communion | stargazer-focused but ota

[semicharmed]

[ The psychic presence is tactile, first. Like a hand fumbling in the dark, knowing his fingers could brush up against someone at any moment and trying to avoid unwelcome contact.

Then: ]

Oh.

[ Or whatever passes for oh in Matt's mind. In this case, it's something like if a stray puff of air managed to light a candle, rather than extinguish it. The eureka moment is followed by a laugh, soda-fizz of endorphins that rises and feathers away. ]

Holy shit, you're right there, aren't you?

I mean--I think I can hear you.

Hello?

[ ooc: As noted here, Matt is reset! So if you knew him in AT, you are more than welcome to recognize him; he just won't remember you. PM or hit up artistformerlyknownas to ask questions or throw ideas around. :3 :3 :3 ]

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🫴 have my other stargazer

[muchalucha]

[ Right away, the mind that he connects to is one that’s just vast. It’s a large presence, larger than life, even, but it’s also incredibly warm. It’s a perfect summer’s day, a comforting hug, sunshine on bare skin, and bright. Somewhat overwhelmingly so, at least for some people! But that’s exactly what you’d expect from a god of light and life.

What might be a little more surprising is the immediate joy that comes with it too. There’s a little surprise from the fumbling aspect, sure, but Quetzalcoatl is always happy to talk to people! It’s as simple as that! ]

Oh, ¡hola!

[ She also likes to pepper in Spanish, so. Just roll over those words if you need a translation! ]

I’m kind of right here, yes! Well, I’m having lunch in Springstar, but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk! Communion is easy once you get used to it!

[ She's assuming he's new to it, at least! But she'd just bowl right through being wrong, honestly... She's simple... ]

[semicharmed]

[ Dato interesante: yo hablo español (más o menos), pero Matt solo habla idiomas muertos. Sin embargo, él sabe "hola." Although honestly, the mystery of what translates and what doesn't pales compared to this sense of endless warmth. Like an ocean made of golden light, boundless and buoying. ]

I'm sorry--I didn't mean to interrupt your lunch. [ Despite his apology, his mental voice carries a hint of amusement, delighted by the mix of mundane and preternatural. ] I'm not used to ... back home they would've called it telepathy. Mind to mind communication.

[muchalucha]

Oh, no pasa nada. I eat a really big lunch, so it takes a while!

[ She laughs lightly, but she is... not joking... Quetzalcoatl basically eats as much as she can every day, since she has to get the magical energy from somewhere. Food and sleep are the easiest! And there's the secret third option, but that one takes longer, so... Big meals it is. ]

But it's pretty new, right? Especially... Mm, you're a Stargazer, right? That means we're extra connected! So, that's a little weird to get used to for a lot of people, I think. I think it's nice!

barges in with a harbinger out of nowhere

[sterngaze]

[The presence isn’t that familiar, really. It’s more like a half-remembered dream, plucking some thought at the back of his mind, making the suggestion of itself known but refusing to come out into the light. Liem chases after it, bothered by something he can’t quite place, a sensation he doesn’t recognize, a sound he can’t quite hear.

He comes from the quiet dark like a fluttering moth, following that sound-that-isn’t-sound to alight with soft wings on that outstretched hand.

As it turns out, the source is familiar after all.]

. . . Matt?

[hauntedking]

...it takes some getting used to.

[ There's a laugh (or the sensation of it) and the warmth of sunshine, touched by the coolness of a mountain breeze. ]

Believe me, I found it quite disorienting.

[semicharmed]

[ Okay, cool that she's cool with talking, because Matt really doesn't want to hang up the phone right now. Both for the novelty of the communication and because ... well, who wouldn't want to fall asleep on a sunbeam? ]

It's definitely new in some ways, [ he agrees. ] But in others, it's almost familiar ...?

I think I like being connected to you.

[ Okay, that's the kind of line that normally his brain-to-mouth filter would take care of, but now his brain is his mouth, and ... oops. Matt's mental presence recedes abruptly, sort of like a hermit crab retreating into its little shell house. Not gone, just. Cloistered. ]

[muchalucha]

[ Oh... Cute!! She laughs, but it's with obvious affection, not only in her tone, but in a big way in those shared emotions. She's an open book when it comes to her feelings even without Communion, but it's not so conscious here how she lets that flow freely. ]

Ey, don't be shy, it's okay!! I like being connected to you too, yes!

[ She beckons him back in turn, like she's holding out both of her hands for him to take. In reality while she's chowing down at a restaurant, she's just kicking her feet happily. ]

It just takes getting used to! We can definitely just talk while you do. What's your name? You must have just gotten here, right?

harb! harb! harb!

[semicharmed]

[ After Matt throws out his psychic salutation, he waits. And listens. As he sits very still, letting his eyes close and his shoulders slump, trying to follow the directive to let them in, let them in ... he senses something. Light and soft as velvety wings.

It almost reminds him of his first kiss. Maybe because he can't remember what learning to talk felt like. It's familiar, unfamiliar, axis-tilting. Oh. That's what this is. ]

Hi.

[ The mental voice is a little sheepish. ]

I guess you know me too, huh?

[sterngaze]

[For those not connected to him by aspect, communing with Liem is always like this; soft and quiet, a whisper against your ear, a shadow behind a curtain. It feels austere, empty of clutter, of anything other than his quiet presence and his mellow voice.

If he is disappointed by Matt’s response, if he feels rebuffed by the lack of recognition, the frown of it doesn’t pass through the connection.

Only… he’s not sure how to respond in this situation. He hadn’t planned further than this when he’d reached out and touched a mind that felt familiar. Finally, he asks,] Do you not remember?

[semicharmed]

[ It's so interesting. Matt's communed with spirits before, be they ghosts or entities who were never native to the physical plane, but it didn't feel like this. He can't qualify what "like this" even is, but maybe ... tangible?

His own brightness is all amber warmth. But Matt, always fascinated by contrast, appreciates the hint of something cooler. He inclines gently towards the presence. ]

People used to be able to do this, where I come from. But I wasn't one of them unless I cast a spell-- [ Oh, he didn't strictly mean to let that slip through. ] --and the person I tried it with didn't like it much.

[hauntedking]

I wasn't much good with magic at home; I never took the time to learn. I didn't have the time, honestly. And... I don't know if anything we had could connect minds like this.

[ There's a huff of amusement. ]

It's difficult to shut off here, at times.

[semicharmed]

[ Matt's not sure if people can lie to each other through this type of connection. He doesn't think she's doing that, or like, patronizing him. And in any case, it's kind of her to make such welcoming overtures. He laughs too, a bit of fizz that spikes with nerves. ]

I appreciate the chance to get some practice. [ His psychic voice is more careful now, slightly over-enunciated. ] I did just get here, yeah, for some value of "just"--I know it's been a few days, but the transit time itself ... who knows.

I'm Matt. Who are you?

[semicharmed]

[ Ah. Here it is.

Ever since he started running into people who knew some other version of him, Matt's been waiting to disappoint them--either by not being that other person, or because of something that person had done. In this case, the sense of disappointment comes not through anything Liem says, or any emotions Matt can grok through their connection, but through the long pause. The absence of warmth. Amos had been so reassuring, right away; Sebastian didn't miss a beat; Silco ... hated him, evidently, but Matt feels confident calling him an outlier even at this early stage of their acquaintance. With so little to read in Liem's reaction, Matt's insecurities fill in the gaps.

That does come across, unfortunately. Matt's spent years holding in feelings around the dinner table, but in his own mind, he already is in. Still, he sounds gentle when he answers: ]

I'm sorry. I don't.

[ A beat later, he recognizes his own emotions, and breathes: slow, even, steady. He doesn't relax as easily as he might under less stressful circumstances, but some of the nerves fade from his psychic presence. ]

I don't think I am that person that you all knew. I mean, I guess there's a chance I've been floating through the cosmos with amnesia, but otherwise--it's my first time.

[muchalucha]

[ Some people can lie in Communion, but Quetzalcoatl is definitely not one of them. But, like. She can't even lie period. Or rather, when she does, it's so obviously a lie that it's endearingly pathetic, so... She wouldn't even try, really. ]

Then bienvenido from me to you, Matt! Kenos is— Ah, well, it's complicated, but I still like it! The people are very nice here, yes!

[ Though, the moment she says that, there's a thoughtful flicker. It's just a moment, but as an exception comes to mind, it's characterized as a splash of water. Yet, that water is oily and polluted. Silco definitely has a strong presence, especially when he tries to drown you in that fake water. ]

...Most people, anyways!

[ silco is an exception that should not be counted, et cetera ]

But I'm Quetzalcoatl! It's very nice to meet you!

takes matt to harby's (harbinger #2)

[wolfish]

[ There comes a fleeting hint of curiosity that gives way to the small, simple warmth of amusement. Though he'd heard that voice in-person, it's no less recognizable when it comes directly to his mind. ]

I'd wager you can hear me.

[ A mighty safe bet to make, at that. ]

So, how'd that recon go?

[sterngaze]

[Liem has to wonder—should he even be relieved about this? Does it make sense to feel relief that this version of Matt never had to endure what he went through in Horos, when that other version of him still unquestionably did? He doesn’t know. It’s probably a good thing for this Matt, though, even if it makes Liem feel a little out to sea to realize he doesn’t know who he is.

But, he supposes he can start simple.]

Then… welcome. And I’m sorry for your loss.

[semicharmed]

Most things that involve penetrating beyond the veil are difficult to shut off on one level or another, [ Matt breezes. All lights are green over here! He does pause, however, as his brain fumbles to form the right question. ] But magic was normal, where you're from? And anybody could learn it?

😀😀😀

[semicharmed]

Oh!

[ Yuri is officially the first person Matt's met outside of Communion and then recognized through Communion, which is fascinating! The moment of realization comes with a small spree of mental fireworks. ]

Yuri, hi! This is wild, I've never been able to communicate so seamlessly with people without, like, assistive technology of some kind. [ You mean a phone??? ] Umm, recon was. Enlightening. I think I might have some ideas I want to pursue.

[semicharmed]

[ Matt's already noticing different folds and textures to this type of communication. It's not body language per se, and it's not quite the impressions he gets when he communicates with spirits. But it feels real, and touchable. Matt follows the sensation of dirty water, but it's only a flicker; it leaves him with a sense of thick contamination.

... Anyway, all that falls by the wayside as soon as he hears her name. ]

Oh!

[ Matt's mindscape whirls with images, out of which he tries to pluck the right words: feathered serpent, a fluted pot with many branches, sun, blood, jaguar. Sweet-smelling smoke. He concludes: ]

Wow. It's really nice to meet you too. [ And then, fuck: ] Do I say I've met your brother ...?

[semicharmed]

[ A pause, filled with a psychic sigh: the impression of almost tropical regret. Warm and cold air currents mingling to an uncertain conclusion. ]

Thank you.

Although ... I suppose there's the potential that it doesn't have to stay a loss, right?

[ Sort of reassuring. But sort of not. Matt wonders if a clean, certain grief would be easier to deal with on some level. ]

[hauntedking]

Yes, quite normal. Not everyone had a natural talent for it, but there was an academy of magic in my capital - one of the most renowned in Fodlan, as a matter of fact. Several of my friends use it for various things - or did, rather.

[muchalucha]

[ She’s quickly excited at the imagery that comes to mind for Matt, because it means he knows her, and that’s not something she can expect anymore! That warmth gets a little brighter with her excitement, but as the imagery drifts into things like blood and jaguars, and then he asks that question… ]

What?! No—

[ It’s clearly not really an answer to his question so much as a general exclamation, and she both sounds and feels stricken by this.

…Also, there’s a few colorful Nahuatl curses before she continues. It’s fine. ]

You mean Tezcatlipoca, right!? Ugh. [ UGH!! ] I heard he was here before, but he came back?! I’ll shove him back into the dirt myself until he doesn’t come back up anymore at this rate!

[sterngaze]

Yes—you can return there, if we succeed.

[There’s no hesitation in this reply, at least. Even if Liem feels like he understands less and less what the conclusion of Kenos’s war will look like as he stays here, the one thing he has become more confident in over time (and as he’s harmonized further with Meridian) is that their worlds can be saved, somehow.]

But not until we manage to reach a resolution to this conflict. So until then, we all must contend with the absence in our own way.

[It seems strange to hear Matt voice even that hesitant, noncommittal optimism. Right from the first moment Liem had known him in Horos, he had always seemed so certain that there was no possible way back; only forward, leaving the ashes of all their worlds behind. But he attributes that to the Regent’s influence now, more than anything else.]

Have you been here long? You’re not still at the Tree, are you?

[semicharmed]

[ Oh, no. Matt's seized by twin regrets: one, that he's hurt and offended Quetzalcoatl, whose pain sears across their connection. (Fascinating: It feels bad!) And two, that he's betrayed Tezcatlipoca in some sense. Told tales out of school. ]

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, [ comes Matt's mental voice, faint. He flexes unfamiliar muscles as hard as he can, striving not to communicate that he thinks Tezcatlipoca's hot. ]

Um. He was nice to me, at least. I don't know if that helps.

[semicharmed]

[ From "we," Matt parses "Meridian," which is sort of weird. From what Amos said, he'd picked the Zenith end of things last time he'd been presented with a choice like this. And now that he thinks on it, everyone who's recognized him seems to have pledged for Zenith.

Matt replies first with a vague affirmation, halfway between yeah and the kind of pleasant hum he might make in person. Then he laughs, surprised. ]

Oh God, no. I mean, I love that Tree, but--not much there by way of ... things. Dug myself out a few days ago, and people helped me find my way to the islands. [ A slight pause. As he always is, Matt's wildly curious to know how other-him knew this guy. But he feels he should proceed with caution. ] I'd love to pick your brain a little, if you don't mind. Everyone who's been willing to share their perspective with me has been enlightening.