to a fault even if he doesn't show it.

Nnoitra (my baby): He'd tell them to piss off, and never come back, if he's in a good mood. However, catch him in a bad mood and he'll chop them up into little pieces and feed them to the Gillians. The only one he can put up with is his s/o and nobody else.

Grimmjow: He might be a flirt, but that doesn't stop him from loving only one person. Some cats aren't loyal, but Grimmjow? Hes definitely his s/o's house cat. He may flirt back to the person, but he'll just hover his lips just close enough to the person, to make them think he's gonna kiss them, and tell them to fuck off before using a close range Cero.

Zommari: Cant think of anything for this strange one. Sorry.

Szayelaporro: Being a dramatic person as well as a scientist, Szayelaporro will toy with the person's feelings. When he's had his fun, his seriousness will take over, and we know that's frightening in on itself. He'll most likely turn them into one of his dolls, and ask his s/o if they would like to torture them, for trying to take him away from them.

Aaroniero (Kaien): Nothing comes to mind, they're creepy af.

Yammy: He'll grin heavily at the one who wants him, and just tell them to get lost. If they don't he'll suck out they're soul, and go back to his s/o for some fun time fighting Kiskue.

[mysticgalaxychaos]

Some observations, thoughts and "concerns" about the new BBS characters

As you know, Bleach brave souls released what I will refer to as batch 2 of their CFYOW novel summons that have basecally nothing to do with the story but are supper cool regardless. First thing I would like to mention is that I will be counting that "Special" Ulquiorra (I think it was for the game's 3rd anniversary or something) with them, because these characters are pretty much (what I suspect is going to be) all the Espada fused with the hogyoku.

In case you can't tell by now, this is going to be a long post so heads up!

Let's start off with Ulquiorra

Here we have a picture of the playable character who we know is "Hogyoku fused" based on what I think the banner said and on the fact that he has the Hogyoku. Another noteworthy thing is the fact that he has the Hogyoku in his hollow hole. This is interesting because as you'll see later, almost all of them do. That means we get to see hollow holes we haven't see before!

Here is Grimmjow, and again, Hogyoku is in his hollow hole. Now, let's look at Nel

This would be interesting because we theoretically should get to see Nelliel's hollow hole, but where is it? I, along with many other people, theorised that her hollow hole is in the centre of her chest and is small. That's why it wasn't visible when she fought Nnoitra and almost her entire shirt was lifted. But here we see that's not the case. So where is the Hogyoku?

In this image we can see what appears to be the Hogyoku on the grip of her javelin.

And here we can see that this is in fact the Hogyoku.

So... What's going on here? Does Nel not have a hollow hole or is the hollow hole placement inappropriate and Kubo had to move it somewhere else? I personally don't think it would have been very inappropriate to cut a hole in the middle of her chest. Her top is already open there so it would have been fine. Thing is, there in no other place that hole could possibly be in... Idk. Moving on to some more fun on the new characters

Nnoitra is pretty much what you would expect

Now here, I don't know what's going on. I have cyrcled Yammi's hollow hole and what i think is the Hogyoku, so... What happened? Did it get knocked out? I can't possibly know. We'll see when he comes out!

Now this one is the best, because this is the first time we see Zommari's hollow hole! I don't know why we didn't get to see it originally, even though you could say it's because of inappropriate placement (?) Which shows that Nel could have her hollow hole just fine...

Now, my, I guess you could say "concern" (more of a question), is. From what we've see it seems we're getting all the Espada (or at least I hope we do). So... I really wanna know what are they going to do for Szayelaporro! You know he's my favourite character and I really wanna see him in a Hogyoku fused form, but what are they going to do? His hollow hole is the most inappropriate of all and from what we know (and speculate) it's probably super small too so... I really wanna know what Kubo will do with the design!

I know this might have not been very interesting, at least compaired to how long it is, but we have found two things to speculate about. Does Nel have a hollow hole and if she does, where is it? And where is Szayelaporro's Hogyoku gonna be?

[purezavacia]

topic: relationship with other espada!

I feel like a lot of this is subject to change, depending ondevelopments between other people’s interpretations of the characters, butbased on my own understanding of themand of Ulquiorra pre-death,,,, uhhhhh,,,,,,,,,,,

Ulquiorra was never one to get particularly close to anyone,and his fellow Espada were no exception ot this. Aside from any missions where hemight be paired up with them, or the meetings Aizen was so often fond ofholding, he never went out of his way to spend any amount of time with them. At first glance it could be seen ashim simply preferring solitude or outright detesting his brethren, but reallyhe just failed to see the point in their company. They were a people born froma race of monsters, built up into soldiers with the sole purpose of living anddying for their creator. Forming unnecessary attachments to each other couldprove to be counterproductive to that purpose.

Under cut because this is like, 1,000 words.

Let’s start with number 10 (or zero, if you prefer). I wrotea headcanon about that already, but to sum up; with Yammy, Ulquiorra was moreor less forced into a big brother role for him courtesy of Aizen. His cool andaloof demeanor tempered out Yammy’s more fiery and volatile one in an effort tomake the big oaf more controllable. After finding out about Yammy’s death,Ulquiorra isn’t quite sure just how he feels about it. During his time spent ashis retainer, he didn’t particularly care for him on a personal/familial level;he was just performing another duty. If a part of him actually feels sorrow athis loss or misses him in any way, (or perhaps just misses having thatresponsibility over something so his life could have more of a purpose) hehonestly isn’t able to tell.

With number 9, Aaroniero, he understood him to be someonethat had proven his skill and worth enough for Aizen to consider him on thesame level as the Espada, and that alone was enough for Ulquiorra to at leastrespect him. His abilities were incredibly useful, particularly his CognitionSynchronization, which Ulquiorra saw as a more immediate and wider rangeversion of his own Solita Visa. Outside of that usefulness, however, he did notparticularly care for him.

For Szayel Aporro, number 8, his opinion on him was rathersimilar. He understood the usefulness and practicality of his skills andabilities, he respected his intelligence, and that was about as far as thepositive side of his opinion went. As a person, Ulquiorra was less thanimpressed. He found his narcissism and flamboyant behaviors completelyunfounded and unwarranted. Yes, he was capable, and yes, he was clever andcunning, but he was still only the Octava. He was far from a “perfect being,”as he so called himself.

Initially, Ulquiorra was under the impression that Zommariwas much like himself – at least personality-wise. However, he found his self-righteousnessand overzealousness to be a bit disappointing. (Is that hypocritical of him?Perhaps, but Ulquiorra’s is a bit more understated.) While Zommari’s speed athis power level was certainly an admirable feat, that was about as far as thepositive went for him. Otherwise, he was just as content as Zommari was to keepa quiet distance from him.

As for number 6, Grimmjow, oh boy. Ulquiorra could not evenremotely understand why Grimmjow insisted on his rebellious behavior. He wasgiven this power, this chance to lead and prove himself by Aizen, and he still fought against him (even if it wasonly in the smallest of ways). Why spit in the face of the one who granted yousuch a gift? Still, even with the blatant disrespect he had towards Aizen,there was certainly a reason he was kept around and not just cut down at thefirst sign of defiance. Insufferable as he was (though Ulquiorra would be moreinclined to call him disappointing) he could still be considered a valuableasset to the cause. He was a powerhouse in his own right, ruthless, and wasapparently capable of instilling some form of loyalty in a handful of lesserhollows (even if he did ultimately lead them to their destruction); Ulquiorrajust could never be sure if that was enough proof of his worthiness to serveAizen. That they had such differing opinions on how to go about fulfillingAizen’s orders was also cause for a lot of strife. There was always a subtlecompetitiveness behind it, one that Ulquiorra would insist was completelyone-sided.

Nnoitra wasn’t one he was particularly fond of, either. Atleast with Grimmjow, there was a mutual distance kept between them outside ofthe gatherings forced upon them so as not to constantly grate on each other’s nerves, but Nnoitra was adifferent story. He spoke far too casually to him for Ulquiorra’s liking, andin every (very unwanted) interaction there was always an underlying attempt toget under his skin. Not to mention the mundane and base topics he so eagerlywished to badger him with weren’t something he had any interest in talkingabout, let alone with him.

Harribel was one he respected not only for her strength inpower and ability, but in personality as well. She was mostly quiet, yetsevere; her presence was still one that demanded respect. Her solemn attitudewas one he could understand and relate to quite well. What he could notunderstand was the Fraccion she kept with her – protected, even. He failed to see how they were deserving of thatloyalty when they were so brash, so weak, so much… less.

He had been told that Barragan was a king long before Aizencame and took the throne right out from under him. Isolated as he was in hiscrystalline prison, he had no prior knowledge of this fact, but judging by thedepth of his power alone he could tell there must have been some truth to it. Howunfortunate it was then that he was clearly not powerful enough to have keptthat throne. Still, bringing that up would prove unnecessarily fatal (and thuscounterproductive), so he never spoke much to him.

Coyote, and by extension Lilynette, were a curious pair, hethought. Theirs was a bond and ability he had not previously thought possiblefor hollows, and as strong as they were, he could not really fathom theirdesire for companionship. While they had felt loneliness, been consumed bytheir solitude, he had felt nothing of the sort during his own isolation. Andif he did, it wasn’t something he was able to identify as loneliness at thetime. Companions were liabilities, distractions, and weaknesses.

[swan2swan]

I know no one talks about Zomarri Rureaux (apparently that's how you spell his surname officially? See how little we talk about him? I didn't know?), but I want to take a moment to do so, because I figured out his backstory recently and it's SICK.

So, you may remember this guy: he's one of the Espada, and he appears in three scenes: his introduction at the table, one tease where he's meditating, and then his appearance on the battlefield. He's a bit of a nobody. He has no flashbacks, no backstory, and no W's.

But Kubo still gave us all the clues to his backstory...the two most important clues being one delivered long after his death:

Ulquiorra reveals that Arrancars sacrifice their Hollow abilities for others (and it is VERY interesting that they sacrifice healing, which grants them theoretical immortality, I see what Kubo did). We can combine this with another major hint:

...and understand that when the Hogyoku turns a Hollow into an Arrancar, it's actually Realizing Their Desires. They essentially enter a Character Creation Screen and adjust their stats according to their soul's desires. For most of the Arrancars, it was for more strength and power: Grimmjow to destroy, Harribel to create and not have to kill, Nnoitra to be invincible and be able to crush those in front of him, etcetera.

So, let us return to Zommari, and study what he may have desired:

Speed.

Mobility.

He can move so fast that he can create clones of himself. Now, what would drive a man to crave speed above all else? Well, we turn to our final clue:

When he releases his sword and restores his full Hollow powers, he gains the ability to control others around him.

Have you figured it out yet? Final chance!

Conclusion: in a dark valley of Hueco Mundo, there lived a terrifying urchin-like Adjuchas with myriad eyes and no legs. The creature could not move, but all those who caught sight of its eyes would lose their will. They would walk, slowly, step by step, until the Menos devoured them and continued to live. None who approached that valley ever returned, but so also, no one could ever warn people to escape. So the creature lived there, immobile and alone, only capable of consuming those he met, and only capable of seeing that around him. He longed to see the rest of this empty world, and wondered where these creatures came from, but never could he find an answer.

Until one day a powerful Soul Reaper appeared. Try as he might to cast his power of Sovereignty upon him, the Adjuchas could not make the man obey him: but instead of slaying him, the Soul Reaper made him an offer: serve him, and he would grant him the power of movement.

The Menos accepted, and in an instant, he was transformed: his body vanished, sealed within a sword, and he was granted legs! He could move! He could move faster than anyone around him!

And forevermore, he pledged his allegiance to this Soul Reaper, nay, this Deity who came to him and blessed him with the gift of Freedom...even to his dying breath.

[arrancxr]

Ok so the aizen fic!! Which Espada just go looking for reader, cuz hey new person, and which ones does reader have to actively seek out? How does aizen react to all this? Is reader a shinigami, or just a normal ass human who won't take aizen's shit? Enquiring minds want to know!!! :3c

Reader is just a normal human! o3o They start out unaware that Aizen is anything but a normal human as well, and even after they find out that he’s a Shinigami, they just kinda refuse to treat him any differently. He’s still the Sousuke they wound up friends with, so why should it make a difference if he’s human or not? This is a LOT of why Aizen is so fixated on them. 

Aizen’s reaction is basically increasingly obsession. No one has ever treated him like this, and he both does not know what to do with it and does not want it to stop. He’s not being treated like a god or an untouchable genius, but Reader also isn’t being disrespectful or cruel. They just legitimately treat him like a friend, and it’s so new to have that level of companionship that the lonely bastard kind of goes off the deep end with fixating on them. He’s trying to be their friend too, to the best of his ability, it’s just REALLY awkward because this man has no idea what to do with genuine emotions and attachment. 

As for how first interactions with the Espada go... 

Starrk is a pretty simple case. Lilynette connects with Reader first, and he gets pulled into it by association. Not exactly willingly, but he gets attached to Reader soon enough~

With Barragan, his Fraccion are heavily involved. A belief quickly spreads that getting on Reader’s good side is the same as getting on Aizen’s, so those who want to be seen positively start trying to make nice with/kiss up to Reader. Barragan’s Fraccion are among this group (for their king’s sake!), and Barragan himself more or less gets drug into it because of them. 

Halibel is kind of neutral ground. She’s fine with interacting with Reader if they cross paths, but she’s also not really going out of her way to see them. 

Ulquiorra is forced. 100% forced. Aizen assigns him to be Reader’s bodyguard/general caretaker, so he really can’t get out of this. 

Nnoitra is absolutely the biggest challenge here. He might approach Reader to be all threatening, but he has absolutely no interest in them beyond scaring them or making it very clear that he’s a horrible monster who they should never want to go anywhere near. 

Grimmjow is also kind of a mixed bag. He both does not like Reader because of their connection to Aizen and is too curious to leave it alone. He wants to push his limits and see what he can get away with with them. 

Zommari is a lot like Halibel— he’s not going out of his way to interact, but he’s also not avoiding them.

Szayel absolutely approaches Reader. He does so VERY early on and entirely because he’s trying to show off his capabilities and earn favor with Aizen through appealing to the man’s new companion. He’s almost weirdly friendly with Reader, despite the fact that they’re still getting Bad Vibes like crazy... and he’s avoiding actually opening up at all costs. 

Aaroniero is very torn between approaching Reader for the same “earning favor” reasons or just avoiding the potential threat at all costs. He winds up leaning toward the latter because of what starts going around, rumor-wise. Reader starts sounding more and more weird. 

Yammy isn’t in this one because I really don’t know what to do with him.... >.>

[thats-miss-spider-to-you]

Human Espada Headcanons

It’s 1am boredom-driven headcanon time again! These are headcanons about the Bleach espada when they were still alive, based on canon clues given in the manga with some psych assessments.

Yammy: The schoolyard bully. He’s big, greedy, not too bright, and has a sociopathic disregard for everyone around him. But, rather than being annoyed when someone opposes him, he gets happy - it gives him an excuse to smash your face in. (Not that he really needs one.) Presuming he made it to adulthood, he probably ended up in gang life or even organized crime as hired dumb muscle. Likely cause of death: died during a job gone wrong or pissing off one of the higher-ups.

Aaroneiro: Based on off-hand comments and the scraps of backstory given, I don’t think Aaroneiro ever was human. It was mentioned that Aizen experimented many different ways to create arrancar before he managed to find the hougyoku. As one of the original espada, it’s extremely likely Aaroneiro is just a relic of some experiment to manufacture arrancar from scratch.

Zommari: Religious/Cult leader. There’s virtually no backstory to go on here, so this is based on observations. What we do know is that his power is the ability to control anything in his extensive line of sight, a power that he calls “Love” - a signature trait of cults is the overwhelming need to control their followers in every way, something they achieve by framing it as beneficial. We also know that he’s being on being “virtuous” and has a dramatic way of speaking, like an orator. There’s not enough for me to infer a cause of death, but murder’s a good bet.

Sayzelapporo: Pretty much the same; doctor/scientist. But I also headcannon that Sayzel was likely some type of sexual predator during his human life. Rather than being technical or even bio-medical like Kurotsuchi’s zanpakuto, his released form is extremely sexual in nature, in a dirty kind of way. His hidden ability is basically the power to forcibly impregnate any nearby female, for crying out loud - Kubo was laying the hints on thick. Even if he didn’t act it out, Sayzel was likely someone consumed by dark, perverted thoughts in life. For having one of the longest fights of the second arc, there’s not enough information about to guess at how he died.

Luppi: C’mon, boy was alive for like 3 chapters! Best I can figure is, he was clearly in high school when he died and, like Sayzel, had a deep preoccupation with sex. Basically he was a teenage fuccboi. Cause of death: between his selfish attitude and smart mouth, almost certainly killed by a jilted girlfriend/angry boyfriend.

Grimmjow: Street punk. Grimmjow is basically Ichigo, if he came from a worse background and with no healthy outlet for his strength or hair-trigger temper. But he retains the deep seated sense of loyalty and protection - it’s immensely likely that Grimmjow was the leader of some city street gang in life. He might have even been beloved by his followers, or at least deeply respected. Unfortunately, gang life respects no one: his love of fighting was almost definitely the death of him. (That or a motorcycle crash. I could see either one.)

Nnoitra: As I’ve mentioned in other posts, Kubo gave Nnoitra an unusual amount of backstory for a minor character. What I got from it was this: Nnoitra was likely a high school or college kid who was bullied for his lizard-like appearance (hence why his Hollow hole is on his face). It would explain both why he’s so fucking touchy, his constant need for validation, and his problems with women. He bristles at any show of mercy or kindness as “pity”, something that’s a huge hallmark of someone with a history of low self-esteem. Unfortunately, its not at all hard to guess at how he eventually died: suicide.

Ulquiorra: Dude’s a blank page. I got nothin’. His defining trait is his unfailing loyalty to Aizen, even at cost to himself. Outside of that, he’s basically schizoid. 

Halibel: I can’t pin a profession or life story (I like to think she was an athlete), but I’m pretty confident in asserting that Halibel was likely a lesbian. Each of the espada are assigned to represent the top causes of death among humans, and Halibel was designated “Sacrifice”. That’s a very mysterious sentiment, until you realize that she prefers to keep herself surrounded by other women at all times. It’s also interesting that she still has the most of her Hollow mask remaining of all the espada. She was either forced to keep her sexuality a secret throughout her life, or was caught and actively punished for it. Possible cause of death: if she didn’t die of some other cause, then its entirely possible she took her own life from the pain of repression.

Barrigan: You really have to ask? Kubo went balls out with the “South American dictator” look here. He even serves up the cause of death: old age.

Starkk: Hitman. Starkk’s main feature is his loneliness, and being essentially the only Bleach character to use modern weapons. These two together fit nicely into the narrative of Starkk having been a hired gun in life. Professional hitmen can’t afford to get close to people for fear of a) having them used against you, and b) they might discover your secret and rat you out to the authorities. He made his living and was probably damn good at it, but felt the crushing isolation of a life ill-spent every day of his life. He likely would’ve been experiencing heavy depression at his time of death, something that often manifests as laziness or apathy. Assuming he didn’t die of illness or accident, possible causes of death include: was eventually caught and executed for his crimes; suicide; a better hitman.

Wonderweiss: Hahahahaha

[the-pallid-king]

@zuzuhe:

I think in the bleach verse, Nel and Tesla cried? I think hollows can feel sadness and depression. Shiro's instinct and his odd creation might make him a different case tho? I mean hollows WERE created from humans who fell into despair and hopelessness. Then they gain their power to fight on their own.

so maybe a hollow's emotions can go three different ways ? on one hand, they react strongly to negative emotions and it amplifies their power (like perhaps Shiro, Grimmjow, and Yammy) On the other hand, they could fall into a field of despair where they feel nothing. (Stark, Ulquiorra,Zommari, Halibel, maybe Baragan) and the third option is they just go insane (Nnoitora, Syazel, Aronierro)

shiro could be all three in this case : amplified, despairful, and insane??

You’re following the line of logic I use for basically all of Shiro’s emotional/semi-emotional reactions lol They can absolutely feel sadness and depression, despair and more or less the entire negative side of the spectrum. Like you said; that’s what they are born from.Shiro’s an interesting case, since he wasn’t created via a corrupted human spirit, but I don’t think it’s wrong to say he was born from Ichigo’s despair and depression. Ichigo was less than happy long before Shiro showed up, with the death of his mother, but when Ichigo got his shinigami powers, a lot of that hopelessness, powerlessness, etc was kind of alleviated...? He was given an outlet for it, he was given some sort of purpose in the form of protecting people and defeating evil. But all of that negativity that he was struggling through had to go somewhere and how convenient that he has an inner hollow. So like, we know Shiro was kind of created when a hollow bit Masaki, but there was no baby hollow in baby Ichigo, at least not consciously. Idk my running theory/interpretation of Kubo’s less than thorough canon surrounding our dearest hollow is that he sprang into official wakefulness with that small purge of Ichigo’s despair.

BUT that was super off topic.

TLDR: Yes to everything you said.

[arrancarscenarios]

What do the Espada like about Halloween the most? Is it the candy, decorations or pranking and scaring people? I need to know!

AWAKEN THE SKELETON ARMY, THE SPOOK DAY IS NIGH

Who likes the candy best:

AARONIERO. Well, obviously, he’s a glutton, so he wants all the candy. However, he refuses to go out and ‘beg’ for it, so… you’ll just have to get him some, and lie to him about the date so you can get it half-price the next day and buy more. He’ll thank you profusely!

STARRK. He’s usually too lazy to eat, but if you bring him candy, he’ll definitely get in on it. Everything else he doesn’t pay too much attention to. He also ends up with a stash of candy somewhere in his room, because he doesn’t eat more than two or so pieces at once.

ULQUIORRA. Surprising, maybe, because he doesn’t see the point of asking for candy anyway. He sees even less point in dressing up or in scares, though, so candy wins by default. Oh, and he definitely knows when to stop; one is too many and a hundred isn’t enough…

Who likes the costumes and decorations best:

HALIBEL. It’s interesting to her to see things looking so different. Obviously you are not a dangerous vampire, but it’s lighthearted fun that nobody here gets enough of. She will also indulge you by allowing you to put skeleton decorations in her quarters, if you like.

NNOITRA. Oh, he pretends not to at first. — Until you suggest that he would make a handsome pirate. Fine, if he can keep hiding that missing eye and see you smile, he’ll go along with it for like five minutes. Decorations are okay, as long as they don’t make it inside his room.

Who likes the scares, pranks, horror movies, etc., best:

GRIMMJOW. Mostly he enjoys scaring the shit out of people, but he also will gladly cozy up to you for a horror movie marathon. It’s like a challenge finding something that will scare him. If you do, though, that’s totally fine! As long as the danger isn’t real, he likes being scared.

SZAYEL. Aha, this is where he truly shines! Out of trick-or-treat, he chooses trick. He might actually decorate his lab simply to scare the hell out of anyone who comes in. Where did he get that creepy music that’s playing?? If he gets lucky, he’ll scare his stupid brother out of his candy.

YAMMY. There’s no question about it that he loves getting a reaction out of people. That includes scaring them, and nobody is safe. After he’s done with that, he relaxes by watching horror movies with you. The next time he’s pissed at someone, he’ll have some new ideas. Oops.

Who’s a Halloween Grinch and likes nothing:

BARAGGAN. Not much about this holiday appeals to him, and most of it he sees as beneath him. Though you might be able to convince him into enjoying something for a moment or so, if you don’t push hard, he does it more to satisfy you than because he really likes it.

ZOMMARI. He would much rather focus on the spiritual side of things, the idea of honoring the dead. That’s a little tricky to do seeing as he’s technically dead himself. However, he’ll oblige you in some small ways, and he’ll do so happily, though he won’t seek those out again.

[arrancarscenarios]

How would the Espada (or characters of your choice, if you'd prefer) handle a human partner who is determined to take care of and spoil them? Just lots of love and attention and trying to show them the nicest things the human world has to offer.

Whispers softly... this is the kind of S/O they aLL DESERVE!!!

Aaroniero

It’sso… weird to him?? Just, why are they like this? It doesn’tmake any sense. Not only should everybody be looking out only forthemselves, but he is… the person they should be fawning over theleast. If his S/O wanted to give anyone affection like this, itshould be someone who’s actually more like a human. Though, he willadmit that it’s not unpleasant. At the very least, both of hisheads can agree that, yeah, okay, being spoiled like this is kindanice. He’s also eternally curious about humans, for some reason, soanything they show him from their world is going to make himmetaphorically light up. They should expect a lot of questions and alot of requests for them to show him or tell him about somethingelse.

Baraggan

Well,of course they’re going to pay him absolute attention. He’slike a king, and kings deserve to be worshipped like this. Even so,every time his S/O does something caring towards him, it makes himfeel… different than when his Fracciónes do so. Although heobviously possesses the power to completely destroy them, and theyrealize that, it never seems like they’re doing it to gain hisapproval or to dodge death. For whatever insane reason, they appearto be doing these things out of a genuine care for him. That’ssomething he doesn’t expect or know how to deal with. Though thehuman world doesn’t interest him much, he tolerates their offers.You can also bet his Fracciónes are expected to treat this personlike a queen.

Grimmjow

Damn,can his S/O get any more clingy? As much as he cares aboutthem and knows that they care about him, the whole constant attentionfeels to him like they’re trying to smother him or something. Itseems naive, desperate, or worst of all, like they don’t trust himto take care of himself. After a good amount of time and probablymore than a few fights over it, he tries to settle down about it.It’s definitely not something he’s used to, and it confuses him,and his typical reaction to anything that he can’t understand ishostility. (He does ask about it, but the answer of “because I loveyou” isn’t something he can accept for a long time.) He’llprobably humor them when it comes to human things, and might actuallybe genuinely into some of the stuff they show him.

Halibel

Thisis actually… rather nice for someone like Halibel. Although shetends to be quiet about how much she likes it, the truth is that shevery much appreciates someone who wants to care for her in this way.They’re always hovering around her, next to her, close to her –always asking her how she is and offering to get or do things forher. It’s so sweet of them and it isn’t anything she’s everreally experienced before, aside from her Fracciónes who show thingslike this differently. Make no mistake about her silence, because ifone observes the actions between her and her S/O, it’s blindinglyobvious that the things they do make her happy. She’s alsofascinated by the human world, so anything about that is going to bemet with curiosity. After a while of them talking about and showingher various things from the human world, she takes their hand andasks in a stoic but almost pleading whisper: “Can you take methere?”

Nnoitra

Hah,well, that’s an urge he’s never really had anyone express towardhim; not even Tesla is so soft to him! What’s this human doingacting so kind and adorable? He’s a bit condescending about it atfirst, mainly because he’s so amused. It doesn’t quite sink infor him that they’re genuine about wanting him to be happy andwanting to care for him. He allows his S/O to do it, if only becausehe wonders where exactly they’re going with this wholething. The human world is something he’s a little curious about,and will readily ask maybe a few questions about whatever they showhim. Once he realizes their intentions, and that they’re doing thisbecause they love him, the main response he gives them is to rest hisforehead against theirs with a grunt, and murmur, “Why?” Hegenuinely cannot understand what there is to love about him.

Starrk

Oh…wow… geez, are they really that into him? That they want to dothings like this for him, stuff nobody else has ever really wanted todo? Most people view him as lazy, unmotivated, a nuisance. But theway his S/O treats him makes him feel like he’s the most importantperson in the world; like he’s worthy of being treated so kindly.It’s something he’s never had, and although he doesn’t show itmuch at first, he gets addicted to it fast. He’ll happilyendure whatever about the human world they want to show him. All ofit will be met with laid-back interest, and he asks questions. Heloves the passion on their face when they show him things they thinkhe’ll like. His absolute favorite thing is when they lie down withhim and hold him close. Their heartbeat is the only lullaby he’llever need.

Szayel

Haha,well, goodness… this is rather unexpected. Do they think so highlyof him that they’re willing to spoil him in such extravagant ways?He’s someone who rarely gets any attention paid to him, and if itis, it’s usually negative attention. People don’t like him.What makes his S/O so unique that they actually think he deserves it?It doesn’t make sense to him. The way they’re treating him is amystery, and like all things that he doesn’t understand, he’sgoing to keep trying to unravel it until he can comprehend it.He does like it, though, and won’t complain. The human world is asource of endless fascination for him, so he’ll have dozens ofquestions about anything and everything they show him. They shouldjust pray his curiosity won’t go as far as an urge to dissectanything human.

Ulquiorra

Whatare they doing? They need to… stop. This is not comfortable, it’snot something he’s used to, and they do not need to be doingit. Any of it. It actually sort of irritates him at first, because hedoesn’t really understand what they’re attempting to do. Why tryto take care of him? He can take care of himself. As far as spoilinggoes, physical affection and gifts are a bit lost on him in thebeginning. It all seems sentimental and too human, linked to this‘heart’ that he can’t see or wrap his mind around. Becausetheir heart and feelings aren’t something he can see, hisinstinctual reaction to it is that it’s all fake. He’llendure their offers about the human world, but he seems so distantfor a long time. Once he taps into his own emotions and it sinks in,he calms down and is much, much better about accepting all theiraffection.

Yammy

Whatthe fuck even is their problem? Like, what does his S/O think they’redoing getting all damn soft around him? It almost seems to him likethey’ve got a death wish – treating someone as dangerous as himlike he’s made of fucking glass or something. He doesn’t getit. At all. And he doesn’t make an effort to see where it’scoming from. It’s not the way he shows affection, so apparentlythat means it’s worthless and stupid. Who knows how thehell he shows affection, anyway, probably with a punch to the gut.The human world is boring to him, and he makes no secretabout the fact that he doesn’t really care about whatever they’reshowing him. As much as he complains about it, if they were to takeaway that affection and showing off, he’d growl about why theyweren’t anymore. Yammy is… complicated where stuff like this isconcerned.

Zommari

Hmm,the way they act around him is… interesting, to him. Maybe if heobserves more and thinks on it longer, he can find a reason for it?He does reflect on his S/O’s behavior regarding him quite a bit.He’s one who will more readily accept “love” as their reasonfor treating him so protectively. As far as he knows, it makes sense;he cares for them as well, which leads to him wanting to protect themin any way he can, so why shouldn’t they feel the same way? It’slogical. Although he isn’t totally dazzled by the human world, hewill gladly take in whatever they want to show him. He’s quiet andserious, and is one of the only ones who most obviously mirrors theway they treat him.