#// soo leo asked me about this and i thought i'd just make it into a post

[muraenide]

Chapter 8: Magic in the Coral Sea

Magic in the Coral Sea mainly evolves around two concepts: (1) equivalent exchange and (2) fair trade. Many would call the magic used in the Coral Sea dark magic, but the Coral Sea itself has a very different concept of dark magic that is much, much more taxing and costly than the surface's view of "dark magic".

(In the Coral Sea, Ea's magic is "normal magic", things that can sometimes be reversible. "Dark magic" in the Coral Sea is often called curses or cruxes, magic that is irreversible under any circumstances.)

The source of the Coral Sea's magic is believed to have come from Ea, a Mesopotamian deity, the deity of magic, wisdom, and the creation of water. The myths say that he lives beneath the ocean and is associated with fertility, and is the first of the merfolk.

To practice Coral Sea magic is to worship Ea. Ea's rules of creation determine that all living things are born with a fixed asset and that cannot be altered, even by magic. To obtain something, one must give back something of equal value. For example, if a man wishes for riches and wealth, no doubt they will hit the lottery and get riches and wealth, but their eldest child might mysteriously die in their sleep or a shipwreck in exchange. Not all Coral Sea magic is that dark, however. The smaller and more inconsequential the magic, the less effort, and price it cost. To make a clam sing, one might only need to trade it with a tree branch. To transport one item to another destination, it costs nothing at all except to know the right incantation as it doesn't upset the balance of the world.

However, no one knows these rules better than merfolk, since it's magic exclusive to the Coral Sea. Though as rumours find themselves to the surface, sailors would occasionally hunt for merfolk just so they could force them into using their magic for their own gain. These merfolk would usually agree to it, but they get their revenge by tricking the human into trading something they're not prepared to lose. Sometimes the cost is enough to drive them mad, but their problems no longer concerns the merpeople.

Sadly, most of the time merpeople are, technically but not literally, trying to protect humans from using magic they don't understand, but when enraged, merfolk would not stop them and let them bear the fruit of their own actions.

[erosjournal]

‧₊˚໒꒱ all along there were some, invisible strings...

────────────────────────────────────────────

~ characters : leo valdez x daughter of iris

~ synopsis : you and leo have met on multiple occasions. three times, you guys have met, and you've never been friends. so why is it only now that he might be someone you don't want to leave?

~ tw(s) : nothing i can think of?

────────────────────────────────────────────

1st time.

you shot up in bed, sitting and shaking while your breath heaved. you'd had another nightmare, which wasn't unusual at this point, but you still felt the rush of anxiety through you after it had happened. you looked around, making sure everything was ok around you. yup, your sleeping siblings still were safe in their beds.

you got up, and threw on a hoodie over your pajamas, then slipped on some shoes. you needed a walk to clear your head, and that nightmare was still embedded in your mind. you walked over to the door, stepping carefully. you opened the door and sneaked outside, closing it carefully to ensure your siblings wouldn't wake up.

it was a strangely cold summer morning, very early, right after sunrise. though, you wouldn't be able to tell with the clouds covering the sky. you took in a deep breath, inhaling the sweet smell of the cold.

you decided to go sit by the lake, which wasn't very far. no one else was awake, and you thought about your nightmare as you walked. it was a repetitive one. one you wouldn't never let go, the memory haunting you forever.

you snapped out of your mind as you noticed someone was already sitting at your favorite bench. he had dark curls, and seemed to be tinkering with something. you didn't know anyone else that could've been awake at this point.

"you're in my spot." you said. walking closer. the turned around and smiled. he had a sharp grin on, and his dark brown eyes seemed to gleam with mischief. you felt your cheeks warm, probably from the cold.

"actually, i was here first." he announced, scooting so he sat directly in the middle of the bench, so there was no space for you to sit comfortably. you frowned and crossed your arms.

"hey, man, just let me sit here in peace. i need it." you sighed, watching him twitch with energy.

"no thank you, princess, i'd prefer to be here too." he went back to the project in his hands. it was a small, toy dragon. yet it was made of celestial bronze. odd. you walked around so you were facing him, and kicked him in the shins.

"dude, just go find another spot. there's like, dozens of benches." you groaned. he winced but just laughed.

"so why don't you go find one?" he smirked, spinning the tail on his toy. you bit your lip, frustrated at his stubborness.

"because.." this is my favorite bench, not yours, you wanted to say, but held back. "because i like it. okay? at least make room for me." you finally offered. he thought a bit, and nodded.

"sure, i'd love to sit next to a beautiful girl like you." he adjusted, so there was space for you. you sat next to him, watching the lake ripple and sway.

"soo... whatcha doin out here this early?" he asked, is eyes fixated on the dragon.

"says you." you glanced over, smirking a little. he looked up and noticed your smile, causing him to grin too.

"well, i wanted some time alone. obviously, it didn't end up that way, but i just needed some... time." he said, glancing at his dragon. he seemed so obsessed with it. you wanted to ask, but decided against it.

"yeah..." you nodded. after a bit more silence, broken by the occasional squeak of metal grinding against each other, you sighed.

"so, what's your name?" you asked, looking over at the boy. he smiled.

"leo valdez, at your service." he grinned. "and my dragon, festus!" he lifted the dragon up, so the light shone on it. you nodded.

"what about you, princess?" he asked. you were about to say, when a bell rang. wow you guys had been out there for a while. it was breakfast time, and you wanted to hurry back to change. you smiled at him, and got up.

"next time we meet, maybe you'll know." you teased, and ran off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2nd time.

camp half-blood had finished, summer was over. autumn had rolled in, and you were off to go back home. you promised your siblings to come back to visit, but you dearly missed your dad. he was always supportive of you, and when you were a kid he'd share amazing stories of your mother. you always thought he was joking, or trying to make you feel better, but you realized he was in love.

now, the hermes cabin and decided to play a prank on leaving campers. see, the campers had to drop off their suitcases (if they had them) with their things in the big house, so it could be watched over before they left.

the next day, wandered over to the big house. as you did, you noticed the disarray of confused campers and one upset chiron. you sneaked past them, into the room, to see the mess. the suitcases were all over the ground, the stuff in them had been switched into others, the tags crossed out and tossed. it was chaotic.

"oh my gods..." you gasped, seeing your favorite shirt on the couch, your suitcase on the other side of the room. you dashed to pick it up, weaving through the other campers.

as you stuck your hand out to grab it, you heard the sigh of the camp director.

"you all better help! this is going to set us back by at least a day!" he groaned, talking to the hermes kids. they all seemed pleased, but put on a poker face of sadness and remorse.

you walked around the room, snatching up skewed items of yours. as you came across your suitcase, you noticed a black haired boy rummaging through it, cursing as he kept pulling out bolts and pieces.

"leo?!" you asked, kicking him off of it. he winced but glanced up.

"oh, hey princess." he grinned. he backed up, pointing at the suitcase. "the hermes cabin stole some of my nuts and bolts and threw them around into the suitcases. i need them all for my project." he sighed. "is this your suitcase?"

"yes, it is mine. i would appreciate if you didn't go through it." you said sharply, kneeling to shove your clothes in it. he backed up, blushing.

"oh, sorry. i didn't mean to, i just needed the scraps that had fallen in..." he promised, opening his hand to reveal the items. you glanced and shrugged.

"okay, whatever," you said, and quickly zipped up your bag, and stood up, facing leo. he gave you a nervous grin, and fidgeted. his fingers were twitching.

"so, uh, princess, never got that name of yours." he said, smirking. he hoped you would lay off your bitter words.

"never threw it." you teased back, grinning. he smiled, rubbing his arms. you bit your lip, then told him.

"gods, that's a really pretty na-" suddenly was a loud crashing sound from outside.

"AH! KIDS!" chiron said, as some hermes campers had fallen off of a makeshift stack of luggage. he groaned and walked inside, nervous at the disarray.

"if anyone's ready, we have a bus prepared." he said, trying his best to be calm. a couple kids hurried out, and you looked back at leo.

"see ya next summer, leo." you smiled, and started walking out.

"you too, princess!" he called back, grinning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3rd time.

it was the next summer, and you were chosen to go on a quest. one you couldn't possibly go on. you were sitting on the steps of your cabin, slightly shivering at the thought of terrors ahead.

you were so caught up in your mind, you hadn't noticed the boy who'd come up to you.

"hey, um, everything ok?" a voice asked. you looked up. leo was standing there, awkwardly. he had worry written all over his face, and you felt bad.

"yeah yeah, of course." you assured, trying to stop your quaking. he shook his head, and sat right next to you.

"it's ok if you're not. quests can be really scary. not the actual thing, sometimes, but just the idea." you felt like breaking down. you'd been stressed recently, and the idea of crying into leo's arms was becoming more and more appealing.

"thanks." you said, and went back to staring off in the distance, your mind lingering. leo nodded, and took your hand in his. it made your heart flutter, but you shook it off as nerves. he made gentle circles with his thumb, reassuring you.

"just so you know, i think you're gonna do great. you're the best fighter i've seen." he said it seriously. whether or not that was true, you'd never know. but you smiled.

"thanks, like, seriously. i'd been stressed for a bit, and this on top..." you responded, shaking your head. he listened.

"hey, if you ever need to talk, drop by my cabin. i'll listen." he said. you felt you heart skip again. i'll listen. gods, this boy was gonna drive you crazy. you nodded, and leaned on leo's shoulder. he let you, not trying to do anything romantic or cheesy. he just wanted to be a comforting friend.

"leo, what was the first quest you'd ever done?" you said quietly. he sighed, relaxing his shoulders a little.

"me, piper, and jason had just gotten to camp half-blood. then we were sent to go beat up some giants to stop the first part of gaeas plan of rising. i think we did well." he grinned, looking over at you. you smiled.

"i.. i'm really scared." you admitted. he nodded slowly, motioning for you to continue. "i've never gone on a quest, and what good would i do?" you asked nervously. he looked surprised and shook his head.

"what do you mean 'what good would you do'? everyone has a key role to play. even you. i swear." he said, smiling reassuringly. you nodded.

"can you stay here for a bit?" you asked, shaking still ever so slightly. he nodded. you to sat there, enjoying each others company in silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

you'd just gotten back from you quest, and gods did it feel good to be back. your clothes were tattered, and you were exhausted. campers cheered as you and your fellow buddies from the quest arrived, grinning and hugging you guys. you hugged them all back, but searched the crowd. nothing.

"hey, princess!" you glanced over and smiled at the voice. leo was standing towards the back, on top of something to get his height up. you released the person you'd been hugging and quickly ran around the campers. you stopped in front of leo, who'd been standing on a brick.

"leo, get down here!" you cried over the voices of the other campers yelling. he nodded, and crawled down, and you threw your arms around him. "gods, i missed you!" you exclaimed, holding him tight.

leo was very surprised, but quickly held you tight against him too. you bit your lip, stepping back to look into his eyes. after a week of thinking, you had realizations.

"leo, can i-" you were broken of by leo's lips pressing against yours, hungry with love and longing. you felt yourself gasp, but kissed him back. gods you hadn't realized how much you'd wanted this.

you two stood there, in each others presence like nothing else mattered. it felt like the world had stopped. he was kissing you. and you loved it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ an:

OMG HI GUYS! I FINISHED THIS! I HOPE YALL DONT THINK IT SUCKS, I TRIED MY HARDEST :((

I HOPE YALL R DOING WELL AND I LOVE ALL OF U WHO READ MY FICS :333

[astroismypassion]

Hey okay soo since u asked this is a real life experience.. I read when your north node sign conjunct someone's venus sign you're a different person after the relationship.. this person opens your eyes to what a relationship is.. a transformative but arduous love ( something along those lines )

I've my north node in gemini and this boy has his venus in gemini and all of those things did happen.. also this has been true for me even for someone's sun sign in my north node where the person shows you what a relationship is and you're a different person after the relationship and the person has a major almost life changing impact on you...

I alsoo read this somewhere < you might date your childhood crush if you have a connection between capricorn and gemini venus or in aspects. It's rekindled childhood romance. This could also apply to 22 degrees venus>

I've my venus in capricorn and he has his venus in gemini at 22 degrees.. I didn't know his birthtime but this made me feel like I might ( just maybe, I hope) have the right information..

Also I've my venus and sun in 23 degrees and his sun is in 23 degrees soo I guess I'd wait until I turn 23 ( or the future) to see if something happens but maybe not because these connections aren't always meant to last but they are significant.

& this has been especially true for me with someone who has their sun sign in my north node sign (gemini)

you're also right about pisces and Aquarius placements being into photography and cameras.. I've an aqua stellium and mars in pisces and I'm obsessed with camera's and photography that's probably my direction in life (hopefully-fingers crossed)

Another major thing that I've noticed that we feel like our moon and mars sign.. I read this somewhere that children act like their moon and mars sign. It's funny how all other placements are overshadowed by them just because they rule our feelings and drive.. I also read how babies act like their moon and mars sign.. I know this kid she has an aqua moon and I read how aqua moons need constant movement and I swear she CAN NOT sit still..she also has an aries mars so whenever she's having a tantrum or something she cries and shouts really really loudly and aggressively. I think as we grow we might stop acting like our moon and mars sign but that's still what we feel like..or maybe that's just me...

Also I've my mars is in pisces in the 12th house and I always get like messages through dreams and have really vivid dreams...almost like real life..I remember as a kid I had a dream about a plane crash and I woke up terrified and I still remember how that made me feel and one of the worst feelings I've felt is from one of my dreams.. It's kinda a blessing and a curse I guess..

Also I relate my mars being in the twelfth to being a night person.. and I also think that's what makes me like passive aggressive

Is it true about venus in the 10th growing into their looks and become beautiful when they are older like it's the venus-saturn energy? I see this in my sister she has venus in the tenth and she's growing up really beautifully but I thought that could be because she's a cap rising. It could also be true what people say about people having their ascendant or moon in your sign showing you who you are because she really is like a mirror for me.. I see myself so much in her and she's always right somehow when she tells me stuff about myself... I think you also attract or get along with people with the same or certain placements a lot my sister and best friend both are 8H leo moons and both the guys I've been in a relationship with are gemini placements and leo risings <3 they were both born a few days apart so I guess ya

Anyways these were just some really personal and real life experiences and things that I've really thought about in depth. Hope u enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing this x <3

Hello, 

ohh my gosh, this is so cool! Thank you for sharing all these real life experiences with me. 

They were so much fun for me to read and I reread it twice. 

I appreciate you and you taking the time to write them. 

I mean...what to even add here...I agree with everything you wrote. 

Thank you once again, 

@astroismypassion 

[clueless-content-creator]

hmmm that's a very hard question soqksoqq i'd say my best trait that i'm very open minded and a good listener or that i'm always willing to make people close to me smile or laugh, and the worst is that i'm a procrastinator 😩

lmao i'm also a fire sign, sagittarius btw and awww thank you 🥺 that's so nice to hear! even though eric is more extroverted, loud and all over the place and i'm an introvert and quieter, i like his personality so much and honestly think i'd get along with him well because i still have my moments where i'm more talkative and little hyper when i'm comfortable around someone

ugh he's indeed an angel, sometimes a little devil but overall an angel 🥰 and same, i want wrap him in warm blankets and protect from the world 🥺 he's so tiny

i mean, if it was hyunjae i wouldn't deny though 🤷🏻‍♀️ but the way he straight up just asked her out dkkqslqmdq let me process this first, sir... omg you really an abnormal heartbeat? 😯 i'd faint from the moment he steps into anywhere we're at tbh

not the mirotic stage 😭😭😭 bold of you to assume i haven't cried over this eric yet, pls the eyebrow raise and jawline 😩 but why? wHy? WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS PLAYING UNFAIRLY WITH ME??? I SEND ONE THING AND ATTACK ME WITH THREE

fine then

It is a hard question but you answered it nonetheless! That is a very good and honorable trait 😌 Yeah, I do the same my friends call me the glue because if we are all together and someone fights I'm the one to hold everyone close still. Don't know if that's a good thing lol 🤷‍♀️ Same omg I procrastinate all the time but I just remember when Chan says 'Stop procrastinating' in the most Aussie accent and get back to doing the right thing lmao. Ooo that's new for me, I'm not too familiar with sag people but you are l💓very so I don't have a bad impression of those signs! Anytime love 💕 Yeah, I feel like each member can be the opposite of what they actually are though because I remember Chanhee being so surprised about Younghoon just bursting out into dancing & singing but that's a Leo thing 🤧 There are two types of each sign and both Younghoon and I are quite leos but we can break out of our shells every once in a while 🥳 But yes, opposites do attract and Eric can definitely be crazy sometimes haha. That's my thing though, Juyeon is an extrovert but he doesn't seem like it but that's what I love about him. Tbh he gives off a quiet & mysterious type vibe and I love that because Im not really into people who shout out what they are feeling 24/7 cuz I've met people like that 🥴 I'm an introvert but I've been told I give off Ambivert vibes because I can be mixed (both) a lot of the time, again idk if that's a good thing lol. Yeah me too, but I think that it's natural for introverts to come out and party when they are with people they like 🤪 Right! Why is Chanhee so squishable and adorbs 🥺🥺 He's soo cute it's unfair! 😤 True he can be so savage sometimes I'm like "Where's my soft baby? 😭" Ugh no, stop!! Why are you making me mush for the man, I can't believe he's 23! We want to protect him from the world protests needs to be going on rn but he's like "Oh no I eat the perilla leaf, it's my favorite part" to avoid marriage 🙄 I can't with him sometimes- True, I would straight up faint if any of them just suddenly showed up 🤭 Ik I just came up with it and was like "wait Hyunjae should be like this" lmao, my thoughts in a nutshell. Yes, I do but you learn to live with it, it's not a problem!

I know, I live for eyebrow raises snd that is no exception-! And bold of you to assume I didn't fucking cry over Chanhee for a week but you know... Well, this time, you get four gifs of handsome Eric so you're very much welcome!