Disclaimer; I DON'T OWN BLEACH! IT IS CREATED BY TITE KUBO.

I don't know how this will be received by you guys. But, I'm giving it a shot. Mostly humor, but there are some serious scenes as well. Nothing too over the top serious, though. It's just meant to be a fun project. At the end of this chapter, I'll have the "parameters" or whatever you wanna call them, for any OC Submissions.

THE BLEACHERS PROJEKT: Volume I

GET REAL, ICHIGO! PART I

Chapter 1- "The Ultimate in a 3D Experience"

On the surface, it seemed like it was any other day. Just another twenty-four hours. But, it was far from that, at least in the eyes and mind of eighteen year-old Jonesy. He had just gotten his hands on a new batch of DVD's. And, these weren't your garden variety DVD's either. No. They were one-hundred percent uncut episodes of his favorite Anime, Bleach. Bootlegged straight from Japan. Now, he could have just gone online and downloaded them that way or simply bought imports legally, much like everyone else in the US and other various countries, but he knew a guy.

Yeah, a guy. Who, ironically, was named... Guy.

And, purchasing the DVD's from the back of some dude's car felt adventurous. So, stop hassling him about it, already. JEEZ!

Ahem...

Jonesy took off his jacket, tossing it onto the kitchen counter because it was soaked. The jacket, not the kitchen counter. Though, obviously, the counter did get wet because of the jacket. It was raining outside and the weatherman predicted severe thunderstorms in the area. He also claimed that they wouldn't last very long, as they were very fast moving, but their damage could be rather significant because of the intensity of the storm.

Common sense told him to keep his electronic use to a minimum. But, when did Jonesy ever listen to his common sense before? Oh, that's right, you just met him. Well... never. He started up his Playstation and popped the first DVD in just as a crack of thunder and lightning startled the daylights out of him...

"BAH!"

See? Daylights officially startled right out.

He pressed play with his controller and raced to the kitchen area of his one-room apartment in a mad dash for some serious snackage. Finding something suitable, he jumped into his worn out recliner and kicked back happily, watching Rukia and Ichigo speaking on-screen. Kun was in the background being his usual Kunself. Haha, gotta love it.

"It's actually Kon, dude."

Kon? Really? No, how could I get that wrong? Quick check of Wikipedia to prove you wrong... Oh, I guess you're right. Fair enough, I've been made a fool by my own character. Stands to reason.

"You're losing the audience, maybe you should speed this up?"

Right. Well...

CRASH! BANG! BOOM! POW!

Awesome sound effects, huh? Nevertheless, those sounds were courtesy of the storm outside that was in full effect. It had arrived and it was just as vicious as it had been foretold to be.

Maybe this was a bad idea after all. Damn it. Oh well, he wouldn't have to wait too long, so Jonesy reached over to grab his controller when another blast of lightning rocked the very foundation of his entire existence. A little melo-dramatic, but whatever.

The controller popped right out of his hand, his snacks were now on the floor, and the power had officially gone out. But, that wasn't all. That wasn't what rocked him to the core. That wasn't what blew him away. That wasn't what rocked the very foundation of his entire existence. Which, by the way, had been pitiful up until this point.

Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki were now standing in front of the TV. And they had to be... they looked... they were... real. Like the greatest cosplay ever known to mankind. Oh, and... they were naked.

Naked Ichigo, fangirls rejoice.

Jonesy was frozen in position, barely even breathing. Was this what they meant by going into shock? Yes? No? Can anyone help me out with that?

"What the hell happened?" Ichigo finally spoke, rubbing his head, trying to fight off a nasty ache.

Rukia was in the midst of trying to clear the cobwebs as well, "Where are we? Oh my god!" the realization then set in, "WHERE ARE OUR CLOTHES!"

"AH!" Ichigo screeched, humiliated as he blushed a beet red in his face and covered his unmentionable area.

Sorry, girls.

Rukia did the same, though it was obviously a bit more difficult for a girl, "You!" she glared angrily at Jonesy as Ichigo grabbed some random clothes on the ground, handing a few to Rukia, "Where are we!"

"Uhhh..." a bit of history, Jonesy had developed somewhat of a foolish crush on Rukia. Pretty stupid, considering she was a fictional character. Haha, was.

Now fully clothed, Ichigo grabbed Jonesy by the collar of his shirt and held him up, shaking him "Answer the question!"

"Okay!" Jonesy was finally able to talk once Rukia had clothed herself. Although, it was pretty hot that she was wearing one of his over-sized hoodies and a pair of boarder shorts, "This is the real world!"

"What?" Ichigo was confused, so he started shaking Jonesy more, "YOU BETTER START MAKING SENSE, BUDDY!"

"Stop it, Ichigo. You might break him." Rukia stepped in.

Ichigo composed himself with a breath and dropped the kid back into the recliner. Visibly shaken, Jonesy started explaining in greater detail, "You're characters in an Anime. Or... actually... a Manga first."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, craving answers badly.

"Manga... kinda like a comic book type..."

"I KNOW WHAT A MANGA IS, YOU IDIOT!" Ichigo shook his fist while gritting his teeth.

"Ichigo, calm down." Rukia spoke up, "It doesn't make sense, but I understand."

"How can you accept it that fast?" Ichigo wondered.

"Look." she gestured all around.

Jonesy's walls were littered Bleach memorabilia. Posters, artwork, various little items. Not to mention, he had stacks of DVD's next to his Playstation.

Rukia grabbed one in particular as Ichigo walked around the room in wonder, looking at everything, "Bleach? The Substitute? Season One box set? Original and uncut... five disc set... twenty episodes?"

"This is crazy." Ichigo spoke in a hushed voice.

"Oh my god." Rukia was stunned as she read what was on the back of the case, "Ichigo, listen... For as long as he can remember, Ichigo Kurosaki has been able to see ghosts. But when he meets Rukia, a Soul Reaper who battles evil spirits known as Hollows, he finds his life changed forever. Now, with a new-found wealth of spiritual energy, Ichigo discovers his true calling: to protect the living and the dead from evil. And when he vows to defend Rukia from the ruthless justice of the Soul Society, he and his friends must cross over and do battle in the spirit world."

"This is messed up." Ichigo remarked, mind blown.

By now, the storm had cleared and the sun was shining, though everything outside was visibly soaked and there were limbs down here and there. When his alarm clock displayed the time again, Jonesy knew the power was back on and he raced to his Playstation to reboot the DVD. Oddly enough, however, the DVD refused to play. Fine, whatever, just a bad disc. He tried others, but none worked. Not even the official ones!

"This is... it's..." maybe it was just his Playstation. The hard drive got fried or something else. He quickly turned on his computer, gasping in fright once his wallpaper loaded. Oh boy, embarrassing...

Rukia scowled angrily, fit to be tied, "What is that!"

Somewhat a provocative piece of artwork displaying Rukia in what could be best described as a naughty gothic school girl uniform. Ichigo started laughing, Rukia glared at him, too. "You're both perverts."

"Be that as it may..." Jonesy loved saying that line, "... The DVD's are all dead. All video of Bleach is dead. Youtube, Hulu, torrents, everything. People are already complaining about it all over the world."

"What about Manga?" Ichigo asked, stepping over to the computer to get a closer look.

"All Manga pages have turned blank." Jonesy gestured to the monitor. People had already taken videos and pictures of this strange occurrence. He then bolted to his closet to dig through his own collection, only to find the same had happened to him.

"A spell of some kind." Rukia concluded.

"Spells don't happen in this world." Jonesy pointed out, "No kick-ass weapons, no magic. No Soul Reapers or Soul Society. No Hollows. No nothing. At least... not that anyone knows of."

"So... let me get this straight... the world that we came from... Rukia and I... is fake?"

Jonesy saw something in that moment. There was fear in Ichigo and Rukia. Also, a sadness. Picture it, how would you feel if you just discovered that everything you were... you knew... had done with your life... was fake? That your entire existence was purely for entertainment purposes?

Jonesy loved these characters. He was no one, really. His parents had kicked him out of their home, he worked a dead end job that made it barely possible for him to pay rent and electricity. No friends, no girlfriend ever, all he had was Bleach. When he was lonely, when he was feeling down, he would watch Bleach. He would lose himself in the storylines. He could read the Manga and be transported to that world.

"I'm gonna help you guys." Jonesy declared, "If you got here, then you can go back." he turned putting his Manga books back in their place.

"He has a point." Ichigo agreed, "Trouble is... How do we find out how to go back?"

"I have no idea." Rukia sighed, "And, I feel powerless. No spirit energy... nothing."

"Same here."

"HOLY CRAP!" Jonesy exclaimed, holding up a stuffed animal. However, it wasn't just any stuffed animal...

"Kon!" Ichigo and Rukia spoke in unison, running over.

"Kon... you alright?" Ichigo asked, but there was no answer, "... Kon? Did you lose your..."

It hit Rukia before Ichigo, "Stuffed animals can't talk in this world. Remember? Jonesy said no magic."

Ichigo thought about if for a minute before smiling, "Actually, a mute Kon isn't so bad."

"We need to think of a plan." Rukia informed, "Whether it's real or not, our world is still our world and it needs us."

"Whoah..." Jonesy dropped into his recliner, eyes wide like someone had just punched him in the face, "... My mind just got blown."

"Huh?"

"Okay, in this reality... there's a guy coming up with your stories. But - and stop me if I get too confusing - what if..."

"Stop."

"Ichigo!"

"What? He got too confusing."

"Continue, Jonesy."

"What if... your reality is real. Completely one-hundred percent real. Just like this. But, it's an Alternate Universe. If it's that, then you guys aren't fake characters that magically came to life. You guys are real people from a different dimension that were somehow transported to this one. Wow!"

"Explain why the Anime and Manga have mysteriously vanished." Rukia was intrigued.

"I dunno." Jonesy shrugged, "Pretty much fried my brain just coming up with the alternate universe idea."

"Argh, this is making my headache worse than it already is." Ichigo commented, "Too bad Hat and Clogs isn't here. He'd probably know exactly what's going on."

A light bulb flashed over Rukia's head, "Uruhara. We can't be the only ones that are here. We have to find the others."

"How?" Ichigo wanted to know, "No magic, no powers."

"We'll think of something." Rukia was determined.

"I just realized something." Jonesy pointed out, "You guys aren't speaking in Japanese."

Oh my god, why would you point that out? Seriously, I'm the one writing the story here...

"Who's that?" Ichigo wondered.

Ugh, nevermind.

THE BLEACHERS PROJECT: VOLUME I

Alright, as far as Original Character Submissions go...

First and foremost, one submission per reviewer.

Don't sweat over your character being too Mary-Sue or Gary-Stu. Just have fun with it.

Now, other than basic name, age, country, family, looks and personality, I need to know one of three things. Are they a Hero? A Villain? Or are they Neutral?

Heroes would be like Jonesy. Characters that want to help the Bleach Crew get back to their own world. The Villains will want the Bleach Crew trapped on Earth for their own personal enjoyment. The Neutrals don't care either way, they're just content with being along for the ride as long as it lasts. This will go a long way in deciding the overall personality of your character.

Next, I need to know which character(s) yours wants to interact with. Pick from anyone. Alive or dead, whether they were in the starting of the series, or where it is now. Anyone. Now, who you pick for this will not be the only character(s) yours interacts with. It will just be who their story is somewhat centered around. Don't worry about who everyone else picks, either. For example, if a lot of people picked Gin, nothing wrong with that. The time will be split and shared. This is going to be long, so there's plenty to go around.

Also, if by chance two reviewers know each other and want their creations to interact, just let me know what ties them together and that'll be that.

Next, a basic storyline your character will follow. Don't get too wordy or dive too deep into details. Perhaps your character is in love with one of the Bleach Crew and torments them endlessly. There you go. Perhaps your guy or girl sees one of the Bleach Crew as a mentor or guide and wants to learn from them. Maybe your character relates to one of them and a friendship is form. Maybe a competitive one.

Again, if you're interested... just have fun with it. That's the whole point of this fic.

If there's anything else that I'm not thinking of right now, feel free to include it.

So, here's a brief example...

Name; Jonesy

Age; 18

Country; United States (feel free to pick from anywhere on the map, but the language will always be "dubbed in English")

Family; Mother and Father. (this is just for the sake of fleshing the characters out a little more.)

Where do they live; 1-room apartment by himself. (Basically, do they live at home? At college? By themselves? At an Orphanage? Behind the local 7-11? On the streets? In a mansion? WHERE!)

Basic Look; Skinny, spikey hair (like Ichigo's, but brown) typical baggy clothing, never seen without his Ipod in his back pocket and old-school big headphones around his neck. Indie Rock is his preference.

Basic Personality; Obsessed with Bleach in all forms. A bit childish and immature at times. Can be dedicated to the cause when he tries hard enough, though. Has a crush on Rukia. Looks up to Ichigo almost as a hero. At times, cannot stop staring at Rangiku's cleavage.

Overall Status; Hero (if you want your character to start with a status but evolve to another one, that's cool)

Interactions; Particularly Ichigo, Rukia and Kon.

Storyline; His little 1-Room Apartment becomes somewhat a crowded base of operations for Operation: Bleach Crew Return.