they say the goddess Aphrodite was born from sea foam. so perfect and beautiful from the very start.

I knew you were
You were gonna come to me

being named after a the goddess of beauty just felt *correct* when mama ballerini held her daughter for the first time. happy the baby didnt come out a total hag. *seriously, it would have been a total major let down*.

and here you are,
but you better choose carefully

venus grew up in beauty and grace in a happy house hold with happy parentage and happy relations. her sister and her were for the most part close, as was her mother. there was no reason - no trauma source - for a therapist (or anyone for that matter) to sit across from such a pleasant child and realize hey, she's kinda of fucked up.

Cause I, I'm capable of anything
Of anything and everything

but venus realized it before anyone else, of course. always a bit wiser then her peers. when she was eight to dawned on her this conclusion. her mom had tying a bow in her hair and she stared back into herself in the mirror knowing something felt off. maybe it was mid-blush routine when Venus that day realized she was the product of the male gaze. of pretty things and dresses and pearls and frankly: she wanted to stab the nearest persons eye out with a bobby pin.

Make me your Aphrodite
Make me your one and only

she was taught men were not things to keep, but to use. she began dressing herself immediately after that. decide what she liked and what she didnt.

But don't make me your enemy
your enemy, your enemy

she liked pretty things.

she liked rich things.

she liked purple more than pink.

she liked diamonds more than pearls.

she liked floral perfumes and foods that were sweetly-spicy.

she liked boys shoulders and abs and when they took care if themselves. if she was, so should they? right!

So you wanna play with magic?
Boy, you should know whatcha falling for

she quickly informed her best friend wren they were products of a fucked up society that they were going to change

if they wanted to wear lace? fine, they would. but it was because they thought it was pretty. not whatever fucked up patriarchal bullshit told it it was what "good girls" were.

good girls didnt stay out late unless it was to get fucked.

good girls were virgins if men asked.

good girls didnt kill men with wandering hands

good girls could go fuck themselves. better yet, venus would fuck the good right out of them.

she liked girls eyes and the way they spoke, the way she could have conversations with them without being felt up by their gaze.

Baby, do you dare to do this?
'Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse (hey)

men quickly became over rated by twelve. those years of near-teen freedom. of becoming mature. a turning point for all young girls as their bodies changed. she remembers wren screaming in the girls bathroom because she thought she was dying the first time she got her period. marla fainted at the sight of the blood stain on wrens skirt , and her mom had to pick them up.

venus didnt mind the blood, she just wanted her boobs to come in.

Are you ready for, ready for

georgia took them out for ice cream that day and explain it all much nicer then their parents did. maybe it was because she was a nurse, or an actual human being beyond the 'dont get pregnant' lecture. she told them that they were young ladies now and it was natural and they deserved chocolate ice cream and hugs.

she remembers that day vividly. georgia perking marla up on a bench with some strawberry ice cream as venus searched for wren who 'went to the bathroom'. she found her behind the park's restroom complex with an nineteen year old boys hand up her skirt.

it was that day she decided she liked lots of things:

she especially liked the screams of grown men pleading for their lives.

A perfect storm,
A perfect storm

'men' were redeemed in eight grade when she got close to Bennet Springs. he was nice , to her at least, and for the first time she felt protected. like she didnt always have to keep her guard up. plus, his dad had money and threw pool parties and she'd raid his moms closet when no one was looking. he was an outlet for the expensive life she deserved.

male manipulator + female manipulator? perfect fit. they became official freshman year.

she even 'lost her virginity' to him during homecoming week, when really it happened her fourteenth birthday to an sixteen year old australian exchange student who left two days after.

they experimented sex with each other, learned what felt good and what didnt. she taught him to last more then ten seconds and learned men were easy to please in return.

however, that became boring too. sophomore year they had a non discussed but equally decided agreement to sleep with other people. bennett became annoying with his attention on just her, so she easily pushed other sluts in the way to focus on herself.

other thing venus liked: sex, polyamory and no feelings.

Because once you're mine,
once you're mine

still, he was getting too attached and she made plans to break up with him once college started. things took a turn for the worst however when she got a pregnancy test that came out positive.

"who do you think it is?" wren asked mid cookie dough bucket from their sunday rom-com binge. marla in the next room , completely oblivious.

venus knew whose it was, from quick sex she put half her effort into and the guy still busted quick, but she also knew who she *needed* it to be.

"I fucken hate men." She wrapped it in a vogue magazine and threw it in the trash. out of sight, out of mind.

except, thats all she could think about. she had about three months before it started showing, and she'd have to get rid of it before then. things of course began to spiral after wards. more and more and everything she built began to crumble.

they say the goddess aphrodite was born from sea foam. that her voice attracted sailors, that her beauty stunned armies.if venus could remain that perfect, thats all she needed. she liked that image, even if it was just an image. even if she was just a girl drowning at sea.

theres no going back.