Mastery #1 - Live By The Sword (Zanjutsu Mastery Request)

Previous Arc: Arc #1.4 - A Storm Upon The Horizon (XP Request)
Next Request: Release #1 - The Wolves Within (First Release Request)


A highly skilled warrior from the start, Yuki is generally able to hold her own in a fight. Her skills with the blade rival or surpass most others within Seireitei, but there are still some things she has yet to master. For example, a true master could strike at a foe without ever taking a step forward. In multiple battles such a skill might have proven quite useful, vital perhaps. Even Watari, who has yet to master the blade, could deliver such an attack. Truly mastering something means finding flaws and improving upon those flaws. With practice and a greater focus on form over brute strength Yuki finally manages to fix this weakness in her combat style.


Baseline // Something From The Otherside // Yuki's life revolves around combat. She is comfortable in battle no matter the odds and already capable of defeating multiple foes. However there are some heights she has yet to reach, literally in this case! A glaring flaw in her combat abilities is exposed as she is forced to endure a grueling climb up towards the head of a Gillian, all in the name of actually landing a solid hit.

Work // Enter The Dragon II // Direct combat experience is something Yuki has in abundance. Dedicated training with her peers is an entirely different matter. Although Yuki visits Earth to assist in Meili's training she ends up coming away with an important lesson taught to her by Watari. In the past her blade was swung for the moment, to overcome her foe in battle. Instead she is urged to swing her blade for a greater purpose. With this focus Watari demonstrates his ability to cut through targets even at a distance. Yuki must practice on attaining this same focus if she hopes to attain the same level of mastery over the blade.

Triumph // Swinging For The Fences // Yuki finds herself in a battle against a Quincy, however it is no ordinary fight. With focus attained Yuki nears the execution of this advanced ranged striking technique, however it is not enough on its own. Suffering through one failure after another it is not until Yuki finds her purpose, to fight for the peace of others and for her own peace, that Yuki finally manages to unleash the full power of her strikes. With an attack filled with her newly discovered purpose she cleaves through one of the Quincy's attacks before it is able to reach her!

Sword mastery request, whaddya want from me, a blurb!? The premise of your mastery being about not being able to implement the gif of Ichigo's Menos Grande strategy gave me a chuckle. Let's jump in.

Baseline - PASS - A solid frame if a little silly. I like it, it's wholly suitable for a first mastery request. For the future, consider a less direct "I want to master this technique" but I don't think it's an issue here.
Work - PASS - A little flat, as before it's literally her working on getting mastery which is ok but it's always better if the work is built within the story a little more strongly. For example, using something like Feeding the Flame as an example of the work because it has more narrative pop. But still solid enough for a first request.
Triumph - PASS - The stakes here are too low for future mastery's. This conflict is a friendly bout between two people and there's maybe an angle about it being them making peace but that peace doesn't hinge on Yuki nailing this technique. There's no tension and no purpose to her showing off her work here.

Congratulations, Yuki, you are approved for Zanjutsu Mastery