#kind of ironically June 17th is around the time June-bearing strawberries are ready for picking

[acediaedeus]

I love the “Ichigo using a strawberry flavoured shampoo” propaganda in fanfics, but let’s be honest. a dude who hates it when ppl interpret his name as the berry, and not “first hero” or wtvr, would not use or even buy a strawberry flavoured/themed anything.

although we can go with someone else (Karin) buying it for him, but he would just steal and use hers in retaliation, no matter how “girly” that one would be (although I think Karin would use men’s shampoos).

it would be immensely funny though, if Ichigo actually liked strawberries, like it’s genuinely his favourite berry and he enjoys the scent/flavour, but won’t use anything associated with strawberries, because otherwise he’ll get teased to hell.

also, how about Masaki loving that her son’s name has this cute meaning along with a serious one, and so always using strawberry flavoured shampoos for Ichigo, making strawberry shortcakes, smoothies, buying him a T-shirt with them on it, hair clips and hair ties with strawberries for him, her, and then the twins too laying all over the house. Ichigo had a strawberry plushie and a blanket with strawberry print since BIRTH.

but then his mother dies. and all of those things become too hard to look at, to enjoy, even if the whole family loved them at one time, so they go in the closet. the only reminder of strawberries in the house since Masaki’s death is a sticker on her poster.

Ichigo’s love for strawberries and his name died along with his mother on the rainy day of June 17th.

when Grimmjow comes around, and they start to hang out more, even outside of the spars (scandalous, I know), one of the first things he wants to try are strawberries. cue a very smug-looking Grimmjow devouring like a kilo of strawberries in front of Ichigo, who grows redder with every berry, that gets crushed by Grimmjow’s teeth. whether it’s from anger, embarrassment or a secret third option (hor-knee) nobody knows.

he does, eventually, return Ichigo’s love for the berries, because he gives him a new positive thing to associate them with. plus, Grimmjow’s intentions are pure, even with all that teasing. he genuinely only likes strawberries because they remind him of Ichigo. (after some time in the LW he also tries oranges, and declares them to be Ichigo’s fruits too).