CALLIOPE: One thread of our story has been pulled to its completion; while there is still much that can be said and learned about Demeter, it is too personal to share with the masses. Know that she is healing and trying to be better– no matter what happens with her and Persephone, she is trying to be better. Linked through Demeter’s thread is another that will be stitched to its end today.
Welcome, dear listeners, to Forged Bonds.
Given everything that has happened with Demeter and Zeus, you may have considered Zeus’s story complete. I am afraid to say that that is not the case. Zeus has just made his way to the beach, knocking at the door of Hera and Poseidon’s home with an amount of hesitation not usually shown by the king of the gods.
POSEIDON: I got it, Hera! (door opens) No.
ZEUS: Little brother–
POSEIDON: No. Whatever it is you want, the answer is no. Leave, before she sees you and you ruin her day again.
ZEUS: I’m actually here to see you, little brother. If you’re so concerned about me being spotted, you can just take a step outside and close the door behind you. It would solve all of our problems, wouldn’t it?
POSEIDON: And what if I don’t want to see you either?
ZEUS: Well, it’s a little late for that don’t you think? Besides, I know you well enough to know that I’ve piqued your curiosity already. You may as well see what I have to say.
CALLIOPE: As much as Poseidon hated to admit it, his brother was right; now that he knew Zeus was there for him, he wanted to know why. Before he could make his decision, he heard the sound of Hera’s footsteps approaching.
HERA: Is everything alright, Si? Who was– Oh.
ZEUS: Hello, Hera.
HERA: What are you doing here?
ZEUS: I’ve just stopped by to have a little chat with your boyfriend–
HERA: Husband.
ZEUS: (taken aback) I beg your pardon?
HERA: He’s my husband.
ZEUS: That… No, that can’t be right. You left me for him? And then got married? I applaud your attempt at a joke, Hera, but I know you well enough to know you wouldn’t be so foolish as to marry my idiot little brother.
HERA: You don’t know me at all. You don’t know Si either! Gods, you think that you know everything but you don’t, Zeus. You don’t know anything, least of all anything about me. So convinced that I’d have regrets and crawl back to you, so convinced that Si would hurt me, would break my heart the way you did, but he didn’t. He won’t. Because unlike you he learns from his mistakes and strives to be a better man. He is a better man and he’s a man that I love. He’s a man who loves me, really truly loves me, so you don’t get to come in here and try to ruin that for me.
ZEUS: This matter doesn’t concern you, Hera–
HERA: Like hell it doesn’t–
ZEUS: But if you insist on sticking around, then I suppose I cannot stop you. (frustrated sigh) It appears I’m too late for my original plan, so I suppose I’ll have to improvise. You and Hera need to divorce so that I can marry her again.
HERA: What.
POSEIDON: Several questions: first off, how does this not concern Hera? Second: why the fuck would I do that when I love her? Third: why would she marry you again when you were terrible to her? Lastly, and this is important: what could your original plan have possibly been? Showing up and asking me to, what, break up with her?
ZEUS: It was a touch more complex than that, Poseidon, though I suppose that your brain can’t comprehend anything outside the obvious. You’re not good for her, Poseidon.
POSEIDON: Oh, and you are?
ZEUS: I’m better for her than you are. I can give her power and influence, I made her a queen. You gave her a shack on the beach and a ring made of… is that sea glass? Really, little brother? Politically speaking, being married to me has its advantages, especially if we add in stipulations about affairs. Hera having an affair with my younger brother would, as you might imagine, not be something I could condone, however she would be free to see whomever else she wished to. She would have a life that means something more than the worthless little one you’ve built here on the beach– a life that she’s been worthy of since the very start. Hera, for all of her faults, is a wonderful queen. It’s what she deserves to be, little brother, and if you love her as much as you say you do, you’ll let her take back her throne.
POSEIDON: No.
ZEUS: I beg your pardon?
POSEIDON: Then fucking beg because she’s not leaving here with you, not unless she wants to. And if you knew Hera as well as you think you do, you would know she’d never say yes to that. You made her life hell for centuries, Zeus. She was unhappy and afraid and powerless and you have the fucking audacity to try and say that that life was better for her? (pause) Hera, if you wanted to go back, I wouldn’t stop you. And I wouldn’t stop loving you, never in my life. But I think I know you well enough to know you’d want to stay. That this ‘worthless little life’ we’ve been building together in this ‘shack’ on the beach is more home and comfort than either of us have ever known. Please don’t see this as me doubting you, my love, because it isn’t. I trust you enough to know that you wouldn’t take Zeus’s offer.
ZEUS: (sarcastic) How adorable. What is love in comparison to being a queen, Poseidon? What can you offer her besides that? Hera and I had our issues, but at least she was someone rather than a forgotten grain of sand on the beach. So, Hera, what will it be?
CALLIOPE: Two gods gazed upon Hera. The first held nothing more than a passive interest and a large amount of pride; he thought he knew best and was waiting impatiently for Hera to give in. The second looked at her with love and fondness and reverence, things that Hera had been chasing her whole life. There was never a shred of doubt or hesitation in Hera’s mind, not for a single moment. She grabbed Poseidon’s hand, lacing their fingers together.
HERA: You think power is more important than love, than friendship and family and kindness. I don’t need to be a queen, Zeus; I need to be treated with respect and held like I mean something and looked at like I’m worth someone’s time. Our divorce was me finally setting myself free. Why in the name of the stars themselves would I willingly go back into a prison of your design? I love Poseidon. I love getting to see my daughter. I love getting to walk through Olympus without a care in the world because I am no longer the center of attention. You were the worst thing that ever happened to me, Zeus. I hope I get to be that for you too.
ZEUS: You would give up power? For him?
HERA: You gave me up for power. I don’t have to make your mistakes, not when it comes to someone I love.
POSEIDON: I think you should leave, Zeus. You made your argument and you lost; now leave us alone.
ZEUS: …Very well then. I suppose I should congratulate you on your marriage, little brother; hopefully you don’t live to regret it the same way I did. Goodbye, Hera.
HERA: Goodbye, Zeus. And good riddance.
(Door slam)
POSEIDON: Are you okay? I was trying to get him to leave but–
HERA: I’m fine, Si. Really, I am. That was… That felt final, this time. When he came to ask about Demeter, I thought it would be the end but it wasn’t. I think this time it is.
POSEIDON: If he tries to come back, I’ll kill him.
HERA: (laughing) I know you would. I love you, you know that right?
POSEIDON: I love you too, Hera.
CALLIOPE: With this thread being tied off, it’s time to continue pulling at a few more threads on the tapestry of this story. We turn our eyes towards a bear, a bear, and the messenger god as they make their way to a grassy gnoll not far from their home. Ares is fiddling with something in his pocket, though Hermes does not seem to notice just yet.
HERMES: So what have you brought me out here for, Ares? And why is Dipper wearing a little bowtie?
DIPPER: (bear noises)
HERMES: You do look very dashing, Dipper!
ARES: I, um. I probably should’ve written this all out, honestly.
HERMES: Ares? Are you okay?
ARES: I’m fine, sweetheart, I promise, I just… I don’t know why I’m so nervous. You already said yes, I’m just getting in my own head a bit.
HERMES: Is this about us expanding the house to live with Phae and Aphrodite? Because if you’re having second thoughts–
ARES: No! No, not having second thoughts about that. I just… Here.
CALLIOPE: Ares pulled the item out of his pocket– it was a ring, gold and silver woven into intricate patterns with a small diamond set in the center of one of the knots. Hermes’s eyes widened as he saw it, one hand immediately reaching for Ares’s as if to brace himself from the emotions of it all.
ARES: The last time we did this was… I wouldn’t change it for the world, but you deserve more than that. And I really should’ve written down what I wanted to say but I didn’t so I’m just going to wing it and you have to promise not to laugh at me.
HERMES: I promise.
ARES: Hermes you… You light up my life in a way I never expected. Every day that I spend with you is a gift and that’s always been the case, even when I didn’t know the extent of my feelings for you. I actually punched Zeus about that once– totally sidestepping how I felt while also knowing he needed to get hit. Thank you for waiting for me while I was being an idiot and not realizing how I felt about you. Thank you for loving me even when I definitely didn’t deserve to be loved by you. Everything about you is wonderful, Hermes, and to know I get to spend the rest of my life with you is a gift. I know you already said yes and I know this is mostly a formality, but it’s what you deserve. It’s what you always deserved. So, Hermes, sweetheart, love of my life: will you marry me?
CALLIOPE: Hermes was silent for a moment, just long enough for nerves to start setting in for Ares. But then Hermes pulled out a ring of his own– black titanium with a band of bismuth around the center.
HERMES: I should’ve written this down too, now I can’t think of anything except how beautiful that was. Gods, Ares, I love you so much.
ARES: Wait is– Did you get this from Hephaestus? She was designing both of our rings, but–
HERMES: Do you know how easy it was to convince Phae to swap out your ring design for yourself with this one? I mean, seriously, my love, a plain silver band?
ARES: I was more focused on your ring than my own!
HERMES: (fondly) Of course you were. Okay, you had your moment, can I have mine?
ARES: By all means, sweetheart.
HERMES: I’ve loved you for a really long time, Ares. Longer than I’d like to admit, but you already know that. When I first met you, I was just… Drawn to you in a way I couldn’t explain. And then we became friends and I knew that I would love you despite all of the risk and pain that came with it. No one could ever compete with you, so I didn’t even bother trying to have anyone compete with you. When you told me you loved me, I thought I had to be dreaming. Sometimes I’m still worried that this is all a wonderful dream and that I will wake up without you– but I know I won’t. I trust you more than I have ever trusted anyone and I will love you until the stars in the sky burn out. You’ve gotten to ask me twice now, so it’s my turn: Ares, my love, will you marry me?
ARES: Only if you’ll marry me too.
HERMES: (laughing) That’s typically how it works, my love.
ARES: I love you.
HERMES: I love you too.
CALLIOPE: There is one more thread to pull upon today, this time in the home that Aphrodite and Hephaestus will be sharing with Ares and Hermes.
HEPHAESTUS: Okay, it looks like the magic extension that Circe did is holding up nicely! We’ll have to move the rest of my things over in the next couple weeks, but I think we’re all set to go!
APHRODITE: We invited her to the wedding, right?
HEPHAESTUS: Yup! She and Hecate are both coming– I have them sitting with Persephone, Hades, mom, and Poseidon.
APHRODITE: Yes, right, I remember that. Gods, I swear I see those seating arrangements everytime I close my eyes. Which is rude, by the way; the only thing I want to see when I close my eyes is you.
HEPHAESTUS: (teasing) Well, for now you’ll just have to see me with your eyes open.
APHRODITE: As long as I get to see you, that’s fine by me.
HEPHAESTUS: Sap.
APHRODITE: I’m allowed to be sappy! Literally the goddess of love! And even if I weren’t, I love you enough to not care if I’m being too sappy.
HEPHAESTUS: (teasing) Oh so you can be sappy, but when I try to be sappy–
APHRODITE: I have a monopoly on it, Phae.
HEPHAESTUS: You’re lucky you’re adorable otherwise I’d fight you for the right to be sappy. (pause) Can you believe it’s coming up so soon?
APHRODITE: Honestly? No. I still feel like this is all fake sometimes. Like someone picked me up and plopped me into a story only to take me out or change the ending later. After everything that’s happened, to know we’re getting married in a few weeks feels impossible even though I know it’s happening.
HEPHAESTUS: I know what you mean. Hermes said he constantly feels like he’s living in a dream and I feel the same way. It feels like only in my dreams would I be lucky enough to have you, but I’m here and awake and we’re getting married in a few weeks. We’ve just expanded this house to live in with our friends– I’m moving back to Olympus, the thing I never thought I’d do. I… I don’t know that I’ve ever had a home, Dite. I’ve had a room and a house and a forge but never a home. Not until you. It doesn’t feel real.
APHRODITE: I’ve never been someone’s home before. But I know that as long as I’m with you, wherever we go, I’ll be home. We’ll be home.
HEPHAESTUS: I love you. So much.
APHRODITE: I love you too, Phae.
CALLIOPE: We shall tie off this thread for now, though there will be more to embroider with it later. The wedding you have been waiting for is swiftly approaching, but there are still moments in between to wait on. Until next time, and as always, thank you for listening.
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