There's Something About Masaki

[retro_eidas]

Since this topic got lost in a mountainous discussion (::waves at mrs_urahara, compatriot in the madness::) in the last post (starting about here, more or less), I'm making an all new shiny post. Rah!

i BET the (Quincy genocide) story he gives to RUkia about what happened is not the REAL story.

Or it's not the complete story or it's told in half-truths. It is still possible the Quincy's actions - namely their stubborness - might have brought on the apocalypse as per the "official" explanation seems to dictate. Then again, that's not to say the Soul Society might not have also had other motives for wanting the Quincy exterminated (per our numerous speculations). Unfortunately, with the more I see of Soul Society (and how negligent, incompetent, over-confident and/or corrupt some sectors are), the more likely I think that may be the case.

Hell, we can't be totally sure how much of that "official" explanation (Quincy's obstinance forced the Shinigami into the extermination) is the truth in the first place. All there seems to be is the Shinigami word for it (The Quincy living now may also not have any other version of the story besides the one the Shinigami themselves have been told). It does seem very fishy. Negotiation was *that* impossible? The Shinigami couldn't have lowered the Quincy spiritual powers? I just find it hard to believe there was absolutely no other way besides genocide.

It would not surprise me that Isshin may have had something to do with it.

I kind of see him possibly something like Roy Mustang back then faced with the orders to murder Winry's parents... Isshin, so devastated by his "orders", he could barely deal with it. However, possibly unlike Roy, Isshin may not have been able to go through with his orders, or at least not try to do something to make up for what he did, even if he did go through with them. I do see Isshin as the rebellious type and he may have tried to save some of the Quincy, under the radar of his supervisors.

Also, if Masaki is indeed a Quincy or Quincy-descendant and Isshin likely knew it... he may have married her - apart from being in love with her, I do think he was - to get revenge against Central 46. If he was a Shinigami during the Quincy massacre and strongly opposed that decision... Isshin eventually marrying/procreating with a Quincy, he was doing the very thing his former supervisors feared the most (and they would have no idea at all their worst fear was coming true).

Of course, very hypotethetically speaking here... if there was a prophecy (as Yoshino might be hinting in ep71)... this hypothetical prophecy basically stating that the result of combining Quincy/Shinigami powers would eventually lead to the destruction of either Soul Society or Central 46? That prophecy seems to have come true. Central 46 has been destroyed. Except it wasn't actually Ichigo (aka, in theory, the physical result of a Quincy/Shinigami procreation and likely what Central 46 was most afraid of) who destroyed Central 46.... it was Shinigami, Aizen (aided by Gin and Tousen), who wanted the Hogyoku - and total power - for himself. What is the Hogyoku, per our theories? It's a creation of Urahara's that by combining Shinigami and Quincy powers releases Hollow abilities. Which means Central 46's extermination of the Quincy 200 years ago was apparently for nothing.... they *were* destroyed anyway AND due to a Quincy/Shinigami mixing, but *not* the mixing they were expecting.

However, it's also ironic, Aizen made his move on Central 46 upon the advent of Ichigo - the natural Hogyoku (in theory) - invading Soul Society. So, one could say, Ichigo *and* the Hogyoku announced the prophecied downfall of Central 46. Ichigo's appearance distracted the Shinigami and thus gave Aizen the time he needed to finalize his plans in taking the Hogyoku. Aizen wouldn't have been able to do what he did *without* Ichigo (and Rukia meeting Ichigo, thus Urahara gave her that gigai and the embedded Hogyuko inside it, etc etc). Ichigo and the Hogyoku... both the keys to this (hypothetical) prophecy and downfall of Central 46.

Just a few more random crack specs on Masaki-the-Quincy, but in my last post I included some visuals contrasting/comparing Ichigo's spirit power with (the known Quincy, apart from Ryuuken) Uryuu's. For redundancy, here they are again (and I just love posting pictures of pretty boys in my LJ)...

Now rewatching the eps of the Kurosaki ritual of visiting Masaki's grave and Ichi first fought the Grand Fisher (aka, murderer of his mother). Masaki's memories / spirit come forth (something about the Grand Fisher honoring her last wishes or something like that?)... I noticed something...

Now isn't *that* a lovely shade of blue? Reminds me all too much of Uryuu's furious blue streams of spirit power facing Mayuri.

It could certainly and have solely been a mother's love and steadfast desire to protect her offspring that spurned Masaki to do what she did. There doesn't necessarily have to be anything supernatural about it outside of perhaps keen intuition... but seemingly knowing Ichigo was in danger? So much so she threw herself onto him down a cliff, protecting him? And there is implication enough that Masaki seemed to know exactly why Ichigo was in danger (from a Hollow, aka, the Grand Fisher). If I recall, the Grand Fisher also seemed to target those (mostly women) of particularly high spiritual power... and Masaki was especially delicious. I do think Masaki was indeed all human, but if she were a (non-practicing) Quincy... that would indeed still make her human, just with supernatural abilities and a reiatsu well beyond the average human.

It could have also been a (normal human) mother's last wishes that manifested itself in the above cap to protect her son and give him a final goodbye ... or the fallback of all Quincy that apparently ever were - to the point of pathology, the way Mayuri made it sound - "By the Pride of the Quincy, I will not condone that." A mother's love... and an inherent Quincy Pride.... that kept Masaki (or her spirit) from being used - as so many Quincy were used and subjegated by Mayuri under his Ashisogi Jizou to torture/hurt each other - to hurt her only beloved (half Quincy) son? I'll say again, that is a lovely shade of blue.

Also, as I wondered repeatedly in the last post, I do wonder if 2661 Quincy tortured and mutilated by Mayuri just happened to breeze right under the Central 46 radar for 100 years. This is the same group that apparently took much hard deliberation on the eventual Quincy genocide 200 years prior the start of the events in ep1 ... or they weren't as clueless about it as it's been eluded. One way or another, it doesn't paint Soul Society in a very pleasant light at all. First there's the genocide which (supposedly) there was just *no* other way around and then this prolonged Mayuri Quincy-torturing. Seems pretty outrageous to me.

Is there something here? Maybe... but certainly nothing definitive (I suppose we wouldn't know for certain unless we started getting more hints from Masaki and/or Yuzu suddenly takes an acute interest in Kyudo or spouts long, overly dramatic diatribes facing cowardly enemies while glowing blue in a fab.u.lous becruxed outfit). Of course, maybe this is just me and my insane Ichigo-as-Kubo's-interpretation-of-Nephilim kick. Don't mind me.

All screencaps courtesy of Soul Society.

In addendum, I was just rewatching ep7 and a few more things came to my attention...

The design of Ichigo's duvet which I'm surprised I hadn't noticed before...

Did Ishida break into the Kurosaki clinic we don't know about, Quincyfying Ichigo's room? Allbeit it's not the most accurate portrayal of the Quincy cross (normally, blue cross against a white background), it seems to be the opposite of it actually (white cross against a blue background).

Incidentally, ep7 is also the ep we get the first inklings behind what happened to Ichigo's mother (in Ichi's words, she didn't die, she was "killed"). It's also the very first ep we ever see the (current) one and only Quincy in (anime) canon, Ishida (doing, *sighs*, needlepoint).


So one definitive Quincy connection in Ishida in his first appearance, another possible in Ichigo's duvet and where the speculations are concerned... also the first ep we get some answers about Ichigo's deceased, elusive mama, Masaki (the secret Quincy?). This ep immediately proceeds the miniarc of the Kurosakis visiting Masaki's grave.

Comments

[eido.livejournal.com]

i thought it was weird too how Ichigo's quilt is the opposite of the QUincy outfit.

And, you know, a lot of folks discuss the seemingly prevalent Quincy trait of self-sacrifice and all their messianic / Christ parallels. Thus a lot of folks have Ishida-kun understandably marked for death... yet looking at that screencap above from ep7, it really does make me wonder (the cross, his arms splayed out like that, the towel over his eyes looks like a blindfold). Then again, in that I do spec Ichigo being half-Quincy... that could easily be where that self-sacrificing/messianic trait comes from. ;)

I'd also been wondering, if Ichi is indeed half-Quincy, that may explain his ever-increasing surges of power (often when he seems to be at his weakest and/or he's about to lose). Quincy and Shinigami are essentially opposites to each other regarding spiritual power... one takes it from the external (Quincy), the other from internal (Shinigami). Could Ichi be doing both? Ichi is both a massively powerful Shinigami, c/o inheriting his father's massive power.... yet he can also possibly render his opponents weaker by draining their spiritual power (c/o abilities inherited from his mother), but this ability only comes forth unconciously and in utter desperation (when the battle is nearly lost)? His opponents not even realizing their spirit power is being drained... so as the battle rages on, Ichi makes his opponent weaker while he gets stronger and stronger? However, the balance between Shinigami and Quincy abilities is still too unstable in Ichi... and thus in some of those desperate circumstances, the Hollow in Ichi comes forth?

IF, of course, that's a Hollow at all and not some other being. I'd had wondered if Anti-Ichigo may not be a Hollow (or if he is, he's not a Hollow in the truest sense), but something like a Hollow-puppet. A creation of Ichigo's subconscious to hide his Quincy power-draining abilities? To an opponent, Anti-Ichigo feels and looks in every sense like a Hollow, but in reality he's merely a distraction? Anti-Ichigo emerges with a wild, unpredictable, powerful fighting style... unsettling the opponent so much they don't realize their reiatsu is being drained? Thus if they survive Anti-Ichigo... they're still - entirely unknowingly - rendered considerably weaker due to Ichi's secret Quincy reiatsu-draining abilities?

[mrs-urahara.livejournal.com]

"Thus a lot of folks have Ishida-kun understandably marked for death.."
--say that is not so! i don't think kubo-san will let one of the fangurl charaters die. neh?
so help me, if Utikake kicks it...just because of his "tuberculosis"...so help me......

"...However, the balance between Shinigami and Quincy abilities is still too unstable in Ichi... and thus in some of those desperate circumstances, the Hollow in Ichi comes forth?"
--hmmm...all your speculations could be true. Yet, if you remember, when ichi was fighting that Menos Grande, he got this power surge he could not control, and the only one who could DRAIN his power was Uryuu. SO, i think that if he were half quincy there would be a constant draining of his reiatsu, neh? either that, OR because he has not "awakened" his quincy side...he does not have something to stabilise the energy.
i would just figure that being half-quincy would naturally be akin to Kenpachi's "patch" that constantly drains his reiatsu, because he has so much it is uncontained. If ichigo were a quincy, it would, conceivably drain his too. and maybe, it's when he DISCARDS the quincy side of himself that he has those power surges.

hmmmm....