2ND RATE

Humans change a lot in this 2nd rate world.

[owl15-blog1]

ingoldentent:

It was sure hard for Battler to stomach the scene before him, but at least Seidou didn’t seem to notice how he looked away while that corpse version of his was throughly devoured. A part of him was honestly tempted to look down at the half ghoul, to see him as nothing but a disgusting beast whose way of existing is just wrong.

Once Battler looks at him back, however, and then heard those words… he sees how stupid that attitude would be.

“…Why wouldn’t I?” The sorcerer smiles awkwardly. “I mean, all of those things - if they’re even true, that is - are just the more reason to help you, no? It’s basic human compassion.” That, and perhaps Battler’s soft heart and white knight tendencies speaking.

He doesn’t know nearly enough about ghouls or Seidou in particular to truly understand his heart and know whether this is the correct approach to have. But this is what he know how to do, so this is what he’ll do.

 “I understand now,” Seidou said even though Battler had not really answered his question at all. “You’re one of those people.” When he said those people, his thoughts again went to Amon. The man on the other side of the cell who urged him not to give up, who believed in him the entire time. The first person to tell him it was okay to live.

Seidou squinted, then looked away from Battler because he could no longer bear to look directly at him. “I’m gonna go blind, from looking at a squeaky clean guy like you. You should just buzz off already.”

He said as he waved a flippant gesture at him with his hand. He had only come to scare this man, but now Seidou was the one being scared. He was too scared to look, perhaps that was it. “You should watch out in Aogiri, I don’t want a guy like you to get hurt.”

[owl15-blog1]

bubonem:

Eto didn’t flinch nor move away as he approached. Should he try anything, she would simply demonstrate how to paint with his blood.

“Humans have feelings – why would ghouls be any different?”

How many times had she heard the cries of the emotionless Doves killing more and more of her ranks? It was the same for humans, they who decried ghouls as flesh hungry, emotionless monsters.

How tiresome, she thought.

Eto stood, her movement completely silent.

“I have feelings.” Hidden eyes stared at him. “Do you?”

“It’s because their lives are painful, you stop feeling when you’re exposed to the same situation again and again.”

Takizawa said as he squatted in front of her. At this moment, his eyes were looking basically every direction except at her. It was either because he did not want to face her, or it was because he had lost control of his eyes to his usual fidgeting. He did not want to decide at the moment. 

“I had feelings once, but then I stopped. I don’t think it’s because I was made into a ghoul. I think it was because it hurt so bad to continue feeling.”

Takizawa said. This was the point he had reached. He was no longer in denial of being a ghoul, but at the same time he was not Takizawa either. He lived on as Owl, the shambling corpse brought back to life through science. 

“It hurt too much to be Takizawa anymore. Ah, don’t look at me like that. Like I’m boring. You’re the one who made me, parents should take responsibility for their children.”

[owl15-blog1]

ingoldentent:

“Nah, this is all for real food, down to the last bone. I guess that the scientists could have limited my magic’s effects to, say, disappear after one hour, but fortunately it’s not the case. This is as solid as you and I!”

(As much as I wish it was all an illusion…) It took everything Battler had not to show his nausea over the smell exhaling from the body in front of him. With all due respect to the beings that need eating human meat to survive, what do they see of appetizing in it?

“You gonna eat the rest already or would you rather save it for another moment?”

“Gru-mfff, chk, chk, slurrp!”

Seidou began to hastily eat at the suggestion that his meal might be taken away from him. He lifted a chunk of flesh up and squeezed it tight enough to let blood drain into his mouth. It was everything sweet in the world, like wine, jelly, milk and honey. 

He wondered how long it had been since he last ate. Perhaps it was weeks, maybe a day, or only a few hours. The passage of time did not matter in the face of his hunger, it was such an all consuming force that every single time it ate away and he forgot a lttle bit more of who he was. 

There was nothing on the ground in a few minutes, only a stain where meat had once been and a few charred bones. 

“Hey you... Why are you helping me? I’m disgusting, you know that right? It’s worse than that, flies have already flown into my skin, maggots are wriggling around, I’m a dead man walking.”

[owl15-blog1]

ingoldentent:

“And? Would it be right to chastise you for being unable to eat anything besides human meat? It’s not a pleasant view for me by any means, but letting someone starve to death would be a much more horrifying vision. Now stand back, my friend, for I’m about to serve you some meat!”

In a matter of seconds, Seidou would witness a naked human body - Battler’s body, that is - appear right before his eyes, lifeless and spread over a fancy table, all embellished by a bunch of golden butterflies and candles and a chair. A plate with silverware is in front of the half ghoul, for Battler isn’t feeding an animal, he’s serving lunch to a fellow sentient being.

“And the final touch…” He snaps his fingers and the corpse suddenly catches on fire. Instead of it getting burnt to the point of no recognition, however, it was now exuding a delicious smell of cooked meat. “And voilà! A complete cooked human à Battler, complimented with fine herbs. Hope you enjoy it!”

Needless to say, he had to pretty much dissociate to carry this macabre cooking session. And that’ll only worsen once Seidou actually starts eating.

Seidou had been biting at his own fingers again in anticipation. He expected more blood to the current show he was watching. Perhaps Battler demonstrating just how strong he really was. Instead all he got was a few butterflies and a magic trick. 

He might have been disappointed, but his hunger took over first. He had already put a hand out when the fire was burning. Seidou did not seem at all phased by the sudden combustion, he just reached forward and peeled off a still smoking chunk. 

He popped it in his mouth. “Spicy.” Seidou commented before blowing a puff of smoke from his lips. “Was that real though, or was it tasting an illusion? Is this just like fast food where I’ll be hungry again in thirty minutes?”

[owl15-blog1]

alatumlepus:

↱ By far this city tolerated Ghouls far better than Tokyo ever did. Still it did not mean she wanted some rancid ghoul acting like a crazy just because he went and cannibalised and got his brain going cu-cu thanks to it. His attempt wasn’t the brightest but some politeness to listen enough got him acting less stranger around the others. Still Touka scoffed. ↲

❝ Sugar or not? ❞

↱ This dude can’t be serious on the meat though. There was no ghoul nor human power who would feed this crazy bastard raw meat in the middle of the cafe, or in the back of the cafe or anywhere near her cafe at all. Though that hunger that followed ghouls like him reminded her of Rize which in retrospect got her making a mental note to not let him hunt near this place. ↲

❝ How cooked would you like your steak sir? ❞

“No sugar, I’m an adult now only bitter drinks for me.”

Though the way Seidou slouched on his chair and kept sucking on his own thumb though he hardly looked like an adult. Even his face, as resembling a horror movie villain as it was, still had a bit of its baby fat left. His cheeks were perfectly pinchable, but it’s likely nobody would ever want to get into that range. 

“Rare. I want it so rare that you can still hear the cow still mooing faintly in the distance. Make it just like mother used to...”

Apparently he had suddenly become a chef. Seidou remembered cooking at one point. His mother taught him to, she was stricter than he thought she’d be, it was because she said he needed to learn how to cook to impress a girl some day. 

Seidou realized his face was wet. Was he bleeding again? Ah, those were tears. This probably... wasn’t as romantic as the first half ghoul that had cried in her coffee shop. “... Ah.”

[owl15-blog1]

ingoldentent:

“…It can do that, but it’s a much more complicated process than physical healing. One I’m willing to invest at, even so.” Battler admits. He can see that his offer didn’t sound very interesting to the other, which’s fair enough. No treatment in the world can cure someone who doesn’t wish to be treated.

If by befriending Seidou he can help with whatever pain lays in the other’s heart just a little, then Battler will gladly do so. “Ihihihi, that’s no problem for me, dude! Welcome to Chef Battler’s extreme cooking session!” He makes a mimicry of a cook preparing their knives. “Now how would you like your meat to be prepared as? Rare? On point? Well cooked? Your choice!”

“Cooked, cooked, I haven’t had cooked meat in so long!” For a moment the quality of Seidou’s face that made him look like a rabid animal just desperate for somebody to poke him so he could sink his teeth into them peeled away, and he gave a childlike expression of joy at the chance of having his always present hunger satisfied. 

He paused for a moment though, his eyes which had been looking in both directions in joy becoming transfixed on Battler again. He closed his mouth and licked his teeth. “You’re a human being right? Are you really going to offer me human meat just like that? You know what I am right?”

[owl15-blog1]

bubonem:

Eto could see it all plainly, every detail that his face told – even as he dared to get so close, she did not back away. If he was foolish enough to try and become violent with her, she knew her strength would prevail when neither of them could use their kagunes.

He, the shell of the person he used to be, yearned for attachment, but he had come to the wrong person for such things. He should have stayed with that Dove, but, if he came to her of all people… then he was probably alone again, wasn’t he?

What a fool.

“A tool is a tool no matter where it hails from. So long as it is useful, such things are unnecessary.”

His deduction wasn’t too off the mark – she had once hated her father with a deep, wrenching, burning fire within her; yet, after all that time, she came to feel so numb about the subject. Kuzen was just another tool to be used, and when he was no longer capable of that…

“You and I have nothing in common – do you feel a connection with a pen you write with?”

She rested her bandaged cheek on her hand, as if she was already growing bored with this conversation.

“Why do you feel the need to inquire about how I feel?”

“There is a connection, the pen physically connects you to the paper. Without the pen the connection would be severed.”

Takizawa said as he got closer. His tongue hung out of his mouth as he talked, and licked his lips trying to lap up the last amounts of blood. If he didn’t, if the taste did not linger in his mouth then he would only get hungrier later. 

“I just want to understand if you have feelings. When I was a human it was easier to understand ghouls as monsters without feelings, that made me less scared to face them. I wonder if it’s the same for you, it’s easier if I’m just a tool who has no feelings and nothing in common with you.”

Takizawa replied, then stuck his fingers both in his mouth so that his tongue was no longer hanging out. 

“Just tell me, do you have feelings or not?”

[owl15-blog1]

tortorem:

@owl15

“ Well, don’t you look shitty. ”

Yamori had never seen this ghoul before. He’d heard about the one eyed ghoul that was giving Eto trouble, but he knew next to nothing about him, or even if it was a him to begin with. The ghoul looked like had seen better days, the poor boy looked as if he was in complete agony. How badly had Eto messed with this little guy’s head? More importantly why would she? The Owl never came off as a sadist, not like he was at least. The boy was small, at least when compared to the like of Yamori, though that was most humanoids.

“ You the guy that’s been causing the owl trouble? I’m surprised. There must be more to you then meets the eye, ay kiddo? ”

Takizawa had been minding his own business, trying to pick fruit from a human corpse that had been dead for so long flies were beginning to hover over it. He was... trying to give up killing for her sake. No, perhaps he was doing it to spite her. There was of course two different hers in his mind and Takizawa was often caught two places at the exact same time. It was easy enough finding corpses. There were plenty of suicides in this hopeless city. Something about being told you were not going to die made people want to test it. He heard the unfamiliar voice behind him, and Takizawa suddenly jumped into the air landing on the man’s shoulders. 

“ I’m not the guy causing the owl trouble, I am the owl, whoo. whoo. Do you like the place I’ve come to perch?”

[owl15-blog1]

bubonem:

Questions, hm? She supposed she could allow that, for now at least.

She sat down, picking strips of flesh to eat in silence. Each tiny bit was easy to swallow, she didn’t have to deal with the taste of flesh and blood for too long.

Hatred, resentment – the emotions were often so similar, going hand in hand with the person who harbored them. Yet, she couldn’t call her feelings regarding the shell once known as Takizawa Seidou being of that nature. At least, they weren’t akin to hatred until he had accosted Kaworu Nagisa in that alley.

“Shall I speak truthfully for you, then?”

“Before coming to this city, you were nothing more than another pawn to me. You were made particularly useful because of that Dr. Kanou, and after I left that island, I was no longer in a position to use you.”

Eto dropped the picked apart limb, no longer interested in pretending she enjoyed eating the meat from it.

“Even now, I have no desire to use or even be anywhere near you.”

“Why is that though? Truly, we have more in common than we have in difference. Yet, you seek to treat me only with indifference and push me away.”

As Takizawa spoke he seemed to loom closer. Until every detail of his face could be made out, wrinkled, paled, scarred and starved. It must have been easy for an author to read what kind of story was played out on a face so obviously pathetic. He was somebody begging for sympathy. 

“You didn’t put your own kagune in me, but ours is so similiar. Was it your father’s? Did you do it to him because you hated him? No... it was probably the same reason as me, because you felt nothing at all.”

He seemed reflective on this, rather than throwing accusations at her as he usually did. Takizawa was a clown, but he was not exactly an idiot. If he listened, he could understand things too. 

“Rather than hurt, or be angry, do you just choose to feel nothing a lot?”

[owl15-blog1]

ingoldentent:

Sheesh, this guy must have gone through a number of things to end up like this. Battler can’t even begin to imagine. Is he capable of enduring this because of his ghoul body?

…More than aversion or any feeling of that spectrum, the sorcerer feels mostly pity towards Seidou. He seems to have been degraded, both physically and mentally, possibly to a shell of his former self (the supposed ‘human’ one). He wonders… “Ah, I can do much more than that. I might still be far below my full power, but I can handle myself well enough with I have so far.”

“In fact… Perhaps I could use my magic to help you. If you want, of course.” He’s quick to add. “You see, I can use healing magic. I could easily heal any lasting wound of yours, like your 'ripped pecs’ or any other spot that might be bothering you, in a way or another. If I had it at full power, I could even make you become human again, instead of an 'owl’.” He makes quotation marks with his fingers. “Again, all up to you.”

Takizawa rolled his eyes. As his expression was already crooked naturally on it’s own, it was quite the sight to see. He wanted to rip his hand off again for a proper demonstration but the human had gotten so squeamish the last time he did that. “There’s not a single scar on my body, everything heals an instant after I’m wounded.”

His stomach itself even if the muscle tissue had grown from being torn apart again and again, looked perfectly solid right now in line with Seidou’s descriptions. He began to chew his fingers again, this time in annoyance rather than nervousness. 

“Unless your magic can cure emotional wounds, it’s pretty much useless to me. Do you think you could get me something to eat instead, that’s always better. I haven’t eaten in, gosh, a few hours maybe.”

[owl15-blog1]

ingoldentent:

An skeleton, he says…? “Well, no offense intended, but I’ve met an skeleton guy once. You… seem kinda too meaty to be one.” Of course, that was probably not the point. Do ghouls have a higher pain threshold than humans? Or perhaps this guy suffered a lesion on his nerves. It’s hard to say. Battler isn’t a doctor.

“As for that…” Battler scratched the back of his head. Should he be honest with Seidou? He did make sure to keep his powers a secret known only to Eto herself. Then again, that was when the city’s hostility towards powered people was at its highest and this guy is apparently an ‘owl’. Perhaps there won’t be a problem.

“It’s because I can use magic!” As he said that, a bunch of golden butterflies erupted from his body, circling the two of them. Hopefully this wouldn’t greatly upset the other.

“Meaty? Ah, you were looking at my pecs. I know, they’re ripped. Quite literally.”

He finished sucking on his finger, and instead poked at his own exposed stomach. That was easy to see when your main fashion choice was a shirt that only just barely went beyond your pectorals. It was more of a long collar than a shirt, really. 

“Magic? Ah, pretty.” Takizawa tried to snap his jaw shut around one of the butterflies only for it to escape him.  He spat out the air he had swallowed, while his eyes continued to follow the butterfly. He looked at it transfixed for a moment before looking back to Battler. 

“What else can you do? Anything useful, or just parlor tricks? it’s okay if you’re usless you know, I was useless once too. I’m sure no matter what somebody will find a place for you to belong.”

[owl15-blog1]

ingoldentent:

“O-Oh, sorry, sorry.” He quickly removed the hand, hoping that the man would forgive him for that invasion of personal space. “I guess I’m sometimes too friendly for my own good. Ihihi.”

A puzzled look crossed his expression now. An owl? Like Eto’s title? He never exactly got why that was her nickname. Doesn’t even sound that similar to ghoul.

Battler was cut short from his pondering as he watched in horror as Seidou took his own finger off. “What the hell?! Why do you think you-” Before he could evoke his magic to heal it, however, Seidou had already gotten it fixed, as if it were magic.

“A-Alright, I got the message. I can kinda do a similar thing, but I’d rather not to submit myself to avoidable harm.” (Is this guy mentally okay…?)

“Hmmm? I guess that kind of thing was abnormal. It’s really only a bad thing if you feel pain though, I didn’t feel a single thing.” Takizawa with his fingers still in his mouth wondered how to best explain this to a human. This was a tough one. “It’s like if I was a skeleton and I pulled my bones apart, it would be funny right? I’m basically that, so there’s no reason to be alarmed.”

Takizawa was a human, then an owl, then a skeleton. One wondered exactly what he saw himself as. Perhaps that was not the best thing to dwell on as even Takizawa never seemed to dwell on that too long.

“Anyway, I’m just wondering why a guy like you would be recruited by miss Eto. Is there something special about you? Are you a hero with a level 5000 sword that you took out of a stone? Do your eyes actually shoot lasers out of them and because of that you’re a leader type?”

Takizawa said, removing his fingers form his mouth and getting a bit closer as he began to prod again. 

[owl15-blog1]

bubonem:

She sensed the faceless doll approaching, seeing some small thing cloaked in a tarp as easy prey – yet, she was merely waiting to crack his skull against the pavement. A familiar, unwelcome scent assaulted her nostrils, and her would be meal became the kill of another.

Eto frowned.

If there was one person she didn’t wish to see, it was the husk formally known as Takizawa Seidou. Yet, here he was. He could be a problem, but if she couldn’t use her kagune, then she doubted he could. If it came to an altercation, it would be a matter of fists and speed.

Yet, he didn’t seem hostile, at least not at her. That would likely only be momentary, so she’d have to watch him carefully…

“Sure,” she responded, taking an arm for herself, detaching from the limb from its socket with ease.

“I just wanted to ask some questions.”

Takizawa said as he still had part of the head hanging from his mouth. It must have been easier when he kept part of himself hidden. Though, in that cloak, that cape, and with his general appearance Takizawa Seidou had hid himself well along time ago. 

Almost too well, almost permanently. 

“Why do you seem to hate me so much? Was it because I was a ccg officer? That guy... he’s not really me. It doesn’t seem fair to blame me for what he did. That guy died a long time ago on that island, I’m just like a zombie walking around in the shell he left behind.”

Takizawa sat down, holding the head now like it was some kind of stuffed toy or object of comfort even in it’s half chewed state. 

“The me who was born on that island, was a completely new being, an infant who knew nothing about the ghoul world and immediately I was subjected to pain and torture. I think I know why that is, it’s because that’s the only way for ghouls to learn in this world. That’s fair I guess, but afterwards.... I can’t understand why you would continue to resent me. You annoying bastard, Eto.”

[owl15-blog1]

@bubonem

Before one of the empowered residents of this city could sneak up behind Eto, suddenly from above Seidou dropped barreling both feet into the back of the man’s neck. He heard it snap in a satisfying manner, and then reached out to grab the head by it’s hair, and twisted it the rest of the way off. 

“Oh, there you are big sis owl.” Seidou said casually as if he had forgotten what happened the last time the two of them met. He reached toward’s the newly severed neck and bloodied his own fingers and then licked them. It seemed once again he had forgotten his own table manners.

“Hey, I brought you some food do you want to share? I’m not sure if you ghouls know this, but dining together is a good way to socialize.”

[owl15-blog1]

ingoldentent:

Human, he says… If that’s true, the guy isn’t doing a very good job of selling a good human like self image. His appearance and demeanor are rather unnerving to Battler. However, he knows better than to make a scandal about this. Better play among with Seidou’s mentality for now.

“In that case, I can easily buy you something. Burgers, pizza, donuts, you call it. If you’re in need for something more… meaty, I can help you with that too. Let’s just say that I have my means of obtaining fresh meat for you, what you say?” He puts a hand on the other’s shoulder.

“Huh... why are you touching me?”

In any normal context Seidou would have simply just severed the man’s arm at the elbow. Somehow, for some reason, he hesitated. Perhaps because this was the first human contact he had since touching Akira. This sensation was few and far between from it. 

“Ah... I uh... was human, but then I got turned into an owl. It’s like a magic trick, watch I can make my thumb disappear.” Seidou said as he took a step back away from Battler’s grip and then prepared to do the age old thumb disappearance trick. Only this time, he really did rip the top joint of his thumb off. “Now look, I can reattach it too.” In an insant he made the hand gesture again and fixed it all up. 

[owl15-blog1]

ingoldentent:

Hum, who’s that guy? Battler has to admit that he’s never seen him before. Not that Battler knows plenty of Aogiri members yet, unfortunately, for he’s limited in time to only visiting here once every 15 days. So, occasionally, he ends up someone coming to him with a similar question to Seidou’s right now.

And to which, he always has the same reply. “I work here, under Eto-san’s orders. Just because I’m a human doesn’t mean that I can’t effort myself to improve the conditions of non humans in the city, right?”

The one before him had a very lax appearance, no traits of recent personal care at all. Another ghoul forced to live a life of poverty due to his condition, perhaps?

“Ah, but I’m human too! That means we’re the only humans in aogiri, we can be human buddies.” As he said this Seidou lifted his hood and naturally let it fall and his face be revealed. He had two eyes of two starkly different colors, one with a white sclera and one black. It made his appearance look een more unbalanced, and of course as a result more unsettling too. 

“There’s no problem with a human being in aogiri, no no problem at all sir!” Seidou made a huge show of saluting as he continued to walk around Battler. His posture was poor, and he seemed to keep himself low to the ground in an animalistic way. 

As if he needed to be agile enough to jump at any second. Seidou paused and put two fingers in his mouth, visibly sucking on them with no care to if Battler saw or not. “It’s just one thing, one thing... what if I get hungry?”

[owl15-blog1]

alatumlepus:

↱ Right, Touka really wasn’t into kicking people out, but this guy did literally not even the smallest effort to act normal around costumers that weren’t familiars with ghouls or anything remotely close to that. Of course it irked her having to deal with someone so careless. She knew well of the ghouls who refused to blend with human society, but couldn’t they at least stay out of her cafe made for both humans and ghouls?

But she has to at least tell him to quit making such annoying noises. Which got the female walking closer to the table, placing the menu down and staring straight into his eyes. ↲

❝ If you don’t quit drooling and clicking your tongue like a rabid dog I will chop off your dick.You may get your coffee only after you compromise to common etiquette.❞

“It’ll just grow back, so... whatever.”

Seidou said dismissing her threat as flippantly as he dealt with everything else. There was only one pretty lady that was allowed to boss him around, and it was not going to be someone who looked so young. Perhaps she just looked young compared to him though, he did have white hair like an old man after all. 

He stopped fidgeting around in his chair so much at least, and wiped the drool off with his sleeve. His fingers, he pulled all but one out, the other lingering there. Taste, it tasted like ghoul flesh. Why was he chewing on his fingers again? Oh, he was hungry. He should have remembered that from the start. 

He needed to order. No, he needed to remember his manners and then order in that order. Otherwise he would not get served at all, he needed to remind himself. Manners, manners then, what would the misguided human known as Takizawa Seidou do? 

“Ma’am, Misses, Lady- Can I may please, have a coffee? Also some steak, rare.”