#salfac

Completely unrelated! Can't wait to see Percy steal more of Luke's hoodies, as he kinda trusts him now! Ish. Just please give me Percy showing Tyson the cabin, with the closet having a dozen of Luke's sweaters and hoodies.

Or Percy somehow managing to steal from one of the most powerful son of Hermes, and always taking that really nice hoodie! The warm blue one, which yes Luke, means it is totally the property of the son of Posideon.

Luke keeps getting trying to get or blackmail or yoink his hoodie back from Percy, camp's barrier stops bad weather but does not make the cold go away. The cold is terrible, and his brain keeps reminding him of a cold scythe aiming for him.

Percy keeps stealing the hoodie back anyway, and what are you talking about? This was always my mine. Look, its blue. Are you sure you're okay?

His cabin makes fun of him for slipping, that a new camper is able to trick him. Most of the camp finds it pretty funny, actually. A newbie is able to sneak into the cabin when Luke's napping, stealing a thief's belongings, and get out undetected.

Luke has detected him though. He is not unaware in the slightest. He knows Percy is going through his stuff. He know Percy thinks he's being stealthy. And he is! Just not enough to not draw the attention of a son of Hermes.

The jokes his cabin are making are (mostly) okay. They still consider him their leader and brother, and they always have the undercurrent of family.

The jokes the rest of the camp are making are annoying. The divide of camp cabins is real. There is an undercurrent of family, but it always has that jealousy and mistrust. Sure, they're family. But Hermes sees Luke, talks to Luke, cares about special, important Luke, while their parents can't even rememeber their names.

So Luke does feel that biting jealousy, hears the anger under camper breaths, that the guy can't even keep his stuff safe from a 12 year old.

(Sometimes he hears that same anger from his own cabin. The unclaimed children of Hermes, not special enough to recieve 5 seconds of their fathers attention, while Luke has the Hermes eyes constantly reaching him, but he hasn't noticed Hermes eyes, why would he see Percy's).

Logically, Luke should put an end to Percy's antics. Percy making it every time makes Luke look weak ( not a great thing, but mangable) and brings attention to the both of them ( not a good thing. Never a good thing. His mother could tell you more about that. If she ever managed to talk normally ])

Cut that thought out.

If he catches him one time in the act, the whispers and grumbles would stop. He could play it off as a joke, maybe even set a prank that would require and justify him letting Percy through his defenses so many times.

Even without a prank, he could maybe catch Percy and play it off as teaching a new camper the ropes, and to always be aware of their surroundings. Campers would stop glaring at him, at his supposed ineptitude. Things would be calmer, and more calm in the camp is vitally necessary. Percy would understand, though he might be a bit sad. Doesn't mean he'd have to stop.

Actually, Percy would probably take it as a challenge to be even steathier, to erase his footsteps so well even Hermes would have trouble hearing him ( he's rather good at it already).

But.

But Percy has started to smile more. He starts to smile at Luke. A smile he's seen before.

With the smile of a younger sibling who trusts him. Who belives in Luke. In his words.

He's seen that smile of trust before, and betrayed so many of them. Put them on the path to evil. To Kronos.

And that's the thing Luke hates most. Himself. The way he decieved his family, hurt those so much younger, for a path he now knows he cannot walk upon. A path that will lead to death and misery.

Luke is tired of having to do what is necessary. Of giving younger campers lessons so they will defend themseleves just enough to survive. Until they don't. Of using his words to sway camoers to the side he's chosen ( why did he ever fall for Kronos. Why is he so strong and yet so weak).

Luke is trying, so hard, to redeem himself. He trains and teaches and smiles and pretends to be okay and and and

And Luke isn't.

Luke misses when he could be invisible. When every action he did wasn't scrutinized and had to be defended. When camp wasn't filled with his mistakes.

Luke is trying to be better.

So everytime Percy walks through the cabin on too light footsteps he ( why and when did he learn to walk so quietly, so well Luke has to concentrate to hear him?), Luke pretends he didn't hear a thing. He pretends to be asleep. Its a thing they share now, or would be if Percy actually knew he was awake.

He wants Percy to trust him, to be family. He wants Percy to run away from the monster he is, to be better than Luke ever could be.

Luke knows he has to earn Percy's trust. He knows he doesn't deserve to.

The first time it happened, Luke was awoken by a nightmare. Easy to categorize, what with the screams running through his ears and horrible images he had to blink away. His arms shaked with fear, and he clenched his jaw so no one would hear a scream slip past him.

Nightmares were always terrible, but one had to be strong and be fine. A leader cannot show weakness, cannot bend, because if they do, it only takes seconds to break. So even in the dead of night, he pretended to be fine. He was doing it for years now, it was instinct at this point.

He always knew this, since being a child. Walking in house where one had to be quiet for his poor mother, putting on socks and sneaking as quiet as he could to survive, to not wake the monster. He knew that he had to stay put and not make noise.

Then he rememberd that he outgrew that house years ago. That he could breathe and scream and cry. That he shouldn't do a single one of those things in the middle of the night because everyone would know, and he'd be ostracized again.

Still, he could at least somewhat take care of himself. Annabeth told him daily that they'd survive, that he needed to go on.

He knew if he wouldn't put in effort, neither would she. So he go up and drank water, and breathed, and told himself he could have what he wanted now. Fate has changed.

He decided he wanted to be warm. Warm meant saftey, meant that he could hide away and pretend everything was fine, that he and his mother were completely fine, this his stepfather didn't beat him if he made a wrong noise cause he was gone now.

So Percy got up on quiet feet and grabbed the second warmest thing he'd ever had; Luke's blue hoodie ( his first warmest was all the way in New York, and a call at 2:34 am would only worry her).

Percy had experience being quiet, he had the skill since before he was ten, and only perfected it after living through two wars and umpteenth quests.

He crept through Hermes cabin, a feat he could easily attain because nowadays, only 2 people could catch him, having the same vigiliance that constant nightmares and sibling screams gives you.

Those two were out tonight, for surveillance of camp. The barrier would fall soon, if they let the past/future take its course.

Percy crept into Hermes cabin, walking quietly to the drawer next to Luke's bunk, taking the blessfully nice blue hoodie Luke kept, the warmest piece of cloth he ever wrapped himself in. Percy crouched down next to Luke's bunk to put it on.

And that's when he realized his mistake.

There weren't only 2 people in Hermes cabin who had the vigilance of a war veteran, stuck with the nightmares of Kronos walking them at all hours of the night. There were 3.

Luke's breathing wasn't even, not because he was sleep, but because he was pretending to be. As a son of Hermes, he excelled at all lies, including this one.

If Percy really wanted to, he could - probably - maybe - have a 50/50 chance - of sneaking past Luke. This body may have been younger and worse at swordfighting and his water powers, but his sneaking ability had been with him for years.

But Percy wasn't trying at his hardest. He was shaken from the images he saw, and tired, and forgetful. Luke was definitely awake, and knew Percy was going in the middle of a night for a stupid ( really nice and soft) hoodie like a child.

Someone shifted and sighed, reminding Percy to get his butt out and have his freakout ( totally normal thinking process) back in his cabin rather than here.

Percy took the hoodie and left. Getting caught by Luke in the morning ( or never, never sounds better) was a great idea he would practice. The nightmare was gone, and if his adrenaline spike left easily, he could go to sleep.

Percy might be a good at sneaking, but there's no way he could go all the way back and return the hoodie, twice in one night at Hermes cabin. He most likely couldn't go back for a month, actually.

He may have a better vigilance than most, but Hermes kids would always find out when their cabin was breached, espically when one got cocky.

The offending hoodie that caused this whole mess should be shut in Percy's wardrobe. But Luke could easily find it anywhere he put it. And Luke probably (definitely) knew it was him.

So what the heck, Percy decided to wear it. It was really comfortable and soft, and he was cold from his late night venture.

At morning Percy woke up from no nightmares, a rarity even if he was next to Annabeth. Last night was a blur of adrenaline and screams, and he was glad to go to breakfast, in the day with warmth with him. The cold always reminded him of T - the pitt.

Percy went to eat something blue, despite all the weird chuckles and snorts he hears, eager to put some energy in his brain to deal with Luke, and somehow return the hoodie with plausible deniability. Luke wouldn't bother him at breakfast, too busy with a cabin to lead, and he would never switched to another god's table, even if he was suspicious.

With that plan in place, he could leave breakfast early, dodge Luke, and have Annabeth tell him how to return it, while calling him an idiot the entire time.

Then Luke demonstrated why Percy should never be trusted to ever plan anything when he walked right up and sat at his table.

Luke was woken up in the middle of the night with the usual Kronos-induced nightmare.

The horrible images and clenched jaw were routine, just another way to pretend to be fine.

He closes his eyes to try to go back to sleep, when he sensed something; no, someone. Hermes cabin was full of thiefs and sneaks, so someone silently tip toeing through the cabin wasn't new, just unexpected. The tiptoer approched Luke's bunk, and started going through his things.

Obviously, this was someone with a death wish. Those who tried to steal or prank a senior camper, much less a camp counselor, was asking for a war. Clearly it was someone young, and Luke peeked his eyes open when he knew wouldn't be sensed.

He then saw Percy Jackson, the guy - child- who saved his life, who he nearly killed, going through his stuff, picking up his nicest hoodie.

What.

Luke thought he still might be dreaming. He closed his eyes, heard a cabinmate shuffle and sigh, then opened his eyes to nothing.

Clearly his attempts at sleep continued to be medicore, like all of his actions so far, and had caused him to hallucinate.

Luke awoke in the morning, a little dazed from his weird dreams so far. But he was a leader, he would not pause, because pausing a few seconds too long leads to stopping forever.

Luke lead his cabin to breakfast, hearing the quiet laughter of the camp, when seeing his favorite blue hoodie on one Percy Jackson.

Luke then did something he never did in his life before, and sat down at Posedion's table. It wasn't his first time sitting at another god's table, just his first in a long, long time. Annabeth used to need him at her table, wrapped in that same blue hoodie. With less theft involved.

Percy stared at him like he could have never predicted this event to ever happen, that Luke must be a mirage caused by sleep deprivation, rather than the consequences of his own actions.

"Percy" Luke started " what do you think you're doing?"

"Eating?" Percy responded as a hush fell over other the other tables. No one had seen a senior camper break the rules to sit away from their siblings. Forget just senior campers, hardly anyone ever broke the rules so brazenly, in front of the whole camp.

"I meant what you're wearing". After a confused silence, Luke continued "My hoodie, Percy".

"What hoodie?"

"Percy, I can see you wearing it. Give it back"

"There is no hoodie" Percy said, waving his hand in a weird motion in front of Luke's face.

"Kid, lying works much better when you use facts rather than outright denial" Luke explained.

"Oh you mean this hoodie? Yeah its mine" Percy lied.

"Not what I meant Percy. Also, the hoodie is three times the size of you"

"That's how I like my hoodies, which, as we have established, this is".

Luke pleaded Percy to stop lying.

Percy continued to lie.

Percy escaped with the hoodie then, just for it to mysteriously dissapear. Luke then had it for just 4 days before Percy took it back, after another horrible nightmare. Luke let him. After that, Percy treated it like a game, always proudly displaying his spoil of war, before it re-appeared with Luke's things.

Luke now knew he could slightly sneak, so he couldn't let that skill suddenly improve in no time flat. So he always snuck in at a semi-professional level, yoinked a hoodie, and left. Luke would sneak back in and take it back, and Percy pretended he didn't know Luke was there.

Percy knew Luke was turning a better leaf. He knew he had finally left Kronos. But this wierd little game made that fact reality. He could fake a smile full of trust to Luke's face, and steal Luke's hoodie whenever he could.

Sometimes the smile was with actual trust.

Still, Percy kept going back for the hoodie.

It was the only thing keeping him sane when dead campers screamed at him for befriending their murderer.

Thank you! Annabeth Wayne is always such a fun crossover to explore! Percy would tottally steal Luke's hoodies.

Okay. Okay. I love this scene, but interestly enough the final product is very different than what it was orginally. (Big shout out to my beta for helping me figure out some plot holes with the orginal verison), but I adore the final product.

This is when Luke makes the choice to face the consquences of his actions. And this - in my opinion - is when he truly redeems himself. Because it is one thing to understand that you've fucked up, it is another to face the consquences. Luke was ready to die. He assumed this would happen. but is different than when he let himself be taken into the pit. He's not running anymore, instead facing it head on. That is his choice.

and then,

AND THEN

PERCY STOPS HIM.

Because Luke may be okay with sacrificing himself but Percy is not. Because Percy is loyal to his bones, and Luke is one of his people now. And he's not going to let this happen. It is one of the moments where Percy's fatal flaw shines and I adore it so much.

Also! it's another really good example of how Percy sees the gods as family, as people before he does gods, and it's not quite right because the gods are immortal, they aren't humans, but it also means that Percy can stand up to the king of the gods because he sees pieces of his family in him. AND THAT'S WHAT SAVES THEM BOTH IN THE END

Why do you think Dionysus quit paying so much attention to Pollux after Castor died?

Why does the Tree have to be poisoned to get the Fleece? It was the reason for the quest last time, sure, but what's stopping the demigods from going anyway? All the demigods who were on that quest time travelled and thus know what needs to be done.

New questions!

Around what age did Pollux initially start tapping into his powers so much?

I would LOVE to hear any more about lying causing Will physical pain and injury. How you came up with it, how it affects him, etc. It's so rare that anyone remembers Apollo's role as the god of truth!

(do you have a link to the discord? The link in the end of Safety's an Illusion (Fate's All Chance) has expired)

Dionysus stopped paying attention to Pollux because he realized how much it hurt when Castor died and he doesn't want to go through that again. He got too attached you see, and now he's trying to pull back. It doesn't work, but at least he can pretend.

You're right! It doesn't neccesarily have to be posioned, but right now that is the crisis the time travelers are focusing on. There is also the issue that they techincally would need a quest to go after the fleece as they are trying to avoid the gods attention.

Pollux starts really taping into Madness specifically post Castor's death. As while mourning he is more vulnerable to Madness, and desperate enough to use it damn the consequences.

Ah this is one of my favorite headcanons actually. While lying will never cause him permeant damage it does injury his throat, and vocal box. So that, if he kept lying he would temporally be unable to speak. Of course, this is just for straight up lies, he can bend the truth, avoid answering all of that without any issue. I came up with it because I love exploring different powers that demigods can receive, and the different side effects. Most of the time, demigods who aren't big three tend to just get one or two and I really like exploring all the little things they could inherit, the same way that Percy can breath underwater or talk to sea creatures.

Of course! I hate that the links expire so quickly.

Ooh thank you! Apollo is such a fun character to play around with and I'm excited to use him more often in in later fics. I really wanted to emphasize the many layers of Apollo, and how different aspects are pulled to the front in different scenarios, especially when he's interested in something.

For the title, through Dionysus's pov, it's him realizing that Pollux truly does not understand how much he cares for him and all that implies. But it's also him understanding that inherently it's his fault not Pollux's for the distance that's grown between.

Miss The Person I Never Got to Be - Chapter 4

And imagine, Clarisse, Will, Travis and Conner, Pollux, Katie and Annabeth wake up and they are surrounded not only by those who should be in the underworld and what they lost in the first war, but they are also told that the child who defeated the Minotaur is in the infirmary.

Ethan Nakamura wakes up in a crowded cabin number 11, in a familiar sleeping bag on a familiar floor. Next to him, a voice too similar to Mitchell Harris is talking about a child who appeared only yesterday and has already defeated the minotaur.

Percy Jackson wakes up on the sheets that have become so familiar, and the cold of the underworld, which has already seeped into his bones, is rapidly disappearing. Ethan's outstretched hand and Charon's rocking boat on the waters of Styx are no longer there.

What will happen next?

Ooh that's hard, I could see a lot of different things happening because in this Percy died, he was dead and gone. That is absolutely going to do horrible horrible things to everyone around him, and of course himself.

See here's the thing about Percy, he's never activity searching for death, but as long as his friends, his family are safe he doesn't need to make it out alive. And in this it worked. He sacrificed himself, camp won. He doesn't see a problem with this, but his friends...

None of them are going to let him out of their sight because at this point he is no longer their fearless leader, untouchable, unstoppable, practically on the same level as the gods themselves. Percy died, they watched the light go out of his eyes, burned his shroud. He was their friend, and no more a god than the rest of them.

I could see Annabeth and Clarisse especially being all over him, and refusing to let Luke go anywhere near him. Which is very strange to anyone else that is looking in. This random kid somehow managed to unite these two very different people who as a rule are at each other's throat.

Ethan's a hard one, I have to admit I haven't played around very much with his character. But I know he's bitter, bitter at the gods, bitter at his mom even though he adores her more than he should. To have to do it all over again? I'm not sure what he would chose, how he would be able to look at such an unscarred version of Percy.

And we're back! Introducing the first chapter of what I'm affectionately calling book 1.5 of my time traveling pjo series Dead Man Walking Tonight.