Riffraff
Characters/Pairings: Rukia, Renji
Warnings: None
Summary: AU: Renji is a Hollow. Young!Rukia meets him.
Comments: Okay, this is the sort of thing that just has the potential to be really good, or really, really bad. But this just absolutely sparkles. The dialogue is perfect. The hints of the larger Bleach universe appeal to my world-building side. And Rukia’s and Renji’s interactions are just perfect.
One-shot, complete. Probably.

Experiments in Eschatology
CHaracters/Pairings: Rukia, Byakuya, Kaien, Ukitake
Warnings: None
Summary: Rukia was an interesting child. AU where she came to live with Hisana and Byakuya as a child. Same universe as this fic.
Comments: I’d actually been thinking that I was bored with Bleach fic. Then this fic popped up on my flist, and I realized that it was just that bravecows hadn’t been writing. This is adorable and almost everything I love about fanfiction.
One-shot, complete.

Borderline
Characters/Pairings: Rukia, Yuuko, Urahara, Renji, Hanatarou, Ichigo
Warnings: Um. Highlight for fic spoilers: Character death
Summary: Rukia gets her powers back, but pays too high a price.
Comments: Okay, I feel like a vaguely bad Rukia fan for reccing this, but damnit, it’s well-done, the concept is excellent, and it works. The author writes Rukia’s slow deterioration well, and the ending caught me by surprise. But damnit, I almost always hate fics like this, but it’s well-done enough that I feel almost obliged to rec it. Because I can appreciate the writing while bawling over what happened to Rukia. Because I’m kind of a Rukia fangirl, in case you hadn’t noticed.
One-shot, complete.

Aizen’s Diary (Recruiting Others through Guile and Intelligence)
Characters/Pairings: Aizen, other Captains. Various pairings implied.
Spoilers: Do I still have to mention SS spoilers?
Summary: Aizen attempts to recruit his fellow Captains. Discovers problems.
Comments: I love fic that makes fun of Aizen. And this does, as well as mocking the rest of the Gotei 13. I particularly liked the one on his attempt to recruit Soi Fong. Because oh so true.
One-shot, complete.

quillofferings: Cat’s Paw
Loosely connected sequel to Je Chante Pour Passer le Temps
Characters/Pairings: Yoruichi, Watanuki
Warnings: None
Summary: A certain black cat visits Yuuko, and borrows Watanuki for the day.
Comments: Just…a magnificently done fic. Yoruichi’s interaction with Watanuki is just well-done, the lessons that she teaches him while still remaining largely aloof are interesting, and it just feels like both series at once. At that’s amazingly hard to do, especially when it comes to series as different as Bleach and XXXholic. (Also, the Rukia cameo made me squee. I am so easy.)

Rules Drawn in Red
Characters/Pairings: Byakuya, implies Yoruichi/Soi Fong, Byakuya/Hisana, one-sided Byakuya/Rukia
Warnings: a few sexual implications, but not much
Summary: Byakuya, and the rules, and the people greater than the rules.
Comments: Wow. Just wow. This is one of the best - possibly the best Byakuya perspective I’ve seen. The contrasts and parallels between him and Soi Fong are just amazingly well-done, and his voice is just absolutely perfect.
One-shot, complete.

Je Chante Pour Passer le Temps
Characters/Pairings: Byakuya, Yuuko, young Ishida Souken cameo (Ishida’s grandfather)
Warning: None
Summary: Byakuya has made a promise, and he intends to keep it. No matter who he has to deal with, or what laws he has to break.
Comments: Why had no one thought of this before? The concept of this fic is just perfect. And it is just amazingly well-executed. Byakuya’s discomfort with the whole situation, while at the same time, there’s that same titanium-hard honor about him that attracted me to him in the first place.
Author says it may be first in a series, or it could be a one-shot. I’ll leave it at that.

Never Let Your Feet Run Faster Than Your Shoes
Characters/Pairings: Rukia, Ichigo
Warnings: None
Summary: When Ichigo manages to defeat the shinigami come to bring the criminal Rukia back to Soul Society, what changes?
Comments: Brilliant AU idea, brilliantly executed. Their characterization is wonderful. The random NPC POV in the second part just works perfectly. I love it, and want more of it.
Notes: May I just make a request that if you are writing a multi-chapter fic on lj, you have a specific tag for it? Like this author so kindly did? It makes finding and linking the fic SO MUCH EASIER.
Multi-chapter, incomplete.

the war of winter
Characters/Pairings: Rukia, Jadis.
Warnings: None
Summary: When Rukia discovers her sword is the bound soul of an ancient queen of ice, she must defeat her.
Comments: The White Witch as Rukia’s zanpakutou is brilliant. And it’s beautifully written, and just made me grin with mad glee.
One-shot, complete.

Untitled
Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Rukia
Warnings: None
Summary: Ichigo and Rukia discuss changing the past.
Comments: Both of them are just very, very nicely characterized. The balance between silliness and seriousness underneath a layer of casualness is just about right for Rukia and Ichigo.
Notes: Just so you know, this is my 100th Bleach rec. Yay. Also, I have no life.
One-shot, complete

Untitled
Characters/Pairings: Rukia, Sodeno Shirayuki, Zangetsu
Warnings: None
Summary: The life of Sodeno Shirayuki up until the start of theseries.
Comments: One of my favorite Rukia’s sword fics yet. I also heart the fanon about Rukia and dogs, even if it does seem to be getting way too close to people considering it canon. But that’s going to get me started on a rant about fandom, so shutting up.
One-shot, complete.

Twiggy versus James Bond
Characters/Pairings: Rukia, Renji, Ichigo. Vaguely Rukia/Renji/Ichigo. Or not. Orihime/Ishida.
Summary: Renji, Rukia, and Ichigo get drunk after Orihime and Ishida’s wedding. And Rukia is evil.
Comments: I was laughing my ass off at the entire thing. And somehow the explanation of where Urahara got Ururu and Jinta kind of makes sense.
One-shot, complete.

Night of the Vampire
1 2 3
Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Orihime, Chad, Grimmjow, Yoruichi, Urahara. So far.
Warnings: None
Summary: It is of course utterly impossible that vampires exist. They are merely a sexualized form of Hollows humans imagined. Even if vampires did exist, they would need a gate like Urahara’s to get to Soul Society. Besides, no self-respecting vampire would every transform into a bunny.
Comments: I was just laughing my ass off throughout the entire thing. Incandescens is one of those authors who tends to be a little hit or miss with me liking her serious fanfic, but good god, she can write great comedy. Good comedy is hard to find, and any time I see that incandescens has written a new comedy fic, I just go gleeful. Because she’s just that good a comedy writer.
Edited May 11, 2006 to add the second and third chapters.
Multi-chapter, complete.

Into The Woods
Characters/Pairings: Rukia, Sodeno Shirayuki
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Only makes sense if you know what Sodeno Shirayuki means.
Summary: Rose Red and Snow White and swords.
Comments: I adore Rukia. I adore Rukia sword-fics. I adore stories that draw heavily upon fairy tales. This fits all of these. It’s a little confusing, but it’s one of those fics that I am willing to reread several times until it begins to make sense.
One-shot, complete.

For Mr. Chappy
Characters/Pairings: Renji/Rukia/Byakuya. God, life is good.
Warnings: Drinking, threesome sex. Um, whatever warning is appropriate for Rukia and Byakuya both sexing up Renji at once.
Summary: WHen Renji gets drunk with the Kuchikis, he gets a not-unpleasant surprise.
Comments: Kuchiki/Renji threesome! Rukia and Byakuya getting drunk and sexing up Renji! How could I not love this fic? It’s well-written, too.
On

Let it be easy
Characters/Pairings: Rukia, Sodeno Shirayuki
Warnings: None
Summary: It is only that terrible, rainy night where Rukia learns the feel of friend’s blood on her face that she learns the name of her sword.
Comments: This is just flat-out the most beautifully done fic I’ve seen dealing with Rukia, her sword, and that night. It just is.
One-shot, complete.

Fragmented
Characters/Pairings: Byakuya, Kaien, Kuukaku, Yoruichi, Urahara.
Warnings: None
Summary: The heirs of the Four Noble Houses were great friends, when they were children.
Comments: Honestly, going into this, I wasn’t really sure I’d be that interested in it. But this is beautifully, amazingly done and I love and adore the character interactions, and how the author just makes them work. I’d thought of Byakuya and Kaien as friends before, but this makes it work beautifully. And the note of bittersweet hope it ends on it just perfect.
One-shot, complete.

Stay Away from my Sister
Characters/Pairings: Byakuya, Ichigo, mentioned Ichigo/Rukia
Warnings: None
Summary: Protective older brothers are so much fun. From a safe distance.
Comments: I wasn’t originally going to rec this, but when Byakuya make his point by telling Ichigo to imagine Yuzu dating, I just had to. Because you know that Ichigo’s going to be the worst protective elder brother ever. I’m a little iffy on Byakuya’s characterization in this (I can’t put my finger quite on why; it just feels off), but I have a massive weak spot for elder prother fics.
One-shot, complete.

A Simple Game of Tag
Characters/Pairings: Byakuya, Yoruichi
Warnings: None
Summary: A young Byakuya meets Yoruichi and is taught how to play.
Comments: This is both unbearably cute and kind of sad. It does a nice job of portraying just how regimented Byakuya’s childhood must have been and in that context, Yoruichi comes like a breath of fresh air. You know, I rather wish I had a better understanding of Yoruichi’s childhood, because the way she acted in the Soi Fong flashbacks intrigued me. Yoruichi’s a character who I have a hard time understanding, and that’s part of the reason why I tend to like fics with her in it.
One-shot, complete.

Between Rivals
Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Renji, Rukia
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Some for post-Soul Society arc. (Hey, can I stop warning for Aizen spoilers now that the relevant episode has finally
come out in the anime? Eh, I’ll probably wait until the week after, but then you’re doomed. I hate spoiler warnings)
Summary: Ichigo makes Renji promise.
Comments: I adore Renji and Ichigo interacting about Rukia. (And yes, Renji/Rukia/Ichigo is totally my OT3 of Bleach). But this fic does a damn good job of capturing them in a short amount of time, and capturing Renji’s and Ichigo’s determination to protect Rukia. And it’s just kind of what I wanted to read at the moment.
Notes: It’s finals week. I’m probably not going to be reccing a lot this week. Sorry.
One-shot, complete.