Buskin' With Soul

Sun Feb 16, 2020 10:42 am

An afternoon in Minatumi Harbour was just like any other. The clear sky, the smell of sea air, the sound of ships arriving and leaving; it didn't differ too much from other seaside cities she'd visited. What was different, however, was the feel of the city. The sheer weight of the air might've been oppressive if it weren't so tantalizing. The walls themselves seemed to be alive.

... And, the people? The people were free to be themselves. Here, race didn't matter. Dimension of origin didn't matter. Arrancar walked alongside human, demon and other things she didn't quite recognize at a glance. Sure, the sight of a few Hollow gnawing on the walls was strange, but it was a good strange.

It was a strange that brought a smile to one's face.

Olivia Flynn, newcomer to the lands of the east and mostly-human, had staked her claim to a particular street corner. The funk of her flight and subsequent train ride over the sea from the mainland still clung to her clothes, though it was nothing stronger than the smells of the Harbour itself.

Her bags were left back at the hotel she had only just checked into that morning, and so she sat in a tank top and red denim pants, with an old and beaten six string laid across her lap. The guitar had just been purchased from a nearby pawn shop; sold by an owner too arthritic to play it any longer. She had known it was special the moment she'd laid her eyes on it. The wood was weathered, and the head wasn't original. What looked like a child's handwriting had marked its body with the simple words, "Monster Mash."

However, it had soul, and a spirit that cried out to play its beloved blues again.

As the crowds continued on their day around her, a faint green light glowed along the strings of the instrument. The girl smiled at just how strongly the instrument felt, and after tuning the guitar to a drop D, she began to play a bluesy, grungy tune with the odd percussion of her knuckles rapping against the body of the instrument.

"Slippin' on another go, I won't let it show. Won't you touch me, touch me? I won't let it go."

Sun Feb 16, 2020 11:01 am

ULV AUBER| WHITE MASK BUDDHA

Wandering her city, she made sure that everyone was happy. A few dead from Algos' attack, but the people were well drilled to get away from the acid sky, and the majority of the deaths were from the guys that go out surfing in storms because that's the gnarliest of waves. No great loss really. However, she did stop at the girl playing Ol' Man Black's guitar. Spiritual power weak as his didn't hold off aging completely, so he was an old man these days. Which was a shame because back in the day he was meant to be a great showman.

She'd listen for a bit, and then throw her wallet into the case and carried on with her day. Ulv was rich enough that the hundred and twenty million she splashed on the kido cartridge was something she could repeat a few times, so whatever was in the wallet was pocket change to her.

FLAME OF HOPE | END POST

Sun Feb 16, 2020 11:39 am

Olivia Flynn

The music took hold of her, and didn't let her go until it was over. As she played, Olivia was drawn in further and further into her own world; one comprised of nothing but the instrument in her hands. Her movements became more relaxed and fluid, and her voice louder as the tempo built. A brief solo even interrupted the piece, as she was swept away by the tide of emotion that rose from her instrument.

She had found a groove.

"Ohh! Yes, I've finally found a reason~ I don't need an excuse~" Unaware of the crowd she had drawn with her playing, the green glow along the strings of the guitar built, and she tugged on the soul of the air around her to increase the volume of both her playing and her voice. "I've got this time on my handsssssmmmmmow! You are~ the one to abuse!"

At last, with a few errant plucks on the strings of her instrument, the song came to an end. The girl breathed and smiled, but didn't open her eyes until a few clapping hands had garnered her attention. Her obvious glee and enjoyment turned bashful, and she returned the crowd's applause with a few quiet thank yous.

However, the show was over. She had gotten too ahead of herself, and now, was feeling the fatigue of using her powers for something so frivolous. She stood, shook a few hands, had made a few dollars -enough for beer money, then noticed something troubling when she'd gone to place the instrument back into its case.

Someone had left an entire wallet.

With Monster Mash, as she had decided to call it, now back in its case and slung over her shoulder, Olivia held the wallet tightly and looked every which way she could see over the heads of the crowd. Few were particularly attached to their wallets, but from something so simple, she could feel a strong passion for life. It was similar to the very feeling that emanated from the Harbour itself, and she felt a pull from further down the street.

More importantly, the image of a tall, muscular figure with hair like fire struck her mind.

Finding any particular person in a city was hardly an easy task. Finding a stranger in Minatumi Harbour, as it proved, was even more difficult. It took her time, and many questions to others on the street, to find the amazon with red hair that she believed to be the wallet's owner. When she finally did, she was hardly shy about her reasons.

"Ma'am, you dropped this!" Her shoulders heaved with her remaining fatigue, but her gaze on the woman's broad back was unwavering. Certain that the wallet had been a mistake, she held it out at arm's length towards the mystery redhead.

Sun Feb 16, 2020 11:46 am

ULV AUBER| WHITE MASK BUDDHA

Ulv was found in peaceful mediation between two people. Which, meant bashing their heads together because of the abject refusal to work with any lesser manner. For all the love of life and progression, sometimes people got passionately heated over simple things and she needed to deal with them in a way beyond words.

Then, the cute busker girl found her and said she had dropped the wallet, which was an interesting thing to hear. Letting the two drop to the ground, she turned to the woman with a warm smile and a powerful presence of passion and comfort, like a powerful mother bear over her cubs.
"I didn't drop it, dear. I gave it to you for your work. But I do so admire such integrity to return it to me" Ulv would step forward and reach out a hand to stroke the woman's cheek. "What is the name of a being so fine, my dear?"

FLAME OF HOPE | END POST

Sun Feb 16, 2020 12:15 pm

Olivia Flynn

It made sense now, why the wallet was so brimming with passion. The redhead was practically the avatar of such emotion in physical form. She stood and towered over the girl, albeit by mere inches, but it was her spirit and soul that oppressed one so, not her impressive physicality.

"O-Olivia Flynn, ma'am." Her voice croaked a little, for the sheer... everything about the woman. What was it that unnerved her? Her eyes, like the monsters that had attacked her since infancy? No, there were plenty of Arrancar in the city, and they were as nice as could be. Her powerful frame? Olivia, herself, was nearly as tall as her, and both were built well enough.

The woman was intense, and just standing near her was like staring into the mouth of a lion. It was enough to almost make her weak in the knees, should she lose focus. Her heart raced with feelings the likes of which she had never felt sober.

"It's too much." She swallowed, and steeled herself with resolve to return the woman's money. "I can't accept it."

Sun Feb 16, 2020 12:30 pm

ULV AUBER| WHITE MASK BUDDHA

Ulv looked at the woman in front of her and just gave a smile. The same kind of smile that could be seen in kids getting ice cream, a man finally finishing a hard level on his video game, and a psycho axe murder axe murdering. Ulv was emotionally eclectic, after all.

"Olivia Flynn. Cute name, I like it. As for the money, if it is too much for the music, then make it a downpayment on buying you" Ulv replied. Totally serious in her voice as eyes boring into Olivia. The woman was not joking or trying to do anything other than tell the girl that she was a thousand percent genuine with the offer.

FLAME OF HOPE | END POST

Sun Feb 16, 2020 1:03 pm

Olivia Flynn

The as-yet-unnamed woman's smile was strange, but it was the very same strange that permeated the city and drove the Hollow to their bizarre acts. She felt genuine, and honest. Her words, however, were an entirely different sort.

... The kind that made Olivia laugh before she could stop herself. The South African accent that she had been trying to mask came out with her following words.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not for sale." The girl smiled, albeit nervously, and again held the wallet out for the woman to take. Just briefly, her eyes flicked up and down the redhead's body, and while she was very easy on the eyes... No. No, she wasn't about to sell herself. She needed to hold on to that bit of pride, at least.

Sun Feb 16, 2020 1:10 pm

ULV AUBER| WHITE MASK BUDDHA

"Hmm, that is a shame" Ulv would take a step back and pick up the wallet. The girl wasn't fully rejecting the idea of getting with Ulv, but at the same time she hadn't accepted it. And Ulv needed a person to accept what she offered before she could do anything about it. Principles were all that stopped her from becoming an evil tyrant, after all.

"Well, if you ever want...anything~ come see me at my manor" Ulv said. The way she said anything, with flickering eyelashes and an overtly sensual tone made it seem like she knew exactly what was going on in Olivia's heart. And then the muscle girl turned to head off to said manor.

FLAME OF HOPE | END POST

Mon Feb 17, 2020 10:57 am

Olivia Flynn

The girl nodded in mild confusion, and watched the redhead as she simply walked away. She prided herself on her ability to read others. She was damn good at it. However, she couldn't make sense of the woman in this moment. Had she just given up so easily, or was there something Olivia didn't know?

Whichever the case, the girl pouted a little, pursed the corner of her mouth, and crossed her arms over herself. Finally, she shrugged and wrote the redhead off as eccentric, and turned to return to her day in the new city.

Eventful, the day was quite. Once she had recovered some after her first performance, Olivia had played Monster Mash a little bit more. The people of the Harbour seemed to enjoy it a great deal, and were generous enough with their money, though none quite as so as the redhead. A local pub had served great beer, said to be locally brewed, but the high never quite reached the same as she had felt just standing near the redhead. There were many handsome men and cute women, but none so...

... Why couldn't she get the woman out of her head?

Much later in the day, Olivia sat on the edge of her hotel bed. A towel wrapped around her head was drying her hair after a recent shower, as she got dressed to go out again. No matter how she tried, however, she couldn't stop thinking about the mystery woman.

"Fuck it." She threw caution to the wind, and finished getting dressed in a new t-shirt and the same denims from before. It wasn't anything glamorous, but then again, she wasn't trying to be.

Finding the redhead again was no simple task without a name, as there were a number of homes in the city that she would describe as... extravagant. However, deep into her search, she struck gold with not just a name, but where exactly to find the woman's home, and the fact that she was, apparently, the mayor of this city.

So, Olivia climbed the tallest hill on the island, towards the grand mansion that sat upon its crest; it reminded her of a crown, somewhat. Bereft of her guitar, she carried a six pack of beer bottles in one hand. As she neared the home, she could feel the strangeness of the city seem to grow and chatter in the background, but the exhilarating rush from before started to return.

After licking her lip in a mix of anxiety and anticipation, she reached up to knock on the large door to the home...

Mon Feb 17, 2020 11:55 am

ULV AUBER| WHITE MASK BUDDHA

The door would open by itself and Ulv was stood in a towel that morphed into some casual tank top and shorts as she saw who was at the door. The woman's hair was still clinging to her head, clear evidence of her just departing from the shower. Though, she seemed to have a confused look on her face that Olivia had shown up after earlier.

"I guess the problem with having principles based on another's choice is flawed in the fact that people rarely know what they want. That said, you need something? I didn't, drop a second wallet, did I?"

FLAME OF HOPE | END POST

Buskin' With Soul

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