[ Ema is squinting so hard that her eyes have closed entirely, a drawstring scrunch to the middle of her brow. She is feeling incredible danger at this moment. There is a chance that Aphrodite could be bluffing in the manner of your average fortune teller, but there's enough confidence in her demeanor that Ema's survival instinct is telling her not to push any further. ]
I'll have to decline on both counts.
[ Still, this is a unique opportunity, if true. It isn't every day that you get a chance to talk to an actual goddess... ]
If you can make people fall in love... then can you make them fall out of love too?
[So much for proof! Aphrodite sets down her tea cup, letting it rest on one of the end tables while she takes a more relaxed, lounging posture. what is this sitting with two feet on the floor business?]
I can. But that isn't nearly so much fun to talk about.
[She doesn't want to be the bad guy unless she really wants to.]
Before you ask, I have not meddled among any of the people on the nameless island. I am just as much a captive as the rest of you.
[ But it actually is good to know that Aphrodite isn't meddling... any more than she currently is. She doesn't strike Ema as the type to lie. To omit, maybe, but not to lie.
Ema watches as Aphrodite makes herself at home in the deepest sense of the word, looking like manservants are liable to start appearing with wine and grapes. Ema just sets her cup down and crosses her legs at the knee. ]
[It would be nice if robot butlers and pool boys would appear out of nowhere, but alas.]
Is that so? [She seems surprised by the assessment and tilts her head, twisting a long strand of hair around a finger.] I suppose mankind are made in our image. Or are you referring to my temperament?
[One of her favorite games to play with Caleb is to pretend that she is a normal, mortal girl, so perhaps some of that is rubbing off on her. It’s been a long time since she’s been so entirely surrounded by mortals with none of her godly kin to influence her.]
The latter. I would expect you to be more... "make way, bow down," you know? Shiny and obnoxious.
[ Aphrodite is still a little bit of those things, but Ema has co-workers with a bigger god complex than this actual goddess seems to have. She sighs at leans her arm on the couch. ]
Frankly, I'm surprised you'd take an interest in the potential dabblings of schmucks like us. I'm sure you've seen it all before.
Bored of love, dear? What a terrible thought. It would be like asking if Poseidon grew sick of the ocean.
[She sighs wistfully, her reactions played up as usual, but it's a genuine sentiment, her eyes bright and enthusiastic. She wouldn't make a good goddess of love if she got tired of it.]
Mortals are so passionate about everything! Peasants and kings and warriors all bound together by the desire that fuels them. Love of self. Love of brotherhood. [There might as well be stars in her eyes as she continues.] Isn't it incredible that the same feeling that beats in your heart when you think of Eustace is what the great Achilles felt when he made a deal with Lord Hades to save his lover's soul?
[ There's something very relatable about the sparkle in Aphrodite's eyes as she gushes about love... hm. Ema is actually listening with some curiosity, interested in hearing a purported goddess talking about her realm of influence with so much joy, but her expression tanks instantly when Eustace's name comes up again. Aphrodite really isn't going to let this go...
If Aphrodite really can hear people's hearts beating, then there's not much use in trying to deny whatever traitorous flip-flops Ema's heart will feel like doing over the course of this conversation. A small part of her gives up because fuck it, and also because it isn't in her nature to be dishonest about herself, even to other people. ]
What is it going to take for you to stop bringing him up?
[Oops, she took it one step too far. Some of the star-studded wonder fades from her eyes and she regards Ema more seriously. A hand curls under her own chin. At least it feels like she’s getting somewhere with this one. Reasons to like Ema already.
On the level.] You seem like a reasonable, thoughtful woman. Surely you can imagine the curiosity it would spark to be accused of meddling in a love life you know nothing of. If he would have just told me who he held a flame for, I could stop thinking about it.
[That is about as simple as it gets. She’s nosy for the sake of being nosy, and nothing more.]
Hah. That's a pretty way of admitting you're just nosy.
[ But Ema respects it, in a way. She'd much rather deal with a nuisance in front of her than one behind her back. ]
Unfortunately, how I feel about him has no bearing on how he feels about me. As I said, I started living here for my own purposes — not because of any fledgling attraction between us. You'll have to tighten your case a bit more before you can come to any conclusions about who his mystery flame might be.
[Her eyes are sparkling. The mystery of Eustace continues but she feels like she's likely close to finishing that puzzle. The goddess of love didn't spring from the foaming sea just yesterday.]
[ If Aphrodite really can hear heartbeats, then there's no hiding the spike in Ema's at the accusation, the same as if she were being accused of murder. ]
I'd like you to quantify that. Scientifically, if you could.
[ Evidence! She needs it. Maybe she's being stubborn, but maybe she needs a little help too, trying to interpret the notes of an abnormal relationship in an abnormal situation. ]
[Said bluntly, but she continues, knitting her fingers together,]
There are many kinds of love. Just because you haven't yet asked him to sweep you off of your feet doesn't mean that there is not love. Mortals just enjoy making things more complicated than needed.
[ That people make things too complicated. Even Ema often feels that way about her fellow humanoids... especially when they're murdering each other in comically labyrinthine fashions. ]
In defense of all us overly complicated mortals, we can't all have hearts as big as a Greek goddess's. I'm sure you've seen how easily people's hearts can break.
On the contrary, I think that some mortals feel love even more keenly than myself. It makes me jealous, if I am to be honest. Wars are waged for love, even driving some to walk right into the underworld for the sake of something greater than themselves.
[She might be romanticizing it a little. But what kind of goddess of love would she be if she wasn't entirely enamored with the concept of love.]
The fact that your hearts break only proves the power of the love while it was there.
Jealous of people driven to violence and suicide for love. Right.
[ She assumed an immortal would have skewed views, but it's good to get confirmation that she should definitely not leave too much of her fate in Aphrodite's hands. While Ema can very personally appreciate a love strong enough to risk self-destruction, she sees nothing romantic about it. ]
You've had children, haven't you? Isn't that supposed to be the strongest type of love there is?
[ She isn't super brushed up on her Greek mythology, but she's pretty sure Aphrodite was supposed to have had offspring... ]
[She tilts her head to the side, giving Ema a curious look. There were a few people on the island who were familiar with stories about her. Not always true, although she is quite familiar with the idea that there might be multiple versions of herself out there. The one that Persephone is familiar with certainly has a different history than herself.]
I’m only freshly married before I came here, and I’m afraid Lord Hephaestus doesn’t have much time for quality time with his wife.
[There’s an obvious sharp edge of disdain to her voice. Leave it to the Fates to put the goddess of love in a loveless marriage.]
[ Oh...??? Is this possibly time wobbliness at play? Awkward. And it sounds like she's stepped unwittingly into a sinkhole of godly marital problems? Double awkward...
Ema frowns, eyes darting away then back with the flightiness of guilt. Of what she's guilty, no one knows, but she does know that she should probably ease away from the marriage thing. ]
Ah, well! Don't worry about it.
[ And that's that(?). ]
I thought you godly types were always... budding off each other. Sprouting out of each other's toes and such.
[To be fair gods are all sorts of messy and there are only so many myths I can contend with at once. Either way, Aphrodite doesn't seem put out by the awkward step into her personal life. She doesn't talk about Hephaestus very often but that is mostly because she would rather continue pretending that they aren't married!
She laughs at the phrase budding. It's not inaccurate.]
The idea isn't abhorrent to me. I'm sure it will come sooner or later, as I would like to have children someday. Fjord may not have realized it, but I was quite serious when I claimed to want to create a little brood of demigods with him.
[ Someone around the island, if Ema recalls correctly. The conversation may be bordering TMI, but she is just curious enough to snoop. It isn't every day you get to pick a goddess's brain, after all. ]
Is there something about him that makes him particuarly [uh] broodworthy?
[ It may or may not have been a profound statement for certain parties, but to Ema it sounds like a matter of course. Some context might help. She wants to examine this scientifically! ]
Is there anything else to it? No romantic tale of his heroics that stole your heart away? Is he the biggest or strongest person on the block, perhaps?
[Aphrodite laughs but, thankfully, rises to stand.]
I see, I can tell when I've overstayed my welcome. [Despite her everything, Aphrodite was not manifested from the severed genitals of Kronos yesterday.] But I will remind you that you were the one who asked.
[Said with a wink. Sorry if kindness and sex isn't scientific enough for you Ema!]
It was lovely to meet you. I think I will be heading home, so give Eustace my regards when you see him.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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I'll have to decline on both counts.
[ Still, this is a unique opportunity, if true. It isn't every day that you get a chance to talk to an actual goddess... ]
If you can make people fall in love... then can you make them fall out of love too?
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I can. But that isn't nearly so much fun to talk about.
[She doesn't want to be the bad guy unless she really wants to.]
Before you ask, I have not meddled among any of the people on the nameless island. I am just as much a captive as the rest of you.
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[ But it actually is good to know that Aphrodite isn't meddling... any more than she currently is. She doesn't strike Ema as the type to lie. To omit, maybe, but not to lie.
Ema watches as Aphrodite makes herself at home in the deepest sense of the word, looking like manservants are liable to start appearing with wine and grapes. Ema just sets her cup down and crosses her legs at the knee. ]
For a goddess, you seem... surprisingly normal.
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Is that so? [She seems surprised by the assessment and tilts her head, twisting a long strand of hair around a finger.] I suppose mankind are made in our image. Or are you referring to my temperament?
[One of her favorite games to play with Caleb is to pretend that she is a normal, mortal girl, so perhaps some of that is rubbing off on her. It’s been a long time since she’s been so entirely surrounded by mortals with none of her godly kin to influence her.]
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[ Aphrodite is still a little bit of those things, but Ema has co-workers with a bigger god complex than this actual goddess seems to have. She sighs at leans her arm on the couch. ]
Frankly, I'm surprised you'd take an interest in the potential dabblings of schmucks like us. I'm sure you've seen it all before.
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[She sighs wistfully, her reactions played up as usual, but it's a genuine sentiment, her eyes bright and enthusiastic. She wouldn't make a good goddess of love if she got tired of it.]
Mortals are so passionate about everything! Peasants and kings and warriors all bound together by the desire that fuels them. Love of self. Love of brotherhood. [There might as well be stars in her eyes as she continues.] Isn't it incredible that the same feeling that beats in your heart when you think of Eustace is what the great Achilles felt when he made a deal with Lord Hades to save his lover's soul?
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If Aphrodite really can hear people's hearts beating, then there's not much use in trying to deny whatever traitorous flip-flops Ema's heart will feel like doing over the course of this conversation. A small part of her gives up because fuck it, and also because it isn't in her nature to be dishonest about herself, even to other people. ]
What is it going to take for you to stop bringing him up?
[ She just wants... peace...... ]
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On the level.] You seem like a reasonable, thoughtful woman. Surely you can imagine the curiosity it would spark to be accused of meddling in a love life you know nothing of. If he would have just told me who he held a flame for, I could stop thinking about it.
[That is about as simple as it gets. She’s nosy for the sake of being nosy, and nothing more.]
Consider it a professional interest.
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[ But Ema respects it, in a way. She'd much rather deal with a nuisance in front of her than one behind her back. ]
Unfortunately, how I feel about him has no bearing on how he feels about me. As I said, I started living here for my own purposes — not because of any fledgling attraction between us. You'll have to tighten your case a bit more before you can come to any conclusions about who his mystery flame might be.
no subject
[Her eyes are sparkling. The mystery of Eustace continues but she feels like she's likely close to finishing that puzzle. The goddess of love didn't spring from the foaming sea just yesterday.]
no subject
[ If Aphrodite really can hear heartbeats, then there's no hiding the spike in Ema's at the accusation, the same as if she were being accused of murder. ]
I'd like you to quantify that. Scientifically, if you could.
[ Evidence! She needs it. Maybe she's being stubborn, but maybe she needs a little help too, trying to interpret the notes of an abnormal relationship in an abnormal situation. ]
no subject
[Said bluntly, but she continues, knitting her fingers together,]
There are many kinds of love. Just because you haven't yet asked him to sweep you off of your feet doesn't mean that there is not love. Mortals just enjoy making things more complicated than needed.
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[ That people make things too complicated. Even Ema often feels that way about her fellow humanoids... especially when they're murdering each other in comically labyrinthine fashions. ]
In defense of all us overly complicated mortals, we can't all have hearts as big as a Greek goddess's. I'm sure you've seen how easily people's hearts can break.
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[She might be romanticizing it a little. But what kind of goddess of love would she be if she wasn't entirely enamored with the concept of love.]
The fact that your hearts break only proves the power of the love while it was there.
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[ She assumed an immortal would have skewed views, but it's good to get confirmation that she should definitely not leave too much of her fate in Aphrodite's hands. While Ema can very personally appreciate a love strong enough to risk self-destruction, she sees nothing romantic about it. ]
You've had children, haven't you? Isn't that supposed to be the strongest type of love there is?
[ She isn't super brushed up on her Greek mythology, but she's pretty sure Aphrodite was supposed to have had offspring... ]
no subject
[She tilts her head to the side, giving Ema a curious look. There were a few people on the island who were familiar with stories about her. Not always true, although she is quite familiar with the idea that there might be multiple versions of herself out there. The one that Persephone is familiar with certainly has a different history than herself.]
I’m only freshly married before I came here, and I’m afraid Lord Hephaestus doesn’t have much time for quality time with his wife.
[There’s an obvious sharp edge of disdain to her voice. Leave it to the Fates to put the goddess of love in a loveless marriage.]
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Ema frowns, eyes darting away then back with the flightiness of guilt. Of what she's guilty, no one knows, but she does know that she should probably ease away from the marriage thing. ]
Ah, well! Don't worry about it.
[ And that's that(?). ]
I thought you godly types were always... budding off each other. Sprouting out of each other's toes and such.
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She laughs at the phrase budding. It's not inaccurate.]
The idea isn't abhorrent to me. I'm sure it will come sooner or later, as I would like to have children someday. Fjord may not have realized it, but I was quite serious when I claimed to want to create a little brood of demigods with him.
[This teatime conversation has gone places.]
no subject
[ Someone around the island, if Ema recalls correctly. The conversation may be bordering TMI, but she is just curious enough to snoop. It isn't every day you get to pick a goddess's brain, after all. ]
Is there something about him that makes him particuarly [uh] broodworthy?
no subject
Because I love him, of course.
[
Enjoy that, all of you criminals stalking this thread.]no subject
[ It may or may not have been a profound statement for certain parties, but to Ema it sounds like a matter of course. Some context might help. She wants to examine this scientifically! ]
Is there anything else to it? No romantic tale of his heroics that stole your heart away? Is he the biggest or strongest person on the block, perhaps?
no subject
Just because I am the goddess of love doesn't mean that I love everyone in the same way. There is a difference between love and in love. [Nuance!]
But yes... he has just been very sweet to me since we arrived. Even put himself into danger for my sake. [A soft smile,] He means a lot to me.
[A beat] And our sex life is incredible.
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Would you look at that. Eustace just texted to say he might not be back, ever.
[ She hasn't even looked at her bracelet. ]
This has been an enlightening chat, but you'll probably be better off continuing your hunt for him elsewhere.
no subject
I see, I can tell when I've overstayed my welcome. [Despite her everything, Aphrodite was not manifested from the severed genitals of Kronos yesterday.] But I will remind you that you were the one who asked.
[Said with a wink. Sorry if kindness and sex isn't scientific enough for you Ema!]
It was lovely to meet you. I think I will be heading home, so give Eustace my regards when you see him.