#AND THEN ALL BUT LITERALLY GIVES ULQUIORRA HER HEART!!!!!!!!!

[forcebookish]

damn remember when ichigo went full hollow and orihime was terrified of him but when ulquiorra, someone she has only known as a hollow and kidnapped her by threatening to murder all her friends and spent her whole imprisonment intimidating her, asked her if she was afraid of him she said she wasn't

🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

LIKE WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT????????

[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.

[torawro]

YEAH WE DO ! we haven’t even talked about isshin + masaki OR ICHIGO in the last episode !? the final scene w his lil zangetsu you are me omg omg omg i need to punch him in the face or smth ykwim !! he’s just … aughhh !!! what are we gonna do until july :(

EJ !!!! hi snookums <3 i’m so late to answering this GRRRRR I’M SORRY! let’s discuss the last two episodes bc WOOWW!!! that was literally amazing and i’ve been sayin that with every episode but it truly was amazing!! bleach eats every single time!! bleach spoilers below !!!

____________

okay so. let’s talk isshin and masaki. OMGGGGGGG EVERYTHING BUT THE RAIN WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED EPISODE(S) !! literally every damn thing was perfection !!! i could have cried fr they did that whole thing so beautifully i don’t even know where to start 🤧isshin, masaki, and ryuuken all looked so so gorgeoussss like i was mesmerized by masaki because she’s just so pretty and she looks really really good in that animation style; i’m actually a little jealous. and her growing love for isshin was just so wonderful to experience, i definitely felt my bottom lip tremble when isshin said “masaki is like the sun” cause hello?????? who thinks of things like that to say to a woman? he was so in love with her entire being it made me ill in the best way possible. it’s just so nice bc they’re two spiritual beings that are supposed to hate each other but ended up falling in love :((( ugh and isshin looked even more like a himbo when he was younger, my pussy is watering just thinking about it sobs.

and RYUUKENNNNN HNNGGHHHHH EEK DADDYYYYYY! sorry but UNFFF he looked even more handsome and dashing when he was younger as well, i wanna kiss tf outta his pretty face🥺🥺🥺he’s so cold and strict but i know i can soften up his litol heart i just  know it!!! even tho it was a tense moment when he slammed kanae against the wall upon finding out she told ryuuken’s mom about masaki’s battle, I WISHED TO BE KANAE IN THAT MOMENT bc he was so close to his face. she is better than me bc i would have kissed him LOLOL. oh to be sandwiched in between ryuuken & isshin :((((

AND LET’S DISCUSS MY SKRUNKLY BOYFIE ICHIGOOOOOOO MMMM! omgomomgomgomg pls there’s still so much simping energy i have left for him he’s so gorgeous <3 tell me u also shed a tear when “old man zangetsu” faded away and the way he said he was proud of ichi’s progress! when ichi said “you are me” with both zangetsu and white floating above him THAT WAS THE PERFECT WAY TO END THE FIRST COUR IT WAS MAGNIFICENTTTT SUPER WELL DONE !! what the hell are we supposed to do until july :(( 

actually well......this gives me the perfect opportunity to finish the manga once and for all and then start reading the novels 🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏾‍♀️ AND AND AND WE CAN REWATCH OUR FAVORITE ARCS !! i need to see daddy aizen again bc his total 5 minutes of screen time in this arc wasn’t enough </3 oh oh oh i can revisit my baby ulquiorra <3 oh and grimmy ! and ginjou and tsukishima !! 

[betweenbeatriceandbaudelaire]

I mean Ichihime always breaks my heart but this ? This particularly just hits different. 

I mean this situation was created because this happened : 

If anyone know where i can find better quality scan please tell me this can go on no longer

I mean Ichigo was just like 16 at the time and he made this promise and he took it TO HEART. He took it so seriously he literally died protecting Orihime. And when he was dead and his hollow took over, this will to protect her was the only human thing left about him *screams into a pillow*

It just breaks my heart how serious Ichigo was when he made this promise, how he poured his soul into that vow. It breaks my heart knowing that making this promise was the only thing that got him back on his feet after his depressive episode following the Yammy fight where Orihime got hurt. 

He could not stand the thought of her being hurt (and his other friends too but the narrative and ichigo focused on Orihime so why should I do differently ? ). 

It broke him so much that making a promise to get stronger and to definitely protect her next time was the only thing that could bring him back to his true self. 

And he got stronger and he tried SO DAMN hard during the Hueco Mundo arc, the Grimmjow fight,the Nnoitorra fight, the Ulquiorra fight. 

He gave his all to keep this promise, every single ounce of strength left in him he used. He pushed far past his limits in order to protect her and in the end IT STILL WASN’T ENOUGH * screams into the pillow harder*. 

And when he died, when all of his strength and all of his will wasn’t enough to protect her, when he lost himself into his hollow form, his desire to protect Orihime REMAINED. 

Like an echo of who he was, his promise to protect her were the only words uttered by his hollow form. It means that just before dying Ichigo must have repeated it to himself like a mantra in order to keep fighting, to keep protecting her. 

And it just breaks my heart. How earnest and true and sincere he was when making this promise. 

He vowed to her and to himself that he would get stronger so that she wouldn’t get hurt anymore. And he believed he would. He believed that against all monsters and against all evil he would be strong enough to protect her just because HE WANTED to protect her so much. He believed that the strength given to him by Rukia (his shinigami powers) would prevent him from losing someone he loves like he lost his mother. 

But ultimately it all went down in the first panel of this post. Ichigo dead and his will to protect her surviving still. 

It breaks my heart how Ichigo disregarded his own safety and his own well-being and allowed himself to be so physically hurt that it all came to this. 

It breaks my heart that the very thought of not being able to protect Orihime, not to keep the vow he made was so infinitely painful to him that he allowed himself to go through all sufferings, mental and physical. 

I don’t know how to finish this, I just want to give 16 year old Ichigo a hug and a therapist. 

Maybe I can finish on this : 

That when he made that vow to Orihime, she, just like he did, did not spare a single thought for herself like “How lucky I am to have someone to protect me” or “If he says that, that means he cares about me”. Not for one second did those thoughts cross her head. She was just so relieved that Ichigo found his footing again. That he was back to his old self. 

It makes me happy that Orihime cared about Ichigo just as much as he cared about her and that she made a vow of herself to protect him and take care of him as well. 

It makes me so happy that in the end they found each other and were able to live a happy life together. Healing together of all the traumas and hardships of their childhood and teenage years. 

Ichihime really rules y’all. 

[girl8890]

Ulquiorra Cifer’s Anime Appearances Guide

Bleach

I’ve literally been searching every website and fandom page to try and find a list of Ulquiorra’s anime appearances, and all I can find is his manga, movies, and video game appearances. So, like every other character obsessed Tumblr user does... I made my own XD

This also includes Bleach spoilers since every episode I list has a description to it. If I've missed any, please comment below, and I’ll add it/fix it.

Appearance Guide Master List

All episodes Ulquiorra is in: 

e113 - First Appearance. Ulquiorra meets Orihime and Chad for the first time. He watches Yammy fight them both. We hear his thoughts about what he thinks Orihime’s healing powers are.

e114 - Ulquiorra meets Ichigo for the first time. He watch’s Yammy fight, and almost kill, Ichigo, as well as fight Yoruichi and Kisuke after Ichigo has fallen. While Yammy fights Ichigo, we hear his thoughts about Ichigo. Then, he stops Yammy from fighting Kisuke since he knows they’re very strong and not worth fighting. He leaves with Yammy through a portal. Explaining that there is nothing worth Aizen’s time, and that there was no one worth killing.

e116 - First time showing his high-speed regeneration power on screen. Takes out his own eyeball to show Aizen his report.

e127 - Ulquiorra brings Yammy’s severed arm back to him.

e136 - Although technically it’s not really him, his face is still on that screen! “Ulquiorra” catch’s other Arrancars conspiring against Aizen, and gets “killed” for not wanting to join their defiance.

e137 - Once again, it’s not really Ulquiorra, but we see his lifeless fake body on the ground in front of Aizen.

e138 - Ulquiorra is instructed by Aizen to “carry out” what Aizen asked of Ulquiorra to do the month beforehand. 

e139 - Meets Orihime for the second time. He threatens to kill Orihime’s friends if she does not come with him to go to Wakomundo. For which she will be forced to work for Aizen. 

e140 - Stops Grimmjow from fighting Ichigo. Brings all the Arrancars back to Wakomundo with him. 

e141 - In a flashback, Ulquiorra instructs Orihime that she has 12 hours to say goodbye to one person. 

e145 - Ulquiorra can be seen sitting at the table with the other Espadas. He only has one line in this episode, and you won’t notice it’s him unless you listen to the voice closely. 

e149 - He visits Orihime in her new prison, and makes sure she understands that her mind and body is for Aizen’s “purpose and use.” Making it known that she is going to be used by Aizen in some way.

e150 - He visits Orihime in her prison. After his visit, he finds Nnoitra in the passage way. Nnoitra asks him about Orihime, so Ulquiorra tells him Aizen’s plans with her. That her capture is to lure Orihime’s friends to save her, and that her friends were also never in danger. Which Ulquiorra threatened her friends lives if Orihime didn’t corporate with him in episode 139. 

e154 - Ulquiorra finds Gin on the passageway control panels.

e159 - His smile?!?! Ulquiorra visits Orihime in her prison to give her food. He threatens her to eat, to survive, otherwise he will forcefully feed her himself. 

e161 - He tells Ichigo that he was the one that took Orihime. Telling him this brings Ichigo to attack him.  Ulquiorra vs Ichigo: first fight.

e162 - Ulquiorra vs Ichigo first fight continued. Ulquiorra’s rank for the Espanda reveled.

e163 - Ichigo has a flashback of Ulquiorra putting a hollow hole in his chest. Which happened in episode 162.

e164 - Ulquiorra catches Orihime and Grimmjow trying to heal Ichigo. 

e165 - Grimmjow uses the Caja de Negación to send Ulquiorra into another dimension. Grimmjow explains to Orihime that it will not hold Ulquiorra for long, and he will be back within the next few hours.

e203 - Ulquiorra returns from the other dimension. Instructed by Aizen to look after the towers of Los Noches.

e215 - Ulquiorra and Orihime meet again. Him and Orihime talk about her belief that her friends will save her, and that Orihime feels it in her heart. Ulquiorra tells her that he does not believe in anything that he can’t see or hold in his hand. He does not believe in “heart.”

e216 - Ichigo and Ulquiorra meet again. Ulquiorra draws his sword for the first time on screen. Ichigo vs Ulquiorra’s second/last fight starts.

e266 - Ichigo vs Ulquiorra’s second/last fight continues.

e267 - Ichigo vs Ulquiorra’s second/last fight continues.

e268 - Ichigo vs Ulquiorra’s second/last fight continues.

e269 - Ichigo vs Ulquiorra’s second/last fight continues. Ulquiorra releases his first sword release: Murciélago.

e270 - Ichigo vs Ulquiorra’s second/last fight continues. Ulquiorra releases his second stage release. A release only he has and no other Espada has—not even Aizen knows about it. He calls it in the anime, “Resurrecction Segunda Etapa.”

e271 - Ichigo vs Ulquiorra’s second/last fight continues.

e272 - Ichigo vs Ulquiorra’s second/last fight continues. Ulquiorra is unable to continue the fight with Ichigo because he starts to disintegrate. Orihime reaches out to him before he dies, and in his thoughts he says “I see now… In the palm of my hand… is a heart.” Meaning he now understands the meaning of why humans use the word “heart.” It does not mean their physical heart, but a saying humans say when they care/love others. This is Ulquiorra’s finale new scene for the anime. 

;(

Arrancar Encyclopedia With Ulquiorra:

e130: Arrancar's Numbers

e270: Sword Releases

[bakugohoex]

Porco Requests? I've got plenty. This man is running through my mind 24/7 now. What about Porco with a super shy s/o? This man would treat his S/o right. Uncomfortable? Just tell me why. Too nervous? I'll tell everyone to shut up and listen to you. UGH I LOVE THIS MAN.

“i’ll make them listen, don’t worry baby”

pairing: porco galliard x gender neutral reader

cw: modern au, langage, fluff

word count: 1300+

a/n: brooo porco is so baby i love him so much, i’m a simp 

summary: in which you the shy reader are in a relationship with porco

↞ back to attack on titan masterlist

THIS MAN WOULD BE THE SWEETEST BOYFRIEND EVER.

He’d definitely be the one who came up to you asking for your number, you’d probably be walking outside of uni or something and he saw you and he needed your number.

Asks for it with the worst pick up line ever, something along the lines of I seem to have forgotten my phone number, can I have yours? You were an entire mess refusing to meet his eye and even forgetting that numbers have 9 digits and not 8.

You don’t even give him your name; you just say your number and leave in a hurry. 

His bad pick-up line clearly did wonders to you. 

He’d definitely text you straight after with his name and start asking questions, can’t lie he’d carry the conversation until you became comfortable with him.

He would definitely ask you to dinner or the movies on the weekend, you aired him for 20 minutes in shock. 

No words, he’d see the three dots in the bubble multiple times and then it’d disappear.

Half an hour later, a simple yes comes through. You’d never told him how you texted and called all your friends for advice on the mysterious man. 

You make your friends follow you both on your date, they actually take notes on how he opens the restaurant door for you, pulls the chair out, pays for the meal, he's such a gentleman and he does the talking after he realises, you’re shy around him.

He would walk you home, you’d both do that thing where your hands keep brushing against each other before he finally just grabs your fingers.

You’d give him a kiss on the cheek at the end of the night and this man would blush so hard. His ears would prick pink and a redness with speckle across his face. He hides it so quickly and before you can go inside, he’d ask for another date in the quietest voice possible. 

You accept, who fucking wouldn’t.

A couple months into your relationship, the facetimes and texts were equally split between you two. 

You’d scream down the phone to tell him about the new anime merch that had just arrived or complain about your day. You do not talk half an hour to send a message to him anymore.

Your friends think you two will marry, it’s certain, they have it all planned. 

Even with your shyness around new people you got along with his friends having met them a couple times. Pieck was always your favourite person to see at parties and gatherings but you were often talked over a lot when the louder confident ones at the parties spoke. 

Porco would notice this in an instant and always try and get your opinion out knowing that you liked the topic and had insight on it.

This man will literally tell everybody to shut the fuck up (politely to not make you embarrassed), just so they can hear you speak.

He also does it just to listen to you ramble on about your favourite topics.

*heart eyes*.

Or if someone makes you uncomfortable by getting too close or trying to get with you, this man will be at your side, lacing his fingers with yours and taking you to people you’re more comfortable with.

All in all this man is a simp and would bring but the best in you. 

“Y/n, Porco, you guys finally made it.” Pieck laughed a drink in her hand as she slouched against the sofa, the sound of music blaring and lights flashing sent you to grab onto your boyfriend's arm. 

He could already sense your unease at your surroundings, your grip tightening as his arm wrapped around you. “I’ll stay by your side the entire night.” 

You smile nodding at the boy, his blonde hair pulled back as usual, he gave a soft smile back before kissing your forehead. You had expected a night filled with drinking and being around friends, but you seemed to have been taken by Bertholdt and Reiner with Porco following along to the living room. 

They sat down as you situated yourself next to Porco, his hand in your hair as you leant against his body, the conversation had been boring, talking about some game on the PS4 that you had heard Porco shouting at a couple weeks ago. 

“I won that match.” Porco took a swig of the drink, your own drink on the table as you stared at it bored out of your mind. 

Reiner raised an eyebrow leaning his arms around the sofa, “fuck that you know I won it all together, one-win doesn’t make you a winner.”

Porco scowled at the boy before the conversation turned to something you enjoyed a lot more, “this guy really said Ichigo would beat Naruto.” Your ears perked at the conversation; it was between people you hadn't met but Annie had noticed how your eyes widened knowing you’d have the best input. 

She smiled starting to converse with the boys, “what the fuck really?”

You had always loved Bleach and Naruto, your favourite being Bleach and having talked to death about it to Porco and now with Annie including you, you had started to break off from your shyness, “Y/n’s up to date on both manga’s actually.” Annie was often cold with people but you two had become friends with ease having the same interests and her coldness and your shyness became an unlikely duo. 

“Let me guess another Ichigo simp.” One of the guys said and you gave a wary look, Ichigo was hot. You knew that and you knew that being a girl involved in a manga that had been directed towards teen boys made you become quiet. “She probably read the manga for the guys.”

“Not really.” You muttered, “I read it because it was actually interesting especially when Ichigo fights Ulquiorra”.

Your entire statement had been ignored and Annie had tried to include you, but you continued to be dismissed as just another girl simping for the characters. Of course you were a simple but to exclude you too one category was disheartening. You moved closer to Porco, he had watched the scene, how you had been ignored and now with your head leaning against his chest once again. 

“I’ll make them listen, don’t worry baby.” His voice was a soft whisper, leaving a soft kiss against your forehead before starting to converse with the guys. “You guys are talking about who would win?”

“Yeah, some guy saw Ichigo and thought he’d win against Naruto.” Porco started nodding, acting like he knew who these characters were, of course he had some idea of who they were, but he hadn't watched either as he got bored of how long it was.

“Oh, my girlfriends read and watched both, she’s better suited to this.” He pointed to you as you smiled at him, he was never going to tell them to our right shut up as it’d be a dick move, but it allowed for you to talk.

You gave a soft smile before you joined the conversation properly, the guys seemed intrigued by your opinion. Explaining both sides and why other anime fans would believe it to occur, as you sat upright rambling and talking. Porco watched with an intense look, he didn't need to speak, just watch and admire. He knew how you’d talk and talk and talk about anything you were interested in, but he saw how even with your initial shyness and dismissiveness they listened. Adding their own input, his hand went to reach your fingers, you felt it lacing your fingers.

He could listen to you talk forever, listen to every single word you ever said. Because he loved you and in those moments. Just staring at your beauty, the way your fingers gripped his own, the soft necklace he had bought your across your neck. He knew you’d be the one he’d spend the rest of his life with.

i’d really appreciate if you guys could leave a like, reblog or comment, thanks x

if you guys want to be a part of a tag list, just reply to any post and i’ll add you xx

@samusimp @alainarose13 @crispychannie @underratedmage​ @jennammaee​ @cathy8taffy @sugacious @moonlightaangel @kat-sukis-hoe @effmigentlywithachainsaw @swankiifiied @maat-the-prescriptive @missmultifangirl @tvwhoresblog @kuroos-world @chrrylevi @katsuhera @answer-the-sirens @animexholic @wapbenders @the-shota-king-masayuki @bakugousmrs @crystal-lilac

[lesbiansanemi]

I haven't read Bleach but I can't stop thinking about your lesbian ulquihime post /pos, so would love to hear you talk more about your take on their relationship if it isn't a bother

Aaaahhhh, Orihime and Ulquiorra have one of my favorite relationship dynamics in the entire series. It's just so interesting.

(Mind this, it's definitely a very unhealthy dynamic, but it's interesting, nonetheless).

I love Ulquiorra. He's one of my favorite characters in the series, and I thought that him being "emotionless" was really fucking cool, especially because most of the Hollows we'd actually seen at that point (that had coherency at least) were very wild and feral and rage-filled. Basically they had become frenzied due to missing their hearts, but instead Ulquiorra was emotionless. It was neat.

And then it got even more interesting seeing the way that affected his interactions with Orihime. Him being literally completely unable to fathom that her friends were coming for her after she had been taken hostage, or her faith in them to save her, or that she would give herself up for them, was so... cool? Like he literally couldn't process it, so he was fascinated by her.

And then his whole "What is a heart?" speech? ACK! I'm pretty sure I have that monologue memorized. Emotionless characters usually aren't done very well because they lose a sense of depth but Ulquiorra wasn't like that. His sense of emotionless is what gave him his depth.

So all of this in tandem with the fact that he was so desperately trying to understand Orihime, who is one of the most emotional characters in the series? It laid the ground work for one of the most interesting dynamics in the whole series.

His attachment to her was definitely very unhealthy, and he absolutely viewed her as an object to learn from. And then Orihime sympathized with him because she's such a kind character. Like I said, it was a super unhealthy relationship dynamic, but interesting and "romantic" within the context of fiction.

And then finally, the fact that just before Ulquiorra died he was reaching out for Orihime, and admitting that he wanted to learn more about the concept of a heart and that he might be starting to understand it again? Oh my god. It was so perfect for him, and solidified how hopeless his existence was.

And then this would just be made even more fun if they were lesbians because I'm a lesbian and I think that makes anything more fun lol

[magical-girl-coral]

A Thing About Beauty

Orihime learns a new forbidden word in Las Noches

(AO3 link)

Gin cracked his neck as he and Orihime left Aizen’s chamber of mental torture. They were three weeks into this disaster, and today he had to give a hand when things almost went to shit. At least no one was around when they left. It was one of the few times Gin could complain without someone yammering about how he should be grateful to be in Aizen’s presence for so long.

Orihime frowned. “I think I’ve been eating too much junk food. It makes my body look weird.”

Orihime heaved out a small sigh as they exited the healing dome, and Gin gave her a small glance. “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you’re about to faint again.”

“No, it’s not that. I’ve already gotten used to the tiredness from a healing session,” Orihime answered sullenly. She started twisting one of her bangs. “Does my hair look oily to you?”

Gin hummed in confusion. “Dunno? I don’t really notice this kinda stuff.”

Gin raised a brow. “So you’re blaming this on me?”

“No, no, no!” Orihime said back quickly, waving her hands around, “The foods you bring with you to these sessions are a lifesaver. I’ve been drinking more juice than water, and there’s a lot of saltine in my lunches and sweets. Maybe I need to go on a diet.

As soon as the word ‘diet’ left Orihime’s mouth, Charlotte ran through the wall with a dramatic entrance making both of them jump out of their skin as their hair glamorously waved in the halls’ none existing wind. Gin would have said something about that if he wasn’t so dumbfounded.

Charlotte grabbed Orihime by the shoulder, dipped her, and tenderly cupped her right cheek. “Don’t you dare say those awful words again. You are a beautiful young woman with a perfectly healthy body that doesn’t need any changes, do you hear me? You are gorgeous in ways that no language on this earth can explain, you exquisite, golden-hearted child.” They then slapped the back of their hand against their forehead while dipping Orihime even lower. “Oh, the tragedy of today’s youth! Never seeing their own beauty or knowing how to use it. Constantly fighting every day for the perfect body, never knowing what they already have is perfection. Oh, how this makes my heart ache! I cannot let this wonderful girl fall under the same beliefs. For it is my duty towards true beauty to prevent so.”

“AND YOU!” Charlotte added as they sat a shocked Orihime on their shoulder and pointed at Gin. “I don’t know what you two were talking about but don’t you dare put those thoughts in her head again! I know your kind. You and your naturally skinny body that somehow has abs are a nightmare for the average person. I bet you love how you make everyone feel bad about themselves, don’t you?!”

Gin’s jaw dropped. People liked his body? “I-”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Charlotte threw Orihime over their shoulder. “This injustice will not stand! I’m going to give you the makeover of your life that will bring out all your best features to exorcize those evil thoughts from your head. DO THE BEAUTY PALACE.”

Orihime snapped out of her shock. “CHARLOTTE, WAIT-”

But it was too late by then. Orihime’s first and last scream of protest went unheard as Charlotte stole her away. Gin continued to stand there, and after a long period of silence, he finally able to choke something out:

“What the actual fuck.”

-

Ulquiorra walked towards the fellow Espada. “Grimmjow, do you know where the human girl is?”

Grimmjow tensed. “How the hell should I know? Aren’t you the one that’s should be looking after her?”

“I am, but she heals Aizen-sama today and was supposed to be here by now. Ah, never mind that. I can sense that she is right behind us-” Ulquiorra's words died as he turned, and Grimmjow understood why.

The princess looked as if she’s been through a sparkly hell. There were literal sparks around her head, her hair shined bright enough to blind a bitch, and her skin was clean enough to look like high-quality plastic. There’s was only one explanation for this.

“Charlotte got you?” Both Espada asked.

“Charlotte got me,” the princess confirmed, ”I can’t feel my face.”

“Don’t sweat about it. It’ll wear off in an hour or two.” Grimmjow glanced at her pockets. “And they gave you some of their handmade shampoos. You got the full treatment, all right.”

“Is that what is it? I was too scared to ask.” Orihime's cheek twitched. “Oh, thank god, I think I can move some of my muscles again.”

Grimmjow grimaced in rare sympathy. No one was able to fight Charlotte when it came to makeovers. Grimmjow was just happy for her that she was allowed to keep most of her eyebrows.

[godkilller]

          out of character.  Because this is important...

A list of people Gin genuinely cares about: - Rangiku, no surprises there - Izuru, also no surprises there, but Gin wishes they could’ve started off on better footing than “Aizen picked Momo and Tousen picked Hisagi, so...” and the manipulation thing and the betrayal thing and the, - ??? - Ukitake, he was nice to Gin when he was new to the Gotei 13, just a kid - Shunsui, sometimes - ??? - Rangiku - Izuru - ???????? - ... Aizen, sometimes, and don’t ask him why or how, something “raised by him” something

A list of people Gin absolutely loathes: - Aizen, no surprise there - Nnoitra, have you fucking met him??? - Mayuri, have you fucking met HIM??? How is this thing legal??? Hello? Central 46 was sleeping on this piece of shit AND Aizen??? Unacceptable, at least kill ONE of the pests - Himself - Luppi, he was gross and made disgusting comments at Rangiku - Szayelaporro, he’s also gross and often makes disgusting comments in general - Aizen, twice - Urahara, if it weren’t for your fucking experiments then maybe it would’ve taken Aizen a couple more decades to decide to start harvesting souls and by then Rangiku wouldn’t have been involved, you god damn idiot what have you DONE and no one even realizes that you’re just as guilty for Aizen’s crimes as Aizen is, because you had it all laid out, you’re just Aizen in a more passive and playful skin, YIKES

A list that Gin could swear on Rangiku’s soul piece have literally no brain cells: - Nnoitra, have you met him??? - Shinji, who in the right mind let this child dress himself? Or open his mouth in general? - Renji, can someone sit him down and explain to him that obediently attempting to kill your childhood friend is not a way of declaring your love for her -- I mean, come on, even Gin got that one right - Hisagi, who let this manbaby near a tattoo parlor??? Who said “yeah I’ll do that” for his fucking face???? Gin will pay someone good money to sit him down and explain to him why that decision was terrible - Grimmjow, have you met him? - Ikakku, he spends more time talking than he does fighting, even though he acts like he’s such a brawling enthusiast he certainly would make a better public speaker considering he’s won maybe two fights in his entire career - The majority of the Gotei 13 underneath the rank of Third Seat - But also Omaeda, how is he a seated officer? - Yammy, but at least he owns it and doesn’t deny the fact that he’s just there to fuck shit up - Literally all of the Gatekeepers, bless their hearts, but they’re idiots - The entire Eleventh Division, but endearingly

A list that Gin’s indifferent towards, tolerates... or could care about, a little, maybe: - The majority of the Gotei 13 underneath the rank of Third Seat - Ulquiorra, Gin’s sad that he gave up on life and faded into ash, but also that’s what made him so relatable - Your OC, probably, and if they’re not careful it’ll be the kind of indifference that results in murder - Tousen, though his loyalty to Aizen kind of dampened their relationship, but other than that he was always calling Gin fun petnames like “absolute hellspawn” and “literal snake” and “you’re giving my child anxiety” so Gin thinks they’re pretty close - Yamamoto - Soifon - Toshiro, his heart was in the right place, hating Aizen, but he really missed the mark -- if you’re going to loathe a man with murderous intent, do it with less screeching and accidental stabbings of allies - Momo, really needs to work on her parrying of plunging strikes - Most Arrancar and Espada, if not already listed, - The Karakura gang, though Ichigo, Uryu, and Orihime deserve a second chance to impress - Yoruichi; the turmoil being that she can turn into a cat, the distaste stemming from how important and treasured she is by Urahara

[love-the-purple-cat]

Oh don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me - Chapter 1 Part 5

“Yer hair again?” She asks, idly kicking one of the men when they try to get up.

“Not quite. They got mad I beat up their men who made fun of my hair and decided that I needed to be taught a lesson.”

She snorts unattractively. “Do ya even like yer hair colour?”

Once again, Ichigo pauses in though. “...Why do you ask that?”

“Cause, no offence, but yer hair keeps gettin' ya inta trouble, and ya don’t even seem ta’ appreciate it. If it’s too much then just dye it sumthin' borin'.”

...It’s not that he hadn’t thought about it, it’s just that it was one of the few connections he had still with his mother. Dyeing it seemed like a betrayal, and felt like giving up and admitting defeat after fighting others about it for so long.

“Ah, that does sound like a good reason not ta' dye it,” She says when he unintentionally thinks aloud. “But yer missin' ma' point: Are ya happy wit' yer hair? The colour will still appear when ya grow it out, it’ll just be temporarily hidden.”

He lightly fingers a strand. It was getting longer.

“I'll think about it.”

She nods. Neither pleased nor displeased.

 ------------------------

“Come over this weekend.”

They are eating lunch in her classroom, in a way celebrating becoming friends after knowing each other for a month. Her classmates occasionally throw them looks that they ignore.

“Sure. What are we goin' ta' do?”

He thinks of the box of black hair dye that he got on his last shopping trip with Yuzu two days ago. Yuzu had looked at him questionably but hadn’t said a thing to their family. “I need help with my hair.”

Cherī raises a brow, not getting the hint.

“I’m...” He swallows, eyes flickering to the other people in the room. “I’m thinking of trying something new. That thing you talked about a few days ago.”

It takes a moment longer for her eyes to light up in recognition and understanding. “Sure, where will we meet up?”

The corner of his lip twitches up.

 ---------------------------

“Yer mom famous or sumthin'?”

He looks to where she is examining his mother’s poster. “No, my dad got it after she died.”

She appears to be contemplating something before looking away. “So, where’s yer bathroom? Ah’m not gonna lie, da dye will stain yer bathtub/tiles like a bitch when ya wash it out. Best ya put on some old clothes too.”

Ichigo nods and leads the way, feeling nervous and calm at the same time.

Cherī orders him to sit on the edge of the bath, or bring a chair but then there’s a chance that it would be stained so he doesn’t. She starts by brushing his hair and parting it before beginning. “Ya sure ‘bout this, Ichigo?”

“Yeah.” His tone is breathless, heart thumping hard in his ribcage and something is lodged in his throat.

“Okay.” Her voice is soft and quiet, though not in comfort. It just is.

His eyes close, a foreign calmness taking over him as she works on his hair. It isn’t as short as it used to be, but it isn’t as long as he would have guessed it would be after not seeing a hairdresser for nearly a year.

“An’ now we leave it fer 25mins.” Her voice arouses him from the half-asleep state he had been in. He turns to look at himself in the mirror, but she blocks his view. “Let’s leave that fer later, okay?” Her voice is soft again.

He swallows thickly and nods. “Okay.”

They go to his room. They don’t talk, not really, but the silence doesn’t feel suffocating. She looks around the small space, and the though of how empty his room looks strikes him. There is only the essentials of a bed, a desk with a corkboard over it, and a chair. It doesn’t have any personality.

But, why does he care what his room looks like to an outsider?

“Ya got any favourite books?” Cherī asks, done looking around the bare room.

“Shakespeare.” He answers automatically.

“He’s good. Don’t know much ‘bout his works, only Romeo an' Juliet an’ that’s just a general idea. Ah like Dracula, an' Dr.Jekyl an' Mr.Hyde. Ya know, books wit' what could be considered a homoerotic undertone nowadays.” She looks at the notes stuck on the board. Most of them are related to school or past commitments so he doesn’t see a problem with her looking.

“Ya got any relatives? Ah got at least two first cousins an' a bunch of other great aunts an' uncles that ma' parents want me ta know ‘bout even though Ah only meet ‘em once every five years. Kinda pisses me off when they get annoyed that Ah don’t know any of their names, but that’s what happens when ya barely see someone.”

He blinks. This was the first time since the first day that she is mentioning family. “Not on my mom’s side, I think. But on my dad's...”

Did he have relatives in Soul Society? There were quite a few similarities between him and Kūkaku, and Ukitake-taichō had mentioned that he looks like his former lieutenant Shiba Kaien.

“’s okay ta' not know.” Cherī says. “Family’s confusin' sumtimes, an' it doesn’t help when they keep secrets, or don't bother mentionin' important stuff.”

She was right. His father had kept the fact that he was a shinigami from him, what’s one more secret?

“Time ta' wash yer hair. Ya need help wit' that?”

“No.”

She doesn’t smile, nor does she frown. “Okay.”

 -------------‐-----------------

He doesn’t like how he looks.

No...

He hates how he looks. He looks way too similar to Kūkaku, with his sharp chin and eyes.

He looks way too similar to them.

What was one more secret?

-The past is never dead. It’s just buried underneath soil and concrete-

“Ichigo,” Cherī calls, brown brows furrowed in concern. “Are ya okay?”

No. “Yeah.” He croaks. He clears his throat and tries again. “Yeah, just getting used to the new look.” He tries to smile but it must have come out as a grimace with the way she frowns.

“Okay. Ya got a dark hat or sumthin'?”

“Why?”

“’Cuz we're goin' ta' da store an' we're gonna buy ya a new dye.”

“This one is fine.”

“No, it ain't.” Her voice is a touch harder. “It’s makin' ya sad an' that’s da opposite of what we were aimin’ fer.”

“Cherī-“ He tries but is cut off.

“There's nothin’ wrong wit’ not likin' how ya look. Nothin' wrong wit' not likin’ black.” She says, and for a single moment, it feels as though she is talking about something else, like she knows what his inner tumour is about. “Let’s go get ya a new colour, Ichi.”

He nods, and chokes out an “Okay.”

 -----------------------

They're at one of the shops on the main street.

The first thing that greets them when they enter is hair dyes on one side of the aisle and deodorants on the other. Ichigo browses through the ‘natural’ colours first before going to the more ‘fun' – as Cherī calls them – ones. 

 All the colours of the rainbow were here: red, green, blue, purple, yellow and orange, along with a couple of other colours, each having different shades from lighter to darker. 

“When Ah first started dyeing ma' hair,” Cherī says, picking up a box and examining it. “Ah did it in ma' favourite colour – purple. Months later, Ah found out that if Ah planned on continuin' ta' dye ma’ hair fun colours, da colours would need ta' be ones that can easily be turned inta the next. Fer example: Ya dye yer hair blue, few months pass and ya want a new colour, yer either gonna havta bleach it or yer gettin' it done in green. Understand?” She places two bleaching kits in the basket.

Ichigo nods, examining the colours. His eyes stray towards the blue dyes, specifically the one that reminds him of Grimmjow.

He swallows.

Several months have passed since he had last seen the Espada; how would he react if he were to see him now – powerless and alone?

Well, he glances at Cherī as she compares two different shades of pink, not quite alone.

“Do ya like blue?” She asks, both boxes securely placed in the basket.

“Yeah,” He wets his lips. “I do.” It feels like he is confessing a sin by saying those words and thinking about his enemy. Were they even enemies now?

“Then get it.” She doesn’t reach for the box, preferring to wait for him to do it.

“It will clash with my complexion.” He argues weakly. Raising two girls since he was nine forced him to dive into fashion and learn the rules: body types, complexions, colour schemes and such. There were many other things he had to learn and do while his father was in mourning to survive but now was not the time to think about the past.

“So? This ain’t a fashion statement, Ichi. It's about makin' ya feel good and happy. But... if ya want a more autumn colour we can get red.” She reaches for the box and he grabs her wrist.

“No, not red.” Red reminds him of Renji, who reminds him of Rukia. Neither has bothered to visit him the months following Aizen's defeat. The excuse of him being unable to see them wouldn’t fly, not when he knew Urahara keeps gigais in his shop.

-There are bodies in the soil-

“Okay.” She says, slowly pulling her hand away. “Not red then. Bad memories?”

He winces, releasing her wrist to rub at his neck. “It’s... complicated.”

The girl huffs, “What does it remind ya of?”

He meant to say, “Nothing”. He wanted to say, “Renji”.Hell, he could have said nothing and she would have accepted his silence as an answer. Which is why he is so surprised when the word leaves his mouth without his permission.

“Blood.”

And it is true. The shade she was reaching for also reminds him of blood. It makes him remember the wound he had been inflicted in Hueco Mundo, where he quite literally died and was dead for a while, long enough for his inner Hollow to take control and battle the cuatro Espada Ulquiorra and win, before he managed to wrestle back control of his body. It also reminds him of the markings on his hollow mask.

Cherī looks surprised - not mortified, just... surprised. “Okay,” She repeats. “Not red.”

She’s examining the colours, searching for one that would fit his complexion, when he reaches forward and plucks the blue, Baby Blue, one and puts it in the basket. She doesn’t question him, doesn’t even indicate to have seen him do it but he knows she saw him and he appreciates her silence.

“What ‘bout green?”

His first though is Ulquiorra with his acid green eyes, marble skin, and black black bat wings that carry him over the sands of Hueco Mundo.

His second is Nelliel.

 “I like it.” He picks a turquoise shade called Mermaid.

“Pink?”

He likes pink, he's worn it often enough when he was younger and his sisters wanted to dress him up, but...

“No, not today.”

“Bad memories?”

He thinks of Yachiru, the girl with what he would describe bubblegum pink – even if that shade is called Cupcake here – hair and the man whose shoulder she would ride on.

“Not really.”

She nods, then juts her chin violently towards a reddish-pink colour named Love Letter. “What ‘bout that?”

The colour is nice so he gets it.

They continue on like that for a while, choosing and comparing colours - some of which repeat since Cherī also likes them - until the basket is overflowing. As a final colour Cherī chooses Snow – a pure white colour that reminded him of his inner Hollow's hair.

There's so much hair dye that he wonders whether he would ever be able to use each at least once.

The cashier is baffled by the amount but remains silent while she rings them up. It's as the numbers climb higher and higher that he begins to worry, given that he hadn’t brought that much money. But before he can open his mouth Cherī is already handing her credit card with a, “Could you also add one strawberry and one cherry flavoured chapstick? Thank you.”

He turns to look at her in bafflement. This was the first time he hears her speak ‘properly’ and it honestly unnerves him.

“Not ev'ryone can understan’ me, Ichi.” She says, handing him one of the bags.

They make their way to his house, talking about which colour they should do first. Cherī wants to see him in Love Letter or Milan – a light yellow colour that reminds him of an éclair's filling – but he says that he wants to try Baby Blue. She nods and gives him the strawberry chapstick.

“Yer lips are chapped.” She says and he accepts it.

[shybre22]

Now for part two I will be doing Ichihime.

Honestly I knew Ichihime would be endgame from early on in the manga and series.

A lot of IR claim that Ichihime doesnt make sense or that they have no development..which at this point I think this is what any anti for any pairing in every anime say.. because that's obviously not true at all.

Even from the very beginning.. not only do we know that Orihime likes Ichigo, but Ichigo seems to pay attention to Orihime, extra close at times.

In this panel, he admits that he worries about her and watching her wears him out with worry, he even wonders if she's really alright. Now its important to remember that this is fairly earlier in the story and at this time Orihime is only an acquaintance at best..but here he is worrying about her.

Not only does he notice her getting hurt...but during the Fullbringer arc he said that she was more likely to get followed or stalked than him when Orihime asked if anyone has been following him.

Hell he's even offered to walk her home.

Weird considering they're only acquaintances at this point right? While I know it's rare for the shounen protagonist to have a crush right off the bat..for arguments sake let's say you look at ichihime interactions with the idea that Ichigo has some sort of crush on Orihime. I feel like his interactions with her make more sense throughout the series and keep this I mind through this post.

Now antis always love to say that Orihime didn't understand Ichigo or couldn't encourage him like Rukia could..but..

Here! Even Tatsuki who has known him since childhood couldn't tell it wasnt Ichigo or his other friends.. but Orihime does notice..she knows that's not him right away.

And here Orihime right away knew he wasn't acting like himself...even Tatsuki was impressed, she said it took her years to figure that out.

Oh yeah she cant encourage him right?? Not only did she give Ichigo the resolve to go save Rukia..but during the Grimmjow fight.. Ichigo was so afraid of frightening Orihime with his mask that he wasn't focusing on the battle.. know think about that..he was so scared to frighten Orihime he wasn't fighting..knowing he could die or get really hurt.

I also hear antis say that Orihime is horrible for being scared of Ichigo when he was still fighting to save her but they need to understand that in the first few chapters of bleach..Orihime was attacked by her brother..her beloved brother, the only family she ever had before he died and he attacked her..as a hollow..and now she's looking at the man she loves with a hollow mask and she's afraid FOR him not necessarily OF him..she's afraid he'll turn completely hollow( which is fair, considering he does later during the ulquiorra fight).

Then all she had to say " please dont die..you dont have to fight for me and you dont have to win..just please dont get hurt". And Ichigo was ready to fight for real..then beat Grimmjow.

She was also able to feel his pain somehow and knew he was crying when he got his powers stolen despite her being far away from him at the time.

Not to mention at this time she was brainwashed by Tsukishima making her and Chad think Ichigo was the one going crazy, but even though she was brainwashed to think it was Tsukishima who she loved..her heart knew better and still felt Ichigo's pain even without seeing him.

Not to mention she was able to see he had a plan to defeat Ywach just from one look into his eyes.

So yeah.. Orihime does understand Ichigo more than most..and just because Rukia does too doesnt mean he should be with her.

And on Ichigo's side antis also say he doesn't care about Orihime only Rukia..and if he does care it's only because Ichigo is protective of his friends.

Now it's clear through the whole series that Ichigo does care about all his friends..but it's also apparent that Ichigo does hold Orihime to a different standard.

This is not far into the story..at this point they are still only classmates and only a few pages ago Ichigo refused to take over Rukia's Soul reaper duties..until he found out a hollow was after Orihime.

Or when Yammy and Ulquiorra hurt Orihime..they also hurt Tatsuki and Chad but he was shown to be obsessing over Orihime ( despite the fact she could literally reverse her injuries) and the fact Tatsuki was a human with no powers should've made him worry over her more..but he felt so guilty for not protecting Orihime he couldn't even look her in the eyes..it got so bad that Rukia made him go to her and look her in the eye and he vowed to never let anyone hurt her again, pluse he didn't apologize to anyone else..just Orihime. I also find it funny how Rukia seems to be a ichihime shipper while her fans hate Orihime and want her to be with Ichigo..I find it funny.

Then we all know how hurt he was when Orihime got taken to Hueco Mundo.. Yes I understand he did rescue Rukia as well but he even said its because he owed her..and he did he owe her his and his families lives..and she was his friend and only on death row because of him. But with Orihime she chose to go to protect her friends and Ichigo had no obligations to her other than she was his friend..

He also walked around like a zombie not even caring when Tatsuki beat the hell out of him asking where Orihime was. He even yelled and threw a fit at the captain commander(you know the strongest soul reaper alive) for suggesting she was a traitor..

He even went against the entire soul society wishes (as a substitute soul reaper no less) to go find Orihime in Hueco Mundo.

One of my favorite scenes is when Ichigo was hurrying to go help Chad and Rukia who were badly injured at the time..when Ulquiorra appears and tries to goad him into a fight.. nothing works until Ulquiorra mentions he was the one who brought Orihime to Hueco Mundo ..which in turn infuriates Ichigo and he swings his sword at him in a blind rage..(remember he was supposed to be helping Chad and Rukia who were injured) but he was so angry that he was the one who brought Orihime there...he didn't say he hurt her or tortured her...he only said he brought her. And. Ichigo. Flipped.

One of my other favorite scenes is when he almost literally rises from near death to get Grimmjow's hands off of Orihime

LET GO OF HER! Was the first thing he says never mind he was almost dead a few minutes ago and still can barely stand. And look at that face his eyes mean business.

And of course one of the most epic Ichihime moments is when Ulquiorra defeats Ichigo and kills him.. he hears Orihime calling for help as Ulquiorra advances to her.. and as he's dying he hears her and tells himself he needs to help her and protect her..even in death he needs to protect her. And yes I'm aware that his inner hollow is the one keeping him from dying..but the only reason Hichigo doesnt completely take over Ichigo and lose his humanity was his will to protect Orihime. Ichigo was chanting " help her", "help her", over and over like a mantra..that's was the last shred of his humanity and even his last shred of humanity wanted nothing more than to protect Orihime.

Not only is Ichigo extra protective of Orihime..but he get flustered around her too.

Like during The Thousand Year Blood War Arc.. when Ichigo was asked by Chad if he liked Orihime's outfit ( Which was very revealing..especially in the boob area) and Ichigo was blushing like an idiot of course.

While most antis swear it's just because Orihime is very beautiful and has a very large chest..remember Chad or Uryu didn't react despite them being males as well..just Ichigo.

Not only that but all of Ichigos enemies always use Orihime to bait him into fights. Enemies like Grimmjow, Nnotora, Ulquiorra, and even Ginjo..they all taunted him about how he was so determined to protect Orihime that they would use her presence to push Ichigo into fighting them.

Antis also claim that they didn't develop.. they went from classmate acquaintances to friends fighting side by side in battle. Orihime went from being shy and stuttering and being nervous in his room to borrowing manga from him and just marching in his room and both teasing each other. Ichigo also went from wanting to protect Orihime by leaving her on the side lines and out of harm's way.. to trusting her to be his shield in battle.

IR"s also claim that Rukia is better than Orihime because she's stronger. Now I know Rukia is strong no doubt..especially when she finally releases her bankai. But for most of the series she hardly does anything..even my husband noticed she only won like two or three fight the whole series and most of the time she was so beat up after she looks like she lost the fight. I'm not trying to talk down on Rukia I love her actually.. it's just is you go back and read the manga..Rukia didn't do much either.. plus Orihime actually has a really really OP power she just doesn't have the heart to hurt anyone so she usually uses her shield or healing, but just like Rukia they didn't do much with her powers.

In the end Ichihime had quite a bit of development..I'm not saying Rukia and Ichigo didnt have a bond..because they had a strong one..but that doesn't always mean romantic..I always felt it was more brother/ sister type than anything. But if you go back and look at all of the Ichihime moments you'll realize their bond as well..you'll realize that Orihime was always their during the really important times and fights.. like the Grimmjow fight, Ulquiorra, fight, the Nnotora fight, his Fullbringer training, his Visored training, and she stood side by side with him in the Ywach fight.

He was actually separated from Rukia more than he was with her..even when they were in the same places..they were always separated. Kubo..I feel made it very clear from early on that ichihime would be endgame..I feel some people were just in denial.

[wastedyears-endlesstorment]

Why Ichigo/Orihime is completely unconvincing

There’s just so much wrong with Ichigo and Orihime ending up together, I can’t understand how IchiHime fans are completely fine with how their story played out. 

1- Ichigo never shows feelings for Orihime that are beyond friendship, right until the very end of the manga.

There has never been a moment in the manga that shows on Ichigo’s side that he cares for Orihime as more than a friend. He cares for her, but what’s disappointing to see is that there’s no special place that Orihime holds. She doesn’t have that inseparable emotional bond with him like Rukia does, she’s not the rival that still sacrifices everything to help him like Ishida, she never made a pact with Ichigo to protect him til’ the very end like Chad. 

The fact that Kubo himself never included any insight on Ichigo’s feelings for Orihime is what makes me feel like he never planned it out properly; he has Orihime and Ishida discussing how ‘to Kurosaki, Rukia isn’t just a friend. She’s a very special person to him,’ as well as countless little poems in Ichigo’s perspective ‘I wonder if I can keep up with the speed of the world without you in it’, ‘that’s right, nothing else can change my world’. 

--- I’m not saying that Orihime needs to do something extraordinary or sacrifice herself further for Ichigo, she’s a wonderful companion and Ichigo cares for her, but to be the main characters love interest? There’s nothing that allows the readers to see through Ichigo’s eyes and what he sees in her, no moment that makes us go ‘Ah, he really values her, she’s special to him’. Which brings me on to my next point:

2- Rukia and Ichigo’s relationship and emotional bond set the bar too high for Ichigo and Orihime.

What I think is that Kubo really, really loved Ichigo and Rukia’s relationship. He loved their moments of connection, their talks, their sacrifice for each other. He loves Rukia to death as a character, and I think he just felt really good writing and expanding Rukia and Ichigo’s moments and lines. I don’t think he realised how deep he made their bond seem, how inseparable, and when he tried to include the aspect of Orihime’s feelings for Ichigo, it didn’t work too well because it felt so bland and insubstantial compared to this thing Ichigo has for Rukia.

Every single emotional scene for Ichigo, his powers, wanting to protect people, his mother’s death (!!!) has always been with Rukia. He talks to her, which I think is so, so freaking important. She listens, understands, and I cannot get over Memories in the Rain. It was so difficult for Ichigo to explain his mother’s death and Rukia handles it beautifully, makes it a moment he remembers ages later. I think that was the chapter that did it for me - they share such deep, personal moments together that just aren’t there for Ichigo and Orihime.

It’s plain to see that Rukia is literally someone he can’t live without, their bond is so much deeper than friendship or romance - their souls are connected. She understands what’s going through his mind without words, she makes him happy, Orihime says it herself. She chases his fears away, with words. They have their dramatic moments but what I love is that they build each other up through words. Ichigo talks to her when he tries to save her in Soul Society, tells her that he is going to rescue her, no matter what. He sees her afterwards, tells her it’s fine if she wants to stay, she can, he smiles at her, thinks ‘looking at her now, I remember exactly why I wanted to save her so much,’ - not because she gave him his powers, or because he owed her, but because he just wants to see her happy. 

I could go on and on about Rukia’s importance in Ichigo’s life, but the bottom line is that Rukia is and will always be the focal point in Ichigo’s life. It’s always Rukia. Orihime notices it herself, it brings her to tears because she can’t replace Rukia, she doesn’t know how to give strength to Ichigo.

It’s just such a strange, sad dynamic to have Orihime so infatuated with Ichigo, only for him to have such a deep, emotional bond with someone else. It’s unfair and terribly cruel to her. Kubo should have either limited the interactions between Ichigo and Rukia or included more emotional ones with Orihime and Ichigo.

3 - Orihime is not close to Ichigo at all.

By that I mean that she knows so little about him. Their interactions beyond fighting and saving are so minimal and emotionally disconnected that it’s impossible to see these two actually have a conversation about something. The things that Orihime knows about Ichigo are always second hand (Ichigo’s mother’s death from Tatsuki, him getting his Shinigami powers from Rukia, his desire to get his powers back from the Fullbringers. She’s never at the forefront of anything when Ichigo needs help. 

4 - Orihime admires/idolises Ichigo too much to get close to him.

She sees him as her protector, someone strong and brave and I guess that’s why she likes him? It’s never really clear. Why is she so in love with this grumpy orange-haired highschool kid that she’s willing to give her life away to help him?She says she wants to heal all his pain, but she doesn’t know what pains him in the first place?

They’re not close at the beginning, Ichigo refers to her as Tatsuki’s best friend, and Orihime is always seen to have funny fantasies and dreams about him. Later on, their interactions are very stilted and awkward. She bumbles and flushes around him, which is fine, there’s nothing wrong with that, and Ichigo kind of just...ignores it? To me, they don’t fit well at all, at least now how Kubo shows the sides to their characters.

Orihime is so bright and caring, why can’t she really talk to Ichigo about his worries outside of battle? Why do their interactions have to be comic relief (her dress, which was extremely awkward)? Does Ichigo even know anything about her beyond her family situation? Does he even bother to talk to her about something casual? 

Ichigo is not always strong, he can’t always play the protector for her. The Hueco Mundo arc was a great example - she screamed out for his help, he had to rise to help her. Earlier on, when the Arrancars invaded, he couldn’t protect his friends and he had to apologise to her for failing to protect her. It just screams power imbalance - she couldn’t protect him either, when her powers are more suited to it. Why didn’t she apologise, too?

Maybe it was supposed to be romantic, it didn’t work for me. It’s just funny how the stark comparison to Rukia and Ichigo, where she gives him strength and hope through her words, where he’s comfortable showing her his weakness with the hollow mask is so much more natural. 

5 - She feels jealous of Rukia’s relationship with Ichigo.

Not just her breakdown, but panels that Kubo drew which show her watching Ichigo looking down at Rukia while she’s healing, emotion so clearly in his eyes, and turning away. It’s just --- why make her jealous of Rukia if Rukia and Ichigo are supposed to be just friendship? It complicates everything and it makes the readers think ‘Oh, Rukia and Ichigo must have something going on if Orihime is jealous of her. Ichigo must really care about Rukia.’ 

6 - Ichigo is not good for Orihime.

The fact that her insecurities are never cleared makes me laugh. She ends up marrying this dude who still sees Rukia on the daily - she’s still facing those feelings of jealousy. Rukia is so clearly his kindred soul, if he wants to marry someone else and have them sit through watching their husband share such a deep connection with another person, then that’s absolute shitty of Kubo.

He makes her feel “inadequate”, literally, because she can never compare to Rukia. It’s just. Why. So cruel to her, there’s literally nothing she can do about it. He’s always pushing her to the back, never facing her full on like a normal person. It’s always over his shoulder ‘Stay here, Inoue’ and I just--- ugh. She’s so wonderful. Beautiful, happy. She deserves someone who will laugh at her jokes, taste her funny food (come on, Kubo. You could have had like a two-page spread where she feeds Ichigo something weird and they have a laugh over it, something natural), makes her clothes (ahh, Ishida.)

I’m not here to promote Ishida/Orihime, but she’s so natural around him. He thinks about her, considers her feelings. She protects him with her shield, fights beside him as an equal, not ‘Inoue, you’re on defence. I’m counting on you.’ 

7 - There’s no development for Orihime.

I don’t know what she got out of Bleach, tbh. She went in infatuated with this image of Ichigo in her head, came out in the same position. She’s endured painful feelings of jealousy, helplessness, meeting other people. She made bonds with people, like Ishida, or Ulquiorra, who could have developed her character in some way. Made her think that hey, I’m worth someone directing all their attention and feelings towards me, too. I’m worth being thought about, considered. Ichigo literally does not have the time of day to notice her feelings for him, her jealousy. He’s oblivious or preoccupied and unforgiving about it. 

She’s forced to wear some seriously provocative clothing by Urahara, in which she is clearly uncomfortable, just to get his attention. He doesn’t even say anything to her. Chad has to say, ‘Yo, Ichigo. What do you think of Inoue’s clothes?’. It’s so freaking embarrassing and awkward for her that I really want her to leave Ichigo behind. He’s not worth it.

I know that Bleach is a Shounen manga, but seriously. Kubo tried to incorporate some romance when he really didn’t have the right idea of how to go about it and ended up butchering Orihime’s character, Ichigo and Orihime’s pretty solid friendship, and left the reader feeling baited with Rukia/Ichigo. In his head, friendships are sacrifice, you changed my world, for her I’ll go through a thousand blades, that’s the man you are in my heart, show them that despair can’t stop you while romantic love is Orihime pouring her heart out to the guy that still doesn’t know how to pronounce her first name.

Whatever floats your boat, shippers. 

[akariitsuki42]

Spirit Saga

Ch5

Chapter 4

I was being called by phone from Ichigo saying that I should return because it was getting dark, but I was planning on staying the night in this cottage and that's what I responded with, he never replied back so I assume that he knew I was trying to figure out a way to get back without getting mugged or anything because that was the only reason why. I was at the dining table while Mugetsu was making us something which I didn't want him to do that but he kept insisting that he should, man, he knows my weakness for eating before sleeping, I asked, "Are you like that or are you just doing that because I eat in my sleep?" "You eat in your sleep," he said, bluntly. Damn, that hurt, well, can't argue with that, "Isn't the sunset beautiful?" "Yeah, makes me thanking you for giving me my own life," he said, "It is very beautiful to the point of me finding myself someone to love." "That quick? Take it easy, Mugetsu," I said, "Time is precious." Then he saw a glow from the portal room, "You said an element, which means you need to find out who is worthy of this fragile element." "Every element is fragile," I said, "Time is extremely delicate, get it right." "Oh right, my bad," he said. It makes me feel awful that he is living all alone in this cottage, he could see this thought process, "Just invite Esperanza and Shiro to live here I mean there is plenty of room here." "Oh that's right," I said, "But they are in Hueco Mundo so we can't." "Oh really, is that how it is?" asked Shiro, from behind. Esperanza said, "You could've said something, Mugetsu." "I didn't want to ruin your precious time together," he said. Those 2 blushed like a tomato and a blueberry, I giggled, "You guys are the cutest. I can see why you dig Shiro, Esperanza." "Hey!" she shouted, "That is not the only reason, I swear." "What is it then?" asked Mugetsu. We were teasing the 2 like it was nothing, then the moment was ruined when some idiot started angrily banging on the door, Mugetsu answered, "What? Oh, Ichigo." "Step aside," he said in a very rude way. I saw Shiro kiss Esperanza's cheek thinking that he was slick, I called him out, "Hey, Shiro, what happened to being heartless?" "Oh man, I changed alright?" he asked, "Plus for some reason my hollow hole was plugged up when I got my element powers." "That's right, Mugetsu said that you have the Beast Elemental," I said. He nodded his head, I said, "Apparently I'm the Love Elemental." "Which explains that charm you always had," said Shiro, "Because it is still very hard for me to come up with something hateful and nasty." "Yeah, no kidding," I said, "You think I do not know that, Grimmjow was trying very hard to be mean." "I saw it all," said Esperanza, "He became a wild cat in public but when it comes to only her, he turns into a literal kitten." "Did he miss me?" I asked. Esperanza scoffed, "You have no idea, he was acting like a moopy cat." "I was told that he and Nel got together," I said, "Is that true?" "Yep," said Shiro, "Esperanza has the photos." "I want to see them," I said, "Though at the same time, I don't." "Ahem, anyways, the reason why I was here is because Akari, your friend came over the house," said Ichigo, "I swear do not hang out with him, he speaks bad news." I guess this is the start of a new path in our relationship between the two of us, me and Ichigo, I could not believe I missed Alex, Mugetsu tells him, "You don't control her life anymore, matter of fact, you are not her father. Let her hang out whoever she wants, if she likes this guy before then odds are your opinions do not matter." "Fine, but I better not see him trying to harm you," he said, storms out. Ichigo was never like this, did he forget on who my parents are? Man, Onyx, guys, I'm going to get you back one way or another.

The next few days, we went back to the mall, this time I was determined to get someone back from being gone for too long, this was starting get too much to the point where I have to get Rukia and Renji be my personal guards away from Ichigo. Heck, Orihime was standing up for me because I was spending too much time doing nothing but reading so I could get a degree in writing, that's my only goal in life right now, is to be an author. Orihime likes where I love to create things and come up with using my imagination, Ichigo likes me to be productive, I'm trying my hardest to keep the peace but it's getting to the point where it's effecting me in battle against a Hollow where Mugetsu had to save me. Ichigo is feeding this negative feeling and he doesn't know that it was effecting me, I went straight to the center of the food court, the stage was still there, same with Alex and some strange girl, I walked up the stage, "Alex?" "Hm? Oh, Akari, it's so good to see you again," he said. I pointed her out, "Who is she?" "Just a coworker," he said, "She keeps saying that I need to focus on one girl only, my mind never left you so I was determined to see you again." "So, she's not your girlfriend," I said. He scoffed, "She keeps that I am hers but I always end up having enough of her. My heart was already belonged to someone else and that was you, Miss Akari. Or should I say Lady Love?" I never blushed so fast before, "You know on who you are?" "Yes, how could I forget on who I was previously, I was called Ulquiorra Schiffer," he said, "Now, I know someone who wishes to be with me for the rest of her life." I smiled, "I missed you so much, you made me feel like I was the only one in the world." He led to the front of the stage, started to play a playlist of songs that me and Onyx would always sing along to, but the first song he played was When Legends Rise from Godsmack, I sang from the top of my lungs, somehow singing was keeping this feeling at bay and making it go away, then Must Be Nice from Nickelback played, I hear his honeyed voice, then everyone hears this voice and thought that I could multiple voices, I'm at Soprano level, how? Then Ignite played, I got him back, because the rapping part was only done by Onyx, then heard Levy's voice saying Yang, I was seeing Ichigo, Orihime, and Kazui coming around the corner. I never felt so energized ever since I woke up, only Onyx makes me feel this way, after the song we hugged each other, I gave him the greatsword back, he took it and strapped it to his back, then a few songs that we always sang together, Alex came up, "Who is this?" "This is my only brother, Onyx GrimPanther," I said, "He's the true definition of Darkness." He nods in agreement, I could tell that he is also happy that he is back, "So, this is Alex Cifer, formerly as known was Ulquiorra Schiffer, how does it feel to be resurrected?" "Feels great," said Alex, "Though I was used to being called Alex Cifer, so I guess you guys can call me either of those." "Nah, we are not going make you confused by doing that," said Onyx. I felt like crying because I got him back, they gladly sat me down so I could let it all out while Onyx kept hugging me until I said something, not only did I see the Kurosaki's but I was seeing Renji, Rukia, their daughter, Esperanza, Shiro, and Mugetsu coming into view. Onyx took the stage and sang Blue on Black from 5 Finger Death Punch, that band was his jam to listen to when training and I was watching him, Esperanza, Shiro, and Mugetsu were making their way at a fast pace, only reason they were seeing a Black Panther hollow taking the stage, same with Renji and Rukia but they were ready to take him out. They don't know that it's Onyx because of his change of appearance, I mean he still has Ebony skin, his eyes are the same, wait, his clothing, "Onyx, come here for a moment." He walks over, "Thank goodness because they look like they are about to go berserk on my ass!" I couldn't help but laugh, this is Onyx alright, who else talks like that other than him? He made a cloud of darkness go above and around him, he came out looking like his old self, "I feel much better, I swear Talon has no sense of style." I giggled, then we started the next setlist, this time was Back from the Dead from Skillet, basically the setlist were all Skillet, Nickelback, and Avenged Sevenfold songs, that's enough to bring everyone back. I think I am having way too much fun with Onyx here because he brung the emotion to life, then came the song called The Resistance. I started to feel water coming down on me, so does Onyx because I heard in my head, "Hello, Akari, it's Levy." I put more emotion into my singing same with Onyx, just hearing her voice alone was enough to get her trident back, we stayed there, I do not know I lost count, but I got Onyx back, that's enough for me to go about my day. Ichigo sees him, "Who is this freak?" "Who are you, Strawberry?" he sassed, "Lovely to see you again, after so long, this is what I get? Wow, I thought you loved me, oh wait, I don't go that way, bro." I was holding in my laughter, Onyx is back and he never backs down to anyone not even Ichigo if I remember correctly, he sees Mugetsu, looks at me, "Who is the lady?" "Onyx! Be nice," I said to him. Orihime says, "I knew it was him, Onyx, welcome back." "Yeah, hey, Princess," he said, bowing to her. Well her name Orihime is 'Princess' and he always treats her like a princess, I tell Onyx, "By the way, that lady, he's not really happy on that comment." "Well, sorry, dude or ma'am, you really look like a girl with all that long ass hair," said Onyx. I cleared my throat, he looks to see Kazui, "Ah, damn, sorry little man." "Are you related to her?" asked Kazui, pointing at me. Onyx nodded, "I was the first born, she was the second." He turned to Mugetsu, "Hey, sorry, man or lady." "Onyx, just stop," I said, knowing he won't. Mugetsu crossed his arms, pouting, I could hear him mutter, "It took me forever to get it like this." Which made me laugh even more, we went back home and Onyx already loves Kazui, once we got into the vehicle, he was silent for one minute, then he kept Kazui entertained on the tales he and I used to do. When we got inside of the house, Ichigo tells Onyx, "Unfortunately there is not enough room for you." "The hell there is," I snapped, "Onyx could sleep in the closet." I would do anything for Onyx to stay, they just looked at me. Onyx happened to say, "I don't think it's big enough for all of me." "I can make you fit," I said. Both Ichigo and Onyx went, "Whoa, Akari!" "Not like that, you dumbasses," I said, "Get your heads out of the gutter."

[lemonade-of-gods]

Bleach concept covers-Part 1

AKA: The bleach cast sing various Bleach openings and endings and I fangirl over how GOOD they sound.-Part 1

-Ichigo covers opening 1 ′Asterisk’, the 3rd movie ending “Koyoi Tsuki ga miezu tomo’ and the 4th movie ending ‘Save the one, save the all’ (diamond dust rebellion?) and he’s not such a bad singer! True he isn’t going to win any awards, but he’s fairly decent!

-Rukia covers opening 12 ‘Change’ and she sounds absolutely lovely! EH HOLD ON MY RUKIHIME HEART JUST OVERFLOWED WITH THE FEELS RUKIA AND ORIHIME COVER OPENING 10 ‘SHOUJO S’ AND ITS AMAZING FOUR FOR YOU RUKIHIME YOU GO RUKIHIME 

-ARE YOU SERIOUS SHINJI COVERS ENDING 13 ‘TANE WO MAKU HIBI’ AND FUCK HE SOUNDS SO GOOD TAKE NOTE@imaginemeandyouforever @stard0g @mysticrainpain @yunghexe @skinnyhyena HIS VOICE WILL GIVE YOU AN EARGASM GODDAMIT I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS

-Lisa, Hiyori and Mashiro cover ending 22 ‘Tabidatsu kimi e’ and I’m literally stunned at how beautifully they sing...are all the visoreds this good at singing?! They should have started a band or something! (Now it makes me wish I could hear Rose, Love and Hachi sing; I’ve already heard Tomokazu Sugita singing and I can certify that by default Kensei IS a good singer!)

-Tier Harribel covers opening 9 ‘Velonica’ and needless to say I think we all know who won the karaoke contest held in Hueco Mundo. Grimmjow covers ending 24 ‘Echoes’ and so now we also know that he rightfully deserves the title King, because HOT DAMN that is one terrific voice!

-Coyote Starrk and Lilynette Gingerbuck covers ending 15 ‘Orange’ and Starrk rapping is seriously one of the funniest things you could ever imagine as well as one of the most heartwarming things to ever exist along with Lilynette’s adorable voice. *weeps at remembering their fates in canon*

-Szayel Aporro Granz covers opening 6 ‘Alones’. Just try imagining him or KIBA INUZUKA singing this. If that doesn’t seem out of the ordinary try imagining ACNOLOGIA singing this song. ACNO-I-WILL-DESTROY-EVERYTHING-THAT-MOVES-LOGIA’S SEIYUU VOICES KIBA AND SZAYEL AND SINGS THIS SONG. WHAT.

-Aaronierro Arrurrueri covers opening 21 ‘Sakurobito’, but its actually Kaien’s voice soo...we all know who got disqualified then.

-Actually I take it back, Grimmjow’s got some serious competion a la Ulquiorra’s cover of opening 11 ‘Anima Rossa’ and damn it’s too good! Just try imagining the stoic espada singing. 

-Nnoitra Gilga and Tesra Lindocruz cover opening 13 ‘Ranbu No Melody’. Who knew spoon-sama could actually sing? In that manner of speaking, Mayuri and Nemu Kurotsuchi cover ending 1 ‘Life is like a boat’ and you will WEEP on hearing Nemu’s voice because its so sweet and nostalgic and heartbreaking and now I’m reminded of her death. Why. 

-Ending 17 ‘Hitohira no hanabira’ gets covered by Apacci, Mila Rose and Sung-sung and seriously, did the Hogyoku decide on making sure every arrancar became more than just a bathroom singer? 

-And HOW can you ever forget the cover of opening 3 ‘Ichirin no Hana’ by Aizen and Momo? God-complex-sama here does the screamo portion at the end. No words guys. No words.

[iamartemisday]

All odd numbers ;D

1. Talk about the first ship you ever had.

My first real ship was Harry/Hermione.Before that, there were a couple of instances where I saw a pair of fictional characters and thought they’d be good together (ex. Tommy and Kimi from Rugrats), but Harry/Hermione was the first time I really invested in a ship. I always felt they had better chemistry and interactions with each other than they ever had with Ginny and Ron respectively.

Granted, Harry had more chemistry with the whomping willow than with Ginny.

3. What’s your current OTP?

Either Lokane or Bucky/Jane. Hard to choose between. I suppose I’ve been more focused on Bucky/Jane as of late, but I’ve had Lokane longer, so it’s safer to just call it a draw.

5. Do you have any poly ships?

Several.  I’ve written:

Bucky/Jane/SteveLoki/Jane/Bucky

And I’ve read:

Tony/Pepper/Steve (this is the ONLY way I can ever stomach Stony)Tamaki/Haruhi/Kyoya (only way I can ever read KyoHaru and TamaKyo)Harry/Hermione/Draco

As you can probably tell, my taste runs towards M/M/F.

7. How do you feel about RPF?

I’m not a fan. It kind of weirds me out and I usually don’t feel comfortable reading it. At the same time, I don’t disparage anyone for liking it as long as you keep it where it belongs (i.e. NOT in the inbox of the person you’re writing about).

9. Do you have many ships that never got together at all?

Are you kidding?

At least eighty percent of the ships I’ve sailed never had a prayer of happening. It makes what canon ships I do have all the more precious to me, but at the same time, I’ve learned not to let canon bother me. My ships may not be in the creator’s plan, but fandom and fanfic will always have my back. 

Aside from the ships mentioned above, there is:

Zuko/KataraSteve/DarcyIchigo/RukiaUlquiorra/OrihimeJareth/Sarah

11. Talk about your favorite first kiss.

Tony and Pepper’s first kiss was beautiful. It happened so suddenly, but in a way that was so perfectly them.

13. Has a ship ever broken your heart?

Again, Pepperony, when Civil War was like ‘hey let’s make people think Literal Soulmates Tony and Pepper aren’t a thing anymore that is smart storytelling we are brilliant!’ 

Thank God for Spider-Man Homecoming.

15. Have you ever “shipped at first sight”?

Only for minor ships like Bruce/Betty and Ling/Lan Fan. All of my favorite ships needed time to take root in my mind.  The ships I go for immediately tend to fall in the ‘I like this but not enough to invest time in beyond the canon material’ category. Whereas my huge OTPs like Lokane and Bucky/Jane are more ‘I will come back to this in a few months to see if I still like the idea whoops looks like I’m completely in love with it time to write five hundred fics.’

17. Talk about a pairing you’ve stopped shipping romantically.

Thor/Jane. I’ve talked about this before, so here is the abridged version:

This ship, to me, has become synonymous with ‘I don’t give a shit about Jane I only care about Darcy I’m going to ship literally every character in the MCU with Darcy and with Jane it’ll just be ‘background with Thor background with Thor background with Thor over and over and over again.’

19. Have you ever shipped something despite yourself?

Like a guilty pleasure ship?

Probably Rumlow/Skye, which is totally @ozhawkauthor ‘s fault. I don’t watch AOS and never cared one lick about Rumlow before she came along, but there you go.

21. Is there a ship you just don’t get, but have nothing against?

Most Darcy ships fall under this category (particularly Loki/Darcy and Bucky/Darcy because back the fuck off Darcy those are Jane’s men). 

Also Sterek in Teen Wolf. Mostly I’m just baffled at how popular that ship got when they barely interacted past season two, and when they did talk Derek pretty clearly had no patience for Stiles and Stiles pretty clearly was scared of Derek.

23. Which of your ships deserve better writing?

Of my ships that actually happened, Tony and Pepper should be having their second child by now.

Of my ships that didn’t happen, Loki and Jane should be having crazy hot sex by now (this would be the only way I’d accept Jane’s absence from Ragnarok).

25. Have you ever shipped a pairing before you even started watching the show/movie simply because of gifs and graphics or similar?

Not really, but I might watch the Mad Hatter episode of Once Upon a Time all the way through because of a few Mad Swan fics I read.

27. Is there a ship you’ve shipped for most of your life?

I first shipped Harry/Hermione when I was 15, so nearly half my life for that one

29. Do you need to ship something to really enjoy a movie/book/tv show/comic?

No, but I do need a ship to get involved in a fandom. Gen fic is fine, but I’m a romantic at heart and when it comes to fic, I need to be invested in a couple to really be inspired to write.

31. Talk about one of your favorite headcanons for a ship you love.

Jane gets Loki hooked on Reese’s peanut butter cups and now their garbage is always full of bright orange wrappers.

33. Name your favorite fanartist(s).

@gabbiki has drawn most of my favorite Lokane fanart, and then there’s @yanumii , @detoreik , @quickswiper-blog , @amalgamads , and probably a bunch of others I can’t remember.

35. Recommend 1-5 shipper blogs.

@pay-her-a-visit and @pepperonydaily are two good ones.

37. Do you have a favorite trope and/or AU for your OTP?

Loving the soulmates and ABO.  Maybe someday I’ll combine them.  That sounds fun.

39. Is there a fictional relationship you’d really want for yourself?

I’d say Tamaki and Haruhi’s. I’d love to met a man who would love me the way Tamaki loves Haruhi.

[ichinoue]

omg I reached Hollow Ichigo vs Grimmjow episodes with Orihime and Nel looking on and these 3 episodes had more romance then all 160 previous episodes and all pairs combined! I was constantly squealing lol

Yeah, the Grimmjow battle was a goldmine for IH moments. And what’s interesting about that is that this is a shounen manga; you’d expect a battle scene to be action-packed with all of the focus on the sword swinging and fights, and yet there was still SO MUCH IH focus going on at the same time. During virtually every chapter of that battle, Kubo took the time to feature Orihime, or Ichigo looking back at Orihime, or Grimmjow taunting Ichigo about Orihime. Using the thought of her being hurt to bring out Ichigo’s rage, aiming his strongest cero at her to get Ichigo to hollowfy, saying “You want to protect her? How sweet,” after Ichigo literally throws his body in front of her as a shield. She’s constantly featured in the background during the fight, and in the scenes both immediately preceding and following the fight. You got Orihime’s inner dialogue, and Ichigo struggling to fight at his best because of his concern for her. You got Nel screaming stuff like “Ichigo dove towards Ulquiorra after hearing him say your name!” and “Ichigo is using that power for you! He’s fighting in his blood-splattered body, all for you!” The whole battle is basically a manifestation of Ichigo’s desire to protect Orihime and the latent feelings he has for her. And Orihime was the turning point of the entire battle! Again, in this shounen manga series, it’s not the ass-kicking hero who turns the battle around, but a girl calling out to a boy with tears in her eyes, telling him he doesn’t have to fight anymore, and wearing her heart on her sleeve—it was essentially Orihime’s love and Ichigo’s caring for her in return that flipped that entire battle on its head. No crazy power-ups or anything needed; just the connection between Ichigo and Orihime, and Ichigo realizing how much she cared for him giving him the “attack of resolve” to aid him in defeating Grimmjow. That was the pinnacle of the battle: love.