Ngl, one of the most irritating things about Ichiruki and Ichihime discussions is how often an argument about the writing gets reduced to “Ichihime is canon” or “Ichiruki will never happen,” usually with some condescending remark attached. We know which pairing is canon. The ending came out a decade ago, lol. Someone explaining why they prefer Ichiruki, or why they think its relationship could’ve supported a more compelling romance, doesn’t automatically mean they’re confused about the ending or expecting Kubo to rewrite it. Obviously, if someone is claiming Ichiruki literally became canon, correcting them is relevant. But treating EVERY discussion about its chemistry, narrative connections or potential as though that’s the claim misses the entire point of those arguments. If someone is criticizing how Ichihime was developed, explain why you think that development works. Discuss the scenes, how both characters’ feelings are communicated and why the payoff feels convincing to you. Repeating the outcome doesn’t answer a criticism of how the story reached it. A pairing being canon establishes what happened; it doesn’t automatically establish that the writing was good. And I’m excluding people who disagree respectfully and actually explain their interpretations. There are Ichihime fans who do that, just as there are Ichiruki fans who make weak arguments. Preferring one pairing doesn’t automatically make someone’s analysis good or bad. I’m talking about the habit of treating canon status like an automatic win and using it to dismiss everything someone else said. Your preferred pairing becoming canon doesn’t give you intellectual or moral superiority over other fans. Agreeing with the author doesn’t automatically mean you understood the story better than someone who questions his choices. You still need to explain your reasoning. Kubo is an author, and his writing can be criticized. You can love Bleach, respect him as its creator and still think certain relationships, character arcs or other decisions could’ve been handled better. Being a fan doesn’t mean defending every choice so hard that even considering a possible flaw becomes unacceptable. Accepting an ending and agreeing with every decision in it are separate things. People discuss alternative outcomes to completed stories all the time. They compare what happened with what they think could’ve worked better. That doesn’t mean they haven’t moved on, and it doesn’t require the author to change anything. So when someone is discussing why they find Ichigo and Rukia’s relationship more compelling, “they’ll never be canon” contributes very little. Challenge their reading of the scenes. Explain why you disagree with the comparison. Give them an argument about the writing. But constantly regurgitating “it’s canon” while throwing in insults or acting like the other person needs the ending explained to them isn’t a substitute for that. You’ve reminded someone of an outcome they already acknowledged and left their actual criticism unanswered.