Bleach 305 and End of the Year Fic Recs

[http://users.livejournal.com/_debbiechan_/]

There's a Basement Scans 305 out over at Mangahelpers here.

I love you Kubo Tite! (yeah, so what else is new?)

The artwork was gorgeous and the pacing, as has been the case for recent chapters, was efficient and cinematic. In this chapter particularly Kubo enlivened a bunch of expositionary text (oh mad scientists, you guys sure can talk!) but unlike with Aizen's speeches at the end of SS, Kubo gave Mayuri and Szayel's soliloquies very dramatic visuals. The Christ imagery, which has already been fairly controversial on Bleach forums ( one forum flat out stopped any threads that brought the subject of sacrilege) in the West, probably doesn't make Eastern audiences bat an eye, but I'd be interested in hearing from some of my friends if that's true. There are Christians in Japan too--I just don't know how sensitive they are.

As far as I see it,  some resurrection stories were alluded to, period, and an inversion/desecration/Kubo flip of the resurrected diety was personified in Szayel who is duly crucified in this chapter. I expect to see him back for Easter, though. He's been put on temporary hold, I suspect. Like Ulquiorra, he was hogging the all the glory and fangirls. Now the long-awaited Ken and Nnoi battle and after that who knows how this HM arc is going to turn? Are we nearing resolution? Will Ulqui capture Hime again? Maybe team Hitsugaya and Matsumoto need to make an appearance (ah! Some GinRan interaction might service the plot as well as the fans?)

AND NOW FOR FIC RECS!

laurie_bunter  is a wonderful, smart and funny writer who doesn't post her stuff around that much so here I am to pimp her latest. Twas I who prompted her to write it, and I am thrilled I did so because the Bleach fandom needs more Shunsui/Nanao:

Boxing Day, T/M, by laurie_bunter

Oh, and in case you don't know, jaina  finished her wildly entertaining IchiRuki not long ago and you can find complete links here:

Setting Sun, Rising Moon, PG by jaina


jaina also just made a super-list of 2007 Bleach "Must Read" fics and there were a few lovely fics on her list I'd missed! I considered making my own fic rec list  for the end of the year, but I'm lazy and depressed just now, so I'm going to rec her list instead---not just because three stories of mine are on it (I think she's got very good taste XD and I thank her for reminding me I can write actual stories without any smut by listing them) but because all the stories are this list are WORTHWHILE READS:

Jaina's (mostly Bleach fanfic) 2007 Must Read List

If someone's got some spectacular Bleach fic enjoyed in the past year to rec, please link the fic in a comment to this thread. It was a fairly stellar year--the fandom exploded in size and writers got busy. Just for a quick pimp--a stroll through the archives of   bleach_flashfic   will turn up lots of gems.

Comments

[mezzo-marinaio.livejournal.com]

I love your new icon, you know? ^^

And as for Szayel... I haven't gone to see the spoilers yet. Did Kubo pull another Ulquiorra? -_- My God, it's like a reverse hammer space - in most manga things get pulled out of nowhere, here people keep disappearing into nothingness until they are of some use again.

Ulquiorra has probably fallen asleep by now, the poor thing. -_-

Gaah, I have nothing against Szayel in particular, but really, I wouldn't want to get used to plot development again only to have everything interrupted by the mad scientist AGAIN.

PLEASE, Kubo! ;_; Have mercy on our poor souls!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_debbiechan_/]

I want Szayel to return. *evil laugh*

Ulquiorra asleep cracks me up. There needs to be more fanfic written about his adventures in caja negacion.

Szayel and Ulqui were just too sexy for the plot. Grimmjow too.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_debbiechan_/]

icon, btw, gratis of grass_angel. It was a quote from some forum that made me laugh so she offered to make an icon out of it for me. "It's like he's doing it on PURPOSE" is my war-cry for Kubo's authorial intent! XD

[grass-angel.livejournal.com]

*snickers over reverse hammerspace*
Between that and the sugar cube of doom, I think I've got enough phrases to cover all disappearances.

Although deus ex machina still applies to the Rescue-the rescue-team team.

[laurie-bunter.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Oh thanks for the pimping. I was going to post it here, myself, but I was waiting for more editorial corrections first. :) But since it's now worthy of pimping I will cross-post it now to ff and MM. Heh.

And Jaina's recs are just lovely, so many fics I've never read before. The Byakuya-Yachiru one is pure love. It's hard to find fics of my favorite crack pairing.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_debbiechan_/]

Ah, there's another one--a really brilliant one somewhere on bleach_flashic but my end of the year catatonia isn't allowing me to look for it now. I remember when everyone used to pair grown-up Yachiru with grown-up Hitsugaya but HER LOVE FOR BYAKUSHI IS CANON! <3

Pimp! Pimp! kurosaki_clinic is another good place for ff and art. Sometimes I just go through the archives on slow afternoons and something always turns up.

[orin.livejournal.com]

Ever read ‘Frozen Sky’? It’s my favourite Bleach fic. Linkylinky... (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2875726/1/Frozen_Sky)

Yes, it focuses on Hitsugaya but oh, trust me, it does this and provides insight into every character he comes across as it does so. And you must have read it! XD; And it gets him –down-. Not only that but it gets inside-his-head down. And his past… Well.




Bear in mind this fic- and this piece- was written back in early 06. Long before Tite's recent chapter on Hitsugaya. Which makes me love it all the more now.
You MUST have read this one. >.>;

[http://users.livejournal.com/_debbiechan_/]

Not a huge Hitsugaya fan here but I HAVE heard of this fic! I wanted to read it. So now I must read. Thank you for the link!!!

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

I already cause a stir in Capslocks Bleach and I stir here too: Szayelsus in Mayurigypt (http://deathlike.livejournal.com/1062289.html), in case anyone wants to read. Just a reminder, is spoilers to recent chapters. Don't blame me, if you can't stand being spoiled.

In terms of Japan, they toss in every religion and mythologies there is and make it work. Apparently, it works judging from this current arc. Is nothing new in my books for being an anime junkie and all. I think I watch way too much Tokusatsu and Anime to begin with.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_debbiechan_/]

Thanks for the link! I'd missed that. capslock_bleachmoves so fast.

Yeah, that's what I figured. Most manga and anime are chock full of world mythology and Kubo has this pretty consistent life/death/rebirth theme going on so I don't know why the Christ imagery was taken to be shocking by some people.

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

Because some people feel offended and take it too seriously in what they belief in based on said religion. Hello this is South East Asia and Japan. I guess is only America that take it too seriously in that case. The creator, characters and Szayel has a knack for that kind of a peculiar satire.

[spanky-o.livejournal.com]

I've been itching for some GinRin interaction. I mean, it would be a bowl of Awesome-O's, really.

[emlan.livejournal.com]

I really don't think we'll see him "return" again...Even if he does, he'd just be a vegetable.

Also how do you even manage to browse bleachforums half of the people there are obviously not even reading the same manga LOL whenever I go there to check for spoilers I have to avert my eyes from reading any posts.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_debbiechan_/]

A vegetable or EVER SUPER FRICKEN INSANE FROM THE PAIN AND MORE EVIL THAN BEFORE!

I'm a masochist for forum community. Lurked on them for years. I pretty much avoid all of the Bleach ones except for BA now, though. Naruto Forums can still pull me in by virtue of its uber insanity.

[jaina.livejournal.com]

BA strikes me as slightly less insane than its predecessor BF. Though it's possibly I'm just getting better at sifting through for the worthwhile content.

[andrew-jp.livejournal.com]

Whether or not Szayel comes back to life, the mad scientist battle was really interesting. It's certainly gotten me anticipating the inevitable Urahara/Kurotsuchi fight more than before.

[xilvrin.livejournal.com]

I vote for some GinRan too! that's one of my Bleach OTPs. and there's so much tension to work with there.

(I also vote for someone to rescue/heal Uryuu and Renji already dammit!)

I can understand putting Szayel under lock and key for a while... he was distracting. When there's a cannibalistic pretty-pink-haired mad scientist tentacle-raping bloody-angel fluttering about, who can pay attention to anything else?

Though now, good old fashioned sword fighting like we'll see from Noit/Ken will seem bland in comparison.

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

Old fashion sword fighting is never bland. Scientists of the Hueco Mundo, Mayuri being Captain Jack Sparrow and Szayel Aporro being Davy Jones. I go away now and I think I just created a mad imagery of sorts (laughs hysterically).

[xilvrin.livejournal.com]

Except Mayuri is into stuff a lot stronger than Rum. That guy's into some hard drugs (oh sure, he may call them poisons or potions or elixris, but we all know what it really is). For evidence, look at how his eyes roll around in his head. *laughs*

[chappy-bunny-15.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one who doesn't see the imagery with Szayel? I'm Christian, and even though I should be sensitive to it, I really wouldn't make the connection. I still don't. They are WAY too different for me to be offended and jump to conclusions.

[jaina.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you, sweets <3 And happy new year!