Satisfying Bare-Bones Needs

Tue Sep 03, 2019 12:47 pm

Spooky Scary Skeletons Send Shivers Down Your Spine

Man, a day off, and what do I get? To spend it dealing with people who act like this ol' pile of bones'll do anything to hurt 'em.

Screams tore through the small coffee shop, making the individual who had attempted to enter immediately turn back around, strolling down the concrete sidewalk, pulling his hoodie back over his head. Really unfortunate. Maybe I shouldn't bring the kid to this city after all.

The man without flesh looked up at the sky, wondering how long it would take for the cops to arrive for him to clear this up. They've already got cameras out… wouldya look at that. The nearly powerless skeleton waved at the camera, the smile that was permanently on his face plainly displayed. He wore a peculiar combination of a fluffy blue sports jacket with no team on it, sports shorts, and… flip flops. "I know my frame's a bit bony, but c'mon…" He muttered to himself, eyes looking this way and that, trying to figure out where those who would likely try to accost him would come from.

All he wanted to do was clear his name and bounce from Minatumi Harbor, even if it was a bastion of relatively neutral civilization…

Shrieking Skulls Will Shock Your Soul, Seal Your Doom Tonight…

Tue Sep 03, 2019 1:05 pm

The Flame Of Hope

Artist: Carrotwine - Song: Dark Side Of The Road

The city was a magnificent thing. As soon as Sonny entered it's limits, he could feel an uplifting emotional feel in the very air. A barely perceivable amber haze covered the place, and the buildings were more obviously amber coloured. Stare into their walls long enough, and you could even see a fire crackling from within the stone. This place was definitely more than just normal buildings. And any energy sensitive being could see even further than that, as the power signature of nearly every race imaginable was evident inside the Harbour. Clearly, this was a melding pot of every refugee that could make it here.

The buildings seemed to rise taller into the sky than they should, the city was more vast than the landmass it covered, and it throbbed with a life as if it was going to uproot from the island and rush into the horizon in pursuit of some deeply held dream. But even then, to the person who felt such outside feelings to be cheating, for one who wished to rely on himself, and to know everything he did in life was his own, the great power of the city would be distant. Visible, notable, but effecting one as much as the gentle lapping waves of the Harbour effected The Sun. Though it did seem....lower than most cities, as if it had it's origins in an underground city.

As for the ruckus he was causing, that would be soon simmered down as a woman put down a thermos flask of tea next to Sonny. Given that her energy signature was literally everywhere in the city, sensing Ulv's coming was difficult. Like trying to find hay in a haystack. She could just appear from the senses of spirituality, and her speed along with sound-dampening wind powers helped on the physical front.
"Could have sent any sort of letter, you know. Most people here are normal, or normalish. A walking skeleton is very strange to them" Ulv told Sonny, taking a drink from the flask, and then smiling at the skelly. "Though, I doubt you'd come to lands of such warmth and happiness for the weather. What do you need from me, Sonny?"

Tue Sep 03, 2019 4:51 pm

For most other people, that feeling of lightness and happiness were probably extremely pleasant.

Not so for the skeleton, who from the moment it began to affect him he felt kind of sick from.

Like having puked up a cheese dish that one had eaten too much of, even though it should have been a pleasant experience, all Sonny felt was ill. While he could feel his endorphins triggering, he could also feel an intense negativity that had come to be ass eye ociated with that feeling. It made him think of the time he had been lying there on the ground, the world going black, wondering if it would ever turn white again. ..And then the kids saved me. Bluagh…

The grandeur of the city was lost on the skeleton. To him, architecture did not matter. Impressive things did not matter. All he wanted was to relax and enjoy himself, and the levels a skyscraper had did not particularly grant him any kind of advantage. He felt the uplifting nature of the energy, but if one were to ask him, it rather ruined the feeling of the rest of this place. Like dipping ones ice cream in nacho cheese. For him, it did not match.

His eyes swiveled, looking directly at the approaching woman, before looking away from her again, into the distance. He wondered if she was the authority that he was waiting to explain himself to. He had known she was an important figure here, but he really had thought that she would not bother showing up to meet him, especially if the people in the city had not raised such a ruckus. And if I'm being honest… I didn't really want to see her again, anyway. His hands shifted a tad uncomfortably in his pockets, his body still facing ahead.

When she arrived, he was no longer looking at her.

"Didn't stretch my legs to see you." He told her plainly, answering her question with another sigh. "Heard this city's pretty nice, and considering it's one of the only ones not full'a demons and their weird religion stuff, and you and the Doc are on alright terms, and seein' how I work for him…" Sonny employed his multipurpose shrug. He noticed how the hubbub calmed down once she arrived. Is she some kinda superhero or somethin'? He wondered, finally turning his skull around to face her.

"Don't need anything from you, just lookin' for a cup of joe." He explained, one hand rising out of his pocket as he shrugged again. "Must be hard, every screamin' kid's got you running, huh?" He commented, still wearing his hood over his head. "Though I guess there's one thing I've been meanin' to ask ya."

Sonny's tone changed, his hand reaching up to his neck, wincing as he ripped a chunk of bone off. Right there in front of her, he put his hand back into his pocket, his eyes meeting hers.

"How'd, and why'd, my Judgment Blaster come out at that battlefield without my Transforming?"

Tue Sep 03, 2019 5:24 pm

The Flame Of Hope

Artist: Carrotwine - Song: Dark Side Of The Road

Ulv grinned. Sonny was an interesting person. He didn't want to be here, hated the feelings that were building in him, but also didn't make the conscious - and very obvious, Ulv's power gave them an instinctive understanding of how to turn away from the flame if they wanted - decision to stop feeling it. And just sat in suffering. And even more, he lied to her and said that he just wanted a cup of coffee in an island several hundred kilometers off Japan rather than literally anywhere else on Earth, most notably China where he would be based with the Doctor.

"We do make good coffee here, I will admit. Prefer tea myself, I do not need more energy than I have. As for Demons and religion, we have both. Without their extremists, Khalaism is actually pretty interesting. They have nine beliefs and nine sins. Forcing someone into Khalaism is harshly condemned in both the belief and the Sin. So I don't mind having them in my city" She finished her tea and dropped it through a Garganta to her sink back home. Then he asked a killer question that had Ulv's eyebrows raised.

"Dude, that was nine months ago, I have no idea of the specifics anymore. There was a lot of Hollow Reiatsu flying around though. From both me and Tatsuya. You could have sucked that in, maybe? My Resolve Flame is also designed to be shared, as Rasuca can tell you. Maybe you had a desire for more power and you sucked some Flame into you? Not knowing the specifics of your Judgement Blaster, I can't tell you specifically, only give you suggestions" She then looked up, and stood up, walking over to him and planting a gentle hand on his skull.

"Though I am sorry what you had to witness there, and you were fantastic. So outclassed, the weakest of us was far stronger than you, and you still held your ground. For that you've got my eternal respect and I will help you with whatever you might need in life"

Tue Sep 03, 2019 7:24 pm

"But see though, that's the thing, sometimes it's hard for me to even get these old bones outta bed in the morning. If I could get a warm cup without anybody screamin' bout the end times, that'd be great." Sonny told her, letting out a great big yawn. Or at least, making the sound of one. His facial expressions did not change much outside of the one his skeletal frame permitted him. "That so?" Sonny replied, apparently put off by her mention of the Khalaists.

However, he seemed to just brush it off completely, for some… reason. Perhaps there was more to the story than he was letting on. Perhaps he had had a run in with a member of that religion in the past… and perhaps it had gone rather horrendously. "Well, people'll believe whatever they want, but some of their temples get a little… flesh-focused. Not really my kinda jam, you can imagine." He commented flippantly, using the opportunity to make another joke at his own expense.

"…" Sonny was completely focused on Ulv's words. He even shifted his body so that he was finally facing her. He listened excruciatingly closely to what she was saying. "Well…"

And then, something rather unusual happened.

She walked up to him, and actually put a hand on his skull.

Sonny was not entirely certain how to react to that one. As far as he was concerned, human touch was something he received solely because he cared for a child who climbed all over him regularly. Someone going out of their way, being fully aware touching him, his eyes could only look directly at her.

For just a moment, he was able to forget the distaste he held for her flame.

It quickly returned, however, and exponentially increased with what she had to say next to him. "…………" He was silent for several moments, processing everything she said. Finally, he sighed again, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "…What're ya talkin' about. I work for Shadowfall, I had'ta do my best or I wouldn't be doing my job."

"- Is what I want to say." Sonny paused for that moment, his head relaxing a bit, his feet shifting slightly. "…But that ain't the case. Like you said, it was because I wanted it… And, Superwolf… that ain't somethin' I'm used to feeling." He explained, turning his head away from her.

"…I really don't have any wishes, now. You saw what happened when I tried. That's why I normally don't." His accent was gone, that casual tone discarded. All that was left was… a dull hollowness. The weariness of age, of battle… and what it left behind. "…My body is broken. It has been for a long, long, long time. I've had the Doc take a look at it. I'm bones, right down to my soul."

It was an odd feeling, being able to be this blunt with someone else. To be able to explain exactly what he felt on a day to day basis. To talk about the things that he always felt in the back of his mind, but did not want to burden anyone else with. But, well… she had said anything. So she'd get a fair shake of the junk that rolled around his skull.

"…Well, you're pretty tough… I can show you how my Blaster's work, but, well…. Nothing'll happen to ya, but it's kind of a hassle, so I usually don't. If you want the full story, though…"

Sonny paused for several moments, as if contemplating exactly what he was suggesting. Part of him honestly was curious about the potential effects it could have; and part of him wanted her to know exactly why it was so strange for his blaster to have appeared like that. After long considerations, though… he decided that if she wanted to know…

"There really isn't any better way to explain it."

Wed Sep 04, 2019 6:55 am

The Flame Of Hope

Artist: Carrotwine - Song: Dark Side Of The Road

"Mmm, it's a strange feeling to overcome existential nihilism and actually want to do something. And while being in the dark with no dreams and desires is the easiest way to live in the world, it is no true living. Of course, Jefferson City went badly for you because fighting against a Hollowfiying Captain-level Shinigami while you are at best a weak Lieutenant, isn't going to go well at all. So you sorta just got caught in the crossfire of me and Murasaki. But you did well regardless, and were the scale much lower, you'd have been the one to be victorious and all the gooy feels that come with that"

Ulv then hailed a waitress for another cup of tea and a scone, as well as whatever Sonny wanted.
"Nothing ever broken is too far gone to be fixed. And by breaking and being fixed, you might become better for it. The Japanese have an art called Kintsukuroi. Where, they repair broken pottery with seems of gold, making it more beautiful than it was before. You wanna look into fixing your broken body, I shall call upon many friends to lend you a hand. But as to your Blasters, you know how they work. So you know best why they popped out like that, and if you do not, then nobody else will"

Thu Sep 19, 2019 10:14 am

"Don't think I'd go that stiff." He answered, his You'arms raising as he shrugged. He did not really talk about the way he truly felt often, though if one were to pay attention to the way he lived his life, they would notice that despite that nihilism that was ever-close to him, that feeling of uselessness… he still went out of his way to do certain things. He let her talk about the way he was, and that just made him let out another sigh. His glowing eye turned to face Ulv directly again, his hands still stubbornly planted in his jacket's sleeves.

"…Even so, it's not the losin' that makes me not want to." Sonny replied, actually contradicting something she said. What he said about being bones was closer to the actual reason. He blinked as Ulv hailed the waitress, thinking for a moment. "Huh… Could I get some coffee, with plenty of cream?" He asked, his eyes turning back to face Ulv.

"…You should ask the Doc about his eyes sometime." Sonny replied, sitting back against a booth as he stared down at one of his skeletal hands. "Sometimes, Superwolf… you don't overcome breaking. Sometimes you're just… broken." He told her, resting his skull onto his digits, looking wistfully up at the sky. "You've seen me move, right?" He asked her, referring to his judgment speed. If Ulv recalled correctly, it was some fairly incredible levels of speed, his body seeming to 'blink' in and out of existence. "I work for the best Doctor maybe who ever lived, and he can't tear it. Or he doesn't want to. How'd you think I found him in the first place? Unless your friends've been really good at hiding that they could fix someone with nothing left but bones, I'll keep my chips off the table." He replied, another sigh leaving his chest.

It was probably for the best that she did not see the Hall. They must have popped out because of my desire for victory… Or maybe because I found something distracting enough that I managed to forget about my circumstances, for just a while. He lifted his skull back up, relaxing back in his chair. "But I'll bite, seein' how you owe me one. Who've you got in mind?"

Thu Sep 19, 2019 12:48 pm

The Flame Of Hope

Artist: Carrotwine - Song: Dark Side Of The Road

"The only time you don't overcoming breaking is when you give up trying. And, yes. I have seen you move. And as a woman who can move just as fast without any level of enhancements, I can tell you that speed means nothing if you don't know what you are looking for. One of the women I want to send you to lives somewhere you literally can not find without guidance" she would get her tea, and Sonny's coffee, and lean back to sip it while he let her talk about the people she had under her belt.

"I have five people, to start with. I have some confidence one of them might help. Hebi is a great doctor, but I doubt he has mastered every form of healing ever made. The First, Hannah Kabal, is a woman who's just got out of jail. She uses a unique version of Kaido to exceptional effect. The Second, Cho Zi, is actually the closest person, he lives here in the harbour. He uses Nabong Needle Ryu and spiritual energy, combining his with your own to mend wounds. The Third, Ci Lan Tsu, is a woman who uses Divine Alchemy to many effects. And the Fourth, Sun Wukong, uses this awesome Buddhist meditation to manifest desires. He learned it from Shaka Nyorai. THE Buddha. And Henrex Astilon, he's a Ninja with Ninja Magic, one of them is really cool for healing. If all five of those fail, Ci and Sun are influential figures in their world, so we could get some more directions from there.

Though, I will have to know how you became a walking Skeleton in the first place. I don't want to go around trying to heal you only to find out there is no actual 'Wound' and this is all the result of magical fuckery. Magical Fuckery obviates two of them"

Tue Oct 22, 2019 10:41 am

"What kinda guidance we talkin' here? School counselor, shaman?" The skeletal man asked, not really getting his hopes up. She's not exactly good at listenin', is she… Sonny sighed, lifting up his arms and giving her another shrug. "That said… what, I should just obsess over It constantly as long as it doesn't work out?" He wondered aloud, before sliding his hands back into his pockets. "Let's say I do keep trying and trying, for hundreds of years. I don't get to move on from it. I don't get to look forward. That kid doesn't get someone lookin' after him. Those people don't get me throwin' em a bone."

One of Sonny's hands drew out of his pocket, a single bony finger pointing up at the sky. "You're gonna hurt someone with that inability to give up, someday. Sometimes you do gotta learn when to quit. I wouldn't even be talkin' with you about it if I hadn't given up." Sonny's tone changed considerably with that statement. It started out quite harsh, not totally unlike when he had started getting pushed to his limit back in Jackson City. A tonal shift occurred halfway through speaking; and by the end of it, he actually sounded pleased again.

After that, Sonny relaxed again, hand tucked in his jacket while Ulv spoke. …Somethin' tells me I can't let him know about it if someone does manage it, anyhow. That was always the problem with goin' to him; and it's why he was the last I asked to see if he could do anything about it. Sonny sighed a bit at that thought, but he didn't shift his expression. This sounds like it's gonna be so much work… Sonny doubted that the kido user would be able to help him; as a magic art that could be used for healing, he had pursued it rather extensively. Of course, getting a Shinigami to look over an Arrancar's 'wounds' was usually a bothersome affair in and of itself.

Some kinda needle therapy… Well, that sounds super unpleasant. He mused to himself, before blinking a the fourth name mentioned. …Like the monkey guy? From… Buddha? That one caught his interest a bit; it seemed the most interesting of the lot. …Well. The buddha was the first one, at least among the humans, to really embrace that the evils of the world happen, right? He thought to himself, his expression unchanged as he looked at Ulv.

"….." Then she asked him that question. The question that cut right to the core of the Skeleton. "…You really want to know?" He asked her, though he already knew that she did. This woman ahd made a point of showing that she hated giving up. Sonny asked that question to try to prepare himself for trying to 'get into it'. "…That's about the only thing I've been able to get information about in all the time I've spent lookin'." At that, Sonny seated himself once again, actually putting his feet down onto the road.

The little skeleton man sat there for another couple of seconds, staring out at the world. Eventually, he started talking again. He was not looking at Ulv; he seemed to be looking at somewhere else. "…I can't really tell ya how it happened without explain' who I used to work for." Sonny explained, his tone neutral. "Yaknow the God Truth? You could say I was his messenger." Sonny explained, before taking oen last big breath.

"I was a messenger to another of those God's. Deveta. The one who lives deep, deep in Hell. Course, gettin' there's damn hard. I picked up lots of tricks and made a lotta friends trying to get to him… anyway. I did reach him. I delivered Truth's message; and well, he didn't like it too much. So he shot the messenger, which was me, in this case. He…. Put something in my head. Or… rather, he tried."

Sonny paused at that point, his head staring straight up at the sky, trying to ground himself. "Deveta.. I… I think he knows everything that's ever happened. All of Humanity's evils. All of its crafts. All of its records. That's one of the things I've learned from trying to find a fix. It's the… the only thing that makes any sense with what he tried to do to me." Sonny's hands tightened in his jacket, the words getting more difficult to explain. "…I could feel my mind collapsing in on itself. I… had seen, dealt with a lot by that point. You get pretty tough after you fight and politic your way through that many layers of Hell. But... What I felt that day… was... breaking, shattering. Through to my core. Wanting to die, cursing myself, cursing Truth, cursing everything. Growing stronger and stronger in magnitude. So fast... If… if I hadn't fled… I… I don't know. I try not to think about it."

Sonny's voice began displaying fear as he spoke those words. An emotion that Ulv had seen from him twice now. He could count on one hand the list of people who had witnessed that. "As hard as he tried to break me, I… escaped. With everything I had, I tried escaping that curse he was laying on me. My flesh, muscle, power… everything burned up in the wake of my running. The only thing in my head was getting away. Fleeing. I lost… everything. Ripped and torn away, until…" Sonny held up one hand, clicking bone against bone to communicate his point.

"…From what I've learned, my body works more or less the same as yours. I bleed, for example. Have organs. So it's more like… I'm a charred corpse, with just my skeletal structure left. I'm pretty sure it's from blasting myself with my own energy to get enough speed to escape that one time… Probably made me faster, ripping away all of the weight I had, until I was bare bones." With that, Sonny finally came to a stop, his eyes returning to Ulv's once again.

"…So there you go. Do me a favor and keep it to yourself, wouldya? Would rather not talk with Shadowfall about the time I pissed off their God."

Tue Oct 22, 2019 11:12 am

The Flame Of Hope

Artist: Carrotwine - Song: Dark Side Of The Road

Listening to Sonny's tale silently, Ulv just sipped her drink and nodded softly. It was quite the tale, and Ulv could relate to it. What would she had been like, without Rakki there in those first moments of her birth? Would it be anything like she is today? Probably not.

"Don't worry, I sort of pissed in Deveta's soup as well with Neoveta. So I am not going to be telling anyone that you delivered a message and the divine manchild threw a hissy fit" Clearly, there was not a lot of respect for the Demon God in Ulv's book. And then, she stood and began to look around the place. The way her eyes were zoned and unfocused, she was clearly looking at things far beyond the city.

"As for the rest, I mean actual literal holding-your-hand guidance. It's an incredibly powerful Onmyoji Array that hides the place. And, there is a difference in mentality. You can put something on the back burner, let it simmer. Passively gather intelligence about the thing you want while still focusing on life. Activity is not a black and white 'All consuming' or 'Given up forever'. There are more spectrums of passion than any eye can see. I do not quit until told to quit, but if the thing I am searching for can not be found, then I stop looking for it. One day it will appear, and all that is required from me is patience. But to have that patience I must know my actions are for nought"

Ulv would then seem to find what she was looking for, and turn her eyes back to Sonny.

"But, you tale does obviate pretty much all of them. There is only one question that reminds before I take you to a man I feel can help you, and offer you things that will strength this aid" She would look directly at him with yellow eyes burning with intensity. A will that stretched to the heavens and plucked fire from the sun to warm the lives on the people around her.

"Do you have enough for one last try?"

Satisfying Bare-Bones Needs

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