#happy birthday to us!!💙
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Oh shi- Almost forgot!
It's Our Birthday!
Not completely sure what date it is on other people's calendar but my birthday is on the 15th of March, which is today for me, And I almost forgot to post this!!
Anyways, Have a wonderful day everyone!!
Stay you, stay awesome!!💙
#knd#kids next door#codename kids next door#codename knd#knd oc#original character#oc#happy birthday to us!!💙#drawing#art
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Happy birthday to him (again😊)
#yes i use the same gif i made#i should sleep now#happy birthday to Couthon 😇 i really love him💙💚❤#frev#georges couthon
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I literally cannot BELIEVE my best friend shares the same birthday as Glen Powell AND Midnights.
#she’s not even a fan of either of them 💔#happy birthday to my three favourite things in the world 💙#(using a blue heart in honour of midnights aka her album with the best aesthetic 😍🙏🏼)#glen powell#midnights#taylor swift
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Hi, yes, hello everyone. Today, I present a pile of Chaku refs and things...
Because...
It is his birthday today! 🎂🎉
Wishing the tiny boy big birthday wishes. 🌠 He is accepting birthday pets and treats. 💕
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR FAVOURITE BUNNY BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
#vee queued to fill the void#i seem to have misplaced the phone i use to play arb so i can’t log in to check what mtc did for juto’s bday 😞#BUT I HOPE SAMATOKI GAVE YOU A PRESENT AND TEASINGLY SUGGESTED JUTO SHOULD LET HIM USE HIS BODY IF HES GRATEFUL AGAIN LOL#AND THAT OUT OF THE GOODNESS AND LOVINGNESS OF HIS HEART RIO PROVIDED HIM WITH A MEAL PLAN AND PREP USING THE FORESTS FINEST#CAUSE JUTO ONLY DESERVES THE BEST OFC LMAO#AND I HOPE KOMADA SAN CAN BREAK THE 2D WALL AND GIFT JUTO AND CREW WITH THOSE MATCHING BATHROBES AND HAVE A SPA DAY TOGETHER LMAO#CHILL AT SOME HIGH RISE HOTEL WITH SOME WINE CHEESE AND FINE MALE COMPANY#HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUTO 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙#🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙🎉💙
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✨Happy Birthday Red Hood Jason Todd!!!✨
#dc comics#Jason Todd#Red Hood#Happy Birthday 🎂🎉🎈🎊🎁#Otto Schmidt#Nick Robles#Patrick R. Young#Nico Bascuñan#CRC Payne#StarBite#Scott Lobdell#Pete Woods#Rex Lokus#I know it’s hard to tell but I used a Wonder Woman background!!!❤️🤍💙#🥰😘😍😋😉😊
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🩵💙💜 Lewis Hamilton X Stay Close by Bawo 💜💙🩵
Keep it a hundred and not one less
Woke up in a mess, that don't mean that the love can rest
Bro got dreams, let's flee this nest
All for the team, it's really a quest
[x][x][x][x]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICO @captainson 🩵
#lewis hamilton#f1#formula 1#e :3#f1edit#dailyf1#nico tag#HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BELOVED BESTIEST 🥺💙💚 HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY TODAY#AND OF COURSE HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT YEAR AHEAD 🥰🥰🥰#it's been more than two years since we first met and i will always cherish every moment we shared 🥺#from us livecommenting footie matches and races together to watching a cdrama together to eventually meeting irl in monza last year#these will always be moments ill treasure 🥺#you are one of the nicest kindest most wonderful people i know and i wish you so much happiness and warmth 😿💕#i will always be thinking about you even when i cant tell you this fact 🥺💚 i love you so so so much bestiest 💙💚#again happy birthday bestiest 🎉 hope you enjoy this lil gift#p.s.: i will reply to your messages soon hhfbgb im sorry ;-;
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Happy Birthday to us.❤️❤️ We got a Pierre podium. 😭😭
a whole-ass 45-minute piarles video, a piarles dinner date, piarles drivers parade shenanigans AND a pierre podium.... honestly, WHAT A WEEKEND!!! indeed a very, very, VERY happy early birthday to us both, my friend <3333 ❤️💙
#asks & answers#🖥 forelsketparadise#i am currently lying on my couch in a dazed mixture of shock and awe lmao#will start reblogging things like crazy in just a minute#but for now.... wow#just fucking wow#WHAT A WEEKEND!!!!#we could NOT have timed our joint bday better this year#HONESTLY#happy happy happy early bday to us; birthday buddy!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💙💙💙💙💙#WE HAVE WON 🥳
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Happy 4th of july
#man i used to love the patriot as a kid#such a good movie#happy 4th of july#and of course. i need to post my boy captain america#both of them#sam wilson is cap as well#my sambucky & stony heart❤️💙#happy birthday america#steve rogers x tony stark#sam wilson x bucky barnes
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A Creator's Promise | Birthday Edit
This was just a little edit of the audio I've been dying to make an edit on.
It's just from my perspective on despite real life situtations, I still go through with making something with art and drawing my OCS.
I really wanna thank you all who greeted me and made wonderful gift arts for my oc and I, I appreciate you all sm!!
Thank you for another year in this fandom, I love you guys!!💙
#knd#kids next door#codename kids next door#codename knd#knd oc#oc#original character#creator#creator speaks#my edit#edit#capcut#thank you all for the wishes and support!#happy birthday to us!!💙#drawing#art
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Hiii, I loved your "when they find out they have a kid" work, so I was wondering if you can do a part 2 with other characters? Itoshi brothers and Reo + any characters you'd like. Thank you <3
YES thank you sm!! i have another req for isagi so i’m combining those (ty both for requesting) 💙💙
when they find out they have a kid, pt 2
ex-husband!bllk x fem!reader. angst, cursing, mentions of sex (no smut), rin and ness’s kids have names
itoshi sae
-> you cried the first time you saw sae on your television, because you’d just finalized your divorce, and you were four months pregnant
-> he stated specifically that he had no time for you. that marrying you was a mistake, and that he was better off on his own. you’d yelled at him then, blaming him for wasting years of your life when he knew he’d leave you eventually. he didn’t argue back, just grabbed his things and left you alone with the positive pregnancy test in your back pocket
-> three years later, you’re working on reports at the kitchen table when your son yells, “daddy!” frazzled, you jump into the other room to see what he’s watching when your blood freezes in your veins. sae. on television. doing an interview for his team. how was your son watching soccer? you’d left him with cartoons!
-> “that’s not your dad,” you tried, but your son was adamant. “we look the same, mama! he’s so cool! why doesn’t he live with us?”
-> realizing how unfair it was for you to keep a secret like this any longer, you contacted sae’s team to get his number when you identified yourself as his wife. his call came too quick, and you could hear how agitated he was to be pulled away from work
-> “what do you want, y/n?” “wow. three years since you practically abandoned me, and i don’t even get a hello?” “what do you wa—“ he repeated, cutting himself off when he heard a little voice in the background of your call. “who was that? y/n?”
-> you swallowed hard and sank into the couch, where your son was playing with a toy robot. “mama! is that daddy? hi daddy!” he tried to pull the phone from your hand, but you tightened your grip and cleared your throat into the speaker. “we have some things to discuss, next time you’re in town.” “i’ll book a flight tonight.”
itoshi rin
-> itoshi rin wasn’t made for marriage, but you thought you could change him. you practically forced his hand, and while you know you were wrong looking back, you thought marrying you was the only way for him to prove that he loved you
-> you were together a little over a year before he broke, telling you he wasn’t happy and that he didn’t want to be your husband anymore. after hearing him out, you realized there was no point in denying his request. you were divorced a week later, and found out you were pregnant a month after that
-> by that point, you thought keeping his child from him was for the best. he was clearly overwhelmed and didn’t want anything to do with you; adding a child to the mix would devastate him and his career. so you never told him
-> it took several years, but rin was one of the top strikers in the world. all the while you were raising his daughter in secret, though those closest to you could tell by her teal eyes that she wasn’t born through a one night stand, and you claimed
-> on your daughter’s sixth birthday, one of your so-called friends took a photo of you and emi and posted it, tagging rin. you tore her a new one when you found out and cut her out of your life, but the damage was done
-> we need to talk. was all his text said, and you knew there was no point in lying any further
-> “i don’t want anything from you,” you clarified as soon as you opened the door. rin had a dazed look in his eyes, eyes that matched your daughter’s perfectly. “not your money, not your time, nothing. she deleted the post and i’ve cleared it as a joke, so no harm will come to your name—“
-> “can i meet her?” and you halted at the sound of his crackling voice. you shuffled your weight. “y.. you want to meet emi?” he pulled a small plush owl from his bag that made you choke on a laugh. “i didn’t want to show up on her birthday empty handed…”
-> your daughter was a bit shy, unsure of how to react around the strange man that looked like her, and you could tell rin was just as awkward. it took a little while, but once the ice broke, the two were sharing little stories and cracking jokes that made you wonder if maybe emi could have a relationship with her father after all
mikage reo
-> you married reo on impulse, blinded by love and the belief that you’d live happily ever after together. his parents hated you since you didn’t come from wealth, but reo didn’t care. and then you got pregnant
-> you’d been excited to tell him until his parents found out. you wanted to believe that you’d never pick money over love, but reo was gone most days due to his soccer career, and you were young and stupid
-> 10 million dollars, tax-free. the only catch? you had to cut contact with their son and never tell him about his child; the next heir to mikage corp
-> you debated telling him, but again… you were young and stupid. his parents told him they’d stop supporting him financially if he stayed with you, and you worried about the future if his career didn’t take off. in tears, you took the money and blocked him on everything
-> years later, the news of reo’s marriage to a woman his parents approved of hit headlines, and you cried until your little son tried to heal you with butterfly stickers and kisses. you debated telling reo then, but what was the point?
-> you were with your son at a doctor’s appointment when a young woman arrived with three young children at her ankles. your son was older than them by at least three years, but the four wanted to play together while you and their mom drank tea in the waiting area
-> when the receptionist called “mikage?” your heart dropped. the young woman herded her kids together, who you now realized look strikingly similar to your son, and gave you her card before leaving. “so our kids can have a play date sometime! it was nice meeting you, y/n!”
-> reo’s number was on her card, next to her work cell. you knew you were breaking your nda, but your mind was running too fast as you typed in his number and pressed the phone to your ear. “this is reo.” “i… you—we have a son.” “y/n?” and you told him everything
-> he asked you not to tell his wife, and you were in agreement. “i want to meet my son.” “… okay.” and upon reo’s request, you meet with a lawyer present. your son immediately loved reo’s purple hair, and you could tell that your ex-husband’s heart broke at the sound of your son’s laughter
-> once you were alone, reo handed you a sheet of paper that made you nauseous. “i want partial custody.”
isagi yoichi
-> you and isagi were together for years, dating with no issue, but the moment you got married… everything changed. you fought constantly over everything: finances, trust, communication, everything
-> it got to the point where you were living apart more than together, and when the divorce papers arrived in the mail, you sent the back signed. you didn’t know you were pregnant, and with how unknowingly far along you were, you figured telling him wouldn’t change anything in your relationship
-> so, you raised your daughter as a single mother. you never did see isagi since that day in court, where you finalized your divorce. despite how much you argued over finances, isagi let you keep the house and everything in it as a parting gift. the same house your daughter took her first steps in
-> “oh, um.. sorry, kid! i thought this was isagi yoichi’s place—y/n?” you pushed your five year old behind you, hoping bachira didn’t get too good a look at her. your hopes died when he met your eyes, a bit amused. “hm. i didn’t know isagi had a daughter.” “who’s isagi?” “.. i guess he doesn’t, either. y/n?”
-> bachira was in town after years and decided to visit his old friend on a whim, not realizing that isagi no longer lived with you. you knew there was no point in telling him to keep this from your ex, but your daughter absolutely loved “uncle” bachira
-> he told you he’d be over again today, but your smile fell when you opened the door and came face to face with isagi. he didn’t say anything as he shoved his phone in your face, revealing a selfie of your beaming daughter holding a peace sign next to bachira
-> “y/n, what the fuck? how could you… is she mine?” he didn’t know why he was asking; your daughter was the spitting image of her dad. she even had his little cowlick, which she named “bernice” for reasons beyond you. “she’s yours.” “how could you not tell me? i know things didn’t end perfectly, but there was a time where you were my best friend, y/n. the love of my life!”
-> bachira appeared after that and took your daughter to play outside and away from her arguing parents. “and then you tell bachira before me. the fuck?” “i didn’t tell bachira, he found out on his own,” you shouted back. “maybe if you cared enough to check in at least once in the past five years, you’d have figured it out, too!”
-> “i want to meet her.” “no. you’re too riled up right now. go home, get some rest, come over in the morning. i won’t spring you on her without a warning.” “spring me on her? i’m her father!” “you’re a stranger!” “and whose fault is that, y/n?”
alexis ness
-> ness was so scared of ruining his marriage to you that he ran away from the responsibility and took a backseat ride in your relationship. one thing was certain from day one, though. neither of you wanted kids
-> your job demanded a lot from you, and that paired with your co-dependent husband overwhelmed you. you felt that you’d die in your marriage, and though he begged you to stay, you were able to convince ness to divorce you
-> you were going to tell him the moment you found out you were pregnant, but when you found him, he had thrown himself into his career to manage his grief and was thriving. more than that, he looked happy. though you didn’t want to take that away from him, it would be a lie to say that you didn’t have selfish reasons for keeping your child secret, too
-> “come on, mila,” you called for your four-year-old as you fastened her car seat. you should have checked to see where bastard münchen was playing before leaving the house, especially since the aquarium was close to the arena
-> when your daughter didn’t respond, you glanced back and gasped. mila was tilting her head at the man across the street, who was doing the same at her. she waved, he waved back. you would have freaked out if you didn’t recognize the magenta dye in the guy’s brown hair
-> grabbing your daughter, you hoisted her up into your arms and locked eyes with ness. he looked so incredibly sad, but flashed you a slow, almost kind smile. then, before you could stop and think, you were at the crosswalk
-> “lex,” you greeted, voice sounding foreign in your ears. “it’s been a while.” “hi, lex,” mila greeted in a soft and sweet voice, and you watched as ness’s eyes began to sparkle. “hi, um…” “mila.” “hi, mila. i like your nose.” mila giggled. “me too. it looks like yours!”
-> “could i buy you coffee?” you asked, tossing the olive branch out. ness didn’t hesitate long before replying with a cracking, “yes.”
pt 1 // pt 3 // reo pt cont..
#requested!#blue lock#bllk#bllk x reader#blue lock x reader#blue lock headcanons#bllk x you#blue lock x you#itoshi sae#itoshi rin#mikage reo#isagi yoichi#alexis mess#bllk sae#bllk rin#bllk isagi#bllk reo#bllk ness#blue lock as dads#blue lock fanfic#bllk fanfic#blue lock angst#blue lock sae#blue lock rin#blue lock reo#blue lock isagi#blue lock ness#bllk anime#bllk manga
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Happy birthday @sonicthehedgehog! You’ve given us incredible content for 33 years. I can’t wait to see what more you have in store! 🥰🦔💙 I LOVE YOU!
Thank you to @urlocalbowserfangirl for the idea!

#my art#Sonic the hedgehog#sth#Sonic the hedgehog birthday#Sonic’s birthday#Sonic trash#segafanart#I can finally sleep lol#I’m exhausted from this but I’m so happy with how it turned out
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LONG HOT SUMMER NIGHT
pairing: luke castellan x fem!poseidon!reader word count: 8.4k chapter summary: it's the summer solstice and olympus is throwing a party! thalia notices the tension between you and luke, poseidon gives you some relationship advice and you punch the god of desire in the face. warnings: angst! jealous reader. lots of drinking. complicated relationships. reader dealing with ptsd + survivor's guilt (post-titan war). mention of injuries + blood. creepy guy pushing reader to hook up. ending is a bit steamy but no actual smut. spoilers for the entire pjo (book) series. no betrayal (au where chris was the one who sided w kronos and led the titan army) so slightly ooc luke <3 also reader is in a band called the midnight sirens and is born on the summer solstice! author's note: thank you so much for all the love for part 1!! summer is almost over and this is very much a summer series BUT summer's not over yet !!! hope y'all enjoy this one too and thanks 4 reading 💙
part 1 | series masterlist
♪: long hot summer night by jimi hendrix


mail to:
Luke Castellan Camp Half-Blood, Half-Blood Hill 3.141 Farm Road Long Island, New York 11954
LUKE!
I’m sitting in my kitchen right now, watching Percy make us blue blueberry pancakes and hoping he doesn’t burn down my kitchen while doing so. I caved and agreed to take him to Disneyland while he’s here and breakfast was part of the deal, but I think I might regret it later.
We went surfing yesterday. It was Percy’s first time, but he was (unsurprisingly) amazing at it. I still can’t get over how beautiful the beaches are and the waves — gods, the waves are unreal. You’d seriously love it here. It’s like every day is summer. You have to come visit. PLEASE come visit!!!!
- [your initial]
P.S. The band and I are working on some new music, which means I won’t make it to camp again this summer. I’m sorry ;( Fingers crossed I’ll make it next year.
P.P.S. hi luke! happy to report that i did not burn down my sister’s kitchen. anyways, can’t wait to kick your ass in sword-fighting this summer. xoxo, percy

THREE YEARS LATER
the first time you visited olympus, you had been sent on a quest to retrieve zeus’ stolen lightning bolt, bringing luke and charles beckendorf along with you. you had missed the summer solstice deadline, but still tried to reason with the king of the gods when presenting the symbol of power, maybe calling him out once or twice along the way. before zeus could strike you down for your boldness, poseidon stepped in. the war between them was averted in fear of a much larger, looming threat; an ominous introduction for what was to come in the next chapter of your life.
another time, the gods debated whether or not they should kill you, some seeing you as a threat to their future. that was the day you accepted your destiny, not wanting your brother percy or your cousin nico to deal with the weight of the great prophecy.
your last visit to olympus was on your 18th birthday, after helping to defeat kronos and his army. you made the gods swear to stop neglecting their kids and to allow all demigods, regardless of whether their parent was an olympian or not, to have a home at camp half-blood; to treat their children as children rather than heroes as pawns in their twisted games.
needless to say, it’s quite strange, being back here under very, very different circumstances, where the gods invited camp half-blood’s senior counsellors and staff to join in their summer solstice festivities.
it’s not every day you’ll be invited to a party on olympus; you’re determined to have a good time, to have fun. there’s already an abundance of music, dancing, food, or alcohol, and the night is just getting started.
you’re happy to be there with new and old friends, but you’re ecstatic when you see that thalia grace is there, too.
“immortality looks good on you, t!” you compliment, raising your voice slightly over the music.
thalia preens, and you bask in her silver glow.
“bet you wish you took the gods up on their offer, huh,” she teases. then, her eyes widen. “oh - shit! it’s your birthday! happy birthday!”
thalia tackles you with another hug; even after all these years, she still smells like pine trees. she grabs two goblets of honeyed wine and hands one to you as you catch up. you eagerly gulp the sweet drink, until you’re reaching for another while listening to her stories about adventures she’d been on with the hunters of artemis.
about halfway through her story about fighting off a manticore during a snow storm, a nymph appears with a platter of the ripest of fruit – sweet plums and fresh figs, tantalising pomegranates, succulent grapes and crisp apples.
“oh my gods, this is the best apple i’ve had in my entire life!” thalia exclaims after indulging in a taste, herself giddy from a few goblets of wine. “where’s luke? he’s gotta try this — he’s always reminding us to eat more fruit. luke!”
you hadn’t kept track of luke, at least not on purpose. you assumed he’d been off partying with van or his siblings, and, probably, avoiding you. wherever he was, thalia calls his name twice more and, like a ghost, luke appears.
“i’m here, t.” luke’s voice is a deep, steady rumble floating above the music. his cheeks are slightly flushed, either from the heat or the drinks. likely both. “what’s up?”
“you need to try this.” thalia shoves the apple in his mouth before luke can respond.
luke takes a bite, and some juice drips down his chin. you, in a honey-soaked haze, think about running your tongue over to catch it, but he beats you to it, wiping it away with the back of his hand.
probably for the best.
“holy shit. yeah, it’s good.”
thalia, a sparkle in her eyes, urges you to try it as well. from across the makeshift triangle the three of you had formed, luke tosses the apple your way. you catch it effortlessly, and sink your teeth into it.
you’ve almost overwhelmed by the burst of flavor. the fruit is just the right amount of tart to balance out the sweetness, and it’s damn near the best crunch you’ve ever experienced.
“good is an understatement,” you say after another bite. a distant memory crosses your mind. “i wonder if these are the same ones we almost got killed by a hellhound for.”
thalia shakes her head, laughing in disbelief. “all because luke said we needed more vitamin c.”
“i was just looking out for us!” luke guffaws. “how was i supposed to know that persephone owned an apple orchard in connecticut?”
you pat his shoulder, the three of you smiling at the memory. “let’s call it an honest mistake.”
“well if annabeth had been with us by then, i’m sure that she wouldn’t have made that same honest mistake.”
“okay, but she’s the daughter of athena —”
you let luke and thalia slip back into their playful bickering as if no time has passed. you listen and continue eating that glorious apple, enjoying how the golden glow of your shared past fills whatever distance might have grown between the three of you.
somewhere down memory lane, luke’s amber eyes flick towards you.
“hey, you’ve got some….” without another word, luke suddenly reaches over to brush away a trail of juice with his thumb before sticking the finger in his mouth to savour the taste. he holds your gaze as he does so, and you feel a familiar kind of heat rush through your body — not from alcohol or summer sun, but from luke.
it’s such an intimate gesture that you almost forget that you’re at some extravagant party on mount olympus, where gods and half-bloods and a whole bunch of other mythological creatures are celebrating the start of summer by essentially getting drunk together, until thalia clears her throat.
“okay, well, seems like the two of you might want some alone time.”
luke’s cheeks grow more flushed than before, and his eyes widen as if realizing what he’d done.
“oh, we don’t need —”
“we’re not —”
you and luke both stumble over your words; thalia just smiles knowingly.
“i’m gonna go flirt with that nymph,” she announces, pointing across the grand marble pavilion.
“i thought — doesn’t artemis sort of frown upon that sort of thing?” you ask.
“she makes exceptions on holidays. besides, i’m her favourite. you guys have fun.” thalia winks at you and walks away.
you glance at luke and, gods, there’s so much history between you.
the time you jumped into an ocean full of sirens to save luke from drowning? you have a scar running down your forearm where one of them scratched you as you struggled to get luke towards the surface.
or when you took turns holding up the sky while on a quest to save lady artemis and defeat the titan atlas? it’s evident in the matching streaks of grey that you each have running through your hair. whenever you see your reflection in the mirror, you remember how you couldn’t save your cousin bianca di angelo earlier that day, and how nico has had to grow up without a sister because of a promise you broke.
how about when you, luke, and one of your best friends were sent on a mission to destroy the princess andromeda, the headquarters of kronos’ army? only the two of you survived, and sometimes you can still feel luke squeezing your hand pike he did during charles beckendorf’s burial shroud ceremony while you both cried.
or when luke took a sword between the ribs for you because he, somehow, knew the one spot the curse of achilles left you vulnerable? he can only slouch for so long before the bones there start to ache.
so, yeah. there’s way too much history, and so many tangled threads, and now really isn’t an ideal time to unravel it all.
“i’m gonna go find my dad,” you blurt out and disappear into the crowd with no real intention of finding your father.
the once sweet apple now tastes rotten on your tongue; you rid yourself of it in exchange for some more wine. you’re determined to have fun — no pain or heartache or grief.
you’ve all had enough of that for three lifetimes.

summer — age 14
“sorry your birthday was ruined.”
luke exhaled sharply when you pressed a disinfectant-soaked cloth to the wound on his leg.
“hold still,” was all you mumbled in response, brows knitted together as you wrapped the cut in gauze.
once you were done with his leg, you moved on to luke’s hands, burned by poisonous acid. the four of you had run into a hydra earlier that night. you managed to wound it enough so you could all get away, but not before a few injuries were sustained.
you were uncharacteristically quiet as you worked. you only met luke’s gaze to warn him before pouring some nectar on his wounds. you let luke hold your hand, tightly, as the liquid dripped through his fingers and down to yours, first right, then left. the pain was instant, seering almost as much as the hydra acid, but it was over quickly. the last thing you did was bandage each hand before getting up.
“i’m…i’m gonna check on thalia and annabeth. i’ll take first watch.”
luke caught your hand before you got away.
“wait. you’re bleeding.” he pointed to the cut on your brow. you had been so preoccupied in making sure everyone else was safe that you let crimson liquid drip down your face. it probably stung, too, based on your grimace.
luke wiped away the blood with his sleeve, used nectar to disinfect the wound, and dressed it with a fresh bandage, working silently as you did.
“it’s still your birthday,” luke finally said once he was done. “you get some rest; i’ll take first watch.”
you gave him a small, strained smile before checking on the others.
later that night, you stayed up with luke anyways.
seemingly out of nowhere, you handed him your portable cassette player. luke stared at it for a moment, unwilling to comprehend just what you were offering and, more importantly, why.
you and luke had grown accustomed to sharing things: flannels, socks, makeshift beds and scavenged food. but this —
it was your aunt’s.
you never met your mother, who’d left you as a baby, and of course, poseidon was too busy tending to his underwater kingdom to step in as a parent. your aunt raised you as her own. and then you lost her, too.
you kept her cassette player buried deep in your bag with some mixtapes she had made and ones you’d stolen throughout the years. when it wasn’t your turn to keep watch, luke would sometimes catch you with headphones on, looking up at the stars.
luke liked to think he knew you well; all those subtle elements that made you — the crack of your knuckles, the cadence of your voice, the slope of your nose, the dreams of your childhood. engraved in his own personhood. bones and all.
and, still: he didn’t know you, not entirely.
you’d only allowed luke to listen with you once, maybe twice. he’d never forget what it was like: knees pressed together and heads just as close to keep the wires from stretching too far; you gushing about the magic of jimi hendrix, recounting memories that echoed through gentle guitar riffs; luke yearning for one more song to play, for another a wistful smile of yours to appear. luke, wishing to linger in your private oasis a beat longer before you pushed him out again and closed the door behind him.
the one lock luke couldn’t crack: your grief, and how you carried on so buoyantly despite its weight.
well, there you were, presenting the key to luke as an offering. a sacrifice for something luke would never ask of you.
“this….” luke swallowed the lump in his throat, refusing to look at you. he turned the device over in his bandaged hands, the metal smooth, though well-worn. “you can’t just —”
leave. you can’t just leave. you can’t just —
“hey.”
your hand over his, forcing him to stop spiralling and look at you.
right away, luke regretted it. a small sliver of him, however delusional, had hoped that you were joking.
you weren’t. behind you, there was an empty space where you had previously wedged your sleeping bag. your backpack was already strapped around your shoulders, fully packed.
“i need to leave, luke. we can’t stay together. it’s too dangerous.”
“you don’t need to —”
“there’s more of us, now,” you interrupted, pulling your hand away to rest on your thigh. “four demigods together isn’t ideal. we’ve been attracting more monsters. more deadly monsters.”
“that would happen, anyways. it always has whether it’s the four of us, the two of us, or….”
luke stopped his sentence short, not even wanting to give you the idea to go out on your own, even though you’d probably been thinking about leaving for some time.
you made reckless decisions sometimes, but this didn’t seem to be one of them.
“well, it’s happening more.” your voice was steady, too steady. luke imagined you rehearsing just what to say to counter the inevitable backlash.
luke shook his head. “i’d be dead if it weren’t for you.”
“you almost died because of me,” you clipped. you lifted a hand to touch the bruise on luke’s jaw, but let it drop just as quickly. “you know that children of the big three cause more trouble. maybe we managed it when it was the two of us, but now, there’s more to consider. a child of poseidon and a child of zeus, travelling together. it’s like we’re asking to be killed. it’s too dangerous.”
“that’s our life,” luke snapped. “you can’t just run from it.” from us.
you faltered, looking back to where annabeth and thalia were sleeping peacefully.
oh. he must have said that last part out loud, too.
“you know i’m right,” is all you said.
luke could only shake his head again. because, fine, you weren’t entirely wrong. it was more dangerous — but it was danger luke hoped you’d all face, together.
“i’ve made up my mind,” you added, an anchor in the sand.
“don’t leave.” luke’s words came out as a prayer. if he offered something, maybe you’d stay.
you paused to take a shaky breath. “this isn’t goodbye, luke. i swear to poseidon…fuck, i swear to all the gods that this isn’t goodbye.”
luke couldn’t speak. there were tears bubbling in his throat, threatening to spill.
“so, keep this for me,” you whispered, once again placing your hand on top of luke’s. his fingers gripped your cassette player tightly, like it was the only piece of driftwood leftover from a shipwreck, keeping him from sinking into the cold, dark nothing. “you’ll give it back when we see each other again.”
a promise.
“fine,” luke conceded, though he wanted to scream at you. he wanted to argue like little kids — petty, loud, meaningless, back and forth until tears streamed down cheeks and throats were raw.
but, you were leaving, one way or another. luke didn’t want this shared memory to be tainted if it might be your last.
“you have to take this, then. give it back when we see each other again.”
luke removed the chain from around his neck, the one that held the key to his childhood home. he placed it around yours, instead.
he didn’t need the key now, but his mother had given it to him when he was six. before he knew what it meant to be the son of hermes, god of thieves.
call him sentimental, but luke had kept it. just in case he ever got lost.
“if you’re ever back in connecticut, you have a home.”
“yeah, okay.” you smiled softly.
it fell just as quickly.
“take care of them,” you told him. “of yourself, too. i’ll see you again when it’s safe.”
luke didn’t ask when it would be safe, because the truth is that it might never be.
“because you want your cassette player back?” luke joked, instead trying to lighten the mood, to capture one last moment of brightness.
you laughed softly to not wake the others.
“yeah. that too.”
you pressed your forehead to his, something you hadn’t done since you were kids.
“i’ll see you again,” you repeated.
without another word, you got up and jogged away. luke shut his eyes, refusing to see you become nothing but a shadow.
(you looked back several times, but he couldn’t see through the darkness.)

now
call the gods out on their bullshit (you encourage it), but if they have one thing going for them, it’s that the olympians know how to throw a party.
the night grows darker, yet somehow becomes more lively. demeter and persephone had supplied a generous amount of fresh, decadent fruit, and dionysus an even more generous amount of wine. apollo starts a karaoke corner and you’re just tipsy enough to agree to sing a duet with him in order to break the ice. apparently, he’s a big midnight sirens fan and had seen your band when you headlined at glastonbury festival. you smile to yourself, imagining your bandmates’ faces if you told them that the god of music had watched you perform.
as you hand the microphone to a giggling dryad, the sound of your name washes over like gentle waves on a shore.
“if it isn’t my sweet, summer child!” your father brings you in for a hug and an ocean breeze engulfs you — salt and sand and sun.
“hi dad,” you exhale as you pull away.
you hadn’t seen each other in a while, but poseidon looks the same. he’s dressed in a turquoise hawaiian shirt and birkenstocks with a crown of seashells on his head. there’s a cocktail umbrella in his glass, a slice of pineapple wedged onto the rim. you’re about to ask him how he managed to secure a pina colada and where you might find one, too.
“that was quite the performance!” poseidon takes an eager sip of his drink, green eyes sparkling like sea glass in the sun. “i must tell you: your newest album is all the rage in atlantis. the nereids and merpeople can’t seem to get enough of it and, truthfully, i find myself playing it on repeat as well. you’re quite talented.”
you try not to let your shock slip through, instead smiling and asking how things are in his underwater kingdom, but you’re….touched at your father’s unexpected praise.
the gods aren’t perfect, and your father is no exception. they’re divine beings who have time to conceive children, but not to raise them. there’s a long history of them abandoning, mistreating, and manipulating their own offspring. of course, being the prophecy child, it became practically impossible for your father to ignore you; you’re sure that being dubbed the saviour of olympus gives him bragging rights with his immortal family. even with their sworn promise to change, it’s impossible not to resent the gods in some ways.
still, you feel comforted by your father's presence at times — when you catch the perfect wave on your surfboard, for example, or when you sit on your fire escape during a storm after a bad day. it’s been like that pretty much all your life: poseidon there in spirit, not in practice. despite everything, he’s watched over you, and percy, throughout the years.
and here poseidon is now, grinning at you like you’re his pride and joy.
“enough about aquatic politics.” he pats your shoulder enthusiastically after telling you about the struggles of keeping humans from overfishing. “i came over to wish you a happy birthday. and to give you this.”
poseidon reaches into the pocket of his shirt and hands you something you’d long thought gone: a leather cord with several clay beads and a silver key.
“i found it off the california coast,” he explains. “i kept meaning to get it to you, but i suppose time has a way of getting away from us, immortal or not.”
a warmth grows in your chest as you run your thumb over your old camp necklace, bright and full. it had fallen off one day when you’d gone surfing, and you assumed it was lost to the ocean. you'd been given a fresh leather cord when you arrived at camp earlier this summer, but it felt empty. hollow.
“thanks, dad.”
you smile at him as you put on the necklace; it feels like coming home. your father then asks you about your summer so far.
you tell him all about your life as of late, until you catch a glimpse of luke with van on a marble bench at the other end of the pavilion. van is sitting in luke’s lap, and they lean over to whisper something in his ear before kissing his cheek.
you freeze mid-way through your sentence.
sensing the shift in mood, poseidon frowns. he turns his head to follow your gaze.
“ah.” poseidon turns back to you and clears his throat. “now, i don’t mean to pry, but i saw you earlier with the castellan boy.”
you flush at the fact that your moment with luke was witnessed by your own father. “dad —”
“did you know in ancient greece, throwing someone an apple and having them catch it is considered a marriage proposal?”
“i’m pretty sure that was disproven,” you scoff.
poseidon raises an eyebrow at you, clearly amused. “which one of us was actually there, hm?” and though you roll your eyes, you can’t argue with that. “i just wanted to know if there was a wedding happening in the near future.”
you almost choke on the last remnants of your wine. “dad.”
“i’m kidding. i’m kidding! mr. castellan seems otherwise occupied.”
“yeah, it does seem that way,” you grumble.
poseidon puts a hand on your shoulder, firm but reassuring. “regardless: if you find someone who would go to tartarus and back with you, someone who would fight alongside you every step of the way, you hold on to them. there’s only so much time you mortals have on this earth.”
you sigh — easier said than done — but your father is trying, so you manage a nod.
“i’ll keep that in mind.”
“now, i better go — ” poseidon looks over your shoulder, where the air behind you starts to feel staticky. “it seems a disagreement is brewing between zeus and hades. they always get into it whenever dionysus makes the wine a bit too strong. brother, put away the lightning bolt —” and he rushes away to prevent another divine conflict from arising.
left to your own devices, you venture over to the food table, finding an array of fresh and dried fruit, breads, cured meat, fresh oysters and, of course, more wine. you grab a goblet and a few dried figs.
“careful, i heard dionysus made the wine extra strong tonight,” someone warns, creeping up beside you. the voice is soft and alluring, and you feel something tug at your heart.
you do a double take when you turn to them; the person is devilishly handsome, a golden aura paired with a golden smile.
(you will soon find out that the god flirting with you is the son of ares and aphrodite, the latter of which takes the appearance of whoever the onlooker loves. as it turns out, her son appears in the same way.
all this to say: it doesn’t mean anything that this god looks like luke castellan to you.
it doesn’t mean anything at all.)
“i’m eros.”
“hey. i’m —”
“i know who you are, savior of olympus.” eros winks at you. “i just never realized you were so beautiful.���
your cheeks heat up as you take a sip of your drink.
oh, shit.
okay. the literal god of desire and pleasure is flirting with you.
you’re flattered, really, and maybe the wine has gotten to your head, but you’re not eager to turn him away.
“well, i’ve definitely heard about you, and the rumors do not do you justice,” you quip, painting on a flirtatious smile.
eros puffs out his chest, clearly pleased.
over the next few minutes, you decide that eros can hold a decent conversation, asking you the classic first date questions about your likes and dislikes, and he’s cute enough that you wouldn’t mind things going further.
(he might be a god, but he’s no luke. you push that thought away, and force yourself to flirt with helios. eros. right, eros.)
eros leans in close, pretends to listen to you, lets his gaze drop every so often to the deep v-neck of your shirt.
“no way! 13 going on 30 is a classic,” you argue. you nudge your shoulder into eros’s playfully, and let the contact between you linger. eros, the inspiration for cupid himself, has angel wings, and you feel them brush softly against your burning skin.
“it’s totally overrated!” eros exclaims. “also, the childhood friends to lovers trope gives people false hope.”
“it’s not false hope. it’s about the buildup to their happily ever after,” you reason, swallowing some wine to dislodge the lump in your throat.
eros shakes his head. “trust me, baby, it’s all about the instant attraction. that’s where the excitement is.”
he’s so close now, you can smell the sharp alcohol on his breath. not wine, but something stronger.
“oh? what do you mean by that?” you lean impossibly closer, trailing a finger down his chest.
eros smirks, placing a hand on your thigh. “want me to demonstrate?”
not even a second after you whisper a yes, eros crashes his lips onto yours, and you will yourself to kiss back. he slides his tongue in your mouth, runs his hands over your body.
you’re making out with the god of desire and passion, so, objectively, it’s a good first kiss: soft around the edges and firm where it needs to be.
sure — you feel nothing, no real spark, but it’s almost enough to fill the hole in your heart in the shape of a certain son of hermes.
the son of hermes who has moved on and is in a loving relationship with a perfect emotionally available partner.
so, it’s fine.
this, this thing with eros, is fine.
you’re fine.
eros pulls away first, but keeps a hand on your cheek.
“let's get out of here.”
he grabs your wrist before you have a chance to answer. you stand up, let him weave you through the crowd towards the stairs of the pavilion. apparently, his room is just through the garden.
as he tugs you along, he looks back at you, smiling. under the glow of the stars, eros looks just like luke, except it’s becoming harder to ignore that he isn’t luke and that makes you feel all sorts of nauseous. your camp necklace weighs on your chest and, in particular, the silver key that you’d kept for all those years burns through your skin.
lightheaded, you pull away from eros’ grip just as you reach the top of the stairs and place a hand on the column next to you to steady yourself.
eros turns around sharply. “what is it?”
“i changed my mind, actually. let’s just…keep talking here.”
eros grabs your wrist again, his grip tighter than before. “don’t be a tease.” his tone is ever-so-gentle, but there’s an edge behind his words.
this time, your voice comes out more assertive. “i just changed my mind. that doesn’t make me a tease.”
“come on, baby, don’t you wanna experience what real passion is? this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that a million girls would kill for. you’d be an idiot to pass it up.” he brags, and you’re this close to breaking this guy’s nose, god or not.
“i don’t care,” you snap, struggling to break free from his grip. “and i’m not your baby.”
“okay, whatever,” eros rolls his eyes, but quickly plasters on an arrogant grin. “we’ll go somewhere private and i’ll call you whatever you want.”
he manages to drag you down two steps as you strain against his iron grip, now almost cutting off your circulation. your heartbeat quickens and you feel dizzy. finally, you grab onto the railing for leverage and use your strength to rip out of his grip, forcing eros to stop in his tracks.
“what is it now?” he snaps, whipping his head around once more.
he looks nothing like luke, now.
“just stop, eros.”
“listen,” he starts, speaking to you almost mockingly, like you’re a naive little kid. so much for being the savior of olympus. “trust me, i know what people want, so you don’t have to be shy. i promise to be the best you’ve ever had —”
“eros, is it?” the rest of the party is in full motion, but here’s percy, giving eros one of the most intense death stares you’ve ever seen. percy, your little brother who talks to lonely fish at the aquarium; who, if you cut open, would bleed blue m&m’s; who would never let anyone, god or otherwise, hurt someone he loves. “i’m gonna have to ask you to let go of my sister.”
“mind your own business, kid,” eros hisses. “we’re kinda in the middle of something.” he tries to move you down another step, but you stand your ground.
annabeth, no longer the scared little seven year old you, luke, and thalia found behind a dumpster, is also glaring at liam from the top of the stairs. one of her hands rests firmly on her belt, where she keeps her dagger.
“i’d back off, if i were you,” she warns. “wouldn’t want to cause a scene.”
“just mind your own business,” eros snarls.
“they said leave her alone,” thalia asserts, walking over once she sees what’s happening. “and you don’t wanna mess with us, trust me.” she clenches her hand into a fist.
“who the fuck are you? her bodyguards?”
“just let her go,” percy orders. “my sister can do a lot better than a minor god with a major god complex.”
eros growls, baring his teeth at percy. “you impertinent little shit.”
as soon as eros lunges for your brother, you tug one of his wings towards you, hard. he whips around and you take the opportunity to punch him in the face. he doubles over, golden ichor gushing from his nose.
“i’d be careful if i were you, baby,” you seethe. “you wouldn’t want to go up against the demigods who led an army against kronos and won. unless, of course, humiliation is a kink of yours.” you laugh humorlessly at the way eros scowls at your words. “to each their own,” you continue. “but i’m not in the mood to fuck an entitled creep with angel wings to compensate for his tiny dick. you better fucking respect that, and leave us alone while you’re at it.”
eros’ flirtatious smile is long gone, replaced with the kind of anger only entitled, self-important jerks have when they don’t get what they want and they’ve taken a few blows to their ego.
call it stupidity or arrogance, but his only response is a punch delivered right back to your face.
you hear a crack upon impact, and pain radiates from your nose. you stumble, but percy manages to reach out and catch you before you fall down the stairs. he holds you as thalia and annabeth create a barrier between you and eros. you hear them shouting at eros over the music, but their exact words don’t register.
you lick your lips, tasting blood. your ears are ringing, and everything is suddenly all fuzzy. percy tries his best, but you slump your body weight into his and he almost topples over.
“i’ve got her.” luke’s calm and measured voice cuts through the chaos. you feel a strong, familiar arm wrap around your waist to steady you. “from what i remember, you were too much of a coward to even step foot on the battlefield, so i’d listen to her if you know what’s good for you.” in a haze, you guess that luke is directing his sharp words towards eros, before turning to the others and instructing: “you guys take care of this — find clarisse if you need back up.”
somehow, you find yourself over in a small secluded temple, sitting on a window bench overlooking the clouds as luke sits next to you.
like most of olympus, the building is made of marble with gold accents; this one has roses engraved on the walls, and the space smells like flowery perfume. it’s much quieter than the pavilion, though you can hear laughter and music in the distance. it’s cooler, too, but not by much; even without all the body heat, you're left with sticky summer air, and luke’s breath on yours, sweet with wine and ripe fruit, as he carefully examines your injury.
you feel your head spinning all over again. maybe it’s the alcohol, or the adrenaline, or the fact that the two of you haven’t been this close in a while — probably a dangerous mix of all three.
you know (from trying not to but ultimately not being able to pull your attention away from him after all) that he’s had a few drinks as well; it seems like the two of you ignore each other best when you’re sober.
“thought the curse of achilles would protect you from nosebleeds.”
“guess it doesn’t protect against —” what did percy call eros? “ — minor gods who have major god complexes,” you recite.
luke looks slightly amused. “that’s a shame,” he hums. “would have been nice to get one birthday without being injured.”
a smile creeps onto your face, despite the dull ache from your nose.
“you remembered.”
“of course i remember,” luke almost scoffs like the mere suggestion of forgetting what day you were born is an insult to his very character. he meets your gaze, and you could melt when he offers you that lopsided smile of his, painfully familiar. “happy birthday, aquagirl,” and it’s the softest he’s spoken to you in a while. just like old times.
he remembers.
somewhere within him, luke holds on to fragments of you.
he wipes the blood off your face, the sleeve of his silk white button-down now stained crimson. “how’s your hand?” he asks.
you flex your fingers. “it’s been better,” you answer, your knuckles slightly aching. “totally worth it.”
“i guess all those years away didn’t change anything. still willing to put a god in their place, huh?”
all those years away.
the reminder feels like a stab to the heart, and you’re worried that it might burst the comfortable bubble you and luke had drunkenly stumbled into.
thankfully, luke continues:
“the kids really take after you.”
he says as a joke, mostly, but there’s a sincerity in those deep brown eyes of his, too. something you also hadn’t seen from him in a while.
the kids, who you’d in some ways raised together when monsters were trying to kill you and the gods didn’t care enough to stop it.
the family you and luke had built together despite being born into the world of greek tragedies.
“as if annabeth wasn’t threatening to pull the dagger you gave her, skywalker,” the nickname rolling off your tongue with ease. “besides, they’re not kids anymore.”
“yeah.” he pauses. “neither are we.”
luke’s fingers trace your camp necklace, brush against your collarbone. the breath hitches in your throat.
here you are again, at the edge of something real and very scary, and you fear luke is going to push the two of you over.
but he doesn’t. instead, luke suggests, jokingly: “maybe we should start a fight club at camp.”
you take that as a good sign: like you, he’s hoping to preserve the playfulness between you before everything else seeps in and ruins it. before you’re brought back to the present, where you’re practically ignoring each other.
where you’re fine, but really.
you snort. “chiron and mr. d would love that.”
“like they’d ever find out!” luke explains. “you know the first rule of fight club —”
“don’t talk about fight club,” you finish together.
luke laughs, even though it’s not that funny. you laugh, too.
and that’s the thing that really, truly gets you.
try as you might to ignore it, some days it’s hard to forget the pain and heartache and grief.
you still feel like your life is a battlefield; you still see the ghosts of everyone you couldn’t save even though people call you a savior; you still have those scars, inside and out, that seemed healed but ache every once and a while.
but that isn’t all.
sometimes it hurts more thinking back to the good times and knowing, deep down, you can never go back.

summer — age 13
“ugh — you think with all their power, the gods could help stop global warming,” you groaned, swatting away a mosquito that tried to land on you. “do you think they have air conditioning on olympus?”
“oh, for sure,” luke quipped. he gave you a lopsided smile, his curls sticking to his forehead, drenched in sweat.
it was the summer solstice, the longest and the hottest day of the year so far. the two of you had found a perfectly good hideout, but luke insisted that this place would be worth the move.
he’d been leading you down side streets for what felt like forever. the sun had already set, and you were very close to passing out from the heat, until luke finally stopped at a door behind an alley, with a sign reading CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS.
luke knelt down to do whatever son-of-hermes lock magic he had to do to get the door open. he flipped a switch, and you winced at the sudden overwhelming brightness.
the destination was different than the hideouts you usually sprung for: those small, hole-in-the-wall type places. instead, this space was big and bright, filled with arcade games and fun posters and neon colours. the type of place a kid might have a party or where a group of normal teenagers might spend their friday night.
“what…what is this?”
“you thought i forgot, didn’t you?” luke smirked at you. he sat down on the colourful carpet, taking out some snacks, a small plastic bag with coins, a wrapped box, and a plastic blue crown, and gestured for you to join.
you did, in fact, think that luke had forgotten your birthday.
birthdays were bittersweet for children of gods, who were constantly reminded that any year could be their last, their youth cut short by monsters or prophecies or a fatal flaw. all the two of you usually did on either birthday was split any sweet treat you could get your hands on.
it wasn’t a big deal, really, to skip that tradition of yours. there were much more urgent things to worry about, like finding food and water and shelter, and not being devoured by monsters.
you did think it was strange that luke hadn’t so much as said happy birthday to you all day, but you knew that he loved you.
(like a friend loves a friend. nothing else, no matter how much your stomach fluttered at the thought of him.)
“i wanted to surprise you,” luke explained once you claimed your spot next to him. he reached over to place the crown on your head. “i found this place a few days ago during a food run. it reminds me of where we had your —”
“eighth birthday party, yeah.” you smiled at the memory of running around and feeding quarters to every machine and trying every game, of your classmates singing happy birthday to you off-key before you all stuffed your faces with sickly sweet confetti cake.
truthfully, you never thought about having another celebration like that again.
but, it was five years from that faded childhood memory, and luke was presenting you with something you didn’t even realize you had needed: the chance to be a kid again.
“so,” luke got up, a wide smile on his face. he held the plastic bag in one hand, extending the other to you. “which do you wanna play first?”
you started with space invaders, then moved on to dragon’s lair and pac-man. you took a break before street fighter ii so that luke could ceremoniously light a candle and present a cupcake that had been tossed around in his bag (but you were still very, very grateful for), along with fresh batteries for your portable cassette player. he had made you a mixtape too, though you couldn’t figure out how.
your last stop was a photobooth. you vowed to keep those pictures — a collection of you and luke together, smiling bright and colourful, goofing off and laughing — for the rest of your life.

now
those moments from past summers are like popsicles melting in the sun: tangible for a limited time before leaving you with a sickly sweet mess of what once was.
you think about what happened earlier, how percy, annabeth, and thalia stepped in to protect you, still the brave kids you had once known so well. how luke is here with you now, taking care of you so tenderly even after you’ve silently agreed to give each other the cold shoulder.
maybe luke is right. maybe all those years away didn’t change anything.
except — once you leave this temple and the alcohol leaves your system, it won’t be the same.
none of you are kids anymore, if you ever even were.
“why’d you go for eros, anyway?” luke asks, breaking you away from your thoughts. he removes his sleeve from your nose since the bleeding seems to have finally stopped.
“you really wanna know?”
“yeah. most gods are assholes. and you’re…” luke places a hand close to your leg, pinky finger brushing your thigh. “you.”
“i went for eros because….well, honestly, i don’t think i cared who it was, as long as they made me forget you,” you admit, because what did you have to lose. you probably have a broken nose, you definitely have blood on your shirt, and your time with luke is running out.
luke’s eyes darken. his fingers start to play with the hem of your shorts.
“did it work?” his voice is a whisper, but he’s close enough that he’s crystal clear.
“no.”
it’s hard to determine who leans in first, but soon enough your lips are on luke’s — messy and urgent. noses bumping together, teeth clacking against each other. he cradles your face in his hands, and you move to straddle his waist. you taste wine on his tongue, and maybe a hint of sweet pears, but it’s overwhelmed by the salty, metallic taste of blood stained on your lips. when you run out of air, you pull away. it’s clearer now: you’re not dizzy from the alcohol or adrenaline, but dizzy from him. luke’s gaze is heavy on yours as he traces your top lip with his thumb.
“luke,” you whimper, itching to kiss him again.
“you’re still bleeding.”
luke wipes away the blood with his thumb. before either of you can do or say anything more, there’s an echo of footsteps on the marble floor. a flower nymph, there to leave an offering and let you know that, while aphrodite encourages acts of love, she prefers it doesn’t happen in her place of worship.
you realize that aphrodite also might not look so fondly at you kissing someone else in her place of worship after publicly rebuking her own son.
luke untangles himself from you, and you know that he’s been jolted back to reality, too.
and, just like that, another moment has melted away.
your father was right. time has a way of slipping away for us, immortal or not.

summer — age 18
“hey, you awake?”
“yeah,” you replied softly. sleep hadn’t been easy, in the days and weeks and months leading up to that final battle with kronos and his army.
and once it was all over?
you rested your head on luke’s shoulder, sword discarded at your feet and armour half-removed, as argus, the hundred-eyed security guard of olympus, drove a school bus with a dozen or so demigods back to camp.
“why’d you turn down their offer?” luke whispered.
oh.
"why...why do you ask?"
"i don't know." luke paused. "just curious, i guess."
you closed your eyes and replayed that moment on olympus when you refused the gift of immortality. the look of shock written on the gods’ faces. and on luke’s.
“i don’t care about living forever,” you told him bluntly.
forever seemed too long, especially for someone who was prophesied to die at 18.
you tilted your head up to meet luke’s gaze, and his messy curls brushed against your forehead. evidence of the battle was clear on his face: caked-on dirt and blossoming bruises and dried blood.
behind him, outside the bus window, the world was flying by. a child who had fallen off their bike being comforted by a friend. two people sharing an mp3 player and a pair of earbuds. an elderly couple walking their dog.
“you once told me that this was our life,” you continued, gesturing towards the weapons and battle-worn kids, some quiet, others crying, many injured. “what if it didn’t have to be?”
luke furrowed his brow. “do you mean….are you talking about leaving?”
you shrugged. running from monsters for your entire childhood then being the child of the great prophecy was a lot.
a break might be nice.
there was so much about the world, the one you’d fought and bled to protect, that you wanted to experience.
maybe something closer to a normal life.
“would you ever leave camp?” you wondered, not really answering luke's question.
“no,” luke replied instantly. his fingers started fiddling with the beads on his necklace. “i can’t just walk away, not after everything.”
“yeah, i get that.” and you did; you really, truly, did. the guilt of wanting to leave camp curled in your stomach like a venomous snake. you took a shaky breath. “let’s talk about this later, yeah? i’m tired, and we have the rest of — ”
the rest of the summer slipped away in the blink of an eye. gone, before you even had a real chance to say goodbye.
you closed your eyes and held on to luke, as if gripping his arm would anchor you to something you weren't ready to let go of, but in some ways needed to move on from.
it was no use, though.
by the end of august, you’d be gone too.

now
you learned early on that the curse of achilles doesn’t protect you from hangovers.
you wake up the morning after the celebration on olympus with a deep, throbbing pain lodged in your temple and an uncomfortable swirling in your gut. parties and late nights at bars are common on tour, which means migraines are, too, so you have a routine to make sure you’re not out of commission for too long.
except this time, the aspirin and blue gatorade and dry toast don’t work. the sting in your brain and uneasiness in your stomach doesn’t go away, even after a few days. you haven’t been able to sleep, either.
desperate for a cure, you consult lou ellen, head counsellor of the hecate cabin, who you’d unexpectedly grown close to in the past few weeks. she mixes something for you, while asking if there’s something that’s been weighing on you.
you couldn't keep it in anymore; you tell her about the summer solstice and luke.
later, with nothing but your thoughts and percy’s snoring occupying your time post-curfew, you grab your phone and flip it open, deciding to finally reach out to luke, when you get a text from him.
luke is already on the beach when you arrive, looking out onto the water.
“hey,” you greet as you sit next to him on the sand, but not too close. “i was actually about to text you —”
“did you tell anyone that we kissed?” he interrupts. you can’t quite read his expression as he waits for you to answer.
“no, i didn’t,” you lie. “would it matter if i did?”
“well, i mean, word travels fast around camp, and i don’t want van finding out. it’s not like it meant anything.”
the throbbing in your brain becomes a sharper sting, the uneasiness in your stomach a tidal wave of nausea.
“it didn’t?” you hate how fragile your voice sounds, compared to luke’s stoic demeanor.
luke shrugs. “i mean, we were both drunk and the thing with eros happened…we just got caught up in the heat of the moment.”
“you’re saying there’s nothing between us, then? nothing?” the word tastes bitter in your mouth.
luke turns away before he answers. “no. nothing.”
“then what about last summer?” you demand. you force yourself to keep it together, your tone firmer than before. “i guess that didn’t mean anything, either.”
“y/n…” he sighs. “i don’t know what you want me to say. we’re barely even friends anymore. you come back here, after all this time, after so much shit happened, and expect us all to drop everything to fit you back into our lives. but, you don't. whatever you came here for, it's not here for you. there's nothing to go back to. we moved on. i moved on, and i can’t deal with you —"
“got it,” you snap, already turning to walk away. “loud and fucking clear, luke.”
it’s not like it meant anything. we’re barely even friends anymore.
you replay luke’s words as you crawl into bed, holding back tears so as to not disturb percy. finally, you swallow a generous amount of whatever concoction lou ellen had brewed up for you.
drifting off into your own sleep, you decide that you don’t love luke anymore. not as a friend, not as a.....
nope.
according to luke, there's not even anything to go back to.
nothing.
nothing.
#feel free to comment + reblog <3#saf writes#luke castellan x reader#luke castellan imagine#luke castellan pjo#luke castellan fanfic#luke castellan#percy jackson#pjo fanfic#pjo series#pjo x reader#luke castellan angst
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BIRTHDAY SURPRISE - Alex Albon.
pairing: alex albon x gf! reader.
alex spending another birthday away from home and family? no sir, here's your birthday surprise.
warnings: suggestive comments (super light because i suck at it), writing + smau end (a little birthday ig post). english is not my first language.
a/n: HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY ALEX ALBON, my king my goat my everything. started writing this after the race but im slow af. short but sweet because I really wanted to post something for his birthday 💙.
Birthday or not, Alex is disappointed. Maybe the fact you're there with him post race, cuddling in his driver room is brushing the exhaust away.
A Williams in P1 after more than ten years and then, after a few laps the dream crashes. He's sad, tired and a little angry.
Having to experience this feelings the same day as his 29th birthday sucks, but he's glad you're by his side.
Alex is used to spending his special day away from home and family, it's been that way since the Chinese Grand Prix came back. But today he's feeling the absence of his beloved ones more than ever; mostly because he doesn't want you to deal with this version of himself, frustrated and angry at himself.
So laying down in his driver room's couch and cuddling was the way you found to calm him down and just relax. At least till Chloe, his sister, gives you the green flag for you to land back to your hotel.
Here's the thing, you organized a surprise birthday party for Alex in the hotel's restaurant and everyone is there. Everyone.
His parents, siblings, of course George as well. The idea of him spending another birthday without his family didn't felt right to you. So you started preparations a week ago.
Hiding this from him is a torture, so when Chloe finally texts you that everything is ready for the birthday man to arrive you let out a sigh of relief.
'I need to take a really long nap before catching the flight tomorrow', he says on the way to his car.
You giggle, and by the way he glance at your figure with a smile you can tell he's confused. But Alex doesn't say anything, the grip on your hand still firm.
The way back to the hotel is quiet, relaxing and comfortable. Small glances, heart eyes and his hand on your lap.
'Feeling better now?'
Alex smiles at you, squeezing your tight. 'Yeah a bit, but that was a huge wasted opportunity'
You nod in silence, running your fingers trough his hair. 'I know baby, but that was only round two. There's still plenty of opportunities to come', he squeezes once again. 'Plus, you shouldn't be sad on your birthday'
'It'd be impossible for me to be sad today when you're right next to me, on our way back to our hotel room...', you laugh, shuffling his hair without listening to his objections. 'I'm driving here!', he chuckles.
'And I'm trying to have a peaceful, relaxing way back to our room'
'I know a way we both can relax in our room,' he teases again.
'Oh my god, Alexander Albon,' you burst out of laughter. 'Eyes and mind on the road please'
The hotel's restaurant is one door away from both of you. You try to convince Alex to eat in the lounge but his whim is room service.
'You want to eat dessert after your meal?,' your suggestive tone makes him pay attention with a smirk on his face.
'Who's dirty talking now, huh?,' he teases, pointing you with his finger on your shoulder. The playful smile on your face can't hide the nervousness for the surprise.
'Listen, let's just go in there and have some pizza. I'm starving.' you push him into it and the smile on his face suddenly disappears.
Even in the shock of seeing and hearing his family scream a very cheerful surprise! the bliss in Alex's eyes never goes away.
Your smile goes even bigger when his parents finally embrace him into a hug. Chloe goes straight to you first, followed by Alicia, Luca and Zoe.
The group hugs you with a smile. While the others go off to greet the birthday boy, Chloe stays by your side.
'Thank you for doing this for Alex, this is truly a precious moment.’
Your hand goes to her shoulder, caressing her. 'Its the least I could do for him, your brother is the best thing I have'
Once the hugs and birthday wishes are over, Alex reaches for your touch again. Tangling his arms in your middle, elevating you from the ground.
'I really hope the surprise cheered you up a bit,’ his lips are automatically on yours.
‘Fuck, I love you so much,’ his hands on both your cheeks.
‘You know, my family is not as close-knit as yours,’ your gaze is distracted by the guests, all engaged in different conversations. 'when you allowed me... to get to know you, when you let me into your world, into your family..., I felt so appreciated and loved," the bliss in Alex's eyes conveys only love, the purest one. ‘I will always be grateful for that.’
Alex wipes away the tears that are about to escape from your glassy eyes. 'You deserve this love and appreciation, Alex.'
Your boyfriend locks you in his arms again, his grip strong and sweet at the same time. When your eyes meet again Alex wastes no time in kissing you again.
It's in that touch - firm, gentle, sweet - that all bitter feelings finally leave him and his mind. Fuck P1, his mistake in delaying the pit stop or anything related to it.
He has you, his family and friends on his special day. Something Alex had not experienced for years.
He finally feels light, happy and grateful. He will always be grateful to have you.
yourusername just posted.

liked by alex_albon, francolapinto, georgerussell63 and others.
yourusername love of my life is basically 30🤭. alex, there's nothing in this world i wouldn't do for you. thank you for our morning coffees, our random dinner dates and for watching back to the future II with me every damn time, i love you to the moon and back ❤️.
view all comments...
alex_albon: interesting way to start a birthday post, savage
carlossainz55: happy birthday mate! alex_albon
francolapinto: feliz cumpleaños hermano!! alex_albon ❤️
alex_albon: love you so much my sweet potato, thank you for the love you always give me ❤️
❤️ liked by yourusername
a/n2: stfu im gonna cry i love alex so much. if you're reading this: i love you and I hope you enjoyed it 💙.
© rqsie63 | 25.03.25
#formula 1 x reader#f1 x reader#formula 1#formula 1 smau#formula 1 fanfic#formula 1 fluff#alex albon smau#alex albon x reader#alex albon x you#alex albon fluff#alex albon#happy birthday alex#aa23#AA23 x reader#rqsie63 writes
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Well hello there (redacted*)! How nice of you to drop by. I'd offer you a cup of tea, but...

Me and my Lukola friends are too blind to find anything in the kitchen!
And while I'm paying attention to you (redacted)... did you not read the article that Nicola posted yesterday? Did you not take the hint that she was admonishing trolls and online bully behaviour? You know; behaviour that looks suspiciously like your message (above) to me? Perhaps you have eyesight issues too. Yes. Yes, I think you do.
As for me...
I'm simply following the clues that a possibly pregnant women has left for me and my friends. In fact her clues are more easily readable than brail.
Now; about this so called "launch" you speak of? Give me a break. Even through the haze of my cataracts I was able to see that her post for Jake the other day was lame. She didn't even tag him.
Let's compare her untagged "love" post to Jake with the HBD wishes she's posted on her IG stories for her other friends:


She shares a photo of Jake next to the trash can; a photo that doesn't even include her IN it. Surly Nicola has better photos of "the love of her life" on her phone?! Let's compare with how she wishes her very good friend Jack Rooke a happy birthday. So sweet! And tagged.


When Nicola wished Luke Fetherston a happy birthday she not only shared a photo with both of them in it, she also gave him THREE red hearts! Now that's hard launch material right there!! Oh. And he was tagged.


Nicola even gave more birthday love to Valentina, Camilla's dog, than she did to Jake. Sadly Valentina wasn't tagged either... although Camilla was 🥰 BUT, Nicola called Valentina a princess!
Don't worry. Jake's friend Hannah gave him this honourific, so he wasn't left out of the princess fairytale. It must be love!

But wait... there's competition for Jake's love!!


Now these are romantic birthday wishes to Jake, posted by Doug and Dylan the other day.
Clearly the man is loved by his friends. Deservedly so, I'm sure.
But I really, really, really question whether THIS was a hard launch?

Seems to me it was simply a birthday wish for her friend (not lover) Jake. Unfortunately she posted at 6:30am when she was half awake and neglected to tag him. Unlike her spelling-mistake story showing the billboard in Los Angeles, she didn't delete and repost Jake's birthday wish with the missing tag. I guess Luke and Bridgerton's ensemble cast nomination warranted a correctly spelled "Surprise". Deleted; replaced.
Now I ask you; am I really blind? I saw well enough to compile the photos above and make perfect sense of them. I don't see a love-launch of Jake. I see a man living his life, preparing for an amazing lead theatre role. What an opportunity! I also see a man that didn't spend time with Nicola over Christmas, New Years, her birthday, his birthday (according to her, she was in LA. Sure Jan), and today: Valentine's Day. I also see a man who is loved by his friends. Nicola is his friend.
Unless I'm missing something?
So (redacted*)... rather than come over here and rag on the truth I and my Lukola friends see - and that I shared above - why don't you and your little weiner-dog leader fuck the hell off. We know.

P.S. I'm tempted to create some merch for us blind Lukolas! Sarcastic t-shirts and sweatshirt merch is fun 💙 Want one?!

P.S.S. I've redacted the name of this poster because 10 hours after she sent this message to me, she recalled it... just before I was about to post this response. I could have scrapped my post, but she challenged me to SEE the truth. I wanted to oblige. I've redacted her name on the chance that she realized she didn't message me anonymously and so she chickened out and pulled her ask. Or perhaps she thought about Nicola's troll/bully post from yesterday and thought better of her action. Let's give her grace and assume that she came to her senses and not that she's too chicken shit to have her name out there along with her bully behaviour.
Aaniin friends!
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✨Happy Birthday Red Hood Jason Todd!!! ✨
V2
I made this but decided not to post it because I thought it might be a bit much!!!🥰🥰🥰 But IDC anymore!!!😘😘😘
#dc comics#Jason Todd#Red Hood#Happy Birthday 🎈🎊🎉🎂🎁#Scott Lobdell#Pete Woods#Patrick R. Young#Nico Bascuñan#Kael Ngu#Nick Robles#Dexter Soy#Simone Di Meo#Jorge Molina#I know it’s hard to tell but I used a Wonder Woman background…again!!!❤️🤍💙#🥰😘😍😋😉😊
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