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Entry tags:
- arknights: gavial,
- culture (the): demeisen,
- enderal: jade the prophetess,
- ennead: set,
- expanse (the): amos burton,
- fate/: flat escardos,
- fate/: sakamoto ryouma,
- fate/: tezcatlipoca,
- legend of zelda (the): link,
- life is strange: chloe price,
- practical guide to evil: akua sahelian,
- pumpkin scissors: alice l. malvin,
- suikoden: yuber,
- zone-00: kiritsubo
techalaniani. [cw: dr...ugs...]
[ 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. ]
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. ]
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[ dial-up modem sounds ]
Why would anyone prefer weeds? Aren't farmers always trying to pull them out? They get in the way of the plants you're trying to grow.
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Ha, no, it's just slang for a type of drug. You smoke it and it gives you a real nice, chill buzz. A personal favorite of mine after tobacco is all, since it ain't gonna make your heart stop or nastier things like that.
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I've never heard of it. It's something from your world, then...?
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[ ??? what the fuck does that mean tezca ]
If you're interested, it's pretty easy to find around here! Don't even have to go get all grimy in Kowloon for it. This one's street legal. I'm just bein' picky by wantin' to grow my own.
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[ Having no preconceptions about "weed,"Link can't help but be a little curious. It's valuable to know about useful plants and herbs, and this is one he's never heard about before. ]
Have you been to Greenwood Yards yet? That's probably the best place to try to grow something. They have glass buildings that they grow plants in, even during the winter.
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[ He considers it more, then laughs as he thinks of a good explanation. ]
Bein' drunk makes me want to think about nothing, but y'know, in a bad way, at least enough. Bein' high makes me want to think about everything. In a good way. That's just me though! Just like bein' drunk, it's different for everyone.
But, yep, got my little corner already selected in Greenwood! Perfect spot for it, since none of the places around here are ideal for it naturally. Could probably set up something in my closet too [ he doesn't literally mean a closet, though, that's just what he calls his Kowloon apartment ], but that's more work.
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[ There's a slight impression of Link being deep in thought as he considers all of that. He's been under the influence of a half-dozen potent plants and reagents before in the course of his travels in Hyrule, but none of them really qualify as recreational drugs — they fall under the medicinal category. He hadn't even really drank much alcohol until coming to Kenos, and even then, he hasn't had a drop since Xanadu... although with how much he drank at the resort island, he might've filled his quota for eight months anyway.
But why not? He likes trying new things. And what's the worst that could happen at this point, anyway. ]
Well... if I see you around, maybe you can show me sometime.
You said your name was... [ trying his very hardest to say it right: ] Tezcatlipoca? [ whew! mouthful! but he actually did a pretty good job pronouncing it. ] Are you really Quetzalcoatl's brother?
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Tezcatlipoca, yeah.
[ He repeats it mostly just so Link can hear it again, but it indeed isn't far off! His name is a bit easier to pronounce than Quetzalcoatl's, at least. ]
And I am. More or less. Gods don't exactly have lineage in the same way that mortals do, but it's easier shorthand to call us brothers. I'm definitely the eldest of our little family, though.
[ He snickers, like there's a joke in there, but he doesn't elaborate. It's not worth it, since the finer points of how their pantheon works would likely fly over Link's head. ]
Lemme guess. You liked her?
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Tezca's question causes Link's Communion to grow still and chilly. Gently, he says, ]
Most people did.
[ but he remembers what she said about her older brother... ]
Did you hate her?
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[ That cold just makes Tezcatlipoca laugh, but it's not in any joyous way. It's more a sound of acknowledgement. ]
Well, yeah. We both fuckin' hated each other. Ain't exactly gonna cry to find out my fated enemy is finally gone.
[ He states it simply, like it's something as obvious as the color of the sky. Which, for them, it essentially was. Their grudge goes back multiple worlds, and it's probably a matter of destiny more than emotion. They're opposites—Light and dark, life and death, white and black. But, that's nothing he offers. He doesn't feel a need to justify himself without being prompted. ]
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[ Link definitely isn't in a place to argue with him about it, whether he personally liked Quetzalcoatl or not. Their relationship as siblings has nothing to do with him; and even if he wanted to pass judgment, their status as gods makes it kinda impossible for him to do so. He wouldn't, and doesn't, presume to understand the deities in Kenos any more or less than he understands the Goddesses of Hyrule, who he's submissively worshipped and venerated for his entire life. ]
...You should know, at least, that a lot of people here loved her. [ he says, slowly. ] So... I don't know if it matters to you, whether you upset anyone when you talk about her, but...
[ He trails off, not wanting to sound like he's daring to give a god advice, even though that's sort of what he's doing. ]
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Yeah, I know. People always do. That’s always been Quetzalcoatl’s role.
[ …Okay, maybe not always-always, but close enough as far as any mortal would care. Yet, Tezcatlipoca doesn’t say this with any bitterness that might be expected of someone else, were these normal siblings. It simply is. Quetzalcoatl is light and wind, and so for that, of course people would love that god. ]
So, doesn’t matter to me, nope. But I hear ya, and don’t worry. This is all I’ll ever say about Quetzalcoatl. What’s done is done, and I had no role in it. Nothin’ for me to dwell on there.
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Well... it's a pleasure to meet you, sir. Quetzalcoatl told me about you once.
[ It didn't sound like she liked him very much either, which is why he wasn't terribly surprised or offended to hear Tezca feel the same way.
But — ]
Did you really make a sun that was black?
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...Huh. That bird brain went all the way back to that?
[ A rhetorical question, obviously. ]
Yeah, but you got one detail wrong. Didn't make the sun. I was the sun. I was the very first Sun of our creation, Nahui-Ocelotl. And I'll say that despite whatever Quetzalcoatl might have said, it wasn't a bad world. My people didn't need the sun, not as you know it, anyways.
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[ said very gently, hoping that it isn't going to make him angry. He's just recounting what Quetz told him! Really! That's all he has to go on. ]
N-Not that it's any of my business! You're gods, and from another world... and all of that happened a long time ago, right? I don't have much stake in who was right... I was just curious if it was true. It's a much different story from what's told in my world.
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[ Tezcatlipoca’s tone is very flat, but he doesn’t seem upset by it at all, or at least not at Link. In Communion, it’s clearer that this is a sense of mild exasperation. It’s exactly the kind of thing you might expect from an older brother talking about their younger sibling they find annoying. In some ways, the gods were very human, but their experiences were just larger, in a way. ]
It’s true, though, yeah, and it was a long time ago. That was the First Sun—the first world we created—and we were on the Fifth by the time we got here. That’s the last one, though. We always knew there wouldn’t be more than that. Didn’t have my bets on all this being why, though.
[ He clicks his tongue lightly, a soft tch, but it’s with a Communion-shrug. ]
At least you got some manners, unlike most of the fuckers here.
[ He just adds that as a little aside, as if to reassure Link that he’s fine. ]
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In my world, gods were to be respected. Not just the Golden Goddesses, but the lesser spirits and messengers too. It's only through their mercy that we continued to live...
[ And only through their whims that they were cursed to rise and fall over and over again, but. His own crisis of faith is not something he wants to get into right now. ]
I know we aren't in my world anymore, but... it doesn't feel right to me to treat gods any differently from before.
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Well, good. I’m givin’ people leniency since I figure they’re not under my dominion in the first place, unlike anyone from my world. Don’t know the history, don’t know that gods are to be respected, all that.
[ Actually, even the ones from his world have a smart mouth!! Rin!! But he laughs, half-joking as he continues. ]
They’re lucky that I don’t have my omniscience here in Kenos. That’s what usually freaks people out the most and humbles ‘em.
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Mmm. If you had that kind of power, you could just tell us all what's really going on in this world, huh.
[ He laughs a bit sadly. ]
That's too bad. I wish you could. Most of us have just accepted the way things are...
[ he thinks for a moment. ] Is that why you've decided to side with the Zenith? Because your world was going to end anyway?
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[ He doesn’t exactly miss his omniscience and omnipresence, since it’s really kind of a headache. But would it be useful, though? Hell yes. There’s no guarantee that he’d do anything with whatever he learned, of course, but it’s just more comforting for him personally to know. ]
But, yeah. Essentially. Set and I made an agreement for the sake of fairness, but I’m naturally inclined towards what Zenith wants to do, considerin’ how my world’s goin’. The particulars would make your head spin, so don’t worry about it, but humanity’s already been wiped out. By my count, there’s six, maybe seven of ‘em left.
[ There’s a Communion-shrug yet again. ]
It’d be cruel to bring it back. It’s only got a month before it’s obliterated anyways. So might as well place my bets on makin’ something new. Hell, I’ll be the best expert Zenith’s got for how that shit even works.
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The conversation is inching closer and closer to issues Link has been grappling with for a few months now. He hesitates, his humility making him question whether Tezca would care about any of that. ]
...that's how I feel about my world. I still want to save it, to be honest... but since coming to Kenos, I learned that it can't be done. I was with the Meridian until I found out.
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…Yeah. Shit luck, but that’s just how it is, sometimes.
[ He’s not totally correct, but has an impression of what Link’s world must be like for him to say something like that. The particulars are all wrong. But the nihilism that comes from learning about the inevitability of the cycle of worlds? Well… ]
Can’t tell you whether a world is or isn’t worth savin’. It’s never that simple. Always amounts to a matter of opinion in the end. [ Even with the sad state of his world, that was the case. There were still people trying to salvage what was left. ] You wanna create a new world? Or does the idea of returnin’ to yours just not seem like such a great idea anymore?
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[ He says firmly. Correcting him, respectfully. ]
The problem is it can't be saved. Not in a way that'll last.
[ Which answers his questions. Without a way to save his world, and not wanting to bring it back only for it's people to suffer forever endlessly... what's left but to make a new world? It isn't really what he wants, but unless he's willing to go home, it's the next best option. ]
...The most I can hope for now is that my friend and I can make a new life for ourselves in the next world. After she forgives me for not bringing back ours.
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[ His slightly jovial tone drops, and he’s finally completely serious. ]
Same for mine. I’d save it if I could. But on the big scale of things, I wouldn’t be buying it any time. A month? A hundred years? Doesn’t matter much. It’s doomed either way. Not even anything I can do about it—I just knew it was comin’.
[ There’s not any particular emotion with that, though, but maybe that’s not so strange. It’s clear that Tezcatlipoca views the world differently than most, and especially his world where he could see its possibility and its future… And that there wasn’t much left to it. ]
I admittedly ain’t sold on this whole Oracle thing for how it's done… But creating a new world? Yeah. That’s possible. And for plenty of people, something new is the best opportunity there is. Just because the worlds we come from were fucked doesn’t mean that we have to bring that forward with us.
[ …Well. Not for a long time, anyways. It's such a vast amount of time that he's sure that if that's what happens, only he and Set would be the ones to see it. ]
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That's the plan. Or, as much of a plan as there is at this point... I don't know if we have a very good idea, as a group, of what the new world is going to be like, but... I guess it's more important to focus on winning it first.
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