[1 / open] you snuck into a club for the first time 'cause you wanted to feel free

[bratherine]

Who ⬤ Kate & maybe your character?
What ⬤ Substories and part time gigs!
When ⬤ Now? Throughout May?
Where ⬤ Various locations
Content Warnings ⬤ None for now, probably.

— mochi-lly.

prompt reference

On May 16th the gyokuto returns for the moon viewing. This time she is testing medicinal mochi! It goes about as terribly as one might expect, given her proclivities.
[...]
Some mochi hits you with a chill so deep it can only be relieved by the warmth of another body, compelling you to shove yourself right against the nearest person regardless of who it is.

( She's not much for sweets, really. Never has been. But the Gyokuto promises they're not sweet, they're herby, they're medicinal. They're something for all tastes, so try this blue one!

Kate ends up staring at it for a long time after she's escaped the sales pitch of the woman, carrying this single blue mochi in the palm of her hand like she's not entirely sure whether she'll drop dead if she takes a bite. Thankfully — well, thankfully for RPers who like shenanigans — she sees someone else down a blue mochi and live, which is all the encouragement needed for Kate to take a bite of her own. )

... What the fuck?

( The chill hits her so suddenly and forcefully that her teeth feel like they've been dunked in ice. Or like she's just drank ice cold water after brushing her teeth. It's so immediate a sensation that she looks for the nearest bit of cover, as though expecting an arctic blast of wind to come next.

... The fact that the nearest bit of cover is a person who has body heat is just coincidence, okay? )

Shut up. It's cold.

— mr. vendman, vend me a man.

prompt reference

A local shirime wants a particular item from a particular vending machine. Which one, you might ask? Who knows!

The only thing that the shirime will tell you is the button combination: A5. A nosy kejourou can be bribed to tell you which machine, but first you have to provide them a photograph of a certain popular host from one of the clubs. To obtain this picture, you must first bring food from a preferred street vendor to one of the hitobashira who live under the bridge. This vendor will normally only take payments in barter or trade...

This continues throughout the city, a seemingly endless chain of trades and barters, until you finally encounter someone with an easy request to move forward with. Then, at last, you might find out which vending machine you need.

Turns out, it's one that vends porno magazines in a backlot. The item in question is a rare printing of a magazine called “Juicy Peaches”. You can probably figure out the content based on the name alone – no wonder that spicy shirime wanted it!

( The story so far...

She gets to this vendor the hitobashira are so fond of and he asks her to get the ingredients for this dish, which is annoying but fine. She's already ended up on this trail, so she may as well. This better fuckin' be worth it though. If this guy is just trying to get a drink of water she'll dunk his fucking head in a river for the trouble.

Now, back to the list. Noodles, check, prawns, check, squid, check... )

Konjac? Isn't that booze?

( That's cognac, Kate. Someone may want to direct her to the actual Konjac before she ends up trying to talk someone into giving her spirits. )

— michelin star service.

( It's pretty obvious that a job is essential. The flat she's been assigned is a dump, and while she's not exactly looking to live the mansion life, it'd be nice to not live somewhere that has water dripping from upstairs 24/7. Not to mention the paper the building calls walls.

She already knows way too much about her neighbours for comfort, thanks.

So... Jobs. A lot of the Tamamao district is— well, to put it bluntly: incredibly horny. Which is whatever, but she's grown up knowing and expecting rules about that kind of stuff, and when it comes down to it, she'd rather just try to pretend she's at all suited to work in one of the fancy restaurants than lie about her age and get found out.

Which is how she comes to be stood at the door of a restaurant where one dish would probably cost more than the rent on the place she's been given, wearing smart trousers, and waistcoat and a shirt, her hair scraped back into a neat ponytail. It's a trial period for a shit job, but it's money, and so when someone arrives to be seated, she asks an incredibly polite; )

What d'you wan— ( And catches herself before she completes that sentence. Shit. ) I mean, uh. Do you have a reservation?

— wildcard.

( hit me with something else? message me at exits / exits#8071 if you wanna talk about stuff or just write your own starter! )

Comments

[metafictions]

[He shrugs casually. All in a day's side questing work, right?]

We do have a vending machine to get back to. A cola might be nice.

[And if someone's arm of this long chain of errands is done, it's almost like his is done too... or something.]

Shall we?

[bratherine]

Sure.

( Welp, best get this to the vendor, and breathe a sigh of relief when he tells them the name of the street where they can find the vending machine before adding a little aside to Kamui — uh, might not want the kid around for it — that Kate just overhears on her way out. )

The hell's that meant to mean?

( Well, the answer is found a couple of streets down, when they actually get to the vending machine. Thankfully there is, indeed, a drinks vending machine there. But...

Hm. The actual content of the one the shirime's looking for... Kate groans, eyes rolling as she stares at racks of explicit magazines. )

[metafictions]

[The aside's a little confusing: it's just a vending machine, right? But when they get there, it all becomes very unfortunately clear.

Kamui stares blankly at the porn vending machine, looking thoroughly unimpressed.]

Ah.

[All of that... for this??? Are you serious. He sighs and glances over his shoulder at Kate:] Sorry. I'll... deal with it. [because he's not her guardian, or anything, but he is a responsible enough twenty-something to not want her around here too long.

A beat. He turns his eyes to the salvation of the drink vending machine.] I like mango, if they have it.

[bratherine]

( She's making the exact same face, honestly. )

... This guy can't buy his own wank material?

( Actually, scratch that... )

'E knows th' internet exists, aye?

( Who knew people paid for porn, let alone porn from a vending machine? Maybe he really does read it for the articles (yeah, right.) But she's happy to look at a vending machine of drinks instead. )

Fizzy or...?

[metafictions]

[A hapless shrug of the shoulder. He agrees: they're in the Future, you should be able to log in and do this shit yourself, horny Shirime...]

Maybe he's really into physical media.

[which, valid, but dude.

Kamui punches in the number for the nudie mag before replying.] Fizzy, please. [Mercifully, it pops out of the machine along with a thin, brown paper bag, which he gingerly stuffs the magazine into.]

I can't believe this is it.

[bratherine]

( Her lip curls. She's not touching that with a ten foot pole, thanks.

But she is handing him a bottle of fizzy mango pop, grabbing water for herself. )

It any good?

( Like, if they're going to go through all this, he better have chosen something good. )

[metafictions]

Thanks. [He takes the pop and cracks it open; he takes a sip, thankfully, before Kate asks her questions.]

The drink is great. The magazine is... terrible. But we got it.

[Like, godawful levels. A porno not even Travis Touchdown could love.]

I guess it's a job well done, or something?

[bratherine]

( Somehow that just makes this whole thing insulting. Or perhaps makes it make sense. Maybe the dude's ashamed to be seen buying this or whatever. )

It's done. ( That's as much praise as this misadventure deserves. ) Let's go.