#my friend percy wrote this

[supernatural-24]

People need to talk about how fucking funny Supernatural Season 1 is. Sam and Dean rock up to a smallfuck hillbilly town in the middle of nowhere where people are being viciously slaughtered by some unfathomable creature, in a sick as fuck vintage car with stolen license plates.

Then they rock up to the crime scene in their boots and zip up hoodies and brown leather jackets with their very obvious fake IDs and babyfaces all like “oh yeah we’re federal officers!” and the local cops are like “for sure, here’s everything you need to know on the case”. Then they’re chilling in some motel that looks like its been abandoned for like ten years and has been festering in a swamp since then, and Sam’s like “Dean what if it’s a *insert generic monster name here*” and Dean’s all “no way, it's definitely not *insert generic monster name here*. I actually don’t even know what we’re doing here, this definitely isn’t our type of problem, we’re supposed to be looking for Dad”.

Then this random hot girl’s brother or husband or boyfriend or cousin or best friend or something idfk gets slaughtered by the monster and Dean’s like “fuckgjhjajsifoa maybe it is a *insert generic monster name here*” and Sam’s like “well we all know the one way to kill a *insert generic monster name here*: silver bullet right in that mofo’s heart” .Then the hot girl goes “I’m sick of the cops in this town doing nothing about it! I’m going after it myself!” and Sam and Dean go “okay that’s chill whatever, but we'll come to cause we can protect you” and she’s like “I can look after myself thanks very much, I don’t need your protection”. Sure enough, she ends up needing their help, and they burst in the room or hotel or mansion or bridge or woods or something idfk guns blazing shooting everything. Then the *insert generic monster name here* fucking stabs Sammy and Dean’s like hyperventilating “no one beats the shit outta my brother but me!” BAM silver bullet right in that fucking abominations heart. Then Dean viciously makes out with the hot girl while Sam fucking bleeds out on the floor.

Then the next day they’re driving in the car together and Dean’s all “we should do this more often, you know saving people, hunting things, fucking bitches” and Sam’s all “I’m only in this to find Dad cause I gotta find that yellow eyed dickhead”. Then a closing shot of the Impala driving into the sunset with fucking Kansas playing the background. How did anyone take this show seriously back in 2005. How did it get renewed for another fourteen seasons. How did it become one of the most iconic series of all time. I am furiously making out with the cast and also stabbing the writers.

[pjo-hoo-toa-freakazoid]

A lil rant about my experience with this god forsaken fandom

I made this blog around 2020 when I was 13 years old. This was my first shot at a dedicated fandom blog and I was pretty excited for it, to make friends, draw fanart, post fun stuff and what not.

All fun right? Right, so tell me why was it that literal 20 years olds felt the need to harass me, a then 13 year old girl with a relatively small blog, for the dumbest reasons possible?

What did I do that subjected me to 2 and a half years worth constant daily threats and harassment? Hmm???

You wanna know my crime? Apparently I showed interest in an antagonist character, which is so awful that grown adults felt the need to bully me. And following those adults came young impressionable people my age, that joined the bandwagon of hate against me.

As if other fandoms don’t have people literally dedicating themselves to a villain, no one bats an eye to that. Why did this fandom have such an issue? I also apparently dared to criticise the main character for a few of his flaws. Such a horrible thing to do right? I need to be burnt at the stake for it right?

I didn’t follow the “fixed” standards of the fandom so I was to be sent de*th/r*pe threats daily?? For not following the “rules” I was to be ostracised?

No please someone explain…I’m but a dumb bitch, I don’t understand what I did so terribly wrong to deserve this? Did I start a war? Did I rip open someone’s plush? Did I bully someone for not having the same ideology as me?

No it was but the fandom itself that for some reason found it so fun to bully a 13 year old, send her de*th and r*pe threats all because of not being of pjo fandom standards…let’s go and bombard her with hate!!

Do you realise how fucking stupid…this all sounds? Do you realise how low this is? Was bullying a child so fun? So trendy at the time?

Then came the victim blaming- I laugh everytime I remember people saying I must have done something really bad to get such harassment, that it’s all for attention. What kid wants to get hate everyday of their life for 2 whole fucking years? Tell me?

You know wanna know what I did wrong? Fight back, call the hate anons out for their bigotry. I was vocal about it, that’s what I did wrong right? Stand my ground? People said to ignore it and I did. But I still got bullied daily even if I didn’t respond. What was all this for?

I can imagine people asking why I didn’t simply leave the fandom? Why the fuck should I? I enjoy the stories, I enjoy the characters, they were my escape from real life struggles. It was the bullying I didn’t enjoy. Everyday I’d log on to enjoy posts and a few minutes later when the bigots found out I was active I was sent an anonymous threat.

Many of my oldest friends had to reduce the amount they interacted with me in fear of receiving harassment themselves. The extent of this is bigotry is beyond my understanding.

I did not deserve this much suffering AND ALL FOR WHAT? A STUPID LITTLE REASON THAT HAS BARELY ANY WEIGHT TO IT. Do people even realise the extent of what happened is beyond me. And Idc if I sound selfish, I want a fucking apology from all those bigots. I want compensation for the 2 and a half years of abuse I endured alone. I just want this bigotry to end, which surprise surprise! Still continues to happen.

Why do I bring this up now that it’s all over you ask? I’ve actually brought it up once before, but it was swept under the rug, (My deepest appreciation to the very few people who supported me when I first talked about it) I’m just finally being more vocal, because this has stuck with me. For all those 4 years this has stuck with me. It doesn’t mean if it’s over for now that all the trauma doesn’t linger. It still affects me to this day.

In fact I’m still being stalked by one of the people who sent me hate anons. One of the hate anons was revealed to be one of my bestest friends, they had admitted this to me and had the nerve to beg me to still remain friends. They were also the person who groomed me. They have left the fandom scene and I’ve rid of them from my life but they still continue to stalk me.

What do I get from ranting about all this? A bit of solace, a bit of weight off my shoulders. But nearly not enough for me to actually fucking heal. I also want people to realise how bigoted some are and how horrible the mentality of “fixed fandom standards/ideologies” is and that we as a fandom need to fucking change. Heck I know this issues in every fandom. But can we at least start with ours for a change for once?

Along side all of this there’s also a lot of racism and trans/homophobia that still actively prevails. Just look at what Leah went through when her casting was announced. Did she deserve all of that?? “Not my annabeth” do you realise how horrible that is to say to a CHILD? She is Annabeth whether you like it or not. And you are very welcome to leave if you wish to stick to your stupid racist nonsense.

I bet there are many others who have probably suffered the same may it not be for the same reasons, but everyone of them deserve their apologies and compensation as well.

Idc if I’ll get hate for this. I said what I said. I’m just so done.

[jankwritten]

Jasico Bingo Challenge: CHB Jason

Nico isn’t sure what’s worse: the fact that his childhood best friend seemingly disappeared into thin air a week ago, or the fact that the hottest guy he’s ever seen in his life has mysteriously appeared within Camp Jupiter’s walls. 

“Of course it was the first cohort,” he overhears after a Senate meeting, whispered in the halls. “He must be crazy powerful, if Lupa didn’t even need to train him!” 

“Shut up, that’s just a rumor. Everyone has to meet Lupa.” 

“They definitely met,” the first voice insists. Nico leans further into his shadows. The pair pass in front of him. “But she just let him go.” 

Hot guy is, of course, the gossip of the week. The month, even. 

Nico privately decides that hot guy is worse, only because it seems like his presence alone has turned the Legion into morons who’ve forgotten their freakishly powerful, supposed-to-be-Praetor has literally evaporated. Poof! No more son of Neptune! 

Nico would think the people who just a few years ago made a massive deal out of every move said son of Neptune made would pay a little more attention to the fact that the whole freaking man is gone! 

But no. There’s new gossip to be had, about a blonde with drool-worthy eyes and a scar on his lip and a suspiciously-missing backstory. 

Spend enough time in the Underworld, and you learn to suspect the whole amnesia act. Shades always know more than they pretend to. 

As the senate hall empties, Nico sinks fully back into the shadows. 

He will not let this stand. 

(to be continued)

[drberfarious]

can we talk about how vague this oath in SoM is?

can we talk about whatever the fuck "do your best" means? because if rick cut out that part, annabeth should be dead 20 times over, and it wouldn't even be her fault. with this part, annabeth should've been punished at least twice, so what does this oath even mean?

[percyinpanties]

Someone left a comment on the will/Percy sugar daddy au I wrote years ago, so ofc I ended up rereading my own fic, as you do.

But... I could have sworn there was more? I definitely recall writing more, but it's nowhere to be found.

[pianapplez]

Hello there 👋👀,

So I just found your blog and had a lot of fun scrolling through all the pjo show crit😂 I couldn't help but notice that one tag you left on a post where you said you had some beef with Annabeth's portrayal in the books 👀 Would you mind elaborating on that if you're comfortable with it🙈? Because I absolutely share that sentiment, but it's sooo veeeery rare that I see other people express anything like it... I've found that trying to be a part of the fandom can be pretty alienating most of the time, if you're not exactly the biggest most devoted Percabeth shipper...😅 And often any criticism leveled at Annabeth just gets you a smack with the "internalized-misogyny" hammer... it's even worse in the tv show now due to... obvious reasons...

Again just if you're comfortable with answering of course🙈 There is a reason I stayed on anon after all...😅😂

Really glad you asked because i finally get to ramble about this heheheh (going forward, know that i skimmed over The Last Olympian to have a clearer sense of what I meant because that's the book where Rick fumbles her character more than the others)

i'm gonna try to make as much sense as possible but short answer would be, she's underdeveloped. Long answer:

She really got on my nerves in the last two books, with the whole Rachel debacle and then the Battle of New York. I can't really remember a single moment in those books where she and Percy aren't bickering or having heated discussions, which really made me question their friendship status. Of course, it's not like friends can't fight and it obviously builds up the (romantic) tension between them, but it got unbearable at one point.

I understand she's a teenager in an incredibly stressful situation that didn't even get to have a normal upbringing- she grew up way too fast (run away at 7, head counselor at 12) while also not really maturing, which is not a problem for a character, if it is handled properly. Given the fact that I am writing this, Riordan did not.

On the surface, my biggest beef is that Annabeth is not exactly held accountable for her actions (ie. treating Rachel a bit like shit and going off on Percy for a bunch of stuff.) I know Percy is to blame a bit here: as far as we know, in TLO he basically cuts the greek world out of his life as much as he can as a coping mechanism. And while yes, he never apologizes either, he doesn't give her nearly half the hard time she gives him: always either giving him the cold shoulder (there must be at least one example of this in the entire series but i cant be bothered to look it up sorry) or starting an argument only to then storm off (see the "you're a coward, Percy Jackson!" scene, which is not the fairest example since she was confronting Percy about ignoring camp but also was a bit too harsh about it) (especially after finally reading the prophecy and being under the impression that he was absolutely going to die when he turned 16 lmao) or just straight up storming off (see, Annabeth reacting when Rachel shows up for the first time during the battle of new york). While most of these feel, at least to some degree, fairly justified given how the entire situation does an absolute number on her emotions, she comes off a bit brattish and like she's trying to rile Percy up, especially when it comes to Rachel, which in the context of a battle that could mean the destruction of the world.... Well, it reads as a bit childish to me, and i wouldn't exactly have that much of a problem with it if it was dealt with in some way (a two-way apology would be nice).

After that first impression, i realized that Annabeth is barely ever anything else other than a plot device (when relating to Luke) or a love interest (when relating to Percy). This might be because the books are on Percy's POV. Hell, on the third book he's even conflicted when Annabeth is considering joining the Hunters of Artemis, aka, when making a choice for herself would mean he loses her (which is fine and dandy but it feels like Percy is more upset about her choosing her own path rather than being sad about not seeing her as often); we really only get a few glimpses of her, as in, actually her when she's on her own.

Obviously it's impossible to talk about Annabeth without touching on percabeth, which also is, in my opinion, what hinders Annabeth's character the most. On paper they sound great. The guy whose fatal flaw is loyalty falls in love with a girl whose been let down by people over and over, and she decides to never give up on the boy whose always had people give up on him (can't find one of the million posts that talks about this right now but it always goes something like that) And yeah, the bickering is really well written! But that's literally as far as it ever goes: they don't ever seem to have fun together, because 8 times out of 10 the bickering ends up being passive aggressive, and mostly done by Annabeth. My biggest gripe about percabeth is that their friendship seems to be based off... shared trauma. Literally. Other than going on quests together we are given no examples of them hanging out, nor a reason why they would want to spend time together in the first place, not even a shared hobby. Yes, in the fourth book they had a movie "date" planned but of course they didn't even get to it, and surprise surprise, they had a minor discussion, and surprise surprise, Annabeth was passive aggressive again. It's hard to picture them having fun together when even the author doesn't write in any scenes in which they get along smoothly (and before you say anything, a scene in which they get along where neither of them is about to die, and they're not talking about previous adventures. Gets a bit hard then, doesn't it?) It's even harder to picture them as a couple when the moment she gets upset about something, she starts coming off as emotionally manipulative (see, again, literally any conversation with Rachel or about Rachel)

To be fair, the books are relatively short and don't allow many "filler" chapters, if you will; there's always something happening to keep the main plot or a minor plot point moving forward, but it's not like there is no room to develop the characters' relationships, especially when we're talking about the main char and what is essentially his endgame. As an example we have Percy and Clarisse, or Percy and Beckendorf. Their interactions are brief but still hold so much weight.

Worst of all, Annabeth could be one hell of a character; what's most interesting of all is how being a daughter of Athena she is still incredibly emotionally driven, which is displayed very clearly with her fatal flaw being pride: her telling the Sphynx that her questions were too easy was not smart nor strategic: it was completely impulsive. I seriously think she wasn't far from being the best character in the series had she been given more time.

I guess i have as much beef with Annabeth as i have with Rick for doing her dirty. I really could sum this up with: while her emotions are justified, she acts upon them quite poorly. And this is what i mean when i say she's underdeveloped, because it would've been nice to see her come to her senses a bit.

Would love to read anyone's opinions on her character though, feel free to comment, even (or especially) if you don't agree with me!

[unpopularvivian]

When You Show Memes To Your Partner (An Edward x Toby FanFic):

Toby was peacefully sipping his favorite cup of earl gray tea while silently humming to himself. The bright sunlight beamed through the windows while little songbirds softly chirped outside. The Fat Controller had decided to give him and his husband, Edward, a day off. No shunting trucks, no stress, just a relaxing day for the both of them. Toby happily sighed, it seemed like a long time that he was given a break for once. It’s not like he complained about doing work like James or sometimes Gordon, it's just that he didn’t get to spend time with Edward.

“Ahhh~ Such a lovely day… I wonder what should me and Eddie do? Maybe go to the beach? Take care of each others’ kids?” Toby chuckled to himself a little. No, of course not. Edward had Thomas while Toby and his wife, Henrietta, had Percy, Phillip and Pluto. All four of them were really crazy to handle in their own ways. Just as Toby was tentatively wondering to himself, Edward was walking down the staircase, wearing just a light blue shirt with blue jeans, looking very tired as usual. 

“Hello honey, did you have a decent sleep yesterday?” Toby quietly asked the blue tender engine.

Edward grumbled a bit before replying. “Well, I don’t think ‘decent’ is the right word to describe it…. More like, ‘strange’....”

Edward poured a coffee jug into his favorite mug that was written “Fuck Off, I’m Gay and I Have Insomnia” on it before drinking it like it was water. “Anyways, I was thinking I wanted to show you something today.”

“What is it?” asked Toby curiously. Edward then put down his coffee mug on the countertop and went to grab his laptop from the living room. After a few minutes, Edward then placed his laptop on the table and opened it. Toby leaned to see what his partner was doing while Edward was busy punching letters into the keyboard. 

“What are you typing?” questioned Toby with a raised eyebrow.

“My favorite memes.” Edward replied back.

“Memes? What are they?”

“Oh, they’re just amusing or interesting stuff online. They are quite hilarious. If you understand them.” Edward smiled with a cheeky grin on his face.

After Edward was done typing in the word ‘meme” in the search bar, he then went to the images section and started scrolling through the page. Toby had a very confused and judgemental face while his eyes followed on the sidebar. After a few minutes of scrolling through, Edward clicked on an image of the Peter Griffin Death Pose and showed it to Toby.

“What the heck is that?!?” Toby exclaimed in surprise. “Why is this guy on the ground while posing like that?!?!”

Edward started laughing his ass off as Toby continued to question the image in hand with a lot of judgment.

“O-Oh…. That’s the Dead Peter Griffin meme….” Edward snorted as he tried to contain his laughter. “D-Do you like it?....”

“No! Of course I don’t!!!” Toby slapped Edward on his arm with annoyment. “Why do you people think it’s funny to make a joke out of somebody lying on the ground while they’re clearly dying?!!?”

“Well, you can’t blame me!!!! It’s the internet who did all of this!!!” Edward retorted who was definitely trying not to piss himself due to laughter. He then scrolled through the page once more before landing on the Yippee Creature image.

“Well, that's a peculiar-Uhhhhh ...Creature right there….He looks kinda…Goofy? For some reason?” Toby stated as he examined the image. “Although, I think he looks quite cute though! What a nice-looking fella right here!”

“Yeah, he does. People call him the ‘Autism Creature’ for a reason.” Edward replied. “He reminds me like Gordon, doesn’t he?”

“Oh yeah!” Toby chortled. “Especially him sometimes staring into the distance like that! That’s the funniest thing about him.”

For 4 hours, Edward and Toby were scrolling through viral images and memes, commenting and reacting to them. Sometimes, the reactions were funny, sometimes, they weren’t. And some of them had the couple with confused faces just by looking at them. When dusk had finally fallen, the Steam Team were at Tidmouth Sheds, sharing stories with each other in the sheds. 

“Did you guys know that Thomas got into another crash today?” Percy requested.

“Hm! Really?” Gordon asked with a boastful face.

“PERCY!!!!!” Thomas retorted back with frustration. 

“Now, you two. Don’t fight or else we’ll have an argument in our hands.” Toby calmly consoled the two. 

“What did you and Edward do today?” Henry asked Toby with a curious look on his face. 

“Well, I showed Toby my favorite memes on my laptop. The whole experience was pretty interesting to say the least. We even got a few laughs out of it.” Edward answered back.

“Gordon, you remind me of the Yippee Creature image after Edward showed it to me now.” Toby said.

Gordon was utterly baffled, he was utmost embarrassed that his best friend has compared him to a viral meme.

“WHAT?!?!?!” Gordon shouted.

Everybody started chuckling as Gordon’s turned redder than James’ splendid paint. Toby and Edward were giggling while the others laughed at Gordon hysterically. They both looked at each other endearingly as the moon twinkled in the dark night sky. Today sure has been a good day….

[maddiesbookbag]

i’m so so so excited for season 2 for many reasons (siren scene, "you're a genuis," chariot races, circe's island, etc.) but one of them is all the opportunities to explore clarisse’s pov!

think about it: she goes through so much in this book outside of percy's pov that the series can now show us. she gets the prophecy from the oracle (how did she react to fail without friends and fly home alone? is that why she didn't take anyone on the quest with her? or did no one want to come with her?) she has to ask for and receive the ship from her dad. she's on that boat with dead ghost soldiers by herself for a few days before saving percy, annabeth, and tyson from the hydra. her dad calls her on the ship to yell at her for her alleged failures (the gender dynamics here...gonna be so fun to see without percy's mediation!) she then thinks that everyone except her DIED when the ship blew up?? where did she go in that lifeboat? what islands and myths did she encounter? how did she manage to get to grover and the fleece?

and when they all reunite, we get to see clarisse and annabeth’s dynamic. they’re both year rounders who’ve been at camp from such a young age—and we know they’re solidly friends by botl but i can’t wait to see more of their dynamic in action. when annabeth almost dies after polyphemus drops her on her head and breaks her ribs, clarisse is the one to carry her and the fleece to the ship while percy and tyson fight. this has the potential to give us some lovely moments of female friendship between two of the most outwardly-stoic but internally-quite-emotional characters in the series. and we’ve gotten so little female friendship and pre-percy/existing camp dynamics thus far!! much potential.

anyways, i’m excited. season 2 can’t come soon enough. <3

[stanning-reyna]

Jason is supposed to be the protagonist of The Lost Hero. What a great joke

[jewishicequeen]

Looking for some good Clarisse centric fics, is this even a thing?

[bug13underscore]

todays work doodling i’ve taken to drawing the cocoa puffs and i’m very interested in seeing them included more in canon works in the future!! there’s also like. 6 or 7 named on the bookmark/insert in the hardcover copy i got and they said there probably like 15 or so in the book so i wonder what they’re all called

[romqnticstylez]

hello i got the hidden oracle from the library i am winning at life

[tsui-no-sora]

Gods I love all your ideas so much. I love talking to you. You're amazing. I'm so glad you exist. I'm in love with your writing. You're wonderful.

Percy literally everything you just said but right back at you I love answering your asks and chatting with you it's so fun thank you for existing and being so wonderful to me and so wonderful to have in this fandom you are the best

I have read some of your writing in the past as well and I adore it and I really admire how crafty you are I think you are so cool

[sunflower-nightlight]

Lets get unbaptized 

Shore of hard pebbles 

colors scratch like hard nails

Foam at the periphery 

Laps at worn feet

I walk into the sea

Triumphantly I tramp

Howls with wild abandon 

Let the sky know I’ve won

Cold water caress my knees 

Salty breeze 

Bitter aching cold

Holds my hips and sways

Like ballroom dancers 

My fingers skim the water 

Spinning like whirly seeds 

In fall wind

Hit with sudden force

Arms thrown round my neck

I fall heavy to the waves

A forgotten vessel  

I sputter cold salt water

Sharp inhale on the incline 

hair flaxen and bark 

Drenched, round glasses frames 

clinging to wet skin 

Arms around my waist 

In sincere apology 

I melt like mercury 

In firm fond hold 

Forehead lulls at the shoulder

I drip down their front

But we’re laughing 

And I know then that I have sinned

Unbaptized in the sea

Unchristened pendency 

[thaliagrayce]

i wanna write for a bang SO BAD this year, please PLEASE let me know if you hear about any bangs i can join

[breadbrobin]

call it what you want

luke castellan x reader — percy jackson and the olympians

[fem!daughter of aphrodite reader]

summary: he fell first, you fell harder, and all at once.

warning: tooth-rotting fluff. literally i think that’s it it’s just sickeningly cute

word count: 2.1k

(the luke brainrot is so real i wrote this at like 4am last night plsss)

——————————————

luke castellan thought you could have hung the stars in the sky. he wouldn’t know any different, nor would he care to find out. in his mind, you were perfect. the most perfect, in fact.

there was one person that no one could hate at camp, and that was you. a friend to all who’d have you, a sister to those who needed you, and whatever you were to luke.

not even you understood the nature of your relationship with him.

years of friendship slowly became changed, twisted, slightly more than you’d bargained for. it was a happy change. realising you were in love with luke castellan was an ever-continuous process—a little one day, a little more another. but for luke… gods, realising he was in love with you came as easy as breathing. every smile on your lips, every laugh, every surreptitious look across rooms set his heart aflame. fluttering, dancing, swirling.

it wasn’t like you didn’t love him. you did. you surely did. but time hadn’t been kind to your heart and children of aphrodite have never been truly lucky in love. helping others achieve their loves was more common. more often than not, you and your siblings were happy with just that.

“anyone you got your eye on?” you asked one day as you sat with luke on the dock. your bare feet dangled into the water, toes just touching the cool surface.

“maybe. maybe not. when are you leaving?” he avoided the question, gazing out at the water and squinting in the glare of the sun.

“two weeks. i’m staying for my birthday this year.” you looked over at him. “you can tell me who it is, you know? i won’t laugh, i promise.”

he shot you an exasperated look. “what makes you think there is someone, princess?”

you lean over and nudge his arm teasingly, missing the blush on his face. “you’ve been distracted lately. quiet. you smile more though, and i’ve seen you blushing. who is it?”

“maybe i’m sick. what if i’m dying, y/n? then what? you’re assuming i’m in love when i’m actually dying?”

you raised your hands mockingly. “hey, you’re the one who mentioned love, pal. not me. ask yourself about that one.”

he rolled his eyes and elbowed you gently with a soft smile. his smiles were always soft, you realised. gentle and kind—two words you’d use to describe luke castellan any chance you got. you looked at him in the sunlight. and pretty, you thought. gentle, kind and pretty.

late nights were always for thinking.

you’d had trouble sleeping since you were a kid. not just the typical demigod issues with nightmares, but difficulty falling asleep in the first place. when those times struck, and the late hours before midnight slipped by, your thoughts wandered.

as always, your thoughts circled a few items; your family, your friends, then, always, luke.

he was separate to your friends, always had been. you didn’t really know why.

gentle, kind and pretty, you recalled. it had been a few days since the lake and you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about who he was in love with. was there some person out there at camp who held his heart, truly and deeply? why did your chest ache? were you having a heart attack?

you pressed your fingers to your pulse point in concern, then pulled them away after a few seconds. you were fine. why did you feel like that?

no one ever said children of aphrodite weren’t oblivious to their own feelings.

time ticked by into the small hours of the morning, and still you couldn’t find sleep.

you rolled out of bed and stepped into your slippers, pulling a fluffy robe around your body and stepping out into the warm night. the air was still and calm, a juxtaposition to your whirling mind as you crossed the camp, stepping down paths and stepping over tree roots in a manner you’d memorised from countless treks on similar nights.

the hermes cabin was always warmer than your own, but tonight the heat was almost stifling. you could feel the heat heavy in the air as you breathed, and sweat beaded on your lip as you crossed the cabin silently to luke’s bed.

he was sleeping half sitting up, a colouring book and set of pencils splayed out on his lap. it was one you’d bought him for his birthday years ago. you had no idea he even used it.

quietly, you packed away the pencils and put them and the book on the side table. as you did, luke’s eyes cracked open. he frowned.

“y/n? are you okay?” he rubbed his eyes, sitting up straight and stretching his neck.

“can’t sleep,” you whispered.

he nodded and pushed his sheets off. he pulled a sweatshirt on and led you out of the cabin.

this was normal for you both. if one couldn’t sleep, you’d find the other and keep each other company until you felt you could rest. it was always nice knowing someone was there to talk to, or even just sit with. there was never resentment, never irritation from the other person. you would always come find each other. finding each other was like second nature to the two of you. you swore you could find luke in any situation, with your eyes closed, all your senses blotted out, by instinct and connection alone. you could find luke castellan without even a second thought.

you sat on the porch of the cabin with your legs hanging over the edge. luke’s legs were crossed.

“what are we doing for your birthday?” he asked finally.

you shrugged. “nothing, probably. maybe i’ll get some cake. i don’t know.”

“you didn’t do anything last year,” he protested. “you need to this year. it’s the big 18.”

“we didn’t do much for your eighteenth.”

he shrugged. “we did more than nothing, though, pretty girl. come on, we have to do something.”

you shook your head. “you wanna do something, you can plan it, pretty boy. i don’t mind.”

he sighed dramatically, leaning back and lying down on the rough wood. “fine. i will.”

you laughed quietly and lay back next to him, staring up at the wooden overhang above you.

you could feel his body heat against your arm as it lay between you. he was like a furnace, honestly, always radiating heat. it was nice in winter, but oftentimes stifling in summer. this was not one of those times. instead, you revelled in the closeness between you and almost—selfishly, confusingly—wished you were closer. maybe even close enough to touch.

your birthday was a quiet affair. your siblings wished you happy birthday and gave you a handful of small gifts, mostly beauty products and clothes that would fit you perfectly, even a cute bikini you put on under your clothes, and then you all went on with your day.

it was nice, honestly, getting well wishes but little attention. you needed no celebration or pizzazz, just friends, smiles and the occasional hug.

arms wrapped around your waist from behind. you yelped in shock and turned around, finding yourself face to face with luke. he had a bright smile on his face and a smudge of glitter on his cheek.

you reached up and ran your finger over it, trying gently to remove some to no avail. “you have glitter.”

“i have glitter everywhere. i guess that’s what you get for asking one of my siblings for wrapped paper.” he removed his arms from your waist to reveal a poorly wrapped gift in purple glittery paper.

you laughed, taking it. “i’m surprised you haven’t got more of it on you.”

“oh, believe me, princess, i do.” he cringed, stepping back slightly. “happy birthday.”

you smiled up at him and opened the present, ignoring the glitter sticking to your hands and the warmth in your chest and cheeks.

he thought you looked like the sun had come down to earth.

it was a colouring book and a set of pencils. you smiled widely and flipped through the pages, revealing beautiful art. “you remembered i wanted one?”

“yeah, mostly because you kept stealing mine to colour in,” he teased. “but of course i did.”

you reached out and hugged him. “thank you, luke!”

“come on,” he pulled back and took your hand. “present isn’t done yet.”

“what have you planned?” you groaned half-heartedly as he pulled you through camp, jogging slightly to keep up with his long strides.

“don’t sound so scared, princess, it’s a good thing. i promise.”

you just sighed with a smile and let him lead you to the dock.

there was a small basket at the end of it.

you gasped excitedly. “luke, you…”

“happy birthday, y/n.” he sat down and pulled you gently down to sit next to him. he opened the the picnic basket and handed you a sandwich and a mini juice box with a bashful grin. “i would’ve sprung for coke but mr d. has a monopoly on the stuff around here.”

you laughed slightly and began eating, sitting cross-legged and looking out at the lake. the sun beat down on your back and your entire body felt warm. you suddenly weren’t sure how much of that warmth was from the sun, and how much of it was from love.

love.

whoa.

you froze with your juice box halfway to your lips.

luke looked over at you. “you okay?”

you nodded slowly, eyes wide, and set down your juice and sandwich. “i wanna swim.”

he frowned. “okay? now?”

you nodded and stood up. you were wearing your new bikini anyway, so you just pulled your shirt over your head and dropped your shorts next to it. “you coming?”

his eyes were slightly wide, but he nodded and stood up, setting his food down too and removing his over clothes.

you sat down on the dock and slid into the water. it was cold, but more refreshing than shocking. you swam out a few paces as luke jumped in directly, the splash hitting you.

“luke!” you gasped as he surfaced.

he just laughed. “sorry, princess. you’re in the water anyway.”

you pouted at him, but couldn’t stay mad, instead, you watched him as he floated a few feet from you.

he looked confused. “are you okay? was it the sandwich?”

you shook your head. “the sandwich was fine. i’m just…” you pursed your lips and swam slightly closer. “was it me?”

he frowned even deeper. “was what you?”

“when i asked you the other day, you said you were in love with someone. was it me?”

you felt a little bad for putting him on the spot as he looked away, abashed, but when he looked back at you, eyes strong and jaw set, and said, “yes,” you didn’t regret a thing.

“why?” you asked before you could stop yourself.

“why not?” he shrugged. “why does the sun shine? why does the wind blow? just because that’s the way things are. and i guess… yeah, me being in love with you is the way it is.”

you were silent for a moment, a small smile on your face. “well, that’s good then. i’m not sure how long this has actually been a thing, luke castellan, but i guess that me being in love with you is also… just the way it is.”

he swam slightly closer, a smile breaking across his face. gentle, kind, pretty. “yeah?”

“yeah, pretty boy. now kiss me. it’s my birthday, after all.”

“yes ma’am,” he grinned. one of his hands slid around your waist, warm as ever in the cold water, and he pulled you closer to him. he savoured the moment for a beat, just studying your face, memorising the look in your eyes, the sun on your skin and the soft smile on your lips. then he pressed his lips to yours.

you finally understood what people meant when they said ‘fireworks’. they were right. kissing luke was like playing with fire or dancing in the rain, or watching christmas lights twinkle. it was exhilarating, sweet and safe all at the same time; pure and honest love. and he was one damn good kisser.

when he pulled away you were out of breath, treading water still. you swam backwards, pulling him with you by the hand on the back of his neck until you were in the cool shade of the dock, using it to keep you afloat. it was much colder under there, but at least now you had him to keep you warm.