History Fanfic / ProjectTatterdemalion

* 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 [[Literature/LiadenUniverse Liaden-Clutch]] interstellar drive" (though probably just to screw with Yamamoto's blood pressure). There are also several tropes mentioned by name:

...with more to follow, although possibly not soon (as Vathara is quite busy writing Embers).

* PaperThinDisguise: At least under the exceptional circumstances. Even before Ryuuken breaks cover, Isshin and Masaki are beginning to suspect that he is NOT a mild-mannered civil servant, because he is handling imminent danger far too well.

* 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.

* HowDoIShootWeb: How do I [[PsychicPowers blow up/freeze/electrocute/etc things with my mind]]? Also, how do I keep from [[CombatTentacles stinging people]], and why do I alternatively inject [[CuddleBug oxytocin]] or [[PoisonousPerson venom]]? Most importantly, is there anything that can get me [[NeverGetsDrunk drunk]]? [[spoiler: Yes.]]
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Averted. Strickland's was incurable, until Juushirou became a shinigami. Also, as it turns out, there was an idea of what the cure could be -- it was just illegal because it would have required drastic genetic engineering way beyond what the Alliance permits.

* NeverGetsDrunk: Alcohol has no effect, much to Shunsui's horror. [[spoiler: Venomous honey, however...]]

* TheStoic: General Yamamoto-Genryuusai, and ''how''. To the point where he is frankly contemptuous of others' fear of death, ''and'' their behavior in the aftermath of disaster. In his mind, if he can keep a stiff upper lip at all times, everyone else should as well.

* ActionSurvivor: Even with the CombatTentacles, some of the shinigami qualify, especially at first. For instance: the scientists who have never before seen combat (and may or may not be {{Reluctant Monster}}s afterwards), the Project's doctors/paramedics, a twelve-year-old kid who had to fight off his father's zombified remains, and that one data analyst who woke up with a Hollow in his face. Even after most grow into the role of BadassAbnormal, some (like [[CombatMedic Hanatarou]]) just aren't meant for the thick of combat.

* BadassAbnormal: Every shinigami, end of story. Though some may be [[PersonOfMassDestruction more]] [[BadassInCharge Badass]] than [[ActionSurvivor others]], all of them TookALevelInBadass. [[spoiler:By the end of the third installment, everyone on the premises can [[MindOverMatter kill you with their brains]]]]

** BadassNormal: Sergeant Petrillo, General Yamamoto. Also Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Kaien, before becoming shinigami.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The shinigami camp includes: five scientists, four soldiers of various stripes, three medical personnel, a covert agent, a data analyst, an administrator, and [[TheRuntAtTheEnd a twelve-year-old kid]]. All of whom had reasons of varying legitimacy for being in the top secret research complex, but they do make for an odd collection...

* TheStoic: General Yamamoto-Genryuusai, and ''how''.

* 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've always had very fierce tempers that they fear and restrain, 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 those with some military training.

** BadassInCharge: Among the [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority shinigami]], we have [[MajorlyAwesome Shunsui]] [[HeroesPreferSwords Kyoraku]] and [[BadassBookworm Juushiro]] [[BewareTheNiceOnes Ukitake]]. For the rest of the survivors, we have [[FourStarBadass General]] [[BadassGrandpa Yamamoto-Genryusai]] and Sgt. Petrillo of the strikers.

** Because Toshiro's so much younger than the rest of the group, it's suspected that he might have {{PubertySuperpower}}s coming...and he's established as a [[TeenGenius bankai prodigy]] in canon.

* ChildrenAreInnocent: Subverted with Toshiro, who's all too eager for a sword after his Hollowfied father ate his mother and tried to change or eat him. He's still got a child's naivete, however, adapting very easily to pack-mentality [[spoiler:without understanding the adults' reservations about MoreThanMindControl]].

* FlashStep: [[spoiler: Hollows can pseudo-teleport. Fortunately, we find this out because Toshiro accidentally does it.]] Even when not breaking the laws of physics, shinigami can move too quickly for most humans to even try shooting.

* InfantImmortality: Averted, although not on-screen. In "Project Asclepius," we (and Retsu) learn that everyone of ''any'' age who couldn't make it to a shelter (or form a chrysalis) in time died. [[FigureItOutYourself Toshiro was not the only child on the base before the attack, but he's the only one among the survivors.]]

* PubertySuperpower: Briefly discussed in regards to [[TagalongKid Toshiro]]; since he's the only child of the group, and symptoms of ''known'' diseases can sometimes be age-related, he'll have to be watched carefully for anything... [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill extra]].

* SuperWindowJump: Toshiro does this to get into the besieged hospital during ''Project Asclepius'', as he couldn't pull off the AirVentPassageway. And the door was right out.

* TagalongKid: Toshiro, the only child survivor from Project Tatterdemalion, becomes the pack's "cub". However, he has been described/best summed up as:
-->'''Kisuke:''' ''(cannot catch Toshiro at tag) You pixie out of H. R. Giger!''

* TookALevelInBadass: Invoked by Juushirou. By name. Apparently, he's [[TVTropesWillRuinYourVocabulary a troper]]. As are Isshin, Kisuke, and Toshiro.

* BadAss: If the character is named and manages to remain alive, the character is probably a BadAss.
** BadassAbnormal: Every shinigami, end of story. Though some may be [[PersonOfMassDestruction more]] [[BadassInCharge Badass]] than [[ActionSurvivor others]], all of them TookALevelInBadass. [[spoiler:By the end of the third installment, everyone on the premises can [[MindOverMatter kill you with their brains]]]]

* OutsideContextVillain: Whoever made Madsen's Hollow. The leading theory is "aliens". There's remote chance this was some StarfishLanguage attempt at "hello" that completely failed in translation, but much more likely was it was an outright act of war, and the main characters are preparing to respond accordingly.

[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4236712/1/Project_Tatterdemalion Project Tatterdemalion]] by Creator/{{Vathara}} is a sci-fi/horror AU of Manga/{{Bleach}}, focusing mainly on the older members of the cast. So far Juushirou Ukitake comes closest to the role of "main character", but this is first and foremost an ensemble fic.

[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4236712/1/Project_Tatterdemalion Project Tatterdemalion]] by Creator/{{Vathara}} is a sci-fi/horror AU of Bleach, focusing mainly on the older members of the cast. So far Juushirou Ukitake comes closest to the role of "main character", but this is first and foremost an ensemble fic.

** LikeABadassOutOfHell: This could be the Hollows' escape from containment, but also the shinigami's escape from the project compound, especially since it's built underground and they have to fight their way to the surface.

[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4236712/1/Project_Tatterdemalion Project Tatterdemalion]] by {{Vathara}} is a sci-fi/horror AU of Bleach, focusing mainly on the older members of the cast. So far Juushirou Ukitake comes closest to the role of "main character", but this is first and foremost an ensemble fic.

* 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 [[Literature/LiadenUniverse Liaden-Clutch]] interstellar drive" (though probably just to screw with Yamamoto's head). There are also several tropes mentioned by name:

* PintSizedPowerhouse: The TagalongKid is still a "[[CrowningMomentOfFunny pixie out of HRGiger]]".

* LockedIntoStrangeness: Provides a [[JustifiedTrope justification]] for all the {{ImplausibleHairColor}}s from the original manga. Here, most characters seem to have started out with realistic Asian hair and eye colors. The implausible hues only show up as a bizarre side effect of the vaccine...and it's permanent because the strands technically aren't hair, they're tiny psychic tendrils. Although Yoruichi's first response is to blame Kisuke, it turns out that [[spoiler: Isshin]] is responsible -- the changes are the result of his efforts to safeguard the brain by forcing colorful toxins out through the hair. Even those more mildly affected can experience drastic shifts in hair color (Ryuuken goes from black to white) and some of the characters are quite annoyed about the change.

* NoZombieCannibals: Averted hard as of ''Project Thoughts''. Hollows are just as cannibalistic as in canon: they grow by consuming other Hollows.

with more to follow, although possibly not soon (as Vathara is quite busy writing Embers).

* OneManArmy: Every shinigami comes with CombatTentacles, SuperStrength, FlashStep ([[spoiler: and outright teleportation]]), [[PoisonousPerson Venom]], ''PsychicPowers''... Even the shinigami admit that Yamamoto has his rights not to give them force-multipliers like guns. What they can do with swords is clearly bad enough.
* OnceKilledAManWithANoodleImplement: Upon escaping his chrysalis, Shunsui had to face down a Hollow, and beat it down with a chair. Justified, because psychokinesis is channeled best through metal.

** On a lighter note, Kyoraku's first appearance is in a pink camo bathrobe, likely because this is the closest the author could think of compared to his canon... "haori". The term "outrageous" is used at least once, but the man also [[OnceKilledAManWithANoodleImplement killed a Hollow with a chair.]] And he's one of the shinigami's fencing experts.

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Averted. Scientific, medical, military, legal, and technical jargon is thrown around casually enough to give the average listener whiplash, but this justified because [[ShownTheirWork it's used ''by'' subject matter experts, in conversations ''about'' their area of expertise]]. Even while using technically precise terms, the characters still have naturalistic grammar and diction, and they'll use slang in other contexts.

* SoleSurvivingScientist: Averted. Six of the Project's scientists survive the outbreak, including both physicists and biologists. Moreover, rather than going mad from the futility of trying to fix things, Isshin, Masaki, and Kisuke (plus Ryuuken as lab tech) were enough to come up with a workable vaccine.

-->'''[[StoicSpectacles Nanao]]:''' ''(blinks) [[TheStoic Not yet.]]''
*** Nanao reaches ''her'' limit when [[spoiler:Unohana calmly informs her that that Madsen's Hollow is most likely of alien origin]].

* 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 an alien civilization a few hundred years ahead of them in bioengineering technology, although it's later suggested that a human group might also have been able to pull it off with a hundred years of fanatically dedicated work.

* ProHumanTranshuman - The shinigami struggle to prove they are this.

* OutsideContextVillain: Whoever made Madsen's Hollow. The leading theory is "aliens".

* ManchurianAgent: General Yamamoto is worried that the Shinigami may well turn on the rest of humanity, whether they realize it or not. Given the [[ProperlyParanoid Hell they've all been through, and some of the symptoms they ''know'' about...]]
* MindRape: [[spoiler: "Swamping" another Shinigami with enough psychic images that either their "other" takes over, or the individual is overwhelmed by the HiveMind. Useful for such things as getting Isshin and Kisuke to fight when they're terrified of letting go, pulling Yumichika and Ikkaku into line with the rest of the pack instead of their own Sergeant (whom they follow like ''Kenpachi in canon''), and getting Shunsui to work with his other in time for a fight (especially ironic, since he did it first).]] So far, done either unintentionally or with the ''best'' of intentions, and only by pack-leaders, which [[ParanoiaFuel arguably]] [[MoreThanMindControl makes it worse]].

** Pack-mentality especially reads like this, with special mention already paid to [[MindRape "swamping" other Shinigami.]]

* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: Averted. The mass transporter currently exists only as an alpha-stage prototype but is documented in Dr. Urahara's lab notebooks. Since Kisuke tends to blow off his paperwork for as long as possible, General Yamamoto wants very much to retrieve the prototype.
* NoZombieCannibals: Averted hard as of ''Project Thoughts''.

* PintSizedPowerhouse: The TagalongKid is still a "[[CrowningMomentOfFunny pixie out of HRGiger]]."

* PowerStrainBlackout: When Ryuuken first unleashes his CoverBlowingSuperpower, he intends only to short the transporter's circuits but accidentally blows up half the lab in the process, because he wasn't expecting the enhanced firepower from the vaccine. Later, when Sgt. Petrillo asks him to use his powers again, Ryuuken warns him (correctly) that the rest of the group will have to carry him out afterwards.

* SecretProjectRefugeeFamily: Perhaps the strangest example of all, in that it includes the scientists and the general in charge and no one is a PhlebotinumRebel.

** For bonus points, the author's notes occasionally include recommended reading
* SleazyPolitician: TheRepublic, our heroes' faction in the little-defined space war, apparently has these.

* SoleSurvivingScientist: Averted. Six survive, and three of them plus Ryuuken were enough to get the infection under control.

** NotSoStoic: When Shunsui explains that bored Shinigami are like a squadron of bored fighter pilots.

*** Nanao actually falls under both TheStoic and NotSoStoic, though is noted to be more stoic than Yamamoto. However she does [[spoiler: fall off her chair when Unohana calmly informs her that that Madsen's Hollow is most likely of alien origin]] showing even she has limits.
* StuffBlowingUp: Kaien's specialty before becoming a shinigami was explosives R&D. Kisuke's also very good at making improbable things go boom.
** For example, Kisuke requests some medical ether as a more effective sedative for shinigami biology. It just ''happens'' to also be highly explosive when concentrated. The general [[OhCrap is not happy]].

* 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 an alien civilization a few hundred years ahead of them in bioengineering technology, although it's later suggested that a human group might also have been able to pull it off, although it would have taken a hundred years of fanatically dedicated work.
* TagalongKid: Toshiro, the only child survivor from Project Tatterdemalion, becomes the pack's "cub." However, he has been described/best summed up as:

* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening - Anger was necessary to awaken the telekinetic abilities of Kisuke and Isshin. [[spoiler:Kisuke and Isshin had gone so long without feeling anger out of concern for other's safety that Shunsui had to enter their minds by interweaving his AlienHair with theirs, depriving them of all senses except whatever they're using to perceive their own pulses, effectively creating a cross between MentalWorld and {{Cyberspace}}. Once this was done, he funnel-fed the know-how into their minds.]]

* TheVirus: Madsen's Hollow is essentially this; although first detected as spores, throughout most of the fic it's transmitted by bites or tentacle-stings from other Hollows. [[spoiler:In the third story, Retsu still thinks it was primarily intended as an airborne pathogen... they've just overlooked that route until now because transmission by physical contact shows up so much faster.]]

* 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've always had very fierce tempers that they fear and restrain, 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.

[[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.

Project Tatterdemalion is a top-secret research base, located approximately in the middle of nowhere. This turns out to be a very good thing, when a mysterious pathogen that the Project scientists have been researching gets out of control... and its effects are not at all pleasant.

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

* ActionSurvivor: Even with the CombatTentacles, some of the shinigami qualify, especially at first. For instance: the scientists who have never before seen combat (and may or may not be {{Reluctant Monster}}s afterwards), the Project's doctors/paramedics, a twelve-year-old kid who had to fight off his father's zombified remains, and that one data analyst who woke up with a Hollow in his face. Even after most grow into the role of BadassAbnormal, some might still be... delicate (e.g. [[CombatMedic Hanatarou]]).

* BadAss: If the character is named (and alive), the character is probably a BadAss.

** BadassBookworm: Five scientists of various fields, three doctors, a data analyst, an administrator whose encyclopedic knowledge is a job requirement... and that one strike trooper who reads scientific journals for fun. [[spoiler: All of these people end up as shinigami.]]

** BadassUnintentional: At first. Killing a Hollow with a chair instead of a flamethrower, freezing a Hollow solid, and outrunning bullets were all reflex actions on the part of unwitting shinigami... And ''then'' they start figuring out the real extent of their new abilities.
** LikeABadassOutOfHell: This could be the Hollows' escape from containment, but also the shinigami's escape from the project compound.

** TookALevelInBadass: Referenced [[ShoutOut by name]].

* BlackSpeech: When the Hollows "shout," normal responders collapse into the fetal position and whimper

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Shinigami have a strong tendency towards this trope, but the best examples are Kisuke and Isshin. Even before the hollowfication incident, their eccentricities were only tolerated because their scientific work was unimpeachable.

** 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.)

* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Averted: it was incurable, until Juushirou became a shinigami. Also, as it turns out, there was an idea of what the cure could be -- it was just illegal because it would have required drastic genetic engineering way beyond what the Alliance permits.

* InMediasRes: The series kicks off with the to-be-christened-Shinigami just coming out of their chrysillades in a very infected Project. While more than enough bits and pieces are dropped in lieu of an InfoDump, it's not until Part III (not chapter, ''part'') that we get the whole backstory. This works quite well.

* LockedIntoStrangeness: As a [[JustifiedTrope justification]] of all the {{ImplausibleHairColor}}s from the original manga. Here, most characters seem to have started out with realistic Asian hair and eye colors. The implausible hues only show up as a bizarre side effect of the vaccine...and it's permanent because the strands technically aren't hair, they're tiny psychic tendrils. Although Yoruichi's first response is to blame Kisuke, it it turns out that [[spoiler: Isshin]] is responsible -- the changes are the result of his efforts to safeguard the brain by forcing colorful toxins out through the hair. Even those more mildly affected can experience drastic shifts in hair color (Ryuuken goes from black to white) and some of the characters are quite annoyed about it.

* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening - Anger was necessary to awaken the telekinetic abilities of Kisuke and Isshin. [[spoiler:Kisuke and Isshin had gone so long without feeling anger out of concern for other's safety that Shunsui had to enter their minds by interweaving his AlienHair with theirs, depriving them of all senses except whatever they're using to perceive their own pulses, effectively creating a cross between MentalWorld and Cyberspace. Once this was done, he funnel-fed the know-how into their minds.]]

* SoleSurvivingScientist: Averted. Five survive, and three of them plus Ryuuken were enough to get the infection under control.

* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening - Anger was necessary to awaken the telekinetic abilities of Kisuke and Isshin. [[spoiler:Kisuke and Isshin had gone so long without feeling anger out of concern for other's safety that Shunsui had to enter their minds by interweaving his scalp tendrils with theirs, depriving them of all senses except whatever they're using to perceive their own pulses, effectively creating a cross between MentalWorld and Cyberspace. Once this was done, he funnel-fed the know-how into their minds.]]

* SuperWindowJump: Toshiro does this to get into the besieged hospital during ''Project Asclepius'', as he couldn't pull off the AirVentPassageway.

* SuperWindowJump: Toshiro does this to get into the besieged hospital during '', as he couldn't pull off the AirVentPassageway.

*** Nanao actually falls under both TheStoic and NotSoStoic, though is noted to be more stoic than Yamamoto as [[spoiler: she falls off her chair when Unohana calmly informs her that that Madsen's Hollow is most likely of alien origin.]]