Tales of Bleach: Unreal Society

"Tales of Bleach: Unreal Society" and its two sequels "Return of the Samurai", and "Blades of Destiny" make up a Bleach/Tales of Symphonia crossover trilogy created by draconichero20 (now 21) that mixes the Bleach cast into the storyline of Tales of Symphonia.

Unreal Society begins with the majority Bleach soul reaper cast virtualized into the land of Sylvarant as per an experiment by Urahara. A lock-in mode transition engages and the cast finds themselves trapped in the land of Sylvarant, forced to play the game to find their way out.

Return of the Samurai does to Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World what Unreal Society did with the original game.

Blades of Destiny, the final installment, is an original addition meant to, in the author's own words, "tie up loose ends created by the other two series". It's still ongoing, but it hasn't been updated in a while in favor of another fanfic the author has written, Soul Chess, which had its page long before this one.

Because of the very nature of the series, spoilers connected to Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World are marked, but spoilers connected to Bleach are unmarked. Also spoilers directly connected to the story are also marked.

Tropes A to M

 * Actor Allusion: The inevitable reference that /Emil and Ichigo are voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch is made. And also turned into a Running Gag.
 * Ascended Extra: Virginia . Shunsui as The Unexpected when he joins the party in Unreal Society for the majority of the fic.
 * As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Word of God says that this is the case with Aselia's language of the elves. The language has its own rules, but it's completely nonsensical and bears no resemblance to another elven language
 * A God Am I: . Very very justified as of chapter 28.
 * Alternate Universe: On a meta-level the author has stated that such is a case for the series given the discontinuity it has with canon Bleach. Since the fic was created before Aizen's defeat there are a lot of differences between it and canon. Chapter 1 of Return of the Samurai was Retconned to cement that the series follows the anime's continuity since Ichigo mentions that he losts his powers and regained them the previous April (referring to the Xcution arc). However, before the retcon, Tite Kubo made some of the Visoreds captains and Rukia a Vice-Captain and in Blades of Destiny Rukia is still an unseated officer and there are Original Characters as replacement captains for Tosen, Gin and Aizen despite Ichigo being in college, which is long after the events of canon.
 * Anticlimax Boss: Most of the bosses prior to to the Tower of Salvation are this because the Bleach cast is much more powerful than the Symphonia cast.
 * : In Blades of Destiny. Hopefully things will be returned to normal or things would really suck..
 * It Got Worse with the release of the newest chapter. We have on our hands . Sheesh!
 * Even before that
 * Artistic License: Invoked to make closer than they were in canon by the end of Unreal Society. Also invoked to describe how Byakuya’s parents died and his and Hisana’s pre-marital relationship.
 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: When infiltrating the cape fortress in Return of the Samurai Zelos utters: "Things are getting pretty damn terrible lately. My sister's been kidnapped, my bud's been impersonated and to top it all off I think I dropped my wallet on the way here."
 * Ass Shove: Zelos does this to Renji using Zabimaru during training for implying incest between his mother and sister and him.
 * In Blades of Destiny.
 * Back-to-Back Badasses: Several uses of this in chapter 26 of Blades of Destiny.
 * Badass Adorable: Kiku Capricornia
 * Badass Boast: Ichigo tells Volt he plans to take him down in a single strike..
 * Balloon Belly: Cotton after eating a bunch of Byakuya's plants in an omake.
 * Bare Your Midriff: Sheena wears and outfit like this in chapter 1 of Blades of Destiny.
 * Barrier Maiden:.
 * Berserk Button: Ichigo does not take kindly to betrayal.
 * Mithos,.
 * You do not insult Byakuya's late wife Hisana.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Sheena is normally easygoing and a very big Tsundere. Never have we seen her get as violent as she did when she marked her territory of toward Alice. Emil put it the best: “Women are scary.”
 * Big Bad: Album Atrum is this of the third and final installment.
 * Big Brother Mentor: Ichigo’s relationship with Emil in Return of the Samurai. Also, despite being a year younger, this is his relationship with Lloyd in Unreal Society, especially after Kratos' betrayal.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Seen quite a few times
 * Bigger on the Inside: Crepusculo Palacio Imperial
 * Big "What?": Genis' reaction when Rukia tells him that.
 * Blatant Lies: How the Bleach cast keeps the Symphonia cast in the dark about the true nature of the relationship between their worlds. If these were original characters it would borderline Mary Sue status. they're that blatant.
 * Body Count Competition: Kenpachi tries to have one with Ichigo in chapter 34 of Unreal Society.
 * : Go ask Alice.
 * Born Lucky: Cyrus would have to be this to win 2130 games of poker without losing once. And he does so without cheating.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: Sort of. Since Aselia is a virtual world, when Ichigo calls upon Urahara in ch 17, an ominiscent narrator outside the world, Shunsui considers the action such..
 * Ichigo plays this trope straight when he lampshades how Talking Is a Free Action in Return of the Samurai.
 * Pesche comes up with an idea and the lightbulb that signifies this fizzles out. Pesche replaces the lightbulb.
 * Bridal Carry: Ichigo carries in this fashion to Mizuho.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Some wonder just exactly why Momo was put in charge of Palmacosta, , after the events with Dorr.
 * But for Me It Was Tuesday: A heroic example. Ichigo saved from being persecuted and . Ichigo barely remembers the incident at all.
 * Butt Monkey: Renji. The author enjoys picking on him.
 * Zelos too to some extent.
 * Call a Smeerp a Rabbit: Happens when Emil recruits a Chimera since the thing is a Ridiculously Cute Critter and Ichigo was expecting a multi-headed badass creature of mass destruction.
 * Call Back: In chapter 32 it turns out that Raine never explained to Lloyd and the others what MILF means.
 * Richter calls Ichigo the . See Call Forward below.
 * Sheena is also called a by Rachel in Blades of Destiny
 * Call Forward: In chapter 8 Shunsui says that parents might let their kids walk into dangerous situations, but never let them go where death is certain. Symphonia fans will be reminiscent of what is eventually to happen at Altessa's house much later on.
 * In a dummied out conversation for Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World Richter will call any member of the original cast the . Right before the battle with Uryu calls  this. it is later referenced in the final battle with Richter.
 * Calling Your Attacks
 * Character Development: Pronyma and Mithos
 * A big milestone for Lloyd in Blades of Destiny . Remember this is Lloyd we're talking about.
 * In chapter 26 Lloyd has the maturity to.
 * Chekhov's Gun: Sheena creates a special seal based off of hollows in chapter 22 of Unreal Society. She uses it in chapter 23 against Rodyle..
 * In Return of the Samurai, Ichigo earns 300 gald for killing monsters in chapter 1. He later uses the money to buy Emil a sword toward the end of the fic.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: Hichigo Shirosaki
 * In Blades of Destiny Serina is noted as having a crush on someone very early on in the fic. It later turns out to be
 * Clothing Damage: Seen here and there, but taken Up to Eleven in Lloyd's duel with where both combatants lose their shirts at the end of it.
 * Comically Missing the Point: Ichigo saying he'll join the Vanguard when pigs fly. Alice's response is that that can be arranged.
 * Content Warning: See NSFW below
 * Continuity Nod: Ichigo suggests Renji use Shakkaho to light up the Temple of Darkness like he did back during the Hueco Mundo arc, or rather attempted to.
 * Ichigo makes a reference back to Uryu wanting to make an enormous arrow back in Bleach's first arc. Twice.
 * Orihime maintains her promise that.
 * Tatsuki says to Ichigo, jokingly, not to have to make her put his head through another window, which she did right before the Hueco Mundo arc.
 * In Return of the Samurai Ichigo mentions how he "isn't working right now" when Richter tells him he isn't obligated to find Marta for him. Remember that Ichigo's job for Ikumi is pretty much the same as the Hawking and Starwind Repairs.
 * In chapter 3 of Return of the Samurai Ichigo notes that Lloyd is.
 * In chapter 5 of the same entry of the saga Rukia reminds Ichigo how he never wanted a relationship with anyone when they first met  and yet is trying to push Marta and Emil together.
 * is correct when says that  was not affected by the Derris Emblem.  stayed back to help Kenpachi and Sajin during the time that the group encountered the trap.
 * Ichigo remembers beating Omaeda's fat ass atop Sokyoku Hill.
 * Cool and Unusual Punishment: Raine's punishment for Zelos for forcing her to have to tell Genis and Colette about the birds and the bees is having him taste test her food.
 * Cool Big Sis: May to her subordinates as well as being Team Mom. Sheena is this to Kiku.
 * Crazy Prepared: Uryu had a spare set of clothing and swords prepared for Lloyd just in case his uniform was torn and his swords were broken with regards to his duel against.
 * Crutch Character: Several members of the Bleach cast and the Symphonia cast eventually realizes they can't rely on them forever too.
 * Cry Into Chest: Sheena into.
 * Presea does this after . She later does the same with.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: See Anticlimax Boss above
 * Chad's victory over at the colosseum.
 * Cuteness Proximity: Rukia and the rabbit that Emil forms a pact with. She actually winds up taking it for herself as a pet. Later Presea has this same instance with Kon's plush body.
 * Dark Is Not Evil: . Kiku's primary powers.
 * Defeat Means Friendship:.
 * Naomi in Blades of Destiny is originally an assassin, but after she is defeated by Rachel she becomes a member of Ratatosk's Rangers.
 * Department of Redundancy Department: The Fluffy Chapter of Fluffy Fluff and it is appropriately named
 * Depraved Bisexual: Alice
 * Did Not Do the Research: In-universe. At the start of Unreal Society, Ichigo has no clue what a Desian is and it leads to some confusion of those around him.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: Alice for stealing her panties.
 * Does Not Know Her Own Strength: Presea
 * Dominatrix: Alice . Taken Up to Eleven.
 * Drill Sergeant Nasty: In Unreal Society, Soifon is this while training Colette in chapter 22. She even slaps her across the face for overly apologizing.
 * Driven to Suicide: Almost with Renji via Seppuku..
 * Drugs Are Bad: especially smoked herb sticks
 * Dual-Wielding: in Blades of Destiny.
 * Earn Your Happy Ending: Considering all the crap the cast had to go through during Unreal Society to reach the conclusion that   and for  this trope definitely is not out of place.
 * Enemy Mine: and Sheena's relationship starts out as this
 * Epic Fail: Mithos' attempts to wind up being this because of.
 * Equivalent Exchange: Ichigo lampshades the use of this trope. In exchange for Ichigo is able to  in order to.
 * Eleventh-Hour Ranger: in Unreal Society.  in Return of the Samurai.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Ichigo's Hollow does not enjoy a battle royale and prefers that it be him against all of his enemies and not have some of his enemies picking each other off while trying to fight him.
 * Evil Costume Switch: ..
 * Expy: Cyrus is supposed to be one of Vincent Valentine. Serenity borrows traits from Chun-Li.
 * Eyes Do Not Belong There: There is a living eye.
 * Face Heel Turn: In chapter 23 or Unreal Society it seems like is doing this, but it is a facade much like with.
 * in Blades of Destiny
 * Faking the Dead: The group, specifically a really annoyed Ichigo, actually fights . It turns out this was planned and was in on it.
 * Family-Unfriendly Death: How Presea kills.
 * Fantasy Gun Control: Because Aselia has no actual word for gun in their dictionary. The closest any individual gets to having such a weapon is Cyrus' caster.
 * Fauxshadowing: Sort of. In the fanfic's continuity Rukia is the lieutenant of, implying that she will eventually become a lieutenant in the Gotei, which she does not. However, Unreal Society was made before she showed up again in Bleach in which she actually is a lieutenant. creating something else entirely.
 * First-Person Smartass: Ichigo at times.
 * Byakuya, shockingly, of all people shows this at one point.
 * Fish Out of Water: Sheena.
 * : In chapter 27 . However, things can be fixed so all hope is not lost. Chapter 27 is even called Achievement Unlocked:
 * Five-Man Band: The people living under Altessa's rooftop in Unreal Society, despite the very little fighting they actually do . Altessa is The Hero. Tabatha is The Lancer. is theBigGuy. And Mithos and  could be The Smart Guy or The Chick depending on how you look at it.
 * Ratatosk's Rangers is one of these. It's explicitly stated by the author at the start of Blades of Destiny. Marta is The Hero, Lavirna is The Lancer, Serina is The Chick, Kiku is The Big Girl and Rachel is The Smart Girl. Emil the only male member is the Sixth Ranger.
 * Fix Fic: All in part thanks to Orihime and her Soten Kisshun. There are parts of the Tales of Symphonia continuity changed because of it.
 * : Ichigo, Sheena and Lloyd are all this after ..
 * Flat What: Seen twice in Blades of Destiny in successive chapters
 * Foreshadowing: Kenpachi's crack about the 18th stratagem foreshadows.
 * In Unreal Society, Ichigo and Shuhei's discussion that the world isn't much like a game foreshadows that . Renji and Rukia have a discussion about this later on and then.
 * There's more than just these instances. These are the most blatant, but there are small hints left throughout the fic that point to this conclusion.
 * For Want of a Nail:, this is the resulting universe.
 * Funny Aneurysm Moment: In-universe example. At one point Ichigo mimics Aizen for comedic effect and everyone starts laughing, but then Momo has a slight Heroic BSOD and Hitsugaya glares as Ichigo.
 * Gameplay and Story Segregation: In Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World it is impossible for an Imp to evolve. The author knows this, but changed it for the coolness factor.
 * Also Lloyd cannot know both Demonic Chaos and Demonic Circle simultaneously, though the same rule applies.
 * Gesundheit: Renji makes use of this trope when the name of, is stated for the first time.
 * Genre Savvy: A lot of the characters have moments like this after it's revealed to the Symphonia cast that the world is virtual..
 * Gory Discretion Shot: When Unohana, the author describes only the screaming that is heard by Isane, Hiyori and Uryu, not even having them witness the carnage themselves.
 * Gosh Darn It to Heck: Rukia does this in chapter 1 of Blades of Destiny, but she manages to make it awesome and any cuss words added probably would've made it less effective.
 * Gratuitous Japanese: Occasionally.
 * Guest Star Party Member: Many of the characters early in Unreal Society come and go with Ichigo as the only Bleach character to really mingle with the Symphonia cast. Renji and, of all people, Shunsui, are the first two to stay.
 * Hailfire Peaks: works like this since   is half Playing with Fire and half An Ice Person
 * Half-Human Hybrid: Lavirna and Cyrus..
 * Hand Wave: The author totally forgot Yumichika had been and had to use this trope to state that.
 * Heel Face Turn: Both of the following after a Defeat Means Friendship sort of thing. makes this after Orihime revives her.  is the same. Despite this, the   are still evil.
 * Heroic BSOD: The Symphonia cast suffers this when.
 * Raine has one during when Chad is about to.
 * : Hekira and Mari Akari.
 * Honor Before Reason: Yosei of Blades of Destiny is made of this trope.
 * Hulking Out:.
 * I Call It Vera: Cyrus calls his weapon Caster
 * If I Can't Have You: Both Mimi and Alice attempt this on Ichigo. Neither succeeds.
 * If My Calculations Are Correct: Despite being The Big Girl Kiku often spouts knowledge like this when she speaks.
 * I Love the Smell of X In the Morning: Alice gets the line in Return of the Samurai: "I love the smell of burning, destruction and violence in the midafternoon."
 * I'm Taking Her Home with Me: On a meta-level the author has said this about Kiku from Blades of Destiny. His opinion is shared by members of the series fandom.
 * Interspecies Romance: and Raine. It's also a possibility with Altessa and . Sajin and  is also teased at as well.
 * Insult Backfire: Rukia calls Rodyle a monster, but he takes it as a compliment
 * In Blades of Destiny, Sheena calls Kasumi a conniving little bitch. Kasumi also takes it as a compliment.
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons: An ability of May's Bankai lets her transform into a gigantic dragon.
 * It Only Works Once: Album Atrum's Visored mask has a special ability that creates a psionic blast on his target, but only works once on any given target.
 * It's Personal: Shunsui lampshades that this is what drives Ichigo to activate Bankai against when.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: takes the high road when  finds out   and   are an item.
 * Just a Flesh Wound: Presea decimates with a splitting injury that splits  down from  cranium to the middle of  torso as well as cooking  well done, but  is still able to move around for a bit longer before dying. The narration lampshades the ridiculousness.
 * Kick Chick: Serenity
 * Kick the Dog: uses Uryu’s Quincy pride against him and then takes Aisha hostage to Mind Screw with Uryu.
 * Kids With The Leashes: The cast and the monsters Emil forms pacts with once they are fully grown.
 * Knight Templar Big Brother: Talbumosuke will not let anyone harm his younger sister Senna, even his dad..
 * Late Arrival Spoiler: If you read the author's notes of the first chapter of Return of the Samurai or Blades of Destiny it is said that they are "direct sequels" to Unreal Society, spoiling that.
 * Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When the words of the Unicorn at Lake Umacy are brought up when the group is pouring over the books at Sybak Ichigo says he doesn't remember anything about it. While the incident itself did happen it was glazed over in the chapter in which it was mentioned and therefore all of the important dialogue was skipped over.
 * Love Makes You Evil: falls in love with Album Atrum and subsequently makes a Face Heel Turn
 * Magikarp Power: All of the monsters Emil and the others obtain in Return of the Samurai.
 * Make It Look Like an Accident: Ichigo tries to do this when he attacks the Iselia Ranch in Unreal Society. It doesn't work
 * Mama Bear: The description of the look the latter gives an Adjuchas for attempting to harm  is just wow.
 * Married to the Job: Altessa by word of.
 * Martial Pacifist: becomes one of these.
 * May-December Romance: Two couples.
 * Meaningful Echo: At the beginning of the story Kratos says to Lloyd, as he always does to "be a good boy and wait here". He says it because he believes Lloyd will only get in the way. Come time towards the end of Unreal Society Kratos says the line again, but this time it's to.
 * In the last chapter, not including the epilogue, of Unreal Society, Mithos calls him and Lloyd the Hero of Old and the Hero of New . In Return of the Samurai this phrase is repeated with Lloyd as the Hero of Old, Emil as the Hero of New and Ichigo as the Hero of the Outside.
 * Several times during Unreal Society Lloyd says to Colette "Welcome back". In Return of the Samurai.
 * Meaningful Name:
 * Naomi Libra and Kiku Capricornia. The two zodiacs are opposite each other and the two characters are FOILs of each other.
 * Memetic Badass: In-universe it is stated that if Cyrus Konsama is angry with you he'd rip out your innards and wear your stomach lining as a hat.
 * Mind Rape: Album Atrum pulls this on Senna. No not the one from the movie.
 * Moment Killer: Lloyd keeps interrupting WAFF moments between  and
 * Multi Mook Melee: In the battle and the assault
 * Murder Is the Best Solution: Generally inverted, but sometimes played straight..
 * My Sister Is Off-Limits: Cyrus has this mentality with Lavirna despite the fact that they're not related by blood.
 * Mythology Gag: Pronyma's use of the demon marble sprouts creatures with the same names as the abyssal weapons.
 * Renji gets conned by Aifread into becoming a pirate.
 * Blades of Destiny.
 * The inclusion of Album Atrum and Gladshiem and Twilight Imperial Palace in the same part of the saga reimagined for the purposes of the fic.
 * Though Rukia is not a vice-captain in the series continuity she is during the of Blades of Destiny. She is also   .
 * Naomi Libra and Kiku Capricornia. The two zodiacs are opposite each other and the two characters are FOILs of each other.
 * Memetic Badass: In-universe it is stated that if Cyrus Konsama is angry with you he'd rip out your innards and wear your stomach lining as a hat.
 * Mind Rape: Album Atrum pulls this on Senna. No not the one from the movie.
 * Moment Killer: Lloyd keeps interrupting WAFF moments between  and
 * Multi Mook Melee: In the battle and the assault
 * Murder Is the Best Solution: Generally inverted, but sometimes played straight..
 * My Sister Is Off-Limits: Cyrus has this mentality with Lavirna despite the fact that they're not related by blood.
 * Mythology Gag: Pronyma's use of the demon marble sprouts creatures with the same names as the abyssal weapons.
 * Renji gets conned by Aifread into becoming a pirate.
 * Blades of Destiny.
 * The inclusion of Album Atrum and Gladshiem and Twilight Imperial Palace in the same part of the saga reimagined for the purposes of the fic.
 * Though Rukia is not a vice-captain in the series continuity she is during the of Blades of Destiny. She is also   .

Tropes N to Z
"Emil: I'm sorry, but at this point all I hear is "Hit me Emil, please kill me. Boy this armor makes me look fat.""
 * Neck Lift:, Ichigo performs this on Alice . Later Alice performs one on.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: A minor instance in the duel with.
 * Blades of Destiny reveals that Yuan and the Aselians did more than cause
 * Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Yggdrasil gave a Cruxis Crystal. That backfired on him miserably.
 * No Kill Like Overkill: Byakuya uses Shukhei Hakutekan . He even notes how it's completely unnecessary, but just doesn't care.
 * Noodle Incident: We are never showed the effects had on Chad and Uryu. When questioned neither desires to talk about it.
 * Presea ties Kon to the support beam in the bathroom in Altessa's house. Ichigo would rather not ask why.
 * No Periods, Period: Averted. Poor Momo.
 * Won't Work On Me: Soifon is immune to . In the in Blades of Destiny   are not affected by the time warp effects due to the influence of  respectively.  isn’t affected because he was too close to the blast when Album Atrum.
 * Not So Different: Presea and Hitsugaya, which many fans of the series believe is what sparked her interest in the white haired Soul Reaper. Also Orihime and Pronyma, which is lampshaded by the former.
 * Yggdrasil compares Kenpachi to Forcystus
 * Not What It Looks Like: Sheena comes in to see tries to explain and  does not help the situation. Sheena at the time seems like she is developing feelings for  and promptly runs away, feeling hurt.
 * NSFW: There is a warning label given at the top of the page that chapter 17 of Blades of Destiny is this. The lemons in the fic are also this to a much lesser extent.
 * Obfuscating Stupidity:.
 * Official Couple: Several in-universe in contrast to the source material.
 * One of Us: There are several times Ichigo names a trope whether by narration or in dialogue.
 * One-Winged Angel: Album Atrum.
 * Out-of-Character Moment: This seems like the case for Momo in chapter 5 of Unreal Society, but it turns out she's just experiencing those lovely days of the month.
 * Perpetual Frowner: Kiku, though its more like perpetual deadpan.
 * Phlebotinum Breakdown: Ichigo ..
 * Power Creep, Power Seep: Averted. The Bleach cast generally is much stronger than the Symphonia cast by default with few exceptions. Only after the Synphonia characters considerably increase their abilities are they even close to rivaling the Bleach cast. This is extremely noticable early on when Shuhei curbstomps the first boss of the game and Renji annihilates Magnius and the guardian of the water temple with his Bankai.
 * Power Gives You Wings: as an Angel of Cruxis
 * Pre-Climax Climax: in the first installment.   in the second.  in the third.
 * Psycho for Hire: This is one of Kenpachi's titles.
 * Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Do not. Insult. Alicia.
 * STRUM. AND. DRANG!
 * the middle of  speech in Blades of Destiny: "We! Will! Not! Give! Up!"
 * from to Ichigo: You! Fight! Me!
 * Pronyma : "Dont. You. Dare."
 * : Yes indeed..
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Serina, as an elf, has lived almost 348 years, but she looks younger than Rachel, a human, who is 35.
 * Red Baron: used to be known as the Emerald Witch of Ymir.
 * Replacement Goldfish: as the new Angelus Project
 * Rescue Arc: The time spent was this.
 * Reverse Mole: as Desian Captain Lancer
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: There is a chapter called this and it involves carrying it out.
 * Running Gag: Ichigo mimicking Emil’s voice.
 * Ichigo wondering if he forgot to tip the Pizza guy in Blades of Destiny every time he answers the door.
 * Sadistic Choice: ?
 * Scars Are Forever: Subverted. Rangiku had a scar on her eye where Lloyd, struck her. Marta later healed it. Played straight with  walking around with one hand after.
 * Screams Like a Little Girl: Emil
 * Screw the Rules, I Make Them: Byakuya, in regards to the Kuchiki Clan, at the start of Blades of Destiny so he can.
 * Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Halfway through Unreal Society and goes off on  own.
 * Self Made Woman: Lavirna raised herself and lived off the land. Not bad considering she also had the half-elf prejudice to deal with. Kiku too having lived in Garocchia forest.
 * : in Blades of Destiny. DAMN,  looks good.
 * She Is Not My Girlfriend: says this straight out to, but  doesn't believe.
 * Shipper on Deck: Ichigo and Sheena are this for Marta and Emil.
 * Ship Tease: Besides the official couples there's also the constant teasing of Yuan and Nelliel and Hitsugaya and Presea as they are the only pairings yet to make any move towards the other or have any sort of confirmed romantic interest, but there is plenty of ammunition to see that they pair up well.
 * Shoo the Dog: tries to do this to  after.
 * Shout-Out: While training Colette, Soifon says "Do or do not. There is no try."
 * In chapter 31 of Unreal Society Ichigo makes a remark about Yu-Gi-Oh!.
 * In chapter 38 Lloyd says to Colette that if the stars start to fall that he'll slash them right back up into the sky.
 * When Kratos' shield is destroyed he begins using part of Yuri's moveset.
 * His Mystic Arte while fighting like this bears a striking resemblance to Guy Cecil's second Mystic Arte.
 * Lloyd eventually dual wields a pair of blades called nightslayers.
 * Hollow Ichigo bears a striking resemblance to when Zagi pulls the same stunt when the group is trying to reach Duke at the end of the game.
 * Orihime isn't the only person to see as her worst nightmare.
 * Lloyd would never . EVER!
 * Ichigo keeps comparing the pacts forged with monsters in Return of the Samurai to Pokémon
 * Emil telling himself that he mustn't run away.
 * Chapter 19 of Return of the Samurai bears a striking resemblance to the Ah! My Goddess movie.
 * Emil, in his Ratatosk personna, channels Vegeta from Dragon Ball Abridged

"Storyteller: Soul Reaper? Rangiku: Whoops! Forget I said anything. Storyteller: No, don't be.."
 * Ichigo quotes Kamina: "Believe not in the you that believes in me or the me that believes in you. Believe in the you that believes in yourself."
 * Cyrus' caster.
 * Talbumosuke Atrumier's Zanpakuto is a clear shout out to the Soul Series.
 * It seems the Qunari aren't the only people without cookies in their culture.
 * In chapter 19 Talbumosuke says to Rukia "Sorry Rukia, but you're captain is in another division."
 * A Death Glare from Byakuya is compared to Miles Edgeworth
 * Cyrus seems to have resolved a merc job in a similar fashion as Urdnot Wrex.
 * In Blades of Destiny, after chapter 28, Album Atrum is
 * A father and his best friend being betrayed by someone they trusted to the Big Bad only for the father to die and the best friend be asked to report the tragedy to his family? sounds familiar.
 * Ichigo channels Kamina by shouting "Who the hell do you think I am?" and tells himself he should stop watching so much anime.
 * Shown Their Work: In the chapter where Raine talks about the growth of rosemary in Return of the Samurai it is actually true that the plant is susceptible to frost and grows best in dry climates.
 * Sir Swearsalot:, complete with the use of Precision F-Strike.
 * Spanner in the Works: to Ichigo’s plan in chapter 21 of Return of the Samurai. Sheena, Lloyd and Ichigo to Album Atrum’s plan in Blades of Destiny.
 * Spit Take: Ichigo does this when he sees on the news.
 * Stalker with a Crush: Alice to Ichigo
 * Squee: This is the standard reaction to any Colloyd fan in chapter 38 when.
 * Swiss Army Apendage:   .
 * Take a Third Option: Lampshaded that the plot for Tales of Symphonia is like this and brought up when the Sadistic Choice above is mentioned..
 * Take That: Sees a lot of use in-universe. As part of the series' charm the characters often knock each other down a peg or two. Zelos is very often the victim of this, but Lloyd and Ichigo sometimes wind up on the receiving end. A lot of times when Ichigo is the victim it is Byakuya putting him down.
 * Taking the Bullet: Despite how he's been acting in Return of the Samurai Colette does this for Lloyd when Ichigo tries to attack him after Lloyd still acts cold when the group rescues Seles.
 * Team Mom: May is this as well as Cool Big Sis to her subordinates as Captain of Squad 5
 * Tempting Fate: Seen regularly enough by both the good guys and the bad.
 * The Archer: Lavirna, complete with Trick Arrow.
 * The Determinator: Ichigo gains a title declaring him this.
 * The Ditz: Naomi. BIG TIME!
 * The Final Temptation: Yggdrasil offers one to after
 * The One Guy: Emil is this to Ratatosk's Rangers
 * The Quiet One: Kiku rarely speaks
 * The Starscream: Album Atrum is this to.
 * The Stations of the Canon: Unreal Society and Return of the Samurai mostly follow this to the letter, but it is completely averted with Blades of Destiny. Word of God says Blades of Destiny was partially created to have an Xover continuation that averted this trope.
 * The Thirty-Six Stratagems: Kenpachi jokes about number 18 in chapter 29 of Unreal Society
 * Talbumosuke Atrumier has utilized quite a few of these in Blades of Destiny
 * 1 was what he did when he
 * 3 is the entire point of
 * 5 is when he took advantage of the incident used to create #3
 * 6 is also chained to 5 and 3
 * 9 is also chained to the three stratagems above
 * 14 is what he did with
 * 20 is once again chained to 3, 5, 6, and 9
 * By this point you should realize he's a master of 35
 * And he's pulled off 36 rather well too
 * Oh gee a lot of these stratagems also seemed to be employed by AIZEN!!! Not surprising considering.
 * The Worf Effect: Orihime's omnipotent Soten Kisshun proves time and again ineffective on a Cruxis Crystal or Exsphere. And  is impossible for her as well. Each instance is given proper justification though.
 * The Worf Barrage: Presea uses her Mystic Arte on and only succeds in breaking her axe.
 * Time Skip: In between the first and second and second and third installments.
 * Title Drop: The third installment's 32nd chapter is called Shatter Fate with the Blade of Destiny
 * Took a Level in Badass: The Symphonia cast have a mandatory need of this since they are considerably weaker than the Bleach cast. Orihime when she . Emil takes this trope Up to Eleven in chapter 29 of the first sequel.
 * Orihime's badassery goes Up to Eleven in chapter 8 of Blades of Destiny when she.
 * Too Kinky to Torture:.
 * Training the Peaceful Villagers: The army Lloyd and friends build up to.
 * Undying Loyalty: Kiku has this towards Sheena.
 * Unknown Rival: Decus is this to Ichigo. Given his reasoning and the difference in power the use of this trope is to be expected.
 * Unreliable Narrator: When starts to tell the story of how  there is a clear difference between  narration and what is actually happening.
 * Wham! Episode: Chapter 34 of Unreal Society. There's a reason it's called Two and a Half Plot Twist Night.
 * Byakuya despite having just.
 * appearance at the end of chapter 41 of Unreal Society considering.
 * Chapter 36 of Blades of Destiny..
 * Chapter 37 is no slouch either..
 * Wham! Line:.
 * This from Chapter 32 of Unreal Society
 * Wham! Line:.
 * This from Chapter 32 of Unreal Society


 * From Ichigo to : Just how do you know about . And later from  at the beginning of the very next chapter claiming that.
 * Both in-universe and out. Lloyd, after everyone from the Bleach cast has left Aselia, saying.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: In Return of the Samurai Ichigo calls Lloyd on their recent actions. Later, Emil is called on this for nearly killing Magnar.
 * When She Smiles: Kiku.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: At the beginning of chapter 9 in Return of the Samurai Emil gives Marta some anti-motion sickness medicine that has the side-effects of over-excited hormones or sudden fits of rage. Emil is more worried about the latter when, considering how Marta acts should be worried more about the former
 * Worthy Opponent/The Rival:.
 * You Can't Thwart Stage One: Album Atrum is able to go along with his plan without a hitch due to the trickery he pulls along the way. The good guys are only able to make a move against him when things are down to the wire.
 * Your Head Asplode: Album Atrum does this to.