I wondered what was going to happen when Nel would see Szayel again. I'm glad he apologized, and I'm not surprised that she was graceful about accepting it. I always liked her in the series!

The interaction between Tatsuki and Orihime was sweet :) It's nice to see them just talking and being friends. I do hope that Tatsuki begins to understand that needing another person doesn't make her weak or take away from her identity at all. We all need people or we'll go insane. Hopefully hearing Orihime and Ulquiorra's story of their mutual need for each other will help her to be more open in that area, and I'm sure having someone as sweet and understanding as Uryuu will accomplish that too.

I also felt bad that Orihime feels that being in handicrafts club isn't interesting. I'm all for her getting new hobbies and finding other things she likes (as all people have multiple hobbies they enjoy), but I've always found sewing rather fun and was in groups like that throughout school. My projects were put on display and such, and I never felt that the hobby wasn't interesting. I enjoyed it, and that's all that mattered to me. I hope she finds what she really likes and doesn't let the opinions of others sway her from what she wants to do.

I'm really glad that Lilynette has someone to talk to about what she's going through. I can't imagine Starrk being all that helpful in that kind of situation haha.

I absolutely adore the idea of Tatsuki and Uryuu. There's something really sweet about it, and I'm glad it made it in here. It's not something that makes it into many fics.

There was just so much that happened in this chapter, and it was all very well done!

Really great insights into Byakuya. He's a really deep character, and I think a lot of people have trouble understanding him. This scene makes sense with him.

I love how insightful Ulquiorra is. His personality is really suited to being that coolly intelligent character, and that really comes through in this story. I think the same could be said for Byakuya. He's a great character, and seeing his reflections on the situation with Rukia illustrate the depth of the feelings that he hides so well.

I have noticed that you seem to have a number of errors regarding homophones. In this chapter alone I saw isle instead of aisle, feat instead of feet, main instead of mane, and ware instead of wear. I've also seen it in other chapters. If you're ever interested in a grammar overhaul of this fic when it's done, I think it would really benefit. This is an impressive undertaking (one I'm enjoying so far), and it helps with the reading if the grammar is correct.

Okay...the birds are adorable, and their names are fabulous. I'm really glad that Orihime talked to Ulquiorra and got all of her feelings/concerns out in the open.

Unohana and Ukitake will make wonderful parents. I'm so excited!

I think I remember Arachne from The Human Condition, and it's awesome that she's back. I really enjoyed her. I like her obvious overtures toward Renji, but it made me really sad when he said that he wasn't even noticed. Looks like that's changing!

The intrigue surrounding the situation with the hogyoku is rather captivating. I'm interested in finding out what's going to happen with all of the details and how they'll come together.

Thanks for the chapter

I'm glad that Orihime is coming to some realizations about her own feelings and relationship. Communication is honestly the most important thing in a relationship, so I hope she speaks to him soon. It's not fair to leave him in the dark like that, but he's so understanding of her that he'll probably be fine with it. It's also good to see that she figured out that he was fighting that battle because he saw Ichigo as a rival for her affections.

It's always funny to see super serious characters flustered, so I really like the effect that Ggio is having on Soifon.

And I'm very glad that Hanataro got up the courage to say something to Lilynette and isn't going to be reduced to a comedic tool. I honestly loved him in the series and wished that he would have been treated a little differently.

I don't think that including the part with Orihime's dream was misogynistic. In fact, I've noticed a bit of misandry in this fic rather than any misogyny (i.e. Lilynette's remarks on Ukitake and Shunsui's swords, even though their possession of dual swords has nothing to do with their gender and has logical explanations). Everyone has different feelings on certain behaviors, and Orihime's dislike of that type of encounter fits with her character. I don't find anything degrading or demeaning about it as long as both parties are cool with it and there's a level of trust there, but if she isn't, there's no problem with that either.

The Szayel and Nemu stuff was rather sweet. I really like the idea that she makes him more human, even though she technically isn't. It reinforces the idea that both of them are on a somewhat similar journey and are having a positive effect on each other.

Honestly, very dialogue heavy chapter. It was a little off putting but that being said at least the vast majority of the information given by dialogue seemed important so it offset the sheer bulk of dialogue.

Lets go through some of the good and bad bits that really stick out in my eyes.

Ulquiorra and Orihimes recruitment.
Good
- Enjoyed the Recruitment of Ulquiorra and Orihime to he war effort. Very good choices in the whos and whys of those involved. The fourth decision officers praise of the way Ikkaku fell in battle was a nice touch im not sure others would have remembered about our dear 11th division.
Bad
- Some words seemed over accentuated, it the impression given was obvious enough in general without the italics accentuating the point further. Normally I wouldnt bring it up but this segment in particular just broke my rhythm as I felt like I had missed something extra because of this use.

Kisuke and Szayel
Good
- Honestly I just love these two burning brainpower together, the entire scene was brilliant. Especially after our old friend in white returned to give praise. It was very effective at giving the impression of a gods playing piece rying to rig a game in its masters favour. This is an archtype I particularly enjoy seeing as they push others to an answer without giving it over themselves.
Bad or rather unclear.
- There is one niggle with this I felt. It may just be something I personally have overlooked but I am not all that sure how preventing the movement of atoms between two "planes of existence within the multiverse" will actively destroy the shadows already present on their plane. Unless whatever creature darkwood is currently is just a simple projection of his true existence I dont see how a weapon stopping this transfer would do the kind of damage we witnessed previously.

Finally Ichigo and his journey down the rabbit hole.
good
- Honestly similar as to the Ulquihime recruitment scene, I like the spirit guide vibe Darkwood and the Cat share they were the best people to place in this scene. A new character would have honestly ruined the vibe as a spiritual journey like this would need something Ichigo was familiar with. As a side note I like the fact that once again, ichigo is following a cat for answers/training.
Bad
- again similar to the ulquihime recruitment the use of accentuated words threw me off a little, it was made perfectly clear to me and ichigo that it had to be a journey he took of his own volition and alone. yet darkwook kept hammering the point home, I get that ichigo is a dense guy but this did throw me off a little after all the time Darkwood has spent guiding ichigo.

Overall good chapter but not the best thanks to minor niggles, looking forward to some concrete answers in future chapters.

Sorry I was so late I took a break from bleach.

It's really interesting (and really powerful) that Szayel changed so much by using Gabriel. Seeing things through Nemu's perspective and changing everything in response to the feelings he experienced is just...really cool, and I don't really know how to say that to make it sound better like it does in my head.

Ulquiorra being a language translator is very unique. I, personally, have never read a work where that has been the case, but it's a great addition to his character. It matches the intelligence that he displays.

Yay! Ulquiorra has his gigai!

I think my favorite line from this chapter is "Really, sanity is such an overrated concept." It's perfect for this interpretation of Szayel (although I have to admit that I read it in Loki's voice).

It's also cute that Captain Ukitake is embarrassed by compliments. That really fits with his character.

The idea of the Arrancar acting differently when they are with each other is very interesting. I actually enjoyed Szayel and Ulquiorra's interaction here. It's very unique, but it has enough back-up evidence and allusions in what you have written so far that it wasn't really "out there," so to say.

Szayel was fantastic in this chapter. I think his actions fit with his slightly opportunistic character and commitment to science. I also love how he called her "my dear" right away.

Captain Ukitake and Captain Unohana make sense, and I think your thoughts on their relationship are correct.

And Ulquiorra making a garganta because Orihime wanted him to is just super adorable :)

This is a really promising start! I'm very interested to get to what comes next. The Human Condition was one of the first fanfics I ever read (Ulquihime is my OTP), so I'll always like it, but I agree that this one seems to have a firmer grasp of Ulquiorra's character. The little flashbacks of him and Orihime are very well done.

I really like how you've conveyed how absolutely exhausted everyone would be after a battle of this magnitude. I could almost feel it as I was reading. It'll open the door for people to be able to work together more easily if they're all just tired of fighting and want to move past the conflict. I'm also looking forward to seeing how SzayNemu and GgioSoi are going to come about.