[2 / open] you're the only one who makes me excited

[bratherine]

Who ⬤ Kate Galloway (bratherine) & maybe you?
What ⬤ timtam apartment shenanigans and sidequests substories
When ⬤ Throughout the month
Where ⬤ All over the city, check individual prompts for specific locations
Content Warnings ⬤ Mr. Libido / Stardust but probably nothing else!

— tamamornings.

Ugh!

( The noise any unfortunate fellow Lost Soul at the laundromat nearest the Tamamo starter apartments hears is the dulcet tones of one irritated teenager, yanking her work uniform out of the wash only to find...

Something's been eating holes through her shirt.

Fuck's sake. She actually tries with the laundry, for once in her life, because fuck knows Marc isn't here to foist that duty onto, and...

This.

She glares at the shirt, balling it up and dumping it in her washing basket, poking her head into the washing machine to try and figure out just how the fuck this happened.

Did you, uh, wanna use this machine? Or just figure out why this girl is so mad at her laundry? )

— substory: mr. libido.

substory description

Adult businesses throughout the city have been reporting a nearly naked man dancing outside their storefronts and harassing customers. Store employees can’t deal with him because he runs every time they take a step outside. They need your help to catch this pervert and make sure he doesn’t come back. Careful, he may think you’re like him and take a shine to you instead! You might not want to hear what kind of lurid talk he’s open to a friend about… Please help rid Jigokucho of this tighty-whitey clad menace!

Shut. Up.

( The sight of Mr. Libido is an unfortunately familiar one for far too many people, and in the continuing farce that is Kate's life, she just had to run into him while trying to get her grocery shopping done. Apparently, telling yet another practically naked idiot to fuck off is an invitation to hear way too much detail about why he's doing this particular dance.

Is this better or worse than getting into a fight with a naked dude? Honestly, it's a coin toss.

She continues to stalk her way back, bags heavy in her hands, as Mr. Libido bounds along to keep up, chattering all the while about **** and **** and *********.

Kate twitches.

Kate puts down her bags, yanks the breadstick out of one of them, and wields it like it was an actual weapon. It is not, but it's the closest thing she has at the minute. )

Fuck off already.

— substory: stardust.

substory description

With things seeming to get back to normal, there are preparations that need to be made for the next citywide festival: Tanabata! A little competition is being held between the factions to collect as much “Stardust” as possible in the lead up to the festival. “Stardust” is a magical fragment of the heavens that has fallen to the city at night. There are rewards for those who gather the most up, but exposure to a lot of Stardust can have some interesting effects. It increases the feelings of joy and satisfaction one gets from indulging in one’s desires; be it fighting, fucking, gambling, drinking, dancing, singing, or even just quiet meditation.

No wonder this stuff is so valuable and everyone’s trying to get their hands on it. Are you going to collect it for your faction, or are you going to try to sell it off to people in town who just want to vibe? Don’t get caught hawking the stuff by your faction, if so!

( Stardust glitters in the night. It's actually kind of fascinating, in a "shit that should be in a fantasy film" way. But more importantly than that, it's a kind of competition. And Kate can't say no to one of those.

It's easy to find her at dusk, using the last remnants of daylight to guide her across the walls and balconies of buildings, climbing above the streets of Jigokucho with well-placed jumps and practiced, fluid motion. She's become more used to the paths she can climb in the city, particularly in Tamamo district, but the further out she wanders, the more apparent it becomes that she needs time to plan her routes up and down rooftops, and it's an easy time to grab her, even if she's in the middle of plucking bits of stardust up and tossing them in a drawstring bag. It happens on the street when she chances upon that sparkle, but mostly? Mostly Kate is going onto the rooftops to clean stardust from there, assuming it's more likely to have an ample supply of the stuff than the streets where everyone walks.

And collecting ample supplies comes with its own drawbacks. Or perhaps bonuses, depending on how you look at it. The stardust is, after all, more than just sparkly. The delight floods her veins with each course she uses to jump from one rooftop to the next, each time she runs and the wind picks up in her ears. It's growing darker by the second, but it doesn't seem to matter.

She wants... She wants. God, what does she want? To have fun. To forget. To let everything but this feeling melt away into nothing, so she can simply be.

And, when Kate's happy, she's talkative. Anyone she runs into at this point will be greeted. Perhaps not enthusiastically, but with a certain gleam that isn't normally there. A lightness which suits her even as it comes across foreign and unfamiliar. )

Why're you out?

( A simple enough question. What are you up to, stranger? Or less stranger? )

— substory: stardust, part ii, magic kiss edition.

( Kate may not be out hunting for stardust in the daylight hours, but that doesn't mean the hunt is over. She's not about to ignore flecks of stardust which she stumbles across between errands, or on her way to work at the restaurant.

She's also not going to ignore fellow competitors, either. There's new strength flowing in her veins and an odd, intrinsic knowledge of just how much better that power Tenkohime gifted her has become. There's a good, if not reckless, mood which has overtaken her, no thanks to all the stardust collecting she herself has been doing.

So, wherever you may be, if you look like you're trying to grab some sparkly stuff, Kate walks right over and taps you on the shoulder.

First things first: determining whether this person is a fellow Tamamo, to be helped, or someone to be hindered. Her eyes scope out any type of identifying pins, or uniform, which may be worn, as well as whether she recognises said person from headquarters. )

Can help you with that, if you want.

( It's fine! Trust her. :) )

— wildcard.

( need / want something else? hit me! feel free to contact me (exits#8071 / exits) if you wanna chat things out. )

Comments

[notched]

Mm. Grace and I were... 'orphaned poor'. The nuns raised us, and a few other children. Cold, horrible women.

[ She scuffs her glove against the rooftop. ]

All they ever taught us was being sinners, helpless. Only way to stop them calling you filthy and wretched is become one of them.

[ She gives Kate such a look. Does she look like good nun material? She doesn't fucking think so. ]

me writing this tag remembering that non-catholics don't have nuns visiting their house

[bratherine]

( Yeah, nuns and the Tamamo clan are opposite ends of the spectrum, aren't they? Not that she ever had much interaction with nuns growing up, really. But their lives seem as dull as all religious activities do to Kate.

At least she never had to live through that. But it does throw Anna's comment into the context it needs to be. )

So bein' strong meant y'could get out of that.

[notched]

Aye, and I let that steer me. Left my sister with the abbey, ill little thing. I thought I'd go to Yharnam and bring her back a cure.

[ She shakes her head. She does not feel good about not going back for Grace. ]

Being a Hunter was being stronger than anything.

[bratherine]

( ... A cure? )

Your sister's sick?

( It's Kate's usual ask people questions to keep them talking about themselves trick, but there's a genuine note of concern in her voice nonetheless.

Family is important, after all. )

[notched]

A long time ago, surely she's long since dead.

[ The abbey had been in a poor village, she was mostly put to bed rest in some chill room of the church housing and left to read her prayers.

She looks down, mouth twisting a little. She's so certain that her sister's death hangs over her head, she hadn't even thought to contract to reverse it. ]

[bratherine]

( ... Ah. Kate bites back a flinch, but it doesn't fully hide the gleam of pain in her eyes at those words. )

... Shit. That sucks.

( That's a terrible understatement, but Kate's always hated when people say sorry for her losses, and she assumes the same is true of other people who've gone through the same.

The only people who need to apologise are the ones responsible, aren't they? )

[notched]

My own doing, couldn't take her with me... Couldn't go back when it was time.

[ She exhales tiredly. Ruffles a gloved hand back over her hair before standing again. ]

Not so strong then, mm?

[ She clearly wants to go, wandering off to the opposing side of the roof. She hasn't made her jump just yet, but she's pinned down where she intends to land on the far side of the alley. ]

[bratherine]

( They're on the move? Kate doesn't mind at all, wandering behind Anna and evaluating the path down to ground while mulling over the words said. )

Couldn't?

( Or didn't want to? )

[notched]

What's the difference?

[ She shrugs and then jumps thoughtlessly. She runs the rooftops all night every night, she doesn't need to think, she doesn't need to see. She's not particularly trying to outrun Kate, she's simply not stopping. ]

[bratherine]

( That's a good question. One Kate doesn't have an answer for. Some may say you should blame yourself less if you couldn't, if you had legitimate reasons to be unable to be there, but Kate knows better.

She hasn't lost Marc. She won't. But the fear of that outcome strangles her nonetheless, pushes her to fight through the city. They need their parents, both of them, but Marc needs them more.

And it's Kate's job to take care of him. If that means deals with hell, so be it.

Kate takes her time, compared to Anna. She's used to the rooftops, but not this specific path, and she's careful in her movements.

If Jigokucho wants to kill her in order to fulfil her contract, that's fine. But she won't die for a stupid mistake like trying to keep up with Anna on the way down. She won't leave Marc completely alone. )