When Percy ended up back in time, he wasn't sure what he was going to do.
Mentally he was a 17 year old and physically he was only 12. Talk about weird. Time traveling definitely made the top five weirdest things that had ever happened to him.
The first few days he stumbled around a little blindly, not sure what he was supposed to do. It was a good thing he was going to be expelled a the end of the school year, because Percy paid absolutely no attention in class, walking around in a daze as things he barely remembered happening years ago happened again the same as the first time.
The daze lasted for only a few days, before the reality of the situation crashed down on him and he realized the opportunities he had at his disposal. He could save people; he could save his friends.
Of course, from all of the time travel movies and TV shows he had watched, he realized he couldn't just go around changing everything, if too much were altered all at once, he wouldn't know what to do in certain situations as they would have changed, or maybe in the extreme case, never happened.
And so for the first few months, he was in the past he played dumb about Half-bloods and pretended he didn't see all the glaringly obvious slip-ups Grover made. Honestly, he must have been hit with the Mist more times then he could count the first time around not to notice.
He spent the rest of his time trying to remember every little detail he could about his past (future?) quests and trying to think how he could change them. He had gone out and purchased a notebook and scribbled his ideas down into it, written in Latin and not ancient Greek so almost anyone who stumbled upon it would have a hard time reading it.
Finally, the school year was over, and he once again had succeeded in being expelled. It was fine, he would eventually wind up at Goode High anyway, and it would all work out for the better.
He and his mom arrived at Montauk much like they had the first time, and Grover was pounding on their door with the hurricane howling behind him only a few hours later.
They left in the car again, speeding down the dark road with the rain coming down on them. This time he knew what to expect and just before the lightning came down on their car he shouted for his mom to stop. The lightning struck the road right in front of them, and then they were off again. His mom and Grover having no time to wonder how he had known about the lightning.
When his mom dropped the two of them off, she told them to run for the Pine Tree that was Thalia, and not look back. He had done so reluctantly. Promising himself that the moment something put her in danger he would turn right around and help, no matter the consequences.
The only problem being he had forgotten how bad-ass his mom was.
The moment he and Grover were out of the car she slammed on the gas, speeding down the road. When she had enough distance, she then turned around and went racing back down the road and straight towards the Minotaur.
The Minotaur bellowed in rage, not even noticing the two of them climbing the hill, being too distracted by his mom racing towards it.
The two of them had reached the Pine Tree no problem this time around, he stopped just inside the borders, wanting to see what his mom was doing.
He knew she wasn't stupid enough to try and run the massive beast over, and he was right. Just as she was about to collide with the monster, she veered hard to the left and kept going. The Minotaur not being able to stop and colliding with the trees in front of it.
Percy sighed in relief. He didn't need to have the Minotaur horn or the attention that came with killing it the first time around as long as his mom was safe.
Settling into camp was much different this time around, as he and Grover simply walked towards the Big House, not a scratch on them. Annabeth was there still, and she spent most of her time glaring at him while Chiron explained the basics and showed him to a temporary room in the Big House until the morning where they could explain in better detail about what was going on.
Percy inwardly laughed at the fact that out of all of them sitting there around the table, he for once probably had the most idea about what was going on.
It was easy to readjust to camp life, and anything weird that he might have done, like knowing which cabin number was associated with which cabin without anyone telling him, was brushed off in the excitement of having a new camper and no one questioned him.
Everything went the same as last time, he still got attacked by a hell hound and was claimed by Poseidon, and Zeus's lightning bolt was still stolen.
And he was still sent to the oracle of Delphi's mummified remains in the attic.
It is the first sign that something might be wrong when Percy went up to the attic to receive his quest and the Oracle just sat there.
It didn't matter what question he asked it; the Oracle refused to give the prophecy to him.
He went downstairs and recited the one she had given him the first time anyway.
Percy should have remembered that things weren't just going to click into place with his friends.
It had taken time and many life-threatening situations to get as close to his friends as he had been in his timeline. And while he still remembered their relationships, they didn't. They all still had to be forged.
Even so, as he sat in the back of the "Kindness International: Humane Zoo Transport. Warning: Live Wild Animals" truck he figured he was doing pretty good so far as Annabeth wasn't glaring at him anymore and was giving him smiles now and then. He assumed that this was because he was more mature this time around; she was warming up to him faster as she had always been to mature for her age.
All he knew was that he was glad; he always hated it when they weren't talking. And who knows, maybe they would get together sooner this time around.
The underworld had never been his favorite place.
But now, as he stepped out of the ferryboat and onto the underworlds ground, his hair stood on end and he could feel every muscle in his body tense.
He hadn't been this close to Tartarus since he had fallen into it, and it was calling out to him.
Welcoming him back.
When he had thrown away Luke's shoes shortly after leaving, he had thought he would be avoiding the pit. However, Tartarus had other plans.
He could feel it in his bones, like an echoing laugh that only he could hear.
It was laughing at him, whispering for him to come back. To jump down.
And that was all without seeing the pit, who knows what would have happened if Grover had been dragged there again.
He didn't have to wonder how Tartarus knew he had fallen into its clutches before.
Once you had been in it, it marked you.
And Tartarus never forgot one of its own.
The gods know something is wrong with him.
He wasn't sure how, but all of them, Hades, Ares, Zeus, and Poseidon had been able to tell something was different.
Ares had been almost weary of him when they were fighting, and he had gotten away with no being cursed this time around.
Zeus and Poseidon too hadn't taken their eyes off of him, his father had looked at him with something close to concern on his face, and it was never a good sign when a god was concerned about him.
Hades in the underworld hadn't seemed weary or concerned; instead, he had seemed almost amused.
He wasn't sure which was worse.
The next thing he does is visit his mom. And there was still Gabe to deal with.
When he knocked on the door to his old apartment, he almost cried at the sight of his mom.
She swept him up into her arms and didn't let go until an obnoxious voice from the living room called out for bean dip.
Percy gritted his teeth, even after all of these years Gabe was the worst monster he had ever had the misfortune of meeting.
But this monster would be the easiest to take care off. He had made sure to meet Medusa for this very reason.
So he led his mom into his room and showed her the package, telling her he would be back for the school term. He could train after school with Riptide to get up to the standards he wanted.
The smile she gave him made everything worth it.
He approaches Luke in the training arena and sits down next to him.
But when he asks if he wants to go to the woods, Percy knows he has a decision to make.
He knows Luke is good in the end, that he was just frustrated at the Olympians. The frustration he had felt many times later in his life. But he also knew that there was no changing his mind, Annabeth was the only one who was capable of doing that. And right now he was too angry to listen to reason, Kronos had been in his head, in his dreams for too long.
But maybe he can start planting a small seed of doubt, and maybe some lives will be spared if Luke isn't as angry.
So he tries his best.
The words he says don't seem to effect Luke all that much, not that he was expecting any different. He figured that they wouldn't, Luke still summons the Scorpion and he still barely makes it out of the forest alive.
There wasn't much to change yet, but the next few years after this is when things are going to start getting complicated.
He hopes he knows what he's doing.
Percy has his first dream about Grover, and he knows its time to set his plan into action.
The journal he had bought before going to camp was nearly full, the pages bent in some places from being shoved into a backpack and sticky notes littering more complicated parts of future quests.
Planning ahead wasn't usually his thing, and he desperately wished he could talk to Annabeth about this, but he was scared to admit to anyone what was going on when he didn't completely understand it himself.
His mom tried to talk to him about staying home for the summer, and he protested against it, but he had never been a good liar, not to his mom at least, and she could tell he was faking.
She gives him an odd look, and he feels bad, he knows he has been acting differently, how could he not?
He is practically a different person to the Percy she had known. He also knows that his mom is fully aware that he is hiding something from her, but his mother is amazing and leaves him be. Something he is eternally grateful for because he knows if she asked he would break down and tell her everything.
Once he was in school he made an effort to try and be alone so that he and Annabeth can talk before the "dodge-ball game of doom" can begin, (in fact if he has the chance he is going to make sure that it never happens) but it seems like he can never be alone to find an opportunity to call her out.
So he waits for the bell to ring and classes to start, and he waits for her shadow to appear on the wall near him.
It does happen eventually, and he calls her out.
"Annabeth, what are you doing here?"
Annabeth suddenly appears in front of him like he expected she would. Her face is one of surprise.
"How did you know I was there?" She asks, looking around the hallways to triple check that they were alone
Annabeth wants to leave immediately, but Percy convinced her to let him grab Tyson. She isn't pleased about it, and she became even less happy once she caught sight of him and his one eye. He debates trying to explain to her but in the end, tells her that Tyson won't hurt anyone.
He tries to ignore the look she gives him as he climbs into the Gray Sister's Taxi.
It is only after the three of them are in the taxi that he remembers that the three goddesses in front of them practically know everything. The one eye that they all share hadn't left him the entire trip and the sisters don't make a sound, not even to argue about their eye and tooth.
When they stop the cab outside the camp, Annabeth and Tyson leap out to help defeat the bulls that are attacking, and he is not even half a second behind them when the sisters call out to him.
He pauses and looks at them, and their one eyes stares right back.
"The Fates have indeed made your string very complicated young Hero." They speak as one, and the noise of the fighting behind him starts to fade away.
"So complicated," They say, agreeing with themselves. "That not even we can see what is to come." Then they pause and repeat the same numbers they did from so long ago, although now it seems as if they do so because they can, and speed off.
Leaving him to wonder what exactly it meant to him if they couldn't see his future.
The next time he sees Luke, he's fighting him.
Percy's muscles are stronger then they were the last time around, he knows this, but Luke doesn't.
He is holding back; he needs Luke to admit he poisoned Thalia's tree.
Then, when he admits it, Percy starts pushing back.
He can see the surprise on Luke's face that he can keep up with him and that he knows all of his moves and the style of which he uses.
And how can he not when they had fought so many times before this? Or technically after this, time travel was so confusing.
When Chiron shows up with the Party Ponies, the only thing they have to deal with is the monsters that are on the boat. Chiron can see that Percy is handling himself fine.
Then, Percy manages to toss Luke's sword away from his reach. He has him, one quick stroke and the whole war will be over before it begins.
Except it won't be.
There will still be despair and hatred at the gods from other Demigod children to latch onto and use because it didn't have to be Luke. There were dozens of kids that felt just like Luke did, he knew.
So he once again does something he usually wouldn't do, something that was more Annabeth's specialty then his. But Annabeth is standing off to the side, trying to fight monsters and watch their fight all at the same time, so he knows it is up to him.
He tries reasoning with Luke once again, and once again he is shot down. But there was a flicker of doubt in Luke's eyes, and he feels hope because he would have remembered if that flicker had been there before.
Because maybe he is changing things.
He loves his cousin, he does, but she was such a pain in the ass.
He knew the first time around it had been partially his fault that she had acted the way she had, but it was also because they just were too similar to get along right away. And while Percy knew his cousin like the back of his hand, she had only just met him, and they were going to have to gain ground a lot faster then last time if they were going to save Bianca's life.
And he was going to. No question.
He didn't even hesitate to ask Annabeth to dance this time around.
It was so natural, so instinctual for him to turn to her in these type of situations that he hadn't even realized that he had until they were dancing. And it wasn't awkward either, as he had taken dance lessons before his mom had married Paul so that he could dance at their wedding.
He made sure they drifted close to the bleachers this time, using a technique he had learned in a few years of using the water vapor in the air to sense if the siblings moved from where they were.
The moment he felt them move he was in action, telling Annabeth to get the others and to meet him in the hall. Then, just in case, told her to go to the cliff if he wasn't there.
She gave him a confused look but complied, and as soon as she was out of sight, he turned and walked carefully into the hallway where the di Angelo kids were huddled against the far wall.
His eyes scanned for Dr. Thorn carefully, he finds him hidden in the same place as last time, but he pretended not to notice him as he got closer to the children of Hades. They tried to warn him with their eyes, but he winked at them, showing he knew what he was doing.
Sort of.
They still somehow managed to end up on the edge of that damned cliff though.
And Annabeth still manages to fall off the freaking edge.
He is at the junkyard of the gods, and Percy hopes his plan works.
This page in his notebook was a mess, ideas had been written down and scratched out so many times and sticky note after sticky note had been added because he wasn't sure how to save Bianca or Zoe, not when their deaths had been so directly stated in a prophecy.
But he had to try, even if it meant defying the fates.
He wasn't sure how Bianca had done it, he had been watching her so closely to see when she picked up the figurine, but they had reached Talos, and he hadn't seen her pick it up.
But she had, and Talos was standing above them.
Percy isn't sure what happened after that, there is a lot of dodging and when Bianca tries to go into the maintenance hole he panics.
He football tackles her to the ground and pins her there.
This was why Annabeth was always in charge of making plans.
But his panic had caused a storm based on the pure emotions that had resonated with him, the sheer desperation and fear had seeped out of him and manifested as a storm.
It starts to rain.
Percy laughs as lightning, a side effect of the storm, comes down from the sky and strikes Talos, frying his body and causing him to collapse to the ground in a giant metal heap.
The others stare at him, but he keeps laughing.
The weight of the sky is heavier than he remembers.
It is almost cruel really, he had to save Zoë, but Atlas had threatened to push Annabeth, his Annabeth who had already taken her fair share of the burden, back under the sky.
And it was a no-brainer, and he had taken the weight off of Artemis's shoulders willingly.
He felt horrible when Zoë was thrown against the rocks, and there was nothing he could do.
He had failed in saving her.
After he had successfully saved Bianca, he had felt confident that he would be able to save Zoë.
It was a startling reminder that failure was possible and he mourned the death of the Hunter all over again as she was placed where she was most happy, in the stars.
It is when they are on Olympus that Percy is reminded that he had once been terrified that Annabeth would become a hunter.
The panic he had felt, the horror he hadn't quite understood yet.
And he realized he had never told her that that was how it would feel to lose her, how he had been so scared she would leave him that he had nearly cried.
So when he decides to tell her this, just in case something happens (which it can, he remembers thanks to Zoë's unwanted reminder), she does something unexpected.
She kisses him.
It is quick, an innocent little peck on the lips really, but it still makes Percy's heart soar because he had missed the sensation of her lips on his. He had missed how close they had been. Now, he felt, they were on their way to being that close again.
So when Annabeth backs away blushing he knows he can't let this opportunity slide like he did the first time Annabeth had kissed him on Mount St. Helen's (honestly how stupid could he be for not immediately kissing her when he returned?) and he leans forward and kisses her again.
Introducing (really reintroducing) Rachel to Annabeth is just as awkward the second time around as it is the first.
Percy is just glad that Rachel doesn't write her number down on his arm this time, Percy wonders if it had anything to do with the quick kiss Annabeth gives him when she sees him.
Either way, Percy knows this won't change the fact that they will need her later and is immensely grateful he still remembers her number from the first time around.
When they get back to camp, Percy learns that at some point during the school year Nico had left camp.
With Bianca still safe and sound with the Hunters, Nico had stayed longer at camp than the first time, but Nico wasn't stupid.
Percy figured that Nico had pieced together who his father was and had decided to leave camp, Percy wondered what idiotic idea the kid had had to make him think that was the right move.
The labyrinth is just as confusing as it was the first time around and Percy hates it.
Then they meet Janus and Percy hates it even more.
Percy and Annabeth had been holding hands the entire way through the labyrinth (so they didn't get separated and for comfort) so when Janus turns towards Annabeth, about to make her make a choice, he squeezes her hand and shifts forward slightly.
Janus's attention shifts towards him at the movement.
Janus, the god of crossroads and choices, actually flinches when he gazes upon Percy.
"So many horrible choices." Said one head, the one that was supposed to be optimistic.
"So many horrors." The pessimistic side agreed with his other.
"We wonder if you choose to tell the truth or continue to lie, choose either way and remember Perseus Jackson, you're at fault either way." The two heads finished together.
Then Janus is leaving just as Hera is arriving and Annabeth is starring at him in worry, and Percy feels like sinking into the floor.
He had made his choice a long time ago not to tell anyone about his time traveling. But Percy had been plagued with constant nightmares about people finding out and accusing him of being a traitor or manipulating them. He had woken up screaming for Annabeth not to leave him, crying that he loved her and that he was only trying to protect her.
He had made choices in the past that had lead to Bianca's survival and Zoë's death.
He had many choices still to make in the future, every scribble in his beaten up notebook was a testament to that.
But who was he to mess with his friend's lives like this? Who said that any of this was going to lead to something better? The thought made him feel sick because who knew where the future was going anymore?
He tries to ignore the calculating look Annabeth is giving him and focus on Hera.
Nico is at the Triple G's ranch, and Percy wants to strangle the kid.
Why couldn't he have just stayed at camp?
After cleaning out the horse stables and shooting Geryon once again, they were able to talk. This time at least Nico doesn't hate him and listens to what Percy has to say.
Percy knows Nico feels out of place at the camp and doesn't blame him for not wanting to stay in the Hermes cabin when he knows who his father is, but knowing he will never be accepted.
So Percy writes down his home address and tells Nico that cousins stick together and that his mother makes the best blue cookies in the world.
Nico takes the address with a smile, and Percy feels at ease knowing he is safe.
Percy is in Mount St. Helen's, and he made up his mind that he can't go to Calypso's island again.
Seeing Calypso again would be nice, but in doing so, he would have to reawaken Typhon, something he was trying to avoid. The way he figured, the fewer cards he gave Kronos to use the better.
Also, things with Annabeth are going great right now, and he doesn't want to mess that up with her thinking he was dead.
The only problem is that now he is facing thousands of Telekhines.
So Percy fights the best he can, summoning any water he can find in the air or water bottles and making water armor for himself. It works for a while but he eventually starts to get outnumbered, they are surrounding him, and he can't think of a way out without blowing up the mountain.
Then, memories that he had buried deep resurfaced.
His and Annabeth's time in Tartarus was something he tried desperately to forget, but he had also learned something about himself when he was down there.
And while he doubted he would be able to control poison again, he didn't need to.
He only needed to control water.
The first time he had been here, he had accidentally exploded the volcano from the water he had created from around him.
But even monsters needed to drink water.
The power came to him quickly as his memories from Tartarus burned through him.
It was a slaughter.
Telekhines burst into dust by the hundreds, and as he left out the door he began to rebury those memories, some things were better left forgotten.
The box that held all of the memories of Tartarus clicked shut in his brain as Annabeth ran up to him and gave him a relieved hug and kiss.
Pan fading was one thing Percy knew he was powerless to stop.
He was once again gathered with the others around Pan, and he could only close his eyes as he addressed each of them.
"Percy Jackson," Pan eyed him curiously before chuckling. "Always defying the gods I see."
That was all he said to him. Knowing he could give no advise that Percy could use.
Percy already knew that it was impossible to save everyone, but he was not going to stand by and watch as his friends fought when he already knew what they would be facing.
So when the first monsters burst forth, he wasted no time in attacking with everything he had. He was vicious, there was no pausing for a breath or waiting to see what monster would come for him next, he charged at the monsters.
He managed to stop Lee Fletcher from getting clubbed over the head by a giant, the very one that had killed him in Percy's timeline, by decapitating it and moving on.
He was all over the place, at some points he wasn't even sure who he was protecting or fighting, but before he knew it, Kampê was coming out from the Labyrinth.
Kampê fell, and it was all over.
The Apollo cabin immediately went about setting up a medical tent, and Annabeth rushed over to him, relieved that they were both okay.
Later, when they were able to break away from the rest of the campers, Annabeth would ask how he had done it.
When it was clear that he didn't know what she was talking about she let it go and focused on spending a few minutes together alone before someone would inevitably come looking for one of them.
But internally her thoughts were in turmoil.
Something wasn't adding up about her boyfriend; things weren't making sense anymore, all the gods they encountered acted like they didn't know what to do with him and he always seemed to know what was happening before anyone else.
Until today it hadn't been too obvious, but today on the battlefield he had been everywhere at once, moving from one spot to another like he knew where the monster was going to be before it happened.
No one else seemed to question how he had done it, to focused on being thankful that he did, as he had saved a lot of campers by leaving Chiron's side.
There had been other instances too, where things just magically seemed to work themselves out when it came to Percy, and Annabeth had never thought to question it, chalking it up to dumb luck.
Now though, now she wondered if she should bring it up to Chiron.
When Annabeth approached Chiron the next morning, she was fully prepared to have to state her case.
When she breached the topic with Chiron; however, he merely sighed and nodded for her to sit down.
"The gods have been noticing something off with Percy as well, my dear. They have asked me several times if I have noticed anything, but I have not noticed anything that warrants suspicion."
Annabeth stayed silent knowing Chiron had more to say.
"This does not mean there is nothing there."
Annabeth closed her eyes and nodded. She was trying to accept the fact that Percy was hiding something big from them, from her.
"But until he decides to tell us what it is, I believe we have no reason to be alarmed. After all my dear, I doubt he would do anything to put you in danger."
Annabeth gave Chiron a weak smile as she got up to walk away.
It as agreed then, Annabeth decided as she made her way back to her cabin. They would continue to ignore the strange goings on around Percy Jackson and hope that he knew what he was doing.
Percy approached Selina while she was watching Beckendorf train in the arena.
He had been trying to come up with a way to talk to the girl about her corespondent's with Kronos that wouldn't send her into a panic but found that there was no easy way he could think of to approach her about it.
The day he chose ended up being one of the rainy days that they got at camp to water the strawberry fields, the rain hadn't started falling yet, but grey clouds were hovering over the camp.
Selina was sitting near the water coolers, and he sat down next to her and watched Beckendorf hammer a dummy into oblivion.
Neither said a word.
"How long have you known?" Selina asked beside him, finally breaking the silence.
He turned to look at her, wondering how she had known what he had come here to talk about.
Selina sighed. "I am good with emotions; it's an Aphrodite thing."
Then her shoulders sagged, and she asked him again.
"How long have you known?"
Percy's lips quirked upwards despite the situation. Time was such a hard thing for him now; it was almost impossible to answer her question. So Percy finally decided on, "From the beginning." As he had technically known about her from the begging of this timeline.
Selina sighed. "You are going to turn me in now, aren't you?"
Percy didn't answer for a long time. And instead, he decided to ask a question of his own. "If you knew Beckendorf was going to die because of something you told Luke, would you still tell him?"
Selina's jaw dropped in shock. "Never!" she shouted angrily.
Beckendorf paused in his beating of the practice dummy, looking up at Selina's shout, but it must have been evident in their faces that he wasn't to interfere as only a moment later he was going back to training, even if it was less enthusiastically than before.
"Then stop giving him information because I know for a fact that if you keep doing what you are doing, it will end in his death. And we both know you would rather die than live with the knowledge that you were the one who helped kill him."
Selina was silent after that and Percy got up and left once he was finished talking.
There was nothing more to say.
Neither of them ever brought it up to anyone ever again.
Percy only paused briefly one day to throw away the remnants of a smashed up silver bracelet that had been left outside his cabin door.
Nico, who had taken up permanent residency in his house, never brought up the idea for Percy to jump in the river Styx.
So Percy brought it up to Nico.
It caused a massive argument, but in the end, Nico decided that he couldn't stop Percy so the least he could at least make sure he didn't get himself killed.
They traveled to the underworld together.
Annabeth had been stabbed because he had gotten careless.
No matter what happened in this new timeline, he knew he could let anything happen to her.
She was the one who kept him grounded, even when she didn't realize it. She was his everything, as cheesy as it sounded.
Everything in this world was changing, and even though it was his doing, he was finding it hard to keep up. But Annabeth was the same; she was still smart and funny and beautiful and did not put up with any of his antics.
She couldn't die.
And she especially couldn't die while he still hadn't told her the truth.
And so, even though the timing was the worst and she was half awake and slightly delirious, he whispered it. Barely audible but just enough so she could hear it. It was the first time he had acknowledged it out loud.
"I'm not from this time."
Annabeth blinked up at him through heavy eyelids before slowly breaking out into a smile. "Well, that explains a lot."
Of course, later she wanted answers.
Annabeth had patiently waited all day for Rachel to become the new Oracle and for everyone to return to camp and for the adrenaline to wear off before she came and found him at the beach.
They laid down next to each other, and he brought out his journal, which had seen better days, and he had told her all about his adventures with her other self and all the things they had done and what he had changed.
He admitted to her that they hadn't gotten together until today in the first timeline, but he had been too impatient to wait that long this time. And she had laughed at him, telling him that it was a good thing he had kissed her when he did this time around.
He told her about his doubts that he was doing the right thing and the nightmares that plagued him when he was asleep about the choices he was making. Annabeth made sure to hold him close as he told her about those, and she assured him that she could never hate him.
She asked some questions about the differences between his first life and his second, and he answered as honestly as he could.
She asked if she could read his journal, and it physically pained him to tell her, no, but he hadn't told her about the Second Giant War yet.
He was reasonably sure he was going to have to play that one close to his chest until it was time for action, and he had notes written down about that in his notebook.
But Annabeth had understood, and even though he could see that it physically pained her not to know something, she let it go and gave him a hug and a blue birthday cake instead.