GODLY AUDIENCES - ZOE MURPHY

[divus]

Comments

[divus]

Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

[Ambition mutters under her breath, but then a moment later, she finishes with the nails.]

There! That looks great on you, don't you think?

[requiemed]

It looks really nice, thanks.

[She nods appreciatively, looking down at her hands.]

I didn't mean to upset you, though. Maybe we could talk about something better?

[divus]

You're welcome.

[Ambition sounds appeased by that... but after a moment she sighs, sounding aggravated.]

No, it was... my fault. [She does not sound like she likes admitting that.] I'm not very good at first impressions. One of my followers promised to help me with that, but...

[requiemed]

[She waves a hand, indicating that she doesn't mind.]

Do you not have a lot of experience with people...?

[divus]

I just don't see the point in acting like someone I'm not.

[She shrugs, bringing up a hand as if to toss her hair over her shoulder before remembering that her hair is all under her hood so she can't.]

I have every reason to be confident in myself, and I'm not going to act all humble just because people think humble people are nicer. But I guess that rubs some people the wrong way.

[requiemed]

[She pauses for a few moments, before:]

If I say something kind of blunt, are you going to curse me?

[divus]

[on the one hand, if she just said it without asking first, the chances of that happening were high.

ON THE OTHER... since Zoe warned her first, she can do something about it.]

I promise I won't, even if I want to.

[and divine oaths are binding. there, you're safe to talk, zoe.]

[requiemed]

There's a difference between confident and kind of... off-putting.

[divus]

For some people, sure. But some people just find confidence off-putting, period.

[Ambition waves a hand.]

Have you seen how insecure some boys get if a girl doesn't back down from something? It's like, think about why a girl being confident bothers you.

[requiemed]

Yeah, boys suck.

[wow]

I'm just saying, you can be confident and friendly at the same time. I think your problem might be that you could use a hand on the second one...?

[divus]

[Ambition doesn't seem too happy to hear that... but there's a minuscule nod a moment later.]

I've heard that before. From some of you.

[requiemed]

It's not the worst thing to realize you have things you could improve on. That's all.

[divus]

[ghhh]

It's just - easier said than done. With everything else going on here.

[requiemed]

[She nods, her expression shifting into something sympathetic.]

Yeah. I bet it's even pretty overwhelming for all of you.

[divus]

I'll be glad when it's over.

[i mean, everyone will be, because when it's over people won't be dying anymore]

[requiemed]

And what'll you do once it is? Whether or not you win.

[divus]

Well, if I win, I'll be busy remaking this world.

[Ambition huffs.]

If I don't, I'll be... ugh... doing whatever the winner says.

[requiemed]

I don't think I realized that yet. The winner has control over everyone else...?

[divus]

Right. They're like...

[Ambition waves a hand.]

You read mythology, right? You're from Earth. Whoever wins this is going to be our Zeus - king or queen of the gods.

[requiemed]

Hopefully whoever it is has pretty good judgment.

[But, now she's curious.]

If you don't win, which of the other gods do you think would do the best job?

[divus]

Cunning or Disorder.

[She crosses her arms.]

They were nice to me when none of the other gods were. They'd totally do a better job than any of the others give them credit for.

[requiemed]

...You know that Cunning doesn't care if people get killed, right?

[divus]

He only says that because he knows they'll come back at the end.

[requiemed]

That doesn't make it right, Ambition.

[divus]

He's not a bad person! He would be if he still said that sort of thing knowing you all wouldn't come back, but...

[Ambition huffs.]

All of this can be fixed at the end. All of it.