Circe, Witch of Aiaia (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pharmaka) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
maskormenace2018-11-16 08:04 pm
pharmaka) wrote in maskormenace2018-11-16 08:04 pm
video | 01
[ For a brief moment after the camera flickers on, Circe appears uncertain, and then her expression at once resolves into a calm, unstirred facade, cool as a plane of water. She has unglamorous auburn hair set back in a tousled braid, eyes of an odd, subtly gold sheen, and a plain, even voice. ]
Well. I do not know whether it is for the better that most of the plants and animals and the like are familiar to me here. It would surely be a better preoccupation than what I was assigned, to acquaint myself with the local wildlife, so perhaps I will do it nonetheless. It has been made clear to me that there is an almost impossibly large amount of land to be seen.
Given I am unfamiliar with travel and with this country, I thought I would seek suggestions. In particular... [ a short pause ] I find I miss the sea. I had heard of deserts, but they are not so lovely a place to live as they are to hear tales of. And the same can be said of cities of men.
[ That is it. She says nothing about the confusion, the mingled hope and fear, that all this freedom and newness has set about in her. She is quite possibly the only divine being here. It is impossible to tell. Is that her father, keeping eye on her in the sky? If it is, she doubts he is about to say hello. In some respects she is as alone as she ever was.
In others... There are more people, more mortals, and more land than she has ever given thought to in her long life. It is thrilling and terrifying at the same time, and Circe dares to betray as little of it as she can manage. ]
Well. I do not know whether it is for the better that most of the plants and animals and the like are familiar to me here. It would surely be a better preoccupation than what I was assigned, to acquaint myself with the local wildlife, so perhaps I will do it nonetheless. It has been made clear to me that there is an almost impossibly large amount of land to be seen.
Given I am unfamiliar with travel and with this country, I thought I would seek suggestions. In particular... [ a short pause ] I find I miss the sea. I had heard of deserts, but they are not so lovely a place to live as they are to hear tales of. And the same can be said of cities of men.
[ That is it. She says nothing about the confusion, the mingled hope and fear, that all this freedom and newness has set about in her. She is quite possibly the only divine being here. It is impossible to tell. Is that her father, keeping eye on her in the sky? If it is, she doubts he is about to say hello. In some respects she is as alone as she ever was.
In others... There are more people, more mortals, and more land than she has ever given thought to in her long life. It is thrilling and terrifying at the same time, and Circe dares to betray as little of it as she can manage. ]
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[ Whatever she might add to that is subverted as she comes up on the car, interest clear in her expression. ] I have not ridden in one of these yet. I knew men were clever, but this seems a lot even for cleverness.
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Well, now's a good time for your first time! I dunno if I'd say it's 'cause men are clever - it really only takes one. I work on cars for a living, but I only know what I know because other people did it first.
[ He puts on his seatbelt and gestures for Circe to do the same. ]
The way you said men - does that mean you're from a place like Themyscira? [ Wait, she might not know where that is. ] That's an island of women, where I'm from. They're kind of god-ish so people say they don't bother with the kinda tech we do.
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[ Circe laughs, midway through discerning how her seatbelt works. She clicks it into place a moment later, automatically straightening out her skirt and shifting in her seat as she goes on. ]
That is cleverness of its own kind. Gods are not good at that either. I have always admired mortals for it.
[ It's quite freeing to be able to just say these things without expecting censure, as she usually would. It's soft for a goddess, to admire mortals. But she's Circe-the-exile, Circe-the-witch, and already in her time here she has become comfortable enough that her initial uncertainty about admitting her divinity has faded away. It slips out as an implication here without hesitation. ]
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[ It's said in a way that most people - most mortals - wouldn't put it, as casually inquisitive as though she merely said she was from a non-existent country or another time period altogether. Jaime has met so many gods now that while it's interesting, certainly, it's nothing to exclaim over. It's complicated by the fact that he distinguishes between gods and the God, but he doesn't spend much time ruminating on the fact.
Who cares whether they're gods or not? He's not going to be the dickhead who goes around accusing people of not being what they say they are. He shifts the gear into reverse, backs out, and moments later they're on the road. Many would say that Heropa has little to recommend it but it's a scenic drive and one Jaime always enjoys, propping one arm against the window as he steers with the other hand. ]
Gods, huh? [ He glances over at Circe, measuring her up. She doesn't look like a goddess. Pretty, of course, but that's no big clue. Nine out of ten imPorts are supermodel gorgeous as it is. ]
So, um, what are you a god of? If that's the sort of god you are, I mean. I get the impression that it's different for everyone.
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I am not god of anything -- I am not powerful enough for such titles -- though I am told that far into my future I become known to mortals as a goddess of witches. It is true I am a witch, but no one leaves offerings in my name. I would hardly know what to do if they did.
[ This is the sort of friendly, open soul-baring Circe has been so starved for on Aiaia. Among her family, she just can't say this sort of thing without mocking; nor to Hermes, who would dig his talons into the soft belly that would show; and not to any of the mortals she has met at home thus far. She will never forget Glaucus's incredulity and dawning horror that she could be old enough to have met Prometheus.
Being open with who and what she is is so much freedom she scarcely knows what to do with it. The only other time she had experienced it had been with Daedalus, who had been neither intimidated nor condescending toward her. What a thing to realize, that many years in the future in some other realm, mortals are cast in his image... With their machinery and their curiosity and respect.
Circe watches out the window as Jaime drives, unafraid and soaking it in. ]
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[ The fondness in Jaime's voice makes it clear that there's nothing but admiration for his ex - probably in part because they're not exes by choice. It's hard for him not to think of Traci every time witches come up, though. At the same time, he has a hard time figuring out what makes Circe considered to be a god now rather than simply another witch.
It's most likely a distinction for someone else to make. Witches, probably. They've got their own stuff going on. ]
So, d'you still wanna go as a god here? Or d'you just want to, you know, live your life?
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This question provokes a laugh from her, fuller than the last. ] As if it is a cloak I may cast aside if I wish! [ She doesn't admit how often she's wished that were the case. Circe has no great fondness for her divinity. ] 'Living my life' is all I have ever been able to do, so I will continue with as much peace and enjoyment as may be possible. I cannot stop being a goddess, but I am not the like that anyone has ever worshiped me, and I would be severely unsettled should anyone start.
[ Circe is not altogether that comfortable talking about herself, really, although she has learned to put up with some necessary amount of it here due to her foreignness. Still, she directs the conversation: ] Are there very many mortal witches here? I have already met some. It is strange to me, but not unwelcome.
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He's about to ask her more about the distinction when she asks him a question in return. ]
Not many, I don't think. Anyone who is is an imPort - one of us. There used to be more, but they've been ported out by now. [ He glances her way. ] If you'd like to meet whoever does, um, identify as a witch, I'd ask the network. I'm sure they'd love to meet you.
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It also doesn't settle for her how comfortable she is with having a public identity. She's ended up being known by people by name already, but Circe isn't sure she wants to go about encouraging that. ]
I fear that compared to whatever stories they may have heard, I would end up a disappointment, [ she answers frankly, without a hint of self-pity. ] I was merely curious. There is so little here I understand, witchcraft may be the only thing.
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[ Jaime's probably fortunate in that he knows very little of mythology and has very little attachment to it in the first place. He'll respect other people's point of view on the matter but at the end of the day, they're just people with powers like the rest of them. Just with a little extra oomph.
As they turn the corner, Jaime drives into a deserted parking lot and stops the car at what is clearly an emptied out portion of the beach. ]
All right! Here we are. There's a bus stop right there if you ever wanna take public transit here, but people usually don't stop here anyway. I think they don't really see the point if there's nobody around to see them.
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These darker thoughts are swept from her mind as they drive out onto a deserted strip of beach. Without conscious permission, a smile stretches across her face, as genuine as any she's given so far. ]
Thank you, Jaime, [ she says faintly. ] It was kind of you to bring me here. [ Circe places her hand on the door handle, then pauses, looking back at him. ] Would you like to come with me? It may not be very exciting, watching a woman stick her feet in freezing water.
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[ She - and the world - will discover otherwise soon enough, though even after his ID is exposed, Jaime maintains that he really isn't all that exciting. Exciting things happen to him with great frequency but he himself isn't exciting. If not for the whims of the world around him, he'd be perfectly happy doing the exact same thing every day, living the quiet, humble life he'd been set up for before he became the Blue Beetle and sticking mainly to himself.
Walking along the beach with someone in need of a little guidance and, perhaps, making a new friend is fine by him. ]
I like it here too anyway. I wouldn't have been able to bring you here if this wasn't a place I come to myself.