"If at first you don't succeed, don't bother sticking around."
Introducing
Full Name:
"I've heard enough Sound of Music jokes to last a life time, thank you."
Camden Van Trap
Nickname:
"My family is not big on nicknames. My peers differ in this."
Most commonly Cam, but he really prefers Camden
Age:
"Still a senior, actually."
Seventeen [17]
Birth Date:
"Just another day. It rained, I think."
March 3rd, 1995
Home Town:
"Near Harvard, where my father teaches."
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Sexuality:
"Mind before matter in all."
Sapiosexual
Being Demi-Gods
"Goddess of Wisdom, Strategy, Crafts, and everything in between. My father probably was startled that she hadn't come to visit him sooner."
Athena, or Minerva in her Roman form
Power:
Unlike the demigod children of such gods as Aphrodite or Zeus, the children of Athena do not have flashy powers that are immediately noticed. They do not flaunt lightning bolts, charmspeak, or photokinesis. However, Camden, and not simply due to his own self-serving bias, believes Athena to be the most dangerous group in the school. Because, unlike most of the other houses, they use the sharpest weapon of them all: the mind. Camden is, in particular, brilliant at quick thinking and seeing opportunities as they lie before him. He can win nearly every argument, because his mind works in a way that the children of Ares or Apollo cannot compare to- with speed. Only his siblings are worth the effort, most of the time, of an actual conversation. Cam's gifts are found more in linguistics and psychology than math or science- he is the debate team captain, makes people crave his approval, sort. He's also pretty good at hand-to-hand combat, but tactics that are able to win without ever necessitating force are his preference. And that is why he is frightening. Because he doesn't need a sword to slice apart friendships and groups. Just his eyes, quick and judging, and a mouth made for war.
Strengths:
Quick-Witted || Tactician || Speaking || Manipulating || Linguistics
[Reading, naturally, helps to sharpen his mind- as a mind needs books like a sword needs a whet stone. He also works best under pressure.]
Weaknesses and Flaws:
Judgmental || Long-Distance Fighting {Terrible Aim} || Arrogant || Can't Cook
[Strangely enough, Camden often falters if he is given an unlimited time source to work with, unless he spends a good amount of time working on it. He needs parameters to work under. Also, regarding debates, he begins to slack if he underestimates the person.]
Sharing Our Desires
Likes:
Reading || Intelligence || Children of Athena || Usefulness
Confidence || Competency || Like Minds || Psychology
Debate || Linguistics || Winning Arguments || Manipulation
Revenge || Crushing Opponents || Thoroughness
Organization || Certainty || Success || Interesting Personalities
Challenges || Puzzles || Tactics || Strategy Fights || Silent Battles
Resourcefulness || Creativity || Social Interactions || Birds
Dislikes:
Spiders || Dogs || Shedding Animals || Raccoons || Scavengers
Idiocy || Naivete || Gullibility || Being Called Out On His Flaws
Losing || Failure || Punishment || Undeserved Arrogance || Incompetence
Messiness || Clutter || Carelessness || Recklessness || Lack of Free Will
Fruitless Efforts || Lost Causes || Uncalled For Violence || Brute Force
Poor Grammar || Bad Writing || Editing Other People's Writings
Age-Based Authority || Ares Kids || Being Thought Robotic
Debate
[Camden is actually the captain of the Debate team, which does compete against various other schools and, naturally, always wins. He's not the sort of person to get into an argument with, really.]
Observing People
[While he doesn't necessarily like all people, Camden has always found psychology, particularly social psychology, fascinating.]
Reading
[This has already been addressed, really. A mind needs a book as a blade needs a whet stone, and all that.]
Fears:
Mob Mentality || Spiders [Incredibly, Incredibly Severe] || Failing || Isolation [Secretly]
Secrets:
Camden generally tries to keep most of his fears a secret, primarily because he dislikes his weaknesses being known by all. He also hides his habit of being an 'outcome engineer' and manipulating events to observe what comes about them. His largest secret, however, is the fact that he is not actually an unfeeling robot- he experiences love, anger, lust, etc. Finally, the source of most of his behavior is a closely guarded thing indeed: the fact that his father was less than nurturing, and required Camden to constantly prove himself in order to feel any affection at all, even going so far as to punish him, physically and verbally, for less than met expectations.
In-Depth
{Intelligent, Collected, Arrogant, Judgmental, Manipulative, Charming}
It really is a matter of fact that Camden, son of the goddess of wisdom, should be someone in possession of a sharp enough intellect. And, indeed, he does fit that common mold of children of Athena with a sharp mind that processes things around him far faster than other people are able to. When it comes to Camden specifically, his intelligence is best expressed verbally- not to say bragging, but that his linguistic-verbal intelligence exceeds many of his other intelligences. He has a gift for communication, for choosing the words that will do exactly what he wants them to do, and for effectively reaching his goal with little more than a handful of words and gestures. Possibilities and routes are among his intellectual specialties as well- and they are also what brings about his linguistic intelligence, as he seems always prepared for whatever words might be flung at him. It is very difficult to shock him or beat him in any sort of verbal argument, and even when he is beaten in a physical fight, Camden still seems to be able to say the right things to make the other person feel the weight of loss for the next several hours. Words hold an infinite amount of potential, and Camden is quite adept at tapping into them as a resource for success in life.
Of course, his ability to control every aspect of his language branches out and wraps around his emotions and appearance as well. Camden could easily be described as a collected, cool-headed person, for even in arguments he appears to be deathly calm throughout the whole thing. It is quite the task to get him to exhibit great emotion, though not necessarily one in order to get him to feel emotions in general. See, Camden does have feelings- he's not a robot or a sociopath, contrary to the beliefs of some others. However, he also has a perfected grip on himself in almost all senses. His emotions are under control, his appearance is under control, his grades are under control, and his social interactions are mostly under control. He likes to have a sense of influence over everything around him, and often times the best way to do this is by testing his own limits. Having spent a good portion of his youth lacking an internal locus of control, when he finally did begin to develop a sense of control over his own circumstances, he immediately took it as far as he could- and now, the reputation of a robot is not entirely unfounded. He always seems as cool as a cucumber, after all, and perfectly in control, to a fault.
If Camden inherited anything from his father, it would be his arrogance. Avery Van Trap was never a man to downplay his own intelligence, a known braggart and, typically, introvert. He also wasn't the sort of person who should have been allowed to raise a child, and Camden occasionally reflects, not without bitterness, on the fact that Athena did not think that through quite as much as she perhaps should have. Regardless, Avery passed on, despite constantly insulting and putting his son down, a great amount of confidence to Camden, bordering on arrogance. Camden knows that he is more than competent in that which he pursues [conveniently not pursuing what he isn't good at, labeling it 'wasted effort], and thus has built up a confidence that is, honestly, probably more of a defense mechanism than anything else. Two things might happen when constantly belittled- the more common is having extreme self esteem issues. However, as a son of Athena, Camden was not to be common. So, he instead built up a wall of confidence to protect himself from his father and, by some extension, the possibility of his own failures. This confidence backfires on him, making him quick to judge and be critical of others, just as his father had been. He is incredibly selective with his friends, and can be a very snide sort of individual, because of this. Only those he deems to be among the most intelligence will find themselves in his favorable opinion- i.e., other children of Athena, some children of Hephaestus, and the odd demigod out here and there. Exceptions exist, but usually begrudgingly. He is very quick to judge people, after all, and typically not in a positive light.
For whatever justification one might find for Camden's behavior, the fact stands that he is not always the most upright of people. Rather, he is more than willing to use his mind to get what he wants, much preferring it to having to do the talking with his fists. Many people have said that actions speak louder and words, and Camden would happily agree with this. After all, he'd much rather be the whisper which started a war than the punch that erupted into a little lunch-time brawl. Look at most of the great movements in history, and they were not instigated by physical force, but through politics, ideas, words, and laws. That's the side he'd rather be on- with the pen which is mightier than the sword, of course. So, yes, he can be manipulative. A fascination for psychology prompts him to observe things, and often twist them in favor. He does this by being charming, though- polite, willing to help, whatever seems necessary at the moment. Those who think him to be unfeeling will even hesitate when faced with this side, thinking themselves to have found a deeper level. Never do they realize that they have barely scratched the surface of the walls that Camden has built for himself.
The Past Defines Us
As a direct result of his father being a Medical Professor at Harvard, Camden grew up just off of the campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, surrounded by great minds and wealthy ones. His father was not actually a particularly well-liked man, though he did have a few close colleagues, but was a respected one, even his enemies having to begrudgingly admit to the man's brilliance. Avery had been highly sought after to teach, despite not being really cut out for teaching, thanks to great achievements in advancing the world of medicine in his prior career. His accomplishments had done little to minimize his ego, and it was this confidence which gave him the audacity to wonder why Athena, goddess of wisdom, had not noticed him earlier on. Perhaps that's the reason why she was all but completely absent in Camden's life- for dislike of his father. Growing up, Camden was subjected to this mad brilliance which strangers envied and those close to him detested. His father was not a patient man, and certainly not one cut out for the rearing of well-adjusted children. Still, when Camden was brought to him by Athena, he decided that, wanting to be a parent or not, his son would naturally have to be the best child of Athena to walk the earth at the time. These lofty expectations certainly were obvious in his harsh treatment of the child, who came to believe that he had little control over his own life- that his father was the source of all control. And a volatile source of control it was.
It often seemed that Mr. Van Trap did not regard his son as his child so much as his student, but one which he could be more strict with than any other. Camden was punished, often severely, for failing to reach expectations, and was told that if he could not be better than everyone else, he might as well prepare himself for a meaningless and unhappy life. Obviously, this did not help the young child's psyche, and he grew up seeing love as something conditional, and success to be the only thing that really could earn the affections of others. This is why he grew to be who he is today, in fact. Camden worked to surpass others in what he did, craving his father's approval, or at least satisfaction, because it was much superior to the alternatives, which could range from bruises to 'solitary confinement', depending on the mood of Avery at the moment- and his mood was rarely consistent. In this situation, Camden often took turns between feeling abandoned by his mother, and putting her on a pedestal- something greater than his father.
Following his less than nurturing environment in childhood, Camden was visited by his mother, who was irritated by his father's behavior, and immediately arranged for her son to be sent to The Academy. This was the first time he ever met his mom, and, as of yet, has been the only. He grew up accustomed to superiority, sometimes hard-earned sometimes not, and thus was shocked when he reached the school, filled with such a variety of students. At first, he had hoped to feel more at home. Well, hoped perhaps suggests a conscious desire- some little piece of him had longed for it. But he couldn't help but be his father's child, and found himself to be more judgmental than he had realized and, now having control over his own life, more closed in and manipulating than he had thought. It terrified him, this likeness to his father, but he could find no way to change it. Eventually, he simply came to embrace it- perhaps too much.
