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18-> ''"Because I'm Beautiful"''
19-->--'''Yumichika's catch phrase'''
20
21An Epic ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' {{Fanfic}} series by Tomas The Betrayer, ''Hammered Down'' is an alternate view of Soul Society, the war against Hollows, and the kind of situations and people that would need to exist to make {{Heaven}} into a military dictatorship divided into slums.
22
23It's not a nice place to die.
24
25The story begins (at first) as a sort of prequel, detailing Rukia's tribulations adapting to her new life in the Gotei 13 and more importantly, to the Noble House of Kuchiki after being adopted by Captain of Squad 6 Byakuya Kuchiki. She soon learns that just because she's left the ghetto doesn't mean danger no longer follows behind her and she may be far beyond her depth. It soon encompasses all the characters of Bleach, from the captains to Ichigo and Co. including their enemies, going from around 50 years before the main plot and taking a complete divergence from canon storyline just after the end of the Soul Society Arc. It's a tale of dark plots thousand of years old, the sense of love, the unfairness of power, sacrifice, the need for peace and what it can cost to maintain it.
26
27It's a massive {{Doorstopper}} (1022 pages at size 12) that was first constructed in equally massive chapters until it was retooled from 14 to 36 chapters. The saga includes plenty of dry humor, drama and a lot of moral ambiguity. The story abounds with many a WellIntentionedExtremist convinced ''their'' solution is the only feasible one and are ready to go any length to achieve/maintain it. Unless the story is retooling a scene to give a different perspective of the situation, canon events are glossed over to provide more emphasis to {{Flashback}}s and secondary characters. At some point it actually becomes an AlternateUniverseFic.
28
29The complete story can be found [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4970664/1/Hammered_Down here]].
30
31The {{sequel}} ''Lifted Up'' can be found [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7839152/1/Lifted_Up here]].
32----
33!!''Hammered Down'' provides examples of:
34
35[[foldercontrol]]
36
37[[folder: Hammered Down]]
38* ActionSurvivor: Keigo and Mizuiro as per canon. To the point that they not only manage to save Kanoji from Barragan, but get him to let them live only to [[RefugeInAudacity troll him with the peace offering]].
39* AffablyEvil: Aizen thanks the Thirteen Court Guard Squads for coming out to battle him in the Fake Karakura [[spoiler: after revealing that the whole thing was a trap while Hollows lay waste to the Seireitei.]] He even says it was fun.
40* ActionGirl: Rukia, Yoruichi, Nemu, Nanao, etc. Pretty much any female shinigami who get the spotlight with very few exceptions.
41* AloofBigBrother: Same characterization for Kuchiki as in the manga but explored to its logical ramifications, showing his [[InformedAbility (very hidden)]] side of Kuudere.
42* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler: Or be permanently depowered.]]
43* BestServedCold: A conspiracy a thousand years in the making...
44* BigDamnHeroes:
45** [[spoiler: Ginrei Kuchiki]] who came like thunder in the tick of the moment, along with HeroicSacrifice and YouShallNotPass.
46** Kenpachi [[spoiler: in Shikai crashes through a wall, crashes into Segunda Etapa Ulquiorra and crashes out another wall]].
47* BlackComedy: Destruction and death is treated with sheer hilarity, expect lots of laughs from the sheer gore involved [[spoiler: at least until it devolves into pure NightmareFuel later on.]]
48* BolivianArmyEnding: While not the ending per se [[spoiler: the assault on the King's dimension ended with half of the Royal Guard completely laid to waste and forced to retreat while Fenrir Segunda Etapa and Perfect Hollow Aizen face each other over Fenris' next meal]]. Also see the Three Heavenly Warriors vs. [[spoiler: Wonderweiss/Yog-Sothoth]].
49* BrainBleach: "Sitting naked on the table was Rukia Kuchiki, an evil grin stretching her face," because Nemu just transferred Mayuri into her old gigai.
50* CallBack: Many. Renji makes it a battle tactic with [[spoiler: Yammy's reattached arm]]. Then there are the little canon details that the author [[ChekhovsGun exploits]]...
51* CampStraight: Yumichika.
52* CanisMajor: [[spoiler: Fenris Wolf the devourer, later known as Coyote Starrk]].
53* CantCatchUp: Chad still can't fight on equal terms with Espada.
54* TheCasanova: Yumichika, the legendary BEAUTIFUL shinigami, who can charm the pants out of any woman [[spoiler: except for Rukia.]]
55* TheChessmaster: Aizen, obviously. But really [[spoiler: Retsu Unohana]].
56* ConscienceMakesYouGoBack: [[spoiler: Gin Ichimaru and baby Rukia]].
57* CrapsackWorld: This is the biggest motivation for all the factions; they want to change it. If only they could decide which way is the "right" way. [[spoiler: They do and it became more like a FluffyCloudHeaven instead.]]
58* DeconstructionFic: Of lots of canon tropes but especially SuperPoweredEvilSide, TheChessmaster, WeHaveReserves and GrayAndGrayMorality.
59* {{Depower}}: [[spoiler: Yamamoto, Kyoraku, Ukitake, Komamura. Subverted with Soifon.]]
60* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: [[spoiler: Hisagi, did you just take Yachiru hostage? And make Kenpachi sign off from the biggest fight in the history of ever?!]]
61* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Did [[spoiler: Izuru just GravityMaster Komamura’s Bankai, Grimmjow take on Barragan to defend Aizen and Rukia just CurbStompBattle the Old Man of the Mountain?!]] In a word, [[MindScrew yes]].
62* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler: Retsu Unohana.]]
63* TheDreaded: Ichimaru for Rukia.
64* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: And it was worth it]].
65* EldritchAbomination: In exchange of the [[SurprisinglyEliteCannonFodder canon Espada]], here the vasto lorde are defined as "Entire Nations Of Souls" and are more like AnthropomorphicPersonifications of the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse than living beings whose power is so massive that [[spoiler: the weakest of them managed to stop 4 of the strongest captains while still holding back and 3 of them laid waste to battalions of captain-level Soul Reapers without difficulty]].
66* EvilVsEvil: [[spoiler: Fenrir Segunda Etapa Coyote Starrk vs Perfect Hollow Sosuke Aizen after being trapped in the King's dimension]] can count in an epic way.
67* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[RewatchBonus Subtle at first read]], but ''all over the place''.
68* ForTheEvulz: Gin. Motives? What motives? He just loves to screw with people's minds and watch the world burn. [[spoiler: That is, if you don't take in consideration his love for Matsumoto and desire for her happiness and well-being.]]
69* TheExtremistWasRight: Say what you will about Old Man Yamamoto but before him things were ''pretty shitty'' to normal souls and brutality was '''the''' rule instead of an unfortunate consequence. He may be an old jackass with full KickTheDog moments but at ''least'' he tried.
70* GambitPileup:
71* GenocideBackfire: [[spoiler: Aizen and Unohana's gambits didn't work as they thought it would.]]
72* GodIsEvil: Utopia ''will'' happen and if it requires the whole world to burn, so be it.
73* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler: Yumichika]] realized he had done everything he could do in the (after)life, the culmination of all his plans and goals, so he decided to refuse Orihime's healing for a worthy death [[spoiler: but only after his body was impeccable. After all, just because he was killed in apocalyptic battle for the future of the world, after facing a [[PhysicalGod Vasto Lorde]] is not excuse to not be BEAUTIFUL.]]
74* GreyAndGreyMorality: Everywhere but to make a long list short the humans are wild-eyed idealists and naive, the Hollows are insane murderous scavengers with clear goals and the Shinigami are extremists willing to kill anything to protect themselves.
75* GrievousHarmWithABody: [[spoiler: Chad to Yammy]] with the latter's [[CallBack severed arm]] because Hierro is too damn thick.
76* HiddenDepths: Even Kenpachi can pick out the flaws to Yamamoto's peacekeeping.
77* HollywoodCyborg: [[spoiler: Hanatarō Yamada because... Kurotsuchi is an asshole with over-budget.]]
78* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: The vasto lorde.
79* IAmLegion: In a nutshell what the vasto lorde [[spoiler: and Aizen]] are.
80* KarmicDeath: It was just poetic beauty the way [[spoiler: Kurotsuchi was brutally tortured to death by one of his experiments.]] Too bad that [[spoiler: according to the epilogue he may come back.]]
81* KickTheDog: Gin's main hobby apparently. He especially has it out for Rukia. Most notable during a Kido display and the [[spoiler: subsequent loss of a student's hand.]] Ouch.
82* KidSamurai: Hitsugaya and mocked mercilessly by Matsumoto for this.
83* LadyOfWar: Rukia in the first chapters, then it came the turn of Nemu, Hinamori and even Harribel. But the biggest example is Unohana who around chapter 32 shows ''why'' she is so feared in the Gotei 13 [[spoiler: and why you don't shackle Amaterasu to a gang of bullies.]]
84* LeeroyJenkins: Kenpachi (and in a lesser way Yachiru) are successful examples of this trope.
85* LethalJokeCharacter: Yumichika with his flamboyant attitude and queer disposition is considered most of the time to be a one-joke shinigami until the chips [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass are]] [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant down]]. There is a reason ''why '' unbreakable Rule #3 of [[BloodKnight Squadron 11]] is "Do NOT hit Yumichika Ayasegawa in the face".
86* MadnessMantra: [[spoiler: WHY WON'T THEY DIE, THEY WON'T STAY DEAD, THEY WON'T STAY DEAD...]]
87* ManchurianAgent: [[spoiler: Rukia, Renji, Kira and Hisagi just to say the least.]]
88* MemoryGambit: When the villains are [[spoiler: so generous with memory spells it's unavoidable.]]
89* MindScrew: As soon as [[spoiler: Unohana]] starts singing, [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu expect]] many [[ManchurianAgent of]] [[MemoryGambit these]]. [[SerialEscalation A minimum of three per chapter.]]
90* TheMole: Beside the obvious ones we got [[spoiler: Momo, Renji, Kira and Hisagi]], not to mention the probably hundreds of other offscreen collaborators to bring down Soul Society.
91* MoodWhiplash: It can go from brutally tearful to hilarious to introspective to [[NarmCharm narmtastic awesome]] in a single chapter. Sometimes in a single gorram paragraph.
92* MoralityPet: Hisana for Byakuya, who managed to defrost him before the beginning of the series and Matsumoto for Gin to the point [[spoiler: that he betrayed Aizen, destroying his plans because he dared to hurt her]].
93* MoreThanMindControl: Aizen and Gin are experts at this.
94* MotivatedByFear: All the organizations from Soul Reapers to Hollows are curiously maintained together under the threat of complete annihilation by their leaders.
95* MrFanservice: Hitsugaya, within his first two weeks of Captaincy to every Zanpakuto we're privy to the POV of.
96* NecessarilyEvil: Yamamoto to shinigami and Aizen to Hollows [[spoiler: at least until the epilogue.]]
97* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: How most fights with Yamamoto tend to end such as [[spoiler: his brutal and graphic beating of Unohana to within an inch of her life thousand of years before, which cost her an eye and her sanity.]]
98* OutGambitted: [[spoiler: Urahara outgamibts everyone.]]
99* OrganTheft: An apparent risk of sleeping with [[spoiler: Nemu Kurotsuchi. Hanataro didn't seem to mind too much.]]
100* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Aaroniero gives one to Nnoitra after destroying Santa Teresa.
101* RedShirtArmy: The usual shinigami tends to be left in this category more often than not, although there are several exceptions during the fic. Played straight with [[spoiler: the Zero squadron, who were literally mowed down with ease by 3 vasto lorde, Aizen, Tosen and Unohana. And neither Aizen nor Starrk were going all out]].
102* RedEyesTakeWarning: Gin thanks to his past as [[spoiler: an improperly-purified Hollow codenamed Rip Tease]]. Which is why he maintains his eyes semi-closed at all times. That and because he loves to screw with people.
103* ReviveKillsZombie: Kanoji tries this on Barragan. [[spoiler: [[WrongGenreSavvy And fails.]][[ChekhovsBoomerang Instead it heals Ginrei.]]]]
104* StealingTheCredit: [[spoiler:Aizen does this with Central 46's decision to execute Rukia via the [[KillItWithFire Sokyoku]] [[NoKillLikeOverkill for giving her powers to Ichigo]].]]
105* SugarAndIcePersonality: Byakuya Kuchiki.
106* TakenForGranite: The effects of [[spoiler: Nanao's shikai.]] Poor [[spoiler: Hinamori]] -- it's unsure whether escaping the subsequent [[LiterallyShatteredLives smashing Tobiume received]] is [[AndIMustScream any better.]]
107* ThisIsReality: Notably Unohana telling Ichigo he ''isn't'' the hero of some manga.
108* {{Thoughtcrime}}: Soul Society's Central 46 are fans of this and other [[ArtisticLicenseLaw dodgy legal procedures]] according to Mayuri and Rukia.
109* ThouShaltNotKill: Kon since the author remembers his earliest appearances. Doesn't make him any more pleasant for [[spoiler: Loly and Menoly]] to deal with.
110* TookALevelInBadass: ALL THE CHARACTERS. Even characteristics like Nanao's glasses are given near StoryBreakerPower levels. Not to mention Aizen, the vasto lorde or [[spoiler: Unohana's apocalyptic Bankai]].
111* TraumaCongaLine: Rukia's been stalked by Gin for fifty years, Orihime in Hueco Mundo ([[spoiler: and still stuck with Ulquiorra afterwards]]), [[spoiler: Ulquiorra]] can’t kill anyone (there are [[BlatantLies perfectly reasonable]] [[NextTierPowerUp explanations]], mind you), [[spoiler: Unohana was beaten for “insubordination” by Yamamoto for a good 2,000 years]]... Oh dear.
112* {{Troll}}: Y’know the big, climactic fight we got in [[spoiler: the Fake Karakura Arc]]? Yeah, it was a trap. [[spoiler: Gin and the top 3 Espada weren’t even there. Hitsugaya]] was not amused. Oh, and did you ''really think'' that [[spoiler: the Hogyoku was some do-all RealityWarper capable of creating a King's Key?]] Ha. That was a prank.
113* {{Tsundere}}: The Kuchiki siblings, type 1 and 2 respectively.
114* UnwittingPawn: It would actually be shorter to list who isn't one.
115* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: The bad guys who believe their horrific means will lead to good ends at least for them.
116* VillainousBSOD: Two of the most memorable are:
117** For [[spoiler: Ulquiorra: WHY WON'T THEY DIE.]]
118** For [[spoiler: Unohana: HE BEAT ME LIKE A WHORE.]]
119* VillainProtagonist: Define "villain" [[GrayAndGrayMorality please]]. And "protagonist" in [[MemoryGambit later chapters]]. And... Who are we supposed to root for [[MindScrew here?!]]
120* WeAreStrugglingTogether: ''The'' only reason why shinigami captains are even social to each other, let alone face the threat of Hollows in any coordination is thanks to the pure might of Old Man Yamamoto. Before him things were... [[AHouseDivided not]] [[FromBadToWorse so nice.]]
121* WeHaveReserves: This does not end well for their leaders at the very end.
122* WellIntentionedExtremist: Half of the cast; the other half is either a WideEyedIdealist or ActionSurvivor trying to keep their life at all cost.
123* WorldOfBadass: Everyone full stop.
124* WorldsStrongestMan:
125** Yamamoto, also know as "The Old Man of the Mountain"; the single most powerful warrior to ever possess a blade and why this is not ''entirely'' a good thing.
126** [[spoiler: With the destruction of Yamamoto the title seems to go to Ichigo, who is at one point theorised to be something of a contingency: "a warrior so powerful he could possibly challenge whichever one of the powerhouses was left standing after the war, Aizen or Yamamoto".]]
127** [[spoiler: Zaraki gets his bankai, becomes immune to most ranged attacks, with a battle aura best described as a 'solid supernova'.]]
128* WorfEffect: Boy, the [[spoiler: zero squadron]] took it hard in the backside in the story, becoming barely worth of being called Canon fodder. Also to Byakuya at hands of [[spoiler: Renji Espada.]]
129* {{Yandere}}: Holy ''shit'', [[spoiler: Momo!]]
130* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Refreshingly subverted by [[spoiler: Unohana.]] It would be much more worthwhile for them to have to live under the new management.
131[[/folder]]
132
133[[folder: Lifted Up]]
134* AnimalMotifs: The Divisions have been reorganized, instead of flowers, they now use animals as their symbols.
135* InMediasRes: The story opens with Matsumoto [[spoiler: inexplicably a traitor]] and kind of goes from there.
136
137[[/folder]]

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