Interlude 2: What did I miss? (Yes, that was a Hamilton reference)
AN: Happy New Year! Here's a present before we get back to our regularly scheduled (but not actually scheduled) chapters!
Max's thoughts on the episodes I skipped. Set sometime between S1E12 and S2E1.
Days went by, and slowly, Max found himself settling into this dump called Camp Campbell. The insanity has become his new normal, and Max finds that he doesn't really mind anymore.
The murder and subsequent acquisition of a camp mascot was an adventure (though Max would have been just fine without witnessing the squirrel slaughter by the hook and hand of Quatermaster).
The camper's revolt (that Max totally had under control the whole time. Don't spread lies!) in which David got caught on fire and hit by another car was a stressful experience that Max didn't like to think about. It felt too much like failure, which Max would die before admitting.
(The whole affair would have been a whole lot funnier if Max wasn't too busy fighting for his life with Nikki.)
(He can't believe Ered tried to override his claim on the campgrounds. If she wanted it so badly, she should have claimed it first!)
The Spooky Island fiasco… No, Max isn't going to think about that particular trauma anytime soon. At least within the next century.
(Though that Jasper kid… Max couldn't gather anything on him, even when he tried just for kicks. He had the aura of a Godling, but there wasn't any veil over him like Ered and David.)
(Weird.)
The hunt for Neil was a complete waste of time, but Max won't complain too much. That little hunt he and Nikki went on kept them far away from whatever it was Dolph was having the rest of the campers do.
(Seriously, Max can understand the kid's passion. It's not nearly as bad as Space Kid's or Neil's, and his skill in the arts is undeniable. But does the kid not know that his word choice is highly suspicious? "Make Camp Campbell great again"? "Make an example of him"?! What the fuck, Dolph?!)
(At least Max knows where Neil hides his diary. The other boy wasn't sneaky enough when putting it away this time. Despite how useful his ability to gather is, Max will never turn up his nose at some good old fashioned invasion of privacy to get information on others.)
Bonquisha was a treat to talk to over David's phone. A diluted legacy for certain, but her strength in both mind and body definitely pin her as a descendant of Kratos. Watching David squirm under her assertiveness was definitely worth the trouble it took to adapt his speech in-text in order to not sound like a ten-year old messing with their parent's Tinder account.
(Don't look too closely at that last sentence. It was just a simile. Nothing more.)
(Also, Max now understands Nikki's hatred for the Flower Scouts. That Tabbi chick was so unhinged, Max almost intervened to save Neil from her. Although he'd only read about it briefly, she had a terrible case of "rejection." He didn't even know where to begin with fixing her. But he'd have to step in if she kept threatening Neil like that. No one was allowed to make Neil uncomfortable unless Max said so.)
(Maybe Gwen could stop by the Flower Scouts campsite and drop a hint to the girl's counselor? Max wasn't in the mood to be wolf food anytime soon. Especially for Tabii's sake.)
That whole day spent watching David try to be forceful was as amusing for Max as it was pathetic on the counselor's part. Gwen was very agreeable when desperate, and Max could tell right away that wrangling the other children while teaching David how to run a boot camp would be too much for the woman. So Max decided to help her out… for a price.
(You won't believe how many things you can do once you have someone's social security number. Obviously, Max is going to show some restraint, but there's no way in Hades he won't be having some fun with the power this little string of numbers gives him.)
(Though he did end up walking away from everything with even more questions about that pansy ass counselor of his. How come David can get run over multiple times by several different vehicles and walk away perfectly fine, but suddenly need the first aid kit when Nurf brings out his favorite knife? The idiot gets scraps galore when he's chasing Nikki through the forest or just going throughout his day, but has nary a scratch when the platypus mauls him? What's the fucking criteria for this shit?)
Max would never say it to her face but sometimes, he thinks Gwen is a genuine gift from the gods. Not only did she save him the indignity of watching his camp fall into the hands of another Godling (fuck you, Pikeman, this is Max's camp), but her quick thinking saved Cameron the horror of dealing with a very angry son of Dolos.
(Because there's no way in the three levels of the underworld that Max was setting foot in that deathcamp the Wood Scouts call home ever again. He'd sooner bring the entirety of Sleepy Peak to ruin. And Max was not in the mood to deal with the Mayor and a disappointed David after he finished.)
(When the woman actually puts her mind to it, Gwen can make just as effective a counselor as David, trashy fanfictions notwithstanding. She'll never hear this from Max, though. Her suffering is too amusing to give up in exchange for feelings. Desperation seems to be the best motivator for her anyway.)
(If Pikeman keeps putting his hands on her, Godling or not, Max will end him.)
Over all, Max can assuredly say his time at Camp Campbell hasn't been the worst experience of his young life. No, that award goes to the day Mr. Honey Nuts lost one of his button eyes when he got caught up in one of his "parent's" fights. The trauma of that moment will follow Max well into adulthood, he's sure.
Max isn't really sure how much time has passed since he got here. Sometimes, he finds himself not really caring either way.
(Was that because of the latent energy surrounding Lake Lilac? What happenstance it was that Cameron decided to make a camp here and that so many of his campers are descended from gods. Max is 99% certain that the conman doesn't even realize the gold mine he landed on by placing his "camp camp" here of all places.)
One thing he did know, however, was that this camp of his would continue to prove entertaining for a long while more.
Speaking of which, when did David dye his hair blond?
AN: This is the last little interlude I have for between Season 1 and 2. We'll be back to actual episodes in the next chapter. I might come back and write chapters for the episode I missed, but I'm equally as likely to not, so this interlude is just to sum up the stories and bites of lore that you wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
So, "rejection." That's a concept I came up with specifically for Tabbi, the crazy gremlin that she is. I guess the best way to describe it is, children of Aphrodite all have the special skill of "charm." When someone compatible looks at them, the Godling's best trait becomes apparent. Erin, for example, ends up charming Neil with her best trait: intelligence. While most of the time, this "charm" ability is either always on or is more instinctive and random, some children of Aphrodite can control when to "turn up the charm" as they say. Tabbi, although unaware of her heritage, is one such child. But there's a drawback. If the Godling "turns up the charm" but the target is not compatible nor receptive to the manipulation, the charm can ricochet. The obsession that the target would usually feel towards the Child of Aphrodite is instead felt twice as much by the one who threw the charm. This is what we call "rejection." Tabii's obsession with Neil is just as much a result of her interest in him that it is a result of her ability backfiring.
If you have any questions about what the heck is going on in this story, leave a comment. If you don't have questions and just want to say something, leave a comment. If you want to bash on my horrendous writing, leave a comment! All comments are welcome in this household!