The afterlife isn’t quite what Erza expected. Corrupt nobles, a military dictatorship, Erza Scarlet cannot abide these things and confronts them the only way she knows how: like a Fairy Tail mage.
The Death and Life of Erza Scarlet
by Goshinzilla and Greatkingrat88 is a crossover fic between Bleach and Fairy Tail, which follows Erza after she dies at the Tower of Heaven and reincarnates in Soul Society. With the ideals of her old guild as her guiding light, the former Titania embarks on the path of a Shinigami and faces tragedy and betrayal all over again, forges new friendships and bonds, and confronts foes both new and old.
Tropes present in The Death and Life of Erza Scarlet :
- Adaptational Angst Downgrade: Masaki is still alive, so the Kurosaki family is whole.
- Adaptational Badass: Many examples all around.
- Momo. In this story, she takes the time to train extensively in advanced Kido, and eventually attains Bankai during the war with Aizen. She is also much more assertive in general.
- Tatsuki. Just like in many fanfics, she gains spiritual powers of her own and accompanies Ichigo’s group to Soul Society to rescue Rukia. And after further training, she was able to defeat Cirucci Sanderwicci, a Privaron Espada.
- Orihime. Being raised by Erza, she has much more confidence and is more willing to use her abilities offensively. This makes her a much more formidable combatant.
- Uryu. After receiving training from the Knights of the Vanden, he is able to use Blut Vene and Blut Arterie. This allows him to fight two Privaron Espada at once, defeating one, and nearly defeating the other.
- Adaptational Context Change: Instead of White infecting Masaki like in canon, he infects Isshin in a similar manner to how Kaien was infected and Hollowfied. Urahara was able to save him but at the cost of Isshin's Shinigami powers. Thus, Ichigo inherits his inner Hollow from Isshin instead of Masaki.
- Adaptational Heroism: Many examples.
- The Vandenreich receive a complete overhaul from canon. Reimagined from being essentially ghost Nazis, they are now full-fledged knights in shining armour, calling themselves the Knights of the Vanden. With a strong a sense of honor and justice, the Knights of the Vanden seem more heroic than the Gotei 13 at times.
- Yamamoto. He was hardly a villain in canon, but his inner thoughts show him to have much greater reservations about Rukia’s execution than he displayed in canon. He even briefly considers overturning it completely, but reluctantly resigns to follow the judgment of Central 46
- Byakuya. Similar to Yamamoto above, Byakuya doesn’t openly oppose Rukia’s execution, but privately, he is so torn up over it that he resolves to commit seppuku after her death.
- Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. After being cast out of the Espada, he joins the Gotei officers in Karakura in exchange for information. Being around the likes of Erza and Orihime awakens much more heroic instincts in him than in canon.
- Ginjou and his Fullbringer group. They only wound up in conflict with the Gotei due to a series of tragic misunderstandings and panic. Far from canon, Ginjou is a genuine friend and mentor to Ichigo, Chad, and even Orihime.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Downplayed, but aside from Lisa and Mashiro, none of the Visoreds have any interest in helping the Gotei fight Aizen. And all of them, even Lisa and Mashiro, still nurse a grudge toward the Gotei for casting them out for something outside of their control.
- Adaptation Species Change: Ichigo's inner Hollow really is just a Hollow, instead of his true Zanpakuto spirit. As a result, Old Man Zangetsu is Ichigo's genuine Zanpakuto spirit rather than a manifestation of Yhwach representing Ichigo's Quincy powers.
- Adaptational Superpower Change:
- Soifon’s Bankai has been completely overhauled. Her new Bankai, Sen no Suzumebachi, grants her four golden metallic wings, and summons a swarm of hornets that she can control and direct at a target via a golden mask that adorns her face.
- Aizen's Hogyoku transformation. Rather than turning him into a transcendent being, he turns into a perfect Shinigami-Hollow hybrid, similar to Ichigo's canon hybrid form from his final fight with Yhwach.
- Adaptational Villainy:
- Unlike in canon, Mayuri’s inhumane deeds are not glossed over after the Soul Society arc, so he remains a reprehensible piece of filth that even his allies cannot stand.
- Neliel. In this story, she remains an Espada and fights against the Gotei 13 during Aizen’s war.
- Adaptational Wimp:
- Mayuri can’t catch a break. He does well enough against anyone weaker than him but is utterly helpless against any captain-class fighter. In canon, he was at least able to use his inventions to compensate for his lack of proper fighting technique. He is allowed no such crutch in this story.
- Ginjou and his Fullbringer group. Even without absorbing Ichigo’s Fullbring, at least some of them could hold their own against Shinigami captains, with Tsukishima nearly defeating Byakuya. In this story, they are all substantially less effective against the upper echelons of the Gotei 13, having to rely on Tsukishima’s Book of the End to turn them against each other. Without that advantage, they all fall rather quickly.
- Badass Teacher: Erza spends some time as a substitute teacher at the Shinigami Academy. Despite her strict methods, she earns the respect and loyalty of many of her students, most of whom go on to become high-ranking members of the Gotei.
- Been There, Shaped History: Ywach in this story was a member of the real-world Knights Templar, and met Sultan Salahadin of Egypt and Syria, the man who would go on to turn the tide against the Crusaders. He also served under Reynald de Chatillon of Antioch during his disastrous charge against the Saracens, which resulted in the decimation of the Knights Templar.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Literally, the only thing that matters to Zaraki is how good of a fight an opponent can give him. He doesn't care whether anyone dies or not, only that he is able to enjoy the fight. And if you do manage to give him a good fight, he'll treat you like his best friend.
- Bow and Sword in Accord: In addition to their iconic bows, the Knights of the Vanden also emphasize mastery of the sword. And since joining the Vanden himself, Uryu has begun training in the use of cavalry sabre.
- Brought Down to Badass: Upon reincarnating in the Rukon, Erza lost access to her magic from Earthland (for now) but retains her skills as a fighter and still has a great deal of Spiritual Power.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Erza does not have it in her to ignore any injustice, no matter who or where. This puts her at odds with many of the draconian policies of the Gotei 13, Central 46, and Soul Society in general.
- Darker and Edgier:
- This fic does not gloss over or neglect the darker side of the Gotei and Soul Society, painting them as nominally heroic at best.
- The war with Aizen is much bloodier this time around with many casualties for the Gotei. Among their number are Captains Komamura and Ukitake.
- The Battle of Karakura takes place in the real world instead of a fake, and the collateral damage to the World of the Living is shown in horrifying detail. On top of that, Aizen succeeds in making the King's Key and 10,000 humans souls are siphoned for its creation.
- Dark and Troubled Past: In addition to her past from the Tower of Heaven in canon, Erza watching her new friends get brutally murdered by a Hollow becomes a new one for her down the line.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Lisanna did actually die in her canon backstory, as she is in Soul Society and a Shinigami.
- Similarly, Jellal also died at the Tower of Heaven, and is now an Arrancar.
- Back in Earthland, it's confirmed that Makarov gave his life to defend his guildmates when Acnologia attacked them on Tenrou Island.
- The Dung Ages: Ywach looks back on his early life in the Middle Ages with a mixture of neutrality and wistfulness, but overall he is clearly glad that the world has moved on from that era and hopes that there shall not be another like it.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Ichigo and Byakuya can barely stand to breathe the same air as each other, but being repeatedly forced to fight side-by-side during the war with Aizen has built a much greater sense of trust and respect between them. It’s enough that Ichigo willingly asks Byakuya to help him refine his skills after the war. Byakuya, meanwhile, comes to view Ichigo as more of an equal and agrees to his request despite having no obligation to. Their relationship becomes much more amiable years later, with the two of them commiserating over their shared appreciation of Shakespeare, and Byakuya giving Ichigo advice for to do with his future.
- General Failure: As far as the war with Aizen is concerned, Yamamoto’s performance as a leader was very lacking. His disastrous call to invade Las Noches, Aizen’s home turf, caused him a gross number of casualties that could have been avoided had he heeded Erza's warnings about their enemy's cunning.
- The Good King: King Sigismund Abaddon Ywach of the Knights of the Vanden appears to be this. He is humble, accommodating, and nearly fatherly towards his soldiers. His personability and charisma have earned him the undying loyalty of all of those under his command.
- Hated by All: Absolutely everyone despises Mayuri Kurotsuchi, even his fellow Shinigami. The only reason the Gotei 13 put up with him is because he is approved by Central 46. Even then, they’ll take any opportunity to make his life more difficult, and no one is any rush to save him when he is trouble.
- Historical Domain Character: Lord Commander Subutai Baghatur of the Knights of the Vanden is heavily implied to be the same Subutai who served as the chief military strategist of Genghis Khan.
- Honorary Aunt: Erza becomes this for Ichigo and his sisters due her closeness to their parents.
- Honor Before Reason:
- Erza by her very nature has a strong moral code that she refuses to budge on. At times, this makes her easy to predict and her fight against the injustice in Soul Society much more difficult.
- The Gotei 13, and it costs them a few times.
- Ikkaku ends up watching Iba die due to his refusal to release his Bankai with others around. During Aizen’s invasion of Karakura, he abandons this attitude.
- Yamamoto order a ill-advised brute force invasion of Aizen's fortress of Las Noches, where Aizen has the advantage, instead of waiting for him to show more of his hand so they know what they're dealing with. Later on, even he can’t deny his folly after the countless avoidable casualties it results in, including Captain Komamura.
- The Knights of the Vanden. As knights, they have a strong sense of honor that guides their actions. They refuse to use underhanded methods, such as attacking their foe when they are weak and battered, even when doing so would ensure victory and fewer casualties on their side. That said, they are willing to stretch the limits of their honor if the situation calls for it.
- Kissing Cousins: As per their canon backstory, Ryuken and Masaki were supposed to marry and produce children. And Ryuken even admits to Uryu, with some clear self-disgust, that he did once have genuine feelings for Masaki.
- My Master, Right or Wrong:
- The Gotei 13 and Soul Society in general promote unquestioning loyalty and obedience to tradition and their institutions.
- The Knights of the Vanden make an explicit and deliberate effort to avert this. They encourage lower-ranked members to asks questions of their superiors and make sure they know exactly why an order is being given, as opposed obeying blindly.
- Not in This for Your Revolution: Lisa and Mashiro join the Gotei in the last stages of the war with Aizen not out of any loyalty or love for their former allies, but so they can stop running while also getting some payback against Aizen.
- Obliviously Evil: Erza, while she was part of Aizen's conspiracy. She had her reservations about his methods, but she believed him to be good and that he would reform Soul Society for the better. She does eventually learn the truth about the man she admired so and is horrified, to say the least.
- Reality Warper: Aizen's Bankai, Tsuki no Shinseina Hansha, lets him rewrite reality to undo any damage done to him, and allow his own attacks to land even if they're evaded.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Chad and Tatsuki decide to stop involving themselves in spiritual affairs after the war with Aizen shakes them and Tatsuki's father is killed.
- Spared by the Adaptation:
- Masaki Kurosaki, full-stop.
- Kenpachi Kurayashiki. He actually took up the 0th Division on their offer, so he remains alive and well to the present day.
- Irene Belserion and God Serena are confirmed to have survived both the war with Ishgar and Acnologia.
- Unskilled, but Strong:
- Ichigo starts out as this, being able to match the captains of the Gotei 13 with only around a month or so of training due to his sheer power. After the war with Aizen, and the casualties in Karakura because of it, he resolves to avert this trope and approaches Byakuya for proper training.
- Zaraki. As usual, he coasts by on his raw power to enjoy the thrill of fighting. His fight with Neliel required him to rely on something other than raw power to win, or even enjoy, motivating him to learn proper swordsmanship.
- Uryu. A heavily downplayed example, as he is one of the more cautious and strategic fighters in the story, but meeting the Knights of the Vanden shows him that he has been coasting by on his pure talent the whole time and has still far more to learn as a Quincy.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Sosuke Aizen was this once upon a time. His early years in the Rukon were spent working with a group of his closest friends to bring order and stability to the lawless region they lived, albeit employing dirty tricks and deception. But when his friends were hanged on trumped-up charges and all of their hard work in the Rukon undone, Aizen became far colder and eventually decided overthrow the Gotei in its entirety.
