#very nice of mayuri to remember :' ))

[troius]

Bouncing off your Ichigo being sidelined discussion (which, yes, where's he been this whole arc?) One thing that really made TYBW suffer imo was the lack of inner character insight from the main squad, Ichigo and Uryu (poor boy got practically offscreened in an arc about his own people) especially, given that the supposed rift between them is meant to carry the Karakura gang side of things and only got /one/ quick scene (and where, i think, the arc being cut short suffers). Where Hueco Mundo managed to balance both Ichigo/Orihime/the Six Hearts gang, their issues and give them a narrative to follow and spent time with them and gave them genuinely compelling moments (the Lust mini arc centered around Ichigo/Orihime/Uryu/Ulquiorra remains, imo, the very best writing Kubo did, it had great art, genuinely compelling writing, good fighting and interpersonal relationships between Ichigo and the three of them, and kept us hooked because we /care/ about these characters and the despair they're going through), and made room for the SS Captains without them being overwhelming (Mayuri/Szayel was tedious, I'll give you that), TYBW really became a Shinigami fest (the extended time spent on characters like Mayuri (two fights, restores everyone's bankai, gets "closure" with Nemu and conveniently zero repercussion for his crimes against the quincies) Shunsui, Urahara and Zaraki (also two very lenghty fights) which yielded, ultimately, not all that much in terms of meaty character development and relied on a lot of convenience/deus ex machina/plot armour, and feels unsatisfying when you're waiting to get back to Ichigo and the squad where the emotional crux of the arc lies (Yhwach killed his mother & Uryu's mother, and it yields... also very little), the arc, despite being super long also did extremely little in developping the Quincies (aside perhaps from Jugram and Bazz, and even that was limited. Uryu suffered the most for it imo, but I guess showing any hint of inner conflict with him would have gone against what Kubo tried to pull with him, the anime also cut out his exchange with Jugram, where Jugram spells out for him that the blood ritual has essentially trapped him on Yhwach's side and Uryu being clearly horrified by it & Uryu's reaction to Yhwach asking him why he's alive), and dropped the ball big time on the main characters we *should* be invested in (poor poor Chad tbh). It's a shame, when you see what Kubo /can/ do with a contained story like Everything but the Rain; which had heart and character development, and made us care about Masaki/Isshin/Ryuken and Katagiri because what limited stuff we were given was actually compelling, and we're already attached to both of their kids and the friendship between them. The Gerard Valkyrie fight goes on for just as long as ebtr, features the three most popular captains, but has none of that heart (and a lot of plot convenience), which is why people bemoan it so much.

It's pretty telling that even anime fans last cour were clamoring for Ichigo to come back after episodes of mere cameos from him, but also nice to see that while Mayuri/Byakuya/Zaraki and co are popular, *Ichigo* is the one who remains the heart of the story, the nexus that pulls together the Shinigami, his gang of friends and the audience. Given that animation can oft make what feels long and tedious in manga (Gremmy vs Zaraki was one ep in anime vs going on forever in manga), the Pernida/Lille stuff should hopefully not last beyond 2/+1/2eps. With all the talk about Cour 3 having a lot of addition, I'm crossing my fingers the anime will spend more time with Ichigo/those close to him (*cough* and the dad squad) in the next parts! Visual fights are nice and all, but character relationships, conflict and depth are, ultimately, far more compelling and memorable than any Cgi flashing swordfight and brute strenght boost can do, there's a reason ppl remember the Ulquiorra stuff on the dome as the pinnacle of Bleach, and not, say, Zaraki vs Gremmy. While I'm not expecting a Lust arc round 2, if the anime team takes their time, I'm hoping the ultimate Ichigo (&co)/Yhwach showdown to be reworked into something just as compelling.

Lol I feel kinda guilty posting this because there's not much to say in response. Get yourself a Tumblog anon, otherwise I'll get all the credit for your meta!

[aseriesofunfortunatejan]

(Masterpost)

Rules: - Vote for one of these two characters based on who you personally think should win. It can be anything from "I follow aseriesofunfortunatejan and she talks about this character way more" to "I know this guy and not the other guy" passing by "who are these? This one's hotter" and of course "holy shit this is ALSO my blorbo" - You may reblog this poll and you may even talk about why you voted for who you voted! - You may NOT complain about the other character if you dislike them! These characters are all the poll runner's beloveds and the goal of this tournament is to have fun, be silly, be nice, eat hot chip.

Introductions and propaganda (under the cut):

Kyon was the first character I identified as being my favourite character. And for many years, I considered him my favourite character overall. Despite enjoying the entirety of the Haruhi Suzumiya cast when I watched and read it, something about Kyon just worked and I thought about him a lot. Just a solid character, and his relationship with Haruhi is really what brings the show together. Despite the years - and not having interacted with the series in a long time now - Kyon stands out to me as a character that has been very important to me. I don't even know why I even like him that much but he's special. I also liked when he got stabbed. I liked it a little too much actually. That's why he's DEFINITELY a blorbo. I learned how to make FRAME BY FRAME gifs just so I could watch him get stabbed over and over. He is my favourite character

Mayuri Shiina! Is so important! If you know about Steins;Gate, then you definitely know that. She was the first character I cosplayed and my relationship to cosplaying her remains very important to me. Something in me relates to her writing as an aloof girl, and I enjoy her pivotal role in the story. There's a person I gave so many chances to despite how obvious it had become that they didn't care about me but I decided to cut ties when I realised they had a negative (wrong) opinion of Mayushii.* Anyway my cosplay Instagram is themed around her

*I don't think I've ever felt all that upset that someone disliked a character I like - and I'm exaggerating on purpose... But I still remember this specific person's bad opinion because it was such bad faith I was flabbergasted. They really outed their lack of ability for critical reading. Like so many people dislike Mayushii and it is completely fine but this person was very embarrassing about it. Anyway stan my girl she quite literally did not ask for this

[tuliharja]

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict episode 6 review

I must admit I was a bit surprised over the fact this episode was too used for a build-up for the upcoming battles. But it only makes sense, since the upcoming battles will be heated ones!

When Urahara and other shinigami were trying to create that gate to Soul King's place, it took in my ear when Urahara stated they were lacking reiatsu. How? After all, they had all available captains and Visored in there to help them. And if they wouldn't be enough, what about Kenpachi and Kyoraku? It has been stated over and over again how much reiatsu Kenpachi has, but now it wasn't enough? Not to mention Kyoraku who has been captain for a very long time? Kenpachi's case could be explained because he was in battle earlier and went to shikai, so he probably used a lot of reiatsu. I imagine because it was his first time, he probably didn't have any control over how much reiatsu he put in his shikai, but even so... And with Kyoraku? It felt a bit weird. Especially when it was mentioned they wished Ukitake could help them. Just how much reiatsu did Ukitake possess? Not writing about the fact will they just leave him there for later to be picked? Don't know, but the whole 'we don't have enough reiatsu!' felt a bit odd. Sure, maybe two shinigami couldn't really fill the needs of that gate, but they had help. Well, luckily Mayuri had his amplifier ready just in the side.

As a side note, when all the shinigami (and the remaining Quincy) were filling their reiatsu balls, the color of those was very pretty. The fact everybody was golden-colored made it feel like they were truly united at that moment.

On the other side...I suppose Ichigo just has to go with the flow, lol! The fact he was demanding an explanation of 'what's going on?!' was hilarious.

I've to give it to Nelliel and Riruka for both being 'we're on the clock people, so no fighting and fussing over!' It was hilarious when Nelliel took "down" Grimmjow so easily who was all ready to fight against Ichigo. Things seemed really intense for a moment.

I think Orihime's reaction to the fact that Nelliel was an adult thanks to Urahara's equipment was justified. I mean...it's obvious there was a bit of jealousy in there, but also the fact Urahara's 'things' could be a bit more classy. Then again, it seems all mad scientists are a bit eccentric... even so, it's nice that Nelliel can now switch between her adult and child form. She will be a formidable ally! ...and someone has to take care of the big blue cat. xD

The garganda elevator was a nice surprise. It was also neat that they explained it this time better than in the manga. (Riruka looked cute in her new outfit!) And writing about explaining things better...Wahr Welt was explained better. Back then when I read the manga, I remember it puzzled me where exactly the last battles took place. Now we know Wahr Welt replaced Soul King's old place and the upcoming battles will take their places in there. I can't wait for those as those will be just epic!

[gallusrostromegalus]

So here's my thought:

The use of Hell Butterflies to communicate messages on secret is *recent*, and first proposed by one Mayuri Kurotsuichi:

Mayuri, kicking open the door to a Captain's meeting like 40 minutes late: So I solved our fucking crow problem!

Yamamoto: Go back outside, then come back in, apologize for your tardiness and explain yourself.

Mayuri: Uuuuugh- fine, fine... *Leaves the room*

Soi Fon: Sir? I am not questioning your authority, only seeking to learn from your example-

Yamamoto: Kurotsuichi won't learn how to act civilized without practice. Considering where Urahara found him, I'm impressed with the progress he's made.

Zaraki: I'm just impressed that he's housebroken.

Mayuri, outside: I FUCKING HEARD THAT.

Yamamoto: You may try entering properly this time, Kurotsuichi.

Mayuri, coming back in: My apologies for my tardiness, captain-general. I've solved our fucking crow problem.

Zaraki: What fucking crow problem? The crows are great! They do out long-distance messages work.

Mayuri: And they do that work inconsistently at best! We have a pretty serious problem with them getting shot down and the messages stolen, if they don't just get lost or decide not to deliver, and they cost a fortune in rookery upkeep and union fees!

Mayuri: Which is why I've devised a solution- I've created a new class of messenger beast that is just as fast but much harder to capture or kill, doesn't have priorities that get in the way of delivery, and isn't unionized!

Zaraki: ...You filthy fucking picket-crosser.

Ukitake, about to faint from the rise in spiritual pressure: Let's just hear him out before we make any decisions, alright?

Mayuri: Thank you, good to know there's at least one of you who appreciates scientific advancement- behold!

Mayuri, triumphantly holding up his latest creation, which is writhing enthusiastically in his hand: -THE HELL CENTIPEDE!!

All: *recoiling in varying degrees of horror*

Mayuri: It's the perfect carrier of classified information! It's incredibly stealthy, silent, devoid of consciousness to betray its secrets or get distracted by shiny objects, and the enhancements to this specimen mean it can outrun anyone attempting to track it- not even captain Fon's shunpo can outpace it, and in the event it does get captured -!

Centipede: *flexes it's jaws on both ends, chittering, and bright yellow venom drops to the floor where it burns holes in the wood*

Mayuri: -The saboteur is in for a nasty surprise!

Tousen: That is awfully loud chittering for an insect.

Komamura: The centipede is about the size of Kurotsuichi-taicho's entire arm, which is much larger than normal. Or acceptable.

Tousen: ...It's times like these I'm glad I don't have functioning eyeballs.

Tousen: Relatedly - if that thing is dangerous on both ends and entirely too flexible in the middle, how are we supposed to attach the messages?

Mayuri: Ah, that is the best feature of all! Instead of a highly stealable paper message, the message is instead translated into a recording inside the void where the centipede's mind would theoretically be! All you have to do is tap the kido seal on it's enclosure, speak the message and it's recipient aloud, and release the creature! That rather nicely accommodates the vision and ah-

Mayuri, pointedly glancing at Zaraki: -literacy issues present in some guard members.

Zaraki: Hey! Did you forget that Kaname was a librarian? Ain't nothin' wrong with his lingo just 'cause he reads in braille!

Mayuri: I wasn't - oh, nevermind. My point is, this is a vastly more secure, easier to use and more cost-effective means of classified messaging. Do you want it or not?

Unohana: I have a question.

Mayuri, sighing: Yes, Unohana-sama?

Unohana: I understand that this animal runs very fast, and I remember from setting up the secure toxicology lab that centipdes do not fly. Is this also the case with this messenger beast?

Mayuri: Er. Well, yes. It doesn't fly. Yet!

Yamamoto: I am expressly forbidding you from making flying centipedes for any reason.

Mayuri: Oh come on-!

Unohana: Does this creature swim?

Mayuri: What? No, of course not-

Unohana: ...So what happens when it needs to carry its message to someone on the other side of a river?

Mayuri: Well it-

Mayuri: It...

Mayuri, closing his mouth and frowning down at the creature: ...

Mayuri: ...shit.

Aizen, attempting to calm things down: While I admire the effort and the fact that you're trying to fix problems before they become emergencies, I think perhaps this one needs to be tabled while you go back to the drawing boar-

Soi Fon: Wasps fly!

Aizen, weakly: please stop helping.

Soi Fon, visibly excited: Wasps fly AND they are venomous so you don't have to get rid of the anti-theft deterrents AND they already build their own nests so they're much easier to house!

Zaraki: Oh yeah, wasps are definitely way better at this. We should do that.

Aizen: I thought you were mad about the crows losing out on the messenger contract because you were friends?

Zaraki: Oh, yeah, but wasps are part of the same union so the crows still get the revenue-sharing so it's fine.

Aizen, glasses askew with bewilderment: The same what?

Komamura, nodding in agreement: Yes, all birds, flying insects, bats and a number of gliding animals are all joined an alliance well before the Gotei-13 was founded because all of the clans exploiting them as messengers during the warring states period. The alliance is sacred- I know you're not a fan of having to negotiate contracts Yamamoto-sama, but if we want to be using a flying animal for a messenger beast, we'll need to work with the alliance.

Zaraki: Yeah, ain't no picket-crossing here.

Zaraki: Hang on- I know why I know about the Flight Union, why do YOU know about that?

Komamura, pointing his helmet away from Zaraki: I do read, Zaraki-taicho.

Mayuri, putting the centipede back in his robe and sulking: Fine, if you're all agreed, I'll go see what I can do with wasps...

Ukitake: Uh, I have some. Um. Health concerns. About keeping a magically enhanced version of a highly venomous animal in my office.

Soi Fon: Don't be a baby.

Unohana: No, that is a fair point. While most of us could probably survive an accidental sting, any tool that's meant to be used by the entire guard needs to be reasonably safe for someone who is overtired, clumsy and distracted to use or my emergency room will turn into a sardine tin.

Soi Fon: Ah, right. Yeah, my lieutenant managed to almost decapitate himself with the photocopier last week. He wouldn't survive five minutes with a wasp nest.

Soi Fon: -given that the messages are already encrypted by being recordings that can only be accessed by the intended recipient, I think that the venom is not a necessary security measure. Even if I really wanna see that shithead from the Tsunyashiro clan swell up like a beach ball-

Ukitake: Yeah! Are there bugs that fly and don't bite?

Unohana: Butterflies.

Mayuri: ...ugh.

Unohana: Butterflies don't have mouths or stingers, are fairly simple to cultivate, and they fly.

Mayuri: Not exactly strong fliers though, are they?

Unohana: Species like monarchs and swallowtails already undertake exceptional migrations across the continent. I'm quite sure your modifications will get them up to speed, Kurotsuichi-taicho.

Aizen: I had no idea you were an entomologist as well, Unohana-sama!

Unohana: You don't get to be chairwoman of the Flower Festival without learning a few things about pollinators.

Ukitake: Yeah! Butterflies! They won't kill me or anyone else! I'll second that motion!

Zaraki: Third. They're union too.

Tousen: I like butterflies. You can train them to be quiet.

Yamamoto: Motion passes. Make us some Hell Butterflies.

Mayuri, sighing deeply: ...yes, Yamamoto-sama. I guess...

Unohana: Do cheer up. Even if they can't be venomous, the entire swallowtail family is quite poisonous to discourage predators.

Mayuri, suddenly enthusiastic agian: That's right!

Ukitake: oh no.

Mayuri: Oh shush, you'll be fine so long as you don't lick them- yes, that's got potential...

Mayuri: *continues muttering as he leaves*

Yamamoto: ... we'll work on how dismissal works next time.

Yamamoto: Also, attendance, where the hell is everyone else?

Do we see anyone using Hell Butterflies in TBTP because of not I have a really stupid headcanon about them.

[ekusosu]

The anniversary of his creation? Mayuri is excited that yet another year has passed. "Yon! I have a gift for you. To celebrate!" Mayuri hands him a memory stick. "It contains all the data regarding your creation. Isn't that interesting??" It's about time Yon got to learn all the 'secrets' about how he came to exist.

--- Oh..? His captain has remembered? Well, really it is not that surprising. Yon is just another project to keep tabs on, after all, even if his expiration date has passed. He sometimes wonders how much Kurotsuchi-sama still records about him. When he was younger there had been regular check-ups. Very regular, in fact. Now, he underwent a physical once every year, just like everyone else.

Remembered is one thing, but to come bearing gifts, as well? Yon blinked at his captain curiously, unable to immediately discern anything. The gift must not be physically big, then.

Yon didn't care for his birthday. Or gifts. The passing of time made him nervous. But, coming from his captain, of course he had to accept!. And what a gift it was. When it was revealed to be a memory stick of data, Yon's eyes grew even wider. He couldn't tell whether he was happy, though.. Was it a nice thing to receive? Information about yourself? He could argue yes, simply by virtue of information being infinitely valuable. But.. What if there were things on there he didn't want to know? Were there things about himself he didn't know yet?

His behaviour was starting to border on rude, though, so he quickly took the proffered gift and, placing it between his joined palms like an object for prayer, bowed. "Thank you, sir... This will be of immeasurable value to me, I'm sure." Though.. He wasn't sure. Not sure at all.

[unohanadaydreams]

This part of TYBW reread is just that ‘When will you learn your actions have consequences!’ Vine

He goes on to ignore this line of questioning which proves to be fatal to Nemu.

Why is soul king’s left arm serving Yhwach? Because no part of the soul king would ever serve you, Mayuri. The soul king serves only because he has been rendered a useful corpse. This is well over 1000 years of distilled hatred of shinigami—the arm of a God.

Right now, Mayuri truly believes this is a being he can subjugate. But this arm is more Quincy pride and calculation than Uryu was—the one person so far that Mayuri hasn’t beat.

Again, Kubo is really hamming up how over confident Mayuri is. He just won’t shut the fuck up! He’s doing the same thing he did with Orihime—bargaining as a farce of respect.

You can keep only the dignity he wants you to keep. Have your name but the spelling will change because you’re a thing.

You’ll have a paper typed up on you and a nice place to float in preservation liquid and you’ll have everything about you squeezed out and dissected and stitched back into something new. Because the respect Mayuri gives is in how thoroughly he’ll use you.

The fact that he basically tells them to fucking google what Explosive Reactive Armor is dhzuajahsishsis. Also, does that mean his sunshine outfit was metal??? He’s so paranoid, like he will put a bomb in or on anyone, even himself.

Also the way he sits into the floating platforms looks really fluid and no wonder—I’m sure he’s glad to have the weight off.

Mayuri would rather die than not make freaky little inventions. If he can’t misuse the human body for functional purposes, he can’t live.

His alarm clock is a horrible mouth that starts licking his eyeballs if he tries to snooze, I just know it.

I wanna know how long Mayuri gauges as a long time for performing arm surgery. Like, what, a week? A month?

Also, Pernida is evolving rapidly. He could barely speak a couple panels ago and now he’s taunting Mayuri back. Not just that, but he’s doing it in a similar way to how Mayuri would. His eye is smiling. If he could grin with a mouth, he’d be mirroring Mayuri, no doubt.

Pernida is bastardizing what Mayuri did to Jizo.

Mayuri caused Jizo to bleed from his eye, using his finger to cause harm to Jizo.

Pernida is using the blood from his finger to pour into his eye, causing harm to himself.

Pernida is now mocking Mayuri for real and I’m not sure Mayuri is fully picking up on it.

The fucked up abortion baby who looks purple and bloated and dead is finally due. He’s so proud of himself for this one liner.

Szayel is rolling in his grave and so is Jizo. Mayuri punished his zanpakuto for disobeying and then altered it into a more advanced version of the one who made Jizo disobey.

Very vindictive. Mostly because Mayuri views disobedience as the highest insult from something meant to explicitly serve and protect him.

Even more so that Jizo’s first birth is one who feels constant pain.

Remember the last time you forgot someone was a Quincy, Mayuri? Remember what happened when you dismissed that aspect of them as uninteresting?

Now begins the come down, methinks. Mayuri begins to realize what he should have panels and panels ago—why the soul king’s arm is fighting for Yhwach does matter.

Pernida spells it out right here too—he has always been a Quincy. And by extension, the body he was attached to has always been a Quincy. The king they coveted was never theirs. The powers Mayuri is still figuring out are that of! A! Quincy! What do quincies do to their surroundings Mayuri???

Mayuri should start to feel very worried about how he’s going to come out of this alive—Pernida is thinking and acting and articulating like him. When the ending panel shows Nemu, it’s clear she understands Mayuri has been driven into a corner and is worried for the both of them. I’m not sure Mayuri has figured it out yet.

[fawnatrix]

Captain Kurotsuchi Nemuri Stuff

I have many ideas for Nemu surviving the fight against Pernida instead of Mayuri, and becoming Captain of the Twelfth Division. That’s my ideal world. Putting a Keep Reading tab here cause this gets kind of long.

I think the TYBW arc has this general theme of ‘letting the younger folk take the reins’ and in that regard I think Nemu surviving instead of Mayuri would make sense. Mayuri would die helping take down Pernida and all of his fans would get their annoying ‘he redeemed himself in the end so he’s actually not that bad a person’ bragging rights, and Nemu would survive to take over the Twelfth Division. The way God intended.

She gets her zanpakutō!!!

I am following @zanguntsu’s sword idea pretty to-the-letter because I really like it. This next part is assuming that you’ve seen their post about it, so if you haven’t, go skim that- this next part will make more sense. If I had to think of a name, maybe Harihana (玻璃花) would work (although I do also like Hanahōsho (花宝珠), the original name). Hari (玻璃) meaning ‘glass/quartz/crystal’ because glass and quartz can both magnify things, and it matches the original crystal naming. Hana (花) meaning ‘flower’ 

If I had to pick a specific flower for Nemu’s sword to be based on, I’d probably go with a water lily/lotus flower (they are different flowers, but their symbolism is often kind of just lumped together). Not only because they are very pretty but because they represent a lot of things I associate with Nemu in this AU

The roots of water lilies grow in the mud of mucky, shallow water, and they rise to grow beautiful flowers above the water. It rises above the filth and becomes something beautiful in spite of it- that’s why it represents enlightenment and rebirth in Buddhism. 

Adding onto that, I remembered this post by @littleeyesofpallas and how phonetically Nemu and Mayuri’s surname means something akin to ‘black soil’ or ‘black mud/sludge’ and I was like “Yeah, that’s on the nose enough to work” and ran with it. 

Water lilies are also poisonous! I could make a point like ‘they’re very dangerous despite their beauty, connections to Mayuri, a poisonous relative, etc, etc’ but honestly I only added this because I realized that water lilies and Nemu share something physically in common: terrible things happen when you try to eat them.

Honestly I really like the idea of Nemu having an especially beautiful zanpakutō. Not only because crystalline flowers sound very pretty to look at (you could go ham with those glittery shine/lens flare effects), because it contrasts her ugly/creepy father and his zanpakutō, and because she deserves to have pretty things to represent her beautiful soul, but also because I think it just,,, fits her.

Up until now being pretty has been one of Nemu’s defining character traits- and one of the character traits that, unlike some of her initial, more emotive characterization, has stayed consistent- and not in an intentional way; Kubo uses her for gross fanservice because she happens to be pretty. She’s not pretty for a reason, she just. Is pretty. But also: Nemu is one of the strongest characters in Bleach. I’m just gonna say it. Hot take: Nemu could kick Zaraki’s ass. She destroyed Pernida who’d adapted to Zaraki’s level using 0.6% of her physical power- she’s insanely overpowered and that’s probably what contributed to Kubo’s decision to kill her off. So Nemu’s zanpakutō having a very pretty and delicate exterior while being able to kick ass/have a busted ability (because the ability to magnify things is very handy) is fitting, I think.

Also I love the growth theme in her zanpakutō via magnifying things (which, if I may say, sounds very in character for Nemu to have. Being able to magnify things is very nice but also sounds kind of nerdy, which I think fits Nemu being a little science nerd). Nemu’s ‘growth’ theme in the manga had potential but Kubo didn’t do anything with it until he needed her to die saving his favourite character. Which is bullshit. Nemu’s growth shouldn’t have been learning how to disobey her father to save his life, it should’ve been learning to disobey her father and become her own person- not some scientific accomplishment of her father’s. Her growth should’ve been for her, not to prove that Mayuri created something that could grow.

Obviously the story ended with the TYBW arc so we wouldn’t have gotten to see it unless she got to be in a light novel or something (which, yes, I absolutely would’ve paid money for. Missed a capitalism opportunity there, Kubo), but I think Nemu’s character development after Mayuri’s death would’ve been really interesting. A few things that could be developed/questions that could be explored:

How does one continue to live for themself after losing the only thing they developed their entire existence around? 

How much life experience does Nemu even have? Did living with Mayuri her entire life, seemingly very isolated and sheltered, affect her ability to function on her own in any way? Does Nemu understand what a 401k is?

How does one go about building self-esteem after years of non-stop psychological and physical abuse while also grieving said abuser? (Because I do believe that Nemu would grieve Mayuri. Relationships are complicated, man). 

Would Nemu even be open to the idea of discovering more about herself at first, or has Mayuri’s treatment of her stunted her introspection in some way?

When and how does Nemu come to the realization that the way Mayuri treated her for her entire life was wrong? Or has she always known and was just trapped, wanting to help herself but feeling unable to? (Honestly I could see a comparison between Momo and Aizen and Nemu and Mayuri here). 

Who would Nemu reach out to for emotional support- or rather, who would try and connect to Nemu now that Mayuri is gone?

Way more questions raised and interesting characterization to explore than what Mayuri got after Nemu’s death (which, I’ll be honest, I did really like the scene where he hallucinated Szayelaporro as a manifestation of his grief. Kinda fucked severely, but still-).

Nemu really strikes me as someone who loves learning and experiencing new things, so I imagine her trying to learn about how to use her zanpakutō and use kaidō and get better at kidō while also not sacrificing her hakuda abilities because they’re such an integral part of her fighting style at this point. She wants to learn it all.

She could also just use both, like Suì-Fēng does. 

SHE COULD LEARN SHUNKŌ

Nemu could go to Ukitake (who’s retired, because I cannot in good conscious write this man as dead even in an AU that doesn’t involve him at all), or Nanao and Momo (cause they’re girlfriends,,,) and learn kidō so she can ask Suì-Fēng to teach her Shunkō. We love to see girlbosses helping girlbosses.

Between Shunkō, her zanpakutō, Gikon Jūrinjū, her limit-breaker ability, her insane physical capabilities, and her unstoppable growth, Nemu has the potential to be like. Just the strongest person. And I love that for her so much, she deserves it all.

That’s kind of all I’ve got for now. Nemu brainrot possessed my mortal coil once again and I infodumped into a Google Doc until I got tired.

[chernozemic]

Eyes reflexively (tracking, not once dodging an opportunity to gather more information--) followed behind her, watching her as she bowed. It was... polite, he'll give her that, but that's more than enough. Mayuri's generosity was not something to be squandered (--she looks stiff. is she uncomfortable? how silly.) but, to be fair, how could it be when it was borderline nonexistent in the first place? Even as she fixed herself upright, his face did nothing to hide away true thoughts, true feelings, nor true intentions.

Everything was to be laid bare, sprawled out naked as naked can be.

"Hmm. I see," he responded, nice and easy. What else was there to say? A question had been given and, in an exchange that was expected, an answer had been received. Compared to a majority of the rest that the Twelfth was forced to deal with on a daily basis, this one... well, she wasn't the worst out of the bunch. "I see, I see..."

A noise bubbled up in the back of his throat. Laughter, maybe? It's hard to say-- it's something that was best off left in a sort of a limbo. A sound that's partway audible (it's breathy, as if trying to snort but not yet committing. it's not very funny.) but, at the same time, managing to sound unnatural. A laugh that lacked in humanity but, strangely, made up for in how utterly synthetic it sounded.

It's not of sincerity but, rather, necessity.

"Hirako... Yes, I see--" he mused, one spindly hand moving to curl itself inquisitively beneath lower lip, "--that was his name. I remember, now."

He's always known, and the smallest inkling of a smile reveals that all too soon. That's when a laugh (a natural laugh, a chuckle. a chortle, even. a snicker? yes, yes... any would've sufficed.) should've erupted but, instead, nothing. It was nothing but silence from the scientist's end, even as his eyes panned skyward.

"Him and I... we always did butt heads, even before you were born... Hmph, how bothersome."

Did this concern her? Hardly. Merely, it's done to nibble away at her a little further.

Those little seconds, those little minutes... tick, tocking away, allowing for Mayuri to reach out with invisible fingers and graze their tips all over her skin, through her hair, threading through her eyelashes-- all done to gather information, of course. Nothing more, nothing less. It's all for sake of science, a pursuit that -- if nothing else -- was relentless and voracious.

Gaze remained, as if stuck, unfocused only to snap, instantly jerking down to meet hers. His stare was unyielding, unforgiving, practically refusing her passage away. Now that he's seen her (know that she's capable of sentience.), he doesn't intend on letting her take it back.

One hand lifted, every finger but its index curling in wards, to point at her. Its trajectory was clear and concise, hovering an inch or two away from the discoloration beneath her eyes and swaying as if to match the crescent-like shape it formed.

"Those look rather heavy, Kaisa--"

"--I can't help but wonder, what time is it, exactly?"

~*~ Normally the young soul would have been working on paperwork at this late hour but her captain had been much more reluctant to allow her the chance to fall asleep at her desk after the war. Instead, she tried to go on a run, only to have to slow to a walk too soon into it. Her thin, almost fragile-looking frame, stiffened upon hearing the voice of the Juunibantai's captain. She'd never really had to be in close proximity to him but he did unnerve her. Kaisa turned on her heel, doing a stiff about-face and facing him with forest green irises. The blonde swallowed and steadied herself before giving him a polite bow.

"Hirako-taicho allows his officers the freedom to head to their quarters when they see the need to," Kaisa replied. Her voice didn't waver even though she was uncomfortable. Her next words were to be a lie as she was tired, the bags under her eyes looked akin to bruises but she still refused to admit that weakness to anyone, she was actually exhausted. "I wasn't tired and I know Hirako-taicho would prefer I not return to my desk to do paperwork this late."

[chipchopclipclop]

Just thought I'd share, I bought stein's gate on steam for like 10 bucks bc I had heard like basically everywhere that it's so good and BLAH blah, I played it for about 3 hours and got so incredibly sick of everything, but especially the characters. Wanted to low-key claw my eyes out. Anyway thats it, you're just the first person I saw that didn't like stein's gate lmao

im shocked im the first for you since i know other people who have bitched about it before! lmao 😭

i think the strongest part of that game/show w/e w/e is its time travel existential dread part i think its so done soooo good it hits all my synapses nicely when i remember it. also the whole 'going through hell to help just one person you really care about' thing, okarin and mayuri's relationship in particular really got to me for some reason, i think it was given enough depth to be pretty compelling despite its kind of well trodden basework which is good bc 70% of the game revolves directly around it and their care for each other lmao (especially okarin's) but oh my god is it dregged in so much anime tropiness and garbage around that core theme, all the horny nerd jokes with daru and pandering etc etc (i dont mind cat maids in concept promise)

on the less petty end of my issues is luka's whole character who's very clearly a trans woman, like there is no quibbling about this lmfao though i dont think the writers actually know this themselves! bc okarin can only love her as a cis woman and the sad route where you have to undo her. i dont know how to even phrase lmao, cisification? via time travel and thus can no longer be with her bc okarin is just like 😔 try as i might i am just not gay... (help) is the stupidest shit on planet earth I CANT BELIVEEE YOU HAVE TO KILL MAYURI IN HER ENDING WHAT IS THAT. WHAT IS THE MESSAGE HERE HELLO? GOD? AM I WITNESSING THIS RN? DIE FOR MY ESTROGEN. i know the undo routes are all meant to be tragic but oh my god. write something else im begging you they can not date for OTHER REASONS

and then my much more petty issue is nowhere was i ever convinced him and kurisu were fated for endgame couple status, i think when me and my friends watched the anime we all cried out in shock and pain when they kissed (even though i knew they were going to do it beforehand 😭) like yes, good friends! fellow dumb cunts! confidantes! comrades in arms!! LOVERS???? no........ (this is a harem game i know i know)

im not shocked about its reputation amongst people in the end when it is basically a deconstruction of a dating sim as most nitroplus games are, and if you view it through that lens its like oh em gee this is a god tier framework of storytelling.....wowoeie!...!!!! but the anime bullshit. oh my god, its physically ails me, dying in real life recalling all of this

[bleachbleachbleach]

The Ocean at the End of the Realm

My current hyperfixation is the nature and location of the ocean in Soul Society!!! Why is this information important within the broader plot/thematics of Bleach? IT’S NOT, REALLY. IT’S NOT AT ALL. But we’ve never seen it and I’m basically just assuming it exists in SS because Japan has big ocean, but hear me out: Wakame Ambassador gotta come from somewhere. Ergo, ocean. Thanks, Byakuya!

Biomes?

But I’m still curious about where it is and how far away it is. We know West Rukongai abuts mountains relatively quickly (Kaien and Rukia go to their 3rd district to train), so it could perhaps be on the other side of those. Inuzuri (78) also looked pretty mountainous in Fade to Black outside of like, the main village part, but who knows, maybe part of that is sea cliffs. Mostly what we see of Rukongai, though, is either “trees” or “not trees,” so that might not be helpful. But if we pretend work similarly to those in the living realm (even in the absence of the same geophysics, since I’m assuming SS is not a planet and does not have a molten core, plate tectonics, etc. in the traditional sense) I could get behind the closest ocean possibly being West Somewhere.

* Er, speaking of Kaien maybe his existence is stronger evidence for there being an ocean in SS somewhere than Wakame Ambassador, LOL. 

Food?

So then I was like, okay, well, how much fish are they eating (and is any of it raw)? Because freshwater fish is generally not a good sashimi pick, and I assume parasites very much still exist in SS because otherwise Mayuri would be wholly unable to live his very best life, and we can’t have that. 99% of the food I could remember is from the same filler arc, and man, as an aside, I see why Rukia prefers eating within the Kuchiki estate, vs. elsewhere.

Kuchiki food (from the first ep of the Sword Beast arc):

Dainty single servings with some very pretty tempura, kombu, seasonal tsunomono, a broiled fish... fancy fancy!

3rd Division blob food (first ep of the New Third Captain arc):

Served mess hall-style, but it’s still Special Occasion Food and probably a step up from the norm, since this is the banquet welcoming their New Third Captain, per the title of the arc. But what is it?? Brown. They are eating Brown, mostly. Maybe it’s marinated tofu?

10th also has blob food (first ep of the Sword Beast arc again):

Also batch cooking, and also for a semi-special occasion. (What that occasion is? Unclear. Ask Senbonzakura. Why it is being held at 10th? Even less clear.) Anyway, we have some meat alongside platters of 10th’s regional delicacy, Light Brown!

Not that the Kuchiki estate is the only game in town when it comes to nice food. There’s also this restaurant that Hinamori, Nanao, and Matsumoto go to (at some point in the Sword Beast arc):

Notable because there’s definitely sashimi here, which lends some credence to my “the ocean exists” theory (if we’re willing to call it a theory--that seems a little heavy. Exuberant fabulation!). Though... I’ll also note that this spread seems really nice and I would imagine this restaurant is too spendy for anyone below VC rank to be able to afford it. Chow down, ladies. XD (Someone, somewhere in SS, is mad about the fact that VCs be out here feeding their SWORDS sashimi just because they can!) Given that, I still think the ocean is further away and fish less readily available in Seireitei than it is in the majority of living realm Japan.

Other food things we know re: fish vs. meat: Soi Fon likes fish, 8th proposes sushi as part of their Jump Festa booth snacks, tai yaki exists, Kuukaku mostly serves meat when she invites Ichigo/Rukia et al to dinner at the end of the SS arc in the anime, and it looks like mostly meat up in the sky when Renji and Ichigo eat at 0 Squad.

Beaches?

The SWA (+ a surprising number of dudes in the anime version, now that I think about it) also took their beach vacation in the living realm, which might have been for the exotic militouristic novelty of it all, but I mean, also because the beaches in the living realm are probably significantly more developed and commercial than the beaches of SS. And possibly easier to get to even though it requires literally traversing a realm: Transcending space-time is no biggie when the other option is to just hoof it out to the boonies because your society never saw need to invent transportation!

I bet the oceans in SS are all craggy and sylvan and full of Weird Stuff the Gotei 13 has criminally underexplored relative to the amount of time and energy they’ve put into the living realm/Hueco Mundo (though these are also still underexplored).

YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT. Post-TYBW I want them to have to like, lead convoys to the various corners of the realm to apologize to the neighbors for the ruckus. Like, man, sorry bruh, houseguests, amirite? Pls don’t file a celestial noise complaint. (And somewhere, some Kuchiki is just like, “but the original terms of our trade and fisheries agreement is still cool, right? Cool.”)

tl;dr I think the ocean in SS close enough to access, but far enough that eating terrestrial animals is more common than fish (or at least ocean fish). And now I really, desperately want someone to go visit it! 

[pjinthestreets]

i am saying this to myself no one read my cringe bleach postcanon

ok but this is what goes down though: renji+rukia marriage. im just saying it happens. im just saying ichigo and orihime would come? come on they saved Da Soul Socielty like seven times they can RSVP. fuckin

momo comes too obviously.. obviously kira is invited and stuff but hes zombifried and not exactly the life of the party no one rly wants him there and he does not want to go. not actly important if he shows up but i Do think the angst factor would be tastey like if hes on the side like conspicuously Just Standing There. alright ive Shown My Face gotta go :|

momo also on da side like hm yep lovely shindig let me just :) have one more drink :) tee hee lovely party guys! im crying because im just very happy for the happy couple GOTTA LOVE IT OK ILL BE OUTSIDE GETTING SOME AIR

orihime outside Actually getting air (lotta people she barely knows carousing and being. You Know.) like o hi uhh Miss. (FUCK I KNOW IVE SEEN HER BEFORE WHAT WAS HER NAME UHHH) Hows it going? Oh my god shes crying GIRL CRYING ALERT SUPPORTIVE MODE ACTIVATED

momo, kinda tipsy and a little bit totally miserable: no its fine its nice! i just kind of pictured things differently you know! i should be happy for them! but i keep thinking about how i was gonna get married someday. selfish right

orihime: :( babe no. come here. sweetheart. youre beautiful theres lots of time to find love! besides arent shinigami like immortal? :)? the right person is out there for you i promise!

momo, definitely tearing up now: no its not that i actually had someone. but like. thats the problem lol

orihime: ???

orihime: oh god. :( thats so sad i

hang on

like still alive type corpse? like has part of his own reiatsu still intact type walking around making everyone uncomfortable type ohhhh yeah actually that sounds like. a solveable problem to me

momo: ?!?!?!!!?!?!?!?!?!

orihime: yeah man if you can get him to consent i can almost definitely revive him with my godlike powers. nobody seems to remember this but i am almost the most powerful guy in this narrative

kira an indeterminate amount of time later: i dont rly see how this is going to improve things for my actual. utility as a killing machine. which is all i am good for etc etc sad boy noises

momo, clinging to sanity by a fucking shred at this point: shut the fuck up and get good dude you cannot imagine the stress this situation has put me under

orihime: cool alright let me juuuuust

kira: OH GOD IM ALIVE JESUS CHRIST I CAN FEEL EVERYTHING

momo: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rose, like 25 miles away: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mayuri, who definitely just lost a pet project and is prepared to argue intellectual property rights AFTER taking it out in Blood: what are u doing with my personal property i fuckin made that thing >:(

rose, finally getting a chance to use that sweet sweet bankai that got like 2 panels of airtime: you know for some reason it didnt occur to me until just now that someone else could do your job :) die :)

* le epic battle* [30+ episodes (colloquially known as the ‘mayuri eats shit forever’ arc)]*

downside to this is we may never get that sweet hoodie look on izuru. im gonna hazard that a guy who kinda gets his power and entire like character scheme from themes of despair, pain, and disempowerment mayyyy be cheated out of a bankai by this move. but it is simply the sacrifice we will have to make for the constantly-shafted-side-characters-get-their-happy-ending (and, can’t emphasize this enough, mayuri eats shit and dies forever) arc

[lovelysugawara]

Love me Again

Kuroo X Reader Fanfiction// **y/a = Kuroo Hinari **grammatical errors ahead, sorry guys** plot: you and Kuroo are married, but your husband turns cold over you, because of an incident a year ago. Will he once again love you back???

Cont...

Part 3

_Base on Kenma’s Story…_

After Nekoma’s game, on Hina and Kuroo’s second year, Hina approached Kenma to congratulate him.

“That’s a nice game, Kenma, congratulations!” she gave her a bottle of water.

“I didn’t do much. But thank you.” As he reaches for the bottle water. Hina just smiled at him.

When suddenly Kuroo stood between them.

“Where’s mine?” Kuroo is looking at her.

“Yours?” she asked.

“My water. Where is it?” he insisted.

“Kuro, you have a bottle of water already.” Kenma points out the bottle near their bags.

Kuro pouts, “I don’t want that, it’s not cold by now.”

“But I don’t have any extra. Want me to buy you one, Kuroo-san?” hina offered.

“Extra. Hmmm. No, don’t waste your time.” he said like a mad child.

When suddenly, he snatched Kenma’s water bottle. And he drinks it hurriedly. Kenma and Hina are both stunned at what  they witness.

“Wow, very childish, Kuroo.” Kenma is clearly not pleased with Kuroo’s behavior.

“Hah! It’s finished. Thanks for the water, Hina.” He walks away.

Hina laughs about it. Kenma looks at her with sharp eyes, “And you like that kind of guy, huh?!”

She laughed a lot at his comment.

  As Kenma and Kuroo go home.

“Are you still mad? You’re not even drinking water after a game.” Kuroo still annoyingly explained.

“I’m not mad, I’m focused. I’ll deal with you later.” Kenma said while playing with his psp.

They continue to walk.

“Do you think she’s mad?” kuroo suddenly asked Kenma.

“Why are you worrying about something so trivial? She won’t hate you.” Kenma continued to play.

Kuroo then didn’t answer.

Kenma suddenly stops walking, so is Kuroo. Kenma looked up to see Kuroo’s reaction.

To Kenma's surprise, Kuroo is blushing.

“What are you? Wait-“ Kenma started to speculate.

Kuroo covered his mouth, trying to hide it. “What what?” he said while trying to look away.

Kenma’s eyes squirt a little as he scrutinizes Kuroo.

“YOU LIKE HER!!!” Kenma said it like he’s accusing him of murder.

“Haaaah? What? No!” Kuroo

“You don’t?” Kenma

“…” Kuroo

Kenma just looked at him more. Like he’s trying to read what’s on his mind.

“Right, right. I like her, any problem with that?” Kuroo blushed even more.

“Then tell her!” Kenma then goes back to his game and starts walking.

“Hey. It’s not that easy…”

  *present time*

“Is that enough?” Kenma asked me about how he managed to once again tell that story for the nth time to me, and I have to admit, I’m very much happy.

I still have the reason to stay, didnt I? 

After a few chitchat.

“I’m going to Kuro’s office. I got to give her some papers. Want to come with me?” I was actually stunned. I don't know but it’s been awhile since i went there. Should i? Well maybe i should do that.

“Do you mind if i cook something for his lunch?” I’m really excited to try to cook something for him.

“Well if you say so. Go cook, I’ll play games here while waiting.” he then gets his phone and starts to play games.

I cooked him the usual. And I think how many times I practice I’m still not that good.

Kenma also looks at the bento box I made.

“What do you think? Is it edible?” I laugh nervously. 

“Why do you think it isn’t edible? It looks fine. And it looks delicious.” Kenma made sure to compliment my artwork here. I sighed, what will be my husband’s reaction about this.

As we enter the building, my heart won’t stop beating. Long ago, I was always excited to pay him a visit at work. Because he likes an unexpected visit. But now I wonder. Will he look excited seeing me here again?

Kenma’s POV

I have a feeling that something isn’t right on Hina.

As I remember very well, she always wants me to tell the story of the past when they are in bad terms. Or something happened more than that. 

Hinari is not good at hiding. 

After she had a miscarriage, i felt bad going away. I feel sorry for her. And I don't want to see that Hinari again. Full of sadness and feeling miserable. 

Now I wonder what happened.

She’s been restless when we step foot on the building.

After I opened Kuro’s office door, I knew in an instant what could be the problem. Hina stops abruptly as we see Kuroo talking so closely to a woman who almost wears nothing. Seeing the shocked Hina, this is the very first time in my whole life that I wanted to punch my best friend.

Hina didn’t say anything, she’s shocked. And the bastard didn’t even notice the door opened.

I step forward, to hide Hina at my back.

“Compose yourself, I know you don’t want to deal with this for now. Calm down.” I tried to be as calm as I could. 

Kuro almost jumps when his eyes finally meet mine. 

“K-Kenma!” He almost pushed the woman aside, as if nothing happened. 

“Wow man! When did you arrive?” so he casually brushed off the fact I saw him flirting?

I hope Hina is fine now.

“I just arrived a few hours ago. Me and your wife brought you your lunch.” Please, I hope Hina is fine. 

Kuro’s eyes widened seeing Hina at my back.

“Hello Tetsu! I made you lunch.” I saw her smiling so widely, and her voice was somehow very high pitch. I know she’s trying to hide her hurt feelings. 

“O-Oh, H-Hina. You are here too.” Kuro’s voice suddenly changed. As if he’s not happy?

“I brought your lunch. It’s been awhile since i made one for you.” she played coolly, smiling as if she didn’t see anything. Hina, are you really okay?

“B-but i already ate lunch. Ms. Mayuri cooked food for the team.” 

And that girl is named Mayuri huh. 

“Is that so?” Hina said.  

I saw her slowly lose her smile. And even put back the bento box on her bag.

“I guess we got here so late.” she smiled again. Isn’t she smiling too much?

I look at her, it’s like looking at someone who’s been rejected. And Kuro should just accept it, that’s the right thing to do right? She’s his wife, he should at least appreciate her effort on going here and cooking for him.

“Well I’ll get going then, Tetsu, Kenma.” said as she smiled at us. And then she walks out.

I looked at Kuro, and he didn’t even bother asking to walk her out. 

Seriously, what is happening.

**A/N updates every FRIDAY..**

[moonlit-mystery-writer]

Like You,Love You

Mayuri Kurotsuchi x Oc

Her humming should be annoying. It should be frustrating,especially while he’s working. And yet it soothes him instead. Mayuri looks up from his paperwork and glances at Jona sitting next to him. She smiles brightly at him,causing him to give a low sigh. She’s far too sweet to be around someone like him... The scientist wasn’t blind to his flaws. From his anger issues to his sadism to everything honestly, he could see the glaring issue about them. He was trying his best to improve, but that still doesn’t mean he deserves someone like the blonde Quincy who’s staying up late with him while he works.

“You should go home and take your nightly shower.”

Mayuri huffs lightly,sounding mean despite him not really wanting it to. Jona just giggles and taps the tip of his nose for a brief second.

“Why would I do that? I promised you I’d listen to you talk about your day on our walk home.”

She hums,not commenting on the fact that that’s the second time this evening he suggested that to her. He wanted to be angry about it. He wanted to yell at her for her frivolous touches of him and her dedication to a simple promise... But he still just can’t. It feels too good... He almost feels undeserving of it. Why should he of all people be spoiled by such sweetness?

“... I like you.”

He mumbles quietly before returning to his work. Jona smiles and watches,softly petting his head as he writes. It was ridiculous,he wasn’t some cat or even an Arrancar like Szayelaporro that he’d seen her petting before, and yet he doesn’t mind. Yet he leans into her gentle and warm touch. With her soft affection with him, he finished a little faster than normal. Jona hops off her chair seeing this and brushes her dress off.

“That means we’re ready to walk home now,yeah?”

She asks sweetly,putting a light blush on Mayuri’s cheeks.

“Yes exactly.”

He mutters,slowly getting up then setting the paperwork aside to be turned in later. Jona lightly grabs his hand and gives his arm a quick nuzzle before the two of them were off. He,keeping up with his side of the deal,rambles on about his day that day. From all the frustrations and negatives to the positives. He told her about it all with her listening intently the whole way to his room.

“Sounds like you had a long day,baby,hopefully some rest and a warm shower will help you recharge.”

She coos,dragging him to his bathroom. He gives a fraction of a smile for a moment before looking away from her so she can undress for a shower. Jona giggles a little, but doesn’t tease him. Instead she turns around as well so he feels like he has privacy too. Once in the shower,Jona’s as handys and affectionate as she normally is. From scrubbing his hair and face for him to sneaking kisses on his surgical scars and other insecurities he wanted to get rid of. Even if they didn’t make him feel any better about them, he could tell she was trying to help.

“Do you remember our other promise today?”

“Which one?”

“The one where you let me put lotion on your skin once you dry off.”

Jona says excitedly. That’s right they did make that promise... Well he can’t go back on it now. After he helps her clean herself up a little (not having to do much thanks to her showering that morning and her not wanting to overwash her hair),they get dried off,Jona picking out a rose and vanilla scented lotion for the two of them to use. She put it on herself first,asking Mayuri for helping rubbing it in. He couldn’t help blushing though as he helped. Sure he’d seen Jona nude plenty of times,hell one time she even slept as such as a way to surprise him, but that didn’t mean seeing her completely bare didn’t embarrass him any less. As soon as he was done helping her,he pulls his hands away and takes a step back. Jona giggles again,giving him the sweetest look of adoration as she walked closer again and started putting lotion on him. He helped her quickly,feeling more embarrassed about her touching him when he’s like this,though it wasn’t her first doing such.

“Do you like the lotion,baby?”

“Yes it smells nice and it’s very fitting for you,Rosefield.”

Jona laughs a little at the use of her last name as they finish up. She pulls her pajamas and such out of his closet and changes into them as he puts his own on.

“You know Rosefield is a nice last name, but I think I have one I like more and would love to have myself.”

“And what would that?”

Mayuri asks,questioning where she’s leading this. Jona turns around and hugs warmly,making him blush some.

“Simple,it’s Kurotsuchi.”

Mayuri chokes on air for a second and blushes more. He should’ve known that’s where she was going with this. Jona smiles at his reaction and kisses his cheek before skipping slightly to the bed. The blue haired shinigami takes a second to recover before heading to his side of the bed.

“You’re ridiculous as always,Quincy.”

He sighs as he lays down. Jona moves closer to him and softly pulls one of his arms around her.

“And you’re as silly as always,Shinigami.”

She teases back with a yawn. She nuzzles into him more before closing her eyes. Mayuri watches her quietly,waiting to make sure she was fully asleep before saying.

“I love you.”

[tuliharja]

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Separation episode 9 review

And after a week's break, the anime is back~. And we're continuing right where we left off.

Good thing Ichigo and the company bounced back to the action after Uryuu joined Yhwach and Jugram. It was a quick and shift moment, but I get a feeling it was mostly thanks to Chad's reassurance. Of course, Orihime too helped, but I feel like Chad got that small spotlight to be Ichigo's main support this time around which felt just nice.

It was also interesting to see shinigami picking themselves after that blast Yhwach and company left because in the manga there wasn't such a scene.

I must admit I was genuinely surprised we saw Iba and Komamura. That was just a nice addition the anime team made, along with Byakuya surrounded by the Quincies and Renji protecting Rukia from that blast. Little additions like those really add to things in the long run as those explain what happened to other characters when something was going on. Sure, it's nice to see the main gang in action and follow them, but it just gives this feeling of many characters and stories, when there are little bits like these in anime (and manga).

Lol! Renji talking smack about Bazz-B. xD Just for Bazz-B to compliment Renji. That was an adorable moment, even though Renji ended up pissing off Bazz-B with his chicken comment...like yes. It's nice chickens lay eggs and all, but I'm not sure if a guy would like such a compliment. Poor Bazz-B. His Burner Finger Four was very cool. Reminded me again just how good the animation is in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War ~.

Oh, so they really went for that scene with Yumichika revealing Giselle isn't biologically a girl, huh? It really wasn't that clever way of Yumichika wanting to make more accurate points of Giselle. (And before anyone asks, yes, in the original TV-broadcast Yumichika uses the lines he uses in the manga. [Making that scene just tacky -at least from my mind.] In the international version they've censored that line and also Giselle's one line as far as I'm aware.) But I suppose they just wanted that scene to be added, because...I'm not sure. I don't think anyone would have minded if that scene had been fully scrapped, because what would have mattered in the end if we wouldn't have been sure of Giselle's biological gender? Giselle identifies herself as a girl, so it should have been fine. But I suppose for some reason or another, they just wanted to push that little niche fact about Giselle. At least they tried their best with that scene. That's all that I'll write about it.

Now moving on~. To be honest, I was dreading this part of the anime because zombies are a big nope to me. Luckily the zombies in this didn't look as bad as those could, otherwise, I would have had to skip quite a lot of content from this episode, as it centered around quite heavily around zombies.

I'm kind of glad Yoruichi was introduced in such a neutral manner, unlike in the manga. Now the focus was on the task of 'how to get Ichigo, Orihime, and Chad to Soul King's palace?' Kisuke's explanation was interesting and I'm glad we learned what Yoruichi was up to, since up until now we hadn't seen her! Not to mention what exactly was Hiyori's, Lisa's, and Hachigen's task at the World of the Living. This all actually made me question if Kisuke (and Mayuri) did foresee Yhwach going to the Royal Palace and if they allowed such a thing to happen on purpose. Because now remember, Kyoraku all but hinted Ichibe allowed on purpose such a thing to occur...is there a secret scheme going on or what? Because that all seemed like such a big mishap, I wouldn't say all was just 'pure coincidence'.

Seeing Yumichika and Ikkaku fighting against zombie Bambietta was very nice. They really work very well together and I believe before this we hadn't really seen them fighting together. At least I can't recall such an event as usually, they would work separately I recall Ikkaku insisted on fighting alone against his own opponent and Yumichika felt shamed for his kido skills. But this time around, it seemed like they had managed to solve such issues and worked together quite well. Too bad their fight against Bambietta was a short one. But it was nice to see sunflower!Mayuri enters the stage~.

Mayuri going against Bambietta and Giselle looked visually very cool. Though when Giselle brought her Gotei Thirteen zombies, I almost snorted when Mayuri explained he wouldn't be able to go against them because of the 'goodness of his heart'. Yeah, like he hadn't previously in his life killed many of his subordinates. Not at all! ...but in all seriousness, I think he just wanted to flaunt his own zombies to Giselle. (And yes, just moments later when Mayuri told off both Ikkaku and Yumichika, proved he is still the same old Mayuri. Now with more facts under his belt that he can use against other people to do what he wants, though.) A good way to bring out already dead characters.

I must admit, zombified Toshiro wearing a Wandenreich outfit suited somehow extremely well to him. I still feel sorry for him, though. The fact he turned into a zombie and now has to go against his allies...not good at all. But we all will see more about that in next week's episode as the whole zombie thing is still far from over! (Again, I'm happy the zombies don't look like typical ones.)

[recurring-polynya]

Zanpakutou Rebellion Arc Recap, p5

Arright friendos, we are taking a little time out of people fighting their own zanpakutou for some Very Special Episodes about Byakuya Being An Ass. It’s so good. I love it. Buckle in for some Extremely Polynya Shouting.

Before we can get to that, though, Mayuri straight-up murders Gegetsuburi and then does a big WELP shrug while Omaeda stands there. So, uh, that happened.

Back to that weird forest where everyone has been fighting! Momo and Rangiku belatedly show up to the Hitsugaya fight. Ichigo is presumably about to give them the full blow-by-blow, when Muramasa stumbles out of a Garanta, all “hey guys, what’s going on in this thread?” Muramasa makes the bold claim that he and Ichigo have some sort of special bond, and Ichigo busts out this solid gold comeback:

When did Byakuya get here? This is a recap, I do not follow the rules of continuity. Senbonzakura actually shows up first and fights Ichigo, and then Byakuya shows up (he’d been off freeing Tobiume and Haineko thanks a lot buddy). B announces that he has been doing a lot of thinking and he will now be betraying everyone he knows and cares about. Ichigo, as is his way, is very hurt and confused; Muramasa is like “sure, sounds cool to me.” We end scene with a single flower petal floating to the ground and Ichigo screaming “BYAKUYAAAAAAAAAA!” I love this arc.

NEXT EPISODE! Episode 241 is called “For the Sake of Pride! Byakuya vs. Renji” so you know I am all in already. 

We’re back at the 4th Barracks, where Kyouraku and Ukitake are still hiding out to avoid doing anything. Ichigo is reporting on Byakuya’s betrayal, and Renji bless his heart, refuses to accept it. He gets in Ichigo’s face over it (like Ichigo, of all people, would make this up??) and then goes over to dramatically lean on the window frame and stare off into the distance. This is up there with the desk slap in terms of Renji Drama; I was howling.

Meanwhile, in the Cave of Zanpakutou, the zanpakutou are not exactly down with Byakuya ruining their cool frathouse vibe (Byakuya, for his part, looks absolutely disgusted to be in a cave). Senbonzakura, of all of them, declares that Byakuya needs to show his loyalty by… uh… uh… killing Sode no Shirayuki. Sode no Shirayuki makes an absolute “wtf, man” face, but goes with it. I honestly would have found it immensely satisfying if Rukia’s zanpakutou completely owned Byakuya, but unfortunately, that is not what happens here. Byakuya defeats her and she turns into a broken sword and Senbonzakura is like “WTF, MAN?!” The one part of this arc that I can’t actually remember is how they resolve this, because they’ve made a really big deal thus far about how if someone else kills your zanpakutou, it’s gone for good, and Jaysus, Byakuya, what a dick move! Byakuya DNGAF, and utters the absolutely God-tier “You could never comprehend my pride” which I immediately added to my “Byakuya’s Greatest Hits” googledoc (this episode also contains “If it is for the sake of my pride, there is nothing I won't destroy” which I already had in there). Anyway, this is apparently good enough for Muramasa, Byakuya is in, although Senbonzakura, who is definitely Has Regrets, tells Byakuya that he will be watching him (he does not do the little 2 fingers-to-the-eyes, I’ll-be-watching-you hand signal, which would have been the greatest thing ever)

SQUAD SIX TIME. Renji lets Rukia into Byakuya’s office to… look for his diary, I guess? They have a nice little deluded talk about how Byakuya would definitely not betray Soul Society, he would never. Renji has to go on duty, so he leaves her there with a little “don’t work too hard” because this episode is adorable. We get an absolutely loving pan of the offices, and because this is my blog, I’m going to describe them for you. Like Squad 10, Squad 6 has two couches, but the Squad 6 couches are striped. I feel in my heart that they are deeply uncomfortable, and that Renji has definitely spilled something on one of them and then flipped the cushions upside down. There is an entire huge wall of bookcases, which the wiki once explained as being related to Byakuya being into the history of Soul Society, but I think he would keep that shit at home. No, I think Byakuya keeps full sets of whatever the shinigami equivalent of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Standards are. I don’t know where I got the idea that Byakuya and Renji share an office, because this is definitely only Byakuya’s office, but I refuse to back off on that, because it’s funnier that way, and also Renji needs access to those ISO 9000 Guidelines for Memory Modification in Mortals.

Where the hell were we? Oh yeah, Rukia falls asleep in Byakuya’s uncomfortable-looking little desk chair. She wakes up with a “what is this reiatsu??” and runs out into the hallway where someone has been fucking shit up once again. Rukia steps over all the bodies on the ground because NII-SAMA! NII-SAMA IS HERE! but Byakuya refuses to answer and then Senbonzakura rolls in and dumps the broken pieces of Sode no Shirayuki in Rukia’s lap with a “Hey, did you know your brother is a gigantic dick? Just huge. FYI.”

Rukia hugs a bunch of sharp broken pieces of metal and sobs, which seems… like not the best idea, but who am I to judge? Senbonzakura starts to attack Rukia, who is still on the ground and RENJI IS HERE!! I normally do not like it when the dude characters show up to save Rukia, but Rukia is having a moment and also her sword is busted, and also Renji is hot mad at Byakuya. Are you ready for what happens next? Are you prepared? Because Renji attempts to detain Byakuya as a material witness and my soul left my body. Abarai Renji, Ace Attorney is canon. BLESS. Why did they make this episode for me and me alone?

They start fighting and THEN, my captain busts out with “I know you used Higa Zekkou recently, so you can’t go to shikai” and MY HEART! Y’all know how precious the Byakuya - Renji captain/useless vice-captain relationship is to me and here is evidence that Byakuya, a man who does not notice what is beneath him, knows the name of one of Renji’s attacks and also how many times per day he can use it. MY DINGDANG HEART.

Also, it matters NOT, because Saru and Hebi bust through a wall with accompanying guitar riff (I mean, they were gonna need to get a drywall crew in here anyway, I guess) “WE ARE HERE FOR YOU BRO ALSO WE, TOO, WANT A PIECE OF BYAKUYA”

Zabimaru takes on Senbonzakura while Byakuya fights Renji. Both of these fights are lit. A significant portion of Squad 6 definitely gets blown up. Renji starts shooting kidou at Byakuya. This goon. This absolute madman. At one point, he fakes Byakuya out by pretending to misfire a shakkahou and then he tries to use a fucking binding spell. On Byakuya. OH. MY. GOD.

Anyway, suffice to say, Renji does not win this fight. There is this brilliant framing where Rukia is still inside, trying to get outside to where the fights are, and Renji’s body just goes flying past in the background, FWUMP!!

Everyone’s just having a great time, when the rest of the zanpaktou show up and demand that Byakuya kill Rukia and Renji. Byakuya makes a pained “could we not?” face, but he doesn’t actually say no, and then the zanpakutou decide they’d rather do it themselves anyway. 

And then, because this episode somehow feels like it hasn’t done enough for me yet, Renji, who is a pile of broken bones on the ground, begs Rukia to run away. But no! My girl stands over her busted up bae with her spiritless sword and does the whole “whatever loser, they’ll have to go through me first” thing. MY HEEaaarrRRRRRtttTTTT.

Then Soi Fon and the gang show up, and Ichigo yells, “hey Rukia, are you all right?” and it is, quite literally, that shitpost comic where Renji is lying in a pool of his own blood and Rukia has a tiny scratch and Ichigo is like “Rukia!!!!! NOOOOOO!”

Anyway, tune in next time for BIG FIGHTS.

[corisanna]

In a post-PMMM world, would the Soul Society ever learn about the Law of Cycles if Yuzu and Karin were to disappear?

It would be its own kind of fascinating premise.

*scratches chin*

Very possible, given my interpretation of Urahara feeling so indebted to Ichigo that protecting the girls is a lowkey duty of his and their disappearance would be a failure. And Urahara hates failure and likes having goals.

How soon the discovery would be made is where the problem would lie, with my Kyubey avoiding Karakura. Urahara might end up moving around researching other disappearances and discovering discrepancies in spiritual density. It could take years.

It would also change the personal interest/investment of others. The Visored would get involved entirely based upon camaraderie with Ichigo and hating seeing his reaction without the “someone is Hollowfying little girls” rage; Hitsugaya might express misplaced guilt as rage like with Momo and Aizen; Mayuri’s interest would be late and possibly based upon Urahara outright taunting him for his sensors’ failures due to not having to play nice to hide a time traveler.

Ichigo and Isshin… hard to say, oddly enough. They could cycle between obsessed, broken, and enraged. Ichigo might change majors to learn criminal/private investigation? Or drop out to go looking, or do online classes while looking to sharpen his methods. Ichigo’s nakama… also hard to say. Human and shinigami.

The humans… priority number one would be “make sure Ichigo doesn’t destroy himself.” It could take awhile for Urahara to find a Quincy connection, but once he did Uryuu would do the deep dive into Quincy archives like in ANAI. Orihime would probably focus on keeping Ichigo sane but help with reading/taking notes from all Uryuu’s books. Chad… probably the same? And using his Super Chill Vibes when the others are getting all HNNNNNNNGGGGG.

The shinigami friends might try to get placed in (lead) missions in Rukongai to lowkey poke around trying to find the girls there? And hierarchy looking the other way because Kurosaki. Once Urahara uncovered more and how far back it goes I can see Renji and Rukia trying to get Byakuya to look in the Kuchiki archives like

Renji: CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN

Rukia: NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA  REMEMBER HOW HE SAVED ME, YOUR SISTER? NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA NIISAMA

Byakuya, pretending to be annoyed/resigned: F I N E ugh cease your uncouth begging

Byakuya, to archivists who have been digging for weeks: LOOK HARDER

If the twins contracted earlier than in ANAI and/or disappeared not too long after contracting, like right before or during Xcution, such that Ichigo, Orihime, and Chad might be more paranoid about Xcution… allowing several months or a year of investigation to happen before March 16-May 1…

And if anyone should happen upon ribbon!Homura as they pass through Mitakihara… especially if they see her with her bow, like a weird Quincy…

and Ichigo pulls SURROGATE LITTLE SISTER MUST PROTECC…

and Kyubey triggers Rebellion…

ETA:

Had a thought: Would shinigami already know about them, or can they not see Wraiths? Or do Wraiths have an appearance pattern like Witches? They kinda seem like they have pseudo-labyrinths in Wraith Arc, so...?