Envy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cobbledtogetherenvy) wrote2022-01-04 04:28 pm
cobbledtogetherenvy) wrote2022-01-04 04:28 pm
TLV Inbox
[No recording. Envy doesn't want to talk to any stupid humans.]
"Because I'm figuring it out as I go! It's not my fault the admiral won't let me disappear. He chose something unsuitable for his whole program here, and it's up to me to find an escape that'll work. I'm reinventing things that are hundreds of years old." Which is not all that impressive as immortality goes, but shh.
"The Admiral is the Admiral. I wouldn't make his choices. You might be unsuitable, but you're also avoiding dealing with what the Admiral might want by going around to an outside transformation."
He doesn't think that's a bad thing. It demonstrates a reasonable enough mind, which is something.
He doesn't think that's a bad thing. It demonstrates a reasonable enough mind, which is something.
"And I don't know how yet, so I don't know what you want me to do besides research and try things." Envy wants out, but he's tried brute force and it got him nowhere.
"I want yo to research and try things. Trying to get someone to take you apart by annoying them into it to see if that does anything is a stupid thing to do before you've actually talked to him."
"I don't see a downside." If it works, good. If it doesn't, they know the admiral will drag him back. Who cares?
"The downside is cutting yourself off from potential useful information. Just because on attempt doesn't work doesn't mean that Strange doesn't have a spell that could."
"When he's stuck someplace he can't die?" Envy, for all his espionage experience, is something of a blunt instrument. The greatest danger is damaging a target too much for them to be useful, and that can't happen in their current circumstances.
"Beating information out of someone is fun, not useful. Not useful for magic - or alchemy - theory." He takes a drag on his cigarette. "When you're dealing with someone motivated by their own 'cleverness', it can be more useful to just let them run off and come up with twenty stupid ideas that might be a place to start. You're trying to invent something new, not pull out old answers."
Well, where else does information come from? Stealing? Stealing has potential, but only if people write things down. "Yeah, getting people to do what I want them to has historically worked if I was wearing their husband's face, or their priest's." He leaned pretty heavily on powers. "Tricking people the hard way works, but it's a lot slower."
"There are people who insist on trying to tell you things, just because you're a priest." All jobs come with their burdens. "Anyway, this is a situation where you need to try to trick someone."
Envy sighs, but he sees the reason in it. "I'll try getting on his good side first." A great concession that leaves open the possibility of plan B when that doesn't work.
Sanzo nods. He would say it's a pretty big concession, and as long as Envy tries that first, Sanzo won't say it's unreasonable for Envy to turn to another plan. He stubs out his cigarette. "Is there anything you 'need'?"
"Just to keep working on this. Once I have something concrete I'll say so." He has no reason to keep secrets under the circumstances.
"Good." That Envy will tell him and, only slightly less importantly, that that there isn't some other issue. He stands up. "Talking a lot is annoying." The communicator offers a real gift: hanging up on people.
"Oh, I asked around. It sounds like Daniel likes you and wants you around." Sanzo's happy not to have met that paragon of terrible taste. Now you just have to figure out the birds." He holds up his hand in what could be a wave goodbye as he heads towards the door.
"Oh, I asked around. It sounds like Daniel likes you and wants you around." Sanzo's happy not to have met that paragon of terrible taste. Now you just have to figure out the birds." He holds up his hand in what could be a wave goodbye as he heads towards the door.
A breath that would have turned into a flat what if he'd voiced it is choked off before the word escapes. Envy stares after him and decides not to ask. He's spent enough time being cryptic himself to know what someone who wanted to communicate would simply do so. All he can do is not give the warden any more satisfaction.
Frankly, he wasn't wondering before, and he is now.
Frankly, he wasn't wondering before, and he is now.
After the normal (even if slightly less normal in terms of who was behind the curse) amount of trouble and various rounds of discussion on the network that Sanzo has no interest in participating in, Sanzo hunts down his inmate.
During the curse, he'd managed to stagger over to check what he was doing, but it had looked harmless enough and so he'd left him to talk to no one, duty, such as it is, done. That same duty is what propels him today, following his warden item at a casual pace.
During the curse, he'd managed to stagger over to check what he was doing, but it had looked harmless enough and so he'd left him to talk to no one, duty, such as it is, done. That same duty is what propels him today, following his warden item at a casual pace.
He eventually locates Envy in a corner of the library, where he's sitting improbably on the edge of a shelf. Not even on top, just precariously balanced on the few inches of flimsy wood where he found whatever book he's paging through. He's a lousy researcher, honestly. He never had to really learn the trick. But he's figuring it out a bit at a time.
As is often the case, he has no response whatsoever to his warden's presence.
As is often the case, he has no response whatsoever to his warden's presence.
If Sanzo saw a reason to come up with some of his inmate's 'positive qualities', the lack of response to his presence would be on the list. As he doesn't see any possible reason why he'd do that, he just tilts his head to try to look at what book Envy's going through. He suspects he's not the best researcher, but trial and error is fine teacher if you don't want to ask for help.
Sanzo has never wanted to ask for help, at any point in his life.
He surveys the shelves around them with a more calculated approach. Well, his approach is generally just trying to read through everything he can find, but he's not bad at finding what books might have information which he wants.
Sanzo has never wanted to ask for help, at any point in his life.
He surveys the shelves around them with a more calculated approach. Well, his approach is generally just trying to read through everything he can find, but he's not bad at finding what books might have information which he wants.
Envy's goal continues to be simply to chase down his best next lead. He's following up on John's ideas right now, but terminology has proven difficult. Most realities, dreams are a matter for psychology, or maybe prophecy, not an eldritch realm a person can walk into under the right circumstances. His abandoned books cover that and also mushrooms, for some reason.
Sanzo has a book of essays on syncretism as applied to Buddhism and Taoism, which has yet to produce anything he doesn't know but the hunt for how to wield sutra that can shape reality. He looks up once he's hit a section on personal cultivation, as he needs needs a moment before having to read that shit. "Do you dream?"
"I don't sleep," Envy says and shrugs one shoulder. Since he drained the stone he sort of... rests. That's new. But he doesn't think it's sleep like humans experience it. He's not really unconscious. He doesn't hallucinate. He doesn't even particularly crave it most of the time. He just sort of idles out.
"Will you be able to do something based on dreams," or whatever it is he's looking for in those books, without the connection?"
"Apparently, yes, but I don't know how literal any of it is." He doesn't like the sensation of swimming about lost is all. He's used to knowing more than anybody around him, save Father. Humility doesn't come easily to Envy. Having to learn things the normal way stinks.
"That's one of the shitty things about working with dreams." Not that humility comes easily to Sanzo. "Still, I suppose it's interesting that you have access."
"It's still all theoretical, and relying on someone else." And it's so frustrating. But he won't be something that can get out of here with only the tools he knows. That's what made him what he is, and he needs to be something else.
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