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.  

The mysterious new girl , always surrounded by people or next to the orange-haired boy . It was as if she was light and we were darkness. 🤩🌸

Now it’s all ‘omg mean IR shippers who are bitter over their ship not being canon!! They are terrible people!!!’ and calling us us bullies when no, you weren’t there back then where there were daily d*ath th*ats and rude asks sent to us… Not to mention we were mainly angry at the way the ending was so rushed and poorly written. We didn’t even know whether I//sshin, R//yuken, G//rimmjow (AGAIN), U//rahara and Y//oruichi were still alive or not because it was never said IN THE MANGA (because we only got an answer in light novels years later but majority of people only read the manga, not the novels that are semi-canon at best). We were angry over U//rahara’s “forgive me, K//urosaki, K//uchiki, for leaving everything to you” was somehow forgotten and the final fight with I//chigo, R/ukia and U//ryuu (who had THE silver arrow) VS Y//hwach never happened. We were angry because C//had ended up fighting for profits (profesionnal boxing) and U//ryuu ended up alone (again), overworked and working as a doctor just like his father and that go against their character arcs. We were angry because there was a whole arc and hints in the final arc clearly showing how I//chigo didn’t fit in the human world anymore and yet stayed there in the end. We were angry because the Sokyoku, the symbol of S//oul S//ociety’s old ways and injustice that I//chigo destroyed, was REBUILT. We were angry because M//ayuri was still a Captain and not in jail for his crimes. We were angry because we loved and cared for the story and the ending went against the main and side characters’ arcs and against the s//hinigami’s new ideals represented by I//chigo and R//ukia. And yes, we were angry for the pairings too because it was so badly written but most of us were fine with an open ending or IR and ISH ending but the new ‘IR would be nothing without anime filler moments’ argument is so ridiculous because even if you only look at the manga, IR was great, developed and made sense. Weirdly enough, the ones repeatedly shouting that filler “argument” aren’t saying a word about R//ukia’s scenes getting changed/deleted in the anime rn despite being the  deuteragonist as if her erasure hadn’t been bad enough in the manga vers. of the final arc (same for B//yakuya scenes to a lesser extent)… But yes, our anger is mainly aimed at how poorly written the ending was, not only shipping-wise but in general. And now it’s irritating to see new fans act as if criticism that were there for a decade is not allowed towards the story or the mangaka.

While I’m watching the anime so far and I’m happy with the added scenes (especially the ones with U//ryuu concerning his heritage and the conflict he feels over the whole situation), I must say I don’t like how they deleted R//ukia scenes and B//yakuya scenes on purpose. I prefer the old characters designs as well and though and color palettes are now closer to the manga’s, the body proportions often look wrong (B//yakuya’s face, U//ryuu’s jaw to mention only a few exemples) and the lighting is horrible. I’m watching because I want to see EBTR, R//ukia’s bankai, U//nohana’s true self etc. but I do understand why fans who were in the fandom back then aren’t watching the anime or simply left the fandom given how we’re being treated and how some people are changing the narrative.

You got it all twisted thanks to orgs being all “the meanie IR fans were mean to us and that’s why they lost”

Like, I got death threats for a whole ass month in June-July 2016

I witnessed an I//H fan wishing that the unborn baby from a fellow IR shipped would die

Someone in the fandom here tried to take their own life after a series of death threats

The sheer racism of a Spanish I//H shipper who stole a Peruvian IR fan’s fanfic and who was blatantly racist towards her for being from Peru

The homophobia, the racism, the misogyny

I still remember how all IR shippers who were women were called ugly and unattractive and that we’d never get married

Hell, just a few days ago I noticed I got insulted

For what? I hadn’t said anything related to B//leach in months!

That got me to come back

And we’ll never forget the infamous “IR hall of fame”

Like, do you want the receipts? Check my blog

Check our blogs

Check the ones of us who’ve been here in this website since 2012 and later

Check the blogs from 2014-2017 for the receipts

Honestly, I don’t know what kinds of lies are spread ob Twitter and TikTok, they’re filled with toxicity anyway and filled with people who’ll start shit for anything so I’m not surprised the fandom side is the same, but, like if you’re a teen now, try to look for the actual and factual information

I//H shippers from yore are NOT innocent lambs

I’ve found them in other fandoms and oooh booooy

They bring the same shit in EVERY fandom

I’m just done with fandom babies believing lies

And btw, Bleach: The Hell Chapter? The I//H hug? The I//H holding hand scenes from the anime? NOT CANON. Kubo did NOT write them.

The novels? Kubo himself I//H started dating AFTER college. He said so on an interview because it’s not there in the manga

Y’all have the same like 5 panels over and over and say there are no IR scenes.

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