#Merged Hollow Ichigo

[akimao]

~Burichi sketches

Watching the tybw saga was definitely a great decision! I can't wait for the second part! 💜

My latest bleach fanart is from 2012 😅 (and you can find it only on dA) I think I've improved a little bit.

[cheshiresense]

Hi Cross! I'm so happy you're writing for ShunStarrk, it's one of my favrite ships and Starrk is one of favorite characters and I love how you write them. I also couldn't help thinking about wat would happen if you sent Starrk bac with Ichigo in Swinging Pendulum (or just TBTP). You've done Kisuke and Aizen so I was curious how it would go with Starrk. I'd love to see any ideas you might have for it!

lol my first thought when I saw this was a mental image of Ichigo throwing Starrk at Shunsui and being like “go seduce us an ally!” 😂😂😂

But okay, more seriously, I have a few thoughts on it so I guess I'll just ramble a bit? Well first of all, in an AU like SP/TBTP, I would employ one of my handy dandy Bleach headcanons where the next step up from Arrancar is a fully restored soul, so to speak. We know Hollows are generally souls that Shinigami failed to purify and save in time, but I like to think that as Hollows, after hitting rock bottom, if they have the power and the strength of will and the ability to survive long enough to work all the way back up on their own, they can actually fix themselves.

(I actually also headcanon that becoming “perfect artificial Arrancar” via Aizen and his Hougyoku actually stagnates them, so they’re given a power boost and Shinigami-like powers, but they’ve basically peaked and will never again be able to grow much because there is no growth from perfection, which also explains why the Visored’s power levels have always felt a cut below the other captains and lieutenants’ and even after a hundred years they could never manage much with their Hollow abilities, nor did they make any significant improvements or contributions between WW and TYBW, because the Hougyoku pushes you to the pinnacle of your potential at that point in your life, but by doing so, it also cuts off any possibility of further growth, and so over time you might even deteriorate. And all of that ties neatly back into one of Bleach’s major themes of perfection/stagnancy vs. growth/development. But I digress, that isn’t overly important here.)

My point is, the fuckery in the bad end future where Ichigo and Starrk are from lasted long enough and resulted in a terrible enough war that Starrk finally allowed himself that last step of growth and became a whole - if scarred - soul again, so he no longer has a Hollow hole or that collar of teeth, and he has a proper Zanpakutou merged with his Hollow abilities. So like he’s the first and only Hollow ever who managed to rebuild his own soul and is super OP as a result. Like if Aizen’s the upper limit of a Shinigami, and Yhwach is the upper limit of a Quincy, then Starrk would be the upper limit of a Hollow, which the Soul King took into account and was like yay finally the best of a species that isn’t out to ball the universe for once, he’s hella depressed and lonely and grieving but he’s just gonna have to deal cuz the world isn’t going to save itself and my god-slaying mad-scientist-experiment-child of a descendant needs all the help he can get to pull his saviour schtick off again.

All of which is just to say Starrk can blend in much better in Soul Society and yes I took the long-ass way around just to establish this single plot point lmao.

Secondly, as implied above, I’d prob change the final big bad to the Quincy because 1) it’s fresher in my mind and also 2) it gives me more established material to work with. Also 3) we’ll pretend Yhwach wasn’t senile and so didn’t kill off half his own army, because lbr his Auswahlen won half the war for the Shinigami in canon. And this way we get the tragic bad end we need to kick off an SP AU.

And thirdly, just to tie up that loose end, you can’t have two of the same souls in one timeline, so past!Starrk&Lilynette wink out of existence the moment the Soul King drops future!Starrk in TBTP because I’m heartless like that and the more angst the merrier.

Also fourthly, the thing about sending Starrk back with Ichigo is that the dynamic is just so completely different than if it were Kisuke or Aizen or Shinji or any of Ichigo's friends. Like I guess in other fics you usually see Starrk as one of Ichigo's ppl, lured over to the good side because of Ichigo's whole power of friendship, friends and family must be protected thing, and I enjoy reading those of course, but writing-wise, I can't really get behind it because for me, their relationship would come out sth like part-comrade, part-mentor/student because someone's gotta teach Ichigo how to Hollow and I honestly don't rly count the Visored training as such because what they did was basically the equivalent of a temporary patchjob/lesson on how to unhealthily repress a part of yourself instead of actually dealing with it, all so it won't get in the way of fighting Aizen, so Ichigo never actually gets around to harnessing that side of him as opposed to everything he does with his Shinigami and Quincy sides, and lastly part-wow-this-kid-is-a-hundred-years-away-from-becoming-another-Aizen-if-the-Shinigami-keep-fucking-up-with-him whenever Starrk looks at Ichigo, because if anyone aside from Ichigo understood what made Aizen into the would-be-god he became, it would be Starrk, and there's no way he wouldn't be able to see the exact same potential in Ichigo.

And yeah, technically Kisuke was a mentor too, same with Shinji and a few others, but with their history, it's hard to really see that role as one of their main ones, esp since all of them end up following Ichigo's lead. If you want to get poetic about it, he's the sun they're drawn to and revolve around and devote themselves to. That's completely not the case with Starrk. If anyone is Starrk's sun, it's Shunsui. Plus Starrk's just a lot older than most of them so he can't just be crammed into the peer/partner/friend willing to burn SS down for Ichigo and follow him to the ends of the world box. It would be the same if it was Shunsui or Ukitake sent back. But that's fun to play with too, something new, and I imagine Starrk's got a soft spot for kids, and this one was also taught by Shunsui (a la SP canon), and Starrk taught Ichigo as well, so it's not like they don't get along or that Starrk wouldn't absolutely throw down with someone trying to take another chunk out of Ichigo. It's just that this is a dynamic where for once, Ichigo isn't the absolute top priority and object of fascination/love/devotion for the one sent back in time with him. For Starrk, that position's already taken by a certain Shinigami captain.

And wow okay we're not even into the actual AU and I already rambled too much, I guess I'll end this with the two of them entering the Academy after wandering in from the wilds of Rukongai? In SP, I had Ichigo being found by the Shibas and sort of faking amnesia, but I feel like it's simpler here to go with the two of them finding their way to the Seireitei on their own, and then the Shibas hear of someone with a face that could pass for Kaien's twin, so ofc Kaien's immediately like HELLO LONG-LOST FAM and rolling out the welcome mat.

Obviously Ichigo's like fuck that this is way too soon after losing all my actual friends and family, but Shibas don't know how to take no for an answer (honestly you're like that too Ichigo), so there's a good few weeks where Kaien haunts the Academy like an enthusiastic ghost two steps left of empty nest syndrome or something, and Ichigo spends an equal amount of time ignoring him in favour of tearing through the Academy curriculum like a man on a mission, which he technically is. He doesn't like the attention, but he's also never had much patience for subtlety, and he's used to ignoring other ppl's opinions of him anyway, so by the end of the month, everybody knows him as the newest Shiba prodigy slated to graduate in a year, and Ichigo doesn't care so long as he gets what he wants.

Meanwhile, not many people notice the man who'd come to the city with Ichigo and applied to the Academy at the same time. Unlike Ichigo, Starrk is very good at fading into the background, and it's doubly easy when you put him next to someone whose very existence is as bright and loud as Ichigo's, with the kind of charisma that attracts ppl to him even when he doesn't do anything.

That suits Starrk just fine. He's exhausted and heartsore and still not entirely sure why he'd said yes when Mimihagi had waylaid him when he'd been on the brink of death and asked him to accompany Ichigo back in time to save the world. He's not a hero, not anyone important or special, and also not particularly interested in living in a world without Kyouraku Shunsui - his Shunsui - in it. But Shunsui had also died for the world, for the Soul Society he'd devoted his life to protecting, died to buy time for others to live just a little bit longer, and it had seemed a mockery of one of the things Shunsui had held so dear if Starrk didn't even try to protect it too when the option was laid out in front of him. Besides, it had also seemed unfair to leave it all to Ichigo, to dump the literal weight of the universe on the kid's shoulders once again, and this time he wouldn't even have any help if Starrk didn't go because everyone else was dead or - Starrk assumes - not as strong as him. Once again, his strength is more a curse than anything else. So he supposes he does know why he'd agreed - a moment of insanity, a moment of weakness - and now here he is stuck in an era he'd certainly lived through before but in a location he'd only ever seen in the midst of war.

Peacetime at least affords him time to rest, although he's not sure how he likes that either. Fighting and killing at least means he has little time for anything else, like sleep plagued with nightmares, but it's that or staring into empty space and being plagued with memories instead, and that's not really any better. Still, he deals and doesn't let Ichigo catch on to the fact that his head's not in a great place because the kid doesn't need anymore on his plate. It's not like Ichigo's getting much sleep either anyway if the bags under his eyes are anything to go by. Besides, Starrk's used to nightmares and bad memories. He has a thousand years' worth under his belt, so it's nothing new, even if the content is.

The Academy is something of a novelty, if only because he's never gone to school before. So unlike Ichigo, he doesn't mind going to lectures instead of immediately testing out of most classes and jumping straight to the sixth-year curriculum and whatever extra credit work that Zanjutsu department head who likes stalking Ichigo gives him. Starrk had checked and discovered that so long as he applies for it before the deadline, he can take the graduation exams at the end of the year, and so long as he passes, the school doesn't much care what classes make it onto his academic transcript. There's even been clan kids who just stay at home with an army of private tutors before directly taking the exams and entering the Gotei that way.

But like Ichigo, there's also not much the Academy teaches that he doesn't excel at. Combat-wise, there are already very few people in all the known worlds who can best him, let alone anyone in this school. His worst subject is history, because he knows almost nothing of Soul Society aside from major events he'd heard of in passing and anything related to Quincy, but when everything else is easy, that just means he can spend all his time memorizing the readings he's assigned.

Aside from that, he goes to class and sleeps in class, he skips class and sleeps then too, he spars whoever the teacher wants him to but never volunteers otherwise, and he's very careful to keep his reiatsu levels under wraps. He looks at his classmates in each class and picks out the middling to above average students and copies their progress, and he doesn't bother doing more.

"Isn't it boring?" Ichigo asks him once when he's once again hiding from his cousin in Starrk's room. Starrk shrugs from his bed and doesn't tell him that one doesn't know boredom until they've spent a thousand years alone in a barren desert. Anything else is a step up. Even if all the theory in his lectures are things he's already read about because Shunsui had let him have free reign in the private library back home, hearing it again never hurts. "It's a pretty good sleep aid," Starrk says instead, just to hear the amused snort it coaxes from Ichigo.

It is of course impossible to fool everyone, and Starrk hadn't been aiming for that anyway. Ichigo also doesn't spend time with anybody else, so inevitably, two months into their Academy life, one Koyonagi Senzou turns his attention on the man who probably spends more time sleeping than anyone else in the Seireitei.

"All your assignments fulfill the minimum requirements," Koyonagi says, smiling from behind his desk after summoning Starrk to his office. "Never more, never less, perfect across the board even if they all come back with a note suggesting you could try earning some bonus points. All your tests are returned with a score of 75-80%. Never more, never less, but the points that get docked off are always for questions you've left blank. And every single week, you win exactly half your total spars. Never more, never less. Tell me, Coyote-san, do you think yourself more or less subtle than Ichi-chan?" Starrk blinks once, slowly, and stares back without the energy to muster much more than a noncommittal grunt. Koyonagi reminds him a little of Aizen and a lot of Ichimaru, and this kind of person, Starrk knows, wants for nothing so much as they do a reaction. "Wasn't trying to be subtle," Starrk eventually says when it becomes clear that Koyonagi is perfectly willing to wait him out for as long as it takes, and Starrk doesn't care enough about power plays to try and win this one, not when he hasn't even been offered a chair to sit in. "I've been passing everything, so it's fine, right?" Koyonagi doesn't stop smiling, but it becomes just the slightest bit fixed the way Ichimaru's had when he'd not been entirely pleased with his prey's response. Even Starrk probably would've missed it if Ichimaru hadn't often looked like that around Starrk. As expected, the teacher prods a few more times, a little more cutting each round, and Starrk in turn replies with the same dull apathy that comes so very easily to him. "Well-played," Koyonagi finally says, and he just looks bored now. "Although I honestly can't fathom what Ichigo sees in someone so lacking in... ambition." He pauses like he wants Starrk to hear the insult underneath, like he wants Starrk to take offense, but Starrk's barely paying attention as it is, and there was no question anyway, which means Starrk isn't expected to answer, so he doesn't. Koyonagi sighs like he's never met a bigger disappointment. "Never mind, you're dismissed." His eyes glitter with something like mockery. "Your new schedule will be sent to you by tonight. You'll be moved up to the sixth year classes. Do keep up the good work, won't you?" Starrk raises an eyebrow, then sighs right back. Well, whether it's first year or sixth year, it's all the same to him. He's not the one who took the initiative to present himself as a genius, and students are moved in and out of classes for more reasons than just skipping grades. And with Ichigo around, no one will look twice at him. He dips his head in acknowledgement and wonders why people like this can't just say what they want to begin with. This had clearly been the point from the very beginning and could've been over and done with in two minutes, but this meeting's dragged on for half an hour. What a troublesome guy. He heads for the door. The weather is nice today. Maybe he'll even be able to take an uninterrupted nap for once.

On the Shiba front, something's got to give, and unfortunately for Ichigo, he doesn't have experience warding off family unwilling to leave him alone.

"I came here with a friend!" Ichigo snaps, his last-ditch attempt to chase Kaien away. "He's practically family! I'm not leaving him behind!" He'd heard all about the bullshit that was Rukia's adoption into the Kuchiki Clan, thank you. Kaien blinks at him, mystified. "What are you talking about? We just want to add you to the family registry and probably throw you a party while we're at it. You don't have to leave your friend anywhere. Hell, bring him back with you. If he's your family, he's our family, and we have plenty of space!" At this point, Kaien looks like he's warming up to the idea. "That's right, you mentioned you've known him for a while, right? Uh, what's his name again, Coyote Starrk? If he's been watching your back out in Rukongai, I should thank him properly. Is that why you've been resisting all this time? Did you think we'd make you cut ties with him or something? We're not like the other stuffy clans, Ichigo! Any friend of yours is welcome! We'd love to meet him! Hey, how's he doing in his classes? Does he need a sponsor? It doesn't matter, a clan sponsor can only be a good thing. Don't worry, Ichigo, we'll take good care of him!" Ichigo has a moment to picture the sheer amount of chaotic energy that even he can already tell is a common factor amongst the Shiba Clan, meeting Starrk, whose favourite hobbies include napping, creating new Kidou seals, and listening to Kyouraku read to him when they can scrounge up some time for themselves, and the only conclusion he can come to is a horrified, holy shit, Starrk-san's going to kill me.

[your-local-hollow-lover]

How about Grimmjow finding his s/o wounded and taking her to Orihime to save her? context is up to you (:

Summary: local girl fighting side to side with a hollow (goes wrong)

--------

You were never exceptionally powerful, but you are fast. That's enough to keep up with him. Grimmjow has always been pleased about it. And you? You're happy to hunt side to side with him, just for fun, in the deep whiteness of hueco mundo.

The prey you lurk upon had never been too much for any of you, or at least not until the night when you found a swarm of adjucas traveling like a hive.

At first, it was fun. Four or five at a time were a game. From ten to fifteen, true enjoyment started, but soon forty to sixty got out of hand.

Grimmjow let out whoops of joy, relishing his fight. The buzz of the bees drowned your yelling for help. Pathetic. After all, Nnoitra was right: Humans can't coexist in Hueco Mundo.

One sting after another, and everything went black.

-.*.*.*.-

Grimmjow punches a hole through the queen's body, and when he rips her in two halves with his bare hands, all the smaller bee creatures flee at once. He laughs, holding the two pieces with open arms as they vanish. When his maniac victory cackle drowns out, he immediately darts his look to you.

Grimmjow's gaze wanders around the battlefield, scanning carefully to find you among the many corpses scattered on the ground. And there you are! Hunched over yourself, squatting. One of your hands rests over the inert round body next to you— There's blood all around you, a pool of it.

You turn to him when he's close enough to the ground to cast a shadow. Grimmjow's breath runs short. His eyes widen as he processes:

You move forward with a hand pressed on your stomach, a wound so deep that he can almost see your guts. There are dangerously swollen and inhumanly purple veins running all over your skin. Your eyes are bloodshot and crystallized with tears. A viscous, black substance slips from your mouth.

 Your body gives out when you try to stand up. Grimmjow catches you before you hit the ground. You are impossibly cold. 

Grimmjow feels like crawling out of his skin, a sensation so wrenching he's sure something within him will shatter to remain unfixable for eternity if you die. With his nerves turning his stomach, he blasts up, reaching the Garganta he opened a second ago.  

You cough, splattering dark blood on his jaw and neck. Grimmjow steals a glance at you. You're jerking, twitching in pain. A horrible sound comes from the rear of your throat as you try to catch your breath.

"Stay awake!" he roared. "Hey, do you hear me? You don't fucking dare die like this!" 

There's only one person able to unfuck this situation: Aizen's former pet. Ichigo's woman. A fixer. 

He steps into the sharp cold of the human world. Grimmjow darts across the city, cutting through clouds and snow. Your grip on his back fades at the same time your body suddenly goes limp. 

Shit. Shit. Shit.

He crashes through a glass balcony, breaking both windows into a thousand pieces. The woman cooking inside screams, jumping back. The pot with steamy soup smashes into the floor. A familiar orange shield jumps to sight.

Grimmjow merges from the dust curtain, carrying what looks like a corpse. His eyes are far beyond enraged, wild beyond all understanding. His voice comes raw from his chest when he orders: 

"Heal her." 

[derekscorner]

Kurosaki Twin Conundrum

For the past few weeks I've been talking about Zanpakuto types, Ichigo's non-canon forms, or gushing about my Quincy Ichigo ideas but after finishing my part three to the zanpakuto types I was reminded of something; The Kurosaki Twins.

I used to have a post on them way back but now that the 'Thousand Year Blood War' is being animated with Kubo's noteworthy influence involved I'll tackle this topic again.

This isn't a post about their characters per say but about the nature of their abilities. There is no doubt they have some power but we don't know what kind of powers. Allow me to explain.

Masaki & White

Thanks to the TYBW anime any Bleach fan knows by now that Ichigo was so unique due to the incident involving these two. I'll skip the convoluted nature of Ichigo himself since the show explains already.

What's important to Ichigo's sisters is that White was not present when they were conceived and later born. By the time the twins were a thing in their mothers womb White had already merged with Ichigo and transformed into Zangetsu.

Like Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu are the children of a pureblood Quincy and a Soul Reaper from a very old clan. Unlike Ichigo, they did not inherit a hollow.

Another thing that should be noted is that the sisters are fraternal twins rather than identical ones. I do not know if this had an impact on their powers or not but it is something to keep in mind should the anime or Kubo make a statement in the future.

Either way, going by these sequence of events, you'd immediately assume that the girls are perfect hybrids of a quincy and soul reaper.

But I do not think it's that simple. For one, we know that mixed blood quincies (which the girls happen to be) need more work to awaken their full potential. There are even some abilities they'd have to work for that a purebred quincy would have at birth.

Ichigo himself never uses his quincy abilities consciously. It is Zangetsu who uses them and even then the full "flood gates" as it were did not open until Ichigo battled Quilge Opie. Yhwach clearly states that this battle and the cage Quilge trapped Ichigo in awakened his latent quincy power.

Yuzu nor Karin have had a teacher nor any circumstance strenuous enough to awaken those powers. Even when in the grip of a hollow and their lives threatened they did not awaken any abilities.

Of course, I must remind you, Ichigo is special. White became Zangetsu, Ichigo's quincy powers had taken on a mind of their own and could do these things.

Which brings us to our next point.

"Old Man" Zangetsu's Absence

Masaki's inner hollow, White, became Ichigo's inner hollow and then transformed into his zanpakuto. As flawed as it was compared to a true zanpakuto used by actual Soul Reapers it still existed.

The absence of White means that Yuzu & Karin do not have the special circumstances to have their own innate zanpakuto. The Soul Reaper powers they would've inherited have no way to manifest.

Although Soul Reapers have families, unique powers, magic, and knowledge they do not come into the world with a zanpakuto in hand. They only get that once they begin training and receive their "Asauchi".

The "asauchi" will bond to that Soul Reaper and eventually become the zanpakuto. It is a crucial element they'd need.

Their human forms may also hinder this process. Even Ichigo can't use his Soul Reaper powers without leaving his human body....although his son doesn't seem to have that issue but he's a headache we won't cover.

So where does that leave us?

Well, they have no hollow powers. White was already gone when they were conceived.

They should have latent Soul Reaper powers but being living humans and without Zanpakuto they can’t manifest.

They should have some degree of Quincy powers but they seem entirely dormant. Even Yhwach's Auswählen didn't target them nine years ago.

In essence, they're effectively human....but they're obviously not. Despite the lack of unique abilities both sisters show the ability to see spirits.

For Karin this is even more pronounced because she's fully capable of seeing Ichigo in his Soul Reaper form. She has the spiritual power to see and touch a Soul Reaper.

That is way more impressive than the series lets on. The Soul Reapers even refer to humans with this level of spiritual power as "High Spec" humans.

They're rare but they are not unheard of.

Although the anime makes her unable to see spirits it's a fact that Yuzu actually can see ghosts. She can only perceive a blurry image but she is spiritually aware.

She too has something innate even if it's just raw spiritual energy. Sadly, we see little of it save for anime filler which obviously do not count.

Between the two the series actually makes a bigger deal of Karin's powers especially for the year Ichigo was powerless:

She even goes to Urahara often to get items to ward off things like Hollows since she's essentially an easy target they can sense miles away.

You may wonder what my point is with all this when I systematically closed the routes of them having powers earlier. It's simple, they do have powers but we just do not know what form they take.

Even if you argue that Yuzu is effectively human it's obvious that Karin isn't. Without Ichigo's overwhelming spiritual pressure her own skyrocketed.

She has a power that's developing which is why this curiosity over the twins persists.

Hypothesis & Conclusions

In conclusion to all of this they should not have specific powers. Yuzu, in fact, seems to not have anything other than weak spirit perception. While Karin is obviously more than she seems even if she has no desire to explore what that power is.

And all though I shut down so many possibilities earlier there is things to consider;

For example, White may have been gone but it's possible remnants of it's spiritual power resided within Masaki. That would make it possible to one or both twins to have latent Fullbring potential.

There is always a possibility that their Quincy natures could awaken as well under a specific circumstance.

Then there's the Shiba clan their father comes from. It is one of the five founding clans of the Soul Society. It is a literal primordial bloodline and there's no telling what unique powers are latent there.

The reaper powers they did inherit would awaken should they get an asauchi and become a reaper. Or should someone grant them powers as substitute soul reapers.

I have no real answers to any of it but it is a topic still fun to talk about. I'd like to know what they could be even if they never go that route. Kubo is answering a lot of questions on his website these days so maybe we'll get one some day.

Either way, I'm done now. Bye~

[epraim1992]

Theory on Aizen's Origin

Aizen's past is a mystery. We only knew of his future goals; transcendence and godhood. There were maybe a few hints about his past.

After fighting him Ichigo theorized that Aizen suffered from alienation due to his exceptional powers. And we got an image of a younger Aizen.

Urahara made a vague statement of him seeing something that led him to finding out the truth about the Soul King.

My theory is that Aizen is the son of the Ise clan. A matrilineal family of Shinto priests. They are wrapped in mystery as well because only women are born in the clan and they purportedly suffer from a curse that kills any man marrying into the clan.

Members of the Ise clan don't have individual zanpakuto. Instead the head of the family inherits a single zanpakuto.

The reason I believe he is from their clan is that their family zanpakuto, Shinken Hakkyōken, has the power to oppose god. Which aligns with Aizen whose goal was to kill the Soul King the god of Soul Society. The name of Aizen's zanapakuto Kyōka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower, Water Moon) is mirror themed the same with Shinken Hakkyōken(Divine Sword, Eight Mirror Sword).

Nanao's mother speculated that her clan's ancestral sword was the source of the curse. I also think it is the reason women are only born. She gave it to Shunsui to hide hoping Nanao would escape the curse.

Her actions seemed for nought since Nanao could not imprint on an asauchi even after it was hidden.

When Oetsu explains the various improper way to use a zanpakuto two he mentions are lovers and mistress. It made me wonder if Shinken Hakkyōken views the women in the Ise clan as his lovers or wives which is why he kills off their spouses.

I think like Nanao's mother Aizen's mother also wanted to figure out a way to escape the curse. I believe like her son she turned to hybridization.

Instead of hollowfication I think Aizen's mother chose a less dangerous method. Ichigo's powers turned out to be tied to his origins maybe it's the same with Aizen. His transformations were like a butterfly I think Aizen's mother merged her soul with a hell butterfly. We know they have special qualities and are tied to hell.

Ichigo's Quincy powers manifested into a spirit. Old-man Zangetsu suppressed his latent shinigami power and became the core of his power. He was even able to provide him a zanpakuto. I think the same thing happened with Aizen's mother. The powers she gained from the hell butterfly manifested into a spirit and became the center of her power. It was able to free her from Shinken Hakkyōken so she could start a family. But I think it was temporary. Ichigo's hollow surfaced when ever his life was in danger. I think Shinken Hakkyōken manage to break through and the Aizen's father fell victim to the curse. There was a silver lining she gave gave birth to a son free of the curse.

[superfurytamago]

Episode 13 eyecatch: Zangetsu

The Quincy powers that reside within Ichigo. He was inherited from Ichigo's mother Masaki, who was a Quincy, and forms a part of Ichigo's powers.

While he strongly wishes to protect Ichigo, he may choose to watch over Ichigo without interfering in his growth. Every now and then, he provides Ichigo with strict guidance, imparting the ways of combat and the handling of a zanpakutō with the help of Ichigo's Hollow powers.

He merged with Ichigo's Hollow powers as a single incarnation to confront Ichigo during the initiation into mastering the final Getsuga Tenshō. Even as he struggled to reconcile with the disparity between what he and Ichigo wished to protect, he chose to aid in Ichigo's journey.

[omoiintensifies]

Part 2 of Part 1

Disclaimer: I'm not a part of Ichihime Or Ichiruki debates. Stan whoever. Just don't be a misogynist. I'm just observing the plot here.

---

Let's go back to the part where Orihime is upset af that she can't cheer him up (in that weird naked scene). At that point, Ichigo was struggling with his Hollow. Specifically upset and embarrassed that he couldn't protect Orihime.

Next, we've have the Grimmjow fight where Orihime is a spectator. She sees Ichigo for the first time in the mask and is unnerved if not outright scared (which is a valid reaction as a human, contrary to what most people think). In response, Ichigo is hyper aware of how uncomfortable she is. Eventually, she realizes that it's only surface reality and his life matters more than his consciousness.

CUT TO ULQUIORRA PLOT, WHICH IS...

If you're following me closely, a mixture of both these dynamics! 🎇

In Naruto, most villains are doubles of Naruto. So, Pein represented Naruto's own Kyubi self that he could not master. Similarly, Ulquiorra is also a part of Ichigo (it is insane how I overlooked it😭). It dawned on me after watching the Change opening sequence where Ulquiorra's face merges with Ichigo.

He represents Ichigo's own emptiness. The emptiness that Ichigo feels after his mom's death. Emptiness that he has always felt even before...a very young Ichigo tells his mom how sunsets make him sad.

What else represents emptiness? Hollows..duh. So Ichigo is definitely fighting emptiness even though it's not too pronounced. He's fighting it even though he wants to hide it (like he would hide from his mom/hiding is a big theme from the beginning). However, when the hollow comes out, and Inoue sees it (he's scared how she'd react, which is a VERY valid reason for people who hide their bad mental health), he's left in a vulnerable position.

Finally, after enough time in Hueco Mundo, Inoue understands the world of Hollows. She doesn't hate her enemies, instead...she has love for them. There is a point in the fight where the Hollow girl who wants to kill Orihime gets confronted that she's only doing it to "fill her emptiness."

But Orihime forgives them. Looking at Ulquiorra (like I said, an extension of Ichigo), she tells him that she's not scared of him...or his emptiness, which if you're following me so far, is a big nod to Ichigo's fears. She sees the emptiness, and she extends her hand (something that happens with Ichihime a lot by the way) and gives him her heart. A very beautiful gesture to emptiness.

That's it,

Why, I have a life. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[midnightactual]

hey so I’ve mentioned this before but

it’s straight-up stated that not only will every Quincy who dies power up Yhwach but also everyone the Quincy kill will do the same

in other words using Quincy powers to kill Shinigami will result in Yhwach absorbing their souls

think about it Yhwach was in a coma for 900 years and had no ability to absorb souls then so whose souls was he absorbing? dying Quincies? Quincies doing human sacrifice? no

Quincy were killing Hollows the whole time with their Quincy powers

Yhwach was absorbing all those Hollow souls and the souls of everyone the Hollows ate too (because Hollows eating people doesn’t destroy their souls or fully merge them)

so what if Quincy powers don’t destroy souls at all as is claimed but rather the entire time they’ve just been funneling souls to Yhwach and now they don’t?

anyway that Hollow-killing competition Uryū did with Ichigo at the start of the manga? yeah that was Uryū powering up their mothers’ killer so good job Uryū

[black--sun]

Is Ichigo actually still in his human body? does he consider that maybe he's in a gigai? or that his body has always been a gigai since birth? does he ever feel like his human body is gonna give out under the weight of his power?

@jaegersol

Is Ichigo actually still in his human body? does he consider that maybe he's in a gigai?

This is actually a really interesting concept, and I’ve heard it detailed out quite a few times. I personally do not hold to this idea, though, and I’ll tell you why.

Ichigo would have to either be ignorant of the body switch or he’d have to be okay with not being human anymore. Since Ichigo says repeatedly through the series that he’s human, I’m inclined to think that’s something that means a lot to him. He clearly does not believe he is no longer human. I mean. Maybe human is a state of mind. Which would move us on to the idea that someone replaced his body, and he’s simply ignorant of the switch. And this is squicky, but the most plausible reasoning I’ve heard. However, considering how proud Ichigo is of his humanity, this would be a rather large breech of trust. To remove his human body, effectively killing him, replace it without his knowledge, and then conceal that truth. That would be so very close to a betrayal. Which I think Ichigo would forgive. I can’t imagine it wouldn’t hurt him if he learned of it. That means to keep him ignorant, it would need to be concealed on a widespread basis. Bleach is full of a lot of smart people. I have a hard time thinking it would go unnoticed. But it’s still possible.

HOWEVER.

If he lost his humanity, the same logic that says he’s stronger for being a hybrid, would dictate that he would be weaker to lose any of those species. Ichigo is a Human, a Quincy, a Fullbringer, a Shinigami, a Hollow, and sometimes a Zanpakuto, as seen when he becomes Getsuga etc. His strength comes from being an amalgamation. His Human, Quincy, and Fullbringer sides are mortal. To become only Shinigami/Hollow would make him considerably weaker. And I know what you’re going to say, you’re going to say Ash, Ichigo’s Quincy powers go with him when he leaves his body. And that is correct, his Quincy abilities have merged with his Zanpakuto. Actually, they all end up merging into one. He is a special case. However, it doesn’t change the fact that Quincy are human and spiritual beings, they’re both.

I suppose since the body snatching and switch would’ve happened toward the beginning of the series, it could be argued that maybe he is in a gigai and he is weaker than he would’ve otherwise been, BUT that seems like quite a gamble for someone to make, and honestly, inefficient, sloppy work with no obvious benefit.

Also consider when we see him in the seventeen month time-skip, he’s still capable of awakening his Fullbring, which implies humanity. Now, a gigai can turn spirits into humans. We’ve seen it before, BUT why make him human or even imitate it when he was already human??? Inefficient. Sloppy.

I would need to see a long list of benefits for destroying his true body and replacing it with a fake body. Even a super powered gigai. Benefits that outweigh the potential loss of trust, considering he‘s basically being dehumanized at that point just so he’ll make a better weapon.

Also, while we’re speaking of the seventeen month time-skip—Ichigo was completely without his spiritual powers during that time. He would’ve been a plus soul in a gigai. I hope it’s making sense why this would be an awful, awful thing to do to him. He would be dead inside an artificial body. To be fair, he seemed as if he might feel that way. And it still wouldn’t be the worst thing that’s been done to him in the series. So. Still possible.

HOWEVER AGAIN.

It’s made clear toward the end of the arc that he’s considered a substitute Shinigami. His humanity is an important factor in this.

Umm, I could talk about how his human body, strengthened by his Quincy blood, would be ideal for what he puts it through, and might be responsible for his superhuman strength. Ishida wasn’t the only one to keep his Quincy abilities through the Auswahlen. Ichigo did as well. His Quincy blood isn’t weak or lesser than. It is an asset. Why remove it? Quincy power resonates in the soul and the body. A Quincy doesn’t need to remove their body to access their spiritual powers. His body is a benefit.

He also ages like a human. A Shinigami might age inside a gigai if it simulates humanity, but again, why bother simulating humanity? He was already human.

None of this is a definite yes or no. I could make an argument around it, because a lot of bleach lore is fluid. But there are more cons than pros to this theory.

As for what happens to Ichigo’s body when he’s outside of it, I’ve always imagined this to be something like an OBE, astral projection, and the like. The spirit leaves the body; the body is in a sleeping state. Obviously, that’s a problem if a spirit leaves long term, but if simple, un-spiritually aware humans can keep a body alive when it’s non-responsive, surely someone capable of making a fake body realistic enough to pass as a human could manage it. If not, there’s Kon. If that fails, Ichigo’s father is a literal doctor possessing literal doctor equipment. But let's be honest, these are not reliable people. They could’ve absolutely let him die. I’d believe it and someone needs to call child services.

or that his body has always been a gigai since birth?

To what purpose? Masaki was quite human. And according to Urahara, Isshin’s body was something of a shinigami-human hybrid while Masaki was alive. If Isshin couldn't work up enough DNA to pass on, Ichigo wouldn't exist.

does he ever feel like his human body is gonna give out under the weight of his power?

See above where I talked about his exceptional Quincy pedigree. He seems like he was having a harder time dealing with his exceptional power while in his spirit body. Remember Zangetsu's comments about him shaking because he couldn't handle the power of his bankai?

[meistoshim]

ok ok ok i need to. tone down just how many posts i make while brainstorming BUT........... literally only dropping this under a cut because chonky paragraphs

so yknow how satoshi got absolutely obliterated in m20 :) & how i have that as part of my canon :)     cool, okay, so, bleach verse revamp time, first 17ish years of his life, Mostly same as regular non-pkmn verse   ( a few tweaks that i’ll go into detail about when i make a proper post about this )   though i’m definitely keeping the original idea that he started seeing spirits after a near-death experience at age 10, & then he gets caught up in a hollow attack & is killed by a hollow.     straight-up dies.     sticks around in the living world long enough to check up that his mama’s got a support system helping her cope, then moves on to the soul society with little issue.     & that’s where the bleach verse actually starts.

then there is a whole load of fucking around & finding out that needs writing up but point is that someone points out to satoshi hey you’ve got a pretty strong vibe going & you seem really restless being a civilian why not try the shinigami academy & satoshi could Not see a reason not to, so he signed up.     needed to retake the final exam, but passed on the second go, became a shinigami.     rowdy (& just a little power-hungry) lil bastard that he is tho, fucked around, found out, (???, profit), now has a hollow merged w/ his zanpakuto :)     oops.     it’s froggie themed tho :) sorta :)     timeline-wise i wanna say both happened before ichigo & co first dropped into soul society,,,,     gonna come back with more solid ideas when i’ve read more.

[sonicasura]

List of transformation victims that I can think of

Sonic the Hedgehog, specifically from his more forced forms like Darkspine and the Werehog.

Jim Lake Jr, turned into a half troll then full troll

TFA Prowl, man got infected by an unknown creature for a unknown period of time

G1 Optimus, turned into a crocodile in one episode

Naruto Uzumaki, multiple accounts of 9 Tails possession and body horror. Same goes for other Tailed Beast wielders (Fuck Boruto)

Ichigo Kurosaki, turned into a Hollow or under various hollowification.

MM/TotK/TP/OG/Legend Link, loss of limbs to various transformations with most being forced. Same goes for Zelda

Mario Cast, constant usage of Transformation powerups to possession

King Dedede/Meta Knight/Any Kirby antagonist, possession based transformations to cyberization(MK), Fusion, Mutation, etc

DMC Vergil, corrupted possession and split himself into a full demon alongside a full human for last resort survival

Digimon Tamers/Frontiers, merging and becoming a Digimon

Jak, forced Dark Eco injections for two years

games and media are always so scared of post-transformation permenance, like, there should be some aspect that stays with the character forever!!

Say they turn into a dragon, let them keep the horns and scars and patches of scales after they turn back!!! Let snouts and animal ears and patches of fur stick!!

Or even mannerisms!! Let the hoarding tendancies or animal noises or ways of affection define them after the fact!!!!

[cheshiresense]

Hi, I love your time travel with Stark!!! He's one of my favorite characters, so I love reading your ideas about him and Ichigo. I was just wondering, how do Hallows react to Stark? As a former Hallow who healed himself, would they treat him like a normal soul, or would they know he used to be one of them? I'm just curious if you had ideas about that. Anyway, thanks for sharing your story idea, I love reading them!!!

Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

I think generally speaking, they wouldn't know. I think that people can sense that it's a Hollow in the vicinity (as opposed to a Shinigami) because their reiatsu is hollow, it's not whole, it's missing pieces, fragmented in a way that a Shinigami's reiatsu wouldn't be. Like yes Starrk is technically still part Hollow, that's what he became, that's what he built himself back up from, and he can't just discard that part of himself, it's what makes up part of his soul, like scars you gain throughout your life. And his reiatsu is just naturally corrosive, it's an aspect of his power, so he can't get rid of that. But he's also a whole soul now, and at this point, there's actually not much of a difference in his reiatsu between his Shinigami and Hollow sides, he's perfectly merged. So there's that, and also ever since he learned how, his control's been second to none, so outside of a battle that necessitates major use of his reiatsu, he mostly keeps it under wraps since it can still hurt people and he's got a Thing:tm: about that. He probably keeps it at the level of an unseated officer, so enough for people to sense him coming but not really pick up anything else about it.

(Which reminds me, I actually also kind of headcanon that you can sort of tell how old someone is if you get a good enough feel for their reiatsu. Like obv not exact date of birth and age lmao, I just mean the older and more powerful someone is, the denser and heavier their reiatsu becomes, so if you're halfway decent at sensing reiatsu, you can sort of distinguish between someone who has just a handful of decades or a century or two under their belt, and someone who's comfortably into their hundreds, and someone whose reiatsu is just solid in a way that speaks of them having Seen Some Things, because you can't always tell via physical appearance but the soul remembers the years gone by. Ichigo is ofc an exception because he's part human, so like he prob reads around 60-100 years old to Kaien and co., esp when you put him next to Rangiku and Asuka, they sort of all read like the same age.

And all of that is just to say I absolutely want to write a thing for when Starrk finally lets his reiatsu out properly while Shunsui and Ukitake are right there and people will just be like why the fuck does this guy feel the same as the two thousand-year-old captains 😂😂😂)

[derekscorner]

Differences in Zanpakuto: Part 3

The Hollows that would be Zanpakuto

I've danced around it enough with my PART 1 & PART 2, let's talk about the headache that is White. In fact, not just White, I'll even add in Ikomikidomoe from the Bleach novel 'Can't Fear Your Own World'.

I'll be up front and state that I do not know the validity of the Bleach novels to canon but I chose to add Ikomikidomoe to this post because it is also a hollow that was made into a zanpakuto.

An odd parallel to them is that White was artificial but became a legitimate zanpakuto where as Ikomikidomoe was a genuine hollow that was sealed inside a zanpakuto by Oetsu Nimaiya and Ichibe of the Zero Squad.

In essence, White became a genuine zanpakuto while Ikomikidomoe is merely sealed within one retaining it's hollow self.

The Proto-Zangetsu

Before I tackle Ikomikidomoe we'll get the headache known as 'White' out of the way.

What makes White so convoluted in nature isn't his own...erm nature to be fair. White, at it's core, was the soul of one or multiple Soul Reapers that Aizen made into a Hollow.

It was designed to target a Soul Reaper, bite them, and possess them beginning the hollowfication process. Hollowfication, at it's core, is just introducing the soul of a hollow into another beings soul.

Of course, this usually ends in the soul self destructing in what's known as a "soul suicide". Souls too weak just vanish like the hundreds of poor souls that vanished prior to the Vizard incidient.

Powerful souls like that of a captain or lieutenant Soul Reaper will resist but they too will eventually implode or hollowfy. The only reason the Vizards survived at all was due to Urahara intervening when he did.

White was created over a hundred years after the Vizards and I personally saw it as Aizen's attempt to refine what's obviously an impossible process. Just some personal interpretation on my part.

You can see it in White's "design". Aizen made it from the souls of Reapers, it had a constitution similar to Nimaiya's Asauchi, and it was fully capable of choosing what it saw as a potential host to possess.

Where the plan goes askew is when it chooses to possess a Quincy instead. To a Quincy, that's like injecting the most potent poison directly into their soul.

Though, thanks to Urahara once again intervening, Aizen's hollow experiment succeeds. Masaki Kurosaki and Isshin Shiba's souls are tethered by a special connection.

In this moment Isshin was effectively half Soul Reaper and half human while Masaki was a quincy possessed by a hollow.

Becoming Zangetsu

This unique dynamic shifts once Ichigo is concieved. 'White', still sealed by Isshin's reaper powers, melds with Ichigo within Masaki.

it is here that you can see some of Aizen's design at work. White was designed to target a Soul Reaper and supposed to meld with their powers to spawn a hybrid.

You could even argue that Aizen purposely made White similar to an Asauchi for that reason. It was originally one or more soul reapers and it was made to be similar to the zanpakuto's they wield.

Masaki, being a quincy, made that perfect blend impossible but Ichigo is a different story. He inherited the reaper abilities of the long established Shiba clan.

White, being sealed inside Masaki, did as it was designed and merged with the soul of Ichigo, a Soul Reaper. Now I have no way to explain why White didn't just devour Ichigo's unborn soul entirely.

All that you need to know is that White, being so similar to an asauchi, became Zangetsu in this moment. The perfect blend of the Soul Reaper powers Ichigo would've inherited and the powers of a Hollow which it still was.

Quincy Blood, Yhwach's Soul

If it had been just that things would've actually be somewhat simple but that wasn't to be the case. Ichigo may have been born of the Shiba clan, one of the oldest families of Soul Reapers in existence but he was also the son of a Quincy.

And the thing about Quincies is that they all carry Yhwach's blood. Ichigo was no different so when White became Zangetsu those Quincy powers also manifested themselves.

I can't say for sure that every Quincy has a miniature Yhwach within their souls, I'd actually argue they don't, but either way this was the case for Ichigo.

Zangetsu even points out a couple times in the story that both spirits were originally one and both act as the source of Ichigo's power. That tells me that White also found itself melded with Quincy power.

And just like any Soul Reaper with a zanpakuto Ichigo's powers manifested into a spirit. In essence, Ichigo's reaper nature causes his quincy powers to take on a life of their own.

"Old Man" Zangetsu, despite it's desire to protect it's master, was also bound to the nature of a quincy. Some aspect of it was Yhwach and so it hated Soul Reapers & Hollows alike.

Thanks to this the two personalities of Zangetsu conflicted with one another limiting Ichigo's potential.

Even then Zangetsu also had another limitation. The sword Ichigo had was not a "true zanpakuto" because it was not manifested through an asauchi like the other Soul Reapers use.

Yes, Zangetsu had all the typical powers of a zanpakuto but it could not manifest it's true form or draw out Ichigo's true power.

As for "what" Zangetsu was at this stage is hard to say. I personally refer to it as a "bootleg" zanpakuto or that it's more akin to an Arrancar's zanpakuto.

Hell, you can even argue that it's similar to a Fullbring. Both the zanpakuto of an Arrancar and a Fullbring are manifested through hollow power.

And since Zangetsu IS a hollow- well you get the idea. In the end Ichigo was able to reforge his Zangetsu into a true zanpakuto with it's two spirits in equilibrium.

There is more nitpicks I could add about Zangetsu but I won't. I mostly intended to explain it's origin here. The nuances of Zangetsu would take way more time when I hoped to explain it's origin.

Ikomikidomoe

As stated, Ikomikidomoe is novel exclusive but I'm adding it for the comparison to White. They are both hollows who have become a zanpakuto.

However, what differentiates them is that White truly became a zanpakuto. Ikomikidomoe is merely sealed within one and will try to escape.

Ikomikidomoe was an ancient Adjuchas hollow that Ichibe and Nimaiya sealed within a zanpakuto due to it's power. Once sealed, Ichibe used his powers to erase it's name and give it the new name Ikomikidomoe.

I won't spoil where it was hidden or how it got into the hands of it's wielder Hikone but there are things to note about it's abilities and appearance.

Ikomikidomoe does have release commands. Most of them involve summoning a part of Ikomikidomoe itself or a full body hollow. The actual shape of Ikomikidomoe is also more akin to a broadsword than the typical zanpakuto katana form.

When released it has many powers typical of hollows and even some arrancar powers such as sonido. Cero's, using a Garganta, regeneration, Ikomikidomoe has all these traits.

It's final release is comparable to a Bankai or Resurrección in which it'll fully meld with it's wielder as seen here:

Oddly, these commands do not go by the shikai, bankai, or resurreccion monikers. It is similar to both yet not the same.

Another notable condition of Ikomikidomoe is that it can't be wielded by just anyone. Only a hybrid like Ichigo, Ginjo Kugo, and Hikone can use Ikomikidomoe and even then they need the raw power to keep the hollow in-line.

Unlike Zangetsu who, even when rebellious, only acted to protect or empower it's master. Ikomikidomoe is not that way.

It will do anything to break free of it's zanpakuto prison and regain it's true name. It is not a zanpakuto that is your ally. It's zanpakuto-like powers only lasts so long as it remains sealed within one.

Crazier yet, Ikomikidomoe is actually far weaker than it was as a hollow due to it's name being erased and changed. As powerful as this zanpakuto is it is not at it's peak.

Finale

Sorry for the hard cut there but I couldn't think of a way to transition this. As with part one or two there are also things I didn't fully cover. I didn't go over Zangetsu's nuances and mechanics because the show does that itself. For some, the knowledge would be Cour 3 & 4 spoilers.

And there isn't much to spoil about Ikomikidomoe, it has the powers you'd see in other hollows or arrancar. It does have a unique power that makes it deadly enough for the Zero Squad to seal but that is story spoilers for anyone curious about the novels.

What's important to me for this post is that both were hollows that became zanpakuto's. One, White, truly became a zanpakuto by the end while Ikomikidomoe is just sealed into one.

Ikomikidomoe isn't a perfect melding of the power and is openly hoping to escape even if it means killing the owner. White/Zangetsu is a near perfect blend of a reaper, hollow, and even quincy and goes out of it's way to protect the owner.

And with that, bye~

[epraim1992]

Yhwach's Birth and Origin

When TYBW was serialized I didn't know how to interpret Yhwach's proclamation of being the son of the Soul King.

He himself is considered the Father of Quincies because they have his blood and he is the origin of their powers. He even considered himself Ichigo's true father calling Isshin a surrogate.

The anime seems like it is implying Yhwach was conceived normally which makes me think that Yhwach inherited the Soul King's power and is not his biological father.

I think there will be a twist in his origin and that he is the reincarnation of a Shinigami. I think there are several hints to this.

Due to their connection Yhwach and Jugram switch powers at night when Yhwach returns to being the Father of the Quincies.

Jugram's power is The Balance, which allows him to bring harmony to the world by allocated misfortune and fortune.

Another name for Shinigami are Balancers due to maintaining the equilibrium of souls.

Like I noted before Jugram and Yhwach have a special connection that hasn't been explained yet. The both have the same ability to share power.

Yhwach stated that he and Jugram together are whole.

Which honestly reminds me of the relationship between a Shinigami and Zanpakuto, they are supposed to be one. This makes me think that Jugram is the reincarnation of Yhwach's Zanpakuto spirit from his first life as a Shinigami (if my theory is true).

When Old Man Zangetsu handed Ichigo his true Zanpakuto it looked identical to Yhwach's sword.

The name of Yhwach's sword was erased by Ichibe and Kubo confirmed that Ichibe blocked OMZ from telling Ichigo he was Yhwach. And OMZ ended up becoming one of Ichigo's Zanpakuto, I think hinting Yhwach's own origin.

According to Urahara Quincy were originally people with powers like Ichigo that develop their spiritual powers to fight hollows. I think there is some truth to this. He did meet Don Kanoji who used his powers to try to help souls.

Interestingly Don Kanoji stated that monster extermination was outside of his specialty until meeting Urahara of course. I think Yhwach originally was a human with spiritual powers

I think he fought Hollows to protect the innocent. It is what motivated Uryu to become a powerful Quincy.

Ichigo losing his mother to Hollow and seeing the pain it caused to his family motivated him to slay Hollow. I think for the Yhwach it was the same in first life.

I think Yhwach in his first life died in his fight against the Hollows and then became a Shinigami after entering the Soul Society to continue the fight.

I think it would be a cool twist if he enrolled in Yamamoto's school. While Sasakibe became his right hand, Yhwach became his left hand.

Although hinted in the manga Can't Fear Your Own World revealed that the Soul King was mutilated and had his organs removed by the the ancestors of the Five Noble families. And for whatever reason they merged with seemingly random people.

Rangiku had a Soul King fragment in her, it is what Aizen took from her and Gin tried to retrieve.

Fullbringers have Soul King fragments in them as well they're the source of their powers. I also believe that Ryuken hinted at Uryu having a Soul King fragment and is the reason he survived Auswahlen. I think when he was a Shinigami Yhwach had a Soul King fragment within him.

The Shinigami powers come from two organs the hakusui the source of spiritual powers and the saketsu its booster. We never got that detail for Quincies but I think where the chain of fate is important. Uryu got struck in the spot it would be to get his powers back. I think there is a Quincy organ their that Yhwach inherited.

In Can't Fear Your Own World a new Fullbringer what introduced named Aura Michibane. She had the Soul King's Saketsu bonded with her soul. So there is precedent.

I think as a shinigami Yhwach's fight against the Hollows became about revenge instead of saving people. So decided to transform into another being, one that could erase Hollows.

Mayuri came up with the theory that Quincy are hostile to Hollows due to them being a threat to their existent not out of resentment.

Urahara agreed adding that Quincies have no antibody against hollows. But we can't fully trust what he says. I think Yhwach when he was Shinigami his animosity was so great he removed his antibodies so he could never become a hollow.

I think he did a similar to Ukitake that transformed him into the Soul King's Right Arm. But I think it caused his death and led him to be reincarnated as a Quincy.

[vince-ske]

"Ichigo’s Hollow finally getting an opening to take over his host (to become The King and Ichigo, The Horse) is what revives Ichigo. But his vow to Orihime and his desire to fulfill that promise is what allowed him to cling to his humanity. The Hollow is motivated by survival instinct, not any desire to protect —that’s all Ichigo, just as it’s always been"

this has always been how i interpreted it. the hollow was always gonna revive him at the last minute (the king and the horse speech alludes to this). however we see that vastro lorde ichigo doesn't attack orihime. he attacks ulquiorra directly. he attacks uryu directly. but not orihime. why? i actually slightly diagree that the hollow didn't have a protective instinctive on the basis that the hollow is ichigo. he is the blade. the blade is a represention of him (THE BLADE IS ME). the difference though is that the hollow only wants to protect ichigo (as merged young zangestu tells him as the very end of this arc). and if thats the case then vastro lorde ichigo shouldn't have been able to distinguish between orihime as someone who needed protecting and uryu/ulqi who he attacked. but he did.

this can only be because of ichigo's response to orihime's scream. the hollow was infused with ichigo's instinct to protect others and thus we get confirmation that the "perfectly hollowified ichigo ruminated to her call".

ichiruki's misinterpreted what kubo was intentional about. ichigo and orihime. theirs' is a flawed romance. its not the perfect wishy waashy love where everything between them is rosey and sweet. no. they're both deeply scarred characters on their own. they find it hard to communicate even with others. why would that not extend to each other. their flaws wont suddenly disapper in front of each. ichiruki thought kubo was being intentional in showing why ichihime would't work and thus was impossible. what he was really being intentional about was why ichihime is flawed and yet solidly able to stand against the nihililstic world view of a heartless force that want's to break their bond. they thought she would just fall out of love and then jumped to uryu who's feelings (which at most we can infer as a crush) she does not acknowledge once or ulquiorra, the arrancar who kidnapped on threat of the death of her friends, who fought to ensure her imprisonment and abuse her verbally- oh and killed the guy who came to rescue her (ulqihime isn't even a ship i will ever argue about. anyone who ships that isn't shipping characters but tropes imo).

ANONYMOUS ASKED: I was following along a thread on twitter and an anti said when Ichigo laid dead on the ground with a hole in his chest in the Lust arc, that he didn’t say “I can hear her..stand up..I will protect her” before hollowfying. They claim he instead said “I can hear..stand up..I have to protect” using no pronounce directed at Orihime, hence NOT coming back from the dead because he wants to protect her specifically but because of his instincts to protect and he would’ve done it for any of his friends. They also said that Orihime didn’t scream “help me” but instead said “help” which triggered Ichigo’s instincts to protect, making him rise from the dead, hence once again making it clear this was never about Orihime specifically but about Ichigo’s instincts responding when hearing a voice in need (and this voice could’ve been from anyone amongst his friends) and how the hollow would not allow him to die regardless. Basically the English translations are incorrect and the raw version in kanji never used pronounces during these scenes. Is this correct and how would you respond to this?

There are a couple really important factors to address in this translation and why its English counterpart would supplement with pronouns specifically referring to Orihime; first, that Ichigo’s speech is meant to be broken and fairly incoherent because it’s conveying the idea that he as a human is focused on this sole objective as he’s dying. Second, that in Japanese, there isn’t necessarily a requirement for subject pronouns to form a sentence talking about a subject (the subject in question being Orihime) —this is a particular grammar rule that has no translatable equivalent in the English language, because they’re ultimately different structures entirely. I drop this phrase a LOT on here, but again, cultural context is important. Since you also sent this ask to my friend @ichinoue​​, there’s been some really excellent fan feedback about the structure of Japanese language and how it differs from English —this post in particular.

Now — onto the actual question:

I think there’s definitely a possibility that Ichigo would have done this for his other friends, but only if this moment had also been preceded by Ichigo vowing to “definitely protect” or “protect without fail” those other friends. Kubo did write a scene like this, and made a pretty big deal about it, but that scene involves one specific character —not all of his friends.

This hollow transformation was written as a climax in Ichigo’s narrative arc for the Hueco Mundo saga —as the ongoing theme during this arc was about his struggle with his identity against his inner hollow as an ever-present threat. This could not be a more clear theme throughout this specific arc. There’s a lot of specific focus placed upon this struggle, his cooperation and subsequent training with the Visoreds, his lack of control despite his best efforts, and his juxtaposition of this struggle for control in his actual fights against the Arrancar and Espada. This is important to note, because in response to this, there is only one scene with one character that both:

Involves him promising to “definitely protect” or “protect without fail” a friend he cares deeply for (using the same character for “protect” that’s his namesake, no less —I’ll get into this tidbit more further down).

Functions as a foreshadowing tool, and is later double-downed upon as a foreshadowing tool by the same character as mentioned above.

When it comes down to it, the grammatical inconsistencies that come from translating between languages don’t have any particular bearing on this specific scene, because the intent was already made clear as early as Chapter 196. That’s how foreshadowing works —even if we as the reader don’t realize it’s happening until after the fact. What’s more, this is how Japanese functions as a language; it’s constructed around making sense of the context, which is why it doesn’t necessarily need subject pronouns to function or convey meaning. (Though I can understand why this goes over most Anti-IHs heads… their arguments depend almost entirely on pulling things out of context, which obviously doesn’t work.)

That said —

This scene says a lot. And even though Ichigo is speaking directly to Orihime so we understand she is the subject of what he’s saying, there’s a lot of additional meaning we can derive from this scene by reading (you guessed it) the context. 

Ichigo is characterized early on by somewhat brash, irritable (though this is conditional), impolite, “punk”-like mannerisms. His speech tends to be informal (cultural context) as does his body language. However, we also know that he doesn’t say things lightly when it comes to promises and protecting others. These words carry weight, but there’s an additional sense of conviction conveyed through his respectful and formal gesture of bowing, his unwavering eye contact, and we as the readers can understand this without needing an explanation.

This is especially interesting because if IRs want to get smart about raws, then they should also already understand the additional importance placed on this scene when it comes to Ichigo’s word choice. Ichigo uses the character “護” (mamoru / ”to protect”) to convey his intentions. There are a lot of different ways to write “protect” in Japanese, many of which Ichigo uses when he makes these promises or talks about protecting others throughout the series. What makes his choice of “護” especially significant and piles on more and more contextual importance is that this is the same character for “protect” that is his namesake and the basis for his core character motivations. This is also only time throughout the entire series Ichigo specifically uses “護” to refer to protecting someone. 

If the intention of this to act as a foreshadowing tool wasn’t clear enough, it is again referenced by Orihime later —just at the beginning of the fight between Ichigo and Grimmjow. 

Already, we have a precedent set by Orihime’s direct involvement. This is the second scene in a pattern of foreshadowing the events of the Lust Arc. 

The intent is clear; this is a theme in Ichigo’s narrative arc that involves Orihime, because it also involves the development of their relationship. Her fear of hollows, her fear of Ichigo losing himself to his hollow side, Ichigo’s struggle to expose himself to this power he relies on to win in battle while also trying not to lose himself. There’s an underlying theme of Ichigo and Orihime struggling to communicate with each other, desperately wishing to protect each other and going to whatever ends to do it, but ultimately thinking its a burden they must shoulder alone. They are both concurrently struggling with feelings of uselessness (Ichigo isn’t strong enough, Orihime can’t do anything) throughout this arc, acting as foils even if their individual journeys take different shapes. Even so, these conflicts are juxtaposed by the theme of “The Heart” (the bonds between people) that also keep appearing. They’re both frightened, they’re both feeling weak, feeling desperate, and yet still — they can understand one another.

So we have this pattern now:

Ichigo vows “Next time… I will protect you… without fail!” to Orihime with a sense of personal importance conveyed through the use of his name that is unmatched throughout the rest of the series.

Later, Orihime notes very plainly that “Whenever he uses strong words, it’s like he’s making a promise. I believe that he makes a promise to himself. I think that he expresses his words in feelings so that he will follow through.” The important takeaway being of course the forthright meaning, but also “When Ichigo says he’s going to [do something], he will [do that something] for sure.”

We all know what happens next —the character conflicts, the miscommunications, the belief that these are fights that need to be handled alone, the struggle against the powers of a hollow, the fear of exposure to that power… all culminate into The Lust Arc.

— CONTENT WARNING for canon-typical gore, blood, impalement, and body horror.

With the above established foreshadowing, we can see how it leads to this; When Ichigo says that “he will protect you without fail”, he will protect you for sure.

“To be clear, a total transformation to a hollow, is neither evil or good; it’s more like pure power .. so I made a voice of pure-hearted power that is unrelated, beyond the concept of good and evil so I screamed from a clear pure heart yet, at the same time there is some sadness and thought of Orihime in my head.”

— Masakazu Morita (Ichigo Kurosaki’s Japanese VA), on how he voiced Hollowfied!Ichigo during the Lust Arc.

 “The perfectly hollowfied Ichigo ruminated over Orihime’s screams and was bound only by that objective.”

— Bleach UNMASKED

If what I outlined above wasn’t clear enough, Ichigo goes as far as to stab Ishida, his friend. It couldn’t be about anyone else. This specific theme has always very clearly been about Ichigo, Orihime, their relationship to each other, and their relationship to hollowfication as a concept.  

I want to also be very clear here as well; with the established theme of Ichigo always fighting against his hollowfication, and Ichigo’s Hollow being motivated solely by self interest — it isn’t Ichigo’s Hollow responding to Orihime’s plea, it’s Ichigo’s humanity. Ichigo’s Hollow finally getting an opening to take over his host (to become The King and Ichigo, The Horse) is what revives Ichigo. But his vow to Orihime and his desire to fulfill that promise is what allowed him to cling to his humanity. The Hollow is motivated by survival instinct, not any desire to protect —that’s all Ichigo, just as it’s always been.

I think anyone who is still willfully misinterpreting this and holding Japanese language structure to English rules and conventions is seriously pathetic. Even in English, the pronouns have zero bearing on what’s being conveyed here. They can try and disprove IchiHime as much as they want as far as I’m concerned. The fact remains that at the end of the day, giving the Ichigo/Orihime relationship as much attention and dissection as they do goes to show that (a) they still perceive it as a threat and (b) there’s such a large volume of Ichigo/Orihime content to comb through to begin with —a fact they’ve vehemently denied for years.

Also like, IchiHime is canon. They’re happily married. They have a family together. Just tell them to take the fucking L. I get secondhand embarrassment from watching them rehash the same old bullshit time and again.

[bleachmerchandisestore]

When does Ichigo regain its strength in Bleach?

Bleach is one of the ongoing anime series and with the anniversary of becoming one of the "big three of the era on Shonen Jump magazine," we can't exclude the love and admiration we have for Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki, the main character, has joined the list of the most famous characters thanks to the introduction of powers that quickly made him a respected force in the Soul Society. Ichigo has gone through some major challenges to achieve his fame and ultimate power.

The anime series, based on the original manga by Tite Kubo called Bleach, also aired from October 2004 to March 2012 on TV Tokyo, and we will witness Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, the final manga spin-off, in October 2022.

Bleach picks up Ichigo's story as he becomes the most powerful Soul Reaper and protects humans from evil spirits. Ichigo resides in Karakura town when he becomes a Shinigami (Soul Substitute). He is not alone with such power in the town as he gradually learns about the powers that his classmates like Ishida, Orihime Inoue, and Yasutora Sado possess.

Some stories are introduced throughout the manga, including the battles between Ichigo and his friends versus spiritual humans, immortals, The Hollow, and more.

However, as the story progresses, Ichigo loses his power and must regain it to protect his loved ones. While it is unclear when Ichigo will regain his power, it is likely to happen in the upcoming manga spin-off.

In conclusion, Ichigo is one of the most popular and powerful characters in Bleach, and his journey to regain his power will undoubtedly be an exciting one for fans.

When did Ichigo lose power?

Ichigo possesses an immense power. His speed and strength are truly astonishing, which leads to an increase in his fighting capabilities in battles. The source of Ichigo's power is not limited, as his Zanpakuto can take on the form of Tensa Zangetsu's Bankai.

Coming to his Shinigami powers, he also has the power of Hollow, which usually allows him to enter into the Hollow form - a state that makes him even stronger and uncontrollable, and his speed increases. As his Hollow powers are uncontrollable, he is often afraid to use them because he fears that he may lose them if he cannot learn to control them. Ichigo's Quincy abilities also exist, allowing him to increase his defensive and offensive powers.

In the fourth part, we see how Kagerōza Inaba creates modified soul copies of many members, and then he puts them into the Reigai bodies. Inaba tries to capture Nozomi Kujō to merge with her and become a primitive form, Ōko Yushima. But this is prevented because Nozomi sacrifices herself to defeat Inaba, and Ichigo loses his power in the process. Ichigo loses the ability to use his spiritual energy in the intense battle with Sosuke Aizen.

This is mainly because Aizen was the strongest player in the Bleach world at that time, and Ichigo had to sacrifice some to continue the fight. Ichigo is then trained in Dangai, where he learns his ultimate form, Getsuga Tenshou, but the drawback is that this form will lead to the sacrifice of his power without their return. Dangai is a realm where time does not pass, so Ichigo can easily confront Aizen without spending years of actual training.

After the battle with Aizen, Ichigo loses all of his power when he successfully defeats Aizen.

When does Ichigo regain its strength?

Ichigo Kurosaki is one of the strongest forces, but unfortunately, he lost his power. His immense spiritual energy and shinigami ability have certainly been missed, but fortunately, he regained them in Chapter 362. In the Fullbring arc, we see Ichigo struggling and trying to live his normal life after losing his Shinigami abilities in the Karakura battle. After Aizen's defeat, Ichigo meets the "Fullbringers," who claim to have developed awareness of their own spirituality.

Therefore, they can manipulate the present souls in everything by focusing on the spiritual power of others rather than their own. Ichigo learns to manifest his Fullbring power, truly embodying a weaker, spirit-infused form of his own strength. Ichigo slowly regains his spiritual energy, but surprisingly, the leader of the Fullbringer group - Ginjo, actually intends to steal Ichigo's power. At this point, Ichigo gains his power back once again when stabbed by Rukia's sword (which carries the spiritual energy of many of the 13 Gotei captains).

Ginjo becomes stronger while Ichigo regains possession of his Zangetsu, even becoming stronger than before and regaining his power.

This causes Ichigo to regain possession of his Zangetsu and become stronger than ever before.

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