Festa

15 years old: i was so cringe when i was twelve, i'm super mature now though. i'm a totally different person. i'm basically an adult

18 years old: i was so. (trying to be nicer to myself) fifteen. when i was fifteen. i wasn't an adult even a little back then. i'm an adult now though of course

21 years old: i was so newborn fawn taking its first steps when i was 18. i wasn't an adult at 18 i'm barely even an adult now tbh

23 years old: i was so. hey wait the others have all gone up in increments of three why'd it change

23 years old: because i'm still 23 so i can't speak to that experience yet

23 years old: do you think anything will magically change in the next few months to the point where you can't possibly imagine how you'll feel at 24

23 years old: i mean you never know. anything can happen. they're letting people born in 2002 turn 24, for instance

The responses from others were… interesting.

Annabeth simply gave him a blink and a raised eyebrow, correctly realizing Percy’s new beard was more from laziness than a style choice.

Most of the Romans seemed to have gained some new respect for Percy. Their view of the delinquent kid had shifted overnight. Percy could barely walk out of his apartment without getting salutes or a respectful “Praetor.”

Camp Half-Blood swung the other way. None of the older campers paid it much mind, though the younger campers seemed fascinated at the sight of such a mature demigod.

The immortals around camp were slightly unnerved.

Chiron instinctively referred him as “Lord Poseidon” as soon as he stepped into the room. (That was an awkward situation to resolve.)

Dionysus kept doing double takes.

Hermes walked into a wall the first time he’d seen Percy.

Apollo was another matter entirely.

Apollo whistled. “Well, hello, Daddy.”

Percy gave him a confused scowl. “I’m not a dad.”

Poseidon really does treat Percy like a kitten a lot. Currently Percy has fallen asleep in his dad's arms and it doesn't look like Poseidon will be waking him up any time soon.

But on the following days on Olympus (the demigods are allowed to stay for longer), they see Poseidon scruffing Percy and lifting him up, causing Percy to just go limp. And also they've seen him frequently play with Percy's hair which seems to relax the demigod and settle his ADHD restlessness so much. They also see Percy be carried around or cuddled whether he wants to be or not.

Percy seriously abuses his power over the sea god to get what he wants (mostly for just small things). Poseidon is already a sucker for baby seal eyes from Percy so when Percy is being all sweet and calls him papa at the same time he gets such good cuddles out of it.

“Travis, did you steal the strawberries?” Connor asked, not looking up. His eyes narrowed as he nudged a piece a fraction of an inch to the left.

“Yep.” Travis popped the p. He stepped into the light, dangling a heavy sack like a trophy, a smug smirk tugging at his mouth. “And—” He held up a finger, pausing for dramatic effect.

“And you got caught,” Connor muttered. He didn't have time for the theater. The pieces had to be in this exact order, or the whole thing was useless. Dad—their real dad, not the creep who salivated whenever they taunted him despite Luke’s warnings—wouldn't hear a word of the prayer if the layout wasn't perfect.

That was the rule according to Abigail’s journals. They’d never actually met their older sister before she vanished, but Luke said she was a witch. And if she was a witch, she knew how to talk to the beyond.

“No, I didn’t get caught!” Travis scowled, the fun ruined. He let the sack thud to the dirt.

“Hey! You smash them, and how are we supposed to summon Dad?” Connor shot back, bolting to his feet and leveling a glare at his brother.

“Listen.” Travis dramatically lifted a hand. Then, with a quick sleight of hand, a shiny piece of silver metal materialized on his palm.

Connor blinked. Then he deadpanned. “An earring. That’s what you found?”

Travis practically vibrated in place. His face was a mix of smug triumph and that specific, defensive look Connor remembered from back when they used to bully—ahem, teach the ropes to—Percy when he first arrived at camp.

“I found it in Luke’s things,” Travis whispered in a frantic rush, stumbling closer. He waved the silver right in Connor’s face as if Connor were blind. “He’s like a chicken losing its feathers these days, with how much he’s pacing all over the place. He probably didn't even try to hide it well.”

But wait.

Connor snatched it out of his grip and held it up, analyzing it against the sunlight. “This is expensive jewelry,” he muttered, his eyes narrowing. “Luke has that old golden one he got from his trips out of camp, but he’s way too broke to buy something like this.”

Connor and Travis exchanged a look, their faces twisting into identical expressions of deep concern.

“Luke has a boyfriend,” they concluded in unison.

“Who?” Travis asked, crossing his arms. “That sunny, mouthy Lee dude?”

Connor scrunched his face. “No. Lee likes Luke—remember when we pulled that prank on him?—but Luke doesn’t like him back.”

“So who is it?”

Connor wracked his brain, but his mind went entirely blank. There was no one Luke could possibly like at camp. The Aphrodite campers actually called him Saint Luke because of it. Usually, that would have been fine; Luke was supposed to be completely focused on Cabin Eleven, and a boyfriend—because Luke definitely wasn't into girls—would only distract him.

But Luke had been leaving camp more and more often lately…

Which meant—

“It’s someone from the outside!” Connor gasped.

In his sudden burst of outrage, his fingers slipped. The earring tumbled from his grip, landing dead center on the board.

Instantly, it flared to life. A blinding flash of light scorched the clearing, forcing Connor to shield his burning eyes. Nearby, Travis let out a sharp shriek as he scrambled backward. Blinded and disoriented, Connor tumbled forward, his face smacking hard against something solid.

Not the ground.

“I may hold a deep fondness for dear Lucas, Hermes spawn,” a deep, velvety voice purred directly above him, “but do not mistake that for permission to touch me so casually.”

Connor blinked, chasing the stubborn black spots from his vision. Slowly, he glanced up.

The eyes staring back at him were a piercing, metallic silver. They looked incredibly displeased, even as a polite smile tugged at the man's lips—a look Connor immediately flagged as completely fake.

With a single, elegant finger pressed to Connor’s forehead, the tall stranger pushed him away. He did it with a look of profound disgust, as if Connor carried a highly contagious disease, or was simply made of dirt. Connor wasn't sure which option he preferred. Probably neither.

“Now then,” the man said, brushing off his immaculate clothes. “Hermes spawn number one, where is your brother?”

Connor traded a frantic look with Travis. They were completely out of their depth.

Despite me, Annabeth hears.

The dying light of Olympus filters through the wreckage of the throne room. It slants across Luke's face, casting his features in pale gold.

It makes him look young, Annabeth realises, in a way she has not seen in years. The burden of hosting Kronos had withered the youth in his features, had sapped the health from his body and the mortality from his frame. The man lying before her, gaunt and pale, blond hair whitened in thick streaks, is unrecognisable from the older brother she knows.

But here and now, with the pale sun illuminating the blue of his eyes, his hair gleaming golden under its light, he looks like the Luke that Annabeth remembers. He is fourteen years old and reaching his hand out to Annabeth for the first time, Thalia by his side. He is sixteen and braiding Annabeth's hair, running her brush through her knots and tangles with a steady hand, humming a tune she no longer remembers but even now subconsciously associates with the hazy, gossamer-like happiness of childhood. He is seventeen and gifting her a book on architecture on her birthday, telling her that she will never be too old to receive presents from her older brother.

He is twenty and without the weight of Kronos' nightmares under his eyes. He is young and happy and in the prime of his life, and he is alive and Thalia is alive and he has no scar because he never went on that quest; there is no Kronos and there is no betrayal and Annabeth still has her family and nobody ever has to die.

All of a sudden, Annabeth feels very sad, and very tired.

I had you, she thinks.

Note: I very much just took one of velinxi's designs for Annabeth.

damn luke how come you get to have undeclinable face card, eldest daughter syndrome, and burnout. this is the greed they talk about in the bible

also let's all thank tumblr user @tealvneu and their insanely good fic Genesis in Daylight for driving me insane enough for long enough that I finally sat down to draw babygirl Luke Castellan.

I will spend the rest of the post gushing about the fic.

like rarepair!?!??!? i see you. I love exploring new facets of a character by letting them interact with sm they've never interact and the guy who hates gods with The god of all time???? impeccable

Also!!!! public demigods !!!!!! that's always a fun au and it's so fleshed out here. Luke my favorite demigod fanboy not a demigod yessir. Also he's a mama's boy!!!! He's trying to go back home one last time! sobbing emoji.

Also the fact that GiD!Luke will never get closure for his actions. Like he can't be forgiven by people who he never even slighted. He's never getting absolution guys!!! Like Annabeth, Thalia, Connor, and Travis are going to be so excited to see their dead innocent brother back alive but Luke is going to see his victims welcoming him with open arms. oughhhhhhhh. the unstated horror of your crimes being washed away without you. The murderer remains but the victims are just chilling! Ougghh they're gonna try to love him so much because that's their brother but how the fuck are you supposed to come back from ruining their lives and having it not matter to them.

A twink, his dad, and his sugar daddy

Thank you!!♥️

Ohh Hermes is going to be even more overprotective and possessive. If you thought he was bad enough in the athenide au (btw the name for it is Hermogenes au, courtesy of @mnz-10 !), he's going to be so much worse.

James: I-

Regulus, coming out of the bathroom in James' towel: OH suck it up you dramatic bitch

For context, Konoha kept most of the Uchiha documents and papers after the massacre, which now belong to Sasuke. There's your typical paperwork but also massive records of old traditions, legends and other cultural practices. One day Sasuke decided to finally go through the archive and he managed to convince Obito to help too, despite him not wanting to be involved with the Uchiha anymore (out of both guilt and resentment).

I love the idea of the "Sharingan marriage" thing between Kakashi and Obito, it's so funny. But I believe it's not something common bc of how dangerous a sharingan transplant is. Moreover the idea was meant to be between two actual Uchiha, whose bodies are prepared to hold the Sharingan in the first place, but of course Obito and Kakashi were just extra insane as always (Kakashi was lucky to just survive the operation, being able to also use the eye is very impressive, power of love I guess).