video;

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[Kaneki is in the dining room. He looks less nervous than he has the last few times he's appeared on the network, like he's finally found the right medicine for what's been bothering him.]

I don't know how many people make their own food here. I'm not that great in the kitchen, unless it's coffee.

[He smiles a smile that's part self-deprecating, part dark amusement. Then his entire posture goes pensive, though his expression is serious enough to communicate that he's more than just curious.]

Even if you do cook your own food, the ingredients you use show up magically. Of course, everything pre-made does, too.

I know we don't really have a choice, but does anyone else worry about where it all comes from? I mean, the meat--where does that come from? Is it even real meat?

[He thinks it must be, but...really. In the best case, there's some magical butcher in the depths of the Mansion, killing and slicing up magical animals. And Kaneki can think of lots worse than that.]

Comments

[video | private]

[jivitadana]

It's really bothering you, isn't it.

[Understandably so. Maybe Minato should have thought about it more too.]

[video | private]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

Hey, Minato-kun.

[Kaneki offers a strained smile.]

I don't think it would bother me if it were anything else.

[video | private]

[jivitadana]

You do have a good point though.

[video | private]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

But if there's nothing anyone can do about it, then it's probably better not think too much about it.

[Haha, like that's going to happen.]

[doesnotplay]

[Panne is sharp, but not quite that sharp... She cants her head at him.]

What does it matter?

[itwouldbeatragedy]

Um...it might not for some foods. [Like carrots. Who cares where those come from?] But the meat I eat...

[Please don't make him say it, Panne.]

[doesnotplay]

...You were given human flesh?

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[Wow that wasn't a request for you to say it.]

Y-yeah. I dining room gave me some and...I just worry about where it came from.

[video]

[justrunsasaloon]

Meat might be a hard thing to come by, but we've got the greenhouse for other things. Everyone just finds it easier to eat out of the closets.

[ Her tone says she doesn't like that one bit. ]

[video]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

Ah...right, there's the greenhouse.

[His expression as much as his voice gives away that he doesn't really think that's a workable alternative. But he forces a smile.]

I'll have to remember that.

[video]

[justrunsasaloon]

[ She raises her eyebrows. ]

Magic ends, son. Better to not use the closets because eventually they will stop.

[video]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[He blinks in surprise and readily pursues that rather than continue with his own dietary needs.]

What makes you think so?

[ video. ]

[humanities_greatest]

As long as it isn't poison, worrying about where it comes from will only make you sick.

[ video. ]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

Mentally, at least.

[Unfortunately, he's not the type who forgets about things easily when they bother him.]

[ video. ]

[humanities_greatest]

Let's be honest, then. What do you fear?

[ PRIVATE ; video. ]

[shittyglasses]

... can you really eat animal meat?

[ PRIVATE ; video. ]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

No... I can't eat anything other than...that one thing.

[video]

[freewill]

[It isn't idle curiosity that has spurred on this broadcast, Castiel knows that for a fact. While he's only met this young man's Mirror, he learned enough from that conversation to be all too aware of his strange eating habits.

The question is worthwhile. Obtaining human meat from the closets may be an improvement to attacking those in the mansion, but the question of where it comes from still remains a problem.

Castiel's meant to follow up with the stranger about his appetite, and this is as good of an opportunity as any.]

It's impossible to know the origin. Some beings are powerful enough to make something out of nothing. [At least for a time. Gabriel had done it, and the other archangels could too.] Though whether that's the case here, I can't say.

[video]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

I'd like to think it's something like that. [It would be quite a relief.] I guess after awhile, it's easy not to think about it. We have to eat, right? So it's either ignore it or go insane...

[video]

[freewill]

[With no way of finding out the truth, all anyone can do is assume the best and try to put any other possibilities out of their mind. The boy is right about that much.

There's no graceful way to transition into the real matter at hand here, and so Castiel does it gracelessly.]

I interacted with your Mirror a few weeks ago.

video;

[stillplaying]

You could hunt.

[She says it matter of factly, as if it's the most obvious solution in the world. And in her eyes, it is. The game might not be all that diverse or even all that big, but there's food out there. Squirrels and small birds. Fish in the lakes. Enough to provide sustenance if someone wanted to be truly independent from the food delivered by the closet.

Because she's not so much concerned with what it is or where it comes from but what'll happen when it suddenly runs out.]

video;

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[The suggestion certainly wasn't expected, and it shows on his face, but he only has to think about that for a few seconds to realize it's a viable alternative.]

I don't think I'd be that good at it. I mean, I'm sure I could learn but--

[He fumbles for an excuse for a moment.]

I uh...have some strange food allergies.

[Wow he sounds like a pansy.]

video;

[stillplaying]

[It really isn't much of an excuse in her eyes. Isn't that one of the benefit of hunting and gathering your own food? You know wall of the ingredients in whatever stew or meal you decide to make from it. Then again, allergies had never been an issue for her. Thankfully. There had been enough restraints on the availability of resources in District 12 growing up. Hollow days aren't easy to forget. More complications?

That wouldn't have been good.

And it doesn't make her oh so willing to listen to anyone else's excuses.]

So?

video;

[avoirfaim]

I can't speak to know where the food comes from, but I can assure you that it's real meat.

[ If it tastes like meat and it smells like meat and it feels like meat and it cooks like meat to the detail and extent that it does, it's highly unlikely that it's a mass hallucination. ]

video;

[itwouldbeatragedy]

I'm sure it is.

[He wouldn't have been able to digest it, otherwise. It's simultaneously a relief and a source of concern.]

I should be glad about that much at least.