closed (ish)

[sophos]

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!!]

Comments

[fatedchaos]

[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.

[sophos]

[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?

[fatedchaos]

[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.]

[sophos]

[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.

[fatedchaos]

[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.]

[sophos]

[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.

[fatedchaos]

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.

[sophos]

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.

[fatedchaos]

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.

[sophos]

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.

[fatedchaos]

[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.]

wtf this notif went to my spam X(

[sophos]

[She's quiet for a few moments before answering.] Less powerful demigods can usually live a normal life. Get the training, go back out into the world. The only memory wiping is the River Lethe, and that wipes everything, but it doesn't change the fact that you're still a demigod. You can refuse to take part in the whole saving the world or questing thing, I guess, but monsters will always be an issue. We tend to... die pretty young, though.

Make use of your fist if it does.

punches it X(

[fatedchaos]

So there's no escape, not really. [She frowns for a second.] I'm really sorry, Annabeth. I always thought that my life was terrible, but now I feel like a huge baby for ever whining about it. [A beat.] You seem like the type who wouldn't go out young, though.

Ha. If I get the chance, I'll remember to do it.

[sophos]

Hey, no. [She shakes her head.] The whole my-life-sucks-more-than-your-life thing is stupid. Don't even think of it like that. [Paaaaaause.] Considering I'm already old by demigod standards? I don't think I'm the type either. [For now. No go away Tartarus!!]

Good. It's a foolproof method, really.

[fatedchaos]

[She still frowns though.] It's hard not to. [Vanessa's always been harder on herself than anyone else, anyway.] So, I should definitely get you a cane for Christmas, then? Or your birthday. Whichever comes first.

[Her nose wrinkles.] I think that would depend on who you're hitting and where.

[sophos]

Well, yeah, but it doesn't mean it should be a thing. [Then she rolls her eyes.] Time is so dumb here compared to actual time back home, so really, it could end up being either one.

It could still be foolproof. You just adjust the strategy of it.

[fatedchaos]

[Sigh.] I'll just start looking for a cane while we're out now, and it'll be fore your next birthmas. I think that's a worthy compromise.

I'm not all that good at strategy.

[sophos]

[Birthmas gets a snort.] Preemptive thanks.

Well, some are better at it than others, but it's not too hard. [Says the girl whose mother is the goddess of strategic warfare.]

[fatedchaos]

[Birthmas is the best.] No problem at all.

[A grin.] My plans usually end with me trusting the wrong kind of people for the right kind of reasons and nearly getting someone killed. Or maimed. Or trapped somewhere.

[sophos]

Oddly, I've always seemed to have the same concerns over getting killed or maimed or trapped, though moreso in the process. [#demigod and goddess lyfe, apparently.]

[fatedchaos]

Either I'm a great strategist, or our lives just really suck more than we've ever realized. [Because she's not about to say that Annabeth isn't great at planning things.]

[sophos]

Well, the sucking part sounds pretty applicable sometimes regardless.

[fatedchaos]

I am just going to blame the gods for that. And ancient evils.

[sophos]

[She snorts, but it's not really in amusement.] We can probably blame them for a lot of things.

[fatedchaos]

It's so weird to say that and think, yeah that's totally true. I'm just saying. [Their lives, sigh.]