#the ichigo vs grimmjow one

[hydrasaura]

i'm going to buy a bleach volume and i never read/watched bleach nor i don't think i ever will

[reineydraws]

same ship, different font ☠️🔥

[yggdraseed]

Reflecting on Ichigo vs. Grimmjow

This past week, we lost electricity and internet for a few days. In addition to engendering a much deeper appreciation for modern amenities in me, it led me to dust off a bunch of old Shonen Jump issues I bought at Kroger when I was a kid! Someday I'd like to collect a copy of every English monthly and weekly Shonen Jump anthology, but that's not the point of this post.

No, the point is that while thumbing through them, I encountered the last chapter of Ichigo's fight with Grimmjow, and I was struck by how much of the subtext and emotion I missed as a dumb teenager. That's not to say all teenagers are dumb, I don't think they are and I think the way that adults in general look down on and bully adolescents is stupid and wrong; I'm just saying I, myself, was a teenager once, and back then, I was dumb as hell.

Anywho, I remember really, really being struck by that flashback to when Grimmjow was still an Adjuchas and running with his pack that all eventually became his Numeros. When I was a teen, I don't think I had the mental framework to understand why, but now I do. The whole concept of the Arrancar is a hell of a lot more fascinating with all the things I've learned and opened myself up to since then, and looking with fresh eyes at this one chapter of Grimmjow and his interactions with his underlings and Ichigo was a real thrill.

It's interesting how, while Shinigami get stronger by cloaking themselves in Hollow powers, Hollows get stronger by becoming more like Shinigami. They tear off their masks, assume more-or-less human forms, and store their full Hollow form as zanpakuto for the renewal and empowerment of Resurrección. And I've started to reflect a lot on what monsters taking on humanoid form means for the story's themes.

When I look at the Espada, I see these once animalistic phantoms who exist only to consume and perpetuate their own existence who have now taken on human form and the very human search for meaning in some form. Yammy's a bad example of this like he is for fucking everything, but maybe the point is that he's such a big lug with so much power to throw around that he doesn't need to try to give his life meaning? But that's a reach.

Starting from Number 9 instead, we have Aaroniero, the only Gillian in the Espada. The Gillian are the first stage of Menos Granda, resulting from the hunger that defines all Hollows becoming so great that human souls no longer can satiate them, and so they cannibalize each other in a huge feeding frenzy that eventually produces a Gillian. As a result of smashing all these Hollow personalities together, they lose their individual identity, as seen with how Gillian all have the same appearance until they metamorphose into the next phase, an Adjuchas. When this happens, an individual identity asserts itself.

I don't believe that Adjuchas are actually representative of any one living human's former identity like non-Menos Hollow are. Rather, I think that an Adjuchas is a whole new identity that originates from that congealed mess of interfeeding and assimilation that produces a Gillian. Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I don't think any of the Arrancar were once living humans, in that I think their experience as individuals begins at their emergence as Adjuchas.

Getting back to Aaroniero, he (they? it?) was probably just on the borderline between Gilian and Adjuchas. So you have this sort of very broad strokes, half-animal consciousness that's only starting to become self-aware again. Aaroniero only has a little more going on in his/their inner life than the primal desire all Hollows have to feed, and I think that bears out in how Aaroniero takes the identity of what's eaten and lives to eat. Aaroniero only has a little more than hunger, but is using that hunger as a basis for meaning and trying to create an identity by eating otthers and integrating them. Perhaps unfortunately, Aaroniero dies before completing self-actualization.

Szayel Aporro, the next rung on the ladder, is also defined by desire in a more broad sense. It's not only hunger, but also lust and more complicated forms of greed that drive him. He's a scientist, but in the sense that he's possessed of avarice for knowledge. And his Resurrección reflects a desire for power over others - over their bodies and over their fates. In that way, following his desires leads to meaning for him, to some sort of goal: acquiring knowledge and more complex, effective means to then acquire more knowledge and satisfy other desires.

Zommari is marked by fanatical love. Love is interesting in that it's simultaneously a desire and a virtue: to love someone or something is to desire them, but also to desire their wellbeing. It's a need to meet the needs of someone or something besides yourself. And yet, Zommari has this very immature, incomplete love: he makes all of these adulations towards love, but in the end, his Resurreción forces others to love him and serve him. He's unable to go outside of himself at this stage, but while he's beginning to see the big picture, it all still comes down to his own primal desire to have, to possess, even if not necessarily to consume.

I could keep going up the list, but I'm going to stop at Grimmjow for now because he's the one on my mind the most due to recency bias. He and his pack of Adjuchas ended up settling on a very different desire from any of the foregoing Arrancar: power. Not consumption, not possession, but growth and evolution. Obviously the latter is attained by and makes it easier to attain more of the former, but the point is that it's a very different relationship to the world and the self from what Aaroniero, Szayel Aporro, and Zommari have going on.

Grimmjow and his underlings have as their primary, guiding objective not to fill their stomachs or secure possessions, but to evolve further and realize their latent potential. This is no longer in the realm of meeting some primal need like hunger, security, or some other form of tangible, useful abundance. Self-improvement for its own sake is something very abstract and symbolic, something downright esoteric if you're only looking at biological utility. It's something almost unspeakably human, to do something not for the benefit of survival, but because you've decided it's meaningful.

That's Grimmjow and his pack. They've declared that strength has meaning even if it doesn't meet your needs and desires, and so they make sacrifices on the altar of strength. And it's why his subordinate Adjuchas are so distraught when they realize they can't go further. Strength is their meaning, their tether guiding them through the dark desert of existence, and now they've obtained all of it that they can. Not for lack of trying, but because they had a built-in limit. I think you could argue that wanting Grimmjow to eat them is partly a suicidal response to realizing they're at the end point of their chosen meaning and can't proceed further with it.

However, it's also fascinating that rather than just ending it themselves in some way, they all choose to offer themselves up to Grimmjow. They see him as the embodiment of strength and of the law of the jungle, the might makes right philosophy that gave their existence meaning and let them continue to try and live. And so they want to sacrifice themselves so that he can reach his full potential and go further beyond, to the frontiers of strength they know they can never reach. It's visceral, animalistic, and short-sighted, but you can't call it anything else than compassion. They choose to give up their needs and desires for the needs and desires of someone else.

And so when Grimmjow's always pushing himself to assert his pride and to get as strong as possible, to defeat anyone and everyone that he can, sure, it's his ego motivating him. However, it's also the fact that now, he's the one carrying the symbolic meaning of strength on his back for his Numeros. Getting stronger is no longer just his own meaning, but it's a responsibility he owes to his comrades who weren't able to get stronger with him. And that meaning keeps him moving forward on a collision force with greater challenges.

Like one Ichigo Kurosaki. When you look back at Ichigo's characterization in early Bleach, it starts to click why he makes this connection with Grimmjow. He sees himself in him - or maybe just a person he could have become if things went differently. Ichigo's kind of a punk who likes to fight and flex his muscles, but he became that way because his natural orange hair he inherited from his mom made him look like a delinquent and turned him into a lightning rod for conflict. Some people see a nail that sticks out and can't rest until they hammer it down, and Ichigo had to learn to fight and to enjoy fighting in order to protect himself and his self-respect. He could just do something as simple as dye his hair black, but then, that would be hiding something he inherited from his dead mother just to make life go a little smoother. It would be stepping on something important to himself just so he could take the easy way out.

Grimmjow is someone who finds meaning in conflict and strength for its own sake. Ichigo finds meaning in conflict and strength only to assert his own self-worth and, with time, to protect the friends who have gradually gathered around him. He's not just some punk slugging people for getting on his case over something as stupid as hair color, his strength represents a responsibility to the people he loves. And that element of strength as meaning, strength as a responsibility to others, ties him and Grimmjow to each other.

It's why Ichigo frustrates Grimmjow so much. He sees himself in Ichigo, but he also sees something not-himself. He sees someone who has pushed himself to get stronger, but someone who doesn't worship at the altar of strength like he does. Instead, he sees someone with this over-abundance of strength who doesn't assert it, doesn't make more sacrifices than necessary for it, but just uses it as a means to an end: that end being the safety of people he cares for.

This creates friction inside of Grimmjow because strength is his rock, his one singular meaning in a dark, barren, stupid world. For strength to just be the means to an end is hard to process. Yet in Ichigo, he starts to see what lies beyond strength for its own sake: a way that strength can form bonds and maintain them, act as the seedbed for new meanings without losing its meaning in itself.

When Ichigo pleads with Grimmjow, "We don't need to fight to the death. Isn't it enough for us to fight each other again and again?" It's him extending an olive branch. He doesn't want to see more death and destruction than necessary anymore, but he knows now that the world of Arrancar like Grimmjow is defined by those things. If he wants to end this conflict without killing an opponent he respects, then he has to meet Grimmjow in the middle. He has to make a commitment to get stronger and fight Grimmjow again, as many times as he wants, if it means Grimmjow will lay down his arms and stop trying to get to him through his friends.

Of course, Nnoitra has to show up and fuck it all up like he does most things he involves himself with. I've come to find Nnoitra an interesting character in his own right and might have more to say about him in the future, but for now, I'll say that I think the fact that Grimmjow ends up helping Ichigo and Co. during the final arc indicates he's accepted Ichigo's terms and is expanding his horizons beyond fighting and killing to grow and assert his strength and nothing else besides that.

He's definitely evolved his fashion sense. Did you see those boots? Faboo! To die for! Or, perhaps, to live for?

[amostimprobabledream]

It's funny in the Bleach fandom, because Shinji is pretty much a universally well-liked character, namely because he's funny, cool, has sick theme music and he was introduced the earliest of the Vizards. Yet for the life of me I can't remember a single time he actually won a fight - I'm not counting him vs Grimmjow since my man was missing an arm and had just finished fighting Ichigo, and the fight was interrupted by Ulquiorra anyway. But he got just as embarrassed by the Quincies in TYBW as the others, but everyone still loves Shinji.

Meanwhile, everybody dogpiles on Kensei and Rose for getting stomped by Mask De Mask, even though the only reason Kensei lost is because he didn't know that James is the one who can unlock their special ability and Rose's bankai actually seems pretty cool if he hadn't explained it. Like, all the Vizards were chronically underutilised by Kubo, the one who has the most consistent win rating is actually Hachi.

This isn't intended to be any hate on Shinji btw, I like him too, it just kind of bothers me when I say I like Kensei and people make fun of him/the other Vizards for being "fodder/weak", but nobody ever says that about Shinji even though he got completely blitzed by Bambietta. Idk the double-standards just bother me a bit.

[aurvmz]

character review : Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez

BLEACH SPOILERS!!!!!!! BECAREFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Grind, Pantera"

small character overview : grimmjow is the 6th espada, his backstory is shown to be him as an adjuchas teaming up with other adjuchas to become arrancars, his team however gave up in become vasto lordes and let grimmjow eat them because they felt like grimmjow was the only one possible of becoming a vasto lorde.

______________________________________________________________

personality and traits : grimmjow is usually calm, but disrespectful and sadistic in a fight and usually very brutal and impulsive

______________________________________________________________ personal thoughts on grimmjow : i think grimmjow was an excellent character, i think him bringing orihime inoue to ichigo to heal him so they could continue their fight after the karakura attack made his character less evil and just looking to fight added to his character as just someone looking to get stronger.

______________________________________________________________ powers and abilities : all arrancars have an ability named "ressureccion", which comes from the hogyoku, grimmjow's ressureccion is named Pantera, this form turns him into a panther (who would have guessed) and making him a shit ton stronger.

grimmjow has an attack that's only been used by him, gran rey cero, grimmjow mixes his blood with a cero to fire an extremely strong cero which is banned to use inside of Hueco Mundo.

honestly grimmjow has alot of attacks but i'd say his signature attack is Desgarron (translates to laceration).

______________________________________________________________ later appearances : for most of the manga, grimmjow completely dissapears after the hueco mundo arc, but he later reappears in the thousand year blood war along with nelliel tu odelschwank, grimmjow has a major part in the fight of kisuke urahara vs. askin nakk le vaar, sternritter D. kisuke uses his bankai to create a path into askin's gift bereich, (translates to deadly poison domain), and tear out his heart, killing askin

______________________________________________________________

overall : for the most story, grimmjow is an unimportant (fraud) character until TYBW, where he was the key to killing askin, his character was done excellent and him wanting to get stronger because he kept getting beat by characters like ulquiorra cifer and ichigo kurosaki kinda adds a sort of persistent personality esp after he kept trying to fight ichigo and got his ass kicked

[jinn-mori]

*busts down the door and cart wheels in* Imagine Orihime being a soul reaper like Ichigo and having her personal battle against Ulquiorra (like how Ichigo had his fight with Grimmjow). It's like light vs dark, death vs life, etc.

I think there's this one artist I follow who made art for it. https://www.tumblr.com/kittiemitties/715429914547027968/i-never-posted-it-but-my-entry-to-last-years?source=share

Tho I'd love to see Orihime have a battle with Ulquiorra. But I feel like Orihime wouldn't want to kill him and once the dust settles, their dynamic would focus on the contrast of emotions and logic between them and how a person needs a mix of both to make it in the world.

Heck, maybe in the Fullbring Arc, Ulqiuorra wouldn't be affected by Book of the End due to it being an ability rooted in emotion and Ulquiorra is a very logical being. Also, it just wouldn't really make sense for there to be any place in Ulqui's memory that Tsukishima could just put himself in.

So, going with that, he could end up being an unlikely ally for Ichigo during that time as both of them are the only ones that can see through Tsukishima's Book of the Bullshit.

[ichinoue]

Idk if you’ve been asked this question before but whilst reading the manga weekly before it ended was there a time where you felt like the chances were low of Ichihime becoming endgame ? Maybe you felt like it wasn’t going to happen and IR was or Ichigo was going to end up alone ?

Nah, I mean I watched the anime first and was just a casual fan for a long time--I didn't know about the fandom and shipwars, I hadn't ever read the manga, I just watched bleach as a teenager and didn't put much thought into it. But, while watching, when Ichigo made the vow to protect Orihime, I thought it was pretty likely for canon, and then when the Grimmjow battle and lust arc happened I was even more convinced. But I didn't get into the online fandom and start reading the manga weekly until 2012 and by then, the final arc of the manga had already started.

I think I joined shortly after the chapter with the peach ass scene came out because I saw ichiruki trending on twitter one day so I looked into it to see what all the fuss was about. And I was so confused by how many people thought IR was endgame when I thought IH was so obvious?? But then I thought, "well, maybe the anime has added in a bunch of IH filler and downplayed IR." So I started reading the manga to see for myself what was actually canon vs. filler, and I was surprised to find that a lot of IH moments had been downplayed/omitted from the anime while a lot of IR moments were either played up, or they were complete filler! So once I finished reading the manga all the way through, I felt like the fandom had things totally backwards on which ship was actually romantic and more likely for canon so I started this blog so I could talk about it lol.

So anyway, long story short, by the time I joined the fandom and started reading the manga weekly it was already the final arc, and I was pretty convinced IH was going to be canon. If not, then I figured Ichigo would end up alone/in an ending open. I never really thought IR stood much of a chance once the SS arc ended and the arrancar arc began. And then in 2014 when 589 happened (with Ichigo blushing about Orihime's clothes while their friends played Cupid for them) I knew it was only a matter of time for canon. Even an open-ending didn't seem likely at that point because IH just became more and more obvious in the final arc, and then when it was announced that the final chapter would be set 10 years in the future, I was like "okay, so they'll be married and their next gen kid will be revealed." And, that was that!

[midnightactual]

I don't have the interest or desire to really flesh this out beyond observing it but maybe it's useful to somebody. So like Wandenreich invades Soul Society twice and the first time everyone mostly 1v1s doing this honorable duelist bushido nonsense they've always done, during an actual proper war, and they uniformly get wrecked, with Yamamoto dying. The second time, most of the fights by Shinigami are in pairs or small groups, at least partially:

Tōshirō AND Rangiku vs. Cang Du

Soifon AND Marechiyo vs. BG9

Shinji AND Sajin AND Momo vs. Bambietta

Kensei AND Rose AND Renji vs. Mask De Masculine

Rukia AND Byakuya vs. Äs Nödt

Mayuri AND Nemu vs. Pernida

Shunsui AND Nanao vs. Lille

Yoruichi AND Yūshirō AND Kisuke AND Grimmjow vs. Askin

Lots of People vs. Gerard

Kenpachi AND Yachiru vs. Gerard

Byakuya AND Tōshirō vs. Gerard

Ichigo AND Orihime vs. Yhwach

Ichigo AND Uryū AND Renji AND Aizen vs. Yhwach

Now, I don't think most of these fights work well or are very good because the team-ups generally make one party or another look weak or stupid and make the villains look ridiculously overpowered, making for mostly unsatisfying fights (notable exceptions: Cang Du, BG9, Lille) but I do think that this signifies something thematically even if it doesn't work narratively very well.

Basically the death of Yamamoto, the death of the last and greatest of the old guard solo queuers, was the death of the old mentality of the Gotei 13 and the shift to the most overpowered powerup in all of history: teamwork. Not that they're mostly any good at it yet, but it does represent a major shift in their thinking.

[the-perverse-library]

Massive Muse List

The following are just all the characters/series I would be happy to RP/answer asks about.

DC + Marvel Comics/Cartoons/Movies Just... all of them, because even if it's a deep cut I don't know, I can still research them on Google.

Brand New Animal Pink Flamingos, Michuru Kagemori

Monster Hunter Tsukino

Lilo and Stitch Experiment 624 (Angel), Nani, Lilo, Grand Councilwoman, Mertle, Experiment 123 (Carmen), Experiment 610 (Witch), Gantu

Dragon Ball Z Gohan, Chi-Chi, Videl, Krillen, Android 18, Bulma, Pan, Trunks, Fem!Trunks, Caulifla, Kale, Android 21, Cheelai, Broly, Dr. Arinsu, Erasa, Mai, Galena, Lagss, Maron, Piccolo, Fem! Android 17, Chronoa

Naruto/Boruto Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuuga, Naruto Uzumaki, Chouji Akemichi, Rock Lee, Kiba Inazuka, Fem! Orochimaru, Tsunade, Fem! Naruto, Sarada Uchiha, Chou-Chou Akemichi, Boruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuuga, Ten-Ten, Young! Chiyo, Konan, Anko, Kurenai, Tayuya, Karin, Ino Yamanaka, Mei Terumi, Karui, Yugao Uzuki, Hanabi Hyuuga, Tsume Inazuka, Samui, Might Guy, Moegi Kazamatsuri, Mirai Sarutobi, Jiraiya

The World Ends with You [TWEWY] Sho Minamimoto, Uzuki Yashiro, Mitsuki Konshi, Beat, Neku, Coco Atarashi, Koki Kariya, Fem! Yodai Higashizawa, Shiki Misaki, Nagi Usui, Shoka Sakurane

Bleach Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime, Rangiku Matsumoto, Chad, Soi Fon, Uryuu Ishida, Rukia Kuchiki, Yoruichi Shihouin, Retsu Unohana, Nemu Kurotsuchi, Tier Harribel, Nel Tu, Grimmjow, Isane Kotestu, Kukaku Shiba, Tatsuki Arisawa, Cyan Sung-sun, Emilou Apacci, Kirio Hikifune, Franceska Mila Rose

One Piece Nami, Nico Robin, Nefertari Vivi, Jewelry Bonney, Boa Hancock, Sanji, Perona, Usopp, Monkey D Luffy, Stussy, Alvida, Fem! Buggy/Buggy, Boa Marigold, Boa Sandersonia, Gerd, Hina, Koby, Jango, Carrot,

Totally Spies! Sam, Alex, Clover

Nintendo All of their games... just all of them

Star vs The Forces of Evil Star Butterfly, Jackie Lyn Thomas, Moon Butterfly, Eclipsa, Toffee, Marco Diaz, Hekapoo, Ingrid Bloomgren, Mrs Liao, Mime Girl

Steven Universe Steven Universe, Greg Universe, Connie Maheswaran, Priyanka Maheswaran, Amethyst, Garnet, Pearl, Jasper, Aquamarine, Lapis Lazuli, Peridot, Sadie, Lars

TMNT Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, April, Casey Jones, Kirai, Beebop, Rocksteady

Ben 10 Ben Tennyson, Kevin Levin, Gwen Tennyson, Aliens, Julie Yamamoto, Eunice, Future Gwen, Kai Green, Charmcaster, Frightwig, Myaxx,

Yu-Gi-Oh [OG, GX, 5Ds] Yugi Moto, Yami, Joey Wheeler, Seto Kaiba, Tea Gardner, Mai Valentine, Syrus Truesdale, Jaiden Yuki, Chumley Huffington, Alexis Rhodes, Blair Flannigan, Fonda Fontaine, Camula, Missy, Bastion Misawa, Chazz Princeton, Seiko, Miss Dorothy, Tania, Carly Carmine, Akiza Izinski, Jack Atlas, Angela Raines, Misty Tredwell, Duel Spirits

Mortal Kombat Kitana, Mileena, Casssie Cage, Sonya Blade, Scorpion, D'Vorah, Jade, Khameleon, Frost, Nitara, Skarlet,

My Hero Academia Izuku Midoriya, Ochako Uraraka, Tsuyu Asui, Momo Yaoyorozu, Denki Kaminari, Fem! Minoru Mineta [Minerva Mineta], Mina Ashido, Kyoka Jirou, Nemuri Kayama, Thirteen, Manami Aiba, Danjuro Tobita, Itsuka Kendo, Ibara Shiozaki, Kinoko Komori, Pony Tsunotori, Jurota Shishida, Mei Hatsume, Himiko Toga, Rumi Usagiyama, Inko Midoriya

Hazbin Hotel/Helluvaboss Charlie Morningstar, Lute, Millie, Moxxie, Loona, Imps

RWBY Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Fem! Lie Ren, Jaune Arc, Cinder, Salem, Winter Schnee, Raven Branwen, Willow Schnee, Neopolitan, Fem! Roman Torchwick, Emerald Sustrai, Glynda Goodwitch, Fem! Professor Port, Lil Miss Malachite, Grimmified characters

Sonic Sonic, Shadow, Amy Rose, Tails, Maria, Rouge the Bat, Blaze the Cat, Silver, Sally Acorn, Tangle, Whisper, Surge, Kitsunami

Jujutsu Kaisen Yuji Itadori, Nobara Kugisaki, Mei Mei, Yuki Tsukumo, Shoko Iierri, Maki Zenin, Aoi Todo

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Frieren, Fern, Stark, Himmel, Flamme, Aura, Lawine, Kanne, Ubel, Laufen, Qual

Dungeon Meshi Marcille, Chilchuc, Laios, Izutsumi, Namari, Fem!Kabru, Leed, Tade, Thistle, Canaries, Monsters

Avatar ATLA/LOK Aang, Sokka, Katara, Mai, Ty Lee, Zuko, Azula, Toph, Suki, June, Yue, Smellerbee, Jin, Asami Sato, Korra, Bolin, Izumi, Suyin, Lin, Kya

The Incredibles Bob Parr, Helen Parr, Dash Parr, Violet Parr, Mirage

Hi-Fi Rush Chai, Peppermint, Korsica, Rekka, Kale

Power Rangers Any of them

Fairly Odd Parents Trixie, Vicki, Wanda, Mrs Turner, Britney Britney, Carly, Mrs Claus, Blonda, Dr Phyllis Fancyfree, Golden Locks/Hair Razor, Crimson Chin, Veronica, Tootie, Spatula Woman, Star and Twinkle, AJ, Chester, Mrs James

Dexter's Laboratory Dexter, Dee Dee, Dexter's Mum, Agent Honeydew, The Justice Friends, Candi, Katka, Neighbour Lady, Mom-Droid, Miss Babcock, Mom's Rival

Star Wars Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Padme Amidala, Asajj Ventress, Princess Leia, Barriss Offee, Captain Phasma, Rey

Sym-bionic Titan Lance, Ilana, Octus, Kimmy Mysner, Kristin, Driving Instructor, Barbara, Maribel

Generator Rex Rex Salazar, Squid, Circe, Rebecca Holiday, Breach, Noah Nixon, Claire Bowman, Cricket, Biowulf, Valentina

Samurai Jack Jack, Ashi, Scotsman's daughters, Princess Mira, Queen Krystle

OnePunch Man Saitama, Genos, Tatsumaki, Fubuki, Mosquito Girl, Do-S, Psykos, Mizuki, Asami, Natalie Ver 9, Raptora, Reptora, Shadow Ring, Tanktop Girl, Mumen Rider, Twin Tail, Wavygyaza, Lin-Lin, Lily, Maiko Plasma, Pink Hornet, Monsters

Goddess of Victory: Nikke Elegg

My Little Pony Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Spike, Fluttershy, Rarity, Chrysalis, Discord, Princess Luna, Zecora

Shantae Shantae, Rotty-Tops, Monsters, Sky, Risky Boots, Empress Siren, Seven Sirens

Tomo-Chan is a Girl Tomo Aizawa, Carol Olsten, Misuzu Goudou, Junichirou Kubota, Akemi Aizawa, Ferris Olsten, Misaki Goundou, Kousuke Misaki

Monster Musume Miia, Rachnera, Lala, Centorea, Papi, Suu, Kuruko Smith, Cathyl, Abul, Sekmeti, Zombina, Doppel, Tionishia, Polt, Curie Drakulya, Leechi, Moskii, Kii, Kino

Doki Doki Literature Club Monika, Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki

Plus sized elf Elfuda, Ino Akiho, Mero, Medesa, Satero, Kusahanada, Kuroeda, Raika, Oeda, Oga, Oku, Gonda, Naoe Tomoatsu

Fairy Tail Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Gajeel Redfox, Brandish μ, Mirajane Strauss, Levy McGarden,

[rays-of-fire-and-ice]

With the premiere of Bleach's new Rock Musical coming soon, do you think we might get more hitsuhina moments? I remember that in the old one there were several hints in scenes, songs... it would be a dream! By the way, what did you think of Hitsugaya's characterization? I absolutely loved the extra details they put into the captains' haori.

I only recently learned about the new musical, and it looks great!! I'll be very interested to see what they have in store for Grimmjow vs Ichigo and Ulquiorra, this'll be the first time we see them in the musicals!

I too am hoping for the little bit of hitsuhina content! Maybe they can adapt Momo's apology scene somehow, it'd make for a good bit of drama. I don't knwo about added content though, as this musical and the one previous seemed to want to focus on the canon events, while other musicals have been just taking the characters and putting them into wacky situations...including but not limited to:

As for Hitsugaya's characterization, I must admit I was a little taken aback by the added details to his uniform. Something about the shoulders just screamed to me 'the 70's are trying to come back!!' but they do give the captains a more overt regal feeling. I think once we see the musical, with him going around the stage, it'll look great though.

Thanks for sending this in! :D

[asukaskerian]

asuka writing pack fuckening epilogue 1: haha this is hilarious... ..... kinda short though... and so many ideas that won’t fit there. OKAY new epilogue! ichigo bb it’s your turnnnn~

asuka writing pack fuckening epilogue 2: ohh complicated feels introspection poLITICS mother of DICK this is a fucking sequel. this is three sequels in a trench coat. 

so i have now gone back to epilogue 1, which is short and hopefully cute and will be done either today or tomorrow, and the big chunk of ichigo POV i did write and all the random ideas i have for three years down the road can be sequel snippets for an eventual ficlet collection and DON’T need to be written first to complete the damn thing.

but i have to admit it really bugs me how many months i wasted dragging myself through like 5k of the Ichigo POV only to have to go back to maybe 1k tops of shallow-ish grimmjow, even if the second one fits the overall fic better.

hopefully after that i can get back to writing some akimichis vs mada&izu. that one’s fun too, but it’s very ninja politics so contrary to banter and fluff my brain has to actually be on for it. XD;;;;

[prophecydungeon]

year in fic 2023

(crossposted from dreamwidth)

word count for posted works: 77,080 words word count for unposted works (incl. wips): 34,320 words total word count: 111,400 words

breakdown of works, meme, and goals below:

works posted to AO3 in 2023:

no quarter red vs blue, felix/locus, rated E 51,766 words — posted 4/23, finished 6/25

i wrote up a number of posts while working on this fic and idk if there's much left to say; this was one hell of an endeavor and i'm very proud of it.

exaptation (ficlet collection, ch. 7) bleach, grimmjow/ichigo, rated T (whole work) 2,416 words — posted 7/24

outside POV..... need i say more. this was a very Me™ fic to write and i'm really happy with how it turned out. here's to the next cour of TYBW also pulling fic out of me, whenever that happens.

neutron stars bleach, grimmjow/ichigo rated T 6,974 words — posted 8/29, finished 9/8

oh boy oh boy i love fics in the general roleswap/"X instead of Y"/"X but it happens to Y" category of canon divergence and it was SO much fun to write this one. the cool thing about this scenario is that it really wouldn't have changed much in the long run, which i think it precisely why it was so interesting to explore.

the blood of the covenant one piece, zoro/sanji, rated E 16,060 words — posted 11/9

i'm VERY happy with this fic, and it's also a victim of like, i started out wanting it to be lighthearted and uhhhh it is... not necessarily that. i also started this before reading the manga lmfao but shockingly, there wasn't much i got "wrong" or needed to change. still can't believe this was the year i got into one piece. lord.

—

unfinished/unposted works in 2023:

current wips + personal project: 20,573 words

deleted fragments from multiple works: 12,742 words

my unposted word count this year is higher than it's ever been since i started doing this -- this personal project thing was kind of a whim (and i'm losing steam on it) but it's been insightful and pretty fun.

—

end-of-year meme! trying a different one this year, nabbing from larissa.

Best title:

oooh that's tough... i did a good job with titles this year. let's go with the blood of the covenant since that evokes a lot of what the pov character's angst is about. (did you know that the whole thing about "actually, the full quote is [...]" is basically an unattributed asspull? not that it really matters; it's a great reinterpretation.)

Worst title:

cop-out answer, but the ficlet i added to exaptation didn't have a title, so that.

Best first line:

hmm. i don't think i had any standout banger opening lines, so let's go with the exaptation ficlet:

They’ve been around long enough to be us now and not me. 

Worst first line:

again, didn't have any standout misses, so i'm going with no quarter's since it... idk, isn't a killer hook or anything? but it wasn't supposed to be, so 🤷‍♂️

The head of the hospital meets them outside, wearing an armor undersuit beneath her scrubs. 

Best last line:

from neutron stars:

We have a score to settle, he reminds himself, and meets Kurosaki as he always has: hungry and ablaze, feeling the closest thing to alive since his death collapsed in on itself.

Worst last line:

another cop-out answer from exaptation, lol:

“Let’s get to it.”

Looking back, did you write more than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

a lot more! i originally thought that no quarter would be like, 20-30k or so? joke's on me, lol. i also very genuinely did not predict-- you know what, that's the next question, so:

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

good lord never in a million years did i think that 2023 was going to be the year i got into one piece. i'm still not sure how that happened. i started writing no quarter at the very end of last year, but i also could not have predicted that to happen to me.

What’s your favourite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

bit of recency bias here but the blood of the covenant! it was really fun and satisfying to write, and it's much more plainly happy/uplifting than any of the others.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

in every category (kudos, hits, bookmarks) but comments, this goes to the blood of the covenant! i would say that this is unsurprising considering the fandom/ship, but it's more that everything else i've written is either for a relatively small fandom/ship or a dead one.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

definitely no quarter. it's a sequel fic for a different ship than the first entry and in a dead fandom, to boot. this thing was doomed from the start.

Story that could have been better?

idk if i have anything here! i'm happy with everything i wrote.

Sexiest story?

i guess the blood of the covenant; no quarter has smut in it too but it's kinda weird and tbotc's is there to actually be Sexy™ rather than like. weird.

Saddest story?

hmm. the blood of the covenant again, i guess; the pov character is not especially happy for most of the fic.

Most fun?

okay so i'm interpreting this as most fun For Me To Write and that has to go to no quarter -- sinking back into the halo zone to write was sooo fun and fulfilling. it's like coming home, every time.

Story with single sweetest moment?

the blood of the covenant got super sappy (by my standards, at least), which was the whole point of it.

Most fucked-up story?

no quarter, i guess? hard to not be at least kinda fucky when dealing with felix and locus, but i wouldn't say this is particularly or especially fucked-up.

Hardest story to write?

woof..... no quarter. it was really challenging in general to get through the first draft (lots of planning and changes and planning and changes etc etc) and i edited the chapters between posting them weekly; that got really difficult to keep up for a number of reasons.

Easiest/most fun story to write?

hmmm. i think the exaptation ficlet; it's really fun to write something short right as it comes to me.

Did any stories shift your perception of the characters?

not..... really? though i did have to spend a lot of time thinking about felix and locus for no quarter, which didn't so much shift my perception of the characters as it solidified my interpretation.

Most overdue story?

giving this to the blood of the covenant; i never read one piece in the early 2000s boom (though i was obviously into bleach and nart) so a lot of what i'm feeling about it is, like, "oh, finally; it feels like i've found the missing piece; i understand now; the world feels a little more full."

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

yes indeed! no quarter was a departure from the norm for me in a lot of ways, from planning to posting. it had been a really long time since i posted a multi-chapter fic, and i wrote this one with very specific chapter breaks in mind; that changed my planning and writing process a lot. overall, it was really good for me -- chapters are something i've avoided for a long time and i still have no clue where or how i got the idea that they're... idk, bad or amateurish somehow. chapters were perfect for no quarter. my posting schedule was 1 chapter per week, which left me a week to edit the coming chapter into shape and pick at future sections too, which worked REALLY well for me. on the flip side, i really struggled with this fic emotionally when i was posting it; not getting "attention" when posting a fic very, very rarely gets me down at this point in my life and i've worked hard on that, but it definitely got me with this fic. so it goes! in retrospect, now, several months down the line, i am so proud of this fic and all the new and different things i tried with it. multiple/alternating POVs, too! that was a change for me and i liked how it came out.

—

goals for next year:

1. write something humorous (preferably more than just one something)

my fics have humor in them, sure, but i want to write Comedy Fic without it veering irreversibly into Serious Fic like what's happened the past several times i've tried. this is one of my current wips and it's going pretty well so far.

2. try a different editing method

i've tried this kinda halfheartedly before, but i want to try editing something in a full side-by-side with the old draft in one window and the new draft in another. i might try this with an old fic of mine; not for posting or anything, just for The Exercise of it.

3. i've never had to set this as a goal but..... finish my wips!

i've still got that P vs NP re-re-edit cooking in the oven; i still feel kinda ??? about what i have written so far (it veered off into a completely different direction at one point) but i want to use the aforementioned editing method for this, probs after i finish a test run on something else. i've also got that b-side fic that's unfinished and i want to get that done first, since it's going to be a much shorter endeavor than rewriting close to 100k words.

[hirazuki]

Grimmjow from Bleach for the blorbo survey (pretty sure he's a blorbo for you) for Bleach? Either that or Ulquiorra? They're two I've seen you post about before xD

You are correct! They are both blorbos :)

So, this is not the conventional interpretation I'm sure, but I like to think of "fruity" as meaning literally fruity -- as in, the taste; tropical, sweet, etc. -- given that this portion is taken from the back of a bottle. Like, pleasant and vibrant.

Orphan because essentially all hollows are orphans

No friends is only half-checked because he does actually have friends, he just refuses to think of them in that way XD

Former sidekick owner (his fracciones)

He would absolutely pet stray animals, as long as no one was around to see, fight me

He absolutely sees himself as the protagonist of life

He is both head empty and too many thoughts in the same person, and I do think he would overthink himself into stillness

I wouldn't say he's a ray of sunshine, but definitely fun company; I think we'd get along :D

He's got all the trauma that comes along with being an arrancar, but his mentality is definitely one of the healthier ones in always striving to push past his boundaries and not let himself get weighed down by his past (whether he's successful is a different story, but his intention is to be forward-looking)

He's not scary-smart like Aizen-level, but he's definitely extremely sharp and intelligent, much more so than most people (characters and fans alike) give him credit for

He's definitely not entirely at peace with life but he's also not out to fight the world in the sense that, for instance, Aizen is; I think he's content with how Hueco Mundo is structured, and will merely fight for his place within that.

I love messing with him in my art and fics, but at the end of the day, I want him to be well and happy :) I'm also very satisfied with the ending he got in canon.

He is either 0 or 100+ in terms of intensity, there is no in-between XD

His backstory extra was so sad, everyone needs to read it

He'd never call himself a sidekick owner, but Yammy was absolutely his sidekick

I don't think he'd actually pet stray animals, but he would 100% engage with them, talk to them in the same tone of voice he talks to Yammy XD

I see him as functioning at two extremes -- utter apathy or utter obsession -- which makes most of his qualities even out at the middle lmao. And with most things (sadistic vs helpful, rebellious vs content, etc.) he's just not invested enough to be anything but neutral unless you're Orihime, Ichigo, or Grimmjow, and then he gets triggered for different reasons

He mostly follows the rules to the letter with absolute conviction, except in some teeny tiny instances where he ever so slightly changes them, and he definitely gaslights himself into not seeing how he's behaving so he believes he is still just a neutral party XD

I was originally okay with his ending -- a very thematically satisfying conclusion to his character arc... back when I fully believed Bleach was going to be a no end-romance/open ending type of story. Now that it's proven that it's not, I am far from content (: His realization seems hollow (ha! lol) in the light of what comes after, the impact of his final fight on several other characters seems negligible which cheapens it, and certain... not plot holes, exactly, but rather inconsistencies in a character's behavior, that I was willing to gloss over initially, I now want a real explanation for. He also needs freedom, catharsis, and a warm blanket. Hence, fanfic! :D

[kimium]

For the brotp ask game: Orihime and Grimmjow, 1,4,5,8 💜

(From this ask HERE)

Thanks for the ask, friend!!! I love Orihime and Grimmjow as Besties! This was fun to answer!

What kind of places/situations do they hang out?

For place, Orihime and Grimmjow are hanging out at the mall and they're going to be the best dressed people there. I'm very into Grimmjow getting into human world fashion and loving every bit of it. Also, in my heart Grimmjow gets into make-up and nail polish. By the time Grimmjow is done, he and Orihime look like they are models who walked off a fashion runway. They're holding expensive coffee cups in their hands. Heads turn where they go and Grimmjow loves it.

Whether the situation is just "time to go shopping with my bestie" or "This is an emergency shopping trip", it's all fair game. Though, it's usually a planned outing since Grimmjow believes looking your best is a silent competition that he and Orihime are winning.

4. What kind of secrets would they trust each other with?

I think Orihime trusts Grimmjow with her lingering fears and terror over Aizen forcing her to basically kidnap herself. That's something I think the series never fully addressed: how what Orihime went through was traumatic. While the series is ambiguous with time, I always secretly believed time passed a bit faster in Hueco Mundo VS Earth and Shinigami time.

Anyways, since I believe that I think Orihime had to endure being a hostage for a long time. A hostage with no friends, no power, and at the mercy of everyone around her. Grimmjow is one of the few people that understands being at Aizen's mercy and understanding Orihime's situation better than most.

For Grimmjow I think he trusts Orihime with the secret that he has a crush on Ichigo. (Yeah, I'm a shameless Grimmjow/Ichigo shipper.) In my eyes, Grimmjow has never experienced a crush before. He's confused and needed someone to confide in.

I'm not saying that Orihime didn't laugh when she realized Grimmjow's crush, but I am saying she's mature enough to keep the secret and not tease Grimmjow too badly over it. Still, she's his number one supporter and best wingman. Even if she sometimes lacks some subtly. Thankfully Ichigo has about as much intuition over romance as a brick so...

5. Do they ever seek each other out for advice or comfort?

I think Orihime seeks Grimmjow out for advice and comfort, even if said advice is, "Did you try kicking them in the head?" As for comfort while Grimmjow is awkward at giving it, he doesn't mind for Orihime as she's his Bestie.

Meanwhile for Grimmjow any emotion that was "soft" was seen as "weak" in a prey and predator world. Thus, he had to learn how to seek advice and comfort. Orihime is one of the few people he trusts with this and she knows how important that trust is.

8. How would they react to a 3 AM phone call from the other?

Orihime is not answering her phone at 3 AM because in my mind when she sleeps she sleeps like a log. Nothing short of an actual explosion would wake her. So, Orihime reacts when she wakes up by tilting her head and asking Grimmjow why he was up so early/late.

In Grimmjow's case it depends. If he's in Hollow mode they don't sleep so the concept of time is lost. He may raise an eyebrow and ask Orihime why she's phoning him when she should be asleep, but he doesn't really care. Unless she's phoning him distraught, then it's Kill Mode Activated and he's ready to slice whatever is making Orihime upset into tiny pieces.

If Grimmjow is in a gigai then the story changes entirely. He's basically a big cat and he loves sleep. Being woken up by a phone call makes him crabby and irritable. Unless, again, it's Orihime distraught. Then it's Kill Mode Activated and slicing up whatever is bothering Orihime.

[grimmichi-ao3-feed]

[New AO3 Fic!] One Week of Hell

by Grinch1234

In which Ichigo graduates high school and doesn’t want to go back, so he gets Grimmjow to do the high-school-based mission instead. A horrible decision, really. Featuring Grimmjow, Class 1A being confused, Aizawa being Tired, Urahara messing around, and Ichigo living his best life.

Words: 24185, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of GrimmIchi Adventures

Fandoms: Bleach (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, Kurosaki Ichigo, Urahara Kisuke, Midoriya Izuku, Yaoyorozu Momo, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Class 1-A (My Hero Academia), Takami Keigo | Hawks

Relationships: Grimmjow Jaegerjaques/Kurosaki Ichigo, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques & Kurosaki Ichigo, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques & Urahara Kisuke, Kurosaki Ichigo & Urahara Kisuke

Additional Tags: Grimmjow & Naps, Grimmjow vs High School, POV Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, For the most part, POV Alternating, Cat Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, shoved all the cat onto him lol, Crack, Crack Crossover, there ends up being some plot, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Blood and Violence, Established Grimmjow Jaegerjaques/Kurosaki Ichigo, except Grimmjow is dumb and doesn't know that, Grimmjow sucks at undercover work, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead Needs a Vacation, Rated M for Grimmjow's language, Lots of cuddles, Antisocial Grimmjow, Confused Class 1-A (My Hero Academia), catnip so like drugs I guess?, Brief relationship drama, Grimmjow vs Rukia but she doesn't know he hates her and she's not in this fic, throwing canon out the window at this point yall

Read it now on AO3!

[gojuo]

still no grimmjow this week 😔 i thought we were going to finally get to see him because we saw crumbs last week but it’s not time yet

also i’m sorry for being a traitor and giving tybw arc views but i am a sucker for good animation 😭😭😭

but we did get byakuya's naked ass so that's a nice compromise :') those days back in 2015/2016... oh man, the nostalgia.... i still hold the opinion that kubo should not have retconned his death no matter how upset the fandom was back then. the as nodt fight was fucking spectacular and one hell of a way to kick off the TYBW arc. byakuya's death really meant something bc this was (not exactly but you get what i mean) the very first time a major supporting character died and it was just all so dreadful... especially when the yamamoto vs yhwach fight happened immediately afterward..... good fucking god those first few fights that started the arc...... kubo killing off characters left and right (in a good way) ... soul society turning into hell ... the gotei 13 taking Ls after Ls after Ls..... the shinigami begging for ichigo to come save them............ god it was special back then..... bleach used to be something special........