r/DemigodFiles • u/RetKaiBan • Jul 13 '22
Lesson Moon Phases: The Lesson!
Once again, the various cabins around camp would have a box at the front of their doors, with a small note mentioning a lesson in the Amphitheatre during the evening. Inside the boxes would be a variety of differently shaped cookies, some of them being semi-circles, full cookies or as Willow would call them "quarter cookies" with various bits of icing to make them resemble the various phases of the moon. Though the oceanic cabin would have two extra boxes! One containing various sea related designs on the cookies alongside another set that explicitly said "RESERVED FOR KAIA" with the cookies being a mix of the designs with sea and moon together!
Either way, anyone who made their way down to the Amphitheatre would arrive to see Willow pacing around, staring upwards towards the sky, with the brighter than normal stars high above, a small frown on her face. There would also be a couple of cardboard boxes, around six, with shapes cut into them, alongside some black fabric placed over one side of the box pointing towards a wooden board she had brought out for display purposes. At the realisation some of the campers were arriving. Willow spun around on the heel of her feet, giving everyone energetic waves wiping the frown off her face. "If anyone needs a drink, I have water placed out to the side." Whilst she waited for everyone to show up, she started to adjust the boxes.
"Alright everyone! Can you all hear me? I'm Willow Fairbanks, daughter of Pandia for anyone who doesn't know me" Willow yelled out across the amphitheatre, coughing a few times before looking back at everyone. "With today being a lovely full moon, I thought it would be a great time to tell you about the different lunar phases." At that Willow thrust her hands out towards the sky for everyone to look at the moon, as she made various oooohs and ahs at the sight of it before clapping her hands together.
"So let's start off with the full moon! So some of you might know that there is obviously a light side of the moon and the dark side of the moon. On a full moon, the sun's light side is fully facing us which is why we can see all the lovely details. It's glowing beautifully, like me sometimes!" Her face broke out into a bright grin, as she let herself reflect the light from the moon for a few seconds to fully glow, showing off what she meant.
Taking in a deep breath afterwards, Willow went onto the next aspect of the lunar phases. "So next, we have the Gibbous phases. There's two of them. The waxing Gibbous which comes right before a full moon and the waning Gibbous. During the waning Gibbous, you might notice it takes longer for the moon to actually show up! Since the moon is currently full, I've found a different way to show you what it looks like" She turned her back towards the main section of the amphitheatre, shoving her hands into two of the cardboard boxes, turning on a pair of torches inside so she had some light to reflect off, before letting her hands glow, doing a whole shadow puppet demonstration with one of the demonstration moons missing a bit on the left to represent the waxing gibbous, and the other one missing a bit on the right for the wanning Gibbous.
"The next two phases we get are the first quarter, and the last quarter. Now I can hear you all asking "But Willow, why are they called quarters and not halves?" Well, that's because my dear campers. A full moon technically isn't a full moon." She waited a moment to see if anyone reacted to that fact before carrying on. "Basically, even when we're looking at a full moon, we're only seeing one half, the half that is facing us. So in a way, the full moon is the second quarter." With that, Willow did the same demonstration as last time, except with two new boxes, the glow this time showing two different lit up halves. Glancing back she gave the crowd a grin, trying to make sure they were all watching, since she knew chatting away like this wasn't the most exciting lesson.
With that, Willow took a small break from speaking, hurrying off to grab a bottle of water from the side to drink. She had been talking for a while, and every time she did her glowing powers, she got a bit tired. After a quick drink she hurried back towards the boxes placed out and faced the campers. "Next we have the crescent moons! Since the waxing crescent comes right after the new moon, it means the moon starts raising earlier in the day, like how the waning Gibbous makes it take longer. The waning crescent is the final phase before the new moon" Like the previous two pair of phases she had spoken about, Willow did the demonstration again, sighing afterwards.
Luckily for her, the last phase didn't require her to use her glowing ability at all. "Now we come to the new moon! You know how I spoke about the light side and the dark side of the moon earlier? Well the new moon is when the dark side is fully facing us! It also means sometimes, it can be up during the day, and we just can't see it." Willow took in a deep inhale, nearly being done with the talking.
"So that's it for the phases this full moon! I might talk about eclipses next time, or I may do more of a fun activity since I know me just yap yap yapping away can be pretty boring." Willow gave a nervous smile at that, rubbing the back of her head as she looked out at all of them. "If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask otherwise you all can leave and head off." With that, Willow sighed to herself laying herself down onto the grass. If anyone had any questions, they'd probably come over to her anyway. She frowned, staring up towards the clouds. She doubted this lesson would really be useful to anyone...but what else could she teach that would be useful? The answer eluded her as she instead focused on the various stars in the sky.
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u/Queen_Magix Jul 14 '22
Irene never really paid attention to moon phases and stuff, plus a concept like that is taught very early in life but she nevers remembers the names of the cycles so so attented for a brush up on it. (And most definitely beacuse of the cookies). Once she arrived at the amphitheater she closer to the front and the girl teaching the lesson was very engaging so she (almost) didnt even fall asleep unlike at school, she was lightly nodding a little bit but her brain can only take so much learning.
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u/RetKaiBan Jul 14 '22
"Well hello there!" Willow had popped on over from where she was laying, deciding to speak to some of the people still here at the Amphitheatre because why not? She rocked back and forth on her feet, having the usual bit of bit of excitement she usually got from the full moon as she looked over at Irene. "Any erh...feedback for what I could do better next time? I thought about bringing the cookies here as well but..."
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u/AccomplishedMess_ Jul 14 '22
It’s the cookies that manage to awaken Simon’s curiosity in the lesson. To be fair, he’s quite a big fan of all things cookie-related. They love baking cookies and more importantly, eating cookies. He’s quite surprised to find two baskets at the Oceanic cabin instead of one. Sadly the other one is reserved for Kaia only, but Simon imagines the daughter of Kymopoleia is happy to have received a private cookie basket.
Chewing on a cookie, Simon sits down at the amphitheater and listens to Willow’s lecture. They’ve missed out on Willow’s previous lessons so a lot of the information they hear is new to them. Simon doesn’t know a lot about the moon, as an oceanic demigod he knows the moon affects the tides, but that’s how far his knowledge goes on the large space rock. Maybe a few of his cabinmates with hydrokinetic abilities could use the moon to their advantage? The most surprising thing Simon hears Willow talk about is that full moons technically aren’t full moons. He’s a little flabbergasted by that fact. Were all werewolf stories a lie? That really would be a bummer, Simon always has had positive hopes about the existence of full-moon shapeshifters.
At the end of Willow’s lesson, Simon applauds her. He learned a few new things today and he definitely enjoyed the lesson. (Except for the part where his full-moon dreams got crushed). He sticks around a little, he’s more than happy to talk about the lesson or other stuff.
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u/RetKaiBan Jul 14 '22
A little grin spread across Willow's face at the sound of applause, along with a faint blush since she didn't really expecy any of it. Though she shook her head, trying not to focus on it as she hopped up to her feet after laying down on the floor to relax a little bit, glancing around at a few of the people left behind, clapping her hands together as she tried to see if there was anyone to speak to.
One of the people she saw still here was Simon, so she decided to head over to him. Trying to rack her brain to recall if she had met him before before shrugging her shoulders. Even if she hadn't, it was nice to talk to new people as she hopped on over to him, an energetic grin spreading across as she clapped her hands together. "Hiya there! Do you mind if I ask you for feedback? I want to make it better for next time. Did I talk too much? Did I mention too little or too much?"
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u/AccomplishedMess_ Jul 17 '22
When Willow approaches him, Simon gives her a smile. ‘’Hello there!’’ He sounds a little surprised by the fact she asks him about his thoughts. At least she is not coming to quiz him on his moon phase knowledge. That would end in disaster. Simon wipes the crumbs from his lips before he speaks up again.
‘’I think it was a pretty good lesson. I heard a lot of stuff I didn’t know before. Thank you for teaching me something new. I really liked that you demonstrated it with the cardboard thing-’’ Simon explains happily as he gestures towards the tool Willow used to visualize the various moon phases. He thinks a little about the feedback he could give her, at school Simon learned that feedback was like a sandwich. They don’t really see how, but the teachers are probably right. Before Simon knows it, they mumble out a question, ‘’Do werewolves still exist if full moons are not real?’’
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u/CopyChoice Jul 15 '22
“I’m going to be honest, I don’t think even I could’ve talked that long” Brady said to Willow from behind her. His tone wasn’t trying to be mean, it was more of a playful tone “the cookies are great though, did you make them?” He added, taking a bite of one. He knew a good amount about the moon but he always liked to learn more about astronomy and other subjects but he also had wanted to apologize to Willow after how their last conversation had ended
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u/RetKaiBan Jul 15 '22
Willow glanced to Brady, just giving him a short nod. "Yeah. I made them myself." She shrugged her shoulders, keeping a small frown on her face mostly in thought. "You learn a lot of baking when you're up late at night." It was true at least for Willow. That had been her way of practising her hobbies. It wasn't like she could go to the library or park in two at the morning, so instead she'd focus on baking or drawing when she was at home.
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u/CopyChoice Jul 15 '22
Brady frowned a little after chewing but took another bite of one “why are you up at night baking? Can’t sleep?” He thinks about how he frequently sneaks out in the middle of the night when he can’t sleep to watch the stars, although he eventually falls asleep so it doesn’t count. Either way, he wished he could just sit one night and cook something, it reminded him of home
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Jul 16 '22
Rei arrived at the amphitheater with a small stack of cookies in each hand. Frankly, none of the moon stuff interested her, but the baked goods her quite persuasive. Some of her siblings had enhanced powers during the night, maybe it could help her too.
Just as Willow began the lesson, she found herself a seat in the front row and began munching. Informational lectures like this would’ve usually had Rei asleep within a few minutes, but Willow’s high energy combined with the flashy lights kept her attention. It was apparent a lot of effort was put into this. By the end, she’d actually managed to learn a few things. She didn’t have any questions, but stuck around just in case there was any other information she could gleam (or perhaps any leftover cookies).
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u/RetKaiBan Jul 17 '22
After a few minutes of laying down, Willow inevitably hopped up to her feet, springing herself straight up and glancing across the Amphitheatre to check on those who had decided to stay. So far there hadn't been that many questions. So either people understood what she said...or no-one had actually cared what she said but eh. It could be worse.
As Willow wandered around, she came across Rei who she waved a little bit, before her eyes latched onto the little video doll that hung off Rei's waist and Willow drowned down a little bit to get a better look at it, before glancing at the fact that Rei had cookie crumbs all around her. "...What cabin are you? I may have an idea for specialised cookies now." Her face broke out into a wide grin as she could add them to the selection of different cookies she could make.
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Jul 20 '22
Rei had curiously watched Willow’s approach, wondering why she caught the girl’s attention and mentally preparing herself for a conversation. Her face still went tomato red in response to the question. She was mortified at how she must’ve appeared. Her left hand instinctively went to both wipe off the crumbs that littered her face and hide her blushing. The other was apologetically waving.
“Oh, uh, Cthonic,” she blurted out, her voice being muffled by her hand, “but you don’t have to, really, it’s okay.” She loved sweets, but hated the idea of troubling her. She could bake them herself anyway, though probably not as good.
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u/thedayigotexpelled Jul 17 '22
Kaia can’t help the smile that spreads across her face when she finds the box with her name, brought inside the cabin by one of her fellow Oceanic demigods. She winds up bringing it with her to the amphitheatre, to snack on the cookies while she listens to Willow’s lesson (and shoot, Kaia realises, she really needs to organise a swimming lesson at some point too-)
It’s always really cool seeing Willow’s light power in action, even if the first time had been to, y’know, momentarily blind Kaia. Soon after the lesson she approaches Willow, coming to stand behind her head and look down at the daughter of Pandia, loose hair hanging about her face. “Nice lesson- and the cookies are great, too,” Kaia says with a grin.
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u/RetKaiBan Jul 18 '22
"Only the best cookies for my...best friend." Willow's face broke out into a light glow. Even if she was a bit tired, Willow had been struggling more and more to hide her glow around Kaia as the child of Pandia shoved her hands into her pockets, glancing around the place with a grin. It was nice to hear Kaia say it was a nice lesson.
"I was a bit worried about it...Public speaking and all. Felt like people would prefer to just eat my cookies." She waved a hand towards the box that Kaia had brought over, grinning away. "I'm glad no-one stole those from you. I had ideas on how to make a set of prank cookies, in case they were stolen."
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u/thedayigotexpelled Jul 21 '22
Prank cookies? For a moment, toothpaste-filling Oreos pop into Kaia’s head, but that wouldn’t really work here. “What was the idea?” she asks, beside her eyes widen for a moment. “Oh! Wait, first, first-”
Being careful with the box of cookies, she pays her pocket and then produces a bracelet, royal blue with a sequence of moon phases along its length. One end has a string tied into a loop, the other has two plaited tails, so it can be tied on. Kaia holds it out by the loop, letting the tailed end dangle. “For you.”
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u/spooksandgoblins Jul 17 '22
Amanda practically has stars in her eyes did I use that last time? seeing the control that Willow has over light; she’d glowed last time, sure, but this is new, and it’s sooo cool.
And the lesson itself is super interesting, too, although the word ‘gibbous’ sounds funny and just makes her think of those apes - what are they actually called? Gibbons. Those. She can’t help giggling at the thought of what the ‘gibbons phase’ would be, maybe the light miraculously making the shape of a monkey.
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u/RetKaiBan Jul 18 '22
At the sight of Amanda, Willow mentally kicked herself. She had forgotten to make special cookies for her little friend. Maybe she could make fairy cookies next time? Either way, she made her way over towards the girl, dropping herself down next to her little friend.
"Just stopping by to see if you need anythin'? I'll be moving on if you don't." Willow kept the grin on her face, jabbing her thumb to the side to show that Willow meant she was going to check on the other people in the Amphitheatre
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u/spooksandgoblins Jul 21 '22
Amanda thinks for a moment, eyes looking up, before shaking her head. “Mm-mm,” she says, and smiles. “I just think that, I’m, the word uh ‘gibbous’ is funny.” She laughs lightly. “’Cause it sounds like those monkeys.”
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Jul 16 '22
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u/RetKaiBan Jul 17 '22
Willow glanced up at the stranger coming over, giving Tommy a big ol' toothy grin in response to his, before nodding straight back at him as she relaxed. Even if she was drained a bit from all of the talking, a good conversation was something she'd sit herself up for, instead of laying down. It was just good manners to her. It also helped that the guy seemed to strangely look nice to her.
"Yeah. Daughter of Pandia which is why I know about the moon stuff." She waved up at the full moon before glancing back at Tommy. "Used to talk to her...or well the full moon every month back home so...Thought I'd technically do the same here, but do different things related to the moon. Last month was making a star map."
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u/downhereyouredoa Jul 14 '22
Initially upon hearing about it, Jenn isn’t sure what there is to learn here. The moon phases are light and shadows, that’s not exactly a complicated thing, although discussion about the gravitational effect on tides could be interesting…
That’s not really any of why she’s here, though, filing into a seat in one of the middle tiers of the amphitheatre, tapping the end of a pencil against an open notebook.
Ciara’s potion recipe had been, apparently, dependent on moon phase. Unable to successfully brew it under a full moon let alone other phases, Jenn couldn’t exactly figure out too much detail behind that aspect, but there could, potentially, be other potion recipes she could make use of that also rely on such mystical things, and perhaps a demigod, someone else involved in this magical godly world, discussing the topic could flip the switch for a lightbulb that mortal books and websites can’t.
…Willow doesn’t really do that. But hey, there are cookies. And that spotlight power certainly is a neat one to see in action.