Normal Oak

*The following article contains spoilers for Season 2. Please listen to the season in its entirety or be warned!*

Template:Character Template V2

**Normally Ly "Normal" Oak-Swallows-Garcia** is a teenage player character in the *Quest* campaign. He is played by Will Campos. Normal is the son of Sparrow and Rebecca Oak and the grandson of Henry Oak. He is a perky, peppy, chipper, cheery school spirit mascot kid. His character class is Cleric.

## Equipment and Attributes

### Spells Used

* Command
* Cure Wounds
* Detect Good And Evil
* Detect Magic
* Guiding Bolt
* Revivify
* Silence
* Spare the Dying
* Zone of Truth
* Detect Thoughts (Wand Of Wonder)
* Stinking Cloud (Wand Of Wonder)

### Items

* A Single Jet Boot
* D.A.D.D.I.E.S. ID Badge
* Kevlar Armor (in mascot outfit)
* Mace
* The Ring of Invisibility but also blindness
* Wand Of Wonder

## Appearance

In the first episode, Normal is described as wearing an enormous costume of the school mascot, Teeny the Teen. The mascot costume resembles Jimmy Neutron's head with Bart Simpson's body. The arms and legs are completely covered in a thick, padded flesh-colored fabric, with eyeholes in the mouth which are difficult to see out of inside cars and tight spaces. Normal is almost naked under the costume, as it is extremely hot and poorly ventilated, wearing only a pair of basketball shorts. He refuses to take off the costume under any circumstances, due to a mix of irrationally potent school spirit and fear that harm will come to the mascot by rival schools. Because of his refusal to take off the costume, Normal- and the costume for that matter, are unwashed and filthy, with a terrible stench. When Normal throws up inside the mascot head, he hastily wipes it off with his own spit and a can of diet coke. When he begrudgingly removes the mask, he is described as looking extremely gross, his skin covered in sweat, grease, and pimples.

After the events of the dance, Normal briefly dressed as all three of his friends at once, before stripping down to his briefs and drawing a T on his chest. He would continue to wear only this until being set on fire, replacing his burnt underwear with a diaper made from Link's torn sleeves and a heavy metal T-shirt donated by Scary.

During episode 19 in preparation for the Black Parade, he picks out a nice three piece suit from the Men's Warehouse, wearing it with the sleeves rolled up.

## Personality

Normal Oak is "perky, peppy, chipper, and cheery", and does everything with enthusiasm.

Despite not having any friends at the beginning of S2, he has a very optimistic outlook, and no desire to change himself to appeal to his peers. This is largely due to the fact that he is somewhat oblivious of the way his interests and behavior are off-putting to others. His obsession with mascots and school spirit (as well as his poor hygene) can come across as annoying or overbearing, making it hard for him to make friends.

Nonetheless, Normal is a very kind person and supports the people around him, to the point that he claims he can "fix" Hermie the Unworthy, and decides to take him to the dance, despite Hermie's creep persona at the time.

He is very committed to the D.A.D.D.I.E.S cause and finding his dad, and is enthusiastic in working with the other teens, creating a group chat for all of them that only Taylor stays in.

It is only when his father, Sparrow, drunkenly tells Normal that he is disappointed in him, that Normal tries to become more "normal", and takes off the mascot suit. Normal makes an effort to act more like an average teen, and goes through a bit of an identity crisis as a result. During this time period however, he maintains the same enthusiasm and supportive attitude, albeit a bit upset due to Link being such a good Teenie. It is clear he misses being the mascot.

His primary motivation for changing himself is to save his dad by generating daddy magic, not to gain approval. Normal regularly expresses that he is angry with his dad, but rarely loses control of his anger, often showing himself to be mature and able to communicate his feelings well.

During OSHA's Eleven, Normal speaks with Sparrow, letting him know he is mad at him and hurt by what he said during Dance Dance Revelations 2nd Mix Link Version. Sparrow reveals that when Normal was in Kindergarten, he fell on his face in front of the entire class, causing them to laugh at him. In response to this, Normal intentionally fell on his face every day from that point on, thinking they were laughing "with" him, and not "at" him, showing his obliviousness. Sparrow also calls Normal a "sweet boy" and expresses fear that Normal's kind nature will get him hurt one day, which Normal responds to by saying he understands that, but likes who he is. In Ei8ht, we see that Normal actually feels quite undervalued. While at the pride layer, it is shown that Normal's fantasy is being recognized for his school pride, and he expresses angrily that nobody appreciates all that he does for Teen High.

During Halt and Catch Fireball, Normal tells Scary and the rest of the teens that its okay if they don't care about stopping the Doodler, as it is Normal's family's problem, and as a result his problem. This attitude can also be seen in Alright, when Normal sits on the throne of the Doodler despite the danger. Normal's kind hearted nature also applies to the Doodler, and he is the loudest advocate in the group for destroying the anchors with love, helping the Doodler instead of hurting it.

In Con Mayor, after realizing that Hermie stole the mascot, instead of being upset, this only makes Normal fall for Hermie more, thinking this must mean Hermie also has school spirit. Normal is a very anxious person, and can often be seen "freaking out", many of these anxieties are revealed in Finding Tori. In his set, Normal expresses that he is "confused and terrified" and "sad and miserable", and lists off all of his anxieties. Normal's stand up routine gradually becomes more erratic as he starts insulting Hermie and the rest of his friends, often in very insensitive ways. Realizing he's being harmful, Normal's breathing speeds up and he becomes more and more stressed out, explaining he was just trying to be funny and apologizing to everyone several times. After the conclusion of the stand up competition, Hermie somewhat rejects Normal, saying that Normal doesn't actually like him, but that he is just looking to Hermie for external validation. Hermie is rather harsh to Normal during this conversation, but Normal insists he still does like Hermie for who he is and wants to get to know him better. However, Normal is left wondering if what Hermie said may be true.

## Relationships

### Lincoln Li-Wilson

***(Friend, Coworker, Husband)***

[insert desc]

### Scary Marlowe

***(Friend, Coworker, Wife)***

[insert desc]

### Taylor Swift

***(Friend, Coworker, Husband)***

[insert desc]

### Hermie Unworthy

***(Crush, Husband)***

[insert desc]

### Lark Oak

***(Uncle)***

[insert desc]

### Sparrow Oak

***(Father)***

[insert desc]

## History

### Early life

[insert desc] Before joining D.A.D.D.I.E.S, Normal’s life was pretty standard. He was always very perky, chipper and cheery, but he was also completely unable to read others. He'd often humiliate himself to get attention, thinking people were laughing with him not at him. He was the mascot before the podcast started, and is said to have been/technically still is in, the cheer routine, with Erica Drippins. He also met his pen pal during this time.

### "Norm" Oak

[insert desc, from the conversation with Sparrow at the dance and his "be more normal" arc]

### The Doodler's Anchors

[Insert desc, Normal's role in speaking with the Doodler and breaking the anchors]

## Season 2, Episode 1: Dungeons and D.A.D.D.I.E.S.

Lark, Sparrow, Rebecca, and Normal Oak (wearing the school mascot costume) arrive at San Dimas High School in a four-seat hybrid. Normal's uncle, Lark, offers him a gun to fight off dangerous kids and his father, Sparrow protests that it will earn him even more detention. Rebecca offers pepper spray to Normal as a compromise. His father insists that he remove the costume to clean it, but Normal refuses, insisting that wearing it constantly is the only way to protect it from being defaced by the opposing team. He takes the pepper spray and exits the car before being accosted by the soccer team. His enthusiasm quickly deflates their bullying efforts and he heads into the school.

After 3 hours of detention, Normal, Lincoln Li-Wilson, Taylor Swift, and Scary Marlowe are kidnapped from detention by a limo driver who tells them he has permission from their principal.

## Season 2, Episode 2: The Game of Life (Any% WR Speedrun)

Upon seeing The Runner on the treadmill, Normal puts on the The Ring of Invisibility but also Blindness, but Taylor announces that he's wearing it as he has to speak his thoughts out loud. The Runner grabs Normal and he removes the ring to talk to her. Normal tries but fails to lift the machine using the muscles in his back, and The Runner grabs the other three teens and puts them into the machine.

Once they are out of the simulation, the Fire Department arrives and Normal speaks to the lead firefighter and tries to persuade him to leave the aged children in their hands, but the firefighter brushes him off. Link and Normal cast healing spells on The Runner, restoring her leg. Bedecked in a kindergartner's discarded clothing, Normal manages to corral the real kindergartners back into the school.

## Season 2, Episode 3: The Unbearable Linkness of Peeing

On Saturday, Normal brings The Tinkerer home and tells his mum he's a dog that won't be staying for long.

On Sunday, Normal brings The Tinkerer to Taylor's house and Taylor orders an Uber to take them to Headquarters. Normal realizes that he forgot his mascot suit and jumps out of the car to go home and retrieve it, telling Taylor to go to D.A.D.D.I.ES. headquarters without him. To his dismay, he finds Rebecca washing it. He and Taylor decide to leave the Tinkerer locked in a kennel with water and some snacks until the next day.

On Monday, Normal joins his friends as they go to detention, which they ditch school to go to D.A.D.D.I.E.S. headquarters. When they descend to the basement, they find a large purple door with four outlines that match their bodies. Normal realizes that he won't fit in the mascot costume and tries to squeeze in. The door tells him to remove the costume, and he complies bashfully.

## Rad Facts

* Episode 1: Normal Oak (Will Campos) is a perky, peppy, chipper, cheery school spirit mascot kid. He plays Teeny the Teen, the mascot of San Dimas High School.
* Episode 2: Normal is a fan of all genres of music across space and time, as long as it is the marching band cover version. Normal listens exclusively to school marching band albums.
* Episode 3: Normal lives for bake sales. Every year, the Oak family whips up a batch of Grandma Oak-Garcia's famous vegan brownies, which Normal does not think tastes very good. So on the way to school, he ditches them and buys other brownies and still calls them vegan.
* Episode 4: Normal can't swim, and was the kid that Taylor saved at the pool, as well as one of the kids in the "Spot the drowning kid" video.
* Episode 5: Normal has a big sister called Hero Oak.
* Episode 6: In a contest to name the school mascot and the front runner was Demon the San Demas Demon. Knowing that parents could be upset with this new mascot: Pepperoni Tony rigged the vote so Normal's submission- Teeny the Teen- would win. This resulted in Normal thinking that everyone liked Teeny the Teen.
* Episode 7: Norm's favorite part of going to school is Summer vacation.
* Episode 8: Norm likes Marvel movies. He thinks they're pretty good but they're a little long.
* Episode 9: Norm is wearing lifts, so he can be the average height of exactly 6.4
* Episode 10: Normal's full name is Normally.
* Episode 11: Normal doesn't actually wash his clothes. He just puts them in the dryer. This is because the washer and dryer his family has is a combination that he doesn't know how to work.
* Episode 12: Normal's *full* name is Normally Ly Oak-Swallows-Garcia. While it is the same sound, this is not the same name as in Marco and Lincoln's surnames, and instead denotes being descended from someone from Oakvale.
* Episode 13: Normal, in his search for a best friend, has decided that his best friend is his Ecuadorian pen pal, Carlos. He met Carlos while visiting his grandmother's (as in, Mercedes Oak-Garcia's) side of the family when he was six.
* Episode 14: Ever since Link and Taylor got really into Laffy Taffy, Normal has been trying to get a Laffy Taffy joke published.
* Episode 15: Normal's favorite pizza is pepperoni because it has "pep" in the name. Normal is a vegan, so he scrapes all the cheese and pepperoni off of it when he actually eats it. The pepperoni and cheese hurt his tongue.
* Episode 16: Normal's first part-time job was provided by his mother. He played Vinnie The Vegan Vulture, who was briefly the mascot for Swallow's Vegan Ice Cream. His job was to wander around and give people samples. This is where Normal got the taste for being a mascot. Vinnie was a short-lived character thanks to Normal being so aggressive and getting heat stroke. (He would go up to people and pretend to scavenge their samples, and then pass out.)
* Episode 17: Normal has no pets, but has befriended a racoon that lives behind the school.
* Episode 18: Normal's first kiss was with the Pomona High School Panther. He doesn't know their identity because they kissed with the mascot heads on.
* Episode 19: Normal had Invisalign, but he lost them. His family thinks he still has them, but he doesn't wear the new pairs because they don't fit his teeth now.
* Episode 20: Normal has been researching mustache styles.
* Episode 21: Will uses this fact to make a going-on-dog joke to get back at Freddie.
* Episode 22: Normal is not a morning person.
* Episode 23: Normal's second step to get everyone to love him would be to set a Guinness Book of World Records. He is attempting to chew gum longer than anyone in the world. He's had gum in his mouth the entire adventure.
* Episode 24: Normal gets bad grades in school. He gets straight Cs, and has a 2.5 GPA.
* Episode 25: Normal's backup career if being a mascot doesn't work out is being a therapist, because he assumes it's just being a mascot but for one person.
* Episode 26: When Normal is 24, he gets really into menswear.
* Episode 27: Normal appreciates every instrument in marching band aside from bass clarinet.
* Episode 28: Normal believes that soup never goes bad.
* Episode 29: Normal is the most published author in the Archive of our Own fanfiction subforum for Teen High.
* Episode 30: Normal's been doing his homework the entire time the teens have been on their adventure.
* Episode 31: Normal follows the "cultural critics" on Pinterest.
* Episode 32: Normal doesn't get mad. He gets even.
* Episode 33: Normal's favorite actress is Holly Hunter.
* Episode 34: In solidarity with the Writers Guild of America, Will did not write a Rad Fact for Normal.
* Episode 35: Normal has been married before, in his fanfiction.
* Episode 36: The first time Normal tried drinking, he was 10, and he was at his grandparent's house, and he tried a sip of Henry's home-brewed hard kombucha.
* Episode 37: When Normal was a little kid, Mercedes Oak-Garcia gave him a diamond-encrusted necklace that is assumed to be one of her J.O. Crystals, but it is worth 300gp so Normal used it as a component to bring back Agent Schmegan so he doesn't have it anymore.

## Trivia

* Normal once tried to do aerial silks. While practicing in his backyard, he hurt himself and decided not to do aerial silks.
* When Normal was four, he pooped his pants in a Mexican restaurant. This was a great source of shame for him before he forgot it thanks to the memory syringes.
* Normal took Hermie the Unworthy on a vaguely platonic date to the school dance. Although after several identity and pizza-related crises, he has no idea whether or not he actually likes Hermie.
* Normal's favorite color is blue.
* Normal is not heterosexual. This has been indirectly confirmed by his canonical crush on Hermie.
* According to an issue of the Teen Tribune, Hermie is Normal's Beta reader on Ao3.
* Has trouble differentiating between the Titanic and the lucitania.