Don't Forget Till You Die - A Look At Apache and Grimmjow (Bleach)
Title:Don't Forget Till You Die - A Look At Apache and Grimmjow
Fandom: Bleach
Pairing: Apache X Grimmjow
Spoilers: Through manga chapter 305, although only with events relevant to the characters.
Notes: So I think I've finally cracked in writing this one. These characters are so god damn unlikely to get together, that I just had to fall in love with em as a pair =P I had a draft of this on my journal that hardly anyone bothered to read, and so I am going into this with no real beta but myself. I hope people find it enjoyable (if anyone does bother to peak) and perhaps become a little more open to the ship.
Credit: Manga scans were taken from OneManga.com, all credit going to the original scanslators. Bleach and all related characters are property of Tite Kubo. The title is snatched from Bleach 287, kudos to those who knew that already.
Being that I am the only person who actively ships this pairing right now, I feel the need to really spell out my reasons and ideas behind it. To start, let me make it clear that I do not really believe there will ever be any canon romance with Grimmjow Jeagerjaques of Bleach. If there is, I would be intrigued and surprised, as the manga barely goes in to any details about the romances of the main characters, never mind the romances of the main villain's henchmen. However, if there was a relationship spelled out in the manga Apache and Grimmjow is what I would like to see. I believe considering Grimmjow's personality, and what we know of Apache, they do each other justice in a way that no other arrancar can.
This essay has major spoilers up to the current Hueco Mundo arc chapters coming out in Japan. Up to Chapter 305 has been taken into account in its writing. This essay should also be taken lightly - I am not trying to prove that this pairing is definitely going to happen. You are going to see words like "may happen" and "if this happened." many times. I am not saying it WILL, nor am I saying that there aren't other possibilities. I am merely trying to prove that it COULD happen if the circumstances were right, and that it is an interesting enough combination to be explored further by the fandom
Bleach and Arrancar - What you need to know
Bleach is a series by Tite Kubo about the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki, a substitute Shinigami, or Soul Reaper. One of the main things that he fights through out the series are creatures called hollows, which were, once upon a time, living soul. Because they were not purified and sent on the Soul Society, they became evil destructive spirits. But not all hollows are the same. There is a hollow evolution, and at the top of the mountain we have the arrancar.
The arrancar live in the hollow world of Hueco Mundo, and are currently serving Aizen Sosuke, a traitor Shinigami. The arrancar have removed their hollows masks, making them much more like Shinigami. They are human in appearance, with a hollow hole located somewhere in their body, and a bone mask fragment. Their true hollow forms are kept under lock and key, but can be released, similar to the bankai of the Shinigami. The top ranking arrancar are the Espada, who are considered the strongest. Espada may have underlings, called fraccions, who serve as henchmen to their bosses. Grimmjow is Espada number 6. Apache is fraccion to Halibel, who as of this point does not have a number ranking - However, by process of elimination, we know she is in the top three, a fact I'll be coming back to later.
Grimmjow - The Badass Cat
Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, Espada number 6, is what you might call an asshole. From the very first time we see him, we know that he loves to fight, and takes immense pleasure in it. We also know that taking orders is not something he does very well, and it cost him his left arm at one point. However, this arrancar is not to be kept down. Even one armed, he is a force to be reckoned with.
Once Orihime restores his missing limb, he reclaims the Espada spot that had been taken from him - and makes Luppi, who had been in his place, pays with his life.
Before Grimmjow became an arrancar, he was an ajuncha class hollow, the second highest evolutionary form of a hollow that comes from devouring lesser hollows. He resembled a large jungle cat, and he was so strong others sought him to be their leader. Later, one of those he lead actually encourages him to eat them, so that he could evolve to Vastolord (the final hollow evolution.) Devouring comrades to become stronger is something that Grimmjow had the opportunity to do, but he did not take it to the best of our knowledge. Nor did he appear to take pleasure in the idea. Power, however, does. Grimmjow's sword's name is Pantera, and his released form is panther like, resembling his old self.
As of chapter 305, the last we saw Grimmjow, he had been defeated by Ichigo, and then smacked away by Noitora. Noitora nearly finishes Grimmy off, but Ichigo saves him. We have not yet seen his reaction to this.
Apache - The Sassy Underling
First and foremost...we know VERY little about Apache. The panels that she has currently appeared in can literally be counted on ones' fingers. We do know that she is one of Halibel's fraccions. We do know that she can be loud and bold. We do know she has some level of interest in Grimmjow's fight, as do all her fellow Mira Rose and Sun Sun (Note - Sun Sun's name has not been mentioned in the manga yet, but as the fandom as referred to her as such, so will I.)
There are also things about Apache that are not one hundred percent absolute, but are extremely likely. For one, she is probably the closest fraccion to Halibel, being that she is the only one having ever been depicted alone with her, separate from the other fraccion. After Arroniero was killed by Rukia, we see a few of the espada with their fraccion recieving the news. Apache is the only one shown with Halibel - this also the first glimpse we get of her.
She is also in the forefront of the frames where Mira Rose and Sun sun are shown. Apache, compared to many of the other female arrancar we see, does not really flaunt her body, or try to look overly feminine. She actually wears a hakama as oppose to the skirts/dresses of fabric we see in many (though not all) arrancar women, and has a shorter hair cut, too. I have known many people who have mistaken her design for Ulquiorra's or another male's, until they are pointed to her cleavage. She has a definite tomboyish air to her design, and it can be deduced that her personality is rather tomboyish as well.
The Two Together
Apache appears in a grand total of two scenes in the entire series, and in the one where we learn her name and see her complete character design, she is observing the fight with Grimmjow excitedly along side her fellow fraccions. She also appears worried and slightly frightened. Interestingly enough, these emotions are not really shown as strongly on the faces of her companions. Does she have a reason to be worried for him?
I'm not going to pretend that there aren't a million other answers for this besides a relationship. And those reasons are probably far more likely to be true. But if that WERE the answer...the possibilities and doors it opens are amazing. First off, the very idea of a fraccion paired with an Espada that is not her mistress/master is one that leads to some interesting conflicts. Apache would have a loyalty to Halibel, but her desire for Grimmjow would pull her into a direction completely opposite. The very idea of her trying to keep a relationship like this, while still serving her mistress, shows a stroke of independence that we don't see all the time in the arrancar...except in the case of Grimmjow himself.
Secondly, Halibel at the lowest is ranked number 3. She is somewhere between 3-5 ranks higher than Grimmjow, and is considered more powerful than he is. This puts Apache in a very interesting position. Her mistress is stronger than he, but he is stronger than she. At the most, she has respect for him as an espada, but knows her mistress could kick his ass. At the least...she could become arrogant, and think she could tangle with him because he's no Halibel. While anything is possible, my guess would be some where in the middle - Apache does not strike me as foolish enough to think she would be any where in Grimmjow's league, but knowledge of her mistress's power could keep her a bit cocky.
Grimmjow himself is not the squishy romantic type. He likes to do what is going to make HIM happy. As we see in the series, fighting and showing his dominance tends to do this. It would not be too out of the realm of the likely to imagine he is much the same with sex. Apache, as powerful as her mistress may be, is NOT as powerful herself. Assuming my hypothesis mentioned above is correct, she may be driven to try show Grimmjow she is not just a mere fraccion - but an arrancar with potential to become stronger, as well as, to put it bluntly, a chick who could rock his cock, and rock it hardcore. The two would always be at odds with each other. She may spar him to become stronger, he may let her because he gets off putting her down. Matters of the bedroom can be left to the imagination, however, it could be safe to say that the two would constantly be trying to show the other up. The bedroom in fact may be a more equal playing field for the two, being as we know nothing about the sexual appetites of either character.
The idea of a little fraccion knowing how to push his buttons the right way could lead Grimmjow to a variety of emotions. He may be angry and need to continue to exert his dominance. He may become possessive, and want to keep this to himself. And he may be amused as all fuck. Hey, he has something new to have fun with, and an easy way to vent his frustrations, both sexual and otherwise.
The forbidden fruit aspect of the relationship is another interesting possibility. I really cannot imagine Halibel being happy with the idea of one her fraccions fraternizing with another Espada. Never mind a lower ranking one. Never mind one who fits the description of those bad boys your mother always warned you about to a t. Apache would want to keep the relationship hidden because she does not want to upset her mistress. And Grimmjow...well, he'd want to keep it under wraps because Halibel is stronger than him...and he likes his balls where they are.
The dynamics of two arrancar having a relationship period are intriguing. They are inherently evil, and showing care about another person besides themselves tends to be the exception, rather than the rule. But the idea is not impossible. They have shown a range of emotions - pleasure, anger, fear, worry. They are not as simple as their cousin the menos. It would not be out of the question for two arrancar to fall in love. But it definitely wouldn't be the norm. And for two stubborn arrancar like Grimmjow is and Apache may be...love would not be easy street. In fact, it would most likely be quite the opposite. But in the end, it's something worth fighting for.
My Personal Opinions
As if this entire essay WASN'T a personal opinion, ha! Now you get to hear what I really think. I have ALWAYS been a fan of unlikely pairings, particularly ones where there is the love/hate dynamic. Vicious and Faye from Cowboy Bebop, Zoro and Nami from One Piece, Hiruma and Mamori from Eyeshield 21, Draco and Ginny from Harry Potter...Yes, I am aware I am strange, and many people have made it quite clear that they hate my OTPs with a raging, burning passion. But just as I don't give two shits if someone ships something I don't go for....I really don't care what other people think. I do what I like, and I really wish more people would do the same. The magical world of fandom fanworks is not about what the author is going to have happen. It is about scratching the itches that not scratched by canon. Everyone has different itches, so you're going to see a lot of different things - and for the millionth time, THAT IS OKAY! Just because I ship one thing doesn't mean I am declaring war on all ships otherwise.
Okay, I'll get off my soap box now. Truth be told, I had been waiting for a character like Apache for awhile. I love the character of Grimmjow, he is ridiculously sexy, strong, and badass. But I never really fell head over heals in love with any of the common pairings with him. For one, most are yaoi. I have NOTHING against yaoi, in fact, there's yaoi out there I enjoy! But I'm a real eggs with her sausage kind of girl, and the yaoi out there with Grimmjow doesn't do it for me. There goes 90% of the Grimmjow pairing material. None of the other remaining 10% really appealed to me, except for perhaps RukiaxGrimmjow. I still dig it, but even that wasn't really what I wanted. I really wanted to see Grimmy with an arrancar chick, but none of the ones around at the time really struck me as the kind of woman for Grimmjow.
Admitably, I had another reason for wanting to find an arrancar girl I liked.. My boyfriend Monty and I are cosplayers. We seriously LOVE making and wearing costumes, weird, yes, but assloads of fun, I am telling you. Monty has cosplayed Grimmjow. I had other friends doing other arrancar...and I was itching to join in on the fun. None of them, male or female, really struck me enough to cosplay them.
Then on July 8th, 2007, we walked in the door of our apartment from Anime Next 2007, still dressed as Ichigo and Rukia. Monty turned on the computer and found Bleach 282. I think I was in the bedroom when he said "Hey hon, there's an arrancar chick whose design you might like." It was seriously love at first sight. Apache was EXACTLY my kind of girl - Sassy, tomboyish, loud, and sexy in her own way. And yeah, pairing wise, I dug the dynamics that a pairing between her and Grimmjow could entail. On the more shallow side of things, I thought they'd look REALLY fucking sexy together.
Our next convention Otakon, was only two weeks away, but Monty and I put our costuming into high gear, and I went dressed as Apache. She is seriously one of the most fun costumes I have ever done. And we took some sexy pictures as Apache and Grimmjow, feeding my inner fangirl. Soon I was writing fanfics, requesting drabbles, getting gift art from Monty of the two, making fake soundtracks, and writing ship manifestos. Go figure.
These two both have a lot of anger and passion inside of them. There's a huge range of emotions I could see them displaying to each other, and to the others in pursuit of the relationship. I honestly cannot think of a better woman for Grimmjow than one who could show him that she has balls and stand up to him, fuck him on equal grounds, but still know that at the end of the day, her place is beneath him. I also think her design is just BEGGING to be entwined with Grimmjow, although that is just a personal preferences entirely. And I am bias.
I don't expect this pairing to appeal to a lot of people. I don't expect it to happen in canon. I do (unfortunately) expect people to bitch and wank over it, because that is what people usually do when they see a pairing that doesn't float their boat. But I do hope that the sane fans out there can at least have a bit of respect for it, and perhaps even a few take it on themselves. It has the potential for some really intriguing fanfiction and fanart...that could fit in to almost any genre out there. Go for it! Please! The world needs more ApaGrimm!
Extras
There's not a lot out there, and most of what is, I've had my hand in. I REALLY hope this changes, because I'm dying to see how other people interpret this couple.
Fan Fiction
Breaking This Fixation - A fanfic I wrote that explores arrancar "love".
Interest - A fanfic by myojo_s_me that is set in the same ‘universe' as Breaking This Fixation.
Apache x Grimmjow drabbles - Very nicely done drabbles by raigekin based on my prompts.
Peaches and Cream - My (current) latest fan fic, short and funny. Just read it, I think people of all pairing preferences can appreciate it.
I will be releasing two more fics hopefully within the next few weeks, unless I decide I completely hate them. I'll update this as they come along.
Fan Art
So far, this piece by is the only one out there, by my boyfriend madgophermm5. He has also been working on a mini doujinshi with the two, that is very NC-17 (Sex in Halibel's meetingroom chair, anyone? XD)
There are also madgophermm5 and I's cosplay photos of us dressed as the two. I should have more than I do, particularly more shippy poses in our formal arrancar attire, but unfortunately my camera died right in middle of the ball. Graaah! More coming soon!
Goodies
inject made this layout for my writing journal, as well as these icons.
I also made this Fake Soundtrack for the two.
That is, I believe everything. I would LOVE it if anyone had any other Apache/Grimmjow things to share, and I will try to update this as often as I can with new fanworks.
Thanks for reading, folks! (If anyone actually did....) Please be gentle, this is my first manifesto, and I'm not looking for wank.
Fandom: Bleach
Pairing: Apache X Grimmjow
Spoilers: Through manga chapter 305, although only with events relevant to the characters.
Notes: So I think I've finally cracked in writing this one. These characters are so god damn unlikely to get together, that I just had to fall in love with em as a pair =P I had a draft of this on my journal that hardly anyone bothered to read, and so I am going into this with no real beta but myself. I hope people find it enjoyable (if anyone does bother to peak) and perhaps become a little more open to the ship.
Credit: Manga scans were taken from OneManga.com, all credit going to the original scanslators. Bleach and all related characters are property of Tite Kubo. The title is snatched from Bleach 287, kudos to those who knew that already.
Being that I am the only person who actively ships this pairing right now, I feel the need to really spell out my reasons and ideas behind it. To start, let me make it clear that I do not really believe there will ever be any canon romance with Grimmjow Jeagerjaques of Bleach. If there is, I would be intrigued and surprised, as the manga barely goes in to any details about the romances of the main characters, never mind the romances of the main villain's henchmen. However, if there was a relationship spelled out in the manga Apache and Grimmjow is what I would like to see. I believe considering Grimmjow's personality, and what we know of Apache, they do each other justice in a way that no other arrancar can.
This essay has major spoilers up to the current Hueco Mundo arc chapters coming out in Japan. Up to Chapter 305 has been taken into account in its writing. This essay should also be taken lightly - I am not trying to prove that this pairing is definitely going to happen. You are going to see words like "may happen" and "if this happened." many times. I am not saying it WILL, nor am I saying that there aren't other possibilities. I am merely trying to prove that it COULD happen if the circumstances were right, and that it is an interesting enough combination to be explored further by the fandom
Bleach and Arrancar - What you need to know
Bleach is a series by Tite Kubo about the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki, a substitute Shinigami, or Soul Reaper. One of the main things that he fights through out the series are creatures called hollows, which were, once upon a time, living soul. Because they were not purified and sent on the Soul Society, they became evil destructive spirits. But not all hollows are the same. There is a hollow evolution, and at the top of the mountain we have the arrancar.
The arrancar live in the hollow world of Hueco Mundo, and are currently serving Aizen Sosuke, a traitor Shinigami. The arrancar have removed their hollows masks, making them much more like Shinigami. They are human in appearance, with a hollow hole located somewhere in their body, and a bone mask fragment. Their true hollow forms are kept under lock and key, but can be released, similar to the bankai of the Shinigami. The top ranking arrancar are the Espada, who are considered the strongest. Espada may have underlings, called fraccions, who serve as henchmen to their bosses. Grimmjow is Espada number 6. Apache is fraccion to Halibel, who as of this point does not have a number ranking - However, by process of elimination, we know she is in the top three, a fact I'll be coming back to later.
Grimmjow - The Badass Cat
Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, Espada number 6, is what you might call an asshole. From the very first time we see him, we know that he loves to fight, and takes immense pleasure in it. We also know that taking orders is not something he does very well, and it cost him his left arm at one point. However, this arrancar is not to be kept down. Even one armed, he is a force to be reckoned with.
Once Orihime restores his missing limb, he reclaims the Espada spot that had been taken from him - and makes Luppi, who had been in his place, pays with his life.
Before Grimmjow became an arrancar, he was an ajuncha class hollow, the second highest evolutionary form of a hollow that comes from devouring lesser hollows. He resembled a large jungle cat, and he was so strong others sought him to be their leader. Later, one of those he lead actually encourages him to eat them, so that he could evolve to Vastolord (the final hollow evolution.) Devouring comrades to become stronger is something that Grimmjow had the opportunity to do, but he did not take it to the best of our knowledge. Nor did he appear to take pleasure in the idea. Power, however, does. Grimmjow's sword's name is Pantera, and his released form is panther like, resembling his old self.
As of chapter 305, the last we saw Grimmjow, he had been defeated by Ichigo, and then smacked away by Noitora. Noitora nearly finishes Grimmy off, but Ichigo saves him. We have not yet seen his reaction to this.
Apache - The Sassy Underling
First and foremost...we know VERY little about Apache. The panels that she has currently appeared in can literally be counted on ones' fingers. We do know that she is one of Halibel's fraccions. We do know that she can be loud and bold. We do know she has some level of interest in Grimmjow's fight, as do all her fellow Mira Rose and Sun Sun (Note - Sun Sun's name has not been mentioned in the manga yet, but as the fandom as referred to her as such, so will I.)
There are also things about Apache that are not one hundred percent absolute, but are extremely likely. For one, she is probably the closest fraccion to Halibel, being that she is the only one having ever been depicted alone with her, separate from the other fraccion. After Arroniero was killed by Rukia, we see a few of the espada with their fraccion recieving the news. Apache is the only one shown with Halibel - this also the first glimpse we get of her.
She is also in the forefront of the frames where Mira Rose and Sun sun are shown. Apache, compared to many of the other female arrancar we see, does not really flaunt her body, or try to look overly feminine. She actually wears a hakama as oppose to the skirts/dresses of fabric we see in many (though not all) arrancar women, and has a shorter hair cut, too. I have known many people who have mistaken her design for Ulquiorra's or another male's, until they are pointed to her cleavage. She has a definite tomboyish air to her design, and it can be deduced that her personality is rather tomboyish as well.
The Two Together
Apache appears in a grand total of two scenes in the entire series, and in the one where we learn her name and see her complete character design, she is observing the fight with Grimmjow excitedly along side her fellow fraccions. She also appears worried and slightly frightened. Interestingly enough, these emotions are not really shown as strongly on the faces of her companions. Does she have a reason to be worried for him?
I'm not going to pretend that there aren't a million other answers for this besides a relationship. And those reasons are probably far more likely to be true. But if that WERE the answer...the possibilities and doors it opens are amazing. First off, the very idea of a fraccion paired with an Espada that is not her mistress/master is one that leads to some interesting conflicts. Apache would have a loyalty to Halibel, but her desire for Grimmjow would pull her into a direction completely opposite. The very idea of her trying to keep a relationship like this, while still serving her mistress, shows a stroke of independence that we don't see all the time in the arrancar...except in the case of Grimmjow himself.
Secondly, Halibel at the lowest is ranked number 3. She is somewhere between 3-5 ranks higher than Grimmjow, and is considered more powerful than he is. This puts Apache in a very interesting position. Her mistress is stronger than he, but he is stronger than she. At the most, she has respect for him as an espada, but knows her mistress could kick his ass. At the least...she could become arrogant, and think she could tangle with him because he's no Halibel. While anything is possible, my guess would be some where in the middle - Apache does not strike me as foolish enough to think she would be any where in Grimmjow's league, but knowledge of her mistress's power could keep her a bit cocky.
Grimmjow himself is not the squishy romantic type. He likes to do what is going to make HIM happy. As we see in the series, fighting and showing his dominance tends to do this. It would not be too out of the realm of the likely to imagine he is much the same with sex. Apache, as powerful as her mistress may be, is NOT as powerful herself. Assuming my hypothesis mentioned above is correct, she may be driven to try show Grimmjow she is not just a mere fraccion - but an arrancar with potential to become stronger, as well as, to put it bluntly, a chick who could rock his cock, and rock it hardcore. The two would always be at odds with each other. She may spar him to become stronger, he may let her because he gets off putting her down. Matters of the bedroom can be left to the imagination, however, it could be safe to say that the two would constantly be trying to show the other up. The bedroom in fact may be a more equal playing field for the two, being as we know nothing about the sexual appetites of either character.
The idea of a little fraccion knowing how to push his buttons the right way could lead Grimmjow to a variety of emotions. He may be angry and need to continue to exert his dominance. He may become possessive, and want to keep this to himself. And he may be amused as all fuck. Hey, he has something new to have fun with, and an easy way to vent his frustrations, both sexual and otherwise.
The forbidden fruit aspect of the relationship is another interesting possibility. I really cannot imagine Halibel being happy with the idea of one her fraccions fraternizing with another Espada. Never mind a lower ranking one. Never mind one who fits the description of those bad boys your mother always warned you about to a t. Apache would want to keep the relationship hidden because she does not want to upset her mistress. And Grimmjow...well, he'd want to keep it under wraps because Halibel is stronger than him...and he likes his balls where they are.
The dynamics of two arrancar having a relationship period are intriguing. They are inherently evil, and showing care about another person besides themselves tends to be the exception, rather than the rule. But the idea is not impossible. They have shown a range of emotions - pleasure, anger, fear, worry. They are not as simple as their cousin the menos. It would not be out of the question for two arrancar to fall in love. But it definitely wouldn't be the norm. And for two stubborn arrancar like Grimmjow is and Apache may be...love would not be easy street. In fact, it would most likely be quite the opposite. But in the end, it's something worth fighting for.
My Personal Opinions
As if this entire essay WASN'T a personal opinion, ha! Now you get to hear what I really think. I have ALWAYS been a fan of unlikely pairings, particularly ones where there is the love/hate dynamic. Vicious and Faye from Cowboy Bebop, Zoro and Nami from One Piece, Hiruma and Mamori from Eyeshield 21, Draco and Ginny from Harry Potter...Yes, I am aware I am strange, and many people have made it quite clear that they hate my OTPs with a raging, burning passion. But just as I don't give two shits if someone ships something I don't go for....I really don't care what other people think. I do what I like, and I really wish more people would do the same. The magical world of fandom fanworks is not about what the author is going to have happen. It is about scratching the itches that not scratched by canon. Everyone has different itches, so you're going to see a lot of different things - and for the millionth time, THAT IS OKAY! Just because I ship one thing doesn't mean I am declaring war on all ships otherwise.
Okay, I'll get off my soap box now. Truth be told, I had been waiting for a character like Apache for awhile. I love the character of Grimmjow, he is ridiculously sexy, strong, and badass. But I never really fell head over heals in love with any of the common pairings with him. For one, most are yaoi. I have NOTHING against yaoi, in fact, there's yaoi out there I enjoy! But I'm a real eggs with her sausage kind of girl, and the yaoi out there with Grimmjow doesn't do it for me. There goes 90% of the Grimmjow pairing material. None of the other remaining 10% really appealed to me, except for perhaps RukiaxGrimmjow. I still dig it, but even that wasn't really what I wanted. I really wanted to see Grimmy with an arrancar chick, but none of the ones around at the time really struck me as the kind of woman for Grimmjow.
Admitably, I had another reason for wanting to find an arrancar girl I liked.. My boyfriend Monty and I are cosplayers. We seriously LOVE making and wearing costumes, weird, yes, but assloads of fun, I am telling you. Monty has cosplayed Grimmjow. I had other friends doing other arrancar...and I was itching to join in on the fun. None of them, male or female, really struck me enough to cosplay them.
Then on July 8th, 2007, we walked in the door of our apartment from Anime Next 2007, still dressed as Ichigo and Rukia. Monty turned on the computer and found Bleach 282. I think I was in the bedroom when he said "Hey hon, there's an arrancar chick whose design you might like." It was seriously love at first sight. Apache was EXACTLY my kind of girl - Sassy, tomboyish, loud, and sexy in her own way. And yeah, pairing wise, I dug the dynamics that a pairing between her and Grimmjow could entail. On the more shallow side of things, I thought they'd look REALLY fucking sexy together.
Our next convention Otakon, was only two weeks away, but Monty and I put our costuming into high gear, and I went dressed as Apache. She is seriously one of the most fun costumes I have ever done. And we took some sexy pictures as Apache and Grimmjow, feeding my inner fangirl. Soon I was writing fanfics, requesting drabbles, getting gift art from Monty of the two, making fake soundtracks, and writing ship manifestos. Go figure.
These two both have a lot of anger and passion inside of them. There's a huge range of emotions I could see them displaying to each other, and to the others in pursuit of the relationship. I honestly cannot think of a better woman for Grimmjow than one who could show him that she has balls and stand up to him, fuck him on equal grounds, but still know that at the end of the day, her place is beneath him. I also think her design is just BEGGING to be entwined with Grimmjow, although that is just a personal preferences entirely. And I am bias.
I don't expect this pairing to appeal to a lot of people. I don't expect it to happen in canon. I do (unfortunately) expect people to bitch and wank over it, because that is what people usually do when they see a pairing that doesn't float their boat. But I do hope that the sane fans out there can at least have a bit of respect for it, and perhaps even a few take it on themselves. It has the potential for some really intriguing fanfiction and fanart...that could fit in to almost any genre out there. Go for it! Please! The world needs more ApaGrimm!
Extras
There's not a lot out there, and most of what is, I've had my hand in. I REALLY hope this changes, because I'm dying to see how other people interpret this couple.
Fan Fiction
Breaking This Fixation - A fanfic I wrote that explores arrancar "love".
Interest - A fanfic by myojo_s_me that is set in the same ‘universe' as Breaking This Fixation.
Apache x Grimmjow drabbles - Very nicely done drabbles by raigekin based on my prompts.
Peaches and Cream - My (current) latest fan fic, short and funny. Just read it, I think people of all pairing preferences can appreciate it.
I will be releasing two more fics hopefully within the next few weeks, unless I decide I completely hate them. I'll update this as they come along.
Fan Art
So far, this piece by is the only one out there, by my boyfriend madgophermm5. He has also been working on a mini doujinshi with the two, that is very NC-17 (Sex in Halibel's meetingroom chair, anyone? XD)
There are also madgophermm5 and I's cosplay photos of us dressed as the two. I should have more than I do, particularly more shippy poses in our formal arrancar attire, but unfortunately my camera died right in middle of the ball. Graaah! More coming soon!
Goodies
inject made this layout for my writing journal, as well as these icons.
I also made this Fake Soundtrack for the two.
That is, I believe everything. I would LOVE it if anyone had any other Apache/Grimmjow things to share, and I will try to update this as often as I can with new fanworks.
Thanks for reading, folks! (If anyone actually did....) Please be gentle, this is my first manifesto, and I'm not looking for wank.