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#uraichi
stormsthatrage · 8 months
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Short snippet from the Bleach I Knew You AU.
But before I begin. *Insert deep sigh here.*
Secretlypansexualmango, if you see this, it was supposed to be a response to your ask. Unfortunately, it took a hard left-turn and ended up in. Uraichi shipping territory? Look, IDK, I'm asexual, I don't get it either. Anyway, since I don't know your shipping preferences and don't want to accidentally respond to your ask with something that squiks you, I will be officially responding to your ask in another post that is less likely to be unexpectedly unpalatable. Thank you for your patience, and, uh, I hope this doesn't turn you off the au! (*laughs nervously*)
Without further ado, the snippet:
Breaking into the Shiba family grounds is easy. By sheer comparison, breaking into Shiba Ichigo’s room specifically is almost a challenge, but it’s not anything that Kisuke hasn’t planned for.
The strange, modified kido, and the odd wards Ichigo has placed, are simple to bypass with a bit of fancy footwork and precisely-timed counter-kido. It’s practically child’s play to get past them, now that he's roughly figured out how they work and where they all are.
His job is made even easier by the fact that, for some reason, Kisuke’s spiritual pressure doesn’t wake Ichigo up. Quite the opposite, in fact. He seems to sleep deeper when Kisuke is nearby and has let Benihime out a little.
He has theories about that.
He’s tired of them being theories.
He’s here to get evidence.
Kisuke bypasses the final seal and slides Ichigo’s window open, slipping into his room. He lets his spiritual pressure permeate the air a little thicker than he would in normal company, and as expected, Ichigo’s spiritual pressure slows down as he falls further into slumber.
… And Kisuke is supposed to believe that the first time they met was two months ago? When this is Ichigo’s reaction to his presence? When Ichigo is one of the most paranoid people Kisuke, an ex-onmi agent, has ever encountered?
Kisuke is a genius. He doesn’t need to be in order to see the flaw in that logic.
Kisuke steps further into the room, gliding softly over the old wood floorboards. He pauses in the middle, taking a moment to debate where to start.
Well. Why not with the simplest?
He’s caught it a few times, the barest trace of his own power lingering around Ichigo. A fascinating phenomenon, when he can’t recall a single time he’s drawn shikai around him, let alone used enough power to leave a long-lasting trace.
He draws closer to Ichigo’s bed, until he could reach out and touch him if he wished.
Ichigo breathes deeply, evenly, no sign of waking up. At some point, his covers ended up half kicked-off. Possibly from the heat, probably from nightmares. Regardless of the reason, Kisuke can’t help but think that he looks strangely fragile this way, surrounded by the evidence of his restlessness.
He puts a hand on the the hilt of his soul-partner. “Awaken, Benihime,” he murmurs.
She stirs within him, gently, in a way that is oh so rare. Like the softest, most gradual of ocean tides, she rises, her fragrance of wet iron washing through the air around them.
And together, channeling her power through his eyes, they see.
Glowing crimson threads that they have no recollection of weaving wrap protectively, lovingly, around Ichigo. A thin but strong filament, sewn through the skin from just below Ichigo’s ear all the way to his opposite shoulder, sutures closed what must have once been a deadly throat wound. Another one, obviously originally meant to keep shut a gash down the length of Ichigo’s forearm, keeps it companion.
And beyond the battlefield sutures there are more threads. Hundreds of intangible and deceptively thin and absolutely unbreakable strands of Benihime’s power wrap around Ichigo, crisscrossing over themselves — around his throat and across his face and down his torso and up his arms, visible wherever his bare flesh is exposed — seemingly serving no purpose.
Benihime’s power surges at the sight, a hot delight running through her as she sees Ichigo so thoroughly caught in her webs. Kisuke’s fingers suddenly, urgently ache with the urge to touch, to tighten, to add more.
Soul King.
No purpose other than, it seems, to satiate their own possessiveness.
Kisuke exhales a shaking breath. Closes his eyes for a brief moment. Gets the heat in his blood under control.
No purpose other than to alert themselves, perhaps? Did they know that one day they wouldn't recognize Ichigo anymore, and left this as a clue?
(And oh, what a clue. What a clue it is.)
He lets Benihime’s power fade, taking his hand away from her hilt. He’s self-aware enough to know when he needs to stop tempting himself, and he’s gotten the evidence he came for — far better proof than he could have ever anticipated.
He takes a step back, and the motion is the most unnatural thing he’s done in a long, long time.
He has questions. He has a few theories, too. Amnesia, caused by a very specific type of parasitic hollow. Dimension travel. Time travel. He doesn’t have enough information yet to figure out which is most likely, but he has finally confirmed beyond doubt that Ichigo is his, has been his, and something tried to steal that from him.
Fury flares within him, burning through his veins, and he can’t do this right here.
He takes another step back, this one just as unnatural as the last.
He can’t ask, yet. He can’t get closer, can’t wake Ichigo up with a soft hand on his cheek, can’t tell him that he’s there now, can’t promise him to take care of it all if he would just let him in again.
No.
Shiba Ichigo is in the middle of a chess game — a dangerous one, a complicated one — and Kisuke can’t see the whole board yet. Tipping his own hand might trigger a whole plethora of traps, including another round of amnesia, and he refuses to risk the knowledge he’s regained.
He will have to be careful. He will have to move cautiously.
He casts one last look at Ichigo, lets his eyes trace over that delicate throat that he now knows almost bled out. That delicate throat that had to be held together with Benihime’s webs. That delicate throat that he doesn’t remember stitching back together, despite the fact that he used his bankai to do it.
He was made to unknow a person he loves. He was made to unknow a war. He was made to unknow the fact that danger lurks still in the shadows of Soul Society.
He will know the end of this game. And Ichigo will learn that there is no universe in which Kisuke does not protect what’s his.
Kisuke turns. Takes another unnatural step away from his favorite, infuriating puzzle. And then he wrenches himself out of the room, out into the night, closing the window behind him and leaving as unnoticed as he had come.
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rayshippouuchiha · 4 months
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Ed teaching Izuku and Kisuke alchemy
Also I’d love to see Roy and Kisuke try and out manwhore each other
Ed and/or Roy mention alchemy one time and Ichigo is like "Stop, look, listen to me. If you introduce a new power system in my general vicinity I will somehow adapt and/or have secretly been 1/8th alchemist the entire time. And that is a threat."
Kisuke: He keeps it interesting. It's one of his more attractive qualities
Ed: I knew a few people who were 1/8th an alchemist once.
Everyone but Roy: What?
Ed: Nevermind
Izuku: I uh, I'm not going to have to eat any hair am I?
Everyone:
Kisuke: *abruptly turning to Roy* SO! You're last name is Mustang? Are you part horse?
Roy: Well, now that you mention it
Aizawa: *slowly realizing that he might in fact be the normal one here*
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absolem0 · 10 months
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UraIchi Week 2023
Day 2: o if only the dead could speak— you would hear the stories they could tell, of the terrible things we did for love
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greyskyflowers · 4 months
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Ugh the fics with the Visored/Ichigo having strong hollow instincts are fabulous. Also Kisuke having some type of instincts or predator type vibe to him.
Personally I love the idea that most Shinigami are a little instinctive at times, especially the wilder ones. The 11th for example, or maybe some of the captains.
I also love the idea that Ichigo can really relax around Kisuke and the Visored, in a way he can't quite do with others.
Like Ichigo's instincts would be thrilled to be under Kisuke, recognizing a fellow predator and practically purring at the smell of iron that lingers on a soul like Kisuke's.
It's the same instincts that sometimes make him sleepy around the Visored, something deep in his belly insisting he's safesafesafe under their watchful eyes and he rarely gets to feel truly safe. It probably says something that he feels that way around people who most find creepy or terrifying.
So no one can blame him if he occasionally takes advantage of that feeling, after training and cleaning up he often goes to find one or more of them to curl up next to. And they always allow it.
He's managed to control the urge to build a cozy nest and coax them into it with tempting purrs and lazy sprawls, somewhere dark and small because he wants them close but big enough for all of them. At least so far.
They all must have discussed it though, he blames Kisuke and Shinji, because one day it starts getting much harder to ignore those instincts. It's like they're all purposely putting him in situations that make his skin crawl like he's trying to shed it.
They use firm and purposeful touches, usually focused on his neck or back but they take full advantage of situations where they can pet at Ichigo's belly. He's not stupid, he knows those are vulnerable spots and they're making their touches familiar and comfortable. But it feels good and it's just them, the thought of anyone else touching him so freely or intimately makes his teeth hurt.
They grab the back on his neck when he's a little too wild or upset. Fingers pressing into spots on his neck that make his knees go weak and his mind go fuzzy. He doesn't know how they do it, he's tried to find the spots on himself and he can't recreate it.
There's something deeper at play here too. Everything feeds on itself. The healthier and happier Ichigo is, the healthier and happier the Visored are. Kisuke says it's something about pack dynamics and hollow instincts.
They're confident in everything they do and Ichigo's instincts are thrilled because it's obvious they're strong enough to handle him. It settles something in him that they're able to defend and protect themselves and him. It allows him to relax in a way that he hasn't since his mom died, not since grief renamed him protector.
Some days he gets both Kisuke and Shinji, and he spends the day feeling like a pampered pet. He drapes himself over their legs or curls up in their laps and melts into the touches. His toes curl and uncurl happily, hands kneading at whatever he can get his hands on.
Sometimes they get too invested in something or their attention gets taken by other things and Ichigo is left to entertain himself.
If he doesn't have anything to do then sometimes he'll go find a spot where the sun comes though the window and lay in it like a lizard sunning itself.
He doesn't realize that they've been slowly accumulating things for him until it's too late. He has a collection of pillows, blanket and cushions at the Visored warehouse and at Kisuke's. He tends to find himself in them after training and spars, skin clean from a quick wash and happily disappearing into the scents caught in the fabric.
Kisuke makes something for him, small pills of black and white that he claims are just a type of vitamin pill. Ichigo doesn't believe that for a second. For one thing, he only gets them when he's with Kisuke and Kisuke always gives it to him when he's in the fuzzy, instinctive headspace. It's easier for him to coax Ichigo into taking it from between his fingers with too sharp teeth and a quick curl of his tongue or to open his mouth and let Kisuke place it on his tongue.
After a few weeks of getting it from Kisuke, the Visored also have it. They take one occasionally, which also makes him think it's something for his hollow, but never as many as Ichigo. They take up the same way of giving it to him as Kisuke.
He nips sharply at Kensei's fingers when he lingers too long placing one of the pills on his tongue. The brief burning look in Kensei's eyes and the big hand that grabs his jaw in warning makes all the teasing he gets later worth it.
He knows this is weird. It's even strange from what shinigami would want or understand. He knows that trying to explain this to his sisters or friends would be very hard to do without making it sound unhealthy and wrong but it's not. Maybe if they were all normal humans then it would be different.
The things that he needs now are so very different.
💀 💀
Is it power dynamics, hollow instincts, or trauma? The world may never know.
Tbh I set out to write something about Ichigo being spoiled by Kisuke and Shinji but then my love for the Visored all adoring Ichigo got involved. So here we are.
I just think slightly feral characters are neat.
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uraichievents · 19 days
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UraIchi Week 2024
Monday, July 1st, 2024 - Sunday, July 7th, 2024
AO3 Collection
Full Prompts List Submitted This Year
(Click images to enlarge. Alt text under the cut.)
What is UraIchi Week?
It’s a week-long fanworks event to promote the Urahara Kisuke x Kurosaki Ichigo ship. There’s no sign-up, it’s just for fun, and everybody can participate. Completed works and wips are both acceptable, and any type of fanwork (fanfic, fanart, gifsets, etc.) is welcome. NSFW and/or potentially trigger-y content is allowed, although please remember to tag your works properly.
The ship itself can be written romantically or platonically, as lovers or friends or even enemies, so long as it stars these two characters together in some way. Poly ships are also fine so long as Ichigo and Kisuke are still the focus of the fanwork. And crossovers and fusions are also allowed even if it isn’t one of the given prompts for the event. Basically, anything goes, and the only criteria is that it has to be UraIchi-centric.
Posting:
UraIchi Week is hosted here on Tumblr and on AO3. For posts on Tumblr, remember to ping @uraichievents and tag #UraIchi Week 2024. For AO3, you can add your work(s) to the collection linked up above. You are also welcome to join the UraIchi Discord server if you haven’t already and come and talk about what you’re working on!
Themes:
July 1st, Day 1: i've met you before / i'll meet you again / this is the first time we've met.. right?
Time Travel / Dimension Travel
Identity Porn / Hidden Identities
“I've suffered from traumatic dreams of my past lives since I was a child, and I'm just now realizing that coming up to a beautiful stranger who looks like someone I've seen die a thousand times in a thousand different ways at a bar and asking if we've met before sounds a lot like a come-on haha no wait come back that doesn't mean I'm not desperately attracted to you please kiss me again” AU
July 2nd, Day 2: It's fact that killable problems are not real problems.
Murder Husbands
Ichigo is Deadpool / unbreakable / any other accidentally immortal being who is really kind of annoyed about it (because it’s boring, and he’s still young enough to be within his lifespan, but it sure takes the fun out of fighting).
All the times Ichigo died, he ACTUALLY died, he just came back. Every time he comes back, he comes back Wronger.
July 3rd, Day 3: Things I Should've Told You / Things I Don't Tell Anyone Else
The skeletons in your closet are about to overflow. Would you like me to tidy it up?
Ichigo is experimenting with self-expression, a hobby, etc., making up for lost time as a regular teenager. Urahara is always the first one (sometimes only one) to see or hear about a new idea.
“The person I trust most is you.”
July 4th, Day 4: Sword and Shield
I am yours to command, use me as you please.
Shiba!Ichigo and Second Division!Kisuke
Summoner/Mage AU: Paired summons who are good apart but unmatched together.
July 5th, Day 5: That One is Mine
Hollow Instincts / Feral Protective
Possessive!Kisuke: He stepped aside for Sui-Feng because Yoruichi was always master first and friend second and love interest never, and because Yoruichi wanted her in a way she's never wanted him. But Ichigo is different, and everyone soon realizes that when Kisuke truly wants something, he always gets it in the end.
“Death can’t have you. You’re mine.”
July 6th, Day 6: Monsters come in all shapes and sizes. Some are born, some are made, and some decide being a monster's pretty fucking cool.
Visored!Urahara Kisuke AU / Vasto Lorde!Kurosaki Ichigo AU
“Ichigo forges a friendship with his Hollow in the Shattered Shaft” AU
vs. Gotei 13 AU: Ichigo time travels back from a future where he was chained to the throne as the next Soul King by the Shinigami.
July 7th, Day 7: Creator’s Choice!
As always, the above prompts are all optional, and you’re free to come with your own ideas. You can also find an excel sheet with all the prompts submitted this year linked up above, so feel free to look through that if you want, and you can also make a copy for yourself.
And that’s it! We’re looking forward to what everyone comes up with!
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crispybonkeggllama · 9 months
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If ichigo was a crybaby as a child, the fact that ossan hates rain and all means that ichigo is STILL a crybaby, he just doesn't cry out loud, his crying is all internal.
But i like to think he sometimes gives himself 'alone time' to cry.
Soooooooo-
Imagine at the Shoten all the group and his sisters and family, goat-face being a clown that he is wailing all the evening that he and ichigo had their usual family banter but this time was worse, 'cause isshin was wailing about how his kids grew up so fast and he wants to baby them etc etc only for ichigo hurting and scarring inside a little more because it was him since nine who took care of sisters and helped in the neighbourhood to gain some money and stole some from isshin's wallet and it was difficult, it was tough and he doesn't like to remember this, because when he does he's tearing up and isshin wasn't even supposed to be at the shoten today-
So he storms off at some moment with goat face's shouting at how his son is a tsundere in the background.
And everyone just thinks that ichigo needs time to cool off, they saw and heard these acts of 'tough love' several times already only for ichigo not returning even after half an hour. Thus they went to search for him. And of course with his radiating reiatsu it was easier to find him, though urahara and yoruichi were the first to do so, but they were just standing there, staring.
They found him at the riverbank silently shedding tears with his knees up to his chin.
Curling in a ball trying to supress his shaking shoulders and sniffs.
Blinking rapidly to wipe away the tears with the base of his hand.
And his lips were trembling with each shuddered breath-
'Oh,' urahara thought, seeing as the gang caught up to them with various looks of disbelief and fear. 'Isshin, you fool, you utter fool.'
Not that he felt any ounce of sympathy towards his old friend.
Judging by the looks in everyone's eyes and slowly seeping bloodlust in the air as the situation sank in the minds, the man won't be able to even be near orange head in the near future.
(And he would gladly and enthusiastically assist)
No one can make kurosaki ichigo cry and get away with it, as it turned out.
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hollowbait · 9 months
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ichigo timetravels to the tbtp era and urahara, tessai and yoruichi are the only ones who know the truth and bla bla help defeat aizen bla bla but after a week or two they realise ichigo is Despondent. Depressed. they assume it's because he misses his family and friends. finally they confront him about it and he starts blushing and is like well... yeah i miss them but i knew what i was getting into... and they're like what is it then?
and he finally has to haltingly explain that while he had been prepared to lose his family and friends he had NO IDEA he was going have to live with a urahara kisuke with NO TITS IN SIGHT... no green samue always gaping WAY TOO OPEN. always there for you. there to make you feel better when you're sad. when you're bored.
and of course because kisuke is Gone for this man who literally fell from the sky into his lap the next day his captains uniform is worn with thirsty gingers in mind.
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uzdef-ump · 4 months
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tempter and tempted in good omens crossover
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writing-frenzy · 7 months
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Mob Protag Ichigo and the Puppet Master (UraIchi Isekai Idea :3 )
So yeah, for anyone who's read my first idea with the Kurosaki Fam Isekai, they'll know all the stuff that has inspired this and that I've already mentioned an idea with a Mob Character!Ichigo and a Puppet Master Benihime (AKA Urahara Kisuke)
Let us set the scene :3
How will Ichigo go to a fantasy world, especially with how he is? Well, as Ichigo was growing up, one of his sisters was really, really sick; they weren't sure if she was going to make it tbh. Ichigo did all he could, but being a little guy, there wasn't much he could do. One day, he came upon a weird being who said they could grant wishes; Ichigo immediately asks if they can make his little sister healthy. The being said yes after a moment, but it will cost him a peaceful afterlife. Ichigo takes the deal, the being is admittedly touched by this child's goodness and unselfish desire, because for such a sweet child, they know of death and the loss it brings already. So the being actually doesn't twist the wish like so many others he does, letting the children live out their natural lifespans in peace.
All is well, until a 17 year old Ichigo saves his other sister and her friend from dying to a truck. Our World's Divine Being is like; damn, you still had way, way more life span and time than you should have to had died now... but since you have a contract, I can't just let you survive :/ eh, I'll use it to at least give you perks to survive your reincarnation in that hell hole. (not to mention how they too are actually touched, they're a sucker for loving families)
Ichigo: wut
Godly Being: *throws a book series and some powers at him* Wish you luck out there!
After feeling just a bit violated and like someone was digging around in his head and blood, Ichigo wakes up in an abandoned house in some modern looking steampunk like city. Looking around he doesn't have much but some basics for survival, weird as heck items, and a book series. Not much to do, he reads the series, which answers a whole lot of questions even as makes Ichigo scowl like a thundercloud.
See, this is a very, very dark fantasy like series, it's gonna have all the canon Bleach fighting and gore but with magical surprises and such, with a very, very bittersweet ending. It's kinda like a modern setting meets with a very eco-friendly way because the world will crush those it sees trying to abuse it (mother nature don't play around here) so it's kinda steam/water/wind/solarpunk. Don't know who I want as the OG Story's protag to be, maybe Rukia or one of the Karakura Kids, but it follows them in a world were contracts/pacts/deals with spiritual beings is over everything; it can be with weapons, it can be with bloodlines or any such. Not all pacts and such are unequal, some in fact are real and true bonds, the pact bound loyal to their contractors to obsession... others, it is is very much a thing of slavery and torture, which can go both ways depending on what was exactly contracted.
Ichigo goes about trying to figure out his own contract/pact thing, which while so long ago, is just something he has never been able to forget, seemingly inscribed onto his very soul in a way. He knows he was picked because his soul was the most compatible for the spirits the being wanted for him, and he already knows its going to change his body as well, but it still confuses him.
(maybe something like;
A mix of holy power and darkness that would find most be consumed,
Flames properly controlled that can reach the moon,
Cut it from the sky and devour it if so desired,
But yet all one wants is to protect their own wary lost and life tired,
For One such as you a power so great is to be entrusted,
It will find you, change you, leave your life chain broken and rusted,
In Time it will be shown if you can make this power your own,
But already, your fate has sown.)
(LOL, this is Ichigo, he's gonna break his fate and make friends with his Hallow and Ossan, because I love the idea of the three together again in this au :3 later tho)
But yeah, so Ichigo is figuring things out, especially with controlling his body once more because his strength went a bit wonky, but I also like the idea of a different weapon Ichigo if that makes sense? Like, he will still be an op power house, but the thought of him using spells and martial arts makes me grin evilly? Like, with his Hollow more bonded later, he can make claws come out to rip soft bellies apart and such. And Ossan just insists he learn a bow for those times he needs long range and such, even if he gets a bit despairing when Ichigo occasionally gets too frustrated and just throws the damn arrow (all three in Ichigo's head are quiet whenever the move proves highly effective, which is always.) Oh, but now I can't help but think of Childe from Genshin Impact's fighting style :D maybe instead of blades though, Ichigo switches to a hand to hand with bracers of some sort covering his arms that are hard as fuck, easy to move around in because of magic.
But ah, getting sidetracked again, this all comes later down; for now, Ichigo is still figuring shit out, avoiding protagonists and co because yeah, people not protected by plot armor tend to die really, really messily around them and he still can't do jack right now (doesn't mean he doesn't do what he can, even if its just simple things like helping the elderly, making sure kids get home safe, or even knocking out some regular thugs harassing some ladies.
Ichigo, despite all his scowls and looks, still draws people in with his kindness and protective nature in this dark, lonely otherworld.)
Its as he's helping someone shopping, this sweet little lady who goes on and on about her sweet grandbaby, that Ichigo goes to the Urahara Shoten for the first time; not much gets his attention, besides the fact that the protagonist has only been here once or twice in the early chapters for some odds or ends, this place being some mixture of candy/pawn/tea shop.
But then something in the shop resonates with him; with his very soul. Looking around, Ichigo tells the sweet grandma he'll be right back, and call him when she's done, to which she gives a cheerful reply before Ichigo goes off, looking high and low before he finds a strange book and block with it, like a set. Picking it up, it just feels so damn right... till he looks at the price tag and cringes. While he has odd jobs here and there to help him out, it's just enough money for him to live with since he doesn't have to worry about rent with his questionable abandoned house, covering his food expenses and the public bath fee.
"Find something you like dear customer?" is said from behind him, which makes Ichigo jump like a few feet into the air, clutching his book and block set to his chest, before turning to the one who startled him.
And so thus the first meeting with Urahara Kisuke, Geta-boshi as Ichigo likes to call him. After a bit of back and forth between the two, Ichigo admits he can't afford the book and block set, too which Urahara merely hums, eyes oddly shadowed from his hat as he considers that. one thing leads to another and somehow Ichigo not only gets the set but even a steady job at the shop, even if his paycheck will be cut because of said set. And sure, Geta-boshi is sus as fuck, but Ichigo doesn't sense any ill will from the man, not too mention the man even helps him with understanding the book, a soul book as its called, which strengthens souls and their contracts, enabling them to get a growing weapon called an Asauchi that transforms with the soul. Its not bad.
On Kisuke's part, he is actually pretty intrigued by Kurosaki, this youth who carries the potential of a predator but the heart of a protector, actually reacting to the soul book and Asauchi Kisuke had made more for curiosity and boredom then to actually make a functional weapon. Not to mention just how much fun it is too mess with Ichigo, the boy shows he has a clever mind and a strength that just seems to constantly grow more and more. Kisuke is actually considering just how he can possibly use this youth for his goals, wondering if he can be the chest piece he needs to finally topple the king in this game between Puppet Master Benihime and Greater Lord Aizen.
Ichigo does know about Puppet Master Benihime from the story, they were a neutral character only focused on making sure the world would not collapse, no matter the amount that would be needed to be sacrificed in the end. But in the story, it only ever showed Benihime herself, never even mentioning that she was actually contracted, and 100% loyal to said contractor, so Ichigo has no clue about just how scary his mentor is at first, besides when the man actually did finally spar with him and Ichigo couldn't even get a hit on him. In this world, these two have a bit more time, a bit more room to act, and with it they bond, much to Kisuke great surprise even as he still plans to use him.
So things happen, things are reveled, discoveries are had, and Kisuke goes to Ichigo, confirming that he knows.
And then he kneels before this youth; he kneels and apologizes, thinking and knowing in his soul he's done something unforgiveable, thinking he won't be forgiven and fine with that as long as Ichigo still lives well... only for Ichigo to actually forgive, just like that, just because he could tell Kisuke meant it, scowling still but most of all accepting.
Its a good thing Kisuke was already kneeling because that alone would have made him bow just from the sheer acceptance and warmth Ichigo just seems to shine with. Ichigo has no idea just what he's done, who's utter loyalty and trust he has secured, and Kisuke will kill, die, and live for this boy, he just has to say the word. Even with all the people Ichigo has gathered, from villains to protagonist, people who are loyal and true if to no one else but him, Kisuke feels blessed he can be included, can be trusted even over the others to always remain at Ichigo's back and protect it no matter what.
In return, Ichigo looks up to Kisuke as both a mentor, ally, friend, and after an interesting dream, a damn annoying crush he can not get rid of, going strong for years (no longer a crush then but let him deny it for a bit). Parts of him wants to devour this man whole, never share him with the world, but Ichigo is such a being of freedom he could never dream to rip such a thing from someone else. (Kisuke being Kisuke wouldn't mind if its Ichigo tho >:3 All Ichigo has to do is ask, and this man would give him the world, Benihime right behind him.)
I feel like this story would be a slow burn but not if that makes sense? like, there is a tension from the very beginning of the story to Demi-romantic/sexual Ichigo's awakening of shit, so that's what that feels like (Fight me on this, I will defend it to the grave Very Demi!Ichigo)
But yeah, so far that's it for my Bleach Ideas :D hope you enjoyed them and stuff.
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stormsthatrage · 11 days
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Have a Bleach extended-winter-war time-travel-fix-it idea. In this AU Kaien's death happened before the whole turn-back-the-pendulum arc. (Yes, another Bleach time-travel AU, I know, shut up.)
As Ichigo and Kisuke are planning to go back to the past, Kisuke makes sure to emphasize to Ichigo that they have to protect Shiba Kaien. Apparently, it's of the utmost importance.
Ichigo doesn't know exactly how Kaien's continued well-being plays into saving the future. Kisuke never really explains it, or gives him a straight answer when he asks. But Ichigo knows that the Shiba Clan-Head carried a great deal of political power, and Ichigo also knows that Kaien -- according to Kukaku and Rukia -- was highly competent, incredibly noble, and fundamentally kind. It's not exactly unintuitive that a person like that could be important to bringing down Aizen.
So Ichigo listens, when Kisuke tells him to protect Shiba Kaien. He memorizes how Kaien died in the original timeline. He's attentive as Kisuke reiterates for the thousandth time that Aizen will keep trying to assassinate Kaien until he succeeds. He takes notes when Kisuke hypothesizes about what Aizen's various assassination attempts might look like -- poison during a meal, hired assassins at night, an ambush during a mission.
Ichigo ingrains the assignment into his core: protect Shiba Kaien, because if Kaien falls, the mission fails.
So when Kisuke slips a paralytic into Ichigo's tea and places Ichigo in the middle of the time-travel kido array and drains the entirety of his own spiritual energy to activate the array, a sacrifice that Ichigo never would have agreed to--
Well. The first thing Ichigo does when he arrives back in the past, numb and alone and only able to function by focusing on the duty that is his purpose -- is track down Shiba Kaien.
After all, if Ichigo is going to kill Aizen -- and he is, no matter what it takes -- he needs to keep Kaien alive.
Ichigo goes straight to the Shiba family grounds. In true Shiba fashion, they accept him immediately as family. They tend to his wounds and give him a meal and welcome him home. They let him get away with his weak excuses and explanations, and they defend his presence to the rest of Soul Society.
Kaien, in accordance with everything Ichigo has heard about the man, personally takes the newest addition to the family under his wing.
Ichigo's plans to deal with Aizen take shape around his need to keep an eye on Kaien.
Ichigo, instead of running as far and fast as he can from the Shiba clan, accepts the offer to live in the Shiba compound. He gets to know every clan member and retainer, subtly vetting for traitors. He sleeps in a room near Kaien's, allowing him to both guard against assassins at night and place warding runes around Kaien's door without having to worry about being caught somewhere he has no business being.
He joins the Court Guard in the 13th division instead of the 5th, because the only real way to protect Kaien on a mission is to be there with him. Ichigo knows that if there's an ambush, or if the mission details have been tampered with, he'll be more than enough fire power to get Kaien out of it. And it's easy to always get paired with Kaien; Kaien -- reliably taking every opportunity to hover around Ichigo that he's offered -- does most of the work, leveraging his status as lieutenant and Ichigo's combat ability to keep them together.
Ichigo finds himself frequently taking meals with Kaien and Kaien's friends. Kaien always invites Ichigo, and Ichigo accepts so he can subtly check the food for poison.
(Ichigo does not tell Kaien about Aizen. Ichigo is still unsure what Kaien's role is in the whole fight, and in the meantime, telling him about Aizen is a sure way to get him killed.)
Things heat up. Ichigo prevents both Miyako and Kaien's death, killing Metastacia before it can hurt anyone. Ichigo's shadow war against Aizen gets more intense. Ichigo sneaks out regularly to dismantle Aizen's illusions, destroy his labs, and attack his network of power, slowly weakening him.
Ichigo waits for the assassination attempts against Kaien, but they don't come, even several weeks after Metastacia fails. Ichigo takes it as a sign that he's got Aizen distracted.
Things continue for a while. Ichigo falls into a strange routine.
(And Ichigo tries not to break, seeing so many of his loved ones alive and unknowing of him. It is agony, to be around Shunsui, who is not his mentor, and the Visored, who are neither visored nor pack.
But the worst is when Captains Urahara and Shihouin catch on to his war against Aizen. He finds himself working with them as allies.
Allies. Mere allies, instead of --
Well. Not that it matters anymore.
All that matters is his duty.)
Time passes. Aizen weakens. There are no attempts on Kaien's life yet.
And then Aizen's web has unraveled enough for Ichigo to attack.
It's a long battle. It's a bloody battle. It's a very public battle.
Ichigo wins.
And it's only after it's all over -- after Aizen's crimes are revealed and Soul Society is at peace and the future is saved; after Ichigo finds himself still alive and adrift, with nothing left obligating him to keep going and everything telling him to give up; as Kaien refuses to leave Ichigo alone and escorts him to regular appointments with Unohana and forces him to talk about the truth of his past --
It's only then that it clicks.
Ichigo is whispering secrets about the future into Kaien's chest, Kaien's arms wrapped tight around him, when Ichigo confesses that he messed up, that he put the Shiba clan in unnecessary danger. Ichigo tells Kaien about his death in the original timeline. He talks about how Kisuke told him that in this timeline, Aizen would try and kill Kaien again if the first attempt failed. Ichigo promises desperately that he never would have sought out the family -- would have kept the danger far, far away from them -- if he hadn't thought he had to watch Kaien's movements so closely.
And Ichigo admits that Aizen never actually tried again. Ichigo admits that he and Kisuke miscalculated, that Ichigo brought danger to the Shiba's doorstep for nothing.
It happens like this:
First, the words leave his lips, "Kisuke" and "miscalculated" in the same sentence. Hearing himself say it lays bare the absurdity of its premise.
Then, Kaien draws away slightly, to look Ichigo in the eyes. Ichigo sees, plain on Kaien's face, a terrible, damning gratefulness.
Then, Kaien says -- fierce and defiant in the face of what could have been -- "I am so glad you came home."
And it clicks. At last, Kisuke's final manipulation reveals itself to Ichigo's eyes.
The emotions flash through him: the sting of betrayal; a flavor of love that bursts across his tastebuds as hurt; a familiar brand of exasperation that, a split second later, has his knees giving out under the weight of old pain made fresh.
Kaien catches Ichigo before he hits the ground and holds him as he shatters. And Ichigo can barely breathe through the knowledge that Kisuke would have been so smug to see them.
A sob rips itself from Ichigo's chest, and it's followed by another, and another.
Ichigo's older cousin holds him, in the home of their family, through it all.
_________
THE END except not really.
This must immediately be followed by a whole arc where Kaien, much to his own dismay, finds himself trying to hook Urahara up with his little cousin.
After all, Future-Urahara sent Ichigo to the Shiba clan. Future-Urahara tricked his little cousin into bypassing his own self-destructive tendencies to seek out family and love and support. Clearly, Urahara would actually be good for Ichigo.
And, you know, Ichigo clearly loves Younger-Urahara, judging by Ichigo's whole... well, everything, whenever the two interact.
(This whole matchmaking endeavor is made easier by the fact that 1) Kisuke is already infatuated, fascinated, and not a tiny-bit madly in love, and 2) Yoruichi is also, from the other end, trying to set Kisuke up with Ichigo.
This whole endeavor is made more difficult by the fact that 1) Ichigo is in denial that he loves this younger Kisuke since he never thought this younger Kisuke could also fall in love with him, 2) Kisuke is in denial that he loves Ichigo because that is a Shiba and he himself is a creepy low-born ex-assassin mad-scientist, and 3) neither Ichigo nor Kisuke know what it looks like when someone is interested in them.)
Poor Kaien. He succeeds eventually, but not before witnessing truly legendary social ineptitude.
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rayshippouuchiha · 4 months
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Berry and baby au
You know Kisuke was trying to babytrap ichigo with the whole clone thing before he lost his powers 🤣
If ichigo did allow him:
"The body needed two different powers to be harmonious, so I used mine"
"I'm like 20 different things tho. Honestly at this point I probably can have a kid just pop outta me. Shinigami exist, you are one. Hollows exist, you are one. Quincy? Also check. Etc. If something pops up enough I'm probably part it."
"Thats not the point. Anyways this is our child now."
I had more but can't remember what I wanted to say
Honestly, the only thing funnier than Kisuke meticulously planning out how to baby trap Ichigo with a clone is if Kisuke did all of that without realizing WHY he was doing it in the first place.
Kisuke: It's perfectly normal to want to have biological children with someone because you know they'd never leave you if you were tied together by said child. This is normal, platonic friend behavior. I am a normal person who reacts to things normally.
Everyone Else:
Kisuke: Why are you booing me?? I'm right
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cywscross · 8 months
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remake the universe (remake us)
Fandom: Bleach
Character/Pairing: Aizen Sousuke & Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo/Urahara Kisuke, Aizen Sousuke & Kurosaki Ichigo & Urahara Kisuke, Aizen Sousuke & Urahara Kisuke, Kurosaki Ichigo, Urahara Kisuke, Aizen Sousuke, Shihouin Yoruichi
Rating: T
Word Count: 14015
Summary: There are different ways to conquer, different ways to win. Ichigo's greatest victories have always been in people.
Tags: Canon Divergence AU, Quincy War AU, Soul King Ichigo, Time Travel, Codependency, Obsession, Blood and Injury, Unreliable Narrator, Ambiguous/Open Ending
Submitted For: - Whumptember 2023 - Day 1: "Did I do good?" - Mentor whumper | Young hero | Blood loss (@whumptember) - Post-July Break Bingo 2023 - Trying to seduce your archnemesis/rival - 100ships - 06. Lust - Trope Bingo [Round 16] - Sacrifice - Hurt/Comfort Bingo [Round 13] - coughing up blood - Gen Prompt Bingo [Round 19] - Enemies - Bad Things Happen Bingo [Card 2] - Dying in Their Arms (@badthingshappenbingo) - 100prompts - 018. Wishing
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greyskyflowers · 4 months
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I'm always on a Visored/Ichigo kick but it's been especially bad lately. Sooo have some little hollow instinct AU?? plot bunnies that won't get bigger than this but still wanted to hop around.
Is it trauma, power dynamics, or hollow instincts? The world may never know.
The world does actually know and it's all three.
⚠️ Some strange relationship and/or combination of Visored/Ichigo/Kisuke because that's my jam and I'm partying alone. ⚠️
💀💀💀💀
Ichigo doesn't know what he looks like when he's like this. No one else knows either, which is a good thing because people have destroyed and conquered worlds for less.
Long limbs sprawled, belly down and back exposed. There's a blanket drapped over his hips more for the comforting weight than any warmth. His tan skin glows in the low lighting and his hair looks like soft embers.
He smells like them. He looks like theirs. He's sleeping in their space. It hits a lot of things they knew would appeal to them but not to this extent.
He's taken their advice to heart, about getting familiar with the new hollow instincts and just do what feels right. At least until he's able to separate the things that are more him and more hollow.
It's driving them nuts. He's shameless and he doesn't even know it.
He presses his face against their faces and throats, the bridge of his nose pressing against the underside of their jaws and nuzzling real quick before darting off. The scent of him clinging to them and the submissive gesture, ducking to press under their jaw, is addicting.
It's a intimate greeting, one they don't even really give to each other but Ichigo uses it multiple times a day. A happy, warm and loving gesture that says hihelloimhereandyourehereandimveryhappy each time he does it. They kind of dread him figuring out how personal it is because he'll stop.
He makes himself small when he's anxious or scared, when he lets himself act his age for once. He holds himself well, they'll give him that. It's hard to tell unless he wants you to know but there are signs they pick up on, along with Kisuke's hints.
It's easier to be vulnerable at night, when it's dark and it doesn't seem so bad to seek out warmth and comfort.
They're particular about sleeping arrangements. They don't like others in the same area as them while they sleep. They puppy pile, as Mashiro happily calls it, not able to fully relax unless they're tangled up with at least 3 other people. The only people in the world they trust completely, with every part of their souls, and Kisuke.
And apparently Ichigo because he slips right in, and not only does he sneak in without kicking off their instincts but gets up against their throats without so much as a twitch from them. He stays above the blankets and avoids the mess of limbs, which is both smart and makes them frown. Desperate for comfort but still holding himself back, he probably would have tried to leave without them noticing if they hadn't woken up
The jackrabbit heartbeat and shaky breathing is what actually wakes them up.
There's a brief moment where everyone kind of freezes as they process what's happening, and then wait to see which one of them will kick him out, which of them will crack first at having a stranger in their space.
But it doesn't happen.
Everything stays silent and still except for the shaky breathing still coming from Ichigo, they swear they can hear feel his heart pounding, and a little keening noise that's so faint they miss it at first. It zips up their spines as soon as they notice, it's like a straight shot of adrenaline and a protective awareness surges in their chests.
They know there's no actual threat, they would have felt it, and they know that the kid just had a nightmare or was thinking too hard and worked himself up. But it doesn't seem like their instincts understand that.
They've never made that sound, not a single one of them ever, and they've made some weird noises. It's a terrible sad, lonely, scared noise and they don't ever want to hear it again.
This all happens in the span of a few minutes, enough for Ichigo to start calming down a little. He's not as tense and his breathing has gotten slower. Not enough to indicate he's asleep yet but he's on his way.
They all squish in closer and Ichigo falls right asleep, his cold nose and wet cheeks pressed into warm skin.
Hollows do not purr like cats, at least in their experience, but they swear to god they all woke up to purring at different times during the night.
💀💀💀💀
Ichigo starts sitting between their legs, most often when he's injured. Not kneeling, although that's a pretty picture, just sitting down so he's bracketed on both sides by their legs, back to them. Safe.
Lisa and Mashiro play with his hair, Lisa mindlessly as she flips through her magazine and Mashiro makes tiny braids before taking them out and starting over.
Kensei doesn't do much, usually puts his elbows on his knees so he's curved protectively over Ichigo. Occasionally rubbing his knuckles on Ichigo's jaw and petting at his throat.
Shinji tries to always keep a hand on him, tangled in his hair, resting on the side of his throat, or brushing against his cheek.
Ichigo doesn't do it often or around other people and they all try to respect that. He has to be Ichigo, strong, stubborn, impossible, and the one people look to.
💀💀💀💀
The thing people forget is that while wounds heal, the body and soul remember.
It can be a lot of strain, going in and out of his human body so frequently, especially when both soul and body are so familiar with stress, bruises and breaks.
Ichigo may heal quicker than most with his hollow and access to good healers but the echoes linger longer than most others. Especially when injuries are made with intention. Wounds from hollows hurt of course, but there's usually not a lot of thought behind it. So the wounds are more random, varying depths and severity.
Wounds by people shinigami, bounts, quincy, etc are more precise. They know where to aim to make it devastating, agonizing, and life changing.
Ichigo has fought a lot of people and it shows.
He bares his burdens and more in front of people like he's fine. He smiles and laughs, meets all the demands for fights with his own wild grin, moves like he's never had a injury in his life and people don't question it.
There's an area of his chest, and his back, that burn. A few spots of a constant and deep heat that make breathing feel hard.
His shoulders itch and ache, the kind that feels like it's down under the muscle. Nothing helps and lifting his arms is difficult.
A long, dragging catch following the lines of his lower ribcage. Breathing too deeply makes it burn and crackle in sharp pain, short and shallow breaths aren't satisfying but it keeps the pain manageable.
Headaches from countless concussions, a sore jaw from all the times it's been broke, fingers and toes that don't feel right anymore and ache terribly in the cold.
It's not all the time, just occasionally. Things like going back and forth too many times from his body, extreme temperatures, new wounds over the old, etc all cause flare ups.
He's too young to have so many aches.
They're protective over those spots. They can't and won't interfere with his fights unless it's critical but they keep an eye on wounds in those areas. They frown and scare off people when Ichigo starts to flinch from heavy arms being thrown around his shoulders or careless jabs in his side.
Sometimes their old wounds flare up and Ichigo scowls and bares teeth at everyone until the aches goes away.
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uraichievents · 1 year
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Monday, June 26th, 2023 - Sunday, July 2nd, 2023
~
General Info
What is UraIchi Week?
It’s a week-long fanworks event to promote the Urahara Kisuke x Kurosaki Ichigo ship. There’s no sign-up, it’s just for fun, and everybody can participate. Completed works and wips are both acceptable, and any type of fanwork (fanfic, fanart, gifsets, etc.) is welcome. NSFW and/or potentially trigger-y content is allowed, although please remember to tag your works properly.
The ship itself can be written romantically or platonically so long as it stars these two characters together in some way. Poly ships are also fine so long as Ichigo and Kisuke are still the focus of the fanwork. And crossovers and fusions are also allowed even if it isn’t one of the given prompts for the event. Basically, anything goes, and the only criteria is that it has to be UraIchi-centric.
Posting:
For those of you with Tumblr, you can tag your stuff with #UraIchi Week 2023 in the first five tags of your post. I’ll be tracking that tag so I’ll see it and reblog it to this blog. (If it’s been a few days since you posted and I still haven’t reblogged it, something probably went wrong, Tumblr’s not always reliable, so just shoot me an ask about it and I’ll reblog it.)
For those of you with AO3, I will create a collection a day or two before the event starts, and you’ll be able to add your work to the collection when you post. (I’ll toss up a notice for everyone once the collection is up.)
And of course we have our Discord server (link is on the sidebar) so if you want to come and talk about what you’re working on or you just want to chat, feel free to join us there!
At this point, the UraIchi Server has definitely gotten a lot bigger than just UraIchi, but we do still have channels dedicated to UraIchi events.
~ Themes
The votes are in and tallied so here are the results that everyone’s been waiting for! It’s your choice whether or not you want to make a fanwork that includes all the themes of that day, or a fanwork for each theme, or a fanwork for just one. You can make something for each day of the week or just one or two days. And if your fanwork doesn’t fit any of the themes, there’s a Creator’s Choice option on the last day so feel free to bring your own ideas to this event. All prompts can be interpreted any way you want as well, it’s entirely up to you, any extra bits I’ve added is just to help get those inspiration bunnies hopping.
An extra note about the sentence prompts: feel free to change the tenses and pronouns as it suits you. If you’re inspired by a sentence prompt, then of course you should include it in your fic (as opposed to the quote prompts which are just inspiration in a general-theme-of-your-work sort of way), but if you need to change the tense from present to past, or if you’re doing a genderbend fic and need to change the pronoun, that’s perfectly fine.
And now here are the prompts:
June 26th, 2023 - Day 1: the passage of time is a game-changer, for better or for worse
Time Travel AU / Dimension Travel AU
"At this point, I've died so many times, once more isn't going to make a difference."
Post-Canon AU
"This isn't your responsibility." / "It isn't yours either."
June 27th, 2023 - Day 2: o if only the dead could speak— you would hear the stories they could tell, of the terrible things we did for love
Loyalty Kink
"Him or the world? That's easy."
Oaths / Vows
"Everything I've ever let go of has claw marks on it." - David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest
June 28th, 2023 - Day 3: is there really so great a difference, between man and martyr and monster?
vs. Gotei 13 AU
"You could at least keep your pet killer on a leash."
Mafia AU
"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you look when considering violence?" - Terry Pratchett, Going Postal
June 29th, 2023 - Day 4: i was never human to begin with (you made sure of that)
Feral
Eldritch/Horror/Supernatural Elements AU
Binding Contracts
"Is it better to out-monster the monster or to be quietly devoured?" - Friedrich Nietzsche
June 30th, 2023 - Day 5: our love was forged across battlefields (we fought for every bit of it, every single day)
Soulmates AU
"I want you to stay. Am I still not being clear enough?"
Arranged Marriage AU
"We accept the love we think we deserve." - Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
July 1st, 2023 - Day 6: redemption or destruction— which one will you be to me?
Touch-Starved Character(s)
"I've forgotten how to be kind."
Mask
"I desire the things that will destroy me in the end." - Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
July 2nd, 2023 - Day 7:
Creator’s Choice!
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crispybonkeggllama · 8 months
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Dragon!Ichigo AU in a Fantasy world.
Ichigo has all dragon instincts and at 17 is capable to fully transform into one.
Except, the dragons live a very long life, and are supposed to learn how to transform at age of over a hundred...
He's 17 and he can transofrm into a fucking dragon, yeah.
A cat-sized little dragon.
He's TINY.
He's got laughed at by his friends and Renji was cackling whenever he saw him for a WEEK.
(The only thing keeping him from sulking forever is Kisuke's perfect laps and pats. He even got to take a nap in the folds of his jinbei right next to his chest. And Kisuke seems to adore his dragon form, so he's not complaining much.)
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aho-dapa · 2 months
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Tbh there's something about the way Ichigo, Kisuke, and Sōsuke are all reflecting off of each other in canon
Like this is sooooo influenced by my random uraichizen thoughts but
Like, considering Kisuke's Bodhisattva allegory with Guanyin/Kannon and his knowledge of the world, the idea that he preserves the status quo of the worlds by not actively doing anything in comparison to Sōsuke (from what we can see). He is a Bodhisattva in this sense. He's seen the truth, he teaches others the truth or hints at it because true Enlightenment can only be with the self. But.
Then there's the actual consequence of SS and what shinigami have to do to maintain the balance. Kisuke opposes Sōsuke and his views not because he believes it's right, but because he believes that the destruction of the worlds is not acceptable. It's a necessary evil.
Sōsuke has an ego with him wanting to become God, but there's also something almost tragic about his arc with reframing it from his perspective of Soul Society.
Soul Society is not a good place. Honestly horrible to live in. Especially when we find out that they sacrifice souls to hollows and vice versa in the name of balance.
Tbh, I ended up asking myself, from this viewpoint, is the Soul Society really worth protecting? Because it's goal is not about protecting people, but protecting the balance. Can the shinigami claim ignorance? Should they even be allowed to when they are complicit in destruction of lives? What would 'life' actually be considered in this universe? Do hollows deserve life as humans do? Except the SS ultimately sees both as a means to an end, hollows are just more of an obstacle.
Effwctively, shinigami are content sleeping on a bed of ground bones. I can see Sōsuke thinking this from a biased perspective.
But he's also not some savior either. He's arrogant and has a callousness to him that conflicts with this more sympathetic view of him.
His anger at Kisuke for knowing the truth of the world and not trying to change it seems genuine. There's an air of hypocrisy to his character I can't shake and it makes me wanna know more about why. Like the question of the greater evil vs the lesser evil.
Except Ichigo. He steps forward, finally knowing himself in full, to defeat Sōsuke, to defeat Yhwach, yet I can't help but feel like he's still so ignorant of the world he lives in. If he learned about their horrors, could he truly stand by in shadows waiting as Kisuke does, or would he become like another Sōsuke, for whatever reason. Or would he become a different path?
Sōsuke is also related to illusion and water, a reflection. We never see his bankai and I would even go so far as to think that he own powers don't work as they do in canon. There's still too many unknowns about him for me to be confident in them. But Ichigo’s own insights about Sōsuke's loneliness is just... it's so tempting to build off of that.
Because those feelings are likely a reflection of Ichigo from when he was a young age and his own confusing powers may have brought only more loneliness instead of understanding or connection.
I can't help but think that Kisuke represents Stagnation and Sōsuke represents Progess. Except poth come with an unsavory taste in the mouth. Kisuke waits, likely works towards a goal, bit it's far too slow for the people that have already suffered because of the world. Sōsuke steps forward, also hiding until he's sure of his strike, and he probably would have won if not for Ichigo. What is Ichigo then?
The only part of the Soul King that's named is his heart, which can bring about miracles, things unexplained due to emotions and desires. It acts similar to the Hōgyoku. Ichigo speculates that Sōsuke may have actually wanted to lose to him and that's... also a lot of implication about Sōsuke's character. There's also the idea that Sōsuke may have built Ichigo up. To what? Defeat him? Stand by his side? To make him less lonely? Or are these Ichigo’s unreliable feelings, are they simply Ichigo’s own reflected onto Sōsuke?
Both of Kisuke and Sōsuke's plans and views come with a price. And Ichigo remains ignorant, but he stills fights for everyone to not pay that price, even his enemies.
In a way, it's like Sōsuke decided to pay a huge price upfront to pay back later, Kisuke is frugal and making sure to balance everything while moving forward but that means people can't attain true wealth within their lifetime. Yhwach decided to destroy the concept itself despite that it means everyone will then have to pay that price.
Ichigo, is just, bursting through all of that. But he's also only one person. And idk, that feels important to how change must be made collectively when it's about a whole society. All Ichigo does is step forward, with other people, like the beginning of a wave.
Like, this is the end of the post but SŌSUKE AND KANAME??????? That alone needs a whole thesis and how it informs both of their characters since the only person Sōsuke actually trusts out of everyone is Kaname
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