hadriel_logs | [Semi-Open] Clinical Trials (backdated to 9-9)

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[Semi-Open] Clinical Trials (backdated to 9-9)

Who: Michael Munroe, clinic staff, anyone who happens to be there?
What: clinic mingle/job hunting
Where: the clinic
When: somewhat post mirror event, so backdated to around 9/9
Warnings: Michael is involved, so talk of dead bodies might (probably) happen

[Michael is feeling restless and generally bad after the whole future-mirror incident, which just further confirms his need to find something to do with himself. He needs a distraction. Lots of them, preferably.

When he talked with Carlisle, the only thing he thought he might be suited to was the clinic; being a guard is probably a bad idea, as convenient as it might be, and he knows nothing about bartending or sewing. So clinic it is.

It takes him a few days to get back to... "normal", and then to psych himself up enough to actually go do the thing. He makes his way to the clinic, though once he's inside, he looks maybe a little lost. Does this place have applications? Is there an interview process? Does he just... sign up? Eventually he'll wander up to someone with a sort of quiet:]

Hi, I was wondering about... working here?

[ooc: Okay, Prompts!

1. You can grab Michael while he's still dithering in the doorway

2. You can be the person he eventually talks to

3. Put up your own toplevel if you want! I'm down with using this for general clinic... use

4. Got other ideas? Let's go for it! Hmu @

leucrotta or leucrotta#3198 on discord]

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[Oh, okay, that's. Hmm. That's a bit more than most of the stuff he's been told here. Magic is one thing, other worlds is another. Hades being real? That's... hmm.]

You mean Hades like... the Greek god? We have the Greek gods where I'm from, too. I mean, they're not real where I'm from, they're just stories. Or I guess some people probably still worship them, I don't know.

[Helpless shrug.]

But you're boyfriend's like, half-god? That's... cool, actually. Is that like, common? [Maybe they should talk about dead stuff some time.]

Wait, what kind of camp were you at the you had to do surgery?

[And that was why Will didn't mention it at first. That was the look he had been expecting. Although, at least since he'd been to Hadriel, it was a lot less 'this kid belongs in a psych ward'. For which he was ever grateful. But it was heavy, Will understood. Having your world blown apart by Greek Gods exist? He'd been there, done that.]

Yup. Hades, like the Greek God. And I hate to point it out, but most people think they're just stories where I'm from too. The Mist keeps you from realizing and seeing things you shouldn't be seeing, unless your a demigod. So. They could be?

[Sorry Michael, Will wasn't about to admit that his father might be just a story in your world.]

In my world? I wouldn't say it's common but at the Camp we go to it's kind of a requirement. You won't get through the door so to speak otherwise. You probably wont even be able to find the Camp. Unless you're a really, really lost pizza delivery guy.

It's called Camp Half-Blood. The surgery, well, when you have a bunch of kids trying to learn how to stay alive, getting hurt is inevitable. It's better than getting killed.

[Hmm. Michael doesn't really want the Greek gods to be real in his world. That would mean that Hades the place was real, and that doesn't sound like an ideal afterlife situation. Time to prod this further.]

Does this Mist stuff keep you from seeing anything supernatural? Or only things that relate to the gods?

[If it's everything supernatural, than either the Mist doesn't exist in Michael's world, or Michael is himself a demi-god. Which... he doubts. Strongly.]

It's called Camp Half-Blood? [He frowns. That's... not a word he has great associations with.] That seems like kind of a mean thing to call you. Why not just Camp Demi-Gods, if nobody can find it anyway? And what's trying to kill you?

[He has other questions but he knows he's already asking a lot.]

[Will had never actually met his hopefully future father in law--and really wasn't ready too, so he wouldn't blame Michael in the least. But at least Will knew where he was going, and hopefully where he was ending up. If anything, Hades was fair.]

Um. You know, I'm not sure. All of the supernatural things in my world that I'm aware of are just greek. But, i mean, it disguises monsters and things, like cyclopes or drakon.

[Sorry, Michael, if you wanted to know about non-Greek mist related things, you'd best track down Annabeth. No one tells Will anything.]

Yah, we actually had a new demigod who had a similar reaction, really didn't like the name. [Will shrugged, not having anything against it himself, having lived with it for a while, and had no one call him bigoted names before.]

I'm not sure why it's called it Camp Half Blood though. Huh. I'll have to ask Chiron when we get back. And monsters try to kill us. It's like a smell. They can track us. When I got here there were harpies, let me tell you, they really liked me. The other monsters around here don't seem to care one way or the other though, equal opportunity.

Don't worry. I haven't had anyone attack me inside the clinic. It shouldn't be a problem.

[Michael is pretty sure the Visitor isn't Greek, but honestly? He has no idea. The versions of the story that give it a name besides "Visitor" never give it the same name twice. If the demigod "smell" affects all monsters from Will's world, though, it sure isn't affecting the murderghost at all. It couldn't care less about any of this.

Also, he's got a pretty good guess why the demigod with the objection to the name might've felt that way.]

Yeah, equal opportunity. I'd say that's good news, but it's probably not all that different for you. At least it means we don't have any Greek monsters hiding in our midst, probably.

So, which god are you the son of? [He thinks for a second.] Is it Asclepius?

[If Will knew about Michael's situation, he'd be so grateful his passenger didn't want to eat him. He had enough things wanting to eat him thank you very much.]

Yeah, I'd say this really isn't that different. It's actually a little more laid back. A lot more laid back. There aren't as many monsters here--and I can use the comm devices without signalling to all of them 'here i am! eat me!' It might take some getting used to when I go back home.

[Will smiled as Michael tried to guess his parentage, a lazy sunny smile. He can't blame him, Michael's never met Apollo, so there's no comparing the same sunny blond hair and suntanned skin, blonde eyes and athletic figure. Will was totally Apollo's mini me.]

You're so close. Asclepius is my half brother, my father's Apollo.

Is this like completely freaking you out? Because you're hiding it well.

Edited (forgot a word.) 2017-09-23 04:30 (UTC)

Maybe demigods should get cell phones? Or is that what the monsters are attracted to?

[He's only partially joking. If cell phones would keep a bunch of kids safe, then yes, good idea.

He gives Will a quick appraisal after the Apollo comment.]

Yeah, alright, that makes sense. [He has kind of a gold theme going on here. Apollo's all about the gold theme, right? Michael's Greek myths are a little bit rusty if he's honest.]

And I mean... not really. A lot of weird stuff has happened in the past month, and there's not a lot I can do about it. Not much use freaking out. Might as well accept it and move on, I guess. Don't get me wrong, the Greek gods being real is definitely a big deal, but I'm kind of assuming it doesn't apply to where I come from. I've seen things you might call supernatural before I got here, so unless I'm secretly a demigod, we're probably not from the same place.

It's the signals that the cell phones give off. Our voices amplify...I don't know how actually. But it's the same thing with computers and the internet. I've had to wrestle new iphones from some of my new siblings. It can be a hard transition for some, especially if they weren't chased into camp by monsters and don't get it yet. Some figure it out on their own or with help.

[Because it wasn't like Apollo, or any of the gods, to leave instructions or help. Apollo wasn't exactly fatherly, a good father, or even an around father. He was a 'sends a kid a happy 3rd birthday card on their 14th, or whoops, did I just send a card to a kid that died 150 years ago? father. He got distracted.]

Right ballpark. The medicine gives it away every time.

[That's alright Michael, Will is a walking Apollo encyclopedia. He had a small library at the Apollo cabin in Camp. It was helpful for the new campers to figure out who they were, sometimes. It wasn't like Apollo stopped by often.]

Unless you also have ADHD and dyslexia, I doubt your a demigod. Don't worry, you're not missing out on much. Enjoy your long life.

[He should be grateful. Being a demigod kind of screwed up your life, and you were destined to live a short one. Most Greek demigods died by the time they were twenty.]

But what kinds of supernatural things? Like magic or like werewolves?

Edited 2017-09-23 16:50 (UTC)

Huh.

[He doesn't have much to add to the cellphone thing. It doesn't make sense to him, but the supernatural doesn't make sense by its very definition. If the monsters can detect demigods' heritage by smell, who knows what other senses they have.]

I'm guessing demigods usually have something major in common with their god parent? [All the demigods in the stories do, as far as he remembers.]

And no, I don't have either of those. [Not his particular cocktail of mental illnesses. He's not so sure about long life, though.]

The supernatural stuff I've seen is, uh. Ghosts? A ghost. And maybe magic, I'm not sure. It was either magic, or just a really creative serial killer. [Surely it's fine to talk about serial killers with children???]

Yeah, it's something the signals. Monsters can track us with it, like GPS. [The cell phone thing doesnt make a lot of sense to him either, but he doesn't know the specifics, he's a doctor, not an engineer or monster biologist.]

That's usually how it works. Most don't get all their parents powers, and some gods don't give their children top level powers, there's a fair amount of range to it. [Like Will, if he knew Apollo once referred to him and his friends as the 'B-list demigods' well, he'd probably be hurt.]

My main skill is medicine, healing, I can shoot, but not as well as my other siblings and my music skills are limited. But one of my sisters can shoot a bow at an olympic level, but doesn't have my medical skills. Sometimes it evens out. It depends on the god. There are powers that Apollo really doesn't give out, like light manipulation or prophecy. Usually the more powerful the god, the more powerful the half-blood. Like Zeus or Hades or Poseidon.

[Will smiled softly, listening to Michael's experiences with magic, and wondering how they compared to his own world. ] I don't have a lot of experience with ghosts. Serial killers, I guess that depends on your definition.

[This kid had been there when at least two of his siblings died, he'd grown up pursued by monsters who wanted to eat him and spread him on toast like butter, he'd been through two wars. Yes, it was okay to talk about serial killers with his child. As far as he was concerned, monsters were serial killers.]

Just let me know if you get uncomfortable, alright? Or confused. I've given this talk to new campers a lot--although I suppose I don't have to give you the 'don't worry, your parent will claim you, they have to know. They swore on the Styx they'd remember.' You probably don't need the pep talk.

[So much tragedy can happen when kids feel unwanted. Especially kids with super powers. Still, Will was doing surprisingly well for someone whose father was a dead beat who regularly forgot to claim his kids--or even that he had kids to begin with, and knocked up every person he slept with. Which was a lot. Apollo got around. His cabin was big. Thank goodness he inherited his chill attitude at least.]

[He's learning a lot here. That apparently there are tiers to the gods (Zeus is like, the one in charge, though, so that makes sense). That they can choose which gifts to pass down to their children. It doesn't work in his worldview, but then his worldview has had to take a backseat to this place, hasn't it?]

I meant serial killers like the human kind. There was one in my city. [He frowns.] Maybe two. Probably two. But just the one now. [They saw to that personally.]

I'm not uncomfortable, really. Confused, maybe. I mean, it's a lot to take in all at once, but I think I follow you so far. The thing about parents claiming you, though: is it a big problem if they don't? Wouldn't you just be able to tell based on their powers?

[In Will's experience, a lot of people's worldviews have to take a backseat when they discover the world that is demigods and Camp Half-Blood. It throws their universal constants into chaos. It's a tough situation, wrapping your mind around the fact that greek gods exist, and they have kids. Just think how mind-blowing it is to be that kid, to realize that, no, your dad or mom wasn't just a human dead beat, they were a divine dead beat who gave you up to your human parent and ran away.]

I know, it's a lot to absorb at once. I'll be here though if you have any questions. Claiming though? Think about it. What would happen if everyone thought that a kid was a child of Apollo, but they were actually a child of Ares who was just really good with a bow. The gods would be super offended. Besides, it's not just about the powers. It's about your parent caring enough.

For a long, long time, you were lucky if you got claimed. The Hermes cabin--Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors-- was crammed full of kids who after years knew they weren't going to get claimed. Their parent either forgot or didn't care. It's about being wanted or at the very least acknowledged. A lot of campers died trying to change that.

[That was certainly depressing. Sorry about that Michael.]

Anyway.....you mentioned serial killers. Like, you keep a running tally? Is there a sign up board for serial killers?

[Michael listens, and it seems clear that this is an issue close to Will's heart. How could it not be? It would suck to see your brothers and sisters, or cousins or whatever, just languish for years not knowing their parents. And apparently their parents get offended by it, even? Seems like a backwards system.

Which has changed now? So that's good. He definitely gets how shitty it feels when nobody cares what happens to you.]

Sorry to hear about the... other campers. It's stupid they had to die over that. Should've just been a given.

[But he won't dwell on it, because he's not great at consoling people.]

I don't keep a running tally, no. They're just kind of obvious, I guess? I mean there could be more I don't know about, if they're being careful, but the one was doing an awful lot to make sure he got noticed, and the other one is copying him.

Not that I think they're trying to get me to notice them, I just meant like. The general public.

[As a matter of fact they'd probably want him to notice them less if they knew.]

I saw a lot of it firsthand, working for the coroner and all. The crime scenes were pretty wild, but I don't know about magic.

[It's a crappy system, but it's the one they got. Growing up was hard enough, but when you add testy Greek God to the table, it gets even more awkward. Even worse when kids tend to inherit their parents temperaments and rivalries.]

I guess that makes sense with your line of work right? You'd come across a whole bunch of different types of deaths. How did you get into that anyway? Is it just a preference? Dead patients to live ones? Or is it about solving a puzzle?

Will shifted his weight back and forth, like he was trying to keep moving. He wasn't the ADHD poster child of the year unlike some demigods he could name, but he wasn't sitting this one out either. At least he stopped playing with the bandages and medical supplies.]

[Michael barely registers the fidgeting. You do you, Will.]

I guess it's kinda both? I mean, those are incentives to stay. I got into it kind of by chance. I moved to a new city and they had a spot open, so I went for it.

[He shrugs.]

Do they let you guys get jobs in the... outside of the camp? Like what happens when you grow up, so to speak?

Huh. [Will seemed to think about that, as it was something he'd probably never get a chance to experience, moving to a new place, finding a job. Huh. Interesting.]

You're allowed you leave you have family outside, or if it's safe. For some, it's not. There's maybe, a dozen demigods who stay year round? I haven't left camp in years. It depends how strong you are, what abilities you have, if you have any family left that you'd like to stay with.

[Will tried to phrase that last part as neutrally as possible. There were always some campers who didn't feel safe at home, either because their mortal parent never wanted them to begin with, or they just didn't want to risk monsters attacking their family.]

But growing up? Most demigods don't reach twenty.

[There wasn't any sadness or expectation in his voice, it was just the way it was. Will didn't leave camp because he didn't want to get eaten. It simply wasn't safe for him.]

The monster scent gets stronger as you grow up. There are some who do, who are strong enough to survive, or just hide themselves away--or don't know who they are and aren't a big enough force to attract monsters. And some of those guys? Those guys are pretty famous. But most of us? It's just not going to happen.

[Will's given this talk a lot. At least you weren't a demigod Michael.]

Think about the greek myths. Hardly any of those guys lived long happy lives.

Edited (html fail) 2017-10-01 22:36 (UTC)

[Michael gets the whole "maybe not staying with your family" thing, but the rest of this sounds... bad. Like bullshit kind of bad.]

So they protect you until you turn 18, and that's it? Then you just have to go get eaten?

[God, what the hell?]

They're gods, couldn't they do something about the monster problem? Or is this supposed to be some kind of, like, fate thing?

[Admittedly, he doesn't know a great deal about the Greek myths, but-]

Didn't most of those guys in the myths die because of some kind of character flaw?

[That kind of summed up the whole 'my family are the greek gods' thing. Bullshit bad.]

Well, the entire idea of Camp is too give you the training and skills you need to survive outside. It was never meant as a shelter. There's another Camp--a Roman camp, for the Roman demigods, that have actually built an entire city, complete with a university and housing and everything, but, Camp Half-Blood's not there yet.

[The Greeks and the Romans were different, they had different natures, and naturally, the Romans were a lot more organized than the Greeks. Also, 'what the hell' seemed to be the common adult, sane reaction to Will's world. He'd gotten that from a couple of adults now.]

And I think you just hit it on the head Michael--they're gods. They're not omnipotent and some of them are just caught up with their own lives.

[Like, say, Apollo. Will's father was a little more distracted than the other gods.]

It really depends on the god. Some of the gods help their children out, some believe they have to claw their way out of the situation by themselves. Besides, monsters don't die. They can be banished, if you're lucky for an entire lifetime. If you're not lucky? It can be a pretty short break. They'll come back, and some of them hold grudges. Wouldn't you?

[Will got a sad look on his face.]

Yeah. Their fatal flaws. We all have them. It usually runs in the family, you usually inherit from your parent, like your abilities. It's not just your skills that help you figure out how good you are in the regular world. It's how well you know yourself.

Edited (forgot something!) 2017-10-03 13:41 (UTC)

[Well it still sounds shitty, and he doesn't think "caught up in their own lives" is a valid excuse for abandoning your kids to monsters, but the more Will describes, the more he realizes there isn't an easy answer. They're just kids, they can't corral ancient powerful beings.

One thing, though:]

Well, the fatal flaw thing, that's not unique to demigods, don't worry. We've all got at least one. [Or... several more than one...]

Sometimes you get it from your parents, other times- [He shrugs.] And that stuff about knowing yourself and getting along in the regular world, everyone has to deal with that. I mean, we don't all have monsters to deal with on top of it, but I guess what I'm trying to say is you're not weird.

[That was probably supposed to be helpful.]

[It was a crappy situation, no doubt about it. No matter what angle you looked at it, it sucked. Still, Michael might be right. Everyone had flaws. It was just that regular mortal flaws tended to be less consequential. Although Hadriel evened out the playing field. Here, monsters were after everyone.]

Thanks Michael. You're a good person. I'm glad you're working here.

And your bedside manner really isn't that bad for someone used to working with the dead.

[There it is again, someone calling him a good person. He's not about to correct Will out loud, but it definitely gives him a weird feeling.]

Thanks. You don't seem so bad yourself.

[Get used to it Michael. You are a good person.]

Thanks. Let me know if you have any other questions okay? Or don't know where something is.

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[Semi-Open] Clinical Trials (backdated to 9-9)

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