Zanpakutou Post: General Info
-When a student enters the academy, they are given an asauchi: a blank, nameless zanpakutou. As their skill and their ability to communicate with the zanpakutou spirit within them grows, it becomes less blank and more personal. When they finally achieve real communion, the inner power manifests outwardly, permanently changing the asauchi to reflect the zanpakutou that they had within them all along.
-[Shinigami] don't have [their zanpakutou] on their person 24/7--I think I've got a fic where Hitsugaya is talking to Hyourinmaru where his sword form in its stand--but they'd feel uncomfortable leaving their zanpakutou in, say, another building. This is especially true of anyone who has achieved bankai or is close to doing so. That's the next level of wielding your zanpakutou's power, so it makes the connection stronger. A captain would get twitchy if he or she left their zanpakutou in another room.
-First, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, zanpakutou can and do take lovers. The equivalent of a fling has no discernible effect on their homes, but a stable relationship will cause a "bridge" of sorts to form between the two worlds.
-If one zanpakutou always goes to the other's home, the bridge is one way. If they go back and forth, so does the bridge. I haven't decided yet whether or not a non-romantic relationship of an equal closeness will also build a bridge, but I'm leaning towards yes.
-Way I figure, a shinigami can see anything that goes on in their inner world. It hasn't really come up before because I've been using Ichigo and Zangetsu. And I love Ichigo dearly, but he is far from the most perceptive person on the planet.
-Normally the shinigami learns the name of their zanpakutou as the end result of learning to communicate with said zanpakutou, and accepting and acknowledging that this sentient weapon is a part of and came from them. Cue shikai.
-A side effect of [the zanpakutou's] nature as weapons is that there's frequently no middle road in their personalities. Benihime (Urahara) is a nearly amoral chessmaster. Katen Kyokotsu (Shunsui) is split between a staunch protector and a prankster whose manic demeanor almost borders on madness. Wabisuke (Kira) can be either a solid rock or a basket case. See? They're a lot like their shinigami, for the most part, but they don't hold anything back.
-The zanpakutou is aware of the shinigami from birth. The shinigami is only aware of the zanpakutou spirit--at best--in the early stages of their power's awakening. Normally, it's much later than that. Months or years even, depending on the individual shinigami's circumstances. So the zanpakutou knows the shinigami inside and out, has been shaped by the shinigami's experiences right alongside them. The shinigami suddenly has a stranger in their head who's testing them. The balance is definitely in the zanpakutou's favor.
-Yes, shikai puts the shinigami's hands on the reins. How tightly they hold on depends on the shinigami in question.
-Hmmm...it seems to be developing that each zanpakutou spirit has their own gift, entirely separate from the blade form powers. Like how Kyoka Suigetsu can enter another zanpakutou's home, even against the owner's will, or Senbonzakura can send out pieces of himself to other locations without leaving his home. Sode no Shirayuki, once in another zanpakutou's home, can take control.
-From jessara40k: With a few exceptions a zanpakotou is at an advantage in his shinigami's inner world, against other zanpakotou and against his shinigami pre-shikai. Post-shikai and pre-bankai they're on equal terms in the inner world, most of the time, and post-bankai the shingami has the advantage in his inner world.
Nameless is an exception in that he's so powerful and aggressive it doesn't matter where he is, except for very powerful zanpakotou, and Ichigo is an exception in that he's got so little emotional self-awareness that he's still at a disadvantage negotiating his inner world, even though he's acheived bankai.
-And my response: Nope, that's the working theory around here to a T. One thing, though--a zanpakutou in his own shinigami's inner world is always at an advantage against another zanpakutou. What you've got here works because it's so rare for another zanpakutou to enter the home of a zanpakutou whose shinigami hasn't achieved shikai, and until shikai, the zanpakutou can't leave.
There are zanpakutou--like Senbonzakura and Suzumebachi, for instance--that just bypass the "equals" stage and yield to their shinigami after shikai. And there are zanpakutou that are forced to do so by their shinigami. Ashisogi Jizou would be a good example of that--he fell victim to Kurotsuchi's obsession with altering himself. At this point, he's sentient, capable of carrying out commands and capable of limited thought, but not much else. But that happened gradually, after Kurotsuchi achieved shikai (maybe not till after bankai, I can't get a real clear picture yet) and was no longer subject to Ashisogi Jizou's power.
-[Shinigami] don't have [their zanpakutou] on their person 24/7--I think I've got a fic where Hitsugaya is talking to Hyourinmaru where his sword form in its stand--but they'd feel uncomfortable leaving their zanpakutou in, say, another building. This is especially true of anyone who has achieved bankai or is close to doing so. That's the next level of wielding your zanpakutou's power, so it makes the connection stronger. A captain would get twitchy if he or she left their zanpakutou in another room.
-First, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, zanpakutou can and do take lovers. The equivalent of a fling has no discernible effect on their homes, but a stable relationship will cause a "bridge" of sorts to form between the two worlds.
-If one zanpakutou always goes to the other's home, the bridge is one way. If they go back and forth, so does the bridge. I haven't decided yet whether or not a non-romantic relationship of an equal closeness will also build a bridge, but I'm leaning towards yes.
-Way I figure, a shinigami can see anything that goes on in their inner world. It hasn't really come up before because I've been using Ichigo and Zangetsu. And I love Ichigo dearly, but he is far from the most perceptive person on the planet.
-Normally the shinigami learns the name of their zanpakutou as the end result of learning to communicate with said zanpakutou, and accepting and acknowledging that this sentient weapon is a part of and came from them. Cue shikai.
-A side effect of [the zanpakutou's] nature as weapons is that there's frequently no middle road in their personalities. Benihime (Urahara) is a nearly amoral chessmaster. Katen Kyokotsu (Shunsui) is split between a staunch protector and a prankster whose manic demeanor almost borders on madness. Wabisuke (Kira) can be either a solid rock or a basket case. See? They're a lot like their shinigami, for the most part, but they don't hold anything back.
-The zanpakutou is aware of the shinigami from birth. The shinigami is only aware of the zanpakutou spirit--at best--in the early stages of their power's awakening. Normally, it's much later than that. Months or years even, depending on the individual shinigami's circumstances. So the zanpakutou knows the shinigami inside and out, has been shaped by the shinigami's experiences right alongside them. The shinigami suddenly has a stranger in their head who's testing them. The balance is definitely in the zanpakutou's favor.
-Yes, shikai puts the shinigami's hands on the reins. How tightly they hold on depends on the shinigami in question.
-Hmmm...it seems to be developing that each zanpakutou spirit has their own gift, entirely separate from the blade form powers. Like how Kyoka Suigetsu can enter another zanpakutou's home, even against the owner's will, or Senbonzakura can send out pieces of himself to other locations without leaving his home. Sode no Shirayuki, once in another zanpakutou's home, can take control.
-From jessara40k: With a few exceptions a zanpakotou is at an advantage in his shinigami's inner world, against other zanpakotou and against his shinigami pre-shikai. Post-shikai and pre-bankai they're on equal terms in the inner world, most of the time, and post-bankai the shingami has the advantage in his inner world.
Nameless is an exception in that he's so powerful and aggressive it doesn't matter where he is, except for very powerful zanpakotou, and Ichigo is an exception in that he's got so little emotional self-awareness that he's still at a disadvantage negotiating his inner world, even though he's acheived bankai.
-And my response: Nope, that's the working theory around here to a T. One thing, though--a zanpakutou in his own shinigami's inner world is always at an advantage against another zanpakutou. What you've got here works because it's so rare for another zanpakutou to enter the home of a zanpakutou whose shinigami hasn't achieved shikai, and until shikai, the zanpakutou can't leave.
There are zanpakutou--like Senbonzakura and Suzumebachi, for instance--that just bypass the "equals" stage and yield to their shinigami after shikai. And there are zanpakutou that are forced to do so by their shinigami. Ashisogi Jizou would be a good example of that--he fell victim to Kurotsuchi's obsession with altering himself. At this point, he's sentient, capable of carrying out commands and capable of limited thought, but not much else. But that happened gradually, after Kurotsuchi achieved shikai (maybe not till after bankai, I can't get a real clear picture yet) and was no longer subject to Ashisogi Jizou's power.