Thinking About How Yhwach Seeing His Father Again After Thousands Of Years Solidified The Sheer Hypocrisy

Anyone ever thought about how Bleach's greatest tragedy is Ichigo's desire was to fight fate but has never had a shred of agency his entire life?

Even when Ichigo sincerely believes he's acting of his own accord; he's merely the puppet dancing to another's strings?

Aizen manipulated his parents into meeting, manipulated Rukia into meeting him.

Kisuke manipulated Ichigo from behind the scenes while Ichigo tried to save Rukia, forcing him to learn skills waaaay above his paygrade before he was remotely ready to further Kisuke's own plans. It could be argued that Ichigo's entire existence was planned according to Kisuke's designs.

Isshin manipulated/forced him to learn Deux Ex Saigo no Getsuga Tenshou without telling him the cost, because apparently it was the 'only way' - despite having Kisuke "I plan for ten thousand scenarios" Urahara on his side. And did little in the way of helping his powerless literally soul-torn son cope with the monumental sacrifice after the fact.

Ginjo Kugo and his followers manipulated Ichigo by stringing along the prospect of gaining Fullbring, so they could steal it to have their revenge on Soul Society. Made easier due to the aforementioned apparent lack of support from Isshin.

Sword!Yhwach has manipulated Ichigo the entire time by turning him against his own soul, sabotaging his growth and ability to harness his powers.

Ichibei manipulated him into undergoing that trial to turn him into a Soul King vessel with the intention of chopping him up as the replacement.

Yhwach manipulated Ichigo into killing the Soul King.

"Give me a blade to shatter fate." is a sad joke and poor Ichigo is the walking punchline.

No wonder why no one told him anything about himself until the last minute. An ignorant tool is an easily manipulated tool.

Sometimes characters with just one scene become extremely popular. Why do you think that Masaki took off and has a huge fanbase, while our dear boy Kaien has like 3 fans total? Why isn't he insanely popular?

I admit that personally I have strange tastes, not to be a hipster, for example I liked the chemistry between Fin and Rey and so no romance between Kylo and Rey, and to the internet I'm of apparently disgustingly wrong opinion.

I can't say I have the definitive answer but I can give my two cents:

Masaki has the advantage of being Ichigo's mother and the circumstances surrounding her death are somewhat mysterious.

Ichigo is the main character and she functionally serves as a major source of his angst for... extremely questionable, vague plot and character reasons. (mostly because the plot can't function if anyone bothered to tell Ichigo literally everything he has every fucking right to know, but hey... -.- )

But if I may tangent for a moment: Masaki being a Quincy is something that still has me seeing red. There's a whole other plot progression that could've made more sense and been far more concise without unnecessarily dragging a boring Quincy cast and an Aizen knock-off with a bad mustache out of the dumpster. Which would've also tied everything up in a bow with Aizen's defeat without destroying every modicum of Ichigo's agency... but that's another post for another time.

Circling back to your question: I think if the anime adapted the scenes more faithfully, especially in Soul Society, we'd have seen a larger fanbase for Kaien. A lot of Kaien's references were simply omitted. EG; Ukitake wondering what Kaien would do in the whole scenario (up to and including likely literally kicking Byakuya's ass), Rukia asks his memory why would people come for her, Byakuya flashing back with disgust and a modicum of respect when he compares Ichigo's ferocious will with Kaien's and the abandoned implied reincarnation storyline Kubo set up then abandoned during the Aizen confrontation then we'd have a lot more fans of him.

A majority of fans got into Bleach through the anime, and the anime omitted massive parts of the story that removed meaning from Kaien's character. Worst still, the last thing we see of him is an Arrancar puppeting his corpse. Which means a lot of his 'personality' is relegated to some doppelganger twisting him into monstrous parody. What a note to end on, right?

At the same time, I can see why his presence was so diminished across the manga. He entered the narrative as Rukia's source of guilt, as Ukitake's source of inspiration, as Ichigo's spiritual predecessor, as the one who introduced the concept of heart to Rukia and then gracefully bow out when Rukia allowed herself to take his final lessons to heart (pun intended) and absolve herself of guilt, symbolized in her third Zanpakutou power. (I am shocked however that given Rukia's fight with As Nodt, that we didn't get a cameo in that fear cage, especially considering given, canonically, her most horrific memory was of Metastacia!Kaien... but hey.)

But given how Kubo forgot the Visoreds were the ideal counter to the Quincy and forgot they had their masks, reducing them to chumps, how could I expect him to remember someone like Kaien...?

...

Wow. You admit to liking those characters? I'd delete them all in a heartbeat if I got Kyle Katarn, Jan Ors and Mara Jade instead... but I wouldn't trust Lucas Fims to write their way out of a paper bag if their life depended on it right now.

I wanted to do a little sketch for my Bleach Canon Divergence AU but then decided to add color TT

TimeTravel!Ichigo who, because of his injuries and reiatsu exhaustion took a form of a child (like Nell), thus remembering the future, but unable to control his emotions and acting accordingly.

He regains his mental stability later with the help of the Soul King - yeah, he time travelled THIS far - and became a member of the Zero Squad, though unannounced.

Also not-so-subtly called 'your highness' or 'prince' by Zero Squad since Soul King took him under his wing (who also not-so-subtly is being a doting parent) and him being a clingy child most of the time.

He hasn't recovered fully, hence he usually sleeps on the SK's lap or in his arms, surrounded by non-threatening reiatsu so much similar to his (which SK picked up on, already realizing that this child is trully his, needing to be coated in parent's reiatsu to recover faster)

After The First Sin, Yhwach's sealing and establishment of C46 and Gotei, Ichigo lowkey says "fuck it" and just-

Waking the King.

Yeah.

By bombarding the crystal with huge amount of his reiatsu whenever he has the moment.

The funniest thing? He also translating his thoughts and emotions of how everything will be fucked up in about a thousand years and that the King will be killed. But the thought that finally wakes the King up is when Ichigo got too stressed and desperate.

"I need you. Your own son is SEALED and I fought him, I KILLED him, he lost it and he is your fucking son and he needs you even more than me so wake the fuck up- PLEASE I DON'T WANT TO KILL HIM AGAIN HE WAS SO LOST AND DROWN IN MADNESS AND HE LOVED YOU HE JUST WANTED HIS FATHER- PLEASE-"

And it happened quietly. Soul King gently hugging the sobbing kid, peaking a look in the futures.

Yeah... Maybe this was not the best descision he made in order to protect the worlds.

He then proceeds to find his first son which he didn't do to not be 'too bothering of a parent', breaking suspicouisly familliar spells and wards intended to not let HIM find Yhwach, and yanking him in the Palace, also coating him and the youngest in his reiatsu, contemplating his life descisions as to why in the world he listened to Ichibe to let his son wander the world 'a little'. Like, yeah, his son has enormous amounts of spiritual energy but it's expected, and even if Yhwach was absorbing a little too much from him as a toddler that only proved him having a pote-

Oh.

OH.

Wasn't he weakened enough by that to try finding his son and not being able to see even his soul ribbon before being sealed?..

*Somewhere, Ichibe felt shudder runnig down his spine*

***

So the Gotei 13 an C46 aren't aware of Ichigo's existence, he slept through a lot of things (not to mention hawking Soul King being paranoid after disappearance of his first child).

SK's physical body parts slowly deceasing (Ukitake lives yay!).

Ichibe is reduced to an ordinary soul without his memories of ever being something more.

Yhwach is sane, not fatherless anymore, they talked things through, and very much a doting older brother as much as his father even if he doesn't like to admit it (the braids with flowers and colourful ribbons admit it for him)

Ichigo is having a long-lasting childhood since his soul 'matured' even before time travel and he looks younger than Toshiro for like forever (until he figures out how to grow up, waiting for Urahara to become 12th captain to ask him), cringes every time Yhwach calls him "brüderlein" (as if being called his son wasn't traumatizing enough), thinking what to do with Aizen while waiting for the tea-lover to appear.

Oh, and he's also Zero Squad member with privileges (obviously).

Seriously, i made up this whole AU just because i wanted kid!Ichigo in captain haori XD

Anyway, here're the sketches

Advanced English Vs Basic English

Elicit = Draw out

Expedite = Speed up

Exacerbate = Make worse

Cognizant = Aware

Incessant = Nonstop

Inevitable = Unavoidable

Pervasive = Widespread

Pragmatic = Practical

Rationale = Reasoning

Resilient = Strong

Substantiate = Confirm

Ubiquitous = Common

Viable = Feasible

Exemplify = Illustrate

Formulate = Create

Impede = Hinder

Inconceivable = Unimaginable

Intrinsic = Essential

Lucrative = Profitable

Transient = Temporary

English | learn fyp #speak

Re-reading the final "battle" for Bleach again, because I'm a masochist avoiding writing my own projects like the plague.

I have to ask: Yhwach... why don't you just kill them?!

Legitimately kill them all. Ichigo and Orihime, Rukia and Renji - all of them.

What frustrates me in those final chapters is the fact Yhwach's IQ took a several thousand point hit. For a being that supposedly contains eons of Quincy power and knowledge harvested from his victims (IE. his "children"), why does he make such remarkably painfully foolish decisions in that final battle?

Yhwach has an established track record of killing minions and enemies when they have no further value to him. His own army frequently lives in fear they're next. This behavior was the action we witness during his debut where he killed two affiliated Arrancar over a minor disagreement and it persisted after he became the Soul King 2.0.

So my question is; why the sudden shift in gears? Why has this pragmatist uncharacteristically changed his mind at the eleventh hour and decided to allow the single person who stood a ghost of a chance of killing him live?

Following the final battle in the Soul King's throne room, Ichigo is on the ground exhausted, slashed to pieces and quite literally drained of energy. Boy can barely keep his head up. Yet Yhwach's previously character-defining pragmatism is suddenly evaporates. He had zero qualms stabbing Ichigo through the throat in their first encounter, has zero compunction slaughtering his own men to empower his personal guard or himself, yet now he finds it appropriate to walk away monologuing a cliché speech about wallowing in despair while declaring his children hold no further value.

Emphasizing his statement, Yhwach casts Auswählen to take the remaining Sternritter's powers, killing them in the process. Yet Ichigo - powerless, defenseless and served practically on a silver platter - gets a pass?

(side question: Why wasn't Ichigo affected by the Auswählen as a child? Why didn't he die from the silver clot like Katagiri did? He might be a mongrel of all species but he's still got Quincy blood. More over, why hasn't he died after he got Auswählened again as a teenager?).

Yhwach had the perfect opportunity to permanently remove Ichigo from play; either destroy him so completely his very soul ceased to exist meaning even Orihime can't bring him back, or absorb his soul completely into Yhwach's being, imprisoning him forever because the only person who could've stood a chance at breaking out a powerless Ichigo out is another fully-powered Ichigo.

The mindboggling stupidity extends to the battle itself too.

If Yhwach remained the pragmatist he was during the rest of the arc, he would see Ichigo is clearly relying on his pocket healer for his strategy. Yhwach would snaps his fingers - oops! Pocket healer's dead. Would you look at that? Ichigo's strategy just went up in smoke. As added bonus he's once again plunged into psychological turmoil because A: He's lost another ally, quite possibly the girl he likes, B: He's led another woman he cherishes to her death, this time knowingly, and while he's dealing with that traumatic realization, Yhwach would destroy him, steal his powers then kill him.

(Side question round two: Hollows are anathema to Quincy. They literally cannot survive around them. Why didn't the Hollow act as a poison to Yhwach and kill him? Or play a role in killing him?)

Admittedly, this is my issue with Shounen in general, but why do the antagonists suddenly make the dumbest most confounding decisions in their entire screen time when faced with the main character?

When this happens, I don't the character's flaws - I see the writer saying 'Oh shit, I made them too strong now I have to make them stupid to give my MC a chance.'

Then again, this is Bleach. More over, the Thousand Year Blood War. Asking for consistency is like politely asking Mount Everest to rise up and dance the macarena.

Edit: People can argue that Yhwach 'wanted to see what Ichigo would do' but what would be the point? With the Almighty Yhwach's basically omniscient. He already knows what's going to happen.

How to show emotions

Part I

How to show annoyance

slightly shaking their head

rolling their eyes

looking to the side

closing their eyes for a moment

sighing

taking a deep breath

clucking their tongue

huffing

crossing their arms in front of their chest

tapping their foot

How to show hurt

turning away

avoiding eye contact

closing eyes

lips pressed together

eyes filled with tears

breathing deeply

How to show anger

clenching their fists

pressing their lips on each other

breathing loudly through their nose

eyes getting smaller

clenching their teeth

clenching their jaw

looking away to calm themselves

speaking with clenched teeth

whole body is tense

screaming

throwing things around

stomping

moving around a lot, can’t keeping still

open body language, like they are ready to attack

frown wrinkles on their forehead

prominent veins

grabbing someone they are angry with to get them to understand why they are angry

becoming violent

non-stop talking, ranting

shaking their head

throwing their arms in the air

eyes either going from one point to another while ranting or completely fixating on the person they are angry with

How to show excitement

jumping up and down

not being able to stand still

clapping their hands

bright eyes

grinning

squealing

giggling

flushed face

bouncing

dilated pupils

tapping their foot

How to show boredom

biting nails

leg bouncing

sighing

playing with everything close by

twiddling your thumbs

spinning around

grumbling

staring into the distance

propping your head on your hand

Part II + Part III

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good traits gone bad

perfectionism - never being satisfied

honesty - coming off as rude and insensitive

devotion - can turn into obsession

generosity - being taken advantage of

loyalty - can make them blind for character faults in others

being dependable - always depending on them

ambitiousness - coming off as ruthless

optimism - not being realistic

diligence - not able to bend strict rules

protectiveness - being overprotective

cautiousness - never risking anything

being determined - too focussed on one thing

persuasiveness - coming off as manipulative

tidiness - can become an obsession

being realistic - being seen as pessimistic

assertiveness - coming off as bossy

pride - not accepting help from others

innocence - being seen as naive

selflessness - not thinking about themself enough

being forgiving - not holding others accountable

curiosity - asking too much questions

persistence - being seen as annoying

being charming - can seem manipulative

modesty - not reaching for more

confidence - coming off as arrogant

wit/humor - not taking things serious

patience - being left hanging

strategic - coming off as calculated

being caring - being overbearing

tolerance - being expected to tolerate a lot

eagerness - coming off as impatient

being observant - being seen as nosy

independence - not accepting help

being considerate - forgetting about themself

fearlessness - ignoring real danger

politeness - not telling what they really think

reliability - being taken advantage of

empathy - getting overwhelmed with feeling too much for other people

I cannot get over this scene in the op. YHWACH is doing a dramatic entrance on a fucking helicopter with the first button of his shirt undone (like a whore) and looking so though he’s inviting Uryu on some “grand” adventure as if he’s Uryu’s fucking sugar daddy all while poor Jugram is sitting at the driver seat and probably wondering why the did he bother to bleach both his hair and his eyebrows for this “notice me senpai” bullshit.

Fucking insane way to start the second season. I’ve never been happier in my entire life.

Instead of “VERY” in your IELTS exam

very hot - scorching

very cold - freezing

very bright - dazzling

very dark - pitch black

very beautiful - exquisite

very ugly - hideous

very noisy - deafening

very clean - immaculate

very boring - tedious

very exciting - thrilling

very intelligent - brilliant

very dumb - idiotic

very brave - courageous

very scared - terrified

very happy - ecstatic

very sad - devastated

very old - ancient

very young - juvenile

very kind - benevolent

Threads fyp learn English

Soul society arc: Ichigo finds out Urahara lied to him and is partly to blame for what happened to Rukia. Still he forgives him.

Hueco mundo arc: Ichigo finds out that Orihime is missing and suspected of betraying everyone. Ichigo still believes she’s good and is proven right.

Karakura battle arc: Ichigo finds out his dad is a soul reaper and has been lied to for most of his life. Still he’s the bigger person and lets his dad explain it when he’s ready.

Fullbring arc: Ichigo has a breakdown because all his friends seems to have turned against him.

Anything but the rain arc: Ichigo finds out that his mum was a quincy and everything he thought he knew was a lie. Still he didn’t hold it against anyone. + Ichigo finds out that old man Zangetsu wasn’t his zanpakuto and the one he always thought was his closest ally was in fact holding back his power. Still he accepted both sides of his powers.

Blood war arc: Ichigo finds out that Ishida is working with the enemy. Still he believes in his friend’s goodness and is proven right.

Honestly Ichigo’s biggest achievement is how he’s still kind and trusting of other people. With all he’s gone through I would not fault him for becoming cynical.

Ichigo after yuhwa’s defeat: ”Anyone else? Any more lies or ploys involving me I should know about?”

Kyouraku sweating and avoiding eye contact thinking about how his backup plan was to make Ichigo the new soul king: ”Nope.”

honestly i think ichigo knew from the beginning that soul society didn’t really trust him - he wasn’t at all surprised to find out that ukitake was spying on him. i think, ultimately, ichigo’s greatest strength is that he can always see the good in other people. he doesn’t let their wrongdoings slide, but he doesn’t try to demonize them more than they demonize themselves either.

even after aizen was defeated, ichigo made an effort to try and understand why he was Like That. after gin was killed, ichigo seemed to understand that he’d had another agenda all along - it didn’t excuse what he’d done, but it was enough for ichigo to finally understand him a little, something ichigo himself had already implied he wanted to do.

he’s able to work with ishida, byakuya, renji, urahara, aizen, isshin, the fullbringers, grimmjow, etc., even after everything. it’s not that he’s forgiven and forgotten, because he clearly hasn’t. it’s just that he understands that he doesn’t know everything about everyone and is willing to work with past enemies to accomplish a shared goal.

in other words, he keeps moving forward.