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midnightactual · 10 months

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Shunsui Got Yoruichi to Help With Lisa's Captaincy

There's a paragraph in CFYOW vol. 1, after Tokinada leaves Shunsui after handing him a note and trying to upset Nanao, where we get the following:

“I can’t believe you set yourself up to eavesdrop without me noticing. You’ve grown so much! Is this Lisa’s influence?” It was possible that he mentioned Lisa Yadomaru, once an assistant captain and now being eyed as a candidate for the eighth company captainship, to reassure Nanao with thoughts of a familiar face.

CFYOW is supposed to take place six months after TYBW (June 2003), around the start of 2004. So we know Lisa was being considered already then. A summary of WDKALY tells us that:

Orihime currently works as a regular employee of a bread and cake shop called ‘ABCookies’. After her older brother INOUE Sora passed away, she was getting along by receiving assistance with living expenses from a distant relative; but because of the fact that the relative had originally declared that they would only provide assistance up till high school graduation, since the summer of three years prior, Orihime had been searching for a job placement for after graduation. During that time, she was working at the shop part-time, the shop manager who had learnt of her situation insisted that Orihime be fully employed by the company.

WDKALY is happening three years after TYBW, in 2006. But when? Another paragraph:

In one block of that institute, the fourth-year students who had just finished their summer vacations were gathered in the large lecture hall which could feasibly accommodate all graduate students.

Summer vacations usually happen through August, presuming a schedule like Japan. It's either late Summer or the start of Fall. We also learn that:

Ever since KYÔRAKU and Nanao transferred to Squad 1, Nanao has been executing the duties of both captain and vice-captain of squad 8. Six months ago Lisa was finally inaugurated as Squad 8’s new captain, she happily took over the duties of a captain, however she stubbornly refused to handle tasks on behalf of an absent vice-captain, as a result squad 1’s Nanao was handling that share even now.

This means that Lisa became a captain sometime in early 2006, more than two years after she was already under consideration for the role in CFYOW. And then we get told by Yoruichi:

“Like I’ve said, since I’m a genius and all, I don’t know what teaching methods to use towards average people, but I was told to either undertake the responsibilities of guest lecturer once every half a moon, or restore squad 8 by becoming its captain, naturally I decided that I probably had no choice but to take up responsibilities in this place.” If she refused to restore the squad then she would have to deliver a lecture on Hakuda and Hohô to the 5th and 6th year students every other week. That was the proposal handed down to Yoruichi from Commander KYÔRAKU. “We probably can’t afford to leave people as talented as SHIHÔIN-san idle…after all, orders have been sent down to all squads, each squad elects at least one member for academy lecturer.”

We know from earlier in the same scene from Yoruichi that:

“KIRA, this is the first I’m seeing you in half a year, correct? In any case, are you getting along well with ÔTORIBASHI?”

Kira asks how Yoruichi is adapting to teaching, so obviously she only started after she last saw him. Yoruichi took up this academy teaching position at the same time that Lisa became Captain of 8th Division. In other words, sidelining Yoruichi into some other "useful" position was the final hurdle Shunsui had to overcome to be able to promote Lisa into being captain, as he wanted since all the way back in TBTP.

I once assumed Shunsui must have essentially blackmailed Yoruichi, as she more than did her part on the Seireitei's behalf over the prior years (she 'sourced her own replacement' in Soifon, which is the normal condition for 'retiring'; she surrendered her active role in the nobility; and she helped with Tokinada) but as I look at how long it took to get Lisa into the role, and how relatively cushy Yoruichi's job as guest lecturer is, I think it's actually sort of the reverse: she did Shunsui a huge favor, and he owes her.

#Out Of Character #Bleach #Meta #Lisa Yadoumaru #Yoruichi Shihouin #Long Post

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grimmichi-ao3-feed · 7 months

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[New AO3 Fic!] Ichigo harem story idea

by Yurishallrule

Just an idea for an Ichigo harem I had

Words: 56, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Bleach (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Liltotto Lamperd, Kudo Matsuri, Ying(The Diamond Dust Rebellion), Yang(The Diamond Dust Rebellion)

Relationships: Komamura Sajin/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo/Tousen Kaname, Kurosaki Ichigo/Sado "Chad" Yasutora, Ishida Uryuu/Kurosaki Ichigo, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques/Kurosaki Ichigo, Inoue Orihime/Kurosaki Ichigo, Ulquiorra Cifer/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia/Kurosaki Ichigo, Dokugamine Riruka/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo/Shihouin Yoruichi, Kurosaki Ichigo/Sui-Feng | Soifon, Kurosaki Ichigo/Zaraki Kenpachi, Kurosaki Ichigo/Kyouraku Shunsui, Kurosaki Ichigo/Ukitake Juushirou, Kurosaki Ichigo/Coyote Starrk, Kuchiki Byakuya/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo/Kurotsuchi Nemu, Hinamori Momo/Kurosaki Ichigo, Ichimaru Gin/Kurosaki Ichigo, Aizen Sousuke/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo/Sarugaki Hiyori, Kurosaki Ichigo/Yadoumaru Lisa, Kurosaki Ichigo/Matsumoto Rangiku, Abarai Renji/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kujou Nozomi/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo/Senna, Kurosaki Ichigo/Cirucci Sanderwicci, Kotetsu Isane/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kotetsu Kiyone/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo/Kurosaki Karin/Kurosaki Yuzu, Candice Catnipp/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo/Meninas McAllon, Bambietta Basterbine/Kurosaki Ichigo, Tia Harribel/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo/Franceska Mila Rose, Kurosaki Ichigo/Cyan Sung-Sun, Emilou Apacci/Kurosaki Ichigo, Loly Aivirrne/Kurosaki Ichigo/Menoly Mallia, Kurosaki Ichigo/Nelliel Tu Oderschvank, Kuna Mashiro/Kurosaki Ichigo, Ise Nanao/Kurosaki Ichigo, Hitsugaya Toushirou/Kurosaki Ichigo

Additional Tags: Genderbending

Read it now on AO3!

#grimmichi #ao3-feed

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ao3feed-ichiruki · 2 years

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Miserere Mei

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/N1H9BEf

by weytani

The door shook again, fighting on its hinges in a slow thudding rhythm. Bang, bang, bang. Nobody else batted an eye, but Nnoitra stared at it like he could see cracks forming on the unblemished wood. He had a bad feeling, a slimy expectation growing in the back of his throat.

Words: 10256, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Bleach

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/M

Characters: Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia, Sado "Chad" Yasutora, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, Nnoitra Gilga, Urahara Kisuke, Matsumoto Rangiku, Yadoumaru Lisa, Ichimaru Gin

Relationships: Kuchiki Rukia/Kurosaki Ichigo, Shihouin Yoruichi/Urahara Kisuke, Ichimaru Gin/Matsumoto Rangiku

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Character Death, Blood and Gore

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/N1H9BEf

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #ichiruki

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bleachbleachbleach · 3 years

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14 AUGUST: Happy birthday, Hisagi Shuuhei! Birthday Special Edition - Seireitei Communications

Guest Editor: Hinamori

Assistant Guest Editor: Matsumoto

Guest Staff: anyone Hinamori could find

The Birthday Edition of Seireitei Communications was produced shortly after the culmination of TYBW. Hinamori wanted to honor all the work Hisagi has done for the SC by helping to produce one of the post-TYBW issues, similar to the special ryoka edition he put out after that invasion. She had a lot of help. Not all of that help was helpful.

[Please click on the images to full-view in order to read the text! :3]

Words cannot articulate how much fun it was to work on this, omaskfsajlfkasjfkajf. WE STAN ONE MAGAZINE. HBD HISAGI!!!!!!! We’ve been working on this for like, a month, and every time we opened the docs/files we were filled with incredible love of the Seireitei Communications.

Editor’s Commentaries:

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5

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bleachgreecards · 5 years

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#Lisa Yadoumaru #Lisa Yadomaru #Yadomaru Lisa #Yadoumaru Lisa #bleach #llr #!new #!new years

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fractoluminescence · 5 years

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Isolated Chapter 2: Eavesdropping

A Bleach fanfic

Picture: Photo by Bui Bao

Song: Trois Francs Six sous by Opa Tsupa

This chapter was written several times over - it was written once, then translated, then half of the characters involved were changed and then some stuff was added...

"Captain!"

Nanao slid the door sharply aside, but froze in slight surprise. The two men turned to her, apparently interrupted mid-speech. She immediately bowed.

"Forgive me, I hadn't noticed."

"It's okay, Nanao-chan. This will only take a few minutes, you'll have all my attention right after!"

"Alright. Captain Hirako..."

She addressed him with a slight bow, which he returned. Then she closed the door and took a step back.

Only to notice a figure standing against the wall, who slowly raised a finger to her lips in a silencing motion.

"Yadōmaru-san, what... are you doing...?" Nanao whispered.

The other's eyes glanced at her, before going back to the door. After a long moment of silence, she answered:

"I guess I 'wasn't able' to get rid of these habits. Besides, I'm just practicing."

Huh... It wasn't like she still needed the spying, she attended the meetings for the 8th, right?... But that wasn't Nanao's business. What was though was the letter she herself held, and to which Lisa had now directed her gaze. Nanao straightened.

"This letter from the Sixth Division is my and Captain Kyōraku's business only."

"Oh, so it's from Kuchiki-san...?"

Liza was quick to grab it from her, and - much to the Lieutenant's dismay - to open it, scanning the neat handwriting inside.

Please consider telling your subordinate Ise Nanao to STOP urging the other members of the Soul Reaper Women's Association to plant sour figs in my garden. I agree that their many properties as medicine are impressive, but I will NOT allow them as these plants are edible and will leave patches of bare dirt once former Lieutenant Kusajishi learns about their potential use as food.

Nanao snatched the letter back, blushing as the Eighth Division's Lieutenant mustered all her existing self-control to hold back wild laughter. But both froze as the voices on the other side of the door picked up again.

"So, you were telling me one was found at the outskirts of Rukongai...?" went on the Head-Captain.

"Aye, by Shiba Kūkaku."

"And how was she able to pinpoint it?"

"Was told a young girl crossed it. Haven't met her yet - still knocked out, apparently - thus no idea what her intentions might be."

Kyōraku looked at him straight in the eye, then lowered his hat and asked, with nonetheless a tinge of wariness in his voice:

"Oh well... That's not very practical, is it? Doesn't any of you have the slightest idea?"

His colleague tensed up.

"Nope. No idea."

"...I see. Thank you for your report anyway."

Footsteps were heard, and both women backed away slowly.

"One last thing..."

They relaxed, and to Nanao's astonishment, Lisa even pressed her ear against the door.

"Tell me if I'm mistaken, but I figure you've already crossed one of these portals yourself, haven't you?"

The blond Captain didn't turn.

"I mean, you told me yourself it was a hazardous journey that girl undertook. I don't mean to act nosy, but you know more than you'd like to tell, don't you?"

A moment of silence. Then...

"...That's nothin' of your business."

Kyōraku heaved a sigh.

"You sure don't open up often, do you...?"

This time Hirako didn't answer. He resumed walking to the door, and Nanao watched Lisa tiptoe silently away down the corridor.

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hiyorisarugaki · 3 years

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youtube

@ryusxnka

#.video #just this scene #hiyori sarugaki #toshiro hitsugaya #lisa yadoumaru

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saranel · 7 years

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That makes me think of rukia, lisa and love or rose who own non-Japanese names despite being shinigamis especially rukia who knows , Was a child orphan of the rukon and hisana never refer to his name with rose and love I think both are nicknames

Note for context: This ask was sent as a response to a post I made about the possible ethnicities of Bleach chars

Actually, in that list only Rukia and Lisa have non-Japanese names. Rose and Love’s names may sound foreign, but they’re both written in kanji:

鳳橋楼十郎: Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō

First kanji of his last name is a hint to his Visored mask (large bird) and as you can see, his first name is made up entirely of kanji, too. Tower, ten, and ‘rō,’ a common suffix for sons (see: Jūshirō, Yūshirō).

He’s only called Rose by his friends as a nickname.

愛川羅武: Aikawa Rabu

Rabu is a known Japanese first name and as such can be spelled a number of ways. In Love’s case, the second kanji denotes bravery, valor etc.

His nickname (which sounds a whole lot like his actual name, maybe pronounced more like ‘v’ instead of ‘b’) is most likely a pun because of his last name. The first kanji ‘ai’ means love. So that, in combination with his first name, gives us ‘Ravu’ instead of ‘Rabu.’

In contrast, Rukia and Lisa’s names are written in katakana, which (among other things) is the script used to denote foreign words in Japanese:

朽木ルキア (Kuchiki Rukia) , 矢胴丸リサ (Yadōmaru Risa)

Like I said in the original post, I don’t think Kubo actually set out to give every single character a different ethnicity. He just went with names and designs that looked and sounded cool to him, but hey, where’s the fun in accepting that? ;)

In Rukia’s case it’s a little harder to explain because her sister has a distinctly Japanese name (緋真). So perhaps we can use this as a hint and say that since Rukia was a baby when Hisana left her, Rukia wasn’t even her ‘real’ name. When Byakuya has his flashback, Hisana never actually says the name Rukia (as you pointed out, anon), she just refers to her sister.

If we follow that train of thought, it points to Lisa and Rukia’s names being 100% Rukongai-given, perhaps the result of the mortal world seeping into Soul Society, in terms of culture. It also works with Japan’s history, since they employed an isolationist policy for many years before allowing foreigners to enter their country again.

So my headcanon is that both these names are reflective of the changing attitudes and Soul Society becoming more acquainted with the goings-on of the human world (and thus affected by it).

#asks #bleach #kuchiki rukia #yadoumaru lisa #ootoribashi rose #aikawa love #Anonymous

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jaquesofdragons · 3 years

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Chapters: 9/75 Fandom: Bleach Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Ichimaru Gin & Matsumoto Rangiku, Kyouraku Shunsui/Ukitake Juushirou, Ichimaru Gin & Kyouraku Shunsui & Ukitake Juuishirou, Shihouin Yoruichi & Urahara Kisuke, Kyouraku Shunsui & Yadoumaru Lisa, Ichimaru Gin & OC Characters: Ichimaru Gin, Kyouraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jyuuishiro, Yadoumaru Lisa, Hirako Shinji, Shihouin Yoruichi, Urahara Kisuke, Saigo (OC) Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, POV Multiple, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, ... New Summary if you haven’t seen it:

Nothing goes as planned leading up to the invasion of Karakura Town—not for Aizen, Urahara, the Gotei 13—or for Gin.

In the wake, Gin is alive, but so is Aizen; his goal remains unaccomplished; his crimes revealed; and Rangiku is Very Upset that any of it could have possibly been 'for her.'

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the only way is forward—even though it means abandoning tempting chances of redemption and Family.

But through a twisted chance of fate, Gin gets a chance in another life, back before he even knew who Aizen was. Ran at his side, he does his best to honor Ran's wishes, to be Family, to have nothing to do with Aizen ever again. But his goal is still unaccomplished and he has a hell of a lot more to lose when Aizen insists on becoming an obstacle once more.

------------- I totally lost track of time on this. I was hoping to finish the next chapter before I posted this one, make sure the content was consistent and what not. For some reason I was thinking it hadn’t actually been that long ago since I posted the last chap... And instead it’s been over a month. Welp, that happened. The next chapter is well in progress, just working on what needs to go in and what can be left for later, flushing out certain points, etc. It’s one of the chapters with scenes I didn’t actually intend to post at one point... so it’s needed a lot of revamping to catch back up with current editing direction. Even though it doesn’t really work now... I honestly prefer the original version. TT_TT Back to this chapter, these scenes are also revamps of originals plus some new content. One more humorous scene with Shunsui, one of the first i wrote actually, got cut entirely as it no longer fit the current timeline, but I like it enough it might show up further on. Or I might eventually put up a scene/snippet graveyard if anyone expresses interest...

#my bleach!fic #In another life #ichimaru gin #writing progress #ch9 #i can't remember if i have more tags for these...#need to get back on tumblr...

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sal-s-sal · 7 years

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Lisa Yadōmaru 矢胴丸リサ Vs 蓝染惣右介 Aizen Sōsuke

It was not a fight, it lasted seconds.

Bleach.

#bleach #sosuke aizen #aizen sōsuke #lisa yadoumaru #vizards

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braidpoll · 9 months

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BRAID POLL !! :D

currently running :

ROUND 7 PART 4

barbie as rapunzel ( barbie as rapunzel ) vs makoto kurume ( skip to loafer )

ICON BRACKET

ROUND 2 PART 1

Edward Elric ( Fullmetal Alchemist ) VS Katara ( Avatar: The Last Airbender )

ABOUT THA ICON BRACKET : tha eight most iconic braid characters ( decided both by iconicness and tha amount of submissions they received ) will compete in an adjacent bracket . tha winner will then face off against tha winner of tha main braid bracket . this is liek what they do in sports , where certain teams get to skip matches and go straight to tha finals . this way icons can be included but its more exciting ( and fair ) than watching them decimate their opponents each round before making it to tha finals anyways

entire 128 character bracket is too large to take a screenshot of but it looks liek this , and will ( obviously ) be done in sections . bracket list below tha readmore , straight down tha left side and then straight down tha right !! :D

LEFT SIDE :

susie carmicheal ( rugrats )

agent 3 ( splatoon 3 )

peko pekoyama ( danganronpa 2: goodbye despair )

sabi ( pokémon legends: arceus )

princess yue ( avatar: the last airbender )

elsa ( frozen )

mei chang ( fullmetal alchemist )

pippi longstocking ( pippi longstocking )

ran hanamichi ( delicious party♡precure )

xiangling ( genshin impact )

neiru aonuma ( wonder egg priority )

mozart ( classicaloid )

mitsuri kanroji ( kimetsu no yaiba )

cure felice ( mahoutsukai PreCure! )

ty lee ( avatar: the last airbender )

toadette ( super mario bros )

prim everdeen ( the hunger games )

joni savage ( cluefinders )

juniper woods ( phoenix wright: ace attorney - dual destinies )

ahiru ( princess tutu )

leona kingscholar ( twisted wonderland )

yoshino shimazu ( maria-sama ga miteru )

jasminka antonenko ( little witch academia )

dewey ( nurse angel ririka sos )

fiona ( shrek )

cure cosmo ( star☆twinkle PreCure )

tsukimi kurashita ( princess jellyfish / kuragehime )

yui nanase ( go! princess PreCure )

piper mccloud ( the girl who could fly )

turtle wexler ( the westing game )

elyon ( w.i.t.c.h )

lily angel ( all saints street )

pearl ( pearl )

jessica riley ( until dawn )

meg thomas ( dead by daylight )

anissa pierce ( black lightning )

miles morales [ earth 42 ] ( spiderman: into the spiderverse )

espella cantabella ( professor leighton vs. phoenix wright: ace attorney )

petra ( fire emblem: three houses )

kikuri hiroi ( bocchi the rock! )

narumi yatadera ( touhou tenkuushou ~ hidden star in four seasons )

doc mcstuffins ( doc mcstuffins )

ruffnut thorston ( how to train your dragon )

magane chikujouin ( re:CREATORS )

eiko tsukimi ( ya boy kongming! )

emma ( pokémon X/Y )

chizuru maki ( DREAM!ing )

momoko sudou ( araburu kisetsu no otome-domo yo. )

hikaru kujou ( futari wa PreCure max heart )

zossie ( pokémon ultra sun/ultra moon )

madotsuki ( yume nikki )

rin kaenbyou ( touhou chireiden ~ subterranean animism )

shenhe ( genshin impact )

draken ( tokyo revengers )

lettuce midorikawa ( tokyo mew mew )

anne shirley ( anne of green gables )

maria momoe ( ookiku furikabutte )

riley freeman ( the boondocks )

lisa yadoumaru ( bleach )

hikaru shidou ( magic knight rayearth )

demeter ( hades )

lucy maud montgomery ( bungou stray dogs )

ajimi kiki ( pripara )

himari arisugawa ( kirakira☆precure a la mode )

RIGHT SIDE :

shuri ( black panther )

cheryl ( pokémon diamond/pearl/platinum )

rana ( vocaloid )

kirari momobami ( kakegurui )

abigail lincoln ( codename: kids next door )

lila sawyer ( hey arnold! )

penny ( warioware )

fawn ( disney fairies )

sveta ( golden sun: dark dawn )

josie mccoy ( Riverdale)

libby folfax ( the adventures of jimmy neutron: boy genuis )

nori ( barbie mermadia )

ashlyn banner ( school bus graveyard )

julia lazarrett ( marionetta )

luther schneien ( ghost eyes )

naru kanda ( ikemen girl to hakoiri musume )

sid barrett ( soul eater )

kumoko ( so im a spider, so what? )

justine courtney ( ace attorney investigations: prosecutor's path )

retsu unohana ( bleach )

jack vessalius ( pandora hearts )

aika s. granzchesta ( aria )

kaname tousen ( bleach )

ludmila ( rune factory 5 )

nikolai gogol ( bungou stray dogs )

jolyne cujoh ( jojo's bizzare adventure: stone ocean )

katniss everdeen ( the hunger games )

violet evergarden ( violet evergarden )

aerith gainsborough ( final fantasy vii )

anna ( frozen )

cammy white ( street fighter ii )

ranma saotome ( ranma ½ )

barbie as rapunzel ( barbie as rapunzel )

rapunzel ( tangled )

bu-ling huang ( tokyo mew mew )

sheeta ( laputa: castle in the sky )

suzuha amane ( steins;gate )

qiqi ( genshin impact )

nah ( fire emblem awakening )

nemu hiiragi ( magia record: puella magi madoka magica side story )

jodie ( daria )

nick hoult ( all saints street )

helga sinclair ( atlantis: the lost empire )

tao ( gokurakugai )

aru shah ( the pandava quintet )

ayşe ( woven )

makoto kurume ( skip to loafer )

library ( misao )

duo maxwell ( mobile suit gundam wing )

revali ( legend of zelda: breath of the wild )

nina ( fire emblem fates )

kiana kaslana ( honkai impact 3rd )

aether ( genshin impact )

kamui ( gintama )

raiden shogun ( genshin impact )

touko fukawa ( danganronpa: trigger happy havoc )

nahyuta sahdmadhi ( phoenix wright: ace attorney - spirit of justice )

haruka hashida ( blue period )

viola ( the witch's house )

nemu kurotsuchi ( bleach )

lingji liu ( ciconia no naku koro ni )

aisha ( romancing SaGa )

ooama no ake no mitori ( len'en ten'eisenki ~ brilliant pagoda or haze castle )

marc ( flying red barrel: the diary of a little aviator )

#pinned #braid poll #braidpoll

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littleeyesofpallas · 5 years

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Bleach - Name Games

Not a family by name or blood, but a kind of found family. (at least the way they were originally presented) This time I’m tackling the Visored! And while I’m at it I want to address some of the broader thematic elements going on with their original character designs. Buckle up, this is a long one...

Hirako(平子) Shinji(真子)

Shinji’s name is actually kinda of a false start to this one. His names read as “Flat-Child“ and “Real-Child“ but that’s keeping in mind that -ko(子) for “child” is actually just a really common suffix for names, and not one generally used to ascribe literal meaning. (Typically because of its diminutive implications it denotes a female given name, but it applies neutrally to family names, and even generally is not uncommon in male names.) So his name kind reads as “Flat Reality“ or “Flat Truth.“

But this one isn’t actually about the meaning of the words, it’s a different kind of name game. As we all remember, when Hirako introduces himself to Ichigo’s class at Karakura High during his original entrance at the start of the Arrancar Arc, he writes his name on the board mirrored and mentions how he’s “good at doing things backwards.” At the time it was a reference to him being a hollow (Remember that when Ichigo’s inner hollow was given a chapter cover, his “name” was Ichigo’s but written mirrored) and would later influence his zanpakutou, Sakanade(逆撫)

As an aside here, Sakanade(逆撫) has been kind of erroneously translated as “counter stroke” in English, which is technically accurate as a literal translation but is kind of needlessly vague; For one the word “Stroke” here specifically refers to the act of stroking as in petting, patting, or smoothing over, and not something like a sword stroke; secondly the “counter” here should read more obviously as “reverse,” “opposite,” or “inverted.”

Moreover, Sakanade(逆撫で) is an actual verb already, so it doesn’t actually need to be broken down in the first place. The word actually means exactly what it sounds like as well as having a colloquial use as, “rub the wrong way.” Yes, other than just meaning to literally “pet in the opposite direction” (as with petting a cat or dog from tail to head) it means “to irritate” or “to annoy,” (which the former action invariably does) and that is an apt description of Sakanade’s powers.

Anyway... About Hirako’s name not being about the meaning: the joke is that whether you write the name forward or backwards 平子真子 -vs- 子真子平, you still get Shinji(真子) out of it. As in, his name is still legible both forwards and backwards. Plus both kanji, 平 and 真 have horizontal symmetry, so they don’t change when mirrored..

⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻

Okay... let’s do an easier one...

Sarugaki(猿柿) Hiyori(ひよ里)

My personal favorite Visored, has a nice straight forward name Saru(猿) as I’m sure anyone amply familiar with anime knows means “Monkey” and the Gaki(柿) is the word for the fruit “Persimmon.” The image of a monkey in a persimmon tree references an old folktale present in various east-asian cultures about a greedy monkey who cheats other animals before eventually receiving its comeuppance at the hands of the animals it has wronged. In this case it’s reflective of Hiyori’s general image, sandles, track suit, decidedly tomboyish and unladylike; the “mountain monkey” is a poor, rural character type in Japan, not dissimilar to the American hillbilly of the Appalachia.

In that same vein, the name Hiyori(ひよ里) has a peculiar rural slant to it, in that it uses hiragana in place of the first component. The ri(里) is a common place indicator in surnames meaning “village” or “hamlet” but like many Japanese surnames that reference landmarks like -kawa(川)“-river,” “-yama”(山)-mountain,” and “-da”(田)”-field,” the important part isn’t actually the locale but the descriptor preceding it; Which mountain? Which river? Which field? Which village? In the case of Hiyori, it’s not clear... The fact that the village she appears to be named after doesn’t have a kanji again lends to this impression that, like the peasants of Soul Society’s Rukongai, the person who named her didn’t know how to read or write kanji.

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Muguruma(六車) Kensei(拳西)

I think this one has gotten pretty good visibility in the fandom already because of the relation with Hisagi Shuuhei. The eventual explanation of Hisagi’s 69 tattoo would be that it was copied directly from Kensei’s, and that Kensei’s comes from a mix of his name Muguruma, and the fact that he was captain of the Gotei 13’s 9th squad. (Personally I don’t like this explanation, and I think there’s pretty reasonable cause to assume this was a later decision and not a part of Kensei’s original conception or design.) But the reason behind that being Muguruma(六車) Mu(六) which is the Japanese numeral “6″ and Guruma(車) meaning “wagon” and later updated to mean “car.” In the Turn Back the Pendulum sidestory, this name is played upon in how Kubo styled Kensei’s 9th squad as a Bousouzoku(暴走族) the term for a Japanese biker gang (although they often include sports cars), where the “Six Car” reading becomes emblematic of his gang.

There’s a lot about the Bousouzoku that is culturally specific to Japan, but much of the familiar American cliches do actually carry over. One distinct aspect of how the Bousouzoku opperate however, is that they are predominantly a youth culture phenomenon, as any wide spread, organized criminal activity among adults quickly steps on the toes of the much better established Yakuza scene. For this reason it is very rare for Bousouzoku to persist in direct group activity into their adult years, although often bikers become easy recruitment targets for Yakuza.

Kensei(拳西) is actually an odd one for me. It’s both super straight forward yet somehow together really obtuse. Ken(拳) for “Fist” and sei(西) for “West;“ both are pretty singular in their meaning, so it’s not like there’s any uncertainty to what each one means, but I can’t make heads or tails of the two together. For one, Ken(拳) is usually something you’d see put on the end of a compound, and when it’s used that way it tends to denote a kind of martial arts style or technique. It might still be meant to read as “Western Fist” or essentially “Western [style] Fist” and Kubo just liked the sound of Kensei over Seiken. It might be a reference to the fact that Kensei’s original design was largely reminiscent of a kind of military look and feel, with a combat knife for a zanpakutou, short hair, combat boots, and pants that look like they could be part of military fatigues. (the tank top sorta throws the look off, though.) But this was a theme that was dropped by the time the Visored got reincorporated into the story after their long absence.

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Yadoumaru(矢胴丸) Risa(リサ)

...is another odd one. Her surname, Yadoumaru(矢胴丸) has pretty clear implications, Ya(矢) means “arrow” and dou(胴) means “hull” as in the part of a ship, and maru(丸) doesn’t actually have an explicit meaning. The kanji does generally mean “round” or “whole” both in reference to a circle, but it is most notably a suffix used in naming both naval ships, and frequently boys. Given the rest of the name the imagery seems clear, Yadoumaru(矢胴丸) is meant to read as “Arrow-Hull Ship.“* And although the uniform has heavy ties to school girl aesthetics and fetishism (which in turn link to her preoccupation with adult books) the tie here actually seems to be to the origins of the Japanese school girl uniform as a modification of the European naval uniforms introduced to Japan in the 1800s.

*edit: I’m an idiot. A Yadou(胴丸) is the sleeveless chest plate and skirt piece in traditional samurai armor, which also carries over into kendo sports armor.

Adding to this, the name RISA (sometimes romanized as LISA) being written in katakana and not kanji or even hiragana works together with the naval associations would seem to imply she’s of mixed birth? Possibly the daughter of a foreign naval officer stationed in Japan, hence a Western name and a ship as a surname? In fact, most Japanese ships would be named after some mythical figure or indeed named like a person, so the literal descriptor of “Arrow-hull” actually sounds like what someone would call a ship they didn’t know the name of, tacking “-maru” on to the end.

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Let me also take a moment here to complain about the fact that Kubo originally wrote Rabu(ラヴ) and Roozu(ローズ) as katakana, pretty clearly denoting them as the English words LOVE and ROSE and while those seem pretty implicitly like nicknames it also implied in conjunction with their designs that they were both foreigners. So the fact that he retconned them to being nicknames based on more conventionally Japanese when he decided to make them previously SoulSociety shinigami names bugs me... But that being said

Aikawa(愛川) Rabu(羅武)

Man, what is it with Kubo and black people and “love” gimmicks? Zomarri’s Amor, and PePe’s The Love, Love’s whole thing... The name Aikawa(愛川) means “Love River,” and Kubo’s clever shorehorning of kanji into the phonetics for Rabu that he’d already used for the nickname Love use Ra(羅) for “silk,” but specifically a thin or sheer kind, and bu(武) for “warrior”/”soldier.“ The associations with sheer silk and negligee seem very intentional, so his name really is basically “flowing love, [sexy] silk soldier.“ And that’s it, it’s actually super straight forward. I dunno why he looks like an unemployed slacker, in a tracksuit and sneakers, lounging around reading manga, though.

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Otouribashi(鳳橋) Roujuurou(楼十郎)

This might be my favorite as far as name games within the Visored. The given name Roujuurou(楼十郎) means “Watchertower 10 Son;” Rou(郎) being an exceedingly common suffix in boys names meaning “son.” (this is incidentally how anyone with a rudimentary familiarity with Japanese knew for certain Yuushirou(四楓院) was a boy at first glance, where as a bunch of other people thought he was a girl. In case any of you were around certain fandom circles for that whole drama... More on him later though, because he’s got a fun name too.) It’s not super clear if the arrangement here denotes the “Son of the 10th Watchtower [family],” or the “10th Son of the Watchtower [family].”

The surname Otouribashi(鳳橋) is a great little work of poeticism, where Outouri(鳳) is the Japanese name of the Chinese Feng(鳳) which in the most colloquial sense could be translated as “Phoenix,” but there’s a little more to it than that...

See, the Feng is itself the male half of the mated pair of mythical birds together called the Feng-Huang(鳳凰). The Japanese pronunciation Outori is actually directly taken from Ou(王) meaning “King” and Tori(鳥) meaning “bird.” The mythical Feng-huang is in fact king of birds, but more broadly represents a union of yin and yang, and is a common visual element of Chinese weddings evoking harmony. As a part of this theme of unity it is said to share features of many different birds, and also of the 5 fundamentally opposed colors associated with Chinese daoism and fengshui: Red, Blue/Green, Black, White, and Yellow. This particular feature has been tweaked over time to depict the Feng-huang as more broadly multicolored, and associated with the rainbow. (it’s also the basis of the Pokemon Ho-oh, if that wasn’t apparent) For a number of different mythological similarities, the Feng-huang have become erroneously thought of as “the Chinese phoenix,” but I’m not going to get into all that here...

So, getting back to the name, Bashi(橋) means “Bridge.” The, again false equivalence based, but more easily understood translation of Otouribashi(鳳橋) thus being “Phoenix Bridge.” But what is shaped like a bridge and directly associated with the Feng? A rainbow. His family name is just a really fanciful and kind of poetic reference to a rainbow. In conjunction with the “Watchtower” referenced in the name Roujuurou(楼十郎) I’m tempted to take to the meaning of “10th [Floor of the] Watchtower Son” as it implies a high floor, and in the common mythological motif of rainbows as actual physical structures, a high tower would be the sensible entry point to a rainbow bridge.

Also this is why he has a bird mask.

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Kuna(久南) Mashiro(白)

Let me just come right out and say that I haven’t got a damn clue on this one. Mashiro(白) means “White.” Ku(久) means “long time,” na(南) means “South.” She dresses like a super sentai character, specifically one of the original Himitsu Sentei Goranger team, and her mask is a nod to Kamen Rider, with its antenna and big round bug-eyes. I don’t really see a connection with the name and the tokusatsu theme though.

Small aside, Tokusatsu is a genre of Japanese TV and film that was originally named for its emphasis on special effects like camera tricks and editing in post, used most noticeably in children’s shows like Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. That distinction became less and less relevant as special effects became more widespread, and so it is now used mostly to refer to live-action costumed super hero shows.

Super Sentai is btw the source material for the American franchise, Power Rangers, from which Saban Entertainment originally bought the footage that they would cut together with their own original footage, and later from which they would buy the costumes in order to shoot their own shows from scratch.

Also of note is that Ishinomori Shoutarou, author of the original Cyborg 009, was also the original show creator of Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. His work created the transforming(henshin) hero, the body suit and helmet aesthetic, and the heroic billowing scarf, effectively inventing the Japanese superhero almost single-handed.

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Ushouda(有昭田) Hachigen(鉢玄)

Another funky one... “[To] Exist [in] a Shining Field” might be the best way to read Ushouda(有昭田)? Its really the U(有) that gives me trouble here, as it just means “Exist”/”Existance.” And Hachigen(鉢玄) seems to read Hachi(鉢) meaning “bowl” and Gen(玄) meaning “deep,” “mysterious” and in certain contexts “occult.” I’m not sure if that “deep” is really a physical deepness or just a sort of “profoundness” that would fall more in line with “mysterious” and “occult.”

Either way I think the general meaning is actually pretty clear, “bowls of rice from a shining field” evoke an image of kind of mythical field of magical produce, eating from which grants a kind of magical quality and sustenance. In other words, his name is saying that Hachi is such a huge guy and so gifted at magic because he ate a lot of food that grants magic power.

I have no idea why he has the tux or the shaved hair though. Stage magician? Fancy gourmand? But again then why the shaved head and the cross bones? And Kubo did eventually come up with for him is strangely Balinese looking? It seems reminiscent of Barong, king of spirits; A benevolent lion/bear monster that defends mankind from Rangda, the demon queen and master of blackmagic. But apart from the superficial appearance and broad ties to magic, there’s not a lot really tying the two together.

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It’s hard not to just go off on all the weird little design choices, and loose ends, dropped plot points, and retcon’d details that surround the Visored in Bleach. They really were just such a great concept utterly wasted by terrible pacing and some truly confusing priorities as far as publication goes, eithe ron Kubo’s part, editorial, or both... But that’s a story for another time...

#Bleach #hirako shinji #sarugaki hiyori #muguruma kensei #yadomaru risa #aikawa love #otoribashi rose #kuna mashiro #ushoda hachigen #visored

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