[littleeyesofpallas]

really scraping bottom of the barrel for Bleach content, but here's a fun little deadend bit of trivia... There was an early chapter of TYBW arc that was called "The Buckbeard," in which Yhwach is first introduced, and I knew it felt familiar before I realized it's because that's not how that word is normally romanized...

The katakana reads Bakkubea~do[バックベアード]. The long "a" being romanized as an "er" is pretty common, and the "do" is how Japanese handles the lone consonant "d" from other languages, so yeah the pronunciation is something like "Bu-ck Bay-er-d'." But none of these "english" words mean anything...

Thing is, it's actually a reference to GeGeGe no Kitaro, the famous children's horror manga by Mizuki Shigeru. He "invented" the Backbeard as the leader of his villainous army of "western yokai" (which originally consisted of Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, and Witch.) So one reason he's such a bizarre character is that the context would suggest he was meant to be another Western popculture monster, but obviously he doesn't resemble anything of note in that category. (some people have suggested the name is a corruption of "Bugbear" which would kind of make sense as he is sort of an abstract primordeal boogeyman.)

His original design was a massive black orb with a single detailed eye and branching protrusions like tentacles or veins. And what's interesting here isn't just that the comparrison pegs Yhwach as a shadowy, fear inspiring boss figure leading a western invasion force, but it seems to foreshadow Yhwach's eventual final form after incorporating Mimihagi. That chapter even includes a direct throwback to Backbeard with Yhwach raining shadow down on Soul Society and the conspicuous hatching pen work that creates the white of an eye in the massive looming shadow. Unfortunately none of this really "means" anything in particular, or has any real bearing on the plot or the themes or the characters... just some neat random factoids

Anyway have some other Backbeard appearances and inspired designs from tokusatsu, videogames, anime, etc... Some reference Backbeard by name, while others utilize the familiar aesthetic to fill similar thematic or narrative roles with characters unique to their specific stories but almost always an ultimate evil, primordial darkness, a either an actual leader or a final boss, often looming over the heroes or whole cities with its giant eye. (although in some iterations it eventually reveals multiple other eyes, or even spawns miniature mono-eyed copies of a multi-eyed core form.)

Also below isthe photo collage, Shinjuku Phantom Chimera, by Masatoshi Naitou(left) which predates Buckbeard by a few years, and the charcoal drawing, Eye Balloon by French late 1800s artist, Odilon Redon(right) both of which have been cited as likely sources of the Backbeard design.

[theshouten]

Is this blog still alive? Asking for a friend... several friends, really, because I was thinking of creating a Bleach meta Discord server, unless one already exists... we need somewhere to discuss Bleach meta and people to discuss it with -- please send help!

Yes, we are still alive! Or, we are hoping to revive it!  Hello!

[theshouten]

Pt2 but I wouldn't be surprised if he switched as soon as momo reached the battlefield. Or even disguised himself as various other participants in the area, and just used Momo for that final 'in your face' personal touch.

Could be. There’s a lot of smirking going on in that fight.

There’s a lot of moment that seem pure Aizen, though. Like there’s tension you could CUT between him and Shinji.

[theshouten]

When?

I’m pretty sure everyone that used to frequent this site is long gone, but I’ve been re-watching Bleach because I am a nerd. Initially, I was looking for Tousen’s backstory for reasons of fic, but then I got stuck on a favorite puzzle.

When do you think Aizen switches himself for Momo in the battle of fake Karakura Town?

He gives several possible hints. He tells Shinji in the inverted world fight that his blade will never reach him. He also tells Ichigo the same thing, while playing the “Hey, I’m here. Nope. Over here!” game we see him use against Yhwach in the final battle. So, is he there? Or is it Momo already?

Sure, he tells Ichigo he’s not using KS, but we kind of know that’s bull. Also, this whole thing that Ichigo has never seen Aizen’s shikai? Didn’t he see it on Sokyoku Hill? 

Though, I guess it depends on if you think Aizen actually has to say “Shatter” (which I would argue was never his release command, but the END of hypnosis. Even so, Ichigo is there when Aizen does his ‘coming out’ as slicked-haired, glasses-less  Aizen, so...?)

Anyway, my original question is: when.

When do y’all think it happened?

[theshouten]

Six Points to a King

Puppet here! So I know there’s been radio silence here, but how about some meta and theorizing over everyone’s favorite SK!

We’ve all made notice of the six-pointed star that the Vandenreich held as their banner, and how it was also Orihime’s hairclips. But what if it was much more than that?

Remember that the SK was mentioned – ans shown – as missing some pieces. Namely, his arms, legs, and heart. Five pieces, all sentient and living. Except, no, there’s six pieces to this king. Five are missing.

Conveniently, there are also five cities set aside for the royal guard. Five cities that, maybe, once belonged to five noble families and intended for the five pieces of SK to preside over.

So we’ve got the SK split into pieces. Why? They’re all possessing of immense power, and all of that comes from the SK. Why weaken the SK like that?

Unless the point is to weaken this god-like perfect being. Five noble families with five secret techniques to seal away or separate these limbs and powers from the SK. Five beings created for the express purpose of keeping one singular entity from having all that power.

But who are the legs? Why haven’t we seen them? Well, who’s to say that we haven’t already.

The point of the legs is to embody one’s resistance to fall, to uplift oneself – and others. Yhwach and Yamamoto fit this bill to a T.

So with the SK dead and all his royal family joining him, who is to take their place? Why even should the power be placed all in one person to be thus dismembered? Why not split the power between our favorite gang of six.

Renji and Rukia, never falling, never staying fallen, uplifting each other and the others so they never stop fighting until the enemy is no more. They are the legs, keeping everyone on their feet and keep getting back on their feet.

Chad, the right arm. He’s stalwart, steady, unchanging. And as an extra bonus of foreshadowing, he activated his fullbring in his right arm at first, despite being left-handed.

Uryu, the left arm, the quincy (recall that Pernida, the previous left arm, had said that they were “always, from the beginning, quincy”). He is malleable, changing and learning from each battle he comes across, turning advantages into his own. He, too, is left-handed, and always has been.

Orihime. The heart. Kind and a literal miracle-worker, healing what would otherwise be fatal injuries and reversing what damage has been done. She represents hope to others, represents their heart.

Ichigo, the main body. The one to bring them all together, the one to bind them. The one that all others look to for salvation and help. The one with the power to “shatter fate” and “do something”.

The six points to the star in the sky, the six points connecting to one king. The six people that make up one king, one protector over all worlds.

[theshouten]

I like this theory.  I’m not going to comment on the specifics with any rebuttals/suggestions since I’ve been writing about that very thing in a fic, but I just wanted to add to the discussion by providing some info:

The Quincy use more than one symbol:

1. There’s the five-point cross, the Quincy zeichen, which  is first revealed (chronologically) when Yhwach starts recruiting for the Sternritter.

2. There’s Yhwach’s personal symbol, which is identical to the above symbol, except it has 3 points instead of 5.  

Now this could simply be the initial for his name (since Yūhabahha is meant to be a non-japanese name), or it could be a precursor to the Sternritter emblem and a symbol of something else.  You decide.

3. The six-pointed star you mentioned. Unless I’m mistaken, this isn’t the symbol of the Wandenreich itself, but is only ever seen on the cloaks of the Schutzstaffel and Yhwach’s throne. 

This is most likely meant to be a reference to the Armanen Runes, a set of symbols that pop up all the time in German neopaganism. And anyone who knows a bit of Nazi history also knows they had a thing about the occult.  In fact, there are recorded cases where the Nazi used these specific runes.

The one Yhwach uses looks identical to the Hagal rune, but given his ultimate goal, I would much prefer to think of this as a slight distortion/simplification of the Wendehorn: a combination of the Man and Yr runes, symbols of death and life respectively (among other things), making the Wendehorn a symbol of both. 

Some even interpreted the Wendehorn as a symbol of hierogamy.

Make of that what you will  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

QUICK EDIT: Forgot to say that the Hagal rune is seen as a symbol of faith, which also works, but since it was also used in many SS weddings (ugh), I think the similarity to the Wendehorn (which is not in itself part of the main runic system but is a combo) might not be coincidental.

-- Saranel

[theshouten]

Six Points to a King

Puppet here! So I know there’s been radio silence here, but how about some meta and theorizing over everyone’s favorite SK!

We’ve all made notice of the six-pointed star that the Vandenreich held as their banner, and how it was also Orihime’s hairclips. But what if it was much more than that?

Remember that the SK was mentioned -- ans shown -- as missing some pieces. Namely, his arms, legs, and heart. Five pieces, all sentient and living. Except, no, there’s six pieces to this king. Five are missing.

Conveniently, there are also five cities set aside for the royal guard. Five cities that, maybe, once belonged to five noble families and intended for the five pieces of SK to preside over.

So we’ve got the SK split into pieces. Why? They’re all possessing of immense power, and all of that comes from the SK. Why weaken the SK like that?

Unless the point is to weaken this god-like perfect being. Five noble families with five secret techniques to seal away or separate these limbs and powers from the SK. Five beings created for the express purpose of keeping one singular entity from having all that power.

But who are the legs? Why haven’t we seen them? Well, who’s to say that we haven’t already.

The point of the legs is to embody one’s resistance to fall, to uplift oneself -- and others. Yhwach and Yamamoto fit this bill to a T.

So with the SK dead and all his royal family joining him, who is to take their place? Why even should the power be placed all in one person to be thus dismembered? Why not split the power between our favorite gang of six.

Renji and Rukia, never falling, never staying fallen, uplifting each other and the others so they never stop fighting until the enemy is no more. They are the legs, keeping everyone on their feet and keep getting back on their feet.

Chad, the right arm. He’s stalwart, steady, unchanging. And as an extra bonus of foreshadowing, he activated his fullbring in his right arm at first, despite being left-handed.

Uryu, the left arm, the quincy (recall that Pernida, the previous left arm, had said that they were “always, from the beginning, quincy”). He is malleable, changing and learning from each battle he comes across, turning advantages into his own. He, too, is left-handed, and always has been.

Orihime. The heart. Kind and a literal miracle-worker, healing what would otherwise be fatal injuries and reversing what damage has been done. She represents hope to others, represents their heart.

Ichigo, the main body. The one to bring them all together, the one to bind them. The one that all others look to for salvation and help. The one with the power to “shatter fate” and “do something”.

The six points to the star in the sky, the six points connecting to one king. The six people that make up one king, one protector over all worlds.

[theshouten]

You know what the Bleach community needs? An exhaustive cross-reference for each character that, without going into detail, simply lists by chapter and page every other character they interact with. In a similar way it would be helpful to have a reference for every time a character /mentions/ another character. Is there such a thing?

Ooops, sorry this has gone unanswered for so long! I didn’t realize it was in the shoten inbox, apologies!

I don’t think anything like that exists, anon. The closest thing I can think of is the wiki, perhaps? It mentions every character involved in a scene, there are pretty comprehensive entries for battles, too, but it’s not quite as detailed as what you’re looking for.  

I imagine creating such a lost/database would be a massive undertaking and the end result would be rather unwieldy, since references to another char can just be in passing without any significant intention.

--Saranel (Owl-in-Daylight)

[wide-eyed-stare]

From the Bleach: Official Bootleg (KaraBuri+) “Soul Reaper Academy Entrance Examination Questions”:

Quiz answer:

…what??

But… but…

I am so confused!

@theshouten - can you help me out, guys?

[theshouten]

Yeah, given those choices I guessed Yoruichi before I saw the explanation, but YEAH, you’re right @wide-eyed-stare!  Now, if they’d put Tessai in those options I would have guessed him because, yeah, the Kido Corps is separate and, as far as I know, remains so.

So, yes, she has experience. She wears a haori; she stands in captain’s meetings.  

Go home, Official Bleach Bootleg, you’re DRUNK.

[theshouten]

What is the connection between the Shihoin and Ukitake clans? Why was Jūshirō Ukitake in possession of the Shihoin Shield?

I don’t think the Ukitake clan was meant to be particularly high up in the nobility hierarchy. My assumption always was that Ukitake and Shunsui were one of the few Captains who were reluctant to believe that the TBTP events happened as reported.  Remember that when Yoruichi shows up at the execution grounds to engage Soifon, Shunsui has already pulled Ukitake away.  Ukitake is worried about Kiyone, but this is what Shunsui tells him: 

Why would Shunsui trust Yoruichi when the last he heard of her, she was being branded a traitor?  Moreover, it’s made clear that Shunsui and Ukitake planned this together, and their respective subordinates were also in on it.

I think what happened is that when the nakama split up, Yoruichi went to find Shunsui and Ukitake, knowing they were the ones more likely to believe her since Ukitake is also Rukia’s superior and would be inclined to help her. She even makes a point out of telling us that it’s better if she works alone.

So my theory is that Yoruichi went to find them, explained the situation and told them how to get their hands on the artifact.  

I also have this pet theory, it’s obviously little more than speculation, but here goes: given who the Shihouin are (makers or highly powerful artifacts), I have this headcanon that they were the ones who made this:

In later chapters, when Ukitake releases Mimihagi, Yoruichi is the one who immediately seals the Mimihagi reiatsu in order for it to serve as the new SK.  The seals she uses are distinctly shown to bear a maple leaf design which clearly symbolizes her clan.

Even though Yoruichi herself doesn’t know what’s going on with Mimihagi, the fact alone that she was carrying this shows that her clan knows more than enough about the ritual that stabilizes the SK, or perhaps even the one that creates a new one.  But that’s a big discussion for another day.

--Owl-in-Daylight

[theshouten]

Do we have any clue on who were the founding members of Soul Society, besides Yamamoto and Unohana? I also have Ginrei Kuchiki in mind for some reason, but I'm probably wrong :/

This doesn’t really answer your question but here’s all the founding members we can see. Yamamoto and Unohana can both be recognised, and of course there could be even more people involved - they were only the ‘Divisions’ so there wasn’t any upper or lower limit to the number. 

As for Ginrei, well, he’s stated to be the 27th Head of the Kuchiki clan by the wiki but none of the sources are from the manga which makes this rather unreliable - while I don’t believe it he was, Sojun could have been 27th which makes Ginrei 26th. In fact, due to the long lives of the Shinigami, Ginrei could have been first followed by a lot of murderous coups, sudden deaths and MIAs that resulted in 26 rather short-lived Heads and then Byakuya. But no, I think Ginrei is the 27th Head and Byakuya took over after his death - which makes it unlikely that Ginrei was one of the founding members. But of course, that begs the question - is the Kuchiki clan older than the Gotei? And if so, by how much? Either way, I think 27 generations of Kuchiki, considering how long powerful Shinigami can live, places Ginrei as too recent a head of clan to be one of the founding members. But since the text is pretty much silent about this, you can keep Ginrei as a founding member in your own theories!

- Svynakee

[theshouten]

Regarding Ginrei, I’m inclined to agree - though, as a counterpoint, it might be worth noting that he’s one of the few Shinigami we see who actually looks old, and that detail could place him at an appropriate age to be one of the founding members of the Gotei.

I also read a theory somewhere (I can’t remember where at the moment, but if I find it, I’ll re-blog again with a link) that a member of each of the Four Noble Houses might have been included in the initial Gotei lineup. This makes sense to me, as we’ve seen multiple Kuchiki Captains (Ginrei and Byakuya), a Shihoin Captain (Yoruichi), and a Shiba Captain (Isshin) - and we’ve also seen the Shihoin and Shiba Captains abandon their posts for various reasons, which could explain why we’ve never seen a representative of the elusive fourth Noble House. Possibly, the Captain from this fourth Noble House abandoned their post sometime before the snippets of canon we see ever began. At the very least, it would make sense to me if the Gotei and the Four Noble Houses entered into some sort of diplomatic agreement - it’s awfully hard to separate politics (such as they are in the Bleach-verse; we don’t see a whole lot of ‘governing’ or conventional ‘politics,’ outside of Central-46, which is exclusively judicial) and the military, after all.

-Del

[theshouten]

Do we have any clue on who were the founding members of Soul Society, besides Yamamoto and Unohana? I also have Ginrei Kuchiki in mind for some reason, but I'm probably wrong :/

This doesn’t really answer your question but here’s all the founding members we can see. Yamamoto and Unohana can both be recognised, and of course there could be even more people involved - they were only the ‘Divisions’ so there wasn’t any upper or lower limit to the number. 

As for Ginrei, well, he’s stated to be the 27th Head of the Kuchiki clan by the wiki but none of the sources are from the manga which makes this rather unreliable - while I don’t believe it he was, Sojun could have been 27th which makes Ginrei 26th. In fact, due to the long lives of the Shinigami, Ginrei could have been first followed by a lot of murderous coups, sudden deaths and MIAs that resulted in 26 rather short-lived Heads and then Byakuya. But no, I think Ginrei is the 27th Head and Byakuya took over after his death - which makes it unlikely that Ginrei was one of the founding members. But of course, that begs the question - is the Kuchiki clan older than the Gotei? And if so, by how much? Either way, I think 27 generations of Kuchiki, considering how long powerful Shinigami can live, places Ginrei as too recent a head of clan to be one of the founding members. But since the text is pretty much silent about this, you can keep Ginrei as a founding member in your own theories!

- Svynakee

[theshouten]

Are Quincy dead or alive? Uryu and Ryuken are alive but As Nodt was dead and Bazz-B seems to have lived a long time ago, I don't know about the others I'm confused??

Oh my gosh, Anon, I’m sorry no one answered this before now. Probably we were traumatized by the ending and forgot.

I don’t know that answer.

The other problem is Ishida.  He’s Yhwach’s heir. There was that whole sake cup sharing scene.  What happened to Ishida’s power?  He he somehow no longer a Quincy (which I would have thought impossible).  If he still a Quincy, is he now the epicenter of Qunicy souls?  I really don’t understand even what happens to Quincies when they die, outside of being absorbed by Yhwach–who no longer exists.

Others’ thoughts?

[hadenxcharm]

 Things wrong with the bleach ending overall:

Too much build up for a final boss battle that ended in one panel.

All secondary characters and their unresolved backstories were rendered useless. (Did Bazz-B die? What the fuck happened with Kira Izuru - why was that added in? What about Grimmjow and Tia and Nel? What about Yumichika’s shikai? Not going to resolve any of that?)

Everything is completely and perfectly peaceful after that miraculous end to all evil everywhere courtesy of Ichigo. Very coincidentally simple after all that insane buildup. Like blowing up a balloon and letting the air back out to make a fart noise instead of just popping it.

Mysterious unexplained Ywach power readings pulled out of the series’ ass at the very end just so there’s an enemy for the kids to fight and defeat in one page.

The fact that the final chapter was called ‘a perfect end.’

Things right with the bleach ending overall:

Ichigo survived the series and went on to live his life.

Renji survived his battle with Bach and seemed to get his left arm back.

Hisagi’s (fake??) bankai, meaning he’s made peace with Kazeshini.

Squad 11 mains are all still alive. (Ikkaku made lieutenant and Yumichika gets his third seat.)

Iba’s lame hairstyle.

Renji’s rad hairstyle.

Final Akon cameo.

Hisagi doesn’t seem to be shy around Rangiku anymore.

Shunsui still drinks with and talks to Juushiro’s gravestone.

Toshiro reverted to his small cute self. (Does this mean his bankai regressed, or???)

Things wrong with the bleach epilogue spoilers:

‘Welp, might as well shove together the male and female protagonists who are in the same age group and who had no prior romantic interest in each other right at the end of the story to have a super nonlame and noncliche ending:’ said every writer ever.

Renji and Rukia got together. Not hating on renruki shippers (if you’re into that theory that male-female best friends secretly want to fuck, then okay) just saying, kinda’ weird that it took them centuries to get together and then they went straight to having kids…. while they’re still soldiers. Is there shinigami daycare or something? I mean, Rukia’s a captain now and Renji’s a lieutenant. Who’s taking care of their kid? Why did they have a kid so soon? Don’t they want at least 40+ years to just be married in their weird best-friendy marriage without worrying about kids? What the fuck.

Renruki kid looks like a stupid fanfiction mishmash of ‘daddy’ and ‘mommy’s’ traits. That hairstyle in the spoiler pic is absolutely horrible. Rukia and Renji’s hairstyles did not need to be mixed, and by the way, kid’s don’t change their hairstyle so that it will be a perfect blend of their parents’.

Why are the kids shinigami during peacetime? They ain’t even academy students, they’re full on uniformed shinigami?? The fuck.

Are Ichigo and Orihime married? Why are they married? DId Ichigo get his brain electroshocked and suddenly decide that oh wait, ‘Oh, Inoue, I actually notice you now despite not noticing you consistently for the past several years.’ And Orihime, really? You still like the guy you fell for in high school? Who routinely made it obvious that he had no interest? Girl, you deserve someone who at least likes you. BESIDES, WHO STICKS WITH THE PERSON THEY MET IN HIGH SCHOOL? There’s so many more people out there! Did you just decide when you met Ichigo that you were going to be bf and gf 5ever and close up shop?      Why are they married?

Don’t think I don’t realize that Orihime looks like Masaki either and that it’s why Orihime didn’t end up with Uryu, who actually liked her. Oh, really clever making a parallel of the Masaki-Ryuuken-Isshin situation. Lame, Kubo. Lame. Orihime deserved someone who loved her and paid attention to her. You’ve sold her short so many times and this is too far.

When did Ichigo have a kid? He’s only 27 now right? For the kid to be reasonably old enough to have even a training sword, they should be like 10, meaning Ichigo would’ve had the kid at 17, which he didn’t. Maybe they’re 5 years old with a sword, meaning he had a kid at 22? Meaning he probably got married at like 19??? Ichigo, you had your whole life ahead of you, and you got married and made babies so young? What about your career? What about your life? Were you that eager to end your adventures to settle down with a kid? You certainly weren’t happy last time you lost your powers and had to live normally. God damnit, this makes no sense.

WAIT, THEIR SOn IS SUPPOSEDLY NINE. THEY GOT MARRIED AT 17 AND HAD A KID AT 18. IN JAPAN, THAT’S STILL FUCKING UNDERAGE. ICHIGO, WOW. WHY. goddamnit this means Rukia and Renji had their kid immediately too, wtf, wayta get to business.

Why did Ichigo have a kid? He hates putting the people he loves in danger, and he knows that the child is going to be involved in Shinigami business basically from birth. he’d never do that. Literally never. As someone else pointed out, it’s literally the reason he hid being a Shinigami from his family, because he didn’t want to endanger them. And you think he’d do that to his child?

Why did Ichigo have a child? Never mind that he never loved Orihime - because okay, maybe over ten years he had a change of heart, who’s to say, oh wait no, he married her at seventeen and didn’t have time to have a change of heart- but why did he have a kid when he’s a four-way hybrid? What kind of crazy life does he want to inflict on a child, especially now that they’re like a five-way hybrid, considering Orihime’s powers. Ugh, OC mary-sue baby.

OC Mary sue baby resolves the crisis, confines Aizen, and dispells Ywach’s powers in one fell swoop. Well done kid.       G UHH.

Why are kids responsible for saving the world? A fucking five-year-old?

Did Ichigo lose his powers defeating Bach? Questions I want answered.

Has Aizen been roaming free for ten fucking years? And there’s been peacetime during this? Was there a manhunt? Did they let him free? I have many questions.

Rukia is mother of the year, reasoning that her child, who is fucking lost after presumably losing her parents in the FUCKING DANGAI -nevermind that she could be fucking dead because of the Koryu and the Kototsu???- can’t get hurt by a human because oh, she’s a shinigami. Her child is a shinigami soldier. With a sword. GOd damnit.   

why did Renji and Rukia not adopt after their bad past being orphans in the rukongai? Why did they not adopt?? Why, why, why? That’s the kind of big-hearted people that they are???

please don’t add the OC babies to the ao3 character tags. just please don’t.

Why is Yuzu still living at home at twenty three?

Is Isshin dead?

Uryu vowed not to become a doctor? Why is he a doctor? Did he take over his father’s hospital? Double the fuck? he hates his father?

Chad promised never to use his strength for his own gain. Did he say fuck it and decide to do WBO? THE FUCK.

WHAT THE FUCK HAS HAPPENED TO ALL THE PROTAGONISTS AND THEIR ORIGINAL LIFE GOALS? IT’S LIKE THEY ENDED UP DOING THE EXACT OPPOSITE. except Orihime. She’s Ichigo’s housemaid just like she convinced herself she wanted to be. BABY, YOU COULD’VE HAD BETTER.

Ichigo didn’t know who Renji and Rukia’s kid was when she first visited, meaning that Ichigo hasn’t seen them for like ten years. Those fuckers didn’t even goddamn visit or tell them about their OC baby.

AND GREAT, both the 5-7 year old kids have swords and are shinigami. Great. Great.

I bet their kids are a boy and a girl so that they can fall in love and have happy hetero relationships despite their lack of chemistry, just like both sets of their parents, huh, because we don’t believe in platonic male-female friendships. Nope.

by the way, what was the special ‘announcement?’ that this ending was completely and totally rushed and fucked up after all the hard work Kubo put into creating this world and these characters?

Things right with the bleach epilogue spoilers:

we can choose to ignore it.

we can now write renichi brokeback mountain au fanfics.

life goes on despite this devastating disappointment.

if you didn’t ship any of the main hetero ships, this doesn’t have to affect you.

if you followed Naruto, you were ready for this shit anyways.

mourn.

reread the series up until Aizen is first defeated, and then pretend it ended there.

move on.

and ichiruki shippers, you knew this was coming, didn’t you? Kubo’s said that he was proud of the platonic relationship he made between Ichigo and Rukia. Even though I don’t like Ichiruki or Ichihime, I still understand why you’re crying bowls of tears, because Ichihime shippers will now forever have the excuse that their ship is canon even though the ship has no evidence to back it up except for this one chapter. Seriously, wow. You Ichihime shippers don’t deserve to be smug over this half-assed victory.

And you know what? After the final chapter I can’t help but like the adorable kids because they’re sweet and pure, but they still never should have fucking existed. Goddamn fanfic babies.

—–

Kubo, really, who made you do this? Tell us so that we can seek retribution.

[jaybirdsthings]

@cooliogirl101, @cywscross and anyone else who had similar feelings to the Bleach ending

[cywscross]

“if you followed Naruto, you were ready for this shit anyways” - truer words have never been spoken

[theshouten]

How can Kazui casually take his Shinigami form like that??? Isn't it supposed to be his soul? He also presents himself as "kind of a Shinigami", what does "kind of" even mean god I'm lost

Yeah, I have to admit that I NOPED a lot of this chapter and I haven’t even been able to put much thought into trying to make 686 work within the universe of Bleach.  

One thing I will say, is that I’ve been wondering if Ichigo is dead.  Byakuya cut his soul chain way back in the beginning of the rescue arc. Urahara did some science-ing that supposedly saved his life, but I don’t know, man.  I mean, he also technically doesn’t survive his soul chain getting cut AGAIN by Urahara during training and becomes a Hollow.  I mean, he’s able to tear the mask off, but what happens to him is legit what happens to Pluses that become Hollows. Only there’s something about Ichigo that he still retains some part of his human-ness, presumably because his father is also dead (and as a Shiba, and a noble, may have been BORN dead.)  

It has also bothered me in this last arc that no seemed to need their soul butterflies to travel between the worlds any more.  In fact, after returning from the Rescue Arc no one seemed to need them any more.  Kyouraku nearly (or did?) kill Chad in their first meeting.  Mayuri nearly (or did) kill Ishida. Orihime… may have never been human to begin with.  So, I almost wonder if somehow they’re all partly dead, too, and so when everyone headed off to Hueco Mundo, Urhara didn’t even pretend they needed soul butterflies anymore (and of course making the bridge between the worlds was suddenly NOT a two week process.)  What if the reason it was easier was because they’d already “crossed over” in more ways than one?

It’s a curious question.

But, it’s possible that this “kind of” thing has something to do with that.

[theshouten]

Anon, when it comes to Kazui and 686 in general, I think Kubo (whose dedication to his own canon was already tenuous at best) just fucking gave up. That whole "I'm a Shinigami, too, tee-hee!" deal was just to show the audience the story goes on, and screw logic.

When it comes to the Hell Butterflies, don't forget that the gate Urahara opened was a Garganta. It's nothing like the Dangai, it is by definition a place where spiritual matter behaves erratically, so a Hell Butterfly is not needed. After the SS arc, the only time we see anyone pass through the Dangai is Ichigo in training, where Aizen has destroyed the kototsu and Isshin makes a point out of containing the wresting flow himself. Oh, there's also Orihime before her capture, but in her case the Kido corps prepped the gate to contain the wresting flow, which is why she couldn't go with Rukia and had to wait (the process is longer). The HB is meant to signal to both the kototsu and the flow to stay back and allow the passenger entry to SS, but anyone can pass through given the right circumstances, as seen in the start of the SS arc.

Owl-in-Daylight

[theshouten]

Hi guys, I was wondering what exactly are Ururu and Jinta? Shinigami? Human? Where do they come from?

I don’t know the answer to this, but like any Bleach fan I have my theories.

Both of them have different surnames according the wiki.  Jinta’s is Hanakari, and Ururu’s is Tsumugiya. I don’t know what to make of this because both of them seem to live at the shouten as well as work there. 

And then there’s Ururu’s whole waking up in the middle of the night and going berserk on Arrancar ass with a canon (and I feel like she can do that Shinigami trick of walking on air in order to fight Yylfordt, too.)

My personal head canon is that they’re vat grown.  That both Jinta and Ururu are mod souls or human souls, but–either way–they are creations of Urahara’s.  I’ve long joked that I want to write an “mpreg” (which is normally a tag I tend to avoid in my fics, even though I’ve read a few that I’ve enjoyed) called, “Honey, I Scienced The Kids” in which Urahara wakes Tessai up one morning with a smile and “I hope you don’t mind, but I made us some children.”

 But, that’s my head canon.  I know for instance that @7emptymirrors has a different one.  My she’ll share it with us if we ask nicely…?

Anyone else?

[theshouten]

I’ve always thought that Jinta is human with high spiritual sensitivity (like, say, Karin) but Ururu is obviously a little different.  There is very little in canon to go with, so ofc everything here is mostly headcanonning.  So when it comes to Ururu, my personal headcanon is that she used to be human.

The thing about Jinta and Ururu is that they appear to be new to the store at the beginning of the manga, and there was always that “But I’m three years older than you!” Ururu says to Jinta that made me wonder.  Of course, there’s always the possibility that fake memories were implanted in them, and we also now know that a construct like Nemu is meant to grow up.  It’s the age difference I find a little odd, and don’t really see why one might make one child superpowered but the other relatively normal.  Plus, like junko said, they have different surnames (again, there are ways to explain this away easily, for example by saying Kisuke never wanted them to know they’re constructs and and thus gave them surnames and separate memories).

I had this all worked out in my head before we found out how exactly the whole Nemu deal worked (I think many of us assumed she was created as an adult), so now all the past small inconsistencies between the two no longer exist and it’s highly likely Ururu at least is a construct, yes.  Then again, I keep going back to what Kubo once said about how he wanted to tell the story of the two kids but had no way for it to come up organically, which makes me think it might’ve been something slightly different.  As such, I haven’t entirely discarded my original headcanon, haha.

Anyway, my theory is a little too long to outline here without spamming your dashes, plus I haven’t yet gotten around to writing that part, but the gist is this: Kisuke wanted kids and the Hogyoku made it happen by bringing Ururu and Jinta across his path; they were orphans who ran away because they were both spiritually aware and Jinta in particular drew the attention of many Hollows; Ururu died and in the aftermath was rebuilt into what she is today (this is a little out of nowhere, I know xD but this is the complicated part, wherein Kisuke realizes what the Hogyoku actually does.  Basically, my idea was that she was supposed to die, but the Hogyoku fucked shit up, haha. And I like the timeline since shortly after, Rukia arrives and loses her powers, leading to Kisuke implanting the Hogyoku in her) 

Owl-in-Daylight

[theshouten]

How can Kazui casually take his Shinigami form like that??? Isn't it supposed to be his soul? He also presents himself as "kind of a Shinigami", what does "kind of" even mean god I'm lost

Yeah, I have to admit that I NOPED a lot of this chapter and I haven’t even been able to put much thought into trying to make 686 work within the universe of Bleach.  

One thing I will say, is that I’ve been wondering if Ichigo is dead.  Byakuya cut his soul chain way back in the beginning of the rescue arc. Urahara did some science-ing that supposedly saved his life, but I don’t know, man.  I mean, he also technically doesn’t survive his soul chain getting cut AGAIN by Urahara during training and becomes a Hollow.  I mean, he’s able to tear the mask off, but what happens to him is legit what happens to Pluses that become Hollows. Only there’s something about Ichigo that he still retains some part of his human-ness, presumably because his father is also dead (and as a Shiba, and a noble, may have been BORN dead.)  

It has also bothered me in this last arc that no seemed to need their soul butterflies to travel between the worlds any more.  In fact, after returning from the Rescue Arc no one seemed to need them any more.  Kyouraku nearly (or did?) kill Chad in their first meeting.  Mayuri nearly (or did) kill Ishida. Orihime… may have never been human to begin with.  So, I almost wonder if somehow they’re all partly dead, too, and so when everyone headed off to Hueco Mundo, Urhara didn’t even pretend they needed soul butterflies anymore (and of course making the bridge between the worlds was suddenly NOT a two week process.)  What if the reason it was easier was because they’d already “crossed over” in more ways than one?

It’s a curious question.

But, it’s possible that this “kind of” thing has something to do with that.

[theshouten]

In the panel where Ichika appears behind Kazui, we can see her foot coming out of the black round stuff, what is it? Doesn't look like a Senkaimon right?

Not at all.  It looks like Yhwach Quincy Eyeball Goop ™ to me.

But I’ll be honest, Anon.  I’m not going to be able to do much deep thinking about chapter 686 because it wrecked my life and I’m busy processing all my complicated feelings about it.

Anyone else up to fielding this?