locked to zenith

[bakedapple]

[ Link's mental space feels like being outside, so depending on where you are, you might not realize that someone has started Communion with you. Since joining the Zenith, the landscape of Link's mind has gone from idyllic, sunny forests to icy, overcast mountains. A frigid wind blows against your face, carrying the scent of firewood and meat roasting over an open flame. The diminutive Hylian is not sitting by the fire, but standing at the edge of a rocky ledge, his back turned. ]

There's going to be another Oracle soon. I can feel it. The rest of you can feel it too, right? That... pulling feeling.

[ He sighs. ]

If we lose this one, it's over. The Meridian isn't going to go easy on us. I know them... I know how badly they want to win. To them, the stakes couldn't be higher.

So let's talk. About what we're going to be up against, and... well, planning ahead isn't really something we can do, but at least we can warn each other of the dangers that individual Meri pose.

And I... I want to say something, too.

[ He sits down where he stands, his feet hanging off the cliff. There's a sense that he knows this isn't going to go over well, but it's important enough to him to say it anyway. ]

Killing the other guy before they kill you is what war is. That's normal. But Kenos is different. Death doesn't work the way it should here. We don't die permanently. You can neutralize someone threatening you by just dissipating them. There's nothing to gain by destroying their soul after you're no longer in danger.

So, I don't think any of us should shatter anyone ever again.

If you claim someone's Shard, you should protect it. If you feel that you can't do that, give it to someone else.

...I'm not stupid. I know a lot of you aren't gonna agree to this. And the Meris probably won't either. I'm sure they want revenge for what happened to Quetzalcoatl, and those of you who lost the Shards Yima gave you probably aren't feeling very merciful right now either...

But if we don't come to some kinda agreement now, that's going to become normal. Things are gonna get really bad. I don't want that. So... can we talk about it, at least?

Comments

[semicharmed]

[ Oh no, now Matt feels like he overcorrected to only speak to the people who don't value life. That's such an unfair thing to do. ]

I'm getting that sense. [ An attitude of apology radiates through his Communion. ] Maybe the people who are pro-permanently-killing are just louder than the rest of us.

[fursuit]

Well, yeah. Can’t get louder than Silco’s apparent psycho killer rant.

[ hi, he’s butting in… This also sounds like he’s complimenting Silco, though ]

[semicharmed]

[ There's a glimmer of surprise, followed by an undeniably warm: ]

Hi, Tezcatlipoca.

[ Silco's psycho killer rant was distinctly not cute. But Tezca's cool, so Matt will let the tone slide. ]

[fursuit]

Hey there yourself.

[ There’s a laugh in his tone that makes this sound a little bit flirty!

…But then he dives right back into the topic at hand, so. Mood killer. ]

But nah, I don’t think wantin’ to crush the Shards is all that popular of an opinion. Hell, even I don’t approve of it. [ Which makes sense in his role as a psychopomp, but as the god of conflict… ] But doesn’t mean people are gonna stop, though. Tactically speaking? Right thing to do.

[semicharmed]

That depends on what your end goal is.

[ Siiiigh. Fine, he'll do wargames stuff with you. But it's clear from Matt's psychic presence that he doesn't find this nearly as fun as flirting. ]

Let's say some enterprising Zenith person shatters every last Meridian Shard. Great, no more competition, very tactical. And then say they're ready to create a new world, only there's a huge ravening void in the way, and the only or most effective way to defeat it is with Zenith and Meridian's combined energies.

[fursuit]

Easy. Someone offers up their life to become the sun, duh.

[ He's joking and playing with his own mythology/truth, but there's a feeling of "point taken" in Communion despite his joking around. ]

People are short-sighted, especially with uncertainty. If there's a concrete way forward, that's what people are going to take. S'why this war is more appealing than looking at that darkness. There's a concrete goal and way to achieve it. So, the tactics of that battle don't always help out what you might need for the next one.

You think combining their energies is the way to do it?

[semicharmed]

[ There's a hint of a chuckle for the reference, feathering into a listening quiet. ]

Combining Zenith and Meridian energies has worked for some other things around here, [ Matt replies carefully. ] Fixing a magical corruption, rebalancing energies when they start to make us sick. Healing, basically. I think it's worth a shot.

... But even if I'm wrong, there's still a lot of possibilities out there. And being overly certain, overly concrete--like you say, it closes off roads you might need later.

[ Matt goes quiet for a moment in his mind. Thoughts swirl like wisps of cloud. Then, almost wistful, ] Maybe that's something I can be good for here. Looking into the dark, so we don't forget we'll need a way out of it.

[fursuit]

[ He’s quiet in turn as he listens, but there’s not much in the way of his emotional impression from it. It seems perfectly neutral about the prospect, oddly. ]

Even if you might not like what you find? You think you could look into it and not get swallowed up?

[ His tone isn’t challenging—this is an earnest question he’s asking. ]

[semicharmed]

[ Set asked him something similar--what will he do if the answers he gets here aren't ones he likes. Matt's not a hundred percent sure yet. ]

I don't know, [ he admits. A quirk of ruefulness flickers through his psychic presence. ] But so far, I've been pretty good at coming back from the brink of being eaten, so at least there's that.

[ How many times has it happened now? Fewer than half a dozen, but more than twice. Enough to make a pattern. ]

[fursuit]

[ He laughs, at least! It’s not the kind of assertive, committed answer that he’d prefer to hear, but. It’s acceptable, considering the topic. Diving truly face first into that kind of thing takes a certain kind of person. ]

That so? Sounds like you must be pretty damn tasty if it’s happened that many times.

[ is this flirting or literal… a mystery ]

Well, work on not gettin’ eaten so much first. Ain’t gonna be any help if it takes a chunk outta ya, from the sounds of it.

[semicharmed]

[ Matt laughs in return, though his is more of a mordant huff. ]

You have to give something to get something, don't you?

[ Heavily implicit: wouldn't Tezcatlipoca know better than any of them? Lord of the Smoking Mirror, of the Near and the Nigh, He By Whom We Live? ]

minor lb7 spoilers ahoy

[fursuit]

...Sure.

[ He agrees with a smirk in his voice. "Do as I say, not as I do," c'mon. But he doesn't hate that this is the angle Matt is taking. ]

But you only got so much to give. And not to put too fine of a point of it, but I've got some experience with world-eaters. [ He and Daybit had been trying to wake it up, in fact. ] Well, anyways. When you're certain that's the path you wanna walk—and no turnin' back from it if you do—then I might be able to help out. That's why I'm curious.

[semicharmed]

[ Matt's curiosity is piqued by both particulars: experience with world-eaters, the possibility of aid. He's not surprised, exactly; from what he recalls of Tezcatlipoca's history, he has been both eater and eaten. ]

Help out how?

[settingup]

They're definitely pretty noisy when they wanna start goin', that's for sure. And I guess to be fair there's some of us here that ain't necessarily kill happy, but'll do it if they think they gotta. I just don't think we gotta all that often, you know?

[semicharmed]

I'm with you one hundred percent, [ Matt answers firmly. A bit more thoughtfully, he adds, ] I mean, I'm not here to say be totally pacifistic in all circumstances. That'd be way too prescriptive.

[ Also, he recently tried to set someone on fire during a conflict, so. Who among us? ]

[settingup]

[ Atsumu certainly doesn't have room to criticize a little rough play as someone who indirectly, but knowingly, helped with an assassination. ]

Well yeah, I ain't sayin' we roll over for them either. Just that was play smarter in ways that won't make them wanna off us when they already have bigger numbers.

[semicharmed]

[ Matt chooses to believe that Amos acted alone, despite the reams of evidence to the contrary. He doesn't trust his Zenith cohort as a group, but when individual members seem nice and reasonable ... clearly they're fine, they're blameless, He Pretends He Does Not See It. ]

Yeah, [ he agrees. ] Um, in principle, definitely agreed. In practice ...

I don't really have a track record where de-escalation's concerned. Back home I was in school, and not even for international relations or politics.

... You wouldn't happen to be a diplomat or anything, would you?

[settingup]

[ You know, it's a fair question. They seem to get more fighters than talkers here, but there are some people that seems comfortable with the wheelings and dealings of that nature. Unfortunately though... ]

Bro, I was a high schooler on the volleyball team.

[ So no, definitely not. ]

[semicharmed]

[ If Matt were better at concealing his feelings, his concerns with things like "ageism" and "how he would have reacted to stuff as a teenager" wouldn't spill instantly into Communion. But unfortunately: ]

You're in high school?

[ Immediately, there's a sting of regret. Matt follows up hastily: ] I mean, that's not to say anything about your competence. If you play sports you could definitely beat me up. Just ...

Where I come from we try to keep high schoolers out of war.

[settingup]

[ Hearing a guy on his side tell him that he could beat him up just because he's a jock does not fill Atsumu with the greatest confidence in the world. He knows he's had a long way to come to catch up to most people because of his very normie start. ]

Yeah, well people around here keep shovin' the whole war business in my face. Pretty sure we're some of the only ones that come from worlds like that.

[semicharmed]

[ It would probably be helpful if Matt remembered to point out that he has magical powers ...

Instead, he sighs. ]

I think you're right. I'm pretty sure I've met more gods here than people whose worlds have some version of the Geneva Conventions.

[ And those gods have all expressed something similar to what he just did to Atsumu: that mortals shouldn't have to participate in this war. ]

[settingup]

You've got Geneva Conventions in your world too?

[ Hey! Mark down one more who actually knows what that is at least!

Not that those laws do any good in this world. ]

[semicharmed]

Oh, yeah! [ Matt enthuses. ] They're the only international law I know, honestly.

So we've got the concept of war crimes, high school, and volleyball in common, at least. [ A sheepish laugh comes over the connection. ] I shouldn't sound so surprised. Like I said, a lot of gods around here, not so many ... worlds much like mine.

[ When his world does come up, it tends to be in unflattering contexts. Like when he was explaining to Gavial how people tend to view magic. ]

[settingup]

You don't gotta tell me twice. Do you know how many people I even had to explain what volleyball was too?

[ Painful. Absolutely painful when one of your favorite things gets a blank reaction and a confused "what" from most people. Atsumu would pettily hope that the gods got that thrown back in their face the same way whenever someone didn't recognize them--

... Except one of them died not too long ago, so it feels kind of dogshit to feel that way. You get a pass for now, gods... ]

[semicharmed]

[ A sympathetic wince. ]

I'm gonna guess more people than I've had to explain magic to?

[ Matt would add "vampires" or something, but since there's a good deal of established Kenosian vampire culture, it doesn't actually occur to him that vampirism might be a useful point of differentiation between worlds.

There's tons of magic here too, of course. But Matt's had a few conversations by now with people who don't know a lot about it, so it's made it to his radar. ]