#unfortunately for me kubo managed to write one (1) compellingly complex man

[maharlika]

had to put @recurring-polynya's tags out here because they're so good

#byakuya kuchiki#hard agree#i think he was raised to believe that devoting his life to being clan head/serving soul society was the most selfless thing he could do#so he's not really able to process anything as selfishness after that b/c how can you be selfish when you had to give up your entire self?#(do not get me wrong. this is not sympathy. he is very selfish)#but i also think that a lot of bleach is about how love is fundamentally selfish and it's what you do with it that counts#like i'm not sure it's byakuya's *fatal* flaw only b/c there are lots of chars in bleach (gin and tousen for 2)#for whom loving selfishly becomes all-consuming and ruins their lives and ultimately kills them#byakuya is literally just like sora--he came back from the brink of being consumed by his own selfishness#the redemption arc is in progress. he is still deeply insufferable.#but that's kind of his charm right?

my read on byakuya is that he receives little joy from his social position and feels confined by the expectations of his status but endures the responsibilities because he's accepted his fate. his stoicism didn't come naturally, wearing it more like a mask, while his true emotions get shoved down deep and anger is the one most likely to surface. his fatal flaw is his selfishness. rukia's execution is all about how it makes him feel. ("when you were condemned I didn't know what to do. honor the oath I made to my parents or the promise I made to hisana"). he's accepted rukia as his sister but his love for her is expressed as an extension of himself ("you pointed your blade at my pride"). the losses faced during the invasion are his fault ("I could not take out those you trampled all over the seireitei. I led many officers to their deaths. I brought sorrow to their families"). he does genuinely enjoy fighting and finds satisfaction in proving his superiority as a swordsman.