[ Tezcatlipoca stops playing with the lighter long enough to see Silco take that first drag, and it’s satisfying. Just seeing him close his eye and relax for just a moment is good enough for him, and he hums a note of approval. His agreement also satisfies his point, so he relaxes too as he lights his own. ]
Probably, yeah. And wouldn’t encourage you to do it either. I’m all for taking risks, but not so much that you’d be throwing your life away on a gamble.
[ He pauses to take his own first drag as he tucks the lighter away. He still prefers tobacco, honestly, but a little relaxation isn’t bad for him either. It’s one advantage of this human body where he can actually experience the effects of various vices, at least. ]
But, hey. Can’t kill him yourself, but doesn’t mean you have to help him, right? If a mission doesn’t go well for him… [ He shrugs with a slightly toothy smile. ] All the better for you. If he just so happens to run into some bad luck with kaiju, well, oops.
[ Silco was used to microdosing a drug that could be considered an upper, but this is distinctly different. He know better than to smoke it fast, though. Silco was nothing if not thorough when it came to the local flavors of drugs. He wasn't exactly out there running lines of coke, but he'd done his research and knew what to expect with most of them, were he to try them. Which means he holds onto the joint, and doesn't rush into another smoke, even though impulse would suggest he should.
He laughed though. ]
I wasn't planning on helping him, that is for certain.
Though perhaps I should... aim to put him in distinct danger. [ He had those three chances, after all.
He'd thought to use them with a particularly nasty crime lord, but... perhaps the Kaiju would offer more opportunity. ]
[ Tezcatlipoca scoffs, since he’s not so sure about that… But he’s sure that’s what Silco thinks, absolutely. He’d say gambling is what got him into this mess in the first place, but he also has no idea of the circumstances that had led Silco to that point either. And granted… Neither does Silco, technically. ]
Hey, you’ve got multiple gods you can pray to now. Maybe one of ‘em will listen!
[ He says it like it’s a joke, but maybe it’s serious? It’s truly impossible to tell, and he moves on like it’s just an offhand comment. ]
If I see him in trouble, then I ain’t helping either, that’s for sure. That’s nothing personal for you, for the record, but I’m a god that looks after the souls of the dead. Of course we’ve got some issues.
[ He pauses for a moment in consideration, since also personally speaking… He’s fairly sure that he probably could actually kill Sebastian, though it likely wouldn’t be easy or straightforward with the limitations he’s subject to. That’s something he’ll have to mull over. Purely a thought experiment, of course, as he wants to remind the unhappy buzz of his implant. ]
But for you? Guess it depends on how much you want him gone.
[ A soft scoff of a laugh. Perhaps between Tezcau and Set, he would have a chance, but he wouldn't put any faith in the rest of the gods. Not enough to save him should he need it.
Tezca kept speaking, and Silco's single eyebrow drew down in thought. ]
I didn't realize they were real, souls. Everything we have in the undercity, it is just the physical, the here and the now. Religion is... well, there is the occasional cult, but it is nothing like what he tried to take from me.
[ He'd been so, so ignorant. See, Silco is smart, ish. He's a back-alley thug who used his quick thinking, wits, and talents with numbers to get out of the mines, but he wasn't exactly building things for the people of Zaun. He was administratively? Sharp, almost a genius. Even with people — at least with the ones he dealt with in the Undercity — he knew how to work them.
When it comes to the theoretical? He simply can't fathom it. He's learning. He can at least research it, and he's been doing it in spades since Sebastian had pulled the wool over him. But he's still just simply... behind. He doesn't have the interest in it, it's all just information to use. ]
I do. [ he said, bluntly. Still, he shook his head, and sighed. ] Unfortunately, I'm rather used to not getting what I want. If I see the opportunity? I would take it.
[ His implant hummed unpleasantly behind his ever-open eye, and he winced with his mouth only. ]
However, I know the folly of being too fervent. In making oneself his sole focus. [ He'd been privy, after all, to quite a bit of it. What he had done to others in Kenos who caught his attention. ] I know better than to be stupid about it.
[ His immediate instinct is to point out that, sure, it’s one thing to have doubts in his undercity, but in Kenos? Where he’d had the physical manifestations of them…? He’s not a god that shies away from criticism, but he holds it back for now. It’s not the point he wants to make. ]
Yeah. [ It’s casual, but it still seems sympathetic, but it’s a tone that’s easily missed as it smooths out while he continues. ] That’s the way civilizations go. I get plenty of people that show up to my campfire that are shocked that shit’s real. Hell, half the time that’s the shit they need to work through more than anything else.
[ He’s sure that Silco would have been one of them, at least until he’d learned just how real they are in such a horrific way. Tezcatlipoca shrugs as he takes another quick puff, but returning to those physical things over the intangible is a bit more his preference too. ]
But you do, huh? [ He at least keeps his surprise to himself on this one… ] Fill me in? Chatted with the guy a few times, but only when I was coming to visit you at the club. Strictly professional, minus gossip and rumors that drifted my way.
[ He got there, Tezca... it just took him a bit. Blame his uh. Brainworms. ]
Do they come from different worlds to your campfire?
[ He asks it, and it's idle, but perhaps... perhaps...
Well. Silco knows someday he will die. It is a fact he's intimately aware of. Death at this point is his acquaintance that dogs his steps, always chasing after him, ready to reach out and take him at the first opportunity. He can feel death at his back, breathing down his neck. It is the promise of death that led him down his current path, after all. All of it. ]
Sebastian is... creative. Cruel. He understands people in a way that I think others will miss. Even I have missed things that he picks up on, and I'm only human, but... [ Silco's power is manipulation and thuggery. Of course, without his money and power, he has to rely on other things, but he doesn't lack for it. He's just... he pales in comparison compared to immortals. ]
He is smart, beyond what you could think, because he has infinite time. I have seen him learn new techniques, either in service, or... for his own personal pleasure.
Once, he installed a hag's eye into another shard-bearer, did you know that? Because she upset him. [ Okay, it was way more than that, but Silco's telling it and he doesn't have all of the details. ]
I only know, because it was mine. I could see through it, and I knew it was against her will.
[ Tezcatlipoca answers the question with a knowing smile, since it’s obvious why Silco is asking. And honestly, though “they do” is far too simple an answer for all the complicated processes when it comes to death, souls, and the many worlds they skirt between… He knows a more in-depth answer would be confusing, for one, but also? It’d derail this conversation.
He lets it go in favor of listening, but though his expression definitely cools, it’s a little hard to read. It’s an oddly passive reaction for him, since he doesn’t seem to take in this information like it’s positive or negative. He’s neither impressed nor disgusted by what the demon’s capable of, seemingly.
…Why would he be, after all? He and Sebastian are technically similar in that they’re both creatures who play at being more human than they truly are. The difference lies in their reasons for doing so.
It’s why he sighs, since he knows where his advice would go, then. It’s the kind that grates against what he stands for, but it’s not like he hasn’t given it before. ]
So, sounds to me like you should stay away from him. Nothin’ good is going to come from trying to one up the guy.
He wants to ask more questions, but Silco also knows that it's not likely to yield much in terms of results right now. Not when their topic of conversation is on something else — more important, he would attest.
Silco's eyes shifted to the side, and there's a look on his face that says, very clearly, that he might be in trouble about this one. ]
Ah, well... I think unfortunately... he knows that I know what he is.
[ Oops? ]
I can try, but I think that he has already noticed that I know what he is.
[ He doesn't add that he might have already... done a Whole Thing about him, and that the demon already had the scent. ]
[ Well. Tezcatlipoca can’t exactly criticize him, because honestly, this is pretty much what he expected… ]
Yeah, kinda figured, considering.
[ He gestures to Silco to refer to his everything, but the gesture lingers on the joint especially. The fact that Silco accepted it is also telling for how he’s feeling about the demon, he thinks. ]
Well, if you think it would work, you can evoke my name. Like I said, not promising to do anything about it, since this is your battle to fight. But you feel like pulling the “I know a guy” thing, I’ve got no problems with that. Up to you.
[ to be fair to him, he did think he was playing a game with him.
It isn't like that wouldn't be beyond his ability. ]
Who knows, maybe it will.
[ He shrugged, before he took another long pull of the thing. It's been a long, long time since he did this, but it isn't like Silco hasn't been microdosing harder drugs for years. ]
I'll come up with something. Either he will... let me be, or...
[ Or not
He knew it was or not, but let him sound hopeful, at least. ]
[ Tezcatlipoca hums out a note as he watches Silco for a moment. It’s hard to tell if this is something purposefully thoughtful or just, you know, a little bit of a high hitting him, but he’d gladly keep that confusion. In reality, he has a pretty high tolerance, but it’s nice to mask the consideration.
…Because this is exactly why he didn’t descend to Earth beyond one-off encounters. He’s the god of impartiality, so he doesn’t take sides in anything. Thing is, that’s a hell of a lot easier to do when you don’t know people personally. It’s not like he’d hesitate, since his duties as a god are very separate from his personal feelings on anything, but still. ]
Just watch yourself, Silco. You’ve been lucky so far. And thing about luck is, it always runs out.
[ It’s not exactly cheerful or reassuring, but that’s the kind Tezcatlipoca is. It’s why the two of them get along and why neither of them did with Quetzalcoatl. There’s no heroic, caring oath he can offer, and Silco wouldn’t take it anyways. ]
[ He knows he's a Zaunite, everything they have is from sheer determination, and luck? Luck has so little do to with anything. He'd consider himself unlucky, but like most, disbelieving in it is easier, and more automatic than simply discarding it. ]
You know I am a careful man. I don't intend to make this easy.
[ curb your enthusiasm theme starts playing in the background. ]
[ Yeah, honestly. Tezcatlipoca makes a Face™️ like he can hear it, but this is also typical Silco too. ]
Sure, but luck doesn't have anything to do with being careful. Or, puttin' it another way, harder to be careful if you lack situational awareness. Not sayin' that as a dig against you, mean more that we just never know what kinda kaiju is around the corner. Shit like that.
[ Plus, though he won't bring it up, he's also noticed that Silco is just very stubborn about his view of the world. The fact that things might not fit into his understanding is inconceivable, as the whole mess with his (former) demon shows. Tezcatlipoca waves a hand to dismiss the topic, but also to dissipate some of the smoke that lingers close to him. ]
...Anyways. Said my piece, so no need to just keep reiterating it. [ He gestures towards Silco's joint lightly. ] Feeling a little more relaxed now, though?
[ Tezca, unsurprisingly, has more awareness than Silco does about himself. He's... well. It's going to take a lot to get him to experience a modicum of self-awareness, so he's 100% correct, even if Silco would say otherwise.
Because of course he would.
He inhaled, and blew out the thick plume of smoke. ]
Hm.
[ He's still stressed, fretting, worried, but at least there's a relaxed pressure in the back of his head, like a beam holding up the cascade of thoughts, stresses, and everything else he has. It's at least enough that he's not winding himself up, putting together plans and little things that will take an elaborate (and likely deadly for himself) turn if he isn't careful.
He closed one eye, but the other is still focused on Tezca. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
Probably, yeah. And wouldn’t encourage you to do it either. I’m all for taking risks, but not so much that you’d be throwing your life away on a gamble.
[ He pauses to take his own first drag as he tucks the lighter away. He still prefers tobacco, honestly, but a little relaxation isn’t bad for him either. It’s one advantage of this human body where he can actually experience the effects of various vices, at least. ]
But, hey. Can’t kill him yourself, but doesn’t mean you have to help him, right? If a mission doesn’t go well for him… [ He shrugs with a slightly toothy smile. ] All the better for you. If he just so happens to run into some bad luck with kaiju, well, oops.
no subject
I'm not one for gambling, personally.
[ Silco was used to microdosing a drug that could be considered an upper, but this is distinctly different. He know better than to smoke it fast, though. Silco was nothing if not thorough when it came to the local flavors of drugs. He wasn't exactly out there running lines of coke, but he'd done his research and knew what to expect with most of them, were he to try them. Which means he holds onto the joint, and doesn't rush into another smoke, even though impulse would suggest he should.
He laughed though. ]
I wasn't planning on helping him, that is for certain.
Though perhaps I should... aim to put him in distinct danger. [ He had those three chances, after all.
He'd thought to use them with a particularly nasty crime lord, but... perhaps the Kaiju would offer more opportunity. ]
As long as I have an out, at least.
no subject
Hey, you’ve got multiple gods you can pray to now. Maybe one of ‘em will listen!
[ He says it like it’s a joke, but maybe it’s serious? It’s truly impossible to tell, and he moves on like it’s just an offhand comment. ]
If I see him in trouble, then I ain’t helping either, that’s for sure. That’s nothing personal for you, for the record, but I’m a god that looks after the souls of the dead. Of course we’ve got some issues.
[ He pauses for a moment in consideration, since also personally speaking… He’s fairly sure that he probably could actually kill Sebastian, though it likely wouldn’t be easy or straightforward with the limitations he’s subject to. That’s something he’ll have to mull over. Purely a thought experiment, of course, as he wants to remind the unhappy buzz of his implant. ]
But for you? Guess it depends on how much you want him gone.
no subject
Tezca kept speaking, and Silco's single eyebrow drew down in thought. ]
I didn't realize they were real, souls. Everything we have in the undercity, it is just the physical, the here and the now. Religion is... well, there is the occasional cult, but it is nothing like what he tried to take from me.
[ He'd been so, so ignorant. See, Silco is smart, ish. He's a back-alley thug who used his quick thinking, wits, and talents with numbers to get out of the mines, but he wasn't exactly building things for the people of Zaun. He was administratively? Sharp, almost a genius. Even with people — at least with the ones he dealt with in the Undercity — he knew how to work them.
When it comes to the theoretical? He simply can't fathom it. He's learning. He can at least research it, and he's been doing it in spades since Sebastian had pulled the wool over him. But he's still just simply... behind. He doesn't have the interest in it, it's all just information to use. ]
I do. [ he said, bluntly. Still, he shook his head, and sighed. ] Unfortunately, I'm rather used to not getting what I want. If I see the opportunity? I would take it.
[ His implant hummed unpleasantly behind his ever-open eye, and he winced with his mouth only. ]
However, I know the folly of being too fervent. In making oneself his sole focus. [ He'd been privy, after all, to quite a bit of it. What he had done to others in Kenos who caught his attention. ] I know better than to be stupid about it.
no subject
Yeah. [ It’s casual, but it still seems sympathetic, but it’s a tone that’s easily missed as it smooths out while he continues. ] That’s the way civilizations go. I get plenty of people that show up to my campfire that are shocked that shit’s real. Hell, half the time that’s the shit they need to work through more than anything else.
[ He’s sure that Silco would have been one of them, at least until he’d learned just how real they are in such a horrific way. Tezcatlipoca shrugs as he takes another quick puff, but returning to those physical things over the intangible is a bit more his preference too. ]
But you do, huh? [ He at least keeps his surprise to himself on this one… ] Fill me in? Chatted with the guy a few times, but only when I was coming to visit you at the club. Strictly professional, minus gossip and rumors that drifted my way.
no subject
Do they come from different worlds to your campfire?
[ He asks it, and it's idle, but perhaps... perhaps...
Well. Silco knows someday he will die. It is a fact he's intimately aware of. Death at this point is his acquaintance that dogs his steps, always chasing after him, ready to reach out and take him at the first opportunity. He can feel death at his back, breathing down his neck. It is the promise of death that led him down his current path, after all. All of it. ]
Sebastian is... creative. Cruel. He understands people in a way that I think others will miss. Even I have missed things that he picks up on, and I'm only human, but... [ Silco's power is manipulation and thuggery. Of course, without his money and power, he has to rely on other things, but he doesn't lack for it. He's just... he pales in comparison compared to immortals. ]
He is smart, beyond what you could think, because he has infinite time. I have seen him learn new techniques, either in service, or... for his own personal pleasure.
Once, he installed a hag's eye into another shard-bearer, did you know that? Because she upset him. [ Okay, it was way more than that, but Silco's telling it and he doesn't have all of the details. ]
I only know, because it was mine. I could see through it, and I knew it was against her will.
no subject
[ Tezcatlipoca answers the question with a knowing smile, since it’s obvious why Silco is asking. And honestly, though “they do” is far too simple an answer for all the complicated processes when it comes to death, souls, and the many worlds they skirt between… He knows a more in-depth answer would be confusing, for one, but also? It’d derail this conversation.
He lets it go in favor of listening, but though his expression definitely cools, it’s a little hard to read. It’s an oddly passive reaction for him, since he doesn’t seem to take in this information like it’s positive or negative. He’s neither impressed nor disgusted by what the demon’s capable of, seemingly.
…Why would he be, after all? He and Sebastian are technically similar in that they’re both creatures who play at being more human than they truly are. The difference lies in their reasons for doing so.
It’s why he sighs, since he knows where his advice would go, then. It’s the kind that grates against what he stands for, but it’s not like he hasn’t given it before. ]
So, sounds to me like you should stay away from him. Nothin’ good is going to come from trying to one up the guy.
no subject
He wants to ask more questions, but Silco also knows that it's not likely to yield much in terms of results right now. Not when their topic of conversation is on something else — more important, he would attest.
Silco's eyes shifted to the side, and there's a look on his face that says, very clearly, that he might be in trouble about this one. ]
Ah, well... I think unfortunately... he knows that I know what he is.
[ Oops? ]
I can try, but I think that he has already noticed that I know what he is.
[ He doesn't add that he might have already... done a Whole Thing about him, and that the demon already had the scent. ]
no subject
Yeah, kinda figured, considering.
[ He gestures to Silco to refer to his everything, but the gesture lingers on the joint especially. The fact that Silco accepted it is also telling for how he’s feeling about the demon, he thinks. ]
Well, if you think it would work, you can evoke my name. Like I said, not promising to do anything about it, since this is your battle to fight. But you feel like pulling the “I know a guy” thing, I’ve got no problems with that. Up to you.
no subject
It isn't like that wouldn't be beyond his ability. ]
Who knows, maybe it will.
[ He shrugged, before he took another long pull of the thing. It's been a long, long time since he did this, but it isn't like Silco hasn't been microdosing harder drugs for years. ]
I'll come up with something. Either he will... let me be, or...
[ Or not
He knew it was or not, but let him sound hopeful, at least. ]
no subject
…Because this is exactly why he didn’t descend to Earth beyond one-off encounters. He’s the god of impartiality, so he doesn’t take sides in anything. Thing is, that’s a hell of a lot easier to do when you don’t know people personally. It’s not like he’d hesitate, since his duties as a god are very separate from his personal feelings on anything, but still. ]
Just watch yourself, Silco. You’ve been lucky so far. And thing about luck is, it always runs out.
[ It’s not exactly cheerful or reassuring, but that’s the kind Tezcatlipoca is. It’s why the two of them get along and why neither of them did with Quetzalcoatl. There’s no heroic, caring oath he can offer, and Silco wouldn’t take it anyways. ]
YELLS TEZ
Please, if this is luck...?
[ He knows he's a Zaunite, everything they have is from sheer determination, and luck? Luck has so little do to with anything. He'd consider himself unlucky, but like most, disbelieving in it is easier, and more automatic than simply discarding it. ]
You know I am a careful man. I don't intend to make this easy.
[ curb your enthusiasm theme starts playing in the background. ]
no subject
Sure, but luck doesn't have anything to do with being careful. Or, puttin' it another way, harder to be careful if you lack situational awareness. Not sayin' that as a dig against you, mean more that we just never know what kinda kaiju is around the corner. Shit like that.
[ Plus, though he won't bring it up, he's also noticed that Silco is just very stubborn about his view of the world. The fact that things might not fit into his understanding is inconceivable, as the whole mess with his (former) demon shows. Tezcatlipoca waves a hand to dismiss the topic, but also to dissipate some of the smoke that lingers close to him. ]
...Anyways. Said my piece, so no need to just keep reiterating it. [ He gestures towards Silco's joint lightly. ] Feeling a little more relaxed now, though?
🎀
Because of course he would.
He inhaled, and blew out the thick plume of smoke. ]
Hm.
[ He's still stressed, fretting, worried, but at least there's a relaxed pressure in the back of his head, like a beam holding up the cascade of thoughts, stresses, and everything else he has. It's at least enough that he's not winding himself up, putting together plans and little things that will take an elaborate (and likely deadly for himself) turn if he isn't careful.
He closed one eye, but the other is still focused on Tezca. ]
I suppose I am. It's appreciated, Tezca.
[ 👏the👏"therapy"👏might👏be👏working👏 ]