When It Started

I'd give my right arm (*cough*) to know what happened in Gin's younger childhood to craft what he became. I have a feeling he suffered a really traumatic and violent death. Smiling became a way to hide, to defend, and to attack after that. Then, witnessing Rangiku being attacked, and later learning who had hurt her and in what horrible violent violating ways, exacerbated tendencies he already had. Finally, the night he killed the third seat of fifth squad to impress Aizen and get in his good graces (so as to later try to kill him "for Rangiku") was the point of no return for Gin's psychological and emotional health. He became wholly a disturbed person wearing a mask of affable malevolence and bottling every normal human attachment and sentiment up from there on.

I have pretty elaborate theories actually, involving his mother being caught up in the courtly intrigues of the Meiji Restoration, but anyway, enough said. This is supposed to be a really psychologically disturbing image, apologies.

Ichimaru Gin (c) Tite Kubo.