#be a shinigami full time

[kingofanemptyworld]

proof I haven’t forgotten about speak of the devil’s final chapter

[pseudophan]

i just lost two followers and it's making me laugh because judging by my most recent posts i assume they were diehard royalists? or at least people holding the british royal family in an unusually high regard? cry about it i guess idk, i do find it funny that you give a fuck though

on this note though of my followers holding different beliefs than me - if you're a terf? please kill yourself! i don't usually give a fuck because i just don't have it in me to start a war with everyone i disagree with but like. truly. if you hold any kind of prejudice against trans people whatsoever. fuck off from my blog lol i don't want you here

[princescar]

Fic where Ryoko gets a Death Note and she's now forced to suffer with RC Shinigami

[kinoshitayuri]

i still think of checkface sometimes

like where is he chilling

[v0idbird]

hey sorry to bother you but kiefbowl / the serving cunt post is marked red by shimigami eyes

oh, thank you for telling me!!

in case anyone is curious, this is the post anon is talking about:

[0sbrain]

here's a list of mozilla add-ons for all of you tumblrinas out there to have a better internet experience

also, if you like my post, please reblog it. Tumblr hates links but i had to put them so you adhd bitches actually download them <3 i know because i am also adhd bitches

BASIC STUFF:

AdGuard AdBlocker / uBlock Origin : adguard is a basic adblock and with origin you can also block any other element you want. for example i got rid of the shop menu on tumblr

Privacy Badger : this add on will block trackers. if an element contains a tracker it will give you the option to use it or not

Shinigami Eyes: this will highlight transphobic and trans friendly users and sites using different colors by using a moderated database. perfect to avoid terfs on any social media. i will explain how to use this and other add-ons on android as well under the read more cut

THINGS YOU TUMBLINAS WANT:

Xkit: the best tumblr related add on. with many customizable options, xkit not only enhances your experience from a visual standpoint, but provides some much needed accessibility tools

bonus: if you are into tf2 and wanna be a cool cat, you can also get the old version to add cool reblog icons

AO3 enhancer: some basic enhancements including reading time and the ability to block authors and tags

YOUTUBE

Return of the YouTube Dislike : pretty self explanatory

Youtube non-stop: gets rid of the annoying "Video paused. Continue watching?" popup when you have a video in the background

SponsorBlock: gives you options to skip either automatically or manually sponsors, videoclip non music sectors and discloses other type of sponsorships/paid partnerships

Enhancer for YouTube: adds some useful options such as custom play speed, let's you play videos in a window and most important of all, it allows you to make the youtube interface as ugly as your heart desires. I can't show a full image of what it looks like because i've been told its eye strainy and i want this post to be accessible but look at this <3

PocketTube: allows you to organize your subscriptions into groups

YouTube Comment Search: what it says

FINDING STUFF

WayBack Machine: you probably know about this site and definitely should get the add on. this allows you to save pages and access older versions with the click of a button. while you can search wayback using web archives, please get this one as well as it allows you to easily save pages and contribute to the archive.

Web Archives: it allows you to search through multiple archives and search engines including WayBack Machine, Google, Yandex and more.

Search by Image: allows you to reverse image search using multiple search engines (in my experience yandex tends to yield the best results)

Image Search Options: similar to the last one

this next section is pretty niche but... STEAM AND STEAM TRADING

SteamDB: adds some interesting and useful statistics

Augmented Steam: useful info specially for browsing and buying games

TF2 Trade Helper: an absolute godsend, lets you add items in bundles, keeps track of your keys and metal and your recent trades, displays links to the backpack tf page next to users profiles and more. look it tells me how much moneys i have and adds metal to trades without clicking one by one oh may god

IN CONCLUSION: oooooh you want to change to firefox so badly, you want to delete chrome and all the chrome clones that are actually just spyware and use firefox

HOW TO USE MOZILLA ADD-ONS ON YOUR PHONE

if you already use firefox on android, you'll know there are certain add-ons compatible with the app, some of them even being made just for the mobile version such as Video Background Play FIx. while most of them are pretty useful, some more specific ones aren't available on this version of the browser, but there's a way of getting some of them to work

you need to download the firefox nightly app, which is basically the same as the regular firefox browser but with the ability of activating developer mode. you can find how to do that here. once you've enabled it, you need to create a collection with all the add ons you want. i wouldn't recommend adding extensions if the creators haven't talked about phone compatibility, but XKit and Shinigami Eyes should work

also, don't tell the government this secret skater move, but you can try using both the regular firefox browser and nightly so you can have youtube videos in a floating box while you browse social media.

see? i can block this terf while Rick Rolling the people following this tutorial. isn't that tubular?

[gallusrostromegalus]

So I may have been browsing through your AEIWAM tag and came across your writing of Komamura saying it's too hot in summer when you have a fur coat you can't take off. By that logic he's gonna always be sitting beside Hitsugaya in Captain meetings if he can swing it, especially in the early days, cause that boy is like a mini air conditioner next to him. XD

Wolves are winter creatures. The double coat, the snowshoe paws, the proclivity for cuddlepiles- if Sajin could move somewhere that never got above 40F he'd be in heaven. Alas, he lives in a major city that hits triple digits in the summer, so he keeps close track of the little pieces of winter he can find.

The first person to realize his little game was Unohana. She knew about the wolfman thing- Yamamoto trusts her as much as Sasakibe, and persuaded Sajin that, should a medical emergency arise, it should not also be a medical surprise.

She is of course, the pinnacle of Medical Confidentiality.

...but his name came up during one of the Shinigami Women's Association meetings/boozing sessions, and a distinct schism appeared.

On one side was Soi Fon, Nanao, and Herself, who all found Komamura to be very polite, professional and reliable if somewhat reticent and at times, aloof.

"I swear I can't get more than three words out of him!" Nanao despairs.

"I like him. He knows how to Shut Up." Soi Fon agrees.

"He's a very private man." Unohana nods.

Across the table, Isane and Rukia are baffled.

"Captain Komamura? Ten feet tall, bucket head? That Komamura?" Rukia the so-called Ice Princess asks, gesturing to indicate their height disparity. "What the fuck are you talking about? He's SUPER friendly and will hang around to talk FOREVER."

"Yeah, every time I go to the 7th he always asks me to stay for lunch and wants to know how everyone in my family is doing and swap horror stories from the ER for tales of crazy people in the intake queue." Agrees Isane, wielder of the ice cloud Itegumo. "It's embarrassing, but one time I was more than two hours late getting back because we get to talking!"

Everyone stares at everyone else, baffled.

"Did- did I do something to piss him off?" Wonders Nanao.

"Huh. Maybe he just picked up on how much I hate small talk on the job?" Soi Fon shrugs.

Unohana is silent, thinking.

"GUESS WHO BROUGHT TEQUILA!!" Matsumoto Rangiku announces as she kicks in the door, holding four bottles of liquor, only three of which were still full.

"We need you to settle a debate!" Rukia demands at once.

"Ooh! I love passing judgement on things that don't effect me!" Rangiku coos, sitting down, her chest making an odd 'clunk' sound on the table "- there's also salt and limes!"

"It kinda effects you." Soi Fon waved her hand noncommittally. "How would you describe Captain Komamura?"

"Tall, Heavily Armored and Mysterious?" Rangiku shrugs, pulling the box of kosher salt out of her cleavage.

"...more like his personality." Isane clarified.

"Oh! Uhh... You know what? He's one of the few people that's ever complimented me on streamlining like 80% of the paperwork we have to do." Rangiku nodded, fishing the limes out as well. "Always has stuff done waaaay before I expected and I feel like a bit of a jerk for not replying immediately, but never complains if my stuff comes in late."

"Does he hang around and talk, or is he just really businesslike?" Nanao asks, eyes narrowed behind her glasses.

"Hmm..." Fowns Rangiku. "Kinda varies by the day- Sometimes he's all business, other times he'll stay and chat. I always assumed he wants to talk but sometimes he's got work, you know?"

There is much confused muttering as the limes are cut, when Unohana raises a finger.

"...How is he with Lieutenant Hitsugaya?" She asks.

"Oh, he ADORES Toshiro!" Rangiku nods enthusiastically, salting her shot glass. "He actually does the majority of Toshiro's Bankai training now because The Old Man handed it off to him so he could focus on teaching Zaraki Everything But Kendo- which, bless him for doing that, Shiro-kin could literally freeze my tits off!- and he really does a good job listening to Toshiro's concerns and confusions- he's a sensitive boy, you know? And Koma-kun is so gentle with him and to be honest I always eavesdrop on his advice because I could use it too. Delightful man all around." She nodded, and moved to down her drink.

"...Why?" She asked, pausing her drink and glaring suspiciously at Unohana.

Unohana nods with the clarity of enlightenment. "Nothing serious, but everything makes sense now." She smiles, then cracks into a small giggle. "It's rather charming, actually."

"Care to elaborate?" Soi Fon grumbles.

"Yeah that answered NOTHING." Rangiku glares.

"We noticed an interesting disparity in his behavior." Unohana explains, pushing her own glass towards Rangiku to fill. "For me, Captain Fon, and Lieutenant Ise, Komamura-Taicho is very polite, but sticks to the matter at hand and will not volunteer any further conversation. For Lieutenant Koetetsu, Miss Kuchiki and apparently Lieutenant Hitsugaya, he has all the time in the world and is quite the chatterbox."

"...Weird." Rangiku frowns, intrigued by the puzzle. "For me it's like, half and half?"

"Not quite, I think." Unohana smirks. "What do Isane, Rukia and young Toshiro all have in common?"

The Resounding Silence of Thinking Very Hard around the table was a bit of a disappointment, but they were about three bottles into the evening already.

"Can't be Height." Nanao hummed. "Rukia and Shiro-Kun are shorter than a stack of pancakes but Isane's got legs that are too long for the cover of Vouge."

"Isane and Toshiro are both silver-haired, but not me, and he doesn't seem to be particularly close to Ukitake-Taicho and I think I've actually seen him run out of a room to avoid Gin." Rukia puzzled.

"What? RUDE." Rangiku protested.

"They're all under a century old, right?" Rangiku pondered.

"No, I'm almost two hundred!" Isane sighed. "Oh wait- we all graduated early from the Academy!"

"Ehhhh, I graduated because I got adopted, I'm not a genius like you and Shiro-kun." Rukia waved. "Also, how would HE know that?"

"You're all Lieutenants!" Rangiku perked up.

"Not yet I'm not!" Rukia protested.

"Pfsh- you run half the division anyway. Jushiro should promote you to Co-lieutenant with Kaien already!" Rangiku waved.

"Its- it's complicated." Rukia mumbled. "Also, Nanao-chan is a Lieutenant and he doesn't like her!"

"Does it have to do with how freakishly huge he is?" Soi Fon asked.

"...Yes, actually." Unohana decided. Sajin might not have so much trouble thermoregulating if he was the size of a regular wolf. She reasoned privately.

"Also, He likes Nanao-chan just fine as far as I know. I think it's less about how much he enjoys your company- which I think he does, he's not one for putting on facades- and more about how much he enjoys your Proximity." She clarified, taking her shot. "Oh, this is good, what is it?"

"Cabrito Blanco." Rangiku read off. "Huh. The Cabrito on the label sure ain't Blanco." She frowned at the brown goat.

"None of us have transferred out of the Division we started in, but again, how would he know? and that hasn't got anything to do with Proximity..." Isane frowned.

Rukia slammed her glass down. "WOW that's got a kick. Maybe uhhhh... None of us wear perfume, but Gin doesn't either. I hope. I don't want to get close enough to find out."

"He's really not that bad-" Rangiku sulked. "OH, 'Blanco' refers to the tequila and this is that goat's white tequila!" She realized.

"Sometimes I wish I could take a weekend vacation in your brain. Its machinations fascinate me." Soi Fon teased. "Hmmm... Lotta close but no Cigar, you're all young-ish, Isane and Toshiro have living relatives and Rukia has a large adopted family, but again, not exclusive or Proximal. You're also all S-rank duelists with- OH!"

"Shh, I'm enjoying the flailing." Retsu grinned.

"Pfff- okay, that is kinda cute and I don't blame him." Soi Fon giggled. "Sometimes I'm real glad my seat is right next to The Old Man for the same reason. Or opposite reason, I guess."

"Bwah?" Rangiku frowned.

"I do the same thing with You, Momo and The Old Man that He's doing with them." Soi Fon grinned. Rangiku frowned, peculiar machinations grinding slowly through the tequila, before she suddenly cackled, head thrown back so hard Unohana had to reach out and grab her by the scarf to keep her from tipping her chair over.

"OH NOOOOOOOO!!" She wailed, shoulders shaking. "Oh- that's cute but Toshiro can NEVER find out he'll be such a brat about it!"

"Sorry I'm late, I had to finish the latest report on the Rice Farm Subsidy Fraud Investigation!" Momo panted, jogging in late. "-What can't Toshiro find out about?"

"There is SOMETHING that You, ran-chan and Yamamoto-sama share, and it's the same thing but backwards as what Me, Hitsugaya, and Isane have in common that Komamura-taicho really likes it or something, and THEY know but won't TELL US and its MAKING ME CRAZY!" Rukia wailed.

Momo stood, expression blank for a few moments. "Wait. You didn't know?"

"KNOW WHAT?" Rukia wailed.

"That Komamura hangs around with people with Ic-Mmpf!" Momo started to reveal but was abruptly tackled and the rest of the sentence smothered in Rangiku's Cleavage.

"With WHAT?" Nanao demanded. "What do they have that I don't?"

"-Hang on." Isane frowned, the slowly turned to her captain, squinting. "Is. Is this a... Physics Issue?"

"That's one way to phrase it." Unohana smiled as Momo flailed for air.

"Oh my Gooooood..." Isane groaned. "Why doesn't he just ASK? I'd happily go over and give Itegumo some practice, I hate summertime too!"

"Huh?" Rukia glared, as Momo finally fought her way free and gasped for air.

"Itegumo? That's your- ohhhhhhh." Nanao realized. "That's. Okay yeah that's actually really cute." She giggled. "Poor guy. The armor can't help with that, can it?"

"That's what I keep telling him but it's-" Unohana waved her hands and grimaced with frustration. "-He wears the armor because he's facing the *stupidest* form of Political Persecution I've ever heard of." she sighed.

"Really?" Asked Momo. "Captain Tousen said Komamura told him it's because he's got a major disfigurement or something?"

Unohana sighed and rolled her eyes. "Komamura is FINE, he's just- It's complicated and medically private but trust me, the helmet is a reasonable precaution against an absurd problem."

"Oh." Momo winced. "Well, I'm glad he's medically alright at least!" "I'm so fucking confused." Rukia whimpered, deflating over the table in despair. "Is. Is hanging out with me making him less sick or something??"

"...Yes!" Unohana smiled. "Or at least, makes his condition more physically comfortable."

Rukia turned that over a few times. "...Talking with him is helping?"

"Yes, but only if you're in the same room with him. Doesn't work over the phone." Unohana nodded.

"Okay." Rukia said, reaching for the nearest bottle. "Lets talk about something else."

---

Years Later, after the Bedlam of her attempted execution and Subsequent Rescue, Rukia finally saw Komamura's face.

It was a bit awkward, walking into the hospital room in search of her brother to find a nine-and-a-half foot tall wolfman wearing the Seventh Division Captain's Haori visiting Momo. It took her a moment to realize who he was, and another as some neurons connected and she squawked indignantly, pointing at him.

"My apologies, Lieutenant Kuchiki, but-" He sighed, ears flattening back against his head with Chargin.

"AIR CONDITIONING?!?!" She bellowed.

Komamura scrunched back, chagrined. For a massive apex predator, he did an excellent Kicked Puppy face.

"Rukia!" Momo protested faintly from her hospital bed. "Keep your voice down, I don't want Toshiro to find out!"

"Find out what?" Hitsugaya grunted, stepping out from behind Rukia.

"Ah, Well-" Komamura started to explain.

Rukia rounded on Hitsugaya, pointing behind her at the captain. "THIS JACKASS HAS BEEN EXTRA NICE TO YOU, ME AND ISANE BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE ICE-TYPE ZANPAKUTO AND CHILL THE AIR AROUND US!"

"...Summer is very uncomfortable when you have a fur coat you can't take off." Komamura winced.

"Uh, duh?" Hitsugaya rolled his eyes, strolling into the room. "I didn't know you were chilling Koetetsu and Kuchiki here as well, but I kinda figured you enjoyed the cold when you stayed at my Bankai training like, five times longer than Gramps ever did."

"My apologies for the deception." Komamura bowed his head.

"It's no big deal." Hitsugaya shrugged, putting a hand up to indicate he wanted help up onto the hospital bed, and Komamura obliged.

"See? I use you being tall too." he smirked.

Komamura sighed fondly as the boy sat down between him and Momo. "Momo makes me chill all her juice too, but she never seems to warm up my tea." he handed her a juice box from the vending machine down the hall, covered in condensation.

"It would explode." Momo grumbled.

"Skill Issue." He shrugged and she affectionately swatted him on the leg. "Anyway, don't dogs cool off through their paws?"

"I'm from a wolf clan, but yes." Komamura cocked his head with curiosity, then alarm when Toshiro casually grabbed his forearm and started tugging his Gauntlets off.

"I don't mind being a human ice pack, especially not when it's nintey-eight freakin' degrees out, but be efficient about it, yeah?" Toshiro grumbled, tossing the gauntlet aside and plopping Komamura's pawlike hand on top of his head.

"...Thank you." Komamura smiled gently, and ruffled his hair a bit.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Hitsugaya shrugged, playing the tough guy even as his ears turned red. "At least you're polite about it! Freakin' Zaraki literally just grabbed me- like, put his whole arm through the office window! and threw me over his shoulders once. Jerk."

"TOSHIRO!" Momo yelped, hand on her face. "You almost made juice come out of my nose!" She half-giggled while Rukia snort-laughed at the mental image.

"Hey Kuchiki!" Hitsugaya growled. "He's got two paws!"

"You can't boss me around! You don't outrank me anymore!" She grinned.

"I have seniority." he teased, and the bed started to shake as Komamura tried not to laugh.

"You really don't need to-" Komamura tried to diffuse the argument. His voice was rock-steady but the wide grin betrayed him.

"You gotta follow my orders though!" Ukitake said cheerfully, appearing in the door. "Hi Lieutenant Hinamori!"

"C-captain!" Rukia yelped, spinning around to Salute. "What are your orders, Sir?

"Shh, nothing's happening. But I did hear you squawking from two floors down, so what's happening?" Ukitake smiled down at her.

"Captain Komamura has APPARENTLY been hanging around me and the other Shinigami with Ice Zanpakuto and using us as Air Conditioners!" Rukia glared up at her commanding officer.

"...Rukia," Ukitake patted her head and smiled gently. "Do you remember where Lieutenant Kaien's desk was?"

"Second door on the left, right next to your office, Sir!" She nodded.

"Right! And where's your desk?" Ukitake asked, leaning in closer to her.

Rukia blinked, confused. "...It's immediately adjacent to your desk in your offi- GOD DAMMIT! NOT YOU TOO?"

"Yep!" Ukitake cheerfully patted her head and then palmed it to turn her around to face Komamura. "Hop to it!"

"Technically, I got the Idea from him, when I saw how he'd rearranged the furniture..." Komamura whispered as he helped her up onto the bed as well and Rukia groaned in defeat, settling next to Komamura where she could sulk at her captain from over the wolfman's broad shoulders.

"Oh, stop pouting!" Ukitake teased, sitting down on the chair beside Momo's bed and leaning back. "It'll be winter soon enough. Actually, Your friend Mr. Yasutora told me about a fascinating wintertime holiday in the Living World-"

[colourstreakgryffin]

I have a little suggestion 😔 Buuuttttt If you could…. could you write for human Ryuk for death note? You gotta hear me out though

You know what… I’m fine with this. I’ve always had Ryuk as one of my fav Death Note characters so why not? For real, for real… he’s so hot in this form! He went from badass and scary to precious hottie

Ryuk- Master of Trickery

Instead of Light, you’re his human and his notebook holder. Ryuk can’t deny that you’re interesting and he is gonna enjoy following you around through your time using his Death Note. In his Shinigami form, he doesn’t really notice how he looks and just excuses it. Suspecting you’ll be fine with him

But you’re curious what Ryuk really can do so when you two are finally alone in your bedroom. You ask Ryuk openly what powers he has, how Shinigami work and whilst Ryuk isn’t that enthusiastic since he considers it boring, he obliges

When he mentions he can transform into a human disguise, that lets him be visible to humans, besides you, as well. You immediately play with the fire that is Ryuk and ask him if he can demonstrate this shapeshifitng ability of his for you

Ryuk wasn’t planning on this when he dropped his notebook onto Earth… he’s been asked by his new human to transform for them? Well. He does it anyway since he suspects it may be fun to troll people with it so he puts his big clawed hand over your eyes

And in a flash. This monstrous yet unique shinigami is now an attractive tall man with pretty black lips and a style that matched the infamous detective, L. Your eyes sparkle with shock at your Shinigami’s transformation as Ryuk lets out a comment that he hasn’t redone this in such a long time

Ryuk noticed the way you gaze at him with surprise and awe, commenting snarky about it but mainly feeling his bare chested self, his baggy slightly undone trousers hugging his humanoid hips as both of you are impressed by the almost Frankenstein stitched patchy skin pieces on his body. He looks like a human but still… a Shinigami

Ryuk does decide to perform this feat again. Pranking you with it, he’ll transform into his human form then putting on a bunch of makeup, stealing the Death Note and pretend he isn’t Ryuk when you ask him. It’s hard to tell since he put a lot of heart into these types of pranks on you

Ryuk needs his apples, even in his human form, so people around him, who can now see him, find him odd for how much he is downing just normal red apples eagerly whilst you and him are at the grocery store

Ryuk cringes badly whenever anybody makes a mention that you and him must be a couple. He isn’t interested in any humans but damn god, he does enjoy the way you seem attracted to his human form. It’s a nice ego boost

Ryuk mainly transforms into his human form and heads out in public with you during your vile little plans to kill your targets as to stay on the back and do as you ask by not showing off his shinigami side, should you let your victims touch the notebook, but it’s not like he minds. He feels handsome like this

Ryuk also takes full advantage of all the girls who admire him in his human form, liking to annoy you by flirting and playing with humans that are drooling all over him. It’s nice, so entertaining and he won’t let you pull him away from it

Ryuk doesn’t use his human form transformation as much as one would suspect, from a guy like him. Mainly because he is too accustom to his Shinigami self that being human feels odd but it doesn’t mean he won’t do it to make you and other girls flaunter over him, for the fun of it

Ryuk does tease you a lot for finding his human form attractive… like, a lot, he doesn’t ever shut up about it. He’ll make you regret ever asking him to demonstrate his abilities… since well, that’s Ryuk

“Eh? What’s with that look… oh. You like the goods; my skin, my eyes, my hair, ‘mm? You’re just as nasty as those other humans. I enjoy it, keep looking”

[nekropsii]

Let this be a living example that knowing the beliefs of any individual who wrote any piece of text- be it literature, articles, or posts- can and should drastically alter your perception on what the text is actually communicating, even if that knowledge has, on its face, changed none of the actual printed words. This is how application of real-world context works, and this is how it applies to any recorded medium.

It reminds me heavily of a quote from video essayist Jacob Geller, regarding the 1938 film Olympia- "It's different when Nazis do it". Olympia is a film that, on its face, simply depicts an artistic documentation of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. But within the context of its production taking place during the Nazi regime, with its director being a well known Nazi propagandist... The way the movie fixates on the power and elegance of the human form and Ancient Greek statues quickly shifts from being completely innocuous appreciation to the worship of what is perceived as the ideal forms of the "Aryan race". Suddenly, you understand the movie not to be a pretty inoffensive documentation of a historical event, but a propaganda piece.

Understanding the time period in which something was made, as well as the setting it was produced in/for, and whatever ideologies an artist may hold and experiences they've had is absolutely critical to getting a full understanding of anyone's work. There are some things that are near completely anodyne on their face, but the revelation of what the author thinks and feels about other people and the world around them totally redefines every word on the page.

This image is such a prime example of why context matters. This opinion, laid bare, stripped of context, is both inoffensive and nonsensical. No one's ever thought it to be lame to create your own nickname... But on its own, that's a harmless kind of wrong. ... But with the addition of them being marked as Anti-Trans (red) on Shinigami Eyes, a browser extension dedicated to crowdsourcing keeping track of Trans Friendly and Transphobic creators... Suddenly, "Nicknames" doesn't mean "Nicknames" anymore. Suddenly, you realize that "Nicknames" is code for "Chosen Names of Trans People". Suddenly this isn't about thinking choosing your own nickname is lame, this is about thinking that trans people shouldn't have the right to name themselves. Suddenly it's about invalidating identities, thinking they're worth mocking. Thinking that people who identify as trans are "just trying to be cool", and that they're not actually what they say they are, because you don't get to choose your gender nickname, that's something already decided for you.

Suddenly, you realize, it's not about "being lame".

It's about Transphobic Violence.

This is why you cannot ignore when an artist, author, essayist, developer, musician- so on and so forth- is bigoted. This is why you can't ignore the context behind their upbringing. This is why you can't ignore the context behind their lived experience, their ideals, their goals, their message. Yes, it may appear innocent on its face. Yes, it may look fine stripped from the context of it being written by an inevitably flawed human being. But what's really being said here? What do those words mean... To the one who wrote them?

Context redefines Text.

Even if the words didn't change.

[fangirlingpuggle]

Very very dumb Bleach AU idea where Ichigo(at full power basically soul king level) goes back in time to fix everything ends up way further back like young captain commander time, he's able to fully kill Yhwach and prevent him doing anything at all, no sleep no future quincy war, he also gets involved in making soul society...more so just vetoing anything like central 46 because nothing involving them ended well, and should make things easier and less likely for anyone to manipulate.

He travels around for a bit making sure everything settled and no other persons gonna try to take over the world before not really knowing what to do... when he next checks in on soul society gotei 13's all established and everything seems to be going well, but when he checks in on captain commander he's like 'Well we need someone in charge'

'Isn't that you old man?'

'I can't be fully in charge of all of soul society I run the gotei 13... no we need someone else to run soul society'

'...'

'...no'

Ichigo is now on the run from all the captains who are trying to get him to take over things because a) he's insanely powerful b) he's actually good and not corrupted and will actually care about people and not just the nobles c) He has common sense.

'DON'T YOU HAVE THE SOUL KING FOR THIS?'

'Ichigo I am still convinced you are the soul king'

'I'm not!'

'You haven't aged a single day in the hundreds of years i've known you and you literally bitch slapped Ywatch into oblivion, you also seem to have all the powers..ALL OF THEM'

'...I...I...I mean your wrong... bit I do get it'

And this goes on for centuries Ichigo tying very hard not to have to rule soul society and convince people he isn't the soul king. Only her keeps ending up doing this because he keeps ending up adopting younger versions of captains and others. (It started with the captain commander sending little Jushiro, Kyoraku and a tiny feral Unohana to stop Ichigo he just went big brother mode... he is the one person Unohana will listen to and not try to murder...well when she tries to murder him it's more a game then an actually murder attempt)

Just Ichigo who ends up being big brother to like all of Seireitei, he doesn't age at all but even when the others get older them him still totally see him as their big brother. Him always having at least one or two following him around like ducklings.

Some hollows figuring out how to evolve to arrancar naturally... Ichigo was in Hucheo mundo for a while and his weird reality breaking powers might have affected things. Shinigami are totally chill with them because all of them have seen these types of hollow powers before most grew up seeing Ichigo use them casually. (Also Unohana wants to fight them)

Well until Grimmjow shows up and him and Ichigo are fight flirting just being very weird and all of seretiei are ready to give a shovel talk. Captain meetings are them plotting 'Big brother can do way better'. Captain commander is just watching all this amused.

(None of them realize Grimmjow thought process is

'Wait if I date Kurosaki I get to fight all of them... OI KUROSAKI WE'RE DATING NOW!'

'...WAIT WHAT?')

[jubileemon]

Why Ichigo And Rukia Ended Up With The Right People

In Bleach, Ichigo ends up with Orihime, Rukia is with Renji. Since it's part of the shonen genre, it doesn't center around romance and would be unlikely to focus on romantic relationships, as there were other interesting and exciting things happening.

The Problem With Ichigo X Rukia

Even though he becomes a Shinigami, he isn't technically a soul. He was not born in Soul Society and never died to go there. If he wanted to be with Rukia, he would either have to wait and die from old age or die right away and part with everyone else way too soon. Rukia is a soul who ages extremely slowly and will probably never die. Their families are in different worlds, so their priorities are incompatible.

This might be the single biggest factor in Orihime's favor against Rukia: she won't outlive Ichigo by hundreds of years. After all, Ichigo is a substitute Soul Reaper, but not a full-fledged one. It was only ever touched on vaguely because the shinigami are all spirits/souls, and things like time and age aren't something that hold much meaning to them anymore. Roughly in the beginnings of the series, Rukia mentions that she's 10 times older than Ichigo (who was 15 at the time).

Ichigo also looks like Kaien Shiba, Rukia’s mentor and the man that she admired. Due to this, even Byakuya himself understood why Rukia would feel a connection for Ichigo. Rukia realized the parallels between Kaien’s last fight with Ichigo’s battle against Grand Fisher, the Hollow that had killed Masaki Kurosaki. As such, she views them as similar and so would be unlikely to have romantic feelings for someone resembling her late mentor. In fact, she keeps comparing Kaien and Ichigo throughout the Soul Society arc.

Rukia and Renji

Rukia and Renji grew up together as orphaned Soul children in Soul Society. They shared the same experiences, jointly discovering the gift of Reiatsu that earned them a place in the Shin’o Academy. Their mutual goal was to become Shinigami, gain higher ranks, and grow stronger. When Rukia tells Renji the Kuchiki clan wants to adopt her, he acts happy but is deeply upset because he predicts they will grow apart. Still, he tries to hide his sadness because Rukia finally has a family. Unfortunately, Renji falsely believes that he's not important to her anymore.

While this saddened Rukia, he only reacted in the way he believed was best for her, and that ended up making him feel guilty about her potential execution. Chapter 98 was devoted to how Renji considered Rukia an unattainable “star” that he, a “tramp,” could never reach. If he just wanted friendship, why did he feel he had to stay out of Rukia’s way? If she just wanted friendship, why did she expect him to protest? The answer is simple: Her adoption didn’t get in the way of friendship, but in the way of the “something more” that they wanted.

Renji's feelings towards her have always been apparent, as far back as when they were kids. As they originally met around several years ago in the Soul Society, they've been around each other for quite a while. One evening, the two of them were unsuccessfully attempting to catch fish when Renji finally managed to snare one. When he turned around, he saw the rest of his friends staring at Rukia longingly. As anyone with a crush themselves would do, Renji admonished his friends for looking at her with love-struck eyes.

Renji's feelings for Rukia are crystal clear, even when he doesn't acknowledge them. On the other hand, Rukia finds it difficult to express her emotions, especially after joining the Kuchiki clan and her stranied relationship with her brother Byakuya. However, there are several instances that prove her love for Renji beyond the shadow of a doubt. In fact, Rukia obviously cares for Renji even after he attacks Ichigo in the Agent of the Shinigami arc. Although Ichigo and Rukia also love each other, their friendship is considerably less intense than her lifelong attachment for Renji.

Ichigo and Orihime

Orihime’s crush on Ichigo was evident from the first few chapters. She even had trouble being articulate in front of him, although part of her character development was how she gained confidence in herself. As for him, he was ready to sacrifice his life for her from the very beginning, when he put himself between her and her brother Sora (who became a Hollow). He almost always singles her out, speaks up for her and he even defends her.

When the Espadas allow Orihime to say goodbye to one person before she is taken to Hueco Mundo, she picks Ichigo even though he's still unconscious from an earlier fight. She explains how she could have picked one of the others, but Ichigo was the person she needed to see one last time. Orihime says how there were so many things she wished she had gotten to do and how she would like to live five times to try multiple different things, but that she'd always fall in love with the same person... Ichigo.

Ichigo literally came back from death for Orihime during his fight with Ulquiorra, all because she pleaded him not to die. Orihime also places her body between Ichigo and Acidwire to protect Ichigo. Ichigo puts himself between Grimmjow’s Ceros and Orihime without hesitation. Orihime more than willingly goes to fight Yhwach alongside Ichigo, serving as the latter's defense. Even Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, and Nnoitora all mocked him for wanting to protect her and underlined how she was the motivation for him to fight more fiercely.

In the early chapters, Orihime knew that Kon wasn't the real Ichigo when he was running wild inside Ichigo's body and being his perverted self. He jumped into Ichigo's classroom, made a move on Orihime, and then kissed Tatsuki before being forced to flee. Orihime knew right away that wasn't the real Ichigo, forgiving him of actions that would have got him in hot water with any other girl. It's a testament to how much Orihime cared about him. That said, Ichigo would have never acted that way in the first place.

Ichigo & Rukia Contributed To Each Other’s Relationships

It's kinda interesting to note that both Rukia and Ichigo have worked to boost each other's relationships. Remember, Rukia was the one who dragged Ichigo to apologize to an injured Orihime. Rukia was the initial reason why Ichigo and Orihime came closer together and were more expressive of their desire to protect each other. At the same time, Ichigo was the catalyst for Rukia and Renji to become close again after decades of avoiding each other. Ichigo was not meant to interfere in their relationship as a third party, but to help them realize the complete range of their feelings for each other.

💀🍓

[uraichievents]

UraIchi Week 2024

Monday, July 1st, 2024 - Sunday, July 7th, 2024

AO3 Collection

Full Prompts List Submitted This Year

(Click images to enlarge. Alt text under the cut.)

What is UraIchi Week?

It’s a week-long fanworks event to promote the Urahara Kisuke x Kurosaki Ichigo ship. There’s no sign-up, it’s just for fun, and everybody can participate. Completed works and wips are both acceptable, and any type of fanwork (fanfic, fanart, gifsets, etc.) is welcome. NSFW and/or potentially trigger-y content is allowed, although please remember to tag your works properly.

The ship itself can be written romantically or platonically, as lovers or friends or even enemies, so long as it stars these two characters together in some way. Poly ships are also fine so long as Ichigo and Kisuke are still the focus of the fanwork. And crossovers and fusions are also allowed even if it isn’t one of the given prompts for the event. Basically, anything goes, and the only criteria is that it has to be UraIchi-centric.

Posting:

UraIchi Week is hosted here on Tumblr and on AO3. For posts on Tumblr, remember to ping @uraichievents and tag #UraIchi Week 2024. For AO3, you can add your work(s) to the collection linked up above. You are also welcome to join the UraIchi Discord server if you haven’t already and come and talk about what you’re working on!

Themes:

July 1st, Day 1: i've met you before / i'll meet you again / this is the first time we've met.. right?

Time Travel / Dimension Travel

Identity Porn / Hidden Identities

“I've suffered from traumatic dreams of my past lives since I was a child, and I'm just now realizing that coming up to a beautiful stranger who looks like someone I've seen die a thousand times in a thousand different ways at a bar and asking if we've met before sounds a lot like a come-on haha no wait come back that doesn't mean I'm not desperately attracted to you please kiss me again” AU

July 2nd, Day 2: It's fact that killable problems are not real problems.

Murder Husbands

Ichigo is Deadpool / unbreakable / any other accidentally immortal being who is really kind of annoyed about it (because it’s boring, and he’s still young enough to be within his lifespan, but it sure takes the fun out of fighting).

All the times Ichigo died, he ACTUALLY died, he just came back. Every time he comes back, he comes back Wronger.

July 3rd, Day 3: Things I Should've Told You / Things I Don't Tell Anyone Else

The skeletons in your closet are about to overflow. Would you like me to tidy it up?

Ichigo is experimenting with self-expression, a hobby, etc., making up for lost time as a regular teenager. Urahara is always the first one (sometimes only one) to see or hear about a new idea.

“The person I trust most is you.”

July 4th, Day 4: Sword and Shield

I am yours to command, use me as you please.

Shiba!Ichigo and Second Division!Kisuke

Summoner/Mage AU: Paired summons who are good apart but unmatched together.

July 5th, Day 5: That One is Mine

Hollow Instincts / Feral Protective

Possessive!Kisuke: He stepped aside for Sui-Feng because Yoruichi was always master first and friend second and love interest never, and because Yoruichi wanted her in a way she's never wanted him. But Ichigo is different, and everyone soon realizes that when Kisuke truly wants something, he always gets it in the end.

“Death can’t have you. You’re mine.”

July 6th, Day 6: Monsters come in all shapes and sizes. Some are born, some are made, and some decide being a monster's pretty fucking cool.

Visored!Urahara Kisuke AU / Vasto Lorde!Kurosaki Ichigo AU

“Ichigo forges a friendship with his Hollow in the Shattered Shaft” AU

vs. Gotei 13 AU: Ichigo time travels back from a future where he was chained to the throne as the next Soul King by the Shinigami.

July 7th, Day 7: Creator’s Choice!

As always, the above prompts are all optional, and you’re free to come with your own ideas. You can also find an excel sheet with all the prompts submitted this year linked up above, so feel free to look through that if you want, and you can also make a copy for yourself.

And that’s it! We’re looking forward to what everyone comes up with!

[blues824]

⚰️Imagen the uppermoons guys with a female undertaker s/o.

⚰️Imagen them meeting them because they

where near their store and smelled human blood and flesh only to see her working on her new dolls (that's what the undertaker calls his customers if I recall )

⚰️She meets them after they enter the store and she comes creepyl out of on of the coufins asking if they need one as a joke only for her to say ooo I forgot demons don't need one while giggling .

⚰️Imagen muzan finding out about their knowledge and him asking her questions only for her to tell she doesn't give information for free and when he asks how much money she just tells him the payment is laughter because she finds money useless (muzan probably thinks of her as a female douma 💀)

⚰️How would they react when their "human" s/o turns out to be a shinigami /God of death and they learn how she became a shinigami (because all humans become shinigami if they kill them selfs )

⚰️and learning that she was originally from Victorian Britain until the book of Atlantic plot you known her turning a crewship in to her "dollhouse" all because she was bored and wanted to see what will happen if you mess with people's Cinematic Record to to try to find away to immortality.

⚰️And how would they react when her death scythe could take away their lives. (if she can do it with Sebastian the uppermoons are going to be easy )

⚰️And normally they can see people's there Cinematic Records because only humans can't see it how would they react to seeing it for the first time.

Since all of the uppermoons would be 12 characters, I limited it down to Muzan, Douma, Akaza, Daki, and Gyutaro.

Muzan Kibutsuji

He always thought you were an interesting character. He met you at your funeral parlor when he sensed a human inside. What he saw was rather strange: you were trying to reanimate a corpse, but it seemed as though you couldn’t get a soul to complete that person.

However, he knew that you weren’t human. You didn’t smell like human flesh. He asked about it, and you giggled while stating that you don’t give information out for free. He had a few jokes up his sleeve, but it was more like quick bits of sarcasm. It was enough to get you to laugh, though.

So, you took off your top hat and brushed your bangs out of your face. Muzan got a full view of your phosphorescent eyes, and he was entranced. You explained that you used to be a grim reaper who was still obsessed with death, and you were from the year 1876 in England, which was very intriguing to him.

As much as he wanted to preserve bodies for you to experiment on, it was usually always messy when a demon killed a human. If you wanted, he would give you a messy corpse to try and ‘fix it up’ and make into a doll. There was one time where he watched you do it and he saw the cinematic record of the person. He felt nothing besides when he saw the person’s wedding day…

As for your scythe, he is very intrigued by it. It’s one of the only things in the universe that could possibly kill him, and only you could wield it. However, he wore the pants in the relationship. It was a very weird dynamic between the two of you, but he never felt threatened. In fact, he was kind of glad that you had this power over him because he was secretly afraid his hunger for power would hurt you in some way.

Douma

He kind of burst into the funeral parlor when he smelled flesh, but what he did not expect was for you and one of your dolls to come out of two coffins that you had presumably built. He’s seen people use corpses as sacrifices, but he hasn’t seen people reanimate them into self-reliant (kind of) dolls.

I feel like he would also know that you weren’t human, but he wasn’t able to sense the power you actually held. He always made you laugh, so you told him that you were a grim reaper. You even showed him your eyes, and he thought they were beautiful (but not as beautiful as his).

You told him that you were a foreigner, originally hailing from England. Even though you were retired, you were still very involved in death. You designed coffins to make a profit, but you would experiment on the bodies before they had to be locked in the wooden boxes.

He would use some of his worshipers to give you as cadavers (I like this word for some reason) to experiment on. He once watched you as you made a doll, and he got to see the entirety of the person’s life because of the cinematic records. He was amazed at the things you could do.

When he learned about your scythe, I think he was a bit intimidated because 1) only you could wield it and 2) you were able to kill him in less than a moment’s notice. But maybe that was for the best. He thought it much better to be killed by the person he loved most rather than Muzan, since it would be ironic because you actually made him feel love.

Akaza

Not only did he smell blood, but he also was sent there to gather information. He was told that you were not to be killed because you were a powerful ally, but he had his doubts. However, his thoughts of you changed when he saw a reanimated corpse in the lobby of your funeral parlor and you giggling about how you got closer.

It’s then that he knew you weren’t human, which might be the real reason why you were on the safelist. I feel like he could be pretty goofy when he tries, so he did make you laugh in order to get information out of you (which was a weird and certainly unique experience).

You explained that you were a grim reaper that came here from England. You had retired from your original job and decided that starting up a funeral parlor would be the next course of action because you still wanted to be involved in death. You even removed your top hat to show him your face, and he had to admit that you were beautiful. 

Again, when a demon kills a human, it’s totally messy. Unless you wanted a messed up human carcass to fix up and make into a doll, you aren’t getting any more human bodies aside from the ones that died in a more normal way. He wasn’t completely apathetic (as seen when Rengoku got turned into a donut), so when he saw the Cinematic Record he knew that they lived a wonderful life up until the end.

When he learned about your scythe, I feel like he fell for you even more. You were the only one who could correctly wield it and use it, and you were able to kill him if you so desired (not that you did). He always gravitated towards strong people, so you and him were a perfect match.

Daki

She was ordered by Muzan to go ask for information from you, and she thought you were a human so this was going to be easy for her. Unfortunately, what she did not expect was for you to come out of a coffin from the right and one of your ‘dolls’ to come out of a coffin from the left.

That’s also how she knew you weren’t human, as necromancy was looked down upon by all of humankind. Even though she was a bit disturbed by it, she was even more weirded out when you told her your price for information. She got pretty annoyed, but eventually she did it.

You told her that you were a retired grim reaper from England, and that you decided to start a funeral parlor in order to see if you could bring life to the dead. No experiment had been successful since you couldn’t put a soul back into their bodies, but you got closer. Daki became super interested when you said that you were from a different country, so she continued to ask you questions.

I feel like if she is in a good mood then she would bring a dead human body for you to toy around with and fashion into a doll, as long as she got to actually dress the doll up. She’s still a bit childish, after all. I feel like her favorite (but also least favorite) part would be seeing the person’s record because it’s the only way she got to see how a normal human life was supposed to be like.

She was definitely intimidated by your scythe since it could easily kill her with just one swing. However, she figured that you loved her too much to use it out of a random urge. So maybe it was a good thing that you had something that could stop her.

Gyutaro

Daki had told him how weird you were, and he was intrigued. So he decided to pay you an unannounced visit. The moment he opened the door, he was ambushed by a doll that he could sense was (or at least used to be) human. It didn’t take long for him to rip it to shreds, but you were a bit annoyed.

He then asked what exactly you were, to which you responded that you didn’t give information out for free. Gyutaro was completely concerned when you stated your price since almost anyone could get you to laugh for valuable information, but the more he asked questions the more he got to know about you.

You were an ex-grim reaper who dipped your feet into necromancy fairly often, trying to see if it was in fact possible to bring someone back to life. You have had partial success, but the beings didn’t have a soul or that same sparkle in their eyes.

I don’t know if he could actually bring back a well-preserved body back, but if he could then he did and it was like a special treat for you. I would say he would silently watch the cinematic records because they were interesting to him. However, he did get jealous whenever he saw the joyful moments in their life. You reassured him that he would be able to experience those moments with you, and that you would try your hardest to make it a reality. That’s when he fell for you.

Gyutaro was kind of indifferent towards your scythe, but if you were going somewhere without him then he would insist that you take it with you (completely forgetting that you were a reaper and therefore weren’t easily killed. Just listen, otherwise he would follow you in the sun (with proper protection, of course).

[greyskyflowers]

Ugh the fics with the Visored/Ichigo having strong hollow instincts are fabulous. Also Kisuke having some type of instincts or predator type vibe to him.

Personally I love the idea that most Shinigami are a little instinctive at times, especially the wilder ones. The 11th for example, or maybe some of the captains.

I also love the idea that Ichigo can really relax around Kisuke and the Visored, in a way he can't quite do with others.

Like Ichigo's instincts would be thrilled to be under Kisuke, recognizing a fellow predator and practically purring at the smell of iron that lingers on a soul like Kisuke's.

It's the same instincts that sometimes make him sleepy around the Visored, something deep in his belly insisting he's safesafesafe under their watchful eyes and he rarely gets to feel truly safe. It probably says something that he feels that way around people who most find creepy or terrifying.

So no one can blame him if he occasionally takes advantage of that feeling, after training and cleaning up he often goes to find one or more of them to curl up next to. And they always allow it.

He's managed to control the urge to build a cozy nest and coax them into it with tempting purrs and lazy sprawls, somewhere dark and small because he wants them close but big enough for all of them. At least so far.

They all must have discussed it though, he blames Kisuke and Shinji, because one day it starts getting much harder to ignore those instincts. It's like they're all purposely putting him in situations that make his skin crawl like he's trying to shed it.

They use firm and purposeful touches, usually focused on his neck or back but they take full advantage of situations where they can pet at Ichigo's belly. He's not stupid, he knows those are vulnerable spots and they're making their touches familiar and comfortable. But it feels good and it's just them, the thought of anyone else touching him so freely or intimately makes his teeth hurt.

They grab the back on his neck when he's a little too wild or upset. Fingers pressing into spots on his neck that make his knees go weak and his mind go fuzzy. He doesn't know how they do it, he's tried to find the spots on himself and he can't recreate it.

There's something deeper at play here too. Everything feeds on itself. The healthier and happier Ichigo is, the healthier and happier the Visored are. Kisuke says it's something about pack dynamics and hollow instincts.

They're confident in everything they do and Ichigo's instincts are thrilled because it's obvious they're strong enough to handle him. It settles something in him that they're able to defend and protect themselves and him. It allows him to relax in a way that he hasn't since his mom died, not since grief renamed him protector.

Some days he gets both Kisuke and Shinji, and he spends the day feeling like a pampered pet. He drapes himself over their legs or curls up in their laps and melts into the touches. His toes curl and uncurl happily, hands kneading at whatever he can get his hands on.

Sometimes they get too invested in something or their attention gets taken by other things and Ichigo is left to entertain himself.

If he doesn't have anything to do then sometimes he'll go find a spot where the sun comes though the window and lay in it like a lizard sunning itself.

He doesn't realize that they've been slowly accumulating things for him until it's too late. He has a collection of pillows, blanket and cushions at the Visored warehouse and at Kisuke's. He tends to find himself in them after training and spars, skin clean from a quick wash and happily disappearing into the scents caught in the fabric.

Kisuke makes something for him, small pills of black and white that he claims are just a type of vitamin pill. Ichigo doesn't believe that for a second. For one thing, he only gets them when he's with Kisuke and Kisuke always gives it to him when he's in the fuzzy, instinctive headspace. It's easier for him to coax Ichigo into taking it from between his fingers with too sharp teeth and a quick curl of his tongue or to open his mouth and let Kisuke place it on his tongue.

After a few weeks of getting it from Kisuke, the Visored also have it. They take one occasionally, which also makes him think it's something for his hollow, but never as many as Ichigo. They take up the same way of giving it to him as Kisuke.

He nips sharply at Kensei's fingers when he lingers too long placing one of the pills on his tongue. The brief burning look in Kensei's eyes and the big hand that grabs his jaw in warning makes all the teasing he gets later worth it.

He knows this is weird. It's even strange from what shinigami would want or understand. He knows that trying to explain this to his sisters or friends would be very hard to do without making it sound unhealthy and wrong but it's not. Maybe if they were all normal humans then it would be different.

The things that he needs now are so very different.

💀 💀

Is it power dynamics, hollow instincts, or trauma? The world may never know.

Tbh I set out to write something about Ichigo being spoiled by Kisuke and Shinji but then my love for the Visored all adoring Ichigo got involved. So here we are.

I just think slightly feral characters are neat.

[3liza]

shinigami eyes is such a funny extension because you will see TERFs pop up just out in the wider internet, trying to pass as regular people. leaving a comment on a YouTube channel or something. and you spot that red text and click their name and sure enough their account is always full of angry ranting about how children should die instead of being given basic non-intrusive medical care. they're always having a series of terrible crises and getting fired and kicked out of group chats and blocked by family members and pretending they don't know why. radicalization sucks and you're basically seeing a lot of these people just getting swallowed by what is functionally a cult but at the same time you, the TERF, can also just choose to not spend every waking moment persecuting people who have absolutely no impact on your life, that is definitely a choice you can make at any time. any time now

[recurring-polynya]

In the years since I've been running this blog, I've made a lot of jokes about Renji's seemingly ill-thought-out plan of:

Beat Captain Kuchiki

???

Profit Be with Rukia again

but I was looking at his volume poem the other day, and I think that I am an idiot, and beating Byakuya has never been connected to seeing Rukia again. It's a smokescreen. He does have an actual, actionable plan of training and working hard enough to become a vice-captain (specifically Byakuya's vice-captain), and then approaching Rukia again as her social equal. We know that beating Byakuya wasn't a key component of that, because he was planning to do it as soon as she got back from her mission.

The thing about defeating Byakuya is that Renji is purposely setting his sights a few degrees to the left of the truth to keep from falling into depression and despair. Trying to get Rukia back is a thing that he can try to do and fail, and in fact, he very well may. Beating Byakuya is impossible. No one believes he can really do it, least of all himself, which means, paradoxically, he can't lose. When you fail to do the impossible, you can shrug and say, "well, it was impossible, what did you expect?

I mean, it's right there in the poem: "I am going to focus on reaching the unreachable because if I think about Rukia, I am going to kill myself." And I don't think Renji is a guy who has a suicidal bent--the fact that he pursues this line of thinking is proof of that. But what is the difference between a person who thinks about killing themself and someone actively works to not to...? I don't know. It's complicated.

One of the most fundamental themes of Bleach is the idea that Hollows are fallen souls who lose their hearts and eat other souls in order to ease their pain, but they only end up creating more Hollows in the process except that we see examples again and again of shinigami pulling this exact shit (Byakuya, I am looking at you). I cannot figure out if Renji's drive to distract himself from the pain of losing Rukia is a play to avoid falling into monstrosity, or if it's pretty much a direct route. I mean, this is basically exactly the path that Gin and Tousen take--which makes it all the more interesting to me that Aizen rejects Renji as unsuitable for his conspiracy.

I can't put my finger on any particular thing that separates Renji from other characters in this respect, aside from maybe his fundamental Renji-ness-- the fact that he has other friends and connections? That he has hope, no matter how dim, that he may actually reunite with Rukia some day? That he's just a guy who reaches for life instead of death? (Mildly off-topic, but if there is one other character that this is also true of, I think it might be...Matsumoto???)

Anyway, another thing I like about setting himself against an impossible goalpost is that this would be a terrible idea for a human with a finite lifespan, but shinigami have all the time in the world. Go ahead, pal, pursue your impossible tasks, live your truth! I read a lot of stories about semi-immortal beings, and I love love love it when they seem very human and then they do some batshit insane thing that makes you realize, oh, they very much are not.

My favorite way to break my own heart is re-reading the "Fate is a Millstone" chapter, where we learn that Renji was a hair's-breadth away achieving his real goal of talking to Rukia again, only to have Fate throw him a face-full of pocket sand. I think it's extra salt in the wound, to be honest, if he's been pursuing the impossible goal of beating Byakuya as a distraction for all these years, only to arrive at a place where Rukia's life literally hinges on him beating Byakuya, a thing which is not just theoretically impossible, but something Renji has spent 40 years becoming intimately familiar with just how impossible it is.