video; optional action

[nulliverse]

Who: Celeste Blackwell and the fleet
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Can be found sulking around the SS Golden kitchen
When: Feb 6, evening

[The last time this girl appeared on the network, she was in quite a hot rage, so it might be odd to see her looking quiet and pensive now. Sad, despite a slight smile, to those who really look closely.]

I've been away for awhile - don't ask, I don't quite understand it myself - but apparently I've come back just in time for Valentine's Day to be around the corner. And normally I'd be the last person to bring up something like this, but...

[But what? She doesn't say, just asks her question.]

... have you ever been in love? What were they like? What really made you think "My god, this is the one" when there are so many other people out there who might've been just as good? And I mean, if you're in love right now and you still want to answer, it needn't be past tense. I suppose - I just don't quite understand this either, I never have, but that doesn't stop it from happening.

[She appears to be at a loss for a moment, before shaking her head and chuckling to herself.]

My mates would laugh themselves sick if they could hear me now.

[And that's all.]

Comments

[nulliverse]

Yes, you're right. On both counts. It's when everyone else around you agrees on that normal that you can feel rather out of place, but - that's why I actually enjoy these sorts of places, in their own way. People from so many wildly different universes that the idea of ascribing a "normal" to anything is laughable. It's... I suppose it's comforting.

[precedented]

[ His gaze softens a little. ]

I, too, often find it to be comforting. What I am stands out less in a multitude of individuality.

[nulliverse]

You did say you wouldn't put yourself among gods if you had the choice.

[It sounds rather like she's reminding him, which would be a silly thing given how recently he said it, but she's actually trying to figure him out. His answers are a bit oblique on the whole, which isn't helping how little she understands about gods and their realms in the first place.]

It must've been very important, whatever made you take that option, if you're the sort who'd rather not stand out.

[precedented]

[ He hums lightly. He rather not go into the details of his choice unless he has to. While he won't lie and never has, some things are not worth delving into. ]

Well, I am not a traditional God, certainly. I certainly ask for no worship at my altar.

[nulliverse]

[She honestly can't help her fierce curiosity about him, not even when his similarities to Caleb are really superficial at best - he's an incredible mystery regardless of that, and she's already prone to nosiness with people who have far less layers to be peeled away.

But she can usually feel when she's hit a topic on which no more will be said, and his reasons appear to be along those lines.]

No, you're not that. You could almost be any bloke, really, at least in a place like this. [Allowing for other universes and such, she means.] Far more intelligent and prone to deep thought than your average bloke, yes, but my first guess wouldn't have been God. It's probably best if I just think of you as Leto, isn't it, since you've said all that isn't relevant here.

[precedented]

[ His lips curve into a pleasant smile. It's not often he hears such sentiment. ]

Well, I am Leto. The godhood is simply an add-on of sorts, for me to carry with me.

[nulliverse]

Just Leto it is, then. I believe I can manage that - I've known all manner of people with those sorts of add-ons, and I was able to give them whatever level of importance the situation demanded.

[precedented]

Importance is subjective. If I wish to impress my importance, I think you would know.

[ There is a certain presence to him that is hard to ignore. ]

[nulliverse]

Oh! Well, I stand corrected - and perhaps warned? Although I'm not quite sure.

[precedented]

Perhaps it is important to be both.

[nulliverse]

Look, Leto, if I've offended you - it truly wasn't intentional. "Importance" was obviously the wrong word, but as you'd already used "relevance," it didn't seem such a stretch. I'll take it back straight away if I was wrong.

[precedented]

[ He laughs. ]

What do you think? Do you think I'm offended?

[nulliverse]

I can hardly tell. You were getting very intense for a moment there, so it was my first guess.

[precedented]

That, I'm afraid, is my natural disposition.

[nulliverse]

It is not. You can be perfectly pleasant at times. It's just harder to suss you out when you do get intense.

[precedented]

Were there so many times to guess from? Though there isn't much difference between pleasant and intense. They do tend to intermingle.

Or was I not intense earlier?

[nulliverse]

There are levels, then. That was a particularly high one. I will admit that you are, on the whole, more intense than most people I've met.

Or maybe intense is the wrong word entirely. I seem to be forming a habit of choosing the wrong words with you, unless you're also hopelessly pedantic.

[precedented]

Words are important. My father could kill with a word. Carefully placed, he could manipulate, deceive, coax out of the strongest of men. I know of others with similar gifts.

There are no wrong words, but words are heavy. Too heavy to use without restraint.

[ Language, how it is used, how it is spoken, given, must never be used lightly. Ever word is a bond, every sentence, a hushed promise twined with fingers, existing in the space between. ]