#Percy crushes up some of his nicest seashells for his face

[kastalani123]

Consider:

Leo Valdez was not born. Instead, two pairs of hands form him from bronze and steel and gold. His hair is copper wires so thin they bounce like natural curls, and his eyes glimmer with silver flakes. The joints of his body are plated so delicately, so perfectly, the segments are near indiscernible, smoothly gliding over each other. Faint traces of fingerprints and flecks of impurity are deliberately left behind for their uniqueness, a form of impossible signature of his creators.

Most importantly, gilded bars curl around each other in his chest, protecting the red-red-red flame that pushes his eyes open everyday, that beats in tune with his thoughts, that heats his body to expand and grow.

A metal child is not so different from a human one, and yet is so far from it at the same time. He is curious, about the world, about himself, and he picks apart toys and TV remotes and his arms, spilling their secrets before his constantly shifting eyes. He does not cry from fatigue or thirst or hunger, but a bump, a dent, a scratch never fail to draw tears. He splashes in the rain and snow, carefully bundled in waterproof coats and jackets, and runs from baths like he's possessed, fire flickering in fear.

The first time he meets someone like him, an endeavour he had long thought hopeless, it is a malfunctioning dragon others call for the death of; he is too unpredictable, too dangerous, too broken. Leo looks him in ever-shifting eyes glimmering with silver and sees himself if the cage in his chest ever bends, cracks, shatters, if the gears beneath his skin ever jam and stick and wear down irreversibly.

It is not golden flowers and godly aid that preserve him; just as he'd done for his twin-in-all-but-appearance, he creates a new body, with new fingerprints and impurities mapping his design. His hair is more bronze than copper, now, and his eyes more gold than brass. The plates of his joints scrape against each other faintly, and the gears of his bones grind together uncomfortably — he only had so much time, so much material to use, he could not polish every element of himself in the way he wished, but it holds together.

Most importantly, he reinforces the cage in his chest, coats it in layers upon layers of metal, to ensure his flame will not go out in the explosion, that Festus will be able to salvage it and lay it gently in the chest cavity carefully carved in his new body, bringing it to life.

He returns to Camp, movements more clunky and mechanical than should be, and his siblings finally pin down his segmented limbs, his shifting eyes, his clicking fidgeting. They are ecstatic, just as fascinated with him as they had been with Festus, and he lets them. He lets them take him apart, piece by piece, clean out the sand of Ogygia from his organs, polish and oil his gears until they glide against each other, press new fingerprints, new signatures of belonging, against his skin.

Most importantly, they craft him a secure, intricate cage, with golden flames licking up the bars, with delicate chains shielding it from the elements, and his flame settles inside it, flickering happily, finally truly, truly comfortable in the cage of his body.

Leo Valdez may not have been born, but he was crafted with the most loving hands imaginable, and is that not so much better, for a son of the Craftsman?

[tiredofthehumanlife]

Please anything bestfriend! Or loser! Luke w and Aphrodite!reader!!!!!!

Warnings: not much, kinda short, lmk if it doesn't satisfy anon, sorry it took so long I had to do a really hard math problem for ekko, too many/not enough commas, Luke is a lameo and r spends a lot of time with doves, I know zero Percy Jackson lore I read the wiki fandom article on Aphrodite kids and just used that, also I took like five quizzes and three said I was an Aphrodite kid so like I'm hot guys, enjoy

In the nicest way, Luke was a total fucking loser. He was too busy practicing sword fighting to actually ask anyone out or even get asked out. Luke hadn't even held hands with someone romantically. That didn't stop him from having crushes. He crushed on an Athena kid two years ago and confessed his feelings. That kid laughed in his face and rejected him. The next thing he knew a group of doves was pulling at the kids hair, scratching at their face. They flung their arms up trying to run the doves away. When Luke looked over he saw a small crowd of Aphrodite kids. One stood out to him. You. Something about the air around you seemed intoxicating. You looked him up and down before giving him a nod and walking off with your siblings following behind you. Your one interaction sparked his crush. He's been head over inheels since then.

You two rarely interacted over the years. Luke was just some guy and you were, well, you. Luke tried his hardest not to stare at you anytime he saw you but it was hard. Anytime you were at the lake there was sea foam gently swaying around your ankles in the water, and the amount of seashells around you seemed to increase the longer you spent at the shore. If you were excited and you were practically skipping to your siblings and friends, flowers would bloom around your feet with each step. You would spend your free time sitting on the front checked deck with your siblings. Usually you'd call a dove over you'd all fawn over it, giving it kisses on its head, lots of pets and snacks you'd crumble up. And he...liked swords? How is Luke supposed to get the courage to talk to you much less ask you out?

It wasn't as one sided as Luke assumed. You had your eye on him long before you stepped in on his confession two years ago. You thought Luke was cute. You loved how into his fighting he would get. You thought it was adorable the way he'd scrunch his nose or fiddle with his necklace. You loved a lot about him. Luke was gorgeous and passionate and terribly pathetic. All the best attributes of a man. You just worried about asking him out because you thought he'd think you were tricking him or it was all a big scheme with your siblings.

Luke never asked you out because he was terribly anxious you'd say no. He worried you'd go and tell all your friends and they'd tell their friends and next he'd know it'd be all over camp and he'd be laughing stock. So Luke stuck to just gazing and sighing longingly at you. You always felt his eyes no matter what you were doing and most of the time once you'd find his eyes he'd look away.

So the day you ran up to Luke first thing in the morning, flowers blooming at your feet, Luke almost had a panic attack. You gave him a bright smile and he swore he fell even more in love with you. You said something but he couldn't hear you at all. Luke just stared at you. When your smile started to fall due to his lack of response he finally spoke up. He asked you to repeat yourself.

"do you wanna go out?" Luke froze, which was worse the second time around because now he's stopped talking to you twice in one conversation. You snapped your fingers to get his attention. He startled and ran your words through his head again. Luke quickly nodded his head.

"yes, yeah yeah that'd be good yeah." Your smile returned and clapped your hands together. You gave him a date, time, and where to meet up. Just as quick as you came you left, even more flowers sprouting at your feet. A few doves came down from the sky twirling around you as you ran back to your friends to tell them the spectacular news.

When your date finally rolled around, you were smiling the whole way though. Laughing when Luke did something stupid in an attempt to impress you. Jumping off tall rocks and failing miserably to land on his feet. Picking a flower off the ground and tucking it behind your ear. He climbed up a tree and hung down smiling at you, upside down. You moved closer to him and gently kissed his lips. You pulled back and told him to meet you at the same time next week. Walking away, you heard a large crash. Looking back you saw Luke on his back in the dirt. You called out to him, to make sure you wouldn't be charged with manslaughter. Luke rolled over onto his stomach and smiled at you. You returned it and made your way back to your cabin excited for your next date.