#how old are the shinigami's in their real age ????

[lilacwriter07]

what are the canon ages of the shinigami's in Bleach ? Like I think I overlooked it many times, but Urahara, Rukia, Renji, Granpa Yamamoto, yandere mommy Retsu ..

How old are they ? 👀 just curious actually I like to know this sort of things

[pomrania]

Could They Survive Investigating Kira?

To clarify, this is about the Kira murders from Death Note, not the other manga/anime which has a serial murderer named Kira who kills via supernatural means. Insert "two nickels" meme here.

@couldtheycatchkira asks if a given character could catch Kira, and would they survive. Here, I'm focusing on the second part, and how to consider it. I've broken it down into four major questions:

Are they capable of dying (and staying dead)?

Are they capable of being killed by the Death Note?

Would Kira be able to kill them?

Would Kira choose to kill them?

1. Are they capable of dying (and staying dead)?

If a character cannot die, cannot be killed by any method whatsoever, won't even die from old age, then they survive investigating Kira; they survive ANY circumstance. You don't need to look at any further question, in order to get your answer (although you might choose to, just for enjoyment purposes).

Under this category, I'd also include characters with explicit good luck and/or uncanny ability to survive situations that should have killed them, where they're theoretically capable of dying, but circumstances arrange themselves such that it never actually happens. Not to be confused with "protagonist immortality", where a character survives because if they died the story would be over; this is a character who basically has indirect immortality as a superpower. Or they could fall under the category of "God's favourite chew-toy", where some higher (or lower) power simply won't let them die or stay dead.

Conversely, is the character capable of SURVIVING? In other words, how inherently doomed are they? If they were in a story where "character death" is a possibility, are they a character who's guaranteed to die? Note that this is distinct from being "doomed by the narrative", because that's doomed by ONE PARTICULAR narrative, and "getting Kira-murdered while investigating" might or might not fit their narrative doom.

This is also where I raise the issue of resurrection, and limited immortality. If a character dies but comes back to life, then they count as "surviving"; they need to STAY dead, in order to count as "does not survive". And if they're generally immortal (or at least unkillable), but can be killed under certain specific circumstances, then the question moves to "would Kira be able to figure out, and create, those circumstances".

2. Are they capable of being killed by the Death Note?

If they're immune to Kira's only real weapon, then they won't be killed by Kira; and unless they're otherwise doomed (see above), they'd survive.

Some characters, while capable of dying, outrank shinigami, or have connections that equate to such. The Death Note wouldn't work on them, for similar reasons as how an employee can't fire the head of their company.

Then there's non-human characters. This can be tricky, because in the world of Death Note, there's humans and there's shinigami, and the Note explicitly works on humans but not shinigami. To keep things fun and interesting, I'd say that any type of sapient mortal counts as a potential Death Note victim in the same way "human" does, because otherwise it gets boring; blanket immunity should be reserved for characters who specifically have it.

As for non-sapient and/or non-mortal characters… I don't have any overarching advice for them, except maybe see if you get a definitive answer in the next questions, and if not then you can use "might or might not be able to be killed by the Death Note" as a tie-breaker.

I think this is also the level to look at "characters who couldn't die from a heart attack". The Death Note CAN kill via other methods, but "heart attack" is the default. For this, you need to consider if Kira would REALIZE that simply writing the character's name down (to give them a heart attack) wouldn't suffice, and if he'd be able to figure out a method that WOULD work; but that shades into the next question.

3. Would Kira be able to kill them?

There's two major categories to this question; the issues Kira ran into in his story, and issues we get from characters who aren't "baseline human". I'll start with the second category.

Some characters have unorthodox death requirements, like non-human biology (or equivalent processes if non-biological), or limited immortality. Would Kira be able to figure out that he needs to do something different to kill them, and would he be able to figure out WHAT he needs to do?

Then, the "standard" issues, and what people first think of when they consider "would this character survive investigating Kira". In order for Kira to be able to kill someone, he first needs to know that they exist; then, their full name and how to spell it, and what their face looks like. If he doesn't have all three of those, then that character is safe from being Kira-murdered (but might still die in other ways).

4. Would Kira choose to kill them?

This factor seems to get neglected a lot, judging from the amount of times I've seen "lol they're a public figure, they'll die immediately". But Kira doesn't kill everyone whose identity he knows, because otherwise he'd be easy to locate, as the epicentre of mass death.

First, does the character fit his normal victim profile? If so, then he tries to kill them (which might or might not succeed, as detailed in the previous three questions), even if he doesn't know that they're investigating him.

Next, does he consider them a potential threat? If he doesn't know the character is even INVESTIGATING him, or if he thinks they're incompetent as an investigator, or if he believes he's sufficiently outsmarted them, then they're not a threat, and he has no reason to kill them.

Finally, does he have a reason NOT to kill them? Does he believe they should be left alive, on their own merits; or, more commonly, does he feel that they'd pose more of a threat to him dead than alive? For example, this could be them having information that would get sent out automatically upon their death, or being in a situation where suspicion would fall on him specifically if they die in an unnatural manner.

[gallusrostromegalus]

For AEIWAM:

Is Zaraki's able to see Zanpaktou spirits because he himself was once a weapon?

Any plans for Sode no Shirayuki? How does she feel about being considered the most beautiful Zanpaktou?

Point 1: Yes, also because he's the (adopted) son of a Minor Kami and a [SPOILER], but mostly because it's funny if he has no spiritual sense except that he can see sword spirits. Zanpaktou spend most of their time Resting in a little pocket dimension inside the Sword- all those showy super-attacks take a lot of energy, and they are fueled by but one person! But if a Zanpaktou wants to talk to their wielder or is bored and wants to watch The Shinigami Show, they can manifest outside the sword in a spirit form only visible to Their Wielder Specifically, and other Zanpaktou that are also currently in spirit form or in shikai/bankai. In general, one Shinigami cannot perceive the zanpaktou spirit form of another Shinigami, Unless Some Weird Shit Be Afoot, so it's a hell of a surprise to the spirits when they find out Zaraki can see them, as they (like everyone else) assumed he was Human. He can't see Zanpaktou when they're resting in the pocket dimension though, because they're in a different dimension. Kenpachi does have a bit of a problem though, in that Sword Spirits look just as real and normal to him as humans and other people, and he's seen such an enormous variety of People that he does not necessarily notice that a Zanpaktou is a Zanpaktou. He thought that was Just Some Guy, and he's the last person who should be commenting on appearances. He's learned from living in the heavily forested Far North where they are common, that Many Minor spirits like Koropokkuru and Kodama are invisible to most people and startle if seen, and that more material beings don't like it when he talks to them without being some kind of introduced first, so he's adopted an informal policy of generally ignoring people until they make the first move. ...Which is how nobody in the Gotei-13 noticed Kenpachi could see Zanpaktou until a solid 57 years after he became captain, when he lightly ruined one of Shunsui's moon-veiwing parties.

Point 2: She doesn't think much about it because she is not "Generally Considered" to be the most beautiful zanpaktou, even if she was voted to be so. In AEIWAM, Sode no Shirayuki is an Ice Apparition that takes the form of an Artic Hare and All the Chappy Gikon have a crush on her, and when all the Chappys took a vote, they agreed unanimously on the most beautiful, and espouse her virtues to anyone that will listen. She's usually busy beating the shit out of someone if there's a Chappy in her vicinity, and so she doesn't listen to them and is entirely unaware of their affections.

Point 3: Lots of the Zanpaktou Spirits look different than how they're depicted in the Zanpaktou Arc, because many of those designs were frankly Uninspired, especially compared to the ones that appear in the Manga. ...This post got kinda long though, Zanpaktou spirit appearances under the cut:

Zabimaru appears much as they do in the Manga, and writing their dialogue because they are two entities of different genders sharing a body, or at least, a butthole. Zabi The Monkey is still female and and Maru The Snake is still male, and they don't use pronouns so much as weild them like nunchucks. Kenpachi got on very well with them back when Renji was in the 11th and still do- many spirits are alarmed to be percieved, but Zabimaru was delighted and took a great deal of pleasure at making running rather cheeky commentary during meetings to (lovingly) agitate Renji and see if they could crack Zaraki's Pokerface.

Senbonzakura is one of the few Zanpaktou that semi-regularly manifests in a way humans and other mortals can see, a privlege granted to him by his exceptional age (he's almost as old as Ryujin Jakka and Shinken Hakkyoken) and the patronage of the Kuchiki clan. A great many people have seen him, but few notice that they have because Senbonzakura is a Tree. He appears as an enormous, ancient and beautiful cherry tree with a crooked root that is the perfect for leaning against and meditating, and is far and away the most stable member of the Kuchiki family, if only by virtue of his extensive root system. Kenpachi didn't actually notice Senbonzakura was a sword spirit the first time he saw him- the central courtyard of the Kuchiki manor is a perfectly normal place for a grand old tree like that. He realized what was going on and hour later when he came back down the same hall and realized the tree was now mirror image to it's previous position and had a good laugh at the Spirit's joke and they became friends, much to the detriment of Ginrei Kuchiki's blood pressure. It's bad enough having Yachiru regularly hop the fence to eat snacks and steal fish out of the pond, but Zaraki semi-regularly turning up to have the craic with the family sword is just too much. Senbonzakura is equally find of Kenpachi, because he took the teenage Byakuya under his wing and imparted on the boy the wisdom of a broader appreciation of Senbonzakura- "Sure, the blossoms are pretty and all but that's one week in a whole year of tree. If my opinion is worth anything, He's at his best in late summer when he's full of fruit." "-Count on a Bird to have properly nuanced opinions on trees." agrees Senbonzakura.

Rangiku's Haineko looks like a snow leopard with a coat of fine flaky ashes instead of fur, whose spots glow from the inside like a still-smoldering log. Of all the spirits, Hainkeo is the only one that really Unsettles Kenpachi- She doesn't actually make noise when she moves, is disturbingly well-camoufalged even in the city, and never flinches from making eye contact. Kenpachi isn't sure if Haineko is genuinely unsettling, or if she bothers him because he he was raised by Eagles and lost many friends and even some family to the ravages of cats.

Sogyo no Kotowari are still twins, but Ukitake has seen them change over time- they look like little boys now, but during Ukitake's early days, when the Soul Society was a much rougher place, the twins looked decidedly more Shadow Over Innsmouth. Even today, when they're really upset, they still have a tendency to go a little fish-eyed. They were another one Kenpachi did not realize was a Zanpaktou spirit and one night The Twins had come out to play in the garden during one of Shunsui's "Moon-Veiwing" parties, and Ukitake happened to mention he is the oldest of eight children. "Seven brothers and sisters!" Kenpachi laughed. "How can you, of all people, not have a spare sibling to babysit for you?" "Babysit? For me?" Jushiro blinked at him, confused. "My siblings used to call on me when my nieces and nephews were still young, but I'm a bachelor." "Don't tell me you're babysitting The Twins?" Kenpachi demanded, pointing at them "Here? Now? Surely you've got a less-busy sibling who didn't have a boozing session on his calendar that could watch them?" Jushiro followed out to where Kenpachi was pointing. "You... You can see them? The two little boys over there?" "I only got the one manky eye, Jushiro, the other works fine. Cute little shits." "You- They're- They're my Zanpaktou! You can see Zanpaktou spirits??" "Ohhhh, yeah I can see how getting a sitter for sword spirits would be tricky." Kenpachi nodded. "-THAT'S NOT THE RELEVANT POINT ZARAKI!"

The design I did like from the Zanpaktou filler arc was Minazuki- a shroud over an invisible body and a watery, disembodied voice? Choice combination of elegance and menace, befitting a Stingray. ...but definitely could be weirder. Imagine her cape as what looks like thick, mottled green fabric which an almost wet-looking sheen if she passes through direct sunlight- until you touch it and realize the cape is the smooth, slippery and exquisitely camouflaged flesh of a Potamotrygon brachyura Stingray, and you need to be REALLY careful about the little tail of fabric trailing behind her, because those spines aren't decorative. She shifts, standing up to become more humanoid and her single orange eye appears under her hood, floating in the middle of the space where her head should be. Or if she doesn't feel particularly humanoid, she bows and the eye passes through the fleshy cloak to the top of her head, now shaped more like a stingray but... gooey and uncertain around the edges, like she's bleeding into an invisible river around you. regardless of position, the eye always follows you, unblinking. Kenpachi is of the Opinion that Minazuki is the most beautiful of all the Zanpaktou, and insists he's not biased- Sure, he's madly in love with Retsu and therefore Minazuki because they are more one being than two, but he also damn near died of a freshwater stingray's spine once. "That just makes you more biased." Sighs Yumichika. "You're horny for anything that almost kills you."

Katen Kyokotsu appears much the same as she does in the Manga, and as part of her subterfuge to hide Shinken Hakkyoken, she doesn't distinguish between either of 'her' bodies when speaking. They're both her and if you try to distinguish between them you're clearly some kind of Idiot. Most humans are Idiots though. At the Moon viewing party where Kenpachi revealed he could see The Twins, there is BEDLAM. "You can see Zanpaktou spirits?" Unohana blinks. "-Just. In general and not when you're particularly close to someone?" she asks and when a puzzled Aizen frowns at her, she clips him under the ear before he can speak. "Yeah? It's not that big a deal, lots of people can see minor spirits-" "No! being able to see minor spirits at all is really rare, even among humans in the afterlife and Shinigami, and I've literally never heard of someone who can see Zanpaktou!" Ukitake yelps. "...Huh. 'Snot that great- they mostly just look like other people. Better dressed, usually, but it's really nothing." "How. uh. Long have you been able to see them?" Shunsui asks, suddenly nervous. "Since forever?" Zaraki shrugs, pouring himself another cup of tea. Shunsui stares at him, trying to puzzle something out. "You... didn't think it was Odd when Katen Kyokotsu appears next to me? She loves those meetings." "What, the Oiran with the purple hair and-? Ah." He realized as she manifested at the sound of her name, regarding him imperiously. "My Lady." Kenpachi nodded his head at her. Good Manners around the Oiran had been instilled into him by Madame Tsubaki with some force. There was a moment of silence while those assembled waited for an answer. "...Yeah I'm not gonna lie. I thought she was your Dominatrix or something." Kenpachi sighed. Katen Kyokotsu roared with laughter and Shunsui crumpled into a ball on the floor.

Apparently there's a charter limit I'm approaching, more later.

[littleeyesofpallas]

At this point I've basically long since run dry on Bleach funfacts, certainly out of any that have any real weight in the broader readings of the series. But I do have one not-so-fun fact still left up my sleeve --a real dead end nothing contribution... So buckle up, I guess? I apologize in advance if this ends up, like, I dunno, spoiling the aesthetic(?) for anyone. Feel free to just ignore this and move on if you're touchy about keeping your obsessive fandom experiences squeaky clean.

So, I noted back when I was combing thru Quincy terms, that it felt a little less than comfy that in addition to the general n*zi aesthetics Juugram's official title was in fact "Sternritter Grand Master" which felt, at the time, like an unfortunate coincidence that it would fall in line with the naming scheme of the K*K's nonsense titles like Grand Wizard/Grand Dragon, Grand Cyclops, Grand Magi and various other ridiculous sounding occultist LARPer horseshit they've cycled thru over the past century+. But I just kinda left it at that and didn't think to dig any deeper,

But then I was reminded that in the early days of the K*K one of their stated goals was to establish a white supremacist "country" inside the united states, and as they dabbled in this insurgency fantasy, they dubbed this goal of a secret, second, white nation within the confines of the USA, their "Invisible Empire"...

And although the word we hear throughout the TYBW arc is the German Wändenreich[ヴァンデンライヒ] from Wänden:“Walls” and Reich:“Empire/Realm,” the Japanese meaning underlying that term is [見えざる帝国]: “Unseen/Invisible Empire.”

In fact the white robed and hoods tradition stemmed from what were initially petty pranks(although they escalated very quickly in seriousness and danger) in which they would menace black communities and abolitionists by pretending to be the ghosts of dead confederates. In this capacity the imagery and language around them also evoked an "Army of Ghosts."

And although it was never properly addressed, there was always this vague issue of the Quincy's ages... Those with clear backgrounds like Juugram and Bazz-B seem impossibly old. And we see that As Nodt is recruited on what appears to be his deathbed --in a hospital, on life support and in fear of dying, with a bible on his bedside as if ready to be read his last rites-- and of course the Quincy genocide of 200 years prior.

And tangential to this, we see the brief, if mostly pointless, return of the three dead Fullbringers --Ginjo, Tsukishima, and Giriko-- who all seem to have retained their memories and powers across the borders of life and death. (We won't ask about how or why their fullbring items are still usable) Is it safe to speculate then that the Quincy are in fact a literal Army of Ghosts? It explains how they're able to go toe to toe with the shinigami in ways Uryuu's initial explanations of their skills would've suggested wasn't possible. (i.e. that they were describes as being regular flesh and bone humans and only their weapons are actually supernatural, and thus they are not capable of particularly extraordinary physical feats, or blessed with any superhuman durability.) And it also sort of makes more sense that rather than being a bunch of flesh and blood humans who survived losing the war, somehow spiritized themselves to get into the afterlife, and then hid for 999 years, that they could have just been humans who died first and were recruited as ghosts, having been spirited away into the shadow realm. Or Quincy that died with the full intent of reuniting as ghosts, having some kind of assurance that they would retain their memories and powers.

I like the former over the latter though, as it means the Ishida family really were the last living Quincy. But I do like the morbid idea of Yhwach commanding his army, Jamestown style, to kill themselves as the first step to them going to heaven. Only in this case the kingdom of god as they imagine it has to be fought for because the shinigami are already have a whole society there and need to be driven out first.

There is also a lot of "Knight" and "White Knight" imagery and titles evoked in the K*K's long history, and while that's absolutely vague enough to be handwaved on its own, it's definitely not not adjacent to all this....

(This has nothing to do with anything I just had already slapped the uniforms pic together and wanted to use it somewhere)

So to sort of loosely review everything going on with the Quincy....

Catholic inverted priest frocks, crosses, silver and exorcisms, holy eucharist angel wings&halo final forms, blood eucharist schrift, conversion based recruitment policies, the whole "one kingdom under god" shtick, miracle baby son of god christ figure, explicit mention of monotheism

but then also 5 pointed crosses/stars and pentagrams,

victims of a genocide with a dr.mengele nemesis, YHWACH-v-YHWH

inverted Hugo Boss uniforms, german themed attacks, skills and tools, crosses again, explicitly evoking the Schutzstaffel with Yhwach's royal guard, and nonsense blood purity eugenics b.s.... weirdly not touched upon "black sun" or swastika imagery tied to Ichigo

For some reason a few loose threads of what appear to be Loius XIV and his sun god apollo fixation, purifying light and sun and stars motifs

YHWACH having big Backbeard energy, the literal evocation of Backbeard, being a western ghost army

and now these mismatched crumbs of what appear to be deliberate K*K references: ghost army, invisible empire, grandmaster, etc...

Like... I don't think this makes them worse, or paints Kubo as some kind of crackpot racist --in case my stance on his use of n*zi imagery didn't make that clear-- but like... I don't know what to make of it honestly... It's as inconsequential to the actual message or plot as anything else, including the n*zi stuff, but it just feels weird knowing it's there? Just sorta loitering around in the background?? Also the Quincy are just such a bizarre clusterfuck of unfocused nonsense ""themes"" with like zero actual content just in general. Given everything that's in that slurry I think that might be for the better? Because any coherent message drawn from all of these influences probably couldn't have been any good...

[macabremarble]

humbly offering you my kuroshitsuji shinigami ocs

the little lady on the left is veronica seymour and the fine knight on the right is james raven (who was once, quite literally, a knight before he became a reaper). they work together :)

closeups below the cut.

veronica looks like she’s is in her late 20s and james looks like he’s is in his late 30s but of course as it happens with reapers their real age is far away from how they look.

james love cracking some dad jokes despite being a couple of centuries old. ronnie became a reaper a few years ago and genuinely finds james’ jokes funny. they also have pretty similar scythes because veronica looks up to james like to an older wiser brother.

(day 1 of drawing veronica and james like the dresden dolls’ photographs because that’s just their dynamics)

[biggie-chcese]

rain code age headcanons because i have literally only ever been choosing ages based on what's funniest but now i wanna cast away my grand layers of irony and be genuine for a moment. also. this goes pretty in depth so be prepped for the long haul when you click read more lmao.

spoilers for the whole game below and it's because of one specific character iykyk

Yakou - this man has the soul of a guy in his late 40s going through what would be his midlife crisis if not for the fact that he's fully aware he passed the midpoint years ago. but that soul is trapped in the body of a guy who doesnt look a day older than 28. what moisturizer does he use? i doubt he even uses anything other than that 13 in 1 shampoo. anyway, i think he's 32.

Halara - 26. nothing really to justify this other than they've got that mid 20s swag but 25 didn't feel right. adult enough to be as competent as they are yet young enough to look like that. moving on.

Desuhiko - 19. i think he's the youngest of the NDA because. well. idk man have you read his dialogue? he's got a whole lot of growing to do and is still very lost on his direction in life. he's giving 'bitch fresh outta high school (or in this case, detective training) and relishing in his freshly obtained freedom."

Vivia - 28? yeah i got nothing for this i am going purely on vibes here. 28 just feels right.

Fubuki - 23. she's clearly still a bit young but is also clearly a grown ass adult who wasn't raised right so i think this makes for a happy medium, especially if she's already been on some worldwide adventures n shit before the game. works out quite swimmingly methinks.

Kurumi - 18. for my personal comfort bc we'll get to yuma later but im not gonna sit here and ignore the way the game constantly grovels at the audience's feet to ship them so id rather she not be any younger than this. anyway, more about her: she tends to hold her own as an informant with more competence, maturity, and effecience than most of the NDA. but she also has a pretty childish black and white view on things, like believing her beloved detectives are always right (girl if you were real you would be ENTRENCHED in stan culture oml do NOT get into minecraft youtubers) but i've... seen 18 year olds on the internet that are exactly the same so whatever

Aetheria girls - putting them all at 17-18 because, based on honorifics, they are treated as upperclassmen by their peers in the Japanese dub. i think waruna is the youngest and kurane is the eldest.

Yomi - 25. he has that vibe. old enough to be taken seriously as an adult but young enough to act like That™. yknow?

Martina - 32. she's giving older woman sexy librarian vibes and generally carries herself with a certain level of poise and maturity but is also a freak in a way that can best be explained by being a woman in her 30s. not elaborating on this

Swank - 41. to me he's like those awful surly businessmen who go to cabaret clubs to drink and smoke their office job woes away and cheat on their wives. but he also has extreme mafia boss swag about it so i kinda love him for that. dunno what this has to do with age tho. moving on.

Seth - 22 because he's giving youngest brother. i think he's the youngest of the peacekeepers in general. guillaume definitely bullies him about this.

Dominic - 34. bro is built like a jojo character what else do you want me to say. he's still got that youthfulness about him that makes me think he's still not going through his midlife crisis, so i wouldn't place him any older

Guillaume - 23. guillaume is so girlypop manic pixie dream girl core that she's definitely got the energy of someone who is young but also strikes the balance of being someone who has a job and a mortgage. dunno how she does it. id like to think she isnt even much older than seth but still bullies him for being the baby of the peacekeepers. do u understand my vision. please. they have so much annoying coworker potential.

shinigami - idk like 1000. she's a death god who cares.

yuma - okay. yeah. look i dont give a singular fuck about age discourse- headcanon whatever you want- but from looking at canon material i genuinely think that he could not possibly be any younger than 21. 20 if we wanna push it. yes, i know he looks young. i have eyes. but also, im in my 20s and the most common thing people tell me when i reveal my age is "oh, i thought you were 15." one time a person asked me if i was 12. at my job. that i was actively working at. i was 20. adults can look young, and contrary to the classic 1000 year old loli dragon trope he doesnt act overtly childish. he acts like a normal fuckin guy. yes he cries but like. you wouldn't in his position? bro speedruns lifelong trauma so skillfully that he's backwards long jumping into alternate universes where everything is somehow worse. i'd be freaked out if he didn't cry. also im aware that the child prodigy detective trope is a thing and that kodaka has written that before but... he was number one three years ago. and the training takes two years. which means, if he is a minor in the game's present day, he started working at the WDO at 12 and became number one at 14... at the oldest. have you ever met a 14 year old? forgive me for not suspending my disbelief here. and really the kicker for me is that yuma has a line where he says he's not sure if he's drinking age (which would be 20 in japan), but you know who would be sure? you know who knows yuma's age better than yuma?

makoto kagutsuchi - this megacorporation CEO has a fully stocked minibar installed in his penthouse. <- sentence i cannot bring myself to believe if it's about a child. since i also cant picture him becoming CEO at age 14 without yomi at least once angrily pointing that out (he only ever mentions that makoto is an outsider, or has his head in the clouds), id like to think both him and yuma, at their youngest, earned their top spots at their respective organizations at 18. it keeps their gifted kid syndrome and young prodigy-ness without making things comically ridiculous or uncomfortable for the sheer amount of sexual situations yuma gets put into.

anyway that's my silly little ramble on age headcanons. this was actually really fun to think about. shoutout to kodaka for leaving out the ages. funniest choice he could've made

[dysfunctional-doodle]

now i WOULD go rest after the whole ypi business HOWEVER. is there any way to convince you to watch it because OH MY GODDDDDDDD THIS IS MY FAVOURITE SERIES EVER!!!!!!!!!!! it’s certainly not the best written tmnt series out there (ESPECIALLY with the romance…. shudders)

HOWEVERRRRRRR there are a lot of awesome things about it i really like….. i think one thing i like the most about this iteration (besides the very obvious obsession about sunset duo) is THE VOICEACTING. in a tmnt voiceacting teirlist i would put almost every rise character in s tier and yet STILL, despite the fact i put donnie in b, 2012 IS MY FAVOURITE VOICE ACTED SERIES. the original ask includes the giant navy battleship line and. yeah. sean astin’s delivery makes it a kajillion times funnier to me. IDK MAN THERE��S SOMETHING ABOUT SPLINTER’S VOICE THAT IS SO SATISFYING TO ME. AND THE WAY SHINIGAMI LAUGHS???????????????? HRGHHHHH

also a big fan of the dynamics between the turtles…… the absolute brothers of all time. sobs (again it’s very obvious which duo is my favourite hfhdbsjbsdj)

also this might be a slightlyyyy controversial take but mikey’s adhd is written really really REALLY well in my opinion. like ok donnie said he hasn’t matured since age six and infantilisation is a big problem with neurodivergent people HOWEVER. a big part of mikey’s character is that he doesn’t like being underestimated and wants to prove he is capable but also. as a person with adhd. YEAH I TOO FEEL LIKE THE PERSON IN MY BRAIN IS A SMALL CHILD. the reason i peaked in primary school is because, back then, i was only slightly less mature than my peers. now as i’m in secondary school i realise i am like a TWO YEAR OLD compared to these people. when i was in s1 i would call myself the twelve year old toddler because that was essentially how mature i felt i was. SO THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. maybe there are times he feels slightly stereotypical but hey, everyone has their stereotype moments, right??? (as cliche as it is i feel like everyone has had a “hey, look, squirrel!” moment in their life). yeah i just relate to 2012 mikey on a spiritual level. like every time he’s on screen he does something and i think WOW. that is LITERALLY me (which is why i’m surprised that one poll i have more people think i’m like sonic than mikey?? but i’m not complaining, sonic is super cool)

the 3d animation is cool (the increase in skill is very obvious as you progress further through the series) and the fight scenes are just. MWAH. SO satisfying.

also SOME of the romance is pretty ok! raph and mona lisa are great. also arguably raph and casey (but we’re not ready for that conversation i think).

i have a full disc set of all five seasons that included a list of all the episodes and whenever i finished an episode i REALLYYYY REALLY enjoyed i would highlight the name in pink sharpie… here are all the episodes i marked :3 (i might need to rewatch some of these)

the pulveriser

cockroach terminator

parasitica

the good, the bad, and casey jones

plan 10

a foot too big (i’m actually not too sure about this one right now, might need to rewatch it)

journey to the center of mikey’s mind

revenge of the triceratons (this one is only half highlighted for some reason)

bat in the belfry

tokka vs the world

requiem (sobs. sobs so so hard.)

end times

when worlds collide: part 2 (i think this one is where the giant navy battleship line comes from)

it’s ok if you don’t want to watch it or you’re not able to watch it but if you can and you don’t end up liking it THAT’S OK I TOTALLY GET IT THERE ARE A LOT OF PARTS THAT SUCK

erm anyways that was my strange ramble. sorry for invading your ask box 👍🏼

(oh yeah, the comics are pretty cool too)

(guess who michalina’s favourite character + duo is challenge (impossible))

Ok I will say oddly enough I’ve read the comics for 2012. Weird, but I pirated found them and enjoyed reading them, they were fun.

I have watched a few episodes - I did like the speed demon episode (I love the dynamic of 2012 donnie and Casey mirroring the 90s movies even down the name insulting scene where they are going through the alphabet) and I like parasitica a lot. I have watched others like journey to centre of Mikey’s mind, Buried Secrets, and the usagi episodes, and also the final episodes of the Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (? I cannot remember the name, but the one with the insect guy as the villain who’s name I can’t spell and can’t be bothered to Google lol), that one where Donnie becomes dumb, the vampire ones, but that’s it.

What puts me off is the romance and the (in my opinion) partial butchered character Donnie has due to it. He’s genuinely creepy and it makes watching it uncomfortable and wildly out of character compared to what I’m used to. I’ve never been a fan of romance, and I expect ally despise the whole “main character has a crush on someone else but is so nerdy they don’t know how to approach them” trope. The whole love triangle and the poorly written “love at first sight” which most the romances in the show are just put me off completely. I genuinely have tried other episodes but I cringe every time the Donnie/April romance happens. It’s a shame because when they let Donnie move on from April or not be simping after her I really like his slightly sarcastic, blunt yet sensitive nature.

I’ve heard they kind of throw away the romance at season 3 but it’s having to watch this until then tbh. Maybe one day I will give it a go if people really say it’s worth the suffering of my least favourite trope. You seem to like it a lot so maybe :)

[iamumbra195]

As much as I love the idea of Ichigo being adopted by the Shibas after Time Traveling to the turn back the pendulum era, I don't want him to change his name or an integral part of his identity for that particular cover. Having the name Kurosaki, especially with it's connection to his mother, means a lot to him and the Shibas, regardless of the fact that they are family as well are not his in a way his mom and dad-- who he knew as a Kurosaki, not a Shiba-- and sisters are.

Give me an Ichigo who clings to his real name and then goes to the human world soon after he joins the gotei because he hasn't quite built up the reputation he needs to become lieutenant/captain, looking through this century old version of Karakura only to bump into a woman who looks just like his mother, give or take a few years and orange hair a few shades darker than his own and he can't breathe for a moment because he has no idea who she is but he can't help but stare because how long has it been since he's seen that face?

Give me his maternal grandmother (my hc is that she has masaki in her late forties despite the fact that she had given up on the idea of having children at than point and then she, her husband and the rest Kurosaki clan were captured by Mayuri and the Shinigami for experimentation and then killed, resulting in Masaki being given to the Ishida's at a young age) meeting him and immediately being wary because this is a shinigami but also... something and she doesn't know how to feel about him because his spirit ribbon is nothing like the bloody crimson of Shinigami or the rotting black of hollows or the royal blue of Quincy but an odd ever-shifting ribbon that she didn't know the name of

Give me an Ichigo who meets his family from his mother's side and most of them turn their nose up at him because he's not a pureblooded quincy, because he is tainted by hollow and shinigami reiatsu alike but it's nothing new to him and the only ppl he really wants to get to know-- his grandparents-- are still willing to talk to him

Give me an Ichigo who visits with his grandmother (Kurosaki Rin) and after she gets to know him and trusts him a little more, begins teaching him little quincy tricks he'd occasionally seen Ishida or the other Quincy use but never knew how to use them.

Give me an Ichigo who learns how to summon a reishi sword in gigai and learns quincy history he never learnt before

Give me an Ichigo who loves literature as much as his grandfather (Kurosaki Yoichi) and they bond over that and the fact that his grandfather was a well known author in his times and his works had been amongst Ichigo's favourite because his mom had always read them and after she died, he had got his hands on them and read them over and over until he wore the pages down despite the fact that he wasn't quite old enough to understand what was going on in those pages

Give me an Ichigo who forms relations with the quincy side of his family and not only the shibas

that concludes my rant

[thekingofwinterblog]

Thoughts on some future post canon scenario for the Soul Eater anime?

If i were to write a followup to the Anime, i would focus on 2 overarching conflicts, and use them as backdrops for the main cast's further development.

Those two conflicts would be the age old conflcit between death's side and the witches, and how recent developments would naturally lead to escalation, while the other conflict i would gice focus is the rise of a new kishin, one who's madness was not fear, as we have explored that as far as it can go.

The witches are the secondary conflict of soul eater, but we are never given focus on it as two sides, just individual witches like medusa and her sisters.

You can easily change that however, and use the fact the two sides did not make peace in the anime for a sequel story.

Especially because something has changed. Something that would lohically be the next step in escalation.

The death of Kishin Asura proved that not only could the great old ones be defeated... It also showed how. By hitting them with an embodiment of their opposite.

That completely changes the ballgame when the next shinigami rises to take his father's place, because following the death of asura, the witches under mabaa would probably be very, very interested in doing to him, what Maka did to Asura.

I would have them try to turn this concept into an art, using magical science and understanding into discovering the exact in-universe mechanics behind this, and how to sinplify the process... Or maybe even use it as the basis for successfully taking control over a great old one that witches through both the anime and manga kept trying to do with Asura.

Excalibur has always been a true joke character... But imagine his power under the control of an antagonistic witch.

That would be both terrifying... And also keeping in theme with what Asura said at the end.

Even if Maka defeated him, some new, great evil would arise. A second, an heir, a successor, whatever, someone would rise to fill his void.

That was a risk Maka understood and accepted as she crushed Asura. She just did not care, because she refused to live her life in fear. If it did, she would handle it when the day came.

It also would ahow that Shinigami wasnt exagerating when he described the conflict between witches and his side as one of eternal esxalation.

Of course, this new stage of an age old conflict, and the potential rise of a new great Kishin would mainly be there to serve as the backdrop for our main cast. I would also very distinctly be taking this story in a more romantic development for all of them, exporing the fact that as the series ended, any followup would certainly have them be young adults.

Obviously kid's story would be about actually having taken his father's place, and actually having to continue his father's conflicts... As well as how Patty and Liz would fit into it. Has he considered the fact that just like his father he would outlive every single one of his friends and comrades? How would he react to that? We know how his father reacted to fear... He ripped it out and made Asura. But Kid is a new shinigami, that will have to find his own way.

As for the sisters, what do they want? Are they content to live as Kid's guns until the day they die? And if so, will that be as friends, or do they want aomething more out of it?

Tsubaki and Black star would be very similar to the manga journey, but with the cqveat that Black Star in this universe did not kill Mizune... Im not exactly sure how i would have his overall journey change as a result, but i feel that this moment was a truly decisive one in his development, so having him take a different route should have consequences.

As for Tsubaki, i'll be real, out of all the weapons she is by far the one that NEEDED to take her relationship with her weapon to the next level if you want her to actually develop as a character, but she just doesnt have many other routes to take... And it's not as if her wanting to take the next step with Black Star is a bad next step for her.

And finally we have Maka, Soul and Crona.

Now there are two sides of these i would explore. The romance, and the non romance.

The non-romance part is exploring their family lives. Medusa isn't dead for one, so that is something that needs to be adressed, but it's hardly the only one.

Soul and Maka both have families they love, but have run away from for various reasons, and in different ways. With Maka i would have her and Crona talk about it, and have Maka begin to come to terms with the fact that her mother abandoned her... Leading to them tracking her down. Wheter or she comes back home with them or not, the main focus would be closure.

Maka and her mother reaffirming their love for each other, while also not sweeping the very real faults of mrs albarn and how she handled her divorce under the rug. Maybe with maka having the realisation that she simply does not understand her mother, or that her mother simply is not capable or doing what she did, and taking another leap of faith like she did after Crona betrayed her.

As for Soul I would absolutely have him having to interact with his family(after he becomes a death scythe) again, but exploring their issues from a different angle, namely that for all his feelings of inaduqasies, his family never really regarded him as lesser in any way, and quite on the contrary, are really proud of him for becoming a death scythe.

Having to confront the fact that everything you saw wrong with the world is a bitter pill to swallow... But absolutely great for a character arc. It's mundane, but also a great window into Soul's character.

Now with that in mind, i would also use Soul's development for something else.

Namely having his newfound courage to confront things he doesnt like or feel confident aboyt head on lead to conflict, as he now is willing to confront a reality staring him in the face head on.

That conflict being Maka and Crona.

Now it's pretty clear in both the Manga and the anime that soul does have feelings for Maka, with his genderbent self(which represents his ideal idea for a partner) in particular looking very similar to a maka who let her hair grow long...

But that is not the case for Maka, who's ideal partner is a spindly beanpole, with short hair, with an andragonous looking boy that could easily be labled as either gender.

Now while the main cast took this ideal sense to play up what they see as no changes, what this "Ideal" partner represents is actually pretty obvious.

Namely how Crona looked before leaving the school, and by extension going through puberty.

In regards to how i would use this for this sequen to the anime, i would have Soul having to confront the fact the girl he likes in love with someone else... One of his own friends, who the anime seems to suggest moved in with him and maka after the Kishin's defeat.

One who, lets be frank, returns ALL of Maka's feelings.

There is SO much much juicy potential for great character developments and moments especially within the context that there is a very real war going on around all of them, where Maka and Soul need to be at their very best.

Not to mention that this would probably be one topic that would bring out genuine passion in the introverted Crona, who's development with Maka being the most important thing In Crona's life, having the reality that Crona is not the only person who loves Maka could be a very real wakeup that leads to further development.

And of course there is Maka in the middle of it all, where you cpuld handle it from several different angles. She could be the sane man, who is trying to keep their team focused on the mission, who is completely blindsided that Crona and Maka choose NOW of all times to have this discussion... Or you could have her be completely blindsided by the fact that Soul has feelings for her, and chooses to bare them to her before a romantic relationship with Crona(who she likes) has actually taken hold.

There are a lot of ways to handle it, and the aftermath, and subsequent reconnection as the partners have to come to terms with it, and decide where they fo from here. Its rife for great drama, and rooted in the respective character flaws and developments... As opposed to Manga Maka's sudden and out of nowhere fear she is inaduquate compared to soul.

Good character development and drama is built on what is already there, not inventing things whole cloth.

As for the next Kishin, wheter they be an existing character twisted to the path like Crona, or an entierly new character, i would probably play up the fact that the Witches wants to control them, while Death's faction wants to exterminate them... But in the end, it's a friendship from either, or both sides that in the end convinces the Kishin to do what neither Asura or Manga Crona did.

Give up on the power of their own free will, in favor of their bonds with other people, rather than embrace a lonely existence as the strongest thing alive.

Im not sure if i would completely end the conflict between witches and Death like the manga did, but i would definitly lay the groundworks for some kind of lasting peace at the end of season 2, where the two sides are just... TIRED of endless war, back and forths, retalitions and counterstrikes.

I think an uncertain future, but still one where the protagonists choose to give this peace between them a try, similar to the end of the original anime after Asura's defeat, would probably work best.

[priestessame]

How to break Captain Kuchiki

Leiutenant Reader X Byakuya

Fem! afab reader. Also, she is very clumsy. ღ(¯`◕‿◕´¯).

¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º° CRACK! one shot °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸

Summary: My, it seems like you waver the thoughts of even the most stoic men 🎀 🐰. Just some fluff and humor.

Warnings: Byakuya is a smitten tsundere and the reader is a clumsy idiot.

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God you hated this room.

Which was a little ungrateful to say when Isane had so graciously give you your own quarters. It was much relief that you didn’t have to share the space with other shinigami screaming with pain t as someone shoved medicine down their throats. But even with your own room you couldn't help but scrunch your nose in distaste. Because everywhere in the 4th division smelled exactly the same.

Like blood and bitter herbs.

By this time you should have gotten used to it. After all, you had long crossed the line that demarcated being clumsy, from being just plain unfortunate. Over your years as a lieutenant you had found yourself in the 4th division so much, that your own 3rd seat thought you had real thoughts of transferring.

Most of the time it wasn't your fault, like the one time you accidentally fell into one of Mayuri's experiments, or when one of Mayuri's experiments 'accidentally' fell on you. Or when you got commander Yamamoto an old-age home pamphlet (obviously captain Kyoraku thought it was a great idea).

So this time when you got sprayed with deadly poison, you begged Isane to just give you an ointment for the rash and let you go back to the 1st division. But obviously, she just brought you back here. Looking at the blisters up your thighs, Captain Unohana had agreed it was better to keep you under supervision for the night.

You sighed, being this accident-prone, meant division 4 was your second home. Not one you liked all that much, but home nonetheless.

To brighten your mood, Isane had really tried her best. Even now as she had tucked you in the futon tightly with fresh sheets. She had even put a vase of bellflowers beside your bed. Although with you in a white shroud and the flowers, the arrangement looked a little like a funeral offering. You groaned out in defeat, staring up at the wooden ceiling, the bitter aftertaste of the medicine curling in your mouth. If only this division smelled nicer, you thought, like freshly baked bread, or rain.... or fallen cherry blossoms.

You blushed with the sudden thought. Embarrassed at how easily you thought of him. It was like your mind had decided to torment you even more. Just the thought of the gorgeous man making your cheeks burn and toes curl. It was anything but appropriate to think of your superior that way, but thinking about his beauty was the only relief in such a sickly environment. You couldn't help let your mind wander.

You were always surprised by how mundane the afterlife was. There was nothing peaceful or magical about it, they still had violence and war and school. Even the Shinigami, the literal gods of death were not at all like the ones you had read about in literature on earth. Everyone here was very human. Everyone but him.

Captain Byakuya embodied everything haunting about death. The kind of Shinigami that seemed to have rolled off the canvas of an ink painting. He carried that kind of grace everywhere, from the smallest of his gestures to right into battle. A kind of refinement honed into nobility. You had always admired him as a character from a painting, gliding across a scroll, beautiful yet far removed from your own reality. Unyielding and unreachable, a god of death in every sense.

The first time you had seen him was when you were still in the soul academy. You were so star-struck at his elegance that you had sworn to yourself that you would become a soul reaper like him. Obviously, that was not how things turned out.

If anything, you were the absolute opposite of him. Without a shred of grace, the only time he had even looked at you was when you were having one of your clumsy streaks. Quick glances of exasperation as you tripped over yourself, either dousing Soi-fon in squid ink or bumping into an unsuspecting Toshiro.

Sometimes you wished that's all there was to your relationship. But all your reports had to be made directly to either Captain Byakuya or Renji himself. So you ended up working close to him most of the time. Somehow finding yourself in embarrassing situations with the captain even more than you found yourself in division 4.

The worst was when you were helping Renji find some damn artifact. You had tried to reach for something across your desk just as the captain looked for a scroll on the wall behind you. Your hip brushed against what you really hoped was his thigh and he had jerked backward so fast, that he crashed into the bookshelf behind him burying both of you under a debris of books.

All you did was apologize profusely and run away at full speed. Leaving a very confused Renji and a completely flustered captain behind.

You cringed at the memory. What was the point of your stupid heart racing around him? He probably just thought of you as a klutz that brought ill luck everywhere.

Especially after today. You thought bitterly.

Just the thought of how the poison had gotten on you in the first place made you want to cry. You closed your eyes just as there was a knock on the door.

"Get in Isane." you grumbled out, sure that it was her appearing for another check-up. You heard the sliding door open and cautious footsteps come in.

“Just how much trouble do you think he’ll have to go through to get another vial of poison from Mayuri?” You asked her, eyes still lidded.

“I don’t even want to think about the costs of it all” You sighed out before she could answer. “Stupid Renji couldn’t have picked someplace else to practice.”

This time you were practicing with Renji. Neither of you had expected Captain Byakuya to be around at the same time. Of course, Renji horribly misfired his Kido spell, which you should have easily dodged. But it sent you crashing into a very surprised Captain Kuchiki. If only that was the end of it, but you two tumbled head-first into a koi fish pond. The fall cracking Mayuri’s vial of poison that Byakuya was supposed to be sending back to the lab.

Not only had you completely embarrassed yourself, and given all the koi fish PTSD, your clumsiness had also destroyed a potentially irreplaceable object that Byakuya was responsible for. He was sure top bear the brunt for damaging it, and to ask Mayuri for a favor? Drinking the poison straight would have been less dangerous.

How could you even meet his gaze after something like that?

Isane seemed uncharacteristically quiet. But her silence only made you ramble even more. “After all, he’s so dignified and patient. He must already find me insufferable, and after what happened today.” Your voice trailed off as you groaned into your pillow.

“After this he must hate me.” You lamented.

Isane coughed awkwardly instead of responding. You finally peeked an eye open, ready to start talking again, only to jerk awake on realizing who it was.

"C-captain!" You exclaimed.

Sure enough, the captain of the 6th division stood before you. Eyebrows already knit together in annoyance. You tried to sit up awkwardly, Fucking Isane couldn't even give you a heads up?

He was so tall that he had to lower his head to avoid hitting the doorframe. His dark eyes as unreadable as ever, a hand pressed into the hilt of senbonzakura.

"I see you are well" He stated flatly. From the tone of his voice, you couldn’t tell if he was expressing concern or sarcasm. But your heart still leaped at his voice.

“y-yes.” You replied, eyes already wandering away from his frame. Why couldn’t it be drunk kyoraku who had come to check up on you instead.

"You didn't have to come all the way here Captain." You added sheepishly, it felt like a parent had come to chastise their troublesome child.

You watched his expression grow more confused at your words, "Of course I had to." he said before he could catch himself.

The hopeful look on your face made the room spin around him. It was a little pathetic how easily you had that effect on him. And what was worse was that you didn’t even have the slightest idea that you did that to him. Byakuya tried to find his footing again.

"As the captain and the head of the Kuchiki clan it's only appropriate that I check up on you," he replied bluntly. He felt his insides squeeze at the way your face fell slightly.

Your 'oh' was sad, it made him want to slap himself for not wording it better.

"Ofcourse." You said, "A form of propriety." Shrugging off the possibility that it was anything else at all.

There was a moment of silence as Byakuya fought to keep a straight face.

"It's... Not just for propriety." Byakuya admitted. "I felt... responsible." He tried again. "Concerned even, for your... Condition."

You tried to calm your thrashing heart. If you’re any louder, he’s going to hear it. Not knowing how to react to his words exactly.

Byakuya broke the silence again.

“Hold out your arm.” He said stoically

You straightened up like a soldier given a command. Byakuya cringed at himself internally, what could he have said to sound kinder? He thought to himself.

“May I Please see your arm?”

“If I may-“

“Can you please move your arm?”

“Please marry me”  

He sat down beside you, annoyed at himself. The truth was he felt more than just responsible for you.

You had just been there sparring with Renji, body moving with languid grace as you dodged his kido spell. And He couldn’t help but stop and stare. Too dazed at how your lips set in the smallest pout as you called his lieutenant names. To say the least, he was VERY distracted. Despite knowing how urgent the matter with Mayuri was, he couldn’t take his eyes off of you. He had become too lost in your playful sparing. So much so that he lost his own balance as you suddenly crashed into him. The next thing he felt was the cold of the water and your frame pressed up against him.

The bottle he was carrying cracked under the pressure of your bodies. With a morbid hiss, the deadly contents spilled out, dousing you.  

And Gods, the smell, of flesh burning. Although you said you were fine, he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep until-

His dark eyes pinned on the long sleeve of your white kimono. Well, until he saw for himself.

Byakuya had felt his stomach drop as your face had contorted with pain. In that moment he had expected the worst, knowing that he would never be able to forgive himself if this actually hurt you.

His gaze was anything but stern. You would even contest that it was actually worry that reflected in the captain's eyes. But you didn’t realize how bright red his ears burned as he did sit down beside you.

You peeled your eyes away from his fingers as he lifted the sleeve of the white dress Isane had given you, his long fingers circling your arm. His actions were cautious as if expecting a scarred mass of skin, but the more of your arm he revealed, the more relieved he was that he hadn't marred your arms.

You knew the poison wouldn't really affect you, the healing ability of your zanpakuto would take care of that easily. But you realised he still wanted to make sure.

The touch was uncharacteristically gentle.

You couldn't help but blush. Once satisfied his fingers reached to inspect your bicep. The poison had splashed into the right side of your body, across your limbs. The sleeve of your black kimono had sizzled as the cloth burned from the toxin. Just remembering the incident made him feel bitter.

For you to think he even had it in him to hate you. All he really wanted to do was cradle you to division 4 himself. To have you cave into his touch instead of flinching away like you had made a mistake. In that moment Byakuya just felt tired. So tired and sick of the misunderstood, unbending man they had honed him into. Tired of the falsehood of it all. Because he would give anything for you to not be so formal with him.

As his thoughts raged on, his fingers lingered on your skin a little longer than he wanted them to. 

You couldn't help but hold your breath, the moment was so vulnerable, so delicate that you felt as though the slightest movement would shatter it. The entirety of it you couldn’t understand either, but you wanted to hold this moment for as long as you could.

Suddenly the innocent touch seemed to burn into your skin. All of a sudden you were very aware of where you two were, how close he was to you. Your breath shallowed as his thumb rang along a fading battle scar. The captain retreated his fingers at once, noticing how easily your reatsu fluctuated.

The ghost of his touch lingered on your skin. He gave out an awkward cough, snapping you out of your trance.

"Captain, exactly how much trouble will I get in for this?" You asked finally, dreading his answer already. If the punishment was re-arranging scrolls in the 5th division again, you would much rather challenge Kenpachi to a duel, for some God damn reason, Captain Aizen made your blood run cold.

“Lieutenant,” he stopped you, “Why would you still think I was here to reprimand you?”

Your face fell, the bitterness of the room catching up to you again, "Because I was the one who messed up for everyone."

Byakuya couldn’t help but frown, "And what makes you think that?"

You looked at him like it was obvious, "just today!” you exclaimed, “ I completely ruined the practice area, everyone had to be evacuated and the fall made you lose one of your hairpins in the pond-“ you shook your head, “I’m just bad luck to be around.”

“Y/n” he cut you off, shaking his head.

Your heart skipped a beat. You had never heard him call you by your first name.

“I wish you weren’t this hard on yourself.” He said,

“You are…” He started.

His heart ached to think how little you thought of yourself. If only he could tell you how much light and life you bring to him. If only he knew how to actually show you how much you affect him- If his words would be any consolation to you, he didn’t care about the propriety he had to uphold. Just say it.

“You are a good soul reaper.” He said failing miserably.

Byakuya averted his eyes, you are a hopeless Idiot. He thought to himself.

In the moments that followed his words, you were almost stunned. Letting the weight of what he has actually said settle in your mind. Getting almost teary-eyed from just the relief that you hadn’t actually disappointed the captain you respected so much.

“So you aren’t angry with me?” You asked weakly, shifting so that you could sit hugging your knees.

Byakuya sighed, a feverish blush covering his face, “I’m not.” He told you. “Y/n- I-, about what you said earlier.” He continued.

After this he must hate me.

“I need you to know that I could never-

"Y/N!~" Isane's chirpy voice called out suddenly. You jumped.

Your leg jerked up with you and before you could stop it, your knee hit Byakuya square in the face.

"Oh my god!" you screamed as he clamped his fingers on his nose. Groaning in pain as he shuffled backward. 

"Captain, I-I'm SO SORRY" you wailed out, scurrying over to inspect the damage. But the man just held up a hand, almost flinching away from you. He threw his head back, blinking furiously through the pain.

Great now you have blinded him.

Isane ran inside, wincing he pulled his fingers from his face, allowing her to inspect. A stream of blood ran down his face.

"Clearly you're back to your usual strength," he spoke through the pain. “I shall take your leave then.” He said. The two of you watched as he hurried outside and you groaned out loudly into your pillow.

"There there-" Isane said patting your back, "It could have been worse."

Oh yes, you wanted to tell her, every time you think you are done embarrassing yourself in front of him, you somehow outdo yourself.

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[mysticdragon3md3]

I feel like after Twilight, people started labelling human/immortal ships as "problematic".

Yes, there was a lot of problematic stuff about the relationship dynamic in Twilight. (See Cinema Therapy's critiques of that relationship.) But people started using it as a springboard to find more problems with it, seemingly to virtue signal. (Or maybe to have an excuse to spotlight, on a broadly visible popular venue at the time, a real world problem with grooming's normalization? A topic which we as a society should be confronting, but unsure if making people walk on eggshells about "vampires/humans dating" is the way to do it.) It went to the point where they were nitpicking such a fantastical, unrealistic, "suspended disbelief" aspect of fantasy stories, with realistic standards that weren't really relevant to a story's themes. The entire fantasy genre had glossed-over age gaps between immortals/mortals before, because there were more important things in the story. It used to be, we'd have romances between long-lived elves and fairies and gods and other supernatural beings, with a human protagonist, and no one made accusations of grooming or problematic age gaps. We were already suspending disbelief over the fairy thing; no one was thinking about "ew, that eternally-young old man is dating a decades-younger woman". But now it's something that fandoms think about...concerning supernatural beings that don't exist...and completely fictitious stories. I dunno...Even the Cinema Therapy I just cited (if I recall correctly), also asks, "What does a hundred year old vampire have in common with a teenage human?" Those were not the discussions we used to have in the fantasy genre. Now I'm afraid to let people see me ship Bleach shinigami with human characters, or The Highlander with their significant other of the century, or Buffy/Angel. Should I be ashamed of shipping Inuyasha with Kagome? Should any ship between The Doctor and any human be called "grooming"? How about any god and the mortal mother of a demi-god? These fictitious age gaps were not the problem with those myths. These are ridiculous questions.

Yes, the Twilight canon ship reflects some real life problematic behavior that we should talk about. But the problem wasn't him being fictitiously immortal. It was how he treated her.

[moonfurthetemmie]

DS Dream could not be trusted with the Death Note. He’s already having people executed for crimes, this would just speed things up some.

The real question is whether or not he’d give half of his lifespan for the Shinigami Eyes, so he can see a person’s name and their remaining lifespan over their head.

But then we get into ‘if he can’t die of natural causes, then his lifespan would be infinity. How would you steal half of an immortal’s lifespan?’

Since one of the characters in the anime was meant to die via Murder, it’s clearly a Fate thing and not ‘this is when they’d die of old age, barring outside interference’

So…

What does the Shinigami see over his head…? Is it a finite number? Is it infinity? Would they be able to take half his life span if it was infinity?

I mean there’s no way the Shinigami would tell him, right? That’d be no fun. And if they do tell him it’s infinity, can he trust them? Can he trust that they’re not just trying to convince him to give them part of his life?

Is he willing to risk the possibility of dying far sooner than he thought he might?

What is he willing to sacrifice in the name of the greater good?

Also, his and nightmare’s lifespans SHOULD be tied together, but I’m very curious if the eyes and numbers take into account the destiny bond being severed. Would the numbers over their heads change once the bond is broken?

wouldn’t it be funny if one of them had ♾️ over their head and the other had a finite number

[bleachbleachbleach]

All right B3 I gotta know...what concept of time do Shinigami use? How do they mark or measure the hours of the day? What kind of clocks or time-telling devices do they use? Analog or sundials?

“There are not just two times,” notes the physicist Carlo Rovelli in The Order of Time. “Times are legion: a different one for every point in space.” What we think of the present, he writes, “does not extend throughout the universe.” Rather, “it is like a bubble around us.” The “well-defined now,” as he calls it, “is an illusion.”

— “The Science of the Perfect Second,” by Tom Vanderbilt in Harper’s Magazine (April 2023).

Where time is concerned, I think we have enough canon evidence to say that the standard the Gotei has chosen is “whatever best coincides with the living world,” a 24-hour day with hours and minutes and seconds.

We see this mostly in the Soul Society arc, where Rukia’s execution is timed to the hour, and Hinamori has a whole alarm clock:

This isn’t to say there aren’t other forms of time in play as well (earlier Rukia tries to direct Chad toward the “hour of the tiger,” which no one else has ever mentioned as far as I know—maybe this is Kuchiki time, maybe this is Inuzuri time). I kind of feel like Soul Society may have embraced the multiplicity of different available measurement systems even harder than we have. Like, we have the age-old battle between Imperial and metric, and countless additional Indigenous, religious, etc. systems of measure. They have madness.

At the same time, I can think of some reasons this wouldn’t be true: Their world—at least, a world they have institutional memory of—is smaller than ours, in that there were fewer generations across which things might change, and fewer population loci (or rather, a singular locus, that being the Seireitei). There is also, of course, the near-infinite variations within Rukongai—but where shinigami are concerned, it’s the Seireitei and the Seireitei. Anyone shinigami happens to be familiar with X, Y, or Z system of Rukongai measurement is still going to know what the Seiretei uses; and what the Seireitei uses is probably 1) whatever the nobles continue to assert, combined with 2) whatever the 12th is begging people to use instead (Gotei-specific standard being the latter).

Which brings us back to the Gotei usage of mainstream Living World time.

The very interesting follow-up questions, of course, are:

Why?

To what end?

Practical Reasons

Despite the fact that this conception of time is even more removed from that which it is derived than it already is for us, there are practical reasons for its usage: Shinigami understand their purpose to be mediating the balance of souls across dimensions, which means their work directly concerns the Living World. For the sake of the dangai and keeping the number of shinigami that vanish in it to a minimum, standardizing time as much as possible seems important. It gives the 12th something to work with—some worldview that can unify the worlds a little bit and make all of this interdimensional travel and tracking possible! (See the links at the end of this post for further discussion!)

Also, without standardizing time across dimensions how are you supposed to make it to your Worm TV Zoom meeting on time? (Sidebar: I’ve previously hypothesized that the pomp and circumstance of the Worm TV was about network security but let’s be real, it’s probably also how you have a conversation in [nearly] real-time across dimensions. I would not be surprised if there was a wicked delay on denreishinki messages/data. See: The Great Gentei Kaijou Debacle of 2001.

Ideological Potentials

What follows are five ideas I think are interesting potential outgrowths of the discussion on Soul Society's use of mainstream Living World time:

1. Having chosen Living World time as the standard doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the most relevant concept of time for vast swathes of non-dangai/shinigami life in Soul Society.

We get “shinigami aging makes no sense” discourse all the time, but like, there’s at least two ways of looking at that: Either shinigami aging doesn’t work with (this concept of) time, or it’s this concept of time does not work for them. "Time" not working/not applying isn’t unique to shinigami, and we have plenty of Living World examples of this: Indigenous time, crip time, Island time, &c.

Functionally relevant or not, though, I think Living time holds additional, deep-seated ideological meaning for shinigami, too.

2. The choice of Living World time as Soul Society’s standard plays an active role in making and defining the relationship between shinigami and the living.

At a basic level, the purview of shinigami is death, and “life” may be described as being in time, where “death” is being out of it. This is complicated by any number of things—namely, there being an afterlife and some version of time still operating there, lol, but also the notion that being in time the “correct” way makes you more alive (see: crip time), or the notion that life and death are dualistic opposites (religiously and culturally, not a universal truth). It's of course further complicated by the fact that even if it's not the most relevant measure of time in Soul Society, time does in fact (now) exist there. Soul Society is not out of time so much as it is in time in very strange ways that stretch the definition of what that's supposed to mean.

3. The Living World is a moving target, as far as understanding it goes.

It’s constantly changing, and even if a soul is a soul is a soul, I feel like there’s no way the relationship between shinigami and the Living World has enjoyed the same level of elemental stability. Even taking only the 20th century into account, the cultural significance of shinigami and other such folklore in Japan has had massive swings. Who’s to say the Meiji Restoration and “modernization” didn’t make shinigami work way harder? Who’s to say the re-emergence of said folklore post-WWII and through the mid-20th century didn’t similarly impact what it meant to be a shinigami, how hard it was to do your job, and how much job you had to do? (Is reishi even thinner when fewer humans believe it might exist? Is it thicker under torii gates, or in spaces of ritual?)

Going off of that:

4. If ways of knowing can impact ways of being with respect to the relationship between shinigami and the Living World, perhaps Soul Society itself feels those impacts even more strongly.

The nature of zanpakutou is all about manifesting the inner into the outer world, and given that Soul Society is reishi all the way down, maybe some version of that holds true for Soul Society as a whole: It has seasons and solar days and all of these things, in these particular ways, not just because it exists in the echo of the Living World but also because bringing this concept of time to Soul Society has effected concrete (inasmuch as anything reishi is “concrete”) change in Soul Society. Maybe, given enough time, shinigami could wake up one day and Soul Society WOULD have a molten core and a real moon.

Or maybe there are too many additional forces working against any kind of progressive trajectory (see: Soul Society anachronisms, see: the incredible stretchiness of space-time in Rukongai/traveling across Rukongai [yes I’m thinking about Renji in the Bount arc, I am never not thinking about Renji in the Bount Arc]).

The relationship between Soul Society and the Living World, in addition to being defined in terms of life and death, could also be defined in terms of the material and the spiritual. Perhaps time becomes a critical link point between the two. In the Living World, units of measurement broadly writ have gradually lost their material referents; instead of measuring every kilogram against a literal kilogram object, The Kilogram, kept in a French vault, they are now measured in terms of universal constants, or math. But time has never been material, and maybe that makes it ideologically special for Soul Society and the Living World—a point of relation, an opportunity.

5. Living World philosopher Henri Bergson suggests that the spirit is anchored in the past and the body in the present, and time is the union of the spirit and the body.

Basically, he theorizes that pure memory is within the purview of the spiritual, and in order to react with consciousness you need to perceive something and let memory impress itself on what it means to you--it requires relation with the past. Spiritual beings and the past aren't exactly the same thing in Soul Society, but the way time and memory work and the way image functions in Edo-looking Soul Society roll together in cool ways here.

And perhaps time, then, becomes a way of laying claim to the shinigami’s prime directive: To be shepherds of souls, stewards of the balance between realms. If time, and by extension, the relationship between shinigami and the living, can be defined with *increasing specificity*, then perhaps in some courts this might prove the prime directive, prove the legitimacy of the shinigami project--that is, their relationship to the Living World and what it is they think their job is.

Then time becomes both a means of relation and intimacy between these words and their denizens, and also a measure of control/claim that is as loving (six hearts beating as one) as it is violent (thousand-year blood wars).

Further Food for Thought:

-> “In Search of Lost Time,” by Tom Vanderbilt in Harper’s Magazine (2023), which inspired a lot of my thinking here and offers an absolutely beautiful rumination on time, systems of measurement and their dematerialization, and different elemental clocks. I’ve read this three separate times this year because I liked it that much!

-> “The Tyranny of Time,” by Joe Zadeh in Noēma (2021), which is also about the standarization of time and the ways our minds and bodies might be out of sync with this standard; and is also about the historical muddiness of time and timezones and time in scatters of English villages.

-> More on the "Hour of the Tiger" thing:

-> More about different conceptions/measurement systems of time, and its wimeyness in historical Japan and also Soul Society (see "info" tab for our response tags):

-> Thinking about time at an existential timescale (primordial ooze shinigami):

-> Followed up by more about Universal Time and the Dangai:

[homemademustard]

For day 2 of @rumicworldweek I wrote a silly little thing to show my love for one of the many doomed Rumiko Takahashi love rivals out there

Summary: Tsubasa ponders an intriguing change in Sakura and what this means for his love quest. Set post-manga finale. 628 words. Gen.

Read under the cut. Also available on AO3.

The more Rika and Miho chit-chatted beside him, the more Tsubasa Juumonji furrowed his brow. Feigning ignorance, he decided the decades-old exorcism journal he was holding in his hands was more worthy of his attention.

“Sakura-chan has been smiling more since she made up with Rokudou-kun, don’t you think?”

“I told you! They are so dating, they can’t even hide it anymore”

And it was this exchange the one that made him finally take his eyes off the carefully annotated instructions on how to create a special blend of holy ashes. He went on to scan the classroom, as he normally did, in search of the object of his affection. Sakura Mamiya was handing the aforementioned redheaded Shinigami an additional bento box. The memory of the recent embrace those two had shared in the Spirit World –as seen through Annette-sensei’s crystal ball– burned in his mind. Thus, Tsubasa stared intently at the rumored couple, curious to see if the consequences of whatever had happened between them were a threat to his own love story.

His world momentarily sank as he contemplated how the normally stoic Sakura was indeed smiling the sweetest smile he had seen thus far. And she was dedicating that smile to Rinne of all people. He could almost swear he’d noticed a hint of a blush in her perfectly soft-looking cheeks.

But Tsubasa was, of course, a man of logic. This has an easy explanation, he told himself. The additional lunch was at this point a tradition of the friendship between Sakura and the financially broke Rinne Rokudou. And it’s not like the food itself was carefully cooked by Sakura herself, no. Perhaps her mom (age 39) had overdone her cooking portions once again. And the blush? Merely a trick of the mind, a most treacherous doubt that the bumbling Rika and Miho had planted in him with their constant gossiping.

His pulse violently accelerated the moment he noticed Sakura had returned to her normal expression and was staring back at him. He saw her –oh so charming– lips moving, muttering an excuse to Rinne as she strode towards the lovestruck exorcist.

“Is there anything wrong, Tsubasa-kun?” He could honestly never grow tired of the way her voice sounded whenever she pronounced his name, no matter the tone she used. Each of the syllables was his own private concerto.

“M-Mamiya-san” he initially spouted, a sudden confidence growing in his chest as he came up with a solution to disguise his stalking. “My father got me an exorcism job downtown this afternoon and I wondered if you wanted to come along, that’s all”

“Oh, sure”

And then the smile came back, and with it Tsubasa could feel his heart melting in real time. He failed to notice that this version of her facial expression was subtler –polite, even– compared to the one offered to his rival moments ago. After all, if he could elicit the most exquisite upturn of Sakura Mamiya’s lips, then Rinne Rokudou wasn’t as special as the girl’s friends had claimed.

I still have a shot with Mamiya-san, he internally shouted with glee, both of his fists up in the air. Today we’ll go on a date and maybe I’ll get to see more of her adorable smiles!

Or maybe not so internally…

“Juumonji-kun, you said that out loud. Again”, he heard an exasperated Rika say.

But Tsubasa Juumonji, young master of Western-style exorcisms (and self-delusions) paid no attention whatsoever. Not even to the stinging pain the tip of one irritated Rinne’s Shinigami scythe was inflicting on his head as he bluntly hit him, nor to the chilly and tight embrace of the long-distance traveling disembodied spirit of one Ayame Sakaki.

There was nothing for him to be worried about in the end.

[thattotalloserrain]

Terms in this post

Adoptive - The person that was adopted into the family

Adopted - The person who adopted a person into the family

As I notice new fans continue to enter the TMNT fandom, (or people are starting to talk about it more) I’m going to talk about 2012 especially because a lot of people are missing the points of writing flaws, and people are arguing for the wrong points and defending very problematic relationship issues.

I’ve came across this post, and it was really… concerning. I’m not gonna name them, or point them out, (And I can’t find the post, so I don’t know if it was deleted or not) but if you know what I’m referring to then just be respectful, I don’t mean any disrespect either because at the end of the day… It’s a cartoon, and we can still enjoy things while there’s still questioning things about it. The only harm that may come to conversations like these is because it can be very serious in real life. Yet, I find it strange how people are defending the wrong things for the same problem: the writing.

Let’s paint the picture.

The turtles are just now starting to go out to the surface, and with Leo’s situation, he ends up fighting a girl from the Foot. Romance is in the air, and he definitely falls in love with her. He never met her in his life, but he knew that he was the daughter of his fathers enemy- his adopted brother. (Let’s keep the adopted part in mind for later) So they already knew she was related in some way, blood or not.

Okay this is fine, it’s normal, and it’s trop that writers like to do- good guy falls in love with bad guy- it’s great. Until…

Now, Splinter has to tell Leo something after he also discovered it. His new born daughter that he thought perished that same night he lost his wife , and that so happened to be the girl Leo was fighting with. (And falling for) Is alive.

My 11 year old self at the time when he told that, made me widen my eyes.

I want to point out that TMNT 2012 is my favorite, and always will be. But that doesn’t mean I won’t point its serious flaws that the writers have done. For example,

Writing Donnie to be a stalker, (He is. There’s no argument about it. Following a girl, and getting caught after being told NOT to, is stalking behavior! Even when there’s good thought behind it! Poor Donnie doesn’t deserve to be written like that, though.) But as soon as we see that character development be “Yeah, I shouldn’t do that. I will stop.” The same girl she falls for is like “NAH, it’s okay because you’re my mutant~! Doesn’t help anything either.

Having Donnie, April, and Casey in this weirdest love triangle ever. (She tells both of them that she needs space at some point, but whenever they DO, she does something that makes that behavior more acceptable at that time. She goes back and forth between them clearly. And again it’s not April’s fault when she has bad writers)

We have Mikey that’s just doing his thing but ends up having something between Renet (whom isn’t born yet, but what the shell, at this point it fits the writing themes beautifully.) and Shinigami (Who wouldn’t, she is literally so hot.)

Now, I KNOW people are going to smite me for this but it’s only fair I still point things out in one of the best ships of the show so I can try to remain as unbiased as possible- Raph meets an alien in space. No questions between if they’re even equivalent to the same age or near, and already starts making out with her only within an episode (perhaps a few days) Kind of just like how Donnie also did with falling for April.

And we don’t see much with Yoshi having a relationship with Tang Shen until season 4, because she’s literally dead, and we haven’t seen any other interaction with her besides Splinter standing ground to his loyalty of his clan.

Do we see the similarities of why these writing flaws is happening? Do you see what they are common with?

They’re all relationships. The entire shows writing flaws, nearly every single one has to do something with relationships.

Every. Single. One.

The writers wanted to put romance into it, and failed miserably.

If you’re still reading this, congrats. I’m not done yet.

I feel as if I need to put some of my life experience into this to hope you all see the point I’m trying to make, and I know people that may have experienced similarly, that they still could have very different opinions to my own.

I’m adopted. And I only found that out when I became a teenager. Just as Karai has. I was lied to over and over and OVER again until I was finally told.

I’m not going to label Leorai something to extreme, but the ways people are defending it, is almost making it look like they know it is at some way, and are trying so hard to make it look like it’s completely fine, and you know what I’m talking about if you’re still reading this post, or you’re catching on to what I’m saying, I’ll make it very short and simple. And it’s really gross and scary how people think it’s okay.

Leo, and the rest of the turtles is related to Karai. Being a sister, or not. If they truly can’t be siblings, they are at least cousins, if we’re going to argue about how they weren’t raised together at all which… doesn’t make someone not related to someone.

And it was established that they both have romantic feelings for each other.

An argument that I saw was that the turtles aren’t technically adopted, or shares any DNA with Karai. (And honestly perhaps not, but we literally can’t rule anything out because we don’t have anything like mutagen in OUR world, so we can’t even argue anything about science because guys, come on… They’re four giant human turtles, and then there’s a literal trash mutant, so I don’t think we can say we’re experts on how mutagen works in this world or not.) So therefor, Leorai doesn’t count as (insert extreme label) And Splinter is also a harsh teacher, so Therefor- they aren’t his sons in any way because he can’t legally make them his sons. What?

Splinter is a mutated rat, and he may have just bot four baby turtles as a human, having no idea what is about to happen. Where is he going to go to the city, and find someone who would let him adopt four mutant turtles, to be his legally, official sons that he loves so much? Are we kidding? We’re going degrade the way that Splinter died and Mikey literally cried out “Papa.” And the thousands of times he calls them his sons and they their father and teacher? Fathers and mothers ARE our life teachers. And splinter KNOWS, that if NONE of them can defend, or fight for themselves, they would be killed easily from the harsh world. Of course his teachings will see VERY harsh. But he is literally preparing them for the worst, because he knows it can happen because he experienced it when he lost his wife to his adopted brother. And comparing to his brother, his brother literally kidnapped his daughter after murdering her mother and attempted murder of his adoptive brother! Why are we saying it’s okay for this heartless man to have the right to have Karai when Splinter can’t even do anything legally because he’ll get killed just from being a mutant?

Why is this even a point to make it seem like Leorai is okay or not? It literally makes no sense to use this as a reason why it is or shouldn’t, it has nothing to relate to it whatsoever. And at the end of the day, this entires shows romantic relationships isn’t okay. It’s just degrading a good father, and praising a horrible one for doing the ‘legal’ and ‘better’ thing??

Okay, another point that I saw was that none of the turtles weren’t raised or even knew Karai to begin with. That is true. They didn’t know she existed; and when they met her, they all didn’t know how she was related to them either way. Until they knew that Karai was Shredder’s daughter, then they definitely knew that the could be in some way. But like… if I find a sibling out there, adoptive, blood or not, I would back the heck out. It’s not the 1800’s where it’s fine to marry your cousin or aunt/uncle. And apart if the argument is that they can’t help their feelings or change them in anyway. (Pardon my language, but what the f*ck.)

Do you know who in the show was raised to be brothers, and ended up hating their guts, like literally? Splinter and Shredder. They changed they way they felt. And yes, it is more extreme comparing it to Leorai, but it’s also stupid not to point it out because it’s obvious.)

People are trying so hard to make it look like Leorai is fine in anyway, and it isn’t. It just plain isn’t. But again, the way people are defending (insert extreme label) They are still related. They. Are. Still. Related. Blood or not, they are. It is not okay to okay this behavior and or/writing that it is.

And people are defending this SO much they really believe and can say that it’s not (insert extreme label) because it only has to have two people be related by blood to make it (insert extreme label). Which isn’t the case, if someone is related to someone in anyway, then it is (inset extreme label.) and if you’re this person, your painting yourself as a person that is okay with in*st in anyway. I said what I said. If people can defend things like this, I can say my thoughts as well.

Get your head out of those sewer apples and GROW up. It’s fine to admit your wrongs and realize that things about your favorite show just isn’t okay. The writers wrote very problematic things, it’s the writers fault, and it’s okay to still like this specific show as a whole. Don’t let nostalgia make you look like you can also defend other problematic things.

Congrats; you made it to the end. Have a pizza 🍕

[nyxneon]

I wrote it once and i'll write it again, I think in Bleach shinigami's aging is "discretional", meaning that it's based on a mix of personality, style, experiences, personal issues and even choice.

That is why we have characters who are super old but look kinda young (Unohana, and to a certain extent Ukitake and Kyoraku), characters who seem stuck looking like kids (Hitsugaya) and others who seem to be aging in a more..."human" way (Renji, Rukia, Kira, Akon, Hisagi, Nanao...) but who probably won't change for a looong time now that they look "like normal adults" (in a human sense).

Example: Akon looked like a kid (and was perceived as a kid, I guess) when Hiyori was already looking like she is now, but in the meantime he grew up a lot and looks "older" than her. (I think Hiyori looks "young" mostly because of her bratty personality and hairstyle...but I see her as an adult anyway.) Another example is Nanao. We saw her looking like a little child when Lisa was already an adult. Now they basically look the same age. (Hisagi was a kid when Kensei saved him. Their age difference can kinda be seen... but anyway, Kensei was a grown-up and stayed sort of the same, while Hisagi grew up.)

Kenpachi met Unohana when he was a kid and she had already been around a long time. She stayed the same basically, and he grew up. In the present he looks as old as her, or maybe even older. Maybe just because he's so into fighting anything and anyone...

Aizen looked younger when he was Shinji's lieutenant, obviously, but by the time they meet again Shinji looks...kinda... younger than Aizen (but that might be because of Shinji's style).

In general, it seems to me a quite linear thing: shinigami just age super slowly compared to humans (but in childhood their aging is faster or more evenly paced). When they reach some sort of adulthood, they sort of stop visibly aging for a long while.

It seems kind of reasonable to me and probably the most inconsistent one is... Hitsugaya. I think he still looks like a kid because...he feels like a kid. He acts mature and arguably he is more mature than other adults around him, but... i get the idea that for some reason he is subconsciously "preventing himself" from growing up.

Then we could discuss the issue "how old do the various shinigami look in human terms" till kingdom come and I guess some people would have pretty hilarious ideas (example: the people who claim that Hinamori is "supposed to look like a child" or that Shinji is supposed to look like a teenager because "he went to Ichigo's school"... 😒)

So, is their aging kinda wonky? Yes. But it also makes sense, imho.

(I won't get into the obvious issue of Ichigo looking...not like a 17 year old, because that is a long-standing tradition of shonen manga... the guys in Saint Seiya were supposed to be 14/15 or something and they were... hella jacked. So...yeah. Even all the girls in Sailor Moon looked a lot older than their "real age"... so...yeah, again.)