#and he has bewitched me body and soul

[vraisetzen]

*inhales copium* and now, a bleach "no breaths from hell" analysis to soothe the soul

i've been rewatching bleach (both canon and filler eps) and rereading the TYBW arc, and nothing can convince me that the opening page to the NBFH one-shot isn't about ukitake.

two things stood out to me: the very sentimental language ("when i was younger"; "i adored the dear things"; "seeing that brought me great relief"), as well as the metaphor of the two fishes – one large, the other small, until one day the larger one passed away.

but then, with the larger fish's death, the smaller one grew bigger, and even "flourished". the narrator of the tale finds great relief at this – thank goodness, they say. the story then ends with a cryptic, "it was good that the larger one died".

while i might have to check with the japanese originals for the phrasing, i immediately clocked the two fishes as referring to ukitake, for his zanpakuto – sogyo no kotowari.

more than that, i think the story of the two fishes also parallel his life: a small child who coexisted with a larger, infinite being to stay alive on borrowed time. stagnating, in other words; the exact term used in the panel, similar in description to mimihagi's abilities, delaying ukitake's sickness and death.

and i think it wasn't – or won't be, depending on where this story is headed – until ukitake's sacrifice that he comes to grow bigger than he is, into his powers, and what he was meant to be. we see, for a brief time during his sacrifice, that he becomes the soul king himself; later on, we are told that ukitake's reiatsu far surpasses the sheer volume that the other captains can put together – these things indicate ukitake's transformation to come, as seen by the large zanpakuto that he wields in hell:

[i'm just gonna ignore the possible implications of the familiar language used here by syazelaporro: "ahh... you're early...", like this has happened before(?) elsewhere(?)]

but it is also worth noting that a large zanpakuto isn't necessarily a good thing – it could also mean that ukitake is having difficulty controlling his immense spiritual pressure now that he does not need to use it to sustain mimihagi and his life. which also only raises the question: just how much more reiatsu did he have when he was alive, and potentially now that he's the (likely) gatekeeper of hell?

and more than that, the epithet that ukitake is referred to – "kamikake", or "god-sworn"/"divine possession" – references no doubt his past life as a host for mimihagi. it is indeed curious that he would be referred to as such in the afterlife/hell, and i can only suppose that his title or duties are related somewhat to the sacrificial ritual, or even the soul king.

which, in the end, brings us back to the first panel – the death of the larger fish allowing the smaller fish to grow and flourish. when one considers the literary significances of fishes in world literature, particularly in christianity, which the TYBW is rooted heavily in, then the small fish could also be a symbol of resurrection and rebirth.

when kubo-sensei hopefully picks up this story, i look forward to seeing if ukitake does get to become the fighter that he could be without his illness, possible even transcending those barriers placed upon him when he was living.

[maikhiwi00]

SENTINEL PRIME in

TRANSFORMERS ONE 2024, dir. Josh Cooley

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

hi hello tonight i’m thinking about reformed!geto again …….. he is mostly brooding and silent. bitter, obviously, a little snarky but he’s still compliant; doesn’t cause too much trouble, keeps the name-calling to a minimum. still won’t look you in the eye and still can’t train with the students without playing far too rough, but you think he’s making progress.

with the way he follows at your heel, it’s hard not to think of him as some kind of guard dog — one you’ve been tasked to keep at bay. he doesn’t stray too far from your side, even on the rare occasion he’s allowed to be without your surveillance. if he hates being bound to you, he’s awfully good at hiding it.

but dogs will be dogs. the moment a non-sorcerer tries to touch you, the moment they get close with unwanted advances or misguided hatred — he bites. you don’t have time to stop it, and for what feels like an eternity you’re convinced he killed them. but geto clicks his tongue, and lands a kick against their skull, and you recognize the twitch of a living thing. a gift to you; an act of tremendous restraint in your name, if only out of respect for the way you begged the higher ups to take him back. it doesn’t change the scent of iron, the freezing look in his eyes, the snap of his muzzled jaw. but a part of you is happy, to feel the pulse of an almost faded heartbeat. proud.

it’s progress, after all. an attack dog on a leash.

[ascesabo]

the great irony of early one piece antagonists believing zoro was the actual captain and using luffy as a puppet ... oda really threw us a bone and curb-stomped it right in our faces. yes, zoro could be a captain in his own right. yes, zoro could match luffy in strength. yes, zoro knows this perfectly well. and you know what? he chose luffy two years ago, and he will continue to choose luffy again and again. roronoa zoro, the pirate hunter, who followed a wannabe pirate with a nonexistent crew on a whim because luffy brought him his swords and made a half-assed attempt at a bargain. zoro, who made a vow to never lose again on both his and luffy's honor. zoro, who told luffy he'd make him commit harakiri if he got in the way of zoro's goal, only to turn around and be willing to sacrifice his dream if it means that luffy reaches his. zoro, who stood in place and took luffy's pain and told a warlord to take his head instead of luffy's, who got down on his knees before his supposed rival and begged mihawk to mentor him so that he could return strong enough to protect his captain. zoro, who has conqueror's haki- a natural born leader- but chooses to stay at the right hand of a man he has deemed greater than himself.

and the thing that luffy fears most? being alone. being rejected. being left behind. and what should have been his foil- the pirate hunter to his pirate king, the nonbeliever to his divine, the king of hell to his sun god- instead becomes his first and most devout follower; the one who demands to follow him to hell and back. oughhhggg i'm sick to my stomach

[froggerland]

“Come back for me, Edward.”

You’ve heard of sleep paralysis demon jfj, now get ready for: sleep paralysis demon Jopson!!

Jopson doesn’t know it was Ned who (by extent) gave the order to abandon him and the other sick ones, but Ned himself sure as hell does and his lead poisoned conscience wont let him sleep because of that :)

(Version with some text under the cut)

[feketeribizli]

cowboy dante save me... cowboy dante... save me cowboy dante

[dramat-ique]

So um do any of you guys like Jazz?

[gourdyshome]

patrick falling in love with you and then self-destructing as he always does by going and fucking other girls. maybe even ones you know. sleeping around, showing off his newest piece of ass every weekend. grinning like a bobcat in pictures, his eyes dull and devoid of joy. he misses you, god does he miss you. your laugh and your hair and the way you smell and yeah he misses the sex but mostly he misses the way you'd hold him when you fell asleep afterwards. like you never wanted to let go. and then he had to go and wrench your hands off of him, like he always does.

[0hwonderboy]

happy (belated) Father’s Day to all of my Dad!Gale truthers out there!

here’s Tim Downie (as Gale) reading a folktale to Gale and Tav’s kid(s) :D

[ozymandien]

"his looped braids were like a moth's opened wings"

[louferrignojrofficial]

THAT SMILE!!!!!

[smithrowed]

[cecoeur]

Two minutes of Josh Allen drinking milk.

[sumirerin]

No es la locura, 🎶 It's not madness,

En realidad es el amor! 🎶 in reality it is love!

Also thank u tumblr for decimating the quality 💀

[revsies]

i love video games

[sophsun1]

Though I managed to maintain a discipline and humility for 239 years as Satan's fool, by the time Robespierre was beheaded, I was, by any measure failing. Our ways were finished. We were embers on a waning pyre. Lestat was the wind to scatter. I felt his presence before I saw him.

Interview With Vampire – 2.03: No Pain