History Fanfic / ProjectTatterdemalion

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: The creators of Madsen's Hollow clearly believed this. About four out of five victims of the virus just die messily from an incomplete effect. The "hollows" -- the victims who are fully affected by the virus -- have claws that can cut through steel, CombatTentacles, neurotoxic glands on those tentacles, psychokinetic abilities -- and can infect others by biting. Aside from the last part, this is true of shinigami as well.

* TheVirus: Madsen's Hollow is essentially this; although first detected as spoors, throughout most of the fic it's transmitted by the transformed "hollows'" bites or tentacle-stings.

* SyntheticPlague: There is basically ''no way'' Madsen's Hollow could have occurred naturally. Starting with the fact that it was found as spores in an asteroid... yet the disease only affects Earth-native mammals, and messes with their DNA in very specific ways. The scientist characters reluctantly conclude that the disease was probably manufactured by aliens, although it's later suggested that a human group could have only done it if they were insanely dedicated and worked on it for about a century.

[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4236712/1/Project_Tatterdemalion Project Tatterdemalion]] by {{Vathara}} is a sci-fi/horror AU of Bleach, focusing on some of the older members of the cast. So far the closest thing to a “main character” is Juushirou Ukitake, although in fact this is more an ensemble fic than anything else.

Fortunately, the scientists- led by Kisuke Urahara- have time to create a fast-and-dirty vaccine before the situation gets completely out of hand. However, the vaccine does have a few side effects- such as CombatTentacles, various psychic abilities, and these voices in everyone's heads...

Several characters who are shinigami in canon are not in this fic- the most important of these being General Yamamoto.

* CallForward: In the first story, Isshin says to Masaki, "I want to raise wonderfully smart, stubborn, world-terrorizing kids with you." (Ichigo has yet to be born in this universe, let alone his sisters.) In the sequels, Yoruichi and Kisuke think they could, just possibly, reverse hollowfication. This could lead to the canon practice of "purifying" hollows, or to the creation of the Visoreds- or both.

* DueToTheDead: In ‘’Project Thoughts’’, when the survivors get a chance to mourn everyone who died in the first two stories.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Yumichika and Ikkaku, even pre-shinigami. They’ve worked together for years, and [[spoiler: Ikkaku becomes the only volunteer shinigami because Yumichika’s already been vaccinated]]. Shunsui and Juushirou are getting there by the second fic.
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Averted: it was incurable, until he became a shinigami. Also, as it turns out, there was an idea of what the cure could be- it was just ilegal because it would have requried drastic genetic engineering, which is something the Alliance has a big problem with.

* KatanasAreJustBetter: The shinigami’s swords. The excuse, such as it is, is that two of them know how to handle katanas and can teach the others.

* LegoGenetics: Both the Madsen's Hollow virus and the vaccine, to varying extents. Some elements of realism- a virus is used to deliver the new genes- and a ''lot'' of HandWave-ing.
* MustHaveCaffeine: Shinigami and Quincies both seem to require extra caffeine to fuel their PsychicPowers. It seems to be caffeine in general, since the characters appreciate chocolate and caffeinated sodas as well as coffee. (This trope is used to [[JustifiedTrope justify]] Juushirou’s canon habit of giving Toushirou candy.) Later, Juushirou suggests that the vaccinated (both shinigami and not) like caffeine because it makes their hearts beat faster and that makes them feel "normal".

* OddNameOut: The characters with non-Japanese names- Huges, Petrillo, Wilson- tend to stick out.
* OutsideContextVillain: Whoever made Madsen’s Hollow. The leading theory is "aliens".
* ParentalSubstitute: Juushirou for Toushirou. (To a lesser extent, the entire pack is this for Toushirou, but Juushirou is the main one.)
* PowerDyesYourHair: All improbable shinigami hair colors are the result of the vaccine. Although Yoruichi’s first response is to blame Kisuke, it it turns out that [[spoiler: Isshin]] is responsible- the changing hair color is the result of his efforts to safeguard the brain, by forcing toxins out through the hair. (In a subversion, this is permanent and some of the characters are annoyed.)

* RockBeatsLaser: Justified for the shinigami’s swords. One, metal can be used to focus psychokinetic energy, meaning that swords can kill Hollows if the person who’s wielding them is a shinigami (otherwise you need a flamethrower). Two, in the second story, they’re stuck in a refugee camp with six hundred people who’re weirded out to downright scared of them. No one wants to give them more advanced weaponry, but they don’t want to be helpless... and the general consensus is that swords are better for their image than reminding people that they have claws. Still... space travel, genetic engineering, fighting alien monsters... and they’re using swords.

* ShoutOut: Kisuke’s “[[StarWars This is not the vaccine we were looking for]].” One character suspects Project Tatterdemalion itself is named after Hastur the Unspeakable, aka the Tatterdemalion King, from the CthulhuMythos. Kisuke refers to his mass transport (read: teleportation) device as "an elementary [[LiadenUniverse Liaden-Clutch]] interstellar drive". There are also several tropes mentioned by name:

* ShownTheirWork: Vathara has clearly read a lot about plagues (particularly the Black Death and the various theories about it). And predators. And ecology. And the psychology of survival and trauma. And refugee camps. And.... Let’s just say this universe is saturated with this trope.
* StuffBlowingUp: Kaien’s specialty before becoming a shinigami was explosives-making. Kisuke’s pretty good at it too.
* SyntheticPlague: There is basically ''no way'' Madsen's Hollow could have occurred naturally. Starting with the fact that it was found as spoors in an asteroid... yet the disease only affects Earth-native mammals, and messes with their DNA in very specific ways. The scientist characters reluctantly conclude that the disease was probably manufactured by aliens, although it's later suggested that a human group could have done it if they were insanely dedicated and worked on it for about a century.

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: The creators of Madsen’s Hollow clearly believed this. About four out of five victims of the virus just die messily from an incomplete effect. The "hollows"- the victims who are fully affected by the virus- have claws that can cut steel, CombatTentacles, neurotoxic glands on those tentacles, psychokinetic abilities- and can infect others by biting. Aside from the last part, this is true of shinigami as well.
* TookALevelInBadass: Invoked, by Juushirou. By name. Apparently, he’s a troper. As are Isshin, Kisuke, and Toushirou.
* TrueCompanions: The shinigami “pack”... although, this is largely driven by instinct at this point and is consequently still rather fragile. For example, Shunsui and Juushirou go from casual friends to HeterosexualLifePartners because of their transformation and a few days of fighting monsters. The emotions are real, and they're getting to know each other- but there is still the potential for infighting, misunderstandings, all that good stuff.

* YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry: Isshin and Kisuke. Especially Kisuke. The characters eventually conclude that this is because they’re the least familiar with violence out of the shinigami. Although they always had very fierce tempers which they held back out of fear, they have also never been in killing fights before... or even exposed to blood much. Consequently, they have less control over their “others” (zanpakutous/amplified survival instincts) than the others.

* MustHaveCaffeine: Shinigami and Quincies both seem to require extra caffeine to fuel their PsychicPowers. It seems to be caffeine in general, since the characters appreciate chocolate and caffeinated sodas as well as coffee. (This trope is used to [[JustifiedTrope justify]] Juushirou’s canon habit of giving Toushirou candy.) Later, Juushirou suggests that the vaccinated (both shinigami and not) like caffeine because it makes their hearts beat faster and that makes them feel “normal”.

* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler: Nell Shanks = '''Nel'''iel Tu Oder'''schvank''']]

[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4236712/1/Project_Tatterdemalion Project Tatterdemalion]] by {{Vathara}} is a sci-fi/horror AU of Bleach, focusing on some of the older members of the cast. So far the closest thing to a “main character” is Jyuushirou Ukitake, although in fact this is more an ensemble fic than anything else.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Seriously, you're better off not messing with Jyuushirou. Or any shinigami, really.

* IWillOnlySlowYouDown: Jyuushirou orders his subordinates to leave him behind when the base goes into lockdown. They do, which saves their lives. One of them appears later and is incredibly guilty about having left Jyuushirou to die (albeit at his own orders); Jyuushirou reacts by hugging him.

* MustHaveCaffeine: Shinigami and Quincies both seem to require extra caffeine to fuel their PsychicPowers. It seems to be caffeine in general, since the characters appreciate chocolate and caffeinated sodas as well as coffee. (This trope is used to [[JustifiedTrope justify]] Jyuushirou’s canon habit of giving Toushirou candy.) Later, Jyuushirou suggests that the vaccinated (both shinigami and not) like caffeine because it makes their hearts beat faster and that makes them feel “normal”.

* ParentalSubstitute: Jyuushirou for Toushirou. (To a lesser extent, the entire pack is this for Toushirou, but Jyuushirou is the main one.)

* ShockAndAwe: Jyuushirou and Ryuuken.

* GetARoom: Isshin and Masaki get this more than once.

* ShoutOut: Kisuke’s “[[StarWars This is not the vaccine we were looking for]].” One character suspects Project Tatterdemalion itself is named after Hastur the Unspeakable, aka the Tatterdemalion King, from the CthulhuMythos. There are also several tropes mentioned by name:

* TheVirus: Madsen's Hollow is essentially this; although first detected as spoors, throughout most of the fic it's transmitted by the transformed "hollows'" bites.

* ContinuityNod: Ryuuken's father wanted him to be a doctor (his profession in canon).

* BioAugmentation: Strictly illegal in the Alliance. Which seems like it's going to have some nasty consequences for our heroes, seeing as those laws don't make exceptions for situations like theirs...

* ShoutOut: Kisuke’s “[[StarWars This is not the vaccine we were looking for]].” One character suspects Project Tatterdemalion itself is named after Hastur the Unspeakable, aka the Tatterdemalion King, from the ChthullhuMythos. There are also several tropes mentioned by name:

** SortingAlgorithmOfMorality

* ShoutOut: Besides the many Tvtropes mentions, there is also Kisuke’s “[[StarWars This is not the vaccine we were looking for]].”

* Also mentioned by name: Lowered Monster Difficulty

* DoingInTheWizard

* PowerDyesYourHair: All improbable shinigami hair colors. Although Yoruichi’s first response is to blame Kisuke, it it turns out that [[spoiler: Isshin]] is responsible- the changing hair color is the result of his efforts to safeguard the brain, by forcing toxins out through the hair. (In a subversion, this is permanent and some of the characters are annoyed.)

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: The creators of Madsen’s Hollow clearly believed this.

* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler: Nell Shanks = '''Nell'''iel Tu Oder'''svank''']]

* ShownTheirWork: Vathara has clearly read a lot about plagues (particularly the Black Death and the various theories about it). And predators. And ecology. And the psychology of survival and PTSD. And refugee camps. And.... Let’s just say this universe is saturated with this trope.

* ShownTheirWork: Vathara has clearly read a lot about plagues (both fact and radical suggestion). And predators. And ecology. And the psychology of survival and PTSD. And refugee camps. And.... Let’s just say this universe is saturated with this trope.

Recommended on the [[FanficRecs/{{Bleach}} Bleach fanfiction recs page]].

Tropes:

Recommended on the [[FanficRecs/Bleach Bleach fanfiction recs page]].

[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4236712/1/Project_Tatterdemalion Project Tatterdemalion]] by Vathara is a sci-fi/horror AU of Bleach, focusing on some of the older members of the cast. So far the closest thing to a “main character” is Jyuushirou Ukitake, although in fact this is more an ensemble fic than anything else.

* ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5201930/1/Project_AsclepiusProject Asclepius]]''

* BadassNormal: Seargeant Petrillo, [[spoiler: General Yamamoto]]. Also Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Kaien, before becoming shinigami.