tushanshu_logs | closed (ish)

Entry tags:

closed (ish)

Characters: Annabeth; Zatanna, Vanessa, Ororo, Bryn, Soranik
Date: Today/Tomorrow idek??
Location: PLACES
Situation: Teaching Annabeth how to normal girl
Warnings/Rating: T overall, talk of sex

[When you have spent literally over half your life at a camp for training demigods how not to die in the mortal world, it's really not all that surprising that Annabeth is bad at normal nine times out of ten. There's just usually other things she'd rather be doing. Like poking at her laptop. Reading a book. Knife practice (not that she isn't already good, but it never hurts to spar, and she very much enjoys the 10:2 ratio of victory over Percy right now). Research of any or all kind, and she hasn't stopped drawing buildings even here.]

[So please ladies. Come to her suite, knock on her door, and kidnap her away for shenanigans and girl times, and don't take no for an answer!!]

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Different experiences and all that. Your friendships are based on what's normal for your life. [There's no sort of judgement in her tone or anything. It's just an observation. Annabeth's life is strange, sure, but that's her sort of normal. Just like Vanessa's sort of normal is... Incredibly messed up, actually.]

I didn't say it was a good reason. [She laughs at the face.] No. I think I'm done running from trouble and pretending that I'm some average person. [It's probably the first time she's ever said that out loud, and it even surprises herself.] I can't change who I am here.

[That's... kind of nice to hear. 'Based on what's normal for your life,' because she's long accepted what happens as normal for her, but never really expected anyone else to understand that.] I guess that's how anyone's relationships would go.

I guess getting kicked out of school is better than dying over it. [She offers a sympathetic sort of grin.] I'm not sure I was ever able to pretend, to be honest. [Between the ADHD and the dyslexia, even without the monsters chasing her down.] I don't think anyone can, anywhere. But welcome to the trouble, in that case.

[Vanessa gives her a grin, eyes bright.] Yes, exactly! [It's probably why, even though people liked her, Vanessa was never close to anyone but the other Daughters. They were her normal. It's kind of sad to realized, she supposes, since she'd tried so hard to reject herself.]

It wasn't easy, to be honest. [She bites her lip, staring hard at the ground.] I had to lie to everyone. To my mom and my friends at school, to my boyfriend. Which, let me tell you, is really hard to do when you're trying to be in a relationship. [She glances back up with another smile.] No, but some people are pretty good at lying to themselves. But thanks.

[Her return grin is almost a smile and entirely genuine. This started out incredibly awkward on Annabeth's end, but now she's just... kind of happy.] I wouldn't trade my normal. Most of it, anyway. [Not with the people she's come to know through it. She could do with a little less high risk of death, though.]

[She frowns a little, sympathetically.] Keeping up a lie like that for a long time can definitely be harder than just, you know, leaving the school and never coming back. Though coming up with lies for the holes in your academic records is a pain, too. [Wait, did Vanessa say boyfriend?? She'll come back to that.] You build up a lie enough and it becomes true, to the person, at least.

Edited (typing and grammar are hard) 2013-06-02 00:37 (UTC)

[Vanessa would trade her normal, she thinks. If she could get a handle on what was supposed to be normal for her. Her life back home, though, right now it doesn't even seem real. Being here, on Tu Vishan, that's been more real than the past two years of her life. Pretty sad.

She shrugs, tucking a curl behind her ear.] Coming up with lies about why you've been missing for days or weeks at a time is just as bad. Especially when your mom is as overprotective as mine. But man, I don't think I would even know how to begin explaining away holes in my academic record. At that point, I'd just take home schooling. [Oops, did she? A pause.] Yeah, except for the part where real life keeps reminding you that it's not true. Not even a little bit.

[She wrinkles her face.] It would be harder if your parents weren't aware of it. With us, it's usually just lying to the schools. Percy's mom helped him a lot. [Then Annabeth sort of smiles, but it's a little weak.] I was kind of home schooled, for a while. I taught myself a lot of things - well, I still do, in a lot of ways - but, um, Camp Half-Blood was my primary source of education for years. [It's not like that's a secret - everyone knows she's been a camper the longest, if the nine beads on her necklace alone demonstrate anything. Talking about it is just weird.]

[tiny sigh.] Real life likes to remind us of a lot of things we might not want to hear.

It's definitely hard. [Her mother has no idea. She doesn't know what her daughter is, what she can do, where she's been the last few months. Well, the last few months prior to being taken on the back of a turtle.] Of course you did. You're like, some natural genius, aren't you? [There's a mixture of curiosity and awe in her voice. Vanessa's smart, but she's pretty sure she pales in comparison to Annabeth.] That's the camp where demigods go to, right? To learn how to do what you guys do?

[Man, having a goddess boot camp would have been rad.]

At least that's a universal fact, no matter who - or what - you are.

I hope it gets better. [There's genuine sort of sympathy there. Because parents. And it might be different situations entirely, but Annabeth will always feel for that.]

[She can't help but half-smirk at the natural genius remark though; she never gets tired of it.] All children of Athena are. [Because she picks up on the tone, too, and she can't help the implication of "but I'm the best" that slips out with her own.] But yeah, assuming you make it there alive, you learn how to survive being a demigod. I've been going since I was seven, and I was a year-rounder till I was twelve.

Small things to be grateful for, I guess.

Thanks. But it's probably not going to matter too much once I get home. [She smiles softly before kicking a rock on the ground. There's only two choices waiting for her back there, and either one will remove the whole lying to her mom thing anyway.

Vanessa glances back up, smirking in return. Yeah, she would recognize that tone anywhere. She's hung out with enough people who wear it like a cloak.] Is dying along the way a requirement? Because that sounds terrible. Why would anyone allow their children to die? [Gods, (fuu).] Wow, you've been there forever.

[Annabeth frowns a little.] Because the Atrox are no longer a threat?

It's not a requirement so much as the whole monsters tracking our scent thing again. If you're just a kid without any training, it's a lot harder to survive, especially if you're still confused as to what's going on. The gods don't really involve themselves in their kids' lives, and we're mostly supposed to get to Camp Half Blood on our own. [Then there's a somewhat awkward pause.] Longer than most. The average age most demigods arrive is twelve, and most of the population is teenagers.

[She's quiet for a moment.] Not exactly. Darkness is always going to exist, and so will Daughters. [She tries to not think about Adamantis, and how Stanton just let him go and escape back to Earth because he was too busy with Serena.] Other reasons.

[The look on Vanessa's face is pretty much a mixture of disgust and horror. But there's also a part of her that thinks about the whole hero thing, and if heroes can't find a way to make it, what use are they. Maybe that's how the gods think. It makes her think of Selene, and of the other moon goddesses, and how they'd only give vague hints of what the girls should do before sending them to face the darkness.] Parents of the Year, right there. What does it really matter to them, when you can just be replaced if you fail. [She raises her eyebrows.] I wonder why that is. Maybe you don't smell half as tasty as kids than as you do once puberty smacks you.

[She wants to ask, for both her own curiosity's sake as well as the fact that she just likes Vanessa and is kind of concerned. But boundaries are a thing she's worried over, because friends are hard when you don't come to trust someone over the possibility of getting eaten or killed by monsters. So she offers a commiserating sigh instead, goes with the safer option.] Kind of like how demigods will always exist.

[There's a somewhat wry smile, because Annabeth's own issues with both her parents have been so up and down forever. Not to mention her current growing frustrations with the gods and their lack of effort in saving the world on a general level.] They say it's because they're not supposed to interfere in the mortal world. Demigods are the only ones who can step into and effect both. Camp itself usually sends a Satyr to track us down and help us get there.

[As for monsters:] It tends to be tied into the realization of what we are. Once a demigod knows they're a demigod, monsters can find them a whole lot easier. Twelve's usually about when you start to notice more. [And she might have figured out what she was a lot younger than most.]

[She grins, a little awkwardly, maybe a little sadly. Not just for herself, but for future Daughters and future demigods and everyone who is forced into something they never asked for.] Right. The world is always going to need its heroes, no matter who they are or what they do.

[There's a pause, as Vanessa turns that over. Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Sort of like how Selene has her Daughters. Maggie had said they were her representations on Earth, to remind mortals that there is still hope in the world.] But they're already interfering, by making all of you. You exist because of that interference. [A nod.] That's good at least. That you're not just stranded out there on your own.

[Vanessa makes a face.] That makes absolutely no sense at all. Do they have Demigod GPS? Because that's probably something you guys should look into getting, too.

[That gets a snort. And her tone takes a dip into something more bitter in her retort.] And no matter how many times they need to do it.

[Annabeth shakes her head.] You'd think, right? They can claim interference all they want, but by nature of our existence it's already a lie. [A somewhat extended pause.] We can be, at first. It depends on how quickly camp learns of your existence.

[Despite the content of the conversation, Annabeth can't help grinning a bit.] We can't really use cell phones either. They're like honing devices. Apparently we smell delicious enough to eat; though the more powerful a demigod, the more noticeable our scent, too.

[There's a sad smile on her face, more at the bitterness than anything else. At least her duties last only two years. All the Daughters last that long. But not demigods.] That's what being a hero is all about, really.

[A shrug.] Gods, what are you going to do about them? They're not human and not subjected to human morals. [She kicks at a rock in her way.] Hell, sometimes even we get our morals screwed up. [A frown.] Sounds way messed up, Annabeth. And I've seen messed up.

[Oh, goddess. There's a look of horror on her face now.] Yeah, can I get a burger, side of demigod? Gross. But I guess I'd rather be eaten than... [Made out with.] Other things.

[There's a heaviness when she replies.] Yeah. I know.

And they think they're all the more better for it. [Wow that came out before she really thought about it. Then she makes a face.] We make the best of it, I guess.

[Despite the horror, Annabeth snorts a little.] There's a fast food chain called Monster Donut that crops up with the monsters themselves. That might fulfill that request. [Eyebrow raise.] Other things?

[Vanessa hesitates before reaching out, resting her hand on Annabeth's shoulder and squeezing gently. For comfort.] Maybe one day. I hear retirement is great.

[A grin now.] You can't blame them, in a way. They can't think like humans if they're not actually human. [A nod.] That's good, though. Better than whining about it. [Like she did. For a long time. Like... her entire life.]

Oh, no. Donuts? I'll never look at a store the same again. [She shakes her head and sighs. And then sighs again.] Oh, you know. Other things that can happen! Besides being eaten.

[No shit, Vanessa.]

[The gesture surprises her, enough that she even starts over it; physical comfort is still weird on occasion, but after a moment her lips curl up in an appreciative smile.] I'm looking forward to it. [There's a surprising amount of honesty there.]

But they could try harder. Though some of them are better at dealing with mortals and demigods than others. [Comparing Zeus and Artemis, for starters.] Whining wouldn't get us very far. Just probably mostly dead.

[She laughs.] Hey, it's not all stores. [And then raises her eyebrow higher.] Yeah, that's why I asked. Eaten or killed are usually the standards, though I guess they sort of overlap.

[Vanessa's quick to pull her hand away at the way she reacts, not really wanting to push boundaries. She's usually more aware of that. There's a flash of an apologetic smile.] Me too. [She thinks.]

They could. They should. The worst part is knowing when they care, but they still don't really do anything with that. [She's thinking about Selene, the only one she's really ever had experience with.] How can you be mostly dead?

[A beat.] I've met... a lot of monsters who really enjoy a pretty face. [There's a bit of hesitancy over the word 'monster' though. For the most part, they still looked human. Except for Regulators.]

[It's ok, Vanessa. The only time personal space doesn't matter for Annabeth is when your name is Percy Jackson.]

Apparently thousands of years make for hard habits to break. [Gods :T. Oh but then a pause for a second.] Turn of phase. I meant we're better off learning to fight than just whining, if we want to actually stay alive.

[Uh.] Does that mean what I think you're implying? [She's torn between morbid curiosity and bafflement tbh.] I mean, we have like - Empousai, but I'm pretty sure that's not what you're talking about in the slightest. Since they target men and all.

Hey, even a few months of a habit is hard to break. Imagine doing something for thousands of years. [Vanessa, why are you even playing the devil's advocate here? Oh, right, because you like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt even when you know they're assholes. Okay.] You could do both, probably. Whiners always seem to stay alive longer than those that fight. It's just not productive. It's not heroic. [Like her, weh.]

It might? [She should just stop talking.] It does. [Sigh.] And it's as gross as it sounds, trust me.

It doesn't make them incapable of it. Especially when their habits end up causing problems in the first place. [Ok that was out before she really thought about it. But she considers the second bit Vanessa says for a moment before responding.] Not for us. Not really. If you can't fight, you're probably just going to die. Not to say you can't die fighting either, your chances are just better.

[She pulls a face.] You have my sympathies.

Gods really suck. [Vanessa gives her a sympathetic smile.] That's no life for a kid, you know. For any of us. You die fighting, you die not fighting. What ever happened to being worried about school loans and getting married and worrying about arthritis?

[She shrugs.] Hopefully it's in the past now and not something that will happen again.

Yeah. I know it's not. Though I never really had anything to compare, like others; it's just... always been that way for me, mostly. [O-oh that second bit sort of gets her a little, and she fidgets.] Not usually a thing for us. I guess. [But sometimes she wants it to be.]

For your sake, I definitely hope so, too.

[Vanessa notices the fidgeting, watching Annabeth quietly for a few moments.] Is there an out for you guys? Like, I don't know, you can say thanks but no thanks, give me a memory wipe and send me on my way? [You know. Hypothetically speaking.]

It probably will be, unless my bad luck continues here. [Which it might, to be fair. She's still herself, after all.]

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