Satoru moved his chair to sit in front of where Suguru used to, when they were both students. The chair is backwards which means he probably laid down on the table. They probably spent a lot of time like this in between classes.
By the end he sits on Shoko’s chair by the window to watch the sun set. Alone.
Got inspired by this post, but I want to illustrate it with manga panels and also share some of my thoughts and impressions.
I've read many grimmulqui fanfics and I noticed that authors often portray their relationship similarly. If we talk about Ulquiorra's portrayal, he's always really rude towards Grimmjow and doesn't hesitate to insult him, calling him any degrading names you could think about, of course, including his favorite word "trash". And that's not a hate nor a critique of the authors, but I always thought that it was kinda a bit too much and not really accurate.
At first, I thought that way because Ulquiorra never called Grimmjow "trash" in canon (moreover, he didn't call "trash" any arrancar, only humans, like Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, Tatsuki). But it seems Ulquiorra never insulted Grimmjow AT ALL, which HE DID with other arrancars and with pretty much everyone, except Aizen.
Yammy was his companion when we saw Ulquiorra for the first time, and it's obvious that they weren't friends because Ulquiorra didn't believe in such things as friendship or bonds between two individuals. But at least they weren't antagonistic towards each other. Yammy was willing to follow Ulquiorra's orders, never questioning Cuatro's decisions and respecting him.
However, it seems that this feeling wasn't mutual. Not that Ulquiorra hated him, but he expressed constant annoyance with almost all of Yammy's words or actions and didn't hesitate to show it.
"Stop complaining", "idiot", "fool", "your tantrums", rolling eyes. It's really a lot of insults for such a short interaction between them.
Of course, you could say that's natural, given the difference in their personalities. But then we get Grimmjow's first appearance, and Ulquiorra's reactions were really, really different.
Grimmjow isn't Yammy. He isn't respectful or obedient; he hardly showed any respect towards Aizen and certainly didn't hesitate to disrespect his fellow Espadas. Ulquiorra had all the reasons to be much more annoyed with him than he was with Yammy, but what do we actually see? He didn't react at all.
He was calm and collected, patiently answering Grimmjow's questions, and wasn't showing even an ounce of annoyance.
No rolled eyes, nothing. Despite the fact that Grimmjow interrupted his report and literally called Ulquiorra weak, TWICE. It could be explained that he didn't want to provoke Grimmjow and be involved in a stupid fight in front of Aizen, but he was silent even in his thoughts.
Next time we see them interacting, we get a famous moment that inspired a lot of shippers, and no wonder why.
Ulquiorra needed to stop Grimmjow from releasing his zanpakuto, and once again, he was perfectly calm, didn't do anything to harm Grimmjow (contrary to the way how he stopped Yammy), didn't call him "idiot" or "trash". Just one careful touch, and that's all.
Grimmjow and Yammy were the only arrancars with whom Ulquiorra interacted multiple times, having actual conversations. But there was also Nnoitra, who talked with him once about Orihime, and Ulquiorra treated him differently compared to both Grimmjow and Yammy. He mostly seemed calm, but I would say that Nnoitra's words irritated him a little, and actually, even Nnoitra noticed it.
The rest of their conversation went fine, and it seemed that they separated on good terms. However, guess what? In the end, Nnoitra wasn't lucky enough to avoid being insulted by our emo when he disobeyed Aizen's orders.
Nnoitra's actions had nothing to do with Ulquiorra; he wasn't ordered to look after Chad and wasn't responsible for other Espadas' decisions. But the mere act of disobedience was enough to make Ulquiorra resort to insults. You might argue: "Of course, he reacted like that because Ulquiorra was sure that everyone should be rational and respect Aizen". But guess who else wasn't rational, who disrespected all the orders, and, unlike Nnoitra, directly put Ulquiorra at risk of failing to fulfill Aizen-sama's wishes?
Who else could it be? Of course, it was Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. We all know that he saved Orihime from Loly and Menoly because he needed her to heal Ichigo. From Ulquiorra's perspective, he did two stupid things at once: took away the girl who was Ulquiorra's responsibility and healed the enemy whom Ulquiorra had just beaten. Certainly, those are the actions of someone with whom you should feel not just annoyed, but actually angered. But what was Ulquiorra's first reaction when he saw that Orihime was no longer in her room?
I think everyone agrees that it was much more serious than Nnoitra beating Chad, but apparently not serious enough for Ulquiorra to finally call Grimmjow the words he actually deserved to be called.
He quickly found Grimmjow, asked him the reason why he did all of that, including healing the enemy, but didn't get any satisfying answer.
In the result, Grimmjow managed to outsmart him, fully aware that otherwise Ulquiorra would take Orihime back, and he would lose his chance to beat Ichigo. However, once again, it was strange that Ulquiorra wasn't willing to confront Grimmjow or say all that he thought about his stupidity and irresponsibility— to just beat his ass and teach him a lesson. Instead, he wanted to convince him to return Orihime and peacefully part ways, without any consequences.
Isn't it a significant difference compared to his usual behavior? Fans often say that Ulquiorra didn't feel any emotions, but the manga showed multiple times that he knew how it is to experience anger and annoyance, not just with arrancars but also with humans. For some reason, only Grimmjow seemed to be his "soft spot". Despite the possible explanations that he avoided an unnecessary fight to prevent Grimmjow from becoming a huge pain in the ass, I feel that there should be something else—something that happened between those two in the past that Kubo didn't think was necessary to show us, or perhaps it lacked screen-time.
And I also don't believe that Grimmjow felt nothing but hate towards Ulquiorra; his behavior and his words hinted at something else too. From the fact that he observed Ulquiorra long enough to notice his habits to him screaming, "Ulquiorra, you're afraid to fight because we'll kill each other". It's possible to say more about it, but I will just add the link to this post; the author said it all perfectly
I know that the manga ended eight years ago, with Ulquiorra being dead even longer, but it's confirmed that Kubo didn't reveal many important things, like Rukia's true origins or Urahara and Yoruichi's backstory. These are characters more important than Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, yet, we still don't know everything about them. And no one could convince me that the GrimmUlqui dynamic wasn't supposed to be much more developed and nuanced compared to the interactions we actually got; not just "Grimm hates Ulqui and vice versa, and they want to tear each other's throats". It leaks and shows even through the smallest hints and crumbs! And it makes me want to think about all the possible scenarios, imagining a whole-ass novel with their adventures, the scenario when Grimmjow found Ulquiorra in the desert and brought him to the palace; picturing them going on missions together, and so on.
I've always thought Grimmjow might have recruited Ulquiorra too - and maybe that gave him a sense of conviction that he was at least equal to Ulquiorra and entitled to speak to him however he wished. Not to mention a strong interest in how he developed as an arrancar 👀
Reawakened by TYBW, a long-time GrimmUlqui shipper stumbles out of its crypt in search of sustenance. The morsels it uncovers are too delicious not to share…
(The descriptions below are my own silly thoughts and don’t represent the authors in any way. In addition to the ratings, please also mind the authors' notes, tags and warnings!)
Apples by goldensprite (T)
Jaded, no-fucks-left-to-give Grimmjow finds born again Ulquiorra in the Soul Society. He’s lost his memories… but has gained the power of uwu. I was sooo thrilled to have stumbled upon this lovely fic.
Attrition by tragakes (lejf) (E)
GrimmUlqui fan or not, this fic deserves much love for the gorgeous writing and the brilliant take on Ulquiorra's psyche.
Conquest / Bequest by showmaster64x (E)
THE GRIMMULQUI SERIES OF ALL TIME.
Dead in Love by CrunchySalad (E)
This fic serves one trippy scene after another til it all comes together in a glorious oh shit moment. I LOVE the worldbuilding and the ingenuity of this piece.
Eye Can See You by chibi_zoe (E)
Ulquiorra finds creative uses for the gifts his momma Lord Aizen gave him. *Grimmjow voice* Damn Ulqui! Who’s a nasty thotty lil hollow?
Human Souls by caraminez (E)
An absolutely beautiful fic about love and loss. It hurted me bad but was so worth the ugly crying. If only I could re-live the magic of reading this for the first time...
After The Aftermath by Methoxyethane (T)
Aizenomics goes to shit and the Espada need new jobs. Grimmjow takes on the world's oldest profession while Ulquiorra attempts to Housewife. I was cackling and snorting at every other sentence.
love is just a bloodsport by elektra (M)
This fic is just AMAZING. Ulquiorra survives the battle with Ichigo without turning into pixie dust, but has lost all purpose. The setting is deliciously bleak and Grimmjow's voice is fantastic.
Love Potion by MissMonie (T)
Behold the GrimmUlqui treasure trove that is MissMonie’s profile, where you'll find everything from demon summons to coffee shops. This one's an adorable Valentine's Day fic in which Grimmjow and Ulquiorra are no match for a meddling love god.
Scream for Me by TextBookDreams (M)
Innocent lives are endangered when two Espadas try to suppress their feelings for each other. It’s funny, it's sexy, and it's GrimmUlqui. Mwah!
Take a Slice by hollowhiyori (T)
Two vampires kickin’ it in 90s Santa Monica. The vibes are on another level, and I thought Grimmjow and Ulquiorra had such a special and magnetic chemistry in this one.
The Beautiful Game by SunAndMoonFanfictions (M)
One for the footie fans (and any GrimmUlqui fan really). This is a very well-researched and immersive fic with many heartfelt moments. One particular scene of Grimmjow and Ulquiorra out shopping in a later chapter makes me giggle so hard.
This Time Around by Goldberry (NC-17)
Grimmjow and Ulquiorra learn first hand what it means to be human. This fic is… so precious to me. It will rip you up with the feels then tenderly make you whole again. *cradles to chest*
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If anyone has fics to share, or just wants to scream about GrimmUlqui, PLEASE DO 🥰
There's really no explanation for why grimmulqui became my main ship. I certainly didn't choose it of my own will. I didn't sit in the dark of my room thinking: "Yep, it would be a great idea to be obsessed with this rare yaoi ship from a shinigami manga. Its fandom is mostly dead, so I'll need to read ancient fanfics from LiveJournal and FanFiction.net and search the deepest corners of Google to find every existing fanart because there's definitely NOT ENOUGH". But that's where I am today, and I can't say that I regret anything. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one, and that there are other people who share my obsession with the blue furious cat and the stoic green bat. A perfect match made in a dead Spanish desert 😌😌😌
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