The Validity of NnoiNel / A NnoiNel Manifesto Mark 2
NnoiNel Manifesto Mark 2
by femmelujah
Largely a response to several doubts, and aging nearly 3 years, I have made some addendums to my opinions and felt some things about NNoiNel needed to be restated as well as redone.
The Validity of NnoiNel
Volume 2 of GreenBlack’s NnoiNel essays.
Yo yo yo homies. This is an extension, an addendum, a retort, and a rant all in one. The point of this essay is to address some things I apparently 'say', what the reasoning behind enjoying NnoiNel is, and evidence to support that there is more to NnoiNel, while not claiming it to be canon. Etc. Etc.
Section 1: What NnoiNel fans ‘say’ and why not a single one of us intelligently ever meant it.
Now let me start by saying that I took over the nnoinel fan club and essentially owned the fandom for 2 and a half years. A year of that I was uninterested and a lot of people just took over the NnoiNel sites and places I went to. But I’ve seen a lot of opinions and not one of these opinions in my vast days coincides with any ‘opinion’ we have that I’ve seen posted around, first off-
1. NnoiNel is canon
No, it isn’t. Did I stutter motherfucker? It isn’t. NnoiNel will not be canon until the day Nel draws breathe and declares she really wubbed Nnoitra all along. And I don’t think that will ever happen. And even then it wouldn’t be canon, just that their bitter romance for one another did exist but never reached a culmination. So yeah, in a sense, NnoiNel can never become canon. I am apparently the headmaster of this Hogwarts adventure so let me tell you, NnoiNel is not supposed to be the kind of couple that is ‘canon’. There is not supposed to be happy baby tiem and human forgiveness. I’ve only ever written that in AU because truthfully, I can’t really get onboard with the idea that the man who mutilated Nel will have happy wuv times with her forever. It would ruin the dynamic they have in Bleach and honestly, to be canon, you have to have genuine mutual happiness and love. Nnoitra never showed that for anyone. There was never a time he looked so happy he was complete except when he was fighting. Low and behold, he was finally given death and died without an expression of pain on his face. NnoiNel will never be canon. I made an entire fan club version DEVOTED to the idea of this being ridiculous and that anyone who thought two things was ridiculous - 1. That NnoiNel is canon 2. That NnoiNel has no development despite that. Thinking that is ridiculous. NnoiNel has plenty to it and unlike UlquiHime which could be roped into a believable learning process and maybe even happiness, NnoiNel is dark, and will always be until my BFF channel and I break out the AU tape and write them as humans.
2. Nel loves Nnoitra forever and always has!
I never even said…any of that. Uhm wow. I will say I think Nel has more than hate for him, which even the most hateful detractors will admit, and that Nel has inexplicable feelings on the matter that we’ve never seen. Nel has never had her mind looked into with situations with Nnoitra. You noticed how he did and we saw his inner thoughts? That never happened with Nel. And the only times we ever get a moment and see more to her than just her words, she goes silent and the focus is on her lips. Let me tell you, focus is important. If you focus in on lips on a romance scene there will usually be a kiss. If you focus on hands it will be either sultry or compassion, and sometimes even notions of dismissing dishonesty. Focus is essential. Yet in the pinnacle of Nel’s ‘pity’ for Nnoitra she saves his life and then instead of saying ‘because of my honorrr!!!!!’ (not going the Zuko route, Nel?) she says “Because you are weaker than I.” You cannot in any way, shape, or form convince me that this hesitation and the lack of insight to Nel’s mind suggests that all we have seen is not the big picture. Kubo Tite himself said Nnoitra didn’t seem finished and I doubt that means he’ll come back…it likely means he’ll have some sort of closure and the only one still alive to provide that is Nel. I will never say 100% that Nel loves Nnoitra because it is untrue. What I will say is that Nel obviously has always had more to say to Nnoitra than she ever wanted to admit to. Furthermore, she follows him around and is actually curious as to his motivations. If she were to have never asked him “NNOITRA WTF??” I wouldn’t dare say there was more to it, but she did most definitely ask him why he fought the way he did. And he told her. And this moment was so important either Nnoitra or Tesla remembered it in their last moments. It takes more than pity to care enough to ask, it at the very least takes compassion. And that, my friends, while not love is most certainly something that pushed her to spare him even in heated moments. I know Nel is full of honor, but if she was willing to kill him one moment and then not suddenly the next, I can’t help but believe she feels some positive emotion towards him. But far be it from me to ever claim it as love, because I can’t say it is.
3. The hints that NnoiNel exists
When I read Bleach fully the first time I got to Nel and was like YES!!! AWESOME!! And I was disinterested in Nnoitra. I saw the scene people say we think gives them chemistry
And this is a bunch of shit. I ignored the hell out of this scene and was just kind of staring at Nel’s boobs. In fact when I became a NnoiNel shipper it was due to NnoiNel fanart I saw in a signature. And then I took over the NnoiNel fan club- and called it crack. And most people I know felt the same way, for the longest time NnoiNel was crack. Complete and utter bullshit but in my opinion, hot. I couldn’t explain it. It was awesome and I was shipping it so hard even though a lot of people were like “why??” and I always said “cause it rocks!” What makes NnoiNel more believable and in fact, no longer crack, is the sheer fact that Nnoitra and Nel talk. They talk. And Nel will initiate an important question rather than condescend. She does not understand Nnoitra, but she still wishes to. Why ask if she didn’t wish to know? She did. Somewhere, deep down, Nel cared enough about Nnoitra to wonder why HE was the way he was. Nel seems neutral to all other espada and Kubo never thought it was important enough to show her in the past with anyone but Nnoitra. Yet to Nnoitra, a man she just ’pities’, she is interested. There is again, more to Neliel. And Nnoitra is willing to say it. He doesn’t tell her to fuck off or that she’s just a dumb woman, he tells her exactly why he feels the way he does. This chapter let me know that somehow, somewhere, there was at least some compassion, interest, and honesty between Nel and Nnoitra. Nel stopped her blade and smiled as she did it, isn’t that funny? It was like there was no contempt on her part even though there was for the rest of the battle. Alone, it means nothing. And it is not why we ship NnoiNel.
4. Nnoitra hates Nel, is sexist, meant to kill Nel, and all Nnoitra things associated.
Nnoitra Jiruga valued Neliel’s opinions more than he did anyone else’s. I can prove this. I can show you evidence that cannot be retorted, nor explained any other way. I will not concede that. In fact, to me, this along with Nel’s compassion is what makes NnoiNel a non crack pairing. And so, let me present to you the main body and point of this essay.
II. Nnoitra Jiruga
Nnoitra is a source of contempt in fandom. On one end you have Nnoitra fans who don’t like him with Nel, who like to see him as completely separate from Nel. Then the Nel fans who don’t like Nnoitra with Nel, who like to see him as an ass who never knew compassion for anyone, nonetheless Nel. And then there’s the NnoiNel fans, who sometimes try to overstretch the fact that 1. Nel did interact with and have her greatest character development from Nnoitra, 2. Nnoitra did in fact give a whole shit ton of caring over what Nel thought. So let’s begin.
A lot of people reason Nnoitra just wanted to kill Nel because she disrespected him. Okay children, repeat after me
Then why the fucking christcakes DIDN’T HE?!
Nnoitra has had two chances at this point to kill Nel. Two. Devour her, beat her up, kill her- whatever he wanted from her. Except something emotional. He cut her head in two. He CUT HER HEAD IN TWO. She wasn’t a child then. So if he didn’t care about what Nel ever said to him, he could have killed her. Right then. She’d be dead, there’d be no problems - the end. Nnoitra is the GR8ST!!! He could eat her alive if he wanted to. He could have even sexually assaulted her BUT ALL HE DID WAS DOWNGRADE HER WARDROBE AND ANGST.
Look at this face.
I’m serious look at it.
And now friends…I have to. I have to use a psychology theory I learned in a little class called Personal and Social Adjustment- actually, this is one of the few things people acknowledged Freud was probably right about, and nobody likes Freud so that’s saying something. It’s called Intellectualization. Intellectualization is a 'flight into reason', where the person avoids uncomfortable emotions by focusing on facts and logic. If Nnoitra doesn’t care about Nel why doesn’t he laugh until she turns into a kid? Why does he spend time to think about what he’d done and look at her from above. He doesn’t even say it. He just looks. And thinks.
And then the next time he sees her, he could have killed her as a child when he saw her. But oddly enough he just gets upset. Why? Nel doesn’t remember him. Now why does he care if he only wants her dead? Why? There is no reason. What he wants is her to remember him and acknowledge him. I’ve never seen anyone disprove this, just dismiss the entire idea. Why does it matter to him so much then? And then he actually gets another chance- after she transforms at the END of battle he could have killed her! She was standing over him, triumphant, beaten him down. He hadn’t even used his released form yet- and yet he just kicks her to the side and decides to start beating up Ichigo. The very same thing that made her transform in the first place. I’m not saying he did it to make her re transform, but it’s funny that he goes right to beating and abusing Ichigo and making Orihime watch instead of killing Nel like he wanted to. And no one has yet to explain to me the face he makes as he explains Nel was their last hope. He isn’t laughing, he looks remorseful and doesn’t even look condescending.
And to be honest, I never really paid attention to it before I saw 312 and 313 because you had to brush it off. There was no way it made sense at all until you observed that not having her listen to every word he said made him angry. When it was impossible for him to he physically hurt a child. Nnoitra has no morals persay but I doubt he’d just go around kicking puppies for no reason. You know, I’m just going to post every single time Nnoitra quotes, remembers, reacts, and has any sort of reaction to Nel. It doesn’t count if he shrugs it off, like when he mocks Halibel. In fact, when he mocks her and it’s not a quote I won’t post it. Let’s see how often Nnoitra reacts to Nel. I will categorize them by instance.
From the moment Nel appears, he mocks her. Okay, normal Nnoitra reaction. But then she says she doesn’t know what he’s talking about when he speaks to her. Nnoitra has been smiling and grinning this whole time and taunting Ichigo. Here’s how this goes now that Nel doesn’t know him:
After all that, he then notes that Nel was so irritating…just like Ichigo is now. His irritation at Ichigo causes him to start being rather merciless and the smirk comes back as he talks about mutilating Nel, only to go away when he gets sick of Ichigo never giving up. And as he’s breaking Ichigo’s wrist Nel transforms, and this is his reaction to that
He’s shocked, and then he gets serious. He was mocking her just a few minutes ago, so why isn’t he mocking her now, when he knows she can respond? Well, if you understand the obvious concept that he wants her to acknowledge him and all his greatness, he needs to be able to beat her and he needs to be better than her to achieve it. Or, she needs to kill him. At that moment, neither of those things are happening yet. Alright, so let’s archive the flashbacks. How does Nnoitra react to Nel, and Tesla when he asks him how he is after the fight? And also, when Tesla asks why it’s Neliel he’s obsessed with
Okay, so let’s denote the reactions when Nel transforms back in the past and the one now.
They’re the exact same thing. The exact same laugh. Yet when he had the same reaction in the past he still did not consider himself a victor. He taunts Nel about breaking her skull but never does he try to say he defeated her in battle. His entire inner monologue was to describe that one day he would defeat her, and it was merely a stalling tactic to hurt her the way he did. Then he notes it’s too bad they can’t fight again. Humor as a coping mechanism? More than likely. Nnoitra’s reaction to Nel’s transformation yet again is fun. We don’t zoom in on a smile, which I would easily interpret as victory, but instead eyes wide open. Let’s compare some looks.
When Nnoitra first sees the huge wisp of smoke in the past:
When Nnoitra sees the huge wisp of smoke in the future:
The laugh from past and future
Noting that he can’t fight her again in the past
Telling Ichigo immediately that they have no hope now
Nnoitra seems almost nervous in the past when he sees the wisp of smoke. He may well be worried Nel recovered. Then he laughs it off. In the future his reaction is of the same nature but not in the same spectrum. He is shocked, but does not seem upset. Then his face returns to neutrality and he is no longer laughing or taunting anybody. Then he laughs at her in the past for becoming a kid when he was just afraid, and laughs at Nel in the future for becoming a kid when he was not going to be allotted the respect or death he desired. Then oddly, even after he claims victory, Nnoitra looks melancholy as he tells Ichigo they have no hope now. It’s similar to his disappointment Nel will not be able to fight him anymore. Why did he go from laughing to something akin to sadness or disappointment? There is no other explanation than Nel’s transformation, for whatever reason, is not what he wanted. You could say he’s bored with Ichigo but once Tesla beats the shit out of Ichigo, Nnoitra is just laughing it up while he taunts Orihime. And he’s doing, through Tesla, what he was doing earlier and just beating up a defenseless Ichigo. But now he’s not the one who will kill the ‘strongest person there’ that he senses and watched just to be able to say he beat. Now it’s some personal vendetta. Seriously, examine that. He wanted to kill Ichigo for the credit. Now he’s letting Tesla torture him. Right after Nel transformed moments before the culmination of their battle, which would have ended in a way he’s always disliked because he wishes to be treated like a warrior in battle. And all of this culminates in-
IF NNOITRA REALLY THINKS HE’S WON THIS BATTLE THEN HE REALLY SUCKS AT SHOWING IT BECAUSE HE IS BEING REALLY FUCKING DOUCHEY AFTER HE DIDN’T GET WHAT HE WANTED. If he is so sure he won then why doesn’t he just kill Ichigo, kill or maim Orihime and go back to his room and enjoy some nice pina colada?! He isn’t! While Nnoitra is a jerk he does not think it worth his time to kill the weak yet he tortures Ichigo. This makes no logical sense. He flat out tells Tesla he won’t kill Chad and low and behold, Chad is completely fine and not tortured. Gee, what’s the variable here? Neliel. Tu. Oderschvank. I want to tear my hair out at people who can’t see this. Because I just showed you and it’s fact. If Nnoitra just wanted to kill Nel, he could have just done it. But he didn’t do it, he didn’t even really win, so he beats the shit out of Ichigo through Tesla and makes Orihime watch. He is angry and he lets them know it. And he enjoys every moment of their horror. He wants her to have dealt that final blow, but not spare his life. This is how he responds to her saying this is the end. He is genuinely curious about how IT WILL END.
Oh and let me make one last point. In the culmination of the battle with Zaraki and with Nel, they both pull super moves on him and he reacts with shock. But He really over all just seems to MIND Zaraki’s kicking his ass more. Oh he seems to mind not being able to beat Nel, but not nearly as much as not being able to beat Zaraki.
So when Nnoitra is facing death by Kenpachi, he screams that he WON’T DIE! And he releases his zanpakuto! But when he faces it by Nel he puts on a grin and asks what the end will be. He put up half the fight even though winning apparently means the most to him, being the victor is always essential, and he hates her guts and despises her for not acknowledging him. Yup, he’s kicking Nel’s ass. Only he’s not. For someone with 50 tricks up his sleeve and enough fight left in him to be a formidable opponent to Kenpachi Zaraki- he’s damn accepting. If you honestly think he’s just out to kill Nel you are blind because it makes no logical sense. I don’t need to twist anything to prove it either, or even reference psychology, it just makes plain sense. He put his all into one fight but half into another. When he faced the same situation twice, he stayed on his knees and accepted it and in the other he defied it and stood his ground. Yeah. He totally just wants Nel to die. Only he doesn’t and it makes no sense if you think so.
Now let’s talk about Nnoitra’s screen time, Tesla, and why certain chapters make a difference.
In all of Nnoitra’s screen time, he doesn’t ever treat anyone nicely. But he never treats anyone like dirt before we reach his backstory. He threatens Tesla but he does stop his blade, so that’s okay. He insults Halibel and Ulquiorra in the same manner. But then Nel comes along and we see she is his button. Before this all we’ve seen is Nnoitra telling Tesla to stay out of the way. Then in 294, Tesla gets Santa Teresa fucking jolted at him because he asks Nnoitra to stands, and then gets a glare from hell when he asks about Nel
Did he intend to miss? We’ll never know, but he did make this face XD
And then again Tesla lets go of Orihime and goes to check on Nnoitra during a fight with Nel. He throws Tesla into a freakin wall.
Let me put this in simple terms for you. Tesla is highly regarded by many as the man closest to Nnoitra. I can agree with that, there is no man who knows more about Nnoitra than Tesla. But that does not make him omnipotent. More often than not even after 20 years, Tesla is always asking questions whenever we see him get screen time. When he’s not asking questions he’s doubting Nnoitra’s fighting capability because he is very attached to him. And Nnoitra never responds to him like a friend, and more often than not misleads Tesla. The one time he doesn’t seem to be misleading Tesla is the very scene Tesla remembers in his death- where Tesla is, again, asking a question. Why do you kill our weaker brethren? 20 years later, he is asking the opposite. You aren’t going to kill him, are you?
Let me rephrase it for you. Tesla, the man who should know Nnoitra from one end to the other, has not even been able to keep a consistent knowledge base of Nnoitra for 20 years. It’s been 20 years and he still thinks Nel can kill Nnoitra in one shot and wonders why he won’t kill someone weaker than him like they did when they first met. The simple truth is that Tesla can only learn things about Nnoitra, never influence the things about him. There is not a single scene in the manga that suggests that Tesla’s presence has influenced Nnoitra in anyway except ONE:
And this scene does not suggest anything above the fact that Tesla following Nnoitra was not a one sided loyalty, Nnoitra did actually care if Tesla was going to die. But compassion does not beget friendship or knowledge about someone at all. Every other time we see Tesla and Nnoitra interact Tesla is asking a question or doubting Nnoitra. This includes the past, the present, you name it. He can’t keep a permanent read on Nnoitra.
But I’m not suggesting Tesla knows nothing about Nnoitra, no. I’m suggesting Nnoitra has changed and it’s all due to something Tesla can’t comprehend cognitively. He still has to ask. The simple fact is that at point A, Nel says this:
At point A2, she says it in another way
And at point A3, has a culmination of these things and answers his question differently, but in a way that connects to point B‘s conclusion and Nnoitra‘s reasoning. In fact, this is the last thought he has cognitively, the last person he remembers
And at point B, Nnoitra has did not kill chad and teals has this reaction:
And Nnoitra explains his reasoning:
Nel states one thing, Nel states it again, and Nel calls him weak and judges him in his last moments for it. 20 years in the future, Nnoitra is now doing the opposite of what he once was and Tesla questions this. Tesla hasn’t been able to comprehend this. Nnoitra’s reasonings are always different. Nnoitra always changes his mind. The above is evidence, his behavior and actions change and Tesla even has to question this. So 312 is very significant, as it shows us the point A to finally connect to point B: Nel is an influence to Nnoitra. What she said has affected him for 20 years, to the point the changed his mind.
Ironically, everyone treats Tesla’s word like God’s. But it isn’t. Nobody knows Nnoitra like Nnoitra, and in his dying moments Tesla remembers 1) a Conversation with Nnoitra and himself, 2) a conversation between Nel and Nnoitra. 3) and Nnoitra with Tesla in the background, not talking to anyone in particular. If Nnoitra values Tesla with his life completely, and his knowledge, and his feelings- it would have just been Tesla and Nnoitra in an intimate moment. It’s his deathbed. If the source of information could be found between them, then Tesla would not have included Nel. The matter of fact is Nel, Nnoitra, and Tesla are important components in a complete circle that can’t be complete until Nel’s inner mind is shown too. We’ve seen what Tesla remembers. We’ve seen what Nnoitra remembers and thinks. But we haven’t seen that with Nel. And at the end of the day, because Tesla must question Nnoitra he is not a valid resource and we can’t trust everything Nnoitra says to him. Most people lie. Nnoitra is scum and self concerned. Amazing, awesome, really cool scum, but scum.
So I really can’t believe his ‘sexism’ thing.
Let me put it to you this way, Nnoitra is never sexist the majority of the time. He brushed off Ulquiorra’s lack of ‘training’ with Orihime and he never insulted Halibel, a much higher Espada rank than he, based on her sex. In fact, he only ever acted sexist towards Orihime when Nel had angered him. And as I’ve stated a repeated crazy number of times…….
If 1. Nnoitra hates Nel
Then he should not care what she thinks.
And if Nnoitra hates Nel and wants her to fight him
Why does he not tell her he thinks she’s inferior because of her sex.
I assert that either A. He does care what Nel thinks or B. He does care what Nel thinks and also isn’t sexist.
I propose it’s B because he never went around calling Lolly or Menolly dumb useless bitches. He is never seen harassing women until they get associated with Nel. He insulted Halibel on the same level as he insulted Ulquiorra. He in fact seems disinterested in matters of sex or fighting until Nel is brought into the picture. But alright, cool, Kubo never mentions anything without reason. So either he is sexist or cares what Tesla thinks. I am fine with either one. I have never believed Nnoitra to be sexist. I don’t think we’ve seen him interact with women enough. I do think Tesla condescends him and rather than be honest and admit he’d like Nel to give him the death in battle he deserves or acknowledge him as a warrior period, he would rather just say all women are useless. Personally I think Nnoi is just dickish and thinks everyone sucks and or is useless. But whatever floats your boat. I can’t get behind his sexism but even if he is the most sexist asshole on the planet, he cares what Nel thinks. He asks her a shit ton of questions and when she doesn’t have the capacity to understand and respond to him, or says something hurtful- he gets angry. He gets violent. So really the whole argument I’ve got here is that if Nnoitra is sexist, it’s the same, but if he’s not that’s cool. Either way Nnoitra didn’t exactly say it lovingly, so I assert that Nnoitra was tired of Tesla’s shit either way and said it out of frustration, even if it was honest.
But hey, Nnoitra and Tesla are team…………hero and sidekick. Only douche bags. Tesla isn’t even strong enough to take one blow from Zaraki even though he was in GIANT FREAKIN BULL MODE, so he’s obviously a lot weaker than Nnoitra. But Nnoitra still lets him tag along, so that’s well and good. But even when Tesla is there and Nel is not, Nnoitra has been chasing Nel’s shadow for 20 years. Everything she’s ever said has bothered him. Up until the day he died. He doesn’t want her pity, he wants her to acknowledge him and treat him like a warrior. All the chapters they were featured in meant nothing until we learned that in 312 and 313. And that’s just how it is. Nnoitra definitely feels more than hatred for Nel. He wants something from her, her word, her acknowledgement, and he hasn’t rested easy for 20 years because he’s never had it.
Also, the Espada data book itself quotes this (as translated by Minerva from BA)
“Nnoitra thrusts his blade toward her, and stopped just before cutting her. With the action, Nnoitra's behaviour showed an aversion to the same old condescending "irritation" and expression of contempt.”
In Conclusion
NnoiNel is not canon. It’s not meant to be. And you know, it’s not ‘true love’. It’s never been meant to be. I love silly AU a ton, and love to write them as humans because that’s perhaps the only way it could be a normal, possibly even happy, relationship. But the appeal of NnoiNel is how dark it is, and yet how there has always been something good in it. NnoiNel will never be healthy, sane, or light and fluffy. But it will always be my pairing because deep down, I’m always glad that in some way, Nnoitra finally did get to be on Nel’s level in her eyes. That, you can dispute all you want. Nel obviously felt compassion for Nnoitra and I assert she was sad when he died. But I can’t prove that. I don’t need to. I’m glad Kubo gave me what he did. So thanks for listening up folks, that’s what I think and if I haven’t changed my opinion since I was a 16 year old, I won’t change it now as an almost 19 year old. And a lot of people feel the same.
SO HAVE A CANONZ LINK
by femmelujah
Largely a response to several doubts, and aging nearly 3 years, I have made some addendums to my opinions and felt some things about NNoiNel needed to be restated as well as redone.
The Validity of NnoiNel
Volume 2 of GreenBlack’s NnoiNel essays.
Yo yo yo homies. This is an extension, an addendum, a retort, and a rant all in one. The point of this essay is to address some things I apparently 'say', what the reasoning behind enjoying NnoiNel is, and evidence to support that there is more to NnoiNel, while not claiming it to be canon. Etc. Etc.
Section 1: What NnoiNel fans ‘say’ and why not a single one of us intelligently ever meant it.
Now let me start by saying that I took over the nnoinel fan club and essentially owned the fandom for 2 and a half years. A year of that I was uninterested and a lot of people just took over the NnoiNel sites and places I went to. But I’ve seen a lot of opinions and not one of these opinions in my vast days coincides with any ‘opinion’ we have that I’ve seen posted around, first off-
1. NnoiNel is canon
No, it isn’t. Did I stutter motherfucker? It isn’t. NnoiNel will not be canon until the day Nel draws breathe and declares she really wubbed Nnoitra all along. And I don’t think that will ever happen. And even then it wouldn’t be canon, just that their bitter romance for one another did exist but never reached a culmination. So yeah, in a sense, NnoiNel can never become canon. I am apparently the headmaster of this Hogwarts adventure so let me tell you, NnoiNel is not supposed to be the kind of couple that is ‘canon’. There is not supposed to be happy baby tiem and human forgiveness. I’ve only ever written that in AU because truthfully, I can’t really get onboard with the idea that the man who mutilated Nel will have happy wuv times with her forever. It would ruin the dynamic they have in Bleach and honestly, to be canon, you have to have genuine mutual happiness and love. Nnoitra never showed that for anyone. There was never a time he looked so happy he was complete except when he was fighting. Low and behold, he was finally given death and died without an expression of pain on his face. NnoiNel will never be canon. I made an entire fan club version DEVOTED to the idea of this being ridiculous and that anyone who thought two things was ridiculous - 1. That NnoiNel is canon 2. That NnoiNel has no development despite that. Thinking that is ridiculous. NnoiNel has plenty to it and unlike UlquiHime which could be roped into a believable learning process and maybe even happiness, NnoiNel is dark, and will always be until my BFF channel and I break out the AU tape and write them as humans.
2. Nel loves Nnoitra forever and always has!
I never even said…any of that. Uhm wow. I will say I think Nel has more than hate for him, which even the most hateful detractors will admit, and that Nel has inexplicable feelings on the matter that we’ve never seen. Nel has never had her mind looked into with situations with Nnoitra. You noticed how he did and we saw his inner thoughts? That never happened with Nel. And the only times we ever get a moment and see more to her than just her words, she goes silent and the focus is on her lips. Let me tell you, focus is important. If you focus in on lips on a romance scene there will usually be a kiss. If you focus on hands it will be either sultry or compassion, and sometimes even notions of dismissing dishonesty. Focus is essential. Yet in the pinnacle of Nel’s ‘pity’ for Nnoitra she saves his life and then instead of saying ‘because of my honorrr!!!!!’ (not going the Zuko route, Nel?) she says “Because you are weaker than I.” You cannot in any way, shape, or form convince me that this hesitation and the lack of insight to Nel’s mind suggests that all we have seen is not the big picture. Kubo Tite himself said Nnoitra didn’t seem finished and I doubt that means he’ll come back…it likely means he’ll have some sort of closure and the only one still alive to provide that is Nel. I will never say 100% that Nel loves Nnoitra because it is untrue. What I will say is that Nel obviously has always had more to say to Nnoitra than she ever wanted to admit to. Furthermore, she follows him around and is actually curious as to his motivations. If she were to have never asked him “NNOITRA WTF??” I wouldn’t dare say there was more to it, but she did most definitely ask him why he fought the way he did. And he told her. And this moment was so important either Nnoitra or Tesla remembered it in their last moments. It takes more than pity to care enough to ask, it at the very least takes compassion. And that, my friends, while not love is most certainly something that pushed her to spare him even in heated moments. I know Nel is full of honor, but if she was willing to kill him one moment and then not suddenly the next, I can’t help but believe she feels some positive emotion towards him. But far be it from me to ever claim it as love, because I can’t say it is.
3. The hints that NnoiNel exists
When I read Bleach fully the first time I got to Nel and was like YES!!! AWESOME!! And I was disinterested in Nnoitra. I saw the scene people say we think gives them chemistry
And this is a bunch of shit. I ignored the hell out of this scene and was just kind of staring at Nel’s boobs. In fact when I became a NnoiNel shipper it was due to NnoiNel fanart I saw in a signature. And then I took over the NnoiNel fan club- and called it crack. And most people I know felt the same way, for the longest time NnoiNel was crack. Complete and utter bullshit but in my opinion, hot. I couldn’t explain it. It was awesome and I was shipping it so hard even though a lot of people were like “why??” and I always said “cause it rocks!” What makes NnoiNel more believable and in fact, no longer crack, is the sheer fact that Nnoitra and Nel talk. They talk. And Nel will initiate an important question rather than condescend. She does not understand Nnoitra, but she still wishes to. Why ask if she didn’t wish to know? She did. Somewhere, deep down, Nel cared enough about Nnoitra to wonder why HE was the way he was. Nel seems neutral to all other espada and Kubo never thought it was important enough to show her in the past with anyone but Nnoitra. Yet to Nnoitra, a man she just ’pities’, she is interested. There is again, more to Neliel. And Nnoitra is willing to say it. He doesn’t tell her to fuck off or that she’s just a dumb woman, he tells her exactly why he feels the way he does. This chapter let me know that somehow, somewhere, there was at least some compassion, interest, and honesty between Nel and Nnoitra. Nel stopped her blade and smiled as she did it, isn’t that funny? It was like there was no contempt on her part even though there was for the rest of the battle. Alone, it means nothing. And it is not why we ship NnoiNel.
4. Nnoitra hates Nel, is sexist, meant to kill Nel, and all Nnoitra things associated.
Nnoitra Jiruga valued Neliel’s opinions more than he did anyone else’s. I can prove this. I can show you evidence that cannot be retorted, nor explained any other way. I will not concede that. In fact, to me, this along with Nel’s compassion is what makes NnoiNel a non crack pairing. And so, let me present to you the main body and point of this essay.
II. Nnoitra Jiruga
Nnoitra is a source of contempt in fandom. On one end you have Nnoitra fans who don’t like him with Nel, who like to see him as completely separate from Nel. Then the Nel fans who don’t like Nnoitra with Nel, who like to see him as an ass who never knew compassion for anyone, nonetheless Nel. And then there’s the NnoiNel fans, who sometimes try to overstretch the fact that 1. Nel did interact with and have her greatest character development from Nnoitra, 2. Nnoitra did in fact give a whole shit ton of caring over what Nel thought. So let’s begin.
A lot of people reason Nnoitra just wanted to kill Nel because she disrespected him. Okay children, repeat after me
Then why the fucking christcakes DIDN’T HE?!
Nnoitra has had two chances at this point to kill Nel. Two. Devour her, beat her up, kill her- whatever he wanted from her. Except something emotional. He cut her head in two. He CUT HER HEAD IN TWO. She wasn’t a child then. So if he didn’t care about what Nel ever said to him, he could have killed her. Right then. She’d be dead, there’d be no problems - the end. Nnoitra is the GR8ST!!! He could eat her alive if he wanted to. He could have even sexually assaulted her BUT ALL HE DID WAS DOWNGRADE HER WARDROBE AND ANGST.
Look at this face.
I’m serious look at it.
And now friends…I have to. I have to use a psychology theory I learned in a little class called Personal and Social Adjustment- actually, this is one of the few things people acknowledged Freud was probably right about, and nobody likes Freud so that’s saying something. It’s called Intellectualization. Intellectualization is a 'flight into reason', where the person avoids uncomfortable emotions by focusing on facts and logic. If Nnoitra doesn’t care about Nel why doesn’t he laugh until she turns into a kid? Why does he spend time to think about what he’d done and look at her from above. He doesn’t even say it. He just looks. And thinks.
And then the next time he sees her, he could have killed her as a child when he saw her. But oddly enough he just gets upset. Why? Nel doesn’t remember him. Now why does he care if he only wants her dead? Why? There is no reason. What he wants is her to remember him and acknowledge him. I’ve never seen anyone disprove this, just dismiss the entire idea. Why does it matter to him so much then? And then he actually gets another chance- after she transforms at the END of battle he could have killed her! She was standing over him, triumphant, beaten him down. He hadn’t even used his released form yet- and yet he just kicks her to the side and decides to start beating up Ichigo. The very same thing that made her transform in the first place. I’m not saying he did it to make her re transform, but it’s funny that he goes right to beating and abusing Ichigo and making Orihime watch instead of killing Nel like he wanted to. And no one has yet to explain to me the face he makes as he explains Nel was their last hope. He isn’t laughing, he looks remorseful and doesn’t even look condescending.
And to be honest, I never really paid attention to it before I saw 312 and 313 because you had to brush it off. There was no way it made sense at all until you observed that not having her listen to every word he said made him angry. When it was impossible for him to he physically hurt a child. Nnoitra has no morals persay but I doubt he’d just go around kicking puppies for no reason. You know, I’m just going to post every single time Nnoitra quotes, remembers, reacts, and has any sort of reaction to Nel. It doesn’t count if he shrugs it off, like when he mocks Halibel. In fact, when he mocks her and it’s not a quote I won’t post it. Let’s see how often Nnoitra reacts to Nel. I will categorize them by instance.
From the moment Nel appears, he mocks her. Okay, normal Nnoitra reaction. But then she says she doesn’t know what he’s talking about when he speaks to her. Nnoitra has been smiling and grinning this whole time and taunting Ichigo. Here’s how this goes now that Nel doesn’t know him:
After all that, he then notes that Nel was so irritating…just like Ichigo is now. His irritation at Ichigo causes him to start being rather merciless and the smirk comes back as he talks about mutilating Nel, only to go away when he gets sick of Ichigo never giving up. And as he’s breaking Ichigo’s wrist Nel transforms, and this is his reaction to that
He’s shocked, and then he gets serious. He was mocking her just a few minutes ago, so why isn’t he mocking her now, when he knows she can respond? Well, if you understand the obvious concept that he wants her to acknowledge him and all his greatness, he needs to be able to beat her and he needs to be better than her to achieve it. Or, she needs to kill him. At that moment, neither of those things are happening yet. Alright, so let’s archive the flashbacks. How does Nnoitra react to Nel, and Tesla when he asks him how he is after the fight? And also, when Tesla asks why it’s Neliel he’s obsessed with
Okay, so let’s denote the reactions when Nel transforms back in the past and the one now.
They’re the exact same thing. The exact same laugh. Yet when he had the same reaction in the past he still did not consider himself a victor. He taunts Nel about breaking her skull but never does he try to say he defeated her in battle. His entire inner monologue was to describe that one day he would defeat her, and it was merely a stalling tactic to hurt her the way he did. Then he notes it’s too bad they can’t fight again. Humor as a coping mechanism? More than likely. Nnoitra’s reaction to Nel’s transformation yet again is fun. We don’t zoom in on a smile, which I would easily interpret as victory, but instead eyes wide open. Let’s compare some looks.
When Nnoitra first sees the huge wisp of smoke in the past:
When Nnoitra sees the huge wisp of smoke in the future:
The laugh from past and future
Noting that he can’t fight her again in the past
Telling Ichigo immediately that they have no hope now
Nnoitra seems almost nervous in the past when he sees the wisp of smoke. He may well be worried Nel recovered. Then he laughs it off. In the future his reaction is of the same nature but not in the same spectrum. He is shocked, but does not seem upset. Then his face returns to neutrality and he is no longer laughing or taunting anybody. Then he laughs at her in the past for becoming a kid when he was just afraid, and laughs at Nel in the future for becoming a kid when he was not going to be allotted the respect or death he desired. Then oddly, even after he claims victory, Nnoitra looks melancholy as he tells Ichigo they have no hope now. It’s similar to his disappointment Nel will not be able to fight him anymore. Why did he go from laughing to something akin to sadness or disappointment? There is no other explanation than Nel’s transformation, for whatever reason, is not what he wanted. You could say he’s bored with Ichigo but once Tesla beats the shit out of Ichigo, Nnoitra is just laughing it up while he taunts Orihime. And he’s doing, through Tesla, what he was doing earlier and just beating up a defenseless Ichigo. But now he’s not the one who will kill the ‘strongest person there’ that he senses and watched just to be able to say he beat. Now it’s some personal vendetta. Seriously, examine that. He wanted to kill Ichigo for the credit. Now he’s letting Tesla torture him. Right after Nel transformed moments before the culmination of their battle, which would have ended in a way he’s always disliked because he wishes to be treated like a warrior in battle. And all of this culminates in-
IF NNOITRA REALLY THINKS HE’S WON THIS BATTLE THEN HE REALLY SUCKS AT SHOWING IT BECAUSE HE IS BEING REALLY FUCKING DOUCHEY AFTER HE DIDN’T GET WHAT HE WANTED. If he is so sure he won then why doesn’t he just kill Ichigo, kill or maim Orihime and go back to his room and enjoy some nice pina colada?! He isn’t! While Nnoitra is a jerk he does not think it worth his time to kill the weak yet he tortures Ichigo. This makes no logical sense. He flat out tells Tesla he won’t kill Chad and low and behold, Chad is completely fine and not tortured. Gee, what’s the variable here? Neliel. Tu. Oderschvank. I want to tear my hair out at people who can’t see this. Because I just showed you and it’s fact. If Nnoitra just wanted to kill Nel, he could have just done it. But he didn’t do it, he didn’t even really win, so he beats the shit out of Ichigo through Tesla and makes Orihime watch. He is angry and he lets them know it. And he enjoys every moment of their horror. He wants her to have dealt that final blow, but not spare his life. This is how he responds to her saying this is the end. He is genuinely curious about how IT WILL END.
Oh and let me make one last point. In the culmination of the battle with Zaraki and with Nel, they both pull super moves on him and he reacts with shock. But He really over all just seems to MIND Zaraki’s kicking his ass more. Oh he seems to mind not being able to beat Nel, but not nearly as much as not being able to beat Zaraki.
So when Nnoitra is facing death by Kenpachi, he screams that he WON’T DIE! And he releases his zanpakuto! But when he faces it by Nel he puts on a grin and asks what the end will be. He put up half the fight even though winning apparently means the most to him, being the victor is always essential, and he hates her guts and despises her for not acknowledging him. Yup, he’s kicking Nel’s ass. Only he’s not. For someone with 50 tricks up his sleeve and enough fight left in him to be a formidable opponent to Kenpachi Zaraki- he’s damn accepting. If you honestly think he’s just out to kill Nel you are blind because it makes no logical sense. I don’t need to twist anything to prove it either, or even reference psychology, it just makes plain sense. He put his all into one fight but half into another. When he faced the same situation twice, he stayed on his knees and accepted it and in the other he defied it and stood his ground. Yeah. He totally just wants Nel to die. Only he doesn’t and it makes no sense if you think so.
Now let’s talk about Nnoitra’s screen time, Tesla, and why certain chapters make a difference.
In all of Nnoitra’s screen time, he doesn’t ever treat anyone nicely. But he never treats anyone like dirt before we reach his backstory. He threatens Tesla but he does stop his blade, so that’s okay. He insults Halibel and Ulquiorra in the same manner. But then Nel comes along and we see she is his button. Before this all we’ve seen is Nnoitra telling Tesla to stay out of the way. Then in 294, Tesla gets Santa Teresa fucking jolted at him because he asks Nnoitra to stands, and then gets a glare from hell when he asks about Nel
Did he intend to miss? We’ll never know, but he did make this face XD
And then again Tesla lets go of Orihime and goes to check on Nnoitra during a fight with Nel. He throws Tesla into a freakin wall.
Let me put this in simple terms for you. Tesla is highly regarded by many as the man closest to Nnoitra. I can agree with that, there is no man who knows more about Nnoitra than Tesla. But that does not make him omnipotent. More often than not even after 20 years, Tesla is always asking questions whenever we see him get screen time. When he’s not asking questions he’s doubting Nnoitra’s fighting capability because he is very attached to him. And Nnoitra never responds to him like a friend, and more often than not misleads Tesla. The one time he doesn’t seem to be misleading Tesla is the very scene Tesla remembers in his death- where Tesla is, again, asking a question. Why do you kill our weaker brethren? 20 years later, he is asking the opposite. You aren’t going to kill him, are you?
Let me rephrase it for you. Tesla, the man who should know Nnoitra from one end to the other, has not even been able to keep a consistent knowledge base of Nnoitra for 20 years. It’s been 20 years and he still thinks Nel can kill Nnoitra in one shot and wonders why he won’t kill someone weaker than him like they did when they first met. The simple truth is that Tesla can only learn things about Nnoitra, never influence the things about him. There is not a single scene in the manga that suggests that Tesla’s presence has influenced Nnoitra in anyway except ONE:
And this scene does not suggest anything above the fact that Tesla following Nnoitra was not a one sided loyalty, Nnoitra did actually care if Tesla was going to die. But compassion does not beget friendship or knowledge about someone at all. Every other time we see Tesla and Nnoitra interact Tesla is asking a question or doubting Nnoitra. This includes the past, the present, you name it. He can’t keep a permanent read on Nnoitra.
But I’m not suggesting Tesla knows nothing about Nnoitra, no. I’m suggesting Nnoitra has changed and it’s all due to something Tesla can’t comprehend cognitively. He still has to ask. The simple fact is that at point A, Nel says this:
At point A2, she says it in another way
And at point A3, has a culmination of these things and answers his question differently, but in a way that connects to point B‘s conclusion and Nnoitra‘s reasoning. In fact, this is the last thought he has cognitively, the last person he remembers
And at point B, Nnoitra has did not kill chad and teals has this reaction:
And Nnoitra explains his reasoning:
Nel states one thing, Nel states it again, and Nel calls him weak and judges him in his last moments for it. 20 years in the future, Nnoitra is now doing the opposite of what he once was and Tesla questions this. Tesla hasn’t been able to comprehend this. Nnoitra’s reasonings are always different. Nnoitra always changes his mind. The above is evidence, his behavior and actions change and Tesla even has to question this. So 312 is very significant, as it shows us the point A to finally connect to point B: Nel is an influence to Nnoitra. What she said has affected him for 20 years, to the point the changed his mind.
Ironically, everyone treats Tesla’s word like God’s. But it isn’t. Nobody knows Nnoitra like Nnoitra, and in his dying moments Tesla remembers 1) a Conversation with Nnoitra and himself, 2) a conversation between Nel and Nnoitra. 3) and Nnoitra with Tesla in the background, not talking to anyone in particular. If Nnoitra values Tesla with his life completely, and his knowledge, and his feelings- it would have just been Tesla and Nnoitra in an intimate moment. It’s his deathbed. If the source of information could be found between them, then Tesla would not have included Nel. The matter of fact is Nel, Nnoitra, and Tesla are important components in a complete circle that can’t be complete until Nel’s inner mind is shown too. We’ve seen what Tesla remembers. We’ve seen what Nnoitra remembers and thinks. But we haven’t seen that with Nel. And at the end of the day, because Tesla must question Nnoitra he is not a valid resource and we can’t trust everything Nnoitra says to him. Most people lie. Nnoitra is scum and self concerned. Amazing, awesome, really cool scum, but scum.
So I really can’t believe his ‘sexism’ thing.
Let me put it to you this way, Nnoitra is never sexist the majority of the time. He brushed off Ulquiorra’s lack of ‘training’ with Orihime and he never insulted Halibel, a much higher Espada rank than he, based on her sex. In fact, he only ever acted sexist towards Orihime when Nel had angered him. And as I’ve stated a repeated crazy number of times…….
If 1. Nnoitra hates Nel
Then he should not care what she thinks.
And if Nnoitra hates Nel and wants her to fight him
Why does he not tell her he thinks she’s inferior because of her sex.
I assert that either A. He does care what Nel thinks or B. He does care what Nel thinks and also isn’t sexist.
I propose it’s B because he never went around calling Lolly or Menolly dumb useless bitches. He is never seen harassing women until they get associated with Nel. He insulted Halibel on the same level as he insulted Ulquiorra. He in fact seems disinterested in matters of sex or fighting until Nel is brought into the picture. But alright, cool, Kubo never mentions anything without reason. So either he is sexist or cares what Tesla thinks. I am fine with either one. I have never believed Nnoitra to be sexist. I don’t think we’ve seen him interact with women enough. I do think Tesla condescends him and rather than be honest and admit he’d like Nel to give him the death in battle he deserves or acknowledge him as a warrior period, he would rather just say all women are useless. Personally I think Nnoi is just dickish and thinks everyone sucks and or is useless. But whatever floats your boat. I can’t get behind his sexism but even if he is the most sexist asshole on the planet, he cares what Nel thinks. He asks her a shit ton of questions and when she doesn’t have the capacity to understand and respond to him, or says something hurtful- he gets angry. He gets violent. So really the whole argument I’ve got here is that if Nnoitra is sexist, it’s the same, but if he’s not that’s cool. Either way Nnoitra didn’t exactly say it lovingly, so I assert that Nnoitra was tired of Tesla’s shit either way and said it out of frustration, even if it was honest.
But hey, Nnoitra and Tesla are team…………hero and sidekick. Only douche bags. Tesla isn’t even strong enough to take one blow from Zaraki even though he was in GIANT FREAKIN BULL MODE, so he’s obviously a lot weaker than Nnoitra. But Nnoitra still lets him tag along, so that’s well and good. But even when Tesla is there and Nel is not, Nnoitra has been chasing Nel’s shadow for 20 years. Everything she’s ever said has bothered him. Up until the day he died. He doesn’t want her pity, he wants her to acknowledge him and treat him like a warrior. All the chapters they were featured in meant nothing until we learned that in 312 and 313. And that’s just how it is. Nnoitra definitely feels more than hatred for Nel. He wants something from her, her word, her acknowledgement, and he hasn’t rested easy for 20 years because he’s never had it.
Also, the Espada data book itself quotes this (as translated by Minerva from BA)
“Nnoitra thrusts his blade toward her, and stopped just before cutting her. With the action, Nnoitra's behaviour showed an aversion to the same old condescending "irritation" and expression of contempt.”
In Conclusion
NnoiNel is not canon. It’s not meant to be. And you know, it’s not ‘true love’. It’s never been meant to be. I love silly AU a ton, and love to write them as humans because that’s perhaps the only way it could be a normal, possibly even happy, relationship. But the appeal of NnoiNel is how dark it is, and yet how there has always been something good in it. NnoiNel will never be healthy, sane, or light and fluffy. But it will always be my pairing because deep down, I’m always glad that in some way, Nnoitra finally did get to be on Nel’s level in her eyes. That, you can dispute all you want. Nel obviously felt compassion for Nnoitra and I assert she was sad when he died. But I can’t prove that. I don’t need to. I’m glad Kubo gave me what he did. So thanks for listening up folks, that’s what I think and if I haven’t changed my opinion since I was a 16 year old, I won’t change it now as an almost 19 year old. And a lot of people feel the same.
SO HAVE A CANONZ LINK