Uh... they look like M&Ms? They're colourful little chocolates with hard crispy shells. [She's probably going to roll her eyes and tell him she knows exactly what M&Ms are, but better be safe than her thinking he's trying to feed her some aphrodisiacs or rohypnol or something.
Stepping in a little closer, he offers it to her with a smile. Maybe it was the right move to reserve the X for now.] Do you like these? [They are just getting to know each other, right? Small talk is as good as anywhere else to start.]
[ An incredulous look. She assumes it is some Earth thing. Why are so many of the volunteers from Earth? As far as she knows it was an uninhabitable rock. It also makes most of these people some primitive ancestor to the kind of human she is. ]
It doesn't matter. [ Seriously. The fuck does she care. ] I like it.
[ She lets him in to the small room, finding a piece of furniture to perch on herself. There's a faint singed smell in the room. She and the roommate had a fiery disagreement about the space. ]
No idea love. Ask an American. [If he notices the smell he doesn't point it out. He's a drinker and a smoker, he doesn't smell like flowers and unicorns himself.] Your roommate out for a quickie?
[ Both in an overall sense of not giving a shit about anyone, as well as the girl specifically. She'd lit the room on fire, so. Carla thinks she'll be just fine. ]
Is it your preference not to care and protect then? Is that out of a genuine lack of compassion, or are trying to protect yourself from the inevitable disappointments.
[ She pauses, gesturing lazily with one hand as she adds on an afterthought, ]
Or to protect others from being disappointed in you, which has the same root.
Not my job and not what I signed up for, coming here. I came to check out the sights and sleep around. [Not much for sugarcoating, this one. But at least he's being honest about his intentions.] Why? Are we pretending to care now?
[He's a con artist by trade. You can bet he's always got a few tears saved up. It takes some focus to bring it up, sure, a dejected sort of looking away, that slight pout and a telltale tightening in his chest. Hurting himself also helps move it along. His stance changes as his shoulders start to slump, and his jaw shifts as his brows furrow. He manages to get the tears going with a few slow blinks, scratching the side of his nose with his thumb. Don't you just want to give this poor woobie a hug?]
[ She genuinely gasps with delight. Like a child watching a magician. A reaction at odds with her usual cold bitch routine, but... she liked it. It was a trade. ]
That's good. You even look a little ashamed of yourself.
[ She obviously had a different version, one that suited her haughtiness, the indignant gasps of a rich girl, chin trembling, but she can appreciate the skill of it all the same. ]
[It helps that he's got plenty that he ought to be ashamed of, even if he himself was shameless and didn't think so. He had to laugh as he sniffled and wiped his eye with the heel of his palm.] Works better for women, I'm afraid. Or lucky for you, depending on how you look at it.
[ She didn't actually believe the shit about the demons, so she's still trying to pin point what it is he does. She is actually thinking something along of charlatan at this point. ]
[The answer is basically everybody. Sometimes he thinks he lies so much he doesn't know who he is or what he wants anymore. He gives her what he thinks is an acceptable answer with a casual sort of shrug.] People with more money than common sense, and people who get too close.
[ An intellectual curiosity, really. She's an empty thing on the inside, the closer people got to her, the more she sucked them into her cruelty and chaos. Something she had absolutely no problem with. ]
To me. [He does care, somewhere deep down in a black pit he wouldn't admit to having, or else he'd just let people get close and let them burn themselves. But he likes to think of it as being selfish too, as not wanting to get too attached knowing that it'll never last.]
You know the type. You're just here for a shag but they want hugs, kisses, children and a mortgage.
[ She leans back on her hands, ankles crossed as she contemplates that. No one has ever made that mistake with her. She's intrigued by the notion distantly: just how much she'd have to pretend to convince someone that she might settle down with them, that she might love them. Could she pretend to love someone for that long? A moment's wide eyed infatuation she knew how to fake, but that?
No, it would be very annoying to have someone press upon her sense of self like that. She'd have to shutter it away in a manner she wouldn't find very much fun to accomplish that goal. Doable, but unpleasant... ]
That would be an inconvenience.
[ Her tone is airy, definitely in the vein 'but that sounds like your problem, not mine.' ]
[John's not really one for long cons either, but he can stick it out for years if the situation calls for it. He doesn't mind giving parts of himself away in the process, as long as he gets what he wants in the end.]
Well luckily for both of us you're just looking for M&Ms, eh? [Said with a wink.]
[ She smiles, faint but distant, contemplating the thing in front of her with the new information available. His buttons won't be pushed as easily as some of the others. Too many layers of misdirection and warping. This does not bother her, but it does change what she was looking for. ]
What were you looking for? In coming to Zenith?
[ She will also be taking one of those M&Ms, she pops it in her mouth adding generously, ]
You can lie.
[ The lies people told were sometimes as pertinent as their truths. ]
[He didn't think he needed her permission to lie. It makes him raise an eyebrow and tilt his head upwards with mild interest. His smile seems genuine enough, it even reaches his eyes.]
They said all I had to do was fuck my way through all the other volunteers to be a big hero and save my world so I said, you had me at fuck, where do I sign?
[ Hm. She rubs the package of candy between her thumb and knuckle, listening to the various crinkling noises and the clacking of the pieces of candy. ]
Willing to sacrifice your dick to save the world, but not willing to sacrifice your independence for 'hugs, kisses, children, or mortgages'.
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Stepping in a little closer, he offers it to her with a smile. Maybe it was the right move to reserve the X for now.] Do you like these? [They are just getting to know each other, right? Small talk is as good as anywhere else to start.]
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[ An incredulous look. She assumes it is some Earth thing. Why are so many of the volunteers from Earth? As far as she knows it was an uninhabitable rock. It also makes most of these people some primitive ancestor to the kind of human she is. ]
It doesn't matter. [ Seriously. The fuck does she care. ] I like it.
[ She lets him in to the small room, finding a piece of furniture to perch on herself. There's a faint singed smell in the room. She and the roommate had a fiery disagreement about the space. ]
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[ A corrective tone: no love, no darling, no babe, no sweetheart. ]
I believe the roommate is avoiding me. I did tell her to get the fuck out.
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I had zero intentions of sharing this room with a teenage girl.
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So you kicked her out without caring about what the overprotective muppets would say? You're a girl after my own heart.
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[ Both in an overall sense of not giving a shit about anyone, as well as the girl specifically. She'd lit the room on fire, so. Carla thinks she'll be just fine. ]
Is it your preference not to care and protect then? Is that out of a genuine lack of compassion, or are trying to protect yourself from the inevitable disappointments.
[ She pauses, gesturing lazily with one hand as she adds on an afterthought, ]
Or to protect others from being disappointed in you, which has the same root.
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[ She smiles cheerfully. If they're being honest, she is very good at being honest. ]
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[ She liked very good liars, consummate ones, dedicated to the craft of it. Anything lesser and she's just rather have the truth of it. ]
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That's good. You even look a little ashamed of yourself.
[ She obviously had a different version, one that suited her haughtiness, the indignant gasps of a rich girl, chin trembling, but she can appreciate the skill of it all the same. ]
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[ She didn't actually believe the shit about the demons, so she's still trying to pin point what it is he does. She is actually thinking something along of charlatan at this point. ]
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Too close to what?
[ An intellectual curiosity, really. She's an empty thing on the inside, the closer people got to her, the more she sucked them into her cruelty and chaos. Something she had absolutely no problem with. ]
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You know the type. You're just here for a shag but they want hugs, kisses, children and a mortgage.
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No, it would be very annoying to have someone press upon her sense of self like that. She'd have to shutter it away in a manner she wouldn't find very much fun to accomplish that goal. Doable, but unpleasant... ]
That would be an inconvenience.
[ Her tone is airy, definitely in the vein 'but that sounds like your problem, not mine.' ]
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Well luckily for both of us you're just looking for M&Ms, eh? [Said with a wink.]
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What were you looking for? In coming to Zenith?
[ She will also be taking one of those M&Ms, she pops it in her mouth adding generously, ]
You can lie.
[ The lies people told were sometimes as pertinent as their truths. ]
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They said all I had to do was fuck my way through all the other volunteers to be a big hero and save my world so I said, you had me at fuck, where do I sign?
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Willing to sacrifice your dick to save the world, but not willing to sacrifice your independence for 'hugs, kisses, children, or mortgages'.
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