your mind is playing tricks on you my dear

Taleisin Emmet Heap

is there a story behind your name?
"taleisin emmet is kind of a family name, it's passed on to the first born male. my dad only had one kid, aka me, so i got stuck with the weird name. i mean, it's cool, don't get me wrong. but it's just weird, right? you don't hear a name like taleisin that often. or ever, but, y'know. there's nothing you can really do about that, is there?

"i'm not really sure how it became a family name, honestly. i looked 'taleisin' up and the only result i got was taliesin, which means shining brow. supposedly, taliesin was some wizard in welsh mythology or somthing like that. taliesin was also apparently the name of frank lloyd wright's house, or something like that. not exactly sure why you'd name your house, but, hey, whatever you wanna do, man.

"i think i read somewhere that it meant king, but i haven't been able to find that since the first time, so. i don't think that's all that accurate."

do you have any nicknames?
"i go by taleis, but sometimes people call me tal? i guess taleis would be my nickname, really. it's not that i don't like taleisin or whatever, it's just that people think it's weirder than taleis. besides, taleis is a lot easier to say."

how old are you?
"i'm eighteen years old, born on the seventeenth of november in 1994."

are you male or female?
"i'm a guy, i'm pretty sure. last i checked i was."

how long have you been at camp?
"i've been at camp for about two or three years now? it's hard to keep track, really. i think i was fifteen when i came here, but like, i dunno. it's just not something i think about, really."

are you a year rounder or a summer camper?
"i'm a year rounder. it's kind of obvious that i'm thought of as an inconvenience, so like, it's easier to stay here than it is to go home. i spend a lot of time in the library, 'cause i don't want to be completely useless when i go back into the real world. i want to be able to get a job and start up a normal life."

what's your social status?
"before camp i was the popular kid, i guess. i wasn't a jock, but i was still popular; like, everyone knew who i was. a lot of people didn't like me, but isn't that what being popular is? everyone hates you unless they're your friend, and even then, they sometimes still hate you. i don't really know where i stand at camp, though. like, i just don't really talk to people. i don't have any expectations to prove or anything, right? so why not just try to be myself for once?"

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where were you born?
"i was born in san diego. i was born in some suburb, and i lived there until i was five. i can't really remember it much, like, i was five, right? i mean, i'm pretty sure i liked it there, but i can't really remember much."

where's the last place you lived?
"the last place i lived before camp was the city of los angeles. like, downtown, right in the center of it all, y'know? i lived with my aunt and uncle in some fancy apartment or whatever. it was nice and all, but just...i wasn't wanted. that was kind of obvious. i loved the city, though. los angeles is great. and like, i come here and everyone's looking at me weird and asking me how i survived or whatever, because it's supposed to be some monster hotspot or something, but like, i didn't really get into that much trouble there. it was nice."

what's your ethnicity?
"i'm american. my dad's family moved here from england, though, so i guess there's that."

how would you describe your accent?
"i've got the usual american accent, i guess? people tell me i sound a bit english, which is probably from my aunt. she's still got her accent from when she moved from england, and i used to have this really bad habit with imitating her. so after a while the accent kind of stuck. i tried to get rid of it, but it obviously wasn't successful."

what's your mortal family like?
"well, i can't really remember much about my father. i lived with him until i was five, and he got into some big sh*t storm and got arrested. i know it was some serious crime or else he'd be out by now, but i never really looked into it and no one wanted to tell me what had happened when i was five. i'm not sure i even want to know what he did. i already hate him a lot, 'cause the main thing i remember from when i was a kid is that he was never around. like, hating your dad is bad enough, right? i don't want to have to add onto that.

"i moved in with my aunt alexa, my dad's sister, and uncle rob. my uncle ran some big fancy company and my aunt had some important job at a fashion magazine. i think she had to do stuff with writing articles, i'm not sure. but they had a lot of money and, well, they were home more than my father, but just barely. i think it kind of changed once they took me in. my father never really was all that popular, from what i can tell. whenever we visit my grandparents, they've got pictures of alexa and my other uncle, dean, but they haven't got any pictures of my dad. i was kind of a reminder of my father's failures. my aunt and uncle made sure i had whatever i needed, but they never really were there for me. it was kind of obvious they didn't want me there, but, hey it was a roof over my head.

"and then there were my cousins. there was sofie, who was a year younger than me. she's the oldest. we never really got along all that well, either, but it was different from my aunt and uncle. like, with her, it's more kind of like, 'hey, here's this kid whose dad did some awful stuff, so he's awful, too.' plus i'm pretty sure she's like, a succubus from hell or something. she's the typically popular cheerleader character, you know?

"then there's lourah, and she's nine. well, she's twelve now, but i don't want to think about that. she's nicer than sofie, although she doesn't talk to me much anymore. that's mostly because i used to look after her a lot. she's kind of under the impression that i'm like, her babysitter or something who just happens to live at her house. she still comes to me whenever she needs tucking in or someone to read her a story or if she's scared, though. mostly lourah just wants to prove that she's old enough. because, y'know, she is nine after all. it's pretty impressive.

"and then there's lucy, and she's seven now. lucy's real cute, i always spend time with her. she helps me cook dinner when aunt alexa has to spend a long night at the office and uncle rob's travelling or doing whatever it is he does, i don't know. and i've always got to read her a story and tuck her in, sometimes i even iris message her so i can read her a story. i miss her the most, definitely. if i go back to visit, it's always because of her. i've gone back for her birthday every year and we always send letters. yeah, lucy's real great."

are you claimed?
"yeah, i'm claimed. it didn't take too long, i was claimed at dinner time the day i arrived. it's a kind of funny thing to see, really, because you're all like, 'woah, there's this thing floating above my head, what's going on here?' and all the campers who have been here for a while are all like, 'nah, man, it's cool. that just means you're getting claimed.' and then you've got the new campers who are just freaking out 'cause they've only seen it a few times, and then there are the campers who haven't been claimed yet and they're all just glaring at you, all like, 'woah, dude, what makes you so special.' that was basically how it happened."

who's your godly parent?
"my godly parent is clymene, the goddess of fame and infamy."

what was your life like before camp?
"well, obviously, i can't remember much from when i was a little kid. there are a few bits and pieces, though. i can remember that i had this babysitter, i can't remember her now, but she'd always take me to this one park. and it's not exactly the babysitter i remember but the fact that she'd always take me to this park, rain or shine. there were a few people i'd hang out with there. like, there was this girl with real frizzy blonde hair and brown eyes, and you could always tell how she was feeling by her eyes. it was crazy. and then there was a boy with really short brown and he had freckles, and i'd always try to get him to let me play connect the dots.

"yeah, my childhood was...it was good. i mean, i feel like my aunt and uncle expect me to have hated it, because my dad was never around and my mom was a goddess, so of course she wasn't there. but like, i think i was happiest when i didn't really understand why people weren't there. if it weren't for tv, i don't even think i would have realized most kids have a mom and a dad, but i wasn't too concerned with it once i found out. and i had my babysitter, so who cared if my dad spent most of his time away from home? it didn't matter to me.

"but then something happened. i still don't know what it was, but my dad did some pretty awful stuff and landed himself in prison. i still don't know what he did. i've made a promise to myself that i'm not gonna look it up. i used to always be asking and everyone would just look at me and say in this voice like they were talking to an idiot, 'you're not old enough to know, sweetie. we'll tell you when you're older.' so like, i just got so sick of hearing that so i stopped asking, and then i stopped wondering.

"so, i moved in with my aunt and uncle. which was great, they had this huge apartment with a gorgeous view of the golden gate bridge and all that stuff. and they had a ton of stuff for me, except they were never around and i was left to my own devices. they had a housekeeper who kept the place clean and made food and all that, but she didn't play with me or anything. it was just me, except for when i was at school. and i and a baby cousin, and i thought we'd be the best of friends, but obviously she had been told not to interact with me because she would never play with me, either.

"from a kind of early age i learned to take care of myself. like, not as in 'make money cook three meals a day make my own clothes raise livestock feed the chickens' kind of way, but more in a way of i kind of learned how to remind myself to do my homework and brush my teeth and go to the bathroom before bed and all that. which...i guess that's a good thing, but when you look at it, it's actually kinda sad.

"the school i went to was cool. it was some rich kid private school, but whatever, man, they had good food. i was pretty popular. i mean, i wasn't one of the jocks or anything. i didn't play sports, but i had a lot of friends. like, people just seemed to think i was cool, and i was like, 'hey, man, friends! people like me!'

"some of them - well, some of them kind of sucked a lot, i'll be honest. there were a few people who i liked and i stayed close to them, and then there was like, the big overall group. we were like the 'cool kids' of the elementary school, it was actually kind of funny looking back on it. there was the one really popular girl and we did that dumb thing that kids do where they say they're dating, but that just means that we'll sit together at lunch sometimes and play together at recess and sometimes we'd like, go out to the movies or something, but either her parents or my aunt and uncle were always there.

"so, i grew up with a ton of friends, right? i was mr. popular. like, basically the walking definition, except for the bumbling fool and only thinks about football and girls. and i guess this is where the whole mother being the goddess of fame and infamy thing ties in, yeah? i mean, early on i got this stereotype of being, erm, well, a heartbreaker. and all the guys at my school held me in these high regards because i dated like, three girls over the course of five days. and like, this was back when we were twelve or whatever, and i scored kisses out of them, so all the guys thought i was totally awesome. they were just pecks on the cheek, but i mean, whatever, we were twelve. i think. maybe eleven, or ten. i can't remember.

"but, anyways, there were all these things going around the female population of the school, like, 'i hear he still has cooties and the girls find out and that's why he can't hold onto them!' 'cause i mean, we were young and dumb and i guess that was still a thing. and the girls hated me but still seemed to be completely infatuated, which, honestly, was really dumb. seriously.

"and, uh, then i guess came this thing with thrills and trying to get as much as i could out of life. i'm not sure exactly how it started, i think it was when i was thirteen or something and i went skiing. it was supposed to be this whole family vacation thing, except i got lumped with an instructor the whole time we were there because, well, my aunt and uncle don't like me. and for the first few days it sucked, i could hardly stay on my feet for ten seconds and i thought my legs would be permanently bruised. but then i finally got it and i went down the mountain without falling my first time, and, gods, there's kind of nothing like it. and i was just so caught up in the thrill of it and nothing else mattered except going as fast as i could. so, uh, it kind of became a thing, that i'd try and get as much stuff like that done in my lifetime before i died because why would i waste my time doing nothing when i could be doing stuff like that?

"a lot of people said i was crazy, an adrenaline junky, that i had a problem, y'know, all that stuff. i got the whole 'you'll end up dead on the side of the road someday and no one will find you' speech from the school guidance counselor. but like, some people have these crazy experiences and they want to spend the rest of their life doing stuff like that because life is short and it can't be wasted, or they lock those moments away for special times. and it's so easy to see who is who when it comes to stuff like that.

"so, i grew up with the whole popular heartbreaking adrenaline junky jerk thing, right? and everyone kept expecting something big to happen. like, that i'd meet a girl i really liked and never break another heart or i'd see how much it hurts girls when i do what i do and vow to never hurt anyone again or i'd get in some serious accident and never do anything dangerous ever again, but, like, that didn't happen. i knew how much i hurt people and i knew the risks but like, i was fourteen or fifteen or whatever and i was young and i wanted to live, and i still do, so that's what i did. i hurt people so i could experience life. a lot of people told me i was being selfish and that was no way to live but it's how i want to live, so it's how i'll live.

"and, uh, let's see. i guess how i got to camp is pretty important, yeah? well, so, i lived in los angeles. and, supposedly, there are a lot of monsters there, yeah? well, i never really encountered one until i was fifteen. it was almost summer, and i had been taking a break from preparing for exams. there's this cheesy like sixties style diner i found and it turned into the place where my friends and i would hang out, and sometimes we'd just chill in the parking lot because it's a sixties style diner, might as well have someone playing greaser, right? and, anyways, we were just hanging out around there when this giant dog thing comes at us out of nowhere. and i think everyone else saw it as some giant black lab with rabies, but i saw this massive dog with red eyes and this look like it had never seen anything that it hated more than me.

"anyways, there had been this scrawny dude who was new to our school, yeah? and he was majorly unpopular. seriously, even the people at the bottom of the social latter refused to speak to him, he was that weird. and i guess he had been following me because he shows up out of nowhere and starts trying to beat this thing up with reed pipes. and, well, i did the smart thing and ran away as fast as i could. and, well, i guess he eventually got rid of the hellhound, 'cause he found me a bit later. the only reason i let him talk to me was 'cause i was thinking, 'hey, if this dude can fight off whatever the hell that was, he's gotta be cool.'

"so, he gave me the whole spiel, right? the whole 'greek gods are real and you're a demigod and you have to go to this camp so you can learn to defend yourself and also this place is really dangerous how have you even lived this long.' i didn't believe him at first, but then he showed me his furry goat-legs and i was like, 'okay, either someone slipped something into my float, you're a crazy makeup artist who likes pulling this crap on people, or this is true.' so, yeah, he took me to camp. and i guess that's it."

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how would you describe your overall appearance?
"i've got a lot of features that would look weird if they weren't all together. like, i've got a kind of big nose and a pretty big mouth and really big hair, so it all kind of balances out? and i'm all kind of stretched out, too. like, i've got long limbs and a long torso. and a lot of people say i've got kind of...oh, gosh, how to word it...well, i guess a lot of people say my features are kind of soft? like, i haven't got sharp cheekbones or anything like that, everything's just kind of...soft.

"and i guess some stuff about my style could go into here, too. i'm not like, fashionable or anything. i mean, i'll just wear whatever i've got laying around. i like t shirts a lot, definitely, and i'll usually just wear a pair of jeans or whatever. and i always wear red chucks. always. even when i have to wear a suit and tie or whatever, i wear the red chucks. i don't care that they're old and scruffy, i love those shoes so much."

what's your skin tone?
"i guess i'm kind of pale? dude, i dunno. i don't think about this stuff, it's not what i do."

what colour are your eyes?
"i've got bright green eyes, i guess? or would those of you in the fashion industry call them 'emerald'? ooooh, no, they're 'jasmine'. i've got sparkling jasmine coloured eyes that have flecks of gold that appear in the sunlight!"

what's your hair look like?
"oh, i've got luscious chocolate curls that are carefully placed upon the top of my head, like so."

how tall are you?
"i'm five feet and eleven inches of finely carved muscle, as the ladies say. okay, i'm sorry, i can't do this anymore, oh my gods what even is this, some interview for a fashion magazine? okay, fine, i'll stop! i'll stop! just stop giving me that look!"

what's your body type?
"i'm not one of those people who works out all the time, but, like, i'm not a total couch potato or whatever. i'm in shape, but i'm not like, muscular, or anything."

how much do you weigh?
"i weigh about 160 pounds? yeah, 160.

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what weapon do you use?
"i've got just a regular celestial bronze sword from the weapon shed. oh, and i've got a celestial bronze knife, but i don't use it all that much. it's just like, in case of emergencies or whatever, 'cuase it's easy to hide so i've got something on me if i lose my sword or if it would be too hard to take it with me."

what's your armour?
"i've got kind of standard camp issue armour. it's kind of old, and someone else probably had it before me, but hey, armour's armour, right?"

do you have any powers?
"no, i don't have any powers. it's kind of lame, but i mean, what powers would i get from the goddess of fame and infamy? to instantly know all celebrity gossip or whatever?"

what are some of your skills and talents?
"well, a lot of people have said that i'm good at singing, but i don't really think i am, honestly. i can also play the guitar, kind of, but that was mostly just messing around after school or whatever. i never took lessons for it, just kind of taught myself from books and youtube videos. and i guess i'm good at writing, too. but that's kind of more of something i like to keep to myself. and i'm kind of good with kids. it probably just comes from looking after my little cousins so much, i dunno. oh, and i've got really great penmanship, and i'd pose for some of the photography kids sometimes and they said i was a good model, so i've got that going for me."

what are your strengths?
"a lot of people say that i'm self aware, so i guess that counts? and i guess i'm kind of fearless. not completely, but i'm not really scared of much, i don't think. gods, am i the only person who thinks it sounds like i'm bragging or something?"

what are your weaknesses?
"i'm not great at letting people in. like, i've had one or two close friends over the years, but even then they weren't all that close. and i'm kind of really bad at reading ancient greek, too. i don't really have dyslexia, which is really cool, but it makes reading ancient greek really difficult for me.

"oh, oh! and saltwater taffy. i've got this huge thing for saltwater taffy, it's like, one of my favourite things ever. i could go through about ten bags in a day, it's addicting. after exams i always go to the store and buy like, as many as i can carry. or after anything difficult. ever. it's how i treat myself."

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what's your fatal flaw?
"i guess my fatal flaw would be that i feel like i have to deal with everything by myself. i don't think that i can, so it's not like hubris or anything. but i feel like i'm obligated to do it myself, even if i don't think i can. i'll never ask for help on stuff 'cause of it."

what are your other flaws?
"i guess i'm one of those kids who got through school with barely good enough grades. like, i was never really that good at anything, and there were many times that teachers would pull me aside after class to inform me that i couldn't make it in the 'real world' through popularity, as if i didn't know that already. so like, i don't have much going for me career wise, i guess.

"i don't really think about consequences, either. i just do stuff, 'cause i want to try and do as many things as possible before i die. i guess i'm like a thrill seeker, like, an adrenaline junky, or something, which probably counts as another flaw.

"oh, and i've got this kind of ugly scar above my left eyebrow, about one and a half inches long. i got it four years ago when i was roughhousing with a friend and hit my head on a table. it gets all vivid red when i'm angry or embarrassed."

what's some stuff you like?
"i really like reading. i think i mentioned it earlier, but i don't really have dyslexia, so i can read well. and, uh, i guess i like strange places? well, not strange places, necessarily, but more like unique places. like, the rooftop of the apartment building i live in. you have this amazing view of the city. you can see the golden gate bridge from there are everything. it's amazing, really.

"i really like music, too. mostly kind of mellow stuff, like ed sheeran or whatever. i also really like blink 182's later stuff. the red hot chili peppers are really cool, too. i dunno, acoustic stuff is really nice. i mean, i'm not a music snob or anything. i don't refuse to listen to music if it's not the genre i like.

"also, i like, well...living, i guess? it sounds weird, but that's the only way i can think to explain it. well, not exactly living, per say, but just...okay, this is the best way i can think the describe it: there's this intense feeling you get whenever you do something crazy, like riding a motorcycle for the first time or cliff diving or sneaking out in the middle of the night. and that's probably my favourite feeling - no, my favourite thing - in the world."

what's some stuff you don't like?
"i don't like rules. or any type of restriction, really. they just get in the way, y'know? like, i sound dumb saying it, i know. like some stereotypical movie character or whatever. but, like, most of the time you look at these restrictions people set up, and some of them are just so dumb and pointless.

"i kind of hate silence, too. living in the city, it's never quiet. like, you get used to the constant noise after a while. silence just feels weird now, i just need something in the background. like, i can deal with it at camp, because the sound of the ocean is never too far away, but sometimes i just miss the usual city sounds. i just feel kind of alone without them."

what are you afraid of?
"i guess i'm afraid of being forgotten. like, i want to leave a mark on the world, as cliche as it is. or just on one person, i dunno. i just want to be important to someone, but, like, i'm kind of insignificant. like, there isn't really anything special about me, so there's really no reason why i would leave a mark on the world. there's no reason for anyone to remember me, really. so it's not really likely that i'll leave any mark at all, and that's kind of scary, honestly."

do you have any quirks?
"okay, well, this one's pretty dumb. but, i'm left handed, so i always write with my left hand. but i do everything else right handed. if i want to doodle in the margins of my notes or whatever, i literally switch the pencil from my left hand to my right hand. i told you, it's dumb!

"also, i've got this pocketwatch, right? i got it while i was just walking around the city or whatever, found this antiques store and it looked cool so i bought it. and i'm always opening and closing it, checking and rechecking the time to make sure it's correct. i take it with me everywhere. seriously, if i go to open it and it isn't there, i flip out. i've got attachment issues with a pocket watch!"

how would you describe your personality?
"i'm a thrill seeker. i just do all sorts of stuff for the thrill of it, not once stopping to think of the consequences. i can be a great friend, sure, i'll listen to your issues or whatever, but i'm not. gods, how do i say this? i'm not all that nice. i'm kind of an a-hole, is the thing. and i don't trust people easily. but once you get to know me, i'm a good person. honestly. a lot of people don't see it, but it's true.

"and like, i guess i'm kind of an introvert? i'm good at hiding it, i guess, seeing as lot of people i knew in la didn't know. but i prefer to stay home with lucy and a pizza and a disney movie on blu ray - but don't let anyone know i said that, it would ruin my reputation. it's just that i prefer not to spend a lot of time around people, but i've got this crazy adrenaline junkie attitude, so everyone thinks i've got to have the crazy extrovert part to go along with it, too. which is fine, honestly. i can do that."

don't listen to a word i say;
the screams all sound the same.