I decided it was time to post the time skip information. Sorry it took me so long. With this, you all can begin working on your next posts. I'll try to get mine up soon, but I have no idea when I'll be able to.

As always, feel free to ask me if you have any questions.

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Okay, the three (or two for some) weeks we spent with our characters in the first year of their training have now come to a close. If anyone plans on posting anything else for this segment, please do so quickly. After the time skip occurs, I will not allow any more posts for the first year.

It is now time for us to receive our zanpakutos. There will be a time skip of three years, and our next posts will take place after this. A lot is going to happen in three years, and if there are specific events you want to have happen over the time skip, feel free to use them. However, convey their occurrence through flashbacks. Have your character walking to class reminiscing about the past year or something. I don't really care how you do it. If your character doesn't have anything special planned within the time we're skipping, then don't worry about it.

Our characters are now in year four of their training. From the negative view most of you had of your classes during this past segment, you will not be writing for classes during this one. This "year" will be devoted to the acquisition of your zanpakuto. However, you still need to remember the experience our characters now have. Their mindsets and power levels will have changed during the time skip. How much you want this to have happened is up to you, but they won't still be ignorant and awkward in their abilities.

Zanpakuto Acquisition

The only thing you are required to write for this time around is the process you take to obtain your zanpakuto. You may write side scenes which have nothing to do with it, but no one's going to force you to. When we begin writing, our characters will have already been trying to obtain their zanpakuto for a while. Starting from the beginning of the process would take too much time, so instead we'll be writing near the end of it. Having your character discuss/think about what they have been doing is encouraged, however. The process for obtaining your zanpakuto/learning its name is as follows:

-You will be given a normal katana.

-You will take this katana and find a calm, quiet place of your choice somewhere within the campus. Here, you will meditate.

-While meditating, you will be focusing on your soul, on the spiritual energy inside you. You will try to draw that spiritual energy out and channel it into the katana. When successful, you will have created your zanpakuto. Then, you just need to learn its name.

-To learn your zanpakuto's name, you need to focus on your zanpakuto and call out to it. When you are successful, you will be taken to a world that is, frankly, within your mind, where you meet your zanpakuto spirit. It tells you its name. This is not the manifestation of the spirit that is required for bankai; that manifestation is the appearance of the zanpakuto in the world around you. This isn't.

NOTE: Just because you know its name, does not mean you know your shikai. You will learn your shikai during a segment that we are time skipping over. If, however, you would really, really, really, really like to write for the training of your shikai, please discuss it with me.

Also, you may start from anywhere in that process. I must require that you are at least close to channeling your energy into the katana when you start, but if you're too lazy to start there or just don't care enough to write for the whole process, you may start later into it. Remember, this whole thing won't take place in one hour or even in one day. You may time skip around a reasonable amount of time to do this if you would like, since we are all basically going to be doing our own things. Please don't go beyond a couple months, however.

If you have any questions on what may or may not be allowed, please let me know before you post.