+ Your imagination can't hurt you! +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: YOU!
Where: The Mindscape
When: starting November 11th
Rating: may be up to R for character deaths
Summary: Navigate challenges to learn valuable lessons about nonviolence, cooperation, and self-sacrifice! Release your inner animal! Read more about the event here, and on the bulletin board.
The Story:




"If you know yourself, you have nothing to fear."
"Working together is the only way."
"Deaths are a necessary part of life, but not all deaths are necessary."
"The needs of the many outweigh the life of just one."

Comments

[krmvgivv]

Wait, you were turned into a ghoul? [Dipper shakes his head, squinting at Kaneki.] What were you before? I thought ghouls were something you were, not something you became.

[itwouldbeatragedy]

Heh. I'm kind of a special case.

[Not as special as he used to think, but still not a natural occurrence.]

I was a human before I became a ghoul.

[krmvgivv]

[That's definitely not something Dipper knew, and it's, well, fascinating. He knows a lot about all kinds of magical beings, but ghouls aren't really on the list and he knows he's gonna have to write an entry in his journal about them now.]

Huh. How'd that happen? Was it like a vampire thing?

[itwouldbeatragedy]

I had a ghoul's kakuhou implanted in me. It changed my physiology completely.

[...Okay, there's something else there he needs to clarify.]

A kakuhou is the organ where my kagune originates. And my kagune is the thing you just saw me using on the food.

[Speaking of which, he needs to check on that.]

I was told it was a kidney.

[krmvgivv]

That's... one hell of a kidney transplant. Man, dude, that sucks.

[He peers over the brim into the pot.]

And so you're, what, looking for revenge? A new kidney?

[itwouldbeatragedy]

I... [He hesitates, shakes his head.] I want answers. None of this had to happen.

[He checks the contents of the pot as well.]

...This is still raw.

[krmvgivv]

Really? [Dipper leans over the pot and looks. It sure... seems raw. To the extent he knows anything about meat.]

Maybe it like sushi.

[itwouldbeatragedy]

Do you want to chance that?

[Before Dipper can answer, Kaneki fishes a piece of meat from the pot - which is stupid because the contents are hot by now - and tosses the chunk toward the hungry beast.]

Let's see.

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper takes a step behind Kaneki because honestly if something does want to eat them and gets super offended by uncooked meat, he'd rather it go for the scary guy with knife hands. Seems more likely to end well for them.]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[They get their answer when a growl is followed up by the piece of meat flying back toward them. Kaneki's fast enough to dodge it, at least.]

I guess we get to hang around a little longer.

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper is not fast enough to dodge it and gets hit in the face with meat. Gross. He tosses it back in the pot and wipes his face.]

Lucky us. [Dipper wraps his arms around his legs.] I mean, not that I'm not enjoying scary revenge ghoul story time! Cause it's really interesting. I'd just... love to not be trapped by a monster.

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[Kaneki glances at him and, though he knows Dipper wasn't referring to him as a monster, it still makes him smirk a little.]

Well, I'm not sure what else to tell you for scary revenge ghoul story time.

[He pauses. He's already told Dipper more than he's told anyone else about all of this, which strikes him as odd. Then again, the situation is odd, and they need to talk about something. He might as well talk about the most depressing thing he knows about.]

Unless you really want to know why my hair's white.

[krmvgivv]

[...Dipper hadn't thought about it very much, actually. He'd figured either age, shock, or fashion statement and either way, it seemed rude to ask. But if he's offering....]

Why's your hair white?

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[Kaneki considers his answer. How to frame it. He could just say something shocking - though he doesn't know that Dipper would be shocked - or he could explain properly.]

At home, there's a faction of ghouls who want-

Well, I'm not totally sure what they want. It's something I'm trying to figure out.

[One of many things.]

Regardless, they have no problem walking over other, weaker ghouls, like I used to be. I happened to get caught up in things with them, and I happened to get the attention of a particularly sadistic member of their group.

[He pauses. He doesn't know how old Dipper is exactly, but he feels like he's showing a kid an X-rated magazine.]

He tortured me for ten days. [He doesn't have to go into detail, he tells himself. He doesn't have to talk about having his fingers and toes cut off over and over, things like that. About how counting backwards from 1000 by sevens will actually keep you from passing out during all of that.] Heh heh...your hair really can turn white overnight if you've gotten enough of a shock. I always thought that was a myth.

[His expression is oddly soft, considering the topic, almost like he's being self-deprecating on behalf of his past self.]

[krmvgivv]

Oh.

[Dipper's voice is small. He's not exactly shocked. He's only 13 (or 14 if you're counting Wonderland years), but he's been through enough that people being tortured... isn't as shocking as it should be.]

Sorry, man. That's... awful.

[Doesn't really seem to cover it, but what else can you say in a situation like that?]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[Kaneki looks over at him and smiles.]

Thank you.

[Except for a few moments in the immediate aftermath of what he's just described, no one had really given him much sympathy. It's strange how much it means to him now.]

Well, that's enough of scary revenge ghoul story time. Let's focus on a different monster.

[He shifts and checks the pot again.]

It's looking more cooked now. We might be able to try feeding the thing.

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper nods, giving a half smile.]

Here goes nothing. Worst case scenario it's not like we won't come back if it eats us, right?

[itwouldbeatragedy]

Right.

[Kaneki climbs to his feet and looks from the pot to the dark space where the monster is growling. Should he walk it over there? Would that be a stupid thing to do? Should he just pick it up and chuck it at the monster...?

After a minute of indecision, he hefts the pot up by the handle.]

I'll take it over there.

[Dipper's more or less a kid, so Kaneki really should be the one to step up if it comes to approaching an unknown monster.

Plus, he's a little more durable than Dipper is.]

[krmvgivv]

Um, do you want... help?

[Dipper doesn't really want to go out with the monster, but he also doesn't want to leave Kaneki alone. Sure, Kaneki is a big scary ghoul, but Dipper's smart, and he might not be very durable, but he can still help. It doesn't feel right hiding while someone else takes the risks.]

You need someone to watch your back while your hands are full.

[itwouldbeatragedy]

Sounds good. Let's get it over with.

[And off he goes into the dark to feed something he can't see something that probably tastes terrible. Jeez, this event is tedious and unpleasant.]