The Arrancar Wars

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"Two years after the Soul Society Arc of the Bleach storyline, the traitor Aizen finally made his move. In a completely unexpected turn of events, Aizen’s army of Arrancar launched a massive invasion of Soul Society. The invaders were eventually repelled, but the damage had been done...and the price was high. Seireitei lay in ruins. The Gotei 13 had been all but annihilated; hundreds of shinigami and thousands more souls were killed. In an attempt to replenish their heavily depleted forces, Soul Society decided to consolidate what they had left into a single new organization, the Gotei 7. However, with so few notably powerful shinigami to serve as Captains, Soul Society was forced to recall formerly exiled shinigami to serve as Captains for the Divisions. Together, they stand as the new defenders of Soul Society. These are the tales of the Arrancar Wars."

The Arrancar Wars is an Alternate Continuity play by post game on Gaia Online set two and a half years after Bleach's Soul Society arc, omitting the Hueco Mundo arc and all that followed. Launched March 2007 by user Yamato_Kameyama, TAW gained a dedicated staff and a fluctuating (but highly active) member-base. Despite the obvious divergence from the the continuity of series proper, it started out very similarly, with the Gotei 7 fighting of continuous attacks from legions of Hollows, with the occasional Arrancar or two before launching into actual story arcs. It became widely known, even amongst those who didn't join, as one of the best Bleach roleplaying forums on the site. Sadly, over the course of two years, participation began to drop, culminating with the RP's final abandonment in December 2009, near the end of the story's Hueco Mundo Arc.

Yamato, completely unwilling to let go of one of the funnest times in his life, has made plans to finish and novelize the story.

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Tropes used in The Arrancar Wars include:

• Achilles in His Tent: Yamamoto, of course. He actually invokes it when he shoots down Takato's plan for a rescue mission, insisting that the risk of losing more forces is too great.
• After the End: Not exactly post-apocalyptic, but as much as six months after the attack, Soul Society is in ruins. That giant white sekkiseki tower that Rukia was held prisoner in? It's a giant pile of rubble.
• Big Damn Heroes: Takato gets one such moment when he saves Hitsugaya from Aizen's killing blow. Bonus points in that Takato is already battered to hell.
• Despair Event Horizon: Hitsugaya, having lost Hinamori in Aizen's attack on Soul Society, spends much of the story teetering on this. He gradually gets better.
• Dope Slap: Happens to Shyū all the time.
• Five-Man Band - The Hueco Mundo Rescue Team
  • The Hero: Takato
  • The Lancer: Raizo
  • The Big Guy: Shyū by default; Wonderweiss' Boisterous Bruiser fighting style also qualifies him.
  • The Smart Guy: Rukia and Yumichika, being the most analytical fighters of the group.
  • The Chick: Hanatarō's personality ends up fulfilling this trope, although he's not nearly as girly as, say, Yumichika.
  • The Sixth Ranger: Shinji
• A Handful for an Eye: Hanatarō pulls this on Pailong during their fight in the Hueco Mundo Arc
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: When Takato determines that the missing shinigami officers have most likely been captured and imprisoned, Yamamoto immediately tells him not to go after them. Naturally, he does it anyway.
• Gorn - The writers between themselves dish out plenty of gruesome stuff.
• Training from Hell: Hanatarō receives this from both Urahara and Takato