chill and relax

Black Butler 200 chapter event Redraw your first Black Butler piece with a twist

Original:

Alrighty, let’s talk about a lil’ something in fiction called:

Show, don’t tell.

This is basically the #1 piece of advice given to writers the world over, and I’m going to explain what it is and why it’s so very, very important.  

Let’s say our hypothetical story is about this young boy called Jack.  Jack is in love with his classmate Sarah and is struggling with his newfound feelings.  Consider the two following passages taking place during class and tell me which one you prefer:

Passage #1

As his teacher droned on, Jack began to think about Sarah.  He liked her very much.  In fact, he was beginning to suspect he was in love with her.  The sudden realization brought a blush to his cheeks and he willed himself to try and stop thinking about her.

Passage #2

As his teacher droned on, Jack’s mind began to go blissfully blank, cheek resting on his balled fist.  Two rows ahead, Sarah was yet again displaying her uncanny knack for filtering out the yawn-inducing waffle and focusing on the essence.  Her pen was flying over the pages of her notebook, a look of intense concentration in her eyes.

Her trademark hairband was missing today.  Every time she leaned too low over her desk, a curtain of glossy black hair would fall before her eyes and she would stop writing with a huff, hurrying to tuck it behind her ears and resume taking notes.  He was beginning to wish she would never wear that stupid headband ever again; there was something magnetic about the way her slim fingers would sweep past her cheek, about the little wrinkle in her brow, the purse of her plump, pink lips–

As though suddenly struck by electricity, Jack jolted upright in his seat and willed himself to shift his attention back to the lesson, feeling his ears burn. Fifth time this week, he chastised himself.  And he suspected it was only bound to get worse from now on.  Sarah’s very existence seemed to have become a detriment to his education as of late.

Crappy, hurried prose notwithstanding, I think the difference here is pretty glaring, don’t you?  And it’s not just about the word count. In the first example, I’m telling you Jack likes Sarah, and the passage is not only dry and lifeless, it’s insulting to you as a reader.  You don’t need to be coddled and have things explained to you like you’re five years old.  My job as a writer is to present the world and events of this story and allow you to draw your own conclusions.  By the time Jack admits to himself that he’s in love with Sarah, you, the reader, should be rolling your eyes at him and dryly going: “Oh really? We hadn’t noticed.”

In the second example, I’m showing you that Jack can’t stop thinking about her.  He’s not paying attention in class and he openly stares at Sarah, fixating on little things about her, using flattering words to describe her, noticing her behavior in class.  This implies that he’s been watching her closely for a while now, and this shows you that he’s interested in her.  I don’t have to actually spell it out for you and use the literal words ‘he likes her’: the story itself is already screaming that loud and clear.

You see where I’m going with this?

Show

Don’t tell

It’s perfectly true that both pairs were teased a lot.  But when it came to people teasing Ichigo about Rukia, it was backed up by mutual past signs of attraction and affection, whereas in Orihime’s case, there’s just people screaming at Ichigo to notice the sweet, beautiful girl who’s pining after him.  And both those things are true, Orihime is a lovely girl, but Ichigo shouldn’t have to be pestered by third parties to pay attention to her, he should be doing it on his own.

THIS is why people are frustrated and confused.  Because we were SHOWN, over and OVER again that there was something between Ichigo and Rukia, and then right at the end, we were TOLD that nope, there was actually something between Ichigo and Orihime.  

You said it yourself, didn’t you, anon?

I admit that rukia was heavily teased with ichigo but from a certain point (from chapter 520 or so) it vanished

Your word choice is on point: it vanished.  It wasn’t phased out, it wasn’t explained, it simply evaporated into thin air, got swept under a rug, and people were expected to pretend like it never existed in the first place.  After FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY chapters, going by your count.  That’s more than 75% of the story. 

And you wonder why people were upset and still believed the endgame would play out differently?  

You don’t have to like IchiRuki, or any pairing for that matter.  Shipping is, by and large, a matter of personal preference.  But IchiRuki was right there, in the manga, whether Kubo intended it or not.  Hell, it’s actually even worse if he never intended it.  Because this most definitely is a Thing that Happens: stories and characters that have been around long enough evolve.  They grow a life and mind of their own and they start to get away from you (you, as in the writer).  The question is whether you will go with the flow or stick to an old plan that may or may not have a foot to stand on anymore.  

This is why I said that Kubo’s biggest problem was the chemistry between Ichigo and Rukia.  Even if he intended for Ichigo to end up with Orihime from the very first chapter (which, like I’ve repeatedly said, I don’t find hard to believe), he didn’t put in the time to show Ichigo’s side, not until the very end, and even then, it was far too lackluster for my taste.  It’s the same with Renji and Rukia.  I never once doubted Renji loved Rukia, just like I never once doubted Orihime loved Ichigo.  But Kubo only ever developed one side of those pairings, while he went to great pains to highlight a mutual bond between Ichigo and Rukia.  And when he saw the end looming on the horizon, he pulled the plug abruptly.

See, it doesn’t matter if he intended for their bond to be purely platonic or not.  The fact that he felt he had to physically separate them and dial their interaction down to zero proves that he was well aware their relationship was becoming a problem for what he had in store for the end.  

I grew up like any other kid listening to stories about princes saving princesses whether by lip raping them or killing some dragons. Then, the guy takes the girl back home as if he did her a favor by saving her life and she doesn't have any other choice but to fall in love with him.

My ten-year-old self found this kind of fairytale ending dubious but thought that this conclusion could make sense in Bleach case : Rukia and Ichigo geniusly enjoyed each other's companionship. If she comes back to the real world, she is not doing him a favour. She was happy with him.

I was as shocked as Ichigo when Rukia decided to stay in Soul Society.

Rukia who looked sad didn't help my confusion. Her sorrowful expression shows that she was aware that Ichigo wanted her to go back with him and she expected him to be sad by her decision.

Basically, my ten year old self didn't know how to respond to this drama. The only thing that came to my mind was : why ? what do you mean? please explain? weren't you happy ?

But before I could voice any of my concern, Ichigo answered her and I made the same suprised face that Rukia did

And that was the moment when Ichigo has become a true hero for me.

It was not when he fought several captains or when he won against 3 lieutenants with bare hands reaching his potentials as a shonen protagonist

It was the moment he decided not to burden Rukia with his feelings.

He taught my ten-year-old self that love whether it is romantic or platonic, should be unconditional.

Love is supporting whatever decision the person you love makes as long as it makes her happy .

Love is about accepting the individuality of the person you love and cherish every side of him even when you can't fully understand his mindset.

The grace that Ichigo displayed for Rukia which equally mirror hers

when she offered her unconditional time to listen to every one of his burdens.

That's why, I will never accept that this manga was intended to end with the conclusion of who por*ked whom and the products of the por*king meeting then that's it. It isn't about which couple is supposed to f.

It's about being certain that what I felt at that moment when I was ten was real .

The love I felt for Bleach and the love that Ichigo's response inspired me were real.

So open up your arms, spread them wide Nothings gonna hold me back this time I'll be waiting for you all my life Counting down the minutes till tonight Open up your heart, let me in Let the love finally begin Cuz I'll be waiting for you all my life Counting down every minute until tonight