[ OPEN ]

[ghoulking]

WHO: Kaneki + YOU
WHERE: Beach, Library and Re Café
WHEN: Mid-April
WHAT: Catch-all
WARNINGS: None so far

BEACH

[ it's still cold enough that the beach is a quiet place, specially when the sun is just about to set. It's not dark yet, not completely anyway, and after spending sometime training - jogging, mostly - Kaneki ends up at the beach, staring at the ocean for a moment before he decides this is a good place as any. After he takes a sip of water from his bottle, Kaneki takes off his long (and somewhat heavy) hoodie, now only wearing a sleeveless shirt. Honestly, Kaneki is very self-conscious about his body, but no one is around, right? Right.

For someone so small and who looks like he is just a teenager, kaneki is pretty much a war machine underneath his clothes and does have a lot of muscles, enough that it could impress some people. What would impress the most, however, are his scars: both Kaneki's arms are mangled and they certainly don't look human, and he has has a pretty nasty scar at the right side of his stomach also made from the same tissue as his arms.

Finally, he throws the water bottle up in the air and quickly punches it; thought naturally the bottle breaks and there is water everywhere, he continues to kick and punch it fast enough so the object won't fall on the ground, and he manages to do this for quite some time. Until he slips, that is, and falls right with his face on the sand.

nice.

Instead of getting up, though, he just sighs and rolls so he can look up at the sky while he is still covered in sand. Yeah, he's just... not going to move ]


RE: CAFÉ

[ he said the café was closed, but he never said for how long. Mid-April, the coffee shop opens up again to anyone who wants to visit it. As usual, the smell of sweets and pastries fills it up and mixes with the smell of coffee that seems to be a permanent scent at the café. With the many books around to choose from, some clients stick around for a long time, drinking their coffee while they read in silence, but overall the coffee shop is quiet and doesn't have many people around as it usually goes. When it's time for dinner, most of the afternoon clients leave and are replaced with the last clients of the night who just want a cup of coffee after dinner - those don't stick around for very long.

When it's 8pm, a group of highschool girls drop by to tell Kaneki they are sorry, to give him his condolences and to drop a box covered in little gifts. They don't stay for very long (only enough to buy some mooncakes) and Kaneki is left with the box and the gifts. Sitting on a chair, he opens it - chocolates, cards, and ultimately a LOT of trinkets. He looks around at the coffee shop which is already covered in those as it is and sighs, glancing back at the box. Honestly, what is he even going to do with all of thes-

a pause.

Kaneki just realized inside the box there is a small handmade comic.

Is that a doujinshi?

And quickly Kaneki tries to grab it, and the box falls to the side and its contents are everywhere, however Kaneki's focus is STILL on that goddamn thing. Feel free to come up with the pairing and the content of the story if you want! Go crazy!]


LIBRARY

[ He doesn't need to go to a library when he already has such a huge collection of books, but sometimes Kaneki goes there to ask for the new releases and also to ask if the library can donate the old and used books they have no interest in keeping. Usually they give him a handful of books, which he goes read before leaving. It's a good afternoon for that, and so the ghoul sits at a table near a window and flips through an old book with a ripped cover, trying to find out what it is about; he even puts his glasses on since Kaneki's eyesight keeps getting worse by the day - there will be a day he'll be completely blind, he is sure of it.

less than three minutes into the reading, he feels his cheeks wet and right on the page he was reading falls one big black drop - a tear, in fact. Kaneki quickly rises his head and reaches for his cheeks, and soon he realizes he is crying. Not normal tears, but black ones - not as thick as blood, but thicker than water for sure, and they leave a trail on Kaneki's face, and now his hands and soon the book and the table.

And they aren't stopping.

Kaneki tries to clean with his shirt, but nevermind that, there are black tears pretty much everywhere now and so Kaneki quickly gets up, still trying to dry them away with his shirt. And an old lady sitting by a table nearby frowns while she loudly goes "SSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH".

Why all of this ]


WILDCARD

[ Feel free to make your own prompt or send me a PM or contact me through plurk vilani , if you want to plot anything or want me to come up with a prompt for you! ]

Comments

; BAELISH

[ghoulking]

[ it has been a while since Kaneki heard from Baelish, so the invitation to visit the man at his office was a surprise. But even if it was a surprise, it was still a rather pleasant one; Kaneki enjoyed Baelish's company, after all, and he can't help but to feel a bit curious as what he has been up to, specially after all that has happened and admissions that have been made.

after setting a time, Kaneki heads to Baelish's office wearing heavy and dark clothes, despite the weather being a lot warmer of late. He doesn't like to show off and prefers to hide with his clothes rather than being seen by possible fans. Inside the building, he is directed to the Mayor's office but decides to go there on his own rather than having some babysitter following him (they still follow, but at least Kaneki is the one knocking at the door).

And because he is a polite boy, he even came bearing gifts! Kaneki brought along some japanese sweets he made himself and expensive coffee beans. Gotta impress somehow, right? ]

[baetiful]

[ Baelish is the one to answer the door, both because he's expecting Kaneki and because he tends to like to greet those who come to him face to face. ]

Kaneki. I am glad you could make it.

[ Looking behind him, he gives a single nod of dismissal to the staff member who shadowed him there. Sure, Kaneki could be dangerous, but unless there's some outside influence, he's unlikely to go rabid on Baelish now. So them being alone is perfectly fine. ]

Please, have a seat. I can have some coffee brought up here if you would like.

[ghoulking]

[ kaneki greets the man with a smile, naturally, and glances one last time at the staff before he directs all his attention to Baelish. He comes inside, gently handing the bag with the small gifts to him ]

Thank you for inviting me, Lord Baelish. It has been a while since we last spoke. [ too long, he thinks. He likes to keep up with the people he knows and talk to them often ]

How are things? [ he takes his seat next ]

[baetiful]

[ Ah. Baelish looks humbled by the gifts, not really expecting anything. But some people do not like to simply bring themselves to a meeting. And he smiles appreciatively at Kaneki's present after stealing a peek into the bag. ]

This was thoughtful of you. You did not have to bring anything other than yourself.

[ He sets it carefully onto a shelf, moving over to his desk to sit on the edge -- something far more casual than sitting behind it. This isn't a business meeting. They do not need to be formal. ]

Things have been...busy. When one takes on the city of Maurtia Falls, they can only expect to have their hands full and overflowing a good majority of the time. But I am more interested to know how you have been. Particularly in light of all that has come out regarding Count Dooku. We both faced a similar loss of someone we valued as a friend when everything about him came to light.

[ghoulking]

It's quite alright. We haven't seen each other in a while, after all. [ and kaneki is extremely thoughtful all the time. Well, tries to be. ]

I can imagine. Specially with everything that happened during that week. [ he has heard about a certain insanity fest that may have involved mind control. Kaneki still doesn't know about it completely, no one was able to give him the details.

when dooku's name is mentioned, Kaneki pauses and he looks away for a moment as if trying to choose his words, before he looks back at Baelish while he touches his own chin ] I suppose we don't know people very well, after all. it's a shame you went through that as well.

; LUCINA

[ghoulking]

[ he isn't sure how all of this happened, but somehow Kaneki was roped into going to a baseball game with Lucina. After the girl won tickets to a game happening right when Kaneki was nearby, she just invited him (out of the blue, if you ask Kaneki, because he will say he doesn't think he is good company) and as always Kaneki can't say not, even when he doesn't know a thing about the sport and never even read about the game before.

This is where he is right now: sitting at a baseball game, staring at people hitting a ball then running around, and everyone around him screaming. He doesn't know why, he doesn't understand how the score is made, he doesn't get how they are even keeping track at his point, and the old lady next to him is far too drunk to care that Kaneki doesn't find her attractive and really doesn't want her hand on his shoulder.

He gently tries moving closer to Lucina just so he can escape, and ends up whispering at her ]

- Do you even know what is happening? [ how does baseball work???? ]

[fauxmarth]

[for what it's worth, Lucina's as baffled by the circumstances as he is. that she has company in this is a comfort -- though she's still plagued by a gnawing, uneasy feeling that it's Kaneki, who she not so long ago was yelling at...while he was grieving...

not her finest moment by a long stretch. so...was this some kind of boon from the universe? or just...really odd timing?

well, regardless of the reasoning, there they are. and Lucina, when he leans in, pries her eyes from the scene on the field.]

I, er... Well... [great question. she peers back down, giving a shot at a guess:]

Well...it appears that...the men in red are guarding a series of marked points on the field? And the men in gray seem to be making attempts to...capture them? But this business of hitting balls hardly makes sense-- perhaps a contender must prove their accuracy with a weapon before challenging one of the guardians?

[ghoulking]

[ Honestly, Kaneki will pretend nothing happened, so there are no problems there at all. It's as if nothing ever happened.

He listens to Lucina's answer and it seems she knows just as much as Kaneki does. Specially because he is pretty sure there is no challenging of guardians happening here since there is absolutely no game with guardians. Probably.

He looks back at the game for a second and then back at Lucina ] Someone throws the ball, a guy has to hit it with the bat, and then must run around the field, while the person from the opposite team tries to grab the ball to... do something.

That's what I got.

[ the old lady leans forwards towards Kaneki, touching his arm while she smiles in her tipsy state ] You almost got it, honey~

[fauxmarth]

[she nods, watching someone new walk up to accept the bat, then winds up doing a double-take, seeing poor Kaneki suffering unwanted attention. she grimaces, then forces a more agreeable expression on her face.]

Ah--per...perhaps if we moved over to the rail we could better observe the happenings? Come-- [she gets up, gesturing he follow.]

[ghoulking]

Yes- that's a good choice. [ thank god, because Kaneki was just feeling way too awkward about this and yet he didn't want to be rude,. He is the first getting up, though, nodding at the drunk woman who looked pretty sad that her "hero" was leaving, and after he is quick to move away.

Once he is certain the woman won't hear him, he turns to Lucina ]

Thank you-

; ITSUKI (cw: CANNIBALISM)

[ghoulking]

[ Kaneki is glad Itsuki wanted to work for him, for a number of reasons - not only he could enter the private area and thus serve clients there if Kaneki wasn't around, but also because Kaneki sort of hoped the man wouldn't get into trouble about his food and how he acquires it. By working at the coffee shop, at least Kaneki can supply him with a bit of it he still doesn't ask how Itsuki is getting the rest of his food, though.

And yet another reason is that he had someone he could ask for opinions when it came to the dishes. Kaneki, honestly cares little about making a dish - that's something Tsukiyama would care about - because everything tastes pretty much the same to him. But if he wants to play the "this is an establishment trying to show some normalcy to those that have none", different kinds of food sort of help.

So that's what he is doing with itsuki right now: creating dishes. It's creepy, but he has done so many creepy things by now. ]

... I guess we could try something like cream soup?

[fervidclaret]

[Maybe Kaneki would eventually be relieved to know that Itsuki can eat any meat, and he often indulged by buying a whole bunch of raw meat from the grocery store. Either way, he was interested in this job for the nearness to his preferred food choice and out of curiosity!

A whole restaurant that served to people like himself?! THE BEST.

And if you think Itsuki is not wearing a ridiculous apron while playing with his food now you are sadly mistaken. This is the best time, and he has no regrets. Look, he can talk to someone about cooking!]

Cream soup, hm? Oh yes, that'd be lovely... Some fat melted down and mixed with blood for flavor, maybe oh! Phalanges! Nothing like a little bit of a crunchy texture for soup, right?

[Itsuki is going to get started right away, picking up a knife and just cutting into the body they've got for the occasion.]

I find hands and feet have bones exactly the right size, without needing to cut them down. What do you think?

[ghoulking]

[ kaneki is strangely okay with Itsuki's oddities - try living with tsukiyama, then all those oddities seem just like something normal - and doesn't comment on the apron. Better not.

With all the ingredients ready for them, when Itsuki mentions melted fat and blood, kaneki nods ] That could give it enough consistency, I think. [ so he moves to grab a pan to get to melt some fat as suggested, and then grabs some blood. A type? Kaneki doesn't know for sure what's the difference between blood types, but some people seem to enjoy one more than the other ]

I guess we could see that. I don't want clients to make a mess when they are trying to break into the bones, though. [ so they shouldn't be leaving long fingers in the soup ]

... Did you cook back home?

[fervidclaret]

Ah right... I suppose not everyone can eat them, right?

[He wasn't used to having to think about the dietary restrictions of others, but that was delightful too! He'd never had anyone to cook for, but he so loved to do it.]

Hmmm. Well I like bones, so perhaps I could make a batch with them, and then one with heart, or tongue. A tougher muscle, something stringier?

[Itsuki certainly didn't look the part of a murderer while he took hold of a hand, deftly chopping into it. The blood had been drained carefully previous to beginning. Itsuki preferred to keep clean if at all possible, so in the end it was not too unlike any regular human chef's preparations.]

Oh yes. I liked to cook at home. I drew inspiration from human foods I used to be able to eat as a child, as well as foods I've seen in my adult life.

But I've never had anyone to share meals with!

[ghoulking]

Every person is different, I guess. [ most vampires he knows wouldn't eat the bones, but they could easily pull them out of the food if necessary ] Hm, we can have different options.

[ Kaneki prefers to drain the blood too - he uses it for different things, from eating to add to drinks. He also is of the opinion, if they are going to use a dead person, they'll use all of them and not throw away anything. He finds that disrespectful, as weird as it sounds.

He nods softly as he listens to Itsuki ] It's the same in my world, it seems that ghouls try to take inspiration from human foods as they can. [ kaneki has mixed feelings about it, even if he does it; in a way, he understands that with such a limited diet, one would want to find ways to make it different. On another hand, it's incredibly creepy and disgusting. ]

... I never did it before either. It's something I started doing here. [ he smiles a little ] I think I missed it, sharing meals. [ from when he was human ] So I wanted to bring that back into my life.

ROSA ;

[ghoulking]

[ Rosa had offered Kaneki to teach him how to shoot a gun; in truth, he has held a gun once or twice, but it was never a weapon he trained with because guns are pretty useless when you are dealing with ghouls. He learned how to wield swords, since ghoul weapons often take that shape, and he is very good at it, but he doesn't mind learning how to use an actual firing weapon.

learning is good. Helps to forget as well. And right now, Kaneki will take whatever he can so he won't feel so miserable.

When the time to meet with the woman comes, he shows up at the shooting range. He will greet her with a smile, even if he isn't all very excited about anything of late. But he tries to be nice, at least ]

hello, Rosa-san.

[pop_of_color]

[Rosa shows up in classic Rosa style: leather jacket, black jeans, black leather boots, aviators, and a dark-colored tshirt. (It's maroon today). The socks hidden beneath her boots are brightly colored, and they've been her loophole to getting her super human strength via obnoxiously colored clothing. No one needs to know about that, though.

She slips her aviators off and greets him with a flick of her chin.]

Hey.

[She points over her shoulder.] You take a look at what sorta guns they've got?

[ghoulking]

[ kaneki smiles a little and nods as he sees the woman approaching ] Hello, Rosa-san. Thank you for meeting me. [ that's a much more polite greeting than hers, but he doesn't mind at all ]

Oh- sure. We can do that. [ though he won't be any good at picking a gun, truthfully - he has no idea which would be best ]

[pop_of_color]

Rosa. It's ... just Rosa. [She vaguely remembers something about how the 'san' thing is a sign of respect or something, but it's .. weird, for her, considering she's used to going by Diaz, anyway.]

We'll start with something small, something that isn't gonna recoil too much, so you can get the hang of it. Then we can work up to the big guns.

[ghoulking]

[ he nods, adding a small "i'm sorry" - he knows not everyone is into the honorifics thing, specially those who aren't from Japan ]

Aha- I'm not sure if I should worry about recoil, my body is pretty sturdy. [ and he can withstand most things. Not that he is certain this is related to that, but - ]

Something small would be a handgun, I'm assuming. Something big would be...? [ a shotgun? ]

MAJOR ;

[ghoulking]

to add

beach

[lightinside]

[ Laurel hasn't been to the beach in a while, waiting for the temperature to rise a little before going out for a stroll by the shore. She's got a jacket on to protect herself from the evening chill after sunset, wearing a long sleeved shirt underneath. A brisk walk would be good for her.

About twenty minutes into her walk Laurel makes her way towards the shore line and notices someone lying down on the beach. She breaks into a jog to get over to them quickly, in case they needed her help; Laurel couldn't ignore her initial instincts.

However, when she arrives near Kaneki it seems like he was doing just fine and wasn't in any distress. Laurel does notice the scars on his body and his arms, wondering what the hell happened to him.

But she doesn't lead with that. Instead: ]

Bad time of day to do some sunbathing, huh?

[ Hilarious...not. ]

[ghoulking]

[ he groans softly, looking back at the woman and that's when he recognizes her. He is quick to offer a smile, of course, not wanting to worry her, but he also doesn't seem to move from his spot. At least he remembers to try and get some of the sand out of his face ]

... hey.

I guess I should have come earlier for that. [ he sits up, a bit amused ]

How have you been, laurel-san?

[lightinside]

Hey. [ There is a smile in return. ] Guess you could have, but it's nice at night time too.

[ She would just be inclined to take a blanket with her if she decided to lay down on the beach. ]

I have been good, thank you for asking. What about you?

[ghoulking]

It's not so bad, no. and things are starting to warm up.

[ finally, kaneki tries to clean his face, so he will get most of the sand off. ] I'm feeling sandy. And salty.

[ he is joking, of course ] But I'm well. As best as I can be after embarrassing myself like that.