[open] nobody is what they seem

[livingimpaired]

WHO: Kei Shigaraki (livingimpaired) and YOU.
WHERE: RAMEN + Dreamscapes.
WHEN: Throughout July.
WHAT: Catch-all for July.
WARNINGS: Fate/ warnings. TW: Psychological torture, suicide, and gore.

A. RAMEN: Meet a sketchy restaurant owner.

[ The restaurant smells heavily of spices to the point that a person unaccustomed may very well feel bowled over. It certainly doesn't smell like a ramen shop should. But then, it isn't. The menu denotes to why – it only has various forms of mapo tofu and mapo tofu-styled ramen. The only thing that is “new” to the menu is the drinks menu has increased to save people from having to decide between water or milk. ]

Welcome.

[ He calls from behind the counter, and even offers a wave to the person that happens to enter. It's at a quieter time in the day and so the restaurant is mostly cleared out. Kei tosses a towel over his shoulder in a dramatic fashion. Does he need it? Probably not; it seems mostly to make a scene than anything else.

After the previous month, he has decided to crawl back into his role of a shady yet meddling restaurant owner. It's difficult to do so, of course. It's like trying to force a hermit crab to take back the shell that it outgrew, but he's trying. He's trying. ]

Might I interest you in attempting this shop's challenge?

B. DREAMTIME: Find out more about the shop owner, perhaps?

[ All his dreams start the same.

The area is filled with black, viscous liquid pouring down from an unseen sources above. An atmosphere which should have been stark white is being stained. It wraps around the limbs of the person traveling in the dream. Kei, himself, merely stands in the middle of it all – looking rather apathetic, and disinterested in the encroaching darkness. For it is darkness blotting out an empty scene devoid of any color, scenery, and feeling. ]

Well, well, well. I wonder what it is you hope to accomplish.

[ It is really all he has to say to the traveler before the liquid rises, taking almost human shape before it surrounds and suffocates them. When the black recedes and allows the person to finally breathe, another dream settles in:

1. (CW: Psychological abuse of a child.) [ It is raining heavy outside of a cemetery. Kei is nowhere to be seen but a younger man that resembles him steps out of the iron gates to meet with a young girl that is pushing her wheelchair bound mother. One can see there is a smile on the young man's face that goes unnoticed by both with him. ]

2. (CW: Suicide.) [ The room is dark and smells heavily of blood. A woman lies upon the ground covered in red. Her face is masked in blood and unrecognizable – a fault of the memory rather than a reflection of what had happened. A younger Kei holds her as he cries. Yet something about the scene feels wrong. The air is heavy and even if his tears are understandable there is something that does not feel right about how he holds her, how he cries upon her. ]

3. (CW: Psychological and physical torture). [ A young man lies on the alleyway ahead of the viewer. It is obvious that he is in a considerable amount of pain. Smoke bellows off of him indicating that he had been set on fire yet there are soft, gasping sounds still coming from him. A younger Kei walks toward the body. Bladed weapons snap out as he raises them to put the poor man out of his misery. And yet, the younger Kei hesitates before the weapons are put away. His hand instead rests upon the man's chest as a soft, glowing green light pours outward. Screams immediately fill the alleyway. ]

4. (CW: Gore). [ Less subtle, less kind; a man that looks very much like Kei as he does now save for the priest cassock. He stands grabbing onto an old feeble looking man. The man only laughs and spits blood with each burst of chuckles. It does not seem to bother Kei too much as he beats the body against the wall made of stone. He walks slowly along the perimeter of the wall, dragging the body with him and leaves a smear of red in its wake. All the while, he speaks a prayer in a calm, unhurried voice. At the end of each sentence, he lifts the body to slam it hard against the stone until the stone crumbles just a little under the weight of the action. ]

C. DREAMTIME: A Softer World.

[ Instead of viscous black pouring down, the dream opens to something surprisingly dull. It is the inside of his apartment, but significantly different than the one people have come to know. Instead of a large empty room occupied with just a bed and couch; it is well-furnished with various knitted items resting over chairs and ottomans.

There is a record player in the corner that is playing some obscene church gospel song as Kei, himself, is sitting and knitting in one of the overstuffed chairs. While the atmosphere is significantly less oppressive, there is still something empty about the room. It feels like it is more for show rather than showing what is inside of the man himself. It's not a living space for Kei, but a space for people to come visit. ]

I wasn't expecting any visitors. [ So he says, not looking up from his knitting. ] But since you are here, what can I help you with?

D. WILDCARD: All these are awful.

[ For anything else! Like you actually want to have them meet in the clinic, that's okay with me! Or if you wanna plan for anything more specific PM or hit me up at saltandburn! ]

Comments

B-1 if you think i'm not here for the fate/bullshit you're wrong

[maskreant]

[ Ren finds himself in such an odd dream—a familiar voice that forsakes him to drown in this gunk. It's disorienting to find himself in a different scene, rain pattering down on him even though it should be summer. Odd. He doesn't recognize the mother or the girl, but that face. There's no way he can mistaken it, even if he looks younger. Brow furrowed, he contemplates over the best course of action.

Should he just watch...? No. ]

Mister Shigaraki?

[ Hesitant, he calls out to him, but doesn't approach. He looks different, especially with haunting smile. ]

you're in it now, son. in it talking to younger kirei, i guess!

[livingimpaired]

Mister Shigaraki?

[ The young man steps away from the young girl and mother. His head tilts as he does not seem to recognize the name as he steps forward toward Akira. ]

I'm afraid there isn't anyone by that name. [ His steps somehow sound foreboding as he walks across the sidewalk to meet with the "visitor." The chilling smile has faded to something more neutral and dead. A bladed weapon is at his side -- it is wrapped up with cloth, but still held with purpose. ]

Are you, perhaps, lost?

gross

[maskreant]

[ Ah... Something about the way this man approaches him makes his hair stand on end—it's the way he quickly dropped the smile, the emptiness that lingers in his gaze, and the way he carries himself. It's stiff, abiding to norms, but he saw that smile earlier. It was hiding something in this overcast, mourning scene.

He stays quiet a little longer, inwardly taking a step back so he can meet him with standard politeness. Straightening up, he keeps his eyes glued to Kirei's, gauging his expression and looking for anything. It's odd. He doesn't feel in danger per se, just paranoid in this new setting. It doesn't help that this person is a strange (with a weapon); everything seems suspicious. ]

... Sorry, you look like someone I know. [ This is suffocating—or is it awkward? He can't tell. ] Yeah, I'm lost.

[ Eyes flickering to the girl and her mother and back, he has a thought. ]

Again, sorry for taking you away from your family, but can you give me some directions?

no one likes him

[livingimpaired]

That's quite unfortunate... and you're actually not quite right. [ He holds his hand out to gesture toward the cemetery. ] I'm afraid that I can't help you to the best of my abilities.

This is the funeral of my mentor. And I have to offer a few more words to his surviving daughter and wife. [ Looking back over his shoulder to the shadows of this memory, he smiles in the same cold manner of before. His eyes close before he turns back to fix his gaze onto the visitor. ]

I am now their guardian. The daughter will become the head of the household, but due to her age... and her mother's frailty, I'm afraid that I'll have control of everything until she is a bit older. [ A beat. ] But I babbled a bit on that, hm? Where is it that you are looking to go?

B-4 and I am so here for Fate shit.

[argone]

[Kara, stepping into this other place, the choking, cloying cloud of black liquid is already baffled. That was Kei's voice? That was definitely his form. This was already pretty eerie but when the goop starts to clear and she can finally see that feeling cracks apart and shatters into something far worse. She's faced with a disgusting scene, something both vile and infuriating, but the gunk is still holding her back just enough that she can't intervene.

Thrashing, she shouts out to the man.]

What the fuck are you doing?! Stop!

[livingimpaired]

-- Kyrie eleison.

[ He doesn't halt; he doesn't relent. Even with the new presence screaming at him to stop, he can't until the chant is complete. If he ends it early, the worm will find a way to escape. The man is no more than a smear on the side of stone. Zouken is no more than chunks of meat that happened to get caught on the side of the wall. He flicks his fingers, splattering some of the matter onto the ground. ]

It seems as though you've come to see an unfortunate sight. [ Yet he seems extremely pleased with himself all the same. He steps forward to her, looking at how the gunk holds her in place. ] I see. You're just a visitor, then?

[argone]

Yeah, no shit Kei.

[Kara practically growls, tearing free of the muck with all her strength. Black ooze sprays everywhere, and when she steps free her foot slams down into the floor, cracking it.]

What the fuck did you beat that guy to death for? Aren't you a goddamn preacher?

[livingimpaired]

Kei? I'm afraid that you're mistaken.

[ His smile is irritatingly smug as he takes some piece of the old man's clothes up off the forest floor so that he could wipe his hands clean with it. ]

I'm a priest, but only in name. There is no one more fake than I am but to get into all of that... well, it's hardly what you're asking me, is it? [ The cloth is discarded quickly, like it is something disgusting rather than what he wiped off onto it is. ]

He decided to have me be his enemy. That is all.

B-2

[beneathmoonlight]

[Atsushi doesn’t know where he is or how he got there, but he’s far too disturbed by the scene unfolding before him to care. A younger looking version of Kei holds a woman who has obviously passed away, covered in blood and unrecognizable. This must be some kind of dream...

Or rather, a nightmare. Atsushi’s voice trembles as he speaks.]

Shigaraki-san...? Is that you?

[livingimpaired]

Shigaraki.

[ His voice is raw from crying. He lifts his head to look toward the young man entering the small room. The entire area reeks of blood. A soft chuckle as he holds the woman close, like unwilling to give her up. ]

You're mistaken. You are and you are not. You're but a visitor in his memory. In this memory. [ His eyes close. Somehow, he seems more composed now that he realizes he is not alone. ] You get to speak to the man that's been haunting him. How lucky you are.

[beneathmoonlight]

Haunting?

[Could this be...Kei’s past self? But how could that be? Atsushi is so confused, but he’s also intrigued, and he takes just one step closer to the scene.]

Who are you?

[livingimpaired]

That's right.

[ He holds the woman close for a second longer before carefully setting the body back down on the floor. Looking away, he lifts her hands to place them over her chest in a pose not unlike if she were resting in a casket instead. ]

Kirei Kotomine. A record of him, anyway. [ A pause. ] And she is a woman I could not love. [ Why not get the elephant out of the room? ] She wanted to prove I could love her by ending her life. ... and what do you think of her incomprehensible reason?

The promised day....

[flametheif40]

[Al eventually get along to visiting the restaurant, after texting each other so much, recently, how could Al NOT come, after all...60% off, he enters with a smile when he sees Kirei]

A challenge? Let me guess...each tons of your super spicy ramen?

[livingimpaired]

You are correct.

[ He lifts his hand toward the Hall of Fame where there is a petite young miss sitting, looking proud, in the picture. ]

The task is to eat the spiciest mapo tofu that I have in under an hour. If you do so, you win five-hundred dollars and your own picture upon the wall. The entry fee, however, is fifty dollars. [ His tone sounds almost a little too cheerful as he explains the challenge to the young man. ]

[flametheif40]

[He thinks about it for a bit]

I think I will pass...how close to other people tend to beating it anyway?

[livingimpaired]

Not very.

[ Kei readily admits the failure of others. ]

It's quite a spicy dish. [ One that he speaks with extreme fondness and pride. ] Anyway, you're wanting something of ... weaker spice, is that right?

b3

[me_matey]

-The blackness felt like the ocean at night, cold and unforgiving, swallowing all of existence into its maw and not even chewing. No life, no light, could escape the absolute darkness of its depth, Satsuki choking and coughing, sputtering out more black before it finally, mercifully pulled itself away...

That man... He looked, vaguely, like Kei, but much younger. Satsuki had to take a moment to gather her senses back up from the dark deluge that had just consumed her, to even pinpoint that much. In fact, by the time she realized what was happening, the other man was already screaming. She reached for... reached for what? She never reached for weapons before. There was nothing to be had anyways. Emptiness...

So she did what came naturally, dashing forward as soon as she was at her feet, and raising her arm. Kei stood well tall enough over her that there was no way she was going to reach his neck or head, but a clothesline to the chest, particularly with her monstrous strength being reined in by nothing, would be enough to throw him away from his... target? victim? She didn't fully understand.

But she intended to find out.-

What the hell is going on here?! -She screamed, her clothesline arm aimed at Kei's chest.-

[livingimpaired]

[ As she dashes forward, he changes his position -- snapping his leg out aimed at her own. He does, of course, end up taking the arm to the chest but his own are up crossed over where it would have hit. He moves back some in the process, but doesn't completely lose his balance. ]

It seems I'm dealing with a rushing boar is what is going on. [ He shakes his arm at the side, feeling some numbness at having taken the hit. But his body has been trained and beaten and broken to be the weapon of the Church. Kirei can only also thank that he still has armor underneath his cassock, but that doesn't mean he doesn't already feel the bruises building. ]

What are you attempting to do, visitor? Can't you see -- ah, well, I suppose his healing is about as far as it needs to go anyway. [ So he says as he looks toward the unconscious Kariya. ]

[me_matey]

I should ask you the same thing!! You call that healing? Just a moment ago you were holding blades out over this guy! -Satsuki defiantly planted her feet, keeping her stance low as she stood over Kariya.-

let's go with........... B3

[idolworship]

( what had he hoped to accomplish? he doesn't know, really; he wasn't here by choice— at least, he doesn't think he is. but with kei there's always a little bit of a riddle, a second meaning meant, and so . . . it's something to chew on, when he isn't drowning, strangled in muck. he has a concern or two about your subconscious, kei.

stumbling forward some steps he finds himself in the alley, the wet gasping of a dying man sending chills through his skin before he even recognizes that this man was burnt and left for dying; it is the body's nature to repel all of death's reminders. he's set to look away as he sees a young man - in the image of someone familiar - approach with his knives, and miai can guess his intentions.

what he doesn't expect is the screams, and miai flinches sharply, alarmed. )

—You're hurting him— You've got to stop!

( or, in his panic, he assumes. the soft green light seems gentle, but the burnt man's screams are. not quite the most positive of reviews. )

[livingimpaired]

[ Kirei lifts his head up at the exclamation about how he has to stop. His eyes, briefly alight with fascination, dull as they fixate on the young man's panicked face. He tilts his head slightly as the green glow slowly fades. Kariya turns his head to cough up a final pile of worms and blood. ]

You are right. [ His tone seems far away, almost disconnected from what he is doing. Turning his hand over, he looks at his palm. ] It is hurting him. It will hurt him far more than even I can ... keeping him alive is not a positive. For him or for me.

[ So he readily admits. ] Yet I don't think stopping is possible.

[idolworship]

( miai visibly recoils at the blood and the wriggling worms, viscerally feeling he ought to heave— and just barely contains it.

and yet, despite his repulsion, he steps closer. (there is something about this, a part of him thinks like a coil in his stomach.) he comes just a few steps off from kirei by now, and uncomfortably close to the burnt man. his eyes turn away - then scatter across the sick image of the man - then to kirei, unnervingly impartial.

he hesitates before answering— his mouth at first opening to begin with something, but what he says in the end is something else entirely. )

Stopping what? Do you refer to the act of saving him ... or his act of living?

( because what he was going to say at first was "if you knew this would hurt him then why did you help him?"— which, normally, is a reasonable response, but— the alternative to helping him would've meant to let him die. his heart had skipped and stumbled some beats, his skin slightly colder knowing he had almost advocated for the death of a person, intentional or accidental.

but ... there is truth in this youth's words. alive as he is now, the man looks like he's in terrible pain. it's a truth that makes him almost more uncomfortable than the squelching sound of blood and worms vomited from a person's mouth still ringing clear in his head. )

a........ sprinkles some purity on this

[axeswing]

[ This definitely isn't the typical ramen shop that Christian is familiar with, but then again he didn't come with the thought that it was going to "normal". He's caught word of the shop from various people and his curiosity spikes; here he is, menu in hand, humming lightly to himself when the owner approaches. ]

Hey~ Hey~ [ With practiced cheerfulness, he tilts his head slightly to the side. ]

You know... I've been craving something super spicy, so what the hell? Let's do it.

[livingimpaired]

Really?

[ He does not sound so much surprised as pleased that the young man would agree to the challenge. There is dark excitement that suddenly fills the air as he leans forward, resting his arm on the counter as he looks carefully at Christian. ]

This is not a task to be taken lightly. Once it is agreed upon, none of us can go back on it. Are you certain that you're ready? [ What would the joy of setting someone up for a challenge if he did not also build up the challenge itself a little?

His expression loses some of its intensity as he adds: ] Also, I wonder how you have been getting along. Hopefully well, with your uh, adorable girlfriend. [ Not that he has met Christian's girlfriend, but, well, even he knows one should compliment one's significant other in some way. ]

[axeswing]

[ did he just sign his death wish ]

I mean... what’s the worst that could happen? I die? I’ve got an iron stomach! [ He says with practiced enthusiam, as if he were in an interview rather than a suspicious ramen shop with an even more eccentric owner. Though it’s in the back of his mind that he questions just what he’s gotten himself into to receive a warning like that. It’s almost as if he’s planning to poison his plate.

Which wouldn’t be surprising.

But wait — ]

Girlfriend?

[ AU!AU Christian is confused... the last person he can remember dating (whom he would dotingly call adorable) is Jasmine and well... ]

We broke up.