#The City Dump

[deadsetobsessions]

Tim Drake, Danny’s human identity in this universe, is a boy trapped in an empty manor with absentee parents a low socialization.

Danny Phantom, on the other hand, is Gotham City himself. He could fly, he could interact, he could be the heart of his city like he needs to be. From the lowest of the lows to the highest of the highs, Danny loved the people that were his. Well, most of them. Child molesters often found themselves crossing paths with a vengeful, mostly recovered Robin.

He is the city, he is Gotham. And with his status came more changes, ones he welcomes more readily that the changes that came with his title of Ghost King.

Being a city couldn’t change him as much as it would have, had he gained the title before becoming King. But now, his shadows are dark, curling around his shoulders and curling away what little light he allowed into his city. His skin, having once glittered green with stars and galaxies and black holes, clouds over just a bit. It gives him a misty quality. His hands become sharper, stronger. Gargoyle-like. He wonders what he looked like to Batman, holding his broken son cradled safely to himself. He’s crueler, now, but that’s easily balanced by his years of being a vigilante himself.

He loves these changes. They are loved in a way changing into Dead Danny Phantom and Ghost King Danny Phantom will never be loved. And even though his human features are different in a way he never had to deal with as Danny Fenton, because it was his body that he died in, Danny finds himself enjoying the distinction. And he enjoys when they combine, because in the end, they’re just facets of who he is, now.

Gotham flies through his city, and enjoys it as a whole. A bigger picture.

Tim Drake walks through his city, and enjoys it as an individual. The smaller picture.

Being Gotham reminds him of what he had to protect as a whole. A duty he gladly bears.

Being Tim reminds him of the people he’s meant to help, the stories he doesn’t get as Danny. A connection he gladly encouraged.

Gotham is power. He is duty, he is fierce love. But for the good of the whole.

Tim is kindness. He is choice, he is gentle devotion. But for the good of the individual.

He’s both.

Danny. Danny Phantom.

Phantom glides through the smog.

The ebb and flow of people is his life blood, the thrumming of life and death and fear and hate and love and everything the city is sung through him and Danny sung back with everything he had. Danny is the gargoyles perched high, watching everything. He’s the stone curves of the sewers, sheltering his rats and mutant murderous crocodile man. The is no love comparable to a city’s mutant rats and their sewers. Ancients, he loves his city.

It would be nice, Danny thinks wryly, if they’d love me enough to stop blowing up buildings.

The sting of destruction to his city would hurt much more, had he not also been King. Regardless, every time there’s an explosion or general large scale property damage, he feels a stab of mild pain. Catching sight of his Bats, Danny stays invisible while following them. He wills the shadows to cradle them, to hide them further. He softens the stone, the mortar, the steel, just a hint. Their footsteps, silent and aided by the city himself. The wind steal away the noise of the grappling guns, so when Danny’s favorite vigilante duo (a fascination he shared with original text!Tim) broke into the building, not a single soul aside them are aware of the intrusion.

Batman skulks across the support beams, Robin following with an anticipatory grin. Danny floats, invisible, undetectable, besides them.

“C’mon!” A goon grunts beneath them. Danny tilts his head. A… Dresden Aberthy. Wow. That’s one hell of a name.

“Hurry it up! Boss said Batman’s going to get here soon!” Another goon- Robbert- said, waving around a gun like a moron at the terrified hostages. Danny could tell half of them were part of a tour bus, mostly because the other half were his Gothamites, bored and unfairly used to this kind of thing. The tourists… He’s fond of them, having kept track of their progress through his city. He doesn’t care for intruders on his haunt, but tourists like to appreciate his city and its doubtlessly Sam-approved architecture. Most of them. Rude tourists get pigeon shit on their heads and food stolen by his lovely rats.

He’ll have to make sure none of the bullets hit the tourists. He likes this group, even if he has enough awareness to question their sanity in choosing his city to sightsee. He knows it’s a mess. It’s Danny’s mess though, so whatever.

——

All said and done, Batman whoops ass and Robin rescues the hostages just fine. Danny grins proudly as Robin knees a guy in the crotch and punches a lady’s throat in order to incapacitate them.

After they tied the goons up, and interrogated them for Two Face’s plans- explode a quarter of Gotham to distract the Bats from his diabolical plan to murder half of Gotham’s judges and lawyers that have been going after him and his people- the duo retreats to the rooftop.

“Didja think Gotham saw that?”

Batman goes to reply, but Danny beats him to it, coming back to visibility with a wind touched laugh.

“I did, little Robin.” Danny smiles, fangs and shadows on display as his vigilantes startles and whips around to face him. “You did well.”

Robin- Jason!- gapes at him.

“I see you’ve recovered, little bird.”

“Gotham! Oh. Wow. People always said Gotham was a lady, but you’re a guy!”

“It was a Lady,” Danny confirmed. “It’s complicated, little bird.”

“So, you’re really… you’re really Gotham? The city?”

Danny looks at Robin with the weight of the city behind his gaze.

“I think you know the answer to that. But yes, I am your city.”

“Constantine,” Batman starts. “He said that city spirits only appear in times of grave danger.”

There is deference in his words. Batman is Batman for Gotham, after all. Danny just wishes he could… well, be friendlier with his knights. May this is a good place to start.

Are you in danger? What threats do we need to handle? How can I help? How can I protect? Please, let me help.

His Knight always felt more than he ever says. Danny smiles.

“Was Robin’s wellbeing not in grave danger?” Danny floats closer. “I am your city. You protect me, it is only right that I protect you, no?”

“Thank you for saving me, Gotham!” Robin’s grin is a touch more sincere than usual.

“Of course, Robin. You are loved.”

“Is there… a reason you’ve shown yourself today? Gotham.”

Danny chuckles, understanding the awkwardness that was Batman addressing someone with deference.

“I wanted to tell you that you did well tonight. Those tourists weren’t harmed in the slightest. Well done.” Danny gave Robin a playful but sincere thumbs up.

“They weren’t a match for us!”

“No, they weren’t.” Danny ruffles Robin’s hair, noticing how still he grew at it. “Robin was too fast for them. That maneuver at the end was masterfully executed.”

Batman clears his throat and Danny resists the urge to laugh at him. It would be mean.

“Thank you, for the… praise.”

Fuck it. He’s played well behaved for too long.

“Yes. I read in child rearing books that positive reinforcement is necessary for healthy development. You did well, Batman.”

Despite trolling Batman- and somehow holding a straight (and hopefully wise face)- he meant every word.

Allowing a small smile to slip at Robin’s chortles and Batman’s quiet sputtering, Danny moves on.

“Where is Nightwing, Batman?”

“He’s still on a mission...”

“If it is awkward to refer to me as Gotham, Phantom will do.”

Batman dips his head once. “In space, with the Teen Titans.”

“I see. Please tell him I request his presence,” Danny barely waits for Batman’s oddly acquiescing agreement before summoning a pigeon.

“Follow her,” Danny instructs the duo. “She’ll lead you to the places with explosives. I will guide you through her, to Harvey Dent.”

Danny winces as another explosion rings out.

“Your face is cracking!” Robin exclaimed, worried. He surged forward to stare at the hairline cracks appearing on Danny’s jaw.

“That would be the explosives. Any damage to the city will be shown on me.”

“Well take care of it.” Batman growled, shoulders straightening once more into an imposing symbol.

“Yeah!”

“I know you will. Stay safe.” Danny disappears, spreading his awareness and directing his Birds to the explosives that will go off the fastest.

Batman and Robin share a glance and leaps off the roof, ready to save their city once more.

——

Tim Drake wanders around Crime Alley, and meets a blonde nine year old trying to throw hands at her absentee Riddler knockoff of a dad. He dodges the brick en route to his face and kicks the guy’s knees out.

“You okay?”

The girl blinks. She stares at her dad, groaning on the dirty street of crime alley, and flicks her gaze back up to Tim, who waits casually.

“Yep. I’m Stephanie. We’re gonna be friends now!”

She grins at him, a baby tooth missing, and Danny melts.

“Heck yeah. Tim!” He introduces himself for the first time in a long time.

Maybe with Stephanie around, he’ll finally use the name Tim? Maybe he’ll get used to it, finally!

[purplebunnydraws]

I don’t usually post my sketches but most of the time I like them more than the finished pieces so. Kotlc sketch dump!

[hypewinter]

"I wish we could just go back to being kids when we didn't have to worry about protecting others all the time!"

Tucker regretted the words as soon as he said them but it was too late. Desiree appeared before them and with her signature catchphrase, disappeared him and his friends within a cloud of smoke

[pinazee]

Being a hatchetfield fan is fun, because one second you’re laughing at wayward spunk and the next thing you know you’re lying awake at night wondering if its significant that the two people aware of the black and white and seemingly that their world is resetting in an endless loop have both vehemently told paul to wear a watch and could possibly have something to do with eventually stopping the lords in black - or if it was just a callback gag.

[monstatron]

MISC SKETCHES

JERI!!!! finished up this small sketch page of jericho. been a while since i last drew him! i really need to draw/write him more. he’s a BIG part of bitc. i fleshed out his story more so i can finally start doing more with him!

also there's an additional sketch of him with hades. for the time being their story is a secret but i'm eager to explore them more in future work.

[violent138]

I HC that Gotham’s so full of ghosts, smog, and various chemicals that it messes with Constantine's ability to tell ghosts from the living. He starts stepping around ghosts while walking (making Batman have to slow down so the man can keep up), talks to lost ghost tourists, or accidentally flirts with the dead at bars, freaking out other patrons and getting kicked out. On of the earlier occasions, John nearly performs an exorcism on one of the Robins after the kid flips around too well, and cheerfully informs Bruce about all the death omens around him when the man pisses him off.

[zephyrartz-owo]

My computer crashed while drawing this

[literatureaesthetic]

my most recent read — jade war by fonda lee

i've been really struggling with fantasy this past year (i blame wheel of time for putting me into a slump😵‍💫), but i finally feel my sff mood returning and picking up jade war was the perfect re-entry into the genre.

i surprisingly LOVED this book. the characters are absolute perfection, the slow and intricate politics worked so well for me, and this series is so propelling. there's never a dull moment. everyone always pitches this series as 'the godfather but asian and fantasy', and i absolutely agree. beyond excited to continue!!

[yutofia]

"olá, bebê" 😭😭😭

[gregor-samsung]

كوستا برافا، لبنان [Costa Brava, Lebanon] (Mounia Akl, 2021)

[pigeonstab]

I think Toriel would totally get one of those projectors that show the stars to Sans. Maybe it came up that he loves astronomy or maybe Frisk or Papyrus let her know in secret, heck! Maybe it's from all of them. I think he wouldn't really know how to take it. Like bro sees it and goes '*oh neat.' and actually he's fucking dying inside.

[spinus-pinus]

Domestic Mallard Anas platyrhynchos domesticus

4/23/2023 Los Angeles County, California

[bigbossbowseragainstyou]

Weekend dump

[luna-purple454]

Sans and Papyrus Kid's of City Ebbot info dump. If you even care.

I swear I'm working on the comic I just get distracted easily.

[silverskye13]

What's water like in your hels? Is there any there? Is it there in limited quantities? Does it rain at all? Is there only water in specific places? Was it brought from the overworld? I'm curious

There is water in hels! Just barely! It was one of Evil X's gifts to the server, getting it there. I imagine the city has a cistern he artificially filled, which is where the water from the fountains in the city and the tap water comes from. Hels is very much like the nether though! So to raise the boiling/evaporation point of the water so it stays liquid where it's supposed to be, the water is acidic. It's not eat-your-skin acidic, but its corrosive enough that using it to, say, polish armor, will lead to breakdown over time. Metals and stones they anticipate coming into a lot of contact with water [fountains, pipes] probably need regular maintenance and water proofing.

It doesn't rain in hels, all water there was brought there artificially, but I do imagine they have some weather phenomena. The peripheral of the city has a small geyser problem [any time water leaks from the cistern and comes in contact with the hotter stone around the city, you get a geyser.] There is still a cycle of hotter/cooler air, so they do get wind, and that wind will bring dust clouds and gas clouds from surrounding lava lakes and things. They get a lot of fog and fog-adjacent weather patterns, and a haze of clouds is often passing through. I also imagine they get "snows" of ash from eruptions around basalt deltas, and there are probably times of year where the different shroom plants release their spores, causing colored snows of red and blue. [We have cottonwood plants around here in the summer that coat the roads in a false snow, especially around the river where I live. I imagine whenever the warped / crimson fungus lets out spores, it would look a bit like that].

[smokeandhubris]

i love love love media that loves the world. i want to be reminded that the universe is so incomparably beautiful and complex. i want to be shown that life is messy and broken and it hurts so bad but it’s so so so beautiful and you can’t help loving it anyway. there are people out there, wonderful ones who will stay by your side if you’ll let them. there is the sun and the warmth of it and the light. there is the path between the trees and the sandwich shop down the road and the river in the paddock and is that wonderful and isn’t that worth living for. i love when media tells you it’s okay to be broken and it’s okay to be hurting and it’s okay to live despite it. tell me i am worth saving. tell me to listen to the rain falling on tin rooftops and fall in love with life. tell me that the world loves me too.