MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE APPLICATION
Apr. 16th, 2015 11:03 pmPLAYER INFORMATION
NAME: Sam
ARE YOU 18 OR OLDER?: Yes! I was born in 1990.
CONTACT:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
ahegaos
CURRENT CHARACTERS: N/A
CHARACTER INFORMATION
NAME: Touka Kirishima
CANON: Tokyo Ghoul
CANON POINT: Chapter 10 of Tokyo Ghoul:Re
CHARACTER AGE: 20
HISTORY: Have a wiki link!
PERSONALITY: There was once a time that Touka Kirishima almost passed for a normal high school girl: she enjoyed going to class (with the exception of her Classical Lit. course, but that was neither here nor there), had a penchant for collecting rabbit-themed goods, hung out with her friends, and made money on the side with a part-time gig as a waitress at a cozy little cafe known simply as Anteiku. While it would be inaccurate to describe her as "bubbly," one definitely couldn't deny that her customer service was top-notch, and even if it wasn't to her patrons' liking, she could brew a mean cup of coffee to more than make up for it. To anyone on the outside, Touka led a remarkably typical life as a young woman living in modern Japan, balancing her employment with the impending college entrance exams that loomed as the date of her high school graduation neared.
Stories like the one spun by Touka's outward appearances, however, rarely make history, and her case is no exception to that unspoken rule. To get to the quick of it, Touka is what is known as a ghoul, which is a predatory race of humanoid creatures whose only source of sustenance is human flesh. It sounds rather gruesome-- and she won't make any attempt to deny that it actually is gruesome, terribly so-- but to say that all ghouls are bloodthirsty fiends would do a great disservice to the race as a whole. In actuality, ghouls aren't so different from humans; granted, they have supernatural abilities and predatory organs that human beings most definitely do not possess, but when all is said and done, majority of Tokyo's ghoul population simply wants to be left alone. Touka's family was no exception.
The vast majority of Touka's childhood was spent with her younger brother, Ayato, under the care of their doting single faher, Arata. She is very much used to putting on airs for the comfort of the normal human beings around her, having been taught very well by her father to blend in before his untimely death at the hands of Ghoul Investigators. In spite of her nigh-unflappable exterior, Touka has a fairly short temper, refusing to suffer fools and holding very little patience for idiocy or ignorance. She can be extremely cold and unsympathetic, as evidenced by her initial treatment of Ken Kaneki, whom she coldly rebuffed when he sought her help in adjusting to his newfound life as a ghoul.
On the hotter end of the spectrum, Touka is known to let her feelings overtake reason, especially in dangerous situations involving those she cares for; when a fellow ghoul known as Ryouko Fueguchi fell at the hands of the Doves (Ghoul Investigators/agents of the Commission of Counter Ghoul), Touka struck out on her own on a quest for vengeance in spite of the odds being overwhelmingly stacked against her. Hotblooded and impulsive, Touka is more than aware that there are consequences to the rash decisions she makes, but at the end of the day, she simply doesn't care. Her emotions govern many of the choices that she makes, and as stubborn as she is, it can be a bit of a challenge to talk her down once she sets her mind on something. Not one to shirk responsibility, Touka completely accepts the ramifications of her actions when all is said and done, whether they come in the form of casualties or grave injury. This determination is a double edged sword: in the case of her revenge of Ryouko Fueguchi, her actions draw more Doves to the ward in which she and her friends reside, and she becomes gravely injured in the process.
Touka is more than willing to fight for any cause that she believes in, and she isn't a fan of letting anything get in her way... To an extent. A prime example of this is when Ayato, her younger brother, attacks her during Anteiku's attempts to recover a kidnapped Kaneki from an organization known as Aogiri. Though she berates her brother and talks a big game, she ends up hesitating and getting completely overtaken by Ayato's superior kagune, leaving her bloody and beaten until Kaneki arrives. Though she calls Ayato a "fucking brat," it's clear that some part of her still cares for her younger brother in spite of the fact that he seemed willing to kill her without hesitation.
This isn't to say that she's a completely irrational hothead, however. When it comes to people she respects, such as her manager at the cafe where she works, Touka will (albeit grudgingly at times) listen to reason. This is likely due to the fact that most of her emotions and decisions are based upon how much she cares for the people around her, in spite of her outwardly non-affectionate demeanor. She has very few close friends, but she holds the ones she has very near to her heart, and beneath that predacious, human-eating exterior lies a lonely teenage girl brought up in a strange, twisted world. According to the famed Gourmet Shuu Tsukiyama, Touka was rather "cold and dangerous" several years prior to the start of the series, though she has noticeably softened over the course of it, more than likely due to the influence of Ken Kaneki.
Over the course of Tokyo Ghoul, Touka lives the majority of her life as a typical high schooler alongside unsuspecting human beings, though she cannot divorce the fact that she is very much a ghoul from her seemingly "normal" human life. She still needs to eat human flesh to survive, and she takes no issue with this; when cutting down members of the Dove team that killed Ryouko Fueguchi, she almost casually refers to herself as a murderer. This isn't to say that she doesn't feel guilt for the act; she's very much aware of the fact that CCG agents are humans with families and loved ones to go home to, though it's made clear that she's very uncomfortable with the concept when she's shown looking horrified upon noticing a wedding ring upon the finger of a dead Dove. For all of her fire and hatred for Doves, she understands deep down that they're just doing their jobs to protect the ones they care about, just as majority of ghouls kill for the same purpose.
During her fight with Kureo Mado, a high-ranking Dove, Touka was pinned to a wall by his quinque, which is a weapon derived from a ghoul's kagune, the predatory organ that gives each ghoul their unique abilities. Taunting her, Mado asks, "Why in the world do you all still try to survive even while committing such sins?" in reference to the fact that ghouls subsist on human flesh. Through all of her anger and loathing, Touka's response is surprisingly sincere:
It's clear that she can't stand living persecuted within the body of a ghoul, and she said as much when Kaneki approached her for help at the beginning of the series: how can he expect her to give him sympathy when he's lived a simple, unoppressed life as a human up to this point? She's lived her entire life either behind a mask or on the run, and this rings true in the continuation of what she says to Mado:
While her contempt for Doves is well-earned, Touka can't deny that the Doves-- and humans in general-- just want to live. Though the confrontation ultimately ends with Mado's death by Touka's hands, the event weighs heavily upon her, so much so that her (notably human) friend Yoriko notices. Touka has a conscience in spite of her tendency to let her anger get the better of her, though her exceedingly foul mouth in the moment would state otherwise.
Touka's relationship with Yoriko is a very positive and close one in spite of the fact that Yoriko has no idea that Touka is a ghoul. Yoriko seems to support Touka in all of her endeavors and Touka does much the same; though consuming human cuisine wreaks havoc on a ghoul's biology, Touka forces herself to try any and all food that Yoriko gives her simply because she knows that Yoriko aspires to be a chef one day and having Touka try her food makes her happy. It's a bit deceptive and extremely harmful to her body, but Touka does it anyway out of care for her friend. This type of sentiment extends to all of Touka's interpersonal relationships, and it just goes to show that she's willing to go to any lengths for the sake of her friends and loved ones.
As stated earlier, Touka's personality undergoes a series of changes once she comes into contact with Ken Kaneki. Initially cold and unsympathetic, she becomes much more involved with those around her, her edges softening and her demeanor becoming more cheerful as the series progresses. Though she gets sidelined (boo!) for much of the second half of the first series, she is seen trying doggedly to attempt to see Kaneki in spite of his efforts to avoid her at all costs due to the fact that he wants her to lead a "normal" life without the danger that his presence brings. It's months before she gets ahold of him, but rather than having a heartwarming reunion, she threatens to beat him and tells him to never return to Anteiku again, once again letting her anger get the best of her.
At the end of the series proper Kaneki is presumed missing (or dead) and Touka is seen standing in front of Anteiku with tears in her eyes and a defiant look on her face, affirming her belief that he will return to the cafe because she has faith in him. The first manga series closes on this note, leaving the ending open-ended.
Touka's role in the current chapters of Tokyo Ghoul: Re is rather small, but from the minute appearances she's made, one can easily glean that her personality has changed even further in the three year gap between the ending of the first series and the beginning of the second. At 20, she works as a waitress at another cafe called Re, posing as a human girl running a coffee shop with her older brother. During her brief interactions with Haise Sasaki (aka an amnesiac Ken Kaneki), she proves herself to be a kind, warm-hearted girl, offering smiles to her patrons and making an effort to get to know them. While this could easily be due to the fact that she recognizes Sasaki for who he really is (and she most certainly does), it's clear that Touka has undergone some changes in the three years since Kaneki turned up missing, gaining a mature and almost gentle air about her. It's in these short scenes that she most resembles her father and his good-natured personality, his teachings resonating within her as she grows into an adult.
This isn't to say that that fire of hers has gone out completely, however, though just how much of it has been quenched remains to be seen.
ABILITIES: As a ghoul, Touka possesses a predatory organ known as a kagune, which is located between her shoulderblades. A kagune is basically what a ghoul uses to hunt its prey; depending on the type of ghoul, its location, appearance, and functions vary. Touka is what is known as an Ukaku-type, which specializes in devastating high-speed attacks and resembles feathered wings spreading out from Touka's back when activated. These "feathers" can be crystallized and used as projectiles in combat, and they are extremely lightweight. Such power comes with a drawback, however: the use of an ukaku-type kagune results in rapidly dwindling stamina, and in long battles of attrition, Touka can be easily overwhelmed. Ukaku-type kagune are not built for sustained damage, and specialize in attacking in bursts.
Other abilities that Touka has are the standard super speed and super strength that majority of ghouls possess, as well as decent hand-to-hand combat prowess. She doesn't heal as quickly as Kaneki can, but attacks that would most certainly kill a typical human being only serve to slow her down. On that note, normal blades such as knives and swords simply bounce off or break when used against her skin, which is much tougher than most everyday materials.
Touka also possesses a keen sense of smell, much like other ghouls. She also has the added "perk" of not having to eat as often as a normal human being, though the longer she goes without human flesh, the less self-control she has. She likens the hunger of a ghoul to "hell," describing it as a painful and terrible experience.
SAMPLES
FIRST SAMPLE: PROSE
"You are here because you have sinned."
The voice reached Touka's ears sinuously, seemingly curving around the room before settling into her consciousness, drawing her out of a sleep she hadn't remembered falling into. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the room, her kakugan instinctively activated, though the sensation of her kagune rousing itself was eerily absent as she struggled to shake off the hazy veil that seemed to have settled over her body. Something was inhibiting her ukaku from taking form, and as her eyes darted about the room, they settled upon a masked female figure, presumably the owner of the voice that had woken her, walking slowly towards her.
Groggily, Touka struggled to stand, though her legs disobeyed her. The longer she stared at the woman, the more clear her surroundings became: there were several more people in the room than she had initially thought. They all wore similar masks to one another and were chanting in a language Touka didn't recognize, and it kicked her instincts into high gear.
"What the hell are you talking about?" she managed to hiss, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. "Where the fuck am I?"
The woman approaching her made no effort to grace Touka's questions with an immediate response, instead opting to reach out to graze Touka's cheek with her fingers before speaking again.
"But worry not. The Devil earns more souls than he needs, and we have paid your transgressions in full. Your cost is ours, and through good service you may repay it. Perhaps settling your debt will be all the reward you seek. Or...”
Touka's first instinct was to rip apart the hand at her cheek, to tear it from the wrist it was connected to and to consume it whole. Before she can make any such attempts, however, a glass of what appeared to be wine appeared in the woman's hands, immediately commanding Touka's attention in spite of her best efforts. It wasn't as if Touka had ever been fond of wine-- it had tasted like liquefied shit the one time she'd tried it, much like any other human delicacy did when it came in contact with a ghoul's tastebuds-- but she knew simply by looking at the glass in the woman's hand that there was something different about it.
Loath as she was to admit it, Touka found herself nearly trembling with the urge to taste it. The pull of it was nearly as strong as the one she'd have felt if she'd gone months without flesh, her pulse practically screaming for in its cadence as she watched the woman, barely registering what she said next:
"... Perhaps freedom will not be enough to satisfy?"
For all of her stubbornness and strong will, Touka's hands shot out almost on impulse after several agonizing seconds, grasping the cup from the woman's hands. When she brought the lip of the glass to her mouth, the liquid that coated her tongue was sweeter than any flesh she had ever tasted, and she gulped the cup's contents greedily until nothing remained within it.
The look of smug satisfaction on the woman's face snapped Touka out of her reverie, anger flaring and roiling in her gut as she instinctively moved to toss the glass to the floor. Before she could even spit the curse that was rapidly beginning to form on her lips as a precursor to the act, however, she was being whisked from the room as quickly as she had awoken within it, being led down a hallway to parts unknown.
SECOND SAMPLE: ACTION TAGS
Test Drive Meme with Seo | Coffee shop with Souji | A back alley with Talon
NAME: Sam
ARE YOU 18 OR OLDER?: Yes! I was born in 1990.
CONTACT:
CURRENT CHARACTERS: N/A
CHARACTER INFORMATION
NAME: Touka Kirishima
CANON: Tokyo Ghoul
CANON POINT: Chapter 10 of Tokyo Ghoul:Re
CHARACTER AGE: 20
HISTORY: Have a wiki link!
PERSONALITY: There was once a time that Touka Kirishima almost passed for a normal high school girl: she enjoyed going to class (with the exception of her Classical Lit. course, but that was neither here nor there), had a penchant for collecting rabbit-themed goods, hung out with her friends, and made money on the side with a part-time gig as a waitress at a cozy little cafe known simply as Anteiku. While it would be inaccurate to describe her as "bubbly," one definitely couldn't deny that her customer service was top-notch, and even if it wasn't to her patrons' liking, she could brew a mean cup of coffee to more than make up for it. To anyone on the outside, Touka led a remarkably typical life as a young woman living in modern Japan, balancing her employment with the impending college entrance exams that loomed as the date of her high school graduation neared.
Stories like the one spun by Touka's outward appearances, however, rarely make history, and her case is no exception to that unspoken rule. To get to the quick of it, Touka is what is known as a ghoul, which is a predatory race of humanoid creatures whose only source of sustenance is human flesh. It sounds rather gruesome-- and she won't make any attempt to deny that it actually is gruesome, terribly so-- but to say that all ghouls are bloodthirsty fiends would do a great disservice to the race as a whole. In actuality, ghouls aren't so different from humans; granted, they have supernatural abilities and predatory organs that human beings most definitely do not possess, but when all is said and done, majority of Tokyo's ghoul population simply wants to be left alone. Touka's family was no exception.
The vast majority of Touka's childhood was spent with her younger brother, Ayato, under the care of their doting single faher, Arata. She is very much used to putting on airs for the comfort of the normal human beings around her, having been taught very well by her father to blend in before his untimely death at the hands of Ghoul Investigators. In spite of her nigh-unflappable exterior, Touka has a fairly short temper, refusing to suffer fools and holding very little patience for idiocy or ignorance. She can be extremely cold and unsympathetic, as evidenced by her initial treatment of Ken Kaneki, whom she coldly rebuffed when he sought her help in adjusting to his newfound life as a ghoul.
On the hotter end of the spectrum, Touka is known to let her feelings overtake reason, especially in dangerous situations involving those she cares for; when a fellow ghoul known as Ryouko Fueguchi fell at the hands of the Doves (Ghoul Investigators/agents of the Commission of Counter Ghoul), Touka struck out on her own on a quest for vengeance in spite of the odds being overwhelmingly stacked against her. Hotblooded and impulsive, Touka is more than aware that there are consequences to the rash decisions she makes, but at the end of the day, she simply doesn't care. Her emotions govern many of the choices that she makes, and as stubborn as she is, it can be a bit of a challenge to talk her down once she sets her mind on something. Not one to shirk responsibility, Touka completely accepts the ramifications of her actions when all is said and done, whether they come in the form of casualties or grave injury. This determination is a double edged sword: in the case of her revenge of Ryouko Fueguchi, her actions draw more Doves to the ward in which she and her friends reside, and she becomes gravely injured in the process.
Touka is more than willing to fight for any cause that she believes in, and she isn't a fan of letting anything get in her way... To an extent. A prime example of this is when Ayato, her younger brother, attacks her during Anteiku's attempts to recover a kidnapped Kaneki from an organization known as Aogiri. Though she berates her brother and talks a big game, she ends up hesitating and getting completely overtaken by Ayato's superior kagune, leaving her bloody and beaten until Kaneki arrives. Though she calls Ayato a "fucking brat," it's clear that some part of her still cares for her younger brother in spite of the fact that he seemed willing to kill her without hesitation.
This isn't to say that she's a completely irrational hothead, however. When it comes to people she respects, such as her manager at the cafe where she works, Touka will (albeit grudgingly at times) listen to reason. This is likely due to the fact that most of her emotions and decisions are based upon how much she cares for the people around her, in spite of her outwardly non-affectionate demeanor. She has very few close friends, but she holds the ones she has very near to her heart, and beneath that predacious, human-eating exterior lies a lonely teenage girl brought up in a strange, twisted world. According to the famed Gourmet Shuu Tsukiyama, Touka was rather "cold and dangerous" several years prior to the start of the series, though she has noticeably softened over the course of it, more than likely due to the influence of Ken Kaneki.
Over the course of Tokyo Ghoul, Touka lives the majority of her life as a typical high schooler alongside unsuspecting human beings, though she cannot divorce the fact that she is very much a ghoul from her seemingly "normal" human life. She still needs to eat human flesh to survive, and she takes no issue with this; when cutting down members of the Dove team that killed Ryouko Fueguchi, she almost casually refers to herself as a murderer. This isn't to say that she doesn't feel guilt for the act; she's very much aware of the fact that CCG agents are humans with families and loved ones to go home to, though it's made clear that she's very uncomfortable with the concept when she's shown looking horrified upon noticing a wedding ring upon the finger of a dead Dove. For all of her fire and hatred for Doves, she understands deep down that they're just doing their jobs to protect the ones they care about, just as majority of ghouls kill for the same purpose.
During her fight with Kureo Mado, a high-ranking Dove, Touka was pinned to a wall by his quinque, which is a weapon derived from a ghoul's kagune, the predatory organ that gives each ghoul their unique abilities. Taunting her, Mado asks, "Why in the world do you all still try to survive even while committing such sins?" in reference to the fact that ghouls subsist on human flesh. Through all of her anger and loathing, Touka's response is surprisingly sincere:
"I think... It's because we want to live... Is there something... wrong about that? If the only thing you can eat is people, then that's what you do, right? How can we live correctly with a body like this?!"
It's clear that she can't stand living persecuted within the body of a ghoul, and she said as much when Kaneki approached her for help at the beginning of the series: how can he expect her to give him sympathy when he's lived a simple, unoppressed life as a human up to this point? She's lived her entire life either behind a mask or on the run, and this rings true in the continuation of what she says to Mado:
"You bastards just repeat everything those above you tell you... But could you keep saying that stuff if you were a 'ghoul' yourself?! You piss me off... Die, die, die, die. All you shit-headed doves should just die already!
Fuckers... sons of bitches... bastards... Even ghouls-- Even I-- want to live just like you guys!"
Fuckers... sons of bitches... bastards... Even ghouls-- Even I-- want to live just like you guys!"
While her contempt for Doves is well-earned, Touka can't deny that the Doves-- and humans in general-- just want to live. Though the confrontation ultimately ends with Mado's death by Touka's hands, the event weighs heavily upon her, so much so that her (notably human) friend Yoriko notices. Touka has a conscience in spite of her tendency to let her anger get the better of her, though her exceedingly foul mouth in the moment would state otherwise.
Touka's relationship with Yoriko is a very positive and close one in spite of the fact that Yoriko has no idea that Touka is a ghoul. Yoriko seems to support Touka in all of her endeavors and Touka does much the same; though consuming human cuisine wreaks havoc on a ghoul's biology, Touka forces herself to try any and all food that Yoriko gives her simply because she knows that Yoriko aspires to be a chef one day and having Touka try her food makes her happy. It's a bit deceptive and extremely harmful to her body, but Touka does it anyway out of care for her friend. This type of sentiment extends to all of Touka's interpersonal relationships, and it just goes to show that she's willing to go to any lengths for the sake of her friends and loved ones.
As stated earlier, Touka's personality undergoes a series of changes once she comes into contact with Ken Kaneki. Initially cold and unsympathetic, she becomes much more involved with those around her, her edges softening and her demeanor becoming more cheerful as the series progresses. Though she gets sidelined (boo!) for much of the second half of the first series, she is seen trying doggedly to attempt to see Kaneki in spite of his efforts to avoid her at all costs due to the fact that he wants her to lead a "normal" life without the danger that his presence brings. It's months before she gets ahold of him, but rather than having a heartwarming reunion, she threatens to beat him and tells him to never return to Anteiku again, once again letting her anger get the best of her.
At the end of the series proper Kaneki is presumed missing (or dead) and Touka is seen standing in front of Anteiku with tears in her eyes and a defiant look on her face, affirming her belief that he will return to the cafe because she has faith in him. The first manga series closes on this note, leaving the ending open-ended.
Touka's role in the current chapters of Tokyo Ghoul: Re is rather small, but from the minute appearances she's made, one can easily glean that her personality has changed even further in the three year gap between the ending of the first series and the beginning of the second. At 20, she works as a waitress at another cafe called Re, posing as a human girl running a coffee shop with her older brother. During her brief interactions with Haise Sasaki (aka an amnesiac Ken Kaneki), she proves herself to be a kind, warm-hearted girl, offering smiles to her patrons and making an effort to get to know them. While this could easily be due to the fact that she recognizes Sasaki for who he really is (and she most certainly does), it's clear that Touka has undergone some changes in the three years since Kaneki turned up missing, gaining a mature and almost gentle air about her. It's in these short scenes that she most resembles her father and his good-natured personality, his teachings resonating within her as she grows into an adult.
This isn't to say that that fire of hers has gone out completely, however, though just how much of it has been quenched remains to be seen.
ABILITIES: As a ghoul, Touka possesses a predatory organ known as a kagune, which is located between her shoulderblades. A kagune is basically what a ghoul uses to hunt its prey; depending on the type of ghoul, its location, appearance, and functions vary. Touka is what is known as an Ukaku-type, which specializes in devastating high-speed attacks and resembles feathered wings spreading out from Touka's back when activated. These "feathers" can be crystallized and used as projectiles in combat, and they are extremely lightweight. Such power comes with a drawback, however: the use of an ukaku-type kagune results in rapidly dwindling stamina, and in long battles of attrition, Touka can be easily overwhelmed. Ukaku-type kagune are not built for sustained damage, and specialize in attacking in bursts.
Other abilities that Touka has are the standard super speed and super strength that majority of ghouls possess, as well as decent hand-to-hand combat prowess. She doesn't heal as quickly as Kaneki can, but attacks that would most certainly kill a typical human being only serve to slow her down. On that note, normal blades such as knives and swords simply bounce off or break when used against her skin, which is much tougher than most everyday materials.
Touka also possesses a keen sense of smell, much like other ghouls. She also has the added "perk" of not having to eat as often as a normal human being, though the longer she goes without human flesh, the less self-control she has. She likens the hunger of a ghoul to "hell," describing it as a painful and terrible experience.
SINS & VIRTUES:
- Wrath -- The obvious first choice, as Touka repeatedly rallies in anger against Doves and ghoul alike with reckless abandon.
- Envy -- Though she would never readily admit it aloud, it's fairly obvious that she begrudges humanity for being able to live their lives openly without fear of being hunted down.
- Lust -- She possesses an extreme lust for life, whether she will readily admit to it or not; one could also argue that her bloodlust is unmatched once she gets going.
- Temperance -- As a ghoul underneath father's (and later, Yoshimura's) care, Touka learned early on never to eat or hunt in excess; she (and the rest who frequent Anteiku for its "soup kitchen") only eats enough to get by from humans that are already dead.
- Diligence -- She's an extremely hard worker, whether it be in regards to her actual work, fighting to protect what she cares about, or simply trying to survive. She knows how to upkeep human appearances, and she's very meticulous about keeping her status as a ghoul under wraps.
SAMPLES
FIRST SAMPLE: PROSE
"You are here because you have sinned."
The voice reached Touka's ears sinuously, seemingly curving around the room before settling into her consciousness, drawing her out of a sleep she hadn't remembered falling into. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the room, her kakugan instinctively activated, though the sensation of her kagune rousing itself was eerily absent as she struggled to shake off the hazy veil that seemed to have settled over her body. Something was inhibiting her ukaku from taking form, and as her eyes darted about the room, they settled upon a masked female figure, presumably the owner of the voice that had woken her, walking slowly towards her.
Groggily, Touka struggled to stand, though her legs disobeyed her. The longer she stared at the woman, the more clear her surroundings became: there were several more people in the room than she had initially thought. They all wore similar masks to one another and were chanting in a language Touka didn't recognize, and it kicked her instincts into high gear.
"What the hell are you talking about?" she managed to hiss, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. "Where the fuck am I?"
The woman approaching her made no effort to grace Touka's questions with an immediate response, instead opting to reach out to graze Touka's cheek with her fingers before speaking again.
"But worry not. The Devil earns more souls than he needs, and we have paid your transgressions in full. Your cost is ours, and through good service you may repay it. Perhaps settling your debt will be all the reward you seek. Or...”
Touka's first instinct was to rip apart the hand at her cheek, to tear it from the wrist it was connected to and to consume it whole. Before she can make any such attempts, however, a glass of what appeared to be wine appeared in the woman's hands, immediately commanding Touka's attention in spite of her best efforts. It wasn't as if Touka had ever been fond of wine-- it had tasted like liquefied shit the one time she'd tried it, much like any other human delicacy did when it came in contact with a ghoul's tastebuds-- but she knew simply by looking at the glass in the woman's hand that there was something different about it.
Loath as she was to admit it, Touka found herself nearly trembling with the urge to taste it. The pull of it was nearly as strong as the one she'd have felt if she'd gone months without flesh, her pulse practically screaming for in its cadence as she watched the woman, barely registering what she said next:
"... Perhaps freedom will not be enough to satisfy?"
For all of her stubbornness and strong will, Touka's hands shot out almost on impulse after several agonizing seconds, grasping the cup from the woman's hands. When she brought the lip of the glass to her mouth, the liquid that coated her tongue was sweeter than any flesh she had ever tasted, and she gulped the cup's contents greedily until nothing remained within it.
The look of smug satisfaction on the woman's face snapped Touka out of her reverie, anger flaring and roiling in her gut as she instinctively moved to toss the glass to the floor. Before she could even spit the curse that was rapidly beginning to form on her lips as a precursor to the act, however, she was being whisked from the room as quickly as she had awoken within it, being led down a hallway to parts unknown.
SECOND SAMPLE: ACTION TAGS
Test Drive Meme with Seo | Coffee shop with Souji | A back alley with Talon