GODLY AUDIENCES - ZOE MURPHY

[divus]

Comments

[divus]

Nah. If she gets mad at anybody it'll be me and I'll deal with it later. [Merriment begins to draw something that looks like a duck instead.] When's the last time you've played a game of tic-tac-toe?

[requiemed]

Probably when I was, like, eight.

[And, as such, she starts drawing an intersecting series of squares with her marker.]

You're on.

[divus]

Sweet. Exs or ohs? [They're letting her draw the board though as the phrase "disorder drools" appears on a different part of the mirror.] Make your move.

[They'll actually take this conversation seriously in a bit.]

[requiemed]

Hm... Exes.

[And she puts one in the middle of the board.]

[divus]

[An O in the top left square is drawn...]

So are you another one who's going around trying to meet all of us?

[requiemed]

[She puts an X in the top middle of the board as she continues on.]

Yeah. I think it's better to form our own conclusions.

[divus]

[An O in the bottom middle to block her.]

Smart idea. Some of you are picking up on that pretty fast, faster than I thought. It's nice to see. [While Zoe makes her move, Merriment's also drawing what looks like a bunny on the mirror.]

Which means you probably have some questions for me, too.

[requiemed]

[She puts an X in the bottom left, looking over at the rabbit he's drawing as she does.]

Yeah. I think the easiest one to start with is... Why do you think your name is Merriment?

[divus]

[There's a pause and he leans over to put an O in the top right to block her play.]

...because somebody has a really bad sense of humor. I get the sentiment but the word, nah, that's a bad choice. [And back to the rabbit.] If I had to guess, it's because I'm not as serious as I should be. And maybe other reasons I'm still working out. You do know the game room's mine?

[requiemed]

[After a moment of deliberation, she puts an X in the far left middle square.]

Because someone has a really bad sense of humor? Who?

[She nods.]

I figured. And I also know you're doodling a rabbit on someone else's mirror, so... Maybe that's part of where the name came from.

[divus]

[Shrug!] There's nobody overruling us if that's what you're asking. [Give them a moment to study the board...] But we just sort of ended up with the names without asking so I'm saying someone else is responsible.

[There's a laugh though. The rabbit gets really dumb, long ears.] Disorder takes herself way too seriously sometimes. She's not gonna notice for a while.

[requiemed]

Did the other gods pick names for each of you, then, if there's nobody above you guys?

[A small smile tugs at her mouth as she watches, before she continues with another question.]

I'm guessing you guys don't get along.

[divus]

Hm...you know how sometimes you just sort of know things, even if you don't know why? Like instinct? Or a gut feeling. It's more like that than anything.

[An o goes in the middle right.]

I'm not her biggest fan and she's definitely not mine. Kind of mean-spirited but sweet when she wants to be.

[requiemed]

[She glances at the board for a second longer before putting a cap back on her pen and handing it back towards him.]

Good game. Also... On the flipside of that, which would you say you're closest to?

[divus]

Rematch later. [Merriment takes the marker and shoves it back into their cloak.]

Closest to, huh? ...Justice and Piety? Some of the others do their best and aren't so bad either. Love, Beauty, Sincerity, all those guys. Fortune's a good kid who tries.

[requiemed]

You're on.

[She tilts her head, though.]

What do you like about Justice and Piety?

[divus]

Justice is...he's a really good kid who tries really hard. I worry about what this game might do to him even though I know he can handle it. He's always curious and wants to make friends and learn about people...he's easy to talk to. He has great ideas.

Piety's very level-headed for someone his age. Soft-spoken but wise beyond his years, it's really great to see. It's nice having somebody who can keep the balance sometimes when things get out of control.

...they've both been nice to me, so it's mutual.

[requiemed]

Yeah... I probably don't know either of them as well as you do, but they both seem really cool.

[But, hm.]

How long have all of you known each other?

[divus]

Not that long. This is really new for all of us.

[requiemed]

Has it been weird to get adjusted to?

[divus]

Let's just say this is the first time I've dealt with this many people. It's been pretty weird.

[requiemed]

Dealt with in what way?

[divus]

...actually talking to them? [Eheh.]

[requiemed]

You haven't talked to more people than this before?

[divus]

Not in a really, really long time. [...] Think in the neighborhood of hundreds of years.