Post by Hazuki Tsukimiya on Feb 29, 2016 7:37:27 GMT -5
hello
I’d like to make a somewhat special request, so I’ll get right to it
Hazuki is twenty years old. For a Shinigami, that’s nothing. She completed the Academy in roughly a year, and it only took her that long because her Zanpakutō didn’t properly manifest until her mother’s suicide two years ago. Before that moment, Hazuki displayed great potential, but it wasn’t until her Asauchi became the blade she carries with her today that it fully dawned on people that her potential was nearly limitless—the magnitude of her soul was a good indication of where she may be headed, but in the strictest sense, before a Shinigami gets a Zanpakutō to call their own, they’re not really a Shinigami.
When Hazuki’s Zanpakutō finally manifested, it became abundantly clear that her parents’ (both officers in the Gotei) blood flowed strong in her veins. She’s not just a pure soul, she’s the child of strong Shinigami parents, which sets her apart from the vast majority of Seireitei’s residents. In many ways, she’s roughly on par with the nobility of old, though with a somewhat smaller, more meritocratic family tree. She was literally born into her profession and so far has taken to it like a fish to water.
However, that fundamental first step of Shinigami power, Shikai, has eluded her grasp for the past two years, and that bothers her. Her Zanpakutō has been completely silent for as long as Hazuki has carried it, and this is a never-ending source of irritation. Her conversation with her future captain, Shun Minamoto in Blank Spaces on the Map, reveal Hazuki’s own insecurities regarding her Zanpakutō: her boundless skill and grasp of the fundamentals are in sharp contrast to the complete lack of any kind of bond with her sword—she’s never spoken to it, much less learned its name. She doesn’t even know what the spirit looks like, and self-doubt lurks at every turn, despite Hazuki knowing better. Perhaps her blade is a dud of some kind, an empty sword that looks pretty but holds no greater power.
When Shinpei Minamoto casually releases his own Zanpakutō in My Little Captor Can’t Be This Cute, Hazuki’s envy gnaws at her, and she recalls all those other times when her opponents released what they must have been so sure would be their trump card only to have it fall flat as she overpowered them. The knowledge of so many people having access to something that they can’t even wield properly is a constant source of anger for her, given that she doesn’t even have that despite being so proficient in everything else.
The feeling is further explored in the clash between Hazuki and Jasper Aizawa (forthcoming, though can be safely disregarded for the time being as it adds nothing new, merely intensifying the idea of inadequacy), but that fight, at least, results in some progress:
Soundly beaten by the force of Aizawa’s Hollow mask and his power as an Arrancar, Hazuki’s injuries are grave and she is put under in order to undergo Kaidō treatment. For the first time in two years, Hazuki loses consciousness, slipping into a dream (REM I: Happenstance), wherein she first meets her Zanpakutō spirit.
The Zanpakutō spirit offers no introduction at first, and given the nature of dreams the conversation is not entirely bound by the constraints of a proper timeline, but Hazuki is able to make certain key discoveries about both herself and her blade. For one, her inner world is accessible only in her dreams—which explains why, for the past two years, she has never spoken with her spirit. Without sleep, there can be no dreams, and the spirit’s accidental miscalculation is what has brought about their lack of communication. Hazuki’s introspection allows her to reflect on the things occurring up on the surface, so to speak, and her spirit leaves her with a parting riddle of sorts: her Zanpakutō is named after the month she is born.
Offscreen, of course, the obvious names are quickly run through to no avail—March, Sangatsu, even Yayoi—and as the memory of the dream fades, the riddle settles in her subconscious.
It remains there for the duration of A Brooding Gloom in Sunshine and subsequent threads, but in the middle of her sparring session with Nagisa Chinda in Great Precision and Considerable Bitterness, it resurfaces, and the answer to the riddle dawns on Hazuki:
The endless stream of petals in her dream were sakura petals, and one of more obscure names for the third lunar month is Sakurazuki.
Hazuki’s Shikai is released in a thunderous spectacle, and any lingering doubt or envy she may have harbored evaporates instantly in the face of this feeling of completeness. It is so cathartic, in fact, and her grasp of what her Shikai does is so strong that she immediately feels at home with it. She couldn’t be happier with it, its many uses striking her as perfect. It feels right.
So what is this request for?
It certainly isn’t for Bankai, though I would like this request approached similarly to how you would approach a second power request. Bankai at this stage would be wholly inappropriate, however I feel Hazuki’s path to Shikai, along with her preexisting situation has been enough to warrant—instead of Bankai—access to the Zanpakutō Evolution skill available to Prestige Shinigami. This is to preserve the future organic progression of Hazuki’s relationship with her Zanpakutō as well as highlight her nature as being more than just a normal soul out of Rukongai. She was born to be a Shinigami.
What this means in practical terms is unlocking Zanpakutō Evolution now and getting Bankai as part of my Prestige request later on down the line. The skills will function precisely as they already do (Resonance will govern Shikai and future Bankai, just as Evolution will govern my future Evolved Bankai), but allow me to tap into a release bonus which I feel the content outlined above has earned me, albeit at a GP cost. Essentially, I’m switching Bankai with Zanpakutō Evolution at this time, though the end result will be the same: a Prestige Shinigami with Bankai—and I go into this fully aware that this locks me into Prestige Shinigami going forward.
So. I’m Hazuki, I’ve got 3,500 Base GP, and this is the first time I’ve made a request of this type. I’ll be back soon for Grandmaster Zanjutsu, see you then.
I’d like to make a somewhat special request, so I’ll get right to it
Hazuki is twenty years old. For a Shinigami, that’s nothing. She completed the Academy in roughly a year, and it only took her that long because her Zanpakutō didn’t properly manifest until her mother’s suicide two years ago. Before that moment, Hazuki displayed great potential, but it wasn’t until her Asauchi became the blade she carries with her today that it fully dawned on people that her potential was nearly limitless—the magnitude of her soul was a good indication of where she may be headed, but in the strictest sense, before a Shinigami gets a Zanpakutō to call their own, they’re not really a Shinigami.
When Hazuki’s Zanpakutō finally manifested, it became abundantly clear that her parents’ (both officers in the Gotei) blood flowed strong in her veins. She’s not just a pure soul, she’s the child of strong Shinigami parents, which sets her apart from the vast majority of Seireitei’s residents. In many ways, she’s roughly on par with the nobility of old, though with a somewhat smaller, more meritocratic family tree. She was literally born into her profession and so far has taken to it like a fish to water.
However, that fundamental first step of Shinigami power, Shikai, has eluded her grasp for the past two years, and that bothers her. Her Zanpakutō has been completely silent for as long as Hazuki has carried it, and this is a never-ending source of irritation. Her conversation with her future captain, Shun Minamoto in Blank Spaces on the Map, reveal Hazuki’s own insecurities regarding her Zanpakutō: her boundless skill and grasp of the fundamentals are in sharp contrast to the complete lack of any kind of bond with her sword—she’s never spoken to it, much less learned its name. She doesn’t even know what the spirit looks like, and self-doubt lurks at every turn, despite Hazuki knowing better. Perhaps her blade is a dud of some kind, an empty sword that looks pretty but holds no greater power.
When Shinpei Minamoto casually releases his own Zanpakutō in My Little Captor Can’t Be This Cute, Hazuki’s envy gnaws at her, and she recalls all those other times when her opponents released what they must have been so sure would be their trump card only to have it fall flat as she overpowered them. The knowledge of so many people having access to something that they can’t even wield properly is a constant source of anger for her, given that she doesn’t even have that despite being so proficient in everything else.
The feeling is further explored in the clash between Hazuki and Jasper Aizawa (forthcoming, though can be safely disregarded for the time being as it adds nothing new, merely intensifying the idea of inadequacy), but that fight, at least, results in some progress:
Soundly beaten by the force of Aizawa’s Hollow mask and his power as an Arrancar, Hazuki’s injuries are grave and she is put under in order to undergo Kaidō treatment. For the first time in two years, Hazuki loses consciousness, slipping into a dream (REM I: Happenstance), wherein she first meets her Zanpakutō spirit.
The Zanpakutō spirit offers no introduction at first, and given the nature of dreams the conversation is not entirely bound by the constraints of a proper timeline, but Hazuki is able to make certain key discoveries about both herself and her blade. For one, her inner world is accessible only in her dreams—which explains why, for the past two years, she has never spoken with her spirit. Without sleep, there can be no dreams, and the spirit’s accidental miscalculation is what has brought about their lack of communication. Hazuki’s introspection allows her to reflect on the things occurring up on the surface, so to speak, and her spirit leaves her with a parting riddle of sorts: her Zanpakutō is named after the month she is born.
Offscreen, of course, the obvious names are quickly run through to no avail—March, Sangatsu, even Yayoi—and as the memory of the dream fades, the riddle settles in her subconscious.
It remains there for the duration of A Brooding Gloom in Sunshine and subsequent threads, but in the middle of her sparring session with Nagisa Chinda in Great Precision and Considerable Bitterness, it resurfaces, and the answer to the riddle dawns on Hazuki:
The endless stream of petals in her dream were sakura petals, and one of more obscure names for the third lunar month is Sakurazuki.
Hazuki’s Shikai is released in a thunderous spectacle, and any lingering doubt or envy she may have harbored evaporates instantly in the face of this feeling of completeness. It is so cathartic, in fact, and her grasp of what her Shikai does is so strong that she immediately feels at home with it. She couldn’t be happier with it, its many uses striking her as perfect. It feels right.
So what is this request for?
It certainly isn’t for Bankai, though I would like this request approached similarly to how you would approach a second power request. Bankai at this stage would be wholly inappropriate, however I feel Hazuki’s path to Shikai, along with her preexisting situation has been enough to warrant—instead of Bankai—access to the Zanpakutō Evolution skill available to Prestige Shinigami. This is to preserve the future organic progression of Hazuki’s relationship with her Zanpakutō as well as highlight her nature as being more than just a normal soul out of Rukongai. She was born to be a Shinigami.
What this means in practical terms is unlocking Zanpakutō Evolution now and getting Bankai as part of my Prestige request later on down the line. The skills will function precisely as they already do (Resonance will govern Shikai and future Bankai, just as Evolution will govern my future Evolved Bankai), but allow me to tap into a release bonus which I feel the content outlined above has earned me, albeit at a GP cost. Essentially, I’m switching Bankai with Zanpakutō Evolution at this time, though the end result will be the same: a Prestige Shinigami with Bankai—and I go into this fully aware that this locks me into Prestige Shinigami going forward.
So. I’m Hazuki, I’ve got 3,500 Base GP, and this is the first time I’ve made a request of this type. I’ll be back soon for Grandmaster Zanjutsu, see you then.
