#catch(nullpointerexception z) {

[tekhearthazenyatta]

[tekhearthazenyatta]

you know that one gif of the tiny octopus covering its face with its tentacles like its shy/blushing??? consider: zenthulu

// i DONT, but i can imagine ,,, and…….. good luck….. making…….him blush….

[tekhearthazenyatta]

here's a fuckin question: what the fuck is the 'beyond mortal comprehension' or w/e 'calling' that zenthulu and swordsman answer to. what the fuck.

‘‘‘

blizzard lore answer: the old gods! n’zoth. whatever. i mean, cults and their cult things. WoW is about to go all old gods and the devs are getting hype about it probably

my answer: ZEN DOESNT FUCKS WITH NZOTH ONCE HE LEAVES like, as i said he has absolute certainty that this force exists but he’s not going out of his way to Appease it or anything, he would much rather be Left The Fuck Alone than get whatever weird. ‘favor’ he might gain from such activities. so i wouldnt imagine he finds himself answering to any kind of calling once he runs into genji, Whenever The Fuck That Is In This Bizarro World Timeline (lbr canon ovw is also bizarro world timeline)

but then again like, despite his complete lack of Worship to this thing i think the acknowledgment of such a being could really come off as ~answering to a mysterious power~ to those who dont have the inner scoop on his personal beliefs. like just wandering around like ‘yes, the entropy of the old ones will one day consume us all.’

I GUESS REALLY ITS ???????? ITS JUST THE IRIS? like zen doesn’t worship the iris by any means its just a Fact Of Life for him and where he gets his ‘powers,’ so like the whole. Every Thing He Says About The Iris Ever definitely reads very strongly as, “answering to a power” outside of himself though he doesn’t see it like that at all

SO ZENTACLES IS THE SAME. iris but with more tentacles and nihilism. Genji Can Come Too.

‘‘‘

[tekhearthazenyatta]

HC TIME tell me more about zenthulu (g-d what the fuck was his actual name)'s early existence. how long was he with the people that created/summoned him. what was that like. tell me fun things.

‘‘‘

brain: well, it obviously happened like this, didn’t it?

me: ………… THANKS I HATE IT

early one dark autumn morning, three occultists found a desolate omnic on the side of the road and kidnapped it. any witnesses turned a blind eye.

the ritual wasn’t pretty, but it stopped screaming after fifteen minutes or so. well–lost the ability to scream, at least

(theyd never heard an omnic make those noises before. didn’t even think that they could feel pain–because who would program that in? it was all meant to fool them into being more sympathetic, right? trick them into thinking they were humans?

but after listening to that–anyone would have their doubts)

whatever it was they’d summoned ate at it from the inside out. dissolved metal and merged with it, slithering out and bubbling and drawing back in before it decided on its form.

it didn’t move for three days. they kept it shackled regardless. it was still warm, after all. and no one knew what it was capable of.

(he doesn’t remember any of it. it’s a blessing, of sorts)

he was there for….. waggles hand… he doesn’t have a good perception of how long it was, but a couple of years at least. most of the people there probably didn’t even realize he was capable of speaking, which was actually a point of amusement for him once he got around to feeling amusement. he liked to whisper things behind people’s backs and watch them freak out about it. poker face tentacle undulation.

but yeah. everyone was pretty convinced he was more or less brainless which at least made it remarkably easy to escape. [acts tangled up in shackles, someone unchains him, just fucking ‘goes on an errand’ and never comes back]

im actually wondering what its like in his head now. whether he feels like there’s some part of him that he’s forgotten.

in any case. he spends a lot of time alone and talks to himself a lot (maybe even actually Talks To Himself?) and ends up the nihilistic squid that he is

nods…

‘‘‘

[tekhearthazenyatta]

steeples fingers. tell me about zenthulu. how does zen's altruism and benevolent spiritual shit translate into this au. tell me fun facts. also can those face tentacles be used in an offensive capacity at all.

‘‘‘

this is such a good question because Big Shrug Emoji. They’re so….. very different? But I think their views align on at least one axis…maybe im mostly just trying to justify this but

like, zenyatta had the shambali so he…like his worldview quickly jumped around from, being more or less ignorant of everything to having the shock of “oh shit sometimes people do bad things i don’t agree with, why ?? why do things like this happen??” but he joined a group that said “do not worry ~~we all have our destinies~~ ~~everything will work out in the end~~”

which, isn’t exactly his belief system anymore. but that’s what he got to build it on and decide what he wanted to keep

whereas zen’zoth like

had very unfortunate circumstances of creation that also kind of necessitate a steadfast belief in this… Thing. Not a faith. Certainty of its existence. And it’s the kind of thing that convinces you absolutely that nothing in life matters so you might as well do everything you can to survive (serve those in power to assure it)

and his awakening was like

hold on, I can do things that people don’t agree with,

so

waves hands vaguely

idk i think both of them are very focused on one’s current life rather than anything that may come after and making the best of it, just in very different ways

also,

zenyatta in canonverse is, i feel, kind of at the end of his character arc. He’s Done The Thing.

zentacles still carries around a lot of dissonance in his beliefs and is still figuring things out

(he’s more benevolent than he’d have you think)

and, yknow, to end, im sure those face tentacles can do some very offensive things ,

‘‘‘

[tekhearthazenyatta]

Something about the creature is intrinsically unnerving: 76 doesn't need to be able to see it for its voice to chill him, survival instinct kicking up several notches, urging him to /fight/. He resists, just-barely. "Answer the damn question," 76 grits out, stepping forward in turn. "You're not human - but you're not like any omnic /I've/ ever seen." The visor's scanner seems confused on that point, registering the creature as both organic and mechanical, but that--can't be right?

He laughs, airy and empty. “Yes, well–we’re a considerably diverse group, aren’t we?”

Though not quite so diverse as to include him. He’s not sure how he feels about being an ‘us’ with omnics, but he is, in a way. He doesn’t often consider it. It’s of no concern.

He takes another step forward, hands folded in front of him, wondering how close to this man he can get before things get messy.

“I’m…an adherent,” he says, amusement evident in his particular word choice, joking with himself. “Other than that, I’m not quite sure.”

[tekhearthazenyatta]

/ * * so ive spoken about the effects of discord/harmony orbs before ...     * zen’zoth is more like     * a complete lack of thought or feeling, thoughts just kind of slipping away     * like water on oil, you can’t really keep hold of anything, it might be kind of      * panic-inducing if you like, had the capacity to feel panic in that state     * vs.     * just. horrid, horrid hallucinations     * /

[tekhearthazenyatta]

The mouth of a pulse rifle aims at him, trigger finger all but twitching. "What are you." [ pop. pop. pop. save me I couldn't resist. ]

His head tilts, slowly, considering–threatening, somehow, in its languidness. He has absolutely no concern to spare over the firearm pointing at him. “I could ask you the same,” he says. “Though you might have a more straightforward answer.”

He takes a step forward, slit pupils of green eyes staring at the man from the orbs stilling around his shoulders. “Would you like to find out?”