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Description
I'm not necessarily shipping these two as a pairing... but I adore the Kuchiki Siblings as brother and sister more than almost anything else in the series. And I had to do this piece after the recent chapters. But I won't be discussing theories/reactions here. For my thoughts on those, read my journal .

ABOUT THE SERIES:
Read the gallery description here.

ABOUT THIS PIECE:
Byakuya & Rukia

Pride
I am ashamed. I took the easy way out with this one -- I finally chose a canon, over-used theme. But, but, but-- IT'S SO BEAUTIFUUUULLL!!!

Pride is everything about these two. Byakuya's entire relationship with his sister throughout the entire series is defined by it. He adopts her into his family, but keeps her at a distance because his pride as a noble demands that he do so in order to avoid becoming too emotionally attached (as he did with Hisana). He resigns himself to letting her be executed, defining her death as his "pride" as a shinigami -- a pride which Ichigo says he would gladly trample, if it meant saving Rukia. His character shifts drastically at this point and he sacrifices himself, that Rukia would be spared from Gin's blade. With his hesitation utterly destroyed by Ichigo and Aizen's threat, he immediately allows himself the emotions he had until then been repressing. He quietly admits his now unwavering love for his sister when he refers to her as his "pride" upon killing Zommari in Hueco Mundo. And my goodness, if these recent chapters didn't make it clear as day how much he truly loves Rukia. She is what he wants most in the world to protect, her death is what he fears the most out of all that could possibly happen....

Rukia's pride, though less spelled out, isn't less prevalent. Originally she feared her stoic brother, didn't understand him and never expected him to regard her as anything but a weakling in the way. But the very moment he showed her he could love her, when he saved her from Aizen's death sentence, she immediately forgave everything (as is evident by how she cradled his head in her arms, attempting to shield him from Aizen's approach). And after that, every sign of love from him brings out her "dere-dere" moments . Compare that to when she said he never once looked at her with any compassion, and you can tell she takes much more pride in being his sister than ever before. And no one can doubt the strength of her love for him after the recent chapters where she loses her cool at the threat of losing him.

Basically, Kubo does a brilliant job of showing us just how close Byakuya and Rukia have grown together without having to spell it out for us.

Symbols

More shame. The only real symbol is the sakura blossoms -- the manifestation of Byakuya's shinigami soul; that which he uses to define and protect his pride.

Pose - isn't really very symbolic here. Many people might consider it OOC, actually. But I would have to respectfully disagree. Byakuya is clearly much more open to affection than he has been in the series -- his positive relationship with Rukia is rekindling the emotional side of him which was so prominent when he was younger. And we've already seen how Rukia is much more girly, peppy, and happy when she receives attention from him. I think a characteristically sibling-esque hug is totally within the realm of realism for these two.
Plus, I think it's adorable.

MORE IN THE SERIES

CREDITS
Paper textures ~Knald
Cherry Blossom tutorial
Bleach & all related characters and concepts (c) Tite Kubo
art (c) anifanatical

Description
I'm not necessarily shipping these two as a pairing... but I adore the Kuchiki Siblings as brother and sister more than almost anything else in the series. And I had to do this piece after the recent chapters. But I won't be discussing theories/reactions here. For my thoughts on those, read my journal .

ABOUT THE SERIES:
Read the gallery description here.

ABOUT THIS PIECE:
Byakuya & Rukia

Pride
I am ashamed. I took the easy way out with this one -- I finally chose a canon, over-used theme. But, but, but-- IT'S SO BEAUTIFUUUULLL!!!

Pride is everything about these two. Byakuya's entire relationship with his sister throughout the entire series is defined by it. He adopts her into his family, but keeps her at a distance because his pride as a noble demands that he do so in order to avoid becoming too emotionally attached (as he did with Hisana). He resigns himself to letting her be executed, defining her death as his "pride" as a shinigami -- a pride which Ichigo says he would gladly trample, if it meant saving Rukia. His character shifts drastically at this point and he sacrifices himself, that Rukia would be spared from Gin's blade. With his hesitation utterly destroyed by Ichigo and Aizen's threat, he immediately allows himself the emotions he had until then been repressing. He quietly admits his now unwavering love for his sister when he refers to her as his "pride" upon killing Zommari in Hueco Mundo. And my goodness, if these recent chapters didn't make it clear as day how much he truly loves Rukia. She is what he wants most in the world to protect, her death is what he fears the most out of all that could possibly happen....

Rukia's pride, though less spelled out, isn't less prevalent. Originally she feared her stoic brother, didn't understand him and never expected him to regard her as anything but a weakling in the way. But the very moment he showed her he could love her, when he saved her from Aizen's death sentence, she immediately forgave everything (as is evident by how she cradled his head in her arms, attempting to shield him from Aizen's approach). And after that, every sign of love from him brings out her "dere-dere" moments . Compare that to when she said he never once looked at her with any compassion, and you can tell she takes much more pride in being his sister than ever before. And no one can doubt the strength of her love for him after the recent chapters where she loses her cool at the threat of losing him.

Basically, Kubo does a brilliant job of showing us just how close Byakuya and Rukia have grown together without having to spell it out for us.

Symbols

More shame. The only real symbol is the sakura blossoms -- the manifestation of Byakuya's shinigami soul; that which he uses to define and protect his pride.

Pose - isn't really very symbolic here. Many people might consider it OOC, actually. But I would have to respectfully disagree. Byakuya is clearly much more open to affection than he has been in the series -- his positive relationship with Rukia is rekindling the emotional side of him which was so prominent when he was younger. And we've already seen how Rukia is much more girly, peppy, and happy when she receives attention from him. I think a characteristically sibling-esque hug is totally within the realm of realism for these two.
Plus, I think it's adorable.

MORE IN THE SERIES

CREDITS
Paper textures ~Knald
Cherry Blossom tutorial
Bleach & all related characters and concepts (c) Tite Kubo
art (c) anifanatical