Nuala Byrne [PT]
Mar 22, 2020 12:08:10 GMT -5
Hidromielleón Ulfhirthir and Sieglinde P. Krantz like this
Post by Nuala Byrne on Mar 22, 2020 12:08:10 GMT -5
-Opening-
Discord Username (include nicknames): Drammor#4666 (Ammutseba)
Password 1: Black Hole
Password 2: Moon Pray
Type: Genius
Affiliation: Mercenary
Rank: 3
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-Basic Information-
Name: Nuala Byrne
Real Age/Age of Appearance: 29/Early 20s
Birthday (Month/Day): March 1
Blood Type: A–
RP Sample (Optional): None.
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-Appearance-
Height/Weight: 5’ 4”, 130 lbs / 162cm, 59kg
{Nuala sketch}
Physical Description: At first glance, someone might mistake Nuala for some new, edgier kind of Quincy or Arrancar. There may have been worse comparisons, and she couldn't particularly blame someone for coming to either conclusion. Regardless of whatever else may appear in her wardrobe, she will usually be found wearing a silver-accented white messenger bag, a Catherine wheel-like silver bangle for the upper left arm, and a necklace of sandalwood prayer beads.
Nuala's body is toned and fit, with a full figure and a tanned, warm light brown complexion, covered everywhere with either freckles or ink. She has strong cheekbones, rounded features, and a generally symmetrical face. If she let herself, she might easily pass for "precious." Her large eyes are a clear, light green, edged with a darker green, making them stand out against her skin tone and the backdrop of her rich, natural red hair. Nuala wears her hair held back in braids longer than half her back, decorated with many white bone tubes and solid steel beads. She sports hardware in silver and steel, with piercings through her labret, bridge, septum, and left eyebrow.
Along Nuala’s arms, she is covered in a large pair of spiraling tattoos, one originating on the outside of each wrist with the head of a different dragon. On her left is the blue dragon, and on her right is the green. The bodies of these dragons are interwoven with many feathery wings as they wend their way up to her shoulders and onto her back, where they cross together and their lines explode outward into a detailed mandala that covers her skin from the nape of her neck down to the small of her back. This mandala incorporates symbols for the following qualities: ambition, egality, empathy, grief, importunity, innocence, loyalty, memory, release, reverence, temperance, thrill, and vision, as the thirteen petals of a lotus flower whose roots form a symbol for death. On the right, a stylized grasshopper pushing the moon down stands opposite to a stylized beetle pushing the sun up.
{Outfits}Casual outfit. A black, mid-thigh length fleece hoodie dress with raglan sleeves and a light grey skull and crossbones on its chest, and a pair of faded black jeans that look like they've been stitched together from four or five different garments, with prominent pockets on their backside. Around her neck, she wears a deep green cotton infinity scarf. While wearing this outfit is when she most often wears her prayer beads on her arm.
Nonessentia armor. By night, Nuala usually wears a light breastplate with chain, a pair of reinforced pants and a calf-length greatcoat. The greatcoat is made for protection from the elements, has a low waist seam, with light waist suppression to provide shape without restricting the wearer, and anchors studding it at key points for attaching chains to it. The coat is primarily gunmetal grey, with silver buttons and clasps, and furry trim in emerald green. Each other piece of the uniform follows the same color pattern; the boots are grey with silver buckles and lined with emerald green. The coat is secured at the waist with a dark grey half-belt, which clips to the back of the coat and the hem of one side.
Guadaña uniform, feminine variant. A long and slim, almost form-fitting, white jacket with black lining, black fur trim, kimono sleeves, and a shawl lapel. Black hakama with white fur trim, black silk socks and a pair of many-strapped white leather sandals. A black open-backed top with a light, white chest plate with an outward angle over the center of the breastbone to deflect blows away from the core. A shallow black bamboo ajirogasa, tied with a white cord and printed with the thirteen aspects of death represented by the Guadaña in white, with a distinct blank patch on the front fifth of the hat, which displayed the number of the Guadaña it belonged to. Nuala’s has no such number. To complete the uniform, each Guadaña wore a necklace of prayer beads.
Nonessentia armor. By night, Nuala usually wears a light breastplate with chain, a pair of reinforced pants and a calf-length greatcoat. The greatcoat is made for protection from the elements, has a low waist seam, with light waist suppression to provide shape without restricting the wearer, and anchors studding it at key points for attaching chains to it. The coat is primarily gunmetal grey, with silver buttons and clasps, and furry trim in emerald green. Each other piece of the uniform follows the same color pattern; the boots are grey with silver buckles and lined with emerald green. The coat is secured at the waist with a dark grey half-belt, which clips to the back of the coat and the hem of one side.
Guadaña uniform, feminine variant. A long and slim, almost form-fitting, white jacket with black lining, black fur trim, kimono sleeves, and a shawl lapel. Black hakama with white fur trim, black silk socks and a pair of many-strapped white leather sandals. A black open-backed top with a light, white chest plate with an outward angle over the center of the breastbone to deflect blows away from the core. A shallow black bamboo ajirogasa, tied with a white cord and printed with the thirteen aspects of death represented by the Guadaña in white, with a distinct blank patch on the front fifth of the hat, which displayed the number of the Guadaña it belonged to. Nuala’s has no such number. To complete the uniform, each Guadaña wore a necklace of prayer beads.
{Details}Bag and Boots. Her bag is a starkly white hybrid of a messenger bag and tactical backpack, with a few silver accents in no particular pattern, which is slung over her right shoulder and can be accessed either behind her or from her left side. The messenger bag has been stitched together from uniforms of four Quincy and the front of its strap is bedecked with all manner of fiddly-bit and fidget toys, both contributing to its unusual appearance. Her boots are calf-length, dark gray suede, covered with molded steel plating, spikes, chains, buckles and silvered leather images of skulls.
Quincy bangle and prayer bead necklace. A sturdy soul silver bangle for the upper arm, to which is attached a Catherine wheel cross on a chain link. A prominent crack runs through the body of the bangle, and though it has long since been structurally repaired, the bangle will never function for a Quincy again. Nuala wears the bangle on her left upper arm, with the Catherine wheel facing out. Usually around her neck, but sometimes worn around one arm as a bracelet, Nuala wears a necklace of one hundred and eight sandalwood prayer beads with a red silk tassel.
Mask fragments. Nuala has a collection of sixteen different mask fragment hair accessories, each one a reference to Escarabajo, Saltamontes, Erscheinung and the Guadaña. Each one, with a single exception, uses aesthetics that call out thoughts of a particular animal or mythical creature: a beetle, a grasshopper, a mantis, a python, a giant panda, a sea star, a badger, a gazelle, an elephant, a pangolin, a bee, a goat, an angel, a devil and a unicorn. The one exception is a thin, circlet-like quarter ring, with an arm for a curious design that cradles the left half of the wearer's "third eye."
Quincy bangle and prayer bead necklace. A sturdy soul silver bangle for the upper arm, to which is attached a Catherine wheel cross on a chain link. A prominent crack runs through the body of the bangle, and though it has long since been structurally repaired, the bangle will never function for a Quincy again. Nuala wears the bangle on her left upper arm, with the Catherine wheel facing out. Usually around her neck, but sometimes worn around one arm as a bracelet, Nuala wears a necklace of one hundred and eight sandalwood prayer beads with a red silk tassel.
Mask fragments. Nuala has a collection of sixteen different mask fragment hair accessories, each one a reference to Escarabajo, Saltamontes, Erscheinung and the Guadaña. Each one, with a single exception, uses aesthetics that call out thoughts of a particular animal or mythical creature: a beetle, a grasshopper, a mantis, a python, a giant panda, a sea star, a badger, a gazelle, an elephant, a pangolin, a bee, a goat, an angel, a devil and a unicorn. The one exception is a thin, circlet-like quarter ring, with an arm for a curious design that cradles the left half of the wearer's "third eye."
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-Personality-
{Dislikes}1. Amusement parks. Loud, flashy and full of inherent distractions, these and places like them are overwhelming for Nuala to be in. Inundated with new opportunities for her mind to get caught on dozens to hundreds of little things, she finds it almost impossible to focus in these environments.
2. Authority and authority figures. Brendan Byrne, foster services, the Urslers... Nuala has never had a good experience with how too much authority affects people; what it does to people can be monstrous, either having it or being under it. It warps personalities and strips away identity, and with that can go precious attributes, such as compassion and responsibility.
3. Conformity. To Nuala, philosophically adjacent to authority, in that the other usually begets the one. She was surrounded by this in the Ursler home: the family knew how to instill loyalty and a sense of belonging in its wards, which in most cases lead to the other "children" emulating the adults and one another.
4. Hollows. Bad guys. They're made of and eat souls to grow more powerful, which innocents have, and pluses are. A corruption of the cycle of reincarnation. Best destroyed with impunity, unless you're like... living in Hueco Mundo or something.
5. Lipstick. It doesn't look right on her. It's thick and clay-like, and it feels heavy on the lips in a most uncomfortable way.
6. Playing dead. Not just literally. Also, figuratively. She can't just duck her head and pretend she isn't standing there, being involved by proximity if nothing else, and she can't stand it when other people do, either. She may not make good decisions, but they're better than none at all.
7. Quincy. Bad guys. These are corporeal people with power hunt Hollows, but they're basically monsters about it.
8. Summer, Winter. The most unreasonable seasons. Either too hot or too cold, some come with firestorms, some come with ice storms. Neither of those is good for people.
9. Predictable people. Unfortunate, since any time she's having a good spell, she falls into this category. Boring people are dependable and reliable, making them exceptionally useful. She's not sure then, why predictable people tend to have faces that just weren't punched enough growing up. It probably has something to do with the Urslers.
10. Small spaces. Though she does not remember it, Nuala endured terrible treatment at the hands of the Urslers while confined to a small space. Now, whenever she cannot hold her arms out comfortably around her, she grows nervous and anxious. Whenever she cannot reach away from herself at all, she panics, often utilizing measures disproportionate to the situation to get her freedom back.
11. Uncomfortable chairs. There was never a comfortable chair in the Ursler household. At every meal, she sat on the simplest, most uncomfortable chair. In every class, she sat at a desk seat that offered no contour or cushion. It may seem like a small gripe, but she associates uncomfortable chairs with some powerfully uncomfortable memories.
12. The rain. Nuala likes to ride, and it's pretty hard to do that in the rain. I mean, sure. You can. But you shouldn't.
13. Flowers. Don't get the wrong idea. They would be fine, maybe even pretty, if it weren't for her aggressive allergies. The more tropical the flower, the worse her aversion to them becomes. Which is a real shame, because the tropics have some great foods and great fish, and she'd have to drown herself in antihistamines to go there.
14. Lyrical music. For the most part. Especially anything in which the lyrics are just a bit unclear, or mostly unclear. Understandably, this is a pretty broad range of music, and somewhat under the power of Nuala's subjectivity.
15. Dimensional barriers. Sounds niche? Try living in Hueco Mundo for 4 years because humans can't Garganta.
16. Pears. Absolutely vile fruits. The flesh is mushy, the taste is awful, and they somehow remind her of middle-aged mailroom employees.
17. Jackfruits, Figs, and Other Breadfruits. Not quite as bad as pears, but still pretty terrible.
18. Fragrant Balsa Wood. Balsa wood itself is fine. It's not like she has anything against wood. It's just the smell of the balsa that makes her stomach turn a little.
19. Tightly clustered holes. There are some things that some people just cannot handle. It doesn't matter where they are, but once you get about six holes together in a clump, Nuala just can't take it. It makes her skin crawl, her feet curl and her head spin.
20. Cicadas. Since arriving in Japan, she thought there couldn't be anything she would just eliminate from the world. It turns out, though, that after three years of quiet and solitary study in Erscheinung's Hive, the noise that these terrible little tree demons make is just awful.
2. Authority and authority figures. Brendan Byrne, foster services, the Urslers... Nuala has never had a good experience with how too much authority affects people; what it does to people can be monstrous, either having it or being under it. It warps personalities and strips away identity, and with that can go precious attributes, such as compassion and responsibility.
3. Conformity. To Nuala, philosophically adjacent to authority, in that the other usually begets the one. She was surrounded by this in the Ursler home: the family knew how to instill loyalty and a sense of belonging in its wards, which in most cases lead to the other "children" emulating the adults and one another.
4. Hollows. Bad guys. They're made of and eat souls to grow more powerful, which innocents have, and pluses are. A corruption of the cycle of reincarnation. Best destroyed with impunity, unless you're like... living in Hueco Mundo or something.
5. Lipstick. It doesn't look right on her. It's thick and clay-like, and it feels heavy on the lips in a most uncomfortable way.
6. Playing dead. Not just literally. Also, figuratively. She can't just duck her head and pretend she isn't standing there, being involved by proximity if nothing else, and she can't stand it when other people do, either. She may not make good decisions, but they're better than none at all.
7. Quincy. Bad guys. These are corporeal people with power hunt Hollows, but they're basically monsters about it.
8. Summer, Winter. The most unreasonable seasons. Either too hot or too cold, some come with firestorms, some come with ice storms. Neither of those is good for people.
9. Predictable people. Unfortunate, since any time she's having a good spell, she falls into this category. Boring people are dependable and reliable, making them exceptionally useful. She's not sure then, why predictable people tend to have faces that just weren't punched enough growing up. It probably has something to do with the Urslers.
10. Small spaces. Though she does not remember it, Nuala endured terrible treatment at the hands of the Urslers while confined to a small space. Now, whenever she cannot hold her arms out comfortably around her, she grows nervous and anxious. Whenever she cannot reach away from herself at all, she panics, often utilizing measures disproportionate to the situation to get her freedom back.
11. Uncomfortable chairs. There was never a comfortable chair in the Ursler household. At every meal, she sat on the simplest, most uncomfortable chair. In every class, she sat at a desk seat that offered no contour or cushion. It may seem like a small gripe, but she associates uncomfortable chairs with some powerfully uncomfortable memories.
12. The rain. Nuala likes to ride, and it's pretty hard to do that in the rain. I mean, sure. You can. But you shouldn't.
13. Flowers. Don't get the wrong idea. They would be fine, maybe even pretty, if it weren't for her aggressive allergies. The more tropical the flower, the worse her aversion to them becomes. Which is a real shame, because the tropics have some great foods and great fish, and she'd have to drown herself in antihistamines to go there.
14. Lyrical music. For the most part. Especially anything in which the lyrics are just a bit unclear, or mostly unclear. Understandably, this is a pretty broad range of music, and somewhat under the power of Nuala's subjectivity.
15. Dimensional barriers. Sounds niche? Try living in Hueco Mundo for 4 years because humans can't Garganta.
16. Pears. Absolutely vile fruits. The flesh is mushy, the taste is awful, and they somehow remind her of middle-aged mailroom employees.
17. Jackfruits, Figs, and Other Breadfruits. Not quite as bad as pears, but still pretty terrible.
18. Fragrant Balsa Wood. Balsa wood itself is fine. It's not like she has anything against wood. It's just the smell of the balsa that makes her stomach turn a little.
19. Tightly clustered holes. There are some things that some people just cannot handle. It doesn't matter where they are, but once you get about six holes together in a clump, Nuala just can't take it. It makes her skin crawl, her feet curl and her head spin.
20. Cicadas. Since arriving in Japan, she thought there couldn't be anything she would just eliminate from the world. It turns out, though, that after three years of quiet and solitary study in Erscheinung's Hive, the noise that these terrible little tree demons make is just awful.
{Likes}1. Tea and tisanes. Rooibos, too. Let's be fair. A well-made cup of tea can put the hush on all a day's stresses and anxieties, even if only for a moment, and a luncheon at the local tea house with high service is always what the doctor ordered.
2. Vegetables and fungi. These are good with a bit of salt, pepper, and various herbs. Sautéed with a bit of butter or oil, they wilt and crisp perfectly. They make great snacks.
3. Cheese. It's a good thing mankind invented cheese, or food would be boring. You can add it to all kinds of stuff, depending on what kind of cheese you have on hand.
4. Fish. Cooked or raw, these tend to be pretty good.
5. Spicy food. Not too spicy though. You still must be able to taste something. If it's too hot to taste anything, then there are no good memories there. Only pain. Please, temper your Scoville counts with good, rich flavors. It's just civil.
6. Alcohol and other intoxicants. These are great ways to unwind. A little blue goo tea and your creativity flies through the roof. An evening nightcap for a good night's rest. Not that she would recommend it for others. Drugs are bad for you. Just good for her.
7. Plush animals. Despite appearances, you will find these adorable, snuggle-able creations all over Nuala's bedroom. Nowhere else though. It would be preferable if people didn't find out about her weakness for Eustace the Penguin.
8. Spiritual studies. Nuala is not knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects, but trip this interest, and you'll see a whole new side to the woman. If it doesn't come from the material world, you can bet she's either heard of it or studied it herself. Particular interests for her include the ecology of Hell, the proper care and raising of jigokucho and her continued study of fullbring and its effects on genetic structures.
9. Spiritual creatures. Related to her knowledge on spiritual studies, this is a more specific interest in how the nonmaterial realms manifest lifelike creatures.
10. Technology. Constantly on the move and improving, technology is like magic for people who aren't spiritually aware. Also, flashlights and Gooble home are pretty useful.
11. Spring, Autumn. The most temperate seasons. Not too hot, not too cold. In the springtime, the world is lush and beautiful. In the autumntime, trees turn beautiful colors and her allergies stop bothering her.
12. Competition. This is a good quality to have. Nuala appreciates this in other people and tends to get caught up in it, herself.
13. Friendly rivalry. The counterpart to competition, it's sometimes helpful to have a rival to drive one further along in their development.
14. Being indoors. She sometimes has dreams about being indoors. Great, sprawling buildings of endless indoorsness. It's basically the most awesome thing she can think of.
15. Punk rock, EDM, house, big room, trance, electronica. Primarily instrumentals, although if the lyrics are either clear or unclear enough, lyricals can be fine, too.
16. Fantasy and sci-fi novels. Point of fact, she usually has a book or two on her person, carried in her messenger bag. These can be useful, especially when waiting around places for Hollow activity.
17. Konso. Having witnessed more than a few of these since her return to the world of the living, she finds watching one to be an honorable gesture, much like attending a person's funeral.
18. Superhero movies. She loves making fun of all the things the movies get wrong about her kind.
19. Watercolors. Some of the best and most interesting fish portraits are done in watercolors. In her opinion.
20. Sea critters. She keeps jellies, fishes and cuttlefish and other creatures in the large tanks in her basement. She built the systems that maintain their habitats and has developed some of her creatures over dozens of generations.
21. Cooking. Especially gourmet meals, Nuala has a great affection for the wide and wild culinary world. From fried spicy grasshoppers to rat-on-a-stick to steak tartare and more, if it's on somebody's bucket list, she's either had it or is planning to.
22. Riding. Motorcycles, specifically. Racing, cruising, whatever. Give it two or three wheels and a motor, and she's down to party.
23. Arrancar. A highly conditional affinity, since these people are still technically Hollows, but if they meet a certain standard of restraint and good intent, then she could form an attachment with even them.
2. Vegetables and fungi. These are good with a bit of salt, pepper, and various herbs. Sautéed with a bit of butter or oil, they wilt and crisp perfectly. They make great snacks.
3. Cheese. It's a good thing mankind invented cheese, or food would be boring. You can add it to all kinds of stuff, depending on what kind of cheese you have on hand.
4. Fish. Cooked or raw, these tend to be pretty good.
5. Spicy food. Not too spicy though. You still must be able to taste something. If it's too hot to taste anything, then there are no good memories there. Only pain. Please, temper your Scoville counts with good, rich flavors. It's just civil.
6. Alcohol and other intoxicants. These are great ways to unwind. A little blue goo tea and your creativity flies through the roof. An evening nightcap for a good night's rest. Not that she would recommend it for others. Drugs are bad for you. Just good for her.
7. Plush animals. Despite appearances, you will find these adorable, snuggle-able creations all over Nuala's bedroom. Nowhere else though. It would be preferable if people didn't find out about her weakness for Eustace the Penguin.
8. Spiritual studies. Nuala is not knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects, but trip this interest, and you'll see a whole new side to the woman. If it doesn't come from the material world, you can bet she's either heard of it or studied it herself. Particular interests for her include the ecology of Hell, the proper care and raising of jigokucho and her continued study of fullbring and its effects on genetic structures.
9. Spiritual creatures. Related to her knowledge on spiritual studies, this is a more specific interest in how the nonmaterial realms manifest lifelike creatures.
10. Technology. Constantly on the move and improving, technology is like magic for people who aren't spiritually aware. Also, flashlights and Gooble home are pretty useful.
11. Spring, Autumn. The most temperate seasons. Not too hot, not too cold. In the springtime, the world is lush and beautiful. In the autumntime, trees turn beautiful colors and her allergies stop bothering her.
12. Competition. This is a good quality to have. Nuala appreciates this in other people and tends to get caught up in it, herself.
13. Friendly rivalry. The counterpart to competition, it's sometimes helpful to have a rival to drive one further along in their development.
14. Being indoors. She sometimes has dreams about being indoors. Great, sprawling buildings of endless indoorsness. It's basically the most awesome thing she can think of.
15. Punk rock, EDM, house, big room, trance, electronica. Primarily instrumentals, although if the lyrics are either clear or unclear enough, lyricals can be fine, too.
16. Fantasy and sci-fi novels. Point of fact, she usually has a book or two on her person, carried in her messenger bag. These can be useful, especially when waiting around places for Hollow activity.
17. Konso. Having witnessed more than a few of these since her return to the world of the living, she finds watching one to be an honorable gesture, much like attending a person's funeral.
18. Superhero movies. She loves making fun of all the things the movies get wrong about her kind.
19. Watercolors. Some of the best and most interesting fish portraits are done in watercolors. In her opinion.
20. Sea critters. She keeps jellies, fishes and cuttlefish and other creatures in the large tanks in her basement. She built the systems that maintain their habitats and has developed some of her creatures over dozens of generations.
21. Cooking. Especially gourmet meals, Nuala has a great affection for the wide and wild culinary world. From fried spicy grasshoppers to rat-on-a-stick to steak tartare and more, if it's on somebody's bucket list, she's either had it or is planning to.
22. Riding. Motorcycles, specifically. Racing, cruising, whatever. Give it two or three wheels and a motor, and she's down to party.
23. Arrancar. A highly conditional affinity, since these people are still technically Hollows, but if they meet a certain standard of restraint and good intent, then she could form an attachment with even them.
{Flaws}1. Allergies. Mostly to flowers, and the more tropical the flower's origin, the worse her allergy to it. Most of the time, these aren't debilitating allergies. She could be in the same room as a tropical flower. It wouldn't be a problem. But a room full of them is a different story. Speaking realistically, Nuala's allergies are an annoyance, but circumstances would need to be unusual before her senses or statistics were affected.
2. Aloof. When she is unattached to a special friend, Nuala keeps her emotional distance from others. She withholds information more often than she volunteers it, finding the sharing habits of others to be too liberal, and keeps her hands to herself. Besides, that's polite. You never know when you'll meet someone who doesn't like being touched.
3. Codependent. She has some attachment and abandonment issues. Nuala feels the need for validation in a way that probably can't be solved by feeding it. She's usually alone, and when she isn't all that built-up, unspent raw friendship energy must go somewhere.
4. Desperate. She's been wanted before, but always for what she is and never for who she is, and though she tells herself she is, she's really not okay with that. She wants anyone to notice her for her personality, the choices she makes, or the efforts she's made.
5. Dissatisfied. Nothing is ever good enough for this woman. She's under the impression that if greatness exists, the odds that she'd be the one to witness it are slim at best.
6. Disorganized Speech. A common symptom of her conditions, Nuala has difficulty keeping her speech in order. She'll sometimes launch into the middle of a conversation or an idea, giving other people few to no clues as to her meaning. Conversely, she may quickly jump from one subject to the next, to another still, each one connected to the last by an agenda or a thread that only she sees.
7. Easily Frustrated. Nuala can't quite manage all the sensory input her brain is giving her at any point in time. She's constantly in a low-key state of alarm because of this, and it's very tiresome. All these little things stack up and join together when she needs to work out critical problems, leading to her becoming overwhelmed quickly by frustration.
8. Fidgeting. She can't really stay still. She's got a little too much energy for that, so she fidgets with things on her person or in her environment. She has a variety of fiddle-able bits on the forward strap of her messenger bag just for this.
9. Impatient. She would like that, please. Immediately, but she won't say anything about it. In her head, she might go a little crazy waiting, and the highly perceptive may notice the subtle signs of this.
10. Inappropriately Genial Conversation. About the local weather, which she has a genuine interest in. However, she'll pick completely inappropriate times to bring it up, like the middle of combat. Due to her general obliviousness, she still can’t recognize why this would be a distraction.
11. Low Self-Esteem. Nuala thinks of herself as not being particularly strong, skilled or smart, even though she has established herself as any or all these things on different occasions in the past. She's seen much stronger beings than herself, and strength isn't all that matters. She's met much more skilled people than herself at nearly half her age, real prodigies et cetera. And sure, there are a few subjects that Nuala can talk to you for hours about, but they aren't many, and she still has so much to learn.
12. Overly Trusting/Untrusting Switch. Once she has established a special friend, she will give them her unwavering trust, believing that she will ultimately be taken care of by her benefactor, even if it is only in the aftermath of sacrifice. On the other hand, she does not extend trust to people without this special designation, even insofar as social constructs dictate for normalcy.
13. Sheltered. Most of Nuala's formative years were spent inside the Azerite Project, without her awareness of the program. She was instructed in the minimal external education requirements so that she could continue to pass inspections and check-ins, but otherwise, the Urslers filled her head only with what was necessary to hunt Hollows. After that, she spent four years in Hueco Mundo, and most of it was alone but for No-Fish. Although she has picked up on some pop culture, she doesn't remember anything from before about six years ago, because she wasn't around for it. Some old crazes are still new to her, and she may never get caught up on all the things she missed.
14. Startles Easily: She gets zoned into things going on in her head pretty easily. Try not to approach her from behind. It's great way to get stabbed.
15. The Radio is Talking to Her: This is why she doesn't like music with lyrics. Her brain latches onto snippets of lyrics and replaces the context around them with hallucinations and delusions, often of graphic or paranoid natures.
16. There Are Spiders in Her Lungs. Okay not really, but that's what her brain keeps telling her. There's nothing there. This is a recurring delusion. In order to clear out the offending spiders, she will sometimes begin coughing, often with deep and heaving coughs that can lead to real gagging. She has no idea what the trigger is if there is one at all.
17. Usually Oblivious. Nuala is not profoundly good at paying attention. It's not that she isn't trying, she just has a lot of extra things going on in her head. She'll sometimes lose track of or forget events or conversations. It's not her fault, but it can be awfully frustrating.
2. Aloof. When she is unattached to a special friend, Nuala keeps her emotional distance from others. She withholds information more often than she volunteers it, finding the sharing habits of others to be too liberal, and keeps her hands to herself. Besides, that's polite. You never know when you'll meet someone who doesn't like being touched.
3. Codependent. She has some attachment and abandonment issues. Nuala feels the need for validation in a way that probably can't be solved by feeding it. She's usually alone, and when she isn't all that built-up, unspent raw friendship energy must go somewhere.
4. Desperate. She's been wanted before, but always for what she is and never for who she is, and though she tells herself she is, she's really not okay with that. She wants anyone to notice her for her personality, the choices she makes, or the efforts she's made.
5. Dissatisfied. Nothing is ever good enough for this woman. She's under the impression that if greatness exists, the odds that she'd be the one to witness it are slim at best.
6. Disorganized Speech. A common symptom of her conditions, Nuala has difficulty keeping her speech in order. She'll sometimes launch into the middle of a conversation or an idea, giving other people few to no clues as to her meaning. Conversely, she may quickly jump from one subject to the next, to another still, each one connected to the last by an agenda or a thread that only she sees.
7. Easily Frustrated. Nuala can't quite manage all the sensory input her brain is giving her at any point in time. She's constantly in a low-key state of alarm because of this, and it's very tiresome. All these little things stack up and join together when she needs to work out critical problems, leading to her becoming overwhelmed quickly by frustration.
8. Fidgeting. She can't really stay still. She's got a little too much energy for that, so she fidgets with things on her person or in her environment. She has a variety of fiddle-able bits on the forward strap of her messenger bag just for this.
9. Impatient. She would like that, please. Immediately, but she won't say anything about it. In her head, she might go a little crazy waiting, and the highly perceptive may notice the subtle signs of this.
10. Inappropriately Genial Conversation. About the local weather, which she has a genuine interest in. However, she'll pick completely inappropriate times to bring it up, like the middle of combat. Due to her general obliviousness, she still can’t recognize why this would be a distraction.
11. Low Self-Esteem. Nuala thinks of herself as not being particularly strong, skilled or smart, even though she has established herself as any or all these things on different occasions in the past. She's seen much stronger beings than herself, and strength isn't all that matters. She's met much more skilled people than herself at nearly half her age, real prodigies et cetera. And sure, there are a few subjects that Nuala can talk to you for hours about, but they aren't many, and she still has so much to learn.
12. Overly Trusting/Untrusting Switch. Once she has established a special friend, she will give them her unwavering trust, believing that she will ultimately be taken care of by her benefactor, even if it is only in the aftermath of sacrifice. On the other hand, she does not extend trust to people without this special designation, even insofar as social constructs dictate for normalcy.
13. Sheltered. Most of Nuala's formative years were spent inside the Azerite Project, without her awareness of the program. She was instructed in the minimal external education requirements so that she could continue to pass inspections and check-ins, but otherwise, the Urslers filled her head only with what was necessary to hunt Hollows. After that, she spent four years in Hueco Mundo, and most of it was alone but for No-Fish. Although she has picked up on some pop culture, she doesn't remember anything from before about six years ago, because she wasn't around for it. Some old crazes are still new to her, and she may never get caught up on all the things she missed.
14. Startles Easily: She gets zoned into things going on in her head pretty easily. Try not to approach her from behind. It's great way to get stabbed.
15. The Radio is Talking to Her: This is why she doesn't like music with lyrics. Her brain latches onto snippets of lyrics and replaces the context around them with hallucinations and delusions, often of graphic or paranoid natures.
16. There Are Spiders in Her Lungs. Okay not really, but that's what her brain keeps telling her. There's nothing there. This is a recurring delusion. In order to clear out the offending spiders, she will sometimes begin coughing, often with deep and heaving coughs that can lead to real gagging. She has no idea what the trigger is if there is one at all.
17. Usually Oblivious. Nuala is not profoundly good at paying attention. It's not that she isn't trying, she just has a lot of extra things going on in her head. She'll sometimes lose track of or forget events or conversations. It's not her fault, but it can be awfully frustrating.
{Habits}1. Fish puns. She'll try to sneak these into conversations anywhere she can, without any respect for time or place.
2. Frequently drowsy. She doesn't sleep well; her dreams are plagued by memories of the past, some real, some modified by her own trauma. They're pretty bad, though. It's normal for Nuala to get only three to five hours of troubled sleep a night.
3. Humming along to music only she can hear. She's not hallucinating music; she just really likes these bands.
4. Predictable, especially when she's having an upswing. It's not always a bad thing, but that doesn't stop Nuala from seeing it that way.
5. Snacks! Fullbring powers utilize natural stamina as their power source. Nuala won't stop using her fullbring for every little thing, so she constantly eats snack foods to offset her caloric need.
6. Speaks quietly. Her voice has gone unheard for most of her life, muting her in a general sense. Most of the time, she doesn't realize that anyone may value what she has to say enough to speak up for herself.
7. Speaks loudly when excited. Like when someone indulges one of her fish puns, shows an interest in tea, or something else she likes.
8. Twiddling small objects. Just an energetic tic. Priska used to do it, too. It's been there ever since she started coming down from whatever drugs the Urslers had her on, like some leftover energy with which she must always do something.
2. Frequently drowsy. She doesn't sleep well; her dreams are plagued by memories of the past, some real, some modified by her own trauma. They're pretty bad, though. It's normal for Nuala to get only three to five hours of troubled sleep a night.
3. Humming along to music only she can hear. She's not hallucinating music; she just really likes these bands.
4. Predictable, especially when she's having an upswing. It's not always a bad thing, but that doesn't stop Nuala from seeing it that way.
5. Snacks! Fullbring powers utilize natural stamina as their power source. Nuala won't stop using her fullbring for every little thing, so she constantly eats snack foods to offset her caloric need.
6. Speaks quietly. Her voice has gone unheard for most of her life, muting her in a general sense. Most of the time, she doesn't realize that anyone may value what she has to say enough to speak up for herself.
7. Speaks loudly when excited. Like when someone indulges one of her fish puns, shows an interest in tea, or something else she likes.
8. Twiddling small objects. Just an energetic tic. Priska used to do it, too. It's been there ever since she started coming down from whatever drugs the Urslers had her on, like some leftover energy with which she must always do something.
{Fears}1. Authority and Authority Figures: From a young age, Nuala has had few good authority figures in her conscious memory. Her father was briefly abusive of her before giving her up to foster services, foster caregivers had little empathy left in them, other families swiftly returned her, and then there were the Urslers, and by extension, their Emperor. Due to this lack of positive experiences, her outlook on them is likewise tarnished.
2. Blue Eyes and Black Hair: A family trait of the Urslers, this unusual genetic combination is one that makes Nuala's heart skip a beat every time she sees it. She has no particular dislike for people with this quality, but she cannot control her unconscious reaction to being reminded of her erstwhile keepers.
3. Conformity: A quality encouraged by the Urslers in the other children, while they simultaneously alienated Nuala. Unusual nearly from birth, she has always been on the outside of it. When she sees people, all acting and looking like each other, her stomach rolls in disgust. Flash mobs disturb her, uniforms bother her... the more generalized and employed en masse something is, the more it annoys her.
The Guadaña uniform, which she wore for the better part of four years, is a rare exception to this case; and even that had little embellishments or modifications from one monk to the next. She sees it more like her personal clothing than a uniform, especially since the Guadaña no longer exist.
4. Eye Contact: Perhaps as a side effect of her low self-esteem, Nuala can't seem to maintain more than fleeting eye contact with other people unless she has a special friend to attach herself to.
5. Losing Loved Ones: Though her memory on the matter has been altered, Nuala lost her only true friend in the world in a situation beyond her control. Despite this, she feels as though had she done more, Priska might still be alive today. Priska's memories haunt her to the day, and until she manages to move past this loss, she will be unable to form real connections with other people. More recently, memories of the slaughter at the first Hive plague her dreams and waking hours, those complex emotions tied to the erstwhile Arrancar still vastly unprocessed.
2. Blue Eyes and Black Hair: A family trait of the Urslers, this unusual genetic combination is one that makes Nuala's heart skip a beat every time she sees it. She has no particular dislike for people with this quality, but she cannot control her unconscious reaction to being reminded of her erstwhile keepers.
3. Conformity: A quality encouraged by the Urslers in the other children, while they simultaneously alienated Nuala. Unusual nearly from birth, she has always been on the outside of it. When she sees people, all acting and looking like each other, her stomach rolls in disgust. Flash mobs disturb her, uniforms bother her... the more generalized and employed en masse something is, the more it annoys her.
The Guadaña uniform, which she wore for the better part of four years, is a rare exception to this case; and even that had little embellishments or modifications from one monk to the next. She sees it more like her personal clothing than a uniform, especially since the Guadaña no longer exist.
4. Eye Contact: Perhaps as a side effect of her low self-esteem, Nuala can't seem to maintain more than fleeting eye contact with other people unless she has a special friend to attach herself to.
5. Losing Loved Ones: Though her memory on the matter has been altered, Nuala lost her only true friend in the world in a situation beyond her control. Despite this, she feels as though had she done more, Priska might still be alive today. Priska's memories haunt her to the day, and until she manages to move past this loss, she will be unable to form real connections with other people. More recently, memories of the slaughter at the first Hive plague her dreams and waking hours, those complex emotions tied to the erstwhile Arrancar still vastly unprocessed.
{Goals}1. Punish the Quincy for killing Priska. Doctor Rosenbette's death is not enough. An entire family of Quincy conspired to create the "Urslers," the shadow play of Nuala and Priska's life, controlling every aspect of what they could see and feel for the grand plan of Rosenbette's failed Azerite Project. In the end, they will all need to answer for their crimes.
2. Create spiritual weapons that can rival Zanpakuto. Probably not something she’ll ever manage, but it’s good to have dreams. Just because it’s in the stars doesn’t mean she won’t shoot for it, anyway. She just needs to find the base material. Once she knows what that is, she can begin crafting a weapon from it.
3. Get Nonessentia off the ground. Her property in Karakura, procured through less than entirely virtuous means. It sells tea (and a little coffee, if you’re a tourist), books, fish-themed postcards and functions as her base of operations. Not currently a popular spot due to her own wild appearance, she hopes to attract a loyal and friendly crowd soon.
4. Find a friend she can support. A goal she meets and unmeets with relative frequency. These relationships tend to endure a few months, at best, though some have been more lasting. Most people migrate away from Nuala over time. She isn't sure why.
5. Protect someone she’s close to. Not having anyone to attach to this goal is a tough weight for Nuala to shoulder. Since she lost the Guadaña, her existence has been mostly solitary, leaving a gap in her heart where care and compassion would normally lay. Her need for someone to protect leads her to defend regular humans from Hollows, but this behavior has been reckless before.
6. Self-improvement. Erscheinung took things from Nuala. With her permission, and he did promise to give her power in return, but he’s gone now. If Nuala wants the power promised to her, she’ll have to earn it for herself. She knows that she has the potential to be worth something to someone, but until that day, she struggles to forge a better self out of herself.
7. Command the powers of Hell. She doesn’t know this is something she wants, but since meeting and learning about Lazarus and his condition, she’s felt intense guilt over his death at the Hive, knowing what fate had in store for her one-time supervisor. Cosmic consequences in no standing, she would excise him from eternal suffering in an instant.
8. Find a mental health prescriber who will treat her. It would be awfully nice to get some pills that could take care of those nasty little spiders. Finding a prescriber or a therapist who is spiritually aware would be a plus, but in lieu of that, she’ll just take the drugs.
9. No-Fish. Her only source of mortal companionship, for what it was worth while living in Erscheinung’s empty Hive. Not so very different from a volleyball, No-Fish never said much, but he returned to the side of the tank every day to check on Nuala just as much as she checked on him. Nuala plans to use his lineage to produce a spiritual weapon, and she’s certain she’s on the verge of a breakthrough.
10. Boyfriend, Coco, Ursula, and Sandwich. The other fish. There are others, but these are the species and strains that Nuala’s research indicates will be necessary for her magnum opus. Each one, if her theories on the notes contained in the Hive are correct, could be an effective tool for combating Hollows.
11. Huxin the Water Dragon. Nuala’s spiritual thesis. To be convoked from the advanced genetic structures and spiritual systems that make up her other fish, Nuala has designed this, the soul of a dragon, from parts. If he functions according to her designs, he’ll make a capable combat partner.
2. Create spiritual weapons that can rival Zanpakuto. Probably not something she’ll ever manage, but it’s good to have dreams. Just because it’s in the stars doesn’t mean she won’t shoot for it, anyway. She just needs to find the base material. Once she knows what that is, she can begin crafting a weapon from it.
3. Get Nonessentia off the ground. Her property in Karakura, procured through less than entirely virtuous means. It sells tea (and a little coffee, if you’re a tourist), books, fish-themed postcards and functions as her base of operations. Not currently a popular spot due to her own wild appearance, she hopes to attract a loyal and friendly crowd soon.
4. Find a friend she can support. A goal she meets and unmeets with relative frequency. These relationships tend to endure a few months, at best, though some have been more lasting. Most people migrate away from Nuala over time. She isn't sure why.
5. Protect someone she’s close to. Not having anyone to attach to this goal is a tough weight for Nuala to shoulder. Since she lost the Guadaña, her existence has been mostly solitary, leaving a gap in her heart where care and compassion would normally lay. Her need for someone to protect leads her to defend regular humans from Hollows, but this behavior has been reckless before.
6. Self-improvement. Erscheinung took things from Nuala. With her permission, and he did promise to give her power in return, but he’s gone now. If Nuala wants the power promised to her, she’ll have to earn it for herself. She knows that she has the potential to be worth something to someone, but until that day, she struggles to forge a better self out of herself.
7. Command the powers of Hell. She doesn’t know this is something she wants, but since meeting and learning about Lazarus and his condition, she’s felt intense guilt over his death at the Hive, knowing what fate had in store for her one-time supervisor. Cosmic consequences in no standing, she would excise him from eternal suffering in an instant.
8. Find a mental health prescriber who will treat her. It would be awfully nice to get some pills that could take care of those nasty little spiders. Finding a prescriber or a therapist who is spiritually aware would be a plus, but in lieu of that, she’ll just take the drugs.
9. No-Fish. Her only source of mortal companionship, for what it was worth while living in Erscheinung’s empty Hive. Not so very different from a volleyball, No-Fish never said much, but he returned to the side of the tank every day to check on Nuala just as much as she checked on him. Nuala plans to use his lineage to produce a spiritual weapon, and she’s certain she’s on the verge of a breakthrough.
10. Boyfriend, Coco, Ursula, and Sandwich. The other fish. There are others, but these are the species and strains that Nuala’s research indicates will be necessary for her magnum opus. Each one, if her theories on the notes contained in the Hive are correct, could be an effective tool for combating Hollows.
11. Huxin the Water Dragon. Nuala’s spiritual thesis. To be convoked from the advanced genetic structures and spiritual systems that make up her other fish, Nuala has designed this, the soul of a dragon, from parts. If he functions according to her designs, he’ll make a capable combat partner.
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
{Overall Personality}She's a weird gal, and not very well put together. Nuala doesn't cope well with her life unless she can attach herself to a "special friend," from who she can draw social energy, believe in and be loyal to. She struggles with internal motivation, however, and is less willing to focus on herself, preferring to put all her efforts into supporting that friend. For their sake, she will make herself presentable and outgoing, but this costs a lot of energy from her, as it isn't a true expression of how she's doing. Strongly affected by the traumas of her past, Nuala has developed a small collection of mental disorders, including anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia, none of which are currently being treated.
Nuala is volatile, mutable, moody, oblivious, selfish and prone to social fatigue and hibernation. Although she would rather have a civil conversation with someone, preferably over tea, she is equally ready to see violence as the solution to a problem and tends to perceive slights where no affront exists. Dissatisfied and disaffected with what’s in front of her eyes, she is highly critical and belittling of other things and people in a way that could be described as borderline narcissistic. She believes that if greatness exists, the odds she would be the one to witness it are minimal at best. No one is unique, and no one is special.
There are distinct facets to Nuala, depending heavily on whether she has a special friend. She relies on herself only when it is absolutely required of her, deferring to the judgment and agency of her attachment. For that person, she will come out of her shell, be confident, presentable and outgoing. She is unusually loyal to her benefactors and allies, even if they have no particular care or affection for her. If she was ever a naive or idealist person, that innocence and faith were disillusioned from her long ago and with great repetition.
Otherwise, Nuala struggles with openness and honesty about her feelings and feels as though other people either are or should be, too. She has cultivated an appearance that is designed to drive away others, protecting her from any perceivable weakness or possibility of betrayal. She keeps everything at arm's length, often coming off as paranoid with how she keeps her walls up. Her first line of defense against other people is to turn inward, mentally absconding from a situation in favor of her own imagination, and presenting a false, more agreeable front for long enough to escape the physical situation, as well.
When under stress (which can be caused by internal pressures as easily as external ones), Nuala is prone to anxiety and distraction due to tactile, audio and visual hallucinations, short-term delusions and even daydreams, despite the gravity of whatever situation she may find herself in. Due to her unsettled mind, she frequently experiences a "brain fog," passing through several seconds to minutes without truly realizing what she's doing or engaging with her actions. This can lead to her becoming lost, disorganized and irritated, as even repeated attempts to accomplish simple tasks can result in wandering off several times.
Nuala is certainly what you could call a driven person. Though they may require leaps of logic, she has her values, and she sticks by them. She believes in and stands beside her comrades no matter what obstacle or trouble confronts them, even when doing so would make her wrong. She can be ambitious, enthusiastic and persevering. She is brave in the face of adversity and has a sense of purpose that gives her both a magnetic edge and an unshakable determination. Nuala feels secure in her beliefs, but at the same time understands that hers is but one perspective. When at rest, she displays a great appreciation of fish and tea, and of beauty and excellence.
In combat, Nuala's behavior is scientific and opportunist. She applies basic learning to her opponents, seeing them as puzzles that can be solved by the proper application of her abilities. She shies quickly away from pain or injury but will move just as quickly to exploit opportunities and press her advantage. Even with the help of her friends and allies, Nuala often forgets that she can fight offensively. This can lead to her prolonging conflicts for longer than they need to go and has led to her defeat in the past. Though she works hard to overcome this tendency, old habits die hard.
Nuala fears oppression and losing loved ones, leading her to become antagonistic and sometimes even combative of authorities, and hesitant to downright evasive of forming personal connections for long periods of time. She dislikes authority and authority figures, and the thought of conformity disgusts her. She fears failure, especially failing to protect Humans and Pluses from Hollows, and of failing somehow in social situations, leading to her being humiliated, scorned and alone. This drives her to make new and solid friendships, and apprehensive to leave the company of others. She gravitates toward anyone to show her a shred of human kindness.
Though it would take great effort, don’t ever cross her. Once you do, she’ll take every measure possible to get her revenge, and her wrath is a complete one. It will go as far as to make her patient, kind and charitable– all in the name of humiliating and crushing those who have wronged her. Although she can’t live without others in her life, she’s often angry, apprehensive and irritable around other people. She can perceive slights that aren’t there or feel that people are talking about her or laughing at her when they aren’t. She does her best to hide these tendencies, but they gnaw at her with near constancy. She doesn’t have to be creative when getting back at someone, or when overcoming an obstacle. For her, cutting your face open with a fork is just as good as mortifying you in front of all your friends. Making friends with her can be difficult, given her doubts about other people. She is prone to suspecting others of having secret agendas concerning her, despite her best efforts to the contrary.
It would come as no surprise to her if water were the best elemental representation of her soul. She is practically obsessed with fish, especially the ones in her tanks under the shop. In her comfort zone within Nonessentia, where she can stick to the simple schedule she affords herself, Nuala is confident and sometimes even friendly.
Each new "fish" in her collection is just one of up to several similar creatures she keeps in the habitats that occupy most of her basement apartment. Each tank is tailored specifically to the needs of its occupants; daily rapport with her critters and their environments via her fullbring keeps her updated on exactly what those needs are. These activities and maintaining the shop keep her busy for most of the day.
Nuala is volatile, mutable, moody, oblivious, selfish and prone to social fatigue and hibernation. Although she would rather have a civil conversation with someone, preferably over tea, she is equally ready to see violence as the solution to a problem and tends to perceive slights where no affront exists. Dissatisfied and disaffected with what’s in front of her eyes, she is highly critical and belittling of other things and people in a way that could be described as borderline narcissistic. She believes that if greatness exists, the odds she would be the one to witness it are minimal at best. No one is unique, and no one is special.
There are distinct facets to Nuala, depending heavily on whether she has a special friend. She relies on herself only when it is absolutely required of her, deferring to the judgment and agency of her attachment. For that person, she will come out of her shell, be confident, presentable and outgoing. She is unusually loyal to her benefactors and allies, even if they have no particular care or affection for her. If she was ever a naive or idealist person, that innocence and faith were disillusioned from her long ago and with great repetition.
Otherwise, Nuala struggles with openness and honesty about her feelings and feels as though other people either are or should be, too. She has cultivated an appearance that is designed to drive away others, protecting her from any perceivable weakness or possibility of betrayal. She keeps everything at arm's length, often coming off as paranoid with how she keeps her walls up. Her first line of defense against other people is to turn inward, mentally absconding from a situation in favor of her own imagination, and presenting a false, more agreeable front for long enough to escape the physical situation, as well.
When under stress (which can be caused by internal pressures as easily as external ones), Nuala is prone to anxiety and distraction due to tactile, audio and visual hallucinations, short-term delusions and even daydreams, despite the gravity of whatever situation she may find herself in. Due to her unsettled mind, she frequently experiences a "brain fog," passing through several seconds to minutes without truly realizing what she's doing or engaging with her actions. This can lead to her becoming lost, disorganized and irritated, as even repeated attempts to accomplish simple tasks can result in wandering off several times.
Nuala is certainly what you could call a driven person. Though they may require leaps of logic, she has her values, and she sticks by them. She believes in and stands beside her comrades no matter what obstacle or trouble confronts them, even when doing so would make her wrong. She can be ambitious, enthusiastic and persevering. She is brave in the face of adversity and has a sense of purpose that gives her both a magnetic edge and an unshakable determination. Nuala feels secure in her beliefs, but at the same time understands that hers is but one perspective. When at rest, she displays a great appreciation of fish and tea, and of beauty and excellence.
In combat, Nuala's behavior is scientific and opportunist. She applies basic learning to her opponents, seeing them as puzzles that can be solved by the proper application of her abilities. She shies quickly away from pain or injury but will move just as quickly to exploit opportunities and press her advantage. Even with the help of her friends and allies, Nuala often forgets that she can fight offensively. This can lead to her prolonging conflicts for longer than they need to go and has led to her defeat in the past. Though she works hard to overcome this tendency, old habits die hard.
Nuala fears oppression and losing loved ones, leading her to become antagonistic and sometimes even combative of authorities, and hesitant to downright evasive of forming personal connections for long periods of time. She dislikes authority and authority figures, and the thought of conformity disgusts her. She fears failure, especially failing to protect Humans and Pluses from Hollows, and of failing somehow in social situations, leading to her being humiliated, scorned and alone. This drives her to make new and solid friendships, and apprehensive to leave the company of others. She gravitates toward anyone to show her a shred of human kindness.
Though it would take great effort, don’t ever cross her. Once you do, she’ll take every measure possible to get her revenge, and her wrath is a complete one. It will go as far as to make her patient, kind and charitable– all in the name of humiliating and crushing those who have wronged her. Although she can’t live without others in her life, she’s often angry, apprehensive and irritable around other people. She can perceive slights that aren’t there or feel that people are talking about her or laughing at her when they aren’t. She does her best to hide these tendencies, but they gnaw at her with near constancy. She doesn’t have to be creative when getting back at someone, or when overcoming an obstacle. For her, cutting your face open with a fork is just as good as mortifying you in front of all your friends. Making friends with her can be difficult, given her doubts about other people. She is prone to suspecting others of having secret agendas concerning her, despite her best efforts to the contrary.
It would come as no surprise to her if water were the best elemental representation of her soul. She is practically obsessed with fish, especially the ones in her tanks under the shop. In her comfort zone within Nonessentia, where she can stick to the simple schedule she affords herself, Nuala is confident and sometimes even friendly.
Each new "fish" in her collection is just one of up to several similar creatures she keeps in the habitats that occupy most of her basement apartment. Each tank is tailored specifically to the needs of its occupants; daily rapport with her critters and their environments via her fullbring keeps her updated on exactly what those needs are. These activities and maintaining the shop keep her busy for most of the day.
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-Powers-
{Fighting Style}To say that she fits cleanly into a single category is a blatant lie. She's not a freak, a lunatic, a prodigy or a strategist, but she certainly has qualities that would fit in with any of those kinds of people. She does not prefer to fight directly, allowing her dragons and fish to overwhelm opponents with numbers and force. To Nuala, unless someone trips her win condition, most fights are a form of experimentation and practice in the arts of pace and timing.
As her stamina flags heavily when compared to other combatants, she must practice efficiency and elegance, acquiring maximum advantage for minimum effort, while finishing fights in as little time as possible.
Fragile. Nuala's physical body leaves some room to be desired. She's not inhumanly durable, strong or enduring. As a result, her fighting style tends to put her in harm's way as little as possible, which can come at the cost of her efficiency. She will usually choose defensible positions first, prioritize defending before attacking, and keep restorative options nearby, just in case.
Multitasking. Nuala is well-accustomed to being inundated with sensory information and sorting through the white noise to find the critical elements of a conundrum or task. She doesn't just have "focus." She never gets a break. Every waking moment of every day, and perhaps even in those precious few hours of sleep, Nuala is thinking about two other things in addition to what's in front of her. It's necessary, or she won't be able to keep up with it all. Most of the time, these two extra things are her thinking about her fish and keeping her crazy from affecting her life, but when the adrenaline kicks on and it's time to fight for her life, Nuala can shift this paradigm, assessing and addressing multiple distinct tasks and facets of her situation simultaneously. Sure, the longer this goes on, the more of her eccentricity shines through, but a little lost face is a small price to pay for continuing to live.
Memory, Analysis, Learning and War Strategy. Do not work together with others against Nuala. Capable of recognizing strategies almost intuitively, these skills touch on Nuala’s secondary function for the Quincy—front line strategist. From the moment she sees a pattern emerge, she's already started working on potential solutions and a counter-strategy or has them already. With a mind like a trained Olympian even on bad days, her use of these skills is ahead of the curve. She has a wide repertoire of knowledge on spiritual matters, items, and techniques, and can analyze and experiment with new data dynamically. Her application of these skill in the moment could use some work, but given a little time to apply her skills and resources, Nuala can be a fearsome force.
Eclipse of Conscience. Moon hugs are the best hugs. These are not weapons. They shouldn't be used like them, either. Each moon in Nuala's Eclipse of Conscience is a floating shield, which processes and contains soul dew. Typically, Nuala will ensure that each moon contains no less than 1 gallon of soul dew, since moons retaining at least that much can be moved by her control over the flow of the soul dew inside them. The base property of her soul dew and her multitasking skills allow her to bear each moon individually; those she is not actively controlling are spatially anchored to positions in orbit around her, six feet away from her body in all directions, though physical barriers can cause them to slide closer to her. These moons can be whipped around at Speeds up to equal to her Reiatsu Strength and resist impacts as if they had a Strength equal to her Spiritual Pressure, and though they cannot impact with bodies hard enough to cause more than slight bruising, their real purpose is to intercept attacks and projectiles.
Each moon can contain up to 1200 Reiatsu, which it can transfer to allies it touches to restore their vitality. The more moons a character is touching, the more efficient this property is. When Reiatsu is transferred to a benefactor, their stamina is also restored by a like amount, as a side effect of this process.
Soul Dew. The stuff processed from Eclipse of Conscience; Nuala is hesitant to let any of it out of her moons unless there are already Hollows everywhere. The heady scent it produces attracts nearby Hollows. Nonetheless, once she does let it out, even a few ounces of soul dew can make an effective weapon. She can transform the dew's state of matter, which mostly approximates the physics of water. It expands into hexagonal blades as it freezes, liquefies at just over 0° C, and vaporizes with an expansion factor of 1400 (unlike water's 1600). She can move soul dew within about 10 feet of places she can see, with Speeds up to equal to her Reiatsu Strength. When soul dew saturates a target, they are subject to almost the same control as the soul dew.
Close quarters combat. Emergency. Unless she has an ally to support who can nullify this situation, once an enemy has decided this is their best route of attack, Nuala is probably about to lose the fight. Easier to manage if Nuala has an ally nearby. With an ally to support, Nuala will take offensive options even at this range, pushing any advantage she can muster to create an opening.
Close range. Not Nuala's strong suit. When pressed into close range, her first instinct is to break away from the engagement and then re-enter from a new angle. When this isn't an option, she uses evasive tactics and disguises her intentions until she can reveal a powerful attack. Typically, being at this range causes Nuala to rely on her allies to keep her covered while she performs essentially the same way she does at longer ranges. Without allies to rely on at this range,
Long range. Vastly preferable to short range. It’s from here that she prefers to soak her opponents in soul dew and beat them against walls until their masks break or the equivalent thereof. Or to cast numerous dragons of destructive force. From the safety of this distance, she can analyze events as they occur in their entirety, giving her extra time to rest between uses of her limited stamina or the perspective she needs to apply her abilities with precision.
Pain Tolerance and Redirection. A technique that started development with the Quincy: when training with Priska, their primary tactic involved her surrogate sister firing her most powerful arrow at Nuala. This technique has been further honed by the cero happy Adjuchas and Arrancar she fought, hunted or trained with, especially after she lost the bulk of her “power.” Historically, this has been Nuala’s go-to condition for winning fights. Accustomed to the sting of using this technique, Nuala can usually stomach using it once before it gives her pause to consider its worth.
Avoidance, de-escalation and discretion. Nuala might be willing to see violence as a solution to a problem, but she’s not about to use it to add a problem to a situation. Knowing the difference has saved her life in the past and may continue to do so in the future. Knowing that she lacks the breadth of strengths, skills, and stop-gaps necessary to compete in a real fight, Nuala will practice avoidance whenever possible, attempt to de-escalate when pressed with more force than she can compete with, and flee when the situation evolves beyond her means.
As her stamina flags heavily when compared to other combatants, she must practice efficiency and elegance, acquiring maximum advantage for minimum effort, while finishing fights in as little time as possible.
Fragile. Nuala's physical body leaves some room to be desired. She's not inhumanly durable, strong or enduring. As a result, her fighting style tends to put her in harm's way as little as possible, which can come at the cost of her efficiency. She will usually choose defensible positions first, prioritize defending before attacking, and keep restorative options nearby, just in case.
Multitasking. Nuala is well-accustomed to being inundated with sensory information and sorting through the white noise to find the critical elements of a conundrum or task. She doesn't just have "focus." She never gets a break. Every waking moment of every day, and perhaps even in those precious few hours of sleep, Nuala is thinking about two other things in addition to what's in front of her. It's necessary, or she won't be able to keep up with it all. Most of the time, these two extra things are her thinking about her fish and keeping her crazy from affecting her life, but when the adrenaline kicks on and it's time to fight for her life, Nuala can shift this paradigm, assessing and addressing multiple distinct tasks and facets of her situation simultaneously. Sure, the longer this goes on, the more of her eccentricity shines through, but a little lost face is a small price to pay for continuing to live.
Memory, Analysis, Learning and War Strategy. Do not work together with others against Nuala. Capable of recognizing strategies almost intuitively, these skills touch on Nuala’s secondary function for the Quincy—front line strategist. From the moment she sees a pattern emerge, she's already started working on potential solutions and a counter-strategy or has them already. With a mind like a trained Olympian even on bad days, her use of these skills is ahead of the curve. She has a wide repertoire of knowledge on spiritual matters, items, and techniques, and can analyze and experiment with new data dynamically. Her application of these skill in the moment could use some work, but given a little time to apply her skills and resources, Nuala can be a fearsome force.
Eclipse of Conscience. Moon hugs are the best hugs. These are not weapons. They shouldn't be used like them, either. Each moon in Nuala's Eclipse of Conscience is a floating shield, which processes and contains soul dew. Typically, Nuala will ensure that each moon contains no less than 1 gallon of soul dew, since moons retaining at least that much can be moved by her control over the flow of the soul dew inside them. The base property of her soul dew and her multitasking skills allow her to bear each moon individually; those she is not actively controlling are spatially anchored to positions in orbit around her, six feet away from her body in all directions, though physical barriers can cause them to slide closer to her. These moons can be whipped around at Speeds up to equal to her Reiatsu Strength and resist impacts as if they had a Strength equal to her Spiritual Pressure, and though they cannot impact with bodies hard enough to cause more than slight bruising, their real purpose is to intercept attacks and projectiles.
Each moon can contain up to 1200 Reiatsu, which it can transfer to allies it touches to restore their vitality. The more moons a character is touching, the more efficient this property is. When Reiatsu is transferred to a benefactor, their stamina is also restored by a like amount, as a side effect of this process.
Soul Dew. The stuff processed from Eclipse of Conscience; Nuala is hesitant to let any of it out of her moons unless there are already Hollows everywhere. The heady scent it produces attracts nearby Hollows. Nonetheless, once she does let it out, even a few ounces of soul dew can make an effective weapon. She can transform the dew's state of matter, which mostly approximates the physics of water. It expands into hexagonal blades as it freezes, liquefies at just over 0° C, and vaporizes with an expansion factor of 1400 (unlike water's 1600). She can move soul dew within about 10 feet of places she can see, with Speeds up to equal to her Reiatsu Strength. When soul dew saturates a target, they are subject to almost the same control as the soul dew.
Close quarters combat. Emergency. Unless she has an ally to support who can nullify this situation, once an enemy has decided this is their best route of attack, Nuala is probably about to lose the fight. Easier to manage if Nuala has an ally nearby. With an ally to support, Nuala will take offensive options even at this range, pushing any advantage she can muster to create an opening.
Close range. Not Nuala's strong suit. When pressed into close range, her first instinct is to break away from the engagement and then re-enter from a new angle. When this isn't an option, she uses evasive tactics and disguises her intentions until she can reveal a powerful attack. Typically, being at this range causes Nuala to rely on her allies to keep her covered while she performs essentially the same way she does at longer ranges. Without allies to rely on at this range,
Long range. Vastly preferable to short range. It’s from here that she prefers to soak her opponents in soul dew and beat them against walls until their masks break or the equivalent thereof. Or to cast numerous dragons of destructive force. From the safety of this distance, she can analyze events as they occur in their entirety, giving her extra time to rest between uses of her limited stamina or the perspective she needs to apply her abilities with precision.
Pain Tolerance and Redirection. A technique that started development with the Quincy: when training with Priska, their primary tactic involved her surrogate sister firing her most powerful arrow at Nuala. This technique has been further honed by the cero happy Adjuchas and Arrancar she fought, hunted or trained with, especially after she lost the bulk of her “power.” Historically, this has been Nuala’s go-to condition for winning fights. Accustomed to the sting of using this technique, Nuala can usually stomach using it once before it gives her pause to consider its worth.
Avoidance, de-escalation and discretion. Nuala might be willing to see violence as a solution to a problem, but she’s not about to use it to add a problem to a situation. Knowing the difference has saved her life in the past and may continue to do so in the future. Knowing that she lacks the breadth of strengths, skills, and stop-gaps necessary to compete in a real fight, Nuala will practice avoidance whenever possible, attempt to de-escalate when pressed with more force than she can compete with, and flee when the situation evolves beyond her means.
Main Fullbring Name: Eclipse of Conscience
{Main Fullbring Appearances}Sealed
Eight pronged, heavily reinforced and designed to be worn around the upper arm, this bangle was designed for long-term use for a girl who excelled in most of the Quincy arts, academic and physical pursuits, but could never naturally form her own bow. A large crack runs across the band, long-since repaired structurally, but the bangle will never operate for a Quincy again. When activated by Nuala's fullbring, the silver cross breaks apart into its eight separate arms, then dissipates into a light green liquid, and then into nothing at all.
Release Stage 1
Each two feet across, eight floating silver moons emerge from the space around Nuala and begin to orbit her slowly, at a fixed distance of six feet around her. Each moon is illuminated by some distant, invisible and impossible green sun, its light laying lambent on their lunar surfaces, casting each of them into one of the eight phases when viewed from inside their orbit. Each silver moon is engraved with a winding line reminiscent of a stylized eyelid, which divides the face of that moon into two halves. It is along the boundary of these halves that these moons open along a deep fissure and weep a viscous green liquid, called soul dew. A moon can release this soul dew in any volume from a trickle, opening only the barest amount along its seam, to a deluge, cracking the moon open wide and emptying it in mere seconds.
Release Stage 2
The reflection of an eye-like blazing green sun can be seen on the surfaces of the moons, apparent in the lit portion of that moon’s face. Alien but elegant writing covers the moons whenever they interact with spiritual manifestations. Otherwise, Eclipse of Conscience looks the same at this level of release as it does at the previous.
Eight pronged, heavily reinforced and designed to be worn around the upper arm, this bangle was designed for long-term use for a girl who excelled in most of the Quincy arts, academic and physical pursuits, but could never naturally form her own bow. A large crack runs across the band, long-since repaired structurally, but the bangle will never operate for a Quincy again. When activated by Nuala's fullbring, the silver cross breaks apart into its eight separate arms, then dissipates into a light green liquid, and then into nothing at all.
Release Stage 1
Each two feet across, eight floating silver moons emerge from the space around Nuala and begin to orbit her slowly, at a fixed distance of six feet around her. Each moon is illuminated by some distant, invisible and impossible green sun, its light laying lambent on their lunar surfaces, casting each of them into one of the eight phases when viewed from inside their orbit. Each silver moon is engraved with a winding line reminiscent of a stylized eyelid, which divides the face of that moon into two halves. It is along the boundary of these halves that these moons open along a deep fissure and weep a viscous green liquid, called soul dew. A moon can release this soul dew in any volume from a trickle, opening only the barest amount along its seam, to a deluge, cracking the moon open wide and emptying it in mere seconds.
Release Stage 2
The reflection of an eye-like blazing green sun can be seen on the surfaces of the moons, apparent in the lit portion of that moon’s face. Alien but elegant writing covers the moons whenever they interact with spiritual manifestations. Otherwise, Eclipse of Conscience looks the same at this level of release as it does at the previous.
{Main Fullbring Level 1 Property}When manifested, each moon processes 250 of Nuala's Reiatsu into 5 gallons of soul dew; each gallon of the substance is effectively 50 Reiatsu in corporeal form. A concentration of spirit, soul dew is charged and laden with all powers and possibilities of wise women and fools. Practically nascent matter, this heavy, viscous emerald green miracle material is brimming with energy. Soul dew smells both delicious and surreal to most Hollows and creatures like them. To Hollows and other creatures that feed on souls, the substance is highly nutritive and produces a slight euphoriant high. Despite the constant hunger of Hollows, it tends to take only a few gallons of soul dew to sate most of them for a day.
Depending on its state of matter, soul dew has various properties. As a solid, it forms blades of hexagonal, translucent green crystal. It is as hard as corundum and very brittle, all but exploding into powder with tiny fragments and shrapnel along stress lines when broken or shorn. When completely solidified, soul dew resists physical shear from Strengths of up to one-half Nuala’s Spiritual Pressure. As a liquid, its consistency is typically likened to warm honey. When soul dew vaporizes, it expands by a factor of 1400, and as a vapor, it is slightly heavier than air, tending to cling to the ground in dense, fog-like billows, clouds of which can restrict vision to about 25 feet (8 meters) or less.
Regardless of its physical state, soul dew is nontoxic and nearly inflammable. Its intrinsic dielectric strength is 320 (far more resistant than rubber, mica, or Teflon, but not nearly as resistant as diamond). Due to this, until kV/mm exceeds 320,000, soul dew makes an excellent insulator against electrical flow (however, when sufficiently stressed by high voltage, its resistance drops to nearly zero, and a Coulomb explosion with an Offensive Strength equal to half Nuala’s Reiatsu Strength tends to occur). It is incapable of drowning or suffocating a victim; it can be inhaled as a substitute for or supplement to normal air.
Nuala can control the flow of her soul dew: its acceleration, direction, pressure, state of matter and viscosity. She can control soul dew she can see, and soul dew within about 10 feet (3 meters) of that. She can transform the dew from a liquid into either a solid or vapor, from a solid to a liquid or vapor, and from a vapor to a liquid or solid. She can cause it to move in any direction, including against gravity, at a Speed dependent on its distance from her. Soul dew within about 15 feet (5 meters) of her moves at up to 700; soul dew within about 80 feet (25 meters) of her moves at up to 500 and; soul dew beyond that range moves at up to 300. Depending on its viscosity, the liquid or vapor form of the soul dew may saturate and practically bond with other forms of matter, especially furs and textiles.
Once it has soaked in, the dew-logged target is subject to nearly the same flow control as the soul dew. A victim can resist this control if their Offensive Stat is greater than Nuala’s Reiatsu Strength and negate it with an Offensive Stat that is twice her Reiatsu Strength or more. Those with less Offensive Stat than Nuala’s Reiatsu Strength can be moved within or by the soul dew as if they were a part of it. A victim who is resisting the flow control can instead be slowed by up to half their Speed, depending on how well Nuala can focus on controlling them.
If they retain at least one gallon of soul dew, Nuala may control the movements of the moons surrounding her, directing them to locations within up to 10 feet of places she can see. While Nuala cannot see a moon, her dexterity with it drops sharply, limiting her to a vague feeling of where each is located and to controlling no more than three at a time. When thusly controlled, a moon moves at a Speed of up to her Reiatsu Strength, but impacts with bodies relatively softly, never producing more than minor bruising even from a full-on assault.
At this class, most soul-feeding creatures to smell soul dew will be subtly attracted to its source. Those who taste it will typically gorge themselves on it, unable to stop themselves from consuming more without a show of Strength of Will (2 points, or one post per point unpossessed per thread of internal dialogue concerning the substance). Those with Reiatsu Strength greater than twice Nuala's still smell the soul dew, but are immune to its wiles. The heady scent of soul dew can attract soul-feeding creatures from up to 300 feet away.
Depending on its state of matter, soul dew has various properties. As a solid, it forms blades of hexagonal, translucent green crystal. It is as hard as corundum and very brittle, all but exploding into powder with tiny fragments and shrapnel along stress lines when broken or shorn. When completely solidified, soul dew resists physical shear from Strengths of up to one-half Nuala’s Spiritual Pressure. As a liquid, its consistency is typically likened to warm honey. When soul dew vaporizes, it expands by a factor of 1400, and as a vapor, it is slightly heavier than air, tending to cling to the ground in dense, fog-like billows, clouds of which can restrict vision to about 25 feet (8 meters) or less.
Regardless of its physical state, soul dew is nontoxic and nearly inflammable. Its intrinsic dielectric strength is 320 (far more resistant than rubber, mica, or Teflon, but not nearly as resistant as diamond). Due to this, until kV/mm exceeds 320,000, soul dew makes an excellent insulator against electrical flow (however, when sufficiently stressed by high voltage, its resistance drops to nearly zero, and a Coulomb explosion with an Offensive Strength equal to half Nuala’s Reiatsu Strength tends to occur). It is incapable of drowning or suffocating a victim; it can be inhaled as a substitute for or supplement to normal air.
Nuala can control the flow of her soul dew: its acceleration, direction, pressure, state of matter and viscosity. She can control soul dew she can see, and soul dew within about 10 feet (3 meters) of that. She can transform the dew from a liquid into either a solid or vapor, from a solid to a liquid or vapor, and from a vapor to a liquid or solid. She can cause it to move in any direction, including against gravity, at a Speed dependent on its distance from her. Soul dew within about 15 feet (5 meters) of her moves at up to 700; soul dew within about 80 feet (25 meters) of her moves at up to 500 and; soul dew beyond that range moves at up to 300. Depending on its viscosity, the liquid or vapor form of the soul dew may saturate and practically bond with other forms of matter, especially furs and textiles.
Once it has soaked in, the dew-logged target is subject to nearly the same flow control as the soul dew. A victim can resist this control if their Offensive Stat is greater than Nuala’s Reiatsu Strength and negate it with an Offensive Stat that is twice her Reiatsu Strength or more. Those with less Offensive Stat than Nuala’s Reiatsu Strength can be moved within or by the soul dew as if they were a part of it. A victim who is resisting the flow control can instead be slowed by up to half their Speed, depending on how well Nuala can focus on controlling them.
If they retain at least one gallon of soul dew, Nuala may control the movements of the moons surrounding her, directing them to locations within up to 10 feet of places she can see. While Nuala cannot see a moon, her dexterity with it drops sharply, limiting her to a vague feeling of where each is located and to controlling no more than three at a time. When thusly controlled, a moon moves at a Speed of up to her Reiatsu Strength, but impacts with bodies relatively softly, never producing more than minor bruising even from a full-on assault.
At this class, most soul-feeding creatures to smell soul dew will be subtly attracted to its source. Those who taste it will typically gorge themselves on it, unable to stop themselves from consuming more without a show of Strength of Will (2 points, or one post per point unpossessed per thread of internal dialogue concerning the substance). Those with Reiatsu Strength greater than twice Nuala's still smell the soul dew, but are immune to its wiles. The heady scent of soul dew can attract soul-feeding creatures from up to 300 feet away.
{Main Fullbring Level 2 Properties}Whenever one of these moons touches a spiritual attack or technique, it draws in an amount of Reiatsu from it equal to one-eighth of Nuala's Reiatsu Strength, per post. If one or more moons drain all the Reiatsu from an attack or technique, they absorb it completely. When a moon absorbs any amount of Reiatsu, that moon processes additional soul dew. Every 50 Reiatsu absorbed processes into one new gallon of soul dew.
Each gallon of soul dew generates 5 Reiatsu per post, which is stored within the silver moons. Any character Nuala recognizes as an ally can access any or all the Reiatsu they store through physical contact with one of the moons. When converting stored Reiatsu to Reiatsu directly, the rate of efficiency is 30%, +10% for each additional moon a character is touching. When converting stored Reiatsu, a moon also restores its benefactor's stamina. For each intact moon, Eclipse of Conscience can store up to 1200 Reiatsu. Reiatsu stored by a moon can be processed into new soul dew at the standard rate of 50 Reiatsu to 1 gallon.
By moving one or more of her moons near a target and opening them, Nuala can issue forth a stream of soul dew from those moons and infuse it into the target in an emerald torrent. A moon can infuse up to half its contents or three gallons of soul dew into a target per post, whichever is more. For each gallon of soul dew infused to a target, the impact Reiatsu Strength of techniques striking them increases by 5%. More importantly, a target infused with soul dew smells compellingly delicious to Hollows, requiring those Hollows to have 1 point in Strength of Will to resist eating an infused target for every 10 gallons of soul dew infused to them. Up to 3 points of Strength of Will can each be replaced with one post of internal dialogue and contemplation concerning the ambrosia-like substance. A character with Reiatsu Strength greater than Nuala's is treated as having 2 additional points of Strength of Will for this purpose, and one with Reiatsu Strength more than twice hers is immune to the compulsion. For every gallon of soul dew infused to a target, the “smell” emanating from them diffuses into a 5-foot radius.
Each gallon of soul dew generates 5 Reiatsu per post, which is stored within the silver moons. Any character Nuala recognizes as an ally can access any or all the Reiatsu they store through physical contact with one of the moons. When converting stored Reiatsu to Reiatsu directly, the rate of efficiency is 30%, +10% for each additional moon a character is touching. When converting stored Reiatsu, a moon also restores its benefactor's stamina. For each intact moon, Eclipse of Conscience can store up to 1200 Reiatsu. Reiatsu stored by a moon can be processed into new soul dew at the standard rate of 50 Reiatsu to 1 gallon.
By moving one or more of her moons near a target and opening them, Nuala can issue forth a stream of soul dew from those moons and infuse it into the target in an emerald torrent. A moon can infuse up to half its contents or three gallons of soul dew into a target per post, whichever is more. For each gallon of soul dew infused to a target, the impact Reiatsu Strength of techniques striking them increases by 5%. More importantly, a target infused with soul dew smells compellingly delicious to Hollows, requiring those Hollows to have 1 point in Strength of Will to resist eating an infused target for every 10 gallons of soul dew infused to them. Up to 3 points of Strength of Will can each be replaced with one post of internal dialogue and contemplation concerning the ambrosia-like substance. A character with Reiatsu Strength greater than Nuala's is treated as having 2 additional points of Strength of Will for this purpose, and one with Reiatsu Strength more than twice hers is immune to the compulsion. For every gallon of soul dew infused to a target, the “smell” emanating from them diffuses into a 5-foot radius.
Secondary Fullbring Name: Pale Lucidity
{Secondary Fullbring Appearances}Sealed
A necklace made of red silk and one hundred and eight sandalwood prayer beads; this object is significantly tougher than it looks. Usually worn around Nuala's neck or forearm, its polished surfaces have seen better years, their perfect spheres slightly misshapen by Nuala's constant affection.
Unsealed
When transformed by Nuala's attachment to the Hive and its inhabitants, this necklace twists and grows tendrils in every direction, enveloped in pale green light as it takes on wriggling shapes. When the light fades away, it reveals a white, blue and black mask of draconic design and an attached cowl and mantle of one hundred and eight long deep black and stark white tentacles. When the fullbring moves, either in part or its totality, it undulates and swims, like some hybrid of liquid and snakes. Pale Lucidity can bond with a character by settling its mask over their face and wrapping its tentacles around their body as skin-tight armor.
A necklace made of red silk and one hundred and eight sandalwood prayer beads; this object is significantly tougher than it looks. Usually worn around Nuala's neck or forearm, its polished surfaces have seen better years, their perfect spheres slightly misshapen by Nuala's constant affection.
Unsealed
When transformed by Nuala's attachment to the Hive and its inhabitants, this necklace twists and grows tendrils in every direction, enveloped in pale green light as it takes on wriggling shapes. When the light fades away, it reveals a white, blue and black mask of draconic design and an attached cowl and mantle of one hundred and eight long deep black and stark white tentacles. When the fullbring moves, either in part or its totality, it undulates and swims, like some hybrid of liquid and snakes. Pale Lucidity can bond with a character by settling its mask over their face and wrapping its tentacles around their body as skin-tight armor.
{Secondary Fullbring Properties}While unattached to a host, Pale Lucidity is a construct that has Strength 400 and Speed 500 and can be controlled by Nuala’s mental directions from up to 50 feet away. Since the fullbring’s focus is usually being worn by Nuala when it is transformed, she is often the most ideal and immediate host for the mantle. The white and black patterns of Pale’s Lucidity’s tentacles change with time, sometimes the pattern incorporates all or some of its tentacles, and sometimes the patterns are as individual as the tentacles themselves.
When Pale Lucidity first bonds with an ally, it awakens a blazing, vertically oriented third eye on its host’s forehead, with colors matching or surrounding the color of their reiatsu. This eye can focus, use its own technique-like powers and control the mantle independently of its host, allowing the two to split their attention between multiple simultaneous opponents or obstacles. When this eye awakens, the host gains access to a pool of 300 Reiatsu, plus 100 more for each moon Nuala still has intact, which can be used only for non-release techniques and the eye's powers. Whenever this Reiatsu pool is drawn on for a technique, that technique’s manifestation (if it has one) originates from the eye. The technique-like effects that can be rendered by the eye are as follows:
When the many tentacles of Pale Lucidity take hold of and augment the host’s body, the mantle forms an additional four combat-capable arms by twisting some of its tentacles together both above and below the host’s shoulders. These arms can be controlled as easily as the host’s own, they end in prehensile, hand-like splays of tentacles, and control over them can be passed between the host and the mask’s eye freely. The eye is adept at using the arms both in concert with and independently of the host, wielding these arms as if they had 2 points in Mixed Martial Arts. While an ally is host to the mantle, the tell-tale effects of their step techniques change to match the signature “noise” of sonido.
When Pale Lucidity first bonds with an ally, it awakens a blazing, vertically oriented third eye on its host’s forehead, with colors matching or surrounding the color of their reiatsu. This eye can focus, use its own technique-like powers and control the mantle independently of its host, allowing the two to split their attention between multiple simultaneous opponents or obstacles. When this eye awakens, the host gains access to a pool of 300 Reiatsu, plus 100 more for each moon Nuala still has intact, which can be used only for non-release techniques and the eye's powers. Whenever this Reiatsu pool is drawn on for a technique, that technique’s manifestation (if it has one) originates from the eye. The technique-like effects that can be rendered by the eye are as follows:
{Ojo Cero}
Compressing and converting reiatsu and soul dew into dense energy, the mantle's eye charges a blast of reiatsu that strongly resembles a deep emerald green cero, accompanied by the tell-tale high whine and the deep growl of a true cero. By manipulating the exact make-up of this blast, the eye can control whether it is a heavy attack or a fast one; it moves at up to four times the speed of a cero at the host's Reiatsu Strength, and its speed may descend to as slow as a normal cero with twice the host's Reiatsu Strength. Unlike many cero, Ojo Cero has no explosive potential-- it functions as a precision burning, cutting beam or ball with an impressive range. Ojo Cero costs the eye 400 reiatsu and 8 gallons of soul dew to create.
Compressing and converting reiatsu and soul dew into dense energy, the mantle's eye charges a blast of reiatsu that strongly resembles a deep emerald green cero, accompanied by the tell-tale high whine and the deep growl of a true cero. By manipulating the exact make-up of this blast, the eye can control whether it is a heavy attack or a fast one; it moves at up to four times the speed of a cero at the host's Reiatsu Strength, and its speed may descend to as slow as a normal cero with twice the host's Reiatsu Strength. Unlike many cero, Ojo Cero has no explosive potential-- it functions as a precision burning, cutting beam or ball with an impressive range. Ojo Cero costs the eye 400 reiatsu and 8 gallons of soul dew to create.
{Ojo Espiritual}
Rather than physical objects, the mantle's eye may track spiritual objects and forces with terrific, nearly precognitive precision. Limited to a range of 1000 feet or less and lasting for five posts, Ojo Espiritual follows the flow of reiatsu within its area, allowing the mantle and its wearer to predict the way people and objects with any spiritual presence will move, even through solid objects. Ojo Espiritual costs the eye 300 reiatsu and 6 gallons of soul dew to initiate.
Rather than physical objects, the mantle's eye may track spiritual objects and forces with terrific, nearly precognitive precision. Limited to a range of 1000 feet or less and lasting for five posts, Ojo Espiritual follows the flow of reiatsu within its area, allowing the mantle and its wearer to predict the way people and objects with any spiritual presence will move, even through solid objects. Ojo Espiritual costs the eye 300 reiatsu and 6 gallons of soul dew to initiate.
When the many tentacles of Pale Lucidity take hold of and augment the host’s body, the mantle forms an additional four combat-capable arms by twisting some of its tentacles together both above and below the host’s shoulders. These arms can be controlled as easily as the host’s own, they end in prehensile, hand-like splays of tentacles, and control over them can be passed between the host and the mask’s eye freely. The eye is adept at using the arms both in concert with and independently of the host, wielding these arms as if they had 2 points in Mixed Martial Arts. While an ally is host to the mantle, the tell-tale effects of their step techniques change to match the signature “noise” of sonido.
{Known Techniques}* = Learned
** = Proficient
*** = Mastered
0. Movement***
00. Bringer Light***
1. Output*
2. Energy Generate*
3. Willpower***
4. Soul Dominance***
5. Concussive Blast*
6. Redirection [Class 1]***
7. Dragon**
8. Hydra***
9. Stand*
10. Waxing Flood-Tide*
11. Engine Core: Tomoe-4***
12. Gear Shift: Flappy-Paddle**
13. Pouring It On**
14. Muladhara Drive***
15. Svadisthana Drive***
16. Manipura Drive***
17. Anahata Drive**
Technique Name: Movement
Class: 4
Technique Type: Other
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
This is a movement technique. It's to keep up with things like Shunpo or Sonido. While all races using this have their own variant of a step technique already, this one is pretty much an in-general type of move. It attunes the physical body to the reiatsu in the air, rather than spiritual to spiritual. It is now physical to spiritual. This allows the user to step at 3x speed for the cost of only 25 Reiatsu. This technique does not take up a technique slot.
How to use technique: Focus the body’s energy and release during a step. This technique can be broken off in the middle of its use. Unlike other step techniques, this one can be repeated while in the middle of the previous one, allowing someone to change their movement course in mid movement.
Drawback: None
Technique Name: Bringer Light
Class: 4
Technique Type: Human Technique
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
This is the stepping technique for humans. It increases their speed for a single step by 10 times for 50 Reiatsu. It leaves a column of flickering light in the place where the user previously occupied. Unlike other steps, this one can be used to build speed. If used in succession, the speed and cost go up with each additional step. The second step is a 13x increase, and costs 100 Reiatsu. The third step is a 15x increase, and costs 200 Reiatsu. From there, the cost doubles with each additional step, and the speed increase goes up by 1 time. Meaning the fourth step is 16x and 400 Reiatsu, the fifth is 17x and 800 Reiatsu, etc. Though at first the column of light is visible where the user was, once the third step is reached, the column of light is no longer there. This technique does not take up a technique slot.
How to use technique: To work, this technique manipulates the soul in whatever the user is standing on, allowing for feats such as high jumping, or the step which increases speed.
Drawback: None
Technique Name: Output
Class: 2
Technique Type: Other
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
This technique is one that makes use of the body directly, using the user’s spiritual strength to increase the body’s capabilities in specific ways. Like Willpower, this technique comes in stages as well, but is limited to two:
[Stage 1: Push]: This power coats the user in a sort of "Output Aura." It does two things. First, awareness can extend out by two more inches. This means someone will become more aware of an incoming attack two inches of distance from the attack earlier than normal. It means that one can try to use this to predict enemies, though not as successfully as actual prediction or reading. The secondary point expands "damage." Essentially, it bypasses defenses. A human using this is completely immune to cutback effect regardless of state, and this extends to weapon uses too. Hierro is also completely ignored during use of Push. This defense ignoring is only present during physical attacks. Reiatsu-based strikes can still meet Hierro resistance. This lasts for 5 posts, and costs 100 Reiatsu.
[Stage 2: Impact]: This stage can be used only for physical confrontation. When activated, hit strength quadruples. This means that one can activate it while punching an enemy. If the user has 200 strength, that strength will count as 800 during the instance of the punch. This is very physically draining, and quickly exhausts the body's nutrients. It shortens lifespan to use too often, and it weakens stamina very quickly. This lasts for 1 post, and costs 200 Reiatsu.
Drawback: See specific stages.
Technique Name: Energy Generate
Class: 2
Technique Type: Other
Technique Element: Variable
Technique Description and Effects:
This is probably the hardest technique to use. It involves a physical body having to generate and output Reiatsu directly from the physical form. It costs an insane amount of stamina, and it's also very taxing. This technique is the only one that does not have a "default" version. All races except for mod souls can create extended "Reiatsu output" abilities, as long as they generate Reiatsu, and fire it off in some way. This is the requirement of these abilities. This technique can only be used by those who are Class 2 or above. It is the ultimate direct counter to Kido.
How to use technique: Generate Reiatsu from the physical form, and shape it in some way.
Technique Name: Physical Manifestation: Willpower
Class: 3
Technique Type: Other
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
Willpower is a technique that is available to most who dwell within the human world, and has a variety of effects that make it a versatile and useful technique. This technique is one that manifests the willpower of the physical body. It essentially causes spirit and physical body to "become one" and merge their powers. There are two uses of it. The first is a non battle use, and is the main use. The main use is simply to know the technique, which slows the aging process of the body and allows the possessor to live easily as long as a Shinigami or Arrancar. This is a will-based technique, however, and thus, if will vanishes, so does its power to stop the aging, which quickly catches up. Mod Souls and Bounts have a minor version of this part at all times, which allows them to age slowly at all times; humans and Quincy learn this version at Class 1.
Willpower has three stages that are associated with it, as listed below:
[Stage One: Cog]: By giving up 100 Reiatsu, the user pumps an explosive amount of intimidating power out. Anyone of inferior class will immediately be intimidated. This does not mean they won't fight. Those who are weak enough in comparison will feel a huge, exaggerated surge of power that will probably make them surrender. This can also be used on Hollows to actually scare them away instead of having to kill them. This does NOT work on animals! It only works on "intelligent beings." This means unless it has a similar to human intelligence, this wont' work on an animal.
[Stage Two: Pulley]: This causes physical output to increase based on draining spiritual energy. It costs 400 reiatsu. When activated, it increases physical stats by 50%. However, it causes the skin to begin to blister from pumped out Reiatsu. Essentially, skin begins to burn. It's a quick burn. Within 5 posts, burning will start to become quite serious. On top of that, statistic gain is lost by the post, starting after the second post of this being active. After that time, 10% of the gain is lost every post. It can only be restored by sacrificing 150 Reiatsu per 10%.
[Stage Three: Gate]: This has no initial cost. Reiatsu strength and Spiritual pressure (but NOT Reiatsu amount) both double. From there, reiatsu output goes up, meaning that costs are also doubled for everything. On top of that, 100 reiatsu is lost per post until this is deactivated.
Drawback: See each individual stage. Atop that, when Willpower is learned, it comes with all three stages, but costs double the TTP to learn. Humans, Mod Souls, Quincy, and Bounts only.
Technique Name: [Soul Dominance]
Class: [4]
Technique Type (Kido, Hollow/Arrancar Technique, Human World Dweller Technique, Other): [Human World Dweller Technique]
Usable By (Technique is available to which races?): [Fullbringers Only]
Technique Element: [Varies]
Technique Description and Effects (Explain appearance, powers, and effect): [This technique is an expansion of the basic racial ability of Fullbringers to manipulate Souls. Through extra training, the user of this technique can manipulate souls on a much more grand scale. This technique costs three times the amount of reiatsu as the basic racial ability does, as a result, it can actually achieve combat useful manipulations. This technique can be used to manipulate raw elements up to the size of the user. It still cannot manipulate release weapons, and cannot manipulate the personal effects of an opponent such as clothing if there is not Reiatsu Strength Superiority.
How to use technique (How is it activated?): [Manipulate Souls on a grander scale than before]
Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc)
Reiatsu Cost. Stamina Drain
Made By: Kyomei
Reserved? (Yes/No) (Can others use your technique, or just your character?): [No]
Technique Name: Concussive Blast
Class: 4
Technique Type: General Spiritual Technique
Usable By: Any
Technique Element: Fire
Technique Description and Effects: This ability fires small fiery blasts of energy, moving at speeds of 600, that explode upon impact with anything. This is unique, as you don't have to fire a single shot of energy, but can fire these in groups. The offensive stat of this is reiatsu strength.
How to use technique: There are two ways to fire this ability. The first way to fire this, is to fire a single, large blast, the size of a car. This version will have the full offensive stat of the user. The second version fires many smaller blasts. In order to make more than one fireball, the offensive stat of this attack is split in half, being evenly divided between them. The lowest offensive stat the fireballs can have is 50. You fire them from the palm of your hand.
Technique Drawbacks: 100 reiatsu, weaker when fired in mass.
Incantation and Effect:
Made By: Impossible
Reserved?: No
Technique Name: [Redirection]
Class: [3, 2, 1] - 7-1.
Technique Type: [Other] - Kidou, Quincy Technique, Bount Technique, Human Technique, Hollow Technique, Other
Technique Element: [None] - If any
Technique Description and Effects: This is a vicious technique used by strong reiatsu beings. This allows the user to grab a hold of reiatsu, cycle the energy through their body, consume it (therefore making it theirs), and then hurl it back. In other words, one can redirect the enemy's reiatsu based attack by catching it and throwing it back either by spin or just catch and throw.
How this works has been stated above. Now, the important thing to recognize is that there are three classes to this technique. The class 3 version can catch reiatsu of any class except class 1+, and redirect it for half cost of the technique. The class 2 version can do the very same, except it layers the user's reiatsu strength on top of the enemy's reiatsu strength for the returned attack. It also uses the full cost. The class 1 version can return any technique regardless of reiatsu strength, and does so with the user's reiatsu strength layered on top of the enemy's. However, it does so for double cost, and does not work on class 0 techniques.
How to use technique: Stated above.
Drawback: This will burn the user. It will burn their arms. It will burn their insides a bit. They will cook a little. This will strain their body and reiatsu. It can only be used once per post. It shuts off release if used 3+ times in a released state.
Made by: [Admin]
Reserved?: [No]
Technique Name: [Dragon]
Class: [3]
Technique Type: [Construct]
Usable By: [Human world dweller]
Technique Element: [Various]
Technique Description and Effects: [This ability is not a stand alone technique. This ability takes any other ability and changes it. At class three, this ability takes any technique and turns it into one of two dragons. The first dragon option is the serpentine dragon of the East. The Asian dragon, extremely prominent in mythology and even certain parts of history. This dragon is twenty feet long, and comes with or without wings. The next dragon is the feared dragon of the West, most known for terrorizing the masses, and being slain by the knight. This dragon is twenty feet tall, and has one head.
Each dragon is comprised of whatever technique was used in conjunction with. The dragons are able to think and act independently, slaying anything in their path save for their master. The dragons will follow simple orders that their masters give out, but they will do said orders in their own manner. Each dragon is able to breath flames, carrying the same effects and combat stat as the ability that the dragon is formed from. If the dragon is slain, by any attack equal to or over 3/4 the rs of the original technique, will explode equal to its rs into the sky destroying everything above it in a violent pillar of reiatsu. The dragon's strength is 800, with 600 being the speed for the Western dragon, with the opposite being true for the Eastern dragon.
At proficient, the caster can create two Eastern dragons, each twenty five feet long, or a Western dragon standing thirty feet tall with two heads.
At mastered, the caster is able to create three Eastern dragons, each thirty feet long, or a Western dragon standing forty feet tall with three heads.
Each dragon is the same class as the ability used to make it, and are subject to regular clash rulings.]
How to use technique: [You pay 500 reiatsu on your non-release technique, and the ability takes form. The ability, if used that post, lasts a little longer than it should, right before the beast forms. The dragon lasts 5 posts longer than the technique used to make it would normally last.]
Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc) [Cost]
Made By: [Impossible]
Reserved?: [No]
Technique Name: Hydra
Class: 3
Technique Type: Energy Generate
Usable By: Universal
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects: This technique modifies any other technique that manifests a spiritual energy beam, blast, projectile or wave in motion. When a Hydra-modified manifestation strikes a hard force or object, such as when it is blocked or parried, it produces a small explosion, then a second, identical iteration of the manifestation springs out from the first, and the two manifestations attack the target from opposite sides, minimizing further defensive or evasive options.
A character who is Proficient in the Hydra technique can stack two instances of it onto a single manifestation. A character who is a Master of the technique can stack three. When Hydra is stacked, both versions of a post-split manifestation are capable of producing another iteration, once for each stack. Each stack compressed into a manifestation after the first costs an additional 300 Reiatsu. Regardless of its mastery, a use of this technique cannot produce more than five iterations of the modified technique.
How to use technique: The user compresses one or more additional iterations of the base technique into its core manifestation and commands it to release when the manifestation strikes or rebounds off any hard body but its target.
Technique Drawbacks: If a Hydra-modified manifestation strikes its intended target or is dodged, the additional iteration(s) of the technique do not trigger, and the modified technique gains no benefit as a result.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Summoning Discipline: Stand
Class: 1
Technique Type (Kido, Hollow/Arrancar Technique, Human World Dweller Technique, Other): HWD Technique
Usable By (Technique is available to which races?): Fullbringers, Quincy, Mod Souls
Technique Element: Will
Technique Description and Effects (Explain appearance, powers, and effect):
This technique takes Energy Generate, Output, Movement, and Willpower, and renders them in the most potent way imaginable. It is, even amongst the Martial Disciplines, a terrifying technique, and one that makes all fighters stronger. This technique, when activated, reflects the user’s soul, in the purest form. It creates a form based on this soul, and animates it. It gives the soul the will and physical power to fight. It gives the user an ally, who will Stand beside them at all points in time.
When this technique is learned, the user records how they truly see themselves, what the truest version of them is in their mind’s eye. This is given a human body, and becomes a figure that they can always dimly see out of the corner of their eye, although when the technique is not active, the figure, which will now be referred to as the Stand, is not capable of doing anything, and reacts only to the user's actions, not the outside world’s.
When the user chooses to do so, they may summon this Stand into the world, giving them independent action. The act of creating the Stand is one that utilizes reiatsu, but once the Stand exists, it no longer is reiatsu. Nor is it flesh and blood. It is a construct of pure Will, and can affect the world as such. Ergo, techniques that destroy reiatsu do not destroy the Stand, although suppression techniques can prevent it from existing in the first place. The Stand appears in eyesight of the user, no more than 200 feet away.
This Stand is invisible to the naked eye, as it is a manifestation of Willpower. Anyone with 50 ES can see its outline, and 100 ES can easily detect its features. Even if someone lacks the ES to detect the Stand, it is easy to observe the Stand’s effects on the outside world, as anything that it intends to interact with, anything it demonstrates the Will to push or move, is affected accordingly. So, as the Stand walks with purpose, someone would notice concrete cracking, and footprints appearing. As the Stand clashes its will against another person’s body, the wounds that appear will be visible.
The Stand possesses its own physical stats, although it doesn’t possess spiritual stats, nor does it possess sensory stats or specialty stats. It uses the User’s senses and guidance in order to know where to move and what to interact with. It possesses no reiatsu pool, but ignores cutback, as if constantly utilizing Push. Although it has no Reiatsu Strength, it cannot be affected with status conditions, although barriers and defenses of course can stop it.
The Stand’s physical stats are that of a Brave type, equal in Level to the user of the technique, as if it had 300 in both stats. Once this technique is mastered, that is raised to 400. The user, when they learn the technique, picks whether they want Strength or Speed to receive the higher boost. The Stand does not grow tired, no matter how fast it moves, or how frequently it does so. Its attacks can be blocked, but it itself cannot be damaged. It lasts for 10 posts.
How to use technique (How is it activated?):
When learning the technique, one must find the perfect, idealized mental image of themselves, and choose to devote their soul to either Speed or Strength. They also must know all four basic HWD techniques.
When activating this technique, the user must call out the phrase “Stand Beside Me!” and select a location to conjure their Stand. Then, by utilizing their reiatsu, and concentrating Willpower, they can render the Stand into being.
Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc)
This technique, first of all, can only be used twice in one thread. It costs 650 reiatsu to use, a hefty amount, even by the standards of such a powerful technique. Most of the weaknesses of the technique, however, come in the form of restrictions upon the user. While the Stand cannot grow tired, the user receives half of the stamina taxation that the Stand would’ve received, preventing them from going all out. Additionally, if the Stand would be damaged, the user receives the damage instead, wounds appearing on the corresponding part of their body. This only applies to physical damage. The Stand also relies on the user to see and make decisions, and if the user is impaired, the Stand is much less effective. If the user falls unconscious or dies, the Stand instantly vanishes. At the end of the 10 posts, the User must also pay an additional 150 reiatsu to maintain contact with the Stand, if they wish to use it again later in the thread.
Made By: Rudy
Reserved? (Yes/No) (Can others use your technique, or just your character?): No
Technique Name: Waxing Flood-Tide
Class: 2
Technique Type: Soul Command
Usable By: Fullbringers
Technique Element: Air, Water
Technique Description and Effects: This technique is as insidious as it is simplistic. Inside a region centered on the user, 300 meters in diameter, air is significantly changed for the duration of 5 posts. Air in this region entertains the notion that as force increases, viscosity shifts toward a more solid state. Any body, physical or spiritual, that exerts force on or displaces air as its moves triggers this technique.
Inside the region, air takes on a distinctly "heavier" feel, as if occupants were wearing heavy blankets, but no more. Unless the Speed of a body in the region exceeds 600, this change imposes no penalties or restrictions on the region's occupants. However, when the Speed of a body inside the region does exceed 600, the air around that body thickens significantly. Projectiles lose flight path control as they struggle to push through the air, and characters burn stamina at double the normal rate. When the Speed of a body exceeds 2000, the air around that body begins to solidify. Projectiles are treated as though they hit a barrier of and were tunneling through sand, and characters suffer damage as though they had hit (or passed through) an equal amount of rocky soil as the distance they tried to cover. The further a character's Speed exceeds 2000, the more severe the injuries for moving become.
How to use technique: The user communicates with the air in a region, insinuating exciting new ideas into its identity until its physics begin to resemble shear thickening non-Newtonian fluids.
Technique Drawbacks: The technique does not distinguish between user, friend or foe. All occupants of the area are equally subject to its tyranny. Additionally, if Speeds are kept to 600 or less, the effects of this technique can effectively be ignored. When this technique is first set up, the air draws the extra energy it needs from the fullbringer's own body, tiring them as if they had performed one extra post of strenuous activities. Characters with the Soul Dominance technique may communicate with the air around them to learn about this change before they move.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Engine Core: Tomoe-4
Class: 2
Technique Type: Soul Command
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: Motorcycle
Technique Description and Effects:
When this technique is activated, a coruscating, fire-like glow flares to life from within the user's heart chakra, usually matching the color of the user's reiatsu. Thereafter, if the technique is sustained, the glow diminishes in intensity. When this technique is activated, it sets the user's Reiatsu Gear to Neutral, idling at 900 RPM. When the Reiatsu Gear is altered, this technique keeps track of its most recent adjustment while it is maintained. A Tomoe-4 Engine Core can reach up to Eighth Gear.
Whenever the user performs a spiritual technique, the Engine Core's RPM increase by a factor based on that technique's Class, and after one post without using a spiritual technique, begin reverting back to 900 RPM at a rate of -1000 RPM per post. When the Engine Core's RPM reaches the range of 8000 to 10,000, the Power Band abilities of any technique the user knows activate. The RPM increases per Class are as follows:
Class 8: 0
Class 7: 100
Class 6: 150
Class 5: 300
Class 4: 500
Class 3: 750
Class 2: 900
Class 1: 1200
Class 0: 1800
How to use technique:
By sealing four heavy cores of revolving reiatsu into the spiritual heart of their own body at different and tightly controlled pressures, the user primes the reiatsu within them to benefit from additional rotational energy.
Technique Drawbacks: The reiatsu cores created by this technique require a reserve of 2000 Reiatsu to maintain. If the user's Engine Core RPM exceeds 13,000, this technique causes general injuries to the user, each post, which equate to major 1st-degree tissue damage. During this time, the reiatsu pathways of their body fill with shimmering light, usually of a color matching their reiatsu. The further the Engine Core exceeds its safety limit, the brighter this inner light becomes. If the Engine Core's RPM would reach 0 or exceed 17,000, it and all of the user's currently maintained techniques with an Engine Core or Power Band ability stop. If RPM exceeded 17,000, the Engine Core blows out, inflicting severe bodily trauma on the user. Only one Engine Core technique can be maintained at one time. Due to the internal trauma this technique can cause, it is off-limits to Failures.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Gear Shift: Flappy-Paddle
Class: 4
Technique Type: Soul Command
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
When this technique is activated, it changes the Gear of a maintained Engine Core technique by up to one. In order to shift up one Gear, the user must pay 2000 RPM. When shifting down one Gear, this technique credits the user 1500 RPM.
If the user's Engine Core would stall or redline and this technique was used to shift its Gear last, this technique re-activates automatically, shifting once in the appropriate direction to prevent the core from dying.
How to use technique:
The user focuses inwardly, modifying the differential at which their Engine Core interacts with their Reiatsu system.
Technique Drawbacks: To use this technique, the user must have Mastered an Engine Core technique. Further, if the user shifts up one Gear while having less than 2600 RPM, their engine has a 50% chance to stall. If the user shifts up one Gear while having more than 4200 RPM, the shift is damaging to the user, causing minor stress fractures and bruising across the body.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Pouring It On
Class: 7
Technique Type: General Spiritual Technique
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
The user spends reiatsu to rev up their Engine Core, converting spiritual energy into RPM directly. After the initial cost of the technique, the user may pay any amount of reiatsu in increments of 5. For every 5 reiatsu paid, the user's Engine Core RPM increases by 20.
How to use technique:
The user injects additional reiatsu from their soul into their Engine Core, increasing its revolutions per minute.
Technique Drawbacks: To learn this technique, the user must have Mastered an Engine Core technique. To use this technique, the user must have the Engine Core technique in at least Neutral Gear.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Muladhara Drive
Class: 7
Technique Type: Physical Manifestation
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects: This technique causes a shimmering crimson glow to emanate from within the user's body, originating at the base of their spine. While this technique persists, it shaves the first 200 Offensive Strength off attacks and techniques that strike the user.
Engine Core: For every Gear its user's Engine Core is in past the First, the Muladhara Drive eliminates an additional 200 Offensive Strength from attacks striking them.
Power Band: While the user's Engine Core is in its Power Band, the Muladhara Drive makes its user unusually stable and grounded, able to resist forces that would move them against their will with ease. Attacks and techniques that are at least half-absorbed by the Muladhara Drive during this time also cannot knock back the user.
How to use technique: Engaging their root chakra with the tomoe of their Engine Core, the user manifests a field of security around their body.
Technique Drawbacks: To use this technique, the user must have Mastered an Engine Core technique. Also, their Engine Core must be in at least First Gear. Maintaining multiple Drive techniques at a time requires Multitasking. A character can maintain a number of Drive techniques equal to their Multitasking points + 1. In addition to the initial cost of the technique, the Muladhara Drive costs 200 reiatsu to maintain per post.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Svadisthana Drive
Class: 6
Technique Type: Spiritual Manifestation
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects: This technique causes a shimmering amber glow to emanate from within the user's body, originating at their sacrum. While this technique persists, its user recovers 2.5% of their maximum reiatsu at the end of each post that they are not damaged by an enemy attack.
Engine Core: For every Gear its user's Engine Core is in past the First, the Svadisthana Drive restores an extra 2.5% of its user's maximum reiatsu per post they go undamaged.
Power Band: While the user's Engine Core is in its Power Band, they manifest a second skin of flexible, solid reiatsu that armors them against attacks. At the end of each post, this skin gains 50 Durability for each Gear they're in, which protects them at their Reiatsu Strength.
How to use technique: Engaging their sacral chakra with the tomoe of their Engine Core, the user manifests a fountain of pure creation within and around their body.
Technique Drawbacks: To use this technique, the user must have Mastered an Engine Core technique and the Muladhara Drive technique. Also, their Engine Core must be in at least First Gear. Maintaining multiple Drive techniques at a time requires Multitasking. A character can maintain a number of Drive techniques equal to their Multitasking points + 1. In addition to the initial cost of the technique, the Svadisthana Drive costs 200 reiatsu to maintain per post. Furthermore, using this drive inhibits the Offensive Strength of the user's techniques by 5% per Gear their Engine Core is in.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Manipura Drive
Class: 5
Technique Type: Physical Manifestation
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects: This technique causes a shimmering golden glow to emanate from within the user's body, originating just below the ribcage. While this technique persists, the user may bend the angles of approach of a projectile technique by up to 90° per second.
Engine Core: For each Gear its user's Engine Core is in beyond First, this technique allows its user to bend the angles of approach of a technique by an additional 90° per second.
Power Band: While the user's Engine Core is in its Power Band, they may bend the angle of approach of an additional technique at one time for each Gear their Engine Core is in past the First.
How to use technique: Engaging their solar plexus chakra with the tomoe of their Engine Core, the user manifests an outward power of movement.
Technique Drawbacks: To use this technique, the user must have Mastered an Engine Core technique and the Svadisthana Drive technique. Also, their Engine Core must be in at least First Gear. Maintaining multiple Drive techniques at a time requires Multitasking. A character can maintain a number of Drive techniques equal to their Multitasking + 1. In addition to the initial cost of the technique, the Manipura Drive costs 200 reiatsu to maintain per post.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Anahata Drive
Class: 4
Technique Type: Physical Manifestation
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects: This technique causes a shimmering viridescent glow to emanate from within the user's body, originating from the center of the chest. While this technique persists, the user's injuries recover at an accelerated rate, allowing for the healing of small cuts, nicks, bruises and minor burns within 3 posts of receiving them.
Engine Core: For each Gear its user's Engine Core is in beyond First, the number of posts required to recover from injuries decreases by 1. At Fourth Gear and beyond, the severity of the injuries the technique heals increases in intensity: a Fourth Gear Anahata Drive can heal two inch-deep lacerations, second-degree burns and holes no larger than two inches wide within 2 posts; an Eighth Gear Anahata Drive can heal six-inch deep lacerations, third-degree burns and holes no larger than four inches wide within 1 post.
Power Band: While the user's Engine Core is in its Power Band, the user's stamina does not deplete by post or from using techniques.
How to use technique: Engaging their heart chakra with the tomoe of their Engine Core, the user manifests an inward power of recovery.
Technique Drawbacks: To use this technique, the user must have Mastered an Engine Core technique and the Manipura Drive technique. Also, their Engine Core must be in at least First Gear. Maintaining multiple Drive techniques at a time requires Multitasking. A character can maintain a number of Drive techniques equal to their Multitasking + 1. In addition to the initial cost of the technique, the Anahata Drive costs 200 reiatsu to maintain per post.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
** = Proficient
*** = Mastered
0. Movement***
00. Bringer Light***
1. Output*
2. Energy Generate*
3. Willpower***
4. Soul Dominance***
5. Concussive Blast*
6. Redirection [Class 1]***
7. Dragon**
8. Hydra***
9. Stand*
10. Waxing Flood-Tide*
11. Engine Core: Tomoe-4***
12. Gear Shift: Flappy-Paddle**
13. Pouring It On**
14. Muladhara Drive***
15. Svadisthana Drive***
16. Manipura Drive***
17. Anahata Drive**
Technique Name: Movement
Class: 4
Technique Type: Other
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
This is a movement technique. It's to keep up with things like Shunpo or Sonido. While all races using this have their own variant of a step technique already, this one is pretty much an in-general type of move. It attunes the physical body to the reiatsu in the air, rather than spiritual to spiritual. It is now physical to spiritual. This allows the user to step at 3x speed for the cost of only 25 Reiatsu. This technique does not take up a technique slot.
How to use technique: Focus the body’s energy and release during a step. This technique can be broken off in the middle of its use. Unlike other step techniques, this one can be repeated while in the middle of the previous one, allowing someone to change their movement course in mid movement.
Drawback: None
Technique Name: Bringer Light
Class: 4
Technique Type: Human Technique
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
This is the stepping technique for humans. It increases their speed for a single step by 10 times for 50 Reiatsu. It leaves a column of flickering light in the place where the user previously occupied. Unlike other steps, this one can be used to build speed. If used in succession, the speed and cost go up with each additional step. The second step is a 13x increase, and costs 100 Reiatsu. The third step is a 15x increase, and costs 200 Reiatsu. From there, the cost doubles with each additional step, and the speed increase goes up by 1 time. Meaning the fourth step is 16x and 400 Reiatsu, the fifth is 17x and 800 Reiatsu, etc. Though at first the column of light is visible where the user was, once the third step is reached, the column of light is no longer there. This technique does not take up a technique slot.
How to use technique: To work, this technique manipulates the soul in whatever the user is standing on, allowing for feats such as high jumping, or the step which increases speed.
Drawback: None
Technique Name: Output
Class: 2
Technique Type: Other
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
This technique is one that makes use of the body directly, using the user’s spiritual strength to increase the body’s capabilities in specific ways. Like Willpower, this technique comes in stages as well, but is limited to two:
[Stage 1: Push]: This power coats the user in a sort of "Output Aura." It does two things. First, awareness can extend out by two more inches. This means someone will become more aware of an incoming attack two inches of distance from the attack earlier than normal. It means that one can try to use this to predict enemies, though not as successfully as actual prediction or reading. The secondary point expands "damage." Essentially, it bypasses defenses. A human using this is completely immune to cutback effect regardless of state, and this extends to weapon uses too. Hierro is also completely ignored during use of Push. This defense ignoring is only present during physical attacks. Reiatsu-based strikes can still meet Hierro resistance. This lasts for 5 posts, and costs 100 Reiatsu.
[Stage 2: Impact]: This stage can be used only for physical confrontation. When activated, hit strength quadruples. This means that one can activate it while punching an enemy. If the user has 200 strength, that strength will count as 800 during the instance of the punch. This is very physically draining, and quickly exhausts the body's nutrients. It shortens lifespan to use too often, and it weakens stamina very quickly. This lasts for 1 post, and costs 200 Reiatsu.
Drawback: See specific stages.
Technique Name: Energy Generate
Class: 2
Technique Type: Other
Technique Element: Variable
Technique Description and Effects:
This is probably the hardest technique to use. It involves a physical body having to generate and output Reiatsu directly from the physical form. It costs an insane amount of stamina, and it's also very taxing. This technique is the only one that does not have a "default" version. All races except for mod souls can create extended "Reiatsu output" abilities, as long as they generate Reiatsu, and fire it off in some way. This is the requirement of these abilities. This technique can only be used by those who are Class 2 or above. It is the ultimate direct counter to Kido.
How to use technique: Generate Reiatsu from the physical form, and shape it in some way.
Technique Name: Physical Manifestation: Willpower
Class: 3
Technique Type: Other
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
Willpower is a technique that is available to most who dwell within the human world, and has a variety of effects that make it a versatile and useful technique. This technique is one that manifests the willpower of the physical body. It essentially causes spirit and physical body to "become one" and merge their powers. There are two uses of it. The first is a non battle use, and is the main use. The main use is simply to know the technique, which slows the aging process of the body and allows the possessor to live easily as long as a Shinigami or Arrancar. This is a will-based technique, however, and thus, if will vanishes, so does its power to stop the aging, which quickly catches up. Mod Souls and Bounts have a minor version of this part at all times, which allows them to age slowly at all times; humans and Quincy learn this version at Class 1.
Willpower has three stages that are associated with it, as listed below:
[Stage One: Cog]: By giving up 100 Reiatsu, the user pumps an explosive amount of intimidating power out. Anyone of inferior class will immediately be intimidated. This does not mean they won't fight. Those who are weak enough in comparison will feel a huge, exaggerated surge of power that will probably make them surrender. This can also be used on Hollows to actually scare them away instead of having to kill them. This does NOT work on animals! It only works on "intelligent beings." This means unless it has a similar to human intelligence, this wont' work on an animal.
[Stage Two: Pulley]: This causes physical output to increase based on draining spiritual energy. It costs 400 reiatsu. When activated, it increases physical stats by 50%. However, it causes the skin to begin to blister from pumped out Reiatsu. Essentially, skin begins to burn. It's a quick burn. Within 5 posts, burning will start to become quite serious. On top of that, statistic gain is lost by the post, starting after the second post of this being active. After that time, 10% of the gain is lost every post. It can only be restored by sacrificing 150 Reiatsu per 10%.
[Stage Three: Gate]: This has no initial cost. Reiatsu strength and Spiritual pressure (but NOT Reiatsu amount) both double. From there, reiatsu output goes up, meaning that costs are also doubled for everything. On top of that, 100 reiatsu is lost per post until this is deactivated.
Drawback: See each individual stage. Atop that, when Willpower is learned, it comes with all three stages, but costs double the TTP to learn. Humans, Mod Souls, Quincy, and Bounts only.
Technique Name: [Soul Dominance]
Class: [4]
Technique Type (Kido, Hollow/Arrancar Technique, Human World Dweller Technique, Other): [Human World Dweller Technique]
Usable By (Technique is available to which races?): [Fullbringers Only]
Technique Element: [Varies]
Technique Description and Effects (Explain appearance, powers, and effect): [This technique is an expansion of the basic racial ability of Fullbringers to manipulate Souls. Through extra training, the user of this technique can manipulate souls on a much more grand scale. This technique costs three times the amount of reiatsu as the basic racial ability does, as a result, it can actually achieve combat useful manipulations. This technique can be used to manipulate raw elements up to the size of the user. It still cannot manipulate release weapons, and cannot manipulate the personal effects of an opponent such as clothing if there is not Reiatsu Strength Superiority.
How to use technique (How is it activated?): [Manipulate Souls on a grander scale than before]
Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc)
Reiatsu Cost. Stamina Drain
Made By: Kyomei
Reserved? (Yes/No) (Can others use your technique, or just your character?): [No]
Technique Name: Concussive Blast
Class: 4
Technique Type: General Spiritual Technique
Usable By: Any
Technique Element: Fire
Technique Description and Effects: This ability fires small fiery blasts of energy, moving at speeds of 600, that explode upon impact with anything. This is unique, as you don't have to fire a single shot of energy, but can fire these in groups. The offensive stat of this is reiatsu strength.
How to use technique: There are two ways to fire this ability. The first way to fire this, is to fire a single, large blast, the size of a car. This version will have the full offensive stat of the user. The second version fires many smaller blasts. In order to make more than one fireball, the offensive stat of this attack is split in half, being evenly divided between them. The lowest offensive stat the fireballs can have is 50. You fire them from the palm of your hand.
Technique Drawbacks: 100 reiatsu, weaker when fired in mass.
Incantation and Effect:
Made By: Impossible
Reserved?: No
Technique Name: [Redirection]
Class: [3, 2, 1] - 7-1.
Technique Type: [Other] - Kidou, Quincy Technique, Bount Technique, Human Technique, Hollow Technique, Other
Technique Element: [None] - If any
Technique Description and Effects: This is a vicious technique used by strong reiatsu beings. This allows the user to grab a hold of reiatsu, cycle the energy through their body, consume it (therefore making it theirs), and then hurl it back. In other words, one can redirect the enemy's reiatsu based attack by catching it and throwing it back either by spin or just catch and throw.
How this works has been stated above. Now, the important thing to recognize is that there are three classes to this technique. The class 3 version can catch reiatsu of any class except class 1+, and redirect it for half cost of the technique. The class 2 version can do the very same, except it layers the user's reiatsu strength on top of the enemy's reiatsu strength for the returned attack. It also uses the full cost. The class 1 version can return any technique regardless of reiatsu strength, and does so with the user's reiatsu strength layered on top of the enemy's. However, it does so for double cost, and does not work on class 0 techniques.
How to use technique: Stated above.
Drawback: This will burn the user. It will burn their arms. It will burn their insides a bit. They will cook a little. This will strain their body and reiatsu. It can only be used once per post. It shuts off release if used 3+ times in a released state.
Made by: [Admin]
Reserved?: [No]
Technique Name: [Dragon]
Class: [3]
Technique Type: [Construct]
Usable By: [Human world dweller]
Technique Element: [Various]
Technique Description and Effects: [This ability is not a stand alone technique. This ability takes any other ability and changes it. At class three, this ability takes any technique and turns it into one of two dragons. The first dragon option is the serpentine dragon of the East. The Asian dragon, extremely prominent in mythology and even certain parts of history. This dragon is twenty feet long, and comes with or without wings. The next dragon is the feared dragon of the West, most known for terrorizing the masses, and being slain by the knight. This dragon is twenty feet tall, and has one head.
Each dragon is comprised of whatever technique was used in conjunction with. The dragons are able to think and act independently, slaying anything in their path save for their master. The dragons will follow simple orders that their masters give out, but they will do said orders in their own manner. Each dragon is able to breath flames, carrying the same effects and combat stat as the ability that the dragon is formed from. If the dragon is slain, by any attack equal to or over 3/4 the rs of the original technique, will explode equal to its rs into the sky destroying everything above it in a violent pillar of reiatsu. The dragon's strength is 800, with 600 being the speed for the Western dragon, with the opposite being true for the Eastern dragon.
At proficient, the caster can create two Eastern dragons, each twenty five feet long, or a Western dragon standing thirty feet tall with two heads.
At mastered, the caster is able to create three Eastern dragons, each thirty feet long, or a Western dragon standing forty feet tall with three heads.
Each dragon is the same class as the ability used to make it, and are subject to regular clash rulings.]
How to use technique: [You pay 500 reiatsu on your non-release technique, and the ability takes form. The ability, if used that post, lasts a little longer than it should, right before the beast forms. The dragon lasts 5 posts longer than the technique used to make it would normally last.]
Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc) [Cost]
Made By: [Impossible]
Reserved?: [No]
Technique Name: Hydra
Class: 3
Technique Type: Energy Generate
Usable By: Universal
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects: This technique modifies any other technique that manifests a spiritual energy beam, blast, projectile or wave in motion. When a Hydra-modified manifestation strikes a hard force or object, such as when it is blocked or parried, it produces a small explosion, then a second, identical iteration of the manifestation springs out from the first, and the two manifestations attack the target from opposite sides, minimizing further defensive or evasive options.
A character who is Proficient in the Hydra technique can stack two instances of it onto a single manifestation. A character who is a Master of the technique can stack three. When Hydra is stacked, both versions of a post-split manifestation are capable of producing another iteration, once for each stack. Each stack compressed into a manifestation after the first costs an additional 300 Reiatsu. Regardless of its mastery, a use of this technique cannot produce more than five iterations of the modified technique.
How to use technique: The user compresses one or more additional iterations of the base technique into its core manifestation and commands it to release when the manifestation strikes or rebounds off any hard body but its target.
Technique Drawbacks: If a Hydra-modified manifestation strikes its intended target or is dodged, the additional iteration(s) of the technique do not trigger, and the modified technique gains no benefit as a result.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Summoning Discipline: Stand
Class: 1
Technique Type (Kido, Hollow/Arrancar Technique, Human World Dweller Technique, Other): HWD Technique
Usable By (Technique is available to which races?): Fullbringers, Quincy, Mod Souls
Technique Element: Will
Technique Description and Effects (Explain appearance, powers, and effect):
This technique takes Energy Generate, Output, Movement, and Willpower, and renders them in the most potent way imaginable. It is, even amongst the Martial Disciplines, a terrifying technique, and one that makes all fighters stronger. This technique, when activated, reflects the user’s soul, in the purest form. It creates a form based on this soul, and animates it. It gives the soul the will and physical power to fight. It gives the user an ally, who will Stand beside them at all points in time.
When this technique is learned, the user records how they truly see themselves, what the truest version of them is in their mind’s eye. This is given a human body, and becomes a figure that they can always dimly see out of the corner of their eye, although when the technique is not active, the figure, which will now be referred to as the Stand, is not capable of doing anything, and reacts only to the user's actions, not the outside world’s.
When the user chooses to do so, they may summon this Stand into the world, giving them independent action. The act of creating the Stand is one that utilizes reiatsu, but once the Stand exists, it no longer is reiatsu. Nor is it flesh and blood. It is a construct of pure Will, and can affect the world as such. Ergo, techniques that destroy reiatsu do not destroy the Stand, although suppression techniques can prevent it from existing in the first place. The Stand appears in eyesight of the user, no more than 200 feet away.
This Stand is invisible to the naked eye, as it is a manifestation of Willpower. Anyone with 50 ES can see its outline, and 100 ES can easily detect its features. Even if someone lacks the ES to detect the Stand, it is easy to observe the Stand’s effects on the outside world, as anything that it intends to interact with, anything it demonstrates the Will to push or move, is affected accordingly. So, as the Stand walks with purpose, someone would notice concrete cracking, and footprints appearing. As the Stand clashes its will against another person’s body, the wounds that appear will be visible.
The Stand possesses its own physical stats, although it doesn’t possess spiritual stats, nor does it possess sensory stats or specialty stats. It uses the User’s senses and guidance in order to know where to move and what to interact with. It possesses no reiatsu pool, but ignores cutback, as if constantly utilizing Push. Although it has no Reiatsu Strength, it cannot be affected with status conditions, although barriers and defenses of course can stop it.
The Stand’s physical stats are that of a Brave type, equal in Level to the user of the technique, as if it had 300 in both stats. Once this technique is mastered, that is raised to 400. The user, when they learn the technique, picks whether they want Strength or Speed to receive the higher boost. The Stand does not grow tired, no matter how fast it moves, or how frequently it does so. Its attacks can be blocked, but it itself cannot be damaged. It lasts for 10 posts.
How to use technique (How is it activated?):
When learning the technique, one must find the perfect, idealized mental image of themselves, and choose to devote their soul to either Speed or Strength. They also must know all four basic HWD techniques.
When activating this technique, the user must call out the phrase “Stand Beside Me!” and select a location to conjure their Stand. Then, by utilizing their reiatsu, and concentrating Willpower, they can render the Stand into being.
Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc)
This technique, first of all, can only be used twice in one thread. It costs 650 reiatsu to use, a hefty amount, even by the standards of such a powerful technique. Most of the weaknesses of the technique, however, come in the form of restrictions upon the user. While the Stand cannot grow tired, the user receives half of the stamina taxation that the Stand would’ve received, preventing them from going all out. Additionally, if the Stand would be damaged, the user receives the damage instead, wounds appearing on the corresponding part of their body. This only applies to physical damage. The Stand also relies on the user to see and make decisions, and if the user is impaired, the Stand is much less effective. If the user falls unconscious or dies, the Stand instantly vanishes. At the end of the 10 posts, the User must also pay an additional 150 reiatsu to maintain contact with the Stand, if they wish to use it again later in the thread.
Made By: Rudy
Reserved? (Yes/No) (Can others use your technique, or just your character?): No
Technique Name: Waxing Flood-Tide
Class: 2
Technique Type: Soul Command
Usable By: Fullbringers
Technique Element: Air, Water
Technique Description and Effects: This technique is as insidious as it is simplistic. Inside a region centered on the user, 300 meters in diameter, air is significantly changed for the duration of 5 posts. Air in this region entertains the notion that as force increases, viscosity shifts toward a more solid state. Any body, physical or spiritual, that exerts force on or displaces air as its moves triggers this technique.
Inside the region, air takes on a distinctly "heavier" feel, as if occupants were wearing heavy blankets, but no more. Unless the Speed of a body in the region exceeds 600, this change imposes no penalties or restrictions on the region's occupants. However, when the Speed of a body inside the region does exceed 600, the air around that body thickens significantly. Projectiles lose flight path control as they struggle to push through the air, and characters burn stamina at double the normal rate. When the Speed of a body exceeds 2000, the air around that body begins to solidify. Projectiles are treated as though they hit a barrier of and were tunneling through sand, and characters suffer damage as though they had hit (or passed through) an equal amount of rocky soil as the distance they tried to cover. The further a character's Speed exceeds 2000, the more severe the injuries for moving become.
How to use technique: The user communicates with the air in a region, insinuating exciting new ideas into its identity until its physics begin to resemble shear thickening non-Newtonian fluids.
Technique Drawbacks: The technique does not distinguish between user, friend or foe. All occupants of the area are equally subject to its tyranny. Additionally, if Speeds are kept to 600 or less, the effects of this technique can effectively be ignored. When this technique is first set up, the air draws the extra energy it needs from the fullbringer's own body, tiring them as if they had performed one extra post of strenuous activities. Characters with the Soul Dominance technique may communicate with the air around them to learn about this change before they move.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Engine Core: Tomoe-4
Class: 2
Technique Type: Soul Command
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: Motorcycle
Technique Description and Effects:
When this technique is activated, a coruscating, fire-like glow flares to life from within the user's heart chakra, usually matching the color of the user's reiatsu. Thereafter, if the technique is sustained, the glow diminishes in intensity. When this technique is activated, it sets the user's Reiatsu Gear to Neutral, idling at 900 RPM. When the Reiatsu Gear is altered, this technique keeps track of its most recent adjustment while it is maintained. A Tomoe-4 Engine Core can reach up to Eighth Gear.
Whenever the user performs a spiritual technique, the Engine Core's RPM increase by a factor based on that technique's Class, and after one post without using a spiritual technique, begin reverting back to 900 RPM at a rate of -1000 RPM per post. When the Engine Core's RPM reaches the range of 8000 to 10,000, the Power Band abilities of any technique the user knows activate. The RPM increases per Class are as follows:
Class 8: 0
Class 7: 100
Class 6: 150
Class 5: 300
Class 4: 500
Class 3: 750
Class 2: 900
Class 1: 1200
Class 0: 1800
How to use technique:
By sealing four heavy cores of revolving reiatsu into the spiritual heart of their own body at different and tightly controlled pressures, the user primes the reiatsu within them to benefit from additional rotational energy.
Technique Drawbacks: The reiatsu cores created by this technique require a reserve of 2000 Reiatsu to maintain. If the user's Engine Core RPM exceeds 13,000, this technique causes general injuries to the user, each post, which equate to major 1st-degree tissue damage. During this time, the reiatsu pathways of their body fill with shimmering light, usually of a color matching their reiatsu. The further the Engine Core exceeds its safety limit, the brighter this inner light becomes. If the Engine Core's RPM would reach 0 or exceed 17,000, it and all of the user's currently maintained techniques with an Engine Core or Power Band ability stop. If RPM exceeded 17,000, the Engine Core blows out, inflicting severe bodily trauma on the user. Only one Engine Core technique can be maintained at one time. Due to the internal trauma this technique can cause, it is off-limits to Failures.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Gear Shift: Flappy-Paddle
Class: 4
Technique Type: Soul Command
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
When this technique is activated, it changes the Gear of a maintained Engine Core technique by up to one. In order to shift up one Gear, the user must pay 2000 RPM. When shifting down one Gear, this technique credits the user 1500 RPM.
If the user's Engine Core would stall or redline and this technique was used to shift its Gear last, this technique re-activates automatically, shifting once in the appropriate direction to prevent the core from dying.
How to use technique:
The user focuses inwardly, modifying the differential at which their Engine Core interacts with their Reiatsu system.
Technique Drawbacks: To use this technique, the user must have Mastered an Engine Core technique. Further, if the user shifts up one Gear while having less than 2600 RPM, their engine has a 50% chance to stall. If the user shifts up one Gear while having more than 4200 RPM, the shift is damaging to the user, causing minor stress fractures and bruising across the body.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Pouring It On
Class: 7
Technique Type: General Spiritual Technique
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
The user spends reiatsu to rev up their Engine Core, converting spiritual energy into RPM directly. After the initial cost of the technique, the user may pay any amount of reiatsu in increments of 5. For every 5 reiatsu paid, the user's Engine Core RPM increases by 20.
How to use technique:
The user injects additional reiatsu from their soul into their Engine Core, increasing its revolutions per minute.
Technique Drawbacks: To learn this technique, the user must have Mastered an Engine Core technique. To use this technique, the user must have the Engine Core technique in at least Neutral Gear.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Muladhara Drive
Class: 7
Technique Type: Physical Manifestation
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects: This technique causes a shimmering crimson glow to emanate from within the user's body, originating at the base of their spine. While this technique persists, it shaves the first 200 Offensive Strength off attacks and techniques that strike the user.
Engine Core: For every Gear its user's Engine Core is in past the First, the Muladhara Drive eliminates an additional 200 Offensive Strength from attacks striking them.
Power Band: While the user's Engine Core is in its Power Band, the Muladhara Drive makes its user unusually stable and grounded, able to resist forces that would move them against their will with ease. Attacks and techniques that are at least half-absorbed by the Muladhara Drive during this time also cannot knock back the user.
How to use technique: Engaging their root chakra with the tomoe of their Engine Core, the user manifests a field of security around their body.
Technique Drawbacks: To use this technique, the user must have Mastered an Engine Core technique. Also, their Engine Core must be in at least First Gear. Maintaining multiple Drive techniques at a time requires Multitasking. A character can maintain a number of Drive techniques equal to their Multitasking points + 1. In addition to the initial cost of the technique, the Muladhara Drive costs 200 reiatsu to maintain per post.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Svadisthana Drive
Class: 6
Technique Type: Spiritual Manifestation
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects: This technique causes a shimmering amber glow to emanate from within the user's body, originating at their sacrum. While this technique persists, its user recovers 2.5% of their maximum reiatsu at the end of each post that they are not damaged by an enemy attack.
Engine Core: For every Gear its user's Engine Core is in past the First, the Svadisthana Drive restores an extra 2.5% of its user's maximum reiatsu per post they go undamaged.
Power Band: While the user's Engine Core is in its Power Band, they manifest a second skin of flexible, solid reiatsu that armors them against attacks. At the end of each post, this skin gains 50 Durability for each Gear they're in, which protects them at their Reiatsu Strength.
How to use technique: Engaging their sacral chakra with the tomoe of their Engine Core, the user manifests a fountain of pure creation within and around their body.
Technique Drawbacks: To use this technique, the user must have Mastered an Engine Core technique and the Muladhara Drive technique. Also, their Engine Core must be in at least First Gear. Maintaining multiple Drive techniques at a time requires Multitasking. A character can maintain a number of Drive techniques equal to their Multitasking points + 1. In addition to the initial cost of the technique, the Svadisthana Drive costs 200 reiatsu to maintain per post. Furthermore, using this drive inhibits the Offensive Strength of the user's techniques by 5% per Gear their Engine Core is in.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Manipura Drive
Class: 5
Technique Type: Physical Manifestation
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects: This technique causes a shimmering golden glow to emanate from within the user's body, originating just below the ribcage. While this technique persists, the user may bend the angles of approach of a projectile technique by up to 90° per second.
Engine Core: For each Gear its user's Engine Core is in beyond First, this technique allows its user to bend the angles of approach of a technique by an additional 90° per second.
Power Band: While the user's Engine Core is in its Power Band, they may bend the angle of approach of an additional technique at one time for each Gear their Engine Core is in past the First.
How to use technique: Engaging their solar plexus chakra with the tomoe of their Engine Core, the user manifests an outward power of movement.
Technique Drawbacks: To use this technique, the user must have Mastered an Engine Core technique and the Svadisthana Drive technique. Also, their Engine Core must be in at least First Gear. Maintaining multiple Drive techniques at a time requires Multitasking. A character can maintain a number of Drive techniques equal to their Multitasking + 1. In addition to the initial cost of the technique, the Manipura Drive costs 200 reiatsu to maintain per post.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
Technique Name: Anahata Drive
Class: 4
Technique Type: Physical Manifestation
Usable By: Human World Dwellers, Saika
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects: This technique causes a shimmering viridescent glow to emanate from within the user's body, originating from the center of the chest. While this technique persists, the user's injuries recover at an accelerated rate, allowing for the healing of small cuts, nicks, bruises and minor burns within 3 posts of receiving them.
Engine Core: For each Gear its user's Engine Core is in beyond First, the number of posts required to recover from injuries decreases by 1. At Fourth Gear and beyond, the severity of the injuries the technique heals increases in intensity: a Fourth Gear Anahata Drive can heal two inch-deep lacerations, second-degree burns and holes no larger than two inches wide within 2 posts; an Eighth Gear Anahata Drive can heal six-inch deep lacerations, third-degree burns and holes no larger than four inches wide within 1 post.
Power Band: While the user's Engine Core is in its Power Band, the user's stamina does not deplete by post or from using techniques.
How to use technique: Engaging their heart chakra with the tomoe of their Engine Core, the user manifests an inward power of recovery.
Technique Drawbacks: To use this technique, the user must have Mastered an Engine Core technique and the Manipura Drive technique. Also, their Engine Core must be in at least First Gear. Maintaining multiple Drive techniques at a time requires Multitasking. A character can maintain a number of Drive techniques equal to their Multitasking + 1. In addition to the initial cost of the technique, the Anahata Drive costs 200 reiatsu to maintain per post.
Made By: Ammutseba
Reserved? No
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-History-
Birthplace: Corhaven, Ireland
Current Residence: Karakura, Japan
Memorable Figures: Deirdre Byrne, Brendan Byrne, Katerina Ursler, Doctor Rosenbette, Rey Gigante, Lazarus, Erscheinung, the Guadaña, Szallyrr
History:
{Beginning}Deirdre Neal was twenty-five and living in a small apartment in Boston when she met Brendan Byrne. She was, at the time, a nearly unwilling member of a small group of spiritually aware individuals. Like many fullbringers, Deirdre was unhappy with her powers and looked for an escape from them and the awareness that accompanied them at any opportunity. Brendan, on the other hand, was a foundry worker, with absolutely no knowledge of the spiritual world that Deirdre was steeped in. His problems were the normal things: a hard time paying the bills, and the struggle to succeed in a world that was not made for you. Deirdre liked it that way. He was her island of sanctity, and she was his ray of sunshine.
Yet, merely because she fled from them, Hollows and the spiritual world would not stay away from Deirdre. To this end, she led a double life. At one front, she was a devoted wife and compatriot, and at the other, she needed to be a staunch protector and warrior. Despite the hardship of keeping herself and Brendan protected from spirits and poverty at the same time, she still managed to smile every day. Furthermore, to be an inspiration for Brendan to strive to achieve more and support him at every opportunity.
Deirdre was twenty-seven when Brendan asked her to marry and move away with him to a small town in southern Ireland. She agreed at once, leaving behind the hardships they knew for the challenges ahead. Later the same year, the couple had Nuala. Though they were a happy family, Deirdre's abilities had begun to wane. She found difficulty in adjusting to a life without the small group she'd come to rely on, and in keeping her daughter safe and her husband from knowing about the ghosts that plagued her from time to time.
It was on the seventh of February when a powerful Hollow emerged to plague Deirdre and her family. Deirdre fought valiantly and defeated the creature, but was hospitalized with deep, acidic burns by the night's end of the twelfth. Despite urgent questioning from her husband, she made no claims on the source of her injuries, stating only that she had been tired and careless while taking care of the house.
Like the truth of her livelihood, Deirdre kept the most important parts of her prognosis a secret from her husband. She shared with him everything he wanted to know and had time for, except how long it would be before she would be well again. In reality, her doctor was baffled. She wouldn't be well again. The damage to her body was too traumatic, its progress too unreliable to combat, and she knew she'd be staying out the rest of her life near the bed where she lay.
Shortly after Nuala turned three, her fullbringer powers began to manifest. It was an exceptionally early time for such an awakening. Detached from all the spiritually aware people she once knew, Nuala's mother felt she had no choice but to use her power to craft her daughter a token of protection. Shortly after she began to work, a monstrous Hollow emerged within the home.
Brendan burst into the room as the Hollow had destroyed one half of it. Though he could not see them, he could see the destruction these ghosts were causing. Interpreting it as a natural disaster, he chose to save his daughter first, scooping her out of the room and the home shortly before an explosion would annihilate what was left of the house.
Brendan found his wife's body inside, charred beyond recognition, with her hands out in front of her, as if in fear or an attempt to stop some force. Unable to cope with either the loss of his wife or the eerie happenings that surrounded his daughter, he turned to drinking and surrendered Nuala to foster services.
Yet, merely because she fled from them, Hollows and the spiritual world would not stay away from Deirdre. To this end, she led a double life. At one front, she was a devoted wife and compatriot, and at the other, she needed to be a staunch protector and warrior. Despite the hardship of keeping herself and Brendan protected from spirits and poverty at the same time, she still managed to smile every day. Furthermore, to be an inspiration for Brendan to strive to achieve more and support him at every opportunity.
Deirdre was twenty-seven when Brendan asked her to marry and move away with him to a small town in southern Ireland. She agreed at once, leaving behind the hardships they knew for the challenges ahead. Later the same year, the couple had Nuala. Though they were a happy family, Deirdre's abilities had begun to wane. She found difficulty in adjusting to a life without the small group she'd come to rely on, and in keeping her daughter safe and her husband from knowing about the ghosts that plagued her from time to time.
It was on the seventh of February when a powerful Hollow emerged to plague Deirdre and her family. Deirdre fought valiantly and defeated the creature, but was hospitalized with deep, acidic burns by the night's end of the twelfth. Despite urgent questioning from her husband, she made no claims on the source of her injuries, stating only that she had been tired and careless while taking care of the house.
Like the truth of her livelihood, Deirdre kept the most important parts of her prognosis a secret from her husband. She shared with him everything he wanted to know and had time for, except how long it would be before she would be well again. In reality, her doctor was baffled. She wouldn't be well again. The damage to her body was too traumatic, its progress too unreliable to combat, and she knew she'd be staying out the rest of her life near the bed where she lay.
Shortly after Nuala turned three, her fullbringer powers began to manifest. It was an exceptionally early time for such an awakening. Detached from all the spiritually aware people she once knew, Nuala's mother felt she had no choice but to use her power to craft her daughter a token of protection. Shortly after she began to work, a monstrous Hollow emerged within the home.
Brendan burst into the room as the Hollow had destroyed one half of it. Though he could not see them, he could see the destruction these ghosts were causing. Interpreting it as a natural disaster, he chose to save his daughter first, scooping her out of the room and the home shortly before an explosion would annihilate what was left of the house.
Brendan found his wife's body inside, charred beyond recognition, with her hands out in front of her, as if in fear or an attempt to stop some force. Unable to cope with either the loss of his wife or the eerie happenings that surrounded his daughter, he turned to drinking and surrendered Nuala to foster services.
{The Quincy Years}For six years, foster services were difficult for Nuala. As a haunted child, she was always unwanted. She quickly learned to hide her fullbring. No matter how bright and friendly she was, the eeriness that followed her either drove away new families, or she was somehow blamed for the destruction that the Hollows caused. Nuala was "returned" with frequency.
Then came the Urslers. They met with her only briefly, said little to her, and thought nothing of her accomplishments. Why they wanted her was beyond her understanding, but she was wanted, nonetheless. The Urslers were a strict family; they made many rules that were meant to be followed. They knew how to instill loyalty and a sense of belonging in their wards. A need to excel. Rewards for the best, remedials for the worst.
They lived in a large house, all the family together in one place. Some wings of the home were off-limits, and for the first time in her life, Nuala couldn't just walk through those boundaries. They fed her. The pills started with her first meal. They went under the guise of vitamins. Clothed her. She wore the same uniform as the other girls, except that hers were never fitted to her, and consequently never fit quite right. Educated her and gave her a room near the rooms of other, older children. While she stayed with them, the ghosts never bothered her.
But they didn't talk to her. They didn't indulge her. The other children avoided her. In a sense, she was shunned. The notion of "rewards" was beyond her. She would never be the best. She was the worst. She started that way, and unless she worked hard, she would remain that way. She did not rebel. She embraced her role and even without rewards, she worked hard.
When Nuala was ten, a new child moved into the Ursler household. Katerina Priska Ursler. She was thirteen, and though she excelled in subjects and athletics, she was often punished with work or lines for breaking the rules. Katerina found Nuala to be the first "new kind of person" she'd ever met. Up until that point, it had been studying, work, and archery practice. By day, she was educated in academics and exercise. By night, she was educated in the Ursler family tradition: Hollow hunting, a duty that all spiritually aware Urslers began to uphold at the age of eleven.
The Urslers were a Quincy family. They had adopted Nuala not out of kindness, but because they knew what she was. An outcast. An unwanted. Spiritually aware. A human tainted with Hollow power, the very antithesis of the Quincy. They had adopted her and kept her close so that she wouldn't become a threat.
But when Nuala turned eleven, her duty to the family also began. It was not a kind experience. As a fullbringer, these Quincy had no regard for her safety, so long as she continued to pass foster service inspections. She was used as Hollow bait. She was expected to master her abilities and survive on instinct, hit with spiritual prods when she did not perform within expectations or follow the rules. She did not rebel. The pills had taken care of that. Unable to muster the emotional wherewithal to lash out, she focused hard on the work in front of her. With eventuality, they turned her into a weapon.
When no one was looking, in the late hours of the night, Katerina crept into Nuala's room and woke her. If she had been caught breaking curfew, to speak with the fullbringer, she might have had lines and work for days. And despite her better judgment, Nuala spoke to her. She divulged her thoughts and secrets, her fears and her hopes. It all came tumbling out, and many tears with them. Katerina spoke to Nuala. She divulged her secrets and her thoughts, her hopes and fears. And then Katerina hushed Nuala and crept back to her own room. And the next night, she returned, and they spoke again. And so, the two, in secret, became the fastest friends.
Years passed this way. Nuala's powers grew, and her only worldly friend was the secret she kept closest to her chest. By now, Nuala was fourteen and the Urslers had abandoned all but the most superficial pretense of caring for her. She trained by day and fought Hollows by night, assisting the Quincy with their duties— figuratively leashed, collared and muzzled until it was time to release her explosive power. When hunting Hollows, if she stayed inside the lines, she was free to act however she wanted.
Over time, she and her friend grew closer and began to fight alongside one another in the field. The two developed a dynamic, a synergy. But it was a twisted relationship. In order to avoid ostracization, Katerina's public behavior toward Nuala had to be cold and uncaring. Insofar as anyone was concerned, Katerina fought with "the fullbringer" because Nuala was a useful tool in a fight. Indeed, her powers could bring out the potential in Quincy arrows with ease, amplifying their presence in the hunt.
Then Nuala's progress began to stall. Her powers would not develop any further than this on their own. That's when the experiments began. Little things, at first. More pills, shots. Then devices she wore into combat. They filled her head with strange and dizzy sensations. She lost track of time, of herself... she didn't remember who she was or what she wanted. Only the Hollows mattered. She put her fake face on for the outside world. Only the hunt. She told them she was training to be an athlete. She passed the qualifiers... and told them it was hard. Only Priska. They bought it, of course. Let her return to "athlete training," and largely left her alone. If she hunted with Priska, then the world was right.
Nuala didn't know how old she was when it happened. All the world cracked, you see. The sky split open and Hollows poured in through the breach. Quincy and the black-robed figures called Shinigami appeared in force to fight them back. Nuala and Priska chased one that had escaped the main fray; as trainees, this was the most they could do. It turned to face them...
Priska died.
Nuala could only watch as it tore her apart. And then it came for her. She doesn't remember anything after that. Only screaming. Only watching it over in her head, the visions trapped in her eyes, haunting her dreams. Nuala stopped performing. No matter the incentive or the punishment, Nuala would no longer fight Hollows. Her zeal was gone. With eventuality, the experiments ended, and she was thrown out of the household. For months, she wandered the streets, living in alleys and on couches, making herself useful as best she was able, while the Quincy drugs worked their way out of her system.
She came to in a ditch in March, lying face up toward the stars. She sat up and began to realize herself slowly. Lucid for the first time in what may have been years, she found herself gravitating back toward the Ursler home. She hovered just beyond their sight, stalking the household from a distance until she knew its ins and outs. She found meager pay in a bar back, kept a meager apartment, and lived a meager life on the edges of her past.
It was in August when Nuala's plan came to fruition. From the Urslers, Nuala had learned the craft of spiritual items. For this, she made Hollow bait and planted it at the far corners of the cell's jurisdiction. Then, when the house was at its most empty, she stormed and ransacked her former home, intending to steal only a single object: well-tucked away with the rest of her things, Nuala would find and take Priska's bangle, and disappear into the night. That's not how it happened.
The house was all but empty. An outpost for anti-Hollow Quincy activities, occupied by a single man. The interior had transformed. Walls had been taken out, machines and instruments filled the rooms. It was a den of research and development into the sciences of the Quincy arts. Maybe it had always been. No one should have been left in there. It only had a handful of Privates and four Lieutenants inside, and no one had else had ever come or gone from the building, and all of them were accounted for arriving at the Hollow bait locations. So then, why was there another Quincy in here?
"Ah, Beta, there you are. Shouldn’t you be dead?" His voice was cold and distant. "You ruined everything Azerite could have stood for. What are you doing back here? Have you come to hang my failure over my head? Hmm? Come to point the finger and have a laugh? Go ahead." He didn't sound angry. "I deserve it. I failed the Emperor." He was half-crazed with some invisible trauma.
"I'm not Beta. My name is--"
"Nuala Byrne, I know. You were the Beta subject in the Azerite project or the 'Ursler family.' The notes are extensive and frankly as fascinating as they are repulsive, but I'll spare you the details. You'll be dead– properly this time– when the others come back or gone before then."
Nuala narrowed her eyes at the man. He was slight of body and didn't look like any Quincy she had ever seen. "Who are you?" she asked. "What are you talking about?" She was wrong. He could form a bow. A slight and fragile thing, much like the man himself, but it formed in an instant and the arrow it fired was the real thing. The spirit arrow struck her outstretched hands, turned and twisted inside her body. Priska's arrows, they had always burned... more. The pfeil rebounded back on the man in an instant, abetted by Nuala's own overwhelming strength. It lanced through his body, spraying blood across the desk and assorted papers behind him. If only her reflexes had been a little slower...
She searched his body, came up with key cards, and ransacked the lab. From a locked box, she recovered Priska's bangle, glove, and uniform. The only shreds left of her friend. And the man's notes. His name was Rosenbette. He was developing a weapon for the emperor. It was called the Azerite Project, and consisted of subjects Alpha and Beta, also known as Katerina Priska Ursler and Nuala Byrne. The goal of the experiments was to break down the barrier between Quincy and Hollow souls, permitting a superior fusion of the two. Nuala read, in cold ink on old paper, the events of the project's conclusion, which her own memories had denied her.
The project was a failure. During the secondary attempt at spiritual fusion, the Alpha subject was annihilated. Her tears stained the page. "the Alpha subject was annihilated." There was no post-mortem report, as there was no body to recover. "the Alpha subject was annihilated." The last words ever written about Priska.
For her murder and theft, the Quincy tracked Nuala relentlessly for months. No matter where she ran, or how far she traveled, it always felt as though they were at her heels, but she was always just ahead of them, too, always one step faster and one turn cleverer. Eventually, they caught up with her and forced Nuala into a desperate move. Cornered on all sides, Nuala tracked a Shinigami as he transferred Pluses into Soul Society or ushered them into Hell.
On this evening, Nuala found the Shinigami in a public park and approached him with an offer of a trade. Uninterested, he turned her away, but she followed him for a time, and when he traveled back to Soul Society through the Senkaimon gate, Nuala followed him inside. But the Senkaimon is not meant for mortals, nor any soul not assisted by a jigokucho. The Senkaimon ejected her into the Dangai, and the Dangai ejected her then into another realm, removed from both time and place. Thus, she evaded the Quincy again but found herself in a new and foreign land.
Then came the Urslers. They met with her only briefly, said little to her, and thought nothing of her accomplishments. Why they wanted her was beyond her understanding, but she was wanted, nonetheless. The Urslers were a strict family; they made many rules that were meant to be followed. They knew how to instill loyalty and a sense of belonging in their wards. A need to excel. Rewards for the best, remedials for the worst.
They lived in a large house, all the family together in one place. Some wings of the home were off-limits, and for the first time in her life, Nuala couldn't just walk through those boundaries. They fed her. The pills started with her first meal. They went under the guise of vitamins. Clothed her. She wore the same uniform as the other girls, except that hers were never fitted to her, and consequently never fit quite right. Educated her and gave her a room near the rooms of other, older children. While she stayed with them, the ghosts never bothered her.
But they didn't talk to her. They didn't indulge her. The other children avoided her. In a sense, she was shunned. The notion of "rewards" was beyond her. She would never be the best. She was the worst. She started that way, and unless she worked hard, she would remain that way. She did not rebel. She embraced her role and even without rewards, she worked hard.
When Nuala was ten, a new child moved into the Ursler household. Katerina Priska Ursler. She was thirteen, and though she excelled in subjects and athletics, she was often punished with work or lines for breaking the rules. Katerina found Nuala to be the first "new kind of person" she'd ever met. Up until that point, it had been studying, work, and archery practice. By day, she was educated in academics and exercise. By night, she was educated in the Ursler family tradition: Hollow hunting, a duty that all spiritually aware Urslers began to uphold at the age of eleven.
The Urslers were a Quincy family. They had adopted Nuala not out of kindness, but because they knew what she was. An outcast. An unwanted. Spiritually aware. A human tainted with Hollow power, the very antithesis of the Quincy. They had adopted her and kept her close so that she wouldn't become a threat.
But when Nuala turned eleven, her duty to the family also began. It was not a kind experience. As a fullbringer, these Quincy had no regard for her safety, so long as she continued to pass foster service inspections. She was used as Hollow bait. She was expected to master her abilities and survive on instinct, hit with spiritual prods when she did not perform within expectations or follow the rules. She did not rebel. The pills had taken care of that. Unable to muster the emotional wherewithal to lash out, she focused hard on the work in front of her. With eventuality, they turned her into a weapon.
When no one was looking, in the late hours of the night, Katerina crept into Nuala's room and woke her. If she had been caught breaking curfew, to speak with the fullbringer, she might have had lines and work for days. And despite her better judgment, Nuala spoke to her. She divulged her thoughts and secrets, her fears and her hopes. It all came tumbling out, and many tears with them. Katerina spoke to Nuala. She divulged her secrets and her thoughts, her hopes and fears. And then Katerina hushed Nuala and crept back to her own room. And the next night, she returned, and they spoke again. And so, the two, in secret, became the fastest friends.
Years passed this way. Nuala's powers grew, and her only worldly friend was the secret she kept closest to her chest. By now, Nuala was fourteen and the Urslers had abandoned all but the most superficial pretense of caring for her. She trained by day and fought Hollows by night, assisting the Quincy with their duties— figuratively leashed, collared and muzzled until it was time to release her explosive power. When hunting Hollows, if she stayed inside the lines, she was free to act however she wanted.
Over time, she and her friend grew closer and began to fight alongside one another in the field. The two developed a dynamic, a synergy. But it was a twisted relationship. In order to avoid ostracization, Katerina's public behavior toward Nuala had to be cold and uncaring. Insofar as anyone was concerned, Katerina fought with "the fullbringer" because Nuala was a useful tool in a fight. Indeed, her powers could bring out the potential in Quincy arrows with ease, amplifying their presence in the hunt.
Then Nuala's progress began to stall. Her powers would not develop any further than this on their own. That's when the experiments began. Little things, at first. More pills, shots. Then devices she wore into combat. They filled her head with strange and dizzy sensations. She lost track of time, of herself... she didn't remember who she was or what she wanted. Only the Hollows mattered. She put her fake face on for the outside world. Only the hunt. She told them she was training to be an athlete. She passed the qualifiers... and told them it was hard. Only Priska. They bought it, of course. Let her return to "athlete training," and largely left her alone. If she hunted with Priska, then the world was right.
Nuala didn't know how old she was when it happened. All the world cracked, you see. The sky split open and Hollows poured in through the breach. Quincy and the black-robed figures called Shinigami appeared in force to fight them back. Nuala and Priska chased one that had escaped the main fray; as trainees, this was the most they could do. It turned to face them...
Priska died.
Nuala could only watch as it tore her apart. And then it came for her. She doesn't remember anything after that. Only screaming. Only watching it over in her head, the visions trapped in her eyes, haunting her dreams. Nuala stopped performing. No matter the incentive or the punishment, Nuala would no longer fight Hollows. Her zeal was gone. With eventuality, the experiments ended, and she was thrown out of the household. For months, she wandered the streets, living in alleys and on couches, making herself useful as best she was able, while the Quincy drugs worked their way out of her system.
She came to in a ditch in March, lying face up toward the stars. She sat up and began to realize herself slowly. Lucid for the first time in what may have been years, she found herself gravitating back toward the Ursler home. She hovered just beyond their sight, stalking the household from a distance until she knew its ins and outs. She found meager pay in a bar back, kept a meager apartment, and lived a meager life on the edges of her past.
It was in August when Nuala's plan came to fruition. From the Urslers, Nuala had learned the craft of spiritual items. For this, she made Hollow bait and planted it at the far corners of the cell's jurisdiction. Then, when the house was at its most empty, she stormed and ransacked her former home, intending to steal only a single object: well-tucked away with the rest of her things, Nuala would find and take Priska's bangle, and disappear into the night. That's not how it happened.
The house was all but empty. An outpost for anti-Hollow Quincy activities, occupied by a single man. The interior had transformed. Walls had been taken out, machines and instruments filled the rooms. It was a den of research and development into the sciences of the Quincy arts. Maybe it had always been. No one should have been left in there. It only had a handful of Privates and four Lieutenants inside, and no one had else had ever come or gone from the building, and all of them were accounted for arriving at the Hollow bait locations. So then, why was there another Quincy in here?
"Ah, Beta, there you are. Shouldn’t you be dead?" His voice was cold and distant. "You ruined everything Azerite could have stood for. What are you doing back here? Have you come to hang my failure over my head? Hmm? Come to point the finger and have a laugh? Go ahead." He didn't sound angry. "I deserve it. I failed the Emperor." He was half-crazed with some invisible trauma.
"I'm not Beta. My name is--"
"Nuala Byrne, I know. You were the Beta subject in the Azerite project or the 'Ursler family.' The notes are extensive and frankly as fascinating as they are repulsive, but I'll spare you the details. You'll be dead– properly this time– when the others come back or gone before then."
Nuala narrowed her eyes at the man. He was slight of body and didn't look like any Quincy she had ever seen. "Who are you?" she asked. "What are you talking about?" She was wrong. He could form a bow. A slight and fragile thing, much like the man himself, but it formed in an instant and the arrow it fired was the real thing. The spirit arrow struck her outstretched hands, turned and twisted inside her body. Priska's arrows, they had always burned... more. The pfeil rebounded back on the man in an instant, abetted by Nuala's own overwhelming strength. It lanced through his body, spraying blood across the desk and assorted papers behind him. If only her reflexes had been a little slower...
She searched his body, came up with key cards, and ransacked the lab. From a locked box, she recovered Priska's bangle, glove, and uniform. The only shreds left of her friend. And the man's notes. His name was Rosenbette. He was developing a weapon for the emperor. It was called the Azerite Project, and consisted of subjects Alpha and Beta, also known as Katerina Priska Ursler and Nuala Byrne. The goal of the experiments was to break down the barrier between Quincy and Hollow souls, permitting a superior fusion of the two. Nuala read, in cold ink on old paper, the events of the project's conclusion, which her own memories had denied her.
The project was a failure. During the secondary attempt at spiritual fusion, the Alpha subject was annihilated. Her tears stained the page. "the Alpha subject was annihilated." There was no post-mortem report, as there was no body to recover. "the Alpha subject was annihilated." The last words ever written about Priska.
For her murder and theft, the Quincy tracked Nuala relentlessly for months. No matter where she ran, or how far she traveled, it always felt as though they were at her heels, but she was always just ahead of them, too, always one step faster and one turn cleverer. Eventually, they caught up with her and forced Nuala into a desperate move. Cornered on all sides, Nuala tracked a Shinigami as he transferred Pluses into Soul Society or ushered them into Hell.
On this evening, Nuala found the Shinigami in a public park and approached him with an offer of a trade. Uninterested, he turned her away, but she followed him for a time, and when he traveled back to Soul Society through the Senkaimon gate, Nuala followed him inside. But the Senkaimon is not meant for mortals, nor any soul not assisted by a jigokucho. The Senkaimon ejected her into the Dangai, and the Dangai ejected her then into another realm, removed from both time and place. Thus, she evaded the Quincy again but found herself in a new and foreign land.
{Hueco Mundo}Hueco Mundo, where the earth is always white, and the sky is always black. An infinite desert in an infinite night, and the home realm of Hollows and worse. Not an ideal place for anyone to be. Anyone, of course, except anyone fleeing from the Quincy, to whom the dimension's very essence is poisonous. Only the most dedicated of Quincy dogs would dare pursue a target here.
There are some important things to know about being in Hueco Mundo.
The first rule: Don't fight. Food is few and far between. Those aren't trees, they're crystals. Nothing grows on them. Fighting consumes energy, making your last meal last less time than it ought to.
The second rule: If you've broken the first rule, keep it to yourself. Don't make a lot of noise, physically or spiritually. Scavengers always come looking for a free meal when they hear a ruckus, so making noise is a good way to attract a crowd.
The third rule: Avoid others. They will either hurt you, betray you or sell you out to someone else. Don't trust congregations, especially of anything claiming it has "evolved." Remember, no matter how human it looks, it's still a Hollow. It still eats souls to live.
The fourth rule: If you've broken the third rule, make a friend. A powerful friend. Those at the top are frequently lonely. Others rightfully fear them. But make yourself useful. Endear yourself. When someone less powerful than your friend tries to hurt you, your friend might, just might, back you up.
The fifth and final rule: Be strong. Find something strong about yourself and capitalize on it. Make your weaknesses your strengths. Master yourself. It's the only way to survive.
In one way or another, it was those two who had taught her these lessons. A lot of Hollows, in Nuala's experience, chose their own names. She didn't know what those two were called before they met her. She could only tell you that they found her while she was picking at the bones of a particularly behemoth Hollow and that when they introduced themselves, they called each other Escarabajo and Saltamontes. They looked human... almost. They still had the masks, but they were otherwise human-sized, and they wore clothing. Saltamontes was tall and thin, his companion Escarabajo was shorter and rounder. Of course they were. Despite the droll comedy of their appearance, Nuala accepted them at face value. She couldn't be picky out here.
She hadn't been in Hueco Mundo for long, and they knew it. They had tracked her by the scent of her reiatsu over many miles of open desert, and though they were the first, they wouldn't be the only ones to arrive. Escarabajo and Saltamontes were merely the fastest to get there, and the least likely to eat her flat-out. That was the first lesson they taught her: how to hide the monstrous pressure of her reiatsu, and in so doing, eliminate the brilliant horizonal beacon she had been making of herself.
She knew better than to trust Hollows, but she had little choice, she reasoned. They knew where to find food and water out here, and she had to use her fullbring to make meager scraps into nearly passable meals. If she didn't want to starve, she'd have to go along with these Hollows for now. She just wouldn't be sleeping any time soon.
How long did she spend with them, hunting animal-class Hollows for sustenance in the endless deserts? For the equally endless night, she herself may never know. Hours faded into oblivion with perpetuity. But she did get to know her benefactors. Ultimately, the two of them had come from the Forest of Menos, having ascended from base Gillian into Adjuchas "in record time," a detail she was sure was exaggerated. Not that it mattered-- they were powerful. Even with her meager sense of the energy around her, she could tell neither of them would be an easy kill if she could manage at all.
They had left the Forest of Menos and found their way to Las Noches, where the two of them were taken in by a sagely but spirited Arrancar (Nuala was fairly certain this was an embellishment) called Fulco Parra, as his would-be Fracción. Escarabajo and Saltamontes typically disagree on the details after this point, but the overall gist that Nuala received is that Parra tried to climb the Hollow Ladder and got himself eaten. Which for a Hollow, can apparently be an honorable way to die. The pair managed to survive the event by way of an ultimate act of discretion: they fled with their tails between their legs. And their flight carried them all the way out of Las Noches, and back into the endless desert.
Saltamontes, being the taller of the two, and thus the more likely to see changes on the horizon, declared that they had been wandering in the desert for weeks before they first caught the scent of Nuala's unmasked energy. Escarabajo, being the craftier of the two, taught her how to hide her spiritual pressure. Only through events like these could she tell the difference in time. She began to track the days by how often she had eaten. And almost like a Hollow herself, she found that no matter how much she ate, she could never feel quite full inside. That was the nature of the place, she supposed.
It wasn't until they found the Hive that she could reliably say she remembered much else at all. That was when other names started to become important. Rey, Lazarus, Erscheinung. The Hive... in the most remote outlands of Hueco Mundo, the Hive sat at the bottom of a wide, crater-like basin that was miles wide. The superstructure itself was a squat stack of stonelike floors that formed a rough tower, seemingly melting together into an oozing sore on the land. It was more than 30 stories tall, and wide enough that its architecture left no question to its integrity. Outside the Hive was a baking heat. Inside, it was substantially cooler. There was clean, running water that flowed through a fountain. It was... populated. She was honestly shocked at how many Hollows and even rarer sorts had appeared there. On the other hand, it was the only place for what was surely hundreds of miles.
On the inside of the Hive, they gave homage to their benefactor, an Arrancar who had purportedly called forth life from the sand itself. Nuala didn't particularly care about the propaganda, the rumors or whatever else you called it. Yeah, there was a hierarchy and work, too. She was singled out for transcribing texts, owing to her rare talent for patience and low fighting strength. There were always books to transcribe. The existing records were in such disarray that the supervisors couldn't read through it without getting terrible anxiety or stress from reading them. Nuala, already accustomed to using coping skills for those, extended her meditation routine and used her work credits to purchase herbal teas from the Hive's stores in the upper levels. In hindsight, she should have questioned how the stores had that in stock. But his place had food and water, and that was enough for her.
For others, not so much. Like Rey. Rey Gigante. Rey was a great guy. In size, that is. His personality could have been scraped off a shoe and no one might have known the difference. His job was keeping raiders and maniacs out of the Hive, and he was among the best at his job. Nuala was pretty sure Rey needed someone to pick on to fill that literal hole in his heart. She wasn't the only non-Hollow in the Hive, but she mostly stayed in the shadow of either Saltamontes or Escarabajo, or both of them, and with her spiritual pressure suppressed and her demeanor being so unassuming... even in a place where violence was ostensibly banned, everything about her attracted his attention. She couldn't really blame him. Most Hollows were broken somehow.
It was some time after Breakfast, as they had come to call it. A sumptuous meal that went on for four hours after a fast of thirty-two. Maybe she'd gotten complacent, but she let herself get separated from Escarabajo. Saltamontes was just... elsewhere in the Hive. Rey had gone looking for trouble and found Nuala alone. Now, let's go back a bit. Nuala's memory may have mentioned that Rey was a big boy, but that was putting it mildly. Most rooms in the Hive couldn't accommodate Rey in his released form, as he towered over the horizon then. But sealed as he was, Rey was still more than twelve feet tall. He wasn't thin or lanky, either. That was all girth and muscle. His broad, bull-like horns completed his look. Even sealed, he couldn't get rid of them. They were a part of his mask fragment.
Rey had stopped Nuala. She didn't say anything... kept her mask on, and her eyes down, and just tried to walk around him. It didn't work. He swerved to intercept her. Of course he did. Now by this point, Escarabajo and Saltamontes had drilled the first two rules into Nuala. She asked if she could help him. He told her to get out. Leave the Hive, if she knows what's good for her.
It didn't go well from there. It wouldn't have mattered is she had left, in any event. Once they were out in the crater, she was fair game. Inside the Hive, she ought to have been safe from him. "You went and got so feisty," he said, slamming his fist into the ground where she had been a moment ago. She could outrun him for a while, but there was nowhere to go in there. "I had to defend myself," he punched a wall where she'd ducked out of the way again. "And I just didn't know my own strength," he stated, almost proud of how dumb it made him sound. He started to punch again, but this time, an arc of energy crackled around his fist, and a tiny blast of red energy formed in front of his knuckles. Nuala had seen them before. Bala. She just couldn't move out of the way in time.
She only let it out for a moment. The pulse traveled away from her in a wave, discoloring the air and muting sound. It dispersed the bala, and when it hit Rey... he hit the ground. The ground shook under the weight. The weight of Rey... and the ocean on top of him. Though he was her focus, he was also not the only one who felt it. She made herself scarce, but it wouldn't be the end. No dignified Hollow could resist a challenge.
After that, Escarabajo and Saltamontes watched Nuala like hawks. She wasn't sure what their investment was, but knowing that they were once upstart fracción, she had guessed at that time that their loyalty was a fundamental quality. Attention on her increased five-fold, then. It made her skin crawl as new faces emerged from the Night. A nakabakki called Lazarus. Her only experience with the sort, and apparently the guy himself had only ever met one other. Though Nuala slept under the watchful guard of Escarabajo and Saltamontes, Lazarus had somehow bypassed them, waking her directly...
The eternal whispers of the Hive had stopped. She was alone in a place where she should never be alone, and she knew it. Drawing her breath slowly, she opened her eyes. He was staring down at her, his red eyes wide and his numerous bushy tails bobbed behind him. Were it not for the sands of Hueco Mundo being white, she thought then that he should have stood out, but in the predominantly white Hive uniform and with his white fur and the white background of the Hive walls themselves, he seemed more like a Cheshire creature. Floating eyes, that is. "Are you hungry, human?" he asked.
The details of her species weren't supposed to be disclosed... "No," she lied simply. She didn't know where his hole was, but she fairly certain he had one. She had never told a Hollow she was hungry, and she wasn't going to start, now.
"Your stomach was growling in your sleep," he offered. She glanced down at her traitor. "My name is Lazarus. Like yourself, I am not a Hollow or an Arrancar. I am your supervisor here in the Hive. I would have introduced myself sooner, but you haven't stepped out of line until now. If it doesn't happen again, this might still turn out for you. I know Rey can be boorish, but while self-improvement is encouraged in the Hive, you cannot solve your problems with violence, here. There is a balance of power here that needs to be maintained for the good of the whole, and therefore the good of the individual..." that was around the same time she started tuning him out. It was all middle management stuff, anyway. Maintain the status quo, don't rock the boat, keep your production numbers up, blah blah. So, Rey had come up with a new story... she was sure she could guess what it was, too. What a bitch.
By Nuala's count, it had been five more Breakfasts before something changed. She kept her head down, avoided Rey whenever possible, but he was strangely absent from the corners of her vision. That morning had been different. Breakfast was not served immediately, making the Hive a pit of nervous energy. The supervisors assembled the Hive's citizens into the main hall, lined up according to Hive cell and some other algorithm. She and Rey were positioned directly across from one another. His head was held high. He looked proud of himself. Maybe even... a little smug. Something wasn't right.
That's when the doors opened, and the Owners arrived. Erscheinung and the Guadaña. A gray-haired old man led thirteen Arrancar into the Hive; its citizens knelt in reverence while Nuala glanced back at Rey. Before Nuala knew it, there was a woman standing next to him. She was lithe and inhumanly tall, with long legs and short hair. The Hollows around them backed off in surprise, but Rey only flinched. He put his head down. The woman spoke to Rey; Rey answered. Nuala could hear the rumble of his voice, but not what they were saying. Behind her, Escarabajo pulled her left leg out from under her and down, forcing her to kneel or fall. She chose the former and silently thanked him for the situational awareness that she lacked. Before Nuala could look back, the tall woman was gone.
The old man walked down the center of the hall, flanked and followed by a retinue of thirteen Arrancar. "In my home, I appreciate honesty and good virtue for the health of the whole," he said. There was some uncomfortable shifting in his audience. "Here, we practice restraint… I do not appreciate my guests in my home resorting to petty violence to solve their problems. Ambushing a fellow guest and deceiving a supervisor are not modest offenses, either. I know that my standards can be difficult to achieve for some of you who have been among the sands for many years. I am willing to work with you on many issues, but if you are in the end unwilling to follow my rule, whether I am absent or present, you are always welcome to leave my home. I will not bear you ill will." Nuala didn't like where this was going.
"For some of you, banishment into the sands could be deadly. I recognize this fact as well and am therefore willing to give anyone a fighting chance at survival. I will equip you for two weeks of travel in the direction of your choice or give you the opportunity to seek satisfaction for grievances. Today will be such an occasion."
That was how she found herself out in the crater, across the sands from Rey Gigante, who had come with some kind of bullshit claim and gone to a supervisor with it, and now here he was, wanting satisfaction by combat unless Nuala agreed to pack up with supplies and leave. Maybe her memory didn't mention it before, but this place had food. Loyalty or not, she couldn't expect Escarabajo and Saltamontes to give that up for her company. She didn't. She waited out on the sands, unknowing how the next few minutes would go. Rey had requested satisfaction by combat, and Erscheinung had seen fit to give it to him. This farce would be solved with violence, just a quarter mile or so outside the place where violence was banned, and where she was cited as using violence as a solution to a problem, against one of the strongest fighters in the Hive. Hollows… go figure.
Her supervisor, Lazarus, oversaw the duel. He droned on about the rules and the terms of fair fighting. This wasn't a fight to the death, they had three minutes to sort out their differences, yadda yadda fairness honor, don't be a douche. Rey didn't just open with a cero. It was a massive, sun-like red disc that floated over his horns and threatened to annihilate Nuala where she stood. She couldn't get out of the way in time, so there was really no other choice— if she timed this right, she’d live.
Her mind pressed out all other details, drawing on her Quincy training. Rey was someone’s pride and joy, but he wasn’t too bright. He’d start with his strongest attack he could muster. She could use that against him. Her body went slack. Any tension would just make it hurt more. The key was in finding a moment of clarity amidst a sea of chaos, to focus on that point… Rey lit her up. The outside face of his cero burst, releasing its contained energy in a hurricane-force storm of bright crimson reiatsu, and for a moment, all she could see was red. The bangle on her arm caught the light… behind her, a single large moon emerged from space, sliding into view as though it had always been there but invisible.
Nuala released her spiritual pressure. After weeks of being pent up inside her, it was like opening floodgates. The weight of her soul emerged as a titanic wave and hit Rey’s cero with the weight of all the oceans. The eye on the front of the moon snapped open, and both the enormous gravity of Nuala’s spiritual pressure and Rey’s cero disappeared into it. Swallowed up by some great invisible force. A beat filled the air, and the emerald glow of the moon’s eye turned brilliant orange in an instant. It issued forth as a beam, three times again the size of Rey’s blast.
She swayed on her feet. The moon behind her vanished. She believes it was Escarabajo who caught her.
Nuala came to in a bed, in a large room somewhere low in the Hive, where the drone of the eternal whispers was at its loudest. She didn't like it down here. Whenever she was assigned transcription work in this area, she'd take the books to a higher floor before starting on them. "Baah!" a voice cried. She knew that one without looking at its source. Feeble, raspy, tenor. It was Erscheinung. "I can't find anything!" he complained.
"Can I help?" she heard herself asking. Her speech was slurred. Maybe she was sedated. She wasn't sure why she chose now to speak up, especially when she was usually so good at keeping her voice down.
"Mh, you're awake again. Yeah, sure," he griped. "Maybe you can tell me what you did with my notes on Ruinnish's developments."
She tried to think back, but it was all a blur. She found herself answering before the thoughts had fully formed. Mumbled some trivia about sea stars, she's pretty sure... what was she doing here? Where was she? Where was Erscheinung? She tried to look down at herself, but the world was heavy, and her limbs were already leaden. "Ah, no," Erscheinung said. A gentle weight set her arm back down as she tried to lift it. "Can't have you doing that in your state."
"What's my state?" Nuala asked.
"Transitionary, but not liminal," came the only answer she ever received. "You have potential, but it won't do you any good like that. We're making some changes."
"I didn't agree to this," she snapped. She began to lift herself off the... table? Bed? Less gentle weights pulled her back down.
"Enough of that," Erscheinung responded, his voice dry. He sounded bored, but still somehow amiable. "You agreed to everything, signed and dated, after you killed Rey Gigante, as we have discussed before."
The next time she awoke, Saltamontes was sitting nearby. Though he was a Hollow, Nuala never felt as if he would eat her. Of course, if he had no choice, or if he had something to gain from it personally... but he'd had plenty of opportunities. He'd never shown a sign of even being tempted. Despite their comical act, she began to suspect there was something more to these two. They never did say just what their jobs in the Hive were, and she had never asked. Perhaps it was time for that conversation but before that... why did she feel so... heavy? Slowly, she sat up. Her limbs and muscles were sore, and she felt as though she'd been reading for days. The visual impressions of words on pages still haunted her eyes, just beyond reach or recognition. Damn the inaccessible past.
It took her several moments to take in her surroundings. She was in one of the upper-middle cell rooms, coined the Super by the residents. These rooms were typically off-limits, as they contained the Guadaña living quarters. "Salta," she croaked, clearing her throat. "Why am I here?"
He turned his head to face her, his eyes wide. "I have some bad news..." He explained her own situation to her, starting with the last thing she remembered. How things had potentially gotten much better for them in one way, but much worse for them in others. Escarabajo came in with food after a while. Though she was famished, she ate little and slowly, per his instructions.
Saltamontes explained the end of the duel to her. How she had exerted so much spiritual pressure here that someone perceptive enough could have felt it in Las Noches for a moment, too. How the weight of it, concentrated on Rey, crushed his Cero Meteoro such that it exploded in his face, breaking his mask into pieces and killing him. Nuala, in a state of emotional distress over having killed another person, promised Erscheinung that she would take responsibility for him. Taking her at her word, and with no regard for a lack of her own discretion, the Arrancar retreated with her into his laboratory at the very lowest level of the Hive for three weeks. He then explained to Escarabajo and Saltamontes Nuala's new role in the Hive-- undoing the damage she had rendered to his notes, by transcribing either everything she had done before back into his format or completing her work and explaining her new organization system to the centuries-old ghost. Until that time, she would be by his side daily, transcribing his notes in real-time so he could "see the process." Were he not a Hollow, Nuala might have suspected lecherous intent.
The next several weeks were brutal. Every day, Nuala awoke sorer and sorer, more and more tired, as if she weren't sleeping at all. The repetitive dreams of reading pages for hours unending haunted her sleeping hours and transcribing notes filled her waking hours. All the while, Erscheinung tinkered in his laboratory: collecting samples, cleaning tanks, filling tanks, adjusting the chemical balances of tanks... for all the tank maintenance, she was surprised at how little "science" was done each day. With eventuality, she found herself volunteering for additional work, maintaining the tanks herself and trudging on despite exhaustion. Her work credits began to be spent on increasingly powerful herbal supplements, and Nuala relished the challenges that would come from spending another day at the Arrancar's side. Slowly, the color soaked through the filter, and back into her world.
It was as though blinders had come off. She could see new avenues of thought, new approaches to old problems. By the count of "day" hours, she assisted Erscheinung in his laboratory, but by "night" she kept herself awake, training with Lazarus, Escarabajo, and Saltamontes. Self-improvement was encouraged in the Hive, after all. She had worked with the Quincy before, but her would-be fracción taught her how to fight like a Hollow. How to combat her natural weaknesses and turn them into strengths. Lazarus taught her control. Erscheinung encouraged her development, giving her clear instructions to point out when she disagreed with one of his notes, which drew on information from so many points of time in human history that it was not always clear to him which ones were currently considered accurate.
Day by day, she improved. Her muscles grew less sore, and she became surer of herself. She continued to make mistakes but saw them as puzzles with solutions. Somehow, no matter the infinite night of Hueco Mundo, she began to feel fulfilled, and in a way she had never known before. It was strange, putting it into perspective. She was a human, in the world of angry ghosts, finding happiness under the yokes of daily fear and hunger. Yet it had become home. With this realization, something about her had changed intrinsically. The Hollows began to avoid her in the labyrinthine halls of the Hive.
It was Breakfast again. Saltamontes and Escarabajo were concerned, as they had much right to be. Nuala was nearing the end of her usefulness to Erscheinung. He had mastered her organizational system, and it would take her a month or less to finish transcription of the final notes in the Hive. After that, it was unclear if the Arrancar would have any jobs left for her. Saltamontes and Escarabajo had little left to teach her in the way of combat. Lazarus had become scarce those days. The Guadaña were assembled in the main hall. Ruinnish Rurillin the Importune, the #4 Guadaña, was causing trouble with Uintornn Heisseaux the Loyal, the #8, and in so doing, earning grief from his wife Helleona Heisseaux the Grieving, the #1 Guadaña. No pun intended. At the time, Nuala tried not to notice. She started to take a bite of her food.
A brilliant flash filled the room as a horizontal bolt of lightning split the Hive in two, vertically. Where Uintornn had been standing, the lightning passed through him. At its far end, a silver spear hit the sand behind the now-falling pieces of the Hive, blossoming a new crater where it had struck and skipped off the desert floor. The Guadaña released their resurreccións, losing that thin veneer of humanity that so many of them had just barely recovered, and Nuala was reminded again that she was living among monsters. Lazarus was by her side in an instant. "Orders from above," he told her. "I regret this."
She was falling. Falling into darkness, the world retreating away from her fingertips as she realized what was happening to her. The void closed in around Nuala. Only darkness surrounded her here. There was a light, distant and impossible. She could see herself, but nothing else. Alone. What was happening? Who was attacking them?
The void spat Nuala out onto the sand. Lazarus was there, leaning up against a wall… no. That was the floor, where part of the Hive had fallen, it was now laying such that its front face the sky, and its floor was as a wall. There was something wrong with him. He wasn’t moving, despite the sounds of combat not so far away. Blood trickled out from between his fingers where he held himself. The wound went deep. “Lazarus,” she breathed, forgetting the how or the why of the situation.
“It’s not going well,” he informed her. “Uintornn, Nakaan, Iazkyll, Sherrori… they’re gone already. It’s been four minutes. Stelleshi read their leader’s life. We need to get you out of here.” He made as if to move, but Nuala held him down. She thought it would have been harder, but he didn’t struggle.
“Wait here,” she told him. She moved slowly, peeking out from behind each fallen wall or chunk of debris carefully, knowing that any misstep could be her last. She found medical supplies… Erscheinung fancied himself not only a monk and a historian but a practitioner of medicine. A renaissance scholar. His supplies were old but functional. Feeling out Lazarus’s injuries with her sense of the energy flowing through him, she found bandaged him up as best she was able.
He continued to bleed. It wouldn’t be long, now. Memories of Priska floated through her mind. Confusing, false visions mixed in with the cold, unabashed facts of Rosenbette’s report.
Someone shook her. “Nuala!” Lazarus barked in her ear, snapping her out of the fugue before it could take hold. Tears began to well up in the back of her eyes. “We have to get you to the other Hive,” he panted, now straining to keep himself up. Nuala’s eyes widened. Another Hive? Reinforcements, perhaps? But across the desert of Hueco Mundo… there wouldn’t be time for reinforcements to arrive. What then, did it matter if she could reach another Hive? Nuala poked her head up over the section of the floor that served as their wall. The Hive lay in ruins; its main hall exposed for the eternal moon to cast its somber rays upon, illuminating the grisly scene.
It was a massacre. Only two of the Guadaña were still standing: Helleona and Naskorr. The rest were strewn about the floor of the main hall, some in pieces, and some looked like they have been exposed to yet more punishment, even after they had been killed. Her eyes continued to scan the bodies. She had known these bodies. Escarabajo and Saltamontes. They had been like people, once.
She found him: Erscheinung. His body was half-destroyed, and yet he hadn’t used his release at all. “I’m not a fighter,” she had once heard him say, as he schooled her in the art of how to form a proper cero. His right leg and arm were gone as if he’d gotten too close to an overly large flame, and it simply disintegrated them off him. Between that and the overly large hole in his chest, it was a wonder his bottom half was still attached at all.
Three Quincy lay dead on the battlefield. It wasn’t enough. The fourth hovered over it, his body shining, alien and angelic all at once. Eyes surrounded his head like a halo, somehow constantly visible among the storm of wings and feathers. They sighted her instantly. His voice keened out on the wind, gleefully chirping, “Target acquired!” It was too late to run. She had seen this before. Vollständig. The ultimate expression of a Quincy’s power, to be used only as a last resort. If she could stall him long enough, he’d run out of power and consciousness, but that wasn’t in the cards. Not her style.
Bringer light flicked off her heels. In an instant, she was beside him, kneeling. She had her back to the Quincy, feeling him out with her sense of energy, while her eyes looked over the creature in front of her. He was a frail old man, the many years of work showing in the wrinkles on his face and the callouses on his hands. He taught restraint and honored the pursuit of hope even in the bleak eternity of Hueco Mundo. Tears flowed freely.
“You’re ugly when you cry,” he scolded her and commanded her to stop. Immediately, she did. Or she tried, choking on a sob. It didn’t work. “I’m an Arrancar. I was dead the moment you met me, and you have never been but a fleeting distraction from the body of my work here. You have known less than a single facet of me for less than a single year.” Had it only been that long?
“I don’t care,” Nuala protested. “You have to fix this,” she told him.
He sighed, looking down at himself. Whatever thoughts his head contained, his face would not reveal. “Look away,” he finally instructed. She did, focusing her attention on the Quincy as she turned away from him. The bangle on her arm caught the light; the Catherine wheel vanished, and eight silver moons crept out from the space around her. Years of training wiped away her tears as she heard him utter the command for his resurrección for the first time. “Awaken and consume, Miedo a lo Desconocido.”
A familiar sensation crept over her back as something took root in her bones. It was the second time she could remember it clearly, but her body recognized the sensation well. A blazing, threefold eye opened on her forehead, and in one horrific moment, she could see herself from all sides of the situation. A hunger like she had never known settled over her, and somewhere in its infinity, there was silence. A peaceful existence in the vast emptiness within, if she could only find it, to focus on it…
While Nuala’s mind was occupied with that, Erscheinung took command of the situation. Her recollection of it is hazy at best as if she were watching the battle from an outsider’s perspective, and it had taken far less time than the battle’s reality. What took another two minutes of stress and escalating measures from the Arrancar, Nuala could have sworn only a few seconds had passed. In her memory, there are only snapshots: crossing the gap between herself and the Quincy. Her fist, slamming into his side. Naskorr’s death. Helleona’s sacrifice. The explosion. Erscheinung’s Cero. Pushed to his limit, the Quincy retaliated with maximum force, firing a singular, vision-warping pfeil at Nuala. Her body went through the motions, practically without her. Erscheinung’s essence seethed and burned as it passed through her, evaporating into naught as she turned the pfeil back on its source.
Dead. Just like Rosenbette. This time, though, as Nuala stood over his corpse, she could only think about the intricate details of the Quincy uniforms and their construction, and how her own clothes were ruined. She had no time for material attachments. Not when she was alone in Hueco Mundo, with not even ghosts for company. Only the memories.
There are some important things to know about being in Hueco Mundo.
The first rule: Don't fight. Food is few and far between. Those aren't trees, they're crystals. Nothing grows on them. Fighting consumes energy, making your last meal last less time than it ought to.
The second rule: If you've broken the first rule, keep it to yourself. Don't make a lot of noise, physically or spiritually. Scavengers always come looking for a free meal when they hear a ruckus, so making noise is a good way to attract a crowd.
The third rule: Avoid others. They will either hurt you, betray you or sell you out to someone else. Don't trust congregations, especially of anything claiming it has "evolved." Remember, no matter how human it looks, it's still a Hollow. It still eats souls to live.
The fourth rule: If you've broken the third rule, make a friend. A powerful friend. Those at the top are frequently lonely. Others rightfully fear them. But make yourself useful. Endear yourself. When someone less powerful than your friend tries to hurt you, your friend might, just might, back you up.
The fifth and final rule: Be strong. Find something strong about yourself and capitalize on it. Make your weaknesses your strengths. Master yourself. It's the only way to survive.
In one way or another, it was those two who had taught her these lessons. A lot of Hollows, in Nuala's experience, chose their own names. She didn't know what those two were called before they met her. She could only tell you that they found her while she was picking at the bones of a particularly behemoth Hollow and that when they introduced themselves, they called each other Escarabajo and Saltamontes. They looked human... almost. They still had the masks, but they were otherwise human-sized, and they wore clothing. Saltamontes was tall and thin, his companion Escarabajo was shorter and rounder. Of course they were. Despite the droll comedy of their appearance, Nuala accepted them at face value. She couldn't be picky out here.
She hadn't been in Hueco Mundo for long, and they knew it. They had tracked her by the scent of her reiatsu over many miles of open desert, and though they were the first, they wouldn't be the only ones to arrive. Escarabajo and Saltamontes were merely the fastest to get there, and the least likely to eat her flat-out. That was the first lesson they taught her: how to hide the monstrous pressure of her reiatsu, and in so doing, eliminate the brilliant horizonal beacon she had been making of herself.
She knew better than to trust Hollows, but she had little choice, she reasoned. They knew where to find food and water out here, and she had to use her fullbring to make meager scraps into nearly passable meals. If she didn't want to starve, she'd have to go along with these Hollows for now. She just wouldn't be sleeping any time soon.
How long did she spend with them, hunting animal-class Hollows for sustenance in the endless deserts? For the equally endless night, she herself may never know. Hours faded into oblivion with perpetuity. But she did get to know her benefactors. Ultimately, the two of them had come from the Forest of Menos, having ascended from base Gillian into Adjuchas "in record time," a detail she was sure was exaggerated. Not that it mattered-- they were powerful. Even with her meager sense of the energy around her, she could tell neither of them would be an easy kill if she could manage at all.
They had left the Forest of Menos and found their way to Las Noches, where the two of them were taken in by a sagely but spirited Arrancar (Nuala was fairly certain this was an embellishment) called Fulco Parra, as his would-be Fracción. Escarabajo and Saltamontes typically disagree on the details after this point, but the overall gist that Nuala received is that Parra tried to climb the Hollow Ladder and got himself eaten. Which for a Hollow, can apparently be an honorable way to die. The pair managed to survive the event by way of an ultimate act of discretion: they fled with their tails between their legs. And their flight carried them all the way out of Las Noches, and back into the endless desert.
Saltamontes, being the taller of the two, and thus the more likely to see changes on the horizon, declared that they had been wandering in the desert for weeks before they first caught the scent of Nuala's unmasked energy. Escarabajo, being the craftier of the two, taught her how to hide her spiritual pressure. Only through events like these could she tell the difference in time. She began to track the days by how often she had eaten. And almost like a Hollow herself, she found that no matter how much she ate, she could never feel quite full inside. That was the nature of the place, she supposed.
It wasn't until they found the Hive that she could reliably say she remembered much else at all. That was when other names started to become important. Rey, Lazarus, Erscheinung. The Hive... in the most remote outlands of Hueco Mundo, the Hive sat at the bottom of a wide, crater-like basin that was miles wide. The superstructure itself was a squat stack of stonelike floors that formed a rough tower, seemingly melting together into an oozing sore on the land. It was more than 30 stories tall, and wide enough that its architecture left no question to its integrity. Outside the Hive was a baking heat. Inside, it was substantially cooler. There was clean, running water that flowed through a fountain. It was... populated. She was honestly shocked at how many Hollows and even rarer sorts had appeared there. On the other hand, it was the only place for what was surely hundreds of miles.
On the inside of the Hive, they gave homage to their benefactor, an Arrancar who had purportedly called forth life from the sand itself. Nuala didn't particularly care about the propaganda, the rumors or whatever else you called it. Yeah, there was a hierarchy and work, too. She was singled out for transcribing texts, owing to her rare talent for patience and low fighting strength. There were always books to transcribe. The existing records were in such disarray that the supervisors couldn't read through it without getting terrible anxiety or stress from reading them. Nuala, already accustomed to using coping skills for those, extended her meditation routine and used her work credits to purchase herbal teas from the Hive's stores in the upper levels. In hindsight, she should have questioned how the stores had that in stock. But his place had food and water, and that was enough for her.
For others, not so much. Like Rey. Rey Gigante. Rey was a great guy. In size, that is. His personality could have been scraped off a shoe and no one might have known the difference. His job was keeping raiders and maniacs out of the Hive, and he was among the best at his job. Nuala was pretty sure Rey needed someone to pick on to fill that literal hole in his heart. She wasn't the only non-Hollow in the Hive, but she mostly stayed in the shadow of either Saltamontes or Escarabajo, or both of them, and with her spiritual pressure suppressed and her demeanor being so unassuming... even in a place where violence was ostensibly banned, everything about her attracted his attention. She couldn't really blame him. Most Hollows were broken somehow.
It was some time after Breakfast, as they had come to call it. A sumptuous meal that went on for four hours after a fast of thirty-two. Maybe she'd gotten complacent, but she let herself get separated from Escarabajo. Saltamontes was just... elsewhere in the Hive. Rey had gone looking for trouble and found Nuala alone. Now, let's go back a bit. Nuala's memory may have mentioned that Rey was a big boy, but that was putting it mildly. Most rooms in the Hive couldn't accommodate Rey in his released form, as he towered over the horizon then. But sealed as he was, Rey was still more than twelve feet tall. He wasn't thin or lanky, either. That was all girth and muscle. His broad, bull-like horns completed his look. Even sealed, he couldn't get rid of them. They were a part of his mask fragment.
Rey had stopped Nuala. She didn't say anything... kept her mask on, and her eyes down, and just tried to walk around him. It didn't work. He swerved to intercept her. Of course he did. Now by this point, Escarabajo and Saltamontes had drilled the first two rules into Nuala. She asked if she could help him. He told her to get out. Leave the Hive, if she knows what's good for her.
It didn't go well from there. It wouldn't have mattered is she had left, in any event. Once they were out in the crater, she was fair game. Inside the Hive, she ought to have been safe from him. "You went and got so feisty," he said, slamming his fist into the ground where she had been a moment ago. She could outrun him for a while, but there was nowhere to go in there. "I had to defend myself," he punched a wall where she'd ducked out of the way again. "And I just didn't know my own strength," he stated, almost proud of how dumb it made him sound. He started to punch again, but this time, an arc of energy crackled around his fist, and a tiny blast of red energy formed in front of his knuckles. Nuala had seen them before. Bala. She just couldn't move out of the way in time.
She only let it out for a moment. The pulse traveled away from her in a wave, discoloring the air and muting sound. It dispersed the bala, and when it hit Rey... he hit the ground. The ground shook under the weight. The weight of Rey... and the ocean on top of him. Though he was her focus, he was also not the only one who felt it. She made herself scarce, but it wouldn't be the end. No dignified Hollow could resist a challenge.
After that, Escarabajo and Saltamontes watched Nuala like hawks. She wasn't sure what their investment was, but knowing that they were once upstart fracción, she had guessed at that time that their loyalty was a fundamental quality. Attention on her increased five-fold, then. It made her skin crawl as new faces emerged from the Night. A nakabakki called Lazarus. Her only experience with the sort, and apparently the guy himself had only ever met one other. Though Nuala slept under the watchful guard of Escarabajo and Saltamontes, Lazarus had somehow bypassed them, waking her directly...
The eternal whispers of the Hive had stopped. She was alone in a place where she should never be alone, and she knew it. Drawing her breath slowly, she opened her eyes. He was staring down at her, his red eyes wide and his numerous bushy tails bobbed behind him. Were it not for the sands of Hueco Mundo being white, she thought then that he should have stood out, but in the predominantly white Hive uniform and with his white fur and the white background of the Hive walls themselves, he seemed more like a Cheshire creature. Floating eyes, that is. "Are you hungry, human?" he asked.
The details of her species weren't supposed to be disclosed... "No," she lied simply. She didn't know where his hole was, but she fairly certain he had one. She had never told a Hollow she was hungry, and she wasn't going to start, now.
"Your stomach was growling in your sleep," he offered. She glanced down at her traitor. "My name is Lazarus. Like yourself, I am not a Hollow or an Arrancar. I am your supervisor here in the Hive. I would have introduced myself sooner, but you haven't stepped out of line until now. If it doesn't happen again, this might still turn out for you. I know Rey can be boorish, but while self-improvement is encouraged in the Hive, you cannot solve your problems with violence, here. There is a balance of power here that needs to be maintained for the good of the whole, and therefore the good of the individual..." that was around the same time she started tuning him out. It was all middle management stuff, anyway. Maintain the status quo, don't rock the boat, keep your production numbers up, blah blah. So, Rey had come up with a new story... she was sure she could guess what it was, too. What a bitch.
By Nuala's count, it had been five more Breakfasts before something changed. She kept her head down, avoided Rey whenever possible, but he was strangely absent from the corners of her vision. That morning had been different. Breakfast was not served immediately, making the Hive a pit of nervous energy. The supervisors assembled the Hive's citizens into the main hall, lined up according to Hive cell and some other algorithm. She and Rey were positioned directly across from one another. His head was held high. He looked proud of himself. Maybe even... a little smug. Something wasn't right.
That's when the doors opened, and the Owners arrived. Erscheinung and the Guadaña. A gray-haired old man led thirteen Arrancar into the Hive; its citizens knelt in reverence while Nuala glanced back at Rey. Before Nuala knew it, there was a woman standing next to him. She was lithe and inhumanly tall, with long legs and short hair. The Hollows around them backed off in surprise, but Rey only flinched. He put his head down. The woman spoke to Rey; Rey answered. Nuala could hear the rumble of his voice, but not what they were saying. Behind her, Escarabajo pulled her left leg out from under her and down, forcing her to kneel or fall. She chose the former and silently thanked him for the situational awareness that she lacked. Before Nuala could look back, the tall woman was gone.
The old man walked down the center of the hall, flanked and followed by a retinue of thirteen Arrancar. "In my home, I appreciate honesty and good virtue for the health of the whole," he said. There was some uncomfortable shifting in his audience. "Here, we practice restraint… I do not appreciate my guests in my home resorting to petty violence to solve their problems. Ambushing a fellow guest and deceiving a supervisor are not modest offenses, either. I know that my standards can be difficult to achieve for some of you who have been among the sands for many years. I am willing to work with you on many issues, but if you are in the end unwilling to follow my rule, whether I am absent or present, you are always welcome to leave my home. I will not bear you ill will." Nuala didn't like where this was going.
"For some of you, banishment into the sands could be deadly. I recognize this fact as well and am therefore willing to give anyone a fighting chance at survival. I will equip you for two weeks of travel in the direction of your choice or give you the opportunity to seek satisfaction for grievances. Today will be such an occasion."
That was how she found herself out in the crater, across the sands from Rey Gigante, who had come with some kind of bullshit claim and gone to a supervisor with it, and now here he was, wanting satisfaction by combat unless Nuala agreed to pack up with supplies and leave. Maybe her memory didn't mention it before, but this place had food. Loyalty or not, she couldn't expect Escarabajo and Saltamontes to give that up for her company. She didn't. She waited out on the sands, unknowing how the next few minutes would go. Rey had requested satisfaction by combat, and Erscheinung had seen fit to give it to him. This farce would be solved with violence, just a quarter mile or so outside the place where violence was banned, and where she was cited as using violence as a solution to a problem, against one of the strongest fighters in the Hive. Hollows… go figure.
Her supervisor, Lazarus, oversaw the duel. He droned on about the rules and the terms of fair fighting. This wasn't a fight to the death, they had three minutes to sort out their differences, yadda yadda fairness honor, don't be a douche. Rey didn't just open with a cero. It was a massive, sun-like red disc that floated over his horns and threatened to annihilate Nuala where she stood. She couldn't get out of the way in time, so there was really no other choice— if she timed this right, she’d live.
Her mind pressed out all other details, drawing on her Quincy training. Rey was someone’s pride and joy, but he wasn’t too bright. He’d start with his strongest attack he could muster. She could use that against him. Her body went slack. Any tension would just make it hurt more. The key was in finding a moment of clarity amidst a sea of chaos, to focus on that point… Rey lit her up. The outside face of his cero burst, releasing its contained energy in a hurricane-force storm of bright crimson reiatsu, and for a moment, all she could see was red. The bangle on her arm caught the light… behind her, a single large moon emerged from space, sliding into view as though it had always been there but invisible.
Nuala released her spiritual pressure. After weeks of being pent up inside her, it was like opening floodgates. The weight of her soul emerged as a titanic wave and hit Rey’s cero with the weight of all the oceans. The eye on the front of the moon snapped open, and both the enormous gravity of Nuala’s spiritual pressure and Rey’s cero disappeared into it. Swallowed up by some great invisible force. A beat filled the air, and the emerald glow of the moon’s eye turned brilliant orange in an instant. It issued forth as a beam, three times again the size of Rey’s blast.
She swayed on her feet. The moon behind her vanished. She believes it was Escarabajo who caught her.
Nuala came to in a bed, in a large room somewhere low in the Hive, where the drone of the eternal whispers was at its loudest. She didn't like it down here. Whenever she was assigned transcription work in this area, she'd take the books to a higher floor before starting on them. "Baah!" a voice cried. She knew that one without looking at its source. Feeble, raspy, tenor. It was Erscheinung. "I can't find anything!" he complained.
"Can I help?" she heard herself asking. Her speech was slurred. Maybe she was sedated. She wasn't sure why she chose now to speak up, especially when she was usually so good at keeping her voice down.
"Mh, you're awake again. Yeah, sure," he griped. "Maybe you can tell me what you did with my notes on Ruinnish's developments."
She tried to think back, but it was all a blur. She found herself answering before the thoughts had fully formed. Mumbled some trivia about sea stars, she's pretty sure... what was she doing here? Where was she? Where was Erscheinung? She tried to look down at herself, but the world was heavy, and her limbs were already leaden. "Ah, no," Erscheinung said. A gentle weight set her arm back down as she tried to lift it. "Can't have you doing that in your state."
"What's my state?" Nuala asked.
"Transitionary, but not liminal," came the only answer she ever received. "You have potential, but it won't do you any good like that. We're making some changes."
"I didn't agree to this," she snapped. She began to lift herself off the... table? Bed? Less gentle weights pulled her back down.
"Enough of that," Erscheinung responded, his voice dry. He sounded bored, but still somehow amiable. "You agreed to everything, signed and dated, after you killed Rey Gigante, as we have discussed before."
The next time she awoke, Saltamontes was sitting nearby. Though he was a Hollow, Nuala never felt as if he would eat her. Of course, if he had no choice, or if he had something to gain from it personally... but he'd had plenty of opportunities. He'd never shown a sign of even being tempted. Despite their comical act, she began to suspect there was something more to these two. They never did say just what their jobs in the Hive were, and she had never asked. Perhaps it was time for that conversation but before that... why did she feel so... heavy? Slowly, she sat up. Her limbs and muscles were sore, and she felt as though she'd been reading for days. The visual impressions of words on pages still haunted her eyes, just beyond reach or recognition. Damn the inaccessible past.
It took her several moments to take in her surroundings. She was in one of the upper-middle cell rooms, coined the Super by the residents. These rooms were typically off-limits, as they contained the Guadaña living quarters. "Salta," she croaked, clearing her throat. "Why am I here?"
He turned his head to face her, his eyes wide. "I have some bad news..." He explained her own situation to her, starting with the last thing she remembered. How things had potentially gotten much better for them in one way, but much worse for them in others. Escarabajo came in with food after a while. Though she was famished, she ate little and slowly, per his instructions.
Saltamontes explained the end of the duel to her. How she had exerted so much spiritual pressure here that someone perceptive enough could have felt it in Las Noches for a moment, too. How the weight of it, concentrated on Rey, crushed his Cero Meteoro such that it exploded in his face, breaking his mask into pieces and killing him. Nuala, in a state of emotional distress over having killed another person, promised Erscheinung that she would take responsibility for him. Taking her at her word, and with no regard for a lack of her own discretion, the Arrancar retreated with her into his laboratory at the very lowest level of the Hive for three weeks. He then explained to Escarabajo and Saltamontes Nuala's new role in the Hive-- undoing the damage she had rendered to his notes, by transcribing either everything she had done before back into his format or completing her work and explaining her new organization system to the centuries-old ghost. Until that time, she would be by his side daily, transcribing his notes in real-time so he could "see the process." Were he not a Hollow, Nuala might have suspected lecherous intent.
The next several weeks were brutal. Every day, Nuala awoke sorer and sorer, more and more tired, as if she weren't sleeping at all. The repetitive dreams of reading pages for hours unending haunted her sleeping hours and transcribing notes filled her waking hours. All the while, Erscheinung tinkered in his laboratory: collecting samples, cleaning tanks, filling tanks, adjusting the chemical balances of tanks... for all the tank maintenance, she was surprised at how little "science" was done each day. With eventuality, she found herself volunteering for additional work, maintaining the tanks herself and trudging on despite exhaustion. Her work credits began to be spent on increasingly powerful herbal supplements, and Nuala relished the challenges that would come from spending another day at the Arrancar's side. Slowly, the color soaked through the filter, and back into her world.
It was as though blinders had come off. She could see new avenues of thought, new approaches to old problems. By the count of "day" hours, she assisted Erscheinung in his laboratory, but by "night" she kept herself awake, training with Lazarus, Escarabajo, and Saltamontes. Self-improvement was encouraged in the Hive, after all. She had worked with the Quincy before, but her would-be fracción taught her how to fight like a Hollow. How to combat her natural weaknesses and turn them into strengths. Lazarus taught her control. Erscheinung encouraged her development, giving her clear instructions to point out when she disagreed with one of his notes, which drew on information from so many points of time in human history that it was not always clear to him which ones were currently considered accurate.
Day by day, she improved. Her muscles grew less sore, and she became surer of herself. She continued to make mistakes but saw them as puzzles with solutions. Somehow, no matter the infinite night of Hueco Mundo, she began to feel fulfilled, and in a way she had never known before. It was strange, putting it into perspective. She was a human, in the world of angry ghosts, finding happiness under the yokes of daily fear and hunger. Yet it had become home. With this realization, something about her had changed intrinsically. The Hollows began to avoid her in the labyrinthine halls of the Hive.
It was Breakfast again. Saltamontes and Escarabajo were concerned, as they had much right to be. Nuala was nearing the end of her usefulness to Erscheinung. He had mastered her organizational system, and it would take her a month or less to finish transcription of the final notes in the Hive. After that, it was unclear if the Arrancar would have any jobs left for her. Saltamontes and Escarabajo had little left to teach her in the way of combat. Lazarus had become scarce those days. The Guadaña were assembled in the main hall. Ruinnish Rurillin the Importune, the #4 Guadaña, was causing trouble with Uintornn Heisseaux the Loyal, the #8, and in so doing, earning grief from his wife Helleona Heisseaux the Grieving, the #1 Guadaña. No pun intended. At the time, Nuala tried not to notice. She started to take a bite of her food.
A brilliant flash filled the room as a horizontal bolt of lightning split the Hive in two, vertically. Where Uintornn had been standing, the lightning passed through him. At its far end, a silver spear hit the sand behind the now-falling pieces of the Hive, blossoming a new crater where it had struck and skipped off the desert floor. The Guadaña released their resurreccións, losing that thin veneer of humanity that so many of them had just barely recovered, and Nuala was reminded again that she was living among monsters. Lazarus was by her side in an instant. "Orders from above," he told her. "I regret this."
She was falling. Falling into darkness, the world retreating away from her fingertips as she realized what was happening to her. The void closed in around Nuala. Only darkness surrounded her here. There was a light, distant and impossible. She could see herself, but nothing else. Alone. What was happening? Who was attacking them?
The void spat Nuala out onto the sand. Lazarus was there, leaning up against a wall… no. That was the floor, where part of the Hive had fallen, it was now laying such that its front face the sky, and its floor was as a wall. There was something wrong with him. He wasn’t moving, despite the sounds of combat not so far away. Blood trickled out from between his fingers where he held himself. The wound went deep. “Lazarus,” she breathed, forgetting the how or the why of the situation.
“It’s not going well,” he informed her. “Uintornn, Nakaan, Iazkyll, Sherrori… they’re gone already. It’s been four minutes. Stelleshi read their leader’s life. We need to get you out of here.” He made as if to move, but Nuala held him down. She thought it would have been harder, but he didn’t struggle.
“Wait here,” she told him. She moved slowly, peeking out from behind each fallen wall or chunk of debris carefully, knowing that any misstep could be her last. She found medical supplies… Erscheinung fancied himself not only a monk and a historian but a practitioner of medicine. A renaissance scholar. His supplies were old but functional. Feeling out Lazarus’s injuries with her sense of the energy flowing through him, she found bandaged him up as best she was able.
He continued to bleed. It wouldn’t be long, now. Memories of Priska floated through her mind. Confusing, false visions mixed in with the cold, unabashed facts of Rosenbette’s report.
Someone shook her. “Nuala!” Lazarus barked in her ear, snapping her out of the fugue before it could take hold. Tears began to well up in the back of her eyes. “We have to get you to the other Hive,” he panted, now straining to keep himself up. Nuala’s eyes widened. Another Hive? Reinforcements, perhaps? But across the desert of Hueco Mundo… there wouldn’t be time for reinforcements to arrive. What then, did it matter if she could reach another Hive? Nuala poked her head up over the section of the floor that served as their wall. The Hive lay in ruins; its main hall exposed for the eternal moon to cast its somber rays upon, illuminating the grisly scene.
It was a massacre. Only two of the Guadaña were still standing: Helleona and Naskorr. The rest were strewn about the floor of the main hall, some in pieces, and some looked like they have been exposed to yet more punishment, even after they had been killed. Her eyes continued to scan the bodies. She had known these bodies. Escarabajo and Saltamontes. They had been like people, once.
She found him: Erscheinung. His body was half-destroyed, and yet he hadn’t used his release at all. “I’m not a fighter,” she had once heard him say, as he schooled her in the art of how to form a proper cero. His right leg and arm were gone as if he’d gotten too close to an overly large flame, and it simply disintegrated them off him. Between that and the overly large hole in his chest, it was a wonder his bottom half was still attached at all.
Three Quincy lay dead on the battlefield. It wasn’t enough. The fourth hovered over it, his body shining, alien and angelic all at once. Eyes surrounded his head like a halo, somehow constantly visible among the storm of wings and feathers. They sighted her instantly. His voice keened out on the wind, gleefully chirping, “Target acquired!” It was too late to run. She had seen this before. Vollständig. The ultimate expression of a Quincy’s power, to be used only as a last resort. If she could stall him long enough, he’d run out of power and consciousness, but that wasn’t in the cards. Not her style.
Bringer light flicked off her heels. In an instant, she was beside him, kneeling. She had her back to the Quincy, feeling him out with her sense of energy, while her eyes looked over the creature in front of her. He was a frail old man, the many years of work showing in the wrinkles on his face and the callouses on his hands. He taught restraint and honored the pursuit of hope even in the bleak eternity of Hueco Mundo. Tears flowed freely.
“You’re ugly when you cry,” he scolded her and commanded her to stop. Immediately, she did. Or she tried, choking on a sob. It didn’t work. “I’m an Arrancar. I was dead the moment you met me, and you have never been but a fleeting distraction from the body of my work here. You have known less than a single facet of me for less than a single year.” Had it only been that long?
“I don’t care,” Nuala protested. “You have to fix this,” she told him.
He sighed, looking down at himself. Whatever thoughts his head contained, his face would not reveal. “Look away,” he finally instructed. She did, focusing her attention on the Quincy as she turned away from him. The bangle on her arm caught the light; the Catherine wheel vanished, and eight silver moons crept out from the space around her. Years of training wiped away her tears as she heard him utter the command for his resurrección for the first time. “Awaken and consume, Miedo a lo Desconocido.”
A familiar sensation crept over her back as something took root in her bones. It was the second time she could remember it clearly, but her body recognized the sensation well. A blazing, threefold eye opened on her forehead, and in one horrific moment, she could see herself from all sides of the situation. A hunger like she had never known settled over her, and somewhere in its infinity, there was silence. A peaceful existence in the vast emptiness within, if she could only find it, to focus on it…
While Nuala’s mind was occupied with that, Erscheinung took command of the situation. Her recollection of it is hazy at best as if she were watching the battle from an outsider’s perspective, and it had taken far less time than the battle’s reality. What took another two minutes of stress and escalating measures from the Arrancar, Nuala could have sworn only a few seconds had passed. In her memory, there are only snapshots: crossing the gap between herself and the Quincy. Her fist, slamming into his side. Naskorr’s death. Helleona’s sacrifice. The explosion. Erscheinung’s Cero. Pushed to his limit, the Quincy retaliated with maximum force, firing a singular, vision-warping pfeil at Nuala. Her body went through the motions, practically without her. Erscheinung’s essence seethed and burned as it passed through her, evaporating into naught as she turned the pfeil back on its source.
Dead. Just like Rosenbette. This time, though, as Nuala stood over his corpse, she could only think about the intricate details of the Quincy uniforms and their construction, and how her own clothes were ruined. She had no time for material attachments. Not when she was alone in Hueco Mundo, with not even ghosts for company. Only the memories.
{The Last Hive}The food was in the lowest quarter of the Hive, underground with Erscheinung’s oldest laboratories, in the place where Nuala had once feared to go, for the eternal whispers of the Hive’s droning was irresistible there. Those sounds were long since gone, and she was free to explore the remains of what was once Erscheinung’s Hive at a pace controlled only by her appetite. Which, as it turns out, was ravenous. Lazarus had mentioned another Hive. If this place were as old as the Arrancar’s frail body suggested, then Nuala had a hunch his notes would eventually contain information on the other Hive. And she was right. It took her six long weeks to find his records on it, but Nuala found it: a map of the nearby regions, as recorded by a dozen flying Hollows over a century before. The map described this Hive, and a month and a half of travel by foot for the average human, a pilgrimage that Erscheinung and the Guadaña made twice an earthly year.
The journey was slow and harsh. She made it by the sands above the Forest; she had enough food on her for the trip. The emptiness that filled her felt as infinite as the void itself. Six weeks of walking, without company or pause but for equally empty sleep, cheated of real relaxation by the constant need to watch her back, or risk being ambushed by some Hollow that had caught the scent of her living soul. Not a single traveler interrupted her on the way. This far out in the endless desert, she was truly alone.
It wasn’t until she came over the crest of the crater where the Hive lay that Nuala’s thoughts strayed from the Quincy attack on the old Hive. All the things she might have done if things had been just a little different. In the end, this was where she was, though. Her thoughts were interrupted as she opened the doors for herself, permitting her own entry to the Hive.
It was… the same. The building, at any rate. Every contour, every corner. Erscheinung had designed each Hive to be identical to the other. It was what it contained that was different. Dozens of swords were stuck through the floor, all surrounding a makeshift throne in the center of the main hall, constructed out of broken tables and less recognizable stones. Atop it sat a large, red-haired Arrancar with a feathery, practically dainty mask fragment. He leaned forward as she let herself in. “Whose figure darkens my door?” he inquired. “This is my private home, and I do not suffer guests. Leave or be–“ Bringer light splashed off her heels, and in the next moment, she was standing on the arm of his throne, eyes glaring balefully down at him.
“The Guadaña are back,” she informed him. She held out her hand as if to touch him, reading his aura. Sensing the inherent danger of the situation, the Arrancar practically vanished from the throne as he fled from her, the noise of his sonido the only trace left of him. It was too late, though. She had gotten what she needed. A glimpse at his past. At what happened here.
He called himself Szallyrr. He was an Adjuchas when he first broke his mask, and proud of his mastery over cero. Indeed, he’d had more practice with it than any Hollow or Arrancar he’d ever met, including the refugees at this Hive. That was likely because he had scouted the Hive once centuries ago but avoided meeting its inhabitants until Erscheinung and his budding Guadaña were gone and spent the interim practicing his cero with dedication, sure that it would one day defeat even the Espada. His intentions were opportunist from the start. Using the advanced pesquis of his release, he kept tabs on the Twin Hives from their shadows, waiting for the hour that Cerlette the Naïve, the object of his greatest fear, were dead. That hour had come and past.
After Erscheinung’s death, Szallyrr made his move on the remaining Hive. He came under the pretense of joining the remaining refugees’ monastery, but the moment they let him cross the threshold, he released his resurrección and rained ceros on its inhabitants. The first attack’s death toll was the highest, but some of the refugees remaining were able to fight back. In the end, he killed and ate them all, and had only been stewing in his own pride since then. Nuala knew this was Hueco Mundo, but Szallyrr was an ancient Arrancar. He’d had chances to live peacefully with the Guadaña, but his greed overshadowed his good sense. Just then, Nuala did nothing to hide her contempt.
Szallyrr grinned, holding out one hand as if to grasp for air. A pulse of red energy filled his palm, then condensed into a large sphere. Nuala squinted. “It’s a good thing no one here had any mastery of cero,” she told him. She started walking toward him. If his memory on the matter were accurate, it was sadly true. This Hive tended toward peaceful approaches to self-improvement, while its twin was unarguably the more volatile of the two.
“Consume in screams, Polilla de Sangre,” Szallyrr recited gleefully, releasing his resurrección. His body expanded and grew thick, stiff red hairs, wing-like growths and antennae extended from his back and head, and his eyes blossomed into iridescent compound structures. The cero in his palm tripled in size, then tripled again. Nuala was reminded of Rey Gigante’s Cero Meteoro. If Rey’s cero had been small and weak. She frowned. Szallyrr released his cero, and Nuala was gone in an instant, reappearing just feet in front of him. The red blast, captive in her power, skittered between her fingertips as she gently bounced it between her hands.
“This is not a cero,” she said. Nuala opened the gate to the energy deep within her. Her right hand touched onto the orb’s surface, and a wave of deep blue reiatsu condensed around the crackling crimson sphere, overtaking it in a flash. Her skin burned where it touched the new manifestation. She released it back on him, breaking its outside face as she let it go. The blast swept over him in a storm of deep blue energy, its original red barely an odd flicker in its infernal deluge. It laid waste to where he stood and everything in a wave as reaching as Nuala could see. She held nothing back. Had there been anything left of him, he’d have known it, too.
She spent the next three years in relative solitude, punctuated only by the foolish and the occasional lone traveler. Nuala found what Erscheinung had meant by bringing life to Hueco Mundo. Fish. There were no laboratories beneath this Hive, but a massive tank filled with a tiny ecosystem for several varieties of fish, which the Guadaña had smuggled in from the mortal world decades ago. These fish were Erscheinung’s most precious secret and most ambitious experiment, but one that had failed time and again. According to the Arrancar’s most recent notes, there were signs that this tank, too, would fail.
Nuala disagreed. As she was encouraged to do, she set out to make her case. It began with collecting and reading all Erscheinung’s most important notes on the tank, sampling the fish and then reading their auras to see its cumulative history. It was a long project, but one she could manage. By reading their needs through communication with their souls, she addressed each tank occupant’s demands. It would require her to learn a great number of things in a short time, but she was determined. Day by day, as it had been with the Hive before, she studied. “Day” and “night,” until the shadows of the words played off her eyes even when she slept. This tank was her one chance. Her sole source of food.
She couldn’t tell you whether she had saved it, or the other way around. Only that when she awoke to the auras of Hollows in her domain, she knew of their ill intent before they announced themselves. Her sense of vital energies had become her first line of defense. They had come for her tanks, and in their arrogance, her too. She wasn’t close enough to know much more than that, but she put on her ajirogasa and met them in the main hall. She had left it untouched for the most part. Its austere appearance alone, with the graveyard of swords and the empty throne, was enough to ward off more cautious intruders.
“Look at this,” one of them jeered. “She’s ready to die already.” She was underwhelmed. He was no Arrancar, but an Adjuchas. Not to say they couldn’t be strong, just that it was clear this one wasn’t. Not particularly, anyway. He had a weirdly purple body and a mask that reminded her of a moose. Had she given him a chance to act, he might have done something terrible to earn that resemblance. Instead, she made an example of him. She couldn’t create ceros on her own, but that wasn’t to say she was weak. Only that human souls aren’t equipped for that, but she still had some amount of spiritual moxie to draw on, even in her current state.
She drew forth the energy from her soul, sparked it into life as it escaped her, and issued forth a winding, sinuous dragon of coruscating flames from her outstretched palm. If he’d said something in protest, Nuala had already stopped listening. Her dragon mauled on the first Adjuchas while she approached one of his companions. His elongated body reminded her of an eel. “You will survive this if you make a Garganta to the human world and take me through,” she suggested. Behind her, the dragon of roaring flames seared and ripped another one apart, while a fourth and fifth bolted for the doors out.
The Eel-Adjuchas smiled at her. “I love the human world,” he hissed through his many teeth, spreading his hands in a gesture of nonaggression. “Name’s Marekki. Pleased to meet you.” He smiled too friendly-like, but he knew when he was beaten before he started, and Nuala could leverage that. That was her last night in Hueco Mundo.
That was two years ago. Her transition back to the human world had been a rough one. Shortly before his untimely demise, “Marekki” had delivered Nuala to somewhere in Japan. The smell of living souls drove him out of his mind, and Nuala put him out of his misery before he could devour even one.
She was able to sell several trinkets she had brought from the Hive with her to antique dealers. It was sketchy, but they were interested in her goods, asked few questions and paid in cash. She used the proceeds from that to buy her way into a small property, not quite up to building codes, but she could see to that. It would be a big project, but it was one she could manage.
The journey was slow and harsh. She made it by the sands above the Forest; she had enough food on her for the trip. The emptiness that filled her felt as infinite as the void itself. Six weeks of walking, without company or pause but for equally empty sleep, cheated of real relaxation by the constant need to watch her back, or risk being ambushed by some Hollow that had caught the scent of her living soul. Not a single traveler interrupted her on the way. This far out in the endless desert, she was truly alone.
It wasn’t until she came over the crest of the crater where the Hive lay that Nuala’s thoughts strayed from the Quincy attack on the old Hive. All the things she might have done if things had been just a little different. In the end, this was where she was, though. Her thoughts were interrupted as she opened the doors for herself, permitting her own entry to the Hive.
It was… the same. The building, at any rate. Every contour, every corner. Erscheinung had designed each Hive to be identical to the other. It was what it contained that was different. Dozens of swords were stuck through the floor, all surrounding a makeshift throne in the center of the main hall, constructed out of broken tables and less recognizable stones. Atop it sat a large, red-haired Arrancar with a feathery, practically dainty mask fragment. He leaned forward as she let herself in. “Whose figure darkens my door?” he inquired. “This is my private home, and I do not suffer guests. Leave or be–“ Bringer light splashed off her heels, and in the next moment, she was standing on the arm of his throne, eyes glaring balefully down at him.
“The Guadaña are back,” she informed him. She held out her hand as if to touch him, reading his aura. Sensing the inherent danger of the situation, the Arrancar practically vanished from the throne as he fled from her, the noise of his sonido the only trace left of him. It was too late, though. She had gotten what she needed. A glimpse at his past. At what happened here.
He called himself Szallyrr. He was an Adjuchas when he first broke his mask, and proud of his mastery over cero. Indeed, he’d had more practice with it than any Hollow or Arrancar he’d ever met, including the refugees at this Hive. That was likely because he had scouted the Hive once centuries ago but avoided meeting its inhabitants until Erscheinung and his budding Guadaña were gone and spent the interim practicing his cero with dedication, sure that it would one day defeat even the Espada. His intentions were opportunist from the start. Using the advanced pesquis of his release, he kept tabs on the Twin Hives from their shadows, waiting for the hour that Cerlette the Naïve, the object of his greatest fear, were dead. That hour had come and past.
After Erscheinung’s death, Szallyrr made his move on the remaining Hive. He came under the pretense of joining the remaining refugees’ monastery, but the moment they let him cross the threshold, he released his resurrección and rained ceros on its inhabitants. The first attack’s death toll was the highest, but some of the refugees remaining were able to fight back. In the end, he killed and ate them all, and had only been stewing in his own pride since then. Nuala knew this was Hueco Mundo, but Szallyrr was an ancient Arrancar. He’d had chances to live peacefully with the Guadaña, but his greed overshadowed his good sense. Just then, Nuala did nothing to hide her contempt.
Szallyrr grinned, holding out one hand as if to grasp for air. A pulse of red energy filled his palm, then condensed into a large sphere. Nuala squinted. “It’s a good thing no one here had any mastery of cero,” she told him. She started walking toward him. If his memory on the matter were accurate, it was sadly true. This Hive tended toward peaceful approaches to self-improvement, while its twin was unarguably the more volatile of the two.
“Consume in screams, Polilla de Sangre,” Szallyrr recited gleefully, releasing his resurrección. His body expanded and grew thick, stiff red hairs, wing-like growths and antennae extended from his back and head, and his eyes blossomed into iridescent compound structures. The cero in his palm tripled in size, then tripled again. Nuala was reminded of Rey Gigante’s Cero Meteoro. If Rey’s cero had been small and weak. She frowned. Szallyrr released his cero, and Nuala was gone in an instant, reappearing just feet in front of him. The red blast, captive in her power, skittered between her fingertips as she gently bounced it between her hands.
“This is not a cero,” she said. Nuala opened the gate to the energy deep within her. Her right hand touched onto the orb’s surface, and a wave of deep blue reiatsu condensed around the crackling crimson sphere, overtaking it in a flash. Her skin burned where it touched the new manifestation. She released it back on him, breaking its outside face as she let it go. The blast swept over him in a storm of deep blue energy, its original red barely an odd flicker in its infernal deluge. It laid waste to where he stood and everything in a wave as reaching as Nuala could see. She held nothing back. Had there been anything left of him, he’d have known it, too.
She spent the next three years in relative solitude, punctuated only by the foolish and the occasional lone traveler. Nuala found what Erscheinung had meant by bringing life to Hueco Mundo. Fish. There were no laboratories beneath this Hive, but a massive tank filled with a tiny ecosystem for several varieties of fish, which the Guadaña had smuggled in from the mortal world decades ago. These fish were Erscheinung’s most precious secret and most ambitious experiment, but one that had failed time and again. According to the Arrancar’s most recent notes, there were signs that this tank, too, would fail.
Nuala disagreed. As she was encouraged to do, she set out to make her case. It began with collecting and reading all Erscheinung’s most important notes on the tank, sampling the fish and then reading their auras to see its cumulative history. It was a long project, but one she could manage. By reading their needs through communication with their souls, she addressed each tank occupant’s demands. It would require her to learn a great number of things in a short time, but she was determined. Day by day, as it had been with the Hive before, she studied. “Day” and “night,” until the shadows of the words played off her eyes even when she slept. This tank was her one chance. Her sole source of food.
She couldn’t tell you whether she had saved it, or the other way around. Only that when she awoke to the auras of Hollows in her domain, she knew of their ill intent before they announced themselves. Her sense of vital energies had become her first line of defense. They had come for her tanks, and in their arrogance, her too. She wasn’t close enough to know much more than that, but she put on her ajirogasa and met them in the main hall. She had left it untouched for the most part. Its austere appearance alone, with the graveyard of swords and the empty throne, was enough to ward off more cautious intruders.
“Look at this,” one of them jeered. “She’s ready to die already.” She was underwhelmed. He was no Arrancar, but an Adjuchas. Not to say they couldn’t be strong, just that it was clear this one wasn’t. Not particularly, anyway. He had a weirdly purple body and a mask that reminded her of a moose. Had she given him a chance to act, he might have done something terrible to earn that resemblance. Instead, she made an example of him. She couldn’t create ceros on her own, but that wasn’t to say she was weak. Only that human souls aren’t equipped for that, but she still had some amount of spiritual moxie to draw on, even in her current state.
She drew forth the energy from her soul, sparked it into life as it escaped her, and issued forth a winding, sinuous dragon of coruscating flames from her outstretched palm. If he’d said something in protest, Nuala had already stopped listening. Her dragon mauled on the first Adjuchas while she approached one of his companions. His elongated body reminded her of an eel. “You will survive this if you make a Garganta to the human world and take me through,” she suggested. Behind her, the dragon of roaring flames seared and ripped another one apart, while a fourth and fifth bolted for the doors out.
The Eel-Adjuchas smiled at her. “I love the human world,” he hissed through his many teeth, spreading his hands in a gesture of nonaggression. “Name’s Marekki. Pleased to meet you.” He smiled too friendly-like, but he knew when he was beaten before he started, and Nuala could leverage that. That was her last night in Hueco Mundo.
That was two years ago. Her transition back to the human world had been a rough one. Shortly before his untimely demise, “Marekki” had delivered Nuala to somewhere in Japan. The smell of living souls drove him out of his mind, and Nuala put him out of his misery before he could devour even one.
She was able to sell several trinkets she had brought from the Hive with her to antique dealers. It was sketchy, but they were interested in her goods, asked few questions and paid in cash. She used the proceeds from that to buy her way into a small property, not quite up to building codes, but she could see to that. It would be a big project, but it was one she could manage.
