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Abstract When the world's greatest spy meets the woman of his dreams, he abandons his adventurous existence and settles into the security of suburbia Genre Action Drew Mylrea Runtime 1 h 33 Minute Dave Sheridan. Let's say you had a magic wand to alter Bleach, dictating changes to Kubo from the outset as if you were an editor, or just a muse in the back of his mind. Think of it as having a say in the series' second draft. I trust that this has been a much-visited topic on here, but I can't resist broaching it for a spot of fun. To be completely honest, I have OCD, became fixated on Bleach for the past week and this is the only way for me to scratch the itch and move on. I want to be clear that I love Bleach, enjoyed it throughout its run and stuck with it to the very end. I think Kubo Tite is an immensely talented artist and a far more imaginative creator than I, so this is not a case of "I know better than him. " It's merely an exercise in pretending that we are Kubo for a day, except we don't have to deal with Shonen deadlines, health issues that inhibit our ability to work, or reader polls that overrule our storytelling decisions. So let's have some fun, shall we? For me, an ideal example of Bleach is the "Everything But the Rain" flashback. It is exciting and emotional, conveys themes through action, is straight to the point and expands the lore while feeling rooted in character. It's Bleach at its best, and the model for how I'm shaping my alterations. Here are my suggestions. Note that some are specific and some are very broad -- I gave some a lot of thought while others I did not. - THE SOUL SOCIETY ARC - • This arc is the series firing on all cylinders, in my opinion, so I don't have many alterations. My main note is to nix the declaration that the Sokyoku is the equivalent of a million Zanpakuto. It writes a check for Ichigo's strength that the rest of the series struggles to cash and there's no reason to quantify its power. It's a flashy way to execute someone -- that's all we need to know. • Just have Aizen state that Kyoka Suigetsu is his Bankai and the hypnosis ritual is his Shikai. There, now we don't have to speculate for the end of time about why the man who mastered all Shinigami techniques never unveiled a Bankai. • Hinamori is permanently dead after Aizen's betrayal. The poor girl's resurrection serves no further purpose than to be a motivator for Hitsugaya's wrath, which was already plentiful. - THE ARRANCAR ARC - • Reduce the number of characters. Condense the Vizards by eliminating Mashiro and Love while merging Kensei & Rose (the former's appearance with the latter's personality and Zanpakuto), shortening their numbers from eight to five. I quite like Hachi -- he can stay. Eliminate the Privaron Espada altogether -- they are a preamble to the Espada that we don't need. Eliminate Nelliel's two Arrancar buddies (sorry fellas), and cut out Charlotte for... the sake of good taste. An unfortunate caricature, in my opinion. • Flesh out Orihime's purpose in Hueco Mundo. I suggest she be routinely brought to Aizen to heal his mysteriously battered body, with full limbs missing. It can be later revealed during the Karakura battle that his mysterious injuries came from his ongoing attempts to subjugate the Hogyoku. It was repeatedly rejecting him and would have killed him without Orihime's 'rejecting' the injuries. I also think his quasi-seduction of her should be played up, his charisma proving almost endearing, giving some credence to the Espada's claims that she had been turned. • Introduce some spiritual shackles that Ulquiorra places on Orihime that keep her from using her powers, only to be taken off during her sessions with Aizen. Also, have Aizen state early on that the Hogyoku manifests inner desires rather than solely removing the barrier between Hollow and Shinigami; get that out of the way so it doesn't feel like a retcon later. He can muse about this during one of his sessions with Orihime. • Tighten up the battle against Szayel Aporro Granz by a lot. Also, cut out Mayuri discovering the corpses in Szayel's lab -- those characters no longer exist in this edit. • I'd politely ask Kubo to redesign Zommari's Resurreccíon. It's just too grotesque for a rather dignified character and feels at odds with his professed speed. • I think Kenpachi ought to flat out refuse killing Nnoitra. He just leaves him grievously injured, unable to do much of anything. I think there's more poetry in Nnoitra being spared for being too weak; further compacting his despair. He's a compelling villain, but just a bit too vile to deserve an honorable death, in my opinion. • Instead of Ichigo's Vasto Lordes' form being an unexpected mutation, I suggest that Aizen had ordered Ulquiorra to draw it out of him. Instead of killing Ichigo with a Cero, Ulquiorra conducts some Hollow ritual after immobilizing him with Segunda Etapa, stating that Aizen had tasked him with guarding Orihime and priming Ichigo to reach his full potential (so that Aizen can consume him later and complete his transformation into the next Soul King). Ulquiorra had developed Segunda Etapa specifically to combat Ichigo in his Vasto Lordes form, with the intention of immobilizing him and delivering him to Aizen. Their battle is more even-handed (like how it was depicted during the prologue to Hell Verse), with Ulquiorra gradually overpowered, admitting that Ichigo's form was stronger than anticipated. • Let's have a bona fide romance develop between Ichigo and Orihime. Allow him to express feelings for her -- these are horny teenagers in a tense situation. Let them like each other! This helps her character have more agency as well; instead of pining for Ichigo while he's completely oblivious, just let him like her. They can kiss before he leaves Hueco Mundo -- Ishida witnesses their embrace and feels jealousy (which can be a factor later in the Quincy Arc). Let's have some love triangles going on. Let these kids live a little. Apologies to the Ichigo-Rukia shippers. • Eliminate Yammy's '0 Espada' designation. He can still have the same Resurreccíon -- just don't declare it the strongest. It feels unearned and it never amounts to anything consequential. Let him being a lumbering, ineffectual Numero 10 who can provide Ishida a win. Hey, maybe even let Chad play a pivotal role in bringing the big ol' lug down! • I suggest doing away with the 'Fake' Karakura Town replica. Let's have civilians in harm's way -- it raises the stakes to have bystanders trying to survive the mayhem. Utilize Tatsuki as a POV character, representing the everyday person as the Shinigami fight the Arrancar. This also keeps Ichigo's classmates present in the action, instead of becoming an afterthought. The Shinigami can struggle to fight the Arrancar while also protecting the townspeople -- some Captains trying harder than others. SoiFon can have an arc of not really giving a shit about the townspeople from the beginning, but progressively becoming more protective of saving innocents from Barragan's Respira. And have the fights be a little more chaotic free-for-all and less polite one-on-ones. In my opinion, having the Captains stand by patiently while the Lieutenants each face off against an underling completely halted the momentum. Think the Battle of New York in Avengers as a model for how the war could play out. • Starrk survives to fight another day, babyyyyy. Shunsui can best him, and Starkk just gives up when Lilynette perishes, using his Sonido to escape. His heart was really never in it -- having him just bail would reflect that character trait nicely. • Hiyori is killed when she is bisected by Gin. We need some casualties here -- not just for dramatic stakes, but to trim this enormous ensemble. • Scale back Aizen's base power back a tad. Let his fighting style be more effortful than just a mere blasé slash. When Yamamoto sacrifices his arm for the Kido trap, let the attack completely maim Aizen's leg and grievously injure him. The Hogyoku's going to mend all the damage anyway -- show that he was indeed fallible. • With "Everything But the Rain" in mind, having Aizen drop references of the Whitey attack to Isshin, whose demeanor becomes more angry. Their fight is more personal, with Isshin unveiling his fiery Bankai to fight Aizen on equal terms. Have Aizen refer to him by his Shiba surname, dropping that nugget to whet the readers' appetite for intrigue. • I have some major suggestions for altering how Ichigo acquires his God-tier powers: instead of Ichigo meditating in the Dengai with Isshin buying time, I think it should be Aizen's who traps Ichigo within his Zanpakuto. Aizen is fond of his gadgets and odd tools -- he could have a custom-made technology that forces Ichigo inside of Zangetsu that he prepared in the event that Ulquiorra failed, stating that Ichigo will have to achieve his full potential to escape. I know this opens up a contrivance -- why would Aizen use this technique to neutralize Yamamoto? -- but he could just state that Yamamoto was too powerful for it to work. I like this change because it adds some poetic justice to have Aizen's own actions lead to Ichigo attaining the Getsuga form. It is in his interest in the manga for Ichigo to attain his true potential -- it stands to reason that he would take action to draw it out. • Bring Orihime back into the fold. Gin can fetch her while everyone's distracted? Sure, why not. Let's do that. She is shackled and Aizen intends to use her as a sacrifice to create a key to the Royal Realm (he states that she has a shard of the Soul King inside of her, introducing that bit of Fullbringer lore for further elaboration). This provides a reason for why Aizen wanted Ulquiorra to guard Orihime even after he departed for Karakura town. His plan was to always use Orihime as a detonator to create the Oken, but he needed the Hogyoku to transform him before he had the power to activate her shard. • I always felt like Gin's timing was a little arbitrary in the manga (I know he waited for the precise moment to touch the tip -- but the story can dictate whenever the opportunity's open to him). In this revised version, how about Matsumoto intervenes to save Orihime, leading her off. Aizen states that he will kill Matsumoto and recover Orihime himself, and that 's when Gin makes his move -- when the person he loved was in mortal danger. • My suggestion for the final duel between Ichigo and Aizen is for it to not be as one-sided. It's less that Ichigo completely outclasses Aizen, but more that he can fight on par with him. We can also use their battle as an opportunity to make the first references and hints at Yhwach's existence. Aizen's inner monologue can make oblique mentions that Ichigo has the lineage of a God. When Ichigo becomes Zangetsu, Aizen can recognize its similarity to Yhwach and makes the connection between the Quincy King and Zangetsu. He doesn't state Yhwach's name, but the reader would become aware that there's more to Zangetsu than Ichigo knows. Aizen's less perturbed that he is losing to a mortal human (which, in hindsight, never did make sense in the manga given that he should know Ichigo is the ultimate hybrid) and more dismayed that he is still not up to par with the Soul King's power. I also suggest that we do not witness Aizen completely losing his shit -- we love his character for his unflappability; let's preserve that. • Here's a pretty sacrilegious suggestion: Ichigo doesn't commit the Final Getsuga Tenshou. I personally don't care for unstoppable power attacks that end the battle in an instant, and would prefer that the form (complete with the long black hair and armor) functions as a power-up that allows him to fight on par with Aizen, whose power should be treated as the threat that it is. Instead, I suggest that the form is Ichigo using the power of Yhwach without realizing it, and that it doesn't come with a side effect of him losing his Shinigami powers. • Here's my suggestion for the climax: Ichigo clearly wins the fight, but his form dissipates and Aizen bats him away before returning to Orihime, who has not managed to free herself from her shackles (they need someone stronger than Matsumoto to break them). Aizen prepares to activate the Soul King shard within Orihime -- he can even state to Matsumoto that she had a Soul King shard within her too as a child and he had attacked her to help forge the Hogyoku (so that can be make Gin's backstory clear to readers). Aizen grabs Orihime and begins the ritual -- if completed, it would create an explosion that would absorb all of the remaining Karakura town residents and convert their souls into an Oken. Ichigo, battered and bloody, mounts one last stand and charges at Aizen, who is holding Orihime by the wrist behind him. Ichigo sustains heavy damage just from Aizen's reiatsu (having him and Orihime already romantically involved could give this moment some extra emotional verve, too -- he's pressing on for love as well as saving the world, baby). Ichigo uses his Bankai's speedster ability to blitz behind Aizen -- he passes by Orihime in a flash and swings at Aizen's neck. Aizen turns and catches his blade, chiding him for being so foolhardy to try and attack him at the nape of his neck after it failed the first time, but Ichigo smiles and reveals that he wasn't aiming for Aizen at all. Aizen realizes that Ichigo had hacked off Orihime's shackles, but before he can react she presses her hands to his chest and "rejects" his subjugation of the Hokyoku. Aizen's transcendent form breaks and Ichigo fires off a Getsuga that hits Aizen square-on, fucking his shit up. Aizen regenerates, of course, and stands above an utterly spent Ichigo and Orihime, stating that they foiled his goal, but he will find another way -- but first he plans on finishing them off. This is when Urahara's Kido seal activates, and we can have their interaction play out as it did in the manga. I prefer this climax over the one-sided beatdown in the manga because 1) it incorporates Orihime, who was so central to the overall arc, and 2) I feel like if you introduce a bomb (i. e. Karakura town being annihilated to form a gateway), you need things to end things with the proverbial wire-cutting scene. • Lastly for this arc: elaborate on Aizen's backstory a bit. Doesn't have to be elaborate -- just illustrate through some snippets him being a voracious student who literally consumed every book and bit of knowledge that the Soul Society offered. I like the idea of him tagging a Shinigame (could be Hikifune or someone who preceded her) with a spying device before they journeyed up to the Royal Realm. He sits back and meditates, accessing the spy cam in his mind to witness the secrets of Heaven through this Shinigami's unsuspecting POV, but he grows increasingly disturbed by what he finds until he sees the Soul King through the Shinigami's eyes. It shatters him to realize the perversity of the world order. Also make it explicit that Aizen was using the Hogyoku to mold himself into the Soul King's likeness. I don't think there's any harm in showing a glimpse of the Soul King this early. - THE LOST SHINIGAMI ARC - • I don't really have any productive ideas for how to change this arc. I actually enjoyed it just fine and was surprised to discover that it nearly got the series cancelled. My main suggestion is that Yamamoto demands that Ichigo surrender his powers after defeating Aizen (because he realizes his lineage and sees him as a potential asset for Yhwach should he return, but that's withheld at the time). I'd prefer this change because it would reestablish antagonism between Ichigo and Soul Society. I think having Ichigo become a beloved ally of the Gotei 13 was ultimately a mistake because 1) It resulted in him unquestioningly defending Soul Society's status quo, while the series' broader lore suggests that they really do need to make structural changes, and 2) I think the series just works better if there's friction between Ichigo and Soul Society. The Shinigami are more interesting as neutral players, rather than out-and-out heroes. This would also provide more credence to Ginjou's mission and give Ichigo something to be conflicted over. • Let's take all of Ginjou's backstory that was elaborated on in the new novels and lace it throughout this arc. Make Ukitake very central to the action -- he never really got his due in the manga, and this was the most ideal section to spotlight him. • Have Ichigo's sister Karin be drawn into the fold during this arc. There's really no reason why she wouldn't have as much potential as he does. - THE 1, 000 YEAR BLOOD WAR ARC - • Alright, I have an ungodly amount of notes for this arc, due to it being the messiest (while also having the highest peaks in the series, imo! ) • Let's have Ishida be approached by the Stern Ritter from the outset. Let his disappearance be an inciting incident that gets Ichigo's gang together, with Asguiaro Ebern interrupting their pow wow. During the Vandenreich's first invasion of Soul Society, you could have a dramatic reveal of him in their ranks. • Kira and Byakuya die during the first invasion. No resurrections. Just commit to it. This would, of course, mean that Rukia beats Äs Nödt without Byakuya's intervention. His words of affirmation to her after her victory is a lovely moment that'd be a shame to lose, but we could split the difference by having her imagine them -- or have a bit of a spiritual moment. Do Shinigamis have ghosts? • Don't withhold the lore that was later shared in the new novels. There is plenty of it to lace throughout the saga without diminishing the surprises or sustaining the momentum. I say go all in on Yhwach (I pronounce it as You-Ha-Bacha, personally) being Evil Jesus. Make it explicit that he is the Soul King reincarnate. Dedicate some chapters explaining that the Soul King was an incomparably powerful being from thousands of years prior who wanted to eliminate Hollows to expunge impurity from the undivided universe. He was chopped up by the Shinigamis in a coup, kept as a glorified figurehead and lynchpin to the division of realms. Trapped in a state of lonely purgatory, he uses all of his power within his captive state to immaculately conceive a child who can avenge/euthanize him. Show Yhwach's origin -- born without any physical faculties and saved by his mother from villagers who would have rather just put him down. Show the townspeople gradually discover that he's a miracle baby and him slowly gain his faculties as those granted miracles by him die. All the while, he is nurtured by his unfailingly supportive mother. Then, let's have a big, dramatic set-piece when he calls on the entire village to gather at the town square, having become a prophet to them, and promptly commits the first Auschwalen, killing everyone -- including his birth mother (this would tie into his complete indifference to Ichigo's pain for losing his mother). • Adjust Bazz-B and Haschwalth's backstory. They, along with Lille as children, were the first three people to survive one of Yhwach's Auschwalens as he made his way from town to town to build his strength. He compliments all three of them surviving and offers them to join him. Lille is flattered by Yhwach's attention and seduced by the promises of power, Haschwalth is more resigned but also flattered, while Bazz-B is filled with simmering resentment and sees Yhwach for what he is. You set up their dichotomy right there and let all three have ish throughout the arc. • Establish the existence of the Schutzstaffel pretty early on. Don't name who the members are or even specify what it is, but have it be a persistent reference among the Stern Ritter as they jockey for a place in the elite ranks (with some just wanting the elevated status while others, like Robert Accutrone, understanding that only the Schutzstaffel are guaranteed to be carried over into Yhwach's new world). For instance, Bambietta can boast to the rest of her clique that she's the prime candidate for promotion; Haschwalth can approach Gremmy with an assignment to track down Kenpachi, adding something to the effect "If you eliminate him without making a mess, his Majesty will reconsider your potential as a Schutzstaffel"; Robert Accutrone persistently trying to target War Powers to secure his place, etc. It can also be referenced that Bazz-B is strong enough to be a member, but he's too insolent. That way, when they Schutzstaffel show up in the Royal Realm, it's less "where did these guys come from? " and more " Oh shit -- these are the guys they've been hyping this whole time. " • Have a flashback arc dedicated to Yhwach's original war against the Shinigami (instead of the protracted Haschwalth/Bazz-B origin story). My only notes are that Haschwalth, Lille, Bazz-B, Robert Accutrone, and Quilge Opie be among the original army. Yhwach is defeated by Yamamoto and they retreat, with some Quincy holing up and hibernating in the secret Wandenreich dimension while some chose to live out mortal lives in the human realm. I like the idea of Bazz-B occasionally venturing out into Earth throughout the centuries to indulge in the mortal life (explaining why he has a much more modern sensibility than the others). When Yhwach regains his pulse, he resolves that he needs to develop Schrifts and develop more powerful Knights, favoring Quincy humans who are even more brutal by disposition than his original army. Have the Quincy be less awful to each other and amp up their belief that they are liberators, but make it clear that they view themselves as God's Chosen and view those who are not Quincy as sub-human, allowing them to be both cruel while also maintaining their belief that they are righteous. • When Yhwach subdues Ichigo and orders Haschwalth to transport him back to the Vandenreich -- actually have them do it. Have Ichigo whisked back to enemy territory and be surprised to find Yhwach paternal towards him, perhaps sharing his origin as the miracle child (while withholding his mass genocides). Have Ichigo introduced to the Quincies, even Ishida -- who maintains that he wishes to be at Yhwach's side. Yhwach offers Ichigo to join him, but Ichigo refuses. To his surprise -- Yhwach just lets him leave. We'll later discover that Yhwach knows he can always control Ichigo through his Quincy bloodline and that his cooperation isn't necessary. This interlude would allow for Yhwach to give a self-serving version of Ichigo's origins and pitching himself as a liberator, deepening Ichigo's conflicted feelings about Soul Society before his father gives him the full story. I also think that Zangetsu himself can later show Ichigo a flashback of Yhwach committing an Auschwalen on his hometown, demonstrating the evil he is capable of before surrendering his control over the real Zangetsu. • I think Ishida should have to fight his own father at some point. Ryuken can appear and state that he wants to avenge his wife's murder. Ishida defends Yhwach and ultimately kills his father. It can be later revealed that their duel was all a fiction -- that Ryuken had planned for years to sacrifice his own life so that Ishida could gain the Vandenreich's trust, and that he had been cold to him throughout his life to steel him for this task. • Don't have Unohana die just to draw out Kenpachi's power. It's just a waste of her character. Instead, have their training simply end when his Zanpakuto awakens and let her play a significant role in the final battle. As for unanswered questions about her Zanpakuto: I like the concept that she developed a Shikai that would endlessly respawn her opponent because she was so bored by finishing duels with a single blow in her marauder days, and that her Bankai necessitates that the first blow landed by either fighter is fatal -- which is a big liability for her, but allows her to defeat any enemy if she can outmaneuver them. • Get Aizen out of captivity much earlier in the arc. Here's an idea: I would have been fine with the God Sword if it was introduced early on as the fabled blade capable of cleaving through God, instead of being produced out of nowhere to defeat a Lille Barro who had already outlived his usefulness as an antagonist (big low-point in the arc for me, personally). I don't really have the imaginative wherewithal to flesh this out properly, but I suggest that the God Sword be brought up after the Vandenreich's first invasion of Soul Society. The sword's location was kept in a scroll within Soul Society's libraries, but when Shunsui goes to find it he discovers the page torn out -- realizing that Aizen had read it and destroyed the information years ago as an insurance policy if he were ever imprisoned, knowing that Yhwach's return was always possible. Let's say Shunsui refuses to let Aizen out, but still pays him a visit to see if he can compel him to share the sword's location. Aizen, through whatever fuckery he's capable of, takes this opportunity to escape, Hannibal Lecter-style, and become a wildcard rogue agent throughout the arc, eventually contacting Ichigo and helping him locate the God Sword. I honestly think it would have been very interesting if it was Aizen who trains Ichigo for the final battle instead of Ouetsu Nimaiya -- we could always just follow Renji and Rukia through their training to get the lowdown on the Royal Guard. After Ichigo's sword is broken by Haschwalth, it could just be reasoned that he can imprint Zangetsu onto the God Sword and wield it personally because it belonged to the Shiba clan, his bloodline. He could learn a lot of lore from Aizen during their reluctant partnership -- and the two can come to some understanding, with Aizen willing to help Ichigo to help stave off the return of the Soul King. • For the war in Soul Society Round II -- just tighten up the battles a bit. Let them be less a back and forth of one-sided beatdowns, and let it be more balanced, with victory achieved because someone got an opening for the killing blow. One thing that I think would solve a lot of the back-and-forth-of-abstract-powers that robbed some of these battles of their tension is to just have the Quincies utilize Reishi swords. Sword fights are what Bleach does best -- don't jettison that element. • Just reveal Accutrone and BG-9's Schrifts, please. Don't leave us completionists hanging like that. I personally favor BG-9 being 'The Knowledge' and Accutrone being 'The Navigator, ' his power being that he can guide the trajectory of his Reishi bullets while in Vollstandig. They'll follow you around, basically. • Have Tia Harribel freed at some point so that she can participate in the battle. Have Starrk show up, too. Hell, he could help Nel free Harribel! You can have all three of them join in the fight against the Elite Guard. I know I suggested keeping Nnoitra alive, but he doesn't have to participate... he'd just be glowering in Hueco Mundo as a broken soul. • When Ichigo joins the battle in Soul Society, don't have him immediately head back to the Royal Palace after Yhwach ascends. In hindsight, there's really no need for him to get that head start since the rest of the Captains eventually make their way up to the Royal Palace anyway. How about this: he's stuck down in Soul Society and we get to watch him fend off Bazz-B, Candice Catnipp, Robert Accutrone, and NaNaNa Najahkoop. He's kicking ass until NaNaNa uses his Underbelly ability to paralyze him for five minutes, and then it's Aizen who steps in and saves him. Rukia and Renji jump in to protect a helpless Ichigo from Bazz-B while Candice, Accutrone, and Najahkoop attack Aizen -- who uses his internalized Kyoka Suigetsu to manipulate them into taking each other out. You got a badass moment right there for the Lord of Hollows himself. • Don't let the Zombies drag on as long as they do. The whole undead thing opens up a lot of narrative messiness: I just think Giselle piloting a zombified Bambietta would have sufficed -- and I personally think that Rukia should have been the one to defeat them. Having Mayuri fight zombies with his own zombies and then getting his own elaborate battle against Pernida just felt like overexposure. • Let's make the Auschwalen even more horrific -- don't just show Accutrone dying, but show all the surviving Stern Ritter in Soul Society be stripped down to the bone, with only Bazz-B surviving (which would tie into his revised origin). Makes the betrayal that much more apocalyptic, and honestly we didn't need to see Liltotto and Giselle stick around just to be off-paneled. • Regarding the Schutzstaffel fights: I think they were loads of fun, but dragged on for too long, so let's tidy them up. I) Adjust Shunsui's Bankai to give his fight against Lille a cleaner finish: when caught in the Bankai's proximity, both opponents have to put on the best show they can while battling in the underwater theater or be eviscerated, but the catch is that the Bankai will keep whoever the audience found more entertaining. Lille is the more impressive fighter, so the Bankai keeps him -- submerging him forever into the watery depths while Shunsui escapes, stating that he'll never use his Bankai again lest it risk freeing Lille. So the immortal Lille is trapped forever inside Shunsui's Zanpakuto and we avoid having to watch him devolve into an ostrich. Sound good? II) Pernidas' fight against Mayuri is great -- but let's close the loop and have Ishida appear behind Mayuri after his bittersweet victory, fatally wounding him. Ishida avenges his grandfather and Mayuri pays for his crimes after being humbled. III) I like the Askin Nakk Le Vaar fight fine -- except cut Yoruichi's berserker form for being both demeaning and ultimately pointless. And hey, let's throw Coyote Starrk in there! Also -- let's just have the Gift Ball Deluxe dissipate when Askin dies. Let's keep Urahara in the fray -- more on that later. IV) Let Gerard just be dead after a Hitsugaya / Kenpachi double team -- and hey, let's throw Tia Harribel in there! They can correctly theorize that Gerard's weakness is that the same miracle can't occur twice, so Kenpachi cuts his frozen body again. Just be done with it. These powers are so abstract anyway -- I'd rather there be a cute solution than just a repeated "oh he tanked it again. " • I personally think it would have been a better use of the Royal Guard to have them reluctantly defect to Yhwach's side after the Soul King is killed. It's a nice way of having the perverse world order that Aizen rebelled against coming to a head. Maybe Ouetsu Nimaiya stays dead from Lille's attack to give that battle consequences... and because I just think his one-hit-kill ability is just too powerful to make for entertaining battles going forward. We could pair the battles thusly: Urahara vs. Shutara, Yoruichi vs. Hikifune, and Unohana vs. Tenjiro (they seemed to have some unsettled history together), with support spread across the battles from Shinji, Starrk, and the remaining Vizards. This can be the final round of battles after Yhwach's elite guards are dispensed with. It gives the mentor characters (Urahara, Yoruichi, and Unohana) their time to truly shine and allows them to confront their renegade status within the Soul Society hierarchy. For instance; as much as I like Urahara's fight with Askin, it's really not that thematically fitting a sendoff for his character. Him having to contend with a Royal Guard after defending the status quo of the Soul King all these years? Now that's interesting. • Have Karin (Ichigo's sister) be a factor in this arc. Let her fight! And have Isshin partake in the final battle as well. • The Almighty is tough from a storytelling standpoint. I think the only way to get around this is to have Yhwach show it, demonstrate that it is indeed unbeatable because it makes him God, and then take it away from him in a nighttime swap with Haschwalth, making the final battle a race against time to defeat him before he can regain it. That's the only way I think this works -- Ichigo fighting to defeat Yhwach before he can regain Almighty. Yhwach can activate Zanka no Tachi to make things difficult (I always felt like it was a shame to show off the ultimate Bankai's destructive capabilities and not make Ichigo contend with it in the end). • I suggest that a big part of the climax is a duel between Ichigo and Ishida, with Yhwach presiding over the battle in a capacity similar to Emperor Palpatine. Y'know who can fight Haschwalth instead of Ishida? Aizen friggin' Sosuke. Meanwhile, Ishida maintains his cover in his battle against Ichigo so he can await for the critical moment to betray Yhwach. Part of his deep cover was that he strongly fantasized about killing Yhwach every moment he was with him throughout the arc, always prepared to attack him, but never following through, giving Yhwach endless visions of a future wherein Ishida betrays him. They never came to pass, so Yhwach ultimately grew relaxed in his suspicion. This isn't the most elegant endgame, but I suggest that Ishida somehow communicates to Ichigo that he has to trust him, prompting Ichigo to play along and pretend to be overpowered. Ichigo draws his bow for a devastating reishi arrow just as the Almighty is about to transfer back to Yhwach. Instead, Ishida turns his arrow to Haschwalth and kills him -- the rule being that if Haschwalth is dead, then Ishida would be the next in line and the inheritor of the Almighty. In the mere seconds before the Almighty is set to transfer back to Yhwach, Ishida inherits the power and uses it against him -- striking a serious blow to him (maybe breaking the Zanka no Tachi and/or disposing of the Almighty as a power altogether, cutting off Yhwach's access to it forever). • I like the idea of things ending with Ichigo driving some sort of finishing blow to Yhwach -- impaling him the with God Sword, maybe -- that releases all of the Quincy souls he had absorbed over the millennia. Yhwach pleads to Ichigo as he slowly loses his faculties -- he loses his sight; his legs give out from under him while his voice grows hoarse -- speaking of the world without fear that he wished to create. With his final words, he begs Ichigo to kill him and take his place to realize that world... and then he just reverts to his original state, robbed of any senses or faculties. Ichibe can appear and stride up to Yhwach's body, announcing to Ichigo "We have a replacement Soul King! " Ichigo's disgusted. I don't know where it should go from there. I like the idea though of something profound happening to Aizen that prompts him to live out his life in the human world similar to Isshin, abandoning his ambition and dedicating himself to tending a garden. Phew, well alright. That was a lot -- I'm sure most of it terrible. Anyways, I'd love to hear how you would adjust Bleach here or there. Suggestions can be big or small. Think of it as a creative writing exercise.

Only watching to see what they do with Magik. This is part 6 Vol. 3 in the series. Vol 1: AGoT, Vol. 4: ADwD A Storm of Swords – A White Wolf and a Loyal Oath Breaker We’ll continue to monitor Ghost’s unique themes of silence and possible telepathic communications through ASoS, while watching for more instances of outside intervention in his actions. As always we’ll also investigate the themes from our prior volumes, including: Personality and mood mirroring Obedience vs. Independence Shadowing / protecting / fear of the wolves Related: the wolves’ innate ability to sense threats Belonging to the pack / the instinct to hunt Being affectionate when they’re together Bad things happening when they’re separated This volume begins with Ghost and Jon being quite close in their bond and together physically almost all the time, due to being surrounded by enemies.  However, Ghost spends a lot of time away from Jon later in volume, isolated completely from him by the magical barrier of the wall.  The contrast in Jon is noticeable.  We really don’t know what Ghost was doing during this separation, but it takes him much more time to reach Castle Black than Jon, which begs the question:  What was he doing?  I definitely wonder if a third party used or guided him for a time during this period.  We really don’t know.  They are reunited at Castle Black near the end of the volume under suspicious circumstances, though, which also suggests outside meddling. A Storm of Swords – Jon I We start with Ghost shadowing Jon, alert for danger, as evidenced by his reaction to the falling rock.  Ghost undoubtedly is being very protective at this time while they are surrounded by wildlings, Jon as a virtual prisoner.  He’s also hounded by the hounds.  I guess this is symbolic that he and Jon are not really turning their cloaks to the wildlings.  That said, Ghost mops the floor with the first dog that challenges him, reminding us of his ferocity.  The dogs keep their distance thereafter, reminding of the fear our direwolves inspire. A stone bounced down the slope, disturbed by a passing hoof, and Jon saw  Ghost turn his head at the sudden sound. He had followed the riders at a distance all day, as was his custom, but when the moon rose over the soldier pines he’d come bounding up, red eyes aglow. Rattleshirt’s dogs greeted him with a chorus of snarls and growls and wild barking, as ever, but the direwolf paid them no mind. Six days ago, the largest hound had attacked him from behind as the wildlings camped for the night, but  Ghost had turned and lunged, sending the dog fleeing with a bloody haunch. The rest of the pack maintained a healthy distance after that. The rest of Ghost’s mentions in this chapter follow Jon’s introduction to the main free folk camp.  We discussed in ACoK how Ygritte probably recognized Jon as a warg when she first saw him with Ghost.  It seems that when the Weeper saw Jon, he assumes him to be a warg as well.  Or does he merely recognize Jon as having Stark features?  Tough to say, given that we have no evidence the man ever met Benjen. Ghost continues to shadow Jon, and freak out the dogs in the main camp.  Interesting how Jon specifically mentions why the dogs don’t like Ghost.  I wonder if there’s more, if they recognize him as a danger beyond just being a wolf, as Jon presumes. The Weeper’s red rheumy eyes gave Jon another look. “Aye? Well, he has a wolfish cast to him, now as I look close. Bring him to Mance, might be he’ll keep him. ” He wheeled his horse around and galloped off, his riders hard behind him. The wind was blowing wet and heavy as they crossed the valley of the Milkwater and rode singlefile through the river camp.  Ghost kept close to Jon, but the scent of him went before them like a herald, and soon there were wildling dogs all around them, growling and barking. Lenyl screamed at them to be quiet, but they paid him no heed. “ They don’t much care for that beast o’ yours, ” Longspear Ryk said to Jon. “ They’re dogs and he’s a wolf, ” said Jon. “They know he’s not their kind. ” No more than I am yours. But he had his duty to be mindful of, the task Qhorin Halfhand had laid upon him as they shared that final fire—to play the part of turncloak, and find whatever it was that the wildlings had been seeking in the bleak cold wilderness of the Frostfangs. “Some power, ” Qhorin had named it to the Old Bear, but he had died before learning what it was, or whether Mance Rayder had found it with his digging. Next, Ghost is again shadowing Jon as they survey the camp.  Note how Jon is still thinking about the camp in terms of war and tactics, and not thinking about them as people.  Ghost’s protective posture may be a reflection of Jon’s current view of all of them as enemies. Later, Ghost obeys when Jon asks him to wait outside the tent before Jon goes in to meet Mance, Tormund, Styr the Magnar of Thenn, Val, and Dalla.  He must not sense danger inside.  I guess I’d agree, though I’d question that conclusion about the Magnar. They walked the rest of the way, past more cookfires and more tents, with  Ghost following at their heels. Jon had never seen so many wildlings. He wondered if anyone ever had. The camp goes on forever, he reflected, but it’s more a hundred camps than one, and each more vulnerable than the last. Stretched out over long leagues, the wildlings had no defenses to speak of, no pits nor sharpened stakes, only small groups of outriders patrolling their perimeters. Each group or clan or village had simply stopped where they wanted, as soon as they saw others stopping or found a likely spot. The free folk. If his brothers were to catch them in such disarray, many of them would pay for that freedom with their life’s blood. They had numbers, but the Night’s Watch had discipline, and in battle discipline beats numbers nine times of every ten, his father had once told him. […] Here at least they found defenders; two guards at the flap of the tent, leaning on tall spears with round leather shields strapped to their arms. When they caught sight of Ghost, one of them lowered his spearpoint and said, “That beast stays here. ” “Ghost, stay, ” Jon commanded. The direwolf sat. “Longspear, watch the beast. ” Rattleshirt yanked open the tent and gestured Jon and Ygritte inside. – ASoS – Jon I In Bran’s first chapter in this volume, Summer thinks of Ghost and his other pack mates, noting that Ghost is to the side, not truly fitting with the rest of the litter.  This makes me think of how Sarella Sand doesn’t really fit with the sandsnakes.  Partially because of her personality, and frankly, partially because of her appearance.  Ghost is also different in these ways. As an aside, the paragraph after has some imagery that is very much related to my ideas about the direwolves’ differing telepathic ability.  Mentioned in succession, are “snowy slopes”, which might represent Ghost, “great green pines, ” which could represent Shaggydog, and “the golden leaf oaks, ” which would represent the other four wolves.  It is the mention of golden leaf oaks that is so awkward that I can’t help wonder why the author included it.  Either he is very specific about his taxonomy, he is making a veiled marijuana reference, he is making a veiled reference to naval officers, or I am right that it is symbolic of the direwolves. He had a pack as well, once. Five they had been, and a sixth who stood aside. Somewhere down inside him were the sounds the men had given them to tell one from the other, but it was not by their sounds he knew them. He remembered their scents, his brothers and his sisters. They all had smelled alike, had smelled of pack, but each was different too. His angry brother with the hot green eyes was near, the prince felt, though he had not seen him for many hunts. Yet with every sun that set he grew more distant, and he had been the last. The others were far scattered, like leaves blown by the wild wind. Sometimes he could sense them, though, as if they were still with him, only hidden from his sight by a boulder or a stand of trees. He could not smell them, nor hear their howls by night, yet he felt their presence at his back... all but the sister they had lost. His tail drooped when he remembered her. Four now, not five. Four and one more, the white who has no voice. These woods belonged to them, the snowy slopes and stony hills, the great green pines and the golden leaf oaks, the rushing streams and blue lakes fringed with fingers of white frost. But his sister had left the wilds, to walk in the halls of man-rock where other hunters ruled, and once within those halls it was hard to find the path back out. The wolf prince remembered. – ASoS – Bran I A Storm of Swords – Jon II Jon and Ghost are on the move with the wildlings, and when they first approach mammoths, Ghost backs off.  The mammoths are markedly not afraid of Ghost, rather the opposite.  Note that Ghost is implied to be shadowing Jon in that instance, as he afterward. The giants swayed slowly atop the mammoths as they rode past two by two. Jon’s garron shied, frightened by such strangeness, but whether it was the mammoths or their riders that scared him it was hard to say. Even  Ghost backed off a step, baring his teeth in a silent snarl. The direwolf was big, but the mammoths were a deal bigger, and there were many and more of them. […] Jon wheeled and followed Tormund back toward the head of the column, his new cloak hanging heavy from his shoulders. It was made of unwashed sheepskins, worn fleece side in, as the wildlings suggested. It kept the snow off well enough, and at night it was good and warm, but he kept his black cloak as well, folded up beneath his saddle. “Is it true you killed a giant once? ” he asked Tormund as they rode.  Ghost loped silently beside them, leaving paw prints in the new-fallen snow. In the case of Ygritte, Jon chooses to sleep with Ghost by his side, increasing their own instances of affection, just to avoid having sex with Ygritte.  That obviously changes, but the fact that Ghost allows this to happen at all (he didn’t run off to hunt) could be an indication of his knowing that Jon needed him in these instances. Every night when they made camp, Ygritte threw her sleeping skins down beside his own, no matter if he was near the fire or well away from it. Once he woke to find her nestled against him, her arm across his chest. He lay listening to her breathe for a long time, trying to ignore the tension in his groin. Rangers often shared skins for warmth, but warmth was not all Ygritte wanted, he suspected. After that he had taken to using  Ghost to keep her away. Old Nan used to tell stories about knights and their ladies who would sleep in a single bed with a blade between them for honor’s sake, but he thought this must be the first time where a direwolf took the place of the sword. Following that, Jon is disquieted at Varamyr, and with good reason.  Leaving his skinchanging aside, he is a terrible person, who has committed heinous acts of murder and rape, with no compunction.  Ghost immediately mirrors Jon’s reaction.  The bond is much tighter at this point. Or, does Ghost sense the skinchanger through some special sense? Along with the Tormunds and the Longspears rode other sorts of wildlings, though; men like Rattleshirt and the Weeper who would as soon slit you as spit on you. There was Harma Dogshead, a squat keg of a woman with cheeks like slabs of white meat, who hated dogs and killed one every fortnight to make a fresh head for her banner; earless Styr, Magnar of Thenn, whose own people thought him more god than lord; Varamyr Sixskins, a small mouse of a man whose steed was a savage white snow bear that stood thirteen feet tall on its hind legs. And wherever the bear and Varamyr went, three wolves and a shadowcat came following. Jon had been in his presence only once, and once had been enough; the mere sight of the man had made him bristle, even as the fur on the back of Ghost’s neck had bristled at the sight of the bear and that long black-and-white ‘cat. We find in the next passage that Ghost does hunt from time to time as the wildlings proceed.  Jon is sure, though that he’ll come back.  He is also sure about this with Ygritte.  Add her to the list of people Ghost has been compared to. The snow was falling heavily by the time they caught Tormund’s band, several hours later.  Ghost departed along the way, melting into the forest at the scent of prey. The direwolf would return when they made camp for the night, by dawn at the latest. However far he prowled,  Ghost always came back... and so, it seemed, did Ygritte. Ghost leaving this time also serves to remind us that bad things happen when they are parted from their Stark children.  In this case what happens is that Orell (in the eagle) attacks Jon.  Jon also wonders where Ghost is at this time.  Their bond is either not strong enough at yet for him to get his answer.  Is he hunting, or is it something else, perhaps involving third party meddling? Can a bird hate? Jon had slain the wildling Orell, but some part of the man remained within the eagle. The golden eyes looked out on him with cold malevolence. “I’ll come, ” he said. The blood kept running down into his right eye, and his cheek was a blaze of pain. When he touched it his black gloves came away stained with red. “Let me catch my garron. ” It was not the horse he wanted so much as Ghost, but the direwolf was nowhere to be seen. He could be leagues away by now, ripping out the throat of some elk. Perhaps that was just as well. When Ghost returns, it is in the nick of time, as Jon and Rattleshirt are near to exchanging blows (with swords).  Rattleshirt throws the killing of the Halfhand in Jon’s face.  Jon must be extremely angry because Ghost mirrors him with “bristling” fur and “dark red eyes” that “spoke blood. ”  He seems about to tear out the wildling’s throat.  Fortunately (for Rattleshirt), when danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled.  Brave, brave, brave, brave Rattleshirt … just like a bully. Ghost resumes his place as Jon’s shadow, but Ygritte makes it clear that her price for getting Jon out of the jam with Mance is his maidenhead.  Reluctant again, he gives assent.  Then his reluctance fades away for some reason…  I can’t imagine why.  It’s probably for the best that Ghost wasn’t under the furs with them. “ You got no wolf to help you here, boy. ” Rattleshirt reached for his own sword. “Sure o’ that, are you? ” Ygritte laughed. Atop the stones of the ringwall,  Ghost hunched with white fur bristling. He made no sound, but his dark red eyes spoke blood. The Lord of Bones moved his hand slowly away from his sword, backed off a step, and left them with a curse. Ghost padded beside their garrons as Jon and Ygritte descended the Fist. It was not until they were halfway across the Milkwater that Jon felt safe enough to say, “I never asked you to lie for me. ” “I never did, ” she said. “I left out part, is all. ” “You said—” “—that we fuck beneath your cloak many a night. I never said when we started, though. ” The smile she gave him was almost shy. “ Find another place for Ghost to sleep tonight, Jon Snow. It’s like Mance said. Deeds is truer than words. ” – ASoS – Jon II A Storm of Swords – Jon III As Jon prepares to part from Ghost (over the wall), they have a rare one-on-one scene.  First, though, Jon has to climb a hill to find him.  We learn from his thoughts that Ghost seems drawn to hilltops and that he sits on his hindquarters and his eyes “drink the stars. ”  Coul it be that he is getting knowledge via glass candle, as Daenerys does?  We can only wonder.  We know he never howls, but the imagery reminds us that in this pose, most any other wolf might be howling.  The scene brings to mind where Ghost last silently howled while thinking of his siblings in the dream.  I then connect this as the probable reason that the white wolf is climbing hills.  He’s lost his pack’s scents, and he is trying to find them. Given that the wall appears to be the magical barrier isolating him from them, perhaps the height of the hill reduces the power of the wall’s magical shield/barrier.  Or at least he feels like he can sense them better from a hilltop when south of the wall, so instinct tells him he might be able to sense them if he climbs a hill now.  Summer did much the same in Bran I of this same volume, and in that episode, his senses (primarily scent) were heightened, so it fits, especially since Ghost conflates scent and his telepathic bond with his pack. The last night fell black and moonless, but for once the sky was clear. “ I am going up the hill to look for Ghost, ” he told the Thenns at the cave mouth, and they grunted and let him pass. […] He found Ghost atop the hill, as he thought he might. The white wolf never howled, yet something drew him to the heights all the same, and he would squat there on his hindquarters, hot breath rising in a white mist as his red eyes drank the stars. As to why Ghost is staring at the stars, I can’t begin to wonder, but mixed with Jon asking about them, we get 2 affectionate moments, 1) when Jon scratches the wolf’s neck and Ghost licked him.  Then, 2) when Jon tells him for the first time that they must part, Ghost affectionately nuzzles Jon’s neck.  Even on my first read, I took this as a sign of acknowledgement and Ghost’s attempt to comfort Jon at the same time.  I still feel this way.  Jon, on the other hand does not seem to understand the gesture at all, even thinking that he’s a terrible warg for not knowing how to tell Ghost about what is to happen.  Jon, he gets it!  As a consolation, it is good that Jon mentally seems to accept the truth of being a warg, with the dream as evidence. Nevertheless, Jon, very worried about leaving the wolf, goes to painstaking detail to try to make sure the wolf goes back to Castle Black.  I do trust that Ghost feels Jon’s emotions and mostly understands the directions given.  Ghost takes off, so it may be a clue.  Jon said they need to part, and he departs.  How he departs definitely seems like how a wolf might be starting a hunt, similar to Bran’s hunt in Bran I, as mentioned earlier.  As he is missing for most of the rest of this book, it is highly unlikely he went straight to Castle Black, as Jon wonders.  Jon’s repeated thought that he was a bad warg, tells me that the opposite is true.  He thinks he performed inadequately in telling Ghost what to do, but he actually got the message across just fine.  That he also accomplishes his task as a spy loyal to the watch also bolsters the case, given the association he makes between that and warging. “Do you have names for them as well? ” Jon asked, as he went to one knee beside the direwolf and scratched the thick white fur on his neck. “The Hare? The Doe? The She-Wolf? ” Ghost licked his face, his rough wet tongue rasping against the scabs where the eagle’s talons had ripped Jon’s cheek. The bird marked both of us, he thought. “Ghost, ” he said quietly, “on the morrow we go over. There’s no steps here, no cage-and-crane, no way for me to get you to the other side. We have to part. Do you understand? ” In the dark, the direwolf’s red eyes looked black. He nuzzled at Jon’s neck, silent as ever, his breath a hot mist. The wildlings called Jon Snow a warg, but if so he was a poor one. He did not know how to put on a wolf skin, the way Orell had with his eagle before he’d died. Once Jon had dreamed that he was Ghost, looking down upon the valley of the Milkwater where Mance Rayder had gathered his people, and that dream had turned out to be true. But he was not dreaming now, and that left him only words. “ You cannot come with me, ” Jon said, cupping the wolf’s head in his hands and looking deep into those eyes. “ You have to go to Castle Black. Do you understand? Castle Black. Can you find it? The way home? Just follow the ice, east and east, into the sun, and you’ll find it. They will know you at Castle Black, and maybe your coming will warn them. ” He had thought of writing out a warning for Ghost to carry, but he had no ink, no parchment, not even a writing quill, and the risk of discovery was too great. “ I will meet you again at Castle Black, but you have to get there by yourself. We must each hunt alone for a time. Alone. “ The direwolf twisted free of Jon’s grasp, his ears pricked up. And suddenly he was bounding away. He loped through a tangle of brush, leapt a deadfall, and raced down the hillside, a pale streak among the trees. Off to Castle Black? Jon wondered. Or off after a hare? He wished he knew. He feared he might prove just as poor a warg as a sworn brother and a spy. That was the last time that Jon sees Ghost until his final chapter in this volume.  He begins to miss Ghost almost immediately, thinking of him later that chapter when someone approaches. Something was coming up the hill behind him, he realized suddenly. For half a heartbeat he thought it might be Ghost come back, but the direwolf never made so much noise. Jon drew Longclaw in a single smooth motion, but it was only one of the Thenns, a broad man in a bronze helm. “Snow, ” the intruder said. “Come. Magnar wants. ” The men of Thenn spoke the Old Tongue, and most had only a few words of the Common. – ASoS – Jon III A Storm of Swords – Jon IV Jon thinks of Ghost as they depart for the wall, still worrying if he understood where to go.  After this scene, the magical barrier of the wall will isolate them from each other until for the rest of this volume save the final chapter and their reunion.  Jon’s missing wolf will become a theme in his thoughts until that time. Ghost was gone when the wildings led their horses from the cave. Did he understand about Castle Black? Jon took a breath of the crisp morning air and allowed himself to hope. The eastern sky was pink near the horizon and pale grey higher up. The Sword of the Morning still hung in the south, the bright white star in its hilt blazing like a diamond in the dawn, but the blacks and greys of the darkling forest were turning once again to greens and golds, reds and russets. And above the soldier pines and oaks and ash and sentinels stood the Wall, the ice pale and glimmering beneath the dust and dirt that pocked its surface. – ASoS – Jon IV A Storm of Swords – Samwell II Just as Jon starts to miss Ghost, Sam misses Jon and Ghost in turn.  It reminds us that Ghost has played a major part in Sam’s story.  I do wonder why our author didn’t have them cross paths while Jon was across the wall and they were still north of it.  I assume he must have wanted Ghost’s movements to be a complete mystery. He could not understand why the gods would want to take Jon Snow and Bannen and leave him, craven and clumsy as he was. He should have died on the Fist, where he’d pissed himself three times and lost his sword besides. And he would have died in the woods if Small Paul had not come along to carry him. I wish it was all a dream. Then I could wake up. How fine that would be, to wake back on the Fist of the First Men with all his brothers still around him, even Jon and Ghost. Or even better, to wake in Castle Black behind the Wall and go to the common room for a bowl of Three-Finger Hobb’s thick cream of wheat, with a big spoon of butter melting in the middle and a dollop of honey besides. Just the thought of it made his empty stomach rumble. “Snow. ” – ASoS – Samwell II Jon starts to misses Ghost (again) in his lone chapter among the wildlings south of the wall, so much so that he somehow thinks that Summer was Ghost during the attack at Queenscrown.  Note also that Jon develops a liking for several of the men on the march with him, even as he tries to suppress it.  His suppression of affection for the wildlings goes as far as to make hum feel alone even with Ygritte.  His telepathic isolation from Ghost enhances this feeling of loneliness. Jon is still wondering if he got his message across to go to Castle Black.  It is almost becoming a theme for Jon that he underestimates his own abilities, accomplishments, and strength-at-arms.  I suppose it drives him to improve, but a bit more confidence could help immensely. A Storm of Swords – Jon V Jon wondered where Ghost was now. Had he gone to Castle Black, or was he was running with some wolfpack in the woods? He had no sense of the direwolf, not even in his dreams. It made him feel as if part of himself had been cut off. Even with Ygritte sleeping beside him, he felt alone. He did not want to die alone. […] And death leapt down amongst them. The lightning flash left Jon night-blind, but he glimpsed the hurtling shadow half a heartbeat before he heard the shriek. The first Thenn died as the old man had, blood gushing from his torn throat. Then the light was gone and the shape was spinning away, snarling, and another man went down in the dark. There were curses, shouts, howls of pain. Jon saw Big Boil stumble backward and knock down three men behind him.  Ghost, he thought for one mad instant. Ghost leapt the Wall. Then the lightning turned the night to day, and he saw the wolf standing on Del’s chest, blood running black from his jaws. Grey. He’s grey. – ASoS – Jon V A Storm of Swords – Arya VIII Speaking of the children of the forest, Arya (also later compared to the CotF) mentions not long after the chapter above how the Ghost of High Heart’s appearance is similar to that of Ghost.  The woman is an albino, but Jenny of Oldstones once said she is a child of the forest.  I doubt that, but with her being prone to visions and prophecy, I believe she is special telepathically, as I believe with Ghost.  We’ll add her to our list of entities that Ghost has been compared to: The weirwoods, Bloodraven, the white ravens of the Citadel, and now the Ghost of High Heart. That night the wind was howling almost like a wolf and there were some real wolves off to the west giving it lessons. Notch, Anguy, and Merrit o’ Moontown had the watch. Ned, Gendry, and many of the others were fast asleep when Arya spied the small pale shape creeping behind the horses, thin white hair flying wild as she leaned upon a gnarled cane. The woman could not have been more than three feet tall. The firelight made her eyes gleam as red as the eyes of Jon’s wolf. He was a ghost too. Arya stole closer, and knelt to watch. – ASoS – Arya VIII A Storm of Swords – Jon VI When Jon arrives at Castle Black it becomes official that Ghost is “missing, ” and not just  “missed. ” “Where’s your wolf? ” Noye asked as they crossed the yard. “Ghost. I had to leave him when I climbed the Wall. I’d hoped he’d make his way back here. ” “I’m sorry, lad. There’s been no sign of him. ” They limped up to the maester’s door, in the long wooden keep beneath the rookery. The armorer gave it a kick. “Clydas! ” – ASoS – Jon VI A Storm of Swords – Jon VII He thinks of Ghost two more times the next chapter, perhaps starting to think he was lost forever, triggered by seeing Rast, and by looking out on the stars. We are the garrison, Jon told himself, and look at us. The brothers Bowen Marsh had left behind were old men, cripples, and green boys, just as Donal Noye had warned him. He could see some wrestling barrels up the steps, others on the barricade; stout old Kegs, as slow as ever, Spare Boot hopping along briskly on his carved wooden leg, half-mad Easy who fancied himself Florian the Fool reborn, Dornish Dilly, Red Alyn of the Rosewood, Young Henly (well past fifty), Old Henly (well past seventy), Hairy Hal, Spotted Pate of Maidenpool. A couple of them saw Jon looking down from atop the King’s Tower and waved up at him. Others turned away. They still think me a turncloak. That was a bitter draft to drink, but Jon could not blame them. He was a bastard, after all. Everyone knew that bastards were wanton and treacherous by nature, having been born of lust and deceit. And he had made as many enemies as friends at Castle Black... Rast, for one. Jon had once threatened to have Ghost rip his throat out unless he stopped tormenting Samwell Tarly, and Rast did not forget things like that. He was raking dry leaves into piles under the stairs just now, but every so often he stopped long enough to give Jon a nasty look. […] The west had gone the color of a blood bruise, but the sky above was cobalt blue, deepening to purple, and the stars were coming out. Jon sat between two merlons with only a scarecrow for company and watched the Stallion gallop up the sky. Or was it the Horned Lord? He wondered where Ghost was now. He wondered about Ygritte as well, and told himself that way lay madness. – ASoS – Jon VII A Storm of Swords – Bran IV Sam again recalls Ghost, and Summer seems to like Sam much as Ghost has. “He won’t hurt you, ” Bran said. “That’s Summer. ” “Jon said you all had wolves. ” Sam pulled off a glove. “ I know Ghost. ” He held out a shaky hand, the fingers white and soft and fat as little sausages. Summer padded closer, sniffed them, and gave the hand a lick. That was when Bran made up his mind. “We’ll go with you. ” – ASoS – Bran IV A Storm of Swords – Jon VIII As time passes, Jon really starts to worry about Ghost and his thoughts turn dark.  He associates the dream of Grey Wind and Robb being dead, the incident with Summer/Bran, and Ghost, worrying that he’d lost them all. The cell was dark, the bed hard beneath him. His own bed, he remembered, his own bed in his steward’s cell beneath the Old Bear’s chambers. By rights it should have brought him sweeter dreams. Even beneath the furs, he was cold.  Ghost  had shared his cell before the ranging, warming it against the chill of night. And in the wild, Ygritte had slept beside him. Both gone now. He had burned Ygritte himself, as he knew she would have wanted, and  Ghost... Where are you? Was he dead as well, was that what his dream had meant, the bloody wolf in the crypts? But the wolf in the dream had been grey, not white. Grey, like Bran’s wolf. Had the Thenns hunted him down and killed him after Queenscrown? If so, Bran was lost to him for good and all. – ASoS – Jon VIII A Storm of Swords – Jon X He again recalls Ghost during Stannis’s attack, the thought triggered by Varamyr and his wolves.  Note also a bit of skinchanging lore exposed in this passage.  Varamyr’s wolves still guard Jon while Varamyr skinchanges the eagle and mutters what he sees under his breath. This shows how versatile skinchanging can be once mastered.  The wolves are either compelled through the bond alone, or he is splitting his attention 4 ways, at least.  Jon may need this ability going forward if he is to ride a dragon and maintain his bond to Ghost.  Note also that Varamyr screams at the end, an eagle’s natural call is much like a scream.  I don’t think this word choice is a coincidence. Jon took a step toward the tent, thinking of the Horn of Winter, but the shadowcat blocked him, tail lashing. The beast’s nostrils flared, and slaver ran from his curved front teeth. He smells my fear. He missed Ghost more than ever then. The two wolves were behind him, growling. “Banners, ” he heard Varamyr murmur, “I see golden banners, oh... ” A mammoth lumbered by, trumpeting, a half-dozen bowmen in the wooden tower on its back. “The king... no... ”Then the skinchanger threw back his head and screamed. – ASoS – Jon X A Storm of Swords – Samwell IV Jon again laments the missing Ghost, telling Sam that he doesn’t dream of Ghost anymore.  Sam wouldn’t have known that he ever did dream of Ghost, unless Jon told him earlier, which we must assume happened. “What everyone knows is that Ser Alliser is a knight from a noble line, and trueborn, while I’m the bastard who killed Qhorin Halfhand and bedded with a spearwife. The warg, I’ve heard them call me. How can I be a warg without a wolf, I ask you? ” His mouth twisted. “ I don’t even dream of Ghost anymore. All my dreams are of the crypts, of the stone kings on their thrones. Sometimes I hear Robb’s voice, and my father’s, as if they were at a feast. But there’s a wall between us, and I know that no place has been set for me. ” – ASoS – Samwell IV A Storm of Swords – Jon XI As their reunion approaches, Jon has a final thought of Ghost with Stannis, recalling him even in the past tense, and then remembering how Ghost found the dragonglass.  Stannis offers Jon Winterfell later in the same scene.  Without hope of Ghost’s return, Jon is prone to take the offer. “Aye. All that, and more. You are a warg too, they say, a skinchanger who walks at night as a wolf. ” King Stannis had a hard smile. “How much of it is true? ” “ I had a direwolf, Ghost. I left him when I climbed the Wall near Greyguard, and have not seen him since. Qhorin Halfhand commanded me to join the wildlings. He knew they would make me kill him to prove myself, and told me to do whatever they asked of me. The woman was named Ygritte. I broke my vows with her, but I swear to you on my father’s name that I never turned my cloak. ” “I believe you, ” the king said. […] Stannis snorted. “I know Janos Slynt. And I knew Ned Stark as well. Your father was no friend of mine, but only a fool would doubt his honor or his honesty. You have his look. ” A big man, Stannis Baratheon towered over Jon, but he was so gaunt that he looked ten years older than he was. “I know more than you might think, Jon Snow. I know it was you who found the dragonglass dagger that Randyll Tarly’s son used to slay the Other. ” “ Ghost found it. The blade was wrapped in a ranger’s cloak and buried beneath the Fist of the First Men. There were other blades as well... spearheads, arrowheads, all dragonglass. ” “I know you held the gate here, ” King Stannis said. “If not, I would have come too late. ” – ASoS – Jon XI Continued in oldest reply.

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Perfect timing to get this out.
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Im still trying to figure out when it comes out. Warning: a lot of text to follow TLDR; Knowing that no one could consciously destroy the Ring, Eru Ilúvatar was directly intervening all along with the specific intention of bringing Gollum to Mount Doom to fall into the Cracks. Everything from at least his release from Barad-dur to his final fall was directly (but subtly) orchestrated by Ilúvatar directly. Making him responsible for Gollum's release from Barad-dur, escape from Mirkwood, convenient location in Moria, mysterious ability to cross the destroyed Bridge of Khazad-dum, going undetected in Lothlórien, his following of the Fellowship down the Anduin and finally his fall into the Cracks of Doom. So I'm going through a reread of The Lord of the Rings and something popped into my mind yesterday regarding Eru Ilúvatar and him intervening in the War of the Ring. I was asked on another subreddit if I thought he intervened on more occasions than just sending back Gandalf and causing Gollum to fall. It got me thinking about it and I'm starting to believe that Ilúvatar was intervening on Gollum's behalf at least as far back as his release from Barad-dur. Now it should be stated before I get into my theory, when I make statements along the lines of "with the help of Ilúvatar" or "guided by Ilúvatar" I mean these to be taken as happening subtly. Ilúvatar's interventions can vary widely in how apparent they are. He can intervene subtly like when he trips Gollum. He can intervene directly, but not spectacularly like when he sends Gandalf back to Middle Earth. Or he can intervene dramatically like when he destroyed an entire army, their island kingdom and changed the shape of the fucking planet. So unless otherwise stated I will be referring to the first (and possibly second) variety of intervention. So, Tolkien stated in one of his letters that the task given to Frodo was an impossible one and that no one could destroy the Ring. Something known to Ilúvatar. It is for that reason that I think he was planning to have the Ring destroyed via Gollum falling in the Cracks since the beginning. Something I think is alluded to by Gandalf in one of the most famous conversations regarding Gollum: Frodo: 'It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill Gollum when he had the chance. ' Gandalf: 'Pity? It's a pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many. ' Frodo: 'I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened. ' Gandalf: 'So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides that of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought Now Gollum's role in the fate of Middle Earth cannot be understated. But is this quote foreshadowing just his enormous destiny and the obvious implications his life has had or, is it also foreshadowing that powers unseen (i. e. Ilúvatar) has a specific plan in mind? Due to the crazy series of events that leads Gollum from Barad-dur to Mount Doom, I believe it to be the latter. Starting with the end of Gollum's captivity in Barad-dur, the prevailing theory is that Sauron released Gollum knowing he would tirelessly seek the Ring. He could thus use Gollum to find the Ring. Which is supported by this Unfinished Tales quote: He did not trust Gollum, for he divined something indomitable in him, which could not be overcome, even by the Shadow of Fear, except by destroying him. But Sauron perceived the depth of Gollum's malice towards those that had "robbed" him, and guessing that he would go in search of them to avenge himself, Sauron hoped that his spies would thus be led to the Ring. Aragon likewise assumes something along these lines stating: His malice is great and gives him a strength hardly to be believed in one so lean and withered. He could work much mischief still, if he were free. And I do not doubt that he was allowed to leave Mordor on some evil errand. Here's the problem I have with that: Gollum does find the Ring. He does find the Fellowship. In fact he's with Frodo for the majority of his journey to Mordor. Sauron's plan worked! So why didn't he follow through? Why didn't his spies relay the position of Frodo, Sam, Gollum and the Ring to Sauron? My initial thought was that Sauron didn't actually release Gollum. Rather his release was orchestrated by Ilúvatar more directly. Probably with Gollum escaping via his help. This is somewhat supported by another quote in the Unfinished Tales regarding Sauron's attack on Mirkwood: Hoping to alarm his enemies and disturb their counsels with the fear of war (which he did not intend to make for some time), [Sauron] attacked Thranduil and Gondor at about the same time. He had these two additional objects: to capture or kill Gollum, or at least to deprive his enemies of him; and to force the passage of the bridge of Osgiliath, so that the Nazgûl could cross, while testing the strength of Gondor. (This brings us to the underlying issue inherent with the Unfinished Tales and Tolkien's other unfinished works: They weren't finished. So the level of impact they should have on the canon is a matter of opinion. If you take the Frame Narrative approach that most of Tolkien's works regarding his Legendarium are texts that exist within the canon themselves as imperfect sources, the contradictions can be used in the same way conflicting real world historical sources are used today. Which is my view and how I will approach it) So why would Sauron place such an emphasis on capturing or killing Gollum when he had so recently released him? It doesn't make much sense unless Gollum's capture by Aragorn caused a shift in his thinking and he now saw Gollum as a threat. So I think its safe to say that Sauron did actually choose to release Gollum. Especially considering the first quote from the Unfinished Tales is the only one that directly answers the question. If we assume that both quotes are correct, it would seem Sauron's opinion on Gollum's usefulness shifted for the reason above. So what of Gollum's escape from Mirkwood? According to Legolas, Gollum escapes during Sauron's attack on Thranduil that happened to coincide with one of the occasions they would allow him to go outside under guard. Legolas assumes that the attack was deliberately to "rescue" Gollum and that Gollum was aware of the impending attack. However I don't believe this to be the case. The attack on Mirkwood was launched at the same time as the attack on Osgiliath. Sauron's primary motivation for these attacks was to knock his enemies of balance while he continued to gather his strength as well as to gain an understanding of their's. The kill or capture order regarding Gollum was secondary to the overall mission. It wouldn't make sense for Sauron commit his forces to something as major as complicated, interrelated probing operations for something as minor as neutralizing someone he deemed such a low risk he elected to just recently cut him loose. So I think it is safe to say that Gollum did not have foreknowledge of the attack but rather became aware of the impending attack during his yard time and stayed in the trees intending to escape during the chaos. One of the many crazy coincidences that happen in the span of Gollum's escape from Mirkwood to his time with Frodo and Sam. Following his flight from Mirkwood, Gollum makes his way to Moria. At this point its safe to assume that Gollum has no idea what is going on regarding the Ring. He could not have overheard news during his time in Mirkwood of the Fellowship and the Council of Elrond as he escaped before Legolas even left for Rivendell. He also would not have overheard it while on the road as it was undoubtedly a closely guarded secret. Had he known of the Fellowship and their destination, he could have made the decision to wait for them in Moria. Even if he did, there's absolutely no reason for him to guess they would go through Moria as even Saruman failed to consider the possibility they would go through there. Gollum could only have been guided by one of two things: the Ring or Ilúvatar. It cannot be Sauron as that would require him to know things we know he did not (i. the location of the Ring and who has it. ) The Ring would seem to be the obvious choice. Given Gollum's connection to the Ring he might have been drawn to its power. But I think this is a flawed interpretation. Sauron, presumably, has the strongest connection to the Ring of anyone and is completely unaware of its location. Moreover he had previously searched for the Ring and Bilbo but was unable to come anywhere close to the Shire. Plus if it was the Ring reaching out to Gollum and telling him of it's location, why not do the same regarding Sauron or at least the Nazgul? That leaves the all knowledgeable Eru Ilúvatar as the guiding force behind Gollum. But by what means he was guiding Gollum is hard to say. But if I had to guess I would say he took the form of one of Gollum's duel personalities and quite literally became the voice inside his head. So Gollum is not only in Moria, but stuck behind the East Gate when all of a sudden the Fellowship shows up. He follows the Fellowship and eventually Gandalf fights Durin's Bain and collapses the Bridge of Khazad-dum. That leaves the Fellowship on one side and Gollum on the other. Yet Gollum somehow finds a way across fast enough that he doesn't lose the trail of the Fellowship? Maybe Gollum's knowledge of the Misty Mountains due to have dwelt there for so long gave him knowledge of another pass. But I think Gollum's knowledge of Moria was limited and it's possible he had never been there before. This is evidenced by the fact that he appears to have been trapped when he couldn't get out of the Eastern Gate. I think the more likely explanation is that Eru Ilúvatar once again guided him through Moria after the Bridge collapsed. After Moria, Gollum follows the Fellowship to Lothlórien without being captured. Lothlórien. Let that sink in. Lothlórien, home to Celeborn and Galadriel. Galadriel who herself wields a Ring of Power is probably the most powerful, non-Maiar being inhabiting Middle Earth. Celeborn is likewise considered one of the most wise Elves in Middle Earth. But you're telling me that Gollum can infiltrate that place without alerting anyone? No chance. Not without the intervention of Ilúvatar. Following the Fellowship's departure from Lothlórien, they travel via the River Anduin. Yet again Gollum is able to track and follow the Fellowship by...... floating on a log?. Ummm ok. Perhaps the Fellowship was careless and easy to track? What's that? Oh the Fellowship was led by Ranger of the North Aragorn, sixteenth Chieftain of the Dúnedain, Heir of Isildur, wielder of Andúril Flame of the West and furture twenty-sixth King of Arnor, thirty-fifth King of Gondor and the first High King of the Reunited Kingdom? Yeah not likely. Gollum had to have once again been guided directly by Ilúvatar. All of this culminated in the fall of Gollum after Ilúvatar causes him to trip over a rock and fall into the Cracks of Doom, destroying the One Ring and saving Middle Earth. Just as Ilúvatar intended to happen from the very beginning.

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1. Writer: OMG its Rotimi
2. Resume Brand page @rotimigrafix 📷 GraphicsDesigner #Eksuite
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