[Spirit Class 6] Catherine Reed

» Alias: Catherine Reed » Age: 28 » Gender: Female » Race: Fullbringer » Association: Ulberg Arms & Innovation Manager | Mercenary » Alignment: Neutral Evil » Sexual Orientation: Hollowmurdersexual » Ethnicity: Irish/Norwegian » Nationality: American » Special Skill: People Reading » Height: 5'5 ft » Weight: Underweight; Muscular » Eye Color: Hazel » Hair Color: Ginger

Opportunistic at heart, Catherine presents herself in a manner most appealing to a broad populace on the norm; minding of her own business, polite, cordial, casual - anything that would appeal to the typical person in order for her to pass by in normal civilization, but the moment she sees a potential hook for herself, most often for financial or personal gain, she grabs for it with little regard of what consequences it may have for others.

Under a vaguely pleasant veil is a meticulous mind, always watching of others and looking for potential dangers or ins. That isn’t to say Catherine is scared of the world, no, her anxieties lie entirely in other people, what they may be capable of, and how to get three steps ahead of them before they can even consider making one. Being on top is a consistent drive for her, be it in perfecting her craft and skills or in slaying those who have posed some form of wrong to her.

Though she sees herself as justified in these pursuits, by no means has she successfully deluded herself into thinking she is just and morally upright - there is deeply personal understanding that the way she is, the person that she is, isn’t a "good" thing, but in her mind being a "good person" is comparable to lying with your belly exposed to a predator clearly intent on eating you; she has no trust for the world and perhaps, not much for herself.

» Likes: Dogs, Weapon Maintenance, Wood & Metalworking, Mechanical Engineering, Solitude, Killing Hollows, Studying Hollows, Tearing Apart Hollows, Cold showers

» Dislikes: The Gotei, Disorganized spaces, Heat, PDoA, Overfriendliness, Carelessness, Skimpy clothing, Losing, Feeling tied down


» History:

Life was a struggle long before the girl even took her first breath.

Her parents, who decided to depart from their familial responsibilities and start a humble new life in midwestern America, was tragically thrown off course by her mother’s infliction of hollow poisoning not long into her pregnancy, a human woman's fascination with hollows getting the better of her, some assumed. Upon three years of life, her mother would succumb to her illness long before she would know her, the child herself having to survive a tumultuous early birth and sickness herself.

Her earliest memories of her father was how often he was gone to work in order to pay for the steep debt, her being left in the care of a sympathetic neighbor; he would always return home with the darkest look in his eyes, as if he had nothing but regrets.

Suddenly, they were gone from the quiet and familiar country and into a small apartment in the city. Though he tried to connect with her, she didn’t hold an intense interest in him until her nosiness had her discover things from his life as a Quincy. She wanted to be one, but he’d given up that life.

The only form of compromise was in giving the girl basic physical training, but she kept yearning for more, she didn’t want the quiet life her father insisted upon. Their differences would pull them further apart as she aged, spending more time with friends or on the streets than at home and with him, causing all forms of trouble picking fights or getting into trouble.

Through these exploits would she meet him, a kid a few grades above her. She’d seen him from afar, but an incident of theft caused them to cross paths properly. They became friends quickly, causing trouble together and hanging out after school, she’d drift from her friend group and into his, entrenched in the excitement.

But one day, he’d pop an unexpected question with a gift; a locket, and an ask to start a relationship. She wasn’t sure, but he insisted - they’d gotten along so well, why not? It didn’t get rid of her uncertainty, but it would be accepted. With the solidifying of their bond, their relationship would shift and change… He’d ask her for help, favors, endless and endless favors growing more and more risky and uncertain… But she loved him, she was his girlfriend, they were meant to go through heaven and hell together.

It culminated into a home invasion with his group; just one last thing before he graduated, one last chance to be able to afford the life they wanted, to run away from the crummy city together and make something of their own…

He told her to stay put as things went awry, to her confusion. She pushed, he pulled a gun on her - this was meant to be their dramatic parting he said, his chance to jump to something new and better; he had found another girl across state to be with, and that he didn’t need her anymore. Her devastation turned to shock as the sound of a gun went off, but it wasn’t his: rather, he fell to the ground.

Never had she sobbed and hurt so badly as then.

Life went by quickly after his death, a gray blur of angry glares and pointed fingers, the sensation of something following her going on for months until it culminated with the sound of his voice, and a white face greeting her in bed.

Apologies, compliments, all manner of sweet words came from the monster that emerged from beneath her bed - it was him, doing what he always did when things went poorly. And after all of that… He wanted her body, just one last shot of feeling alive, he promised she’d have it back not long after…

…But she said no. She didn’t believe in him anymore. She couldn’t trust him anymore.

The next three days were the most torturous days she had ever experienced, white hot pain from the torment he inflicted on her, disallowing her from leaving, taunting her every rejection: he wanted her to give it up on her own, rather than for him to tear her out of it. Through his delusions and ramblings, she cried for her father.. But he never showed up.

She was alone, not even safe in her own room, there wasn’t any way out… Unless she forged one herself. That realization caused her Fullbring to awaken, the locket still resting on her chest as the room flooded.

The weakened girl was half drowned as she stumbled out of her room coughing and sputtering, the perpetrator of her suffering long having crashed out the window, fading consciousness catching her father calling her name.

Her father visited her every moment he could, but she wouldn’t speak to him, she wouldn’t even so much as look his way as he apologized. Shortly after discharge, the girl vanished on her hunt, having plotted every day she rested of how to go about killing him.

That was when Catherine Reed was truly born.

Preparing, gathering and creating rudimentary weapons from whatever she could find, soon she had found him across the state in the hometown of that girl he mentioned; she was his first proper victim. They fought, clash after clash… Only for a blade that wasn’t hers to crush his skull and evaporate his body.

A patrolling Shinigami had robbed her of the kill. Dealt with rather quickly by her new opponent after a lash of rage, she was left injured in the dirt; who was a young girl with a shoddy blade to a trained reaper, after all?

There was no home to go back to, there was nothing… Yet she got up, and decided to sharpen her mind and body, she wanted to crush the world. Homeless, she had to fight to survive with every tool she could manage - her body, her mind, her power, all were carved and ground into tools for her to become a wandering killer of hollows, her life was consumed by this compulsion to improve her craft.

Of course this kind of life would draw all manner of attention toward her to some degree; shinigami she slew in a test of skill, fellow travelers of this path to hell to exchange knowledge, benefactors that gave her a means of income in exchange for their dirty work done for them. A life of fleeting connections and the constant looking over her shoulder was what she lived.


» Natural Abilities:

Skilled Technician
Through personal experience, research, and mentorship under those far more seasoned than she at times, Catherine is exceptionally skilled in the design and assembly of practical tools, weapons, and machinery. She had a budding talent in this form of solution creation from her youth performing risky tasks, and was a considerable part of her success in her hollow hunting days, repurposing their parts being second nature to her. She’d always had an interest in these processes, and reasonably picks up every bit of knowledge regarding it that she can apply to get a leg up.

Fight Til The Bitterest of Ends
Hunting the monsters that still wreak havoc on humanity in this more aware age is not a simple task for a mere human, especially someone starting quite young and relatively unskilled in the practice of slaying creatures larger than herself. There was no help if she was pinned by acidic claws, there was no one saving her from the blast of a cero - if she failed, she died: this was the mindset hewn into her by her experiences, the means to crush her fear and slay the beast with her own power and might.

With the acceptance of this, and her lengthy experience fighting all manner of spiritual or otherworldly opponents, her body and will were both carved into the weapon she needed to carry out her wish to claw to the top. Catherine fights with little hesitance and incredible, decisive force; if one was in a serious one on one encounter, they would be faced with at least a physically formidable foe with little intent on backing down until the fight is over.

When There Are No Clears Eyes Left To Guide Me
The only thing more resolute than her will is her persistence, being sooner to lose her cool than she is to lose her vision. Sheer force of will isn’t the only thing carrying her through fights, or through life period - it’s her fixation on achieving a particular result and the path to take to it, endlessly running through ways to get what she wants regardless of the situation’s complexity or her loss of composure, using the high of emotion to push her all the closer in such instances that would rouse such a reaction.

Being highly suspicious and scrutinizing of others is as easy to her as breathing, but her level of distrust is not some frivolously determined thing; she knows quite well she mingles with the kind of people who only have their own best interests at heart, and she is able to pick out the truly filthy from the least. Even though she determines such a way of thinking is to leave you vulnerable, able to tell if someone is earnest in their intent with nothing but an exchange of words and reading them closely.

Can’t Feel The Sting Anymore
Through repeated exposure, many instances out of desperate hunger or just typical infliction, Catherine has formed some level of natural resistance against the naturally corrosive nature that Hollows possess. Of course that doesn’t mean she’s shrugging off potent attacks or able to eat the meat of one with little problem, but she’s able to endure any oncoming illness or injuries sustained by a typical hollow far better than the average human.

(Don’t) Take My Breath Away
The very nature of her Fullbring was perhaps the biggest motivator in training her breath, spending countless hours increasing the duration she can hold her breath in an underwater setting. Catherine is able to hold her breath for a considerable amount of time, even longer than those trained to do so, but doing it too long and too often can be strenuous, but she is often able to safely wait for her opposition to drown.

War Arsenal
Having trained a good chunk of her life to battle all manner of opponents, Catherine is a considerable threat even unarmed. Though she hasn’t picked up a particular martial art, she is able to throw and pinpoint blows with alarming accuracy and strength that’d prove shocking for a woman who seems quite reliant on her weapons. She has taken out lesser hollows and demons bare-handed in the past, but not quite as efficiently as with her skill in weaponry.

Though she is familiar and experienced in mid and long range combat with the equipment to accomplish such to boot, Catherine greatly prefers and excels in closer range battles, often seen wielding a sword and shield to both skewer and bash her opponents into paste. Even with such unwieldy looking equipment for a deceptively small woman, they move gracefully with her movements, experience, and intent.


» Racial Abilities:

Hollow Factor
Being one of the most nurtured aspects of her Fullbring, Catherine has pushed the development of her hollow nature through myraids of exposure and training to such a point she has developed notable hollow abilities, of which she uses regularly and with incredible skill for someone mostly self-taught, as well as a natural increase in her robustness. She does not tire in training and taming this facet of her power, intent on pushing it past it’s limits so that she may pose a formidable threat to those who stand in her way.

Signal
Having developed a sense similar to an Arrancar’s Pesquisa, Catherine is able to give but a brief amount of focus to determine the approximate locations of spiritual beings within her Spirit Class’ sphere of influence, with more focus she can determine how strong they may be and even suss out those suppressing their energy with notable speed and accuracy.

Broil
Though she can generate an acid touch-like quality to her body, Catherine has figured a less self-hazardous way to use this ability against her enemies - by funneling her Reiryoku into her Hollow weapons, she can redirect this acidic quality to increase the killing power of her weapon at a potency that would be unsafe for her body to experience. However, that isn’t to say she’s free of ill effect; she can keep this ability active for 3 consecutive posts before she needs a single post of cooldown to prevent the acid from leaching out and hurting her.

Split
An ability she’s practiced on Gigai-wearing Shinigami to catch them unawares, Catherine can forcibly tear a being with a spirit class lower than her’s from their kishi vessel.

Acrid Restoration
Though Catherine has developed her Factor to such an extent she is capable of low-grade healing, she is able to increase the potency of this healing by consuming the blood or meat of a Hollow. While it will make her feel ill, it does make her heal twice as fast and more delicate areas salvageable, but it’s far more applicable in a situation where she’s disengaged from battle and is able to rest than being able to have this benefit in the heat of it.

Bringer Light
A fundamental part of her skillset to overcome her more human limitations in fighting the otherworldly, Catherine often uses techniques enhanced by Bringer Light to inflict far more devastating blows than she would be regularly capable of, move with sudden and incredible bursts of speed, and increase the effectiveness of her blunt or piercing weapon’s strikes.

Skullsplitter
By manipulating the souls in the air around one of her limbs, Catherine can increase the resulting punch or kick’s force thricefold. Even if she can only increase the force of one limb at a time, she is so practiced in this that she is able to redirect the influence to an opposing limb with little difficulty, that it would give the illusion she could amplify the force of multiple limbs, or even her whole body. She frequently uses this technique to smash the masks of weaker hollows barehanded.

Ripple
Simply put, Catherine can create a sudden afterimage to confuse an opponent of her location, using Bringer Light to move in an alternative direction while the rather convincing clone is left behind in her wake for a few seconds. She is always within about 20 meters in any direction she starts the clone in.

Heartpiercer
A move developed specifically for destroying the hearts of Hollows in a single powerful blow, it’s best executed with her spear but could be used with similarly durable weapons. Similar in technique to Skullsplitter, she increases the speed and force of her weapon’s strike by the manipulation of souls in the air to modify the power of her attack, the tip of the weapon being the focal point of this force, able to strike it’s target with a blow considerable enough to blast the localized area of contact due to the exertion of force.

Disruptor
Best and most often used with her shield, Catherine can manipulate the souls around her arm and shield to meet an oncoming attack with a considerable bash that can force it to redirect or even dispel entirely due to the crash of energy and momentum. She is only able to outright destroy the integrity of an attack such as a Cero or Kido if the equivalent skill the attack is based off of is lower than her Bringer Light, whereas she can redirect attacks lower or equal to it.

Endurance
If she were to be in a scenario where an attack cannot be reliably dispelled or redirected, Catherine can instead choose to turn herself into a stalwart shield to block it, bending the environment around her to force her forwards and enforce her shielding against the opposing force. She is able to fully endure the force of attacks inferior to her level in Bringer Light, but she is only able to cut the damaging force of an attack equal to it by 30%, and superior attacks by only 20%.

Manifestation
Though she hasn’t found incredible utility in the manipulation of objects, she has developed very specific utility in the manifestation arts to supplement her in battle or day to day.

Shift
With a brief hand gesture, Catherine can move a single object within her line of sight in a single direction, be it a chair to pull out or a piece of furniture to trip someone. With deeper focus she can attempt to pull an object with more force, but ultimately it’s not reliable for much past instances of surprise, or altering the position of an item across the room.

Recall
In the situation where her weapon or shield may be out of her hands, Catherine is able to draw the weapons back to her or herself towards it in a moment of focused control regardless of direction, but only within a 10 meter radius.

Object Affinity
The one thing in her life she is incapable of letting go despite what it represents: The locket she received from her ex as a gesture to start their relationship. Even if the locket is a reminder of him and the pain he inflicted upon her, it’s just as much a reminder of what she felt to be the best time of her life, simple and uncomplicated teen years of spending time together.

This complicated duality in her relation to the object, regardless of how strongly she feels, ultimately produced what could be considered an immature Fullbring to those of greater experience; though she has adapted to it’s nature, she has yet to reach a proper conclusion of how she feels towards this object.


» Affinity Name: River Crossing

» Affinity Appearance: A rather plain looking locket with a broken hinge.

» Affinity Abilities:

It’s In My Nature
Upon activation in it’s intended environment, usually a room possessing at least partial enclosure, the space will immediately flood with a field construct that is very reminiscent of water, resembling being thrown into a lake. Despite not being true water, it possesses all of the qualities of being within a deep pool, from feeling cold and wet to even light barely filtering in from any possible light sources and even the sensation of pressure. The field is incapable of being drained or falling out of the space it occupies unless the walls creating the space were entirely destroyed.

The first thing those caught in this fullbring’s effect may notice, even if they possess the organs to or otherwise some form of breathing apparatus, is that they find themselves unable to breathe, even Catherine herself is unable to breathe in this field, and thus are forced to abide by their natural capacity to hold their breath. As long as one is in the same room as Catherine has this ability activated within, this effect will apply.

But that isn’t the only danger this field supplies; movement and attacks are slowed by 10% upon this ability’s activation, as if trying to navigate through actual water, but for every post they remain in this field, her opponents grow heavier by this percentage until they have either lost their breath entirely, or are completely immobilized (10 posts total), sinking to the bottom from the overbearing weight. Those of a SC higher than her's will have some resistance to this drowning effect, depending on how wide the gap is it can be anything from some difficulty breathing to only feeling a weight on their chest.

Due to Catherine’s natural compulsion to distrust, this effect is applied to anyone else in this field by default, regardless of their relation to her, meaning it is very disadvantageous to any allies she may have in the vicinity. To be spared of this fullbring’s effects is to have earned her trust fully and completely - and such a thing is not readily acquired, whereas provoking a deep, personal betrayal worsens this ability’s hold twofold. (The trust and betrayal conditions are entirely a player consent + narrative tool; it’s not meant to be a regular or easily created condition.)

Any and all non-living objects not derived from or possessed by other beings (aka just normal, uninfluenced objects) are not affected by this Fullbring and are not displaced or affected by the physics or qualities of this ability unless directly touched and manipulated. Catherine herself is tied to this field and therefore if she were to move rooms, the field would move with her as long as she is within an enclosed space, otherwise the pool dispels.


Blood Capsules
An ammo of sorts created by collecting the bodily fluids and spiritual energy of Hollows and inserting them into durable casings. These are used as a means of fueling her weapons. Though she has a consistent supply on her boat, she can only manage to carry about thirty capsules on her person without it becoming a hindrance with her other equipment.

Spear and Shield
Carved from the bones and masks of hollows she slew and fashioned into weapons with the reinforcement of metals, her spear and shield prove to be her staple weapons when it comes to battling the spiritual. They have been reinforced and modified over the years, their durability and effectiveness in slaying of certain impressiveness.

The spear has another mode if a blood capsule is inserted into it, inner mechanisms causing it to retract and then suddenly exert far more pinpoint force with less effort on Catherine’s part, the force being enough to shatter the body of the typically defensed on its own.

Claw Knife
A combat knife fashioned from the claws of one the first hollows she managed to kill and reinforced with metals, it always sits strapped to her waist. While it’s not efficient for the larger scale battles she regularly participates in, it is good for one-on-one confrontations or pure utility, never appearing to dull or break easily.

Cero Cannon V5
A weapon of considerable size, appearing much like a large gun with what looks like a hollow’s head acting as the point of ignition. With the insertion of a minimum three blood capsules, this weapon’s namesake comes to life: it is able to fire a Cero with the potency of a Gillian-class hollow, adding 5% to it's potency per additional blood capsule up to a maximum of six insertions. The biggest problem to this is that the weapon is so cumbersome that it’s difficult to wield it and other things at the same time without being a hindrance, the Cero itself a basic Cero incapable of being moved after firing.

Miscellaneous Creations
Catherine has a plethora of ongoing or incomplete projects, many of which she doesn’t feel are field-ready and thus keeps stored until she has the right parts or the right idea to get it to work. Otherwise, there are also smaller scale, single/simple use objects that can be used as a solution for many smaller problems or inconveniences.



Personal(ized) Seacraft
What was once an old boat she received as additional payment for a job through a bit of arm-twisting, has been made into both a workshop and place of living by her own two hands. It’s no simple houseboat, having been updated into a vessel that can comfortably stand even the worst conditions and even scenarios of conflict. Though it isn’t by any means a massive fortress of a craft, it is augmented with both spiritual enhancements and protections applied by her own hands, it’s a craft that can withstand damage that would sink normal crafts and be gone and away from the port in moments, even able to safely submerge beneath torrential waves temporarily without any damage to it’s internal contents.

Disposable Lockets
Lockets that look identical to her own, hidden throughout her clothing and even worn to confuse anyone who may want to tear her item from her.

Broken Asauchis
A collection of Asauchis from low-ranking Shinigami she had killed throughout her travels, broken either during the conflict or intentionally by her so that they can’t be used. Kept in a secure compartment in her home. Twenty and counting.

Weapon Assortment
Guns, knives, explosives, tactical items, tools for dealing with the spiritual - you name it, it’s likely Catherine has it stored on her boat ready to be retrieved and brought with her for all manners of uses.



General Skills
» Durability: D
» Speed: C
» Strength: B
» Soul: D

Will Skills
» Willpower: Advanced
» Deduction: Advanced
» Focus: Adept

Fullbringer Skills
» Bringer Light: Advanced
» Fullbring Affinity: Adept
» Full Manifestation: Adept
» Hollow Factor: Advanced



https://www.platinumhearts.net/t25455-monster-hunter-catherine-upgrade#188309
(SC| 7 >>> 6; +1 point to Strength)