#Not as long Jason and Rachel are there

[itsyouch]

haha ew <3

istg is the ear starts bleeding im gonna flip

Ferrin doesn't strike me as the guy to die, I'm happy about that, I expect to see him when Rachel and Jason are at the portal back home <3

oh but I don't think Jason will go back home

his parents are kind of neglectful, they do care about him, but when he got back home the first time, they were more attached to the dog than Jason :/ Jason has more people that care for him in Lyrain then back home.

Rachel has something to go back to in the beyond, but she will loose all her Edomic if she goes back :( but anywho, I think Jason will stay and Rachel will go :,] now we wait and see if I'm right ahha

[aurantiumred]

jason grace is canonically good at drawing. take that how you will.

edit: yes, i know hazel being good at drawing is not just a headcanon now. its been so long since ive read HOO im sorryyyy :(((

[cynthiav06]

Respectfully, did Percy Jackson even have any character development throughout the original series?

He doesn't have any flaws. He chose to take the prophecy from Nico, but he was always going to be the prophecy child.

He's good at the start and good at the end with no development unless you count being traumatised and depressed from a war as development, which it's not.

Not trying to be rude, sorry if I seem rude.

Worry not. It's a perfectly reasonable question and should usually be applied to most character studies. Also, buckle up. This is going to be long. Very long. It took me a while to get the time to post this and even more time to actually get my thoughts together. Like a lot of time. (To anyone who doesn't want to read the horrid mess of a post this is there's a partition at the end, after which all the most important points are summarized. ) Just skip to that, but hopefully, someone reads this whole thing because it took me eons to write.

I can see why you think that way, and it is contributed more so by Rick's absolute incapability of not recycling the dead horse that is the original pjo dynamics. He has inhibited character growth from almost every single character where all their epiphanies and character change in the end amounts to nothing, and they regress back to how they used to be, and any and all deviations their personality had are either dismissed or suppressed.

Percy is the victim of the latter. In the first book, he was a child, not particularly concerned with saving the world or being a halfblood. His life had been worse enough, and the halfblood situation had made it abysmal. Percy was living goal by goal. He wanted to get through the field trip, then through the semester, then through the Gabe interactions all so he could finally see his Mom, the one good thing about his life. Then that upends completely, and his only reprieve, the trip to Montauk, his safe place becomes the start of a series of grand tragedies in his life.

Sure, he stayed at the Camp, not willingly but for safety. He had nowhere to go, his life had been turned upside down, his mother was dead, and he wanted to go home, to have his mother back. He couldn't have cared less about the Gods and the world ending, but as soon as Chiron mentions Underworld, Percy is back on solid ground. He has a goal again. Get Sally back. He does everything to reach that goal. He fights monsters, prays to a godly father he refused to acknowledge beforehand, manipulate the press and the Gabe situation, bargain with immortal deities and such, and negotiate his way out of most of those bargains. All the while keeping in mind that he has a traitor to deal with, but Percy is the definition of "deal with one thing at a time. If it's not an immediate concern, it can wait." He does all that and is rewarded for it by being able to live, getting his mother back, and a taste of the life he has doomed himself to, and he almost seems to accept it. He even wonders if Camp Half Blood could be his home.

We see Percy do this throughout all the books. He is constantly changing his intentions, his goals, and his opinions on everything. He is also caught in his internal conflict of being with or against the Gods. The thing is, Percy has very little time for reflection as he is jumping from one existential threat to another, and yet he still manages to grow in the small ways. You need to see it individually book wise rather than over the whole series as Rick messes up terribly with character arcs and developments of literally every other character.

He begins by not caring about Poseidon's existence or his proximity, but in the end, he, too, is beholden to the intrinsic need of having a father. He, too, wants Poseidon to care for him like a father and is therefore hurt by being called a mistake. He knows Poseidon claimed him as a weapon against Zeus so he could rectify someone else's mistakes and restore Poseidon's reputation; who if not Percy would understand this manipulation the best? But the best lies are the ones you want to believe in, and so Percy keeps his silence because, of course, he wants to believe his father genuinely cares for him and loves him. Who doesn't?

He didn't want to be the hero, but by the end of the first book, when he is called one, he doesn't dislike the feeling. He accepts if only a little that this is to be his life now, and as the series progresses, he adds to the pros and cons.

In the Sea of Monsters he is very happy that Gabe is gone and it's just him and his mother again but by the end of it he has gained a new family member in Tyson and is very happy of the fact. He even manages to get over his initial hostility of Clarisse somewhat when he understands her situation.

Titan's Curse is all about Percy learning about the number of forces at play in the world of demigods. He tries to get along with the Hunters and Thalia; it doesn't work. He ends up almost losing Annabeth, someone who he considers a close friend by now. And so we see Percy spiral a little, show more of his anger issues as he interacts with Thalia or even Young Nico just after Annabeth falls from the cliff. Angry and impatient, he goes on his own quest.

I know most readers remember it as Percy, Annabeth, and Grover or the main cast always working together, but it's almost never like that. Somewhere along the way, Percy always ends up doing his own thing, which works because he best works on improvisations. It's Percy's plans that always end up working the most more so than Annabeth's. Just putting it out there.

Then it's just Percy having the worst month of his life. Annabeth is in mortal danger. No one seems to be hearing his opinions between Thalia and the Hunters. Then Bianca dies and Percy because he is Percy is completely and utterly guilty over it.

Note that Percy says he will do his best to keep Biancs safe and not outright promise to keep Bianca safe. But his non-existent self-esteem and other factors withstanding he blamed himself for it completely. Then Zoe dies, and Percy has lost yet another person he thought he needed to keep safe.

Percy is angry at the gods, but he is not surprised by their actions. But he is Percy, and he is determined to change the ways of Olympus, so he pressures the Council and his father to keep the Ophiptaurus, the very creature that threatens to topple their rule. It's his small was of rebelling, and Percy is always rebelling against the gods in his own way, almost never playing into their hands because as much as he despises Luke, he agrees with Luke too and unless he finds a better way to deal with the situation than what Luke is employing he too would have to one day follow in Luke's footsteps.

Now Percy, who trusts Chiron, even thinks of him as a secondary father figure realizes that Chiron for all his compassion for mortals and demigods will always in the end do the bidding of the Gods'. So he makes the snap decision to hide Nico's parentage from Chiron and from everyone else because Percy realizes no matter how much he loves or cares for certain people in his life, they are beholden to answer to a higher power he cannot gainsay, so he will have to take some secrets to the grave. He learns that in the end, some things he needs to shoulder himself.

And of course, the guilt of Bianca's death is no lesser, so he does the only thing he thinks can give him some relief from it. He takes the prophecy for himself, saving Nico and hoping it's enough to alleviate himself of this bile inducing sensation in his gut called guilt that is swallowing him whole.

Now, the Battle of Labyrinth is the most crucial. This is the book with maximum stress on Percy from all ends. From Sally dating Paul and Percy having to prove he is worth Paul's confidence in him in Goode, from Annabeth who is quite literally snippy and passive aggressive through the whole book either due to Rachel or due to her own prophecy even though Rachel and Percy are the two people who got them all out. Then there's the Nico situation. He knows Nico is spiraling, which is making Percy spiral and further strengthening his own guilt. And on top of all this, the Luke situation. Percy is literally caught between an enclosed space, with all four sides closing in on him rapidly while he is fending off mortal danger.

All this repressed tension is fully let loose when he explodes Mt. Helen's. And this is the tipping point. Percy wants to take the choice of Calypso's Island if only briefly and not because he loves her or anything of the sort but because it's his one escape. From everything from his own doomed prophecy. Yet again, Percy is trapped by his own fatal flaw. Personal Loyalty. So he chooses to carry out his responsibility because he has given himself no other choice.

If that wasn't enough of self-realization, he is faced with the horrifying realization of the devastation his power has wrought. His loss of control has single handedly released the greatest threat to Olympus. Hephaestus tells Percy he doesn't know the limits of his own, and by the gods, does that terrify Percy. Up until now, Percy knew his powers were dangerous, but now he knows that he is also dangerous; that he is the real danger. And it's not a reality he wants to ever confront, so he coils his power and holds it tight in a leash. (It's why Percy's burts of power always begin with an unraveling sensation in his gut or something breaking inside himself)

He is somewhat soothed by Poseidon's reassurance because not only does Poseidon not blame him, he also solidifies Percy's faith that he is doing the right thing. And if Poseidon sprinkles in the fact that Percy is the favorite child then who is he to deny himself the comfort of such sweet lies because, of course, Percy thinks it's a lie and of course Percy basks in it. He knows better than to trust gods, he knows better than to trust even his own allies because at the times like this, they will do and say anything to appease him, after all the fate of Olympus depends on him, does it not? And neither the Gods nor the demigods will risk a falling out with him at times like this.

He asks his father if he can help but is denied because he is needed here. Then he does his job as told, and Charlie dies. It's on him. He is struck with twice as much guilt. Over Beckendorf, and then over the state of Atlantis. He asks again if he can help his father and is denied again yet scorned by his father's family, for he can't even help them with the mess he started (or so he believes).

This is why Percy goes with Nico's plan of using the Styx. Because he assumes Nico of all people who already hated him has no reason to curry for his favor. But he makes a mistake. After all, Nico needs his father's favor, and Hades needs Percy gone. Percy can't really blame the kid, but he does anyway because why not? He is angry, he is furious, and everything is slipping from his fingers. He is going to die. Everyone is going to die, and it's all on him. It's all his fault, AGAIN. So he rages at Nico because for at least one single moment, he wishes this were someone else's burden, especially Nico's, but Percy's taken it for himself, and it's too late to back out now.

So he fights and manipulates and negotiates. Titans, River gods, his own demigods. Because don't forget Percy knows there's a mole and that's also his problem. Everything is his problem. All that work and so many dead. Silena, Michael, Ethan, and many more on both sides, and he is trying everything he can to make it better to fix things because, again, he thinks it's his fault. Imagine doing all that, and Rachel tells him he is not the hero, and Percy bristles because no, he doesn't want to be a hero, but of course, it offends him. Because, if he's not the hero, then it's not his burden, and then what the hell is he doing all this for if, in the end, he is not the hero that can save Olympus? Does that mean he read the prophecy wrong, and now he is going to get everyone killed because he wrongly assumed he isn't the hero. He is angry and impulsive, and he snaps at even Hermes. Because now HE is spiraling.

And somehow, it's all over with Luke killing himself, and it dawns on Percy, the truth. So despite all the hate because why wouldn't there be hate, Luke has singlehandedly tried to kill Percy more than Percy can count, and he calls Luke the Hero. Makes the choice because he believes in Annabeth's faith and Hermes's faith in Luke. It pays off and that's all that matters.

Finally finally it is all over. the Gods owe him, and finally, he has an answer on the path he wants to take to change the gods. He denies immortality because he is Percy Jackson, he is Sally Jackson's son and he knows better than to let others dictate the flow of his life, because he has better plans than wasting away inside for eternity, dancing on someone else's tune. He fights for the demigods, the non-Olympian gods and their children who Olympus has failed to do justice to, for Nico, and in some way for himself.

Then it's not over at all because Rachel has taken Blackjack and Percy knows the truth of the Oracle and he loves Rachel far too much to let her even try. But it works and she is okay; he can't be with her but she is alive and she is okay and Percy is extremely grateful for that.

But then there's a new prophecy, and even though he tries to find some peace with Annabeth, he knows it's not over. It's never over for him. But he can forget about it until he can no longer afford to ignore it.

___________________________________________

Of course, Percy repressed his trauma. The last time he let it out, he released the literal bane of the gods out. Do you think Percy could live with something like that happening again? What choice does he have? There's no one who can understand him. NO ONE. Not even Annabeth.

You can see him accept his role as a leader and grow more into it. In son of Sobek or even in Son of Neptune. He is more serious and more authoritative because he has so many people depending on him, so many expectations hanging on him. We can also see Percy's anger issues get out of hand. He is spiraling, the readers know he is spiraling, and Percy knows, but he can't do ANYTHING. HE IS LITETALLY DYING OR BEING ATTACKED, HE CAN'T, HE JUST CAN'T.

BUT WE KNOW IT'S THERE BECAUSE WE CAN SEE HOW MUCH PERCY HAS GROWN INTO SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. AND HE CAN'T ACT ON THEM MOST OF THE TIME BECAUSE OTHER PEOPLE ARE DEPENDENT ON HIM AND HIS FATAL FLAW WON'T ALLOW HIM TO PUT HIMSELF OUT OF HIS MISERY.

BUT WHEN HE HAS DONE EVERYTHING HE POSSIBLY COULD, AFTER HOUSE OF HADES, HE LETS POLYBOTES'S POISON CHOKE HIM, ALMOST KILLING HIM IF JASON HADN'T INTERVENED. THANK GOD FOR JASON GRACE.

Percy was this sassy, heavily independent, "I do my own thing" kid and now he is someone with more responsibilities than anyone with most of his free will stripped and most of his hopes ruined or deemed impossible. IT'S TRAGIC AND IT'S EXCRUCIATING AND HE CAN'T DO ANYTHING BECAUSE HE THINKS IT'S MAKING OTHERS HAPPY. IT'S SUCH A HORRIBLE SITUATION. IMAGINE BOOK 1 PERCY? HE WOULD HAVE LET IT BLOW UP IN EVERYONE ELSE'S FACE BEFORE HE EVER LET HIMSELF BE SO BROKEN.

I have seen so many people say how Percy is the standard hero who is always good and never makes bad choices, and I wonder which books they read. Percy always makes the supposed "right" choices at the cost of himself. His fatal flaw enabling his moral compass and the sheer guilt of the lives lost. He can't escape. He hates the gods, he hates the quests but he loves his family and friends so dearly, there's nothing he wouldn't do for them which means Percy is suffocating, drowning, choking in his own misery, his repressed trauma,his self loathing and being crushed to death by the weight of lives, responsibilities and expectations only he can hope to fulfil.

And one day Percy won't be able to take it. His lapses of control will increase in magnitudes so great, his inner rage will level the world. Destroyer, like Athena predicted, Destroyer like Kronos wanted and Destroyer like his name means.

Not every hero needs a villain arc. Percy is inspiring because after all this shit and all these horrors. He is still good, but WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE TOLL OF IT. PERCY IS STILL GOOD BUT AT WHAT COST? LOOK WHAT IT'S DONE TO HIM.

Rick has such a great potential for an arc like that but he is going to fuck it up, I know he is but I hope readers realize where it's all leading to and how much Percy has changed and how much he has sacrificed. Also, @hermesmyplatonicbeloved , @ogjacksonsimp , @cynicalclairvoyantcadaver , @helenofsparta2, @fourcornersofcreation thoughts? Did I stray too far from the canon, or am I getting it right at least a little? Because this post took days, I have no idea what it has devolved into.

[hopesallwegotleft]

Hᴏᴜꜱᴇ ᴏꜰ Aꜱʜᴇꜱ (Oᴄᴛ. 22, 2021)

[katzenprinz]

Do any of them have gained fears or natural phobias? If I remember correctly, Jason had some fear of being stalked/being alone a few chapters ago

I think it’s safe to say that all of them have a significant level of trauma, but it is definitely manifesting in different ways for sure.

For Jason, yeah, absolutely, he is constantly aware of who is around him and if he is being watched. This is going to manifest itself in multiple ways throughout Say Nothing. In the chapter where he ran back to the throne room, that was a moment of him giving into the fear of being watched, ironically because he felt he was not being watched and therefore was free to expose his fear without judgment.

Jason also has so much internalized homophobia. He’s frozen up multiple times because he is afraid of being perceived as gay. Even being in a committed relationship with Salim, he has so much to unlearn and he’s only just begun.

For Salim it is less internalized homophobia and more a fear of the repercussions of what might happen to him and how he might be persecuted if people were to know he is gay. That fear also extends to making sure nobody can ever take him away from his son.

Salim’s biggest fear and his biggest motivator to get through things is always going to be making sure Zain is safe and happy. And the same for Jason, now, too.

For Nick, we know about his fear of making the wrong call and having to live with those consequences for the rest of his life. It’s possible for Nick to make a lot of bad calls throughout the game. He can accidentally kill Merwin. He can fuck up during fights if you miss QTEs and becomes the reason Jason gets injured. Up until he plants the explosives he is pretty unreliable under pressure, and I think the reason he volunteers himself for that task, at least in part, is because that choice will not put anyone aside from himself in danger, removing any guilt he might feel if Jason or Salim went. But we see that if he survives that, then immediately after when Salim gets separated from the rest of them, even though his bad choices in the past weigh heavy on him through the whole game, his automatic response in the face of danger is to make whatever call is self-preserving over saving another person. And he obviously knows this about himself. Especially at this point in Say Nothing. He’s had a lot of time to reflect on his past actions. So Nick, currently, avoids making big decisions altogether if he can. (And we’re going to see that reflected in his relationship with Rachel and Eric soon.)

As far as Rachel goes, she is for sure the sort to have very internal fears that connect with how she is viewed, much like Jason. But her fears are about her ability. It bothers her to be viewed as not in control, and that applies to most things about her, not just her job. She likes to be in control of missions. She likes to be in control when it comes to her relationships - not controlling, but independent from her partners. She is chafing under the contract SOCOM has her under.

I think Eric’s fears also relate to his abilities. They are similar to Rachel’s, but for him it’s about being seen as competent. To me, Eric pushes his command and tried to enforce it so much in the game because he has failed when it comes to Caelus. His command of this unit was given to him because he supposedly found this weapons stash - except he didn’t, so his ability has been called into question and all he has left to lean on is his rank. But we see that, even though at times he is pissy about it, he lets Jason take control multiple times. He lets Jason and Nick go ahead to scout and to set up the surveilance cameras. He knows at the end of the day he is in charge and makes the calls. What irritates him is that Jason and Nick don’t view him as a capable leader, or even as a capable man. He has a failed marriage. Caelus, the project that has been his baby for at least the past year if not longer, didn’t work. Salim escapes from him if they take Salim as a prisoner. So in Say Nothing Eric is trying his damndest to show that he is capable, despite the multiple mistakes he has made.

Eric also has nightmares about the car wreck, but he plays them off as nightmares about the vampires.

For Jones we’ll be touching on a specific fear of his that he has developed in coming chapters~ for now, he is definitely shaken by the knowledge that supernatural creatures exist. That first vampire he saw utterly terrified him.

Palmer has developed a fear of loneliness that he has never shared with anyone. He’s a pretty independent person and likes his own company - but because he sees ghosts, and they know he can see them, there is often one nearby and he has become so used to this that he does not like it much when there is nobody around him, whether they are living or not. Being a soldier, at least, means he’s pretty rarely by himself.

Elliott is honestly pretty chill. He doesn’t have any serious phobias, just a healthy fear of things that the majority of people have a fear of.

Mosson has some deep fears that we can’t reveal just yet~

Rana is also pretty chill. She is the oldest of the whole group and has plenty of life experience. She has seen and done so much. It’s difficult to phase her. The vampires do scare her, but in the same way having a close call with a bear would scare her.

Kim’s biggest fear is of being trapped, literally and figuratively. Not the best fear to have when you are in an ancient underground temple, or under contract with a corrupt military agency. But she is eternally loyal and has such deep respect for her comrades, she never lets these fears impact her doing her duty. She willingly went on this mission, after all, so she could protect this team and get them through the next four years.

[bayetea]

this is a generalization of course but maybe the people who hate pjo rarepairs or scoff at people for shipping them or just vehemently refuse to even consider rarepairs for 2 seconds are newer to the pjo fandom/ franchise and already have their hands full with canon/popular ships. but like... some of us have been here for FIFTEEN YEARS and desperately need variety and new ideas to mess around with every now and then. like you would not believe the hamster wheels spinning in the head of the average rarepair enjoyer in order to make their ship between two characters who barely/never interacted work and that's called creativity 😌 and if you look down on that then that's just pretty lame behavior idk what to tell you

[caelusproject]

Talk To Me (Chapter 2)

Pairing: Royalkay, Jalim (background)

Rating: SFW

This is a short chapter because I don't feel to well but I wanted to finish this so hhhh bear with me plz! This chapter takes place during chapter 5 of the Jalim fanfiction “Say Nothing” by @katzenprinz and @thunderwhenhepurrs ! As always, it’s the same story but from a different point of view with a different relationship focus! Please read Gabe and Holden’s Jalim fanfiction, it’s seriously so good and still being written!! Go show them some love!!

(Sorry for any inconsistencies or errors I made! This chapter has a ton of overlap with the original and I didn't want to blatantly copy the dialogue, so I paraphrased a lot (hence why it's shorter)!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was very early in the morning. Eric wasn't awake yet, and although he had some idea of his surroundings he couldn't move or talk and his eyes refused to open like his body and mind were all but fully present. His skin twitched slightly as he felt a pair of soft lips pressed against his cheek, something heavy shifting on the cot a little, the rustling sound of fabric and heavy boots hitting the ground and then his consciousness slipped again.

Next thing he knew he was standing in the middle of a dimly lit room. It looked like an empty, abandoned dining room with nothing but reddish wallpapers and specks of dust flying in the air. For some reason it bore resemblance to a place he used to know very well. Eric turned around and found himself facing a grand piano, old and worn out, the paint already starting to come off. Hesitatingly he approached the musical instrument, reaching out to touch the old keys like it was delicate glass. A warm sensation crawled up his stomach and up into his chest and he couldn't help but smile. It has been too long.

But as soon as he pressed down on the key he opened his eyes. The red wallpapers turned into green tent walls, shaking ever so slightly in the morning wind.

Eric took a deep breath and blinked a few times. He was laying on his back, head turned so he was facing the desk a few feet away from the cot he was sleeping on. The sight of the equipment made him frown as reality hit him hard.

So he turned away, ignoring the daunting realization that he will have to get back to work soon, preparing the drop into those cursed temples. The mere thought of going down there made his stomach twist.

Turning over so he was laying on his left side he noticed Nick sleeping a few inches away from him. Rachel had left during the night to bring Zain to the airport, it was probably her lips that Eric faintly remembers caressing his cheek, which left Nick and Eric sleeping without Rachel on the cot. Even though he thought to himself how impolite and creepy it is to watch a sleeping person he didn't look away.

Nick was curled up beside him facing him, head resting on the pillow Eric gave him yesterday due to a bit of a misunderstanding. Eric squinted when he thought back to that situation, feeling a bit embarrassed about it. Nick didn't even express the wish to sleep here. And yet Eric didn't think it through and just invited Nick into his and Rachel's bed. Like it was normal.

Nick scrunched up his nose in his sleep, his breathing a tiny bit faster for a few seconds, before returning to a more relaxed state. Eric couldn't help but smile, wondering what the marine might possibly be dreaming of right now. His eyes studied Nick's face and for some reason Eric only now noticed the freckles adorning Nick's cheeks. They were subtle but definitely noticeable in the right light. It made Eric wonder if he truly never realized Nick had freckles or if he simply didn't care to notice.

Granted, they had a rough start, to put it mildly, so Eric most likely wasn't interested in getting to know Nick better. Images of Eric punching Nick, accusing him of fucking his wife, the anger and jealousy that filled every nerve in his body flashed through his mind. For a moment there he hated Nick even more than the vampires. Saw him as an intruder, a rival.

And yet he couldn't let him die. Couldn't bare the thought of leaving Nick down there, his lifeless body torn to shreds by vampires. Eric risked his life for him, gave up his most effective weapon against those monsters to give Nick a sliver of a chance for survival, heard his weak voice over the radio, begging for someone to help him. All of those memories seem so distant, even though they happened just a few weeks ago.

The irony of it all made Eric chuckle under his breath. The man his wife was having an affair with and who he had every right to hate to death was now sleeping in the same bed as he was and all Eric wanted to do was count the freckles on Nick's skin. Even though his brain was screaming at him to do literally anything else.

Maybe he should get to work. Get up, get dressed, drink some coffee and be the Colonel again. Command these Marines, prepare the drop, look through requisitions, calibrate Caelus to scan more of the area underneath them. There were so many things he could be doing right now instead of watching Nick sleep.

But of course his feelings wouldn't let him do that. The cot was far more cozy after all, he told himself. A few more minutes of listening to Nick's calm breathing and admiring the freckles on those soft cheeks couldn't hurt, could it?

Eric shook his head in disbelieve. What was he thinking, acting like he preferred laying in bed with Nick over his duties. It felt like he was the rope in a rough game of tug of war, going back and forth between the seriousness of his mind and the softness of his soul. No matter what they went through together, developing feelings of any kind beyond companionship for Nick would only result in chaos.

Even though they were both dating the same woman.

Even though Eric had some experience in dating men.

Even though he legitimately thought for a split second that the way Nick snuggled deeper into the pillow and thus inching slightly closer to Eric was something he was almost tempted to call 'cute'.

Eric sighed and closed his eyes, thinking back to when the three of them were in the temple. Rachel had told them that she couldn't choose either of them, that her love for Eric had returned during their time together but that she also fell in love with Nick and refused to give him up. Eric had felt a tad betrayed but was also immensely impressed by Rachel's big heart.

He always knew she wasn't as stern as she always led on, he had seen her thaw and enjoy life to the fullest, seen her laugh and cry, whitnessed her at her lowest and at her highest. Rachel was the love of his life, he was certain of that. Even when they were apart, she was always on his mind and he felt incredibly guilty for treating her so harsh after the accident. Drowning in his work to substitute for the illusion of control only increased the wedge in their relationship and Eric was insanely angry at himself for allowing that to happen.

No matter what happens, he refuses to let her go under any circumstances, unless she herself makes it clear that she wants to leave. Even if it means 'sharing her' with Nick.

“Mmh...” Nick mumbled and opened his dark brown eyes wide enough to look at Eric, who immediately tried acting like he wasn't staring at Nick for a solid few minutes. The Colonel smiled softly.

“Good morning, Sergeant,” he said, voice soft, “slept well?”

Nick squinted at Eric for a few heartbeats and then pressed his face into the pillow with a tired groan.

“Don't wanna get up...”

“I'm afraid you have to. We can't stay in bed all day.” Eric chuckled, trying to ignore the warm feeling in his chest when looking at sleepyhead Nick. Said marine sighed loudly and pushed his upper body off the cot, stretching a little before sitting up straight.

“You're the Colonel, can't you give me the order to sleep for another hour?” he joked with a tired grin before fishing for his boots from under the cot. Eric followed Nick's example with a sympathetic smile.

“Tell you what, if we weren't on a mission right now, I'd pull you back to bed and sleep until noon-”

Eric stopped talking and froze in his movement as soon as realization hit him. Did he just imply that, even if they weren't trapped in this situation, he would let Nick sleep with him and Rachel?

Nick either didn't notice Eric's reaction to his own words or he willfully ignored it, at the very least he didn't jump on it. He instead focused on tying his boots and getting off the cot.

“Fuck man, don't threaten me with a good time. That sounds like heaven to me,” he replied and looked out the tent, where the morning sun was already shedding it's light all over the campsite, “Rachel still at the airport?”

Eric nodded and checked his watch.

“Yeah, Zain should be boarding soon so she should be back in a few hours. Did you notice her leaving?”

“Nah, I was out cold.” Nick chuckled. Then his expression changed to shyness when he turned back to look at Eric, biting his lower lip as if contemplating what to say.

“... Thanks, by the way. For letting me bunk here.”

Eric blinked, wondering if he was imagining the tiny hint of a blush on Nick's face. Whether it was there or not, the Colonel smiled in return and got up from the cot.

“Don't worry about it. I couldn't allow to let you sleep outside, after all,” he shrug his shoulders, “not to mention how Rachel would kick my ass if I did. Not that I even considered that an option, please don't misunderstand-”

“Don't sweat it man, I gotchu!” Nick laughed at Eric's over-thinking, which only resulted in Eric sighing in relief with a rosy hint in his cheeks. Trying to shift the focus away from this awkwardness he approached the tent flap and looked outside. He could make out the professor and one of the marines enter the mess tent but the campsite was clear otherwise. Eric faced Nick and nodded towards the outside.

“Let's go get some coffee.” he suggested. Nick hesitatingly walked past Eric, scanning the area for himself as he stepped outside.

“Looks like no one saw us,” he mumbled quietly as they approached the mess tent, “don't want the new guys to get suspicious.”

A knot of emotions built up inside Eric's stomach but his brain managed to keep it down.

“You came in for a morning report, if anyone asks.” Eric whispered in response, daring everyone in his mind to try and say anything.

They walked into the mess tent and the newbies all but claimed one of the tables for themselves, chatting quietly over their breakfast. A few of them gave a disciplined 'good morning, Colonel' when Eric was at level with them and he nodded in response, trying to read their faces to see if any of them displayed a hint of a suspicion. From what he could tell, the new Marines didn't care about Nick and Eric walking together.

Nick sat down across from the professor and Eric fought with himself for a second, wondering if he would cross a line if he sat down next to Nick. One more glance over his shoulder towards the new Marines and Eric decided it would be wise to sit across Nick. He took the spot next to professor Khudair and accepted the mug of coffee she offered him with a grateful expression.

“I hope you had a good night. We tried to make it as comfortable as possible for you.” Eric started a conversation with the woman, who kept her smile for the duration of their exchange.

“Oh, don't worry about me, Colonel. This isn't my first dig site after all! Although the excitement did keep me up for longer that I would have liked.” she admitted. Eric raised his eyebrows.

“I'm no expert, but even I have to admit that some of the artifacts down there were impressive. I'm sure you will make quite a few discoveries.”

Eric could see Nick in his peripheral vision, dark eyes jumping back and forth between Eric and Professor Khudair as the two started a heated discussion over the temple, it's structure and possible artifacts hidden in the darkness. He felt a little bad for not including Nick in the conversation, but he could also sense how uncomfortable Nick was about going back down there.

Luckily, Jason and Salim walked in right when Nick seemingly started to give up hope of participating.

“Hey, good morning!” Nick greeted them with relief in his eyes.

Eric nodded in their general direction, still very much invested in his conversation with the professor.

“I hope you didn't blow up all of the artifacts down there. It would be nice if a handful of statues had survived.” the professor chimed, poking her breakfast with a fork. Eric's lips tightened.

“I'm sure most of them are still intact. All we did was close off a few tunnels so the creatures couldn't sneak up on us from behind. The throne room is still standing, from what I remember.”

“Mh, I'm so excited to go down there! Under your protection, of course!”

“We will do everything in our power to keep everyone safe. Those things are not to be messed with.” Eric said sharply, gaze going through the table and into the distance. It's like he could hear the clicking and hissing in his ears even now.

Taking another sip from his cup he watched Salim sit down next to Nick, his face showing clear signs of a sleepless and emotionally exhausting night. A rush of sympathy overcame Eric and he hoped that Rachel had dropped off Zain safe and sound and that the boy was on his way to the safety of London. He couldn't half-way imagine what Salim must be going through right now.

“I would ask how you slept, but I doubt you did.” the professor said, trying her best to give Salim an encouraging and kind smile.

Salim shrug his shoulders, stating that it would only mean he would sleep better tonight and that he was fine.

Eric listened to their conversation with half an ear. He was focused on his coffee anyways, taking a sip of the hot liquid every few seconds, his mind busy with wondering when Rachel would return and all the work he had piled up for today. A quiet few murmurs came from the neighboring table, almost drowned out by Jason preparing his and Salim's rations behind them, something Nick had noticed as well. Eric and Nick shared a quick look, brows pulled together slightly warily.

Jason came back over and handed Salim an aluminum bowl of food and Eric could sense the affection Jason was emitting when he did so. Ever since Eric, Rachel and Nick had reunited with Salim and Jason in the star chamber, he could tell that there was a bond between the two that was growing in strength with every passing hour they spent together.

Eric found himself wondering where that would lead them.

“-dust-monger like a fucking guest of honor-“

Jason put his hands on the table just as Eric registered the words that drifted over from the other table. The Colonel watched Jason's face turn to anger, a subtle and disciplined kind.

“Yeah, we’re not doing this.” Jason said and Eric sensed where this was going.

“Jason-” he whispered sharply, trying not to let the Lieutenant ruffle feathers that could be kept straight, but Jason cut him off.

“Colonel. The combat troops are my command, right? Then please let me do my job.”

Eric nodded slowly, reading in Jason's eyes that he had to do this. Not just because it was his duty to keep the boys in line but also to protect Salim and prevent this stupidity in the future. Once again, Eric was torn between his brain and his heart. He ultimately settled for his gut feeling.

“Very well, Lieutenant.”

He could feel Salim and Nick's eyes on him and Jason and after Jason whispered something in Salim's ear he stood up straight and commanded the Marines to fall in line. Nick hastily jumped off his seat and followed suit.

Eric glanced over at Salim, who was staring at the Colonel with confusion and Eric sensed that he was wondering whether or not he should also follow Jason's order. Eric shook his head, hoping his courtesy would reach Salim, and took a long sip of his coffee, trying not to look too interested in what was about to happen.

Jason started his speech, or discussion as he called it, addressing the elephant in the room. Eric looked over his mug to read the Marine's expressions. Some looked humbled and embarrassed, one of them seemed to not exactly listen to Jason talk and instead stand at attention out of sheer courtesy. Then Eric's amber eyes fell on Nick and he felt sorry for him. Nick stood straight, eyes forward and even though Jason's verbal beat-down wasn't even directed at him, he still took in every single word his best friend spoke, until the name 'Joey' was dropped by Jason and something in Nick's aura changed drastically. His dark eyes turned distant and sorrowful.

Eric had to hold back the urge to comfort Nick.

He could do so later, if needed.

Jason finished off his speech with a threat and a tense silence fell upon the mess tent. Everyone was staring at Jason. And a rush of appreciation and respect overcame Eric as he looked up at Jason with raised eyebrows. He had experienced Lieutenant Jason Kolchek's leadership abilities first hand before as well as the power of his encouraging speeches, yet he was impressed every single time he witnessed one himself. And part of Eric wished he was as good as leading people as Jason was, admitting to himself that he was more of an intellectual person that a commander of people.

“Yessir!” was Palmer's answer and the other newbies soon saluted Jason as well. Kolchek dismissed everyone and sat down next to Eric with a huff.

“Been a while since I got a full-on Lieutenant Kolchek lecture, but that was a pretty damn good one.” Nick whistled and followed suit, sitting back down next to Salim. Jason apologized to him for always getting dragged into the messes his fellow Marines caused and started shaking the French press that he and Salim had brought over, much to Salim's (pretended) dismay.

The two had a short moment of bickering before Salim complimented Jason's leadership skills, which Jason immediately dismissed, probably out of embarrassment, Eric would assume. Still, it was earned and so Eric decided to take Salim's side.

“Just take the compliment, Lieutenant. That's an order.” he said between sips of his coffee, grinning to himself. Jason sighed in defeat.

“Thank you, Salim.”

Said man clinked his cup against Jason's and then turned to Eric, a grateful smile on his lips.

“Thank you, Colonel.” he said and Eric, mouth full of coffee, winked at him. He didn't mean anything by it but friendly playfulness and the chuckle that came out of Salim's throat led Eric to believe that he understood.

Still, Eric could swear that he saw Nick looking at him in the corner of his eyes.

Until Nick scrunched up his nose again when pouring himself a cup of Salim's coffee and taking a sip.

“Is my drink offensive to you?” Salim joked to which Nick retorted, that he couldn't possibly comprehend how anyone could drink coffee black.

The heated bickering that resulted between Nick and Jason over drinks made Eric bite his lower lip in an attempt not to laugh, almost rendered useless when he glanced over at the professor, who also had a hard time trying not to laugh.

The conversation had shifted over to the topic of sweet tea and how Nick found it immensely disgusting. He tried desperately to pull Salim on his side but ultimately failed.

Eric watched the whole situation with a huge grin on his face. Something about watching Nick tease Jason, pull him into an argument like they were kids and laughing about it prevented Eric from looking away. Once again he found himself staring at Nick's freckles. They almost seemed to shine whenever he smiled. Or maybe Eric just had a soft spot for people with freckles and he only now realized it.

Whatever the case might be, he had to admit to himself that Rachel had good taste. Eric could certainly see what Rachel liked about Nick.

“Boys, boys,” Eric interrupted the bickering when Jason kicked Nick under the table, laughing along with them, “We can have a good old tea trying later and put this to rest. For now, I do actually have work you should be doing.”

Professor Khudain excused herself to the sound of Jason and Nick groaning. Eric watched Salim and the professor exchange a few words about Zain and then Nick got up and nodded at him.

“Well, off I go.” he said and left the tent.

Eric watched Nick leave and then turned his attention towards Jason and Salim, noticing right away how Salim hadn't touched his food yet. A hint of worry for the man made it's way through Eric's chest.

“Where are we setting up?” Jason asked, shoving some sausage in his mouth.

Eric explained how there was something set up for them in the work tent so they could look over everything they had on hand and what they would need to properly prepare for the drop. As Jason stood up and told Salim to follow, Eric stopped them.

“Take your food.” he ordered and pushed Salim's tray towards him when he tried to intervene. Right now he didn't care about schedules and protocols. Eric wanted his men to be as healthy as possible.

He sighed in relief when the pair left for the work tent with their trays in their hands, brow slightly pulled together. These two are close, he thought. He noticed how Jason and Salim looked at each other, eyes always full of admiration and Eric started to wonder what kind of relationship the two actually had. Something about them made him remember what it was like when he met Rachel in climbing class and started to fall for her. Perhaps these two were going through something similar?

Eric decided to take his own breakfast with him back to his tent. Whatever Jason and Salim were going through, Eric would make sure to let them know that he wasn't opposed to it. If anything he felt like it was his duty to support them.

Pushing the tent flap to the side he noticed Nick crouching on the ground, bend over his backpack that was lying next to the cot. The Marine looked up with wide eyes but relaxed as soon as he realized it was Eric.

“Jesus, you scared me.” he whispered and pulled on the zipper of his backpack to close it.

“Sorry about that. I didn't know you were in here.” Eric apologized and put down the tray on the desk. He opened the laptop and booted up Caelus, frowning in concentration as he typed some commands into the keyboard. He let the program scan the area again, hoping to get even more useful information about the size of the temple and nest.

“Going on patrol?” he asked, not looking away from the screen.

“Yeah. Gonna check out campsite and be on the lookout for Rachel's helicopter,” Nick answered and grabbed his gun, holding it firmly, “feel free to call for me if you need me for anything, though. Don't wanna get sunburn.”

Eric smiled over his shoulder.

“Will do.”

Nick nodded, mirroring the smile and turned on his heels to leave the tent but stopped midway as his eyes fell upon his pillow. He opened his mouth and closed it again, slowly turning towards Eric with a flustered expression.

"So... about that..." he stuttered and nodded towards the cot. Eric swallowed.

"I mean, It can stay there. If that's fine with you," he muttered, an excited feeling building up in his stomach for some odd reason, "I know Rachel wouldn't mind. And I don't either."

A rosy tint appeared on Nick's cheeks and he nodded shyly, his dark brown eyes showing his gratefulness clear as day. Without saying another word he walked up towards the tent flap, a little spring in his step.

“Tell me though,” Eric started before Nick disappeared into the daylight, trying to lighten up the mood so they didn't part ways in awkwardness, “is it really that disgusting?”

Nick pulled his eyebrows together in confusion for a few seconds, then it dawned on him that Eric was referring to his discussion with Jason about sweet tea. He grinned and shook his head.

“It's the worst.”

With that the Marine walked out of the tent. Eric chuckled to himself and sat down on the uncomfortable chair, focusing on his work but eating a bite or two every now and again.

It was a few hours later, his eyes already going dry from spending so much time staring at the screen, that he heard a helo approach campsite in the far distance.

And a surge of happiness waved through him when a tired but satisfied looking Rachel came walking in and greeted him with a kiss.

[picturethisshow]

#NY #Brooklyn: NEW YEAR NEW LATE NIGHT LIVE ANIMATED COMEDY JOY TO GET US THROUGH!!

THIS SATURDAY 2/1

NEW LATE NIGHT SHOW TIME: 9:45p door / 10p show!

Tickets: $10 pre-sale, $15 day-of, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/picture-this-live-animated-comedy-tickets-1205718379129?aff=erelexpmlt

Comedy by:

Katrina Davis (Time Out's Comedian to Watch)

Jared Goldstein (Comedy Central, CBS)

Molly Ruben-Long (JFL, BBC)

Karolena Theresa (Dazed Magazine)

Gabe Pacheco (Halal Cartels)

Animation by:

THE RETURN OF Rachel Gitlevich (The Animation Guild)

Jason Chatfield (The New Yorker)

Chrissy Fellmeth (Titmouse)

Emily Flake (New York Times)

Nat Badillo

Hosted by:

Samantha Ruddy (Tonight Show)

21+ / Lineup subject to change without notice

Flier Art by Jason Chatfield

[mogai-headcanons]

Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series is an autistic bisexual gendersea watercoric seafaric oceangender autiamigender sansolramare waterbodiment oceanbeing oceanboy trans man with ADHD, dyslexia, and PTSD who uses he/him and sea/seas pronouns, and he's dating Annabeth and in a QPR with Grover!

Annabeth Chase is an autistic bisexual transfeminine autiamigender omenowlic bladecoric owlgender demigirl with ADHD, dyslexia, and PTSD who uses she/her pronouns only, and she's dating Percy!

Grover Underwood is an autistic genderfaun autiamigender unlabeled man with ADHD and PTSD who uses any pronouns, and they're in a QPR with Percy and dating Juniper!

Juniper is an autistic arospec plantgender genderfae genderfleur sereniwillowa girl with anxiety and PTSD who uses she/her, fae/faer, and fleur/fleurs pronouns, and she's dating Grover!

Tyson is an autistic nebularomantic nonbinary man with dyslexia and PTSD who uses he/him and ce/cyr pronouns only!

Nico di Angelo is an autistic gay demisexual autigender deadgender mortugender nonbinary deathian deathbodiment man with ADHD, BPD, and PTSD who uses he/him and is experimenting with death/deaths pronouns, and he's dating Will!

Jason Grace is an autistic bisexual acespec lightninggender stormgender thundergender stormlikic skybodiment man with ADHD and dyslexia who uses he/him and storm/storms pronouns, and he's dating Leo!

Will Solace is an autistic vincian sunbeing doctorbeing trans man with dyslexia, ADHD, and PTSD who uses he/him and sun/suns pronouns, and he's dating Nico!

Piper McLean is an autistic futch protectilovecoric autiamigender defenfemmic knifekypic bladefem lovebodiment trans lesbian with ADHD and PTSD who uses she/her and they/them pronouns, and she's dating Reyna and used to have a crush on Annabeth!

Leo Valdez is an autistic bisexual ragefiric setthefirequoteic firetix ADHDgender genderAAAAAADHD trans man with ADHD who's dating Jason!

Clarisse La Rue is an autistic butch combootic foxgender genderloser lesbian with dyslexia, ADHD, and PTSD who uses any pronouns, and they're dating Silena!

Silena Beauregard is an autistic femme bisexual lovegender loveguardian loponic lovebodiment trans girl with dyslexia who uses she/her and heart/hearts pronouns, and she's dating Clarisse!

Reyna Ramírez-Arellano is an autistic autigender agender shadowbi lesbian with PTSD and dyslexia who uses she/her and they/them pronouns, and she's dating Piper and Thalia!

Thalia Grace is an autistic amatopunk butch nonbinary combootic punksaint stormlikic riougender arospec asexual lesbian dyke with ADHD and dyslexia who uses any pronouns, and she's dating Reyna!

Hazel Levesque is an autistic bisexual mortidecoric witchgender hekseric goldgender pyritecrysic nonbinary trans girl who uses she/her and ve/ver pronouns, and ve's dating Frank!

Frank Zhang is an autistic bisexual faunagender genderfluid transfeminine archerygender warnelistic person who uses she/her and they/them pronouns, and she's dating Hazel!

Rachel Elizabeth Dare is an autistic transneutral blacklightaesic paintial paintsplattered oraclexic prophetfreak dykeiphet aroace lesbian with ADHD, psychosis, and synesthesia who uses it/its, they/them, she/her, paint/paints, and oracle/oracles pronouns, and it has a crush on Annabeth and is dating Reyna!

dni link

[phantom-z0ne]

"He could feel their grip on him slipping, the suction too strong. If they held on any longer they would also be sucked in, they were dangerously close to the edge of the black hole. He wouldn't let that happen to them, even if it was the last thing he would do. They were precious to him, he couldn't let them get hurt too. Tim threw off their hold on him, their distraught faces the last thing he saw before he was fully submerged, everything going black." Or, Mutant!Tim accidently takes over Comics!Tim's body, gets in a fight with assassins, and gets to blow things up, as a treat.

Step 1: Arrive

Having Jean Grey of all people in his head was rare for Tim, especially when it was for an emergency. She favored talking face to face, or at least through a telephone. Only when something went wrong was when she discarded those methods, communicating instead with her abilities. He wasn't usually the first person called in, that was reserved for the X-Men.

This time though, Jean needed his help with a mutant that just manifested his mental ability. Unfortunately, he couldn't control it in time and trapped himself in his mind. She couldn’t ask the Professor due to him still recovering from the Apocalypse situation and there weren't any other mutants with the abilities she was looking for available to ask. That left him, a mutant with a powerful mental ability. Psychokinesis, to be exact.

He could feel the multitude of emotions wash over him as he neared the mansion. Distress sticking out sharply among the sea of positive emotions. He usually had to suppress his ability due to how overwhelming it could be in an area with a large amount of people. Unfortunately, he would have to do his work in the mansion, with almost a hundred students around. He pursed his lips, he hoped he could help the mutant without the other student’s emotions or thoughts getting in the way. He would rather they do this in a remote area, but Jean had said they couldn't risk moving the mutant.

Tim hopped off his bike after parking it in the garage, getting curious looks from some students and greetings from others—which he returned, he hadn't seen some of them in months—as he walked down the halls of the mansion. He let the muted distress guide him to where the mutant was. Jean’s ability brush against him in greeting and gratefulness, welcoming the warmth it gave him. Her power was distinctive, as scorching as the sun to her enemies and a pleasant hearth to her allies. 

He entered the room the mutant in need of help was housed in, Jean positioned next to the mutant with her eyes closed in focus, hands on his temple. Her mind, however, was split between trying to unearth the mutant from his own mind and explaining the situation to him.

The mutant, Elijah Nguyen, had recently manifested his ability. It was thought that he developed minor esper abilities, but he started to display signs of other abilities, such as teleportation and minor telekinesis. Jean theorized he was in this state because of his new mental ability, the ability to walk through minds much like he and Jean could do. Unfortunately, because of his lack of training, Elijah trapped himself in his own mind. 

Tim sat on the opposite side of Elijah’s body and grabbed his hand, vaguely aware of the Professor wheeling into the room as he sunk into Elijah’s mind. He filtered through all the thoughts and emotions flowing around him, around the mansion, he needed to focus only on Elijah. Locking on his target, Tim breathed deeply and entered Elijah’s mind, sinking past many layers to finally enter Elijah’s mindscape.

Every mind was different, there were no two same minds. Perhaps similar, but never the same.  Elijah’s mind was bright, yet shadowed at the same time. It reminded him of the galaxy; splotches of black and purple colored the edges of the mind as nonsensical clouds formations floated about, glowing stars sprinkled throughout. Planets of many sizes and shapes drifted in the background, made of many different hues and shades, thin beams of light cutting through the image. If he could describe this scene to anyone, ethereal would be the first word off his tongue. 

Tim followed the residue of Jean’s power, appearing as a wispy red trail. He found her near the core of Elijah’s mind, in front of a massive swirling nebula. She was in the middle of trying to breach the nebula and pull Elijah out without hurting him, sending him a strained smile once she noticed him. Tim could sense Elijah trapped in that nebula, the distress and fear clearer here than anywhere else. Unluckily for them, it was hard to create an opening, the nebula quickly layering over any small gap Jean made.

He aided Jean in chipping away the defenses of the nebula, making sure to be careful not to hurt Elijah, pieces of the nebula floating away as they continued their assault on the barrier. They exchanged small comments as they chipped pieces of the nebula away, asking the other to aim at a certain area or expressing their concern about Elijah’s wellbeing. After this was all done and over with, they would have to help build back his mental defenses.

After some time, the nebula looked to be in rough shape, small openings showed slivers of Elijah’s body. Tim reached for him before pausing, something wasn't quite right. He looked at Jean, wondering if she noticed the same thing he did. She nodded, reading him quite easily through their intertwined minds, and looked at the nebula warily.

Suddenly, the nebula darkened and condensed, a gaping black hole taking its place. Any opens that could be seen were now closed, Tim could feel the layers of matter that made up the black hole thickening. It was extremely dense and expanding at an alarming rate, aiming straight for Jean. 

Tim felt rather than heard Jean’s startled shout as he shoved her out of the trajectory of the black hole; he knew that if that black hole touched either of them, there would be serious consequences. They should have been more prepared, he thought, a bit upset at himself. He knew this wouldn’t be an easy job, but he underestimated Elijah’s power, or perhaps overestimated his own. Of all the minds he's been through, very few have been able to use their powers while in their own mind. He didn't know why he expected this to be the same.

The black hole expanded faster than he could move out of the way, his lower body being sucked into it. He tried to stamp down his panic, distantly hearing Jean call his name. Panicking wouldn’t do him any good, but he couldn't help it. He could feel parts of his lower body being transported elsewhere, knowing his lower body was elsewhere yet still being able to feel them was extremely jarring. Was he being teleported while in another’s mind? What would happen to his physical body?!

No, this was more than just teleportation! He’s been teleported by many different mutants over the past couple years and they didn't feel anything like this. ‘It hurts!’

Instinctively, he latched onto Jean and the Professor's minds in order to not be swept away, his pain and fear pouring into them. He could feel the Professor's surprise at suddenly linking minds with him before it hardened into alarm. Jean was the same, scared and worried yet determined, just as she always was. She grabbed his arms and tugged on them, trying to dislodge him while avoiding also getting sucked into the black hole.

The Professor created a thin barrier to try and contain the rest of the black hole, the most he could do while weakened, as he and Jean got closer, keeping their grip on him as firm as they could. He had sunk around an inch or two by that point, the black hole up to his abdomen now.

He could feel their grip on him slipping, the suction too strong. If they held on any longer they would also be sucked in, they were dangerously close to the edge of the black hole. He wouldn't let that happen to them, even if it was the last thing he would do. They were precious to him, he couldn't let them get hurt too. Tim threw off their hold on him, sending them a brave face that doubled as an apology. He hastily ejected their minds out of his, instead spinning a barrier around them. Their distraught faces the last thing he saw before he was fully submerged, everything going black.

Tim groaned, his head was pounding. He could hear an odd buzzing in the distance, faint mumbling fading in and out of his hearing range. His mouth was dry, a few smacks of his lips didn't help his tongue stop feeling like sandpaper. Where was he?

The last thing he remembered was being fully swallowed up by the black hole… He actually didn't expect to make it out in one piece, not to mention in his body. It seemed his body came along despite his mind being transported to who knows where.

A harsh kick to his side snapped him out of his daze. He had been laying on the floor, chaos surrounding him. A group of people in obnoxious green suits decorated with question marks crowded around him, various weapons in their hands and ready to strike. One of them asked, “Did we get ‘im?”

Across what he assumed was a warehouse, a man—the ringleader most likely, he was also dressed in the strange green outfit, but it was much higher quality compared to the others—stood on a platform and boasted about his superior mind to a person dressed in head to toe in black. He couldn't afford to be distracted in an unfamiliar setting, he needed to deal with the immediate threats.

Leaping up from his sprawl, Tim aimed for the goon closest to him, kicking him in the privates and kneeing him in the face when he leaned forward in pain. He went down, hard. The others rushed forward after that, clearly aiming to knock him out again. 

What they wanted with him, he had no idea. He couldn't remember messing with any group dressed in green. Unless he counted the Tankers, but they mostly wore jerseys and hoodies, not low quality suits riddled with question marks. Not to mention, he dealt with the Tankers last year. They wouldn't wait such a long time to suddenly attack him, that just wasn't their M.O.

Tim was glad that he had practice with dealing with group attacks, what with him sticking his nose into gang affairs, otherwise he would have struggled to fight this group off. When he tried to get into their heads to knock them out, however, was when he had trouble. A pounding migraine stopped him from actively using his ability on the group, blood begin to drip from his nose before one of the goons landed a lucky hit while he was distracted. 

No using his powers on others anytime soon, then. It hadn't gotten this bad even when he overused his abilities before. An unwanted side effect of the sudden transportation.

Sloppily knocking out the last goon, he tucked himself into a discreet area of the warehouse and wiped his bloody nose, finally taking the time to go over his situation. He woke up in an unfamiliar suit after he was taken to an unknown location, is currently unable to use his ability on others without pain, and most likely took over someone’s body. 

This body was different from his own body, the most obvious difference being muscles much more toned than his. If he could tell the body’s age from just its build, then he would guess it was in its early to mid-twenties. Whoever’s body this was, they clearly worked out regularly. Tim’s body couldn't really compete, smaller and leaner than the body he was currently in. It wasn't much of a surprise considering his recent break from crime fighting. That would definitely slim down the amount of muscle mass one had. 

Tim guessed he was either shoved into someone else’s body or lost time after dealing with Elijah. While he couldn’t rule out amnesia, he doubted that explained his predicament. He sighed, already sick of the situation he was in. 

The small break gave Tim time to look over what he was wearing. The armored suit was predominately black, streaks of yellow traced his under arms. A large gray utility belt wrapped around his waist, going through them revealed a miscellaneous assortment of items and weapons. One condensed bo staff piqued his interest, he could use it if the situation went south. The black, wing shaped cape draped over his body, letting him blend smoothly into the shadows. Twisting the cape around revealed its yellow interior. Odd to have that when the suit was designed for stealth. A black domino mask being the only thing covering his face, and his identity, when he checked his reflection on the stained metal sheet laying beside him. 

The person whose body he was inhabiting was obviously a vigilante—he had ruled out the amnesia theory quickly, this body didn't have the scars or beauty marks in places his body did when he peeked under the gloves. If the suit and weapons weren't enough to convince him, then the situation he was in did. Tim wouldn't really consider himself a vigilante anymore, just someone that happened to uncover crimes in the past, but it was a bit ironic that he was thrown into the body of one. He did surround himself with vigilantes.

Unfortunately, his options on what to do were limited, he couldn't verify whose body this was without actively using his ability or unmasking himself in an area filled with enemies. Neither option was very appealing. For now, he would attempt to act like the person whose body this belonged to while he looked for ways to get back into his own body. The pain only flared up when he tried to use it against other people, not himself. It's possible that extending his power outwards instead of inwards could have been the problem. 

He tested this, trying to contain his power within this body, moving his arm experimentally with his ability. A success, but a minimal amount of pain still remained when he used his ability. It seemed the more he tried to use his ability outside of his body, the more it would hurt. This meant Tim could check on the original inhabitant of this body, if they were still in the body. For now, he simply shored up his mental barriers, letting his ability recede behind their walls.

He peeked at the scene from behind a large wooden crate, the man in the black armored suit was finishing his battle with the man in the green bowling hat, handcuffing the ringleader’s hands behind his back. A burst of static emerged from the comm in his ear—which was surprisingly sleek compared to the ones he had used—when the man raised a hand to the side of his cowl. A voice spoke, “Black Bird, come in.”

Black Bird? That was the body’s code name? Seriously? He couldn't really complain, though, his previous code name was Cardinal. Tim answered, “Here.”

The deep voice of the vigilante—if fighting criminals in a dimly lit warehouse didn't scream vigilante, then he didn't know what did. He doubted he was the only partner of the black clad vigilante, there could be another person, or even multiple, on this line—simply stated, “Report.”

He took a deep breath before he started, hoping to sound like the original, “The goons are disposed of.” Tim paused briefly, licking his lower lip before continuing, “I was hit in the head. Most likely suffering from a concussion.” Hopefully that would cover the difference in behavior for some time, he didn't plan to stick around for long.

It wasn't just an excuse, he would need to treat it soon. It was likely what inhibited him from purposefully using his ability outside his body. Head wounds tended to do that. Though, Tim could still passively feel the presence and emotions of everyone in the warehouse, whether they were conscious or not. It was his base ability, just as it were Jean’s. It's what they initially bonded over when they first met.

There was a brief pause before the voice uttered, “Meet me at the Batmobile.” The line clicked off immediately after. 

Batmobile? What— you know what? He won't even think about it. He needs a place to stay and heal from his concussion, then figure out what to do next. He also needed to figure out where the original owner of the body went. 

They could have swapped bodies for all he knew. Or, the original could have been shoved out of the body, which would be…unfortunate. Hopefully, that wasn't the case. If they did, Tim would have to track him down and manually swap their minds into the correct bodies. That was only if this body’s owner stayed where he could find him.

Tim crawled out of his hiding spot and followed the man after he slipped out of sight, his surprisingly immense presence leading him to a sleek black car. 

The man in black waited until Tim climbed into the car before turning it on, smoothly rolling onto the empty road. There was only a small barrier between them, the small gadgets laid atop it sliding into the backseat as the car sped up. He knew he should be more careful about being taken to a secondary location by a stranger, but this man was his only lead on whose body he was inhabiting. If it really came down to it, he would subdue him with his ability, whether or not it would hurt. 

Tim ran his fingers absentmindedly over the dashboard of the car, feeling for any thin seams he couldn’t see. Mccoy would salivate after this car, its engine alone was amazingly quiet and he barely felt the turns. The inside was even better, there were many buttons, some unlabeled, and screens that moved at the touch of a finger! The radio was tuned to the police scanner, reports rolling in about break ins and missing persons. It was a technological wonder, he admired. 

Tim focused his attention on the windows, watching the scenery pass by. Instead of being displaced in space, he wondered if he was also displaced in time. Some of the buildings he passed had thin screens covering them, even the gloomy clouds displayed colorful moving advertisements. He had never seen such a thing before, he wondered if it was even 1983 anymore. Would he be able to meet a future version of himself if he searched?

Static crackled in his comm before a smooth voice said, “B, I'm finished on my end. How's Baby Bird? You said he had a concussion?”

B responded, “Good job, Nightwing. We’re heading to the cave now.” Tim mouthed baby bird silently. At least he had something to call this man, but it would be a bit hard finding out what it stood for unless Nightwing let the man's full code name slip. B could be short for anything. He’ll have to be careful if he wants to pose as Black Bird, he can't just assume it's only B and Nightwing that will be at this ‘cave’. If there's three of them, then there's a higher possibility of more vigilantes.

“Tt. He can't even handle some of Riddler’s lackeys? As expected of Drake.” A high-pitched voice huffed. Riddler? The guy in a bowling hat with a question mark, the ringleader? No wonder there were such garish question marks on his goons with such a ridiculous name. He wondered if being tacky was a requirement to be a villain. Some of the villains in his time obviously never heard of fashion, picking the most clashing colors to place on their outfits and the outlandish of names. It seemed like it was the same here.

“No real names on the field, Robin.” A mechanical voice said, gently scolding Robin. Robin scoffed but stayed silent. 

He supposes that the ‘Drake’ that Robin spoke of was this body’s last name. Oddly enough, it was the same as his own. The same last name and a similar build… Could he be in an alternate Tim Drake’s body? It’s a possibility, but he needed to find out more before he could confidently state it as true. He’ll keep it at the back of his mind, the concussion was making it hard to think. If he was in his original body, he would have already shaken it off, he thought sullenly.

“Thanks Hood, we’ll be at the cave soon, B.” Nightwing chirped, addressing B in the second half. The line stayed open after B grunted his assent, the sounds of the city and the vigilante’s chatter being able to be heard. Occasionally, sounds of a scuffle were heard but it didn't last very long. 

He was right in that there were more vigilantes, Robin and Hood being two that were referenced during conversations over the line most often. He was a bit concerned about Robin though, he sounded… young, younger than Tim was when he first started out in the field.

B drove the car into a remote, out of the way path. They passed a wall of ivy that opened up to a large, illuminated cave littered with a surprising amount of knick-knacks. In the less illuminated areas, he could see the flutter of dark wings here and there. A life-sized dinosaur figure stuck out against its dark surroundings further in the cave, a large card near it, before flitting out of sight. 

The whole cave was a technological marvel, he had never seen such devices in his world, and he was known for being the heroes' —well, technically they were vigilantes. The government really has it out for mutants at the moment—technical support. Well, him and Mccoy. Everything was just so advanced compared to his time. Tim thought he saw a deluxe coffee machine, but he couldn't be sure from this far. He would love for a cup of coffee now.

The car stopped abruptly, jarring Tim out of his observations. His fingers were given a small shock when he grabbed onto the hood of the car for support as he exited alongside B. Huh. They should do some work on the car if it's electrocuting people. 

B grabbed his shoulders with a quiet “Let's go”, steering him to the medical area of the cave, a thin, crisply dressed elderly man already waiting there, giving him an unimpressed look. 

“This is the third time this month, Master Timothy.” The elderly man gestured to the medical bed, obviously intending to check over his concussion. Tim complied silently, wanting to see how this goes. He had no idea what this Tim Drake's—it was just a theory at the moment, gathered from clues he was handed by the other vigilantes, but it seems the most plausible. He would be able to confirm it if he could find a place to use his ability and delve into this body's mind—relationship with this man was, though it was obvious he cared about Tim. The muted worry radiating from the elderly man nearly floored him.

The elderly man raised an eyebrow at Tim as he waved a flashlight over Tim’s eyes, “No excuse this time?”

Tim just gave him a thin smile, not sure what to say to sound like this Tim Drake. He had to be careful, mimicking someone's behaviorism was hard when you had no idea how they acted. For all he knew, this Tim’s—he would have to call him Drake, it was getting a bit confusing at this point—personality was the complete opposite of his. 

It wasn't an answer and the elderly man knew it. When he finished checking up on Tim, he watched Tim pop pain medicine in his mouth and maneuvered him to the locker room, telling him to freshen up since he “smelled like the backside of a stable”. Tim didn't know if his advanced healing would transfer to this body, but he rather hoped so. He didn't realize how useful it was until he didn't have it.

A warning of no patrol for the next two days was thrown over the elderly man’s shoulder as he walked away. Tim kept a close eye on the man, watching him exit into an elevator at the other side of the cave before turning back to the showers. That was one way to exit the cave. He would be naive to think that was the only way out. If it were him, he would strategically place multiple exits and entrances around his base.

Tim stripped out of the suit and stepped into the shower. A steady stream of hot water beat harshly on his body, the heat relaxed his muscles and giving him a moment to think on what to do next. First things first, he needed an isolated area and rest. It was hard being in a possible hostile area and trying to not arouse suspicion. Even more so when there would be at least three more trained vigilantes arriving soon. He didn't doubt that they would catch onto him quickly. He was surprised he even made it this far without anyone noticing the difference in behavior.

After he rested, he could search for something that would connect to the internet or give him any information on this world. A library would do if he couldn't find that, but that would mean venturing out of the cave without anyone noticing. It shouldn't be too hard, though, he could be stealthy when he needed to. 

Tim stepped out of the showers and grabbed the clothes that were set out for him. It surprised him a little, he hadn't realized he was so out of it that he didn't sense anyone nearby. The elderly man was most likely the one who set it out. What a sneaky old man. It was easy to deduce that he was a servant, one highly trusted for him to know of Drake's vigilante identity, and presumably the rest of the vigilantes. 

When he reached the mirror, however, he paused. Sitting there in the mirror was a duplicate of his face. He knew from the monitors and the other devices he passed that this place was at least twenty to thirty years into the future, and yet Drake looked not even five years older than him. He tugged on his shorter hair, lips thinning. This added on to his theory that this wasn't the future in the first place but an alternate world. One where Drake was born decades after he had been, and led a completely different life than him. He needs to know what this world is like, ASAP.

He slipped into the simple knitted sweater and flowy black pants set out for him and swiftly set for the elevator exit. He heard the steady rumble of an engine as the doors were closing. It's a good thing he hadn’t dawdled for too long, he didn't want to interact with the other vigilantes when he still didn't know much about how Drake acted. Nor when his main defense was all but useless.

The ride up was quick and he was deposited in an empty office in no time. It was nothing special, but clearly well-used. Small trinkets laid atop the wooden table and awards lined the shelves. Quietly walking down the halls, Tim realized that this wasn't a random building that was renovated to host vigilantes in its basement, this was a home. 

Hand drawn illustrations lined the walls and little scribbles littered the doorways. In some rooms, portraits of a smiling family were hung and little baubles placed around haphazardly. A well-loved wood carving sat on an old fireplace in one of the many rooms he passed. This was a home, and to many if the pictures could be trusted. 

He saw his face in many of the images, showing his growth from a lanky preteen to a slim but healthy young adult. Turning one of the images around, he read the neat handwriting, Damian’s 11th birthday party. Another person, based on the difference in handwriting, wrote Can’t wait for next year’s!! with a smiley face scribbled next to it. His eyes lingered on one of the faces, a sense of familiarity filling him.

Entering one of the halls, he eyed the decorative door plates adorning the doors. Walking closer, he realized each door was assigned to the people from the images. Of the six doors, he found ‘Timothy Drake-Wayne’ between the rooms of ‘Cassandra Wayne’ and ‘Duke Thomas’. He traced the small purple star decorating the letter ‘T’ with his finger. Wayne, huh?

He closed the door behind him and locked it, scanning the room. Tim was slightly surprised at how similar it looked to his old room in the mansion. A couple of skateboards hung from a rack and posters lined his walls. A small bookshelf was embedded into the wall, he couldn't recognize some of the book titles. At the left of the room, a door stood slightly ajar, connecting to a small bathroom. Next to that, a small fridge was shoved into the corner of the room. A corkboard bursting with images of a city’s nightlife was mounted next to the single bed. On the bed was a thin rectangular device. Opening it up, it blinked to life, showing a login page. 

A computer? This thin? He hadn't expected to see something like this in a long while. It was a bit exciting, actually. He loved the challenge that new technology presented, cracking this computer would be a nice exercise. But first, he needed to know about Drake’s condition. 

Tim settled cross-legged on the bed, taking a deep breath before delving into his mind, guiding his ability inward. He landed in a familiar scene, standing in an icy tundra, colorful green and blue aurora borealis danced in the icy blue sky. There was snow as far as the eye could see, white flecked mountains rising in the distance, chunks of snow decorating the barren landscape. As nice as it was to return to his own mind, he wouldn't find what he was looking for here. He needed to go deeper. 

Tim ventured further, deeper into this body’s mind. The scene around him warping, lights and images flashing by, passing through the layers of Drake's mind before everything turned pitch black. Distantly, he could hear words he felt he could just make out, but he knew he never would. It was always like this, seeing things you felt you could remember if you had some more time and hearing what you would never understand.

Tim had only been here a handful of times, the Professor warning him not to linger too long, else he’ll become trapped. The unconscious mind was always dangerous for an esper, though Tim trusted in his strength. Looking for Drake’s core wouldn't be easy, but it wasn’t impossible either. 

Tim sent out waves of his ability, searching for the densest portion of Drake’s mind. That's usually where he found people when he was perusing their minds. He felt it when a small tendril bumped into what he was looking for. Tim followed the tendril, relieved that Drake wasn't pushed out when Tim had entered his body. He was led to a small red orb, small enough to cup into his hands. Retracting the rest of his tendrils, he lightly brushed over the red orb with his finger. 

He was always hesitant to do this part, the orb was a very personal part of Drake, meant for nobody's eyes besides who it belonged to. But he needed to see how Drake was affected by this ordeal. It was dangerous for Drake to be housing such a powerful mind like his, especially since he had the constitution of a baseline human. Even for mutants, it was dangerous, but even more so for Drake. If Tim hadn’t unconsciously suppressed his power the moment he woke up in his body, his powers would have steadily melted Drake’s brain. Tim has seen other espers do as such when they controlled others bodies and he didn't want to do such a thing to Drake. It would be a horrible experience for both of them.

Tim pushed his power into the top layer of the orb, cautious not to go in too deep. Even if he just skimmed the top layer, it was an invasion of Drake’s privacy. He received feedback quickly, the red orb swirling sluggish, flashes of Drake's thoughts and feelings flowing into him.

It seemed that Drake’s mind had immediately gone into shock the moment Tim was shoved into his body and shut down to preserve itself. From what he was getting, Drake wouldn’t remain in this state for long, the orb was already more active than it should have been in this situation. He predicts Drake will wake up in around a day, two at the latest.

Reassured that Drake would be fine, Tim ascended to his own mind, taking the time to relax, if only for a little while. He had quite the day, after all, he deserved a little break. 

He only noticed it minutes later, a shimmering green thread that blended in with the lights in the sky. Tim knew his mind in and out, and that hadn't been there before today. He guarded his mind furiously and would never let anyone but a select few in. He stood up and reached for it, pausing right before he touched it. 

What if this was a trap from another mutant, meant to poison his mind? He ruled that out immediately. The only mutants that he's been around recently that would be able to do this were Jean and the Professor, and he didn’t believe they would ever try to hurt him. 

He had examined his mind only three days before and everything was normal. The only reason this thread could be here was… the dimension travel. This could be a connection to his original body! Tim plucked the string excitedly, only to be violently thrown back to the physical realm. Tim felt lightheaded as he stumbled over to the bathroom and puked his guts out. 

He gently laid his head on the bowl of the toilet, trying to catch his breath, the cold tile letting him organize his thoughts. He was being too emotional when he decided on touching the connection. He should have taken the time to think about it, then test it. It wasn't only Tim being hurt, Drake was also in the line of fire. He sighed, he was lucky he suppressed his ability in the nick of time or Drake could have gotten hurt, or worse.

Once he was sure he wouldn't expel his stomach contents again, Tim stood up shakily and flushed the toilet, heading back to the bedroom. Grabbing a bottle of water from the mini-fridge, he flopped onto the bed, taking a moment to recover. That was a close call, the civilian lifestyle had really softened him. He would have known better before he took a break from being a vigilante.

A knock sounded at the door, “You okay in there, chum?” A deep voice spoke, muffled from behind the thick wood. He must have been pretty out of it if he couldn't sense B’s presence, it was quite distinctive.

“I'm fine, B. Trying to research here.” Tim pitched his voice, whining pitifully. He didn't have the energy to deal with any of the vigilantes.

A small laugh seeped through the door, "I'll leave you at it then. Make sure to sleep today, okay?" Tim heard the faint footsteps recede. He let out a breath. He really wasn't in a state to interact with the others.

After a couple of minutes, Tim sat up, taking a quick sip of his water and grabbing the thin computer. He had a computer to crack and a world to investigate.

Tim subtly observed the family while he idly fiddled with his laptop, sitting across the living room from them. They were spread out around the room, Damian curled up on a couch scribbling away on his sketchbook as Richard—he went by Dick, strangely enough—chatted away next to him. Bruce sat in an armchair parallel to them, seemingly engrossed in a book, though Tim could tell he was paying attention to his children. Jason was on the other armchair, near the loveseat Tim settled himself on, also sporting a book in his hands. Duke sat beside him, entertaining himself with a handheld telephone.

Tim relocated himself to the parlor when he realized the family of vigilantes were in here, debating whether or not to entrust the vigilantes with his situation. On one hand, they deserved to know this was happening to Drake, he was their family member. On the other, he didn't truly know them and their capabilities, they could harm him. Even though the nap he took earlier helped, he still wasn’t at full power, not that he could use his full power without hurting Drake. His powers were a layer of protection for him. If they figured out a power dampener could affect him, then that protection would be stripped away.

It had become increasingly obvious that the longer he had surfed the web last night that his theory was right, this wasn’t his world. This world housed aliens. Aliens! One had even written a book about his late home planet. Not to mention the gods and goddesses or the existence of magic. This world also had a lot more villains than his, and natural disasters. The list of natural disasters caused because of villains were off the chart. It seemed that the only thing between this world and its demise were the heroes. It was absolutely ridiculous, Tim sighed. 

Not even the date was the same. The day before, in his world, it was mid-April 1983. Here, it was August 2023! He was slingshotted forward in space and time. It was no wonder the technology was so advanced, he really was in the future.

He had searched the vigilantes up last night, they were pretty famous, especially Bruce Wayne. He was affiliated with a worldwide team, the Justice League as his alter ego Batman. One of the leading members, actually. They were composed of nearly a hundred heroes spread across the globe, dealing with apocalyptic disasters at least three times each year. Tim was almost jealous of all the heroes in this world before he remembered the world ending disasters they had to deal with. His world only had the X-Men, some individual vigilantes scattered around, and the Brotherhood, which he doesn't think really counts. It technically was a terrorist group, even if they had good intentions for mutants.

While the other vigilantes were not as famous, they were still pretty well respected. Dick was one of the youngest heroes that debuted, appearing nearly 18 years ago under the title Robin. There were rumored to be three Robins after Dick graduated to Nightwing. Tim had heard the most recent Robin over the comms last night and was sitting across the room from him, also known as Damian Wayne from what he connected from the photos lying around the mansion and the few images of Robin online. His stature, skin color, and hairstyle were very obvious indicators that he was Robin if you knew what you were looking for. He was a small thing, not old enough to engage in vigilantism, in Tim’s opinion. Why the rest of the family let him out was a mystery to Tim.

From what he could find online and encrypted on certain files from the computers in the cave, Drake was the third Robin after the second died. The second Robin being a notorious crime lord, the Red Hood. There was probably history between the vigilantes and the second Robin, Jason Todd, for him to turn into a crime lord after being a vigilante previously. Though it seemed that they had gotten past their differences for him to be allowed on the comms, he was bantering and joking around with the rest. Tim did wonder how he came back from death, though. 

Many of the other heroes had the same problem of being unable to stay in their graves. Even the civilians couldn't stay dead, mass resurrections bringing many back to life. With magic being common enough in this world, Tim supposed it wasn't too hard to bring people back from the afterlife. Although, Jason’s could have been faked. 

Jason had died not too long after Batman made a stable connection with the Justice League. With Batman's paranoid nature, Tim doubted he would bring magic users into Jason’s death. He would more likely keep it to himself and not concern the Justice League with his personal business.

He found the two women in the images scattered around the mansion to be Cassandra Cain-Wayne and Stephanie Brown, Black Bat and Spoiler respectively, though they both tend to switch to Batgirl at times. They weren’t on patrol yesterday, or if they were, he didn't hear them. Tim was interested in Cassandra, wondering why she seemed so familiar before remembering she was a student that regularly dwelled in the mansion. If he remembered correctly, she was taken back to the mansion by Xavier himself a couple years ago. 

At some point, Bruce adopted or fostered almost all the vigilantes in Gotham. The four Robins, excluding Damian since he was directly related to Bruce, plus Black Bat were adopted. Signal, or Duke Thomas, became a ward of Bruce after his parents were deemed unfit to raise him. Only Stephanie Brown and Barbara Gordon, the first Batgirl, weren’t adopted or fostered, remaining family friends to the Wayne's.

It was funny, the little boy he met not too long ago being one of the top heroes, surrounded others just like him. It shouldn't have been that shocking, especially with how enamored little Bruce was with the fact Tim was a detective. He amassed quite a large family, but it was at the price of his parent’s lives. He bit his lip, when he returned he would make sure such a thing wouldnt happen. 

Tim settled into another position, making himself slightly more comfortable, and turned his attention back to the laptop, absentmindedly tracking their emotions. While he could have lifted most of the information he found from Drake’s mind and made it easier for himself, he didn't want to mess with Drake’s psyche any further. The situation they were in was unheard of and he wouldn't know how additional meddling would affect Drake. 

A new presence lurked closer to the room, Tim doubted anyone else noticed when she entered, she was very light on her feet. She sat herself down next to him, her curiosity drifted over to him. He nodded at her in greeting when he caught her eye and turned his attention back to Drake’s laptop, hoping she wouldn't start a conversation just yet. There was still a lot he hadn't uncovered about Drake and his family. Drake had masterfully set protections to his laptop, cracking them was an interesting experience for Tim.

He felt a poke against his sternum, a question following, “Who are you?” 

Tim blinked, turning to Cassandra. He blinked, how had she figured him out already? This was their first meeting. Distantly, he could sense a myriad of confusion saturating the room. The sound of a pencil scratching and pages being flipped stopped. 

Cassandra stared at him, face serious. Tim tentatively brushed his ability against her, ignoring the pain, feeling her confidence that he wasn’t Drake. While he expected to be outed—he didn't think he could really act as Drake without being caught—he didn't think it would be so soon. He thought he would have more time and be the one telling them that he wasn't Drake.

“How do you know I'm not him?” Tim asked curiously, tilting his head. So far, he hasn't really been around the others, this being his first time. The only exception being Bruce, but even that wasn’t more than 10 minutes. The others in the room tensed.

“You act differently. Walking and talking unlike Tim.” She parsed out. Tim licked his lips. He hadn't considered his gait to expose him. Then again, there really was nothing he could have done to match how Drake walked. He wondered if this Cassandra was also an empath.

“This is our first time meeting, when did you see me walking?” He closed the laptop, ignoring the alarm radiating from the others.

“The suit records.” She answered, more than a little amused, but that didn't overshadow her unease. She didn't like that a stranger was posing as her brother, he concluded.

“Oh.” He should have known that the suits had cameras. Had it been him, he also would have added any recording equipment he could for evidence. Tim didn't doubt that she also pulled a recording from the cave. If it didn't have cameras every couple of feet, he would eat his boots, the extraordinary bedazzled ones he was jokingly gifted in fact.

“Who are you?” A deep voice asked. Bruce stood tense a few steps away from him, his eyes flitting once to Cassandra and back to him. The man could be stealthy when he wanted, Tim hadn't even heard him move, a stark contrast to his child self. Behind him, Dick and Damian also stood. Jason’s hand was placed in his back pocket, obviously wielding a weapon, observing him with narrowed eyes.

Tim smiled blandly, simply saying, “Timothy Drake. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Cut the bullshit! Who are you really?” Jason spat, a gun in hand. Bruce looked displeased at the weapon but said nothing, his eyes not leaving Tim. 

“Not lying.” Cassandra said quietly. Many looks of surprise were leveled at him and Cassandra. 

“I am Timothy Drake, just not one you've met before. I suspect dimension travel.” Tim explained. A flurry of words and numbers were spat from Bruce’s mouth, none making sense to Tim. It was probably a code, one that a Tim Drake from another world would presumably know. They were expectant despite their stoic faces. Unfortunately for them, they wouldn't get the answer they wanted.

“Sorry, no idea what that code is supposed to mean.” He shrugged. There was a bit of disappointment before it swiftly turned into suspicion.

“What did you do to Drake? Where is he?” Damian asked, a furrow in his brow, clenching a small dagger he pulled from somewhere. He was obviously worried about Drake, he would be concerned too if a stranger took over his sibling’s body.

“He’s up here, no need to worry.” Tim tapped his temple, softening his words for the young boy.

“He’s still in there? Can he hear us? ” Jason questioned, palming his gun. 

“I didn't throw him out of this body, if that's what you're asking.” Tim answered. “And he’s just asleep for now. He should wake up soon.”

“How soon?” Cassandra peered closer, staring at his eyes as if she would see Drake through them. 

“Give him a day or so. Maybe two.” Tim estimated, leaning back. Cassandra was getting far too close for comfort.

“How did you get here? Why did you take over Tim’s body?” Bruce spoke again in a demanding tone.

“You're saying that as if I wanted to be here, surrounded by strangers.” Tim deadpanned, focussing on Bruce’s second question. He knows that Bruce is just protective over Drake, but he couldn't stand being talked at like that. A soft caress against his arm made him pause, Cassandra looking at him urgingly, her desire for a peaceful encounter and the love she felt for her family filling the space.

He pursed his lips, taking a breath to calm down. This interrogation would get worse if he was agitated. He knew how annoying he could get when he was spiteful.

“Strangers?” Dick asked, surprised. In fact, the others all emitted surprise even if it didn't show on their faces. He knew that they encountered versions of themselves from other dimensions, the evidence being the code, but was it so surprising that he had never met versions of them before? 

“I've never met any of you before, well, except for Bruce. Why’s that so surprising?” Tim crossed his arms, leaning slightly harder on the cushion behind him. 

“The other Drakes that came here before you all knew of us.” Damian responded with a huff. Jason and Dick hummed in agreement. Duke finally spoke, asking, “Wait, you only met Bruce? No one else?” Why were they so hung on that?

“Bruce is the only one I've met face to face, but the one I met is very different to him.” Tim jutted his chin towards Bruce. “There is a Cassandra in my world, but I only know of her. I never encountered her personally.”

“How different can he be, it's Bruce.” Jason drawled, a sour, bitter feeling wafted from him with surprising strength. Seems like there was still some discontent within their relationship.

“In my world, hes a child and nothing like this.” Tim gestured towards Bruce, trying to fully encompass his dour disposition without words. A brief, stunned silence filled the room. Damian steered the conversation back, questioning him with a deep frown, “How long have you been in Drake’s body?” 

“It's only been a day. I woke up in the middle of the fight with the Riddler.” He replied, drumming his fingers on his thighs.

“How did you get here?” Bruce repeated, stepping closer to Tim. Tim frowned, not liking his accusatory tone. The urge to bite back flared but a small nudge from Cassandra reminded him to calm down. He always did have a bit of a temper.

“How do I know you're trustworthy?” Tim shot back. He wouldn't tell them anything unless he knew he could trust them. Even if they were vigilantes, that didn't mean they were reliable. He’s come across many vigilantes who didn't have the best characters. 

“You're in our brother’s body. We can't attack you without also hurting him.” Jason answered bluntly. While that made a compelling argument, it wasn't enough. 

“And if I find a way out? You’ll hurt me then?” Tim narrowed his eyes.

“How do we know you are trustworthy?” Dick threw his question back at him. “How do we know you are who you say you are?”

Tim chewed on his lips, beginning to respond before Dick continued.

“Just as you have no way of knowing if we speak truthfully, we also have no guarantee you're doing the same. We are heroes,” Dick gestured towards his fellow vigilante, “and we help people no matter what. For us to help you, we need to all be willing to communicate as best as we can. After all, you are only as good as your word, no?” Dick said, a bit forcefully, though softened at the end, staring imploringly at Tim.

That's true, there wasn't much they could do right now that would make him trust them and vice versa. But he still had his reservations about them. “I've met heroes who weren't such good people, so that's not really as good of a point you think it is.”

If he declined to share why he was in Drake’s body, worst case scenario, they would attack him and he would be outnumbered. Best case scenario, they would lock him up until they found a way to bring Drake back in control. If he did trust them, he could receive the resources to get home. They did have connections to a team that resided in all parts of the world.

Tim thought over his options for a moment, thinking on which choice he was willing to take. He looked at Cassandra, she quietly looked back at him, waiting for him to make his decision. He would just have to take a leap of faith, Tim sighed.

“Coming here was an accident.” Tim revealed, deciding to only explain the bare bones of his situation. “This,” he gestured to Drake’s body, “was the result of a mutant unable to control his ability.”

“Mutant?” Bruce asked, his voice lowering. The shift in his presence was almost tangible with how quickly it changed. 

“Someone who possesses the X-gene. It gives them powers, basically.” Bruce’s face relaxed a smidge, his presence lightening. 

“That is just a meta.” Damian said, his eyebrow raising. “His ability is to travel between dimensions, then?”

“Most likely. This is the first time he's done something like this, we believed he only had teleportation. He’d been having issues with his abilities before this happened. It's why I was even there, to help him with his abilities.” Tim answered.

“Abilities, plural? How many does he have?” Jason finally dropped his gun, leaning towards Tim. The others seemed curious too. Was it that surprising that Elijah had multiple abilities?

“Yes? He has—” Tim paused, counting them on his fingers before he spoke,“—around four? Five? And those are just the ones we know about. He only manifested them recently, so the lack of control isn't surprising.” He looked up from his fingers, surprise and apprehension clouding the air of the room. Tim tilted his head slightly, confused at their reactions. Sure, a mutant with that many abilities isn't common, but they aren’t rare either. Maybe that was different in this world?

“We? Who else is there?” Jason raised his eyebrow.

“The school…” Tim began hesitantly, he wasn’t really sure if he wanted to expose it, but then again, it was in another dimension. They would have a hard time accessing it to begin with, not to mention with the X-Men protecting it. “It's for the protection and teaching of mutants about their abilities. It also serves as a regular school as well.”

“Did you attend?” Cassandra asked at the same time Dick said, “Protecting them from what?”

“I graduated some time ago.” Tim addressed Cassandra before focusing on Dick, “And there are a lot of Anti-Mutant laws and hate groups going around. That happens when the public's first exposure to mutants was one trying to assassinate the president.” 

“They tried to kill the president?! Why?” Duke looked vaguely horrified, and so did the others.

“Beats me.” Tim shrugged, lying through his teeth. He studied the first mutant exposure thoroughly, there's no way he wouldn't with the Professor being involved. It would have taken too long to explain in full why Magneto and Mystique did what they did. “I was just a kid then.”

“How did he pull you into this dimension? And why were you asked to help him?” Dick steered the subject back on track. 

“He trapped himself in his mind and I was the only other person available to help him. Simple as that.” Tim spoke haltingly. “Are we done with the 20 questions? I need to find a way back home.”

“What do you mean by—?” Damian started before getting cut off.

“We have to run some tests. Follow me.” Bruce said abruptly, standing up and walking out of the door. The others stood up too, Cassandra skipping over to Damian and guiding him forward with her hand on his shoulder, a scowl on his face. It was a reasonable request, he would also want to test what the effects were if someone possessed his family member’s body. He followed the group, Jason walking behind him.

“Sooo…” Dick started, slowing down to walk level with him, swinging his arms. “You truly never met us before?”

“No, I haven't. Should I have?” Tim snarked, staring straight ahead. That was the third time he was asked that question. Were they really that surprised that an alternate version of Drake never met them? The multiverse was infinite, there were bound to be versions of himself that haven’t encountered them at all.

Dick laughed, waving his arms in denial. Behind them, Jason snorted quietly, murmuring something under his breath.

“How old are you anyway?” Dick asked, tugging a lock of hair behind his ear.

“Seventeen. Why?” Tim glanced over, slightly curious on where this was going. 

“Just curious.” Dick answered casually. “Our Tim is twenty.” Tim had guessed Drake was around that age range, but it was nice to get a confirmation.

The group arrived at the office with the entrance to the cave, swinging the clock open and shuffling down the stairs. Even if it wasn't his first time looking at it, the cave still looked amazing. The stalagmites shimmered in the dim lightning, the rustle of bats flying between them could be heard.

Tim was led to another medical station, this one holding more advanced machinery and equipment, a large screen and processor lined the far wall of the room. The group settled near him as he sat down on a medical cot, Bruce shuffling through the cabinets deeper in the room. Damian and Dick sat on the chairs left to the cot, Jason preferring to lean on the wall next to the doorway. Cass claimed the foot of the cot, the closest to him and Bruce.

A brief silence settled over them after Bruce left the room with a subtle but pointed look towards Dick, Jason eventually breaking it, “So, kid, how are you holding up? I'm sure it's pretty strange, suddenly being in another dimension a couple years ahead of yours.”

“It’s 1983 where I’m from, not the 2000s. And I'm not a kid, I just want to go back to my dimension quickly.” Tim replied, looking at his feet. He shifted in his cot as he felt the emotions in the room go to surprise and amusement. 

“Woah, you're ancient.” Jason said humorously, a smirk gracing his lips. Tim leveled him with an unamused stare. Dick smiled widely as Damian let out an amused huff.

“Old-timer.” Cassandra teased, earning her a glare from Tim. 

“No wonder he knew Bruce as a kid.” Duke added, eyes crinkled from his smile. 

“Are you guys not going to introduce yourselves?” Tim questioned. Jason glanced at him, slightly amused. “Don't you already know our names?” 

“I do, but it would be polite, no?” Tim smiled back. The rest of the room had various reactions of amusement, Damian and Cassandra smiling slightly as Jason and Dick laughed. Duke simply rolled his eyes.

Dick smiled at Tim before introducing them, “The one in the black turtleneck,” Damian nodded in greeting, “—is Damian. Jason is the one standing.” Jason gave a small wave. “Cass is the one sitting next to Damian.” She gave him a nod. He rested his hand over his chest and finished with, “And I'm Dick!” 

“What about the old man? Bruce? The other two vigilantes?” Tim tilted his head, curious.

“The ‘old man’ is Alfred Pennyworth. He is the one who keeps everyone in check.” Damian primly responded. “Father’s name is Bruce Wayne.” Cassandra signed the name next to him.

Jason pulled out a phone and swiped at the screen before showing it to Tim. “The one in purple, Spoiler, is Steph. Batwing, Luke, is the one with the wings. Obvious, I know.” He joked.

Bruce reentered the room, holding an assortment of equipment. Setting them down on the table next to the cot, he held up a small syringe, gesturing for Tim’s arm. Tim blanched but complied, ready to get this over with. He only felt a small pinch as the needle entered the crook of his arm, it was removed a few seconds later, filled with his blood. Bruce simply placed a surprisingly cute yellow bandage with mini bats over the puncture. 

The rest of the tests were quite non-invasive, mostly consisting of scanning him and simple examinations. It was as if Tim was visiting the doctors for a checkup. The younger vigilantes kept him company throughout the tests, chatting casually with him from time to time. He wasn't under any illusions that it was for him, they were just monitoring a threat that was in their home. 

Still… It was nice, just sitting down and chatting with others for a change. He didn't really have time before that, going from case to case and rarely visiting the mansion. Tim felt a little guilty, neglecting his friends in favor of his new job as a detective wasn't right. He’ll have to make it up to them, as soon as he goes back, he promised.

Tim noticed that Bruce had repeated some of the tests after a while, coming back to redo his scans after checking over the machine that it was connected to. From what he could tell from his angle, the screens on the machine displayed a large, yellow popup, though he couldn't read what it said. Was there something wrong with the equipment? Or was the residue of Elijah’s power messing with the results?

Dick walked out the room with an excuse of getting a drink for all of them. There was a small surge of determination and affirmation between them that caught him off guard. Tim doubted he would have caught the look shared between them if he couldn't feel their emotion. 

When Dick reentered the room, he indeed had drinks, passing around bottles of fruit juice. Tim popped open the cap of his mango juice, taking small sips as he quietly watched the group converse with each other. The atmosphere in the room was nice, if a bit guarded. He felt a new presence arrive suddenly but dismissed it, believing it to be another vigilante. 

“How many of you guys are there, anyway?” Tim wondered. There was just one after the other with them.

“Oh, there’s us—” Dick gestured towards the group, “—so that's six already. There's also Steph, Barbara, Kate, Luke, and sometimes Azrael. So, in total eleven.” 

“Wow, that's… a lot. Just for one city?” What warranted eleven vigilantes for only one city?

“Yup. Gotham might be a shithole, but she’s all we got.” Jason answered gruffly, fondness coloring his tone.

The presence Tim had felt earlier came closer until they rounded the corner, entering the room. They were draped in a dark robe, ending just above their pale calf. The hood shadowed their face, the robe obscured their figure, making it harder for Tim to figure out whether they were male or female. The figure walked over to talk with Bruce, their back to him. 

Tim turned towards Dick, silently asking who that was. Dick gave him a strained smile,“This is Raven. She’s here to confirm your story.”

Tim wasn’t really surprised that Dick had called someone to verify his story, he would have done the same. He just wished he was told some time before she arrived. 

“So she’s also here to interrogate me?” Tim frowned, crossing his arms. Dick winced, explaining, “Not quite, she’ll be checking whether Tim is still in his body.” 

“Excuse me?” Tim was slightly offended, they wanted some stranger to poke around in his head? 

“We couldn't be certain you were speaking truthfully. Or if there are certain pitfalls in your mind that would cause you to hurt us. We’ve dealt with that before and it wasn’t pretty.” Dick said apologetically. Even if it was a reasonable reaction, it still left a bitter taste in his mouth. 

Raven moved to remove her hood, the sight beneath freezing Tim in place. A copy of Jean’s face laid under the hood, only small differences setting her apart from Jean. On her pale skin, a jewel was inlaid on Raven’s forehead. Her hair and eyes were a deep violet, glowing slightly in the light. He knew that this was a different dimension and that, logically, there would be other versions of his friends, Cassandra being just one example. He hadn’t expected to face one so soon. Raven’s curiosity ballooned the longer Tim stared at her.

“You know her or somethin’?” Jason spoke, looking between the two. The other four were also interested in his response.

“Or something. She looks just like my friend.” Tim answered as he finally stopped examining Raven’s face, clasping his hands together.

“Is that so?” Raven said, even her voice was similar to Jean’s. She walked closer until she stood right in front of him. “I’ll be starting now.”

She kneeled down, her robes pooling over her lower body as their faces aligned. He felt her ability brush over him and hit his mental walls. Her abilities felt completely different from Jean’s, icy cold to Jean’s warmth. The way it flowed differed from Jean’s too. Raven’s swirled gracefully in nonsensical patterns, while Jean’s resembled liquid fire. Even if Raven’s outer appearance looked like Jean, that didn't mean she was. 

She blinked in surprise at his resistance. He hadn't told the vigilantes much about his ability, so it wasn’t too surprising. She should know, as a person with a mental ability, that those with such abilities guard their minds tightly. While it could be strong against outsiders, one good hit inside a mindscape would cause great harm.

“Won’t you let me in?” She asked softly. Tim narrowed his eyes before letting out a breath, unbundling the protections in his mind as he lowered most of his shields. Even if he was rightfully wary of letting a stranger in his mind, he wouldn't be able to use his full power to defend himself against her attempts.

She slid into his mind before once more hitting a wall. He resisted her attempts to break into that last shield before he spoke, “Wait!” The room paused, the others wondering what he would say. “Shouldn’t we agree on what exactly she will look for? Or at least filled me in first?” He directed the last question to Dick who gave him a sheepish smile and scratched his head.

“She’ll be looking for evidence that you were honest about taking over Tim’s body and how he's fairing.” Bruce responded, stepping closer to the pair of espers. That was reasonable. He was just double-checking what Tim told him.

He chewed his lips before spitting out, “Nothing five minutes before I entered this body, got it?”

“Of course.” She answered, gently sinking into his mind when he lowered his last defenses. Tim also closed his eyes, reappearing in his mindscape, the icy wind picking up as Raven materialized before him. She looked around, giving him a reassuring smile when she turned to him. He could feel the promise to not hurt him emanating from her. Her power swelled as her hands began to glow, spreading her ability in search of his memory of the day before. He guided her ability with his own, bringing her to a cave carved into a distant mountainside. 

The cave was dimly lit, snow piling up at the entrance. The center held a clear underground lake which he delved his ability into, the lake’s serene surface rippling before changing into his memories of being in Elijah’s mind. He knelt down at the edge of the lake, gesturing for Raven to do the same. Once she did, he grabbed her hand and submerged them both into the lake with a shout of surprise from Raven.

He opened his eyes, the scene of him and Jean attacking the nebula together spreading before him. Raven studied the surrounding scene, weaving her ability into the fabric of the scene, looking for any falsehoods. Once she was satisfied, he saw the exact moment she finally focused on the previous forms of him and Jean, radiating surprise despite her face showing otherwise. 

She turned to him, stating surely, “This is the one you mistook me as.” 

Tim nodded. They looked astonishingly alike and yet were extremely different, down to the way they felt. Jean was like a warm ray of sunlight and Raven an icy glacier, polar opposites. Raven hummed and turned back to the scene, watching it play out to the point he woke in Drake’s body. 

“Would you be willing to guide me to Black Bird?” She asked, not wanting to infringe on his mind when he could resist her. It was a common courtesy to ask when in another esper’s mind, though he couldn't be sure if it was the same in this world.

He held out his hand and she grasped it, closing his eyes again as they sunk beneath his mindscape. The distant whispering caused him to open his eyes to pitch black, though he could still see Raven. She seemed unconcerned, most likely having been to the unconscious mind before or assured of her strength. It was probably a mix of both.

Tim pointed to a far off point, “He’s over there, you’ll know when you see him.”

Raven nodded in thanks and sent a wave of her ability in that direction, tilting her head after a moment. He felt her ability recede before she began walking, approaching the red orb after a moment. She lightly brushed her fingers over it, doing the same he had done the day before. After finding her assessment of Drake’s core satisfactory, she faced him, a small smile on her face. 

“I'm glad that you are who you say you are.” Yeah, so is he, Tim thought sarcastically. Though he did understand where she was coming from. She let out a quiet chuckle, giving him an amused look. They returned to Tim’s mindscape, the pool at their feet.

“What is her name?” Raven asked, looking at the memory. Tim looked at Jean’s figure, the memory looping back to the beginning.

“Her name was Jean, Jean Grey. She’s one of the few people I truly respect.”

“Later,” Raven began, “Will you tell me about her?”

“If you wish me to. I would be willing to get to know you also.” He was curious about her and how her life strayed from the one Jean had. She was an alternate of Jean, so had to give her a chance.

Raven agreed before retreating from his mind, the last tendrils of her ability going with her. He did one last sweep of his mindscape, noting nothing was off except the glowing tether to his original body, and exited.

Opening his eyes, he was faced with Drake’s family surrounding him and Raven. Raven leaned back, their foreheads no longer touching, and nodded to the family. 

“He was being truthful. Black Bird is unconscious but will wake soon.” Raven reported. They noticeably relaxed, relieved. He felt a small piece of her ability brush against the outer layer of his mind, Raven expressing that she would be by soon. After he nodded in affirmation, she stood, walking over to talk with Dick and Bruce.

“Well, that's out of the way now.” Jason said nonchalantly. He detached himself from the wall he was leaning on and sat on the cot, next to Tim. Cassandra laid her feet over Jason’s lap with a grin. Jason lightly swatted her feet before ignoring her. 

“I would have appreciated a warning.” Tim deadpanned, eyebrow raised.

“We couldn't have you preparing yourself until she came.” Damian remarked, eyeing him with interest. He looked relaxed, not quite as tense as before. Tim hummed, looking over to the trio talking at the doorway. 

They were clearly at the end of their conversation, Raven splitting away from the pair with a goodbye. She glanced back, making eye contact with him, and waved. After he returned the wave, she vanished with a flash of purple. Huh, Jean definitely couldn't do that. If she did, he was sure he would have heard of it.

Dick and Bruce returned, Dick sitting in the chair next to Damian while Bruce placed the testing equipment to where they were previously, leaning on the chair Dick was sitting on when he was finished.

"So what should we call you? I can’t keep calling you other-Tim in my head." Dick began, tapping his fingers against his thighs. The others nodded in agreement.

“I don't mind being called by a nickname. I call this Tim ‘Drake’ after all.” Tim replied. He really couldn't care less what they referred to him as. 

“Any preferences?” Dick asked, a gleam forming in his eyes. 

“None.” He saw Damian and Jason grimacing at his answer. Cassandra silently giggled in the background. What was that about?

“How about… Timmykins.” Dick cooed teasingly. Tim physically recoiled from that atrocity of a nickname. Suddenly, he understood what their reactions were about.

“No!” Tim quickly shouted. His pride would never recover if he was referred to as that. He couldn't even think it, that was how bad it was.

“I thought you had no preferences.” Dick blinked innocently, as if he didn’t say a nickname that curdled his blood. Tim huffed at that, a little amused. Dick was clearly livening up the room, making jokes, even if said jokes sucked.

“Then what about—” Jason joined in on the fun, mirth filling the room.

They spent some time going through options on what Tim would be called, even Bruce and Damian contributed some names. They eventually settled simply on Timmy, though he doubted Jason and Dick would stick to it. They would definitely cycle through a myriad of nicknames. He could admit that he had some fun, spending time with them and debating over the nickname. Perhaps he would enjoy his time with these strange characters during his stay in this world.

Takes place before Dark Phoenix and after X-Men: Apocalypse

Kind of a silly concept but i'm having fun with it :)

[Edited: 07/26/2024]

Masterpost | Chapter 2 >>

[unhingedlesbear]

Bro the absolute state of the SMG character elimination on reddit has me dead 💀💀

For context, the characters still left are: Charlie, Dylan, Kaitlyn, MIKE AND JASON

Every other character has been voted out by now. Erm anyway good luck to Kaitlyn ermmm get Mike and Jason out !!

[bkenber]

'The 4:30 Movie' Review by Tony Farinella

As the title spells out, this review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent Tony Farinella. Kevin Smith has developed a loyal and dedicated following amongst the film community because he’s a film lover at heart. He’s someone who appreciates cinema and the magic that can occur when you create something powerful on screen. He’s one of the few directors out there where people will see his…

[cynthiav06]

Percy's amnesia in SoN gave him the perfect excuse to build his confidence to where it should be and break up with Annabeth, with very few consequences, and I will always stand by that. Annabeth may be easier for the Greeks to back due to her history there, but she has nothing at Camp Jupiter, where he quickly and firmly established himself as a powerful, capable and trustworthy entity, getting promoted to Praetor within a week. I honestly believe that, after his SON quest and the "greeting" Annabeth gave him on their reunion, Percy should've broken up with Annabeth, stayed with Camp Jupiter and thrived there.

Not only would the structure help him long-term in the way it canonically did in the (maybe) three days we saw him spend there, but he has a proper support system without biases in favour of Annabeth. It would also provide a fun narrative contrast to Jason, which RR was trying to push in-story, where they thrive in the other's camp despite the shadow of a figure they kind of feel they have to live up to. Jason does better in the looser structure of CHB due to his having picked up many wolf-ish traits from Lupa, while Percy almost *relaxes* in the strict routine of CJ because it helps with his ADHD symptoms.

And this confidence he very clearly has in SoN, and the way he almost romanticized the possible relationship between him and Annabeth when he didn't have his memories, would lead to a very jarring experience when his memories are settled and he reunites with Annabeth. Because, woah, that was not just a subconscious bias from preferring his new friendships/camp structure, but she actually is like that.

Boom, he now has recontextualised memories and perspective of Annabeth, and a place where she doesn't have a stronger reputation than him, and he can fairly safely break up with Annabeth and escape attempts at retaliation.

He might wait until after the quest the Seven go on, so that he can immediately cut her out of his lfe, but this new perspective changes how he approaches her.

The canon would never, but fortunately for us, there are fic writers. If I get enough time somewhere in this month or next, I might end up writing this, but I will have to see, no promises.

Back to your point; you have covered mostly everything so I don't see what I should be adding to this exact scenario but yes it is one of the few perfect pit stops for a percabeth break up to happen. I am going to go down a slightly different avenue for this one as my thoughts vary a bit from yours, so bear with me. It is going to be long, but I need to recap and clarify a few things for others; I will get to your specific questions near the end. [Everything's numbered, so if you are in a hurry, just scroll to the final four points]

-------------------------------------------------------

The breakup could have been mutual, too, if Rick had written it well. If we follow the proper timeline, Annabeth was still hung up over Luke up until the end of BoTL and had just started to get over him at the start of Last Olympian. Percy had just been informed of the Prophecy and under massive stress between end of BoTL and start of TLO and was obviously arguing with Annabeth over it as she repeatedly got angry at him for reasonably freaking out over his then "assumed death" prophecy. To find some relief from all this, he was dating Rachel, who he really liked, had a kiss with, and overall a good relationship with.

Then the whole plot of the Last Olympian occurs in what can be considered to be a few months at best. Then both Percy and Annabeth get together but to recap the events leading up to this:

Rachel breaks up with Percy despite their good relationship due to understanding the role she needs to play in saving the Oracle.

Luke who had previously visited Annabeth to make her join him and who Annabeth was somewhat hung over still, dies.

The war ended up killing a lot of close friends and companions and was a generally traumatic event for everyone involved.

Percy is very high on mixed emotions, reeling from everything that's happened when he gets together with Annabeth, so neither of them have had any time to process anything that's happened properly enough.

They have their one month anniversary on September 18th[The Staff of Hermes short story], and Percy disappears in October. [Riordan.wiki has years and dates of important events].

So they have barely been together for two months, and Percy's already missing.

This is Annabeth's thought process when they do reunite. It implies she has been doing a bit of thinking about their relationship and might not be as sure about it anymore.

She also seems to heavily dislike Percy's initial idea of settling in New Rome and seems to have no intention of taking a break from quests like Percy does.

She also seems to dismiss Percy's unwillingness to go to NRU after the news of Estelle's birth and the events of CotG.

Those were a few key points of contrast between them both on their future plans. Not small ones either.

Now, back to their reunion and the events following; here are a few things:

She judo flips him in front of the Argo II and almost entirety of Camp Jupiter.

If Annabeth didn't know that Percy had lost the Curse of Achilles then she was judo flipping him on the small of his back where his mortal tether was located ; which she knew about and therefore would have killed him in her anger and hyper emotional state.

If Annabeth did know that he had lost the Curse of Achilles then she was still judo flipping her boyfriend who had been missing for six months after surviving an already very traumatic event where he barely managed to survive and was then put through kidnapping, six months of amnesia, and brainwashing against his will by a goddess and then thrust into an unknown land with enemies on his trail.

Further, she blames Percy for disappearing for all of the things HE suffered through against his will and HAS THE AUDACITY TO MAKE HIM APOLOGIZE FOR IT.

Annabeth says and I quote that she likes keeping Percy on his toes.

She also agrees with Piper that Percy needs to be leashed and controlled.

Then Percy's side gives us a few more concerning tidbits:

Percy repeatedly notes that he is scared of Annabeth or thinks she might hit him

He also says that she often brings up Rachel to make him uncomfortable.

Percy also doesn't feel comfortable confiding in Annabeth about Gabe or past trauma.

He repeatedly feels he isn't good enough for Annabeth, and obviously Annabeth's behavior consciously or subconsciously on her part enables his thought process.

He ends up almost killing himself because Annabeth makes him promise not to use his specific ability despite it being used in self-defense by Percy, which ended up saving them both because she was afraid of Percy's powers.

Yet another thing to point out is that Annabeth's fatal flaw hubris and her abandonment issues feed too much into her behavior, and until that is fixed, nothing can be helped.

Annabeth punched Percy in ttc just because he didn't ask her to dance like she wanted him to. She also gave Percy a very hard time just because he knew another girl (Rachel) and immediately acted controlling and toxically possesive towards Percy over Rachel and Calypso despite her and Percy not being in a relationship at any of those points. In fact, despite her supposed crush on Percy, she defended Luke all the way till Botl, despite his repeated attempts at murdering Percy, and even went as far as to say Percy was unreasonably angry at Luke. She also displayed rude and downright awful behavior when interacting with Rachel; and Rachel, being the better person, handled her with class and grace. This all is not even including her demeaning remarks against Percy's intelligence and condescending behavior.

We can conclude from all this that Percy and Annabeth are not compatible, with different future goals and clashing perspectives and most importantly due to lack of proper communication, terrible misunderstandings, and Annabeth's consistent toxic behavior.

But neither the characters nor the author and not even most of the fandom acknowledge any of these glaring issues, so nothing can be done, but their break up can go several ways:

1.

Percy and Annabeth both break up amicably with Annabeth apologizing and understanding the gravity of her behavior and her mistakes and consistently making up to Percy for all the things she has been doing terribly. This is only possible for pre Tartarus or pre MoA situation.

Annabeth could have had a good arc in overcoming all of her problems while Percy too dealt with his self esteem issues and past trauma and they could have given their relationship a shot again in the future; they are both too young right now.

2.

Percy confronts Annabeth on her behavior and breaks up with her. Things get ugly, and it ends up being horrible for both of them. This is a traumatic situation on both ends, but the reason why this is unlikely is that Annabeth and Percy have a case of trauma bonding, and there's hints of codependency more on Annabeth's end. Which makes Percy mask Annabeth's toxic traits easily and for Annabeth to ignore Percy's devolving mental health and self-esteem issues that she has been enabling unknowingly.

3.

The other likely option is third-party intervention. Sally or Poseidon/Athena or other campers.

I also disagree that the camp half blood would back Annabeth. Percy's their [CHB] unofficial leader and a good friend to all of them plus he is the reason the children of other non-Olympian gods have cabins and get claimed early so he definitely has a higher status than Annabeth does in both camps. Camp Jupiter also does respect Percy more than any other Greek, and he is the only Greek to ever be made Praetor. So in social or reputation terms, Percy's winning.

But I don't think other campers would dare meddle in Percy and Annabeth's business. Maybe the seven would. [Leo and Frank would never. Jason probably doesn't understand the whole situation. Piper’s misguided and would probably feed into Annabeth's behavior, so either Hazel or Reyna? Hazel would definitely help Percy understand, and Percy would totally hear Hazel out. Thalia, hmm, I don't really know what Thalia would do, but I don't think she would blindly back Annabeth. She does seem to care for and respect Percy just as much. Nico isn't touching it with a 20-foot pole, plus I don't think he is over his Percy crush at all, so he's not an unbiased party either. ]

4.

Last option and what probably is the most likely is that things continue as they are and Percy eventually snaps due to endless pressure and his mental health issues and Annabeth can't deal with it and then all their other issues which they have both ignored come spilling out and then it's just a clean break but it's going to be the most excruciating way out and given their luck definitely happening.

[xixovart]

lost trio headcanons because theyre my mini fixation for the day

for starters i’d like to remind you that the first time jason felt like a person and not a soldier was when he was with leo and piper

ok now actual headcsnons

jason’s hair grew out after a bit and ended up covering the scar (“undercut”) he has on the side of his head from that one bullet. leo likes to surprise people by putting jason’s hair up bc its funny to see their reactions

l: “and look—secret undercut!!”

j: “it’s not an undercut leo, it’s a scar”

p: “the bullet didn’t even touch your skin drama queen”

j: “might’ve. my head could’ve exploded and—“

[groaning and arguing and leo laughing]

—canon convo guys rick told me

leo knows a lot of car games which is very beneficial for long days on the argo ii

piper always has a lollipop in her mouth and no one knows where they come from

leo comes up with the oddest nicknames and piper and jason are just. so used to it? jason could be talking to like reyna or smth and leo will come up to him and say

l: “oh hey jason gracer razor blazer”

j: “hi leo”

r: “what the fuck”

leo is really bad at picking up social clues so jason does it for him

the wildnerness school had a really early curfew that piper and leo blatantly ignored

they would stay out and wander the halls and hide in classrooms whenever a teacher was nearby

leo was poor and homeless, jason was raised with no regards to currency, spending, or finances, and piper is a nepo baby. the ultimate trio dynamic. arguing for hours about whether $50 is a lot or not (it is.)

leo shares food as a love language

jason loves video games, surprisingly enough (mario kart. MARIO KART.)

piper is constantly taking leo’s and jason’s stuff. hair ties, jewelry, mostly clothes, also mostly food, leo’s homework,

the trio has a movie marathon every friday night. there’s blanket forts, gummy worms, matching pjs, and fairy lights involved. they borrow rachel’s cave, since cabin 1 is too depressing and the aphrodite and hephaestus cabins are way too packed (sometimes rachel hangs around for a bit :D)

picture me this. it’s winter, the lake is frozen over. they somehow find ice skates. utter chaos. leo fancies himself a figure skater, jason is on all fours because he keeps falling, and piper actually did figure skating as a kid

GUYS GUYS THE TRIO GOING ON A QUEST AND HAVING TO HIJACK AN UPPER-CLASS PARTY/GATHERING IM LOSING MY SHIT IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

im gonna have to draw this but like

piper giving them very strict instructions on what to do and what not to do (they end up forgetting half of it)

yk that one quote from new girl?

“where are you piper?? this place is fancy and i don’t know which fork to kms with”

that’s leo

jason just hanging around quietly and not engaging in conversation and keeping everyone under close radar like the little fucking wolf he is

everyone ends up thinking he’s a bodyguard

the trio just goes along with it

YH THATS IT I HAVE MORE I THINK BUT THIS IS GETTING WAY TOO LONG SOOO BYE LOSERS GOODNIGHT AND DONR FORGET RO SLEEP EAT AND DRINK WATER (you hear that, @kindred-spirit-93? water. not pink milk. water./j)

[caelusproject]

"Talk to me" (Chapter 1?)

Pairing: Royalkay

Rating: SFW (minor sexual talk/thoughts, death and injury mentioned, cursing)

Wordcount: 6385

This is a fanfiction based on another fanfiction! This story takes place mostly during chapter 4 of the Jalim fanfiction "Say Nothing" by @katzenprinz and @thunderwhenhepurrs ! It's the same story but from a different point of view with a different relationship focus! Please read Gabe and Holden's Jalim fanfiction, it's seriously so good and still being written!! Go show them some love!!

(Sorry for any inconsistencies or errors I made, I tried my hardest to do my research but I'm an overworked human so mistakes are a given oof)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nick patrolled through the camp, letting the slowly fading rays of sunlight elucidate his path across the sand in a deep orange. Although he kept his mind sharp enough to immediately recognize any strange sounds and movements, so much so that he pointed his gun at an innocent little shrew hiding in a bush earlier, ready to pull the trigger and feeling bad about it right away again, he noticed his mind running wild in his skull. He felt his jaw muscles tighten as he looked towards the earth underneath his boots. Those fucking monsters were probably waiting for them. Sure, this time they came in prepared and with a purpose, as much as said purpose made him want to scream into the sky in a blind rage until his vocal chords snapped. Of course they would send them back in. Of course these idiots would want to know more about these creatures out of greed and blind thirst for knowledge. Of course Eric would run his mouth during the interrogations and mention how intellectually advanced they were.

But no matter how much Nick wanted to find a scapegoat to unleash his frustration and anger upon, Eric wasn't the one. Even if he hadn't talked about the vampires the way he did, those hazmat-freaks would have still gotten curious about them. The colonel didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of Nicks rage. Or at least not to a certain degree, after all it was Caelus that led them all down there in the first place.

“Wasn't his intention, though,” Nick reminded himself quietly as he circled around the tend where the newbies bunked, checking for anything noticeably concerning but ultimately finding nothing unusual. So he decided to keep on walking around the campsite until his short lived patrol was over.

Nick had quite some time to reminiscent about his treatment of the colonel. Sure, he had plenty a reason to hate that mans guts. Eric led them into this wasteland. His program mistook an ancient underground temple for an enemy storage facility. Nick was dating Eric's wife.

And yet there was a spark of admiration for the colonel blooming inside Nicks chest. One he tried to ignore as best as he can. Eric had saved him multiple times down there, putting his own life at risk to protect Nick of all people, which took a lot of strength of character and courage to do. Of course Nick, who was aware of his own gentle and sensitive nature, would be unable to shrug those acts off like it was nothing. He was merely grateful, Nick reassured himself.

The marine kicked a pebble across the field and sighed. Just as he was about to turn on his heels, he had wandered a tiny bit too far from site and would most likely get an earful from either Jason or Eric for it later, he heard his name being called from somewhere behind him. Elliott was jogging up to him and waving.

“Sargent Kay, thank you for taking over my patrol for a minute. I'm back now so you can return to your tent.” the young man nodded at Nick with a friendly smile. Nick mirrored the gesture.

“Sure. I've got nothing to report, if you don't count the poor traumatized shrew I almost shot.”

Elliott pulled his brows together in a sympathetic way.

“Poor thing,” he commented and then joked, “I'll make sure to apologize to it on your behalf.”

Nick didn't bother holding back a chuckle, “I would be most grateful.”

On his was back into the middle of their campsite Nick followed the tracks that their truck had left in the sand earlier with his eyes. Jason had been sent off with a few of the new guys to fetch Zain and bring him here. A sigh escaped Nicks lips when he was walking past the tent where Jason, Salim and himself were supposed to be bunking. Salim had decided to retreat to their tent after Nick was asked to jump in for Elliott's patrol for a minute, files of the inventory in hand so he could read through them to get his mind off of things. Nick couldn't blame him. He had seen the face Salim made whenever he talked about his son down in the tunnels, their first encounter ended in a conversation about how Salim wasn't supposed to be on his mission to fight some marines and instead spend Zain's birthday in the comfort of their home. A strong feeling of empathy flooded through Nick and he found himself going back and forth on whether he should enter and at least ask Salim if he needed anything. Against his better judgment he turned away and decided that some quiet might help him a lot more.

“Sargent Kay!”

Rachel's voice pulled Nick out of his train of thought. He looked up to see the CIA agent wave at him from the colonels tend, motioning for him to come in. The corner of Nick's lips curled up slightly as he looked at the woman, pure affection racing through his veins at the sheer sight of her, and he jogged up to her, entering through the opening.

“How's he holding up?” Rachel asked as Nick walked past her. The marine shrug with his shoulders.

“Mmh, as well as one can expect from him.” Nick replied and took a look around the tent. Eric was sitting at the fold-up desk with his back turned to his wife and her lover, typing away at a laptop. A few feet next to the desk was a cot, certainly bigger than the ones in the marine's tents, even garnished with two pillows and a blanket. Quite the luxury in the field.

“I figured he would be nervous,” Rachel sighed and sat down on the cot, her gaze trailing off into the distance, “I hope Jason can get the boy here without trouble. If all goes to plan then they should arrive here soon.”

Eric nodded, but didn't verbally participate in the conversation, eyes still glued to the screen in front of him. Nick shifted his weight, unsure on what to do with his body.

“He'll manage. As much as he is a jarhead, Jason is also capable and understanding of Salim's situation. Although I wouldn't be surprised if he returned with a few bruises here and there.” he joked. To Nicks surprise it was Eric who huffed a laugh.

“I hope not. We need our Lieutenant in good condition,” the colonel shifted in his chair to look at Nick and nodded towards the cot, “you don't have to stand there all awkwardly. Sit down.”

Nicks eyebrows twitched upwards. It shouldn't feel so strange to him to be offered a seat on Rachel and Eric's bed, considering they spent a few days together stuck in a tiny room with Jason and Salim, sleeping on thin mattresses with barely any space between their bodies.

Still, having Eric of all people tell him to take a seat on their bed caused the spark inside Nicks chest to glimmer a little more. Nick glanced over at Rachel, who scooted over for him, and sat down. The blanket covering the cot was surprisingly comfortable considering the circumstances.

“It's gonna feel weird.”

Rachel and Eric both looked at Nick, eyebrows pulled together in confusion. The marine waved his hand towards the cot.

“Sleeping in a different tent, I mean. Guess the last few nights have left an impression on me. I'm already used to cuddling until I fall asleep.” he snickered and shrug his shoulders, a slight pain shooting through his upper body from where his wound on his shoulder was still in the process of healing. Neither of his superiors replied right away, instead Rachel tilted her head until it was leaning against Nicks arm. They spend a few heartbeats like this and Nick noticed Eric watching them with an unreadable, but not at all hostile, expression.

“I have to admit, it was nice sleeping between you two,” Rachel muttered, her lips a thin line, “it certainly helped keeping the nightmares at bay.”

Nick nodded in agreement with Rachel and breathed softly, grabbing Rachel's hand in a tight but loving grip and kissed the top of her head. Eric tilted his head like he always did when he was deep in thought about something, his gaze growing distant, and Nick found himself wondering what might possibly go through the colonels mind. A long moment of silence filled the tent, broken by the keys of the laptop ticking away again after Eric flinched slightly, something Nick would have easily overlooked had he not been staring at the man for a few heartbeats (something Nick tried not to think about too much). Although it wasn't just Nick who noticed.

“What's wrong?” Rachel asked Eric in a tone of voice Nick barely ever heard out of her mouth, a kind of concern that she always tries to control, but said control always broke when it came to Eric for reasons Nick could only imagine having to do with the bond of love they shared. Even though it was unlike Rachel to be so openly overprotective of someone. The colonel frowned in response.

“Don't worry. It's just,” he sighed, “the usual.”

“'The usual'?” Nick repeated, raising an eyebrow. Rachel closed her eyes as she exhaled loudly.

“Does it hurt?”

It felt like lightning struck Nick right then and there as realization hit him like a truck.

Eric's leg.

The colonel ran a hand through his blonde locks, a small sigh escaping his lips and he nodded slightly. Like she was waiting for this moment all this time, Rachel jumped up and approached Eric, reaching out with a hand to delicately caress his arm. Her brown eyes were filled with worry and a hint of guilt that left Eric clearly feeling uneasy.

“Maybe you need a break. Do you need to take it off?” she asked gently but Eric violently shook his head in response.

“I'm okay, really. I promise.” his voice was a lot harsher than he probably intended for it to sound. Rachel took a step back, her expression still full of worry and guilt and even Nick felt forced to sit up straight when he heard the colonel's tone of voice. Eric's pair of amber eyes wandered back and forth between Nick and Rachel and he blinked a few times, a hint of regret burrowed in them. He flinched again as he got up from his chair and took a few steps through the tent with no real destination.

“Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you.” Eric apologized and closed his eyes. He looked exhausted all of a sudden, tired of the pressure of the mission ahead and the posture he had to uphold in front of the higher ups. If Nick didn't know better, he'd say that Eric was tired of fighting. There was a painful tenseness in Eric's shoulders that filled Nick with the same, or at least similar concern as Rachel.

The marine chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second, unsure with himself about what he could do to lighten up the situation and make the colonel feel better. Then he got up and put a hand on Eric's shoulder, who immediately relaxed a little bit under the touch.

“Want me to take a look?” he asked quietly and tapped the shoulder straps of his backpack with a faint smile, remembering the role he had adopted despite his inexperience in the role of field medic. But if it meant helping out the people around him, then he would do his absolute best to make them feel better. Especially the ones he considered closest. “It's my duty as nurse Nick after all.”

Before Eric could react however they heard the engine of a truck getting closer. All three of them bolted towards the tent flap, looking out to see the dark campsite illuminated by the trucks headlights approaching quickly, zooming across the sand until it came to a screeching halt in the center of camp. Although it was quite dark, despite the few UV lamps they had set up as best as they could to keep potential stray vampires at bay, Nick could still make out Jason's face in the back of the truck, sitting next to a young man whose resemblance to Salim was undoubtedly. Zain looked terrified but also strangely curious. As soon as the truck came to a full halt, Mosson and Palmer jumped out and Nick fully expected them to guide Zain out of the truck or at least walk away for some rest after a successful mission. The fact that they immediately raised their guns and pointed them at the boy, causing Jason to react with his own gun pointed back at them, sent an ice cold shiver down Nicks spine.

“What the fuck-” Rachel exclaimed but Eric was quick to react. He went into a hasty jog, most likely held back from full-on sprinting by the phantom pain he tried (and mostly succeeded) to fight back, and shouted at the marines.

Luckily, his authority seemed to knock some sense into the newbies as they got a verbal beat down by both Jason and Eric before turning on their heels and retreating towards their tent. Nick and Rachel breathed a sigh of relief in unison and the marine thanked Eric in his mind for being so quick to react.

He watched Zain jump off the back of the truck and then he noticed the flap to one of the tents open. Salim stuck his head out and immediately froze in disbelief and amazement when his eyes fixated on his son. The heartfelt scene unfolding in front of everyone almost brought a tear to Nicks eye. The way Zain and Salim clung to each other. Now Nick definitely felt the connection between father and son and cursed under his breath when remembering what Salim had to go through to get to this point. It was unfair and cruel.

Rachel bumped her elbow against Nicks side, smiling up at him. Nick blinked the tear away and shrug his shoulders with a grin. Meanwhile, Salim pulled Zain into their tent, hopefully able to talk in private.

Then they noticed Jason and Eric talking while they unloaded the truck and as they both brought the bags towards the colonel's tent, Eric yelled an order through the dark of the campsite.

“Everyone off to your tents! Radios stay on in case of emergencies!”

The pair arrived at the tent and Jason dropped three heavy bags in one corner, nodding towards Rachel and Nick.

“Should've guessed.” he smirked as he locked eyes with Nick, who immediately noticed the new bruise blooming on Jason's face.

“Could say the same about you,” Nick joked, pointing at the damage, “too bad I didn't take a bet. I could've made bank.”

Jason play-kicked at Nick's foot but missed the other marine by an inch or so. Rachel and Eric looked at the bags, sharing a confused expression.

“Well, too bad we don't have any money, babe,” Rachel absentmindedly commentated on Nick's joke but then turned her attention towards Jason, face as serious as usual, “the contract said two bags total.”

“Don't worry about it. One's for Salim. But I got something else that the boy needs help with.” Jason approached Rachel, a tense expression adorning his facial features like something was truly at stake here. Rachel pulled her eyebrows together but showed willingness to listen. She nodded slightly and grabbed Jason's arm to lead him into a corner of the tent so they could talk quietly.

Nick and Eric watched them whisper for a few seconds until Eric shifted his weight and winced like he did before. He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth and leaned against the desk to get the pressure off of his leg. In a panic, Nick reached out to catch Eric, afraid he might fall over, but he held back from touching him once Eric was securely leaned against the desk. Nicks instantaneous willingness to support him clearly took Eric by surprise.

“You don't look good, colonel,” Nick whispered with a warm but worried voice, “please, let me check you out.”

Eric started to shake his head and opened his mouth but Nick wouldn't let him protest this time.

“Eric. You're in pain. Rachel can see it, I can see it. Let us help you, please!”

There was that spark again. It glimmered like a warm fireplace in Nicks chest, it felt comforting and familiar, and it only increased in it's intensity when the blonde man locked eyes with Nick. There was a hint of admiration in Eric's amber eyes.

Thankfulness.

Tenderness.

Eric was a few inches taller than Nick, Nick's eyes were almost at the same level as Eric's nose and the marine blinked hard when he realized that his gaze wandered down towards Eric's lips for a fraction of a second. Luckily, the colonel didn't seem to notice.

Nick didn't want Eric to think that his intentions were not about medical care, but more about coming on to him. Even if the hint of a desire to run his fingers through Eric's soft hair popped up in his head for a split second.

“... alright.”

Nick immediately pushed his backpack off his shoulders but Eric held up a hand.

“Later,” Eric whispered, glancing over at Jason and Rachel who were clearly about to end their quiet discussion, “and take a look at her too, please. She wouldn't dare show it, but her arm worries me just as much.”

“Mh, will do.” Nick agreed. Rachel truly never showed any pain. She was stoic, strong. But Nick always thought it was a mask she put on to protect herself from others, but perhaps mostly from herself. He wondered if she built that hard shell around herself because of her and Eric's accident. No matter how much she tried not to show it, she still felt guilty and hurt and was trying everything she could to stay in control over her emotions. She was running away from something just like Nick was.

Nick felt the urge to hold Rachel close and not let go.

To protect her from any kind of cruelty the world might try and fling at her.

Kiss her until her soul was healed.

Let the world know what he felt for her.

Hold their hands through hell and back.

'Their hands' Nick repeated in his head, freezing up inside like he was a kid getting caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. Instead of an annoyed parent, though, he was the one who caught himself.

“Earth to Nick,” Jason snapped his fingers in front of Nick's face, pulling him out of his train of thought. Nick blinked so his eyes could focus on the Lieutenant in front of him.

“Yeah?”

“Salim and Zain might take a while to catch up,” Jason said, “with our Colonel's permission I will do one last patrol through camp. Give 'em time to talk. Wanna come with?”

“Go ahead,” Eric answered Jason's indirect question, but gave him an apologetic smile, “but I need Sargent Kay here a little longer. Think you can handle this patrol by yourself?”

Jason chuckled as he turned on his heel to walk out the tent.

“Yessir!”

None of them said a word until Jason's footsteps were certainly out of earshot. It was Rachel who broke the silence first.

“Well. That's something.” she mumbled, her expression still as stern as when she was still talking to Jason. Eric leaned forward as much as his body would let him.

“He sounded serious. What is this 'special request' all about?”

“He didn't give me the details. Emphasized I need to make sure Zain will actually get through to London and that Zain was carrying something important.” she muttered and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Nick made a confused sound.

“The hell does that mean? Did Zain kill somebody or some shit?”

Rachel shrug her shoulders and then turned to her husband, a different kind of sternness in her eyes.

“No idea. Whatever, you are more important right now.”

Eric swallowed and raised his hands defensively.

“I know, Rach, I know. I promised Nick that he can take a look at it already. You can calm down now.” he explained frantically, to which his wife stuck out her jaw.

“You better.” she replied, grabbed Eric by the hand and pushed him onto the cot. Like making sure he wouldn't change his mind midway through, she sat down half beside him, half behind him and put her hands on both of his shoulders, squeezing lightly.

Eric sighed.

“Okay, okay. I promise, I'll stay right here.”

Nick didn't bother hiding the chuckle that escaped his throat. His Colonel looked like a boy being put into his place at the doctors office by his mother. Still grinning he opened his backpack, making sure whatever tools and medication he might need was close enough to grab.

“Permission to run my hand up your leg, Sir?”

Eric made an unimpressed face and gently kicked Nick in the shin, making Rachel snort.

“Just making sure.” Nick grinned back and pulled up the leg of Eric's pants until it was shoved up above the knee. The prosthesis had a few scratches here and there and was a bit dirty from their previous adventure with the vampires, but otherwise looked perfectly intact. The skin of Eric's knee however was already starting to turn red with irritation. Nick frowned at the sight.

“Shit looks painful.” he thought out loud.

“Shit feels painful.” Eric retorted and leaned forward to unclip the fake leg. Nick helped him pull it and the bit of fabric protecting his skin off so he could take a better look. Eric's right leg was cut off a few inches below the knee and his skin was red with irritation. A sigh of relief escaped Eric's lips as the pressure was finally released.

Nick noticed Rachel wince in the corner of his eye.

“Fuck, Eric. You should've said something.”

Eric didn't respond as he looked down sheepishly.

Nick tried to be as gentle as possible as he checked Eric's leg for injuries or chafing that broke the skin. Luckily it seemed that it was just the pressure that hurt the most.

“Well, good thing is you're not bleeding. All that chafing merely irritated the skin,” he explained, hand still resting on Eric's knee, “do you want some ice? Or painkillers?”

The Colonel bit his lower lip in thought.

“You got any ointment? It's a tad itchy.” he ultimately requested. Nick burrowed his hand in his backpack, fumbling around until he found a bottle of ointment. Without thinking he opened it and was already holding his other hand under it to catch the liquid when he stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth went dry at the thought of rubbing the ointment over Eric's leg, massaging it into his naked skin.

Even worse, what if Eric insisted on taking off his pants so that they wouldn't get drenched in ointment?

Feeling his brain short-circuiting for a second he awkwardly held out the opened bottle for Eric to grab, praying that the heat in his cheeks wasn't visible in the dim light.

“... thanks.” Eric mumbled and took the bottle with a raised eyebrow. Rachel mirrored her husbands confusion but said nothing. Nick swallowed, trying to moisturize his throat and then turned to his lover.

“Your arm. How's it holding up?” he asked gently. Despite what Nick had expected, Rachel didn't wave him off, instead she pulled her shirt up and above her head, even though Nick merely needed her to pull up a sleeve, revealing her upper body wrapped in only a bra with one upper arm bandaged.

And if his throat wasn't dry before it now turned into sandpaper.

There was no way Rachel didn't know what her half-naked body would do to the two men in the tent with her. She must have done it on purpose, Nick thought, there was no other way to explain this.

Rachel rolled her injured arm a little, testing out how far she can push her pain limits and then smiled at Nick.

“I can work with it. Probably just needs some cleaning.”

Nick nodded, trying not to stare at Rachel's skin, just like Eric desperately attempted to put his entire focus on massaging the ointment into his irritated skin. They both had mediocre success, casting Rachel a few shy glances here and there. The woman let Nick unwrap her upper arm, noticing (or anticipating) his shaking fingers. Nick cursed at himself in his mind. He must really be down bad if Rachel's not even naked upper body and Eric's exposed leg of all things made his skin tingle like he was a horny teenager.

The marine cleared his throat as he cleaned the wound, checking for any signs that it wasn't healing correctly. He was pleasantly surprised to see that it was doing well.

“Looks good,” he croaked, “should be gone in a few days.”

Rachel giggled at Nicks reaction, grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled him closer until their lips touched. Nicks heart did a flip in his chest and he leaned in to deepen the kiss as much as he could, careful not to touch Rachel's still exposed wound.

Rachel gently pushed him away again after a few heartbeats, breaking the kiss, making Nick's heart yearn for more. For a second Rachel stared at him, counting the freckles on Nick's cheeks.

Their eye contact broke when Eric leaned in from the side, one hand slowly brushing through Rachel's hair until he held the back of her head in his hand. Nick leaned back to give the married couple some space and something started to build up in his guts as he watched their eyes connect. Nick already had this feeling when they were down in the temple, a heat that made his skin prickle. Down there he called it jealousy. He called it frustration and anger.

And maybe it was jealousy.

But not the kind he initially thought it was.

His eyes were glued to them, he couldn't dare look away, and as soon as Eric's lips brushed Rachel's Nick felt a breath stuck in his throat.

And then the buzzing sound of a radio made all three of them jump. Nick, who was closest to their equipment, leaned over, fumbling with his hands as he tried to grab the radio when Salim's voice came through, speaking Arabic. Nick tilted his head when he heard his last name in between the foreign words but Rachel crawled off the cot and snatched the radio from his hands.

“That's for me.” she explained but before she could push the button to reply a different voice cut through.

“Keep that shit off the radio. You know English, speak it. Made us think there was an enemy nearby.”

“Sounds like Jones,” Nick grumbled and scrunched up his nose in anger, “fucking asshole.”

Another voice joined the conversation, if you could call it that, a groggy sounding Jason telling Salim to disregard what Jones hat barked at him and giving said marine a verbal beat-down to shut him up.

Eric raised his eyebrows in respect for his Lieutenant.

“Heard my name, though, and sure didn’t understand the message, so say again, Othman?” Jason asked through the radio and now Rachel decided would be a good time to step in.

“It was for me, Kolchek.” she explained, not trying to hide the smirk that shone through her words. She talked in Arabic without waiting for a reply, dropped the radio in Nick's hands and grabbed her shirt.

“Salim wants to talk to me. It shouldn't take long.”

“I haven't finished wrapping up your wound, though.” Nick complained but Rachel held up a hand to make him stop.

“We can do that afterwards. Like you said, it's looking good already. It can manage a few minutes of air.”

Flashing the two men a soft smile she disappeared into the dark of the night, leaving Eric and Nick alone in the tent. There was a hint of awkwardness in the air and neither of them spoke a word for what felt like ages. Nick's mind was starting to come up with all sorts of fantasies about what Eric could be thinking right now. Was he upset, sad, frustrated, jealous?

Nick didn't dare look at the Colonel, instead sucking on his teeth as nervousness filled his body. This was the first time Rachel had kissed both of them back to back while the other man watched. And without the threat of death looming over them.

“I, uh,” Eric finally spoke, clearing his throat, “... we good?”

Nick couldn't help but notice the irony in those words. He turned to Eric, who had a slight rosy tint in his cheeks, and allowed for his lips to curl upwards.

“Yeah, we good.”

Eric smiled back, seemingly relieved.

“Thank you, by the way. For your help.”

Nick accepted the bottle of ointment offered back to him and put it in his backpack.

“'s what I'm here for, Sir,” Nick saluted, but in a less formal way. Eric shook his head.

“Maybe, but still. Considering our backstory, I guess it would be understandable if you didn't feel like helping me out. Even though you are certainly a very loyal and dedicated soldier.”

Nick decided to take the compliment with grace. He walked over and dared to sit next to Eric on the cot, still ready to get up as soon as he notices any uncomfortableness in Eric's aura. Which he didn't.

“I suppose getting my ass saved more than once by you helped change my opinion,” he admitted shyly, “you're not as stuck-up as I thought you were.”

The corners of Eric's lips curled up, enjoying their conversation.

“You're welcome. I'm also very grateful that you didn't let me fall into those ditches. I definitely owe you, Nick.”

Once again, the spark in Nick's chest glimmered like embers. His fists tensed up on his lap, trying desperately to suppress this feeling. It's just gratefulness, he reminded himself, Nick was grateful and nothing else.

“You made up for it the moment you gave me your UV lamp when I went into the nest. Took me by surprise, though, but I'm thankful.”

“Speaking of which, I don't know if it was bravely stupid or stupidly brave of you to do that. I mean, it did an impressive amount of damage and you made it out fine, so I guess it was a success. But I wonder what went through your mind.”

Eric leaned slightly forward, trying to catch Nicks eyes. Nick knew the ball was in his court now and he had the choice to either play it cool or open up to Eric of all people and show his true colors.

The latter was probably the healthier option, he decided.

“I guess I wanted to protect. I was terrified the entire way down there, good thing you guys couldn't see the face I made when one of those things was looking for me. Thought I was having a heart attack,” he joked but Eric didn't laugh so Nick continued. “As soon as I placed the last round of explosives though, and saw those things around me, the fear was gone in an instant. Instead I was thinking of the people I hold dear. My family, my fellow marines, Jason, Rachel...”

Nick huffed a tiny laugh.

“Even Salim and you were on my mind. Dunno if it was some sort of twisted heroism complex, but as soon as I popped the flare I prayed that you guys would make it out alive.”

Nick paused and finally dared to properly look at Eric. The Colonel was sitting straight, taking in Nick's face like he desperately wanted to hear more. The spark turned into embers once again and Nick drowned in Eric's amber eyes for a second before continuing.

“I thought I was about to die for real. But you heard me. You guys came back for me.”

A sympathetic expression adorned Eric's face and he nodded ever so slightly.

“... I couldn't leave one of my best men behind.”

Nick heard what Eric said and it resulted in a war of conflicting emotions. On one hand he was happy to get yet another compliment, to proudly wear this verbal medal that Eric just awarded him with.

On the other hand he felt incredibly humbled. Was he truly just another soldier in Eric's eyes?

Both sides tucked at him, swaying him back and forth between pride and disappointment. He tried his hardest not to show his insecurity on the outside.

“Thank you,” he said instead, his voice a little sharper than before, “I appreciate that, Colonel.”

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Nick could have sworn he saw a hint of regret in Eric's gaze, like he wanted to take back what he said or reword it so his feelings came across better. Nick ultimately wrote it off as nothing, so he dropped it, even if part of him wanted Eric to explain further.

“Ow, what the fuck Rach?!”

Jason's offended sounding voice echoed through to their tent and Nick and Eric immediately burst out laughing.

“Sounds like she's done talking.” Eric commented through his laugh. Nick nodded.

“No idea what he did, but Jason probably deserved it.”

The entrance of the tent was pushed open and Rachel stepped through, a hint of relief and pride on her face. She flopped down between Nick and Eric, grinning to herself.

“He's such an idiot.” she exclaimed, obviously talking about Jason and Nick couldn't agree more.

“Do we even dare to ask?” Eric smirked in Rachel's direction but his wife waved him off.

“He was just worried about nothing. Felt the urge to kick him in the shin for it, so I did.”

Nick expressed his admiration for his lover by whistling.

“Kicking a sleeping Kolchek, you're truly brave, Ma'am.”

“Speaking of sleeping,” Rachel turned her attention towards Nick, “where will you sleep? Zain will be with Salim until 0400 when I pick him up, so that's occupied until then.”

Nick pulled together his eyebrows as he thought through all the options he had. Maybe he could find a spare cot in the equipment tent, or curl up in the back of the truck. None of those options sounded appealing, though.

“Do you have a pillow?” he asked, ultimately settling on the back of the truck.

Eric nodded and turned towards a bag hidden under the cot, opening it and pulling out a pillow like the two already on the bed. Nick raised is arm to grab it but Eric threw it onto the cot instead like it was the most obvious thing in the world to do. He showed genuine confusion when Nick widened his eyes.

“Oh. I thought you-” Eric stuttered, “... I thought you meant that you want to sleep here with us. Was I wrong?”

His heart skipped a beat as Nick glanced back and forth between the pillow and Eric. Although this wasn't what he intended, he felt a kind of happiness rise up in his stomach.

“Uhm, I mean, I'd rather do that than what I had in mind.”

“What did you have in mind?” Rachel chimed in, squinting at her lover in suspicion. Nick raised his hands.

“I mean, the truck's pretty safe? I could've made that work.” he explained himself, faltering more and more with each word he spoke under Rachel's gaze. The woman shook her head.

“Nonsense. You're sleeping here with us. Colonel's orders.”

Eric looked shyly between the two people in front of him.

“I thought that was obvious.”

Nick couldn't help but smile softly. The fact that Rachel and Eric thought letting Nick sleep with them was self-evident made his appreciation for them increase tenfold. Well, he might have expected something like that from Rachel, but Eric?

All it did was set the spark in his chest aflame once more.

Rachel kicked off her boots and took a quick look at her watch.

“Still got a few hours until I have to pick up Zain. Enough time for a power nap.” she decided and turned to Nick. “Can you wrap me up so I can sleep a bit?”

Nick gratefully returned to his nurse duties, finished cleaning up Rachel's wound and put a fresh bandage around it. He then followed suit and unlaced his boots, put them neatly under the cot and crawled across the blanket until he was at the far side of the cot, next to the tent wall. It felt good, really good, to lay down next to Rachel again, like they did back at the base but this time without the constant gas masks watching their every move. On the other end of the cot Eric ran a hand through his hair, rubbed over his sore leg once or twice and then stretched out next to Rachel on the cot. They had to snuggle up a little, the cot was bigger than the standard sizes but still only supposed to support two people maximum. Nick didn't care. He enjoyed being able to wrap his arms around Rachel and pull her closer. Rachel cuddled up to both men, her forehead resting against Nicks chest and the back of her legs pressed against Eric's.

“I'll try not to wake you up.” she mumbled.

“The way you're clinging onto us might make that pretty hard.” Nick giggled, already feeling his limbs getting heavier. Eric chuckled behind Rachel.

“You can wake me up. For my goodbye kiss.”

“Stop acting like I won't return. You're so needy.” Rachel retorted harshly but the smile in her voice was too obvious not to notice.

“I want my goodbye kiss too.” Nick added, voice getting groggy.

“So needy.” Rachel repeated.

Nick managed to exhale a barely audible giggle.

And the last thing he remembered before drifting off to sleep were the rustling sound of fabric and the fingertips of a third hand resting on his waist.

[bluerazberrysoda]

really odd and random assorted riordanverse hcs

leo genuinely called hot girls 'the huzz' for a long while before piper told him to stop

apollo was actually the one who started the queen never cry meme

grover introduced percy to kdrama and they watch together now (they both cry)

nico listens to vocaloid and hes really cagey and ashamed about it. his favorite song is romeo and cinderella

grover won gold for a rock climbing competition in rural ny. he did not train at all

annabeth LOVES ace attourney. she sneaks her ds into camp to play it

rachel will often pull her friends and dress them up in different styles to experiment with tailoring and stuff. percy got teased for a while for walking around in a full scene fit

piper practiced pagan witchcraft for a while before she was put into wilderness school

hazel can perfectly hit a bullseye with a musket. she does not know how, because she has never held a gun prior to discovering this

frank will turn into a fennec fox and burrow himself into the ground when he gets really stressed

alex is really into jfashion and gyaru specifically. sometimes she gets magnus to let her do the makeup on him

when percy was in ahs he tricked a group of freshmen into thinking he was jesus reincarnate by walking on water

piper knows how to ride a jetski

reyna always has a pack of cigs and a lighter on her so she can brood and smoke on her lonesome

jason got an alpha wolf shirt from frank on christmas. they both think its tuff af

will has glasses. he only realized when he was testing a camper's vision and HE couldn't read the third line of letters

meg regularly watches the lorax

thalia gets a 'happy 15th birthday' card every year from annabeth. she is never amused

frank really casually plays dark souls and elden ring and wu kong and hes like unnaturally good

percy hates singing for a crowd but he loves performing. he has dreams of becoming a guitarist but hes never told anyone about it

magnus can dance like crazy. hes literally so embarrassed whenever anybody catches him but he moves like hypnotizingly

hazel loves wearing anything fur or feather. no boa or scarf is safe from her