#and it becomes so real and apparent

[flwrkid14]

Ghosts of Gotham: Tim Drake is a Halfa

Danny wasn’t exactly sure what he expected when he met Gotham’s infamous vigilantes, but “Red Hood smells like death and swamp water had a baby” definitely wasn’t on the list. The moment he stepped into the room, Danny gagged so hard he nearly fell out of the air.

“Holy Ancients,” he wheezed, covering his nose. “What in the name of all things unholy is that?”

Jason, already not thrilled about the random glowing stranger showing up, tilted his helmeted head. “What’s what?”

“That! You! You smell like—oh, man. I can’t even describe it.” Danny waved his hand in front of his face like it might help. “It’s like if ectoplasm went rancid and then you rolled in it for three days straight. Dude, do you know what’s going on with your ecto-situation?”

Jason took a threatening step forward. “You wanna say that again?”

Danny floated higher, clearly not intimidated. “Oh, I’ll say it again. You stink. And not just like regular stink. Like ghost stink. Like, ‘this is a health code violation, and the Ghost Zone is going to fine you’ stink. How are you even standing there right now? Anyone from Amity Park would be side-eyeing you so hard you’d feel it in your soul—what’s left of it, anyway.”

Jason stared, his body language radiating murderous intent. “You are two seconds away from eating pavement, Casper.”

Danny, unbothered, pointed at his own chest. “Excuse me, Phantom. Casper wishes he could pull this look off.”

“Phantom,” Dick interrupted, trying and failing not to laugh, “maybe we could focus on the introductions first?”

Danny gave Jason one last look of pity and floated down. “Fine, fine. But seriously, Big Red, we’re going to have to talk about that. I’ll fix it later. No need to thank me.”

Jason looked ready to commit murder, but Bruce’s glare cut him off before he could say anything.

Once the chaos settled, introductions were exchanged, and things calmed down—relatively speaking. Danny, as it turned out, was impossible to fully calm down. He buzzed around the room like he had endless energy, chatting and throwing out quips that seemed to simultaneously amuse and irritate everyone.

Then Danny’s gaze landed on Red Robin, and everything shifted.

Danny tilted his head, his glowing green eyes narrowing slightly. For a moment, his usual chaos quieted, curiosity taking over. “Huh,” he said softly, almost to himself.

Tim stiffened, his body going taut as though preparing for impact.

Danny floated closer, peering at him with an unnervingly intense expression. “You’re like me.”

Tim’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately stepped back, his movements sharp and jerky. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do,” Danny said, and his tone was too soft for the others to hear the shift in it. “You’re like me. You’re—”

Tim’s hand twitched at his side, as though debating whether to reach for something or retreat entirely. “Don’t,” he said sharply, his voice low.

Danny blinked, then realization dawned on his face. “Wait… they don’t know, do they?”

“What don’t we know?” Bruce cut in, his voice sharp with suspicion.

Danny ignored him, his gaze locked on Tim. “Oh, man. I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

Tim’s eyes darted toward Danny, his frown deepening as uncertainty clouded his features. He shifted his weight, his fingers twitching at his sides as if fighting the urge to bolt.

He took a step back, then another, his movements slow and almost imperceptible. His breathing quickened, shallow and uneven, as though the air itself had grown heavier. The space around him seemed to shimmer faintly, a distortion that matched the anxiety rippling across his face.

Danny reached out, concern etched in his expression, but Tim flinched. His lips parted as if to say something, but no words came. Instead, the shimmering intensified, and with each passing second, Tim grew more translucent, his form fading like a mirage under the moon.

By the time Danny blinked, Tim was gone, leaving only a faint disturbance in the air where he had been.

The bats froze, their eyes darting around the room.

“What the hell just happened?” Jason demanded, reaching for his guns. “Where’d he go?”

“Did you do something?” Damian snapped at Danny, his hand already on his katana.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Danny held up his hands, his eyes wide with excitement. “Not me! That was all him! Holy Ancients—he can turn invisible?!” A grin split his face as he practically vibrated in place. “This is awesome! Wait—does he shoot ecto-beams too? Or, oh, what if he’s got some crazy transformation I’ve never even seen before? This just keeps getting better!”

Bruce’s expression darkened. “You need to explain. Now.”

Danny sighed, his excitement fading as realization set in. “Okay, but first, I need to go find him. Because if he’s anything like me, he’s probably freaking out right now. So… bye!”

He phased through the floor before anyone could stop him.

———

Danny found Tim perched on the edge of Wayne Industries, staring out at the Gotham skyline. He floated over cautiously, his boots touching down softly on the rooftop.

“Hey,” Danny said, his voice quiet. “Mind if I sit?”

Tim didn’t respond, but he didn’t tell him to leave either, so Danny took that as permission. He sat down cross-legged, giving Tim some space.

They stayed like that for a while, the silence heavy but not unbearable.

Finally, Danny broke it. “Okay, so… not to ruin the moment, but can we talk about how you've had to endure Jason’s ecto-stench this entire time? Because seriously, that’s gotta be a health violation. I mean, I'm half-dead, and even I think it’s concerning. Someone needs to dunk him in a pool of purified ectoplasm or something. I’m gonna file a complaint with—”

Tim laughed. It was soft and brief, but it was real.

Danny grinned, leaning back on his hands. “There it is. I knew you had a laugh in there somewhere.”

Tim sighed, his shoulders loosening slightly. “You’re… a lot,” he admitted.

“I know,” Danny said proudly. “But I grow on people. Like mold. Or fungus.”

Tim huffed another laugh, shaking his head. For a moment, the tension eased, and Danny let the silence settle again before speaking more seriously.

“Look,” Danny said, his voice softer, “I’m sorry I outed you like that. I didn’t know. And if they give you crap about it, I’ll personally make their lives miserable. But… you’re not alone in this, okay? I mean, yeah, it sucks. A lot. But you’ve got me now, because there’s no way we’re not becoming best friends now, and I get it.”

Tim looked at him, his eyes glassy but steady. “Thanks,” he said quietly. He hesitated, his gaze dropping to the floor. “Do you really get it? I mean, you know what it’s like to…” His voice trailed off, thick with hesitation.

Danny tilted his head, his tone softer now. “Yeah. I know what it’s like.”

Tim let out a breath, shaky but determined. “I died.. a few months ago.”

Danny blinked but didn’t say anything, giving Tim space to continue.

“Harley—she caught me. Took me, actually. I was gone for weeks. They—she—handed me over to Joker. It was like a… gift. She thought it’d fix their relationship or something, I don’t know.” Tim’s voice faltered, his gaze flickering to the floor as if the memories were too much to hold. “I held out as long as I could. I kept fighting, kept trying to survive, but…”

He shook his head, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. “Weeks of it. Beatings. Electrocutions. I don’t even remember the exact moment my heart stopped. I just… wasn’t there anymore.”

Danny stayed quiet, his face a mix of empathy and understanding.

“Harley panicked,” Tim continued, his words tumbling out like a confession. “She thought she’d gone too far, that Joker would kill her next. So she tried shocking me back. Guess she half-suceeded? I only came back halfway.” He gestured at himself vaguely, his hands trembling. “I’m not the same. I’m not… whole.”

Danny nodded slowly. "You’re stuck between," he said, offering the words with quiet reassurance.

Tim nodded, biting his lip. “Yeah. Between.” He paused, looking up at Danny. “I haven’t told anyone because… how do you tell them something like that? How do you tell your family you’re not really alive? That their search was all in vain? That I still died, even though they looked so hard for me? I can’t make them think they failed.” His voice wavered. “They were so scared when they found me…”

Danny stayed with him in the silence, his presence a steady comfort.

Tim exhaled slowly, rubbing his face. “I thought I was weak. I thought if I told them what really happened, they’d think I was broken. And I didn’t want to be a burden.” He looked up at Danny. “I’m still not used to this. Not used to being… like this. I don’t even know how to control it—sometimes I phase through walls, other times I get stuck halfway. And the invisibility thing… I can’t even make it work without disappearing when I get too emotional.”

Danny’s gaze softened with understanding as he leaned in slightly, his voice steady but gentle. He hummed thoughtfully, “It’s a lot to handle all at once.”

Tim's shoulders slumped as he leaned closer to Danny, “I’ve been trying to figure out how to control it, but every time I get close, something goes wrong. And I didn’t want anyone to think I was weak or… freakish, so I kept pretending everything was fine. It was easier that way. Easier than explaining… all this.” He exhaled slowly, the exhaustion in his voice evident. “At least it was… until you showed up.”

Danny reached out, resting a hand on Tim’s arm in a quiet gesture of comfort. “I don’t think you’re a freak. You’re just different, like me. But that doesn’t make you broken. You’re still you.” He paused, meeting Tim’s gaze. “I know what it’s like.. to feel different, freakish, the whole nine yards. For what it’s worth? You're handling it a lot better than I did.”

Tim gave him a tight smile, the first real one in a while. “Thanks. It helps. More than you know.”

———

When they returned to the Batcave, Tim sat down with the others, Danny sticking close by his side. Tim took a deep breath and told them everything—about being captured by Harley, the weeks of torture at the Joker’s hands, the electrocutions that had stopped his heart. About how Harley had panicked and shocked him back to life, halfway. How he wasn’t entirely human anymore.

The family listened, their expressions ranging from horror to guilt to anger. Jason looked ready to kill someone, and Bruce’s usually stoic face betrayed a crack of regret. Tim hesitated as he explained why he hadn’t told them sooner, his voice faltering but honest.

Tim’s voice cracked slightly as he spoke, “I didn’t want you to think you failed… that you searched for me for nothing,"

Danny stayed quiet but stayed close, resting a hand on Tim’s shoulder. “For the record,” he said, glaring at the others, “if any of you give him crap about this, you’re gonna have to deal with me. And trust me, I will make your lives miserable.”

Tim gave him a small, grateful smile. For the first time, he didn’t feel quite so alone.

[teratomatica]

you always land on all fours

[dollopole]

I was just thinking about the fact that in so many Merlin fics, Merlin keeps being an healer/doctor/medic, which makes sense, since that’s how he started his life, by helping people however he could, but now consider this:

Merlin, who has lived so long and more than probably witnessed the deaths of thousands, even of those he loved, cherished and respected. So what if a millennia of life completely flipped his view on what it means to heal and study medicine. What if after all Merlin saw, everything that happened had the opposite effect on him, which means that he stopped trying and left the job to someone else.

Merlin still helps, surely, in the end, it’s in his nature as human, but we can already see how he changed, even only after ten years of being in Camelot and witnessing death after death.

What if he despaired because disease spread and not even his magic could help it, what if his magic decided that humans had to live with their own course of actions and so his magic simply refused to help them, which got Merlin just angry at the prospect of doing this for so many years.

But now take into consideration when Arthur returns:

I believe Arthur would be the healer/doctor/medic this time around.

He would be eager to help everyone he can, because that’s also in his nature, but since he can’t do it anymore in the way he once did, he has to find another path for him, a path that would make him heal too, heal from all the times he killed, instead of helping someone in danger.

Arthur lived a life of death even before Merlin could start to think about killing someone.

Arthur had his hands smeared with blood since he was a child. Being Uther’s son was automatically, in both magical people and peasants’ perspective, who lived under Uther’s tyranny, a sin and a guilt, even before Arthur could pick up a sword.

He did not just kill sorcerers, but he was raised with a mind of a killer of justice. To defend his kingdom, his father, his counsellors, his court and his people no matter what he felt regarding it, was and had always been his main duty.

He was trapped in a murderous cycle, literally, where he couldn’t do anything but raise himself to believe that the only way to help people was to kill them.

On one side, we have a man who spent his life helping people and who got tired of death, and on the other side, we got another man who spent it killing people and still got tired of death.

But to Arthur and Merlin it happened in different ways.

Where Merlin left the responsibility to someone else, Arthur decided to take that responsibility himself, in the hope that maybe, one day, he could bring back to life all those he had condemned for the simple act of living as themselves.

[moeblob]

Simon, my beloved, in a Sea World hoodie because the colors really fit him.

[fjordfolk]

puppy fever, might be terminal

[oddly-casual]

Fiona and Cake spoilers seriously

(Something I noticed abt Betty and Simons relationship)

I love Betty and Simon’s relationship, I think their back story is so cute and romantic and all that lovely stuff don’t get me wrong.

But there’s this under tone of Betty constantly giving things up for Simon and we don’t really talk about it a lot???

Like, Betty let Simon have his moment with the artifact and the pubic, she also doesn’t go to her trip in favor of going on an expedition with Simon. Then when she goes to leave again she stays for Simon.

Even Fiona is like “you went with her on the bus?” And Simon just looks all confused like “what? No, why would I do that?” Like- hello???

Then after that she gave up her entire life and mind to get Simon back to the point where she literally says “I don’t know who I am without him anymore.” And that just sucks! Since the beginning Betty has been the one giving up the most, her mind, her own possible career, and it’s a story of love of course and it’s very sweet but it’s also a story of sacrifice.

Their love wasn’t a perfect solution, it was already sort of imbalanced when it started and I lowkey love how we see those cracks even before they’re together.

Again, I love their relationship and I think it’s sweet. I just think we should talk about Betty’s side more, especially when she tells a story of what most women do in relationships, sacrifice.

[thelostgirl21]

After having found out Radovid is now the King of Redania, Jaskier and him meet again while he's still travelling with Geralt and the rest of the Hansa.

But he's ruthless and cold - agreeing with Dijkstra that anyone suspected of having conspired with Nilfgaard should be summarily executed without trial.

When Jaskier confronts him about it in front of the others, Radovid refuses to listen to him, prompting an upset Jaskier to reveal to all that they'd slept together on the night of the coup at Thanedd, by asking Radovid if that night had even meant anything, or if he'd just been some kind of trophy to him!

"The 'almighty Prince Radovid'," Jaskier mocks him, pathetically needing to have other famous people like 'Jaskier the Bard' on all four - begging to be filled with his royal dick like a slut - to flatter his fragile ego and reassure him of his place within the Continent's food chain!

In return, Radovid casually mocks Jaskier for having ever fallen for his act!

He just wanted to get his trust and find the girl, he says, nothing more. Though getting the opportunity to fuck him was a nice bonus, he won't lie about that.

As for anything he did or said afterwards, he was only "playing it safe" until he knew, for sure, whether or not Jaskier could still be of some use to them.

As Radovid takes his leave, Jaskier stares after him, jaw clenched, visibly trying to be brave and keep it together - not wanting to give Radovid the satisfaction of seeing how much he's hurt him - they all assume.

They thus start muttering among themselves about how much of an asshole the king is, saying Jaskier deserves so much better, and starting to move forward to go offer him some support.

All of them except... Geralt, for some reason. The Witcher is surprisingly calm, if not looking deeply sad and concerned for his bard.

He stops them all from approaching him with a hand gesture, and - once he's sure everyone else is out of hearing range - says:

"You topped him that night, didn't you?"

Jaskier looks in Geralt's direction, eyes red and shining, lips trembling, and utters a pitiful "twice", quickly followed by an even quieter "fuck, Geralt".

The Witcher immediately dashes forward and catches him in his arms as Jaskier's legs finally give out and he breaks down - allowing himself a moment of weakness to weep in Geralt's arms.

His sobs are occasionally interrupted by some half coherent blabbering about how thoughtful, wonderful, and attentionate a lover Radovid is. Then something about how he'd been supposed to ask his brother for permission to leave his life at court behind, so he could come help Jaskier find and rescue his whole family. But now, King Vizimir is dead, and Radovid is... (Jaskier can't even finish his sentence).

And that's when the rest of the Hansa realize that Jaskier isn't upset about some royal bastard having pretended to love him only to betray and discard him.

The bard is upset because he's genuinely in love with the bloody King of Redania - of all people!

And that, had the man they'd just met been the real King Radovid, then he'd likely have known that Jaskier didn't bottom that night.

(Or that Jaskier is much smarter than he pretends to be, like Geralt had obviously been fully aware of.)

Meaning that the real Radovid is either already dead; or being held captive somewhere against his will.

Also meaning that their mission probably just got upgraded from:

- Finding and rescuing the Princess of Cintra (a.k.a. Geralt's daughter) from Nilfgaard;

to

- Finding and rescuing the Princess of Cintra (a.k.a. Geralt's daughter) from Nilfgaard AND finding out if the King of Redania (a.k.a. Jaskier's bottom lover) is still alive; if so, where he's being held, and rescuing him from... Redania?!

Again, why did they have to get attached to these people?

[thedrotter]

comparison!! yuu as I drew him in 2024, february 5th; and this panel from my latest post that just so happened to be drawn in february 5th 2025...

it has been a full year since i started to draw re:kinder like crazy www when drawing yuu i'd always reference one of my own drawings of him for consistency, yet even the way i draw him changed quite a lot www

but im very happy with it😊😊 thought id share this since im amused by the evolution of it

[lynzishell]

Prev // Next

Transcript:

Spencer: [squealing] Asses!!!

Atlas: Ahh bonjour mon petit ourse! Spencer: Raaawwr!!! Atlas: RAAWWWRRR!!

Asher: [laughs] That would be Spencer. Dawn: Does he always talk to her in French? Asher: Just a little bit here and there. She loves it. Dawn: Cute. Asher: Yeah, it is.

Spencer: Eevuh! Atlas: Livre? Hmm. Spencer: Peeeas?

Atlas: Ok, let’s go pick one.

Asher: I’m afraid we’ve lost him for the day. Come on, my mom’s probably out here.

Megan: Hi sweetie. Asher: Hi mom.

Asher: This is Dawn, Atlas’s sister. Megan: Oh Dawn, I’m so glad you’re here, it’s great to finally meet you. Dawn: Thank you, it’s wonderful to meet you too, Mrs. Goode. Asher: Doctor. Megan: No need for formalities. Please, call me Megan.

Asher: I was gonna show her the spot out back where Ally got married. Megan: Of course, yeah, I’ll join you.

[asofterepilogue]

sometimes an overhyped video game turns out to actually genuinely be good, and you just have to sob a little and accept that you're not above dreading the heat death of the universe

[wackywatchdotcom]

i will say im not super invested in the idea of the show giving us too much information on c&a. like itll be super cool if we find out about it! and im sure itll be relevant information if we do but i think the information we get is going to be not super indepth, because im not sure itd match the tone of the show? its less about mystery and like The Lore and more about the characters and examining how different characters respond and have been responding to the environment set up by the show

(it WOULD be fun to learn more details about c&a and i AM curious i just dont think itd actually enhance much abt the show itself, and as such, i dont think its super important writing wise for the audience to learn about it either)

that SAID i do ascribe to the idea that ALL of the cast members worked for c&a before the ended up in the circus, no exceptions. i dont really know how say gangle or zooble wouldve ended up there, but i feel like they all ended up there one way or another. and i think most of the cast doesnt talk about their life in the real world bc its gone and theres no reason to dredge it up (or theyve forgotten it or most aspects of it), but it does make it fascinating that not even pomni, who has the least reason to avoid these topics at least early on, broached the subject of what in the WORLD is c&a UP to. it literally is never brought up ever as of ep 4. which makes me think the company was probably always super shady in some way to the pt that its employees were kinda desensitized to the idea that its c&as fault that horrible things happen

[beneaththebloodylake]

when you get so bored you start reading fanfic for a ship from a game you know nothing about just as generic stories but the game sounds actually sort of interesting, and then when you look it up on tumblr it seems like the ship are actually sort of just like that in canon and theyre not just being shipped for the sake of shipping something. how has this happened twice now

[silversinfinity]

It's the way it takes at least three business days to recover and become normal again when you have a sneeze-related dream about that one fandom that you generally do not bring into the boundaries of the fetish... like okay whoa there let's slow DOWN

[calenhads]

hi chat they put my ass on a baby dose of concerta. pray that it works and i suddenly become the most productive person on planet earth

[mylove-thresher]

Gah 💔

[claudiajcregg]

10 things for 10 people you’d like to know better!

Tagged by the lovely @holy-ships-x-red-lips . Thank you for tagging me, friend! I started to answer these on Thursday, which means I've had to change some answers multiple times. (A problem of my own making. I kept forgetting about posting it.)

Last Song: I'm listening to my SNTV vinyl today! So, Dear John as of answering this. I still can't believe I got to experience it live. If I close my eyes while listening to it, I see my view of that sea of purple lights.

Last book: I'm about halfway into The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller! That I've finished? Sunrise on the Reaping. I've started a bunch lately but haven't finished that many! (I gotta get back to The Secret History, which I was enjoying, but I knew I wouldn't finish in time for the book club.)

Last movie: I need to get back to watch more movies. Can't remember the last one at home, but A Real Pain in cinemas a while ago. (Oh, I think the "El Mago Pop Lands in USA" doc counts! We just finished that one and now my dad regrets not getting tickets… I spent the entire winter asking him.)

Last TV show: if long YT videos don't count, High Potential on Disney+. It was fun to see TJ Thyne and Nasim Pedrad on the one we watched last night! (I think it was 11?) I'll probably watch Hacks in a bit, too.

Favourite colour: Purple! I like all shades, but warmer purples that are almost reddish, I love.

Sweet, savoury, or spicy: Sweet.

Relationship status: 🧍‍♀️

Last thing I googled: Several attempts at trying to find an available copy of Gracie's RSD First. If I can't get it tomorrow from a few EU/UK stores I have my eye on, I'll wait for the inevitable drop on her website. (I just hope I'll have made it home by 9PM!)

Current obsession: These are unserious ones, but no less true, lmao. Raging about different aspects of RSD in town, but I'm glad I did my chill thing in the afternoon. (However much you think you've heard me rant about it, it's just a fraction of what poor Waves has.)

Also, constantly refreshing the couple of things that are on their way (esp my tgw deluxe, which has to be my slowest eBay/GSP experience so far… no one needs to hear my rant about how the seller was very nice but wasn't really listening to what I was saying. That package spent 10 days at UK GSP without being scanned!!!!). Anyway, I think it'd be hilarious if the other GSP shipment from the US got here before tgw.

Looking forward to: Tuesday onwards! I'm taking Tues and Wed off (I should've also taken tomorrow off lbr, but I'm planning on taking a random Monday off next month instead, iykyk). I'm also curious to see what comes out of my car dealership visit on Tuesday! I don't mind an almost new/KM 0 car vs a new, personalizable one that might be ready in September. I haven't really driven since I got my license.

Tagging: @likeanorangeonatoothpick @kidmccabe @malkaleh @maryoliveoil @unseenacademic @leoleofitz @jessbakescakes @bartletslesbians @etherealthv @district447

(As usual, if you want to do it, consider yourself tagged! And if you don't want to do it, that's also fine! I forget who's done this, so I went with the last few moots I've seen in my dash.)