i have suddenly become obsessed with a theme that HoO established but never proceeded to extrapolate on, which is:
You are Percy Jackson, and you have been swapped with a boy who was allegedly everyone's favorite person, but they have decided to replace him with you. They just met you. You stand next to his best friend and the people he's known his entire life. In his home. In his cloak. In his place. They stopped looking for him.
You are Jason Grace, and you have just found out you have a long lost sister who completely replaced you in her life with this girl you just met. Your lives and personalities are mirrors. She is you, living the life you were robbed of.
You are Annabeth Chase, and you have just become starkly aware that you have been inhabiting the void left behind by your best friend's long lost brother. You and Luke were just replacements for him. Now you have to look him in the eyes when he has nothing and know you took that life from him.
You are Piper McLean, and you have just found out your relationship is fake and built entirely on the memories of Annabeth Chase. You have been given a boyfriend when hers has been taken away. You have no idea how much of it is real or not but regardless you feel like if your relationship isn't exactly in their image that you have failed.
You are Leo Valdez, and you have just learned that you are the echo of your great-grandfather. You are not your own person. You just exist to be a mirror of him. A doppelganger. An actor and stunt double facing all the danger he never had to but wearing his face. To be there for his best friend decades later simply because he couldn't. You are playing a role. A seventh wheel and a pawn for a goddess who carefully sculpted your entire life for her own purposes.
You are Hazel Levesque, and the only reason you are alive is because your brother couldn't save your his sister. You are a consolation prize. An apology. Your existence here is misplaced in every way but you inhabit it anyways.
You are Frank Zhang, and you are a shapeshifter. Inhabiting your own body feels strange and clumsy when you could be literally anything at any time. You are anything and everything and live your life with the simple certainty of knowing exactly how you will die.
He's shaking. His heart is burning in his chest, pounding like a jackhammer against his ribs, and there's a trembling, aching rage building beneath his tongue and pressing against his teeth.
In his hands, his fingers tense and wrists locked, the article reads in big, black font: JOKER LOCKED IN ARKHAM ASYLUM AGAIN!
Danny shouldn't feel so angry about this, this is a good thing. Gotham doesn't have to deal with him for another few months at the least. He should feel relieved, a little more at peace.
He is not.
He cannot swallow the fury thudding behind his eyes, the burning white heat searing a deeper hole in his chest. A searing green filling static in his ears in the way only the rage of the restless dead can have.
How is he going to kill him now?
Arkham may be the only asylum in America made entirely of tissue paper, but it's still an asylum. There are cameras, guards, other patients resting inside. Danny can think of a million different ways to sneak in and kill Joker, but someone will hear his screaming.
It'd have to be rushed.
He doesn't want it to be rushed.
It's a cruel thought. Cruel and cold and merciless, but Danny doesn't feel an ounce of shame, not an ounce of guilt, for it. He wants to be alone with the Joker when he kills him, that's all he wants. In Arkham, you are never alone.
He forces his anger to bubble back down into his chest, stuffing it between his heartstrings and his ribs like a blanket you're trying to bunch up into a corner. It sizzles and burbles. The static begins to fade out into a high-pitched ringing; it sounds like distant screaming.
Danny is still trembling, but he can think a little clearer now.
He can wait.
He can wait. He can wait. He can wait. He canwait. Hecanwait. Hecanwait.
He can wait.
He's waited five years for this. He can wait one more week. One more month. One more year. However long it takes for the Joker to break back out, Danny can wait.
And when the Joker does, inevitably, break out.
Danny uncrinkles his fingers around the edges of the newspaper, loosens his limbs just enough so he can pay for it.
He'll be waiting.
The dead, after all, have all the time in the world.
Love the idea that Red Robin (the restaurant) doesn't exist in the DC universe, but *does* exist in the Pham's home universe.
Just a constant ongoing thing of someone saying Tim's hero name and whatever member(s) of the Pham are there say "Yum" without hesitation.
Everyone in the DC verse thinking that Tim - as Red Robin specifically - is some kind of Adonis to folks on the Ghost/Liminal Spectrum.
It's causing problems. Members of his family that are romantically interested in Pham members are salty. Bruce keeps trying to give him The Talk (the "how to let a group of people all interested in fucking you down gently and professionally" talk, and the "how to form a healthy polycule" talk, Bruce is nothing but thorough). The Younge Justice crew will *not* let him live it down. Dick is going all protective big brother on him, saying that if it makes him uncomfortable just let Dick know and he'll Take Care of It.
He's also deeply confused as to why they all sorta *sing* his hero name before they say Yum?? Is it some kind of call and response ghostly courting thing??
The Pham, notably, are entirely unaware of the chaos they are causing with this. For a long time they don't even know Red Robin (the restaurant) doesn't exist in this universe. They aren't even fully aware that they're doing the Yum thing. It's just too ingrained in them to fully realize it.
klapollo fans have you seen the new drama cds from the trilogy it is so gay. first one has apollo, phoenix and ema going to klav's solo concert and apollo changing his mind on klav's music because of their experiences together in court and geeking out and then klav invites him on stage to duet love love guilty together. this is so huge this is enormous bro. look at this. polly sounds so cute
EDIT: ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE WHOLE THING IN THE REPLIES
Sorry for the spam I thought I was done with the Rollo shitposts for a few days until I read chapter 4 of the event but no chapter 3 had shitpost material, he’s so salty and just suddenly has a burst of empathy, bro you ok ?