#in this episode of ‘the ramblings of a madwoman’ I forget the original point and start waxing poetic but the poetry is bad

[acediaedeus]

the reason I like Grimmjow so much is, obviously, because he’s a feline-adjacent character and that’s all I really need. and that’s also why my mission in this life is to slap as many feline traits on him as possible.

but before that I need to reinforce my “cat person Ichigo” agenda, because he would definitely be one, and not just because of Grimmjow, no. I just feel like if Ichigo had to get a pet it would be a cat, because cats are rather self-sufficient and independent, they don’t require 24/7 attention (rather hate it even), their needs are easily met and over all they are quiet, calm. cats enjoy a great nap and lazing around, but do get into a playful mood at times, which all sounds to me very much like Ichigo. also I think the ways cats show affection would really appeal to him, as well as their companionable silence, their presence small, but comforting, because they let you know you’re not alone.

so, enter Grimmjow with all his feline grace, a predator to his very core, snappy and yet intelligence shines in all that he does. and when things come down to affection he is still so very cat-like with it. a cat who’s been hurt, had to fight and hunt to survive, bristly and quick to anger and oh so slow to trust. just like the stray that you see on a street, that you get down on your knees for and thrust your hand out so it can sniff it or swipe its claws at or get frightened by, forcing it to retreat, run away, whatever wins out in that stray’s mind: curiosity, flight or fight. and Grimmjow is that stray too, but pride won’t let him run away and he’s been wondering the world long enough to not be so easily swayed into what could very well be a trap by mere curiosity. that is, until Kurosaki Ichigo.

and so Grimmjow meets him and falls into his trap, not willingly, not without a fight. he hisses and growls, he yells and spits venom, he scrambles to get out, claws like daggers swiping at everything, anything, to find something to dig into, so he can pull himself out. and yet he can’t, and with time resigns himself to the fact, that he doesn’t even really want to.

Kurosaki’s presence at first disappoints, nothing, but prey in all his terror, shaking hands, erratic movements, but as the fight goes on the boy feels less and less like prey, and then his mouth is twisted into something deranged, something similar if not identical to Grimmjow’s own smile, all sharp teeth and the promise of violence. maybe not so disappointing after all. every next time they fight each other after that Kurosaki’s presence gets more intense, at times making Grimmjow’s hair stand on end. and then they don’t see each other for a long time, and then they do, and Grimmjow somehow failed to notice when Kurosaki’s presence stopped feeling like something crushing down on him, urging him to fight against whatever it is and destroy it, and more like a blanket, light, but there, seemingly insignificant and yet comforting and warm.

Kurosaki Ichigo doesn’t feel like a fight all the time anymore, although Grimmjow enjoys every second of it when he does, and he finds that he doesn’t mind it as much as he thought he would. the boy, who’s not even a boy anymore, is there, on his knees before a stray, holding out his hand, ready to bleed, but hoping for softness. and Grimmjow is that stray, ready to claw and yet choosing to trust, if only for a second. and when that trust doesn’t result in hurt, Grimmjow finds it brings security.

anyway, before I ramble even more, oh my god, what is this?!?!?? all I wanted to write was “Grimmjow and Ichigo are like those lions you see in TV programs about wildlife, nuzzling each other’s heads and then flopping down against the other for a nap”??? what is this shit 💀🙏🏻??