techalaniani. [cw: dr...ugs...]

[fursuit]

[ It’s about two weeks after the chaos that’s hit Highstorm and Springstar both. The dust has had time to settle and people have started to pick themselves back up. And in that busy time, the Shard-Bearers of Kenos are touched by someone new. It’s a mind that gives the impression of vastness in the way that other gods and similarly supernatural creatures have. There’s dark, fragrant smoke of copal, and the humid heat of a rainforest. It probably feels faintly familiar to some, since there’s just a hint of that warmth that feels similar to a certain sun god(dess)…

But as it focuses, that warmth seems to be coming from a campfire, perhaps oddly. The logs around it offer you a “seat”, whether proverbial or not, and it’s only if you take one that the speak themselves will come into more focus. But the introduction that comes with it is much cooler (in both senses of the word) than the bubbly Quetzalcoatl. ]

Yo.

[ …Is that how the newest god is greeting the masses? Yep. Apparently so. ]

I talked to enough people when Kenos was jerking me around [ no, that was me, the player, ] that Communion is just more efficient. So, for those I’ve met and for those I haven’t, consider this a more formal greeting. You’ve removed my brother Quetzalcoatl and allowed me to descend in his stead.

[ And even though he’s identified Quetzalcoatl as his brother… The smirk in that statement is unmistakable. He’s pleased that Quetzalcoatl is dead. For those that know the mythology of the Aztec pantheon even faintly, this wouldn’t be a surprise at all, since Quetzalcoatl only has one enemy that would be glad to see the feathered serpent fall. ]

Name’s Tezcatlipoca. Tloque nahuaque. [ The Nahuatl is spoken with a sense of power that’s subtle, but still raw, even though there’s no one that would understand it. Still, it conveys the idea well enough—this is no minor god of that pantheon. ] If you know me, great, and if you don’t, well. Met your god Set one of the times I was stoppin’ by, and our whole deal is similar enough. I am conflict, so in the spirit of fairness, I’ve thrown my lot in with Zenith. Can’t have two gods that oversee war and conflict on the same side, yeah?

[ There’s humor in his tone that makes it seem like it’s a joke, but… No. It’s not. That’s a pretty significant part of his rationale for picking Zenith. Thanks Set!/Don’t worry about. ]

Anyways. All that formal shit aside, easy one to follow it all up. Ain’t often that I got a human body to enjoy getting fucked up. So, if you’ve got a preference for weed, hit me up. Workin’ on somethin’ artisanal there, but I wanna know the poisons of preference for the locals. Let me know what you get fucked up on, and I might even make it worth your while.

[ …So. You know. That’s one way to introduce yourself. ]

Comments

[kaientai]

It's true; if I'd asked Yima to find a good friend of mine, the three of us might've retired on a beach somewhere someday.

[ Ryouma doesn't mind the comment at all; this is hardly the first time he'd thought about it, so it really is funny.

He does brighten immediately at the mention of Chaldea, however, which likely answers the question before he can speak. ]

Yup! That's where we were before ending up here!

[ It's a shame to have missed out on knowing Quetzalcoatl, but Ryouma is still just as pleased to meet another Servant from his world if only for the time it saves him in having to explain himself. ]

[fursuit]

Ha. You're a trustin' guy.

[ Tezcatlipoca laughs, and while it's not harsh, it's also not totally friendly either... He grins just a little bit, though it's only enough to show the tips of some of his more feline fangs. He leans forward, propping his elbows on his knees. ]

I'll start off by sayin' that it's none of my business anymore. The world's gone, so no need to fight old battles. Hell, technically speaking, I don't really give much of a shit without my Master to tell me otherwise. So, no need to worry. Just feel like I should be clear.

[ He nods and lifts his hand to gesture towards Ryoma with two fingers. Maybe it's a little salute, or maybe it's like a gun. It's not clear. ]

But Chaldea was my enemy. Daybit Sem Void is my master. [ The tenses he chooses between those two statements is probably curious, but he doesn't leave room for it to be questioned. ] Hell, I assumed you were all on your way after wiping out Britain's Lostbelt. Only one left, and it's mine.

[kaientai]

Is that why you decided to be so honest?

[ There was always the possibility someone might get summoned here who might consider him an enemy because timelines are funny like that. The curious part is how he knows it would've been just as easy to say nothing, especially given his own decision to not be entirely forthcoming, but that's less of a trust issue and more that he doesn't think it matters anymore.

Either way, Ryouma recognises the ambiguity in that laugh and that smile, even as he shifts into a more comfortable position where he's sitting, straightening his legs out and crossing his ankles. ]

You're a little in my future if yours is the last one, but I'm sure it was only a matter of time. I figured we'd be too busy dealing with the fate of everything to worry about any potential past issues for the time being, but it's good to know we only need to be enemies because you decided to spread out the war gods.

[fursuit]

Ha, well, spoilers, in that case! Can at least give you the fun of knowin’ everything goes nice n’ peachy up until when I got yanked here. More or less.

[ It might sound like an ominous “more or less” but it’s not really how he means it. It’s just the nature of what Chaldea is wanting to do. He hates their struggle and finds it a loathsome excuse for a war because of its lack of casualties (something that he was personally planning to tip the scales on), but that isn’t to say it isn’t without difficulty. Everything they encounter is impossible odds. It’s why it annoys him a little that they keep winning.

(…But he also knows the truth of what it is they’re fighting for. Luck will always balance out in the end, he knows.)

He grins toothily, and it’s an odd mix of feeling behind it. On one hand, it’s friendly. Tezcatlipoca is a people-person who just likes meeting interesting people. But on the other, there’s bloodthirst, because if they’re enemies, that means fighting a Servant eventually, and they’re much more fun to fight than the Deinos ever were. Even just with playful spars with Tlaloc, that had been clear. The other Servants of the Lostbelt couldn’t identify him as such, so he had never fought them. ]

But yeah. Meridian wouldn’t exactly make much sense for me either, so consider Set and I’s agreement a convenient formality, since I would’ve picked Zenith anyways. Hell, I’d thank Oblivion for getting the job Daybit and I were workin’ on done quicker. Easier too!

[kaientai]

Oh? Well, that's good! I don't actually expect things to stay very quiet in that time, though, because you'd be surprised at the chaos everyone gets up to almost constantly.

[ Not that that is something he's complaining about; it really was the most exciting job he'd had in a very long time, and he cares about many of those chaotic people. He and Oryou had been given a home there and had promised to protect the Master of Chaldea for reasons beyond what the job calls for. They'd been through a lot together.

He sighs quietly, his smile still friendly but a little tired. A fight in the future seems inevitable now that he understands what Tezca is after, but he intends to cross that bridge when they come to it. ]

In that case, I suppose it's only fair I mention the other way I'm not a standard Servant. I worked with Chaldea because our goals aligned, but I usually can't be summoned like a regular Heroic Spirit since the Counter Force sends me where I need to be.

So, I get why you'd end up with Zenith. We can't change our nature, can we?

[ Somehow, despite his efforts to avoid approaching this problem from the position of a Guardian, that's exactly where he'd ended up anyway. ]

[fursuit]

[ There's a neutral sort of noise about the chaos, because... Yeah, he will be would. Chaldea itself is actually kind of a mystery to him beyond the basics. He didn't find that he needed to know anything else, which is good. Not like Daybit could tell him much.

But, when Ryouma mentions not being a normal Servant and why— Tezcatlipoca laughs. Maybe there's even some sympathy in the swirl of smoke, but its source is a strange one that he doesn't bother explaining. ]

Ha— That explains it. I thought it was your friend that was pinging my senses, but nah, it’s more the Counter Force. Pushy bastard, ain’t it?

[ He knows it well. Or as well as anyone can, since he at least has the Authority to pick a fight and argue with it, whereas most others can’t. There’s an argument he could have here… But he won’t. He’s not someone that justifies himself or his positions. There’s little reason to. ]

But, yeah, I get it, don’t worry. Won’t even have any hard feelings, since it ain’t like you can summon a Divine Spirit under normal circumstances either. It’s been a nice chance to stretch my legs.

[kaientai]

You have no idea.

[ The words sigh out of him like he'd been holding a breath too long, a cool rush of relief because someone finally gets it. Probably not in the same way, but that doesn't matter. Still counts. ]

And I get that feeling, too; I had a good month or so to do my own thing before it caught up to me, so be sure to enjoy it while it lasts.

[ That could probably be taken in a lot of ways, but he means it. ]

This might be our last chance, after all.

[ Being realistic means considering the possibility that they lose and everything ends. All anyone can do is live in the moment because death can come for anyone, at any time, as the one guarantee in the lives of everything. Nothing lasts forever, not even stars or planets, he'd learned. Maybe Oblivion works that way, too, in the cycles of things way above his pay grade, but as long as he exists, he'll fight to stop it from happening. ]

[fursuit]

More than you might think. Tried to give me a hard time when Daybit summoned me, but luckily, I got the Authority to tell it to go fuck itself. [ Tezcatlipoca laughs, but it’s a little closer to a cackle… ] Well, enjoy your vacation while you got it. I get that you gotta go Meridian ‘cause of that, but, hey. Zenith comes out on top? You get a win just for that in my book.

[ He doesn’t understand the Counter Force in the same way Ryouma does, of course. The way it interacted with (contracted with—) humans was simply different from the sort of coexistence it had with Divine Spirits. It superseded them in a few ways, sure… But at least back in the day, they held much more of the power.

His grin stays in place, but his gaze is fairly intense, even in Communion. Tezcatlipoca is seemingly friendly and talkative, but there is an edge there. He’s a contradictory sort of god, after all. He can been friendly now without a problem. He’ll be ruthless later. To him, there’s no problem with that—if anything, it’s all the better, because it’s more likely to drive conflict. ]

I enjoy all my time, so no need to worry about that. Ain’t nobody that knows about the end of worlds better than me, after all. It's kinda my pantheon's thing, at least so far as what's gotten famous about it.