dlpktm

[sad-littletalker]

If Bruce is covering as Nightwing right now, who's acting as Batman in Gotham?

Tim: ok so any takers for the cowl?

*everyone looks at Jason as he is the second oldest*

Jason: oh no way. Absolutely not. Tim?

Tim: after evil gun Batman? ha. Nope. Plus DC doesn't pay much attention to me to make a good story about that.

Damian: may I-

Everyone: no.

Stephanie: OH I COULD BE PURPLE BATMAN!

Cassandra: I want to be Batman if Steph is my Robin

*everyone considers it*

Tim: that... isn't a bad idea actually. I like it.

[batrachois]

Keeping up with the Waynes — now on Batflix

[dcxdpdabbles]

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my godd!!! I just read your Jason's Doll fic and I am cackling!! oh I just adore it! much love to you and your work!!❤️🩷💝

A smear article suddenly surfaces, targeting Jason. More precisely, a paparazzi, with no regard for decency, captures a moment of Jason having tea with Danny.

In a cruel twist, the article's wording ridicules Jason for still engaging in tea parties with dolls, insinuating that his lost time may have inflicted more damage than Bruce is willing to acknowledge publicly.

It wouldn't have been so bad if not for what followed after the taunts. People on the internet, hiding behind their usernames and accounts, started spreading rumors that Jason was either gaining brain damage or that he preferred children.

In the same way that people once accused Bruce of when news of him taking in a young boy broke.

As if though it wasn't a child that had watched his parents die before him.

It is disgusting. It's cruel.

Yes, he knew that it was haunted by whatever Danny was (Jason still insists that his friend is an alien of some kind), but that didn't mean he couldn't be a regular doll.

It fills Tim with hate for the people who think they can use brain damage as an insult and for the people who would accuse Jason of such a horrid crime for something as simple as a doll.

There was nothing wrong with Jason just wanting a doll. How dare they?

Despite Babs' swift actions to track down and expose every post, the relentless chatter continues. Once unleashed, the public's judgment proves difficult to contain.

Jason claims he doesn't care. He moves his tea time closer to the gate, sets up a reading nook underneath the big tree, and builds Danny his swing.

The soft clicking of cameras becomes so common around the Wayne property that Bruce has to "hire" Matches Malone to keep them away.

Matches take great pleasure turning a hose on the screaming people, laughing whenever they threaten to report him for assault as if Bruce couldn't buy out an entire law firm.

Tim has to deal with people's whispers whenever he goes to work. He knows they are talking about his older brother, that they stare at him, even if they look away when he glances back, and he refuses to buckle under their stupidity.

Jason has had a rough few years; the fact that Danny kept him sane is all that matters to him.

Yes, there are times when Tim is fifty percent sure that Danny is made from pure Fear Gas, but that doesn't mean he will let people bad-mouth him. Tim keeps his head held high, staring down at anyone who makes eye contact with him, and mentally plans their downfall.

His impeccable composure takes Tim through his whole day, treating the article like a gossip rag desperate for a story.

He would have finished strong were it not for the scream that is ripped from his throat the moment he walks into his office. Danny is there, sitting on his desk, a little hand resting on the open screen of his computer- one that Tim knows he had locked when he stepped away for his meeting- displaying the original article.

The part that made him scream wasn't the sight of Danny; he'd gotten used to seeing that little toy around the manor. What made him scream was the fact that he could tell Danny was angry.

In every single interaction Tim had with his brother's not-boyfriend, he could tell the other found it funny that he managed to scare someone. It was never his intention to be frightening, but now? Now, he was.

And Tim was downright horrified to know that Danny wanted him to fix it. He didn't need to understand the harsh, fast-paced whispers flowing through the room, though it did mean that the people who crowded the hall after hearing him scream quickly figured out why. A few had even stuck themselves with a needle, applying the anti-fear Toxin that most of the wealthier citizens of Gotham carried.

The others ran away, panicked, and Tim was left standing like a moron as the whispering grew louder and louder until suddenly, in a bright flash of two glowing rings, there was a man sitting on his desk.

A very familiar, pretty man but colored incorrectly.

"-don't know what the hell they are talking about!" Danny sneers voiced raised in a clear harsh volume. "I have half the mind to show them a real story. Maybe a few new bodies floating down the river will make them understand."

"Danny…."

"Or I can help Red Hood find them. I'm sure they don't need-"

"Danny!" Tim shouts, unable to handle the pressure of fear in the air, the realization that maybe Jason was right and he was a form of alien, or the fact that all of his "loyal" employees had left him here to die beside his PA. Tam was unconscious; she had buckled under the fear, but she was here in spirit.

Green glowing eyes swung to him, burning with rage. "What!?"

"You… you have a body." He sputtered, and those green eyes lost a bit of their shine as they blinked slowly. Danny carefully reached up to his face's features, touching them gently, as if he was not used them.

And maybe he wasn't. Danny had been Jason's doll for nearly a decade. He has likely been porcelain that entire time and forgotten what it was like to be corporal.

"Oh. I'm Phantom." Danny mutters before his eyes snap back towards him and- another flash. Another set of rings is made of bright lights, and the doll returns colors reversed.

Tim collapsed to his knees, gasping desperately for air, and Danny sat on his desk without a hint of ever being anything but fabric. They stare at each other momentarily, and Tim feels like Danny is just as bewildered as him until he clears his throat and lifts himself to stand.

His knees shake a bit, but Tim ignores them with practiced ease. "Right. So we must get back at those jerks for what they say about Jason."

[rmbunnie]

I see so much of "is post-crisis Robin Jason an innocent little sweetie-pie or a mean aggro delinquent" and after reading through all of his batman and detective comic issues post-crisis I think i can safely say he's... an introverted and distrustful, but altogether friendly teen boy who has convinced himself to the deepest level that he is an Adult Man, and also does not hold a particularly good view of adults.

The sweet little babypie characterization falls a little short (assuming we aren't being too silly with it, there's plenty of that in the comedy issues of tec) because it disregards the part where he's a jaded teenager who is constantly going off and trying to take care of his own problems like "his own man" and reacts negatively to any breach of trust or move to take care of him. But negative doesn't mean "violent and rageful." The delinquent angle is incorrect because not only is his disposition peppy, silly, and agreeable most of the time, but assuming the problem upsetting him isn't a predator or the guy who killed his dad (and three out of four canon instances it is a predator to be clear) he reacts to emotional turmoil with Bruce by bedrotting, sulking, communicating through notes, and overall being avoidant. The only times he lashes out are when Bruce is calling him out or after Bruce told him to his face that he chose to look for the Joker over looking for him, and that case of "lashing out" is just getting a little snarky.

More than anything his main personality trait (besides being silly, a robin staple) is kinda coming into this parentified as fuck. Not that it's Catherine's fault, but it really shaped his character, like one of the first things he says to Bruce (after he promised not to turn Jason in to the foster system) is that he kept her fed and warm as long as he could like he wasn't her ten year old child when he started. It's why he views himself on the same level as adults and why he gets all closed off at any insinuation that he needs to be taken care of, both of which heavily inform his dynamic with Bruce. He's constantly checking in on Bruce's wellbeing, like half of Batman: the Cult is just him taking care of Bruce while he recuperates from being brainwashed. (Side note, he's also constantly asking Bruce stuff like "what's your relationship like with this woman or this rogue or the concept of religion, how did that play out, how do you feel about it?" he is Very chatty like that.) The first thing he does when Sheila tells him her (revised to exclude medical malpractice) life story is hold HER and try to affirm her struggle. After a while he starts to act more childish with Bruce (although he doesn't really stop trying to brush off attempts to care for him) but as soon as Bruce admits he prioritized crimefighting over Jason and didn't show up to look after Jason like Jason assumed he came there for, Jason snaps back to acting very independent and rejecting any attempts to be looked after on any terms other than some kind of "equals" thing, which he isn't, as he's a 15 year old boy. Like. He's very sweet to his former neighbor, but also he refers to being a homeless child and the sole provider in his condemned building living situation as "getting by" to her.

He's definitely not. some bloodthirsty delinquent, at least to anyone who's not an uber-misogynistic predator, and he like demonstrably is a pretty sweet kid. It's just that when people say he's a sweet kid they kinda just jump to "untraumatized eight-year-old who grew up in a loving family and just got a new puppy from Santa" instead of "good hearted and curious teenager who has trust issues and is deeply uncomfortable with being taken care of, so kinda just compromises by pretending his dad is a Friend Doing him a Solid and acts like his kid only when he has plausible deniability so he can't get the rug pulled out from under him." Of course. He does kinda get the rug pulled out from under him despite all that. So there's that.

[etoileee]

here are pictures that remind me of the hero’s of olympus as someone who’s shifted to percy jackson!

—PERCY JACKSON

—JASON GRACE

—LEO VALDEZ

—FRANK ZHANG

—NICO DI ANGELO

—ANNABETH CHASE

—PIPER MCLEAN

—HAZEL LEVESQUE

— REYNA AVLIA RAMÍREZ ARLLANO

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

He broke through to the surface, taking large desperate gasps of air before getting sucked back beneath by the current. Danny fought against the water as hard as his little paws would allow.

Just when he felt all hope was lost and he was sinking, a large hand enveloped his entire body and hefted him back into the open air. Shivering and coughing out water he didn't catch whatever the man had said. He continued shivering violently as the guy wrung out Dannys fur.

The mans hands were warm despite the brown leather gloves covering them. They made Danny feel comforted and energized almost as if the man had...oh gods! He did! The man had ecto inside of him! Thank the ancients! Now he just had to stick with glove guy and he could recharge! It would be slow but still!

"Here we are little guy." The man said and Danny noticed all at once that the man had been walking the whole time Danny had been stuck in his head. He looked around and noticed the Animal Shelter sign in front of them.

No. No! Danny needed to stick to this guy if he ever hoped to become a human again. But despite how he dug his claws into the flesh of the mans exposed arm and yowled the man in the red mask managed to get him lose and left him in the care of an animal social worker.

Danny was checked out and placed in the tiny jail cell alongside other kittens and cats, many who were scared, miserable or just desperate for love and attention. This of course meant he needed to plot a jail break. Fortunately, he could still used most of his powers but without any ecto around he would have no way to recharge them outside of food or indulging in his obsession.

Needless to say Jason was a little startled when he woke up the next day to not one, but five little kittens meowing at him for food. He swears the one sitting smugly on his chest is the same one he dropped off at the animal shelter yesterday, but that couldn't be right...

One call confirmed it. All of thier animals had escaped last night and there was a suspiciously animal sized arch taken out of the wall with an unknown tool. Demon brat would be delighted at the news.

Unfortunately for Hood the smug little black cat he rescued yesterday had decided that his shoulder was the perfect perch and stayed there more often than not. Little guy got into food often but refused to eat kibble and any attempt to get the kitten away from the mashed potatoes resulted in violence or density shifting to get back to the food.

At this point danny almost didn't care if he returned to being human so long as he got to eat more of his humans cooking. He swears Jason is magical because everything he makes tastes amazing

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 333

I once more believe Battinson Batman needs to be given a child. Or multiple. Multiple children. I am also once more rotating Ghosts Have Wings Au. 

So Batman, still early in his whole vigilante career ends up busting a shipment, nothing too surprising there. Pretty usual honestly. Except for what was in one of the crates already open. Because it looks like some sort of gemstones but… perfectly spherical. Strange. Suspicious. 

But it’s also late, er, early in the morning, and the GCPD is notoriously corrupt, so like, he’s not going to just leave the weird gemstones, each about the size of a plum or so. (Dear Gotham he’s apparently hungry, and might inwardly vow to never let anyone realize what his tired mind decided to use as measurement) 

So he, unknowingly spurred on by more than just a slight bit of ecto contamination, takes the strange spheres back home. Just puts them in his pockets and heads back to the manor that they moved back into after the whole Riddler mess. (He even found a cool cave! With a bunch of terrifying bats, but they made a glass separator! For safety!) 

But in Bruce’s defense of forgetting about them, he’s more than a little tired and hungry and just wants to sleep for a bit, y’know? So maybe he forgets about the gems as he falls asleep in the chair in the cave (Alfred was not pleased!) until he starts digging around for them. Erm. Did they fall out somewhere?? There’s no holes in his belt pockets… 

And maybe these sort of things shouldn’t slip his mind, the spheres had felt Weird with a capital W, but he gets forced to a circus and there’s an… accident. So maybe he pushed it away as not important because there’s now an angry grieving eight-year old living with him and he’s panickedly reading any and all sort of parenting books he can get a hold of because he has no clue what he’s doing. 

Yeah, maybe his back is itching like crazy no matter what he tries, and maybe he threw up the other day, but it’s fine. This is fine. 

….

Oh dear Gotham those are feathers, this is not fine- ALFREEED!

[flwrkid14]

Falling for the One You Can’t Have

Jason had never been one to catch feelings easily, especially not in Gotham’s mess of a world where life moved too fast, too unpredictably. But it started small—just another rescue, another guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. A witty joke here, a grateful smile there, and soon, Jason found himself seeking out the boy who seemed to be Gotham’s favorite target for muggings and kidnappings.

Danny, the guy with a laugh that rang through the night and eyes that always sparkled with a mischievous glint, had become a small, unexpected light in Jason’s world. Sure, Jason wasn’t some lovesick idiot—he told himself that constantly. But each time he saved Danny, the witty banter and the easy way they fell into conversation made him feel something more. Slowly but surely, the small crush grew.

He started to look forward to bumping into Danny, even if it was because of yet another mugging or hostage situation. Jason would stick around for a little longer after each rescue, tossing casual remarks, feeling his heart beat a little faster every time Danny laughed at one of his jokes. The thought of asking Danny out had crossed his mind more than once, but it wasn’t like he’d ever had great luck with relationships. Maybe he’d try, though—eventually. He just needed to figure out how to do it without making things awkward.

Then Tim called for a family dinner.

Jason wasn’t exactly thrilled about it. Family dinners weren’t his scene to begin with, and the fact that Tim insisted this one was important only made him more reluctant. But, Tim was family, and it wasn’t like Jason was doing anything else that night. So he dragged himself there, expecting the usual chaos of a Wayne family gathering.

When he arrived, Jason immediately felt something was different. Tim had this weird glint in his eye, like he was excited about something. That was never good. Jason kept his usual distance, sitting near the back, arms crossed, trying not to be annoyed by whatever announcement Tim was about to make.

But then Tim stood up, calling everyone’s attention to the middle of the room. “Hey, thanks for coming, everyone. I have someone I want to introduce to you all. He’s really important to me and has been for a while now.” Jason perked up a little, curiosity getting the better of him. That’s when Tim said it: “This is Danny, my boyfriend.”

Jason felt the floor drop out from under him.

And there, standing beside Tim, was Danny—his Danny, the guy Jason had been saving, the one he’d been building up the courage to ask out. He looked just as charming and witty as ever, smiling brightly at everyone. Jason couldn’t move. He couldn’t think. All he could do was watch as Danny wrapped an arm around Tim and introduced himself to the rest of the family.

It felt like a punch to the gut.

Jason tried to steady his breathing, his hands clenched under the table. He couldn’t break down here, in front of everyone. He had to be cool, calm—just like always. But inside, his heart was shattering. How long had they been together? How had he not known?

When Danny’s gaze met Jason’s, his eyes lit up in recognition. “Oh hey! You’re Red Hood, right? You’ve saved me a bunch of times—thanks for that! I swear, I’m a total danger magnet. Usually Tim’s around to keep me out of trouble, but he’s been busy with Wayne Enterprises stuff lately, so it’s nice to have someone else watching my back.”

Jason nodded numbly, forcing a tight smile. “Yeah, no problem,” he mumbled, his throat tight.

It was worse than Jason could have imagined. Danny had been saving all his love for Tim—Tim, of all people. His younger brother, the one Jason was supposed to protect, the one who had swooped in and taken the one person Jason had allowed himself to care about. Not that Tim knew, of course. No one knew. And Jason couldn’t blame him—he couldn’t blame anyone.

As the dinner progressed, Jason tried to tune out the couple’s affectionate gestures. The way Danny laughed at Tim’s jokes, the soft touches between them, the way they looked at each other like no one else in the world mattered. Each moment felt like a knife twisting deeper into Jason’s chest.

He actively avoided joining in on any conversation with them, keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact. He couldn’t bear to see the love in Danny’s eyes when he looked at Tim, knowing that it would never be directed at him. That dream—the one where Jason had imagined maybe asking Danny out, maybe finding some happiness for himself—it was gone. Shattered.

All Jason could do now was smile through the pain, pretend everything was fine, and show his support for Tim. For both of them. Because that’s what family did, right?

But deep down, it hurt like hell.

Jason excused himself as soon as he could, slipping away from the table before the dinner had even finished. He couldn’t stand to see the two of them any longer. Once outside, he let out a shaky breath, leaning against his motorcycle and staring at the sky.

Jason was always the one saving people. But this time, there was no one to save him from the aching void in his chest.

[kittykatninja321]

can I be a hater for a second whenever I see the fic trope of “Talia purposely told Jason about Tim to get Jason to attack him” I’m like guys I’m gonna be real with you I don’t think Talia would care about that little boy at all

[doink-boink]

DRAWTOBER DAY 24 - SERIAL KILLER

[aflamboyanceofflamingos]

The batkids arguing over who has had the worst injuries and when Jason inevitability brings up the fact that he’s died they start arguing over who’s had the worst death

Bruce is having a aneurysm

[allthegothihopgirls]

asexual jason todd who leans into all the gotham fangirl's sexualisation of him for the funny sillies. (the funny sillies being: unintentionally becoming a sex symbol)

[katiawidow]

I think Jason's love language is spend time with you

İt doesn't matter good time or like hell

He doesn't show it, but he loves it when you stitch up his wounds.

Pick you up after work

Going on patrols together

You once caught a smuggler together. As dangerous as it is, he likes it very much.

"I told you I could handle this alone! Why are you here?!"

And after mission

"thanks for being here"

[dcxdpdabbles]

I've been thinking about a pit assumed mermaid Danny so long. Like the GIW gets their hands on Danny and Danny ends up running away after being dissected and lands right into one of the Lazarus pits not the one that the league of assassin has and he ends up finding out that all of the pits are connected to each other so he uses them to like you know travel around and not be stuck in one place while healing. Damien standing by the pits without being supervised though something down there like just a child being curious he been here is a grumbling thank you. After a while Damien and Danny just get a big brother little sibling relationship and Damian when he leaves to go to his dad is like I promise to come back to save you Free you from the Lazarus pits. Couple years later after Damien established himself as Robin and a barrel agent with his family Damien's always been talking about going back and saving his friend Danny and the rest of the Batfamily is just convinced that Danny's like I'm imaginary friend. So when Damien gets kidnapped by the League of assassins and they're all getting ready to go back home Damian just walked up to the Lazarus pits and goes Daddy I'm here to save you you can come out now then it starts rumbling and outcomes this giant electric glowing green eyes mermaid being like Oh Damian you came back. Sorry for the rambling it's just that I really been thinking about this idea also I love your works.

"Robin! Where are you going!?"

Damian ignores Richard's call. He knows they should be running to the exit where Drake or Todd should fly around with the escape helicopter. He also knows they don't have time to make detours because if they missed that window of escape, the League would not allow them a second chance.

Damian knows. But this is the closest he's gotten to Danny since he was sent away. Now that he knows better, now that he is aware of just how horrible Grandfather and his lot really were, he couldn't just leave his friend here.

Every day that passed, Danny was at risk of being discovered, and who knew what the League of Assassins would want to do to him?

He needed to get him out.

Tonight, Danny was coming to Gotham with him, one way or another.

"Robin, we don't have time for this!"

"I know! I know, but I can't just leave him!" he shouted back, breaking into a sprint down familiar hallways. He dodged a sword swing, tucking and rolling between the legs of an assassin. He twists mid-landing to throw in a Scorpio kick to the head.

He only waits long enough to hear the man grunt. Damian is running away even before the thump of the body hits the ground. He's so close.

"Robin! Nightwing! We're fighting them off, but we can't hold the position for long," Drake shouts into the com that Richard had given him. "We need to do the extraction in two minutes or we're all going to be trapped here!"

He wants to shout at them but can't waste even a second. Damian forces himself to push faster and ignore the burn in his legs as he rounds down the last hallway, attacking the special guards at the gate of the pits.

Unlike the rest of the castle, these two are some of the best the league offers. Damian struggles to find an opening between them and their teamwork. He can also feel the time ticking away with each punch, swing, dodge, and heart-pounding killing blow that nearly lands on his person.

Just a little further. He thinks, panting as he blocks sword after sword, hissing in pain every time one of them manages to make small cuts through his defense. I just have to get a little further!

Bang! Bang!

The two bullets fly, breaking the guard's knees and pinning him down in a sword stalemate. Damian has a moment to thank the heavens that Todd and Richard appeared not even a second later—fighting away the two remaining guards. He watches them fight for a moment, trying to catch his breath.

One minute! Drake hisses, the sounds of gunfire and the wind of the helicopters' wind nearly drowning his voice.

Damian glances at the door, and then his brothers fight, and he makes his decision. He rushes to the door, kicks it open, and sprints down the pathway into the cave. He hears the battle pick up speed behind him, along with Todd's outraged cry of his name, but he does not slow down until the slight green glow comes into view.

"Danny!" he shouts, hoping his voice's sound waves can travel through the green liquid to what is hidden below. "I've come to rescue you!"

Are you kidding me? Todd yells in the coms. We're risking everything while being outnumbered and outgunned so Demon Brat can get his imaginary best friend!?

Damin tushes to the pit, leaning over, trying to spot the mermaid in the glowing water. He splashes the surfaces in the same way he used as a child, when calling for the creature, face darkening at the causation meanwhile. "He is not imaginary! Danny is real!"

Robin, we don't have time for this! Richard screams. We have to go! Now!

"In a minute!" Damian splashes the water more urgently. He could stick his head in, but he was healthy right now, minus the few cuts, and he could not afford to lose his head mid-escape.

We don't have a minute! Drake cries. A worrisome beeping noise accompanies his words. A loud boom is heard along with Drake's screech. I've been hit! I'm going down!

No!

"Danny, please! I need you!"

A small head of pure white hair peaks up from the water, gentle green eyes staring at him. The glowing green hides the rest of his face since the creature did not go further than his nose about the water, but Damian can tell he's smiling.

"Hello, little one."

Damian allows himself one moment of relief before the world starts to shake, and Danny leaves the Lazarus Pits for the first time in fourteen years. He rises out of the water, long, glowing angle fish tail darkening into shadows as his form shifts into a thing of nightmares.

Damian smiles up at him. "Hello, brother. Can you help my other brothers and me escape? "

Danny doesn't even have to consider the request already growing bigger and bigger until Damian is no bigger than his thumb. He then moves grabbing Damian in his ice-cold grasp.

Danny flies through the walls and picks up Ricard and Todd before they go up and out through solid stone. Damian closes his eyes, pressing against Danny's body to protect himself from whiplash and the strong wind.

Danny is insanely fast, which he proves by diving for the falling aircraft and not only catching up to it but also managing to lift it out of the sky. He angles his hand against the doorway, shaking his palm so Damian, Ricahrd, and Todd all tumble out of the gaint being hand into the safety of the chopper.

Danny then swings his massive body towards the horizon, ignoring the Leauge's attempts to capture him. The island is out of sight in seconds, and Damian can breathe a little easier, even though he is pressed against the wall with his screaming siblings.

Danny is going a little too fast in his escape.

"What's happening!?" Drake cries and checks to wiggle back a little from how fast they traveled.

"I invited Danny to live with us!"

"You did what!?"

[dukeofthomas]

back on my jason todd bullshit again

[etoileee]

WE’RE NOT REALLY STRANGERS. ₁

⤷ a percy jackson dr shifting experience!

We were currently sitting on the floor in the poseidon cabin. this is my first time in here.

Piper and Hazel were sitting on the bed behind me, Piper’s hands running through my hair.

When I first got there she told me that my hair was nice and asked if she could play with it, and of course, I said yes because I’m a sucker for people playing with my hair.

and for her.

She asked me what I did for my hair care, and I almost felt bad saying ‘nothing’. the only thing I did was not use heat on my hair, but it wasn’t because I cared about my hair so much, but because I didn't know how to use those tools.

It's unfortunate, I know. I’m a sixteen-year-old girl who did not know how to curl or straighten her hair.

as she ran her fingers through my hair, I found it hard to keep my eyes open, her slender fingers were gently scratching and threading through my hair sending shivers down my spine, making me feel relaxed.

I forced my eyes open and looked around the cabin, It was oddly cooler in here than it was outside, but I say oddly because I didn't see any AC to keep it cool in here. On one of the beds, there was a whale shark plush.

That’s Percy's bed.

Everyone else was talking amongst themselves, probably trying to figure out what to do, but I wasn’t paying attention. I just closed my eyes and focused on the feeling of Piper’s fingering raking through my hair.

The sound of the front door opening makes me open my eyes again out of curiosity about who it may be. It was Nico and a tan blonde boy walking in, their eyes scanning every one of us.

I’m gonna bet to you right now, blondie is a child of Apollo.

“Hey guys,” Jason says with a polite smile, pushing his glasses up his nose. Percy seemed a bit amused like he didn’t expect them to show up.

I hadn’t seen Nico since our talk last night when I weirdly told him about my life before camp half-blood, and the regret was starting to settle in as I felt the embarrassment of telling him about that stir in my stomach.

Why'd I overshare so much?

I mentally facepalm myself.

I know he’s the one that asked, but I still felt awkward about it.

Nico’s eyes fall on me and I avert my gaze somewhere else, trying to not look too awkward and like I was just looking at him without thought, not like I was embarrassed to be seeing him again after last night.

“What are we gonna do?” blondie says sitting down with a smile, his face turns into a puzzled one when he sees me. “I’ve never seen you around before…” he tilts his head as if racking his brain trying to think if we’ve ever interacted before this.

“I got here yesterday,” I say quietly with a subtle nod.

He perks up at that and smiles at me “Ah! That’s why then,” he extends his arm out to me, giving me a handshake “I’m Will Solace,”

His hands are soft and warm.

“Cītlalli Ohara” I let go of his hand and brought it to rest in my lap. I managed a small nod in acknowledgment to Nico next to him, he gave me a nod back.

I want to rip my scalp off.

“PERCY IT’S A MESS UNDER HERE!”

Annabeth's head was currently lost in the darkness under Percy Jackson’s bed in search of some sort of game we could play to pass the time together. “No, it's an organized mess!” Percy yelled from the bathroom running his hand through his dark hair before coming out of the bathroom and getting on the floor to help Annabeth look for the card game.

I laid back on the bed behind me, observing everyone. Piper behind had started braiding my hair.

I know it’s a weird thing to do, but I’ve always been a people watcher. It’s almost like watching a movie for me. I liked learning from people just by looking at them.

I sound like a weirdo.

It is normally not this quiet—

“HEY HEY HEYYY” there he is.

Leo.

The curly-haired boy strutted into the cabin with a grin on his face and surprisingly didn't have on his repair boy suspenders.

I miss the suspenders.

bring back the suspenders, repair boy!

“Hey, star shine,” He says, giving me a fist bump and flashing me a charming smile, my fist making contact with the ring on his.

That kinda hurt.

The area had become more lively now that the tan boy was here, weirdly. Being around him is like having a shot of espresso.

“I FOUND IT!” Percy yells standing back up from under his bed, in his hands is a small red box with white wording, reading;

‘WE’RE NOT STRANGERS.’

we all gather around on the floor, the box being put in the center between all of us. Percy opened the box revealing well-organized cards. “I’ve been wanting to play this for a while” Percy murmurs, Jason taking out the game pamphlet from the box and reading through the game's rules and directions.

“Listen, learn, reflect. you’ll go through three levels of questions, each level becoming deeper. be honest with your answers. you won't be strangers by the end of it.” Jason reads and puts the pamphlet on the bed, careful to not let it be folded or damaged in any way.

He took out the first card from the first level and read it aloud.

“Level 1 Perception: Do you know how others see you? Level 1 is about gaining perspective on what first impressions we give off and challenging the assumptions we make about others.”

Jason sets the card down next to the box “Who wants to go first?” he asks, pushing his round frames up his nose. The lack of response from everyone made him chuckle. “I’ll go first then,” he turns his head to the right to look at Frank.

“You’re like a gentle giant,” he begins, making us laugh softly. “you’ry kind and look out for everyone around you. and we appreciate it a lot, Frank” his tone was genuine.

Frank smiled shyly “Thank you,” Jason nodded his head and Frank turned to his left to answer the question about Hazel “You have a big heart... you care about everyone.” He says looking into her eyes as hazel looks away to hide how flustered she is. which made me smile a little bit.

“Even when you shouldn’t care” he adds, rolling his eyes jokingly, making Hazel slap his shoulder lightly.

Hazel turns to her left seeing that she’s to answer the question about Nico.

She smiled and began to speak “I think people would perceive you as cold or mean, but I don’t see you that way,” the tension in Nico’s shoulders seemed to relax a bit as she spoke like he wasn’t used to people speaking of him this way.

“you’re extremely observant, you read people very well, you’re a good listener,” she rambled on about the boy, making me smile again. I had only met Nico yesterday, but I found myself agreeing with everything she said.

“Okay okay—that's enough” Nico cuts her off, letting out a little huff. Shaking his head.

He didn't mean it rudely, he just seemed flustered, and or annoyed. like he didn’t like talking about himself.

Nico turned his attention to Will sitting on his left, he wore his usual stoic expression, but his eyes told me something else. “You’re nice,” he shrugs acting indifferent and looking down at the floor, his right hand twisting the rings on his left. “you’re really nice” He speaks again but this time quieter.

My face softened a bit watching the scene. It was sweet, even if Nico looked like he’d rather jump off a cliff right now.

Will smiled at him softly and gave him a little nod, he knew that was all Nico would say about him.

Will turned to Piper to answer the question about her “You aren’t shy about your opinions and feelings on this, and I admire that a lot about you,” his smile got bigger as he spoke, “You’re passionate about the things you care about, I like that about you.”

Piper seemed shocked for a second before laughing softly “Thanks Will” she said pushing her brown choppy hair out of her face.

I didn't miss the way Jason smiled either.

Piper’s eyes met mine, and I don’t know why, but I felt dread.

I met all of them yesterday, what could she— any of them have to say about me?

“You’re hard to read,” her eyes studied mine like we were looking for something in them. We all stayed quiet waiting for her to continue. “I don’t know much—anything about you, really,” she shook her head.

“But I like you.” she finishes.

I stared at her for a little bit, literally having no idea what to say.

“I like you too,” I say just above a whisper, I don’t even know if anyone other than her would’ve heard it.

I turned to Leo next to me to answer the question about him, not giving myself enough time to watch Piper’s reaction to what I said. I didn't wanna know.

I stared at him for a few seconds and a grin slowly appeared on his face as I did. “I think you’re really fun,” he’s full-blown smiling now “I’m fun? That's all I get?” he tilts his head teasingly at me.

I roll my eyes playfully, shaking my head “You’re really fun. there? happy?” I tease back trying to not smile. He sighs dramatically, running his hand through his black curls “I guess…”

He turns to his left, Reyna sitting next to him “You,” he points a finger at her “You scare me hella,” I bite my cheek to keep me from laughing, I hear Piper next to me let out a low laugh.

“But you’re a damn good warrior, and I respect you a lot.” he finishes.

Reyna’s face softened as she processed what Leo said about her, she didn't say anything, she just wore a thoughtful expression. Leo smiled and held his fist up to her. She smiled and collided her fist with his in a lighthearted fist bump.

Reyna turns to Annabeth next to her and says “I have a lot of respect for you too” She has an accent, but I genuinely cannot tell where it's from. “It’s been an honour to night along side of you.” her voice firm. she means it.

Annabeth looked touched by what she said, but her face hardened a bit again, “Thank you,” she said back to her, i’ts obvious they both had mutual respect for each other.

Annebth turned to Percy, and it seemed like she had been dreading her turn this whole game. Percy smiled mischievously, he had been waiting for this to happen. He points to his ear, mocking and anticipating whatever she’s about to say.

“I don’t like anything about you.”

Nico lets out a sort, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Yeah yeah laugh it up,” Percy says rolling his eyes and making a few of us snicker in his response.

Percy turns to Jason, the last person left. “You take care of all of us.. and you’re responsible. We’d probably be lost without you” He says lightheartedly.

We move on to the more lighthearted part of the game,

I read my card aloud “Give this card to the best listener.”

You mean the boy I’d been avoiding making eye contact with for the last 15 minutes?

I stare at the card for a few moments before looking up a Nico, his face unreadable as usual. I extend my arm out, holding the card between my middle and pointer fingers. He takes it from me, glancing down at the card before up at me again.

He didn't say anything, he just looked at me for a little bit before moving on.

“Give this card to the biggest flirt” Nico reads, his tone indifferent. without a second thought, he gives the card to Leo.

Leo smiles and takes the card from him. somewhat prideful “Y’know it,” he says taking a card from the unread pile and reading it.

“Gives this card to the person that stirs the pot,”

We all know who that is.

“Jackson,” Annabeth laughs, clapping her hands together. Percy grins and puts his hands together, bowing his head down. “That’s for you, love,” Leo says in a posh accent putting the card in Percy’s hands like it’s something precious.

“D1 instigator” Piper jokes, making us laugh.

“Give this card to someone you want to get to know better.” Percy reads before looking up at me, handing me the card with an awkward smile, the kind with both your lips pressed together in a line.

It made his dimples visible.

I take the card from him laying it on the floor next to me, I reach out to get a new card and read “Give this card to the most intimidating.”

I stare at the card for a few seconds, trying to figure out who to give it to.

Annabeth,

Reyna,

Nico,

That’s who’s going through my mind right now.

after a few moments of thinking about my answer, I look up at Annabeth and Reyna, still trying to decide on who to give it to. “You guys can share that,” I say, putting the card in front of both of them.

There was a ghost of a smile on Annabeth’s lips, Reyna’s face stayed emotionless.

I think I might be growing on them.