open to all | questions and apologies

[tresemme]

[ if you’re lucky, you’ve never heard this voice before. if you have, you’ll probably notice that he seems considerably less grouchy than he did making his greeting rounds in springstar and highstorm. tony has had time to settle in, and more importantly, he’s made some big decisions about what side he wants to support here.

…for now, at least, which is the quiet motivation behind his demanding communion. he seems utterly at home invading people’s minds, and there’s the sense of him stretching out like he’s been here the whole time and was just waiting for you to get home. ]

People here are from all different worlds, right?

[ rhetorical question, and he continues. ]

I want to hear from whoever’s been to Terra. The third planet in the Sol System. I know some of you call it Earth—the fact that you have a name for it means that you know about it. [ a pause. ] I’ll torture the knowledge out of you if I have to, but it’s easier for everyone if you just cough it up.

[ that seems to be the end of that, unless you’re a zenite, to which he then narrows his focus. ]

…sorry if you heard me say I want all the humans to die. I know we have to work together.

Comments

[corvidant]

[ Whether it's through Communion or maybe a shared wall -- hello, Zenith headquarters -- Tony can very likely hear Akechi's laugh from the other side, maniacal and unbound, but in genuine fun no matter how messed up. Ah, how he missed this. ]

Enjoying it? It's my special gift to you!

[ But once his fits of GLORIOUS PSYCHOTIC JOY begin to subside and his presence grows red as infernal flames, his voice drops to a hiss. ]

Next time, think carefully before threatening your own allies. Others may not be so merciful.

[ ... actually from what he's heard, Meris are the biggest crazies but the warning stands. ]

[cutlery]

Oh, really? How odd...

[ It's just odd to think of people having the ability to come and go, really, at least unless it's how he does. Demons and other travelers between realms are cheating a bit, so physically doing so is just strange to think about. It's not beyond his understanding thanks to a year in Kenos, but it's still relatively new. ]

Well, I am a visitor to Earth myself, technically speaking. I suppose it depends on what you want from the place, but I have never found it lacking.

[kaientai]

Yup! Steamships were still new to my country when I was coming up, so no one could imagine flying through the air, let alone travelling in space back then.

But it was only a hundred years later that humans got to the moon!

[ he can't contain his glowing adoration for humanity even though he's seen the worst of it in his time. ]

I think that's pretty incredible stuff.

[youngprodigy]

Aye, they can.

[Though it's obvious from tone and the general vibe he gives off in communion that he doesn't believe anyone will.]

[annmorous]

No, it's not! Just ask people next time. Ever heard of the saying about catching more flies with honey?

[annmorous]

Someone had to.

[redsoil]

My, you are confident for a nobody. It is dangerous to think so highly of yourself in a place where your worth begins only when you pick a side.

[ A low laugh, carrying from the head that tosses back wildly. In the join of their minds, Set prods his massive finger against the core of Tony's sense of self, tickling at his mental shape. ]

Come to the Coliseum, in Springstar and I will make you cry and bury you back in the grave you crawled from. But, that is not what you wanted from me. Word of 'Earth', yes? What would you like to know about it?

[clockpunk]

It wasn't even a good evil speech. Two out of ten, needed more flair.

[escardos]

[ yaaaay! flat beams upon hearing about this and, even if it's not visible, perhaps tony can still feel it, as flat makes absolutely no effort in hiding his enthusiasm. ]

Of course! You didn't look like you had wings when we first saw each other, so if you're able to do all of that then you're definitely different on the inside. I can't wait to meet up again!

[ it would be a great study, he thinks! and what are friends for if not to use them for the occasional research study? ]

Oh, how did the torture threat go? Did people take it well?

[epiprocta]

[ He's rolling his eyes so fucking hard at the 'we'll be here all day' bit, but -- damn, kind of disappointing that this guy actually sounds like he might be useful, if he's not just lying out of his ass. ]

Is that the kinda shit you were talking about when you threatened to torture everyone here for fun?

[lockedon]

[ There's an automatic shake of his head before he remembers this is Communion. ]

Not until I arrived here. There was no easy way of leaving the skydoms while I was there. [ .... ] Is that different for you?

[ Do people from other worlds have easy access to intergalatic transportation?? ]

[wolof]

I'm Praesi.

[ As if that explains everything. ]

You can't threaten torture and then expect some of us to be curious what kind of torture you mean, dearest.

[zauneyete]

Am I?

[ He asked, his tone in communion smooth, and placid. It's like being drowned by still, cold water, where there's no movement, no life. Like something still, and too-slick like it's polluted. Silco's impression in communion is not pleasant, but it's not expected to be. ]

Or perhaps I'm only pointing out what we're all thinking. Is this one of the consequences of your own actions? Some of us do not enjoy being told we are inferior.

[tresemme]

No, I haven’t!

[ he hates it when people know more than him, which is woefully often, considering his life. ]

Whatever. I don’t care. What do you know about Terra?

[tresemme]

[ tony’s inner world is so small. even if set weren’t a god with all the vastness that contains, tony has only experienced so much—there is no denying he’s the strongest force in the galaxy from which he hails, but things are different here in a way tony has yet to comprehend. ]

…

[ he refuses to be rattled by set’s words; and indeed, the words aren’t what bother him. it’s the shadow set casts, how it feels like he covers all of what tony is. ]

Tch. I just want to know what it’s like. The coordinates, if you have them, but I guess that’s impossible here.

[tresemme]

[ tony can hear it, echoing twice in both his mind and the real world, and he responds without intending to in the form of the electric lights on the floor dimming and brightening in a burst before settling back to normal.

he could probably seek akechi out his psychic scent, but he’s rattled enough to not want to leave his room. this, he didn’t expect. he’s never faced the hatred a human might have for a mu, even knowing it exists, and he could have never anticipated a human—is he human?—having a way to retaliate. ]

Watch your back.

[ lesson… not necessarily learned, but a new grudge has been formed. ]

[tresemme]

[ he says it so matter-of-factly that it sort of gets on tony’s nerves… but everything was already on tony’s nerves, so this is nothing new. ]

Fine, whatever. But there’s none on “Earth,” so I don’t care what any other worlds can do.

[tresemme]

Are you kidding?

[ now tony knows flat must be making fun of him, and even if he isn’t, tony feels strongly enough about it that there’s a defensive posture between them even through communion.

even so, it’s a sign that he doesn’t hate flat that he complains instead of taking it out on him. ]

Everyone’s acting like it was a weird thing to say, but how was I supposed to know Terra’s not a secret here?

[tresemme]

I don’t know what that is.

[ of course, he can guess, but he hates to be talked to like there are things he should know. ]

[clockpunk]

Hah.

[ you can just feel the sheer exasperation here. ]

Sure. Well, "Terra" is nice. Was nice, I guess.

[tresemme]

[ unfortunately for gen, he’s not lying—and because he’s just talking about it, he’s proudly certain that he could fulfill these wicked promises when push comes to shove. ]

It wasn’t for fun. You’re all just lucky that it turns out I don’t need to.

[ he’s wondered, at times, if he’s unique even among the other children of nazca. his brethren seem so young to him, and their idle talk of mutiny just sounds like childish giggling. tony feels—worries, maybe—that he’s the only one who actually has thoughts like he’s voiced today. even the responses he’s received here, in his mind…

not everyone, but enough people are acting like he’s crazy that he’s inclined to think the problem is his after all. ]

[baltimores]

[ ... Okay, now Amos is a little confused at Tony's confusion. A beat before he resumes trucking along. ]

Means I grew up in a shithole. You know, crime everywhere, people hungry and not knowing how to get by... that kind of thing.

[ That should do it?? ]

[tresemme]

[ ???

of course, he understands the words. it’s not that people suffering is that foreign a concept to him, and once amos describes his childhood, tony has a clearer picture of what “the slums” might be. it still doesn’t exist, and he’s never personally experienced it, but now his confusion has taken a different turn. ]

That doesn’t sound much like a Sacred Land to me.

[ in fact, that rather sounds like it sucks. ]

[tresemme]

Yeah.

[ simple, casual. sorry that you losers can’t space travel. ]

I mean, it’s too far for one person to fly, but as long as you have a decent ship, you can go anywhere. Space is pretty vast, though.

[baltimores]

[ Aaaand Amos' confusion is back. ]

Never said it was a sacred land. Fuck, there definitely wasn't anything sacred about where I grew up.

[ kid where did you even get that one from ]