[SEMI-CLOSED] i am my mother's savage daughter.

[killtime]

Who ⬤ The Bastard Andromache & her associates
What ⬤ Catch-all adventures for the Worst Cop Woman™
When ⬤ Late August through September
Where ⬤ The Department offices, Enma and Shuten Territories, etc.
Content Warnings ⬤ Profanity, violence, substance use, sex. To be updated as needed!

⬤ Permission's Post
⬤ @ whaler#7695 for starters!
⬤ Wildcards welcome from existing CR

Comments

andy's office crew

[killtime]

[ She's never really prided herself as an intellectual. Nearly seven thousand years she's been alive now, and most of that time she's spent learning various methods to kill a man. But there's not much use for that here. Here, in her office, what they have is piles of books and papers from the Department archives. It's too small a space for three people to work comfortably, but somehow the eclectic team of Andy, Jon, and Fukuda are managing it. The work is slow going. There's a lot of note-taking. Dog-earing. Copy-making. None of which are particularly Andy-esque skills.

So she's taken it upon herself to make coffee. It's the shitty office coffee. It probably still tastes a little salty. But caffeine is caffeine. Andy carries two mugs by the handle in one hand and a third in the other as she nudges her way back into her office. ]

Anything interesting yet? [ She sets the mugs down on her desk. Then she pulls open one of the drawers, taking out a flask to pour something that smells suspiciously like whiskey into her own coffee. ] Feels like we've been at this for a fucking age.

Re: andy's office crew

[eyediot]

[Jon had already planned to do this work; after the incident at Tanabata, he was going to go all in on researching the Wastelands. So Andy coming to him to research the same information, with a few other specific details from someone else, well.

The main office in Enma is having a reprieve from his animosity while they work out of Andy's office. Meeting Fukuda with his Better Vision had been sudden, some details he had missed before when he had trouble seeing. but it didn't change much, just firmly put Fukuda in a 'need to address later' mental category.

He's sitting at one of the chairs to the side of her table, notebook in hand and several other books open in front of him. It's clear that this type of work is Jon's bread and butter, working more diligently on this than he has anything else since he first arrived here months ago.]

It isn't much, I'm afraid. More of the same repeated information.

[killtime]

[ It's honestly not what she was hoping to hear — but then again, she hadn't expected much either. The wastelands seem like they've been there forever, and nobody seems to know much about them. It'd be a little too easy if they could just brush the dust off a few old tomes and find everything they need to know. Still, it was worth a go — and it's a favor to Aerith besides. Andy's never been good at telling Aerith no.

She takes a sip of her booze-and-coffee concoction, nudging the other mug in Jon's direction. ]

Well, if you can't fucking find anything, I'm pretty sure nobody can. [ A bit wryly: ] This is your wheelhouse, Archivist. I've never been a gods-damned scholar.

milf & meowboy

[killtime]

[ It still catches her off guard a little — the way he says those things to her so easily. The sincerity of it, offered to her without any hesitation at all. She isn't used to that. She wasn't sure she actually wanted to be missed. Or maybe it's just that she feels a twinge of guilt when she likes that she is. ]

Well, I'm here now. [ Her wryness is a bit softer than she intends. ] Hi yourself.

[ They must make an odd-looking couple, standing there outside the door. Her, with her naturally severe features, her clothes dark and masculine — then him, with that earnest look on his face, their relative ages ambiguous enough that a person could hardly guess what their relationship might be. At least until she leans in to kiss him hello. ]

andy & emily

[killtime]

[ She's not handling it well.

For a few days, she didn't handle it at all. Didn't let herself feel anything. Or think too hard about it. But despair has always come naturally to her. Misery is one of her favorite vices, just like the sex and booze and cigarettes. It's familiar. And it settles into her bones all too easily. She can't even stand to look at herself — at the peonies spilling down over her shoulders, inked into her skin. It makes her whole body hurt with grief, as if it were a physical thing. A bleeding wound. A gaping hole in her chest.

She vents on the inanimate things in their apartment. There's a broken lamp she doesn't bother to clean up before crawling into bed, burying herself in blankets and nothingness for what feels like days. No one sees her. She should say something. Tell the others she's alright. Or that she will be. She should. She should. ]

[medicative]

[that the door is unlocked is...not quite a surprise. she walks in on soft steps, taking in the condition of the apartment, and breathes a little sigh. she'd known to come here when Izo told her what happened, the new emptiness in their lives. it had hurt, but it would hurt others worse - someone like Andy, who she hasn't heard from, must be metaphorically bleeding on the floor.

there's moments where words will help. but this place can't stay like this. and so Emily sets down the food she made in the kitchen, and gets to work. cleaning, picking up what's amiss. setting things back to right physically, even as the scent of cigarettes still clings to fabric, refuses to move even when she opens the window for fresh air. the lamp is cleaned up, the floor safe again. even the bathroom - nothing of his will be taken away - just rearranged into a better way, like he would have done.

she's fixing it, because that's what she does. waiting for Andy to return, or come out, or hear what's going on, though Emily does try and be quiet. she's fixing what her hands can touch, because she can't stitch closed broken hearts.]

[killtime]

[ The mortal flesh tires more easily than her immortal body would have. Her tantrum, destructive as it was, didn't last too long. She'd worn herself out, giving into the exhaustion, both emotional and physical. Now, the woman called Andromache of Scythia is nothing more than a lump of miserable flesh underneath the blankets, curled up so close to herself that you could hardly tell there's a person burrowed in there. The alcohol helped a little. There's empty bottles all over the apartment, at least until Emily takes it upon herself to clean up. That buys Andy hours of deep unconsciousness before the sounds of someone moving around in the adjacent rooms makes her stir.

Under different circumstances, she might have reacted differently — she's never slept deeply, always ready for some threat. But here and now, it's entirely too great an effort to give a shit. It doesn't matter if it's friend or foe. If someone wanted to kill her, this would be an opportune moment. But it's not an assassin. Or a thief. It's Emily. The only other human being that Andy's seen in what feels like days. She barely feels human herself — her hair is a tousled mess, the bags under her eyes are heavy and dark. There's dried blood on her knuckles from the arena that she hasn't bothered to clean up. She moves slowly, dragging the blankets with her as she emerges from the bedroom, her voice hoarse with disuse and grief when she finally speaks: ]

What the hell are you doing.

‎️‍🔥 ember overflow!! ‎️‍🔥

[killtime]

( ORIGINAL THREAD )

✓ aerith

[killtime]

babe i know exactly what i am
and that's an unpleasant old bitch
i just happen to have a little soft spot for you

[everblooms]

yeah so?
tell me something i don't know
say it in a voice message!

✓ fukuda

[killtime]

alright i'll bite
let's hear them

[holeful]

1. You don't look grandmother aged
2. I've never even met either of my grandmothers
3. I just gave you a checkmark so that would be weird if you were my grandmother.

✓ moira

[killtime]

feels like a lot of work
better be practically unconscious by the time you're through with me

[scyringe]

You won't even remember your own name by the end. [ it is been known that moira has skills in brainwashing. ]

✕ shealtiel

[killtime]

shit happens
but you seem settled in now
is it sergeant coffee boy these days?

[lemoncandy]

( Despite the tease, he's beaming like a happy puppy on the other side, here. )

Oh, you noticed that? Haha... Yes, I'm a sergeant now. I was really surprised!

✓ jin guangyao

[killtime]

had it done by a local yokai master
they're a memento of someone i lost

[taintedpeony]

I am truly sorry about your loss.

The concept is lovely. Having something you can carry of them with you. I see many with art on their bodies here, though culturally it would pose difficult for me to acquire one.

However, I can certainly admire it in others. What type of flowers are those?

✓ fukuda x2

[killtime]

not worried you'll bite off more than you can chew?

[holeful]

Well I can always say no, right? If it ends up being too much.

But I feel like I spend the majority of my adult life shut up in my house or at work so I want to try new things, you know?

✓ izo

[killtime]

you know where to find me

✓ norimune

[killtime]

yeah well
you can live a long fucking time out of spite too
but your way is probably a little easier

✕ barton

[killtime]

well don't fucking leave me in suspense
let's hear about the new game

kazuma & andy

[killtime]

[ Her arrival at the clinic hadn't been subtle. Everyone in the building probably heard her muffled shouting through the walls from the room where Kamui was supposed to be recovering in peace. But after a little while, she'd gotten quiet — their conversation had become more private — and when she leaves that room, her mood is a bit more subdued. Her temper is hardly more than embers now, even though she still has that crease between her eyebrows and a slight downturn in her mouth.

Hard to say whose bad luck it is when she glances up on her way out and catches Kazuma's eye in the hallway, her expression shifting with muted recognition. It's probably less enthusiasm than most acquaintances deserve when she deadpans by way of greeting: ]

Oh. It's you.

[karumic]

[Kazuma's still here largely because he's tired. He could wade right back into the chaos of outside, but sue him if he'd like to take a breather and collect his thoughts first.

Which is why he's lingering in the hallway because he would like to make sure Kamui's okay, but also if he goes out to the main reception area Mikotoba Is There and Kazuma doesn't feel like dealing with his worried questions at the moment. It seems less stressful to simply wait his turn out here than to try and actively avoid communication, so here he is.

It does mean he's able to overhear some of the louder parts of their conversation, which is a little awkward, but when Andy makes eye contact with him, where he's leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, he keeps his gaze steady.]

It's me.

[He raises his eyebrows and nods toward Kamui's door.]

You really are involved with Shuten, aren't you?