You've always been my go-to for all things Bleach lore and world-building! Do you think Shinigami all sleep in futons or beds? Or maybe it varies from character to character? We've seen the 4th division with beds in their wards, but I think every other character has slept in futons.
Haha, thank you! We do love a furniture deep-dive here, and people's headcanon speculations about shinigami life even more.
I started a list of any time we'd ever seen a character in some kind of bed (futon or frame), but it mostly just ended up being a long list of "_______ at the 4th," lol, so we'll see all those aside (almost all those aside). But canonically, there is a mixture! We see:
Hinamori in Aizen's futon
[Bleach 100]
Ukitake in his quarters
[Bleach e40]
Isane in her quarters
[Bleach 179]
Hisana at the Kuchiki house
[Bleach 179]
I think Rukia had a similar setup during the Bount Arc, as well.
Also, I'd like to note that for the record as I was retrieving *bed pictures* I got emotionally destroyed by my re-encounter with this panel. It is just SO deeply sad:
[Bleach 180]
The incredible, isolating vastness of the room, and the way the shadow cuts across the space. ToT <33333 It also reminds me of a really excellent meta piece done by afinepiece, where she analyzed the panels from Byakuya's story about Hisana and pointed out sections where the panel visuals might suggest Byakuya's memory/headspace more than physical reality. Her journal is deactivated but I know the reblog is on B3 somewhere! I'm inclined to go with that reading here, even though I also feel like the room probably just *looked like this* because every room in Soul Society is like this. (Maybe it's also for airflow, given her illness seemed partially respiratory and possibly contagious? ngl I'm basing this off that one anime elaboration scene and my co-blogger's post about Circus Hisana and Elephant TB).
In my mind Byakuya's convalescent setup was the same as Hisana's (is this the sad Seireitei equivalent of couples' outfits) but I was wrong:
[Bleach 180]
He's in a bed! But from the look of this building he's probably at the 4th and not at home. Put simply, this building is too brutish and workmanlike to be part of the Kuchiki complex:
[Bleach 180]
Hanatarou's quarters (implied)
[Bleach e259]
The tatami floor, layout, and big closet on the right-hand side seem to imply that Hanatarou uses a futon.
Abarai family quarters (implied)
[Bleach "No Breathes from Hell"]
This is probably not the only room in this house and they could put *anything* in those cabinets, but their sheer number and the style of the room suggests that this converts to a futon-filled bedroom, regardless of what might exist in other parts of the house.
Bonus 1: Renji in jail
[Bleach 118]
Is this at the 6th? Is this at the 4th? I always assumed the 6th, though obviously the 4th was involved. Idk, Byakuya left him on the ground. Maybe if you don't pick up your invalids the 4th just stashes them in their jail.
Bonus 2: Hitsugaya in Junrinan (non-shinigami, non-Seireitei)
[Bleach -16 (in between 286 and 287)]
These examples are pretty skewed in favor of futons, but if we think about this collection of characters, there is an overrepresentation of people who trend more traditional in terms of aesthetic, so they might not meaningfully represent the whole. Also, half the list is the same family.
We've seen a number of different offices and meeting rooms for each division, as well as some private residences, which have been a mix of Western and traditional styles in terms of the building itself and the furniture within it. Most of the offices seem to have Western furniture (or at least, the 10th, 6th, and 3rd), whereas Byakuya and Aizen, at least, seem to prefer the traditional at home.
Though, I don't know what this big-ass room is, but given its size and feeling of formal reception, this may well be the 5th's office?
[Bleach 100]
NB 1: I tried to look up what the office looks like under Shinji, but what is happening here:
[Bleach "No Breathes from Hell"]
NB 2: The 2nd also has traditional receiving rooms (used by both Yoruichi and Soi Fon, wherever the division between Shihouin and the 2nd is. But I assume Soi Fon's office is not the Shihouin Family Receiving room).
--
My feeling is that the differences are more regional/Division-based than personal preference-based, and *when*/by whom this design language was established depends on how much time and money the people in charge want to devote to furniture.
But that doesn't necessarily mean each Division is uniform, since we can see Isane and Hanatarou, both seated officers of the 4th, have different-style rooms! Maybe this is an effect of the 4th being an early bed adopter for their general professional purposes. Unohana is 100% a futon lady. I feel like Isane just accepted whatever was originally in the room, and that if there were no bed at all in the room she would sleep on the floor before asking to remodel. Does that mean a previous 4th VC wanted to modernize the VC quarters?
Was that previous 4th VC the original bedframe proselytizer, and got permission from Unohana to do up their quarters like a model home that gave examples of both types of room? Do Isane and Unohana live in an IKEA showroom?
What are the benefits of futons?
the room can be multi-use, a general common room by day and sleeping dorm by night
don't have to make a bunch of bedframes
Given what a big deal everyone makes out of transporting goods from the Living World, I feel like they probably make all their furniture and don't import particleboard from Nitori, so this would be expensive! Plus, given the amount of building reconstruction that needs to happen, I feel like there's probably a fairly small quota of wood released to civilians and/or divisions for non-essential use.
What are the benefits of bedframes?
BUNKBEDS
easier cleaning/long-term savings?
Yeah, you'd have to make the bedframes and have a whole separate common room, but having beds implies you've probably done away with the tatami in the room, since you're not really supposed to put heavy furniture on the mats. And I don't think in a barrack with heavy use you'd be able to rely on shinigami simply "being careful." Same logic as college dorms and their "IKEA, but completely indestructible" furniture.
So if you decide in the long-term that you don't want to do tatami maintenance/replacement and want wood furniture on wood floors, maybe the bed route is for you! ("You" here meaning "your division"!) At which point it'd be a matter of:
caring enough to do a cost/benefit analysis about this
whether or not you want to preserve the traditional aesthetic
whether you have the initial capital to invest in making the change
Some additional thoughts:
We know that at least a portion of the 2nd has heated floors, as financed by Oomaeda. I'm not a heated floors aficionado--though I stayed at an AirBnb once with a heated driveway--NUTS) but I feel like that would...not work with tatami? That over time the heat would dry them out too much and make them brittle? So maybe the 2nd has beds.
Despite the fact that the 10th office changes out their couch out a few times during the canon timeline, I feel like there's a 0% chance Hitsugaya has considered a bedding/architecture overhaul during his tenure at the 10th. He's spent the last 15 years developing a real filing system and an actual budget procedure. He didn't come in with extra money to put towards beds and the 46 doesn't generally approve that kind of line item. That's more of a "gift fund" expense.
Shinji is trying to get a Pod Hotel proposal approved, on the grounds that the idea would benefit more than just the 5th. They could implement it in the Tsumesho (Gotei WeWork)! And provide them in strategic outposts across Rukongai!
During what decade was the 11th briefly "HAMMOCK DIVISION" because it seemed like the cheapest, most low-maintenance option?
Whumper saunters in front of a captured, finally beaten Whumpee. The restraints leave Whumpee purposefully helpless, body exposed and immobile while they shake with a feeling caught between fury and terror.
“Isn’t this interesting?” The sharp look in Whumper’s eyes betrays the lightness of their voice. “Finally. I have you right where I want you. And you can’t do a single thing about it.”
I wrote a short twitter thread on my theory on who the "fall" character is supposed to be in the third division, based on Gin and Izuru's design elements.
***DDDNE - This is an 18+ fic, if you are not 18 years or older please go tf away thanks***
Warnings: Primal play(I think?), hunter/prey dynamics, noncon, mindbreak(?), dubcon, yandere Aizen, penetrative sex (p in v), edging, slight overstimulation, pussy slapping, choking, breathplay, manipulative Aizen (duh this bitch was always a manipulative bastard), a bit of thigh fucking, fingering, creampie. (I hope that's everthing o.O)
Word Count: 3.3k
Author's Note: Ohhhkayy so this just popped into my head. I don't know where this even came from but holy shit. If ya'll don't pay attention to these warnings imma come slap you in the face istg this ain't no fluff piece.
Enjoy?
This was your chance. Maybe your only chance. The door to the cell you were meant to call a room was left cracked, the fraccion that was assigned to check on you hadn’t quite closed the door shut tight enough, and the latch didn’t quite click into place. Which meant you could open it from the inside. Which meant this may be your one and only opportunity to escape Las Noches and get far from Aizen’s reach. It really didn’t matter that you could die out there to a hollow, anything was better than being trapped here at Aizen’s mercy, his plaything while his plans had a lull and he was biding his time. Your body shakes, heart pounding in your chest at the thrill of it all, the thought of getting away.
He brought you here when he’d defected, stolen you away from the Gotei 13. You were supposed to be in the squad 5 barracks, defending the Seireitei and the world of the living with the rest of your squad members and the other squads. Hell, you didn’t even know Aizen all that well, hadn’t spoken to him directly ever. What made him take you, you have no idea. But you’re here, and now is your chance to leave.
You try your best to keep your footsteps silent, creeping up to the door, slowly tugging it open. Your hand actually begins to tremble when it actually gives way, the light from the hallway pouring in through the widening gap. You’re so close…but you can’t get complacent. You still need to escape the palace. Peering out into the hallway skyrockets your blood pressure, but when there’s nobody around and no sounds coming from further down the hall, you slip right out and shut the door closed behind you, making sure it’s actually latched. Hopefully that would keep any suspicion away for a while, and you take careful consideration in hiding your spiritual pressure as best you can. Making your way through the palace is a long and confusing task, all of the hallways are identical and there’s no markings of any kind. All you have to go on is direction, but as long as the windows along the hall remain facing the moon, you should be able to get out one way or another.
Most of it is empty, which feels odd, but you push it to the back of your mind and thank whatever god was watching out for you. It’s when you find your way to a bridge that you feel anxious. If anyone were to spot you, this is where it would be. The bridge is out in the open air, the railings impossible to hide behind, and unless an observer was directly beneath you you’d have nowhere to hide. There’s no use trying to find another way, but a flash step could get you across unseen. It’s not like you can go back after coming this far. The one good thing is that it would seem this bridge goes all the way across to the outer wall, which means if you needed to, you could just blast your way through with a kido spell and flash step away into the endless desert. With a long, heavy, deep breath you steady your nerves and flash step across the bridge. There’s nobody that you can see, but that’s good. It takes about five seconds to get all the way across, even with a flash step, but you make it to the building on the other side.
The building seems small, a single staircase in the back leading down into what seems like an endless darkness. Your salvation. You’re so close to being out, but you need to hurry, you have no idea when someone might notice your absence, so with no further hesitation you sprint down into the darkness. The hallways here are different, less like the stark white monochrome of the palace, more like carved tunnels. The only other difference is that there are no windows here. This is where you’d get lost, and die, but you were ready for that part. You use the heavy spiritual pressure of all the espada that are still in the main building of Las Noches to keep you oriented. How you’d managed to escape without a single arrancar noticing, you have no idea, they were all still in the building just not where you were. Hopefully that meant they were in a meeting of some kind.
Regardless, you keep moving. You aren’t expecting to get out, but when you make it outside you think you could collapse from the sheer elation. You’re out. But now all that’s left is to get to the Menos Forest. It’s better to hide out there. You run out into the desert, searching for a crack in the earth. It isn’t hard to find one, and you dive into the darkness below. You’re shaking, the joy of escaping finally getting to you. You almost laugh as you leap through the trees, freedom making you feel light.
“You’re a little slower than you used to be.” You freeze on a branch, heart stopping in your chest, a deep fear settling in the pit of your stomach. No. No it can’t be him. Frantically, you spin, searching for the source of that damned voice. The voice of your nightmares. Nothing. Emptiness. You can’t even feel any spiritual pressure. Were you just hearing things? No, you need to run, you need to run now. You take off into a flash step, diving further down so you’re nearing the forest floor. The darkness would help conceal your position. You’re panting and sweating and your body hurts, not having run like this in a very long time, being cooped up in that cell. But you need to escape, no matter what.
“Keep running, little rabbit.” Shit. You glance over your shoulder, just in time to see a flash of white. No, he can’t be here. A branch snaps off to your left, it spooks you enough to have you veer off to the right and avoid the area. Another branch snaps behind you, and another on your right. A chill crawls up your spine when that evil, dark chuckle rings through the forest.
“Hop along, while you still can.” He’s taunting you. You gasp as the branch you step on breaks under your foot, plummeting you to the forest floor. Barely, you manage to tuck and roll and land on your feet, but your momentum is shot.
“Aw, poor rabbit. You’re done running already?” You snap your head around behind you, seeing a flash of white fabric vanish behind a tree. Immediately you take off in the opposite direction. You’re not giving up yet, if you can lose him in the brush you have a chance.
“There you go, run some more.” You catch more glimpses of white on your right, and turn on a dime. Again to your left, and again directly in front of you, and you turn tail only to see another right where you’d just come from. You stop completely, panting hard as your lungs burn. That pit of dread has settled deep in your soul, and it’s taken you far too long to realize he’s been hunting you. Like a wolf herding its prey.
“Already done running?” You whip around to see where he is, only to come up empty. You spin around what feels like a hundred times, listening to his evil laugh as it echoes through the trees. Your hands are shaking, your heart slamming against your ribcage, tears beginning to form in your eyes as your chest heaves. This can’t be happening. You were supposed to be free of him. Suddenly, in a split second, he’s in front of you, both wrists gathered in one of his enormous hands.
“What a pretty little rabbit. Too bad you couldn’t run any further, I was having fun chasing you down.” That dread has spread to your entire body, your hope dashed. You were supposed to be far away by now. You were going to escape him. The realization that you were never going to make it hits you like a zanpakuto through the heart, making you lax in his hold as you drop to your knees in front of him. The despair, the sadness, the fear. It all makes your body collapse. He follows you to the floor, crouching down and cupping your chin in his free hand, leaning in close and pressing a kiss to your lips that you don’t return. The gesture is too sweet, too gentle, for a cruel man like him. He licks his lips, tasting the salt from your tears.
“Look at you, so submissive and pliant. So unlike your usual self. Have I finally broken you?” Your vision is unfocused, all the fight having fled your body, your head spinning uncontrollably. Part of you prayed you were dead, part of you hoped this was a nightmare. Aizen’s voice slices through your consciousness.
“Look at me, rabbit.” You don’t know how you do it, but you do look right at him. Those dark eyes pierce through your soul, his eerie smirk making you tremble.
“Very good. This was fun, but it’s time for you to come home now.” You can’t find the energy to do anything but nod, acceptance consuming you. There’s no escape, not from him, not here. You’ll never get away. Your surroundings blur as Aizen picks you up and flash steps to Las Noches, a flash step so fast it only takes a few seconds to get all the way back to the palace. But you aren’t in your room anymore, no you’re in his. He lays you down on the plush bed, more than large enough to fit four of him, and his hands begin to tug at your clothing, but he pauses. He’s waiting for it, for the fight that usually comes. For the clawing and kicking and cursing. When all you do is turn your head away and tremble he reaches up and wraps a hand around your neck. The squeeze is what makes your eyes pop open, frantically looking up at his face, a small panic flooding your mind. He’s never done this before, was he going to kill you?
“I want you to look at me. I want to watch as you come undone, all because of me.” Tears form once again, falling silently down your cheeks. No, this was much worse than death.
“You look so pretty when you cry for me. Cry some more.” The hand on your throat squeezes again, your hands clawing at his as you gasp for air. You squirm beneath him, legs kicking weakly as he resumes his quest to undress you with one hand. Your clothing is torn off of you, your heaving chest exposed as he kneads one breast in his hand, your nipple pinched roughly between two fingers. You do exactly what he wants, tears streaming down your cheeks and neck while he gropes you. You hate the way your body reacts, a nasty heat pooling between your legs as your vision begins to blur. You’re granted relief then, his hand releasing your airway and you greedily gulp in much needed air.
“Good girl. So good for me, aren’t you?” His hands make themselves busy with the rest of your tattered clothing, whatever was left shredded and tossed aside and he lets his eyes drag over your naked body. It’s the first time he’s been able to really look at you like this, any time before was spent holding you down to keep you from fighting him. You just can’t find the will anymore. One hand reaches down between your thighs and the sheer embarrassment makes you clamp them shut, but it’s no use, his other hand comes to pry your legs open and he kneels between them to keep it that way, exposing you completely. He hums, dragging a finger through the wetness already leaking from your pussy.
“Your body always knew to be ready for me, it just took a little push for your mind to catch up.” Two of his fingers are plunged into you, your back arching at the immediate curl and pump of the digits. Loud squelches ring in the room, the embarrassing sounds only seem to make that heat in your stomach grow. He doesn’t waste any time, letting a third finger slip inside you and using his thumb to rub circles into your already swollen clit. You shut your eyes and cover your face, you don’t want to see the satisfaction on his face when you cum all over his fingers. Your legs shake at your slowly approaching orgasm, toes curling and legs clamping down around Aizen’s hips. You’re so close, and you hate how badly the knot in your belly wants to snap, just a little more…
You whimper when he stops moving completely, ripping his hand away from your sloppy pussy. He’s stolen your orgasm from you, your legs still trembling and his clean hand grabs your throat again.
“I said I wanted you to look at me.” When he releases you he retreats fully, stripping down to nothing. His cock is hard between his legs, long and thick and you can already feel the soreness begin to settle in. He slots his hips between your legs again, resting that thick cock right against your clit.
“Now, let’s try this again, shall we?” You don’t bother trying to answer, he’s going to do whatever he wants regardless. You’re proven right when he drags that dick of his over your wet folds, using it to stimulate your clit. It’s not enough to build your orgasm, and you’re thankful for it at least, until he grabs your legs and puts both over one shoulder, clamping your thighs shut around his length. His hips slap into the backs of your thighs, the head of his cock catching on your clit and suddenly you’re jolting with every thrust, the pressure making you leak even more onto the bed sheets. He’s left your cunt completely empty, just the stimulation on your clit making that knot tighten once again. But you won’t give him the satisfaction, even if you won’t fight him. Your eyes squeeze shut as you try to stave off your orgasm, focusing on anything to get your mind off of it. But when he slips his dick inside you and slams his hips into you, your vision goes white behind your eyelids and all you can think about is the fullness you feel. His fingers dance on your clit again, and you’re just about to fall over that edge when he pulls out completely and leaves your clit throbbing. You actually cry out this time, desperation seeping into you. You hate it.
He only chuckles down at you, pushing into your sloppy cunt once again setting a slow, deep pace. Every time he seats himself fully inside you, your eyes roll back into your skull at the pleasure. You sob when he folds your legs toward your chest, letting his weight power each thrust, hitting that little spongy spot with unmatched precision. It’s too much, the pleasure building too quickly. You need to cum, or you’ll lose your mind you’re sure. You focus all your attention on Aizen, his face concentrated but still relaxed, his smirk replaced with his lips parted ever so slightly, heavy breaths escaping as his brows pinch just the tiniest bit, The strands over his face have dampened ever so slightly, sweat beading on his forehead. In your lust filled daze, you dare to think he looks handsome like this. His eyes pierce yours, his pace picking up, filling the room with the sound of wet skin against skin. You’re at the edge again, the muscles in your legs trembling under his fingers and your own hands claw into the bed. You don’t dare look away, if this gives you the release you need you’ll stare at him as long as he wants. Almost there, you’re so close and your eyes are still locked on his.
He pulls out completely, and you cry out at the frustration. You did what he wanted! You were looking right at him.
“No, no don’t do this please I need it.” His hand is at your throat in an instant, squeezing down around it to cut off your airflow again. You’re shaking, both hands gripping his wrist in a poor attempt to get him off.
“I like it when you beg, pretty rabbit.” In one fluid motion his cock is deep inside you, his other arm wrapped around your legs thrown over one shoulder and he leans over you, folding you almost completely in half as he grinds his dick into your poor pussy. He thrusts into you hard and fast, and it’s all you can do to weakly cry out beneath the pressure of his hand as your vision blanks and you cum on his cock, your walls clamping down around him and your entire body trembling with the euphoria. Your eyes roll back in your head as he allows you to breathe again, your orgasm drawn out while he pounds into you with his full weight, stilling once he’s satisfied and unloading deep in your cunt. Chest heaving, body shaking, you’re exhausted. You can’t register what he’s saying to you until he grabs your face in one hand and squeezes hard enough to make you wince.
“Focus, there you go. Now what do you say when someone gives you something you want?” In your scattered brain, you can’t come up with the answer, so he decides he needs to motivate you. He pulls out of you and you hiss from the sensitivity, but that doesn’t compare to the sting you feel when he spreads your legs and lays a hard smack on your pussy. It makes you jump and yelp, trying to squirm away but his grip on your thigh is iron clad.
“Try again, pretty thing.” You still can’t think, every thought is tangled like a loose ball of yarn. Another slap makes your body jolt, and he twirls a finger over your clit slowly.
“You’re supposed to say ‘thank you’.” Shakily, you nod.
“Thank you, Lord Aizen.” His head tilts to the side, and he lands a harder slap on your poor, abused pussy, catching your clit this time and making you cry out, and he resumes his slow pace on the little bundle of nerves.
“And what are you thanking me for?” You’re trembling, your voice unsteady.
“Th-thank you for letting me cum, Lord Aizen.” His pace on your clit picks up, and you can’t stop yourself from cumming again, tears streaming down your face as your back arches painfully off the bed. He doesn’t let up until you’re squirming away from his fingers, lightly tapping on your clit to make you jump. You know what he wants, whispering the words between heavy breaths.
“Thank you…thank you Lord Aizen…for making me cum.” His laugh is mean and dark, and he moves so he’s beside you on the bed, lying on his side and propping himself up on one arm. He kisses you, deep and slow, and you let your jaw drop and his tongue invades your mouth. His free hand grips your throat again, no pressure, just the threat of it lying there. It’s dominating. You can’t find it in your muddled mind to care. When he’s done claiming you, he leans away and your unfocused eyes can just barely register his expectant gaze.
“Thank you for making me feel good.” You whisper, body still trembling.
“You’re mine.” He waits a beat, gently tightens his grip on your throat and releases.
“I’m yours.” You breathe, your eyes only focused on him. All on him. You belong to him. He smirks, satisfied, and he tugs your body so you’re laying on top of him, head tucked into his neck and breathing in his scent. There was a part of you that protested, but you can’t hear it anymore.
today i redesigned my old character development graphs to make them a lot more accessible and easy to use! i've always wanted a visual resource to build the general outlines of a character's personality, so i tried to create some templates that could be used for tons of different scenarios, no matter what kind of universe your character exists in! these can be filled out in ms paint, with a multiply layer or however you choose - feel free to use and repost them for your ocs, or even use them for canon characters!!!
(edit: imgur link with hi-res images for cleaner editing <3)
below the cut is an example of how they can be used!
stormborns
prguitarman
romaincrisis
annaxmalina
titsay
baratheonpilled
izzy806
discoholicmusic
