お先に失礼します。

with her final words—the words she always said whenever she had to leave the barracks early, leave to go back home, to the rukongai . . . where she was supposed to be safe—kisuke leaned forward on his hands, holding himself up against the table her body had been on just moments prior, nothing left of her except her final words echoing in his ears. お先に失礼します。 excuse me for leaving ahead of you.

「#VUOTOCONCERTO」 - indipentent, semi-selective, Bleach RP sideblog featuring Rōjurō "Rose" Ōtoribashi.

::21+  and  mutuals  only :: OC,  AU  and  Canon  Divergence-friendly.  MINORS DNI. :: attempted by Myell (25, she/her), follows from @hollownekomata

isshin and ryūken are very interesting characters to me in that they are two sides of the same coin; while i'm not going to defend or simply say they're good fathers, it's not as simple as just saying they're bad, in the same vein; to do either removes the complexity of them and their motivations and how they moved through their lives as fathers.

i'm going to start with ryūken, just because i have a lot more thoughts about isshin, but from the first moment we really see ryūken, we see him as a cold, detached figure, someone uryū doesn't live with and doesn't even call "father"- he rescues uryū from the hollow, then chides him for losing his powers, before saying he can restore his quincy powers once more, on the condition that he no longer interact with shinigami. for a while, we see ryūken primarily through the lens of uryū acting as our audience proxy (something i've written about kubo's use of before); we feel contempt for ryūken because we are seeing him through the eyes of a character who has already been well-established by that point, a character we are intended to like, being he is part of the karakura town kids. not knowing anything about ryūken except his cold, haughty way of speaking, we are led to assume that uryū has good reason to live separately from him, that uryū has good reason to not refer to him as his father- and this is all before we even know everything that happened in uryū and ryūken’s pasts. sticking with uryū's point of view, we know that he was very close with his grandfather, sōken, growing up, learning about the quincy arts from him; we see the pain uryū feels as he learns from mayuri about how sōken’s corpse was brutalized in death in order to serve mayuri’s research, something meant to paint mayuri as a monstrous foe for uryū to face, to add stakes to uryū using his sanrei glove and letzt stil against mayuri, even at the risk of losing his powers completely. seeing all of this only adds to the justification for uryū’s returned cold treatment of ryūken, after having seen how much sōken meant to uryū, and how much more he was there for him than ryūken was. we even see in a flashback with a young uryū asking ryūken why he chose to be a doctor instead of a quincy, to which ryūken answered that there’s no money to be made in being a quincy.

even going further into the story, into tybw, we learn more about uryū’s past and how after the death of his mother, kanae, ryūken performed an endless autopsy in full view of uryū, despite uryū’s desperate pleas for him to stop. ultimately, this was done in order for ryūken to determine kanae’s true cause of death- it was through this method that he was able to locate the still silver blood clot that killed her as a result of the auswählen. this alone is the final nail in the coffin for understanding the estranged relationship between uryū and ryūken: a cold, distant father who mentally and emotionally scarred his own son in his quest for answers for the cause of his wife’s tragic death. he is a harsh man, who demands obedience from his son in order to return his powers to him, practically hunting him in combat beneath the hospital until uryū is so exhausted that he finally gets hit- even if he does eventually regain his powers from it, ryūken never explained it to uryū prior.

this is all more than enough for anyone reading the series to write ryūken off as a terrible father, and that’s putting it mildly, and at the end of the day, people are free to do so. however, this is a rather reductive take as well, and doesn’t take into account how ryūken got to that point in his life. none of this is to excuse ryūken’s behavior by any means, but it does at the very least offer the reader an understanding into his methods, flawed as they are.

starting with ryūken’s past, in the ebtr flashback, we get to see him in his youth, living at ishida manor with his mother, izumi, and masaki, who was taken in by the ishida family. we learn some very important things about ryūken’s past here- he and masaki are set to eventually marry and have children- not out of love, but for the sake of the future of quincies. (he also may or may not be her blood cousin. it’s a little unclear.) he knows that she does not want to marry him, but he is willing to do whatever he must in order to uphold the pure quincy lineage, something clearly impressed upon him and masaki by izumi. we also learn about the fact that sōken is not only not present for the arc, he’s more specifically unreachable- when masaki began to succumb to white’s bite, izumi told ryūken that no one was able to reach sōken, but kanae stated that he would be the best one to heal masaki’s injury. after hearing this, ryūken picked masaki up and fled with her to seek help, going against izumi’s orders to stay put in the manor, which was how he ran into isshin again, as well as kisuke.

taking all of this into account, we know that ryūken was getting pressured to marry masaki and have children with her in order to carry on the echt quincy lineage. we also know that his father was rarely around, his mother was incredibly strict, and considering his eventual marriage to kanae, a gemischt quincy, he was likely shunned by at least one, if not both, of his parents for failing to marry masaki. ryūken goes onto become a doctor, and eventual director of karakura town’s hospital, and he forsakes his quincy duties- all the while, his father, who wasn’t around in his own youth from what we see, is teaching and doting upon ryūken and kanae’s only son, uryū, training him in the quincy arts ryūken has chosen to ignore. we know that sōken gave uryū the sanrei glove before his death, and trained him about it- meaning sōken, in his teachings to uryū, purposely taught him what was already considered an archaic skill by the sternritters at the time of sōken’s exile from the wandenreich, that would result in the (as uryū understood it, meaning as he was taught,) permanent sealing of his powers, while uryū was still a very young child. in the act of uryū considering himself the last quincy before the reveal of ryūken still having his powers, that likely means that sōken is the one who impressed that understanding upon him, placing all his hopes and dreams of the future of the quincy, his own vision that was at odds with the sternritter, his dream of working together with shinigami- upon uryū. however, uryū’s understanding of sōken is that he was a kind man, a kind grandfather, who treated him kindly and taught him what his father told him to give up- but in my opinion, that sort of understanding of him as a grandfather doesn’t lend itself well to an explanation of how ryūken came to be known by us the readers- but it does if the sōken that ryūken knew growing up was more distant, more removed.

now, all of this leads to a conversation between ryūken and isshin that i’ll highlight a little bit later when i go through isshin’s background, but for now i want to focus on what ryūken says. after uryū escapes with kisuke to head to hueco mundo with ichigo and chad, ryūken is approached by isshin, who comments on ryūken not reading the letter uryū left him, with ryūken claiming he already knows what it says. they talk a bit, with ryūken saying he doesn’t care what uryū does with his powers now that he has them back, implying he knew all along uryū would never listen despite his demands. the discussion ends with isshin saying they’re both terrible fathers, and ryūken simply replies that isshin is worse- to which isshin agrees.

well, if i thought ryūken was going to be the shorter of the two, i’m now terrified for how long this one is going to get. conversely to how i approached ryūken’s, though, i’m going to start isshin’s where i left off with ryūken’s- with their conversation after their sons went off to hueco mundo together. in the bowels of karakura general hospital, isshin appeared knowing uryū had just left with ichigo, and revealing to ryūken that his shinigami powers had returned. their conversation hints to a closeness we won’t know the depth of for a while yet- ryūken calls isshin ‘kurosaki’, to which isshin complains that he never used to be so formal before. the two men then discuss ryūken reinstating uryū’s powers, with isshin commenting on the cold manner in which ryūken treats his son, essentially saying he’s not father of the year. ryūken then replies to isshin that of the two of them, isshin is worse, to which isshin agrees. now, i already talked a bit about my take on ryūken’s perception of that moment; ryūken considers himself, at least spoken out loud to isshin, to be the better of the two of them when it comes to parenting- ryūken, who has clearly established that while his goal is to protect his son, to keep him safe and prepared, he ultimately does not care (or at least acts as such) if uryū doesn’t understand his reasoning. he doesn’t care if uryū hates him for what he’s done. i truly think that, in ryūken’s mind, that’s what makes him the better of the two of them. conversely though, isshin is far above and beyond the better of the two when it comes to treating his children with love. (although, that isn’t always enough. he still has his faults, though i stand by him not being worse than ryūken.)

when we first meet isshin, he literally kicks ichigo in the face for showing up late to dinner, claiming there’s a hard rule in the kurosaki househould about what time dinner is at. ichigo explains about the child’s soul and the flowers, but isshin pays no mind- we learn, through conversation between yuzu and karin, that yuzu and isshin are unable to see souls the same way ichigo and karin can. (important to note- per the events of ebtr, this is not a lie; isshin, without his shinigami abilities and being bound to a gigai even after masaki’s death, prevented him from seeing hollows or souls alike. he still has all of his knowledge of them from his time as a shinigami, and through conversations with kisuke (we’ll get to that), but he truly cannot see them in this moment. the image we get of isshin is one of a father who is stern towards his oldest son, ichigo, while doting and affectionate towards his twin daughters, yuzu and karin, much to all his childrens’ chagrin; despite being a doctor, he dresses in strange, flamboyant outfits, puts clothespins on his face to try and make yuzu laugh, loves watching don kanonji’s show with yuzu, and has a massive memorial poster commemorating his deceased wife and mother of his children, masaki. we see the disparity in how isshin treats ichigo compared to the girls, constantly attacking or wrestling him, praising ichigo whenever he stops his attacks before they can land, while we see him have a more playful (and less abrasive) side with the girls- still as annoying a father as ever, but it’s clear it’s all in good humor and that while the kids may find it annoying, there isn’t any active hate.

now, there are clearly things that isshin has done that fall under that tally column of “bad dad”; allowing yuzu to step up while still a child to do things around the house like cooking meals and housekeeping, or the way he will simply not be home- normally its said he’s at a conference, but considering he never actually went to medical school, it does beg the question of where he’s always disappearing to. even when there aren’t explanations, even before he gets his powers back, he’s just not around in scenes that take place at the kurosaki household, which gives way to explain just why yuzu took it upon herself to step up and help out in the aftermath of masaki’s death. i’m not going to try and say that isn’t what happened, but again, like ryūken, there’s more to it than isshin simply being a neglectful father who doesn’t care about actually taking care of his kids.

from what we learn between conversations with kisuke and isshin following the second grand fisher fight, in the presence of kon, (although it’s worded to sound like isshin and kisuke haven’t actively spoken in the 18 years at that point since the events of ebtr), kisuke had theorized that the visoreds would reach out to ichigo at some point, and had warned isshin of it. isshin spouted some bizarre reiteration of who the visoreds were (which i’ve also written about prior), but he knew of the warning all the same. at the time of ichigo’s birth, even though he was no longer a shinigami, he still had the ability to sense reiatsu, even if he couldn’t see them. masaki was an echt quincy with hollow mixed in from white- both he and masaki were incredibly skilled shinigami and quincy regardless of how their lives changed during ebtr, and with the knowledge shared by kisuke (however brief or incorrect it might have been at times), it would have, no, should have been more than enough for both isshin and masaki to know that there would be danger for ichigo down the line. even without knowing all of sōsuke’s plans or monitoring, even without knowing about the fate that awaited masaki, or even the full-breadth of the fate that awaited ichigo- it’s very clear to me that contextually, they would have known how special he was and would become. just how do you tell your child that they may wind up facing a potentially cruel and dangerous world? ichigo was shown to be a very gentle, soft-hearted child, a crybaby who would stop his tears the moment he saw masaki picking him up from karate (brief speculation time, but with ichigo being enrolled in karate at the age of four, i feel like it was something isshin and masaki agreed upon in order to teach him how to defend and protect himself from a young age). 

we see in brief flashbacks of scenes of the kurosaki family before masaki’s death, and even in the moments when their family was happy and whole, isshin upheld the clownish behavior- although this does mesh with the isshin we were first introduced to in the series, this just as well fits in line with the isshin we learn about during ebtr and in his interactions with others following the regaining of his shinigami abilities; isshin may act like an idiot, but at the end of the day, he’s absolutely not. he isn’t conniving or secretive in the way kisuke is, and he isn’t malicious or acting with the intent to lead others astray- in ebtr, we see him acting like a goofball, avoiding paperwork, treating tōshirō like a child, and complaining about his dumpling going missing- however, the moment he hears about the naruki city deaths, he immediately sets out on his own for the world of the living. it doesn’t matter that he doesn’t have permission, or that as captain he should likely send someone else to check it out- in order to prevent the deaths of any more shinigami, he sets out immediately on his own. (almost sounds like someone else we know cough cough). after the fight with white, while injured and bleeding out, he smiles up at masaki after he saves her from white detonating- but when he returns to thank her later, despite having a second to try and joke upon saving ryūken from a hollow, he immediately turns serious again upon seeing masaki’s injury. when told by kisuke that the only way to even potentially save masaki’s life would come with the cost of losing his shinigami abilities, isshin agreed immediately. all of this goes to show that he tends to be the sort to act goofy in day-to-day stressful situations, like dealing with paperwork or his missing dumpling, even despite being a full captain and head of the shiba clan branch family- or in the case of learning masaki is a quincy, he puts on a broad smile in order to help calm her down given her frantic state over his injuries and panic over revealing her quincy status to him. he puts on goofy acts in order to diffuse simple tension or to make people smile when they’re upset, but he’s ultimately serious when it counts.

following masaki’s death, there’s no question the kurosaki family was hit hard by her loss, and as mentioned above, isshin clearly failed in a number of departments when it came to continuing to raise their kids in her absence. however, the one thing you cannot deny is how much he loves his kids. someone who is serious when it matters, yet acts funny to try and cheer others up- it only makes sense that he’d act goofy all the time in order to help keep his children from falling into despair. he made the anniversary of her death into a celebration, a day off for the family to hike together to the cemetery and spend the day with a picnic and playing games; he allows himself a private smoke away from the kids, just for masaki, and then they all head home. for any pain there, it’s overall a joyous occasion, a celebration of not just masaki’s life but the life of the kids they made and raised together. while ryūken turned clinical following kanae’s death, isshin turned to humor, choosing to raise the kids in as normal an environment as possible with him- of course, he attacked ichigo, but he’s stated it was in order to help hone ichigo’s senses and reactions- of course, he annoyed his daughters, but ultimately there was no doubt he loved them. he wasn’t keeping things from ichigo or the girls to leave them unprotected or clueless, but because in his own way, i think he saw that as an act of protection in its own right- the trouble, the danger, would come eventually; why not let them live normal lives until then? why burden any of his children with that knowledge?

the one thing as well that i’ll say for isshin is that ultimately, in a few instances, he falls victim to kubo’s plot. now, i’ve praised kubo for his plot many times, but there are things that had to be hidden away even if they didn’t necessarily make sense in the context of the story- isshin taking masaki’s name, us as readers not officially learning he was a shiba until the ebtr arc, all the hints about ichigo’s similar appearance to kaien- or isshin talking about the visoreds and mentioning supposed lore about them that was never mentioned before or since- isshin waiting two years after the events of the winter war in order to tell ichigo about masaki’s history as a quincy and his own quincy lineage, as well as his connection to white, isshin’s own history as a shinigami- readers can come up with storied reasons why isshin would keep quiet so long about these things, and could even use them to tally off more reasons why he’s a terrible father if they wanted, for hiding information from ichigo- but it’s ultimately because narratively, as a cohesive story, kubo wanted to keep those things secret not just from ichigo, but from us, the audience. ichigo, being our audience proxy, isn’t supposed to know those things yet, and therefore, we aren’t supposed to know either. in fact, if you really want to get into storied reasons, the reason isshin says he didn’t share prior to tybw is because that was when the time was finally right- referring to the words ichigo told him during the winter war; that he would listen whenever isshin’s heart was ready to share. those weren’t fluff words with no real intent or meaning behind them- ichigo specifically said that to isshin thinking of the fact that rukia said them to him first during memories in the rain, during the fight with grand fisher. ichigo held onto her words, took them to heart, and relayed that same intent to isshin. it wasn’t said with resentment or disdain, but with genuine adult realization that isshin was allowed to keep things hidden from him- just like he was allowed to keep things from rukia despite their deep friendship, even in such a short time. he had his reasons for not sharing things, and rukia recognized that- and ichigo recognized that same reasoning in isshin in that moment.

& URAHARA KISUKE'S … INCALCULABLE TRICKS!

i ordered this couch, but it popped, and now my kitchen is all wet and covered with wet stuff.

i need you. i need to care for you. it is the reason for my existence.

do you want to go on a date?

can you tell me how the book made you angry?

your life is about to change. hope you're ready.

let's go on a date right now.

trust me, this is going to go super well.

if everyone were friends, the world would be an awful lot safer in my opinion.

i've seen the complications of love. i've lived through the jealous quarrels of hate.

the true bond is one between two friends with none of the intricacies of romantic tension.

i like it much better up here where i can see your face.

hey there, stranger.

we've been sleeping together so many years, it would be a little weird if you didn't know me, don't you think?

it's a shame for someone as cute as you to be alone for so long, isn't it?

will you be bringing someone back here anytime soon?

i do hope you'll come talk to me. it'd be nice to finally get to know each other.

you've caught me at a strange time.

that's okay. i like being naked.

why are you here? what are you doing?

please, please... i'm not ready. not like this.

i've dreamed of this, of meeting you, finally... and now the moment is here, i... i just can't. not yet.

honestly, that's a objectively terrible password.

i get chills just thinking about it.

i would love to answer that for you, but the knowledge would no doubt drive you to madness.

can i be honest about something?

it's just that... before today, i had all these needs, but i couldn't articulate them to anyone.

you're quite the looker, aren't you?

i have had enough attention on me, thank you very much.

i can't say i'm looking for anything too serious right now.

i just want to see you live a little, that's all! stop watching life pass you by! enjoy yourself! kiss someone! kiss many someones!

my senses are heightened when i'm in a mood.

the physical connection between him and me... it is like nothing i have known before or since.

thank you, sincerely, for listening.

you're serious? you're not fucking with me?

do you, like me, enjoy celebrating at the altar of your own glorious form?

i knew i could count on you.

are you as excited as i am?

you are radiant.

i was thinking we could visit some very naughty websites together.

honestly, you're being super disrespectful.

we'll have to work on that enthusiasm.

get out. i've got work to do.

what brings you to the call of night?

i have been waiting in the abyss in search of a companion.

you? i always thought of you as a companion, someone who followed me around and gave me advice. cute, but expendable.

do you enjoy coming here?

i assume you brought your tools and knowledge and... probably a snack of some sort?

i am beside myself with happiness.

what can i do for you?

today was supposed to be my day off.

how much do you think about me?

for you, there is almost nothing i wouldn't do to help you relax.

to know that i'm giving you precisely the thing you want at that moment... oh, it fulfills me. it makes me whole.

as soon as i fulfill your command, your desire, i become the one with the power.

sometimes i cannot resist playing your sensation. just a bit. i am a craftsman and you are my clay.

now i have truly said too much.

i'd be lying if i said i wasn't just a little bit sweet on you.

some lines adjusted to fit; feel free to change pronouns, proper nouns, etc. as needed

" i'm alone on my throne. "

" what a coward king i've become. "

" this place is no home for anything, or anyone. "

" i remember the day i discovered the gray in the fable of your eyes. "

" what a wonderful surprise. "

" i know i should've stayed, but i just wasn't wired that way. "

" i'm too fucked up and too afraid. "

" i was standing at the edge of who i'd be, and where i'd been. "

" i've got a really funny way of not inviting the right ones in. "

" i think about it all the time. "

" imagine that. "

" what a life that might have been. "

" i know that there's a light at the end of my road. "

" i know that there's a story that's yet to be told. "

"DON'T FORGET. I'M WITH YOU IN THE DARK."

Observant  of  the  canon  timeline  with  certain  original  additions.  Mielelambda "Miele" Gattablanc,  Arrancar  OC,  member  of  the  Third Division  thanks  to  the  esablishment  of  the  the  Cooperative Arrancar Unit.

#HOLLOWNEKOMATA  -  indie,  semi-selective,  Bleach  OC  roleplay  blog,  attempted  by  Myell  (25,  she/her) :: 21+  and  mutuals  only.  OC,  AU  and  Canon  Divergence-friendly.  MINORS DNI.