[ closed ] everything that kills me

[lyingheart]

WHO: a lion, rabbit, and centipede walk into a bar and... annie & touka & ken
WHERE: mountains outside nonah NC
WHEN: april 4th
WHAT: stargazing!!!
WARNINGS: potential thoughts on cannibalism so warning for that.

[ The trip out on the train to one of the more rural stations has been uneventful. Annie holds the collapsed telescope in her lap along with a backpack, dressed in layers enough to cope with any unexpected cold. As the train pulls into the station, she looks up, indicating for her companions to stand and head for the doors. ]

It's going to be a bit of a walk. I hope you don't mind.

[ If they really mind then none of them were hardcore enough to take Ken's birthday present to Annie out for a test drive, but she doesn't think it's actually going to be a problem. They're going moongazing really, after she talked to Houka about what made more sense to look at with the telescope, and with the moon full, they couldn't be asking for a better night. ]

Comments

[enucleation]

[ "gloomy" and "dark" are great ways to describe it, you have no idea what his group suffered back home. And Kaneki is always exhausted; if it's exhausting to others, probably, but he himself is always tired, even if not physically.

Kaneki hums ]

Though, even if I'm left behind, I can track you with my dog-nose. [ he always has this serious face when he tells jokes i'm sorry ]

[hunterrabbit]

[Taking the lead with teasing is something she'll gladly do, since it's what she's doing half the time anyway.]

Really? He's heavy? That's hard to believe. [She looks back at Kaneki again as he makes his dumb joke. No way. He couldn't be that hard to carry.]

Oi. If that's the case, I have to see this for myself. I'll carry you instead. [This time she tries a joke with a serious face right back at him. Have a taste of your own medicine.]

[lyingheart]

Have you seen him? And me?

[ She sounds as dry as dry, shifting her burden of the telescope. ]

A small girl like me carrying all that... he'd crush me.

[ Not... even... close... ]

[enucleation]

[ wow you are both rude

kaneki is not heavy.

ok, no, he is a bit heavier now because MUSCLE EVERYWHERE but nobody knows this, nobody notices, thanks to his baggy clothes. Regardless, he does smile a bit ]

I doubt that will be necessary, but thank you for worrying.

And in fact, I think I could carry you both.

[hunterrabbit]

Hey, I don't know how strong you are, Annie. [Besides, it's not like she knows a whole lot about Titans. Only what they'd talked about on the net.

And no, she doesn't know about Kaneki's damn muscles either. What happened to that "skin-tight" shirt he'd mentioned?]

Without using your kagune? I don't buy it. [No thanks, she doesn't want to be dropped.]

[lyingheart]

Normal human strength. There's nothing impressive about me on that front.

[ As she'd told several others, when they'd asked. She's only impressive on a giant scale. Or fighting skills... in hand to hand combat. She knows from experience that it's not enough to keep up with a ghoul in a way that makes an impact - her first sparring session with a softer Ken had proven that point. He just hadn't felt the impact she'd made.

And she doesn't, and wouldn't, have the kind of weapons that'd make them pull up short. ]

That shouldn't be necessary, Ken. We're here already.

[ She says, and sure enough, as they crest this part of the wooded path, there they are. A meadow opens up to the left, grasses rustling in the soft breeze out tonight. ]

Let's set this thing up and find out if there's still a rabbit up there or not.

[enucleation]

[ see, that was good. Distract Kaneki wo he won't get all weird about people around them. It's much better like that.

Except when they do stop, the first thing Kaneki does - as everyone can guess - is to quickly look around, focus on any sounds surrounding the group and go back to being on "alert-mode" (not that he ever left it, but he is much more obvious now).

However, kaneki does approach Annie to help her with the telescope. he can guess the other never used something like that. Probably ]

[hunterrabbit]

[There's no need for all three of them to set up the telescope, so Touka takes a moment to look around the meadow. And after that, she'll drop her bag down nearby and start rummaging through it. The blanket might be good to sit on for whoever's not using the telescope.]

Speaking of the rabbit. [She looks over towards Annie again.] You don't have any stories like that where you're from, do you?

[lyingheart]

[ Annie shakes her head to Touka's question, letting Ken take the lead with setting the telescope up. She hasn't tried more than once, and that try lead to her shrugging and walking away.

She locks one of the legs out at full extension, holding the base in place as the other legs still need tightening. ]

No, not really. Some people might, but I didn't grow up hearing anything other than "the moon's big enough to train by tonight," or, "now we learn how to operate under a more complete darkness" on the new moon.

[ Natural phenomena, nothing mythical. Their mythology has largely been swallowed whole. ]

[enucleation]

[ He will set the telescope while multitasking, mostly. Listen to Touka and Annie, put the telescope in the right position, listen and see what is around them too because paranoia doesn't sleep.

he actually thinks Annie is right; the moon helps either to keep you hidden or helps you by shinning your way during the night. There is a reason why Kaneki would rather do most things at night, back home.

Once the telescope is set, Kaneki looks around once again to make sure it's just the three of them - and no skunks. After, his eyes move to the other two, waiting a moment before he speaks. ] The telescope is set.

[hunterrabbit]

Hm. That sounds familiar. I guess I had a bit of both. [Both learning how the moon could be useful and the stories people told about it. Maybe that was lucky, in a way, to see each side of things.

Darkness was something most ghouls had to learn to familiarize themselves with, to an extent. But she hadn't heard any of the mythological stories until she'd started going to school.]

It's your telescope Annie, so you should go first, right?

[She spreads out the blanket on the ground and settles down on one end. There's plenty of space if the other two want to sit, but if they don't - more room for her.]

[lyingheart]

I have no idea what I'm looking for.

[ In fact, as she crosses her arms and regards the telescope like one might a rabid animal, one might wonder what... anyone might be looking for. She does step in and fiddle with the tightening of the base, looking through the viewer and seeing... well, a point of light or three. Trying to figure out how to get the moon in the scope's view is a process of fiddling around. ]

... Okay, someone else can take over bringing this in focus.

[enucleation]

[ Sorry touka, kaneki can't sit down because he'd just fidget around how annoying.

But he does look back at Annie, smiling when he sees her expression, moving so he can set it. ] Sorry- [ he will take over it now, focusing the lens and searching the night sky: before the moon, he first finds a red dot ]

here.

[ he stops aside for Annie. ] That's Mars.

[hunterrabbit]

[Touka doesn't really know how to work a telescope either, so it's all up to Kaneki.]

What the hell? Mars? [Somehow, it didn't seem like spotting another planet would be so simple.]

[lyingheart]

The planet named after a god of war.

[ While being red. Since red clearly meant... war, she supposes. (It's not the association she keeps. Blood? Yes. But not war.)

Annie steps up to glance through the telescope. Ah... sure is a red light. ]

It's very... red. And circular.

[enucleation]

[ Kaneki looks back at Touka ] You can see it with naked eye. [ he points up at a small reddish dot ] There are also others you can see: Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. I can't find those, though.

Most planets scientific names are taken from the names given by the Romans, except for Uranus and Earth, which is also named "Gaia". [ who is a nerd? kaneki is a nerd.

He looks back at Annie. ]

But Mars is important; humans want to colonize it. They also think there use to be life up there. Or maybe there still is. The next frontier used to be the Moon, but that's long gone.

[hunterrabbit]

[So the consensus is that it's....red.

Touka tries to follow where Kaneki's pointing, but it's easier said than done since there're hundreds of stars to search through?? She gets up and stands behind him and tries to see exactly where he's looking.]

You showoff. [She's smiling, though.]

I wonder what made them decide the names for each planet. [...Whoever it is that did the naming.]

[lyingheart]

I wonder how many different names were held across different cultures.

[ She steps back from the telescope, looking to Ken, and Touka behind him. ]

People will never be less greedy for what lies beyond what they know. What they destroy or save along the way... who knows?

[ War for the World of War Gods; forcibly taking over, and making it their own. What a terrible, precious battlefield.

How bloodthirsty, the whole human - and ghoul, and titan - race. ]

[enucleation]

[ he is not a show off, he is... informative. ] Romans gave them the names - the visible planets, at least. Then people just followed that trend. But I'm sure each ancient culture had it's own name for the planets.

[ but Roman empire was big, so it stuck easier.

Once Annie steps aside, Kaneki will finally direct the telescope towards the moon. Much easier to see than with the naked, and much easier to see the markings on it. ]

The world is fucked up - they will just expand that to the neighbor planet if that ever happens. [ Kaneki no longer has a kind vision of the world. To him, the world is wrong, and it's only natural the people in it will become warped as well. he is, too. And everything he did, everything he does, it was just a response to how fucked up it all was.

He pulls away from the telescope once it's all set, giving Annie space. ] But reaching Mars, or any other planet, isn't only greed; it's also about the ego. "We have developed to the point of being able to do this". So they'll try to send people there, colonize, try to be able to do more.

[ he turns to Touka, tilting his head ] Though I doubt they'd send ghouls there.

[hunterrabbit]

[Gosh guys, why is it so hard to talk about anything without launching an existential discussion these days.]

Yeah, "doubt"? No. It just wouldn't happen. Not on purpose. Humans taking ghouls to help colonize? That'd be the day. [She backs up a bit too - also to give space.]

I don't think many would be lining up to leave anyway. [Fewer humans in general meant there wouldn't be as much of a food source. And it would be easier to attract attention.]

[lyingheart]

[ Look at who they are Touka it's inevitable ]

At some point, both species need each other. Enough humans leaving means ghouls leave too. Depending on how long you've existed historically... you're part of the natural process of adaptation and survival for humans, just as they're the same for you. At the same time...

[ She says, speaking slowly as she examines the moon through the lens of the telescope. ]

... wouldn't it be a little amazing for everyone, no matter the species?

[enucleation]

[ Touka what canon did you think you came from???

Kaneki steps away enough to look around their current spot, wanting to make sure everything is alright, wanting to make sure there is no one nearby. He still hears the two girls, and still speaks to them, but his focus is on everything else, back to them as khe looks around ]

Process of adaptation. I wonder if making artificial ghoul should be called that... [ Kanou said something about it, didn't he? The world as it truly is. Break free from the mangled birdcage that keeps humanity. In order to do that, he used ghouls.

Heterosis.

The world as it really is, and as it can become.

Joining Aogiri and the Doctor. Back then, he almost said yes.

Kaneki's head is so loud right now. It's banging, like a siren that won't shut up. It's inside, all of it, inside his brain and it'll explode and spill out-

He hears Annie's voice and turns his head to look at her. He is back, just like that ]

Amazing? ... yeah. I suppose that's true. That's why so many people look at the skies, isn't it?

IM SO SORRY IM SO LATE 8(

[hunterrabbit]

[Gosh, fine. She's still joining in, isn't she?]

Hm- what? So they can adapt to having better ways of killing each other? [What good is a "need" like that? That's all it's ever really brought about.

Yeah, it's hard not to have a pessimistic outlook on all of this.

But as for space? Traveling to the moon or to other planets- that idea is amazing.]

Knowing people can actually get up there already- even that alone is impressive. [She pauses for a moment, and looks between the two of them.] Think you'd go, then? If you had the chance to.

ROLLS YOU IN A BALL OF LOVE

[lyingheart]

No.

[ no hesitation on annie's part. hahaha space... ]

I have enough troubles with my feet on the ground. I'm not interested in the constraints of space.

[enucleation]

There is too much to do here on Earth still.

[ of course Kaneki would say that. But he doesn't think someone or something like him should be up there at all. Really, ghouls in space? he shares the same opinion as TOuka about that. ]

Anyway, I'd like to try out zero gravity, though.