fursuit: (② pouhtiuh.)
tezcatlipoca. ([personal profile] fursuit) wrote in [community profile] kenoscomm2024-02-19 01:43 pm

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. ]
semicharmed: (elemental)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-02-26 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
[ Matt regards Tezcatlipoca with a look of sputtering betrayal. It's only slightly alleviated by the fact that Tezca's struggling too. ]

There's not a lot mortals won't do for a shot at getting drunk. [ God, his eyes are even watering. Matt rubs his tongue against the back of his teeth to try and dislodge some of the taste. ] We tried mouthwash as kids, which was ... I think a slight improvement on this.

[ The presence of raw meat makes taking another drink completely untenable. Absolute nonstarter. Matt considers his glass, then Tezca. And an idea unfurls slowly across his face. ]

Let's see. I can't change something's essential nature--I wouldn't want to. [ He flicks a smile Tezcatlipoca's way. In contrast to Tezca's bad-boy, danger-danger grin, Matt's smile is almost sweet. ] But I can be flexible.

[ Matt straightens up, letting his shoulders hang gently and the top of his head lift. He breathes. It doesn't take much: a slight stutter in his breath, a little pink in his cheeks. Golden light etches itself in the air in front of his mouth, his throat, taking the shape of a lotus with a central symbol. Sanskrit. The blossom deepens to an orange hue and disappears, as if he's just swallowed it.

Matt runs his tongue experimentally over his lips. Its movements are a little clumsy. ]


Not usually what I use this chakra for, [ he notes, enunciating with care. He lifts his glass for another tentative sip.

Then he takes a much longer pull, one that drains the glass by a third. ]
semicharmed: (faaaaaaace)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-02-26 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Matt returns Tezcatlipoca's regard curiously, without trepidation or challenge. He thinks about jungle creatures, about those rites where an elect few live as gods until the time comes to be sacrificed. It isn't until he hears cheater that he smiles, his eyebrows hiking playfully. ]

I'm not sure what a magic circuit is, [ he admits, still enunciating with care. Dulling his sense of taste in this blunt way dulls the feeling in his tongue in general. ] So I'd guess not. Let's see ...

[ --Okay, squeamish Matt is not, but between the first horrid sip of this drink and the squish of raw meat in sharp teeth, he needs a moment to be sure he won't be sick. Fortunately, dampening his sense of taste seems to affect smell too. ]

Ah. Well it's based on breath, ultimately. Hinduism calls it prana, like--the concept that the most basic unit of life, of the soul, is expressed and flows through breath. Other traditions might focus on blood, [ whose could those be?? ] but to me--you carry oxygen through your blood, so it's a different route to the same destination. [ He takes another blessedly flavorless swallow of his drink. This spell was such a small thing it's sure not to last long, and Matt wants to finish this before he's reminded what it tastes like. ] My route into magic is to breathe, meditate on an outcome, and channel energy through my body.

[ He smiles. ]

You know. Basically.
semicharmed: (are you flirting? (because I am))

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-02-27 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
Well, there's definitely limits to what I can channel just by myself, [ Matt notes. He takes another gulp from his glass. He feels a tinge warmer, but he's not sure if it's hitting him yet or if the feeling is psychosomatic. ] Or even with a partner. But none of that's finite--I don't know if that's what you mean about the circuits.

[ Matt can't help a charmed smile at being called a believer ... or close to one, at least. Touched. ]

I don't think I'd be able to fully explain my perspective. But ever since I figured out I could do magic, I felt connected to this bigger force. It felt so big, and so ... specific, or intricate, and alive ... that I think connecting that force to deities with names and personalities just made sense to me.

[ And yet, Matt's not offering to cast his taste-dulling spell on Tezca's tongue. The secret to that might lie in his expression as he watches him debate his next sip: whimsical, drifting towards what you might call impish. ]
semicharmed: (Default)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-02-27 05:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ Matt bursts into a laugh, surrendering the tongs that Merc forgot about without struggle. For a moment, he's seriously tempted to say something like, "If you ask me really nicely, I could cast it on you too." He can almost feel the words taking shape on his tongue.

But something tells him he should hold off. At least until he has a better sense for how Tezcatlipoca takes that sort of teasing. ]


Sorry, sorry, [ he says cheerfully. And un-sorrily. ] I promise, the next thing you tell me to put in my mouth, I won't cheat about it.

[ A dangerous blank check, Matthew Jamison! But he doesn't spend any time reflecting on that. He can tell by how easily that last line came out that he truly doesn't have much time left on this spell, so he tosses back the rest of his drink with one long swallow. ]
semicharmed: (NERRRRD)

cw: a bit of gory imagery

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-02-28 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ The truly tragic part of this is that insofar as Matt expected any reaction, he kinda thought Tezca might dare him to take a bite of raw meat. (Or to drive the tongs through his tongue.) So when he laughs this time, he at least has the good grace to look embarrassed.

For a moment, at least. He's starting to feel too warm to let his faux pas keep him down for long. Matt focuses on the meat he's holding over the grill. His sense of smell is only gradually returning, so he has to judge it by sight, but once he spots the first hints of char, he removes it and offers it to Tezcatlipoca. ]


I'm not that hungry, [ he explains. It may have something to do with the fetid vinegar taste that's started to haunt the back of his throat. ]
semicharmed: (think about that one)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-02-28 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, it's absolutely the Braindance, [ Matt says with a cheerful grimace. He considers the raw meat a moment, then Tezcatlipoca. ] I don't know, though, I guess ...

A lot of cultures use animal products in ways that I don't find very savory when you break them down. Mine loves processing them past the point of recognition. And I know a lot of werewolves prefer raw meat to cooked, even when they're not shifted.

[ A momentary pause, the feeling of a missed stair. Matt never knows what tense to use when he talks about home. He wishes English had a hypothetical, or a both-at-once. ]
semicharmed: (dude with a tie)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-02-29 04:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ Matt smiles faintly, in appreciation and elucidation both. His reading into Mesoamerican traditions isn't as thorough as some of the self-directed research he's done. And besides, there's no guarantee that what he's read is accurate--accurate to this version of Tezcatlipoca, at the very least. ]

Sure, [ Matt agrees with a nod. ] That makes sense to me. Symbol-sense. [ His lips quirk. ] There's always something metaphorical about magic, the way I practice it. You know, like ... you draw a magic symbol, and that's a metaphor for a piece of the world, which is a metaphor for heaven. The broader universe. Left-hand tantra has kind of a longstanding debate about whether you really eat the meat and fish, drink the wine, and have the sex, or whether it's just a metaphor. [ Matt makes a spinning gesture with his index and middle fingers. ] A metaphor inside a metaphor, I guess.
semicharmed: (talking shop)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-02-29 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Ugh, right! [ Matt exclaims, for the question. It has the timbre of something he's asked himself many a time, and actually, he does have an answer. Or a root network of hypotheses, possibly including a couple spiders. But before he can expound on any of them, Tezca goes on, and Matt has to admit he makes a good point. This is the kind of conversation built for late-night highs, substance-enabled or otherwise. ]

Sure, sure, [ he agrees with a grin. And he salutes Tezca with his empty glass. ] Everything in its time.

[ It's much later by the time Matt recalls the thread of cosmogony, back out on the cramped, labyrinth streets. In his mind, past, present, and future are all threads in the same tapestry, so it doesn't feel like a non-sequitur when he notes: ] I tend to think a lot of different and contradictory things have happened simultaneously. Like, there was a Big Bang, and you did sacrifice your leg, and a lotus grew out of Vishnu's navel--

[ "Navel" feels funny when he says it, but "bellybutton" is nowhere near dignified enough for Lord Vishnu. Maybe Krishna could make it work. ]

--And also, they're all stories negotiated through generations of mortal society.
semicharmed: (I like you)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-02-29 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's not the first eclectic tangent from Matt this evening. The most notable was probably the one he went on at the strip club, which involved it's so humbling to be reminded of just how broad the spectrum is for body patterns, ways of taking shape ... it's beautiful. One might reasonably think he just gets maudlin when he's had a few, except Matt is always like this. Ready to spout poetry over the origins of the universe and strangers' genitals alike.

For now, he beams back in the face of Tezca's laughter. He feels gloriously unselfconscious, like he's walking on air. Some of that air is made of scattered trash, and that's okay by him. Matt doesn't rely on drugs and alcohol to take him out of his head (most of the time), but he can appreciate their powers in that regard. ]


Even the embodied presence of gods isn't really a guarantee, [ he points out. He's gotten a bit overheated himself, in the course of the evening, and a few of his shirt buttons have come undone. ] I can talk to a human person and misinterpret what they say, so you being here doesn't mean I'll understand you unless I know how to listen.

... It probably is easier than not having you here, though. Easier.
semicharmed: (faaaaaaace)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-02-29 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Matt continues to find Kowloon fascinating, if not always aesthetically pleasing. The sheer number of apartments they've crammed into such a small geographical area is a masterclass in housing density. It's honestly hard to tell the difference between street and building, at the edges; it all bleeds together into one swelling, rickety puzzle-box.

Probably not safe. But these days, what is?

Waxing poetic isn't something Matt does just when he's been indulging. But something that is a little more exclusive to that realm: When Tezcatlipoca says he's "pretty sure" they're headed the right way, Matt says oooh. He pumps a fist in the air as he fumbles key into lock. And at Tezca's showy gesture--

Rainbow-colored sparks shower down on them like intangible confetti. ]


Yesss, [ Matt exclaims as he slips inside. He peers around the place, which is honestly not much smaller than his student apartment back home. It's also way tidier. ] I have to admit, I wasn't sure we'd make it.

[ He's about to start the considerable task of unlacing his boots when he notices Tezcatlipoca struggling a bit. He steps closer, reaching out to tap gently at his fingers. ]

Can I help?
semicharmed: (034)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-01 04:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Matt catches the look, insofar as he waits until he's given a clear yes before encroaching any further. But he's not sure what it means; a moment later, he forgets it entirely as he absorbs himself in the matter of buckles and straps.

He chuckles, hmm, for Tezca's remark about the comparative ease of putting this thing on versus taking it off. His fingers move slowly over the straps across Tezca's back. Half because he presumes this gun is loaded and doesn't want it to hit the floor and go off. Half because he wants to triple check that his body is where he thinks it is. The downside of drugs and alcohol is that sometimes they push him away from a sense of embodiment, rather than into it. ]


Oh, [ he says, at the question. ] Ah, yeah. Picked during the attack in Springstar.

[ He coaxes one strap free of its buckle, hanging onto it for a moment to make sure nothing's going to fall. ]

You know how it is ... people in trouble, all I have is magic, there's only one way I know of to get to the magic ... so Zenith it is.
semicharmed: (084)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-01 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ With a smile: ] Yeah--guess we are.

[ The set of Matt's shoulders goes a little bit easier when Tezcatlipoca takes the gun in hand. He's holding more tension than he realized. Talk of Factions tends to stress him out more now than it did before he harmonized--though of course, circumstances have changed since then. He sighs out, reminding himself to breathe deeply. Cleansing breaths that taste faintly of copal.

And, for the second question: ]


No. [ Matt buys time fiddling over the straps, though they aren't truly that complicated. They're unfamiliar to him, and he's a teensy bit crossfaded, but that's all there really is to it. ] I haven't asked for anything.

[ With the gun safely out of the way, Matt unhooks the last buckle. He stays close, but waits for Tezcatlipoca to move to get a sense for where it'd be most helpful to nudge the straps. ]

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