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: (new development)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-02 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
Hey, hey, there is no problem with my hands, [ Matt protests. A beat. ] There's no problem with any of my magic. It's just that not all of it has the same level of practice attached.

[ He gently sweeps aside one section of Tezcatlipoca's long spill of hair, careful not to tug on it while he's being so gracious about Matt's shoes. More getting a sense for its weight and thickness. ]

You're in luck, [ he murmurs. ] My big sister made me learn how to braid hair when we were little. I got pretty good.

[ And honestly, it served him well in high school and college. You'd think it would've veered too "gay best friend" for girls to find attractive, but not all the time! But anyway, it takes Matt a moment to reroute. ]

I don't think I'm afraid of change, [ he says, after a moment of tracing the conversation back. ] I mean ... I told Gavial if it were up to me and I knew it wouldn't hurt anyone, I'd always want to make something new. Take a chance, see something that's never been seen before.
semicharmed: (I'm onto you)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-03 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ Hmmm, Matt retorts, amused, for "crossfaded." It's hard to work up too much indignation when they're so close together, forming this little pretzel of undressing and tending-to. He finds a few tangles in Tezcatlipoca's hair and works them smooth again. His fingers move dreamily, rather than clumsily, which means that though he's slow, he manages to do his untangling without tugging or causing more split ends. ]

I don't know if the change is worth it, [ Matt muses. ] There's a part of me that thinks anybody alive now has the right to keep living over people who might be alive in the future. Even though some of the people alive now, like people from Highstorm, believe in making that sacrifice. I think it'd have to be unanimous before I was totally okay with it.

... But that's all kind of to the side of the whole Shard thing. Asking for stuff.
semicharmed: (with great power comes)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-03 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ All the gods Matt's met seem to be aligned on this point: mortals shouldn't have to make decisions on this scale. (Quetzalcoatl was the first one to tell him as much.) Matt agrees, frankly. And yet here they are.

He hums again, gentler, when Tezca's cheek presses to his leg. Moving on to another section of hair, he repeats the process of carding his fingers through, working small tangles loose. ]


I don't know about should or shouldn't, [ Matt notes quietly. ] But I definitely think you deserve the same options as all the rest of us. [ A quirk of his lips. ] That's the labor perspective, anyway. Everybody gets compensated for their work.

[ Normally, Matt wouldn't ask his next question. Or at least he'd hem and haw some before he did it. But now, lulled by intoxication and proximity, he goes for it. ]

There was one person you wanted to save? Or like--bring with you, to whatever's next?
semicharmed: (018)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-03 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ Matt is quiet as he listens. His fingers turn gentler, drifting from detangling to simply stroking Tezcatlipoca's hair. He wonders what the word disciple means to him. Tezcatlipoca mentioned not meeting so many believers, even among mages, so maybe it's something like that. Someone who has faith in you. Matt can understand wanting to preserve that--the sacred relationship between god and man, the mutual reaching out.

Tezcatlipoca turns to look at him. To Matt, his eyes are sharp as a bird of prey's--a meat-eater's. Matt remembers, from what he's read, that it's not always so enviable to be a god's favorite mortal. ]


I guess it is, [ he admits, feeling guilty. ] And if I could save everyone from my world, so their souls could move on to the next one ... even if they weren't in the same container they were before, you know, the same body ... I'd do that.

But since I can't, I thought about who would want to be here with me. At the end of the world, or the start of the next one.

And.

I don't know.
semicharmed: (silhouette)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-03 06:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ It would've been nice, Matt thinks distantly, to be told you won't be alone forever or even what, a nice guy like you? SOMEBODY from your world would want to be with you. Or maybe that would've made things worse.

He doesn't know what he feels now. It feels a little bit like nothing. ]


I don't think you're being selfish, [ he murmurs. Unwilling to meet Tezcatlipoca's gaze, he looks down, turning his focus to kicking off his shoes. ] Maybe it's stupid not to pick someone, even someone random. My second grade teacher. Our old housekeeper.

[ It'd be a soul retained who wouldn't be otherwise. N+1 in the universal equation. Matt manages to wriggle his feet free from his boots; they hit the floor, clunk, clunk. He turns back to Tezcatlipoca, reaching for his hair. ]

Here. Let me braid this.
semicharmed: (downward facing smile)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-03 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Even crossfaded, with his body flickering gently between the present and the future, Matt can recognize the gesture as one of kindness. He sighs, soft, as he takes up a section of Tezca's hair.

The braid he starts in on is a fishtail, somewhat by accident; his fingers remember it better than his brain. Just know that Tezcatlipoca came this close to a beautiful "first ballet recital" French braid. ]


Thank you, [ Matt says. He means it, though the bulk of his appreciation is for the suggestion about Shards. It feels practical, meaningful. Why should somebody suffer between picking two loved ones for their shot at salvation while Matt struggles to think of one? He watches himself sweep Tezcatlipoca's hair into a woven pattern--recognizable and structurally sound, if not terribly neat. ] I guess it's good to talk these things out sometimes. In your own head, you can get so stuck.
semicharmed: (sad sympathy face)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-04 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ The revelation of the tattoo is a momentary distraction to Matt. One hand bookmarks his place in the braiding while the other lifts to Tezca's back. A fingertip skirts the edge of one of the sun's rays.

At the notion of a human body being bad enough, Matt chuckles--but the follow-up actually gives him pause for a moment. ]


I don't, exactly, [ he allows, which honestly he probably does not need to say. Comes with the territory, being a human and all. ] But I do have ... a feeling like I know all I need to know, and I'm where I'm supposed to be. Sometimes.

[ Matt is momentarily flummoxed when he returns to his braiding, but after briefly undoing part of the fishtail, he gets back into the rhythm. He's most of the way down by now. Even with mild impairment and the length of Tezca's hair, it's a simple enough pattern. ]
semicharmed: (it's like this)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-04 10:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Matt sighs, wistful. ]

I know it would. I can barely even remember the way I do feel, when I get to that place--once I'm out of it, I mean. But that's what reminded me of what you said. [ His fingers keep moving, the going a good deal easier now that he's near the ends of Tezca's hair. ] It feels small on the other side. Kinda lonely.

[ Like Tezcatlipoca, Matt becomes cognizant that if he keeps going down this conversational path, there's more downer moments waiting. And the subject change is very pleasant, so he jumps on it. ]

I do dig it. [ "Dig" sounds slightly funny in his mouth, but the repetition is affectionate. Matt finishes Tezca's braid, nudging it over his shoulder for his inspection. He traces the disk of the sun tattoo with his fingertip; it doesn't feel like making a decision to bend and press a kiss to the topmost ray. Not quite reverent, not quite chaste, but a little of both. ]
semicharmed: (universal soul)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-05 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Matt's incredibly bad at explaining what he means. The way casting spells feels like the inner world of his individual soul and the outer reaches of the universal soul become one. Or rather, the illusion that they're different falls away. It's why he relates the feeling to omniscience and omnipresence--why he can feel so hollow sometimes, when the feeling fades.

But whatever chance Matt had at explaining himself flies out the window at the kiss. He sighs into it, hm, and sways slightly after Tezcatlipoca when he pulls away, as if to chase his lips.

But then Tezca clarifies, and Matt laughs. ]


I hadn't thought that far ahead, [ he admits, honestly. Would his dick work right now? Unclear. ] No worries. I appreciate our choices tonight for what they were.

[ In his current frame of mind, he hears "I'm a cuddler" as totally literal, and smiles over it as he shrugs out of his own shirt. He reaches out to brush Tezca's shoulder affectionately. Now that he's touched one of his tattoos this evening, a sense of tactile completionism has him going for more. ]
semicharmed: (bad idea)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-05 09:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Matt's dark trousers hit the floor, landing on his discarded shirt. With his back to Tezcatlipoca, his own back tattoo can be seen: a stern circle in black and gray, all interlocking geometry and scraps of ancient languages. Latin, Greek. There's a half-monkey, half-man tattoo peeking out from his underwear, curling around his right hip.

And of course, his Shard over his heart, where his emerald lotus tattoo used to sit. Nothing Tezca hasn't seen before, given Matt's state of undress when he arrived here. But there's a little less going on right now. More time to get acquainted.

He glances back to Tezca with a smile. And he settles down on the bed alongside him, back to his front. ]


I had fun too. [ He stretches out, getting comfortable. And gives a yawn of his own. ] Thank you for taking me out ...
semicharmed: (bedroom hymns)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-06 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ The easy pattern of Matt's breathing changes at the question. Not quite a stutter, but surprised. It strikes him, as he makes the outsized mental effort it takes to feel certain what Tezca means, that most people don't ask. ]

It says ...

[ Another soft yawn. Now that Matt's horizontal, he can't imagine wanting to do anything but sleep and snuggle. (Well, he can imagine it. He just doesn't want to move.) ]

It's a ward. Against possession by malign spirits or energies. [ At least here, when people do ask, he can tell them the truth without worrying. Part of the truth. ]
semicharmed: (a little sad i didn't stop at 69 icons)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-03-06 09:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Matt shifts a little closer when Tezca drapes that arm around him. He's more relieved than he realizes that he isn't going to pursue the topic right now.

Matt doesn't have hard and fast objections to getting into it. Back home, it's like the fact he does magic: a default secret, one he keeps to make life easier. He just feels like he's already been enough of a mess tonight. Surely, even with spare keys to a god's apartment, you've gotta space these things out. ]


Sounds good, [ he murmurs. He can't reach Tezca easily from where he is, apart from the arm that's around him. Matt's thumb brushes the back of Tezca's hand; his head turns briefly, slightly, so he can blow a kiss that comes with a soft sound. Mwah. ] G'night.

[ In Matt's recollection, he's asleep by the time he turns his head back. ]

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