Jo Mori

"''She doesn’t care how she gets from point A to point B, as long as she does it." - ''Snakes

"There's no such thing as a good day to die. We've got shit to do."

- Jo Mori

Jo Charlie Mori (森ジョー, Mori Jō) is a Visored and the unofficial leader of the Visored 2.0. Jo was formerly the lieutenant of 7th Division under Yolotli Tenoch before her exile for her Hollow powers, and was called back to help in the Shadow War. During the initial invasion, she was nearly killed by the infected Sir Merek, and her Zanpakuto was able to merge their bodies and save her life. Jo is now working alongside the Gotei 10, but will not officially join them until she learns more about her Aspect powers. Jo is married to the current Grand Kido Chief, Eliot Rios, and her former mentor is Hattori Fuu.

Appearance
Jo is a tall, solidly built Visored. She stands at 6'4" with a heavily muscular build, wide shoulders and lanky limbs. Her deeply tanned skin is marred by uncountable scars and several vibrant orange, Pacific Northwest style markings. Her left arm is amputated just above where her elbow would be, and she has a pale metal disk resembling her sealed Zanpakuto's tsuba embedded in the center of her chest.

Jo's rectangular face features a strong jaw, high cheekbones, and a thin, straight nose. Her mouth is skewed up on the left due to scarring, most noticeable when she smiles. She has two more scars that cross her face and over her left eye, causing a permanent squint. Her narrow eyes, both formerly dusky orange, are now mismatched- the left is a bright, unnatural green borrowed from her Zanpakuto's spirit. Because of her scars, Jo has a difficult time emoting with her face, and mostly expresses herself with body language. Jo's pale blonde hair is cut into layers with short, sideswept bangs and two chunks of hair that always hang in front of her ears. Jo normally wears it up in a messy bun with her bangs pushed back.

Since she isn't officially a part of the Gotei, Jo forgoes wearing her old uniform and instead wears baggy black harem pants with gold patches on the knees, a copper colored sash around her waist, tank tops in various dark colors, and her gunmetal engagement ring and gold wedding band on her right ring finger. She rarely wears shoes, but does wear black, toeless leggings. She's also occasionally seen wearing a scarf to cover the disc in her chest. She wears her Zanpakuto tucked into her sash, a blade on each hip. In battle she wears several pieces of white and orange armor- a tasset, greaves and light pauldrons. Before the Shadow invasion and her exile, Jo had both arms, less facial scars, and no tribal tattoos. Her old shinigami uniform was the tight black top for the 7th Division, and her hakama were cinched under her knees. She wore her lieutenant's badge around her left arm, and her Zanpakuto's blades crossed on her back.

Contract features
Jo's merge with her Zanpakuto has marked her body more severely than normal Aspect contract markings. Burned into her skin are several orange and white Pacific Northewest style, tattoo-like markings. When Jo is unconscious or otherwise not in full control of her hybrid reiatsu, it leaks from the marks, causing them to glow dully. Because of the hybrid Reiatsu, Jo's body runs at a constant l06F (41C), and if Jo loses control of her spiritual pressure it causes her skin to ignite in flames. The metal disc in her chest is the anchor point that connects her to her Zanpakuto, and she will die upon its removal.

Personality
Jo is a strong-willed, independent, and optimistic individual. She is stubborn to a fault and highly competitive, though her normal disposition is mellow and good-humored, usually seen smiling and waving to everyone she passes. Jo hates drama and doesn't let many things bother her, and is rarely seen actually angry. Though not particularly charismatic or good with words, she is an extrovert with a warm personality that naturally draws people to her despite her appearance. She's not a complicated person- she never lies, and is almost tactlessly honest and open. Jo is highly empathetic, affectionate and caring, and will always be there for anyone who needs her. She's very confident in herself and her abilities, and that, plus her friendly optimism and calm nature, make her extremely easy to get along with. She rarely complains or speaks ill of people, and usually shuts gossipy or judgemental conversations she witnesses. Jo is a natural leader thanks to her resilience, her natural pull and her unshakeable ability to step up and face any challenge, and people tend to follow her and her sheer force of personality. She prefers to let actions speak over words, and never judges others, letting them make their own impression on her.

Jo's competitive nature makes her an incredibly hard worker, and she puts her all into everything she does. She's always looking to improve herself and follows her mother's mantra of "If you always strive to better yourself, you never have to pine for lost glory days. You'll be you're best self every day." Though she isn't aware of it, Jo has a deeply buried need to prove her strength and be the best, and an even more deeply buried need to be needed by others. She is highly protective of not only loved ones, but anyone she meets, and is often teased for being a mother hen. She tends to put other's needs before her own, and in fact tends to brush off her own needs, even as far as ignoring injury and her own personal comfort to help another. In fact, Jo is extremely generous- the first to offer her jacket in the cold, the first to offer to lend money, and first to grab the bill. She doesn't think twice about doing things for others and not expecting anything in return, but this is easily taken advantage of. Jo also tends to be forgiving to a fault, and often allows people back in that no one in their right mind would forgive. She lets people use her often, and never seems to learn her lesson when she realizes she's being taken advantage of. But, she's not one to cause drama or let it impact her life. She wants to bring peace and balance into the world, and she's resolved to let nothing stop her, even in personal issues.

Jo is extremely observant, and is an excellent reader of both body language and voice. It's very difficult to deceive her or lie outright to her face. Though she has always been naturally observant, she's been forced to hone this ability after a severe injury left her with brain damage that caused prosopagnosia and other memory problems- leaving her with trouble remembering faces, directions, issues with word association, and conversation details she doesn't actively force herself to remember. With her extreme aversion to showing weakness, Jo's been able to make up for her handicap through her skilled eye and developing a keen ability to bullshit her way through a conversation, hiding her poor memory. She isn't booksmart or great with large-scale tactics, but has a solid base of common sense, good people skills and instincts that make up for what could be considered her sub-par intelligence. She's not stupid, but she's no scholar. Because of her stubborn independent streak, as a child Jo never wanted to ask for help with anything, which developed into her not even knowing how to ask for help when she wants to, or what questions to ask when she needs answers. Dating Eliot has helped temper that, but she still struggles with allowing anyone to see any chinks in her armor.

In a fight, Jo remains calm and collected, able to hide any hesitations or doubts under her forceful confidence, and to any outside observer appears completely fearless. She's focused, and her observational skills, quick reflexes and instincts honed over years of fighting make her a formidable opponent. Though confident, she rarely underestimates her opponents, and goes into each battle expecting a tough fight. She loves the rush and challenge of a fight, and often puts herself at small disadvantages just to test her skills. Jo will never back down from a challenge- many people say she lacks any semblance of "flight" instincts. She never makes the first move in a one-on-one match, preferring to gauge her enemies by their opener. She has found that, when challenged by a weak opponent, her presence alone can often make them back off. A bad habit she still has is doing anything for the win, especially when the safety of others is on the line, and will often take hits just for an opening. Jo can be extremely reckless with her own safety, and rarely thinks, choosing to rely solely on instincts. Luckily for her, she has good ones, but they can occasionally just get her in more trouble and more injured than necessary. Once an opponent is down, no matter how heated the battle, Jo will back off, and only kills when she feels it's necessary. She has no qualms about being the judge and executioner of people she knows will only cause more harm if allowed to live.

Her take-charge attitude and overprotectiveness can be seen as overbearing at times, and she has a hard time backing off to let others take care of themselves and has difficulty delegating tasks to others, which can make it appear as if she doesn't trust them. She can be clueless to this fact, and gets a little hurt when people call her out on it. She loves teaching and sharing her knowledge, because she knows it will help protect her students down the line. However, her protectiveness causes her to be rash, and her tendency to go with her instincts alone can get her into very tough situations. And, despite her empathy and her reputation as a good listener, Jo has a blind spot when it comes to apathy- she just doesn't understand why people act cold hearted when they aren't, people who don't work hard, and people who don't take care of themselves (though the hypocrisy of that is lost on her). Nothing irritates her more than people who act like, or actually just don't, give a shit about others, and being the confrontational person she is, can get too in-your-face about it. All in all, Jo is an open book, a resilient, strong-wiled optimist with a good heart who just wants to help people in the best way she knows how- by fighting to protect them.

The Exiles Arc:
When Jo and the other new Visord were finally released from the 12th Division, Commander Merek, the 12th, and their lieutenants were there to force exile on them. Merek informed them that, though the incident wasn't their fault, their status could not leak to the rest of Soul Society- the could not stay, and would remain listed as MIA. Furious, Jo and Matt attempted to escape, to be able to see their lovers before they left. Merek stopped them easily, and the six were cast out of Soul Society, given Gigai and told to start a new life.

They decide to take up residence in Jo's old hometown, and eke out a life for themselves amongst the living, living easily on fortunes Shinichi had access to thanks to his family- though they all continued their Shinigami training, including taking down Hollows in the area. Jo decided to take odd jobs, teaching and tutoring in her personal skills in playing guitar and bass, surfing, and her old areas of study. She also was able to pursue her old interests, and bought herself a motorcycle with Shin's money. Though she tried to keep herself busy, and became increasingly reckless with her 'life', she couldn't escape thinking about Eliot and Rae, and what they thought had happened to her. Jo and the others lived like that for five years, until one mundane Hollow slaying by Jo and Matt exposed them to something they had never seen before- strange, humanoid hollows. The Shadow. A few days later their apartment is visited by Captain Yolotli, and a newly-appointed Captain Rostov. The two explain that the Seireitei is embroiled in a huge battle, Shinigami vs Shinigami, brought on by the Shadow. They go on to say the Captain Commander himself had been taken over and driven mad by the creatures, and the Gotei needed all the help they could get pushing the Shadows out. Though still angry towards the Gotei for their exile, the Visords agree to return and become reinstated in the Gotei.

The Shadow War Arc:
Jo and the others return to Soul Society in shambles. Though the military managed to isolate the Shadow inside the Seireitei, casualties were extremely high, and the uninfected Shinigami were pushed back to the edges of the Seireitei. Though thrust into battle, Jo does get to reunite with Eliot, who was heading researching ways to save the infected. With a painfully short day together and a promise that she would return to Eliot, Jo leaves with Yolotli and a joint-division team aiming to push through to the heart of the Seireitei, to take out the person causing the most casualties- the infected Commander Merek. After a three-day push and the loss of most of their squad, Jo and Yolotli find the commander- surrounded by the bodies of several captains and lieutenants. Merek knocks Yolotli out after a few minutes of battle, and Jo's assault lasts only minutes more before Merek manages to slice out her left eye and, in a second strike, cut off her left arm. Before Jo could even attempt to recover, Merek snatched the blade Jo's left hand was holding, and drove it though her chest, severing her spine.

Instead of dying, however, Jo woke up in her inner world, right into the face of Trickster. The Zanpakuto hastily explains her true nature as an Aspect and offers Jo her contract- as well as offering to merge their reiatsu and bodies together, without which Jo would die. She also warned Jo that they would be breaking Aspect law by merging, and Trickster bringing Jo back from death, and stressed that she didn't know what the consequences of her actions would be. Jo didn't fully understand what Trickster had said, but agreed anyway for the second chance at life. With the agreement set, Jo wakes in Eliot's arms, still mortally injured, but alive.

During her recovery Jo is offered the 7th Division's co-captain spot, but turns it down. She decides to try and figure out what the consequences of merging with Trickster would be before officially re-joining the Gotei. Her recovery leads her back into fighting for the Gotei.

Agent of the Gods Arc:
Not yet revealed

Fall of Angels Arc:
Not yet revealed

The Whiteout Arc:
Not yet revealed

Natural Abilities


Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: As a human, Jo had an interest in martial arts from a young age, and started her training boxing with her mother. She later joined a local martial arts studio when she was nine, taking any class they had to offer. Throughout the years her training became focused on two styles, Northern Shaolin and Jeet Kun Do, which she was fortunate to have access to in the big city she grew up in and continued training well into her adult life. She didn't stop at simple training, and placed in, and won, many tournaments before college. Jo's training, plus various other sports she was involved in, granted her a hardened body and a dangerous athleticism that remained after her death. At the academy, Jo took instantly to Hakuda, and was top in her class, second only to her friend Layla Vital. Jo's fighting style is fast and aggressive, and her strength makes her strikes very hard to effectively block. She is a very direct attacker, no frills, distractions, or gimmicks- just raw power, precise movements, and deadly reflexes that allow her to snatch projectiles out of the air or blades in mid-swing. Her training with practitioners of many different styles have honed her fundamental skills, and honed her ability to read her opponent's movements.


 * Iron shirt: A technique Jo has perfected over the years that greatly increases her durability. By concentrating her energy on a point on her body that is about to be struck and hardening the muscles just before impact, she can take even the hardest blow as if it were a normal punch. This technique has also served to prevent the affects of pressure-point attacks as well, by using her body's reiatsu on top of her natural energy to counteract the strikes.


 * One-inch punch: Jo can perform a punch at very close range (less than six inches from the target) without needing to cock back first, and can send her opponent flying back. This is generally used to get space between herself and her opponent.


 * Shirahadori (Blade Catch): Jo is able to catch blades from the air by clasping her hands or fingers around the flats of the blade. Recently, because of her missing arm and several blades slipping between her fingers and slicing her palm, she has taken to striking the flat of her opponent's blade with her palm and re-directing it as opposed to actually catching it.

Great Endurance/Durability: Jo has always had an incredibly high pain tolerance, and shrugs off gashes and broken bones with no problem. In fact, in battle it may appear as if she has no sense of touch as she rarely shows pain, and has been seen fighting through injuries that would drop most others- most impressive of which was when she fought on after losing her eye and arm to the infected Sir Merek. Her highly trained body goes beyond the typical high endurance of a Shinigami, and allows her to participate in battle for hours on end with minimal fatigue.

Immense Strength: Jo is extremely strong, her naturally athletic body honed by years of hard training and a fondness for weights. Jo can put immense power behind her strikes both armed and unarmed, and can lift and move objects much heavier than the average Shinigami. Her strikes have massive stopping power, and her strength allows her to wield her blades single-handedly with as much power as a normal fighter can with two.

Agility: Jo is quick and efficient when it comes to moving her body in tight quarters, and has outstanding control over her own movements. She has been working on using Shunpo at short distances to increase this ability. She has such fine control over her own movements that it is highly difficult to knock her off balance or sweep her, and she is excellent at adjusting the speed and flow of a battle to her advantage.

Wild Spiritual Energy: Even before her hybridization, Jo has always had a high amount of Spiritual Pressure that factored into her extremely high endurance. As a lieutenant, she not only had one of the highest charted spiritual energies out of her peers, but also held one of the most destructive forms of energy, having a fire affinity. Despite that, others described her energy as warm, instilling a feeling of being protected and safe- much like being around a contained fire meant to ward off the perils of nature. Since her merge, Jo's body houses two types of spiritual energy- her own, which manifests as copper-orange flames, and her new, hybridized energy, a combination of her Visored and Halfspect energies, and manifests as white-gold flames. Her new energy is difficult to both read and control- people describe it as trying to look for flames on the sun, too bright and wild to look into for too long.
 * Novice Control: Jo doesn't have complete control over her hybrid reiatsu, as it is not meant for a human vessel to contain. Her reiatsu is constantly leaking from her body and undergoes wild fluctuations when she is using her Zanpakuto's abilities. From what she understands, she has no hope of ever fully reigning in her energy, and stealth is impossible around anyone spiritually aware.
 * Kido Failure: Though Jo was never very good at kido, most attempts just blowing up in her face, but since becoming a hybrid, Jo has lost all ability to perform Kido. On top of her lack of control, her new reiatsu disrupts her natural spiritual pressure, which makes controlling it to form into spells impossible.
 * Resistant to healing Kido: Much like her resistance to Bakudo, healing kido barely affects Jo. The Kido is disrupted by the Aspect side of Jo's reiatsu, and as such takes a much longer time to be effective than normal. Though it can work, it takes much longer than normal. 4th Division Captain Grant Rostov credits a few of his most recent medical breakthroughs to her, quoted as saying "Her... situation has certainly forced us out of our comfort zones and into the realm of discovery."

Enhanced Vision/High Perception: Jo is an excellent reader of body language and facial nuance, and her excellent vision allows her to notice very fine movements that a normal person would never catch, including techniques meant to trick the eye using speed. She also is trained to take in every visual cue from both her opponent and surroundings in the first moments of a fight, allowing her to asses weaknesses and potential strategies for taking her opponent down as quickly as possible.

Battle Experience: Countless battles, friendly sparring, and nearly obsessive training over the years have given Jo an advantage over many of her peers when it comes to sheer experience. Though she does not have the mind for tactics, her instincts and perceptiveness, as well as her ability to read movement makes her a difficult opponent in that it is nearly impossible to pull any tricks on her. Though Jo is not fast herself, she is able to track speedy opponents and can anticipate movements easily. Those that think they are unpredictable fighters are often caught off guard when Jo can find and exploit patterns in their style.

Shinigami Abilities
Zanjutsu Master: Though in her human life Jo's martial arts weapon of choice was the staff, entering the academy opened her eyes to a new appreciation of the sword, finding both the instinctual and technical sides of the art both challenging and inspiring. Thanks to her newfound passion, and her natural aptitude for the art that caught the eye of the then-Zanjutsu instructor Hattori Fuu. Under her tutelage, Jo's swordsmanship quickly became unrivaled among her academy peers, and to this day is always striving to finally best Fuu as a Zanjutsu Grandmaster. Jo operates her blades as if they were extensions of her own arms, and was masterful at dual-sword combat before losing her arm. Thanks to her contract, they may as well be parts of her own body now, and this has helped her adjust her style to fight with one blade when not using her Shikai. Her natural strength and agility make her swordplay precise, controlled, and powerful. Jo can easily alter her swing speed and power, as well as mid-swing directions to control the flow of battle and keep her opponent disoriented and unable to predict her moves. She can now fight just as effectively with one or two blades, and when fighting at full power her blades become nearly impossible to keep track of due to the speed of her swings. With a thirst for being the best, and possibly someday besting Fuu, Jo has studied and trained with masters of many different styles of swordplay, and has incorporated many different styles into her footwork, defenses and attacks. Over the years she has learned to move from style to style seamlessly, creating an unorthodox style and an unpredictable opponent.

Pain no Michi
Jo, in her years of experience, has developed her own distinct style of swordplay thanks to her focus in not only learning pieces of any style she can, but how to flow through them seamlessly. This has forged a fluid, instinctual and unpredictable style that Jo has difficulty teaching to others. Fuu has named Jo's techniques Pain No Michi (松の道, Way of the Pine), in reference to Jo's origins and a subtle joke about her size. The style is a combination of her heavy training in Fuu's preferred traditional style, as well as forms and footwork learned from her allies and foes alike. Most noticeable are Korean Geom Do and, now that she only has one arm, she has focused on more heavily integrating fencing, jian and dao use.
 * Pain no Michi - Komorebi (支店松木漏れ日, Way of the Pine, (referencing how light filters through the trees)): A quick-draw technique- the user keeps their hand on the hilt of their blade, draws their opponent close, then draws their blade with enough force to injure, aiming to either: draw halfway, aiming to strike the opponent with the butt of the sword, or drawing fully and slashing diagonally- both strikes fast enough for the user to hit their opponent and re-sheathe their blade in the blink of an eye. Inspired by Iaido katas learned under Fuu's instruction.


 * Pain no Michi - Shiten (支店松の道, Way of the Pine, Branches): A technique in which the user locks their opponent's blade and can direct their movements through it. This is achieved by catching their opponent's tsuba or crossguard with the tip or side of their blade, or sliding their own blade down an opponent's until they are locked together by their hilts. It requires strength and agility to achieve, but once the blades are locked the user can manipulate their opponent's movements through their grip on the blade.


 * Pain no Michi - Kaze ni Shiten (風に支店松の道, Way of the Pine, Branches in the Wind): An elaboration of the former technique, used when the user cannot overpower their opponent. With the blades locked together and the opponent's focus on that, the user can instead headbutt their opponent, or kick them in a soft spot in order to cause pain and distract them for a stronger attack. Jo's favorite is to headbutt her opponent.

"Alternatively, with a skilled user, the first strike is directed at the opponent's weapon hand, wounding it to force them to drop their weapon, or be distracted enough to   allow the rest of the Hari to land."
 * Pain no Michi - Hari (針松の道, Way of the Pine, Needles): A technique with which the user flicks their blade quickly, performing several fast, precise strikes to disorient and wound their opponent. The first flick is directed at the opponent's weapon, with a twisting motion to knock the blade away unexpectedly. The proceeding flicks are directed at the opponent's soft spots- under the ribs, at the femoral arteries, and at the brachial arteries. WIth enough speed, the user can even attempt to hit the neck while the opponent is still recovering their blade. The attack is meant to inflict numerous small, open wounds.
 * Pain no Michi - Rūtsu (ルーツ松の道, Way of the Pine - Roots): A feinting technique in which the user feints low, causing the opponent to prepare to a low attack, then quickly shifting their weight for a strong cut elsewhere on the opponent's body, strong enough to deeply wound an opponent. This technique allows a user to perform a powerful strike without telegraphing their intentions.

Halfspect Abilities
Hybrid Spiritual Energy: As stated above, Jo's physical merge with Ki'somm further split her already hybrid Shinigami/Visored energy- her natural reiatsu remained the same, but her new Halfspect energy combined with, and altered her Visored energy creating a hybrid form of both. This spiritual pressure is constantly bleeding from Jo's body, as she cannot fully control or conceal it. It is normally noticeable, but does burn up into white-gold fire when Jo is using her abilities.
 * Fire Resistance: Jo has become essentially fireproof due to the constant leakage of her hybrid reiatsu from her body, forming a sort of protective cloak. Jo's skin has also become resistant to heat-based energy to prevent her from being killed by her own reiatsu. Flames from kido and Zanpakuto abilities, as well as regular fire, have no effect on her besides igniting her own reiatsu around her. An opponent with power levels much higher than her own, however, can hurt her, but she has yet to find a fire user above captain class.
 * Bakudo Resistant: Bakudo is much less effective on her as well because of her unique reiatsu, which disrupts the energy of the bindings, allowing her to escape rather quickly from spells well into the 60's. and beyond that she can still break free with some effort.

Borrowed Eye: Jo's left eye, borrowed from her Zanpakuto, increases her natural vision to that of a bird of prey, and allows her to see well dark. These advantages only work in the borrowed eye, which makes for a lack of depth perception when seeing in the dark or focusing on something that is out of the field of vision for her actual eye.

Immune to Infection: Jo cannot be infected by the Shadow- her saketsu is bound to Trickster, and the plate in her chest covers her soul sleep. As such, the Shadow have no point of entry, making Jo immune to their infection abilities.

Weaknesses
Hoho/Speed: Jo isn't particularly speedy, her bulky frame and focus in other athletic traits preventing her from developing her over-ground speed. She doesn't have fine enough control over her reiatsu to make the technique useful (for the same reason as her lack of kido skill), past traveling or getting out of the way of an obvious attack. Jo's shunpo 'disappearances' and 'reappearances' are marked with small flashes of fire, making stealth out of the question. However, Jo is steadily working on her speed, and with the help of her wife Eliot Rios she is slowly learning how to be more efficient at Hoho, though she will never become a master of the art.

Long-range: Jo's only ranged ability is her cero, which isn't particularly strong. She has to get close to really show off her abilities, and if she is held at a distance by her enemy she must work to get close in order to be dangerous.

Energy-Based Abilities: As seen above, any techniques requiring finesse shaping and using reiatsu outside of Zanpakuto abilities are nearly impossible for Jo. Even before her merge, Jo never really grasped the finer points of Kido, which held her back at the Academy despite her outstanding skills in other areas.

Intelligence/Tactics: Jo can definitely be considered 'book dumb'. Despite having a good set of instincts and an ability to make battle plans that work, she often doesn't know the mechanics or exactly how things will work out. It's one of the reasons she could never figure out Kido or Hoho, and why she'll never really understand her hybrid nature despite multiple explanations. She's also easy to manipulate using her stubborn, protective nature- just aim your weapon at a comrade and she'll go diving in front of it. As Jo's story moves forward she does lose some of her reckless tendencies, but it's slow going.

Claustrophobic: Jo has an extreme fear of small spaces, and a slightly less extreme fear of being bound. Trapping Jo can cause her to freeze up and panic, and although she can occasionally shake the panic off quickly, it's still enough to cost her valuable time in battle.

Zanpakuto
Ki'somm (白金, (Shirokin) The Whitegold), often referred to by Jo as Ma'ii, is classified as a fire-type Zanpakuto. However, Ki'somm is a known Aspect Zanpakuto that manipulates energy similar to the sun- fission-like energy reactions that produce plasma, intense heat, and light. Ki'somm's original sealed appearance was a set of twin katana with extremely pale silver blades, copper handle wrappings, white rayskin and circular, pale silver tsuba with suns etched onto them. After Jo was exiled, the color of the rayskin and the tsuba changed to copper, and the handle wrappings changed to white.

Spirit: Ki'somm is a large canine (her head normally reaching Jo's elbow) that has the body and facial structure of a coyote, surrounded constantly by a faint silver glow. Her coat, however, feels similar to a seal's. She is all black with orange and white Pacific Northwest markings. She has no feet, her paws instead ending in points, and her tail is long and split in half, not really coming to a definite end (it seems to just fade off). Her neon green eyes are perpetually closed and she is never without a wide, toothy grin. Currently, her left eye is missing, lent to Jo through their unusual connection. She seems to be able to manipulate her own body as she pleases, including changing her form.

Ki'somm's real name is Ma'ii (Coyote/Trickster) and is the Principle Aspect of the creators, under house Aether. At first glance, she seems extremely full of herself. She loves telling stories about herself, and often brags ambiguously about her power. She is talkative and friendly- in fact, Jo considers her to be too talkative. She enjoys joking around and poking fun at people, and especially loves getting people to blush or messing with them to the point of frustration. She speaks in riddles, never in a direct manner, and never seems to take anything seriously. Trickster is, however, extremely powerful (and incredibly old), but keeps the extent of her abilities are unknown. Jo cannot access any of Trickster's abilities for herself, apart from the regular Zanpakuto techniques and what was offered in the contract. The two have a close relationship, resembling the bond between close sisters.

Inner World: A wide, densly packed Pacific coast forest that thins out around an outcrop of mountains. The focal point of her world is a large cliffside waterfall that empties into a small lake. Though the endless forest can be explored, most of Jo's training has taken place after climing the cliff, up into a rugged, rocky area featuring a mosaic of pits, rivers, boulders and deep pools of water feeding the falls. Jo's inner world is usually in a perpetual sunset, bathing everything in reds and golds. However, fog will roll in and storms will brew when Jo is injured or under duress. When Jo was 'killed' in her battle with Merek, every plant in the forest was dead.


 * Shikaijo.pngJoshikai2.pngShikai: Trickster's command is Cemku Etu (太陽を盗む, (Taiyō o Nusumu) Steal the Sun). Since her contract Jo can release her Shikai without holding the blades any special way. At the command, both of Jo's swords emit a brief, golden flash of fire that hides the weapons changing shape. In Shikai, Ki'somm remains a set of dual swords: the blades, now several inches shorter, retain their basic shape but instead of metal are made up of blindingly bright, somewhat solidified fire. The flames of the blade are gold and blindingly white in the center, impossible to look directly at. They barely flicker, giving them blow-torch appearance. The handguards dissappear, and the hilts lose their wrappings, leaving them smooth, white with orange rune designs. Ki'somm also restores Jo's arm when released- borrowed from the spirit just like Jo's eye.

Shikai Special Ability: Trickster's ability involves the manifestation and manipulation of firey plasma, using reiatsu as a fuel source for reactions similar to what happens in the core of the sun. Jo's flames are gold and white in color. Because of her contract, Jo also gains some ability to manipulate firey energy made by others, and gains near total immunity to fire, fire based kido, and fire manifested by other zanpakuto. When hit with another's flames, Jo's skin will simply ignite, but not damage her.


 * Etu Te'i (フレア (Furea) Flare): Jo gathers and compacts energy from her blades into a mass of heat energy surrounding her body. Wreathed in a cloak of superheated fire, Jo can either launch the energy out as a wave attack, incinerating anything in its short-lived path, or she can launch herself from where she's standing, rocketing towards her opponent like a miniature comet. The first use of the technique can cause severe burns but is much shorter range. The second not only causes heat damage, but upon impact the energy expels from Jo violently, causing concussive damage as well. Both versions of the attack can only travel in a straight line.


 * Hakan (焼却処分する (Shōkyaku Jobunsuru) Incinerate): Upon command, Jo causes a large solar flare-like explosion to burst from her blades, and now, since her contract, her body. She does this by simultaneously increasing the blade's temperature to their highest point and condensing them under the highest pressure she can manage, causing them to violently combust. Not only aren the flames dangerous, the concussive force is enough to shatter barriers and bones on weaker opponents. This attack is close-range only: it is only really dangerous if the opponent is within a foot of Jo, though she can also throw her blades and use the technique at some distance. Weaker opponents can still be flattened within a few feet.


 * Senge Skah  (バーン遅く, (Bān Osoku) Slow Burn): As an ambient ability, Jo has the ability to alter the heat of her blade's flames by using her own reiatsu and environmental reishi as a fuel source, from just room temperature to well over 10,000F, though its highest temperatures are only sustainable for a few moments. The brightness of the flames increases with heat, starting at their normal gold-orange to pure white. One the blades make it to 700F, the air around them starts to lose oxygen and heat up to an almost unbearable temperature directly around the blades. She can change the temperature back and forth freely, although each change is gradual. The transition from room temperature to its hottest temperature takes up to five minutes at its fastest.
 * Kaji Skah (バーンバースト, (Bānbāsuto) Burst Burn): Focusing on this technique, Jo can rapidly increases her blade's temperature to maximum, which, with no change in air pressure, sucks the oxygen out of the area around her for about a minute and creates a large concussive burst from her blades. She can also sling crescents of heat energy from the blades that can cut and burn, though they lose energy quickly and are only dangerous within ten feet.
 * Jo has gained a technique since her contract due to her Zanpakuto becoming part of her physical body; however using it repeatedly has an adverse affect on her physical form:
 * Iga Te'i (フレアステップ, (Fureasuteppu) Flare Step): Jo's new technique is only available in Shikai: Jo can call her blades back to her hand. The misplaced blade will burst into flames and re-form in her hand. This technique has no side effects. Conversely, she can also 'call' her body to the blade, not unlike regular flash step- Jo dissolves and reappears in a wreath of fire, only able to transport herself to the misplaced blade. Unlike flash step, this technique is mildly disorienting to use, blurring Jo's vision for precious seconds and causing minor dizziness, worsening each use of the technique.FireJo.png
 * Iga Te'i (フレアステップ, (Fureasuteppu) Flare Step): Jo's new technique is only available in Shikai: Jo can call her blades back to her hand. The misplaced blade will burst into flames and re-form in her hand. This technique has no side effects. Conversely, she can also 'call' her body to the blade, not unlike regular flash step- Jo dissolves and reappears in a wreath of fire, only able to transport herself to the misplaced blade. Unlike flash step, this technique is mildly disorienting to use, blurring Jo's vision for precious seconds and causing minor dizziness, worsening each use of the technique.FireJo.png
 * Iga Te'i (フレアステップ, (Fureasuteppu) Flare Step): Jo's new technique is only available in Shikai: Jo can call her blades back to her hand. The misplaced blade will burst into flames and re-form in her hand. This technique has no side effects. Conversely, she can also 'call' her body to the blade, not unlike regular flash step- Jo dissolves and reappears in a wreath of fire, only able to transport herself to the misplaced blade. Unlike flash step, this technique is mildly disorienting to use, blurring Jo's vision for precious seconds and causing minor dizziness, worsening each use of the technique.FireJo.png

Contract Side Effects:

 * Jo's already high body temperature increases from 106-107F to around 150F in Shikai due to the release of higher energy. She sometimes burns the ground where she stands.
 * The longer Jo stays in shikai, the more her body is slowly consumed by her Zanpakuto's energy, which effectively changes her body's reishi into heat that combusts in the air. It starts at her ankles, wrists, and around the plate in her chest, and moves in from there. To keep herself from  being totally consumed, she consciously has to keep her own reiatsu at a level above the Zanpakuto's.
 * If Jo allows too much of Trickster's reiatsu too overcome her, her appearance will change even further: her blades will disappear and her forearms, chest and lower legs will dissolve into the same material as her Shikai's blades- even able to withstand attacks similar to the weapons. She becomes physically stronger but less rational. This form causes external and internal damage to Jo if left too long, and she can only stand to be in it for a minute minute before she starts slowly degrade from the inside out, destroying her body.


 * Bankai: Ki'somm Hii'letta (白金夕焼け, (Shirokin Yūyake) Whitegold Sunset) To release her Bankai, Jo holds her blades in front of her vertically with their handles touching, one blade up and one down, and simply states 'Bankai'. A burst of fire comes up from the ground and consumes her for a second, then slowly flickers away, revealing her armor and hammer. Illustre appears as an 8' tall, long-handled hammer. The hammer face is white with three horizontal lines revealing the bright orange core of energy inside it, and opposite the face is a long blade. The staff- like handle is gunmetal with several gold rings around it, and the base has another short blade that curves and points back up. Jo herself becomes clad in black and white armor with glowing gold and orange accents- Her tasset and greaves change, she gains gauntlets on both arms, bands around her biceps, and a piece resembling a ballistic vest over her torso. Coppery-orange, glowing runes vaguely resembling wings appear behind her, and fade the longer Jo remains in Bankai and every time she uses a technique. When the runes disappear completely, the Bankai becomes unstable and injures Jo.

Bankai Special Ability: Hii'letta retains its fire manipulative ability, on a much larger scale, and Jo gains further control over light-manipulating abilities.


 * Etu Te'i (フレア (Furea) Flare): Becomes bigger and faster, and Jo gains the ability to control her trajectory to an extent. Her stopping and recovery time remains slow.


 * Hakan (焼却処分する (Shōkyaku Jobunsuru) Incinerate): Jo slams the hammer into the ground, and concentrated bursts of flames that look like solar flares shoot out of the ground anywhere in a 100m distance from Jo, with the concussive force from each blast strong enough to injure people at distance from the actual flames. She can also use this to make a wall of fire at a higher energy cost.
 * Reikonkai: It could be said that Jo has already achieved a form of the rare Soul Release by having merged with Ki'somm. The 12th Division would love to get their hands on her to study the phenomena, which is another reason Jo is avoiding re-joining the Gotei.

Hollowfication
Hollow Mask: Jo's mask is canine-like, with narrow eyes, black 'ear' pieces, and blue markings. The mouth has straight teeth save for two outwardly curved fangs where the back molars would be. Donning the mask causes Jo's sclera turn black, and, formerly, her irises to change to gold- since her contract, only the right eye changes, her left remaining green.


 * Power Augmentation: With her mask, Jo gains a significant boost in her natural strengths, and gains access to her hollow powers.
 * Lowered Visored Abilities: Since her contract, Ma'ii interferes completely with Jo's inner Hollow and, since she and Jo are partially merged, Jo's Hollow powers are repressed. Because of this, Jo will never be able to go full hollow or increase her hollow abilities past what was available to her before.
 * Cero: Jo gathers copper orange energy that condenses to a small sphere between her index and pinky fingers, and releases her Cero in a thin, laser-like beam. Though it can be used for precise strikes, it is one of the weakest ceros out of all the known Visored.
 * Enhanced Endurance: Jo's already impressive endurance gains a InnerHol.jpg noticeable boost, essentially doing away with her sense of pain. She can be on the verge of death and fight on with her mask.
 * Enhanced Physical Strength: Jo's strengths gain a boost as well, almost doubling her natural strength. Jo's spiritual pressure, however, does not noticeably change since making her contract.
 * Inner Hollow: Jo's Hollow, self-named Muse, is the exact opposite of Jo in every way. She is dangerously intelligent and cunning, but completely apathetic and lazy. Due to this she's not that great of a fighter, preferring words to physicality. Though she is vicious and cruel, and nearly defeated Jo by poking at her deepest insecurities, she was unable to overcome Jo's determination. Muse formerly wished to take Jo's body over, but since the contract she has lost much of her power and is stuck stagnating in Jo's inner world, avoiding Ma'ii. Like most inner hollow, Muse takes the form of a colorless Jo as she looked before the Shadow Invasion.

Quotes
(To Eliot Rios) "I am absolutely ass over ankles in lesbians with you."

(To Ma'ii) "I don't know what the hell you did, how you did it, and I'll probably never understand it. But thank you... I can never thank you enough. I wasn't even close to done living yet. I owe you everything I am"

(About Hattori Fuu) "Hattori's training, to this day, is the toughest, scariest shit I've ever gone through. But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I owe my life to that woman hundreds of times over! All of her students do. She might be mean, she might be cold, but she's lived through it all and despite everything you fuckers have said about her, is still completely dedicated to this military. So you bet your ass I think she'll be the best Captain Commander the Gotei's ever seen."

(To the Primera) "You'll never win. You think compassion is a weakness, well, what's this war worth to you? Some new real estate? Pathetic. You're a piece of crap, desperate to survive any way you can. You don't even care about your comrades! You know what this war is worth to us? Everything we love, everything they love. We aren't fighting to survive here; we're fighting to protect. You think compassion is a weakness... But it's the reason we'll crush you."

(To her students) "I know you're all hurting and sore, but think of it this way: It's just one more ass-kicking closer to not getting your ass kicked!"

(To her students) "Look, you're going to fail, that's just how it is. You get cut up, you fall down, you fuck up. Sometimes life will punch you right in the face and kick you into the dirt. But what makes the difference is what you do about it. You gonna lay there and feel sorry for yourself, or are you gonna get up and take another swing? If you fall down nine times, you have to get up ten."

(To Ryoji Van) "I'm not ashamed of how I look... why would I be? I look fucking awesome! I work my ass off to be strong, and your lame ass sexist mentality isn't going to stop me from having bigger biceps than you."

"I'm not fearless, but the way I stay ahead of my enemies and even my peers in a fight is pretty simple... You just have to train like you've never won a battle, and battle like you've never lost."

"All I can say is... strap in for maximum amusement."

Trivia

 * Her themes, according to snakes-on-a-plane, is How the Gods Kill by Danzig and Renagades by the X Ambassadors.
 * As of now, Jo's creator has no access to proper translations for Jo's Zanpakuto techniques. For now they are named in Jo's (fictional) native language, Thali, from my other story Ghosttowns.
 * Her body type is based on Brooke Ence.
 * Jo is claustrophobic and afraid of needles.
 * Jo will never hit someone outside of sparring, combat, or defending herself, even in a playful manner. It makes her uncomfortable for reasons she isn't aware of, though she knows it started around the time she began dating Eliot.
 * She loves surfing and any and all beach activities. She also owns a motorcycle, and takes it out on her visits to the Human World.
 * Jo used to play the bass guitar, quite well, though she is no longer able to since losing her arm.

Appearances in Other Media

 * Jo's main story is Snake's original story, Ghosttowns. Jo's full name is Hma-Jolone Chatan Mori, and she is an escaped supersoldier known as 010 Sunsetter.
 * In Merc's superhero story, Reverb, Jo is a meta human known as Sunset, a werewolf shapeshifter and soldier who has been alive for over a hundred years.
 * Jo is featured in Amadalia's Battle High story.
 * Jo also appears in numerous AUs and one-shots by Snake, Rivers, and Merc.

Credit

 * All art on this page was done by http://snakes-on-a-plane.deviantart.com/