We might have early spoilers this week. This isn’t completely unprecedented, as it has happened once before in the time I’ve been following Bleach (I’m discounting the holiday period), and the numbers behind the tricode are definitely Ohana’s – which is really the reason I’m posting this. There is some suspicion about the spoiler, however. ‘Ohana’ has contributed some spoilers for Naruto that apparently seem unlikely, and the 2ch Japanese fans think it’s likely a fake. Plus, and this is just my own observation, the spoiler isn’t written in the same style we usually see from Ohana.

That said, apparently the numbers after the tricode cannot be faked. However, I’m still only giving this a 50% chance of being true. Let’s talk for now as though it is and have fun with it just in case it IS true.

( possible spoilers for Bleach chapter 292 )

Titles for some upcoming Bleach episodes have been released.

There be spoilers behind the cut ...

( titles for upcoming episodes )

Yes, I know the manga is as ugly as sin. However, I went through a couple of backache nights were I watched a whole host of Shikamaru episodes based simply on a fanfic_rants post. While most of the series doesn't interest me, Shikamaru and some of the minor characters are really rather awesome.

However, I can't find any good Shikamaru fics. How can this be? He's the type of character who really should attract introspective and interesting fics. He's got hidden depths and complex relationships, and his evolution over the course of the series is pretty damn awesome. He's got his own fair share of angst, and the idea that Naruto actually has a legitimate (although unlikely) competitor for the position of hokage is a really interesting direction for the series to take. If the fandom didn't have much of a fanbase because of poor quality of the art, I'd understand. But it's a bigger fandom that Bleach AND Shikamaru was a pretty main character for a while! The lack of awesome fic makes no sense!

So, my dear wonderful friends. Surely someone amongst you has braved this series before and has some pretty Shikamaru links for me?

Wow. I took a sleeping tablet at about 9am yesterday morning because I'd been up all night with a heavy headache that would not lift, and it's now 9.30am ... the following day. Sleeping tablets do not usually knock me out quite that badly, although I've probably got to stop using them as pain killers when I stumble across a headache that normal painkillers won't take the edge off of.

Of course, while I was asleep I missed everything that happened on Bleachness. However, that's probably not a bad thing. I've decided to just defriend the community and be done with it. Since pretty much all the news and information is lifted from Bleach Asylum I won't miss out on that aspect of the community, and I gave up on most of the essays a long time ago. Pretty much all the things I would want (but generally don't get) from Bleachness I'm lucky enough to get here, anyway, thanks to my amazing friendslist and your analytical and interesting insights into Bleach.

The latest poll pretty much signaled what I'd believed from the start - Debbie doesn't get it. She really doesn't. She chooses a method of feedback that cannot be used by anon commentators even though half the criticism leveled at the community has concerned how the atmosphere of the community is one that makes some people uncomfortable about contributing/commenting under their own user IDs.

She uses wording that puffs up her and her friends instead of the type that was used by people who were complaining - of course she would describe the appalling, obnoxious and rude behavior that appears on the community and in that subset of fandom (because it stretches past Bleachness) as 'snobby'. Snobby implies only good things in this context, because these people come out and say quite openly that they think they and their theories are better than others.

Everything in that community is always someone else's fault.

To be brutally honest, Debbie herself has participated in or clearly ignored the exact type of behaviors that I pointed out in my response. That was made abundantly clear in the way she would state that such behavior didn't exist in response to my post while being rude and obnoxious to an anon who had posted in the thread at the exact same time. It probably shouldn't come as a surprise then that she doesn't identify that behavior as problematic.

Buh. That's how she wants the community to be. She made that very clear. And, that's fine. It is her community, and while it sucks that one of the more active communities in Bleach fandom is focused around the interests of the owner and subset of friends, that's certainly not forbidden. It is not, however, how I like my communities run. Additionally, if people complain about the nature of the community, she has much less of a leg to stand on because the atmosphere etc represent what she wants.

In the end, the cons outweigh the pros when it comes to the community, and I honestly don't think that's likely to change anytime soon. So, I'm out. Given how long the community has been frustrating me, I probably should have done so weeks ago.

Edit: What I will miss is the opportunity to meet some fabulous people, because there are some wonderful, sane and fun people on that community. Hopefully, I'll bump into them elsewhere.

Raws and translations are out, and so another post is made. Hmm. Does this annoy people too much, the fact I tend to make two posts per chapter instead of just editing the previous one? It's just that if I did that I feel as though the new information might be missed...

( more spoilers, more spoilers, horrah! )

Spoilers behind the cut. The scanlations might be out later this week, as mangastream is no longer getting the raws from the same person. Well, it was good while it lasted!

( spoilers for chapter 391 )

Thoughts and content for the latest chapter behind the cut. That ... is rather obvious, and yet I still say it every time. I think it's something about leaving a blank couple of lines above the cut that just seems a little weird...

( Spoilers for chapter 390 behind cut )

The cover for the Kazeshini and Shuuhei Breathless collection is out.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/images/B002XAZQHM/ref=dp_image_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=561956&s=music

The zoom is great, as it goes from fuzzy to perfect quality in only a few seconds. I will not lie, Shuuhei is so gorgeous in the picture that not zooming in on his face would be criminal.

A larger pic (without zoom abilities, but it's rather large) can be found here:
http://bleachasylum.com/threads/11525-Bleach-Rare-%28or-hard-to-find%29-Scans-v2?p=2070804&viewfull=1#post2070804

As for the migraine ... pft. It hung around for longer than I thought but I seem fine now. Which is good, since I have an important conference phone call in an hour and a half and I'm nervous enough as it is.

I am really rather drugged up to my eyeballs, however this is the first time in a couple of days that I've felt even vaguely like connecting with the world, so that has to be a good thing, right? This is the problem with being a migraine sufferer, the stupidest of things can set it off. Yesterday? I used a different conditioner on my hair in the morning. BANG. Instant migraine.

While various things can trigger my migraines, smell is what I'm most sensitive to, and for some reason the smell of the conditioner set me off this time. The worst thing is, no matter how many times you try and wash the damn stuff out, the smell seems to stay...

Now that it's downgraded into just a headache (no more throwing up, yay!) I mostly just feel blurry and drugged up. I maaay just have taken a little bit over the recommended dosage of painkillers in the last 48 hours *coughs*. I've never understood the whole 'hyped up on pain killers' trend in fan fiction, because when I hit the point where I've taken too many I just get a bit pouty and bitchy.

The spoilers (as well as some LQ raws) are out for the chapter.

( spoilers for Bleach chapter 389 )

The insanely talented Gypsy has written an incredibly sensual, intimate, and smile-inducing fic that took my breath away so frequently that I may have done permanent damage to my lungs.

The story was originally supposed to be only 100 words (and I've long forgotten what happened that actually made me tell Gypsy she had to write it for penance), but it developed into a really gorgeous piece that has lovely characterisation as well as breath stopping moments hinted at above ^_^

Link to the first of four parts (the links to the other chapters can be found on the page):
http://gypsygrrl420.livejournal.com/10346.html?#cutid1

Spoilers for the today's episodes, in which there were a couple of moments of awesomeness. I always approve of awesomeness, but sometimes it comes at a cost...

( BLEACH 254 spoilers )

This writing block is driving me absolutely insane. It's almost been two months since I've written anything new - the Kensei/Shuuhei letter doesn't count because it was 95% done when I picked it up again. I have a ridiculous amount of ideas, but ... nothing to show for it. At all. Even amazing prompts from other isn't helping, it's the writing process that isn't working at the moment.

Tch. Not a happy fanfic writer.

xglimpsex and I had the following conversation this fine evening:

Cairnsy: *strikes pose*
xglimpsexx: Lol
xglimpsexx: Everytime you say that I picture Kazeshini in a dress.
xglimpsexx: And instead of scythes he's holding big daisies.

I, naturally, demanded that she provide some pictorial basis for this so that I could determine if her assertion had any factorial basis.

The result was - for lack of a better word - glorious.

And yes, this is totally what I look like when I strike a pose.

( Kaze-Kaze-Shini )

This is very late, and should have been linked to last night, however I got a leeetle bit distracted.

http://mangastream.com/read/bleach/388-27/2

( Bleach 388 - spoilers )

Chapter spoilers are out! Scanlations should be up in 6-7 hours, I think? Before I get up, but more in line with everyone else's time zones, I think!

( spoilers for Bleach 388 )

It seems far too long since we've had any canon material to play with. Manga spoilers will be out in about 9 hours, but until then we have a new anime episode!


( spoilers for BLEACH 253 )

Title: Letters.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Kensei writes Shuuhei a letter (for the letter challenge). Kensei/Shuuhei, implied Tousen/Shuuhei. Implied dub-con.

Notes: This ficlet would not have been possible without xglimpsex, who pretty much wrote the entire third paragraph (I … moved a couple of words around, that is the extent of my contribution to that part of the ficlet). This has been sitting unfinished for some time largely because I couldn’t write that paragraph, so all blame for this fic officially lies with xGlimpse.


( Look kid, we need to talk )

The amazing ravens_rising is hosting a very fun BLEACH fic-a-thon. This is crack fic at it's very best: BLEACH characters in the Harry Potter universe.

Did Kensei save chibi!Shuuhei from Death Eaters as a child?

Are the Arrancar a rival Quidditch team from another school?

Would Kenpachi make the scariest Head Boy ever, and the 12th division the scariest Quidditch team ever?

Does Tousen secretly hate all wizards and plans to destroy them all from within the walls of Hogwarts?

Ravenclaw? Gryffindor? Slytherin? Hufflepuff?

Come on, you know you want to ;)


(ficlets, drabbles, art all welcome - as well as requests for ficlets, drabbles, and art!)